Len Peralta is a geek treasure, and someone you definitely want to keep on your radar. You may or may not have heard of him before now, but after checking out some of his work I’m sure you’ll agree. (Wired magazine even listed him on their 100 Geeks You Should Be Following on Twitter.) I had a chance to chat with Peralta last week, and we’re posting up the full audio on the BigShinyRobot podcast feed for the pleasuring of your earholes.

Direct link to the audio right here.

Or sign up for the BigShinyRSS right here.

Peralta is a talented guy, and a pleasure to speak with. He works with some of the funniest people in the geekosphere including Storm DiConstanzo of Paul and Storm, and MST3K alumni. For instance, he’s working with Bill Corbett on the comedy graphic novel Super Powered Revenge Christmas. A few years ago he also started his own project to immortalize famous geeks—and, presumably, to have an excuse to talk to these famous geeks on the associated podcast—it’s called Geek a Week and is in its third iteration. After the successful Geek a Week 2.0 project, Peralta decided to focus the theme of this round on Legends of Video Games—be sure to watch the video for the project, it’s hilarious. You can also follow Peralta on twitter @jawboneradio.

Peralta is a busy guy, some of his other projects are 50 vs 50, where you can commission your very own hero or villain illustration based on criteria you submit. In a similar vein you can cough up some dough for an original monster illustration at Monster by Mail which was originally run by Peralta himself, but now employs a stable of hand picked illustrators.

I hope you enjoy the interview, let us know what you thought in the comments.

[Connor Cleary is an author, video game columnist and critic, and a freelance web-slash-graphic designer. He is a reviewer at GameShark and an occasional opinion and analysis columnist at Gamasutra. His freelance design business is Four Stair Multimedia and Design. You can follow Connor @The_Blue_Key, or at fb/TheBlueKey, or check out his writing archive on tumblr, The Blue Key.]

In an ongoing patent legal battle between Motorola Mobility and Microsoft, International Trade Commission Judge David Shaw has made the recommendation that the importing and sale of the Microsoft XBox be banned in the United States.

ITC Administrative Law Judge David Shaw decided in April that the Xbox has violated four Motorola patents that pertain to the H.264 video compression codec and wireless technologies used in both gaming controllers and consoles. Last month, in deciding that the Xbox was violating Motorola’s patents, Shaw made no recommendation to halt Xbox sales or imports. In the court document, released to the public on Monday, that changed and Shaw recommended the bans. [WIRED]

In the court filing, Motorola has asked for the XBox to be banned in the U.S. and for Microsoft to be fined for an amount equal to all the XBox Consoles sold here in the states. However, this is merely a recommendation by the ITC Judge; this recommendation will now move to an ITC Board comprised of six judges who will review the recommendation, and should this panel agree with Shaw’s recommendation it will then hit the desk of President Barack Obama where he will then make the final decision to enforce this verdict or to throw it out.

That’s right folks, President Obama could end up deciding the fate of the XBox.

Microsoft remains confident that the ITC Board will ultimately rule in their favor, and despite this ban recommendation being made by Judge Shaw, Microsoft and Motorola Mobility could still settle their dispute prior to this moving forward. Emphasis on “could”. Microsoft has also argued that banning the sales of XBoxes in the U.S. would be detrimental to the public, leaving them only two options for gaming consoles, the Sony Playstation and Nintendo Wii. In response, Judge Shaw noted that he was confident that Sony and Nintendo are capable of picking up the slack.

Something tells me this Judge doesn’t quite understand how the gaming industry works . . .

For right now, the recommendation to ban XBox sales in the U.S. will continue to move forward. While I doubt we will ultimately see the XBox banned in the U.S., I am very curious to see how this all shakes out.

[Source: WIRED]

I’m ready for Darksiders 2 to release, I loved the first game. Who wouldn’t want to play Zelda in hell? The next rendition of the series brings us Death taking care of business, and the trailers thus far have made the title look incredible. Hopefully this can help push THQ out of the red.

