Details are still sketchy, but there has been some suggestion (source has since been removed) that the game might be made free of charge to download and play, with the creators making their money on selling merchandise and hop-ups for the game like the currently existing joint and blood colors, among other not yet emerged items but has not been decided. Furthermore there is no word on whether current players will have to pay to update their registration keys or not.

Rumors have always been abundant regarding the fabled Starcraft 2. Just over the past couple months we've heard rumors that it would be a 2D game with minimal updates from the original (as to not disrupt the Korean competitive Starcraft scene), we've heard it would be a 3D RTS as suggested in the above-mentioned rumor, we've heard it would be an MMORPG/MMORTS/MMOFPS, etc. Really, people have suggested that the followup to Starcraft could be just about anything, because no one really knows except Blizzard employees.

At the very least, today we have confirmation that something will be going down on the 19th. Blizzard has put up one of their patented multi-day teaser splash pages at Blizzard.com, and it's pretty safe to assume that this time it won't be leading up to a Battle.net redesign, since across the bottom of the screen we have a timeline of Blizzard releases leading up to a question mark. So since we at the very least know it will be a game, let's look at the most likely contenders:

Starcraft 2 (RTS)

• The Starcraft license fits best for the event it's being announced at.
• The event is a pro-gaming tournament, in Korea, a scene which is dominated by Starcraft. It would make sense to give them what they want. (It's tough to do an MMORPG tournament.)
• A Starcraft MMORPG would cannibalize WoW's user base, which wouldn't make a ton of sense for Blizzard.
• For what it's worth, this is what the article said it would be. Granted, it was third-hand knowledge from someone who really shouldn't have any inside info anymore, but it's something.

Starcraft 2 (MMO-something)

• The Starcraft license fits best for the event it's being announced at.
• After the unbelievable success of WoW, why would Blizzard ever make anything other than an MMO? With a normal game you get $50 once for the initial game, maybe twice if you release an expansion. With an MMO you get $50 once for the initial game, and then $15/mo until the end of time, and extra cash for whatever expansions you release.
• No seriously, re-read that last one. Why would Blizzard ever turn down another stab at the mountains of cash an MMO brings in?
• Blizzard has had job openings listed for awhile looking for people to work on a "Next-Gen MMO".

Something Completely Different

• Korea doesn't need a Starcraft 2. They've been perfectly content playing Starcraft for nearly a decade, no reason to stir the pot. Especially since there's a rather good chance that whatever sequel Blizzard could churn out would never come close to the getting same kind of widespread success in Korea that Starcraft received.
• Blizzard is exceedingly good at not announcing the obvious.
• Hey, remember Diablo?!! Remember back when Blizzard actually released games based on new and unique intellectual property!?! How about some of that?

Whatever happens, we'll know in less than a week. Until then, give us your own theories of what Blizzard has in store for us in the comments.

In Game Informer's latest issue they confirm that it's real and is coming, but we're not getting everything the rumors claimed. Here's what we do get:

• Xbox 360 "Elite"
• $479 MSRP
• Black Exterior, save for the DVD Drive
• HDMI Port for easy high-bandwidth hookup to HDTVs
• 120Gb Hard drive (compared to the 20Gb of the current Premium model)

The new model is expected to launch around the same time as the new Live Marketplace IPTV service, since you'll be needing that beefy new hard drive to store the TV shows you buy.

Some questions were posed in the article which had rather straightforward answers. Yes, you'll be able to keep your old GamerTag and re-download anything you've bought from the Marketplace (like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which you should be buying today). Yes, you'll be able to buy the new hard drive separately at some later date for "less than $200". The one question that went unanswered was "What about savegames?" I'm sure they'll figure something out for transferring savegames, because otherwise that would kinda suck.

Another interesting note is that Microsoft reportedly plans on eventually phasing out the current Premium model. The "Elite" model is coming as a third SKU, so it will be sold alongside the current Core and Premium models, but soon as the Elite model gets out there the Premium model will stop production and eventually be replaced outright by the Elite version.

Microsoft is - of course - still denying everything, but that's expected to change soon. We expect to get a release date whenever they decide to admit it's real.

There's no official announcement, no in-depth explanations, just the fact that Neversoft's website is split down the middle, advertising Tony Hawk related job opportunities on one side and Guitar Hero related opportunities on the other. One would feel it would be safe to assume that if an Activision-owned developer is hiring people to work on a Guitar Hero game, that this would mean that they'll be making some Guitar Hero games.

