Now with blocky LEGO goodness

With the recent release of LEGO Rock Band, Harmonix introduces some new methods of keeping your children's virgin ears pure.  Now while searching for downloadable content for LEGO Rock Band, songs considered "inappropriate" will not appear at all in the Music Store.

A rather small update this time as it is domineered by the debut of The White Stripes in the Rock Band series.  Their songs each come from three different albums: "White Blood Cells", "Elephant", and "Icky Thump".  If you'd like an English flair with your songs, rock group Kasabian adds a headbanger to their catalog while The Damned debut with some punk rock.

Here are the five tunes that will be available for download.  Those colored in red will not be available in LEGO Rock Band:

• The Damned - "Smash It Up (Part II)"
• Kasabian - "Club Foot"
• The White Stripes - "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground"
• The White Stripes - "Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine"
• The White Stripes - "Icky Thump"
  

"The White Stripes Pack 01" lets you bundle their three songs for 440 Microsoft Points, or $5.49 / £2.49 / €3.99 from the PlayStation Store.  All individual downloads go for 160 MS Points, $1.99 / £.99 / €1.49 from the PlayStation Store, or 200 Nintendo Points from the Wii.

Rock Band Unplugged fans continue on from their milestone 55 songs as No Doubt and Dropkick Murphys join the Unplugged catalog:

• Dropkick Murphys - "I'm Shipping Up to Boston"
• No Doubt - "Excuse Me Mr."

Downloads cost $1.99, or £.99 / €1.49 for European players.

Xbox 360 and Wii players get their content November 10 while PlayStation 3 and PSP owners get theirs on November 12.

Not the helpless princess anymore (finally)

After 23 years, Nintendo is finally getting with the times.  In the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks DS game, Princess Zelda will actually be adventuring alongside Link as his companion, not a victim who gets kidnapped every few years.

Instead of running around as a mysterious blonde man with a lyre (still don't get that), Zelda shall be accompanying Link as a spirit, with a unique ability to possess suits of armor called "Phantoms."  Of course, she'll remain Link's guiding voice, traversing Hyrule on a customizable train, solving the usual puzzles as the storyline gradually reveals itself.  Spirit Tracks also promises a closer look at Zelda as an iconic character who, until now, has never really been in the Legend of Zelda spotlight.

President Reggie Fils-Aime claims early victory over MW2 on one platform

Well, big shots in the industry tend to talk crap to each other indirectly, mostly using the media.  In most situations, we only hear about the slap fighting between Sony and Microsoft, but Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime wants in on the action.

Seems Fils-Aime was recently quoted during a video interview saying that New Super Mario Bros.Wii will outsell Modern Warfare 2 on one system by January 2010.  "On a single platform...absolutely," said Fils-Aime. "I say that unequivocally." 

Now fanboys are getting all flustered over the statement, claiming the man's full of himself -- among other things.  But Reggie said one platform, not all; with the way Modern Warfare 2 currently looks for PC, it's entirely possible NSMB Wii might outsell MW2 PC before January.

"It's going to be close," said Fils-Aime, expressing his own anticipation for NSMB. "Of course I'll play it...I play all the content out there."

There's no doubt NSMB Wii will do well.  Famed analyst Michael Pachter has already predicted the sales will "shock" most of the industry and community, while GameStop executive Tony Bartel noted it should be a top-seller this holiday.
 

Guitar Hero 5 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 help give the company a major boost

In spite of a "challenging overall software market", Activision Blizzard still manages to beat projections to achieve profitability and a slight growth to its U.S. marketshare for its third fiscal quarter ending September 30th.

The company's revenues during the third quarter slid slightly year-on-year to $703 million USD, but beat its own projection of $680 million USD.  Activision Blizzard has also managed to score profit of $15 million USD for the third quarter, a huge improvement from the $108 million USD quarterly loss posted last year.  Spurred by such results, Activision believes it remains on track for revenue of $4.05 billion USD by the end of the 2009 calendar year.

CEO Bobby Kotick attributes this turnaround in profit to the performance of its Guitar Hero, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, and Call of Duty franchises.  Blizzard's World of Warcraft also managed to deliver the goods during the third quarter.

