Get ready for Cyberball 2072 and Fatal Fury Special, headed to Xbox Live Arcade on the 5th of September. To celebrate US Labour Day this weekend Microsoft has also slashed the prices of four XBLA favourites – for this weekend only 360 gamers can download Small Arms, Zuma Deluxe, Gauntlet and Dig Dug for half their regular price.

Midway’s Cyberball 2072 sees players controlling a robotic team as they achieve touchdowns. Fatal Fury is a fighting game by SNK Playmore. Set in a fictional American city called Southtown, this game sees players competing against Wolfgang Krauzer, the ruler of the underworld. Both games will cost 400 Microsoft Points.

Gamers can download the four titles for half the price for the 48 hour period beginning at midnight (GMT) on Sunday the 2nd of September until 11:59 p.m. (GMT) on Monday the 3rd of September.

Small Arms (400 Microsoft Points) is a multiplayer action shooter while Zuma Deluxe (400 Microsoft Points) is a fast-paced puzzler featuring 20 realms in adventure mode that sees players firing magical balls to make matches as well as collecting coins and power-ups. Gauntlet (200 Microsoft Points) is described as an ‘original dungeon crawler’ that sees four adventurers exploring and fighting together as warrior, valkryie, wizard and elf. Dig Dug (200 Microsoft Points) sees players controlling Dig Dug in an action game, seeking to vanquish Pookas and Fygars.

Nintendo of Europe today added two new classic games to the Wii Shop Channel.

First up is the Super Nintendo casino simulation Vegas Stakes. Players can look forward to playing popular games including Blackjack, Seven Card Stud and Roulette either solo up with up to three friends. It will set you back 800 Wii Points.

Bonk 3: Bonk’s Big Adventure is the second title to be released on the Virtual Console this week. This is Bonk’s third and final Turbografx installment and sees players navigating seven rounds in their bid to defeat King Drool.

Discover new power-ups including candies that change Bonk from microscopic to a fire-breathing giant. Complete with giant bosses, new bonus stages as well as a two player mode, Bonk 3 is bound to be the adventure of a lifetime. It will cost you 600 Wii Points.

THQ today announced that its popular turn-based strategy game would be worming its way onto the Wii in Spring 2008. Titled Worms: A Space Oddity, Worms debuts on the Wii with new environmental settings, intuitive controls, more customization options and ‘a fresh visual style.’

Combining traditional with new

Players can expect classic Worms game modes as well as new single player missions and multiplayer modes featuring new party games and customization options. Players will be able to launch attacks by using gesture-based maneuvers with the Wii Remote. Also included are on-screen hints and a redesigned interface with an in-game help system. Worms fans will also notice that the traditional drawn approach has been abandoned and replaced with a style inspired by classic Sci-Fi.

Players will jump into battles across six planets, each featuring unique environments and global events. Players can also blast off against up to four friends from around the world in Worms online multiplayer.

Worms: A Space Oddity is being developed by Team17 Software Ltd. If you keen on Worms you can also keep a look out for Worms: Open Warfare 2 for the Nintendo DS and PSP which should be wriggling on to shelves this fall.

SCEA has taken the covers off a new limited edition SingStar PS2 pack. The pack will include an exclusive ceramic white PS2, SingStar Pop as well as two microphones. The saucy new bundle will be available in North America in November and will retail for $149.99.

Fun for everyone

SingStar fans can look forward to belting out popular tracks including Alicia Keys, U2, Rihanna and Ashlee Simpson in the second release in this franchise. It looks like Sony are still trying to get more kicks out of their popular console which continues to be popular among gamers. Having sold over 117 million units worldwide to date, it looks like it is not destined to be put out to pasture just yet. Guiter Hero Encore: Rock the 80s, Madden HFL 08, NBA ’08 and Buzz are among the 160 new games heading to the PS2 before March next year.

