Sony has introduced its very own PlayStation credit card to offer fans a new way to show off their PlayStation pride and earn reward points toward the purchase of PlayStation and Sony products. Starting today until Dec. 31, 2008, you can get an immediate $150 credit when you purchase a PS3, all you have to do is sign up here, get instantly approved and off you go ....

Vulnerabilities in online gaming and virtual worlds lead to money laundering and other dangers, according to a new report by Dr. Igor Muttik, senior architect for McAfee Avert Labs. As revenues for virtual worlds topped $1.1 billion in 2006 and are expected to triple by 2009, online games are a hot target for cybercriminals looking to exploit vulnerabilities for money-making gains, who not only steal from online players, but also use virtual worlds to exchange funds achieved through their other criminal activities.

Last week MTV and Harmonix announced that this week's addition to the Rock Band Music Store would be legendary Canadian progressive rock band Rush's 1981 album Moving Pictures, which to date has sold 4 million copies, but an unspecified technical difficulty has caused an undetermined delay.

Postal III will employ the Valve's Source engine to deliver a new and advanced technical level of social satire and politically incorrect virtual violence, featuring motion-captured performances by a wide array of celebrities as well as a storyline that offers gamers vast latitude in terms of their behavior. Randy Jones of the '70's musical group The Village People is the first in a series of celebrities who will be appearing in POSTAL III.

Last year the ESA sued the state of Minnesota for unconstitutional video game law, legal fees which unfortunately would fall back on taxpayers, and today the ESA has received a $65,000 payment for its expenses in successfully challenging said process.

On June 5, 2008 SCEA will introduce Qore: Presented by PlayStation Network, a monthly original program that features exclusive multimedia news, developer interviews, in-depth game previews and behind-the-scene looks at the latest PlayStation games. Subscribers will also have special access to game demos, betas, add-ons and other downloadable and game-related content.

Sony has rolled out new PlayStation Store content, adding The Car's self-titled album from 30 years ago to Rock Band's repertoire (All Mixed Up, Bye Bye Love, Don’t Cha Stop, Good Times Roll, I’m in Touch with Your World, Just What I Needed, Moving in Stereo, My Best Friend’s Girl, and You’re All I’ve Got Tonight for $1.99/$14.99), and the usual game/movie trailers.

Tiga said today that research produced by Patrick Kierkegaard of the University of Essex, showing that there is little evidence to suggest that video games are anything but harmless, was an important contribution to the debate on video games and violence.

According to The NPD Group’s recent 'Online Gaming 2008' report, analyzing consumers’ behavior, time and money spent in this market, overall participation in gaming rose in 2007, from 64% in 2006 to currently 72% of the of the population, with half of that playing games online.

Sony has rolled out new PlayStation Store content, starting with Go! Sports Skydiving ($4.99) skydiving simulation game, the classic PSOne game Crash Bandicoot: WARPED ($5.99) for PS3/PSP, a free MotorStorm Chinese New Year Skin, new Rock Band content (Calling Dr. Love – Kiss, We Care a Lot - Faith No More, and Roam - B-52s, $1.99 each). A multiplayer demo for Capcom's Lost Planet, as well as various game/movie trailers, PS3 themes and wallpapers.

Sony has rolled out new PlayStation Store content, starting with two new Folklore add-on packs ($3.99 each/$5.99 bundle), Nightmares and Visions of the Tower, both offering 4 side quests, new folk and new costumes. Rock Band is getting three new songs (Siva / Smashing Pumpkins, Working Man / Rush, and Ten Speed (of God’s Blood…) / Coheed and Cambria, for $1.99 each. Eidos' Conflict: Denied Ops demo is now also available, as well as various game/movie trailers, PS3 themes and wallpapers.

Take Two and Firaxis get in the holiday spirit and announced a Civ IV modding contest running from Dec. 23, 2007 though Feb. 18, 2008. The creator of the winning entry in each category will receive a Dell XPS desktop computer, and the best over-all mod will receive the grand prize of a Dell XPS laptop.

United States District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly ruled yesterday that the state of Illinois must pay the video game industry $510,528.64 in attorney's fees for its unconstitutional effort to enact a law banning the sale of violent video games.

Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films have acquired "Game Boys," an action movie revolving around two 30-something video game junkies recruited by the Department of Homeland Security to lead a geeky army of gamers in a battle against creatures that have come to life from a video game they have mastered. The story was written by Tom Ropelewski and Evan Katz, who also writes for 24, while Jerry Bruckheimer is producing.

At the Russian Developers Conference, PhysX developer AGEIA announced today it has signed agreements with Russian developer/publishers Buka, Akella and Noviy Disk, while Gaijin Entertainment will integrate AGEIA PhysX SDK into its Dagor Game Engine. Read more for details ...

Could the Playstation 3 be coming as early as September 2006? According to Next Generation Sony's next-gen console will launch barely a few days apart in Japan and North America, and, as expected, Europe will have to wait. Not only that, but Next-Gen claims that Sony will unveil its unified online multiplayer service, larely based on Xbox Live, in the next few weeks, which is currently called PlayStation HUB. The service would be subscription-based and support voice, chat, downloadable content, as well as PSP multiplayer.

Project Entropia today announces film-maker and director of the movie "Hey DJ!", Jon Jacobs, a.k.a. "NEVERDIE", as the winner of this historic auction for virtual real estate. The auction began taking bids on the 21st of October and just three days later its $100,000 US buyout price was met for a virtual Space Resort.

Picking up immediately where the original Myst ended, players are presented the privilege, challenge and responsibility of restoring the lost empire of the D'ni - an ancient civilization of people who thrived for thousands of years but later met with a great catastrophe. Myst V: End of Ages advances the graphical beauty and detail of its worlds with a fully immersive 3D environment, art and visual design director Josh Staud tells us all about it ...

Variety is reporting that Microsoft recently completed a million dollar deal to secure the services of Alex Garland, 28 Days Later and The Beach writer, who is now in the process of penning a screenplay for Halo The Movie. Once the script is complete and signed off by Microsoft, it will be sold to a studio with ex-Columbia Pictures President Peter Schlessel keeping a close eye on the proceedings (thanks VE3D).

Cutting through the ambiguity of the current industry-run ratings, Current Attractions has begun an objective and quantitative reporting on the Profanity, Sex, and Violence in today's hottest video game releases. With Current Attractions use of the proprietary PSVratings technology, parents will know exactly what to expect before they purchase video games containing potentially objectionable material for their children.

Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided is now entering the final phase of development, and everyone at LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment is pleased with the game's progress since the beta test program was initiated. Although the game is making good progess LucasArts also says that "to deliver the best possible massively multiplayer experience and ensure stability and breadth of content, LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment will delay the game's April 15 launch". This will enable us to invest more time into the beta program, and to solicit additional feedback from the tremendous fan base Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided has already developed. No new date has been given, read more for the full press release ...

Bureau of Film and Games (BFG), a company that develops content and produces projects in multiple media with an emphasis on feature films and video games, today announced a deal in which the movie rights to the video game concept titled “Backwater” were sold to Dimension Films, a division of Miramax Films.

Dragon Ball Z Budokai is an authentic and deep 3D fighting game set in the spectacular world of DBZ and filled with the fiercest fighters the universe has ever known. Test your skills against the most powerful Dragon Ball Z heroes and the most sinister villains. Every battle is more intense, more dangerous, and more epic than the one before. Will you be the last warrior standing?

In "The Italian Job" gamers now have the chance to do the same thing in this amazing new driving game. There are a total of 6 playing modes, with the players thrashing the 3 Austin Mini Coopers and 11 other vehicles around 2 massive, free form areas - London, Turin and the Alps. Road, off-road and rooftop driving all feature in the game that delivers the ultimate mix of high-speed pursuit and thrilling chases. Read more for the final results ...

Get behind the wheel of the world's most famous monster trucks with a brutal arsenal of weapons and go head-to-head in savage vehicular combat. Jump in, hold on, and grind it out through interactive arenas with multiple sub-levels, tricks, traps, and surprises. Play for total carnage as you master your tricks in six modes of play including a Freestyle session and the no-holds-barred Championship mode where your rewards pay off in the ultimate in monster truck destruction.