Following its lower-than-expected financial result, EA said it would cut its workforce and close studios, and it keeps on doing so. After abandoning a new complex, moving Black Box into EA Vancouver's office, the Australian part of Pandemic seems to be on the block, as employees have been "set free." While there has not been any official comment from EA, rumor has it that the Brisbane studio was working on a Batman game, which had to change direction after already being a month in pre-production, which in turn made the studio miss the deadline, and consequently got complete scrubbed — together with the studio, it seems.

X-Blades, previously known as Oniblade, is a third-person, anime-style action/adventure. Your heroine wields two magical blades that can be used as swords or guns, and has magical abilities, all of which are upgradeable.

Puzzlegeddon features a clever mix of puzzle, action and strategy. Select your island of choice and puzzle for resources to defend yourself and to defeat opponents throughout the many galaxies, game modes and challenges in the world of Puzzlegeddon.

Burnout Paradise gives players license to wreak havoc in Paradise City, a seamless racing battleground, with massive traffic-heavy roads to abuse. The PC edition will be customized with expanded online features, and community driven content.

According to the NPD Group's December sales numbers, the industry grew 9%, making for an overall 19% growth in 2008 (amounting to $21.3 billion). Not surprisingly 2008's big winners are Nintendo's Wii (10.2 million units) and NDS (9.9 mill. units), followed by Microsoft's X360 (4.7 mill. units) and Sony's PS3 (3.6 mill. units). Software-wise, Wii Play took the crown with over 5 million copies sold in 2008, followed by Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, all selling more than 4 million copies. GTA IV (X360, 4.2 mill. copies), Call of Duty: World at War (X360, 2.7 mill. copies) and Gears of War 2 (X360, 2.3 mill. units) are next, with the only PS3 title in the top 10 being GTA IV with 1.8 mill. copies sold.

THQ's Deadly Creatures is a Wii exclusive 3rd person action thriller title developed internally by its Rainbow Studios. Deadly Creatures throws players into a venomous world of desert terror, where the greatest victory is survival.

NecroVisioN is a first-person horror shooter, which sees players taking on the role of American soldier Simon Bukner, who must fight his way through the bleak trenches of World War One and into the very jaws of Hell.

Creating the ultimate competitive go-anywhere racing experience, Fuel will have players competing across wildly different terrain and executing spectacular death-defying stunts as they race dozens of varied two and four-wheeled rides and explore this epic world on an unprecedented scale.

Pikmin is an inventive life simulation and action-strategy title that pushes the limits of the imagination, offering fast-paced 'thinking' action while teaching players the importance of caring for and nurturing creatures to create a symbiotic relationship. Nintendo is remaking several of its classics for the Wii, starting with Pikmin.

Rumors have been floating around that Sony might be working on a redesign for the PSP, but so far they have been denied every time. A new survey being conducted Sony however might be the first real indication that something is afoot. The questions have a broad range but the interesting bits gauge whether the respondents would like faster load times, GPS, TV tuner, or a touch-screen. With the success of the iPhone and the recent addition of games, it is not unlikely that the PSP might follow suit.

Silver Style is working on the next installment in the point & click adventure series featuring Simon, the charismatic sorcerer´s apprentice. Simon the Sorcerer 5 sends adventurers to a futuristic game world, in which they experience a turbulent backward journey through history in order to help Simon to recover his memory.

Space Exploration: Serpens Sector is a RPG based on classics like Starflight and Star Control. You are tasked with exploring the mysterious Serpens Sector after a long period of human absence. Each game has a different map and a different set of encounters, drawn from a large list.

Rohan: Blood Feud is a Mature-rated MMORPG, its dramatic battles, vengeance hit-list, township battles and elaborate graphics combine to offer players a thrilling gaming experience. Rohan: Blood Feud gets new content by adding a new dungeon, The Fire Temple Garden.

The Mario & Luigi series returns with another hilarious action role-playing game, Mario & Luigi RPG 3. Join the Mario Bros. as their travels take them far and wide.

Another day, another batch of game trailers was released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for:

• Resident Evil 5 [ALL] - Viral Video #2 - The Date
• My DoItAll [NDS] - Trailer
• The Godfather II [ALL] - Extortion Trailer
• Empire: Total War [PC] - Multiplayer Trailer
• 
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

FF XIII provides tangible, intuitive controls while delivering seamless transitions between real-time gameplay and stunning in-game cinematics. The latest in cutting-edge technology has been utilized in development of Final Fantasy XIII, thus making this newest addition to the Final Fantasy series worthy of the title next generation. In a recent interview, Square Enix president Yoichi Wad revealed that while Japan will receive FFXIII in 2009, overseas fans will have to wait until at least April 2010.

Guitar Hero: Metallica will feature an Expert+ difficulty setting for people with two kick pedals, pop-up video style tracks, new guitar and bass tones, allowing you to play a Metallica member in single instrument or band career game modes, and apart from 28 Metallica tracks will also include tracks from bands such as Slayer, Foo Fighters, Judas Priest, Kyuss, Machine Head, etc...

Expected to make an appearance on the PS3, Capcom surprised everybody in Japan by announcing Monster Hunter 3 for the Wii instead. MH Tri-, pronounced as "try," is an action RPG series where you hunt down fantastical monsters.

Sony has rolled out new PlayStation Store content, starting with PULSE 01/15 Edition (free), Magic Ball ($9.99), GTI Club+ ($9.99), Ultimate Ghost ‘N Goblins (PSP/$19.99) Brain Challenge Expansion Pack ($4.99), various DLCs for Disgaea 3 ($3.99/$1.99), Shaun White Snowboarding DLCs ($9.99/free), demos for Skate 2, GTI Club+ and BUZZ! Master Quiz (PSP), song packs for Guitar Hero World Tour, Rock Band, and the usual game/movie trailers and PS3 themes.

Last month Midway had reached a waiver and forbearance agreement with the holders of its $75 million principal amount of 7.125% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026. Today Midway filed with the SEC that it has successfully negotiated with holders of the other $75 million Convertible Senior Notes due 2025. Both have extended the date upon which the holders have the right to exercise their option to require Midway to repurchase the notes to February 12, 2009.