Activision is certainly not unaware of the concerns raised elsewhere regarding the sustainability of its music game business, especially after the lukewarm reception to DJ Hero at launch.  Sales for music peripheral bundles in North America are also stabilizing, as fans who already have the relevant instrument controllers increasingly opt for software-only packages.  CFO Thomas Tippl not only believes things will be just fine, but in fact predicts even better holiday season sales for its lineup of music games than last year.  The company continues to count on an engaged fanbase on the PS3 and Xbox 360 to help carry its music games through.

Forget about the polar caps melting, the South Pole just got covered in a black void

Atlus confirms it will be localizing the latest title in the long-running Shin Megami Tensei RPG series, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, for North America.  Scheduled for release next March 10th 2010 for the Nintendo DS, Strange Journey once again blends the world of demonic folklore and mythology with one of science.

Like most of the classic titles in the series, SMT: Strange Journey is a dungeon crawling RPG that pits you against demons you can battle or negotiate with to join your cause.  Setting the stage of the story is a mysterious, growing, black void that appears at the Earth's southern pole in the near future.  The player is part of an elite team of explorers dispatched to investigate the heart of this void, dubbed the "Schwarzwelt", and it happens to be a universe filled with demons.

Yes, you do look like an armored space marine with guns, but your handy "Demonica environment suit" works into the gameplay itself.  Strange Journey is designed to take advantage of the DS' dual screens during both exploration and combat.  You'll also make use of suit upgrades to allow you to deal with the different situations you may encounter as you explore the mysterious world of demons.

As with previous SMT games, the player will be required to make choices throughout the game intended to reflect on their avatar's moral compass.  The decisions you make could effect the course of your strange, strange journey.

Madden NFL 2010 is the best-selling North American-produced title, and makes the global list

Industry sales trackers NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track and Enterbrain collaborate once more to deliver their latest Top Global Markets report covering software sales across three major regions; North America, the United Kingdom, and Japan. According to their findings, all software markets suffered a 6 percent decline in unit sales combined for the three month period from July to September.

Of the three global markets, Japan proved to be the healthiest thanks to a 15 percent year-on-year increase in third quarter software unit sales. Year-to-date sales however dropped around 9 percent compared to the first three quarters of 2008.

North America and the UK suffered year-on-year declines in both quarterly and year-to-date software unit sales. The UK in particular faced the greatest drops, with third quarter sales down 19 percent and year-to-date sales declining 13 percent.

While North America and the UK still enjoyed great software unit sales from high profile releases like Madden NFL 2010 and Halo 3: ODST, it was Japan that produced the single best-selling title across all three regions, Dragon Quest IX. The DS RPG racked up lifetime sales of just under 4 million units since launch at the start of the calendar quarter, further underlining the series' popularity in Japan.

Persisting to invade wherever you go

When Taito released the awesome Space Invaders Extreme 2 (which we reviewed not too long ago), they weren't kidding around with celebrating the 30th anniversary release of the original Space Invaders. Taito decided to introduce a slimmed-down version of the game to the Japanese DSiWare today called Space Invaders Extreme Z (SIEZ).  It's perfect for DSi owners who are seeking to extend gameplay beyond the cartridge release, having a little bit of SIE2 wherever they go, or even for new players who want a taste of what they're getting into before buying the full game.

This time around, you're limited to Score Attack and Time Attack modes, where you vie for the highest score or lowest time respectively. SIEZ still retains major features from its counterpart including the Bingo Card system, Fever Times, bonus scoring methods, cannon levels, and the four power-ups.  But the familiarities end there as instead of shooting through branching stage paths, you take on three progressively harder courses dubbed Beginner, Normal, and Extreme.  And most of the enemy formations are different this time around with a few familiar ones coming in from Space Invaders Extreme 2 to have another chance at taking you down.

It would be criminal not to point out SIEZ features the amazing Moe-themed stage from the previous game, as shown here:

Space Invaders Extreme Z is available to download for 500 Nintendo Points if you have a Japanese DSi on hand.  No international releases have been announced yet but when your biggest hurdle is to translate the manual, there's no reason not to bring this little invasion overseas; Taito's been pretty cool with bringing their digital releases out of Japan.

