Skylanders Giants Starter Kit by Activision

Few concrete details are known concerning BioWare's upcoming Dragon Age III: Inquisition, but the developer has now gone on record saying it has been influenced by The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Speaking to Game Informer (via Kotaku), BioWare Edmonton and Montreal general manager Aaryn Flynn said it would be impossible to create a role-playing game today without acknowledging and reacting to Bethesda's award-winning game.

"You can't look at a game like Skyrim and not think about how impressive what they've accomplished is or [think] that's an interesting new direction or that there was something that didn't work well for them that we could take in a new direction," Flynn said. "So, we're always influenced by these games, especially in a relatively tight-knit genre like RPGs."

Dragon Age III: Inquisition is the third entry in BioWare's role-playing game series. It follows 2009's Dragon Age: Origins and 2011's Dragon Age II. In all, the series has sold more than 8 million units.

Last month, BioWare released concept art for Dragon Age III: Inquisition, followed by the first, albeit blurry, screenshot.

Most recently, an EA Shanghai employee's LinkedIn resume suggested Dragon Age III: Inquisition is targeting a release for next-generation platforms in 2014.

As many as 30 developers at End of Nations studio Petroglyph Games have been laid off, Eurogamer reports. Though not confirmed from the Las Vegas, Nevada studio itself, tweets from game designer Adam Stevens seem to confirm the news.

"Well, it appears this winter break will be extended indefinitely," Stevens said. This was followed by, "Layoffs at Petroglyph. Looking like I'll be leaving Las Vegas."

News of layoffs at the company follows publisher Trion and Petroglyph indefinitely postponing the open beta phase for End of Nations, with refunds going out to those who had already made a purchase. Petroglyph said "several key areas" of End of Nations need "polish and improvement."

Fears of the massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game's outright cancellation appear to be without merit, as End of Nations community manager Lance James bluntly stated in the game's forums, "End of Nations has not been canceled!"

The first expansion for Far Cry 3 will release exclusively for the PlayStation 3 version of the game in January 2013. Developer Massive Entertainment announced today through the PlayStation Blog that the game's High Tides downloadable content will add two new co-op chapters to the action-shooter.

These are Jailbreak and Redemption and will take place where the original six co-op chapters left off. "These are the gang?s final moments, and we?re really challenging ourselves to go all-out," the developer said.

Up for grabs in the High Tides expansion are new missions, "tougher fights," larger competitions, and "explosive moments unlike anything you've seen before." No price for the content was announced, and a Ubisoft representative was not immediately available to comment. It is also unclear if the content will be later made available for Xbox 360 and PC gamers.

Fable II has returned to availability on Xbox Live following its unexplained disappearance earlier this week. A Microsoft representative told GameSpot that an "isolated issue" affected the availability of Lionhead Studios' role-playing game on Games on Demand.

"We have resolved the issue and the game is once again available. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused," the statement reads.

A GameSpot reader initially tipped the news yesterday, saying Fable II had mysteriously vanished. This person also said those who had previously purchased the game but deleted it, were not able to re-download it. This is no longer the case.

Sony is going to war with PlanetSide 2 hackers. In a series of tweets last night and this morning, Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley said the studio is "aggressively" seeking out and banning those found using hacks in the new free-to-play game.

"I want to make some very clear statements about hacking in PlanetSide 2," Smedley said. "We are aggressively banning people. As they develop hacks, we will break the hacks. We have time and great people. Trust that this is a top priority. Hackers will not win."

Smedley called out one specific gamer, saying each of his three accounts had been banned, but not before firing off some harsh words. "Goodbye you scumbag. Find a new hobby or get good at the game," he said.

PlanetSide 2 launched last month exclusively on PC.

Rockstar Games has released a new title update for Max Payne 3 that fixes a player invisibility bug, among other issues. As detailed on the company's blog, the update is now available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions of the game.

In addition to scratching the player invisibility bug, the Max Payne 3 update also fixes an issue when players would get stuck in cover, when game modes could appear to be over 100 percent full, and where players encountered trouble loading into a new game when a party member had left.

Additionally, with the Max Payne 3 update applied, the Kill screen now shows what weapon and burst enemies used to knock players down with. Further, it fixes an issue where on occasion a Loadout slot could overwrite another Loadout slot at the start of a Gang Wars round.

For the full patch notes, check out the post on Rockstar's website.

Just yesterday, Rockstar announced that the Painful Memories map pack for Max Payne 3 will arrive December 4.

