Contest: Halo: Reach Legendary Edition, News from GamePro

If you don't own Halo: Reach, we've got an interesting proposition for you. Not only are we giving away three copies of the game, but they also come wrapped in extravagant"Legendary Edition"packages. Read on to see how you can win this awesome gear fromGamePro.

Any first-person shooter fans out there want to win a copy ofHalo: Reach? Not only do we have three spare copies of the game, they're also"Legendary Editions,"complete with extra materials and sweet figurines. If you have a fireplace or gaming cave, this thing would probably make a nice centerpiece to tie the room together.

• Grand Prize Winners (3):ThreeHalo: ReachLegendary Edition Packages

If you want to get your hands on one of these Halo: Reach packages, here's the deal. Tell us what your favorite Halo weapon or item is and why you like using it. Post that comment on this contest page, on the GamePro contest post via ourFacebookpage, and/or in a message to ourTwitteraccount. We're giving away one Halo: Reach box per network, so you have three different ways to win. Keep in mind, you can only enter once on each network, so no cheating or spamming the contest with alternate accounts -- we can track that.

Example:"My favorite Halo weapon is _______________ because _______________"

Our contest ends at 1 p.m. Pacific this Friday. We'll announce the winners by the end of the day, so make sure to check back then. Good luck!

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Top Story: 22-in-1 3DS accessory kit, News from GamePro

This morning's Top Story is the launch of a range of Nintendo 3DS accessory bundles, including an excessive-sounding 22-in-1 kit.

Gaming accessory manufacturerCTA Digitalhas announced that it has four new accessory kits available for users to spruce up their shiny new handhelds. They even come in color-coordinated black and blue varieties.

Starting small, a 5-in-1 Starter Pack comes with a case for the system itself, an extra stylus, set of screen protectors, pair of earbuds and a game case. The 3DS case is padded inside so as not to scratch the unit, and there's room inside to store games and other accessories. It costs $12.99.

The 12-in-1 Adventure Pack, available for $19.99, includes all of the above as well as a car charger, USB cable, two styluses and four game cases. There's also a wrist strap for those concerned about flinging their 3DS through a window, into a river or into the slathering jaws of a grizzly bear accidentally.

The 18-in-1 Premium Pack comes with a portable SD card reader, travel plug and European power adapter. The provided USB cable in this bundle can also be used with DSi and DS systems. There's also some retractable metal styluses in this kit, too, for the people that just don't like plastic. This lot will se you back $24.99.

Finally, the 22-in-1 Ultimate Pack, in CTA's own words,"takes accessory bundles to the limit."It features a larger case to store everything, crystal and polycarbonate shells for the system, dust covers, a"large-capacity"game organizing case, four styluses, two finger styluses and a headphone splitter as well as everything else in the 18-in-1 pack. There's also a neck strap for those people who want the most impractical-but-fun necklace ever. It costs $29.99

Some may suggest that the sheer number of accessories that some of these bundles offer may go somewhat against the principles of a portable system, and that very few of these accessories are necessary for the smooth operation and enjoyment of the 3DS. But for those who want to keep their system safe and have a convenient way of carrying everything around? One of these bundles might be a sound investment. Check them out onAmazon.

STAT CHECK -- 7:30AM PST, Mar. 29, 2011

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"Tenchu"Tagged On Tecmo Koei Building, News from GamePro

Tagger seems to have mixed up his ninja action series while also tagging phrases such as"Crap game."

A disgruntled gamer appears to have taken out their anger on Tecmo Koei's office in Tokyo.

My Game News Flash(viaAdriasang) has a few pictures of the graffiti, which includes comments such as"Die Garbage,""Crap game"and, oddly enough,"Tenchu."

You may recall that Tenchu is a ninja action series, much like Tecmo Koei's own Ninja Gaiden franchise. But unlike Ninja Gaiden, Tenchu was developed by Acquire and From Software. While there is potential for confusion though, Tenchu also means"divine punishment"in Japanese, so the taggers may have had other meanings in mind.

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Nintendo 3DS Launch: San Francisco, News from GamePro

Just minutes before the Powell Street GameStop in San Francisco opened their doors for the midnight launch of the Nintendo 3DS, we spoke with the first three people waiting in line to see what they thought of the new handheld device.

WhileNintendo 3DSlaunch lines on the East Coast saw masses of gamers bundled up against the bitter March cold, the relatively small, patient crowd waiting outside of the Powell Street GameStop in Downtown San Francisco didn't even look chilled in the city's trademark mid-range weather. As the GameStop employees briefly shut the front grate of the store at about 11:50 p.m., random onlookers walked past the line of 50 people, wondering aloud"what new game"everyone was waiting for.

At fifteen minutes before midnight, the line at the Powell Street GameStop in Downtown San Francisco numbered about 50 people.

Kyle Tillisch, 21, didn't even have to arrive early, as he was the first to start waiting in line at 9:30 in the evening for his Cosmos Black 3DS."Street Fighter IVlooks really cool, especially with the dynamic view,"Kyle said of his desired 3DS launch title. He also noted that he didn't feel the need to wait for the next version of the 3DS."I felt that with the amount of money {Nintendo} is putting towards it and the amount of money they're charging for it, they won't be coming out with a new one any time soon. They've already gone through the 'XL' phase and the 'Lite' phase. They saw that it didn't really work out that well, and they actually ended up losing profit on some of that."

Brian Chow, 20, who arrived next after 10 in the evening, demoed the 3DS during a previous Nintendo event at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf, and walked away impressed by the visual depth."I pre-ordered Street Fighter andPilotwings, and I already haveRidge Racer,"Chow remarked, adding that he regularly doesn't line up for new gaming systems."This is my first time buying a new console on my own, actually. Usually my mom will pay for it, but now I actually get to buy it."

Brian also commented that he found the found the 3D visuals to be exhausting."When I was trying the demo, the 3D can be really intense, so I figure I'll just play for an hour, rest my eyes and play the next day."

Kyle Tillisch (third from left) was the first to purchase a 3DS, arriving to wait in line just at 9:30 p.m.

Chow's twin brother, Allan, 20, wasn't even there to pick up a 3DS, instead claiming to prefer waiting for theSony NGP."There's not that many games I want on the DS line at the moment -- the most interesting one is Metal Gear Solid, but that's not out yet. I'm more interested in the NGP at the moment,"he stated. Of the NGP's titles, Allan said he's looking forward to Uncharted and Killzone."I think the NGP has more potential to last longer because the graphics are better. It's got more ground to compete with Apple products."