The Halo 4 key art was revealed today through community interaction.  32 different numbered and vertical images were sent out via email.  Each image was just a snippet of the overall image to be formed.  I received number 18 and 27.  I got an extra one for being a part of the community press releases from 343.  Here they are:

By the time I found them in my email, I hit my favorite Halo community, HaloGAF, and found that within an hour it was already put together forming an awesome scene feature Master Chief.  This art will go onto become the cover art for Halo 4 in some form, as well as be used in various campaigns.

It looks pretty awesome, and its been getting praise unanimously across the internet.  Halo 4 takes place on a shield world called Requiem, which is pictured in the background and seems to be sucking everything in.  In this picture, “everything” appears to be debris, Master Chief, and 3 ships.  On the left is the Forward Unto Dawn, the ship which Master Chief is on at the ending of Halo 3 and is seen drifting near the shield world in the Legendary ending of the game.  On the right we see what appears to be a Covenant ship, and above that smaller or further away mystery ship.  I’m not sure what that ship is, but it could be the UNSC Infinity. The ship all the multiplayer components of the game will take place on.  Perhaps it will play a role in the single player campaign as well and will be sucked into Requiem.  The Covenant ship is interesting.  We know the Covenant are not the main enemy, but that they will be in the game.  It looks like they’ll be having some ship trouble and will be stranded inside Requiem with the Chief and Cortana.

The only thing I can see that is wrong with this image, is that Chief is holding an AR, so I’ve made a new one a BR instead.  I’ve also added a new slogan to go with it because Master Chief is clearly no longer sleeping.

Halo 4 is still aways out, but E3 is approaching fast and Halo 4 is said to be playing a large role there this year.

VG24/7 has a great bit of gameplay footage here as well as an interview with Gearbox Studio Vice President, Steve Gibson.

Of course the co-op experience was one of the big reasons Borderlands was so great, and it’s great to hear Gibson assure that co-op is at the forefront of the developers’ minds for the sequel. It sounds like they’ve addressed every one of the glaring issues with co-op play from the original, specifically: level and quest mismatch between players was a headache to overcome, but a new quest reset option should fix that; a new trading system (seen in the IGN videos linked below) will make trading with random people online far less sketchy; and drop-in split screen means your buddy can come back after stuffing himself on EasyMac and drop into your game without having to quit out to the menu. Wunderbar!

And this is an old one, but in case you missed it here was the very first (I think?) leak of gameplay video from GamesCom 2011 last September. You get a great look at some of the different gun aesthetics, and some of the new AI tricks including the Nomad bandit using a psycho midget as a meat shield.

Finally, IGN just released a pair of gameplay analysis videos–one of them is our first look at the new Siren, Maya, in-game–and as far as I know, these videos are currently IGN exclusives. If you’re really hungry for information you could even pause repeatedly at the beginning of the video as they scan through the skill trees to get an idea of what’s in store for these two classes.

IGN Borderlands 2: Almost 20 Minutes of Gameplay Footage

Even though Borderlands 2 looks (from a pure gameplay perspective) like it won’t be all that different from the original, personally I couldn’t care less. As someone who still plays Borderlands regularly, I’m completely happy with what appears to be a significant upgrade, even if it’s not a full tilt change of pace. The team at Gearbox really seem to know what they’re doing here, improving on everything we loved, fixing all the things that drove us crazy, and continuing to encourage co-op play both online and local. And in an industry that is moving further away from local co-op by the day, that means a lot to me.

[What are your thoughts on these videos? Are you chomping at the bit? Or do you think it looks like just more of the same? Let us know.]

I’m gonna save my analysis for after the video, because you gotta check this out.

So what’s new?