Guns, cars, crime, and perhaps one of the more ambitious DS games out there

Now when video game hobbyists see the initials "DS," their eyes tend to glaze over.  Looks like Ubisoft is trying to change that.

The French developer and publisher is one of the more ambitious companies in the industry, though their experimentations are often hit or miss -- case in point, Red Steel versus Assassin's Creed.  Their latest endeavor brings Nintendo's DS into the picture.

Presenting C.O.P. The Recruit, just one of many titles to be released today and subsequently overshadowed by BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins (or Activision's Band Hero, if you prefer).  Well, if you have a DS, C.O.P. does sport numerous recommendations from the media, and our own experiences are being documented in an upcoming review.

Sure, it's not going to replace your high-power PC or HD console, but sometimes good things come in small packages.  Check out the launch video and screenshots to get a better idea.

Trial software downloads for digitally distributed Wii titles are on the way, at least in Japan

In an effort to entice the Wii faithful to open their wallets in the Wii Shopping Channel, Nintendo will be offering demos for WiiWare titles.  During the company's investor briefing following its recent earnings report, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata confirmed a test run for WiiWare demos would launch possibly later this month in Japan.

Nintendo hopes to build enthusiasm for WiiWare and DSiWare titles through offering trial software.  Iwata conceded the market for digitally distributed titles on Nintendo platforms is currently dogged by mild reception from their respective userbases.  Wii Shopping Channel and DSi Shop perusers are typically folks who already know what they are looking for, and may not necessarily be interested in exposing themselves to other potential purchases.

Iwata suggests that there will be other measures Nintendo will need to implement to further increase awareness of WiiWare and DSiWare titles, and actually get customers through the front door in the first place.

Eight-player online featured

It seems with just about every console ever released, there's always a few staple franchises that manage to appear on these systems to be played once again with a few updates here and there.  Usually it's a puzzle game, a sports series, or a fighting game that show up.  DSi owners will soon have a shot at one of the more long-standing party game series ever conceived, if not one of the earliest: Bomberman.

Hudson Soft has confirmed through their Twitter page Bomberman Blitz will be available to purchase from DSiWare on November 9.  This time around, the large arenas are split in two across the DSi's screens with paths to access them as you please and bombs to explode across them.  You can take on up to seven other opponents locally or over the internet for some short but hectic matches.

Bomberman Blitz features ten different stages with a unique element in each of them.  So far, there's a racing-themed area, an arena lined with conveyor belts on the floor to move Bombermen and bombs around, and a lethal battleground where the impenetrable walls are removed for protruding spikes that can be safely traversed if you wait for them to recede.  To help you and hinder you in your matches are classic power-ups from past games such as increasing or decreasing your bomb's range, amount of bombs on screen at a time, movement speed, remote detonators, and a throwing ability.  And there's other power-ups yet to be revealed.

Bomberman Blitz doesn't have a price yet but the Japanese release is currently worth 500 Nintendo Points.  Check out Hudson Soft's Twitter page in the coming days for an official price.

More song importing and downloads coming

When Activision released the full list of songs that could be imported from Guitar Hero World Tour into Guitar Hero 5, players were less than thrilled to find out that only 35 of the 85-song tracklist were going to be available for Guitar Hero 5.  Unfortunately, there that hasn't changed; World Tour is keeping most of its songs exclusive.  Enter Band Hero, which will fill that gap.

To celebrate the release of the upcoming Band Hero game, Activision will allow Guitar Hero 5 players to import 61 songs from Band Hero into Guitar Hero 5.  You will also be able to import 69 tracks from from Guitar Hero 5 into Band Hero.

Of course, importing isn't free.  The Band Hero-to-Guitar Hero 5 import costs 420 Microsoft Points, $4.99 USD for PlayStation 3 owners, and 500 Nintendo Points for Wii owners.  The import fee for Guitar Hero 5 to Band Hero is a bit higher at 480 MS Points, $5.99, or 600 Nintendo Points.  Songs eligible for transfer from Band Hero are available here, but there's currently no list for Guitar Hero 5 songs.  You won't to wait long to check out this new feature anyway, with November 5 right around the corner.

