Last night was the midnight launch of the PlayStation 3 for our overseas brethren in France and England, and the crowds that turned out were dismal, to say the least. One of theRobot’smany internationalamigos, Jeremy, sent in a tip witha numberof linksto official reportsof just how poorlySony was received in London and Paris, and while most of them areenfrançais, that last link was written in the King’s English. Apparently one tenth of the people expected to be there actually showed up, and Sony was left with literal barges full of their newest console, at least in the land of wine and cheese....

There’s no denying that British developer Rare has fallen from grace since it was acquired by Microsoft in 2002. Some would say that the quality of Rare’s games have suffered, but Rare believes it’s a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the Xbox demographic not interested in its latest offerings. Fortunately, Project Natal will fixeverything, because motion control is the FUTURE OF ALL THINGS!...

Realtime Worlds, best known for its work onCrackdownand the upcomingAPB, has hit a milestone. The developer has announced today that it has hit the mark of 250 working staff. Looking for work? You might want to check in with Realtime Worlds, as the plans are to grow even more going into 2010. The developer says it plans to grow “considerably more than 300 by early 2010 when it will have launched its next title,APB....

MissedResident Evil Zeroon the GameCube? I liked it. But I think I would have liked it more with Wii controls (and I don’t say that everyday!). Capcom’s reworking has been in the cards for awhile, but today we finally have a release date and price.Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zerowill ship on December 1st, priced at $29.99. Now you’re able to get some backstory on the Umbrella Corp and play this classic with some waggle....

Wiifanboyhas found out about aResident Evil: Umbrella Chroniclesgame bundle that includes the Wii Zapper as a pack-in. So far this seems like a Japan-only item. The “Expert Package” comes with the newBiohazardgame, a 28-page book calledWesker’s Extra Report,theWii Zapper, and some stickers (what’s the deal withstickers and Japan?). The whole shebang will cost 8,610 yen (about $75). Personally, I preferRE:Umbrella’szombie pew pew action over Link’s crotch-shootingGoron pew pew action....

If you pre-orderBatman: Arkham Cityfrom GameStop, you’ll get access to Robin as a playable character in a set of challenge areas (Edit:My apologies for the confusion. In North America it’s a Best Buy exclusive. Elsewhere, Robin is at GameStop). If you want to see if the Boy Wonder’s worth your time, check out this video. It’ll show you everything you need to know. Arkham Cityis almost upon us and we’re pretty damn excited at Destructoid....

Harmonix has detailed its next disc-based standalone game,Rock Band Country Track Pack 2, today. The pack will feature tracks from Dwight Yoakam, George Strait, Johnny Cash, Reba McEntire, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Merle Haggard, Shania Twain, Sugarland, and more. As with previous packs, many of the songs will be exclusive to the disc for a limited time before making their way to the Rock Band Store as digital downloads. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners can export the entire disc to their hard drives for play inRock Band 3, as well....

Crackdown 2does not even have a release date yet, but let’s not stop Ruffian from talking aboutCrackdown 3. Talking toVG247,Crackdown 2‘s developer has jumped the gun to let us know thatCrackdown 3will “alter” the game’s location, rather than return to Pacific City asCrackdown 2has done. “When we go toCrackdown 3things’ll alter again. But yeah, forCrackdown 2it made more sense to stick in the same city, because it is pushing on from the idea of the Freak fires and how they’ve affected the city,” explains Ruffian creative director Billy Thomson....

Did Sony fail to make you want an ultra-portable, super-connected PSPgo during its first marketing run for the device? Rumor has it that they’ll be giving the “go” another go in the near future. An unnamed source “close to Sony” is tellingGamervisionthat that a PSPgo “relaunch” is happening soon, accompanied by what the Web site describes as a “marketing blitz” for the handheld that could, but just doesn’t. Speculation is all that’s left of this story, but we can’t help but wish that Crash Bandicoot would make his triumphant return alongside this alleged second push of the PSPgo....

Here’sa rather ugly rumorfor you all to chew on this morning. Perhaps knowing thatBraidandCastle Crashersare two of Xbox Live Arcade’s most highly anticipated titles, it’s rumored that the powers-that-be are being shrewd and bloodthirsty enough to charge 1200 MS points forBraid, and an unsettling 1800 points forCastle Crashers. Four Japanese sources (includingFamitsuand Xbox.com’s official Japanese blog) are stating that these two games will be more expensive than the average XBLA games....

Last night, I waslamenting to the rest of the Podtoid crewthat I’ve never found a sufficient answer to the Natal Question. It eventually gets compared to World War II, but that’s neither here nor there. My point is that every developer you ask is “excited” about Natal, but I’ve never seen any cool ideas to convince me Natal will be a good platform for videogames. Enter Arkedo, developers of Big Bang Mini and a new series of Xbox Live Indie Games....

So, Mr. RPG fanatic, are you still looking for a reason to pick up an Xbox 360? Well, look no further thanMass Effect. If you’ve been paying any attention to this game at all, you would already know that it may very well be your next digital addiction. BioWare’s very own Ray Muzyka recently sat down withTeamXboxand revealed some delicious details such asMass Effect‘s length: I mean, it really depends on just how much you want to do on the uncharted worlds....

Eurogamer is hosting their second annual Eurogamer Expo later this month in the United Kingdom. The show will feature numerous industry speakers, indie games and it will have a pretty kicking show floor.Aliens vs Predator, Dante’s Inferno, God of War III, Left 4 Dead 2, MAG, New Super Mario Brothers Wiito a ton more. Actually, it’s really impressive and sure as hell puts E 4 All to shame. If you’re planning on attending, then youshould check out DtoidUK....