• First we get a pretty clear picture of the internal struggles that our protagonist will face as he tries to find his place in this war. We get the sense that his split lineage and split allegiance to the natives and the colonists will play a large part in his development as a character.
• In case you didn’t catch it, watch again and keep an eye out for the sweet rope trick Connor pulls on that redcoat. He chucks something at the guy’s neck–some kind of mini-harpoon or maybe just a lasso–then hangs him from the tree branch while simultaneously rappelling down on the other end of the line. So badass.
• Even though it’s clearly not gameplay footage, we get our first look at a wild animal just up and attacking Connor. Poor bear doesn’t even know who he’s messing with.
• Sure looks like Connor is using that redcoat as a bullet-shield, don’t it?
• You got’cha some tomahawk action, some rifle action, some bayonet action.
• I don’t know about you, but I was really excited to see that the insides of buildings are going to come into play. That should make chases just a touch more interesting at least.
• We see a couple pretty dynamic kill animations–like when he uses one redcoat’s bayonet against the other redcoat.
• The AI in that slow-mo assassination scene toward the end didn’t look too impressive, but it’s important to remember that this is pre-alpha footage, so there’s a good chance the final product’s AI will be much better than what we see here.

Just in case you didn’t catch it, here’s a closer (and stylish) look at Connor’s weapon loadout.

And here was the teaser Ubisoft used to get people to do some silly nonsense in order to unlock the World Premiere Gameplay Trailer:

https://youtu.be/P_aIfCUrEfs

[So, dear readers, what are you most looking forward to in the new Assassin’s Creed? What are your hopes? Your concerns? Do you hate the Unite to Unlock thing Ubisoft is pulling? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below, so get clacking on that board of keys and make with the words!]

A local video game company “1BlockEast” that came out of the University of Utah Entertainment Arts and Engineering program has come out with a video game which is on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

“Curse of Shadows” is a side scroll platform game where you are a ninja trying to get past guards. To get past them you can sneak into the shadows by using the light around you. The game reminds me of NES games like Rygar or The Legend of Kage. It does have that old NES feel where sometimes the game just screws you, which is often the draw of some of those really hard older games.

The game is just 80 Microsoft points which equals one dollar in US currency. So it’s not very much and the first 20,000 buys of the game, all of the proceeds go directly to the group that made it. So if you’d like to support some local video gamers head over to the Xbox Live Marketplace and in the Indie section search for Curse of Shadows.

The best stuff for kids is all ages stuff that doesn’t talk down to kids.

-Chris Sims
WarRocket Ajax, Episode 108

Echo’s Revenge: The Ultimate Game is the first in a series by Sean Austin and published through AAA Reality Games (AAARG). The target audience for the novel is 10-18 year old boys who like video games. If that doesn’t describe you, thats no reason not to read the book. It’s been at least 13 years since I fit the demographic, but it brought back me back to the appropriate mindset very quickly.

To summarize, Reggie and Jeremy have a tough home life. Their dad lives in Pasadena, while they’re stuck in Meadowbrook, WA with their mostly absent mother and her boyfriend, Asa. The pseudo-stepfather is a hard drinker with a quick and often violent temper. For the boys, online video games are their only escape – a hobby that only serves to further enrage Asa. After being invited to join a focus group for their favorite game, Echo-6, things reach a breaking point for Reggie. He runs away with his younger brother to find their father.

While the boys find some interesting allies along their journey, the story has only just begun. The line between game and reality has become very blurred. Not only are the two boys faced with grave danger of their own, many of their online friends have fallen victim to a serial kidnapper.

Altogether the story becomes much darker than you’d expect for the target demographic. But, ultimately, this is one of its greatest successes. It’s really easy to screw up young adult fiction. Adults tend to forget how kids think and act. Orson Scott Card was often criticized for the children’s “voices” in Ender’s Game. But those criticisms come from adults who don’t think kids talk like that. They do, just not in front of their parents. Card should actually be criticized for being a horrible human being, not his writing talent. Thankfully, Sean Austin seems to be a much better person.