A trailer for Wii U game Rayman Legends suggested the title would leverage the system's near-field communication (NFC) technology, allowing users to place objects on the GamePad to beam them into the game. However, creative director Michel Ancel has clarified the situation, saying the trailer was only displaying a possible feature, not something concrete.

"We didn't announce this officially and it was more the kind of experiment we do when working on new hardware like the Wii U," Ancel told the Official Nintendo Magazine. "We had prototypes of this and we believe that having real objects manipulating gameplay could be quite innovative. But again, this was a prototype and we won't discuss it until it's ready to demonstrate its full potential."

None of the dozens of Wii U launch titles take advantage of the Wii U GamePad's NFC technology. This includes Activision's Skylanders Giants, which instead uses its own Portal of Power to bring real-world objects into the game.

Rayman Legends was originally intended to launch in November, but is now expected in early 2013.

Dishonored's previously announced Dunwall City Trials expansion will launch December 11 for $5, publisher Bethesda confirmed today. The content will be available on that date worldwide on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

The 10 new challenge maps included with the Dunwall City Trials expansion will test players' combat, stealth, and mobility skills, Bethesda said. The content also includes new achievements and trophies to unlock, as well as an online leaderboard for players to track their progress against others.

The second and third expansions for Dishonored will launch in 2013 and will be story-focused. Bethesda said the second expansion will focus on Daud, the leader of a legion of supernatural assassins known as The Whalers. This content will arrive during spring 2013. No information is available regarding Dishonored's third expansion.

Hitman: Absolution may have only released last week, but Square Enix is already preparing for the next entry in the series. Concept art for the next game in the stealth-killing franchise has been released (via Schaffi Games) by Square Enix art director Rasmus Poulsen and senior concept artist Leonid Enin.

The concept art comes from the Montreal International Game Summit held earlier this month, where it was created live at the show. The shots focus on a character (at right) who does not appear to be Agent 47, the protagonist of past entries in the series.

It was revealed last week that IO Interactive would not develop the next entry in the Hitman series, but rather Square Enix Montreal. Hitman: Absolution director Tore Blystad said, "It's like with Treyarch and Infinity Ward. You have an IP that has been developed. They will feed off each other, as well as some things that stand out. I think with these big franchises, it takes a long time to develop just one game. If you can, work a little bit in parallel at least, and help each other out."

Gamers in the market for more Mass Effect 3 are in luck. The game's single-player Omega expansion arrived today on Xbox Live, PC, and PlayStation Network. The content costs $15 and weighs in at nearly 2GB.

The Omega downloadable content focuses on Aria and her fight to take back Omega with the help of series hero Commander Shepard.

"Forced to rely on Aria’s unique knowledge of the station and faced with her lust for revenge, how far will you go to retake Omega?" reads a line from the content's announcement.

Mass Effect 3's Omega DLC will not be available for the Wii U version of the game, BioWare revealed last week. For more on Omega, check out GameSpot's Now Playing video segment, embedded below.

[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, Nintendo confirmed the Wii Mini as a Canada-exclusive to be sold through the holiday season. No mention was made of a release in other territories. A landing page at the company's website confirms the earlier reports. The Wii Mini cannot connect to the Internet or play GameCube games.

The original story follows below.

The evidence for the Wii Mini continues to mount. Though Nintendo has not officially announced the hardware revision, Best Buy Canada has posted images of the device, and now Future Shop has provided even more details. A post to the retailer's blog corroborates earlier reports that the Wii Mini will be available December 7, but also reveals a price: $99. The current MSRP for the Wii is $130.

The lower price tag does not come without functionality setbacks. The Wii Mini does not include Wi-Fi support, and according to the retailer, will not be able to connect to the Internet at all or make use of online features in games. Additionally, the Wii Mini does not have GameCube functionality. The system is not compatible with GameCube discs, with controller ports and memory slots stripped from the system.

As for the system itself, the Wii Mini will sport a red case with a black matte finish on its top. It will come bundled with a red Wii Remote Plus and matching Nunchuck controllers. The Wii Mini is, as its name suggests, smaller than the original Wii, and requires the unit to be laid flat. The original Wii allowed users to either position the system horizontally or vertically.

The Wii Mini's power-on button is positioned at the system's bottom left corner, with an Open button on the right. This suggests the Wii Mini will be a top-loading system, similar to the GameCube.

A Nintendo representative was not immediately available for comment.

If the report is true, it would mark the second Wii redesign, following last year's Europe-only "Wii Family Edition" bundle. This console did not feature GameCube controller ports.