“With our expansive library of titles for PlayStation, led by social gaming experiences such as SingStar, and Buzz!, we have an incredible offering for first-time gaming families,” said Jack Tretton, President and CEO, SCEA. “At $149, the limited edition Ceramic White PlayStation 2, bundled with the family-friendly social gaming title, SingStar Pop, is an unbeatable value that will provide fun for everyone this holiday.”

Chart Track recently released figures that confirm that over one million people are now ‘Wii-ing’ in the UK, making the Nintendo Wii the fastest selling home console in UK video game history.

The Wii reached the one million sales mark in a record 38 weeks, 11 weeks faster than the PS2 which took 50 weeks to reach one million sales in the UK and 22 weeks faster than the Xbox 360 which took 60 weeks.

Traditionally the video game industry experiences peaks and falls during different times of the year, however, both the Nintendo DS and Wii sales figures’ have illustrated that they are selling regardless of the season. This can be put down to non-traditional gamers buying this hardware and software without paying attention to the launch dates of new games as well as Nintendo’s titles (especially the Touch! Generations range) appealing to new gamers. Currently the Wii holds 68% of the home console market while the Nintendo DS holds 86% of the handheld console market.

David Yarnton, General Manager of Nintendo UK had this to say about the performance of the Wii in the UK: “The non-stop demand for Wii even in the traditionally slow sales periods for video games in the UK is clearly behind this record breaking achievement. The performance of both systems appears to indicate that unprecedented interactive entertainment experiences, provided by a combination of the revolutionary nature of DS and Wii with the increasing number of unique software titles for the system from Nintendo and third parties, are being enjoyed by both avid and new gamers of all ages.

With more great games such as Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 and Endless Ocean launching in 2007, Wii, together with Nintendo DS, will continue to be the main driving forces behind the expansion of the video game market this year.”

EA Playground will be hitting North American shelves on the 23rd of October and Europe on the 2nd of November. In development at EA Canada, EA Playground will be released for the Nintendo DS and Wii at a suggested retail price of $39.99. As the title suggests, the game features various playground classics including Dodgeball and Tetherball as well as numerous fantasy games such as Kicks and Dart Shootout.

Accessible and fun

“EA Playground has been designed to be accessible and fun, making it the perfect game to enjoy by yourself or with your friends and family,” said Executive Producer, David McCarthy. “Young, old, male or female, this is a game that expands the appeal of videogames to a market of non-traditional gamers. For kids it’s about indulging in the energy and magic of the playground; for parents or even grandparents, it’s about re-experiencing childhood thrills.”

Promising fun for all ages, EA Playground features multiplayer party fun as well as a single player campaign where players compete to be Playground King. The game boasts pick-up-and-play action, thanks mainly to the control mechanics of the Wii and DS.

Here is a list of featured playground games on the Wii (descriptions as per EA):

• Dodgeball - Take on your opponents in an attempt to knock them out of the game in this fast paced multi round experience. Up to four players can dodge, catch and throw lighting fast balls just like in real life.
• Paper Racers - Throw and navigate your paper airplane through challenging Playground courses, collecting power ups and other bonuses along the way in a race to the finish line.
• Kicks - Take on your opponents in this fresh new experience where Soccer meets volleyball and goals are the result of spectacular aerial kicks!
• Dart Shootout - Test your accuracy skills in this exciting game that has your shooting and ducking your way through the playground to the final boss battle.
• Wall Ball - Enjoy this fast paced game of wall ball where the speed of the ball increases with each powerful shot. Strategically choose where you want to hit the ball and watch it rapidly ricochet by your opponent!
• Slot Car Racing - Take on up to three opponents in this speedy slot car racing experience that has you flying through ramps, landing mega jumps and even getting a chance to zap your opponents off course!
• Tetherball - Go head to head against your opponents in this tension mounting experience. Try to wrap the tetherball around the pole before your opponent does.