Austin actually does a very good job of riding a very vague line. Kids do suffer physical and mental abuse. If you aren’t/weren’t one of those kids, you know/knew one. By not shying away from domestic violence, but not expressing it too grotesquely, he manages to address a pertinent topic without veering into after school special territory.

As the story progresses, it becomes clear that the video game is not just a plot device, but a thematic constant. Understanding how important the game is to the boys is a key to understanding their personal language – even the way they shape their thoughts. Their pseudo-military jargon mixed with online abbreviations highlights the way a modern kid learns to communicate. Will it make sense to a typical adult? Possibly. But an adult gamer probably won’t recognize the online chatter without the rampant racism and homophobia we expect during online matches. Does this detract from the realism? Yes, but to include the typical online hate speech would undermine the positive storytelling young boys need.

Not only would I encourage any 10-18 year old gaming boys to read the book, I’d encourage their families to read it with them. There’s just enough suspense and solid story-telling for parents to enjoy the time. Young girls in the family may be disappointed by the lack of a female-focused love triangle (a la The Hunger Games and Twilight), but you can’t have a coming of age story without the beginnings of feelings a 13 year old boy can’t explain. Admittedly, I just like the idea of families reading together like mine did years ago. But it’s also important for families to talk about their children’s hobbies and to introduce tough topics, like domestic abuse, that kids and parents both might be inclined to avoid.

All of this has managed to skip one of the most important elements of the story. The book is not entirely self-contained. The hunt for Echo continues online at www.echohunt.com. I confess to being a little lost with the online component. It seems unfocused at best, but it’s an intriguing concept. How will AAARG continue the story online and in print? Will the novels themselves hold up without the online component? Can the online component hold up without the novels? Time will tell. But you can be certain I’ll be checking the site regularly – and eagerly awaiting volume two. I don’t do star ratings, but that should be recommendation enough. The book has a few flaws, particularly involving an item I thought was left behind until the very end, but none of them break the immersion. The only thing I would hold against it is that it seems like the adult world gives up much too quickly on dozens, maybe hundreds, of children disappearing along the west coast. Most kids probably won’t think twice since they feel like adults ignore them anyway.

Recommended for fans of Ender’s Game, kids not quite ready for Lord of the Flies, and anyone who would like to see James Luceno’s Web Warriors in a more realistic setting.

Echo’s Revenge is currently available in digital ($2.99) or print ($11.99) form from Amazon and other major retailers.

AAA Reality Games is a company dedicated to exploring the art of reality games through robotic engineering. AAARG is producing a series of game-related experiences, and is currently releasing the novel series Echo’s Revenge: The Ultimate Game as an ongoing investigation of Echo-7 through novels and website echohunt.com. Echohunt.com also provides STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering & Math) opportunities for 10-18 year-olds who are interested in STEM related areas of study. The Echo’s Revenge series is written specifically for video gamers ages 10+.

Judging by the numbers it put up, it appears everyone reading this saw The Avengers over the weekend. Twice. I know I did. I also ejaculated. More than twice. More like every time the Hulk did something awesome. Which was every time the Hulk did anything. The best part is that this leads right into today’s first story.

A table based on the recent film is coming to Zen/Marvel Pinball as part of the Avengers Chronicles four pack. Sadly, we don’t have a date yet. Or, technically, a price. Somehow or another these tables will be involved with the launch of Zen Pinball 2 on PS3. I’m a little confused how that relates as it seems it will merge Marvel Pinball and Zen Pinball. Which is basically what it’s always been on the 360 version. But, I think ZP2 is also coming to 360??? I’m seeing $9.99 and I’m also seeing free if you already own one. Definitely seeing Vita version is free with purchase of Ps3 version. I’m confused, but who cares. There’s a a pretty picture. And your balls aren’t silver, they’re color-coordinated so you’re actually playing as one of the Avengers and have to pick which order you use each hero.