Allan also remarked that he'd wait until the NGP's price was announced before deciding to line up for it."If the NGP'sabove450 dollars, I might not get it, but then anything below that, probably."

Leading up to the 3DS' launch, Nintendo kicked off a series of attention grabbing demos, appearances, and media blitzes, includingformal announcements back in March, a memorable showing at E3 2010 (complete with the infamous3DS-tethered models), and even capping off recently with Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aimedemoing the 3DS on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. According to various sources, the 3DS pre-orders hit higher numbers than the Nintendo Wii, and looks to sell incredibly well based on the strength of its 3D technology.

Allan (left) and Brian Chow (right) were the second group to leave with a Nintendo 3DS.

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Darkstalkers May Return After 1 Million Requests, News from GamePro

Capcom has received some 100,000 requests for a Darkstalkers revival, but there's still a ways to go before they're willing to green-light it.

Capcom has revived both Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom for the current generation, but appearances by the publishers's other fighting franchise,Darkstalkers, has been largely limited to collections and isolated Morrigan and Felicia cameos. According to producer Yoshinori Ono though, requests for a new entry in the franchise have been rising, even if they are still well short of what it will take to get Capcom to consider a new entry in the series.

Producer Yoshinori Ono toldEurogamerthat Capcom has received 100,000 requests for a new entry in the series, which is a considerable jump from the 5000 they had last year. But it will take as many as a million requests for Capcom to consider reviving Darkstalkers.

"One day, if it goes half a million, Capcom may raise its eyebrow a little bit and I could do what I did in London in 2007 when I announced the comeback of Street Fighter,"Ono said."In the near future, with your help, it may become true. It's on its way, because we're pretty much where we were with Street Fighter a few years back. So keep it up."

Given the recent Capcom fighter renaissance that has included Street Fighter IV, Marvel vs. Capcom and Street Fighter x Tekken, it may very well happen. At this point though, it's up to the fans.

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BioWare, Dragon Age and the straight male demographic, News from GamePro

Romantic subplots in BioWare games have been of growing importance in recent years, particularly in the Mass Effect and Dragon Age sagas. But who are they for?

"In Dragon Age II,"began BioWare community member Bastal inone of many threadshe has posted on the subject in the past few days,"BioWare neglected their main demographic: the straight male gamer."A bold claim, and one that warrants further examination.

The main gist of his argument was that in past BioWare games, he felt that companion characters -- particularly those with whom the player character could pursue a romantic subplot -- were designed specifically with heterosexual male gamers in mind. In Dragon Age II, he argues, most of the companions were designed to appeal to"other groups."He even goes so far as to suggest that a"No Homosexuality"option"could have been easily implemented"into the game. It's hopefully fairly obvious why this setting is conspicuously absent from Dragon Age II's options screen.

David Gaider, lead writer on the Dragon Age series, weighed in on the matter quickly and comprehensively, noting that Bastal was, at least in part, correct, but perhaps not in the way he intended.

"The romances in the game,"he wrote,"are not for 'the straight male gamer.' They're for everyone. We have a lot of fans, many of whom are neither straight nor male, and they deserve no less attention. {...} The majority has no inherent 'right' to get more options than anyone else."

A fair point; gaming has worked hard in recent years to shake off the"single straight male with questionable personal hygiene living in parents' basement"image it has been plagued with since the 1980s. So why shouldn't Dragon Age II cater to more than just straight men? And more to the point, why shouldn't gamers be able to play off-gender or off-sexuality if they so desire?

"The truth is,"Gaider continued,"that privilege always lies with the majority. They're so used to being catered to that they see the lack of catering as an imbalance."

Despite Gaider's choice of words, it's not that straight male Hawkes have a"lack of catering"by any means. But the romantic options for straight males failed to satisfy Bastal, who dubbed them"exotic choices that appeal to a subset of male gamers"and decried the fact that"{BioWare} had the resources to add another romance option, but instead chose to implement a gay romance."

Gaider justifies the fact that the gay love interest makes the first move on the player character -- the specific matter which Bastal appeared to object to -- as being more realistic than writing the exchanges in such a way that Hawke had to initiate every romance. He does, however, admit that he might have done things differently if he had to do it over again.

"I'm sorry if someone didn't get everything they wanted out of the romances,"concluded Gaider."I wish we could do the ideal where there's something for every desire and opinion, but as usual we make do."

Frankly, good on BioWare for catering to demographics outside the stereotypical heterosexual male gamer group that Bastal holds so dear. And good on Gaider for standing up to someone who, despite arguing coherently and politely, has opinions clearly based in ignorance and homophobia.

Check out the full exchange on BioWare's forumshere.

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Top Story: Angry Birds free for PC, News from GamePro

This morning's Top Story is Angry Birds' continuing quest for world domination, this time by offering a free version for Windows PCs.

There's a very slight possibility that there are a few people left in the world who haven't yet played avian-flinging physics-'em-up Angry Birds, perhaps due to not owning a compatible device. Now there aren't many excuses left to not try it, as the PC version is free for a limited time via a special offer from Intel's AppUp Center and BestBuy.

Intel's AppUp Center launched back in January as a response to Apple's Mac App Store which appeared as part of an OS X update around the same time. It is a standalone application which comes pre-installed on new Intel Atom-based netbooks, but is also available to download for standard Windows and Linux boxes. Like the Mac and iOS App Stores (andnon copyright-infringing equivalents for Android) it offers users the opportunity to explore and discover new applications for their device, try them out and purchase them. The AppUp Center can also be used as an alternative"launch pad"for downloaded apps rather than using the Windows Start Menu, making it a good solution for people who find themselves baffled by traditional computer use.

To get your hands on a free copy of Angry Birds for Windows, you'll have todownload the AppUp Center client from Best Buy's website. Then it's a simple case of registering for an account (ensuring that you say you live in the US, even if you don't) and logging in to find the $4.99 fee for Angry Birds waived.RockPaperShotgunreported that having the AppUp Center already installed requires users to uninstall and reinstall via the BestBuy link, and potentially having to register for a new account. But you do get a $4.99 game for free out of it, while Rovio, Intel and Best Buy all get a bit of free publicity.