Want to find out more about the activity games for the Wii? Check it out below (descriptions as per EA):

• Freethrows - While exploring the playground world, take some time out to shoot around and earn marbles.
• Bug Hunt - During your world exploration if you see a bug, take out your net and give chase. Successfully swat and catch the bug and earn some rewards.
• Dribbling – Pick up a basketball and bounce it in rhythm for a defined number of times before the clock runs out on you! If you’re successful you’ll earn yourself some more marbles.

If you are more of a DS fan, here are the featured playground games on the Nintendo DS.

• Dodgeball - Knock all the other kids out of the game (by beaning them with a ball) before they do the same to your team.
• Hoops - Become the master of the basketball court while you try and score the most points.
• Hopscotch - Test your rhythm and timing with this musical game of Hopscotch.
• RC Racers - Race mini cars around an action-packed track, picking up valuable power-ups along the way.
• Bug Hunt - You’re on a mission to collect as many butterflies as you can but watch out for those nasty bees or you’ll get stung!
• Kicks - A free for all Soccer match where the objective is to score more points than your opponent.
Skate & Sketch - Master these wacky tricks by connecting the dots as fast as possible.
• Spitballs - Search the playground for your target and when you’ve found them blow into the microphone to hit them with a spitball!
• Trampoline - The sky’s the limit in this game of balloon popping! Jump as high as you can and pop as many balloons as possible before your opponent.

EA today announced that Need for Speed ProStreet will be available in North America on the 31st of October and across Europe on the 1st of November.

Street racing culture comes alive

Need for Speed ProStreet for the first time challenges gamers to design and build a racer capable of taking down opponents in online races. You will recognize racing locations from around the world as you battle in four racing styles: grip, drag, drift and the new speed challenge. Expect lively crowds, photo-realistic vehicles and even smoke to bring the intensity of the Show Down challenge to your living room.

Intensity and aggression

“The Need for Speed franchise has always been on the cutting edge of car culture,” said Executive Producer, Larry LaPierre. “Street racing is getting more organized and Need for Speed ProStreet is our interpretation of where we anticipate the culture to be in three to five years. We’re delivering on the ultimate proving ground, bringing you out of your neighborhood back alleys and on to the world stage. This is a next-gen game, packed with the raw intensity and visceral aggression that defines street racing at the highest level.”

Need for Speed ProStreet will be available for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2 and Nintendo DS.

Microsoft today announced that the highly anticipated Halo 3 has been released to manufacturing. The final chapter in the Halo trilogy, Halo 3 is an Xbox 360 exclusive that has been three years in the making by Bungie Studios.

Set to be released worldwide beginning the 25th of September, Halo 3 is expected to break day one entertainment sales records. It already holds the title of the fastest preordered game in history, exceeding one million presales in North America alone.

“This is a huge milestone for us and a big cause for celebration at Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios,” said Harold Ryan, Studio Head at Bungie Studios. “This is the game we’ve always wanted to make and certainly the best game our studio has developed. We can’t wait for gamers to get their hands on it on Sept. 25.”

Halo 2 generated a record $125 million in sales within the first 24 hours when it went on sale in November 2004. It is still the most played game on Xbox Live, with gamers having logged almost 1 billion hours of online gaming to date.

Prepare to step into the shoes of Master Chief once again as he saves humankind. You know you want to.

Capcom has released Monster Hunter Freedom 2 for the PSP. Selling over four million units worldwide, Monster Hunter is one of Capcom’s most successful titles and its success is evidenced by these facts. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd was recently released in Japan and has sold more than one million units earning it the coveted title of one of the most successful series on the PSP. Monster Hunter Portable also did exceptionally well in Japan, achieveing an attach rate of nearly one game sold for every five PSP’s in Japan.

Deep and compelling

“Monster Hunter Freedom’s incredible graphics, deep game play and compelling multiplayer quests represent the very best that the PSP system has to offer,” said Mark Beaumont, executive vice president, officer and head of Capcom consumer software publishing in the Americas and Europe. “In Japan, we’ve seen the Monster Hunter phenomenon take off based on players coming together for face-to-face multiplayer ‘hunting parties,’ which we will foster with our own community here in North America.”