In case you missed the announcement because you were watching The Avengers, a new event started on Ms. Splosion Man this past Saturday. The SPLOKOUR Challenge wants to see how far you can get without touching the floor; each touch to the floor results in a ten second penalty. The contest continues until May 20th, so you’ve got plenty of time to practice your SPLOKOUR moves. At the end of the promotion, the top five in the leaderboards will have chance to win the next game from Twisted Pixel and a Ms. Splosion Man plush doll. Which is actually a semi-announcement in itself. Twisted Pixel is announcing their next game at E3 on June 5th.

Harmonix is also working on a new game that hasn’t been officially announced. As you’d expect, it will be a music game. Also, with their most recent success coming from the Dance Central franchise, you shouldn’t be surprised that it’s motion-based. The big news is that it’s actually next-gen motion-based. Of course, with next-gen systems not being official yet, neither is the announcement. The information we have comes solely from a job listing.

The first issue of the Max Payne miniseries from Marvel is now available for free download. You can read it online or download a .pdf here. You can also enter to win a physical copy at the same link. The comic is written by Sam Lake and Dan Houser.

Most of you should know by now that a South Park RPG is coming from THQ and Obsidian. Parker and Stone are handling the writing to insure that it has the true South Park feel, unlike many of their other licensed games that only carried the title. In order to make the game stand out from its predecessors, it has been officially named South Park: The Stick of Truth. Unfortunately, that’s the extent of the new information I have on the game. Nothing else has come forward, just the name. I’ll get back to it when something important happens.

Ubisoft has been hinting at the long-awaited sequel to Beyond Good & Evil for years. From simply encouraging fans to buy the PSN/XBLA release of the first game so they could gauge excitement levels, to then announcing that Rayman Origins needed to make a lot of money to fund the project, they’re clearly indicating it’s a possibility but that they’re afraid of the money side. According to recent comments from Michel Ancel, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is in creation stage. No idea what that means, as it doens’t sound the same as production. However, we do know we won’t see it very soon, as like Harmonix’s next game, they’re planning it for next-gen. According to Ancel, “it’s a very ambitious game and we need some tech to achieve that ambition.” He didn’t mention which next-gen consoles, as he hasn’t seen the tech for them and he doesn’t want to lose focus by making those decisions now. He elaborated by saying the team will “focus on the game. We create it first, then we’ll see what can run it. We don’t say 2013 because we don’t know when it will come. We’re working to create a great game and it needs more tech.” Ancel also indicated that control of the player character would be parkour in nature, much like Prince of Persia or Assassin’s Creed. Since his statements, a single screen shot has been making the rounds on the internet, supposedly from the long awaited sequel.

Agent 47’s Facebook page is proclaiming an announcement will be made this Thursday, May 10th. Actually it’s the Hitman Facebook page, but whatever. Of course, whenever a publisher tries to announce something major, someone else leaks it. An ad from an upcoming issue of Game Informer exposes the announcement with a more elaborate version of their teaser photo. This is related to Hitman Absolution, but it looks to be a standalone game. Apparently you’ll be able to access Hitman: Sniper Challenge by pre-ordering Absolution at GameStop. It certainly looks to just be a leaderboard game, but you may be able to unlock weapons or other items for Absolution. Here’s the leaked photo and the “official” one as well.

The $99 XBox 360 deal I mentioned last week has launched. The 4GB console has an incredibly low entry price, but you’ll be contracted to pay $15/month for your Gold membership for two years. Your two year total is $459. Buying at the standard retail price and paying the typical membership fee is $40 cheaper. Depending on your financial means and savvy, this may be an acceptable way to get the 360 you’ve been wanting. I call it a rip-off, but I’m probably being unfair. The deal is now live on Microsoft’s official site where you can pick up a voucher to redeem at an official store in the U.S. Not sure which stores in your area are “official?” Try this handy link. This still raises next-gen questions in my mind. How many stories have mentioned next-gen systems today alone? Microsoft and Sony refuse to talk timelines for their next consoles, but plenty of rumors are pointing at 2013, if not by the end of this year. Is now really the time to contract yourself into 2014 on a current console? Is Microsoft committing to the 360 through the next two years, or is this a shady maneuver to keep people paying for old tech after they release the new stuff in 12-18 months?