The PC and Mac versions of Angry Birds haven't been quite as popular as the iOS and Android versions, perhaps because it was originally designed as a touchscreen mobile game. Or perhaps because there areentire websites like thisdevoted to free-to-play Flash-based physics games, many of which are quite a bit better than the heavily-marketed Angry Birds.

And if you're still holding out, don't forget that the game is apparentlycoming to Facebookvery soon. There is no escape.

STAT CHECK -- 8:40AM PST, Mar. 23, 2011

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Top Story is an analysis of a topic that seems to be on everybody's mind for the day -- it could be the most important story in our industry, or it could be a dumb story that got a ton of comments. You, the reader, vote with your attention by viewing and commenting on stories in ourNews Flash section.

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U.S. Pokémon Dream World Launch Delayed, News from GamePro

American version of Pokémon Black&White's online functionality delayed in an effort to"conserve energy resources"in the face of the ongoing disaster in Japan.

While insignifcant compared to the suffering endured by victims of the earthquake and subsequent Tsunami in Japan, the recent tragedy has had a substantial impact on the videogame industry as well. The latest victim is the American version of the Pokémon Dream World, which was scheduled to arrive at the end of March.

According to The Pokémon Company, the delay is part of the need to"conserve energy resources"in the wake of the disaster that hit earlier this month. The ongoing situation at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant has prompted Japanese authorities to schedule periodic blackouts.

The American version of the Dream World was scheduled to go live March 30, but has now been delayed indefinitely. It's one of the key features ofPokemon Blackand White, making it possible to upload individual monsters into what amounts to a browser game. Rewards include special berries and Pokemon with unique abilities.

We contacted Nintendo reps for further information, but they told us that they don't yet have a final release date for the feature in North America. Looks like English-speaking Pokemon fans will have to sit tight a while longer.

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Top Story: Video game software sales top $33 billion in 2010, News from GamePro

The video game software sales figures for last year are in, and it's clear that the digital sector is snapping at retail's heels.

Video game business intelligence and research firmsVGChartzandFADEteamed up to find out how many video games were sold in 2010, combining both retail and digitally-distributed purchases. The figures show that the retail channel is alive and well, though the digital sector is growing rapidly. Over 3.2 billion game purchases in total led to over $33 billion in revenues for 2010, with $2.5 billion (7.6% of the market total) coming from digitally-distributed products.

7.6% doesn't sound like very much of a market share until you consider that many digitally-distributed titles are much cheaper than retail products. Measure the share on unit numbers rather than revenue, and it's a very different story -- digital platforms, particularly iOS devices, dominate the market. According to the study, only 20% of unit sales came from the combined total of Wii, DS, PS3, PSP, PS2 and 360 retail titles, with the rest coming from digital sources. To put that in perspective, approximately 1.9 billion iOS games were sold last year, equating to total revenue of about $749 million; a comparatively small 147 million PS3 titles were sold at retail's higher price point, leading to a significantly higher $7.3 billion in revenue.

In terms of other digital distribution services, Steam led the way, with $910 million in revenue and 85 million units sold in 2010, making up an estimated 80% of the total PC digital market, and the closest digital rival to retail in terms of revenue. Xbox LIVE Arcade racked up $135 million from 17 million unit sales, while PSN was a little behind with $90 million and 10 million software units sold. Interestingly, combined DLC sales for 360 and PS3 equated to approximately $300 million in revenue -- considerably more than the combined total from XBLA and PSN game sales. Looks like DLC isn't going away any time soon, then.

PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii were top of the pile in terms of revenue, accounting for $7,293 million, $7,242 million and $6,830 million in revenue respectively. The typically lower price of Wii games means that Nintendo's software unit sales numbers were higher than both Sony's and Microsoft's -- 186 million units vs approximately 150 million each for PS3 and 360 -- but pulled in less money. PlayStation 2 retail titles are still hanging in there, too, with $756 million in revenue accounted for by 19 million units of software sold. Imagine how much higher that could be if the PS3 was properly backwards-compatible.

Bottom of the heap in terms of revenue were Android, Blackberry and Windows Mobile apps, with revenues of just $16 million, $8 million and $7 million respectively. In the case of Android, this $16 million comes from 465 million app sales compared to $7 million for 13 million units on Windows Mobile devices. Clearly Android developers are under-charging everyone -- not that consumers are complaining, from the looks of things.

In summary: retail is still where the money is, by a long shot. But in terms of unit sales, iOS devices have a seemingly unassailable lead. Check out the full list of figures over atVGChartz.

STAT CHECK -- 8:30PM PST, Mar. 21, 2011

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Top Story is an analysis of a topic that seems to be on everybody's mind for the day -- it could be the most important story in our industry, or it could be a dumb story that got a ton of comments. You, the reader, vote with your attention by viewing and commenting on stories in ourNews Flash section.

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PAX East 2011– Day 1: Cosplay or Coswork?, News from GamePro

Some gamers at PAX cosplay for fun, but others actually do this while working at the booths. Some showroom floor photography by Brian Taylor blurs the difference between the professionals and the amateurs.

Brian Taylor is a freelance photographer and writer. See more of his work at hiswebsiteor follow him viahis Twitter page.

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AMD: PC gaming is stifled by console development, News from GamePro

It seems barely a week goes by without one format or the other being accused of"dying"-- but are consoles really choking the life out of PC gaming?

Speaking withbit-tech.netthis week, AMD's worldwide developer relations manager Richard Huddy had a few choice words to say about the narrowing divide between PC and console gaming. He noted that the console-centric nature of game production these days was frustrating developers who felt obliged to use console-friendly middleware such as DirectX rather than writing software that could take full advantage of PC hardware. One of the most common requests he gets from developers, he says, is to"make {DirectX} go away."

"It's funny,"he said."We often have at least ten times as much horsepower as an Xbox 360 or a PS3 in a high-end graphics card, yet it's very clear that the games don't look ten times as good."

It's not just developers who are frustrated by the prioritization of console versions. PC gamers, particularly those who enjoy the traditionally PC-centric first-person shooter genre, have expressed their annoyance on several occasions at the"consolification"of their favorite games. Recent Call of Duty games' lack of dedicated servers and Dragon Age II's accusations of being"dumbed down"for the console market are just two recent examples.

