I was always under the impression that the people at Rockstar were ones to embrace parody, as their games have always had bits of satire and parodies of products thrown in. Apparently, they don’t like it when someone parodies them. The upcoming Simpsons game makes fun of Grand Theft Auto and, as it turns out, people at Rockstar weren’t happy.

“I was always under the impression that when you do parody, it’s a sign of respect… If we make fun of Grand Theft Auto, we’re not going to hurt the sales of Grand Theft Auto… But yeah, we’ve definitely had some reactions - we’ve had to pull stuff from the game”, revealed Greg Rizzer, lead designer of The Simpsons.

However, not all companies are like that, and it appears the dudes (and dudettes) at Harmonix are cool. “I don’t know if you’ve seen Sitar Hero? We did Apu playing this 60-button controller and songs like Pour Some Curry On Me - we made this wonderful parody poster and the guys from Harmonix loved it and we sent them 20 copies of the poster. They just loved it so much.”

SOE and Flying Lab Software send word that Pirates of the Burning Sea will be released worldwide on January 22, 2008. The highly anticipated MMO features action on the seas and sets players in a world of pirates and plunder.

Pre-orders for the game will begin on October 23. Those who pre-order will receive an invitation to access the game 15 days prior to launch. During this time, players can level up to 20 and keep their characters after launch, with a purchase of the game and paid monthly subscription. Pre-orderers will also receive a blue or yellow parrot, as well as a powerful weapon and an original game soundtrack CD complete with 60 minutes of pirate-themed music.

Another squad member video from Clive Barker’s Jericho has been released. This time it focuses on Cole, who is described as a “reality hacker”.

Turning more books into video games is Codemasters, who announced a deal with The Templar Company that will see them creating a series of games based on the 14-million selling ‘Ology series of books.

The deal will see best sellers Dragonology, Wizardology and Pirateology realized as games for the Wii and DS. The Wii versions will be focused on action gaming, while the DS versions will feature explorative gameplay in the form of an interactive book.

Dragonology is the first title in the series and is expected to launch during the second half of 2008.

The purchase of DICE by EA saw the demise of many of its studios including DICE Canada. However, a new studio has been formed in its ashes - TUSK Interactive - led by former DICE Canada lead designer Armando “Aj” Marini.

It is not currently known what the studio is up to, but considering its track record in online multiplayer shooters, it can be a safe bet that they are working on something in that genre.

EA Sports, in conjunction with NBA, have launched an online contest to design a new jersey to be featured in NBA LIVE 09. Users can create their own NBA team jerseys using various assets from all 30 NBA teams as well as custom shapes, numbers and text with the “Jersey Creator” tool. The winning entry will featured in the upcoming game.

Winners will be determined based on creativity, talent and originality; last date for entries is November 16. Other contest prizes for two runners-up include an autographed Gilbert Arenas jersey and video game “library” packages.

A new trailer for Army of Two was released, highlighting the importance of teamwork in the coming game.

Turbine Studios, known best for the Lord of the Rings MMO, has gotten a change in its administration. A replacement for ex-CEO Jeff Anderson was announced to be Jim Crowley, former COO of mobile media company m-Qube.

Crowley has been working with the studio on a long-term strategic plan for the MMO for months before he officially joined. The reason for Anderson’s departure, or his future plans, were not mentioned.

Those looking forward to someday playing Crysis on their PS3 and Xbox 360 may still have hope: Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli told Game Informer in an interview that development of a console version of the game depends entirely on the success of the PC version, which is scheduled for release on November 16.

“What happens next we haven’t decided yet, because first we want to see how the game is received, publicly and critically, ratings wise, et cetera. We believe it will be received at least as strong as Far Cry. I hope personally a 5% average increase,” Yerli said. “That would give us an argument to, ‘OK, let’s see how we can bring Crysis to consoles.’ The engine right now is running on consoles so there’s no reason why we couldn’t.”

Apparently, none of the current consoles are powerful enough to run Crysis. “You cannot get Crysis as it is on PC on any console,” he said. “What you would have to do is compromise the design and the level design–in order of the PS3 and Xbox 360 regards you have to fulfill the memory constraints.”

A new trailer for Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 was released to celebrate the Rugby World Cup. It’s hilarious.