After being outed on Amazon, Activision has made an official announcement about Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse. Activision’s Executive VP, David Oxford, said that “Fans of Family Guy will love that we’ve taken some of the series’ most iconic and memorable moments and built them into an impressive and uncensored video game Anyone who watches the show will appreciate how much we have adhered to its rich and twisted universe and characters.” Writing and voice talents from the show have apparently been tapped for the game, though no furthe details are available yet. It is expected to launch in Fall 2012.

During a recent earnings call with investors, EA has confirmed that we will see new releases in the Need for Speed and Dead Space franchises this year. No news about the games was announced. It’s just an investor call, not a press release. To recap what we know about them: Dead Space 3 is expected to feature an ice planet and a “Shadow Isaac” that mocks his actions and gives insight into his fractured mental state. EA has also discussed moving the franchise into different genres, though the idea of Dead Space 3 as an FPS is unfounded for now. At least one retailer has started taking pre-orders on Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2. However, no other news has come forward about it so the subtitle may not be accurate.

Finally, they aren’t new games, but they are great games – and they’re only $1.00. PixelJunk is having an anniversary sale! Q Games is turning ten, and PixelJunk is turning five, so they’re celebrating by giving you some of the PSN downloadables for only $1.00. PJ Monsters, Racers, Eden, and Shooter are on crazy sale with today’s store update. PJ Monsters Deluxe for PSP, Shooter 2, and Sidescroller are also being reduced by 50%. The PJ games are some of the best-reviewed titles the PSN has, and getting them for one measly dollar should be abig deal. Unless you’ve already bought them all. The sale only lasts for a week so you’ll need to snap up your choices quick-like (as in immediately for me, since I’ll be out of the country starting tomorrow). Of course, when this sale ends, PixelJunk’s newest game, 4AM, will be launching on May 15th.

That’s it for today. And, for me and VGQH, that’s all until May 22nd (or May 25th if I’m too busy when I get home). As you just saw in the last story I am taking a long-awaited trip. I’ll be visting Ireland for ten days. It’s a good time of year for VGQH to take a break, since most of the major news is being held until E3 the first week of June. You should still keep an eye on Big Shiny Robot! while I’m gone. Most of these smaller stories I round up a couple of times a week will likely get skipped, but anything major will still be covered by our other gaming ‘bots. Until I return with a definitive answer about the best way to enjoy a Guinness, Sláinte!

Do you know how hard it is to avoid spoilers about the The Avengers when you’re the last person you know to see it? I missed the preview screenings and working at 6am means I didn’t see it last night at midnight either. Only a few hours to go though. I’ve got tickets for 2:50 this afternoon and 10:00 tomorrow morning. The agonizing length of my work day will only be surpassed by an even more agonizingly long day this coming Tuesday. I’ll tell you more about that one next week. For now, let’s talk gaming news:

Max Payne 3 is set to release on May 15th (soundtrack on May 23rd). Which means now is the ideal time to start DLC dates. There’s a time and place for the discussion about planning DLC before a game even releases, with some legitimate arguments on both sides. I’m going to avoid that for now and just let you know what Rockstar has cooking. The Rockstar Pass, as seen with L.A. Noire, is making its return. You may have already seen it in the PlayStation Store (and likely the XBox Marketplace but I haven’t checked). It’s also available for pre-order through GameStop and Best Buy. Purchasing the pass will get you access to all of the planned DLC at a significant discount. The first map pack, “Local Justice,” will release in June with another six packages coming throughout the summer and fall. Total damage on the bundle is 2400 Microsoft Points ($29.99), 35% less than buying the packs individually. That seems like a pretty steep entrance fee considering it’s only providing multiplayer expansions and you’re already spending $60 to even get started on the game. Splitting the DLC into so many packages runs the risk of creating a fractured online community if a lot of people decide to skip the Rockstar Pass and only buy a couple of map packs. The plan has its flaws, but the Housers have a long resume of strong successes. Until I see otherwise, I’m going to believe they have the right idea.