Huddy and many PC-focused developers are in favor of leaving behind technologies such as DirectX in favor of writing code to take direct advantage of PC graphics hardware. This will have the benefit of making individual titles look more distinct from one another and run more speedily, but will be much more challenging work for developers trying to make their titles work on as broad a range of hardware as possible.

This discussion seems to suggest that PC gamers and developers want to break away from consoles into their own distinct entity. While we still see PC-specific titles such as Civilization V that are unlikely to make the jump to consoles, there are increasing numbers of triple-A titles from high-profile publishers releasing on 360, PS3 and PC simultaneously. PC versions of these titles often fail to take advantage of the additional power they have at their disposal -- not to mention cramming in console-style control schemes onto a platform with a mouse and keyboard attached as standard.

It sounds from Huddy's words that both gamers and developers alike would be much happier with a world where PC gaming was its own distinct beast, rather than the boundary-blurring entity it is right now. This would be a return to how things were in the mid-90s, when PC gaming was constantly at the cutting-edge of gaming technology.

Are we looking at a return to those days? Given how profit-driven today's industry is, probably not -- it wouldn't make good business sense for triple-A publishers to exclude either PC or console gamers from the hottest new titles. But traditionally PC-centric developers like CryTek are certainly interested in the possibilities offered by Huddy's suggestions. Viva la revolución?

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Top Story: Final Mass Effect 2 DLC on March 29, News from GamePro

This morning's Top Story is the news that Mass Effect 2's gradually-lengthening saga is finally coming to a close with the final piece of DLC.

EA and BioWare have announced that what they promise to be the very last piece ofMass Effect 2DLC will be released on March 29, 2011. Mass Effect: Arrival sees Shepard sent to the edge of the galaxy to rescue an undercover operative who may have evidence of an imminent Reaper invasion. The pack will cost 560 Microsoft or BioWare Points on Xbox 360 and PC, or $7 on PSN --£5.49 for UK players.

"All year, we have been extremely honored and humbled by the reception we have received for Mass Effect 2 from players around the world, including our post-release DLC,"said Casey Hudson, Executive Producer for the series."Mass Effect: Arrival is an exciting extension to Mass Effect 2 and will show players just how close the Reapers are to returning and completing their deadly harvest."

It certainly seems like Arrival is intended to be a bridging storyline between Mass Effect 2 and its upcoming sequel, currently in development at BioWare. It also promises to feature a prominent role for"fan favorite"Admiral Hackett, voiced by Lance Henriksen of Alien and Terminator fame.

Mass Effect 2's post-release DLC has been praised for offering high-quality side-stories to Mass Effect 2's main campaign, and for offering reasonably good value for money compared to some other games' DLC offerings. The PlayStation 3 version of the game, released in January of this year -- one year after the Xbox original -- bundled together all of the previously-released content into one convenient package. This promised to allow gamers the opportunity to enjoy what appeared to be the"complete"Mass Effect 2 experience without having to download any additional content. Except now, of course, for this piece.

Now that Arrival has promised to be the"final"piece of Mass Effect 2 DLC, does this mean we can expect another re-release bundling all the extra content together at some time in the near future? Mass Effect 2: Ultimate Edition, perhaps? There are sure to be plenty of 360 and PC owners holding out for an edition like this.

Keep an eye on theofficial site,Twitter feedandFacebook Pagefor the latest from BioWare.

STAT CHECK -- 8:30AM PST, Mar. 18, 2011

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Top Story is an analysis of a topic that seems to be on everybody's mind for the day -- it could be the most important story in our industry, or it could be a dumb story that got a ton of comments. You, the reader, vote with your attention by viewing and commenting on stories in ourNews Flash section.

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Top Story: Heavy Rain, Mass Effect 2, Black Ops and others honored at BAFTAs, News from GamePro

Today's Top Story is the outcome of last night's GAME British Academy Video Games Awards, which saw plenty of unsurprising nominations but some unexpected winners.

Last night, the London Hilton Hotel in the UK played host to the annual GAME British Academy Video Games Awards, one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies in the industry. Heavy Rain came away with the most awards of any other game at the event, but was beaten to the Best Game honor by Mass Effect 2. Call of Duty: Black Ops scooped the public-voted GAME Award 2010. And Peter Molyneux was awarded a BAFTA Fellowship, the highest honor the Academy can bestow, for his lifelong contributions to the industry.

While thenominationswere mostly unsurprising, some of the winners were unexpected. God of War III beat Heavy Rain and LIMBO to the Artistic Achievement award, for example. Perhaps even more surprisingly, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit managed to lay the smack down on the heavyweight combo of Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Black Ops, Halo: Reach and Starcraft II to raise the Multiplayer trophy.

Another surprise came with the winner of the Handheld BAFTA -- it went to Cut The Rope from Chillingo, the only iOS title on the list. Considering it was up against the PSP God of War, LEGO Harry Potter, Professor Layton and the Lost Future, Sonic Colours and Super Scribblenauts, the $0.99 game's victory shows that iOS titles are being taken very seriously by the industry.

Heavy Rain grabbed itself three awards in total: Technical Innovation, Original Music and Story. Composer Normand Corbeil looked genuinely overcome with emotion as he accepted the award for Heavy Rain's soundtrack. Heavy Rain's victory in the Story category over Alan Wake, BioShock 2 and Mass Effect 2 in particular will likely be a controversial choice, but fans of David Cage's brand of"Interactive Drama"will be pleased.

The awards showed a pleasing breadth of opinion rather than being dominated by one big-name title. Black Ops, one of the most financially successful games of the last year, had a surprisingly weak showing, with its only victory on the evening coming in the public-voted GAME Award 2010 category. This is the third year in a row the Call of Duty franchise has picked up this particular award.

Check out the full list of winners and nominees at theofficial website.

STAT CHECK -- 8:30AM PST, Mar. 17, 2011

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Top Story is an analysis of a topic that seems to be on everybody's mind for the day -- it could be the most important story in our industry, or it could be a dumb story that got a ton of comments. You, the reader, vote with your attention by viewing and commenting on stories in ourNews Flash section.

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UPDATE: Halo: Reach contest winners announced, News from GamePro

We're giving away three signed Todd McFarlane Halo: Reach action figures and five Halo: Reach Defiant map packs. Read on to see how you can win.

