One would think that after an extensive wait for a sequel to the dungeon crawling PC staple Diablo II, fans would be rejoicing in unison to Blizzard’s announcement of a third game in the series. Leave it to the internet to make any joyous occasion a lackluster one. Fans of the series have begun a petition to request - or demand really - that Blizzard make a set of specific changes to the art style to make it (as they put it) less like Warcraft. A small list of what these fans are requesting:

- A darker, gothic, cryptic and creepier environment.

- A more realistic artistic direction, more independent from the Warcraft universe art direction.

- Darker dungeons without a blue/green environment, Diablo dungeons are dark and shadowy.

- An independent and renewed artistic direction

Seriously guys, it’s Blizzard’s game, their art style, their final choices. This is worse than Star Wars fans after the retooled original trilogy complaining how it ruined the films. There’s just no pleasing some people. And hey, maybe they can join the people who did such a fine job convincing Capcom not to make Devil May Cry 4 multiplatform.

Castlevania is getting ready to take an unexpected turn, as Konami confirmed today the development of Castlevania Judgment for the Wii. Being handled by series producer Koji “Iga” Igarashi, Judgment isn’t a new side-scrolling adventure in the series, but a fighting game that will, in Konami’s words, ” bridges the past with the present as it pits several generations of the Belmont clan against a host of characters that span the franchise’s 22-year history.”

“We wanted to take this addition to the signature Konami franchise in a direction that really sets it apart from the previous Castlevania titles in the series. The Wii Remote and Nunchuk capabilities, along with the iconic characters, make this game the ideal entry point into the fighting game genre. This combination is certain to thrill old and new fans of the franchise. “ -  Anthony Crouts, Vice President of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.

Castlevania Judgment is headed to North American shores this fall. More info on the game can be found below.

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As a kickoff to their “Seize Control” marketing campaign for Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Activision today announced a contest that will let players pick the cover art for the upcoming game.

The first of the covers features Spidey holding an image of New York City, while the other features him in DBZ-style powerup pose with silouettes of Venom (Mac Gargan or Eddie Brock?? You Decide!!) and Wolverine, who made some time in his busy X-Men and Avengers schedule to help his teammate out.

Personally, I think both of these are chessy as all hell, but the first one makes me laugh so I’d have to go with it. I’d also change the title to Spider-Man: The World is Yours for extra comedic kick. If you wanna vote, head on over to the site to make your pick.

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows Official Site - [Official Website]

Alten8 CEO Paul Andrews confirmed today that their WiiWare title Eternity’s Child will indeed be making its way to North America at some point, according to a post made today on WiiWareWorld. This comes shortly after game creator Luc Benard told the site that the game was only going to be available in the UK.

“EC is in the porting stage - Luc is an artist and concept creator, who under contract to us has licensed 5 game concepts across DS and Wii formats with EC being one of them.

We do not want to give specific time scales on its release other than to say now it is being ported from the supplied code. We are as a company working as fast as we can to do this porting and get it through the Nintendo system once done.” - Alten8 CEO Paul Andrews

As some will remember, Eternity’s Child was originally licensed an Xbox Live Arcade title many moons ago before developers decided to change tracks and bring it to the WiiWare service. With this and Mega Man 9 confirmed last week, Nintendo’s downloadable games roster is looking pretty good for the future with titles like these driving the lineup. Hopefully, there’ll be no more fakeouts with this one.

Alten8: Eternity’s Child is Coming to North America - [WiiWareWorld] via [GoNintendo]

Guitar Hero III is getting ready to fly into the danger zone, as Activision announced this morning that the Grammy award-winning theme to Top Gun is headed to the game’s song list as a free downloadable track.

“The instrumental, guitar-heavy theme was immortalized in the hit film that inspired a generation of young men to awkwardly serenade women at bars, perform perfectly-timed “flipside” high fives and threaten to “buzz the tower.” - Activision PR

The song will be free to users of both the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store, and will be available the day before Independence Day on July 3.

Talking to MTV Multiplayer’s Patrick Klepek last night, BioWare co-CEO Greg Zeschuk gave his thoughts on Apple’s iPhone, and discussed whether or not we’d could possibly be seeing games from them on the platform in the future. While they are currently doing their due dilgence on the product, he mentions his intrigue in the device and ponders what types of games can thrive on it.

“We look at every platform that comes along. Obviously, something that’s as big a cultural and technical success as the iPhone is something you really got to take a close look at,” says Zeschuk. “Certainly, there’s nothing written in stone yet but we’ve got a lot of folks looking at it.”

“It’s intriguing. I think one of the things that we’ll have to see how it shakes out is what type of consumer buys games on it and what type of experience they’re looking for. You want to always mash the consumer experience with what you’re building. We want to understand what people are going to do with it. Who knows. We’re definitely looking at every platform.”

Klepek also discusses the company’s PC gaming plans, as well as Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood on the DS with the BioWare guys, so head over to link below for more info.