Hunt or be hunted

Described as a ‘non-stop epic hunt-or-be-hunted adventure,’ Monster Hunter Freedom 2 builds on the PS2’s Monster Hunter 2 (Dos) which was previously released only in Japan and boasts over 50% more content than the original Monster Hunter Freedom. Increase your play skills as you battle creatures and face various quests, either alone or with up to four friends in multiplayer cooperative battles via wireless ad hoc mode. Characters are fully customizable, with players able to build up their abilities with armour and weaponry. Now also featuring infrastructure functionality, players can look forward to downloading more content and quests.

Monster Hunter Freedom 2 will retail at $39.95.

SCEE and Polyphony Digital have announced that a prequel title set to showcase the anticipated Gran Turismo 5 will be revving PS3 owners’ engines at the end of the year. Titled Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, gamers will be able to pick it up on Blu-ray disc or download it from the PlayStation Network.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue features more than 40 cars including Lotus, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Ferrari as well as real tracks such as Eiger Nordwand, London City Track and Suzuka which can also be raced in reverse and with alternative routes. Complete with HD graphics and improved opponent AI, the game also boasts a new physics engine to create a more lifelike driving experience. Also try out the Quick Tune which allows gamers to adjust power, tyres, suspension and more.

Gamers will also be able to race online for the first time in Gran Turismo history. Up to 16 players will be able to race head-to-head on the PlayStation Network, access Global Online Rankings and the My Garage features. The game also features an Online Dealership where gamers can study car and manufacturer details online. Also look out for Gran Turismo TV, a dedicated online channel which is available exclusively from the PlayStation Network.

The full Gran Turismo title is set to launch in 2008.

Take’s Two popular Bioshock has (unsurprisingly) taken the number 1 spot in this week’s UK All Formats chart, becoming the second fastest selling Xbox 360 game after Gears of War. Although Bioshock was released on both the 360 and the PC, the former accounts for 88% of sales with the PC trailing at 12%. Take Two also scores as Bioshock accounts for 58% of all Xbox 360 full price unit sales this week.

Activision’s Transformers: The Game moves down one place to number 2 while Nintendo’s Brain Training titles for the DS continue to dominate. The original stays at number 3 while the sequel moves up one place and settles at number 4. Nintendo’s Wii Play drops from number 2 to number 5 while Pokémon Diamond moves down from number 4 to 6. Not to worry, Nintendo still manage to feature no less than four games in the top six this week.

EA’s film tie-in Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix moves down one place and ends up at number 7 while Ubisoft’s Surf’s Up hangs on to the number 8 spot. Microsoft’s Blue Dragon debuts at number 9 while Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 re-enters the chart (thanks to the release of the PS3 and PSP versions) and claims the number 10 spot. THQ’s Moto GP 07 is the last new entry in the charts this week at number 33.

Source: Chart track

Hudson has announced that the first add-on pack for Bomberman Live will arrive on Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. Titled Bomb-Up Pack 1, the new add-on pack will feature new content including ten new characters, two additional levels, two new leaderboards as well as a new game mode. It will set you back 250 Microsoft Points.

High Stakes and Zeppelin

Prepare for more explosive fun in new areas such as Las Vegas-style casino level ‘High Stakes’ that allows players to set gimmicks and on board a zeppelin featuring tornado environmental hazards titled ‘Zeppelin.’ The add-on features ten new characters including a bunny called Little Bomby Foo Foo and a boxer known as Rocky Bomboa. Creative players can once again customize their in-game Bomberman.

New to the game is Frag mode which allows players to pre-set the number of enemies they need to bomb to win. The add-on also includes two new leaderboards which allow players to track performance on a weekly and all-time basis for the new ‘Zeppelin’ map.