There are still a lot of questions to be answered. Are they just making the expansions we've been told about, are they making Guitar Hero III? What platforms are we talking about here? Is Harmonix going to finish the port to the 360, or is that being handed over too? And what about Harmonix? Are they just going to ride off into the sunset now?

Soon as this gets confirmed or expanded upon or whatever, we'll be sure to let you know.

Source: GameDaily

However, I'm afraid I have serious doubts. Besides my general doubts about a MMORPG's ability to focus on the grandeur and intrigue of its setting over its own, blatantly numeric game mechanics, I have more serious worries. My most serious concern is that the Wired article does not mention any involvement by Joss Whedon at all. In fact the article implies (but doesn't directly state) that this effort was initiated by "Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising". Given both the show's premature cancellation and Fox's well known artistic differences with Whedon over the show's style and direction, this doesn't bode well for the direction the game will take.

Also somewhat distressing is the fact that Multiverse has never actually created a game. They make a game engine not actual games, and as such they're going to be hiring a third party to do the actual development. In addition, since so far nothing of real interest has actualy been created with their engine. The best thing Wired could find to say about Metaverse, is that they were founded by some people from Netscape.

And, of course, that's all there is right now. It's announced, it has a lot of theoretical potential, but it will probably just be yet another bland uninspired MMORPG. Go ahead and call us cynical, but without Joss' involvement, the game probably won't get the Browncoat Seal of Approval, and without a solid userbase, an MMORPG can't succeed. We'll be keeping our eyes on this one, though, because if it miraculously ends up being done Right, it could be the best anything ever.

I'll be posting my findings from local Wal-Mart locations in the comments after work.

So what's new? Well, for starters, some actual real news has been trickling out of Gamestop/EB Games. Specifically, that PS3 preorders start in anywhere from 1-4 hours in the US, depending on your timezone and if your Gamestop or EB location is in a mall or not. Put down $100 towards either model of the PS3 and you'll get it at launch. The catch: numbers are severely limited. I haven't seen the exact number each store is allowed to reserve get leaked yet, but I think it's safe to assume it won't be large. This, of course, isn't a real indication of the real total number of PS3's that will be available everywhere at launch, it could be more, but we probably won't know that until shortages are already happening.

On the Wii side of things, Gamestop/EB haven't said anything. Current assumptions are "some time this week", but Nintendo has been very reluctant to let anyone know what kind of counts they'll be getting, so retailers are incredibly hesitant to let people put down money. Some aren't, though. Like FYE. You can waltz right in to your local FYE (if you have one) and put down $50 towards a Wii. Will you get one? Who knows! To our knowledge, FYE has received no magical extra information about counts over Gamestop/EB, so they're just letting you preorder blind. Other retailers haven't started, but if the Best Buy info we discussed earlier is based in reality, and is any indication of what other large retailers like Circuit City or Fry's might do, we won't hear anything about preorders until kiosks are in stores later this month.

As for online preorders, Amazon has periodically made the Wii available for purchase three or four times now, and it has sold out almost immediately. Again, no clue if these orders will all get cancelled, but it's something. Gamestop/EB have recently updated their website(s) to give the Wii and PS3 their own proper sections, but still haven't put any bundles up for purchase. While you won't be forced into a bundle at brick & mortar stores, it's pretty much expected that you'll be forced into one by buying online. That's just how it works, unfortunately.

So. That's where we're at. If you want to preorder a PS3, you should probably have left before this got posted, or leave real soon. If you're waiting for a Wii, stay tuned this week, and get on the mailing list.

Today's set: Wii and PS3 preorders and kiosks.

A Gamestop employee on the Something Awful Forums mentioned that today he read in an internal e-mail that Gamestop and EB locations in the US will start accepting preorders for the Nintendo Wii on October 9th. Put down $50 and you'll be put in line for when they come in on 19 NOV 2006. No info yet on when PS3 preorders will start, but it would make sense to have them start at roughly the same time. Similar plans for Best Buy were leaked over at NeoGAF, with the pertinent dates there being October 20th for PS3 preorders and October 29th for the Wii.

The same leaked powerpoint slides from NeoGAF indicate that on October 20th and 29th there will also be demo kiosks for the PS3 and Wii, respectively. The last time I entertained a rumor from NeoGAF it was the dubious and now debunked (since it didn't happen) "trade-in only" Wii/PS3 preorder rumor from a couple weeks ago, so I'm concerned about even putting this out there. But at least it seems logical, unlike the last rumor from over there.