BioWare Confirms PC Support, ‘Looking At’ iPhone Development - [MTV Multiplayer]

Analyst group DFC Intelligence released a sales forecast for the video game market today, predicting that the industry would reach $57 billion in revenue by 2009. They also state that despite the condidtion of the economy, sales of software products haven’t been affected in the slightest.

“Consumer spending on software is at record levels and the game business seems to actually benefit from a recession because games are a relatively cheap form of home entertainment,” said DFC analyst David Cole.

Regarding the hardware sales of each platform, DFC expects the Wii to be the number one selling console this generation, with the PlayStation 3 expecting to catch up to in in software sales by 2012. The Xbox 360, as they say, will remain a “leading player in some of the top markets, most notably the U.S. and U.K”.

They also dubbed the PC as the best platform for games in 2007, and predicted that its game revenue would reach $19 billion by 2013.

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Gamers will remember 9-9-99 as the day Namco’s first sequel to Soul Blade released (the Dreamcast launched with it, but for a while, it was purely a Soul Calibur machine). Now, Live Arcade owners can look forward to paying a measly $10 for this classic that still holds up today. Everything remains intact, from the story mode to the 4:3 aspect ratio (boo!). The only noticeable change is support for the incredible 1080p resolution high end TV owners enjoy. However, it’s probably important note that online play is not included. That could be a game killer for some.

This week on Arcade: SOULCALIBUR and Wits & Wagers DLC - [Major Nelson]

There is hardly anything funnier than walking into a store, finding a Nintendo promo DVD for the Wii, and then opening it only to read “Cannot be played on Wii system.” That situation was set to be rectified with a newer model Wii that can handle the apparently difficult to use DVD format, but plans for that have changed.

No new date was set, though even the previous date has already passed. Nintendo’s President Satoru Iwata is making sure there’s focus on their business as it stands today saying “With supply constraints [of the Wii] continuing worldwide, the priority is on the current model.”

Working retail, I can confirm that yes, your priority needs to be getting the hardware into stores on a regular basis. Right now. Like, today. Please?

Nintendo Holds off on Wii DVD - [IGN]

The Who is getting ready to finally make their Rock Band DLC debut, according to a report by The Associated Press. Quietly sneaking into their Rock Band 2 announcment article, a collection of 12 songs from the band will arrive on July 15 to coincide the band’s upcoming “VH1 Rock Honors” ceremony.

“Their music really comes alive when you’re playing it. We were trying to release ‘Who’s Next’ in its entirety, but we were unable to locate all the masters. So in the face of that, Pete (Townshend) and Roger (Daltrey) helped curate this best-of soundtrack of everything we were able to find.” - Alex Rigopulos, Harmonix President and CEO

Rock Band fans will remember that The Who was announced as one of the first bands to have a complete album on the way at E3 2007. Since then, three full albums by Judas Priest, The Cars, and The Pixies have all been released. Doing “Greatest Hits” for these bands might be a better idea in the long run to get more of their content out at a quicker pace, so it’ll be interesting to see how this does.

‘Rock Band 2′ to include new online modes, songs - [Yahoo]

BBFC Director David Cooke issued a statement today, responding to game publishers who have criticized a number of items proposed in the organization’s Byron Report. Most notably he defends recent allegations made by Electronic Arts and Microsoft, respectively, who say that these changes will result in the delay of games, as well as higher prices for the country’s games.

“The BBFC’s current average turnaround time for games classifications is eight calendar days. In terms of international comparisons, this is notably quick. There is no reason why the increased role for the BBFC envisaged by Dr Byron should lead to delays.

BBFC classifications are already cheaper for many games than those under the Pan European Games Information System (PEGI). Because the BBFC currently deals mainly with the most problematic games, BBFC costs will fall if, as Dr Byron recommended, we take on all games, physical and online, rated ‘12’ and above.” - David Cooke, BBFC Director

Cooke’s response can be read in its entirely below, and covers other topics like their company size and their handling of future online titles.

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Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos revealed this morning with IGN that Rock Band 2 is official and is on it’s way in September. In what may also come as a surprise, he also unveiled that the Xbox 360 version would be coming first in September, with the PlayStation 3 edition coming later in the year.

“Microsoft has been a great partner throughout the launch of Rock Band in the last year and their continued support is instrumental in supporting the more advanced features and cross title compatibility we will have in Rock Band 2,” a Harmonix representative told IGN. “Of course, our goal is to make Rock Band 2 accessible to all and we look forward to bringing Rock Band 2 to all relevant platforms later this year.”

Regarding the game’s DLC, a hot topic since many wanted to know how a future version would handle it, all the DLC released for the game thus far is completely backwards compatible and vice versa, meaning you won’t have to get the game to enjoy the weekly DLC after it’s launch.

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Sony Computer Entertainment of America confirmed this morning that firmware version 2.40 will be available on Wednesday, July 2. The update, which has been anticipated among PlayStation 3 users for quite some time now, will headlined by the system’s in-game XMB Cross Media Bar features as well as the ability to earn trophies. Super Stardust HD will be the first game to take advantage of the Trophy system.