Fast paced multiplayer game play

“With the overwhelming success of Bomberman LIVE it became clear to us, as Bomberman fans and game producers, that the already stellar game could be indefinitely augmented with myriad gameplay additions in the future, said John Greiner, President and CEO of Hudson Entertainment. “Hudson is committed to providing refreshingly competitive, fast-paced multiplayer gameplay over Xbox LIVE Arcade.”

The popular puzzler, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, will be available on Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. Featuring HD graphics, elemental effects, hidden characters as well as a new rebalanced X’ game mode, Super Puzzle Fighter II combines classic arcade play with Capcom’s popular fighting characters to deliver nothing less than addictive puzzle fun.

Developed by Backbone Entertainment, Super Puzzle Fighter II will cost you 800 Microsoft Points. The game features single player, local and online versus play as well as spectator modes. Players can compete over Xbox Live in Ranked and Player matches. The game features leaderboards and players can earn up to twelve achievements.

Rebalanced with adjusted drop patterns and damage, the new X’ mode is fairer to players. The game also features Y and Z modes, the former challenging players to connect three or more gems horizontally, vertically and diagonally while the latter sees players grouping four adjacent gems before rotating them to join same coloured gems.

Xbox 360 gamers can also grab a Bomberman Live ‘Bomb-Up Pack’ this Wednesday on XBLA.

Nintendo of America added three new classic games to the Wii Shop Channel this week.

This week’s new games are (descriptions as per Nintendo):

Super C (NES, 1 - 2 players, 500 Wii Points)

In this action-packed sequel to the popular Contra, players have little time to think. Experience run-and-gun game play at its best as you take control of Mad Dog or Scorpion and once again battle the forces of Red Falcon. Stages feature a combination of perspectives (side scrolling, top down, etc.) and intense battles against huge bosses. Use a variety of powerful weapons and tap into your killer instinct to survive the deadly waves of enemies. And if you’re scared, recruit a friend to help you. Because if your trigger finger lacks stamina, then Earth will lack a future!

BREATH OF FIRE II (Super NES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)

Featuring a wide range of characters and personalities and a vast, endless world to explore, Breath of Fire II is the sequel to the original smash-hit role-playing game. In a world set 500 years after the previous installment, in a frontier village known as Gate, the father and sister of a young boy known as Ryu are suddenly abducted. Strangely, all the villagers appear to have completely forgotten everything about the incident, and Ryu has instantly become an orphan. At a church, Ryu meets Bow, another orphan in a similar predicament, and they slip away from town together to begin their adventure. Take advantage of the multiple game-play viewpoints found in the game (such as the quarter-view perspective during battles that made the original game so popular) to use exciting abilities like shaman fusing and dragon transformations and help these two heroes complete their mission.

Ghouls’n Ghosts (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)

Ghouls’n Ghosts is the sequel to the popular action game Ghosts’n Goblins, originally released in the arcades and later ported to the Genesis. One full-moon night, three years after the battle with Astaroth, a ray of light shoots through Princess Prin Prin, and her soul is stolen right in front of Arthur’s eyes. To save his bride’s soul, Arthur the knight must battle all manner of evil undead creatures with a variety of weapons, powerful magic and new actions.

Hothead Games has announced that its’ anticipated episodic game series, Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, will debut on Xbox Live Arcade in early 2008. Episodes are set to be released every couple of months.

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode one will be the first title in the downloadable series for the Xbox 360. The game is also set to appear on Windows, Mac and Linux.

It is an adventure come RPG that is based on the work of Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Ron Gilbet (of Monkey Island fame) is also contributing to the project. The entire Penny Arcade Adventure series will be available to download from Xbox Live Arcade as episodes are released.

“We’re very excited to be bringing our game series to Xbox LIVE Arcade,” said Vlad Ceraldi, Hothead’s President. “We love Xbox LIVE Arcade’s ability to deliver great content directly to gamers. Digital distribution lets indie game developers innovate and experiment with new gameplay concepts.”

Although a price has not yet been announced, Ceraldi did confirm that the game would be available for under $20.