If Electronic Arts’ third-quarter financial report for fiscal 2010 is any indication, the publisher may be opting not to release a PC version of Dead Space 2.   The report includes a chart of EA’s entire slate of titles due out in fiscal year 2011 complete with a breakdown of target platforms and sure enough Dead Space 2 is not listed under the PC category.

News to us, considering the title was initially announced as a multiplatform title for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. Seems like a rather odd decision, considering the original sold a decent amount of units on PC. Not to mention, this exclusion on the report could have very well been made erroneously. EA has yet to comment.

What was once considered a strange mashup of characters is now a lauded as a cult hit by many. Responding to fan clamoring for another big-budget Kingdom Hearts title, game director Tetsuya Nomura has confirmed that Kingdom Hearts 3 is on the cards. While not yet in development, Nomura says it is definitely being planned. Not exactly a bombshell, but reassuring to hear nonetheless:

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As the wait for the long-promised StarCraft II open beta continues for us common folk, an off-camera shot of Blizzard’s fully-revamped Battle.Net 2.0 interface has surfaced from the latest episode of Jace Hall show.

Exciting, no? Then the nagging conscious reminder that Blizzard still has yet to pin down a solid date on the beta kicks in.

Ridiculous as it may sound, rumor has it that Nintendo and Sega have a collaborative surprise up their sleeves for Super Mario Galaxy 2, with a source from NGamer magazine claiming that Sonic will appear in the Wii sequel. And not just a brief cameo appearance either, the speedy blue hedgehog will reportedly be a playable character.

In fact, NGamer’s source goes as far to reveal that Nintendo has devoted an entire galaxy to Sonic in the game – Green Hill Galaxy. Fancy that. Nintendo has yet to comment. Sounds a bit “out there” if you want our personal opinion, but stranger things have happened. After all, Nintendo took us by surprise with the release of Mario & Sonic: Olympic Games.

With the March 23 release of MotionPlus-exclusive Red Steel 2 inching closer, Ubisoft has released a speed art video that depicts the main protagonist being drawn in meticulous detail, from sketch to a vibrant illustration rich with color. If you have a couple minutes to spare, check it out.

In a related tidbit, those who become a fan of the official Red Steel 2 Facebook page will be automatically entered into a drawing to win one of five signed copies of the Hero artwork print.

Major Nelson has announced that Xbox Live services for the original Xbox will be completely shut down come April 15. The decision will impact all Live-enabled Xbox titles, whether purchased at retail or digitally as an Xbox Original.

The first step of the move is to shut off all auto-renewal subscription services for those that only use Live on an original Xbox. For the few people out there still kicking it online on their Xbox, we have sympathy for you, we really do.

On the bright side of things, Microsoft says this change will allow them “to continue evolving the LIVE service with new features and experiences that fully harness the power of Xbox 360 and the Xbox LIVE community.” That, coupled with increased “flexibility for future features.” Perhaps the long-standing friends list size limit will finally be increased.

Let’s face it, the PSP’s approach to notifying end-users that their battery is in need of a recharge isn’t exactly obvious, especially when your thumb is covering the LED power indicator at times. In response to this dilemma, homebrew developer Zack has devised a custom firmware plugin dubbed Battery Warning Plugin. As the name implies, it displays a on-screen warning message when remaining battery power reaches a certain threshold, in this case 15 percent.

Quite handy, we say. Now you’ll have ample time to react to a low battery in midst of playing a game. Zack notes that future releases will incorporate a configuration manager. Grab the latest build at the link below.

Download Battery Warning Plugin v0.3.1

Release Thread

Putting an end to a series of sporadic teases and carefully placed hints, Sega finally lifted the final curtain on its Project Needlemouse effort late last night, unveiling the title as Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. As originally promised, it is a 2D style side-scroller backed by 3D characters models, with Sonic himself starring as the sole playable character.

In commemoration of the announcement, Sega released a retrospective trailer that pays homage to past installments in the series, viewable above. It also gives us a brief look at the new game, wrapping up with mention of a Summer 2010 release date on PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and WiiWare.

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The PC demo for Rebellion’s Aliens vs. Predator reboot has officially gone live on Steam, a day early. Weighing in at around 1.1GB, it is comprised of a single Deathmatch map — Refinery.

Players can duke it out as any of the game’s three races, including Colonial Marine, Predator and Alien. Unfortunately, the demo lacks DX11 implementation and Eyefinity support, meaning those wanting to put the capabilities aka bragging rights of their HD5000 series video cards to the test will have to wait it out for the full thing.

Have at it, folks. Nothing quite like blowing legions of aliens to smithereens. Or flesh and bones, if you’re playing on the other side. The finished product is scheduled to hit PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on February 16. A demo for both console platforms will follow tomorrow.

Rather than sending out a bog-standard press release, Ubisoft decided to poke fun at the numerous delays of Splinter Cell: Conviction, sending out a pebble-sized rock to IGN with the title’s seemingly now-finalized release date. The title is now quite literally set in stone for an April 13 debut on Xbox 360 and PC.

IGN apparently didn’t catch that the joke that the rock was meant to signify at first, with their initial instinct being to break it open. Clumsy bunch over there, what else can we say.

Ubisoft Dates Splinter Cell: Conviction (Again) [IGN]