UPDATE:OK, we've picked our winners with some help from coin flips and random number generators, so thanks to everyone who entered! Here are the winners for our Halo: Reach contest.If you win, you have one week to send your mailing info toMcKinleyin a direct message.

Our grand prize contest winners areJames Whitbord,Venessa237andOli Dunnet, withLanmannaandhestarwinning the remaining Halo: Reach"Defiant"Map Packs.

Original Text:The"Defiant"Map Park forHalo: Reachreleased today, andof coursewe're going to share it with you guys. But since this is GamePro, we're going to take the contest a step further and give three lucky winners an extra prize -- official Halo: Reach action figures signed by comic book artist and toy designer Todd McFarlane. So what do you have to do to win?

(Sadly, three of our map codes exploded earlier today. We earlierteasedabout giving away eight, but luckily, five of them are left. Here's the full roundup of prizes.)

• Grand Prize Winners (3):One pack of Halo: Reach action figures, signed by Todd McFarlane, and a Halo: Reach Defiant map pack code.


• Runner-Up Winners (2):One Halo: Reach Defiant map pack code.

For the next 24 hours, you can enter the contest at one of GamePro's three different social networks, meaning you can enter up to three times total. All you've got to do is tell us your favorite Halo moment. We'll be picking winners at random and entering more than once per network instantly disqualifies you, so don't try to fool our dev team or we'll send you copies of Hello Kitty games. For your entry, post a comment below, in the comment area of the GamePro contest post on ourFacebookpage, and/or in a message to ourTwitteraccount.

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Top Story: BioWare employee caught posting Dragon Age II review on Metacritic?, News from GamePro

This morning's Top Story is the rumor that a BioWare employee may have been caught skewing Metacritic's user ratings.

Reddit userGatoFiascobecame suspicious of the top User Review for Dragon Age II on Metacritic yesterday when it seemed to, in his words,"read almost like a press release"rather than an honest opinion. Following up on his intuition, he investigated the reviewer in question -- one"Avanost"-- and discovered via his social media footprint that he appeared to be an engineer from BioWare named Chris Hoban.

The review in question has since been removed, along with the cached version, and the Metacritic user ratings for Dragon Age II are, at the time of writing, hovering around the 4.0 mark. It's difficult to tell from the negative comments posted whether these are genuine criticisms or simply community backlash to the alleged attempt to skew the ratings. GatoFiasco believes that many of the negative comments come from 4Chan users.

The community's objection to this kind of behavior -- known colloquially as"astroturfing"-- is not necessarily that an employee of a company has potentially attempted to skew user review scores. Rather, much of the controversy over the topic is from the fact that Avanost, if he is indeed a BioWare employee, did not disclose his ties to the company as part of his Metacritic review. Under the FTC Publishing Guidelines governing testimonials and endorsements,"bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service."

It's unlikely that this is the first time corporate"astroturfing"has taken place when it comes to user reviews on Metacritic, particularly with a product as seemingly divisive amongst the gamer community as Dragon Age II. But this instance, assuming there is some truth to it, is a high-profile case that will hopefully encourage developers and publishers to rethink the way they handle promotion of their titles -- or at least to encourage their employees to be more careful with their social media footprints.

Here's avisual rundownof GatoFiasco's"investigation", produced by a community member.

STAT CHECK -- 8:45AM PST, Mar. 15, 2011

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Top Story is an analysis of a topic that seems to be on everybody's mind for the day -- it could be the most important story in our industry, or it could be a dumb story that got a ton of comments. You, the reader, vote with your attention by viewing and commenting on stories in ourNews Flash section.

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Top Story: New Mass Effect 3 info very soon, News from GamePro

EA has teased that some exclusive new Mass Effect 3 information will be revealed towards the end of the month -- that's this morning's Top Story.

A news post onEA's Czech Republic portalsite has revealed the news that the Bratislava Game Expo will play host to a wide range of EA titles, including an"exclusive"reveal of some newMass Effect 3information. The event is set to take place between March 18 and 20 at theIstropolis exhibition centerin the Slovakian capital.

The event will provide a showcase for some of EA's hottest new titles, including Crysis 2, Dragon Age II and The Sims Medieval. EA also promise a series of"lectures"and presentations, which is where the Mass Effect 3 information will be revealed. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet up with EA representatives and get their hands on the Dead Space and Need for Speed: Shift series. Crysis 2 will also be playable in full 3D.

The Bratislava Game Expo may seem like a curious place for EA to reveal Mass Effect 3, but the event has a few advantages over the high-profile American events. Firstly, it's not in America, so gamers outside the United States can feel more"involved"in the often rather American-dominated industry. Secondly, the Bratislava Game Expo focuses on the general public which, according to EA's site,"means a minimum of VIP events, presentations or journalistic meetings behind closed doors,"a stark contrast to E3's very exclusive restrictions. EA also claims that"the combination of activities and lecture programs merge the best of American and European operations of similar types"and promises to"play, entertain, teach and charm."

The European games industry is sometimes criticized for not having any events on a similar scale to last weekend's PAX East, but the Bratislava Game Expo, which runs alongside a companion Anime Expo, certainly sound like it's hoping to take a shot, promising presentations, debates and workshops on the subject of"video games, card games, deck games {and} role-playing games."EA's high-profile presence at the show certainly sounds like they are taking it seriously as an important event.

Tickets to the expo cost€12.90. Find out morehere.

STAT CHECK -- 8:30AM PST, Mar. 14, 2011

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Top Story is an analysis of a topic that seems to be on everybody's mind for the day -- it could be the most important story in our industry, or it could be a dumb story that got a ton of comments. You, the reader, vote with your attention by viewing and commenting on stories in ourNews Flash section.

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Top Story: DC Universe Online coming soon to PSN, News from GamePro

This morning's Top Story is the news that Sony's PS3-based MMO will soon be getting a downloadable release via PSN.

According to a new post on thePlayStation blog,DC Universe Onlinewill be getting a downloadable release via the PlayStation Store"soon."Sony hasn't given a firm release date as yet, but has revealed three pricing options for the game. The base game costs $59.99 and includes 30 days of play time, the same as the retail version. Monthly fees for the game after that are $14.99. Alternatively, those who are in it for the long haul can pay $77.99 for a 6-month subscription package or $134.99 for 12 months.

