In his latest report from Infinity Ward HQ, community confidant Fourzerotwo brings word that the Call of Duty 4 battlefront could see some changes soon. No less than eight new multiplayer playlists are in development, of which four are currently being tested, and at least one can pass through the servers without a patch: Hardcore Headquarters. But we're taking a keen interest in another playlist, Hardcore Ricochet, which turns teamkillers' attacks against them. It's like we're rubber, they're glue -- whatever they shoot, bounces off us and ... burrows deep into their treacherous guts!

Peep the full descriptions and statuses of all the planned playlists on Fourzerotwo's blog.

[Thanks, Michael]

For Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive VP of sales and marketing, July's E3 media briefing was the perfect opportunity to cast a new spell. With most of Wii's casual ownership tuned out (c'mon, you think grandpop was glued to G4?), the press conference should have marked an effort to dazzle Nintendo's wavering "core." Allow the fans a whiff of another classic sequel, and all would have been right in their hearts. Instead, well ... you know what happened.

"I would say the message is we were disappointed with our performance at E3. There were titles like Wario which we think will be really fun titles that we should have showcased," Cammie recently admitted to VGChartz, adding, "We were excited that Mr. Miyamoto made the commitment that Pikmin is coming. It would have been nice if we could have said that on stage." Points for honesty?

We pretty much crammed the need-to-know right up there in the headline, but here it is again: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts pre-orders (confirmed: the game's only $40) will include free download codes for the original Banjo-Kazooie on Xbox Live Arcade at "participating" retailers (read: not the little game store up the block). The code apparently will be redeemable on Nuts & Bolts' launch day, giving players a "two-week head start" on the XBLA game, which won't be released to the masses until a couple weeks later.

But why would you put down the new thing for the old one? Good question. For the answer we'll point you to "Stop 'N' Swop," a slice of Banjo lore that has intrigued completists of the original N64 games for years, now fully realized for the first time. (Spoiler: Certain accomplishments in Nuts & Bolts unlock <gasp>new content in the decade-old XBLA re-release</gasp>.)

Speaking of bonuses, we've got a little something special for you today. Hit up the gallery below for the first screens of the newly revealed Nuts & Bolts game world: Jiggoseum. It's like the Olympics ... but with cah-razy vehicles!

Congratulations! You're now a part of history ... or at least, a part of Alex St. John's alternate reality. Spend enough time with "the guy who talked Microsoft into the console business" and you might start seeing a big red countdown -- the kind that ends in KA-BOOM! -- tattooed on your gaming console, the UK's Telegraph reports. "I think we're looking at the last generation of consoles. There's not going to be an Xbox 720 or a PS4, I'll make that bet, not going to happen," St. John predicts.

Not surprisingly, St. John's grim prophecy doubles as a convincing plug for WildTangent's forthcoming virtual console: Orb. Orb will offer "enthusiast" games (BioShock and Assassin's Creed are two "possible" examples) for free on an ad-driven, session-by-session basis. In theory, this kind of digital platform could one day replace disc-based consoles, as it offers "free" gaming through an advertising model that consumers have accepted in other markets and cuts out the huge economic losses that console manufacturers can't seem to avoid (um, except for Nintendo!). "I'll take the heat if I'm wrong and don't mind being mocked in the future with people going 'Wow, was he wrong,'" St. John says of his market forecast, "But it doesn't happen to me very often."

It started out as a tantalizing April Fools gag, and then evolved into a grueling Metal Gear Solid 4 unlockable. Wanna play as Snake dressed up as the 12th century assassin? Sure thing. Just earn the Assassin's Emblem: Beat the game with 50 or more knife kills, 50 or more CQC holds, and 25 or less alerts.

That's the honorable way to do it, at least. But what if we told you there was an infinitely easier way to drape the cloak of the Assassins Order over your Old Snake? Would you risk being shamed by your peers? Would you utter the magic word...?

Spoiler alert! A new Ratchet & Clank game is coming next year. Upon completing Quest for Booty -- the downloadable Ratchet & Clank episode due on PSN next week -- 1UP was rewarded with ... more Ratchet & Clank; at least, the reassurance that there'll be a ninth installment in the franchise. The teaser (pictured above) supposedly appears after the credits roll and all but confirms Insomniac's intent to keep churning out sequels every other fall (the series is turning just "six" in November!), while popping out a Resistance game in the off years. Do we have an early front-runner for Joystiq's coveted award for Stalwart Excellency in the Face of Change?

