Big budgets, time constraints got you down? Still want to develop for consoles? Microsoft has the answer for you in the form of XNA Game Studio Express. Aiming to bring console development to the masses, Microsoft will release a new set of tools based on the XNA platform, taking Xbox 360 development to hobbyists, students, indie developers and studios alike.

To be available this Holiday season, XNA Game Studio Express will be available for free to everyone with a Windows XP PC. All one will have to do is join a “creators club” for an annual subscription fee of $99 USD; here users will be able to build, test and share their games on Xbox 360 and access material to help speed their game development progress.

College students across the United States will be able to get their hands on the tools as 10 universities and their game development schools have already joined the program. These include the University of Southern California, and Georgia Tech College of Computing and Southern Methodist University as they have pledged to integrate console game development and XNA Game Studio Express into their curricula for the first time.

The beta will be available on August 30 as a free download for Windows XP, with the final version to be available this Holiday season.

Bethesda has announced that it has gotten all five actors who portrayed Star Trek series captains to do voiceovers for the Star Trek: Legacy game. The collaboration marks the first time all five actors have worked on a single Star Trek project. The five actors are:

• William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk from the STAR TREK: The Original Series - 1966-1969
  
• Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard from STAR TREK: The Next Generation® - 1987-1994
  
• Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Lafayette Sisko from STAR TREK: Deep Space Nine® -1993-1999
  
• Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway from STAR TREK: Voyager® - 1995-2001
  
• Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer in STAR TREK: Enterprise™ - 2001-2005

Good news for rock fans visiting the Leipzig Games Convention this year: Within Temptation will be playing! The goth rock band, with front woman Sharon den Adel, will perform two mini-concerts in which they will play exclusive new Chronicles of Spellborn songs and their own hits. The band will be performing in Hall 4 during the expo.

The first concert will take place on August 23 at 15.00; the second one will take place the same day at 18.00. All expo visitors are invited to the special event, with the press getting to do exclusive interviews with the band and developers after the concert.

As for the game itself, those looking to experience it can do so in Hall 3, booth A21.

Metro 3D and Data Design Interactive send word that Earache Extreme Metal Racing will be hitting the streets on September 22. Their announcement also reported that the game will make its debut at the Leipzig Games Convention: hall 2, meeting booth E51.

It seems that some bombs will never diffuse… Atlus USA has announced Bomberman Land Touch!, an action-adventure game for the DS. Hudson Soft is working on the title which will be released early this November and will feature touch-screen controls, up to 8-player wireless single-card play, a 15-hour story mode and more.

Further details after the jump.
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The latest Steam message is up, offering word that Valve will soon be releasing a series of updates to Counter-Strike: Source focused on moving the core gameplay “forward”.

The first update will include an updated version of the map Train featuring an HDR lighting pass, some minor layout changes and bugfixes. Second round will see the release of a completely reworked radar system.

Roping in all the football stars out there, EA announced that they have gotten the rights to “match-winning line-up” of players who will take to the field in FIFA 07. Out across Europe on September 29, the game will feature Ronaldinho of Barcelona, as well as Landon Donovan, Francisco Fonseca, Lukas Podolski, Juninho Pernambucano, among many others.

The publisher also revealed that it has secured exclusive rights to the F.A. Premier League for an additional four years up to and including the 2010/11 season. This deal allows EA Sports sole rights to include every Premier League club along with player likenesses in the game.

First the patches:

• Battlezone II v1.3pb3 on Visi
  
• Panzer Command: Operation Winter Storm v1.12 on Matrix Games
  
• Rise & Fall: Civilizations At War v1.13 on 3D Downloads, 3D Gamers, Gamer’s Hell, The Patches Scrolls and Worthplaying
  
• Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends v2.0 on Auto In-game Update
  
• War Rock “Second Phase” on the Official Website

• Flight Simulator X on 3D Downloads, 3D Gamers, AusGamers, Boomtown, Computer Games, Filecloud, FileFront, GameSpot, GameArena, Gameguru Mania, Gamer’s Hell, Gameworld Network, VGPRO, Worthplaying and Xtra Games

In Chris Morris’ latest Game Over column, the author concludes that the PSP might see a price cut this Holiday season. The article quotes analysts as saying that the Sony handheld has “lost momentum” and that “Nintendo has had a great run… and Sony needs to regain some ground.”

A possible price cut may very well be in the works - he speculates that the no-frills PSP may drop to $150 - from its current $200 price - to contend with the DS’ $130 price tag. As for the PS2, analysts are predicting that it will stay strong with its current price: “PS2 sales are still pretty solid, so why would Sony bother cutting their prices if the flow through retail is still pretty good?”

This MCV article quotes EA executive VP David Gardner as saying that Sony must take action on PSP, basically reflecting the opinion of industry analysts mentioned in Game Over. “I don’t think Sony can afford to sit back,” Gardner told MCV. “I think they still have things they can do with the price and performance of the machine - things that they need to address.”

Vivendi Games has announced that it has entered an agreement with Spark Unlimited to create a new franchise for next-gen consoles. No details have been released, though the companies expect the game to ship sometime next year.

Spark is the studio behind Call of Duty: Finest Hour, and was engaged in a legal battle with Activision which has now been resolved.

Bringing joy to the hearts of retro lovers everywhere, Sega has announced the Sega Genesis Collection for the PS2 and PSP to be available this Fall. Over 30 classic titles will be available in this compilation including Altered Beast, Sonic the Hedgehog, Shinobi III, Phantasy Star and Golden Axe. It also features unlockable items including interviews with the original developers, a museum area with interesting facts, a hint area and an arcade games area from the Genesis era