It's worth noting that with the 6 or 12 month packages that you still have to purchase a copy of the game -- so to play for 6 months you're actually paying $137.98, and for 12 months you'll be handing over $194.98. This is a saving over what you'd have to pay if you were paying monthly, however -- 6 and 12 months paid monthly would cost $89.94 and $179.98 respectively. You'd better be sure you want to spend that long in the DC Universe before you commit that amount of money, however.

The value of purchasing the title as a digital download is somewhat questionable. The game also costs $59.99 at retail, and certain retailers are already discounting it somewhat.Amazon.com, for example, is selling the PS3 version for $56.00. It's also interesting to note that the PC version's list price is $10 cheaper than the PS3 version.

The parity in pricing between the retail and digital editions of the PS3 version is, however, in keeping with the PC version, which costs the same both on store shelves and via digital outlets. With therecent successof Mass Effect 2's day-and-date release on PSN, too, it's likely we'll be seeing more games getting simultaneous releases at retail and via digital services for the same price.

STAT CHECK -- 7:35AM PST, Mar. 10, 2011

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GamePro Forum Views:221

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Top Story is an analysis of a topic that seems to be on everybody's mind for the day -- it could be the most important story in our industry, or it could be a dumb story that got a ton of comments. You, the reader, vote with your attention by viewing and commenting on stories in ourNews Flash section.

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Top Story: ICO/Shadow of the Colossus HD may be delayed, News from GamePro

This morning's Top Story is the rumor that the eagerly-awaited ICO and Shadow of the Colossus remakes may have been delayed to the holiday season.

A post by someone claiming to be a Kmart rep over onCheap Ass Gamerestimates that the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus HD collection for PS3 will actually drop some time later than anticipated -- during the holiday period of this year, rather than the previously-assumed springtime release date.

The individual post by itself isn't very much to go on and we only have the assurance of"SHC-Gamer"that he is an official Kmart/Sears rep. It's also worth considering the fact that Kmart and Sears aren't typically the first place you'd think to go for release date information.

A little investigation turns up a few pieces of evidence which could support his claims, however. The UK's Play.com lists the collection as being available onNovember 7, 2011, which is rather too specific to be a placeholder date. Amazon.com, on the other hand, lists it as available onDecember 31, 2011which is a date typically used as a placeholder by Amazon when the specific release date isn't known. GameStop, conversely,doesn't list a date at all, and Walmart, whoaccidentally revealed a possible April release dateback in September of last year,no longer lists a dateeither.

Searching for"Shadow of the Colossus"on Sears' site brings up, among other things, acharming vintage poster of a bodybuilderand no sign of the game in question. Not quite the kind of"colossus"we were after.

The release of the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus HD collection has been interpreted by many as an attempt to reignite excitement in Team ICO's work prior to the release of their next game, The Last Guardian. If the rumor of the collection's delay turns out to be true, though one of two things will happen. Either the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus collection will drop very close to The Last Guardian's"late 2011"release date announced at TGS last year --potentially hurting sales of both -- or The Last Guardian will also be delayed until next year. Releasing the collection during the busy holiday period, too, would mean there's a chance it would get lost in the"rush."

A lot of people have been waiting very patiently for this pack -- so how much longer will they have to wait? There's been no official word from Sony on the matter as yet.

STAT CHECK -- 7:30AM PST, Mar. 9, 2011

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GamePro Forum Views:240

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Top Story is an analysis of a topic that seems to be on everybody's mind for the day -- it could be the most important story in our industry, or it could be a dumb story that got a ton of comments. You, the reader, vote with your attention by viewing and commenting on stories in ourNews Flash section.

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Street Fighter Legacy still getting made, News from GamePro

Joey Ansah's"fan film,"Street Fighter Legacy is a little closer to becoming an official film. If he had the money, he said, he could shoot the entire series in just five months.

We interviewed Ansah last yearafter histhree-minute mini-epicblew up on YouTube. At that time, Ansah told us that he wanted to follow up on Legacy with a full-blown mini-series that told the story of Ken and Ryu in the canon gap between Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter II.

That was 10 months ago and we wondered if, like many Hollywood projects, Legacy fell by the wayside while Capcom focused on gettingSuper Street Fighter IV 3D Editiononto the Nintendo 3DS and Ansah picked up other projects. Ansah's been busy working on motion capture for Spec Ops: The Line and doing voice work and facial capture for the soon-to-be-released Crysis 2 (he plays Chino). Besides that, he's also kept up with Capcom for 3DS promotion projects in the United Kingdom.

What you see here are pictures from live shows where Ansah put together for Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil at a few 3DS showcase events. The Street Fighter show speaks for itself in the pictures, but watchingthis YouTube vidtells us the Resident Evil act was more like a haunted house.

Despite all the work that went into that and juggling other video game voice work and motion capture opportunities, Ansah still found time to finish the script for the Legacy series and work on a business plan to present to potential investors (and to Capcom). He told us if he had both funding and license, he could shoot the rest of the series in just five months.

"It's something that has to be made one way or the other,"he said. So even though we haven't heard anything from him in 10 months (that wasn't a Chino voice over, that is), we can still count on Legacy.

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Ian Bogost on Persuasive Games, News from GamePro

Georgia Tech professor, game developer, and industry pundit Ian Bogost joins us on Culture Club for a briefing on his book, Persuasive Games. See how games like Bulletstorm and the upcoming Call of Juarez: The Cartel feed into our subconscious in ways we can barely imagine.

Host:AJ Glasser

Guests:Ian Bogost,Brian Taylor,Brett Bates

Length:22 minutes

Like the show? Be sure to subscribe, rate and comment on our podcast'siTunes page. Apple-averse listeners can stream the episode below,download the episode, andsubscribe to the RSS feed.

You can read more about Ian's bookhere, and be sure to check out his game,Airport Security-- the game that famously irked the Transport Security Administration (TSA).

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Top Story: Nintendo 3DS day one launch games, News from GamePro

We're almost to March, the big month of spring releases, the Game Developers Conference, and PAX East. In the calm before the storm, a list of 3DS launch titles takes our top story.

Nintendo of America sent out a press release this morning announcing the 3DS titles available for the console at launch March 27, 2011.