Last week, Nintendo director of product marketing Bill Trinen said the Wii remains a viable platform because of its large install base. He also suggested Nintendo could spur hardware sales by making the system available "at the right price."

"I think there's also the potential for a lot of people who still haven't purchased Wii, believe it or not, who might be interested at the right price," Trinen said at the time. "So we'll probably be looking at it more from that standpoint."

Grand Theft Auto V is currently scheduled only for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but thousands and thousands of gamers are calling for the open-world action game to come to PC. A petition posted to Change.org calls on Rockstar Games to bring GTAV to PC and has more than 50,000 signatures as of press time.

"Please release GTA V on PC," the petition begins. "GTA games have been a large part of so many peoples lives and it's a big shame not seeing the newest iteration of the game being released on the most powerful platform. Things like modifications have always been a huge part of PC gaming and modded GTA is some of the most insanely fun times you can have."

Last week, Rockstar Games cofounder Dan Houser said PC and Wii U versions of GTAV were "up for consideration." The most recent entry, 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV, released for PC seven months after the console versions shipped.

Valve has been pursuing a Half-Life movie for nearly a decade, but the project has not gotten rolling. That has not changed, but Valve writer Marc Laidlaw has opened up on who his dream candidates would be to direct a big-screen adaptation of the sci-fi shooter series.

"If Paul Verhoeven returned to science fiction films, he would do something insane with Half-Life’maybe something objectionably insane, but at least not boring. Peter Jackson has proved himself an amazing purveyor of faithful adaptations. Guillermo del Toro has the horror vibe that I think a lot of people miss out on when thinking about a Half-Life movie," Laidlaw said. "Half-Life is essentially horror after all. The science in it barely passes as hand-waving, but when a headcrab jumps at your head, it’s a precisely engineered jolt."

Verhoeven is most famous for directing Total Recall and Robocop, while Jackson earned his place in film history for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Del Toro directed Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy

Ultimately, Laidlaw said he believes there are numerous directors who could do the Half-Life fiction justice on the silver screen. However, fans may want to temper their excitement for the film, as Laidlaw said "most of them are busy pursuing their own visions."

The Half-Life movie was first revealed in 2003, following Half-Life 2's showing at the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Valve is looking to for a project that would extend the elements of the game and broaden the franchise's audience, though no other details are available.

Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs director Quentin Tarantino was reportedly in talks to direct the film, though Valve said this was not the case.

The rumor appears to be right. Best Buy Canada has posted a listing for a Wii Mini, slating the system redesign to launch December 7. An internal document from a "major retailer" first tipped the console, though Nintendo has yet to confirm its existence.

According to the listing, the Wii Mini (at right) is square-shaped and will be available in a red and black color style. The retailer's website indicates the unit is available for preorder, though clicking the link does not lead to a product page. It is not clear what the Wii Mini will cost.

Nintendo recently dropped the Wii MSRP to $130.

If the report is true, it would mark the second Wii redesign, following last year's Europe-only "Wii Family Edition" bundle. This console did not feature GameCube controller ports.

Last week, Nintendo director of product marketing Bill Trinen said the Wii remains a viable platform because of its large install base. He also suggested Nintendo could spur hardware sales by making the system available "at the right price."

"I think there's also the potential for a lot of people who still haven't purchased Wii, believe it or not, who might be interested at the right price," Trinen said at the time. "So we'll probably be looking at it more from that standpoint."

Hotline Miami creator Jonatan Söderström has revealed there will be a sequel to the hit indie title.

The developer took to Twitter this week to tell fans that a preliminary Hotline Miami 2 soundtrack was in the works.

"Working while listening to the sweet tunes of a preliminary Hotline Miami 2 soundtrack that we've put together during the weekend," Söderström said.

The comments were later clarified in a Eurogamer article, in which Söderström revealed the planned DLC for Hotline Miami eventually turned into a fully-fledged game, which the studio plans to reveal as Hotline Miami 2 rather than DLC for the first game.

However, Söderström later Tweeted that the team only has some "general plans" for the next game and that their main priority remains "fixing Hotline Miami".

Gearbox Software is supporting Wii U with its upcoming shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines, said to be the best-looking version of the game. However, that is the only Gearbox game or franchise in development for Nintendo's new system.

Fans may be wondering why Gearbox is not planning to bring its popular Borderlands franchise to the Wii U. According to CEO Randy Pitchford, it's due to Gearbox not having yet found a compelling way to use the system.