Moving on, we have the complete list of November DLC.  Next month's downloadable content features artists Lenny Kravitz, KISS, Metallica, and... the Neversoft team!  Wii owners will be getting content from the highly-requested Death Magnetic album by Metallica that 360 and PS3 players got some time ago; unfortunately, the free Neversoft track pack is exclusive to HD consoles.

The first batch of DLC starts on November 12 with three Lenny Kravitz classics:

• Let Love Rule
• Lady
• Fly Away

November 19 features two old KISS tunes and a new one from their latest Sonic Boom album:

• Modern Day Delilah
• I Was Made for Loving You
• Lick it Up

November 24 updates trade off between the console systems.  Wii owners can catch up on Metallica's Death Magnetic with the following update:

• All Nightmare Long
• That Was Just Your Life
• The Day That Never Comes
• The Judas Kiss
• The End Of The Line
• The Unforgiven III
• Suicide & Redemption J.H.
• Suicide & Redemption K.H.

Additionally, Xbox 360 and PS3 owners get the following freebies from Neversoft in the "Neversoft Thanks the Fans" track pack.  Granted these are a bit more obscure, but hey, it's free!  Who knows, you might like what you hear.

• Lemon Frosting - Bunny Knutson
• RockNRola - Nancy Fullforce
• From the Blue/Point of No Return/T.T.R.T.S - An Endless Sporadic
• Love Holds It Down - Dom Liberati
• You Really Like Me - Davidicus
• Guilty Pleasures - Tony Solis

Packs bundling the Lenny Kravitz and KISS content will be available to Xbox 360 and PS3 owners for 440 MS Points or $5.49 from the PlayStation Store.  All individual tracks run for the usual 160 MS Points, $1.99, or 200 Nintendo Points.

Join the Foo Fighters to reach Nirvana

Next week's Rock Band 2 updates feature three tracks to celebrate the 20th anniversary release of Nirvana's debut album "Bleach", which will be re-released; this special edition release includes an previously unreleased live concert recording from 1990.  

Foo Fighters will do likewise by releasing a "Greatest Hits" album on the same day and give RB2 players a shot at four songs, two of which are new and exclusive to the album.

Rounding up the updates is a song from Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' 1984 album "Fake Friends".  Here's the list:

• Foo Fighters – “Best of You”
• Foo Fighters – “The Pretender”
• Foo Fighters – “Wheels”
• Foo Fighters – “Word Forward”
• Nirvana – “About a Girl”
• Nirvana – “Blew”
• Nirvana – “School”
• Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – “Fake Friends”

The obligatory Halloween-themed pack

This week's Guitar Hero 5 downloads feature the necessary tracks to help you celebrate Halloween by blasting some music for party-goers come this Saturday, or simply turning up the volume so you don't hear any pesky doorbell rings from trick-or-treaters.

Your three artists this week feature Gwar, Marilyn Manson, and The Misfits, all named appropriately for the holiday.  Rouse fellow zombies with a deep tune from Manson and proceed to lurch forward with some thrash metal from Gwar and the horror punk of The Misfits.

Here are the three new songs available right now:

All Hallows' Eve Track Pack

• Gor Gor - Gwar
• Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
• Astro Zombies - The Misfits

The "All Hallows' Eve Track Pack" is worth 440 Microsoft Points, $5.49 USD from the PlayStation Store, or 550 Nintendo Points.  Individual downloads cost 160 MS Points, $1.99 USD, or 200 Nintendo Points.  These are also the last tracks for October; Activision should be posting the full set of updates for the month of November some time next week.

Trailer and screenshots, plus confirmed release date

Waiting for the next Resident Evil on Wii?  While some owners are still deluding themselves into waiting for Resident Evil 5 Wii, the rest of us can look fforward to the next Archives title, Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero.

Previously available only for GameCube, Resident Evil Zero features Rebecca Chambers, a rookie from S.T.A.R.S.' Bravo Team investigating murders in Raccoon City.  The shit really hits the fan when Chambers finds a military transport full of corpses.  Oh, but here comes ex-Marine convist Billy Coen, and players will get to choose which character to play.

Resident Evil fans will take a trip down memory lane in this origins-style game that reveals where the T-Virus got its start.  This Archives release will be out on December 1, 2009, for a suggested price of $29.99 USD.  Below you'll find a few screenshots and a trailer featuring the jailbait heroine.  Seriously, what's with the government not bustin' Umbrella?  And S.T.A.R.S. hiring a bunch of little girls...

