Harmonix, MTV Games and Rhino Entertainment have announced that music by legendary band Grateful Dead will appear in Rock Band. The iconic group is making 18 master recordings available as digitally distributed levels following the game’s release this Holiday season. Some of the songs include classic tracks like “Uncle John’s Band”, “Touch of Grey” and “Sugar Magnolia.”

“Grateful Dead’s unique fusion of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, and jazz challenged traditional musical boundaries and pushed the limits of creativity to produce a signature sound that is undeniably their own,” stated Paul DeGooyer, MTV’s Senior Vice President of Audio, Home Video and Electronic Games. “With an enormous legion of fans all over the world, Rock Band will give players a chance to interact with the music of these beloved rock pioneers and experience what Grateful Dead did best – jam from the depths of their souls.”

“Grateful Dead, with their 30 year career and their timeless music, are the perfect addition to Rock Band,” says Mark Pinkus, Rhino’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Custom Product & Sync Licensing. “It’s going to be a blast playing along to songs ranging from the Dead’s earliest hit ‘Truckin” to their final hit ‘Touch of Grey.’ I’m confident that Rock Band will be instrumental in introducing kids to the magical music of Grateful Dead.”

Grateful Dead joins Metallica and The Who as artists offering downloadable content for the game. More artists are expected to be announced as the release date nears. Rock Band is set for release this Holiday season for PS3 Xbox 360, with PS2 and Wii editions forthcoming.

Showing the influence of virtual words on the real one, Reuters reports that HBO has bought the rights to a documentary shot entirely within Second Life, paying a six-figure sum to the author.

Set to be shown during 2008, the documentary tells the story of Douglas Gayeton and his Second Life avatar Molotov Alta who “disappeared from his California home” and began issuing video diaries from within the game.

There will be a total of 7 mini-episodes of “My Second Life” that explores a different subsculture within the virtual world, according to HBO. This ranges from cyberpunks to neo-luddites to sex slaves to king of the hobos. Those interested can check out the pilot episode on Youtube.

Dave Karraker, the senior director of corporate communications of SCEA, has announced that he will leave the company today for a position at vodka distiller Skyy Spirits.

“I will be leaving SCEA on September 7 to pursue a global opportunity closer to my home and in another industry where I have extensive experience,” he told Shacknews through email.

He has overseen the launch of the PS3 and has been the lead PR manager at SCEA over the past year. No replacement has been announced yet.

Hoping to attract the masses of Sims fans out there, EA has announced the beta launch of The Sims On Stage, an interactive website where people can record karaoke songs, stories, comedy routines and more.

The Sims On Stage will also feature an easy-to-use Movie Maship that will allow users to create original movies featuring content from the game. Those who like to sing (or pretend) will have access to thousands of karaoke songs ranging from rock to country; if singing isn’t your thing, then you can also take a shot at Open-Mic recordings, sharing performances ranging from spoken word and comedy routines to knock-knock jokes and whatnot.

The site is already live and hosting content, so go ahead, embarrass yourself.

PS2 and DS gamers can also boogie with their Wii counterparts, as EA announced that Boogie will be released for the aforementioned platforms this Holiday season.

Boogie on DS will feature new gameplay modes and mini-games not found on the Wii version. Unique modes include DS Download Play and Multi-Card Play, three main dancing gameplay modes including Copycat, Freestyle and Choreography as well as more than 10 mini-games. The PS2 version retains the same singing and dancing gameplay from the Wii version; it also includes a voice recorder and music video creator.

The official Fantasy Wars website is now live. It offers details on the game; exclusive downloads as well as a playable demo. The turn-based strategy game is set for release later this year.

More Worms news comes from Team17 as they announced that they had teamed up with Two Tribes for the creation of Worms: Open Warfare 2 for DS. Released on August 31, the game is chockfull of features, including dual-screen gameplay, customization options and full wireless support including online play.

“We are very pleased with how the game turned out.”, says Collin van Ginkel, Creative Director at Two Tribes. “After a year of hard work, we really enjoy playing against Worms players from all over the world!”

Martijn Reuvers, Managing Director at Two Tribes, continues: “We have been huge fans of the Worms franchise since the very first game was released back in 1994 and strongly felt it was our mission to provide the best possible Worms experience for Nintendo DS owners. We are confident that players will have a blast playing this game. Literally.”

