Epic announced Phase 1 finalists for the Best Character/Customization Pack and Best Mutator category in its $1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest.

2K Sports announced details on Team 2K, an elite group to be composed of the best players for both NHL 2K9 and NBA 2K9. Every week a dedicated player will be chosen to join Team 2K during a 10 week online contest beginning at launch for each respective title on both Xbox 360 and PS3.

Metal Gear Online is a dedicated online game featuring characters, weaponry and levels taken from and inspired by Metal Gear Solid 4, allowing up to 16 people to play simultaneously. Konami has rolled out a new patch bringing your MGO to v1.12 and fixes a few problems and makes several tweaks.

Kororinpa 2 is a fast-paced action title where the player helps out the small Ant – named Anthony – and his colony, the player is charged with rolling a ball through over 100 stages in a quest to locate the mythical Golden Sunflower Seed.

Following rumors from earlier today, Microsoft confirmed it has decided to close Ensemble Studios following the completion of Halo Wars. After the closure, the Ensemble leadership team will form a new studio and has agreed to provide ongoing support for Halo Wars as well as work on other projects with Microsoft Game Studios.

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:

• NHL 09 [ALL] - New Features r Trailer
• Far Cry 2 [PS3/X360/PC] - Pre-Order Trailer
• The Sims 3 - Behind the Scenes Trailer #1
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Fallout 3 places a player in the role of a Vault-dweller, who ventures from his secluded, underground survival Vault into a post-apocalyptic world of mutants, radiation, gangs and violence. In a recent interview, Bethesda's Pete Hines revealed that as a result of the issues raised by the Australian censorship board, it decided to remove real world references, and proscribing Morphine in the game from any and all versions of the game.

Savage Moon is a frantic, action-packed PlayStation Network tower defense game in a gritty sci-fi setting. You are tasked with protecting mining facilities from ravenous space bugs using some truly fearsome weaponry. And you’ll need as much strategy as firepower as you fend off wave after wave.

Madden NFL 09 marks the 20th anniversary of the franchises, and features adaptable gameplay tailored to every type of gamer, online enhancements and a broadcast style presentation delivering an authentic NFL experience. Madden NFL 09 has registered approx. $133.5 million in retail sales for the month of August, more than any blockbuster movie during that same month.

Simulation games developer Wolverine Studios announced that it is collaborating with Rick Cole to bring hockey simulation FaceOff Hockey under its wings.