Make your own titles for PC, Wii, iPhone and more

Game development tool Unity seems to be relatively popular among independent and amateur developers for many different platforms (PCs, consoles and mobiles alike), and it's about to get a lot moreso we reckon -- the "lite" version, previously known as Unity Indie has now been redubbed simply Unity, coming with a new pricetag of $0.00.

We're writers, not developers, now, so we can't tell you how good the kit is, but it appears pretty in-depth, and hey, it's hard to argue with the price of "free."

The paid version has also been updated to version 2.6, but as it's going for well over $1,000, we're going to guess you're not too interested.

Unity is available for both Windows and Mac users, supports PC, Wii and iPhone development to name a few examples, and can be downloaded right here.

Revenue and profit drop during first half, and full-year estimates now cut

Nintendo has been able to post year-on-year growth in profit thus far thanks to the Wii, but even the company itself expects the outlook to be less rosy this year now that sales for its console have dipped considerably.  The company has slashed its forecasted profit for the fiscal year ending March 2010 from ¥300 billion ($3.30 billion) to ¥230 billion ($2.53 billion USD).

While profitability is still expected, Nintendo was forced to temper its full-year estimate in the face of slowing demand for the Wii.  The console saw its year-on-year sales in North America drop by 52 percent during the six month period ending September 2009, from 10 million units last year to 5.75 million. Wii software sales also took a dive, falling from 81.4 million to 76.2 million units. The DS similarly faced year-on-year decline during the last six months. Hardware sales fell from 13.7 million to 11.7 million units, while software sales dropped from 85 million to 71.1 million units.

Nintendo still posted profits of ¥69.5 billion ($772 million USD) for the March to September 2009 reporting period, but this represents a 52 percent drop from the ¥144.8 billion ($1.6 billion USD) earned during the same timeframe last year.  Declining Wii hardware and software sales contributed to a 34.5 percent year-on-year fall in revenue from ¥836.9 billion ($9.22 billion USD) to ¥548.1 billion ($6 billion USD).

The company acknowledged that a lack of killer Wii apps this year may well have cooled enthusiasm on the Wii, though it also highlighted side effects stemming from the Wii price cut as well as a stronger yen affecting its international trade.

Nintendo confirmed that lifetime sales for the Wii have reached 56.14 million units worldwide, while DS sales are now at 113.48 million, 10.1 million of which were for the DSi model.

Two downloadable mixes available on XBL and PSN, more coming very soon

DJ Hero has just been released, and as tradition to the "X Hero" brand, there will be plenty of mental mash ups available via the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace. Though it is likely only a handful of gamers have sampled everything the newest game has to offer, Activision are piling on the DLC as of today.

"All of Me" by 50 Cent (featuring Mary J. Blige) mixed with Queen's "Radio Ga Ga", as well as a mash-up of Gorrilaz' "Dare" and "Can't Truss It" by Public Enemy are just tasters of what is to come. Both tracks are bundled together at a starting price of $5.99 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but will later be available seperately on the Nintendo Wii, at $3 per song.

That's not all; David Guetta will step into the spotlight with mixes of "Sexy Bitch," "On The Dance Floor," and "When Love Takes Over." All three will be bundled at $7.99 from November 24.

Larger than DSi, longer battery life & more

While everyone is accusing Sony and Microsoft of being massive money-grubbing whores, Nintendo has churned out another DSi.  No, this is not a late-night fib! 

Japan's favorite manufacturer has just announced the DSi LL, a new and supposedly improved DS.  So far we know it is larger than the original DS, boasts an improved battery life over the first DSi, and comes with a 4.2" screen and new pen stylus.  I won't even mention what I think that looks like...

A more detailed analysis shows the DSi LL, aside from having a somewhat awkward name, actually weighs 314 grams or over half a pound, making it the heaviest DS.  Aside from weight, the LL will also be larger than the original DS in length and width, but slimmer from the side.

Don't worry, there's good news here.  While the DSi has gotten heftier with the LL, which takes an extra half-hour to charge, this new model has an extended battery life that puts it between the original DS Lite and DSi; on the lowest brightness, it should offer 13 to 17 hours of play, and four to five hours with max brightness.

