Following rumors that Splinter Cell: Conviction had been pushed back for a major redesign, Ubisoft has commented on the matter, dismissing said rumor with two words - “pure speculation”.

The rumor originates from a report in Xbox World 360 magazine that claimed the game wasn’t groundbreaking enough and was already outdated by Assassin’s Creed, hence the redesign.

Conviction has Sam Fisher stripped of his gadgets, instead relying on old-school techniques such as crowd blending and the like. More information is expected from the upcoming Ubidays event.

Though it isn’t confirmed yet, TGMOnline, by way of Halifax, the Italian distributor for Capcom, reports that a PC version of Dead Rising is in the making, as well as an expansion to Lost Planet dubbed Colonies.

Capcom is yet to comment on the rumor.

Primotech has a story up where they carry word from a “source close to BioWare” that the studio’s next game will be a MMORPG based on the Star Wars: KOTOR universe. The game was originally released back in 2003 and has become a seminal hit.

Their source states that the game is being developed by the company’s Austin studio, which was formed in 2006 and is headed by James Ohlen, whose past credits include the first KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights and the Baldur’s Gate series, all legendary RPGs.

As expected, no other details are currently known about the game.

This rumor was shot down before, but it has been going persistently strong since people just cannot get the idea of a really hot Final Fantasy 7 remake on the PS3. Anyways, IGN sent off an email to Square Enix to squash the rumor once and for all; here is their reply:

Since the FINAL FANTASY VII tech demo at E3 2005, there have been a lot of rumors about the presentation hinting at an actual remake. While the June 2006 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly confirms the remake for release in 2007, Square Enix has never stated this.

We have however confirmed that development has begun for Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII on PlayStation 3. These titles are part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis Project which also includes a mobile game titled FINAL FANTASY Agito XIII.

Really, what kind of an answer do people need? “WE ARE NOT MAKING A F&*&@#! FINAL FANTASY 7 GAME!” That’s more like it, I guess.

Previous versions of the rumor has been shot down various times, but this one comes from Dean Takahashi of The Mercury News, who reports that Microsoft is indeed working on a portable game console that will compete with products from Sony, Nintendo and even Apple’s iPod.

Dubbed the “Xplayer,” the device is said to be in the works from before the development of Xbox 360. However, Microsoft decided to focus on the next-gen console and the project was shelved. It has been raised from the dead now, and has people like Robbie Bach and J Allard working on the “Xboy,” it is still in its early stages and is not expected until late next year.

This has been the strongest report of them all, and can be taken as a definite hint that Microsoft is indeed working on a PSP-DS competitor, but until official word comes along, it’s still a rumor.