Already revealed at last week’s PlayStation event, Kojima fully announced Metal Gear Online, an upcoming 16-player online teamplay experience. The game will feature environments in the Metal Gear universe and will focus on having players use stealth to outwit their opponents. A new team function named SOKKU will be in the game, enabling players to access various data on their allies, as well as the ability to look through solid walls and trace teammates in the battlefield.

They also revealed that beta testing will conducted during August where they will take up to 3,000 participants. The selection process will begin today and runs till August 6, so if you’re interested check the official page out.

No release date for the game was disclosed, but they did send out some nice high-resolution screenshots. Check them out:

At its 20th anniversary part, Hideo Kojima, creator of the series, took center stage to demonstrate real-time gameplay from Metal Gear Solid 4. The video can be downloaded from FileShack in high-resolution; those who prefer streaming can check out this Shacknews post which includes the video as well as a description of the events in the video. If you’re feeling too lazy to click, then check out the embedded video below:

Konami has held its Metal Gear 20th Anniversary party where it revealed Metal Gear Collection, a special package on sale celebrating the event. This package will include Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3 and Metal Gear: Portable Ops - basically, all the entries in the franchise ever released.

They also showed off a music CD collection, 12-inch action figures, Kubrick dolls, candies, books, cars and more. More pictures can be found on 1Up.

Ubisoft has announced that it will develop and publish a game based on James Cameron’s upcoming film Avatar (Wikipedia), which is set to hit movie theatres in May 2009. Cameron is an esteemed film director, whose previous films include The Abyss, Aliens, The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Here’s the scoop on the game:

“Avatar” is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people. More than ten years in the making, Avatar marks Cameron’s return to feature directing since helming 1997’s Titanic, the highest grossing film of all time and winner of eleven Oscars including Best Picture. The “Avatar” cast includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver. Academy Award-winning visual effects house, WETA Digital, renowned for its work in “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy and “King Kong,” will incorporate new intuitive CGI technologies to transform the environments and characters into photorealistic 3D imagery that will transport the audience into the alien world rich with imaginative vistas, creatures and characters.

When asked about the game, James Cameron commented: “We are creating a world rich in character, detail, conflict and cultural depth. It has the raw material for a game that the more demanding gamers of today will want to get their hands on - one that is rich in visuals and ideas, and challenging in play. I told the Ubisoft team I wanted them to be free to do their very best work, and not think of this as a movie-based game. They responded with a fully realized presentation which captured the soul of the world and the characters, while promising to be a knockout game on its own terms. Their passion inspired my confidence that they are going to do something transcendental.”

No details on the game itself were revelead since it’s too early for that because the game is set to launch alongside the movie, which as mentioned above will open in May 2009.

Easily making it the most popular MMORPG in the world, Blizzard today announced that World of Warcraft has surpassed 9 million subscribers worldwide.

The game has debuted in North America in November 2004 and has since then seen steady growth thanks to worldwide launches and regular new content.

The Guildhall at SMU in its newly formed Innovation Laboratory is going to integrate XNA in its general computing and game development academic programs as well as researching new approaches to game design, development and education for students and game developers alike.

“With more than 120 video development graduate students in residence and a faculty of video game industry veterans, technology companies are beginning to realize that The Guildhall at SMU is a living laboratory for the video game industry, That is why we formed our Innovation Laboratory focused on video game development,” said Dr. Peter Raad, founder and executive director for The Guildhall at SMU. “By working with industry technology leaders such as Microsoft, we believe we will be able to help set new standards in video game development and provide new research, case studies and curriculum that drive advances in interactive media educational programs across the country.”

XNA Game Studio Express is a new game development solution aimed at students, hobbyists and independent game developers. It is based on Visual Studio and .NET technologies, allowing developers to code more easily for both Windows and Xbox 360.

“What we are trying to do is open the door a little wider with XNA tools from Microsoft and see how they can fit into video game development not only for students, hobbyist and independent game developers but what role XNA Game Studio Express may have in professional video game development as well,” said Michael McCoy, SMU level design instructor and project lead on the XNA research project. “We have already produced two case studies on 2D game production using XNA Game Studio Express and have a starter kit developed for use in a middle school video game development camp this summer. We also have incorporate a more advance starter kit into our course work for SMU students who starter at our program in July.”