The LL will debut in Japan on November 21 for ¥20,000 -- rounds to approximately $222 USD.  Consumers will get to pick from an insane variety of three colors: Wine Red, Dark Brown (don't judge), and Natural White. 

Update: Nintendo has confirmed the LL for a European Q1 2010 release.

And it's like, totally fun and I'd totally like, play more

Gamers have debating the boundaries between "casual" and "hardcore" for some time now, with many desperately clinging to an elitist notion that only a select few can really be gamers.  Of course that's not how business works, and publishers will target the masses if they know they can make money off the endeavor.

Enter Band Hero for DS.  Rock Band and Hero games have always been in a unique category of their own, presenting a social gaming experience for those who may not normally pick up a controller.   The latest Band Hero trailer really drives that point home by interviewing a bunch of random people at a mall.

Anyway, the trailer features said "random people" claiming how cool Band Hero is and how eager they are to get it.  Presumably to play some more.  So apparently the drum pads are just like playing the drums, and "it's great" -- according to one random classy lady.  Okay, the DS drum pads look fun, but they can't be "just like" the real thing!  Here, enjoy the trailer and cast your verdict.  Cringe. 

Really though, if this resonates with you, get Band Hero for DS as a holiday gift to yourself or someone else.

A classic dodge-and-run platformer makes its return 3D

Konami must know how popular Frogger is because they're bringing a new iteration to Wii and PlayStation consoles.  With updated 3D visuals, Frogger Returns will be debuting on WiiWare and PSN this fall, delivering that same addictive gameplay we all remember so well.  Definitely an improvement if the lastFrogger you played was on a graphing calculator.

The new game will stay fairly true to its origins, basically sticking with the same perspective and gameplay through streets, sewers, subways, and other obstacles.  Yeah, watch out for those big rigs.  Frogger Returns will, however, have new power-ups that can help Frogger like those stars and 'shrooms help Mario.  And, of course, there will be local multiplayer support with modes like "capture-the-pad" racing.

The PSN version does look crisper than its WiiWare counterpart, and we've included screenshots below for both editions.

Renegade Edition is gold and "dope"

DJ Hero releases nationwide today with 93 on-disc tracks by a wide-ranging list of artists, mixed ten different ways for your gaming and listening pleasure.

Activision has compiled a little launch vignette to celebrate the occasion, featuring one of the DJ Hero Renegade Edition stars, hip-hop legend Eminem.  You know, that clean-shaven guy with the drugged-out insomniac eyes?  Eminem tempts gamers by noting that the Renegade Edition is gold -- normal disc is silver -- and totally "dope."  Hey, that's a priority to some people!  Forget the unique hardware and limited edition CD collab by JAY-Z and Eminem -- can't imagine why anyone would want that when the disc is gold.

I kid, I kid.  Much respect for Eminem and all the artists in DJ Hero, including legendary duo Daft Punk and the late DJ AM.

Fans will have to go extra mile to redeem goodies

Dementium: The Ward came out a few years ago, and received a moderate ammount of praise for being one of the first titles to actually convey the horror genre on the DS platform. Its developer Renegade Kid also went on to create Moon, a shooter similar to Dementium but in a sci-fi/horror setting, again receiving many high scores from critics.

Its sequel, Dementium II is coming up, and with that a very unconventional pre-order system; keen Renegade fans looking for bonuses with the latest installment will be faced with certain barriers. Usually these are redeemed by taking a trip down to the retailer you pre-ordered with, or if you bought online, the goodies are sent via mail. When you pre-order Dementium II, you will have to find and scan your proof of purchase before sending it to the publisher at the following email address: DementiumII@southpeakgames.com. The bonus gift is a poster featuring the title's cover art signed by creators Jools Watsham and Gregg Hargrove; gamers must pre-order by October 31 to take advantage.

No solid release date for the game yet, but fans can expect it before the year's out.

National Health Service supports exergaming, after negative portrayal of gamers in earlier campaign

Nintendo's Wii Fit Plus expansion is nearing release in the United Kingdom, and the ELSPA (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) confirms the game will be the first ever in the country to be endorsed by the National Health Service's Change4Life campaign. As a result, the ELSPA believes there is a strong chance Wii Fit Plus will be able to use the Change4Life logo in future advertising in the region.