’We get asked if there is going to be a Wii U version of Borderlands, and the reason why there’s not is because we couldn’t think of a 'natural, obvious OMG-I-want-that-for-what the-Wii-U-brings-to-the-table feature," Pitchford told GamesMaster (via Nintendo Everything).

On the other hand, bringing Aliens: Colonial Marines to the Wii U was an easy decision for Pitchford.

’But with Aliens, the first thing we thought was ’Holy sh*t, I can have a motion controller in my hands!’ When it’s there in my lap it feels like I’m part of the movie," he said.

Borderlands is not the only established series that has elected to skip the Wii U. Dead Space 3, Resident Evil 6 and Metro: Last Light will not appear on the console. Additionally, it is not clear if Crysis 3 or Battlefield 3 will ship for the system.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is not fearful that the Wii U will become irrelevant if Microsoft and Sony launch new consoles next year as is suspected. In fact, the executive said he believes Nintendo has set the innovation bar with its Wii U, and Microsoft and Sony cannot rely solely on more advanced technology if they wish to succeed.

"In the end, our competitors need to react to what we're doing in the marketplace and need to figure out what their innovation will be," Fils-Aime told GameSpot sister site CNET. "It's likely that faster processors and pretty pictures won't be enough to motivate consumers. They need to react to what we've done and we need to continue innovating with the Wii U and we will."

The Wii U launched November 18 and sold 400,000 units during its first seven days, a period that included the shopping bonanza known as Black Friday. By comparison, the original Wii sold 600,000 units during its first eight days on the market in the United States in 2006.

The Wii U launched in the United States November 18 to sales of 400,000 units during its first week. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime revealed the sales milestone to GameSpot sister site CNET today, adding that total hardware sales (Wii U, Wii, 3DS, and DS) for the week exceeded 1.2 million units. The original Wii launched in 2006 and sold more than 600,000 units during its first eight days on the market in the Americas.

In addition to the Wii U's 400,000 units, the aging Wii console moved 300,000 systems during the past week, which included the one-day shopping bonanza known as Black Friday.

Nintendo's portable devices also prospered last week, with the 3DS moving 250,000 units and DS devices shifting another 275,000 systems. Fils-Aime said the original DS line outpaced sales of the newer 3DS last week due to the numerous Black Friday deals held by various retailers.

Despite being outsold by its predecessor last week, the executive said the 6 million 3DS units sold through its first 21 months is ahead of the original DS line during the same time by one million units.

According to Fils-Aime, the Wii U's 400,000 first-week sales could have been even higher if stock had been replenished sooner.

"Wii U is essentially sold out of retail and we are doing our best to continually replenish stock," Fils-Aime said. "Retailers are also doing their best to get the product to store shelves. But as soon as product hits retail, they're selling out immediately."

Though the Wii U may be facing shortages right now, Fils-Aime does not foresee the drought to be on par with the original Wii in 2006.

"Wii was a unique phenomenon. You couldn't walk into a retailer and buy a Wii until spring of 2009," Fils-Aime said. "We've certainly learned many lessons from that and we are replenishing retailers more quickly this time around. We are looking to have as much product into retail as possible. It's driven by consumer response."

Rockstar Games is inviting players to experience Max Payne 3 Painful Memories next week, the company announced today. The game's Painful Memories expansion arrives December 4 and is free for those with a $30 Rockstar Pass. The content can be purchased separately for $10 on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and PC.

The Painful Memories downloadable content for Max Payne 3 includes four new maps (Roscoe Street Subway, Marty's Bar, Shoot First, and Canal De Panama) for the game's multiplayer component. In addition, the expansion adds the IMG 5.56 and UAR-21 assault rifles, new avatars and items, as well as the Hangover Burst. This causes enemies to respawn with fuzzy vision, and reduced stamina and health.

Max Payne 3's Painful Memories DLC follows previously released expansions Local Justice, Hostage Negotiation, and Disorganized Crime. The fifth and final map pack for the game--Trickle Down Economics--is slated to arrive at a later date.

Shadowrun Returns will be slower to return than originally expected. Developer Harebrained Schemes announced through its Kickstarter page recently that the project has been pushed from a release in January 2013 to either May or June 2013.

Producer Mitch Gitelman said Shadowrun Returns' January 2013 release date "might've worked for the scope of the game we originally envisioned, but as our ambitions (read that 'features list') grew, so did the time we needed to deliver."

Gitelman added that Shadowrun Returns was originally planned with a top-down camera, but that has been swapped out in favor of an isometric point of view. This, according to Gitelman, took serious research and development time."

