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This Saturday, Microsoft is holding an event in Santa Monica to celebrateViva PiñataandSaved by the Bellhunkeroo A.C. Slater. Quality has never been higher. Here’s what you can expect as you try to stop yourself from staring into Mario Lopez’s eyes: WHAT: World’s Biggest Piñata Party• Play the new Xbox 360 videogame, “Viva Piñata”• Viva Piñata dance, crafts, games and family fun• Come face to hoof with a 35’ tall piñata• Meet life-size Viva Piñata characters from the animated TV series on 4Kids TV FOX Saturday mornings: Hudson Horstachio, Paulie Pretztail and Fergy Fudgehog• Get the chance to win an Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system and other great prizes with the Piñata pull• Enjoy Viva Piñata-themed kid craft area and free carousel ridesWHERE: Santa Monica PierCorner of Ocean Ave....

I let the production schedule get away from me on this episode and, for that, I sincerely apologize. Especially that header. Just not exciting enough for me, but it’s what we have to work with this week. Speaking of this week, we talked about digital distribution systems, for the most part. There’s also a segment where the gang talks about their favorite consoles from past generations and the current one....

I just finished writing up a preview ofBit.Trip SAGA(the 3DS collection of all sixBit.Tripgames) when I spotted this press release aboutBit.Trip Complete, the retail collection of all sixBit.Tripgames on the Wii.As impressed as I was withBit.Tripin 3D, I think I want this collection more. The amount of new content here is simply staggering. Wait a minute, have you even played any of theBit.Tripgames yet? If so, you need to head over to the Wii shop channel,Steam, or theiPhone/iPadapp store, and check these games out....

It’s a story we have all heard before. The almost mythical creation of tiny companies in the 70’s and 80’s who would later transform into epic mega corporations of today. It’s the Cinderella story our industry thrives on, and every developer has to start somewhere. It’s at this moment that we meet Gaijin Games. In our week long coverage of the studio, we’re going to be talking a lot about this company and their games, but just as interestingly is the actual birthing process of Gaijin....

Not too long agowe told you aboutEchoes of War, a collection of music from Blizzard game scores performed by the incredibleEminence Symphony Orchestra. It was so good that it disappeared. Now it returns in a standard edition reprinting, now with a new limited-time price. Songs fromWarcraft III,World of Warcraft,Wrath of the Lich King,StarCraft,StarCraft II,Diablo II,Diablo III, and evenStarCraft: Ghostare on this two-disc collection. It also features bonus tracks arranged by Kow Otani, composer ofShadow of the Colossus....

2011? I’d guess so, but there’s been on solid word on when we can expectDiablo III. There is an encouraging bit in aNew York Times articleabout the upcoming game. Game Director Jay Wilson said this to NYT: We’re definitely in the home stretch. We’re crunching. This is when the magic happens. I get not wanting to give a release date so that fans aren’t disappointed if that date slips, but if they’re really on the home stretch, they could at least narrow down a quarter....

Atomic Games has announced today that its downloadable first-person shooter,Breach, will finally hit Xbox Live Arcade and PC on January 26. It’ll cost you 1200 MS Points, or $15. The team-based military shooter will focus on multiplayer online gameplay, shipping with three maps that can be played across four game modes: Infiltration, Convoy, Retrieval, and the more standard Team Deathmatch. Atomic is touting environmental destructibility that will set the game apart from other titles....

Here’s five screenshots to remind us that war games are still all the rage, and that Infinity Ward is still hard at work trying to stay in style. Judging by thesenew pictures, I’m sensing a consistent army of three combat theme —take thatArmy of Two! The smoke and particle effects look great as usual, and it’s good to see environments that make good use of those visuals. Hopefully we’ll see moreModern Warfareaction at E3, but if this isn’t enough to tide you over, just keep watchingthis trailerover and over and pretend Nex is quoting historical figures....

Bonk: Brink of Extinctionwas one the more prominent titles to get the big boot once Hudson Entertainment closed. Sure, ourimpressionfrom last year’s E3 was rather lukewarm, but it was still a revival of a beloved property that many of us were anticipating. The soundtrack (or rather seven pieces of potentially larger soundtrack) have been made public by composer Rich Vreeland, who is also responsible for the music in XBLA’s upcomingFez. It’s a very mellow sound that nails the prehistoric mood....

Even though id co-founder John Carmac is currently playingSuper Paper Mariowith his son, he knows the technological boundary is far too vast to develop for the platform. In a recent interview withTomsGames, Carmac essentially closes the doors on the potential of Wii development by citing Tech 5’s brawn and the current market surrounding the Nintendo console. Well, id Tech 5 will not work on the Wii…The Wii is one of those markets where Nintendo owns both the hardware and the software, but part of that is because they make such damn good products....

If you like magic, technology, and golems,the Asura raceofGuild Wars 2might be for you. Their page was updated today with everything you might want to know about the little guys, including a new video and screenshots. After almost being completely wiped out by The Great Destroyer, the Asura were forced to the surface to start anew. Luckily, they brought with them their extreme intelligence and mighty golems, managing to create a whole new civilization....

Developer Zoe Mode has confirmed today that its music puzzler,Chime, is coming to PlayStation Network “soon.” Previously available on Xbox Live Arcade and PC, the PSN version will be calledChime Super Deluxe. What makes it so deluxe? Well, it supports two multiplayer modes, but Zoe Mode is quiet on what that means other than it “will allow for players to ‘Chime’ together.” Sounds fun. Chimeis an interesting mixture ofLuminesandTetris, with players attempting to cover as much of the level with blocks, unlocking musical elements and samples in the process....

Nintendo continues to invade your home, one seemingly random inanimate object at a time. The latest batch of goodies has hit Club Nintendo, and assuming you have the necessary amount of games (and points that follow), the new items can be yours: I’m lucky enough to own the plain Kirby patch, and it’s one of my absolute favorite pieces of swag for its simplicity and cuteness. Of course, they just happened to include Prince Fluff and UFO Kirby in separate bundles....