If preorders are really going to start soon, we should get confirmation relatively soon. If not this week, then next week.

The Tokyo Game Show took place last week, and during Sony's keynote, Ken Kutaragi dropped two last-minute changes. First item: Upgrade. HDMI is in now, for real, on both models of PS3. No, you probably don't have a TV that supports HDMI yet, but it's nice to know that Sony is preparing for the long haul, expecting that the PS3 is going to be around long enough that HDMI might be useful within it's lifetime. Second item: Price Drop. The 20 GB model was slated to ship for 62,790¥. That price has been dropped to 49,980¥, a price drop of around $110.

The price drop appears to be an attempt to closely match the price of the Xbox 360 Core System + HD-DVD addon (which will run 48,800¥ when they're both released in November). The price of the HD-DVD addon hasn't been announced yet for the States, so we can't really come up with an estimate combo price Sony might try to drop it near here. Adding HDMI to the 20GB US model seems logical enough, since it wouldn't make sense for Sony to produce three different models of PS3. If a price drop is coming here, Sony better announce it soon.

Ok, with that good news out of the way, time for some weird stuff. First, the undisputed most hilarious PS3 rumor I have heard to date: There will be two versions of Gran Turismo HD, and one will ship with no actual content. You heard me. No cars, no tracks, no nothing. And on top of that the game is just a 1080p port of GT4. The idea is instead to go for the long-ago-foretold micro-transaction worst-case-scenario. All content for the game will be bought online, one piece at a time. This is purely extrapolation based on the epic amount of content in GT4 and the preliminary prices mentioned in a few reviews, but the estimated total cost to get all available content is anywhere between $426 and $950, probably somewhere closer to $750. All for a port. No actually new content. Is it true? Is it really going to happen? Does Sony really think this kind of stuff will fly? Probably not, but you have to admit that it's the kind of crazy that completely falls in line with the kind of stuff Sony has been spouting off recently. As insane as it sounds, I can't consider anything "beyond" Sony at this point.

And in even more weird news, apparently Sony had a "tech demo" showcasing the PSP / PS3 interaction at TGS 2006. It was less than convincing. Apparently the "tech demo" consisted of a PS3 and a PSP and a model who pointed at them. The PSP was pre-loaded with a demo of Loco Roco and RIIIIIIIIIDGE RACER. . . and that was it. A tech demo showing interaction with . . no actual interaction. Great job, guys. Just great. I want to know who Sony thought would be impressed by this. And if the answer is "no one", then why display it at all?

Thanks, Sony! Keep up the good work!

• Release Date: 02 DEC 2006
• Price: 25,000¥
• 30 Nintendo games and 30 TurboGrafix16/Genesis games by the end of the year, 10 new games each month.
• Virtual Console Pricing: NES: 500¥; SNES: 800¥; N64: 1,000¥

Update: Looks like I should've waited a bit, because we got more info about accessories:

• Extra Wiimote: 3,800¥
• Nunchuck Addon: 1,800¥
• Traditional Controller: 1,800¥

Oh look, and we also got a summary page explaining exactly what your 25,000¥ gets you in Japan:

• Wii Console
• Wiimote
• Wiimote Wrist Strap
• Nunchuck Adapter
• AV cable
• Stand (The wedge thing that makes it sit at an angle)
• Accessory Plate (???)
• Sensor Bar
• AC Adapter
• 2 AA Batteries

Please let me go to sleep now, Nintendo.

But first, some quick last-minute American release rumors, from a New York Times article that was leaked on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer website about an hour ago. This article has since been pulled, and has some elements that don't gel with the Japanese Press Conference, so we don't know if it was pulled due to inaccuracies or pulled because Nintendo Says So. In either account, here's their scoop.

• US Release: 19 NOV 2006
• Price: $250
• Wii Sports is now a pack-in
• Games retail for $50
• Virtual Console games retail for $5-10 a pop

Why would it launch here first? Is Wii Sports a real game now, rather than just a bunch of super-short demos that we played at E3? How many controllers do I get with that? How soon can I preorder?

Reggie will be laying all these rumors to rest in another seven hours . . so I guess I better get some sleep before then.

Update: As of 02:23 ET, the NYT article is back up on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's website. Still classing this as rumor because of all the ridiculous gun-jumping that's been going on tonight.

Sources: Famitsu, My Feverishly F5'ing e-friendz in #nintendo