• Pilotwings Resort
• Steel Diver
• nintendogs + cats
• Super Street Fighter IV 3D
• The Sims 3
• Madden NFL Football
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D
• LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
• Ridge Racer 3D
• Super Monkey Ball 3D
• Bust-a-Move Universe
• Samurai Warriors: Chronicles
• Asphalt 3D
• Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D
• Rayman 3D
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Shadow Wars

The news here are the games that didn't make the cut like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Star Fox 64 3D. Nintendo has a history of holding its first-party titles until the company feels they are"done,"but we're still surprised to see the 3DS hitting shelves with no actual Nintendo blockbuster franchise leading the charge (Nintendogs and Pilot Wings notwithstanding). As for how long it will be before we can pick up those titles, who can say. The"launch window"could be months long.

STAT CHECK -- 5PM PST, Feb. 22, 2011

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GamePro Forum Views:527

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Top Story is an analysis of a topic that seems to be on everybody's mind for the day -- it could be the most important story in our industry, or it could be a dumb story that got a ton of comments. You, the reader, vote with your attention by viewing and commenting on stories in ourNew Flash section.

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Nintendo 3DS Sells 400,000 in Japan, Already R4 Hacked, News from GamePro

PC World's Matt Peckham rounds up early coverage of the Nintendo 3DS launch, including reports that the console already has an R4 card hack out in the wild.

It looks like Nintendo's 3DS isn't having trouble finding buyers in Japan. According to Japanese newspaperNihon Keizai Shimbun(viaAndriasang) gamers essentially exhausted Nintendo's initial shipment of 400,000 units. The 3DS launched in Japan Saturday to reports of lines and pre-order sellouts.

Andriasang says Nintendo plans to ship 1.5 million systems in Japan and 4 million worldwide by the end of its fiscal year, March 31. The Japanese news-watcher also reports demand for the 3DS in Japan remains high enough that some retailers are taking pre-orders for Nintendo's next round of shipments.

The 3DS debuts in the U.S. on March 27 for $250.

3DS Hacked with R4 Card?

What's the world record for"fastest hacked handheld"? I have no idea, but"24 hours"sounds like a contender. It depends, of course, on what you consider"hacked."

According to the following video, a hacker group finagled a DS flashcart to run on the 3DS"just a few hours after launch"using an R4 card. Assuming the information in the video's dependable, we're still talking strictly DS here (the 3DS plays older DS and DSi games). 3DS games remain untouched.

How long before the 3DS surrenders the rest of its secrets to hackers? Hopefully never, but it'll depend on the resilience of Nintendo's new piracy measures. The company has claimed the 3DS's technology will dramatically mitigate if not outright eradicate piracy efforts on the 3DS.

This story originally appearedon PC World. Follow the author of this storyon Twitter.

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Top Story: 'Unleash' your Xbox LIVE Avatar, News from GamePro

This morning's Top Story is Microsoft's launch of its"Unleash your Avatar"site, catering to narcissists everywhere.

Microsoft has launched a selection of new options for those Xbox LIVE players who like their Avatar a bit more than most. You can now order a custom Fathead wall graphic in one of ten poses, a FigurePrints 3D model or a custom-engraved Zune HD media player.

Self-professed"hardcore"gamers expressed a considerable amount of resistance towards the Avatars when they were introduced with the NXE in 2008. Many believed it was evidence that the Xbox experience was being dumbed down -- becoming more childish and Wii-like. But the very existence of these new services can be seen as a sign that the Avatars have gained mainstream acceptance -- or at least that there's enough call for them from among the more casual gamers. The continued success of the Avatar Items Marketplace would lend further credence to this theory.

You'd better really, really love your Avatar if you want to order one of these products, though, because they're not exactly cheap.Fathead wall printsstart from $79.99 for a 2x3 ft"medium"and go up to $149.99 for a 4x6.5 ft"jumbo."It's worth noting that certain Avatar items (seemingly mostly game unlocks) aren't licensed for print -- my Avatar's Blur T-shirt is replaced by a standard Xbox T-shirt, for example. Props don't show up, either.

TheFigurePrints3D models are the cheapest of the products at $60. Like the Fathead prints, certain Avatar items won't show up due to licensing restrictions and there's no sign of props again, but you can pose your avatar from a wide selection of choices.

Finally, a custom-engraved Zune featuring one of ten poses will set you back about $170 for the 16GB model, alongside a special offer saving you up to $70 and offering a free AC adapter.

Find out more about the"Unleashed"products at theofficial site.

STAT CHECK -- 7:30AM PST, Mar. 4, 2011

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GamePro Forum Views:279

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Top Story is an analysis of a topic that seems to be on everybody's mind for the day -- it could be the most important story in our industry, or it could be a dumb story that got a ton of comments. You, the reader, vote with your attention by viewing and commenting on stories in ourNews Flash section.

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Top Story: NGP uses proprietary flash cards, News from GamePro

Sony revealed some details about the NGP, including its media format, at a GDC panel last night. That's your Top Story this morning.

During a programming and design session at GDC, David Coombes of SCEA revealed some details about the NGP, including its media format. Currently known as"NVG cards", the proprietary flash cards come in either 2GB or 4GB formats and reserve up to 10% of their own space for save games and patches. This frees up internal memory in the device and also makes it easy to transfer game progress from one device to another.

That's not all that was revealed, though. Developers were pleased to discover that it's apparently"easy"to transfer over existing PS3 and Xbox 360 assets. Some of the hardware, particularly in the graphics department, has been simplified in order to be more practical on the mobile platform and conserve battery life. But Coombes was keen to point out that the NGP would be supporting a wide variety of titles,"from the biggest triple-A down to the minis."

The camera in the device was also revealed to have several purposes: firstly, it can record the player and their reactions during play. Anyone who's played Burnout Paradise with a camera attached will know how much potential fun there is in this feature. Secondly, it can take a photograph of the player and implement this into gameplay -- the example of using a photo of the player as a health display was given. Thirdly, the camera can scan in information and use this to produce augmented reality displays, with director of software solutions and development Tsutomu Horikawa's summoning of a T-Rex into the panel's audience proving to be a particular highlight for attendees.

Coombes also touched on Near, a location-aware app which lets you see who is playing games near you, find new friends and enjoy treasure hunts. This sounds very much like an attempt to compete with Nintendo's Street Pass system. He said this feature won't be available at the handheld's launch, but will follow shortly afterwards.

