When we reported on the EA financial situation earlier this week, it was revealed there would be layoffs, title cancellations, mergers and various other cutbacks. According to the The Globe and Mail, one of those seems to be EA's planned new 20,000-square-foot facility in Vancouver, Canada, where it planned to house a new studio. The Vancouver location, nearby its EA Canada and EA Black Box offices, has already been abandoned and leased to a third party.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles provides a seamless environment for everyone who loves to compete, with no load times, no tracks, and no rules, allowing players to race who they want, when they want, and where they want in a recreation of LA. Coming early 2009, the free map will expand the city's map by 1/3rd, while the premium DLC will include new character competitions, new vehicles, races, and music.

Feeling the holiday spirit already? Then head on over to Xbox Live, where you can now download a free "holiday theme" to put you in the right mood, or check out the Holiday Snow Globe in the Spotlight channel (no need to download it). When you launch the snow globe, it will automatically populate with your friends' avatars. You can shake the globe with A or press X to stir in another random set of friends.

Ar tonelico 2 is an RPG that seamlessly combines simulation with role-playing, allowing gamers to not only customize weapons and items, but now design their character’s personalities, skills, and appearance through virtual interaction.

Empire: Total War will maintain the Total War series' 3D battles, grand turn based campaign map and rich historical flavor while for the first time introducing 3D naval combat into the franchise. The delay revealed yesterday will apparently allow The Creative Assembly to implement a one-vs.-one multiplayer campaign mode, which will be released after the game launches.

As Nippon Ichi Software’s first pure action game, Prinny will be the most heartpounding and challenging sidescrolling action game ever. Players will control an unlucky penguin dude called a Prinny and slash their way through various Netherworlds.

Spark Unlimited's FPS Legendary: The Box presents a world suddenly thrust into chaos and turmoil when ancient creatures of myth are unleashed into modern day society, and it is up to you, as the cause of it all, to stop it all.

Square Enix's Dragon Quest IX: Defender of the Stars, developed by Level 5, is the first title on any Nintendo system since Dragon Quest VI, 10 years ago, now featuring WiFi support for four players in co-op.

The fifth annual Child's Play Charity dinner auction held on Tuesday night netted over $200k in contributions, as a sold-out crowd of over 400 video game industry leaders and community enthusiasts crowded into the Washington State Convention and Trade Center's sky bridge to bid on more than 100 gaming memorabilia to support sick children in more than 60 hospitals worldwide.

Gears of War 2 picks up six months after the events of the original, thrusting players back into humankind's epic battle for survival against a nightmarish force of underground creatures known as the Locust Horde. While Epic released a patch addressing the matchmaking issues, it has further reconfigured its servers to allow more players per server, further improving matchmaking times.