“Today’s PLAYSTATION 3 experience has evolved significantly from what we debuted at launch, and the 2.40 firmware update will drive the PS3 community experience forward at a time when the platform’s momentum is stronger than ever, with the launches of several recent blockbuster titles and other exclusive content on the way,” said Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing and PLAYSTATION Network, SCEA.

“We listen closely to our community, and we’re proud to deliver new features that have been among the most requested — XMB access in-game and Trophies. These features provide new ways for the PS3 community to easily connect, communicate and share gaming experiences with one another in and out of games.”

More details on the PlayStation 3’s 2.40 firmware update can be found below.

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Filled with concepts and ideas worthy of its obviously massive budget, Alone in the Dark is unfortunately hampered by a myriad of frustrations and technical issues. At times, the game is actually impossible to play. It could even require a restart in hopes that this sets things correctly so you can proceed. The glitches only add to already high irritation level from the sluggish gameplay.

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DC’s franchise frisky kitty will be appearing in Midway’s upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, as fan site TotalMortalKombat received a render this morning confirming that Catwoman will be in the roster of DC combatants.

No other info was released with the photo, but if Ms. Selina Kyle (please ignore the recent Halle Berry movie) shapes up anything like this in the final version of the game, it definitely won’t hurt to look at, that’s for sure. With Comic-Con around the corner and Midway hosting their panel, we’d expect to see more on this game exposed really soon.

TMK exclusive MK vs. DCU Catwoman render - [TotalMortalKombat.com]

Diablo III, the highly anticipated sequel in Blizzard Entertainment’s critically acclaimed action RPG series, was finally confirmed this morning by the company at their 2008 Worldwide Invitational. Following the announcement, two trailers were shown off, with one being a cinematic teaser and the other being an extended gameplay demo with developer commentary.

“We’ve wanted to expand on the epic story and gameplay elements of the Diablo universe for some time now,” stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We know that players have also been long awaiting a return to the series, so we’re very excited to be sharing this announcement with Blizzard gamers here in Paris and around the world today.”

The game will arrive on both the Windows and Mac PC platforms, with info on requirements, character classes, multiplayer, pricing, and other items to be discuess as the game progresses.

There’s more info on Diablo III, from details on the game’s story, as well as the three trailers themselves, below.

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Surprising no one, the Metal Slug saga will continue into a seventh entry. Proving that there is some higher power, the game will retain its 2-D roots, and will grace the DS sometime this fall. No other platforms are apparently worthy of the game. The press release says to plan on new weapons, fresh slugs, seven stages, and six selectable characters.

Not a bad round up for portable cart. Ajay Chadha, President of Ignition Entertainment who will be publishing the title, let’s fans know that anyone can play through this latest entry:

“Truth be told, I have a pink DS and was embarrassed to play it in public. Now with Metal Slug 7 loaded, I have no qualms.”

If you can play Metal Slug on a pink DS and still maintain personal integrity at the top of a video game publisher, then yes, Metal Slug is for anyone.

One of the newer internet game-themed shows that I’ve quickly become a fan of is the The Jace Hall Show. Each week, the founder and former CEO of Monolith Productions conducts a number of interviews with Hollywood and internet celebs alike, with a little humor on top for good measure.

In this week’s show, Hall heads to Gearbox Software to get a look at Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway, and hangs out with YouTube celeb and “Chocolate Rain” star Tay Zonday. The show’s also available on the Xbox Live Marketplace if you don’t feel like watching at the computer.

38 Studios announced earlier today that artist Thom Ang has joined the company as their new art director. In his new role, he will be working closely with company co-founders Todd McFarlane and R.A.Salvatore on company properties and IP.

“38 Studios’ creative teams have been meticulously crafting the signature look and feel for our upcoming MMOG over the past 18 months,” said Brett Close, CEO and president. “Thom’s extraordinary talent and experience will be key in driving the vision and quality of our Online Entertainment Experience.”

“38 Studios is absolutely committed to the next evolution of MMOGs, and every team member has great pride in the value of what they do,” remarked Ang. “I am excited to contribute to this vision and become a part of an extraordinary team.”

Ang comes to 38 Studios from THQ, where he also served as art director on games such as The Sopranos. Before that, he was the art director at EA Los Angeles, and handled the Medal of Honor franchise.

Rock Band’s DLC for the week of July 1 was announced today by Harmonix:

Crüefest Pack:

“Down At The Whisky” – Mötley Crüe
“Time Is Running Out” – Papa Roach
“Who’s Going Home With You Tonight” – Trapt

“Promised Land” - Vesuvius (From Rainn Wilson’s upcoming movie, “The Rocker”)

(All tracks utilize the original master recordings)

The Crüefest Pack will cost $2.99 (240 Microsoft Points), or $.99 individually (80 Microsoft Points). As usual the tracks will hit the Xbox Live Marketplace on July 1, followed by the PlayStation Store on July 3.