Extending the franchise to plants, Last Day of Work, an independent game studio, has announced Plant Tycoon for PC and Mac. An all-new version of the handheld game, Plant Tycoon will let players breed and cross

breed plants while searching for six magic plants and building from a simple backyard garden to a lavish nursery empire. Here’s more:

As with the company’s other hit games, Fish Tycoon and Virtual Villagers, part of the fun and mystery of Plant Tycoon is that gameplay is in real-time, so plants grow and things happen even when you aren’t at your computer playing.

Dozens of seed varieties, plant species and gardening tools to work with. A wide variety of collectible insects. New ways to organize your budding business. Gorgeous, all new artwork with detailed dynamically-generated plants. Numerous purchasable items allow players to customize their nursery with fountains, statuettes, and more. A well-stocked gardening lab offers new chemicals for fun experimentation. Introducing pruning to customize the look of your creations. Original soundtracks and ambient sound effects.

The game is expected to hit download stores this September; it will retail for $19.95.

Bethesda has announced plans to release Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this September. It will include the original version of the game along with the official expansion - Shivering Isles - and the downloadable content, Knights of the Nine.

Originally released back in March 2006 for the Xbox 360, the open-world RPG has gone on to secure countless awards. The game’s voice cast includes Patrick Stewart, Sean Bean, Terrance Stamp and Lynda Carter.

For more information, hit the official website.

Having launched the console less than a year ago, SCEA had announced last week that the price for the PlayStation 3 60GB model has been cut to $499, a $100 less than its initial launch price.

Alongside the price cut, the company also announced a new 80GB model which will include the aforementioned sized hard disk as well as a copy of Motorstorm for $599. It will not come with any other bonus features or peripherals.

According to Sony, there are currently 60 playable games for the PS3, including downloadable ones from the PlayStation Network. They also expect to have over 120 new titles by this Holiday season, including Heavenly Sword, Lair, SingStar, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Warhawk. Other games include Metal Gear Solid 4 (early 2008), Grand Theft Auto IV, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Stranglehold and more.

First off, I’m very sorry for not updating the site for over a week now. My life has been very tumultuous for the last few months, but the dust seems to have settled, meaning that I’m now back working on BDGamer!

I’ll be playing E3-catchup today. Please excuse the extremely late news. This week will see regular news postings everyday.

Thanks for sticking by during these hard times. I’m very grateful.

- Rajiv