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Anew surveyfrom Microsoft suggests that Avatars could soon be in direct competition with PlayStation Home, after questions surrounding a “Virtual Setting” for Xbox Live’s twee little freaks have appeared to gage public interest. The survey asks its participants which of the listed changes they find the most appealing, with one of the options suggesting that gamers could possibly“interact with others via Avatars in a virtual social setting.” Sounds pretty much like Home to us....

Do you remember theElder ScrollsMMO rumors a few years ago? I dare say a few gamers were relieved whenSkyrimwas announced as a single-player experience, putting paid to such gossip. Those gamers will be even more happy to hear that Bethesda — at least right now — isn’t interested in massively multiplayerElder Scrollsat all. “I like this kind of game better,” said producer Todd Howard, aboutSkyrim. “You know, it’s what most of us are into....

I know this won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone, but Activision was not the only company that Bungie talked to when deciding on what publisher to work with. No, when you’re the prettiest girl at the ball you can afford to shop around a bit. Evidently,EA spent plenty of time trying to get Bungieto go home from the dance with them. EA Partners’ chiefDavid DeMartini EA said, “We had extensive conversations with them (Bungie), but could never really figure out a deal that made sense for both of us....

[Update: As expected, the dolls are now listed as “ON BACK ORDER!!!” Did you snatch a set up in time?] Everyone has a set of Russian nesting dolls, right? Sure, we all do. But how about a set of Russian nesting dolls designed by the folks who brought youPsychonautsandBrutal Legend? The answer is probably that you don’t, but that can change.Double Fine is now selling stacking dollsfrom its upcoming digital download title,Stacking, in its online store....

Thinking about playingCall of Duty: Black Opson the PC but worried about high system requirements? Worry no more as the required specs aren’t too scary. Here’s what CallofDuty.comofficiallysays you’ll need to play at mininum: AsGreyVipersays, you won’t need a beast of a PC to run this game properly. A decent off-the-shelf machine should do you good, and your top spec machine should makeCall of Duty: Black Opseven more lovely.

Renegade Kid, the maker ofDementium: The Ward, was at one point designing a Wii title for Gamecock calledSon of the Dragon. It had you playing as Dracula himself, and sounds genuinely interesting. 1UP caught up with the studio to ask why it was canceled and what it was all about. “The game was canceled because of the development cost versus the less than stellar performance of original mature-themed titles on the Wii,” says co-founder Jools Watsham....

Near the end of my TGS time in Tokyo, I was lucky enough to meet up withTyrone Rodriguez of Nicalis, Inc. You know Tyrone. He’s the guy who helped bringCave Storyto WiiWare, and thank the Lord, it sounds like he’s still working his connections to squeeze more out of the title. He and Pixel (Cave Story‘s creator) have been bouncing a few ideas around; bringing more Pixel games to consoles, puttingCave Storyonmoreconsoles, tweaking the pre-existing WiiWare version of the game, and tooling around with the very different, rarely seenCave StoryBeta....

MTV and Sony have announced a blockbuster deal to bring MTV programming to the PlayStation Network. The information was first given during Sony’s press conference at CES. We’re sure the entire crowd clapped vigorously after hearing the announcement. The worldwide leader in music television owns a large amount of television real estate. Expect episodes of MTV’sThe City, Comedy Central’sSouth Park, Nickelodeon’sSpongeBob SquarePantsand VH1’sRock of Love Bus with Bret Michaelsto hit PSN in February....

CES. You’ve got to love the Consumer Electronics Show. Where else can you see beautiful people, tubby nerds and porn stars in the same place at the same time? And when you’re tired of all of that, you can go out, play slot machines and eat buffets. I love this show and I thank the Supreme Robot for sending me every year. As a tech nerd, the appeal of CES is obvious, just as the appeal of Las Vegas would be for a gambling drunk....

Here’s a Japanese trailer forThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, focusing on the includedMaster Questmode. For those that don’t know,Master Questis a “remixed” version ofOcarina of Time, with reworked dungeons and puzzles. Ocarina 3Dis currently scheduled for June 19 in North America and June 17 in Europe. Given Nintendo’s new commitment toconsistently disappointingwith the 3DS, however, we’ll see if that holds.

The thing about the Metal Gear games is that you really have no idea what’s going on until you’re actually playing the game. And even then it’s still a bit difficult to understand. Sorry, Kojima. We still love you. We haven’t fully explored the whole four character thing for the upcoming PSP gameMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walkeryet. What was the deal with the four Snakes? Is that four Big Bosses? Clones?...

Check it out. The latest video for THQ’s upcoming wrestling title showcases an amazing amount of customization. It looks like you’ll be able to tweak just about everything to your liking inWWE’12. And I mean everything. From the appearance of your character to his entrance, finishing moves and even the ring itself — it’s all under your control. Wrestling games sure look like they’ve come a long way since I last mashed away on an N64 controller inWWF WrestleMania 2000....

Do I even need to set this up? Point your eye spheres toward the following linked games and click on any and all that pique your interest: Three bucks for theOverlord Complete Pack, you say? My years of waiting (aka indifference) have finally paid off. I’d also recommend hitting upTorchlightif you aren’t a proud owner, but a word of caution forSaints Row 2— the PC version is supposed to be quite shoddy, so watch out....