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As if the annoying hi-def format war wasn’t already entering the end phase,today’s newsthat adult film studio Digital Playground has decided to abandon HD DVD and stick solely with Blu-ray has to finally hammer a welcome nail in the coffin of this battle. While it wasconfirmed falsethat Paramount had dropped HD DVD, a far more crucial loss has occurred — pornography is considered a crucial key to success in a format war, and HD DVD has lost a big source of those valuable, valuable breasts....

Cute. UltimatePointer, maker of the Upoint laser-pointer presentation remote, is suing Nintendo and other retailers for the sale of the Nintendo Wii Remote. They claim that Nintendo has infringed on their patent, their “Easily Deployable Interactive Direct-Pointing System and Presentation Control System and Calibration Method,” and that retailers like Best Buy and GameStop have also infringed by selling the device. What’s funny is that theUpointis not even available for sale now....

Yes, someone made a f**king boat accessory for Kinect. Atomic Accessories’ appropriately titled Game Boat “is de facto the first accessory for the peripheral which doesn’t need any.” So uh, guys — this is the actual selling point, not blogger-made snark. Don’t believe me?See for yourself, then. I can’t decide if this accessory makes me embarrassed for Kinect, or if it actually makes Kinect seem like the greatest revelation for gaming ever by comparison....

Thanks to two straight stellar games, theMLB The Showseries has cemented itself as the best baseball simulation available by far.MLB 09 The Showmanaged to sell 305,000 copies in March 2009 on the PS3, coming in at #6 on themonth’s NPD list, even though the game wasn’t available on any other platform. That’s the surest sign of all that developer Sony San Diego is doing something right, and the studio hopes to continue that success withMLB 10 The Show, due out next March....

The biggest release this week is undoubtedly a PS3 exclusive — Firmware Update 3.72! Sony is so excited about this update — which doesnothingof value — that it’s announced its release ahead of time on thePlayStation Blog! “With this minor update, system stability during use of PS3 format software and network services has been improved,” says Sony, getting that pre-release hype kicked off in style. A launch date and pricing have yet to be determined, but this week looks likely, especially since Sony will want to compete withGears of War 3on the Xbox 360....

I don’t have a lot of PS3 RPGs, so I’ll take what I can get. Thankfully, Atlus’ freshly announcedDemon’s Soulssounds pretty interesting, and the screens they sent look pretty hardcore. Today they’ve announced that they’ve acquired the rights to publishDemon’s Soulsin North America. This is an action role-playing title that supports online cooperative play and PvP action. You’ll be able to leave hints for other online players that follow you if you wish....

Remember when we told you a bit about.detuned? Yeah, that game with the crazy-ass screenshots. Well, that game…thing is coming out today. The PlayStation Network will see .detuned drop today for $2.99. This was created by German-based demoscene regulars .theprodukkt, and is more a crazy music-based visualizer than a full-on game. You kind of create your own performances using your own music (or the included tunes) and the PS3 controller, interacting with the objects on the screen....

Resonance of Fate, the RPG collaboration between tri-Ace and Sega,has been confirmedfor a 2010 Western release and is due to arrive in North America and Europe at the same time. According to Sega, this move has been inspired by a perceived drop of interested in JRPGs by UK consumers. “America and Europe is the same release,” confirms SEGA Europe localisation producer Jun Yoshino. “Usually the European version comes a year after, let’s say the Japanese release....

Because it’s awesome, that’s why, and to celebrate the release of this retro jewel on the Virtual Console, tonight we’ll be discussing theSecret of Managames. Some of you may know it asSeiken Densetsu, or maybe even asFinal Fantasy Adventurefor the Game Boy. Regardless of what you call it, it pretty much ruled, and an action RPG by any other name would smell as, um … I dunno, ass-kicky. What started as a spinoff eventually grew to become one of Square’s finest franchises without having to carry theFinal Fantasynameplate....

So, basically, the show last night went well and we talked about Zelda till the wee hours of the night. Chad regaled us with wild tales of Poe hunting, while Topher gave us the entomological background of tektitesandleevers. I easily explained why I’m called Dyson “The Smasher of Pots” Grigsby by displaying my favorite rupee hunting method, and Colette cheered us all on while wearing her daring, but cute as a button, Link pajamas....

One of the biggest problems in the games industry today is that far too many companies play it safe — afraid to take a chance on a new idea, comfortable in the easy money of tried and tested formulae or “me too” copycat titles. Frontier boss David Braben, however, would like to remind his peers that the big money is found in risk, not comfort. “Roller-coaster Tycooninitially didn’t sell well but gradually grew into a huge seller,” Braben toldGamesIndustry....

Dancing Dots’ oddball Xbox Live Arcade title Rotastic will be available September 21 for 800 MS Points. Wepreviewed the game last week, which was described as “Cut the Ropecrossed over withBejeweled, all wrapped in the aesthetics ofCastle Crashers.” And with that, I’m sold. While it’s hitting Xbox 360 first, it’s not an exclusive; it’ll be available next year for both PlayStation Network and PC.

Barriers won’t be the cure-all for enemy attacks in the nextGears of War, according to the latest round ofEdgerumors about the unannounced title. A “US publishing source” has told the Web site that some Locusts will have “tentacle-like appendages” that can reach over cover and tickle Marcus and crew in their meaty spots. The COG funky bunch will also be able to extend their attacks, supposedly, via underground explosives that burrow and erupt behind barriers....