Both studios are happy with the final product, saying that it was a “great working partnership with a great set of people.” As said above, the game is already available in stores.

Bringing voice chat to its upcoming action-RPG, Flagship Studios announced that it will integrate Xfire’s peer-to-peer communication system in Hellgate: London, allowing players to easily communicate and strategize with each other. Additionally, players will be able to login to Xfire from within the game and easily add their friends and other gamers into a voice chat room, talking away as they play.

Founded by the creators of the Diablo series, Flagship is staying on the beaten path with Hellgate: London, which plays a lot like Diablo. The game is set in post-apocalyptic London, letting players loose on demons with over 100 magical and sci-fi weapons. It makes useof “random generation”, allowing players countless hours of replayability. The game will be out soon.

The Unreal Engine is now being used in almost every sort of game, including sports. Nerjyzed Entertainment, an African-American owned company, has announced Black College Football Experience, a football game that will be powered by Unreal Engine 3. The game will put players into the heart of black college football, featuring more than 40 teams, bands and mascots; interactive halftime shows, realistic stadiums; play-by-play commentary; and ten authentic Classics.

BCFx will be supported by a 12-week promotional road tour to HBCU campuses, Classics and homecoming games. It will be available for PC this November.

The Death to Spies website is now live, offering up the usual stuff of game details and related media. The game follows the exploits of a Russian spy who gets to take on various tasks including kidnapping, killing, sabotaging and the usual spy stuff throughout the game. It is set for release later this year on PC.

Proving that the Warhammer brand name is still going strong, GOA and EA Mythic have announced that more than 400,000 players worldwide have signed up for the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning closed beta test, making it one of the most successful betas in gaming history. The beta center is still open and those interested can still apply to get into the test.

Based on the tabletop fantasy war game, WAR features Realm vs. Realm (RvR) gameplay and is scheduled for release during Q1 2008 on PC.

The first in two Worms announcements today, THQ announced Worms: A Space Oddity, the newest entry in the popular turn-based strategy series. Set for release during Spring 2008, the game will make its debut on the Wii with a new visual style, new environmental settings, unique controls and even more customization options. As expected, it will make use of the Wii unique controllers.

In Worms: A Space Oddity, players will enjoy the ultimate blend of classic Worms game modes and re-invented single-player missions, as well as multiplayer modes that include a host of all-new party games and even more customization options. The game takes advantage of the Wii’s intuitive controls, on-screen hints and the redesigned interface with an in-game help system. Worms: A Space Oddity demonstrates significant visual, technical and design advancement over its predecessors with a new visual style that abandons the traditional drawn approach and replaces it with a distinctive style inspired by classic Sci-Fi looks. The Worms battles take place across six planets, each with its own, unique environments and global events. The online multiplayer experience pits up to four Worms fiends from all over the world against each other.

The game is being developed by Team17 Software.

A dedicated game site for BlackSite: Area 51 has gone live, offering up game details, screenshots and other media from the upcoming alien-shooter. It is set for release this October on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360; demos for PC and Xbox 360 will be announced soon.

Singapore-based Cherry Credits, a provider of micropayments solutions, has announced that its New Economy eXchange Technology (NEXT) micropayments engine has been adopted by major online games publishers including Acclaim, NCSoft, and many others. The NEXT system offers publishers access to previously unavailable teenage and young adults market.

Currently the system has been employed in Lineage II from NCSoft, 9Dragons, BOTS and 2Moons from Acclaim, Trickster Online from Ntreev USA and more.

EA and 10tacle have announced that they have signed a distribution agreement to release Boulder Dash Rocks! Across Europe this Holiday season. This remake of the cult classic is being developed for the PSP and DS.

Jörg Rohrer, Business Development Director at Electronic Arts Germany on the new edition of the famous diamond hunt, “We are incredibly pleased with the new approach the 10TACLE STUDIOS has taken on the classic Boulder Dash® brand. The game has been immensely popular throughout the years and offers an enormous amount of variety for a fun, casual digital gaming experience.”

This puzzle game made its original debut in the early 80s, having players collect diamonds while avoiding traps and beating opponents to reach them. The remake features a new multiplayer mode and three additional play modes, as well as two new game modes designed for the two different platforms.