To anticipate the release of the Burnout Paradise demo today, EA sent out a nice trailer showing off the content featured in the sample. Surprisingly, it does not show any crashes.

Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer is planning a major expansion for the PlayStation Network. He also talked about the company’s plans to link up the PS3 to mobile phones and a range of other unspecified products. The drive for mobile phone-PS3 connectivity will be part of the company’s next three-year business plan, he revealed.

Stringer also plans on building up the PlayStation Network with content from other Sony divisions. “On Friday, we had a dinner where the heads of Sony Electronics, [Sony] Pictures, Sony BMG, and Sony PlayStation were all at the same dinner table intermingled and actually communicating,” he said.

A first look at Voltage, an upcoming Wipeout-esque action racer:

Arnold Schwarzenegger built his movie career by presenting himself as a star of big, violent action films like Conan the Barbarian. Unfortunately, he is now a hypocrite and is carefully distancing himself from the recent Conan video game release. Here’s the scoop, as reported by the Contra Costa Times:

Schwarzenegger has “no association with this game,” said Aaron McLear, the governor’s spokesman, who did not elaborate on how the governor feels about the character becoming a video game. Schwarzenegger is fighting for a law to restrict the sale of violent video games, and “Conan” would be among those regulated.

Schwarzenegger, who has himself appeared as a a character in several violent games, signed California’s video game law into effect in 2005.

Sad, but true: Arnold is no longer the awesome dude he was just a couple of years ago!

AMD/ATI fans are in luck, as the company announced that owners of ATI Radeon graphic card owners are entitled to a pair of free games from Steam, Valve’s content delivery service. Eligible gamers can visit this page for details on how to get free copies of Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch as well as discounts on other Valve games.

Developer Auran and publisher Gamecock sent out word that Fury will adopt a new business model of “free to download, free to play” with the December 14 release of the “Age of the Chosen” update.

“FURY was built around giving players options that suit their play style and their wallet,” said Tony Hilliam, CEO of Auran. “With the AotC update, we are introducing a new player category called “Chosen”. As one of the Chosen, players can access all game types, equip all weapons and unlock all 400 abilities - and they can play as much as they like absolutely free. This is a fantastic opportunity for players to jump into battle with their mates and discover the frenetic pace of the fastest RPG combat ever. Chosen will earn less gold and essence, and will not be able to trade with other players.”

Chosen players will be able to purchase gold from the game’s store or upgrade to “Hero” status to earn more essence and gold. The add-on also features two new game types - Carnage and 1v1 Elimination.

A Viking: Battle for Asgard trailer has been released, offering two minutes of in-game footage from the upcoming third-person action game.

So, who’s working on the next Bond game? If 1UP is to be believed, Bizarre Creations, who were recently bought by Activision, is working on a Bond game with a load of driving elements. No details were posted.

Gamers, you have done an awesome job of getting a word into the dictionary and even making it the word of the year - “w00t”. This word was chosen by Merriam-Webster as the “Word of the Year”, topping the publisher’s online poll for the word that best sums up 2007.

“It shows a really interesting thing that’s going on in language. It’s a term that’s arrived only because we’re now communicating electronically with each other,” said John Morse, president of the company.

Word of the year 2008: “n00b”.

The promised demo for LittleBigPlanet, the cute sandbox game that is in development at Media Molecule for the PS3, will not appear this year, according to SCEA PR Manager Ron Eagle who confirmed this to MTV.

“I can officially confirm that there won’t be a demo this year,” Eagle told Totilo, as reported on MTV’s Multiplayer blog.

He said that the game is still on schedule for release next year and that more of the game will be shown off in January. Eagle also claims that he has played through 60% of the game’s 50 pre-designed levels.

The latest trailer for Turning Point: Fall of Liberty is now available, showing off the upcoming alternate history shooter set up in Nazi-occupied USA. The game is due out on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 early next year.

No doubt the DS is the most successful video game console this year, or any other for that matter. According to Nintendo’s internal sales data through November 30, the company revealed that the DS has sold over 6 million units this year in the US, making it “the year’s top-selling video game system.”

“There’s no letup in sight,” said Nintendo of America marketing VP George Harrison in the announcement. “Nintendo DS appeals strongly to both core and casual gamers, and its momentum is set to propel us into 2008.”

Meanwhile, the ignored PSP locks himself up in his room and commits suicide.

Microsoft announced that Mistwalker’s upcoming sci-fi RPG Lost Odyssey will be released for the Xbox 360 on February 12, 2008. Those who pre-order the game will receive a card with a download code for an additional mission and unlockable weapon in-game. The content is said to be made available to the public, but those who have the card will get access starting day one.

Independent developer Rebellion is shifting to console development from the PSP, according to company CEO Jason Kingsley. He revealed this to GI.BIZ, stating that they are currently working on a PS3/Xbox 360 sequel to Eidos’ Shellshock property. The original was released back in 2004 and was developed by Guerilla Games.

Rebellion’s recent endeavors include the PSP versions of The Simpsons Game, Star Wars Battlefield: Renegade Squadron and Dead to Rights: Reckoning.

Speaking on the Shellshock sequel, Kingsley claimed that “it’s very much a mature product, it’s a bit like Jacob’s Ladder or Apocalypse Now in movie terms.” He continued, saying that the game is “meant to be challenging the nature of war, the horror and why people do these horrific things to each other.”

Kingsley also revealed that they are also working on “original, home-brand IPs”, but will have a balance of licenses and their own original products.

This trailer for Battlefield: Bad Company has George Gordon Haggard Jr. say hello to his family. The game is due out on PS3 and Xbox 360 next year.