We've already seen various example of successful shooters that integrated RPG elements into the gameplay such as BioShock (PS3, Xbox 360, PC). Cliff Bleszinski thinks this isn't just a passing thing. He believes that RPGs are the future of first-person shooters.

One of the more heated issues in the video game industry right now is the thrust of some studios to fight video game rentals and second hand game sales. GameStop tosses in its two cents saying that this will only end up hurting gamers, and even sales of new games.

There’s no official word on this yet but several sources close to the companies involved did confirm that talks between the two giants are well under way. Legendary Pictures and its chairman, Thomas Tull, are reportedly very interested in Epic, who is admittedly open to the idea.

After their takeover bid of Take-Two Interactive fell through, Electronic Arts may be on the hunt once again for another studio to buy out. Rumor has it that this time, EA's eyes are set on Epic Games.

Epic Games CEO and founder Tim Sweeney expressed his opinion on the flagging state of the PC gaming industry. In an interview conducted by TG Daily, he pointed out the different problems the PC marke t is facing as well as some possible solutions the industry can take if it wants to make some headway against its rivals. You can check out the rest of the interview by reading our full article, accessible through the "read more" link below.

And as the 2008 Olympics draws near, it's hype seems to grow more influential. While Beijing has been transformed to house an Olympic city - making the latter a city within a city - Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games makes serious headway into the casual gaming market. Or maybe it's just in the UK, where SEGA's joint Olympics game with Nintendo holds top spot for another week running.

If your bet during last year's Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) wasn't able to nab first place, then perhaps you'll have better luck this year as the Game Developers Conference has opened up the nominations for the 2008 GDCA event to be held this coming February 20.

Read more about it in the full article after the jump!

Epic Games' much awaited Unreal Tournament 3 for the Sony PlayStation 3 headlines this week's line-up of games, as Valve's The Orange Box also finds its way to Sony's console. Too many first-person shooters? Don't fret, because there's Sega's real-time strategy Universe at War: Earth Assault for PC to mix things up a bit.

Other releases for this week await at the full article!

* Article originally posted Dec 09, 2007 at 11:55PM

In a recent interview with Phil Spencer, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios, he talks about Microsoft's stand on the legal brawl between Silicon Knights and Epic Games and also about the future of Microsoft in a world that seems to have grown attached to casual gaming.

Read about the interview in the full article.

Though ironic in a sense, publisher Midway Games has come up with increased losses and revenues at the end of the company's third quarter for calendar year 2007. Data derived from the company's financial reports since September 30, 2007 highlights that Midway garnered a year-on-year rise from US$ 27.5 million to US$ 36.7 million in revenue. It was noted, however, that the company also gained a US$ 0.31 loss per diluted share from last year's US$ 0.22 per.

The publisher's main performance highlights were bannered by the previously released Unreal Tournament 3 demo and the release of John Woo's Stranglehold for the Xbox 360 and PC. It was noted that the UT3 demo continued to be one of the top 2 downloaded games on popular PC file portal FilePlanet since October 12.

Midway Games forecasts a great future for the company's overall revenue come the end of the company's fourth quarter on December 31, 2007. The imminent worldwide release of Epic Games' Unreal Tournament 3 (Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Sony PlayStation 3) on Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X is highly anticipated, among other mainstream titles such as BlackSite: Area 51 (PC, Xbox 360), Stranglehold (PS3), and Hour of Victory (PC).

Casual and other mainstream titles include Cocoto Racing for the DS, The Bee Game for the GBA and DS, Ultimate Mortal Kombat for the DS, Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Zombie Ninja Pro-Am for the PS2, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends for the DS, and Game Party and Cruis'n' for the Wii.

To that end, the Chicago-based publisher foresees a hike up in revenue to US$ 80 million for the fourth quarter, with a US$ 0.21 loss per basic and diluted share. Overall, Midway lowers its annual target due to slow sales of the PlayStation 3 and "movement" of Nintendo DS and Wii titles.

"We remain confident that our technology strategy and product plan position us to grow both revenue and market share as we move into the heart of this console cycle," said Midway president and CEO David Zucker. He concludes that with a strong lineup of releases in the coming months, Midway will be able to accelerate its growth for 2008.