EA’s conference call saw quite a few surprise announcements, the biggest of which is the revival of the classic Road Rash series. The company revealed that development on The Sims 3 has commenced and that it will be a fiscal 2009 title, which begins on April 1, 2008. It was also stated that another installment in the Sim City series is also in the works, as well as a Simpsons sequel, Sims on Wii and a PS3 version of The Sims 2: Holiday Edition (2006 or 2007 Holiday season).

“There is a new Road Rash game,” an EA executive bluntly stated. No further details were given. It was also stated that a next-gen version of Black is being developed, though it is not clear whether it will be a full-blown sequel or a revamp of the original. As per the executive, it will be a “next-generation version of Black.”

Sad news is there too: those looking forward to Crysis and Army of Two will have to wait longer. Both titles have been delayed to EA’s fiscal 2008, which begins on April 1, 2007. No reason for the delays was given.

Who wouldn’t want to have a camo-skinned PSP? Kotaku reports on limited-edition PSP packaging by Konami, promoting the upcoming portable Metal Gear Solid game - Portable Ops. There are two editions containing a Portable Ops UMD, camo PSP, three special pins and a special PSP carrying case with matching strap. This package can be picked up for 29,190 yen ($250 approx.) starting December 21.

The one pictured right is the “special” special edition, and will be available by mail order only. It will include all of the above, including a genuine snakeskin PSP case and strap and, as Kotaku puts it, “even fancier packaging.” Fans will be able to get their hands on it for 39,690 yen ($340 approx.); it will also be available from next month.

In an interview posted on ThreeSpeech, Sony’s Phil Harrison has stated that there are currently 40 downloadable games for the PS3 in development, with more planned. Don’t expect generic shooters, though: “My strategy was to encourage developers to push the machine technically, creatively, artistically - to innovate in lots of different ways. But don’t be restricted by ghettoising games into a particular genre, or a particular display mechanic, because what we’ve seen on other systems tend to be retro 2D games, and we’re pushing the 3D capabilities of the PlayStation 3.”

He continues, saying that, unlike Xbox 360, every PS3 has a hard drive meaning that the games won’t be restricted by the size, which Xbox Live Arcade is (50 MB maximum limit).

Guitar Hero II features quite a few in-game partners, according to an announcement from RedOctane. As players rock out to the game’s 60+ songs playlist, they will be subject to viewing ads for Gibson Guitar, Kramer, Krank, MusicMan Basses, Orange, VHT and the Vans Warped Tour, among others.

“The product placement within Guitar Hero II is designed to add an extra element of realism for gamers,” said Dusty Welch, head of publishing, RedOctane. “Players are deeply immersed into the rock star culture, utilizing the authentic tools of musicians worldwide including an extensive array of amps, strings, pedals, cymbals, music stores and venues.”

In far more exciting news, it has been announced that Dave Navarro from Red Hot Chilli Peppers will be signing Guitar Hero controllers and games at a midnight release event in Los Angeles. Gamers will need to flock the Best Buy at 11301 W. Pico Blvd. from 10.30pm on November 6; the guitarist will be there until 12.30 am on November 7. The event will also be host to Guitar Hero II kiosks set up for people to try out the game “with the help of on-site Best Buy ‘blue shirt’ gaming experts.”

Guitar Hero II will be released on November 7 for PS2. A Xbox 360 version is in development.

The second beta for XNA Game Studio Express has been released by Microsoft, allowing hobbyists, academics and independent game developers the chance to create game content for both PC and Xbox 360.

This update adds the XNA Framework Content Pipeline, a feature set that makes it simpler and more straightforward for game developers to use 2D and 3D content from modeling software such as 3ds Max. There are also performance improvements and optimizations, as well as giving users the ability to preview and pre-compile their Xbox 360 games for the XNA Creators Club which is launching this December. The Club will let users upload and sell their games through Xbox Live Marketplace, letting gamers try out XNA games on their retail units. A one year membership will be available for £65 and a four-month trial will be available for £30.

The final version of XNA Game Studio Express is set to go live on December 11. A Professional edition will be available in Summer 2007.

Only a couple of demos today:

• Melbourne Cup Challenge on the Official Website
  
• Pro Evolution Soccer 6 on 3D Downloads, 3D Gamers, ComputerGames.ro, FileFront, Gameguru Mania, Gamer’s Hell, PixelRage, Strategy Informer and Worthplaying
  
• Sam & Max: Episode One on Telltale Games’ website

Shipped:

• BattleZone (PSP)
  
• Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
  
• Need for Speed: Carbon
  
• Phantasy Star Universe
  
• Snoopy versus the Red Baron

• Gunpey (DS, PSP)
  
• Viva Pinata (X360)

This year’s biggest news was on E3: the event got downsized… literally. Since then the search for the next ‘E3′ began, but it is only now that we’ve (apparently) found the Holy Grail. Gamespot reports that IDG, a huge publications group that owns dozens of tech magazines (PC World being my favorite), will produce a new games show in Los Angeles next year.

