During Electronic Arts’ Q3 2008 earnings conference call, CEO John Riccitiello confirmed that a Wii version of Rock Band is currently in development and that a European release is scheduled for fiscal 2009, which beings in April.

But what’s probably the most interesting pieces right now is the coming launch on the Wii [...] and then the fiscal 2009 launch across Europe against all the SKUs.

Nice to receive a confirmation, but we all knew it was coming, right?

This week’s PlayStation Store update kicks off with three Folklore add-on packs, along with three new Rock Band songs and a demo of Conflict: Denied Ops. On the PC Store is Neopets: Petpet Adventures - The Wand of Wishing, a downloadable game title for PSP.

So where’s flOw for PSP? It was set for a January release according to the PlayStation UK site, as we reported yesterday, but now Sony has changed that listing to reflect a February release date.

That about wraps this week’s update up. For the usual wallpaper and video content listings, be sure to hit the jump. more »

EA execs confirmed in today’s revealing conference call that the company plans to release all of the new games in Valve’s Orange Box compilation (Portal, Half-Life 2: Episode 2, and Team Fortress 2) as separate PC titles in retail. No word on pricing, but the three titles are expected to ship out at the end of March.

Pointless? Yeah I’d say so. Especially since you can already purchase these titles as separate downloads via Valve’s Steam service.

EA today announced Facebreaker, an all-new franchise by the same team that developed the award-winning Fight Night Round 3. The title is said to be a return to the arcade boxing genre, in the vein of classics like Nintendo’s Punch-Out.

FaceBreaker offers irreverent fun, immersive gameplay and eye-popping stylized graphics. In this in-your-face, arcade world full of ego-wielding characters, each boxer comes to life with unique attributes and distinct personal style, including Romeo, a Latin lover known for his pelvic thrusts, and Molotov, an oversized Russian demolitions expert with a penchant for fighting dirty. Add a little personal motivation to your fight by uploading a photo of your face to create a realistic likeness using Photo Game Face, and go toe-to-toe with a real-life friend or foe.

Sounds like a fresh, fun, new boxing title. Color me anticipated. The title is scheduled for release on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii this year.

EA Announces FaceBreaker [1UP]

Electronic Arts’ newly-created Skate franchise outperformed Activision’s latest Tony Hawk offering, according to an earnings conference call today. What makes this feat even more impressive is that Skate was released on only three different platforms, compared to Proving Ground, which launched across five platforms.

CEO John Riccitiello said that other EA titles, such as Rock Band, Orange Box and Crysis all performed well and exceeded expectations.

Speaking of the Orange Box, Riccitiello admitted that EA is still having a bit of trouble when it comes to PlayStation 3 development. While the company had no trouble with Burnout Paradise, which was led on the PS3 platform, it did have trouble with developing titles on PS3 that were either ran in parallel production or led on the 360. We assume that one of those titles was the now released, but delayed PS3 version of Valve’s Orange Box.

Despite this, Riccitiello reassured that EA is getting a handle on PS3 development and these problems are quickly becoming things of the past. Still, Riccitiello admits that “there still remains some catching up to do on the engineering side for the PS3.”

EA’s earnings call sheds light on coming titles, industry expectations [Mercury News]
PlayStation 3 Development Still Problematic For EA [Kotaku]

Shown above is a clip demonstrating Dark_AleX’s Time Machine, an ongoing homebrew project to enable 1.5 kernel support on PSP Slim units. Remember that this is still a work in progress.

Following the release of PSP custom firmware 3.90 M33, developer Dark_AleX has released a 1.5 kernel add-on for Phat (regular) PSP units running 3.90 M33. Instructions for installing the add-on are provided below.

Installation Instructions

- Copy 150k_addon to /PSP/GAME
- Get sony 1.50 update and copy it to the root with name “150.PBP”
- Run the program and done.

Download 1.5 Kernel Add-on For 3.90 M33

Dark-AleX - PSP Developer [Dark_AleX]

Talk about quick! Homebrew developer Dark_AleX has now released PSP custom firmware 3.90 M33. The firmware update can be applied either directly via Network Update if you’re already on 3.80 M33, or by following the manual instructions below.

Instructions

- Copy the UPDATE folder into /PSP/GAME/
- Get the 3.90 sony update from somewhere, and put it in same folder, with name “390.PBP”.
Alternatively, you can let the installer to download for you via wifi.
- Run it, the update will be done by Sony updater. At the end when you are asked to reboot the
PSP pressing X or O, do it.

Changes:

- 3.80 -> 3.90
- March33 NO UMD: fixed (yet another) bug related with exiting with home. (infinite semaphore wait)

Changes in updater:

- The degeneration check and correction of IDS keys happens too in 3.71 now.
- Added code to download 3.90 PBP from net via wifi.
Note that his code is not yet 100% stable, it may crash when selecting AP. In that case,
reinit the installer.
- L+triangle has been restored as method to bypass battery.
If you already have 390.PBP keep those buttons pressed until you see “Veryfing 390.PBP”.
If the 390.PBP is being downloaded bia wifi, press those buttons at the end of download until
you see the previous sentence.

In case you’re wondering, the previously released 3.80 M33 popsloader does work with 3.90 M33. However you cannot run the 3.80 pops with it.

Download PSP Custom Firmware 3.90 M33

Dark-AleX - PSP Developer [Dark_AleX]

Matsuura Masaya, creator of the hit PaRappa the Rapper series, revealed back in December that he was working on an all-new project for the Wii with Rodney Alan Greenblat. Today Majesco officially announced this mysterious title.

In Major Minor’s Majestic March, players use the Wii Remote as a baton to keep tempo, recruit new band members and pick up valuable items. The game is said to include eight levels in all, 15 different instruments, and over 25 popular marching band songs from around the world. more »

Traditionally, major first person shooter titles always made their splash on the PC. Over the last couple years, this trend has changed, with the console versions of titles like Call of Duty 4 and Unreal Tournament III actually performing better sales-wise than their PC counterparts. Epic Games’ VP Mark Rein shares his thoughts on this growing trend:

I’m a real fan of the PC, but yes, consoles are definitely stealing a lot of hardcore gamers from the PC. When Call of Duty 4 came out, I heard some of our guys sitting around talking about the great game they’d had last night and I’m like, ‘Hey guys, what server are you playing on? I’d love to come and join you,’ and they said, ‘Just send us a friends request,’ It was at that point I realized they were all playing it on console. Plus, the sales of the console versions are something like ten times the sales of the PC versions.

I can agree with this. Consoles have always been more affordable than a PC. Not to mention consoles nowadays are able to do much more than play games, which could be another reason for the switch.

The Mark Rein interview [The Guardian]