Rare has sent out the news that the remake of Nintento 64 classic Perfect Dark will be playable at the Microsoft X10 press event next week in San Francisco. Originally released 10 years ago, the port to an Xbox LIVE Arcade game was announced last year and this is the first quality news leading up to a release date since then. Safe money would be to expect a late February or March release date of the digitally remastered classic. One new screen shot was sent along with the info and can be seen above.

In an annual report released late yesterday by Forecasting and Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC, (FADE) it was reported that Xbox LIVE Arcade had generated $103.4 million in revenue for the 2009 fiscal year, a 34% increase from 2008.  FADE attributes the increase in sales to the strong summer marketing campaign that brought along several top selling titles like Shadow Complex, Trails HD, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2.  Fade also reported that the average revenue per user was down slightly this year coming in at $2.79, which would dictate that the marketplace has grown as a direct result of having a larger customer base.  This also tells me that this market is largely untapped with such a small dollar amount tied to what each LIVE member is spending.

Here is a list of FADE's estimated top revenue generators of 2009:

1. Battlefield1943 - $12.5 million
2. Castle Crashers - $7.3 million
3. Trials HD - $7.1 million
4. Shadow Complex - $6.1 million
5. Hasbro Family Game Night - $4.2 million
6. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 - $4.2 million
7. Magic: The Gathering - $2.8 million
8. Worms 2 - $1.8 million
9. Peggle - $1.8 million
10. Turtles in Time: Reshelled - $1.8 million

Edios just tweeted today that a Just Cause 2 demo will be coming soon (no platform details). No other details have been given at this point but they said more details will “follow soon”. When those details do come we will update this post.

Just Cause 2, a third-person sandbox action game, was originally planned for a 2008 Christmas debut but was pushed back several times, finally settling on March 23rd of this year. It maintains the similar, fast-pace action of the first game while introducing new game elements, weapons and vehicles (including a helicopter!).

Eidos Tweet [Twitter]

The folks over at IGN got a nice present from Ubisoft today, a rock with a date written on it. The date, 4.13.10 (April 13th, 2010) signifies that the release date for Splinter Cell: Conviction is now set in stone! Pretty clever on Ubisoft’s part, although I would’ve preferred that we never got this far (the game was originally delayed from a late 2009 release to early 2010 and then again a few weeks ago to April of 2010).

Ubisoft Dates Splinter Cell: Conviction (Again) [IGN]

Today Sony released their Q3 Financial Report for the 2009 Fiscal Year which described an increase in PS3 sales and a decrease in other gaming systems when compared to with last year’s 3rd quarter.

According to the report, Sony sold approximately 6.5 million Playstation 3 systems, 4.2 million Playstation Portable systems and 2.1 million PS2 systems. The PS3 was the only system to see an increase in sales, boosting a remarkable 2 million more sales than the previous year. The PSP and PS2 both saw a decline in sales.

However, Sony reports that because of “improvmenet in the cost of PS3 hardware” the profitability of their game business remains relatively unchanged from last year. You can read the full financial report via the source link below (warning: PDF)

Sony Q3 2009 Financial Report [Sony]

As it turns out, "Project Needlemouse" did turn out to be another Sonic the Hedgehog project, only the one we thought would materialize much sooner. Heading back to the basics, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode One brings us back to the classic 2D gameplay with revamped 3D graphics. The game will be available this summer as a downloadable title via the PlayStation Store, Xbox LIVE Arcade, and WiiWare. For a brief trailer that showcases about three seconds of the new gameplay, see below.

Thank you SEGA.

There isn't too much information to pass along about the newest entry in the Fallout franchise, but there is a little.  Developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks, here is the game's overview taken from the Fallout homepage:

Experience all the sights and sounds of fabulous New Vegas, brought to you by Vault-Tec, America's First Choice in Post Nuclear Simulation. Explore the treacherous wastes of the Great Southwest from the safety and comfort of your very own vault: Meet new people, confront terrifying creatures, and arm yourself with the latest high-tech weaponry as you make a name for yourself on a thrilling new journey across the Mojave wasteland. A word of warning, however - while Vault-Tec engineers have prepared for every contingency,* in Vegas, fortunes can change in an instant. Enjoy your stay.

* Should not be construed as a legally-binding claim.

Fallout: New Vegas is currently scheduled for a Fall 2010 release on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

I've been hearing whispers over the past few days pointing to this, and I'm pleased to say they turned out to be true. A multiplayer demo for the upcoming Aliens vs Predator title will simultaneously arrive on Steam, Xbox LIVE, and the PlayStation Network tomorrow February 4th.

You'll have access to all three species for this demo and it will include only one map (Refinery) and one game mode. (Deathmatch) The Colonial Marine, the Predator, and the Alien all have their specific strengths and weaknesses, and the team feels they've struck a nice balance with this mode.

“Multiplayer was a huge part of our original AVP game back in 1999, and we’ve kept the spirit of that classic experience in creating the multiplayer for our new Aliens vs Predator. With the demo now gamers can get to grips with each of the three iconic species so they can hone their skills and be ready for when the game launches and battle commences,” said Jason Kingsley, CEO and Creative Director of Rebellion.

The final game will ship with seven multiplayer modes in total: Infestation, Survivor, Predator Hunt, Domination, Deathmatch, Species Deathmatch and Mix Species Deathmatch. Aliens vs. Predator is scheduled for a February 16th release in North America and February 19th release in Europe.

See below for three new screenshots from the Xbox 360 version of the multiplayer demo.

[View with PicLens]

In the eternal ping-pong match between Microsoft and Sony executives discussing their current generation consoles, Sony VP of Marketing and PlayStation Network, Peter Dille, has just thrown down some great fodder for the fanboys. In a recent interview conducted by IGN UK, Peter Dille was asked several questions about the competition, and some of his responses did not disappoint.

When asked if he thinks the PS3 will overtake the 360 in sales at some point, here was his response:

Yeah, we do. I'm confident we'll be around in 10 years and I can say that because we've done it twice. PS3 will be around in 10 years and probably much longer than that. I have my own opinion, but I'll ask you the question. Do you think the 360 will be around in 10 years?

We can be passionate fans, but I don't think they'll be around in 10 years so I'm very confident we'll pass them within that time frame. I mean, we've got 31 million [units sold] worldwide right now -- they've got 39 million [units sold]. I don't even need to go out 10 years. I'm not going to make any predictions for your interview today other than we'll pass them, but you look at where we are today and where they are today, and they had an opportunity to sprint as far ahead of us as possible when they had the head start. Well, we're breathing down their necks and they can see us in the rearview mirror and it's not going to take too long to pass them.

Well he went there, and only time will tell if the predictions will pan out. Competition is a good thing in this industry and I really never hope it goes away. As a lifelong gaming fan, I don't want any of these companies to start sitting on their laurels, which I feel is what Sony did prior to the launch of the PS3, and still do to a certain extent today.

Peter Dille Interview [IGN UK]