As per the article, the event will be dubbed GamePro Expo Show and will be more like the “E3″ that recent years saw: craziness, booth babes, dazzlingly expensive booths, standing in line for hours, and more. It will be held around mid-October 2007 at the LA Convention Center, the old home of E3.

The show will be endorsed by the ESA which will ensure visibility and will have trade show, consumer and game competition components. IDG is expecting to attract 30,000 attendees, marking it as a show that will possibly equal the old E3 in terms of size.

No publishers have officially announced their participation, though there have been rumors of many publishers coming on board. Further information is expected as the event’s date nears.

Although it is known that Nintendo will ship tons of Wii units on launch day, the exact numbers weren’t clear until now. The company has officially announced that it will ship approximately 4 million units globally between the system’s launch on November 19 in the Americas and the end of 2006. North America will be getting the majority of the shipments, though region-wise breakdowns weren’t provided.

As mentioned above, the Wii will launch on November 19 in North America for $250, coming packed with Wii Sports, a collection of five sports games; the console will launch in Japan and other regions in the following month. A total of 62 new and classic games will be available for the console during its launch period, along with Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on launch day.

Mastiff has announced the voice talent for Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure for PSP, naming actors such as Amber Hood (Shark Tale), Tara Strong (Teen Titans) and Dee Bradley Baker (Scooby Doo 2). Details below:

Voicing Gurumin’s main character, the adventurous Parin, is Amber Hood. Hood’s diverse credits include roles in Shark Tale and Polar Express. In addition to her work in movies, Hood has voiced characters in video games including Everquest II, Onimusha II, La Pucelle and the Baldur’s Gate series.

Cream, Mosby and Baby Tokaron will be voiced by Tara Strong. Strong is best known as the voice of Timmy in Fairly Odd Parents, and as Raven in Teen Titans. Her extensive film credits also include roles in Rugrats in Paris, The Animatrix and Hoodwinked. She has also provided voices for a number of popular video games, including Final Fantasy X and X-II, Kingdom Hearts II, and Ninja Gaiden.

Dee Bradley Baker lends his voice to Rocko, Digby and Puchi. Baker, who specializes in sound effects in addition to voice acting, has been featured in dozens of movies, including Dawn of the Dead, Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed and Sponge Bob Squarepants: The Movie. Baker also voiced the title character in the Viewtiful Joe video game series, as well as characters in other blockbuster titles such as Halo 2, Destroy All Humans! and Final Fantasy X-2.

Gurumin will also feature the voices of Justin Shenkarow (Hey Arnold!), Kim Mai Guest (Metal Gear Solid), Robin Atkin Downes (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic), Michael Gough (Diablo I, II), Steve Blum (God of War) and Quinton Flynn (Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children).

The voice acting will be overseen by Kris Zimmerman who is one of the most experienced voice directors in the gaming industry. He has directed top games including Dead Rising, Tomb Raider: Legend and Metal Gear Solid 3.

Gurumin is an action RPG from Nihon Falcom; it is scheduled for release on February 13, 2007.

Since Need for Speed: Carbon is now available, EA rolled out a bevy of upgrades and vehicles for the Xbox 360 version of the game via Xbox Live. Sadly, these aren’t free, having gamers pony up for cars and other unlockable stuff present in the boxed copy of the game. However, they did release a “Collector’s Edition” upgrade for those who bought the regular version of the game: going for 800 points ($10), the upgrade contains 12 tracks, 6 challenge missions and 10 cars. The content of the pack is exclusive and cannot be obtained in the game through other means.

EA also released Performance bundles: Drivetrain, Engine Boost and Handling, with each going for 400 points ($5). There is also an Ultimate bundle which contains all the content from the aforementioned packs for a discounted price of $10. Some of the content in the performance bundles can, however, be acquired in-game through other means.

There are also body modification kits for each of the car classes: Tuner, Exotic and Muscle. The three kits run for $3.75 each. Lastly, there are also three standalone cars for 80 points ($1) each: 2004 Lamborghini Murcielago, 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 and the 1999 Nissan Skyline GR-R R34. These cars can also be unlocked in the game’s Career mode.