Plenty of exciting features to look forward to, from the sound of things. And many that sound like they're aiming directly for some of the things the 3DS does well. We'll find out who'll come out on top around the holiday season when the NGP finally makes its appearance on store shelves.

STAT CHECK -- 7:50AM PST, Mar. 3, 2011

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Top Story is an analysis of a topic that seems to be on everybody's mind for the day -- it could be the most important story in our industry, or it could be a dumb story that got a ton of comments. You, the reader, vote with your attention by viewing and commenting on stories in ourNews Flash section.

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Nintendo announces Netflix, AT&T hot spots for 3DS, News from GamePro

During today's Game Developers Conference 2011 keynote speech, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata and Nintendo of America head Reggie Fils-Aime announced new features for the Nintendo 3DS.

Midway through Iwata's lecture,"Video Games Turn 25: A Historical Perspective and Vision for the Future,"Fils-Aime took the stage to announce new features for theNintendo 3DS. The first of these is Netflix streaming service, compatible with Netflix on the Wii. Fils-Aime described a user experience where you could watch part of a movie streaming on your 3DS and then return home to finish watching on your Wii.

In addition to the Netflix announcement, Fils-Aime also announced video services that lets 3DS users watch 3D trailers for upcoming 3D films, like Warner Bros.'s upcomingGreen Lantern. The 3DS also gets its own video channel with music videos, comedy programming, and other content"curated"by Nintendo. Fils-Aime acknowledged the possibility that videos could be shot with the Nintendo 3DS, but he didn't announce an official feature.

As a second announcement, Fils-Aime said that when the Nintendo 3DS receives a worldwide firmware update in late May, AT&T will open up over 10,000 Wi-Fi hot spots in coffee shops, airports, and other locations that 3Ds users may access for free to utilize the Spot Pass feature and the eShop download store.

As a final note, Fils-Aime said that this same late May update will enable"many"but not all of the 3DS features he described. He did say that eShop would gain DSiWare Store compatibility and that users could transfer their existing DSiWare games to the 3DS after the update is live.

You can read a liveblog of the entire keynotehere.

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Top Story: New Grand Theft Auto on the way?, News from GamePro

A bit of Internet investigation has uncovered the rumor that Grand Theft Auto V may well be on the way. This evidence -- and its subsequent retraction -- is your Top Story this morning.

Two pieces of evidence came to light earlier that point to the possible existence of Grand Theft Auto V. Firstly, a number of suspicious-sounding domains have been registered. Secondly, a stuntman's resume listed Grand Theft Auto V as one of the projects he had worked on. Since the details were reported, however, great pains appear to have been taken to cover up the evidence in question.

When the story originally broke, it was reported that the domain names CashForDeadDreams.com, SixFigureTemps.Com, LifeInvader.Com, StopPayingYourMortgage.Net and HammersteinFaust.com had been registered by either Take-Two or Rockstar. Checking the WHOIS records for these domains now reveals the domains to be registered under the name Network Solutions. The company in question specializes in protecting the privacy of domain name registrants by providing alternate contact details to the otherwise-public WHOIS database. In other words, someone has been covering their tracks.

These domains may not sound particularly special in their own right, butthose who originally spotted their registrationbelieve they are examples of the spoof companies typically found in Grand Theft Auto's world. The existence of parody websites for these fake companies would be consistent with previous viral marketing campaigns for other entries in the Grand Theft Auto series.

Further weight to the theory that GTA V exists was found in the form ofDeclan Mulvey's resume, which listed GTA V as a project in which he had performed as a motion-capture stuntman. Whenquizzed by CVGabout this yesterday, he claimed it was a typo and has updated the document since then. However,his IMDB recordlists plenty of video game stunt work, including the upcoming LA Noire, but Grand Theft Auto IV is conspicuous by its absence.

The hasty changes to both the domain registration information and Mulvey's resume suggest that there is something to hide. Whether it is really Grand Theft Auto V or simply Take-Two running a lucrative domain-parking scheme for disreputable-sounding businesses remains to be seen for sure.

STAT CHECK -- 7:30AM PST, Feb. 28, 2011

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GamePro Forum Views:339

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Top Story is an analysis of a topic that seems to be on everybody's mind for the day -- it could be the most important story in our industry, or it could be a dumb story that got a ton of comments. You, the reader, vote with your attention by viewing and commenting on stories in ourNew Flash section.

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Sound off: Grand Theft Auto's new city, News from GamePro

Tantalizing hints at a new Grand Theft Auto got us thinking about all the pastiche cities the series covered in previous games: Los Angeles, New York, Miami... Where should the series go next?

Today's sound off: What city or cities would you like to see the next#GTAgame"set"in? San Francisco, Memphis, Chicago, Boston...?less than a minute agovia webGamePro
GamePro

@GameProWhat about London, Paris, or Dublin? Let's try going to a different country for once. Might make things interesting.less than a minute agoviaTweetDeckSteven Dougherty
Jaeger74

@GameProAs a Chicagoan, I think our city is just begging for one. Even the Prohibition-era April Fool's joke they pulled would be nice.less than a minute agovia webJ. Leif Johnson
Esotericus

@GameProSan Francisco could be very cool, with all those hills to jump cars over :)less than a minute agovia webNeil Merschbrock
agentcoop007

@GameProBrighton, East Sussex, England.less than a minute agoviaEchofonLeon Cox
ratsoalbion

@GameProI want San Andreas with GTA IV engine. In other words: LA, Frisco, and Vegas with country and desert in between them.less than a minute agovia webPatrick Pickett
SnakeMcmillan

@GameProI want a more detailed/realistic San Andreas. Like what they did to Liberty City. Or London.less than a minute agoviaTweetCastercdkee
cdkee

@GameProsan francisco would be amazing for the new GTA or they could be brave and do overseasless than a minute agoviaSamsung MobileJeremy Weyrauch
jwhyrock

Good ideas, all -- but if they made the San Francisco Bay Area, we really hope they do mock-ups of all the video game publications here. Can you imagine running a car through the offices of IGN? You couldn't do it at GamePro because were' up on the 5th floor...

Sound Off is a daily feature put together by the creative minds on ourTwitter feed. Make sure you're a follower to get in on the fun.

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