There hasn't been a lot of positive news involving Take Two since the Hot Coffee fiasco. Earlier this week, Paul Eibler was nominated "Worst CEO of 2005," and now, it seems the downward spiral continues. It has come to our attention that there have been a few rounds of layoffs at several of the Rockstar development studios. Read more for details ...

While its official announcement isn't due until Monday it seems Capcom has already revealed the first bits of info on its nextgen title. Lost Planet is a sci-fi FPS title for the X360 with a strong MechAssault flavor to it, the main character is modeled after Korean actor Lee Byung Hun. Produced by Keiji Inafune, known for Dead Rising and Onimusha, Lost Planet will have you battle huge aliens, bug like creatures, mechs and other not so humans species in large city environments, and cave dwellings.

Konami America today revamped its website to include the addition of eCommerce functionality. The konamistyle website will make it convenient for people everywhere in the country to purchase Konami’s games, even those that are not as easy to find on retail shelves. A total of 75 titles are currently available, including new releases and back catalog games.

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 :

• MLB '06: The Show [PS2] - Trailer
• Crashday - Trailer #3
• Sonic Riders [NGC/PS2/Xbox] - Trailer #2
• Mobile Suit Saga: A New Dawn [PS2] - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

For the first time since the Xbox 360 launch Microsoft updated its list of backwards compatible Xbox titles, adding Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon franchises to the list, eight titles in total. Unfortunately the joy was short lived as shortly thereafter, it was pulled again due to actually making other titles not work anymore, one of those being Halo 2. The new update apparently made the game only playable in 4x3 dimensions, and not the 16x9 format used by HD TVs, while also the graphics became distorted. Microsoft was made aware, pulled the new update for its emulator and a new version should be available shortly.

UPDATE : Microsoft has released a working patch which is now available through Xbox Live

MVP 06 NCAA Baseball is being produced by Electronic Arts Canada in Vancouver, B.C., and will celebrate everything that makes NCAA baseball unique -- aluminum bats, intense action, and stadiums filled with school spirit and packed with passionate fans.

Battlefront has released another updated demo featuring the same two training missions with the T-72B and one exciting combat mission where the player commands a T-55A tank. Additionally, the in-game 3D Encyclopedia allows you to explore all the units featured in the full game. This demo is based on the all new v1.3 version of the game and includes all the updated features and fixes from the patch.

Eidos in conjunction with Highway 1 Productions, takes an unrelenting look at urban street crime in its upcoming action video game 25 To Life. 25 To Life is being developed by Avalanche Software and will be available for PS2, Xbox and PC. Read more for new screens..

Gearbox Software's community manager Allison "ennui" Berryman sends word that one of their developers has been working on a DM/TDM mod for BiA (both titles), which he has released to the community. One of the most requested gameplay modes for BiA was a traditional deathmatch, and Jeffrey Broome spent his time developing one to invigorate the multiplayer aspect of the game. You can get more info, source code and the actual mods over here ...

World Racing 2 will put the fun of driving at centre stage and offer optimised arcade racing characteristics, rich and varied range of mission modes, lively scenarios, enhanced tuning options and a great variety of cars. Synetic has released the first patch its racing game bringing your retail game to v1.3.3 which fixes a ForceFeedback issue, scalable AI, a few multiplayer and gameplay tweaks.

Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams is situated in 1598 and will have several new features and additions over previous titles, such as a new camera system, updated graphics and optimized gameplay mechanics.

The TOCA Race Driver 3 demo released last month wasn't really the official version, more of a promo deal for Honda. Codemasters revealed today that an expanded demo will be released later this month and will feature three tracks, with a choice of three cars, and three series (DTM, V8 and the new Baja Offroad Racing). We will, of course, have it on our fileserver network as soon as it's available.

Set within Capcom's Final Fight universe, this mission-based action game calls for players to use their street smarts and powerful fighting skills to survive the back alleys of Metro City. Classic Capcom fighting action, expansive 3D environments, and diverse gameplay await those when Final Fight: Streetwise is released this winter.

GameSpot will be hosting the QUAKE 4 Seismic Showdown tournament on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 15 and 16 where gamers will have the chance to compete for $2000 in cash prizes, with the top winner taking home up to $1000. In the contest, 64 players will battle against each other in a series of single elimination 1-on-1 Deathmatch games where fraggers’ will need to defeat every opponent in order to move on to the next round.

The latest title in the Harvest Moon RPG franchise is coming to the PSP under the name of Innocent Life. Developed by Arte Piazza, Innocent Life changes setting from a rural environment to a more sci-fi surrounding. The game takes place on a small island in the near future, and as before you will be growing flowers and vegetables. You no longer play as a human, but a humanoid robot, created by his scientist father Dr. Hope.

Set in early 20th century Europe, this PC adaptation brings the power struggles of seven mighty nations to life like never before. Its abstracted and simple gameplay puts the focus on the need for shrewd negotiations and overall strategy. Paradox has released the first patch bringing your retail game to v1.3 adding some new features, imporving the interface and fixes a few bugs.

Ubisoft has released its Q1 2006 financial results, which reports an overall increase of 20%. More importantly, the January-March 2006 release schedule was included, which sheds light on quite a few new titles. For starters, Brothers in Arms is coming to the PSP, Blazing Angels gets an X360 edition, 187: Ride or Die is getting a PSP version under the name of Street Riders, Splinter Cell Essentials has been confirmed, and it seems that Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is no longer coming to the Gamecube. Read more for the full list.

Keepsake will immerse you into a journey beyond compare. Assisted by a dragon afraid of heights, Lydia takes on to explore the Dragonvale Academy's empty structures in search for her best friend Celeste. Frogster has released a German demo for Wicked Studios' adventure game allowing you to check out an intro movie and an early part of the game/tutorial.

Take-Two Europe announced today that it has signed a publishing agreement with Tecmo for its PS2 exclusive Project Zero 3: The Tormented, scheduled for Feb. 24th 2006.

Ascaron announced todya that its latest title in the Tortuga franchise has been renamed from Pirate's Revenge to Tortuga: Two Thrones. Ascaron has added additional storywriters to the team, and as a result the game expanded beyond its original boundaries, and so a name change was in order.