Along with the Kinect functionality that came earlier this week, Bethesda has finally given us something official in regards to Skyrim DLC. Not much, but something. The first add-on chapter will be called Dawnguard and is apparently coming to XBox 360 this summer (thought to be a timed exclusive, likely coming to PS3 at a later time). Other than that, we’ll have to wait until E3 (June 5-7) when they’ve promised to reveal more. In the meantime, they gave us a cool promo shot.

Remember the Wii Vitality Sensor? No? That’s fine, it never went anywhere and looked ridiculous. But I can’t help thinking about it when I see the patent Microsoft was recently granted, a wearable EMG controller. EMG, or electromyography, is a technology that’s been used in prosthetic arms for several years. Essentially, small electrodes read the electric pulse of your muscles when you move (or try to move something that isn’t there in prosthetic applications). Microsoft filed the application in 2009, but it’s recently made its way through and was granted. The application referenced using EMG technology in an armband, a wristband, and clothes. It appears Microsoft has shelved the device in favor of Kinect, which released in November 2010, much like Nintendo dropped the Vitality sensor. I’m not sure whether this should be written off as another hare-brained controller gimmick, or lauded for what it could mean to the future of games. I honestly think we’ll see something of a similar nature in the coming years as the technology improves. The job that pays my bills is actually in the prosthetic industry so I have a little insight about the technology. At the moment, it’s simply not accurate enough to get you through an intense FPS battle. But it could be. Combine this tech with an improved version of Kinect, eye tracking devices, immersive 3D projection, etc. and what have you got? Anyone who’s seen a few episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation knows exactly where I’m going.

With Call of Duty: Black Ops II being officially announced earlier this week, it seems a little premature to be offering pre-order incentives already. That isn’t stopping GameStop though. As one of the country’s largest game retailers they tend to get a lot of the special exclusives, which is odd considering they’re also a primary motivator in the used game market that publishers and developers dislike so much. GameStop is planning four waves of incentives. Ordering now will qualify you for all four. The first is a double-sided Black Ops II poster in very limited quantities (order before June 30th). PowerUp Rewards members can also get a Modern Warfare 3 Prestige token by ordering now. The remaining three waves have not been announced. The game doesn’t actually release until November 13th. According to Amazon, the day one pre-order numbers are three times higher than for the first Black Ops, the biggest selling game in the franchise’s history.

With Journey completing thatgamecompany’s three game exclusivity contract with Sony, the Japanese giant has another “incubation” deal with another indie developer set to take their place. Developers Giant Sparrow are currently working on The Unfinished Swan for PSN. The player controls Monroe, a boy chasing a swan that has escaped from an unfinished surrealist painting. Huh? A short trailer reveals Monroe flinging black paint at a white canvas to create the world. According to Ian Dallas, Creative Director, “The painting a white world stuff is actually just the first 15 minutes. After that, things get really weird.” The title will support dualshock, Move, or Move and Navigation Controller. The downloadable space has been a great venue for “art house” games, with thatgamecompany one of the leaders in the movement. Can Giant Sparrow fill the hole they’re leaving at Sony? We’ll certainly find out soon, though no formal release date has been announced.

Rumors have started about a new pricing structure for the XBox 360. Microsoft has made no official comment, but reliable (though anonymous) sources are claiming a $99 4GB system with Kinect will soon be hitting stores. How do they make that profitable? The same way your cell phone company does it, by locking the buyer into a $15/month subscription to XBox Live. An early cancellation fee would apply. Total cost over the two years is $459, as opposed to $419 if you go the traditional route. It’s more expensive in the long run, but it’s also a good way to get it on the system with very little up front. The bundle would come with a two year warranty as well additional television-style programming from their partners. With the major consoles approaching the end of the cycle, this could be a last ditch effort to move inventory and supply cash before the next-gen hits. Of course, if next-gen comes within your two years, you’re contractually locked into outdated hardware. I doubt this will actually happen, as I’d wager we are less than 12-18 months away from the neXtBox.

