You may or may not have better things to do this weekend than download music and jam away on a plastic guitar. If you do, then the good news is that this DLC won’t be available until next week anyway, so you should go ahead and enjoy whatever it is you were planning to do. If you don’t have anything better to do, then at least you’ll have something to look forward to. See? Everyone wins.

Coming up on September 15 (for the Xbox 360) and September 17 (for PS3):

Anvil Pack 01

• “666″
• “Metal on Metal”
• “This is Thirteen”

And some individual songs (also hitting the Wii on September 15):

• Dinosaur Jr. – “Pick Me Up”
• Dinosaur Jr. – “The Wagon”
• The Guess Who – “Hand Me Down World”
• The Guess Who – “No Time”
• Tenacious D – “Rock Your Socks”
• Tenacious D – “Tribute”

The pack will set you back 440 Microsoft Points or $5.50 on the PS3. If you’re going for the individual songs: 160 Microsoft Points, $2, 200 Wii points each.

Via | Joystiq

Image: Harmonix

Post from: Play Girlz

As far as unsurprising news goes, this is up there. But for those of you that were holding out hope that Final Fantasy XIV would be served fresh and free of a monthly fee: sorry! Ain’t happening. A subscription fee has been made official by Hiromichi Tanaka himself at GamesCon, who stated that the game would require the usual exchange of real-world money for 30 days of game play. So, what everyone expected, basically.

Those of you that just perked up at the mention of FFXIV, the wait is almost over, relatively speaking. The game is set for a 2010 release, which means it’s finally there in the horizon. Once released, you’ll be able to pick it up for both the PS3 and the PC. But don’t despair, my Xbox 360-loving friends, Tanaka revealed that talks of bringing it to the Microsoft console are simply held up due to the Xbox Live policies.

So come launch time, the PS3 has a special console exclusive hold over the title. So even if the Xbox 360 version were ready to go, it won’t launch simultaneously. So, you can pick it up for the PC or you can wait a bit longer. Or, you can play it on your PS3.

Via | VG247

Image: Square Enix

Post from: Play Girlz

If you’re itching to get your hands on some new titles and aren’t quite sure what might be coming out in the next few days, here’s a list of video games slated for release this week. It’s not a bad list, particularly if you’re into super heroes, ninjas, shooting things down, or rocking out. Look for most of these titles to be on shelves by Tuesday, September 2:

PC

• Champions Online
• Mini Ninjas
• Section 8

PS2

• Cabela’s Outdoor Adventure
• Guitar Hero 5
• Guitar Hero 5 Guitar Bundle

PS3

• Cabela’s Outdoor Adventure
• Guitar Hero 5
• Guitar Hero 5 Guitar Bundle
• Mini Ninjas

Xbox 360

• Cabela’s Outdoor Adventure
• Guitar Hero 5
• Guitar Hero 5 Bundle
• Mini Ninjas
• Section 8

Wii

• Cabela’s Outdoor Adventure
• Cruise Ship Vacation Games
• Guitar Hero 5
• Guitar Hero 5 Bundle
• Mini Ninjas
• Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Release date unclear: Either Thursday, or early next week)

Nintendo DS

• Mini Ninjas

PSP

• Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny

Via | Shack News

Image: Mini Ninjas//Eidos

Post from: Play Girlz

Katamari and PS3 fans rejoice: Katamari Forever has gone gold for the PlayStation 3, which means we’re almost to the date of release: September 22. Soon we’ll be able to join the Prince as he rolls rolls rolls his way through the levels, picking up as many objects as possible. Watch out, though, the Prince will be facing his toughest opposition yet!

Katamari Forever will keep you well entertained with the largest assortment of stages, modes, and songs so far. You’ll get to hum along to some Katamari Damacy tunes remixed for the occasion. Roll along to the brand new storyline. Ooh and ahh at the new effects. And enjoy the 1080p graphics. All the while, you’ll get to help the Prince restore the lost celestial bodies, save his father and restore order to the Cosmos. No problem!

Exciting objects to pick up include: thumb tacks, sushi, cats, people, skyscrapers, ocean liners and continents. No thing is too small or too big to be rolled on up.

In addition: Katamari Forever offers competitive multiplayer modes so you don’t have to feel alone in your fun.

Retail price for the game is set at $49.99. Look for it in stores on September 22.

Via | Gaming Nexus

Image: Namco Bandai

Post from: Play Girlz

There’s some pretty good news for PlayStation 3 owners and Rock Band fanatics regarding the upcoming Rock Band Network. As we know, aspiring artists that wish to share their tunes with the world will have a shot at doing so via the Rock Band Network, an online service that will give independent musicians a shot at fame and fortune.

News looked grim for PS3 owners, due to the fact that the tools provided for the user-created content would only be available through Microsoft’s XNA program. The bad news is that this hasn’t changed. If you’re an artist wishing to create some Rock Band content you will still need to go through the Xbox 360.

However, the good news is that the content itself (or at least some of it) will be made available to PS3 owners. The service will be patched into Rock Band 2 later on in the year – possibly November.

