While most of us have all the big blockbuster games, there are always newcomers to introduce them to, and Microsoft is aiming at them with the expansion of its Classics collection in Europe by including three games – Halo 3, Mass Effect and Project Gotham Racing 4. They will be re-released on March 20 for just £19.99.

No introduction is really necessary for any of the titles. Halo 3 is essentially the most popular first-person shooter ever, amassing a huge following since its Xbox days. Mass Effect is the latest action-RPG from BioWare; exclusive to Xbox 360, the game has players travelling across the universe to save the world from a destructive civilization. Finally, Project Gotham Racing 4 is the latest installment in the street racing series.

“We are delighted to add three of our finest titles to the Classics range, adding to the exceptional entertainment offering available on the Xbox 360 at outstanding prices,” said David Gosen Vice President of Marketing, Xbox Europe. “As we see more and more families looking to save money by staying in, Xbox 360 continues to offer high-quality home entertainment at fantastic value and consumers are clearly recognising this as we sail past 8 million console sales in Europe.”

Sega Europe sent out word that Football Manager 2008 will be released for the Xbox 360 this Spring. The upcoming installment in the renowned sports simulation series has been developed by Sports Interactive and is fully updated for the new season, including transfers being made in the mid-season stransfer window, allowing players to select their favorite club or international team and guide them to the title.

The game, as expected, will feature online play via Xbox Live, allowing players to challenge friends to one-on-one matches and even host tournaments. Football Manager 2008 will kick in to stores on March 28.

Joystiq reports that No More Heroes, director Suda 51’s upcoming action game, will not feature blood in its European release. It seems that blood was replaced by… something other than blood.

Europeans will have to wait a while longer than American gamers, as shredders in the region will be able to get their picks on Guitar Hero 3 on November 23. The game will be available on the PS2, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360, and will feature the brand-new wireless Gibson Les Paul guitar controllers.

The third installment in the venerable franchise sees the addition of boss characters – played by Slash and Tom Morello – an all-new duel multiplayer mode and more. Guitar Hero 3 will be released in North America later this month.

Austin-based Gamecock plans on opening a new office in the UK. “It’s mostly about us trying to give our developers the best deal we can across the PAL territories too,” said company CEO Mike Wilson to Next-Gen. “When doing a co-publishing deal, it’s really hard to do that.”

The second office will make the company an international publisher and offer its enterprise of developers the opportunity to reach out to European gamers.

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.

NCSoft Europe sends word that the Guild Wars edition of the award-winning Gaming Razer DeathAdder mouse is now available to buy online.

The Razer DeathAdder is the world’s first 3G infrared sensor gaming mouse that provides precision and faster game play – all encased in a beautiful, sleek and ergonomic design. Razer™ is the world’s leading manufacturer of professional gaming peripherals and has a history of unsurpassable quality in their products. They are also working alongside NCsoft Europe as their official partner for upcoming gaming events.

“We are delighted with the look and performance of the Guild Wars Razer DeathAdder Mouse,” said Véronique Lallier, Marketing Manager for NCsoft Europe. “The Razer DeathAdder is the perfect companion to our Guild Wars players’ gaming experience and the ultimate Guild Wars gaming accessory.”

The mouse is available from the PlayNC online store for £48.

CVG reports of a delay to Universe at War, an upcoming RTS that is being published by Sega. According to the article, the game has been pushed back to further tune it to satisfy the players’ expectations.

The delay only affects European regions though. As per this post on the Petroglyph forums, the setback does not affect the US launch that is on November 2.

Celebrating its success in the portable console space, Nintendo of Europe announced that gamers in the region will get a new Nintendo DS Lite color – silver. Starting October 12, gamers can pick up the silver edition alongside the popular black, white and pink versions. It will retail for £99.

Expanding its reach as a games publisher, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced that it is setting up office in Europe, catering to the region. Its operation includes direct distribution, sales and marketing of its internally-developed titles, through the US-based production arm WB Games, as well as third-party games.

The company is currently setting up offices in London and is recruiting sales and marketing executives for it, as well as in a number of other territories in the region including Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

WBIE will release its first titles later this Fall – Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal on PS2, Wii and Xbox 360; and Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck on the DS.

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.

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.

According to this site, Microsoft has announced at IFA in Germany that they have cut the price of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive by €20 to €180. It is not currently confirmed.

Europeans looking forward to getting their fix of Halo 3 can look forward to accessories inspired by the game. Microsoft will release limited edition Xbox 360 Halo 3-themed wireless controllers in the region starting September 26.

The controllers have been designed by Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn, which features both the Covenant Brute and Master Chief themes. Both are fade and scratch-resistance and come with a figurine of Master Chief designed by McFarlane himself. It will retail for £34.99. The other accessory is a Spartan green and gold wireless headset that will go for the same price.

Fingers twitching to chat? The Xbox 360 Messenger kit will also be available in the region starting September 7. This add-on for the controller enables users to text message quickly and efficiently with friends and family. It will retail for £24.99.

Nintendo has announced that over one million units of the Wii have been sold in the UK, making it the fastest selling home console in the region. It crossed the milestone in just 38 weeks, some 11 weeks faster than the PS2 which took 50 weeks, as well as the Xbox 360 which took 60 weeks to reach the major milestone.

David Yarnton, General Manager of Nintendo UK commented, “The non-stop demand for Wii even in the traditionally slow sales periods for video games in the UK is clearly behind this record breaking achievement. The performance of both systems appears to indicate that unprecedented interactive entertainment experiences, provided by a combination of the revolutionary nature of DS and Wii with the increasing number of unique software titles for the system from Nintendo and third parties, are being enjoyed by both avid and new gamers of all ages.”

The Wii is sold in the country for £179 and is part of the company’s Touch Generations campaign.