Sony has said that the latest model of its PlayStation Portable handheld (PSP-3000) will be out on October 16 in Japan in order to compete with the market leader, Nintendo DS.

The new model will sell for 19,800 yen, the same price as the current model, compared to the DS’ price of 16,800 yen.

Source: Reuters

While the original version of Fallout 3 was deemed to be too violent for an MA15+ rating in Australia by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) - effectively giving it an RC, or Refused Classification rating, the revised version of the game has managed to pass the censors to be classified under the maximum rating possible - MA15+.

The game also features "Strong violence, drug references and coarse language" - almost sounds like a television show.

Australia does not permit anyone anyone under the age of 15 to buy the games that are rated MA15+, while M15+ are allowed to be bought by those not 15 years old because it is a "recommendation".

No word on what has changed in the game.

Nintendo has now declared war against five Japanese companies that make their lives helping users play DS games - let me rephrase that, they help users play DS ROMs that they got on the internet on their Nintendo DS.

There is not a lot of information on the suit, except for the fact that it managed to get 54 other software makers with it in its lawsuit is pretty spectacular.

So, you might want to get the hardware before it goes - like the many other things that big companies are taking away. For those who don’t really know - the primary use for such hardware, like the R4 Revolution (pictured left) is used for emulation and for homebrew games; but try convincing Nintendo that.

Picture: Engadget

Nintendo has said that its very popular Wii console has become the top-selling video game console, a crown that has been fought by Sony and Microsoft.

NPD Group reports that 666,000 Wiis were sold in the US in June, making the sales count in the country to nearly 10.9 million; eclipsing the sales of the Xbox 360 in the US, which topped the 10 million mark just earlier this year.

It also scored another victory when the DS managed to sell 783,000 in the United States, raising the total sales there to 20.8 million.

Netflix, a US movie rental service, is set to stream its movies and TV Shows on the Xbox 360 in the fall, meaning that many subscribers of the service will now be able to watch the 10,000 movies and TV shows in their collection.

This comes to its new Live Party feature, coming to the Xbox 360 soon. This means you can watch the same movie as eight other people, or watch a movie from one of your friends - meaning that you can basically watch the same crap your friends are watching.

But, we should also note that Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings sits on the board of directors over at Microsoft. Though he claims it is not related.

Microsoft has announced that a brand new version of the Xbox 360 console will be out in August, selling for $349. That price was also the original price of the 20GB Xbox 360 Pro until it received a price cut, bringing it to $299.

The new console will come with a 60GB hard drive and will feature a "Upscaling DVD Player", meaning that if the Xbox 360 is connected with a HDMI cable, it will upscale the DVD to a near HD standard. It will also come with a wireless controller, headset and a one-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold.

It is unknown if it will reach Australia, but the new console will be out in the United States and Canada. It joins the Arcade pack, which sells for $279 and comes with 256MB of memory and five Xbox LIVE arcade games; and the Elite console, which comes with a 120GB hard drive and sells for $449.

Konami has decided to sue Viacom’s Harmonix studio claiming that their hit game, Rock Band, violates patents issued in 2002 and 2003 relating to simulated musical instruments, a music-game system and a "musical-rhythm matching game".

It is demanding cash compensation, plus an order that would block both Viacom and Harmonix from using the inventions. This is interesting as Konami has decided not to sue Activision’s Guitar Hero, which basically is the same as Rock Band, but only with a guitar.

Joystiq is also reporting that Konami created a game titled GuitarFreaks, which is basically the same game as Guitar Hero, for Japanese arcades years ago. It is also going to release a similar game that compares with Guitar Hero and Rock Band called Rock Revolution.

The Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification has given an RC rating to Fallout 3. RC typically means "refused classification" and means that the game is banned from sale unless a modified version is made.

Australia has no "adult" rating in its game classification system, even though the ratings were updated to match the film and television ratings in 2006.

If Zenimax, the distributors, and Bethesda, the developers, want to get the game in Australia; the game has to be edited to match a MA rating. MA rated games allow only a person of 15 years or older to buy the game. This also follows in the footsteps of Grand Theft Auto IV.

The game does contain a number of mature subjects; including drug abuse, slavery and extreme violence.

The Activision/Vivendi Games merger is now likely to get the go-ahead after Activision’s stockholders have agreed to the merger with Vivendi Games, the owners of Blizzard (the creators of World of Warcraft). The proposal saw more than 92 percent of the shareholders agree to the merger.

Under the deal, Vivendi will receive more than 295.3 million new shares of Activision, and the parent company will buy 62.9 million for $1.7 billion - meaning that Vivendi will have a 52% stake in the new company. The company will be still trading under Activision’s ATVI in Nasdaq.

The new merger also creates a new powerhouse, rivaling Electronic Arts - where the value of Activision Blizzard stands around $18.9 billion, comparing to EA’s capitalization on Monday’s market close of $14.1 billion.

The deal is expected to close on July 9.

Square Enix, the developers of its blockbuster series "Final Fantasy" and "Kingdom Hearts" have launched a brand new game for the iPod, adding that to its long list of consoles it has developed games for.

Titled "Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes", it will go on sale for $4.99 in the US, 4.99 euros in Europe and 600 yen in Japan. The game is also developed exclusively for the iPod as it wants to take advantage of some of its functions and features.

The gameplay is basically this: You choose a song and that song determines the types and abilities of your character, or known as "Tune Troopers".

Most iPod games are just ports from versions from mobile phones.

And we also know that this is going to fail since there are no sales targets. Also, the company’s shares fell 1.5 percent in late afternoon trade at the Nikkei.