Maybe sooner, the latest next-gen rumors point to the next XBox having reached the manufacturing stage. According to the rumor (from a source I can’t verify but it’s got a lot of credit from other sources I do know), Flextronics in Austin, TX is currently building units. This is the same facility that built the original XBox and the 360. At the moment it’s assumed that they are not mass-producing retail models, but actually creating debug units for developers. Still, if they’re being built, we have to assume to they’ll be available sooner rather than later. Microsoft still refuses to acknowledge the platform officially, but did release a more elaborate denial than we normally see from them. Their statement reads that “Xbox 360 has found new ways to extend its lifecycle like introducing the world to controller-free experiences with Kinect and re-inventing the console with a new dashboard and new entertainment content partnerships. We are always thinking about what is next for our platform and how to continue to defy the lifecycle convention. Beyond that we do not comment on rumours or speculation.” Microsoft clearly has huge plans for E3, recently announcing that they’ll be live streaming their press conference over XBox Live for the first time, in addition to Spike running the 90 minute presentation in its entirety, commercial-free. Frankly, I’ll be stunned the new platform isn’t featured in some way.

Sony also has rumors flying about pricing structure, but theirs doesn’t include hardware. A recent survey sent to some PSN members asked them to evaluate various pricing plans for PlayStation Plus subscriptions. The proposal seems to indicate a three-tiered structure. The first tier would be $7.99/month, $17.99/quarter, or $49.99/year. This level would offer 40 PSN titles, 20 “Classic” titles, and one full blu-ray game for free each year. Each of the games would be “A” quality titles and new releases. This plan would also offer a 75% discount on all games in the store. The other two options look to run $9.99/month, $24.99/quarter, and $59.99/year. The two plans are similar, with one offering more free games but a smaller discount in the store. I didn’t receive the survey myself so I can’t comment on the context. However, based on the screen grab IGN has, I’d says this looks less like a three-tiered plan and more like an evaluation of which pricing structure has the most appeal. At best, I’d expect to see two options at slightly different price points – high quality free stuff and a steep discount vs. lots of free stuff and a smaller discount. Oddly, all three options in IGN’s image don’t include a CoD Elite subcription, but the line’s existence indicates that may be a possibility as well. Which, if any, of these options would you choose? Keeping in mind, free content is only playable while your subscription lasts; discounted content you buy will still be playable after it’s expired (assuming those rules remain the same under the new structure).

As if Saints’ Row: The Third wasn’t crazy enough, THQ is releasing a super-powered, standalone expansion, Enter the Dominatrix. The expansion ($29.99) features Zinyak, an alien warlord, entering Steelport and imprisoning the Saints’ leader in a virtual reality program. This virtual Steelport looks about as far over the top as an open world game can get. At least until THQ creates something even more bizarre. No date yet, but we’ll update it as soon as we hear one.

Amazon has outed yet another game, Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse, apparently coming this September. No details have come light yet, but Activision has told Game Informer that more information will be coming soon. That’s pretty much a confirmation that the game is real. It’s a little odd that Activision would even comment if they weren’t actually going to say anything about it. However, there is a logo!

That’s it for the gaming news this week. Check back on Tuesday for what will be my last edition of VGQH for a short while. I’ll be missing at least three issues, maybe four. It’s not official yet, but I’d like to offer my congratulations to Captain America, who defeated Thor in a powerful rout during the final round of Avenging April brougt to you by Citizen-bot. This was a big, fun project and he did a great job with it. I hope we see more events of this scale on Big Shiny Robot!