Three SMU faculty members, four post-graduate students and two graduate students are currently working with McCoy on the XNA project; the team hopes to publish results from the research in the near future.

The referral program for The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is now live, offering subscribers of the MMORPG the opportunity to refer friends to the game and earn credits for free game time.

EA today announced that its co-operative action game Army of Two will hit stores November 15 in North America and Europe for PS3 and Xbox 360.

ARMY OF TWO will captivate gamers with a politically charged storyline, centering on the impact and ethical issues of Private Military Corporations. EA Montreal has also enlisted world renowned composer, Trevor Morris, to bring all aspects of the storyline and epic two-man gameplay to life through a powerful soundtrack. Morris has worked on numerous Hollywood blockbuster titles including Black Hawk Down, Bad Boys II, The Last Samurai and Pirates of the Caribbean 1 and 2.

Developed by EA Montreal, the game will feature gameplay focusing on two-man missions, two-man strategies, two-man tactics and a two-man advantage. The game will feature both offline and online multiplayer co-op, though online is most preferred if you want to get the most out of the game.

Instead of bashing games, this senator plays video games, and is damn proud of it. Pacific Daily News recently sat down with Sen. Ray Tenorio, a lawmaker from the state of Guam, who plays a level 70 Dwarf priest by the name of Paleray in World of Warcraft.

“What I like about World of Warcraft is it’s a great way to be able to reach out and connect with other people,” he said. “So many different people play — attorneys, accountants, geeks… all kinds of people.”

He also stated that he currently has no plans to move on to a different game, mostly because WoW adds new content regular. “There’s always something new to come back to,” he claimed.

Tenorio is a member of Guam’s 15-member unicameral legislature. More details on this gamer can be found on his official website.

The official site for The Settlers - Rise of an Empire has gone up, offering information, wallpapers and a web kit, among other things. The sixth game in the popular strategic simulation series is set for release this September.

GI.biz reports that Ubisoft’s sales for the first quarter of 2007-08 have gone up 90.5 percent from the same period last year and has raked in 134 million Euro sales, exceeding the forecast of approximately 120 million Euros.

“Ubisoft has made a solid start to the year, and continued to win market share,” said CEO Yves Guillemot. “Momentum was particularly strong during the period for European sales, which climbed 109 per cent thanks to the ramp-up of new-generation consoles and the impact of PS3 game sales, including Rainbow Six Vegas and Oblivion.”

The company hopes to keep sales stable for the second quarter. Ubi has two huge games coming in the fourth quarter - Far Cry 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction.

Fanatics of Da Vinci’s masterpieces can look forward to another game exploiting them. Got Game Entertainment today announced that it will publish Da Vinci’s Secret, a style-matching game for the PC this September. The game is set to retail for $19.99.

More puzzling than the Mona Lisa’s smile, “Da Vinci’s Secret” takes you on a mind-bending tour of Europe as you seek clues to unraveling an earth-shattering secret hidden in the enigmatic artwork of Leonard da Vinci. As you scout clues in Da Vinci’s notes, reveal hidden meanings, and unravel riddles that shelter the truth, your journey brings a mental challenge at each destination to taunt and tease the brain of even the best puzzlers.

With unlimited play, loads of brain-bending levels, bonuses, power-ups, and gorgeous full-screen graphics, “Da Vinci’s Secret” will reveal itself only to the cleverest of puzzle fans.

This product page reveals more about the game’s secrets, as well as some screenshots.

A new World in Conflict DirectX10 trailer has been released by Sierra, showing off the advanced graphics in the upcoming World War III strategy game. The video can be downloaded from ActionTrip, FileShack and FileFront. There’s a nice high-quality streaming version on Shacknews, too.

Today’s lonely patch comes from Matrix Games, who has updated Commander - Europe at War to v1.02. This update brings many improvements ranging from PBEM and TCP/IP multiplayer fixes and enhancements to interface tweaks, balance changes and more. It can be downloaded from Matrix Games’ website.