The official storyline of Penumbra: Black Plague was recently revealed by its publisher Paradox Interactive. Here’s the scoop:

Penumbra: Black Plague is a creepy and dark psychological horror experience featuring the adventures of Philip as he sets of in search of his dead father.

A letter from a dead man.

A secret buried beneath frozen wasteland.

A dark, sinister family mystery.

Philip’s life will never be the same again…

Trapped in a shadowy, underground complex, intrepid explorer Philip is determined to discover the truth behind his father’s disappearance.

Surrounded by enemies and assaulted by terror from all sides, Philip must collect clues and solve vexing puzzles while combating the gnawing psychological terrors that assail his mind and threaten to strip him of his sanity. Can Philip master his fear and finally uncover the truth behind a mystery that has haunted him for a lifetime? Only you can decide…

The second and final entry in the series is scheduled for release worldwide during Q1 2008.

Confirming a flurry of rumors last week, Bungie and Microsoft have confirmed that they have split and that the former is now an independently owned studio rather than a Microsoft entity. Bungie was originally founded in 1991 as a Mac-oriented developer and acquired by Microsoft back in 2000 when Halo was first shown to the gaming public.

Microsoft will retain both a minority equity interest in the studio as well as control of the Halo franchise; it also has publishing rights to further Bungie products. However, the studio will retain ownership of any new IPs it creates; it also has the ability to develop non-Halo titles.

Shane Kim, vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, said, “While we are supporting Bungie’s desire to return to its independent roots, we will continue to invest in our ‘Halo’ entertainment property with Bungie and other partners, such as Peter Jackson, on a new interactive series set in the ‘Halo’ universe. We look forward to great success with Bungie as our long-term relationship continues to evolve through ‘Halo’-related titles and new IP created by Bungie.”

Meanwhile, it is not sure what Bungie is up to right now. The company recently stated that it is working on post-launch Halo 3 content and will continue to support the game accordingly. “This exciting evolution of our relationship with Microsoft will enable us to expand both creatively and organizationally in our mission to create world-class games,” said Bungie studio head Harold Ryan. “We will continue to develop with our primary focus on Microsoft platforms; we greatly value our mutually prosperous relationship with our publisher, Microsoft Game Studios; and we look forward to continuing that affiliation through ‘Halo’ and beyond.”

Europeans are in luck this Holiday season as Sony has announced a new cheaper PS3 model. The new model features a 40GB hard drive and lacks backwards compatibility with PS2 and PS1 games, but will retail for less: 399 Euros (299 Pounds in the UK) starting October 10. The removal of past software support as explained by Sony: “The new model is no longer backwards compatible with PlayStation 2 titles, reflecting both the reduced emphasis placed on this feature amongst later purchasers of PS3, as well as the availability of a more extensive line-up of PS3 specific titles (a total of 65 titles across all genres by Christmas).”

Additionally, the baseline model will feature two USB ports rather than the standard four and has no memory card slots. However, it retains the Wi-fi functionality of the immediate model.

Sony added to the announcement with word that the 60GB Starter pack available in Europe will get a 100 Euro price drop to 499 Euros. It contains an extra Sixaxis controller and two first-party titles. The company also introduced the Value pack model in the UK: it will include two Sixaxis controllers as well as two first-party titles and will retail for 349 Pounds.

Following the Halo movie, it seems another Microsoft property Gears of War might not be getting made into a movie anytime soon. New Line Cinema, the studio which acquired the film rights to the adaptation, is backing away from the film due to an ever-rising budget. The financial problems stem from having a triple-A cast as well as the usage of green screens, because the film simply cannot be done without it. The risk of betting so much money on such a franchise is also another factor.

First, the demos:

• Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties on the official website, 3D Downloads, ComputerGames.ro, FileFront, FileShack, Gamer’s Hell and PixelRage

• The Chosen: Well of Souls on AtomicGamer, ComputerGames.Ro, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell and Internode Games Network

• Escape From Paradise City on 3D Downloads, ComputerGames.ro, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell and PixelRage

• Civilization IV: Beyond The Sword v3.13 on Firaxis Games

• Loki v1.0.7.0 on the game’s forums

• Medal of Honor: Airborne v1.1 on the official website

• Supreme Commander v3269 on 3D Downloads, FileFront and Gamer’s Hell

• UFO: Extraterrestrials #2 on the official website