Shadowrun Returns will be a single-player 2D turn-based role-playing title. Harebrained Schemes is also promising an interactive story, with narrative work provided by a host of experienced Shadowrun authors and designers.

The game was originally targeted for PC and tablets only, but its Kickstarter campaign finished with $1.8 million, which resulted in Linux and Mac versions of Shadowrun Returns.

GameStop has posted its online-only Cyber Monday deals, revealing a range of discounted offerings, including CD Projekt Red's role-playing game The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for $10 on Xbox 360.

Other deals include The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Sleeping Dogs, and Dishonored for $30, as well as Max Payne 3 and Saints Row: The Third for $20.

Gamers in the market for a Wii U can pick up an 8GB basic model for $300, though the $350 32GB deluxe version is currently backordered. Additional shipments are expected to arrive in three days.

Check out GameStop's special Cyber Monday landing page for all the deals.

Tomb Raider's campaign will last between 12 and 15 hours, dependent on gamers' play style. Crystal Dynamics global brand director Karl Stewart shared the news over Twitter recently, and also revealed a range of other details regarding the upcoming action game.

Tomb Raider protagonist Lara Croft will have regenerative health in the game. Additionally, though she is able to swim, the game will not feature any swimming sequences.

Stewart also addressed a question regarding the possibility of a Tomb Raider sequel. He said "of course" Crystal Dynamics will make a second game if the first is successful. This follows comments from Stewart in June, when he said at least one additional game is needed to tell Croft's entire origin story.

Tomb Raider was originally planned to launch during fall 2012, but was delayed in May to March 5, 2013. Set for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, Tomb Raider is the first installment in the series since 2010's downloadable multiplayer-focused Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and the first standalone game since 2008's Tomb Raider: Underworld.

Halo 4 gamers eager for more maps won't have to wait long if one report proves accurate. The Halo Council has obtained a German Xbox 360 dashboard advertisement for the three previously announced downloadable expansions for Halo 4. It reveals that the first--the Crimson Map Pack--will arrive December 10. This pack includes the Wreckage, Harvest, and Shatter multiplayer maps.

Following on from the Crimson expansion, according to the advertisement, will be the Majestic Map Pack (Landfall, Monolith, and Skyline) on February 25 and the Castle Map Pack (Daybreak, Outcast, and Perdition) on April 1. All three expansions are available as part of the $25 Halo 4 War Games map pass or as standalone downloads for about $10 each.

Halo 4 launched worldwide November 6 and generated 24-hour revenue o f $220 million. The game is a direct sequel to 2007's Halo 3 and is the first numbered entry in the series developed outside of Bungie Studios. It is the first installment in the Reclaimer Trilogy, which will span Halo 5 and Halo 6.

PC gamers set a new Steam record this weekend. According to the official statistics page for Valve's online service, there were more than 6 million members concurrently logged in to the service this weekend, representing an all-time high.

The exact peak simultaneous user figure of 6,046,314 was logged around noon on November 25. It is one million stronger than the 5 million recorded in January and 4 million logged in September 2011.

Launched in 2003, Steam is Valve's digital distribution hub, and it currently boasts 50 million users. Presently, there are over 1,800 titles from various publishers available for purchase and play through the online distributor.

The next advancement for Steam is its Big Picture mode. Currently in beta, the service allows users to browse, purchase, and play all Steam games through TV sets they already own.

Third-party games like Call of Duty: Black Ops II look better on Wii U than they do on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. That's according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, who told CNN recently that players seeking the best-looking experience would be smart to choose the Wii U version. Responding to a question regarding the Wii U being on par in terms of specifications with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Fils-Aime said this was not the case.

"First off, I have to correct you. The specs are quite different than the competitive systems; much more graphically intensive. If you do a side-by-side comparison you would actually see that third-party like Call of Duty look dramatically better on our system," Fils-Aime said.

Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford said earlier this year that the Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines would be the best-looking iteration of the game. The title is also planned for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Fils-Aime was also asked how Nintendo feels about launching the Wii U just a year before Microsoft and Sony are rumored to have new, more capable systems on the market. Ultimately, he said the Wii U's second-screen approach is the "next innovation" and early sales of the system in the Americas are proving this point.

"And then, in terms of what competition is going to do in the future, we'll see," Fils-Aime said. "We know that, based on our development, this two-screen gaming experience really is the next innovation that consumers are gravitating to; it's selling extremely well here in the Americas, already stocks are quite low in the marketplace. And so for us, certainly the consumer is deciding that the innovation is well worth their investment."