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Nintendoannounced last nightthat, less than six months after releasing the 3DS for $250, that it was slashing the price to $169.99 on August 12. Nintendo is worried that this will cause early supporters of Nintendo to lose faith in the company.DUUUUUH, YA THINK!? “Never in Nintendo’s history have we dropped a system’s trade price so significantly less than six months after launch,” admitted the company. “We are aware this may cause you, the loyal fans who supported Nintendo 3DS from the beginning, to lose trust in us, and this is not our intention in any way....

High on many PlayStation 3 owner’s list of “want to import” is Sony’sPokemon Snap-ish title,Afrika. Despite every gamer’s desire to take pictures of African wildlife, Sony has often stated that the Japanese title would not be localized. But according to a Sony representative at a recent Sony Cameras event (viaCVG), this may all change. The representative told journalists thatAfrikawould be hitting Europe next year. He didn’t elaborate on the process or when the decision was made....

Another day, another teaser for a Spike Videogame Awards premiere. This time, it’s for an upcomingStar Warsgame. Since no real information is given about the title, and only recycled footage from prior games in the franchise is shown, you may as well notwatch the video. You know what that means: speculation time. I’m willing to bet this will end up being a newBattlefrontgame. Even though the fate ofStar Wars: Battlefront IIIhas been questionable with the fall of Free Radical, LucasArts would have gotten back the rights to the project....

TheGuitar Hero IIImono sound issueearned many a Wii owner’s ire last year, and rightfully so — it’s pretty tough to rock out when your game’s sound resembles a grilled cheese sandwich run over by an angry teen on a Moped. Activision was quick to announce a disc replacement service, but it seems that didn’t keep people from dissatisfaction (better known as talking sh*t all over the interwebs.) Sensing that more action was needed, Activision has announced that now you can march your copy ofGH IIIright back to the source and get a refund....

Usually when a reviewer calls a game addictive, that’s a compliment, but to some psychologists, addictive games are a crippling menace, on par with drugs and alcohol. In a new report, presented to the world viaGame Life, the American Medical Association is being pressed to officially recognize videogame addiction as an actual disorder. The report, which bears the oh-so concise title of“Report Of The Council On Science And Public Health: Emotional and Behavioral Effects, Including Addictive Potential, of Video Games”not only pushes for gaming addiction to be an official term, but also wishes for the definition of ‘gamer’ to have a legitimate medical meaning....

All aboard the delay train, WOO WOOOOO! Yet another game has fell to the might sword of the Postponement Warrior, with Obsidian’sAlpha Protocolbecoming the latest to get shunted from 2009 to 2010, joining a ridiculous amount of games to have suffered the same fate and confirmingearlier rumors. The spy-themed RPG was originally slated to hit shelves this month, but Sega has now changed the date on itsofficial siteto “Spring 2010.” Could this have something to do with the “not enough likeMass Effect” criticisms unveiled in thatleaked Sega memo?...

Ubisoft has revealed some details about the upcoming PlayStation 3-only multiplayer beta ofAssassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, and I don’t think a lot of you are going to be thrilled about it. Why? You can access the beta, which starts on September 13, only by pre-ordering the game with GameStop. Ubisoft says there will only be a “limited number of beta slots available,” with GameStop tokens available at a first-come, first-sever basis. So run on over to your local GameStop and get your pre-order on, I guess....

Ubisoft seems to be having quite a bit of trouble getting PC releases of its multiplatform titles out on time. The latest game to be struck with a delay is a rather big one:Assassin’s Creed: Revelations.While the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions are on for November 15, PC gamers will have to wait until December. Truth be told, I’m much more bummed about theBatman: Arkham Cityslipthan this, given that title’s significant graphical upgrades and also Ubisoft’s track record with the PC crowd as of late....

Have you ever stopped in the middle of playing a game to think about why someone or something was given a certain name? The answer is most likely no. The gamer’s mind is too busy being assaulted by how things appear and story text to be able to give things such as a character’s name or the label given to a specific potion a second thought. But if one were to look a little deeper, the titles given to people, places and things in video games can turn out to be very important tools that aid in the understanding and conquering of whatever game is laid out before you....

In addition to revealing thatSimCity DSwill be coming toAmericain summer 2007, Electronic Arts also dropped some interesting tidbits about how this new version of the classic SimCity series will play. Besides being able to sign mayoral proclamations with your own signature using the touch screen, what really piqued my interest is that players will have to blow into the DS microphone to put out fires. And if your SimCity skills are anything like mine, that will happen quite often....

Gearbox’sBorderlandsis going to be hit with aminor delayon PC while Gearbox make some tweaks and improvements. Original scheduled for release on October 20, the excellent-looking RPG/shooter hybrid has been pushed back a week. Don’t worry, it’s not yet another 2010 victim. “We’re optimizing the PC version which takes a few days longer than expected,” says 2K’s Charlie Sinhaseni. The console versions are unaffected, meaning Xbox 360 and PS3 fans can get their hands on the game when expected....

Here’s a decent deal for those planning on or even thinking of buying all five of the Xbox LIVE Arcade games from the “Summer of Arcade.” If you buy‘Splosion Man,Marvel vs. Capcom 2,TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-shelled,Trials HD, andShadow Complexby August 31, Microsoft will add 800 MS Points ($10) to your account. Of course, there are some restrictions. This offer is only good to those in the United States, and it’s going to take around four to six weeks for the points to be awarded to you....

Are you excited for Quantic Dream’sHeavy Rain? It’s difficult not to be — the developer has been wowing gamers with the game’s tech for years, with lifelike visuals that promise to bring out emotions of in-game characters like never before. JudgingHeavy Rainon its visual merits is one thing, but with Quantic Dream promising a mature and compelling experience like we’ve never seen in gaming, expectations are through the roof. But isHeavy Raineven a “game” at all?...