Still, most of the content will remain exclusive to the Xbox 360, as Harmonix will be handpicking what goes on to PS3 and what doesn’t. Also, the port to PS3 will require artists to fill out some extra paperwork. Harmonix is confident that artists won’t hesitate to do so, as having their songs available in more places is widely considered to be a Good Thing.

PS3 owners can look forward to sampling The Best of the Best of the Rock Band Network. Xbox 360 owners, you get to try it all out. Lucky devils. Perhaps it’s a good time to pick up an Xbox 360.

Via | VG247

Image: Harmonix

Post from: Play Girlz

Grab your guitars, you guitar heroes out there. There’s some new DLC available for Guitar Hero World Tour and you can go ahead and grab it now for your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or your Wii. Hell, you can get it for all three and really rock out. Playing the guitar with your feet is a valuable skill. The latest DLC is called “Dueling Banjos” as recorded by Steve Ouimette. At the Xbox Live Marketplace it will set you back 160 MS points. At the PS Store it will cost you $1.99 and for the Wii, prepare to shell out 200 Wii points.

This new single will hopefully tide you over until the release of Guitar Hero 5 which hits stores on September 1. A couple of days later (September 3) you’ll be able to start downloading The Rolling Stones Live Track Pack, which will include songs from the 1969 concert. This one will set you back: 720 MS Points, $8.99 at the PS store, and/or 900 Wii points. Or you can just grab them all individually.

Via | Gametactics

Image: Activision

Post from: Play Girlz

Do you hear that? It’s the rumor mill again, spinning away with some God of War trilogy news. Well, potential news. Take-it-with-a-grain-of-salt news. The rumor is that the God of War games (all two of them plus a demo of the third) might actually be headed to your PlayStation 3 in a single, all-purpose Blu-ray disc. Not only is this news really exciting for PS3 owners, it’s also much better for the environment than would be, say, three discs.

Now, some of us are still crying over the fact that God of War III won’t be available until March 2010 – bummer – but there’s still lots of stuff to look forward to between now and then. This rumor, for example, were it to prove true, would see a playable demo of the highly anticipated God of War III included in the disc. So you’d get a little preview of the action.

This rumor, by the way, originates from MarkPlayStation’s Twitter page. And who is MarkPlayStation? Well, he’s (supposedly) a manager over at Sony Mexico. According to him, this bundle would be headed our way come December.

Let’s hope this rumor proves true, as I’m sure this would be a pretty hot sell for Sony. While it’s somewhat bizarre that Sony wouldn’t have yet announced the existence of this trilogy bundle, that doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. Never doubt the powers of positive thinking. Would you buy it?

Via | PSXtreme

Image: Sony

Post from: Play Girlz

Despite what you may have read about the possibility of a SingStar “port” of The Beatles Rock Band for your PlayStation 3, it seems like Harmonix is trying hard to deny the possibility. UK’s own MCV posted about a deal signed by Sony and EA for the exclusive rights to release SingStar: Beatles for the PS3. A title that no doubt would have most of us SingStar fans rushing for the retail shelves.

However, after the news broke, Harmonix issued the following statement, “This isn’t true, just a misheard rumor. I’ll have more details later in the day about whatever it is they misheard.”

MCV stated in their article that:

“The title, which will come bundled with SingStar microphones, will be released ‘within days’ of The Beatles: Rock Band’s arrival on September 9th, MCV understands. The title will join SingStar Abba and SingStar Take That at retail this Q4.”

That’s a lot to mishear. But if Harmonix is dismissing the news, then it’s likely that this deal is not going through, if there was ever a deal on the table to begin with. Disappointing news for SingStar/Beatles fans.

Via | Kotaku

Image: Sony

Post from: Play Girlz

It’s no secret that the publishing world is getting hit hard by the current economic climate. All around, publishing houses are closing their doors and independent bookstores are finding themselves out of business. Magazine and newspapers are not immune, and it was only a matter of time before it all trickled down into the gaming print arena. Future Publishing has been forced to shut down one of its three PlayStation magazines: PlayStation World.

While the news that the magazine will be no longer, and that the current issue on shelves now is likely the last, it’s at least a small comfort that for now the publisher’s other two magazines remain operational. So if you enjoy Future’s magazines, it’s a good time to start showing your support so that they’re not forced to shut down further.

Via | Kotaku

Image: SXC

Post from: Play Girlz

Here’s some irritating news for PlayStation 3 owners and Splinter Cell fans. Though it’s been known that Splinter Cell: Conviction would be heading to the Xbox 360 and not the PS3, the reason why this is so is not due to any technical limitations or issues with bringing the game to the PS3. Lead Designer, Steven Masters, revealed that the team at Ubisoft is, of course, more than capable of making the game work on the PS3, they just don’t want to. Why? Well..

 

When asked if this was just a boardroom thing, and not anything else, Masters replied with:

“Absolutely, yeah. Ubisoft as a company now has a lot of experience with PS3. Our processes, tools, techniques are very well-developed – we could absolutely execute on the PS3 if we had the opportunity, but like I said it was a business decision.”

Well, great. And by that I mean, lame. Well, at least I’m sure Xbox 360 fans are happy.

Via | Max Console

Image: Ubisoft

Post from: Play Girlz