In an earnings conference call with investors today, Activision reaffirmed its position on reinventing the long-running Tony Hawk skating series from the ground up, with company CEO Michael Griffith revealing that an exclusive Nintendo DS entry in the series is currently in development.

While the developer for the title went unnamed, Griffith further noted that the new DS title will be the only Tony Hawk title released this year. A separate developer is working on a new console installment planned for release in fiscal 2010, which begins on April 1, 2009.

“For competitive reasons, we’re not going to talk about it today but we are very bullish on the kind of innovation this will bring and this won’t be your father’s Tony Hawk,” said Griffith.

Publisher Activision today released its financial figures for the 2008 fiscal year ending March 31, revealing whopping net revenues of $2.90 billion, up from $1.51 billion the previous year.

Reporting $602.5 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2008, Activision attributed the results to “strong market conditions” and the ongoing success of multi-platform software hits Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. For comparison’s sake, the company made $312.5 million in the fourth quarter of last year.

In terms of future outlook, Activision’s first quarter of fiscal 2009, which runs through April 1 to June 30, will see the release of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Kung Fu Panda, Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

This week’s PlayStation Store update is packed to the brim with a staggering amount of add-on content and game demos. First up is the Encore expansion pack to PixelJunk Monsters, which adds 15 levels on an all-new map entitled “Toki Island.” Also available now on the add-on content front are three new Rock Back song tracks and the recently-announced Muse track pack for Activision’s Guitar Hero III.

In terms of freely available content, this week brings the four player co-op enabled Haze demo to the North America PSN, along with playable demos for The Bourne Conspiracy, Race Driver: GRID, and PSP title SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2.

For the full list of this week’s content, look past the break. more »

The rare and memorable first installment in Konami’s long-running Suikoden RPG series may make an appearance on PSN in the near future, according to the ESRB. A search on the ESRB’s always-handy website reveals that the title was recently given an E rating for the PlayStation 3 and PSP.

However, at the snail-paced rate that Sony is adding PSOne classics to the store, it could be awhile before we see it. Regardless, we’ll cross our fingers for an imminent release.

So, why was PlayStation Home delayed? Sure, we know Sony desperately needed more time to improve the service, but that’s a rather vague reason. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss David Reeves has elaborated on why they chose to delay Home, revealing that the decision was made due to a lack of focus towards gamers, and more of a focus towards advertisers and sponsors.

We’ve realized that maybe we were too ambitious with the non-gaming applications within Home, getting sponsors and stuff like that.

In that sense we were deserting gamers. So, we’re concentrating on the gaming by launching games in Home, and attracting people who are into gaming in first - instead of the Nike people, or Adidas people who are into fashion and not necessarily into gaming.

It’s okay Reeves! Everyone makes mistakes. And at least you are being honest about it. Barring any last minute delays, the Home open beta is set to launch this fall.

Reeves: Home was too ambitious [CVG]

Electronic Arts today confirmed that Lord of the Rings: Conquest is in development at Pandemic Studios, the LA-based studio responsible for crafting the popular Star Wars Battlefront series.

According to an early preview over at IGN, the game will feature massive battlefields that allow up to 150 characters on-screen. Players will be able to assume the role of a number of characters from the series in the main campaign, which features support four player co-op via online and split-screen. Additionally, the online multiplayer component will allow up to 16 players to wage war amongst each other.

Conquest is scheduled for a release this fall on Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3. A handheld version on the Nintendo DS is also planned, although specifics were not disclosed.

Following the quiet launch of a teaser website yesterday, an Activision spokesperson has confirmed that Quantum of Solace is indeed the next James Bond video game title.

The publisher wasn’t ready to comment on specifics, such as platforms, but did say that official updates concerning the game are coming in the immediate future.

That’s just the teaser site for now. We plan to do updates about the game soon but haven’t released platform info yet.

Quantum of Solace is due for a release in fall 2008.

Publisher Electronic Arts has announced that Fight Night Round 4 is in development at its Vancouver, Canada-based studio for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Set to be published under the EA Sports label, EA is promising a fully rewritten gameplay engine and an all-new physics system that “allows for missed punches, glancing punches, knockout blows and for the first time ever, rough and tumble inside fighting.” Confirmed boxers currently include heavyweight champs Muhammad Ali and the controversial Mike Tyson.

Fight Night Round 4 is scheduled for a release in 2009. Screenshots have yet to be released. more »

Update: Rockstar Games has confirmed to eXophase.com that the PS3 patch for GTA IV is now available. The patch significantly reduces the load being placed on Gamespy’s online servers, an issue that was causing the game to stutter and lock up.

Rockstar Games has released a GTA IV patch for Playstation 3 today that prevents Gamespy’s servers from being overloaded and therefore reduces the impact on those servers that were causing the game to stutter and lock up. We continue to monitor the performance of the game both on and offline and will provide further updates as necessary. We want to assure everyone that, together with our hardware partners, we continue to strive to give our fans the best possible interactive entertainment experiences possible. This update will ensure that everyone will experience Grand Theft Auto IV the way it was intended. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.

more »

Renowned developer id Software today announced that that production has begun on the fourth main installment in its long-running Doom series. Currently seeking to expanding its internal work force, the developer is hiring for positions to work on the title.

“DOOM is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth,” said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. “It’s critical for id Software to have the best creative minds in-house to develop games that meet the standards synonymous with our titles.”

No word on which engine the game will use, though it will likely utilize id’s Tech 5, which was announced last August alongside a new FPS entitled “Rage.” more »