Change4Life promotes exercise and healthy eating, but came under fire from the video gaming community earlier this year when it ran an ad depicting gaming as an unhealthy activity. That alone probably doesn't sound too serious, but the ad's slogan was considerably more hardline: "Risk an early death, just do nothing."

The gaming community groaned at the lazy gamer stereotype, and a number of complaints against the ad were lodged with the Advertising Standards Authority thanks to its suggestion that gaming was life threatening. Sony Computer Entertainment in particular took issue with what appears to be a Dual Shock controller in the ad itself.

ELSPA's director general Mike Rawlinson expresses his approval for Change4Life's change of heart toward gaming with their endorsement of Wii Fit Plus:

We are thrilled that active videogames are finally being recognised by the Government for contributing to a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Since the negative portrayal of videogames in a Change4Life advertisement earlier this year, ELSPA worked with the Department of Health to gain proper recognition of the many benefits which active gaming can bring to an energetic lifestyle. Children and adults across the UK already know that dancing, jumping or even boxing within an active videogame have real exercise benefits. We are encouraged by this positive step to gain wider recognition of the health benefits that videogames can offer to individuals, families and communities alike.

To be sure, the Department of Health stresses it technically wasn't endorsing a particular game but rather the active lifestyle it promotes.

Complete song lists for upcoming DDR titles on PlayStation 2 and Wii

For the first time ever, Konami has revealed the full songlists for Dance Dance Revolution X2 for the PlayStation 2 and Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 3 for the Wii. Aside from spoiling everything before release, something unusual with the track count for X2 is that it tops out at 60 songs instead of "over 70" as the games usually advertise. 

On the flip side, Hottest Party 3 now has a full assortment of licensed master tracks for all of its licenses instead of using covers as they have relied on in the previous two games.  Here's the full songlists for both games, split up between licenses and Konami Original songs.  Songs colored in red are known boss songs within the DDR community.

Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 3 Licensed Tracks

• Bonafied Lovin' - Chromeo
• Boogie Wonderland - Earth, Wind & Fire
• Closer - Ne-Yo
• Daftpunk Is Playing at My House - LCD Soundsystem
• Detroit Rock City - Kiss
• Disturbia - Rihanna
• Do You Know(The Ping Pong Song) - Enrique Iglesias
• Dream On Dreamer - The Brand New Heavies
• Enjoy The Silence - Depeche Mode
• Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz
• Good Times - Chic
• Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran
• I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) - Pitbull
• Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice
• I'm Coming Out - Diana Ross
• Just Dance - Lady Gaga feat. Colby O'Donis
• La Camisa Negra - Juanes
• Let's Get It Started - Black Eyed Peas
• My Prerogative - Bobby Brown
• Never Gonna Give You Up - Rick Astley
• One Step At A Time - Jordin Sparks
• Pocketful Of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield
• Pork And Beans - Weezer
• Praise You - Fatboy Slim
• So What - P!nk
• South Side - Moby
• The Space Dance - Danny Tenaglia
• Viva La Vida - Coldplay
• When I Grow Up - Pussycat Dolls
• You Got It (The Right Stuff) - New Kids On the Block

Spooky with a dose of reality

Rock Band 2 celebrates Halloween next week with Rob Zombie and Wolfmother.  Both artists artists add on to their current catalog with Rob Zombie adding songs from his Hellbilly Deluxe and Hellbilly Deluxe 2 albums while Wolfmother contributes from their self-titled debut album and their brand new Cosmic Egg CD, which releases today.

Rounding things out is a track from Liz Phair and two tracks from Morningwood, one of which is featured as the theme song for VH1's reality series Daisy of Love:

• Rob Zombie – “Burn”
• Rob Zombie – “Dragula”
• Rob Zombie – “Superbeast”
• Wolfmother – “New Moon Rising”
• Wolfmother – “Pilgrim”
• Wolfmother – “Sundial”
• Wolfmother – “White Unicorn”
• Wolfmother – “Woman”
• Liz Phair – “Rock Me”
• Morningwood – “Best of Me"
• Morningwood – “Sugarbaby”