With the next phase of PlayStation Home construction getting underway, we now have a clear picture of the region restrictions placed on the virtual world, at least those being implemented for the expanded beta. Users are apparently being matched to servers based on their consoles' native regions (which are not configurable), PS3 Fanboy reports. While this peculiar restriction will only affect the small percentage of PlayStation 3 owners whose consoles were imported from other regions, it counters the open access granted to PlayStation Store users, who can shop in any Store region from anywhere by setting up PSN accounts based in different regions. The Home region restrictions also mean that make-believers won't be mingling internationally nor will they be able to sign into their Japanese PSN IDs from an American console, for example, and hop onto a Japanese server.

PS3 Fanboy points out that the obvious explanation for the lockdown is optimized advertising. There's no sense in pushing American products on a UK gamer who is bird watching on a US server. Still, we're holding onto hope for some cross-regional opportunities, like tournaments or maybe exchange programs. Who's up for a semester in the Caribbean Home?

Vin Diesel vs. The Batman? If we didn't know better, we'd have mistaken the first Batman Arkham Asylum screens for the spiffy new chapter in the Chronicles of Riddick remake. (After all, Bats has tangoed with Aliens and Predator -- so why not the Alpha Furyan?) But we digress. Rocksteady Studios eagerly released the "WORLDWIDE EXCLUSIVE Game Informer screens" on its website, but then realized, uh, they're exclusive, and promptly pulled them. Unfortunately, erasing an internet blunder is never as easy as refreshing the page, and the images have spread to new hosts. Hellooo NeoGAF! [Argh, pulled! ... CVG has 'em.]

Update: Warner Bros. Interactive is making the rounds this afternoon, trying to bottle up the pesky genie that escaped earlier today. "The images of Batman Arkham Asylum that Rocksteady posted on their website were done in error," a representative has explained to Joystiq. In turn, we have complied with the company's request to remove any screenshots from this post and will surely not remind you that the images in question are still floating around the internet, maybe even locatable through links posted in the comments section...

Blizzard president Mike Morhaime has issued a public apology on behalf of the company for the recent BlizzCon fiasco -- the "Wrath of the Ticke-Ting" -- which left thousands of F5ers empty-handed after two days of strenuous clicking. "As a result of this week's events, the excitement that many of you felt about the show has turned into dissatisfaction and disappointment," Morhaime writes in a statement posted on various Blizzard-operated sites. "Due to these circumstances, we've reevaluated our convention hall space and come up with some solutions that will allow us to offer 3,000 more tickets for sale."

We don't know where Blizzard plans to squeeze the additional load of freaks and geeks -- worst case scenario: dump some mobile buildings in the parking lot and load 'em with free diet soda and chips ... and dip -- but we do know that the only way to become one of the fabled "3,000" is to sharpen your Sword of Last Resort and spill some virgin blood upon the Alter of Actilizzard toss your name into a hat and hope it gets pulled. That's right, "To avoid the issues many of you faced this week, we'll be selling these 3,000 via a lottery," Morhaime explains (read: the servers still can't handle the force of 10 million clicks). Further details will be posted once Blizzard figures out how it's gonna work. Suggestions?

The PSP-3000 series is real, folks. And that's about as far as we get in today's episode. The FCC filing for the "PSP-3001" has been pulled, thumbed and returned. What was found looks disappointingly similar to the current PSP hardware model, though there is that thick wall of confidentiality standing in the way (the one we're just dying to take a sledgehammer to). From what we can see, there appears to be no evidence of the rumored built-in mic or "Home" button redesign, and the metallic ring doesn't look any thinner. You can see for yourself in the alternate views posted after the break.

[Via Engadget]

John isn't happy with Capcom's Wii titles. "I'm really pissed right now," he writes, firing off lists of all the Capcom IP he's missing out on or forced to sift through (dude, watch where you're listing Neopets!). While the obvious remedy, John, is to take on a few more chores around the house and save up for one of those "high-def systems" (as another poster, Ishaan, calls them), Christian Svensson, VP of Strategic Planning & Business Development at Capcom, offers a more indolent solution: sit tight.

"We are contemplating versions of one or two of the CEI titles you've mentioned on the Wii (not saying which*)," Sven teases, "but we'd like to see how they do on their initial target systems before doubling down on additional SKUs." Wait, don't you mean dumbing down on additional SKUs?

*But Silconera has a pretty good hunch: Flock, Age of Booty, Dark Void, and Street Fighter IV are Capcom Entertainment Incorporated ("CEI") projects; Flock being the best fit for Wii.

Nintendo isn't exactly swinging for the fences with the remainder of its 2008 Wii lineup, but then, when you hit your grand slam so early in the year, it's easy to fade in the second half of the season. Thankfully, homebrewer Erant has stepped up to the plate and delivered a clutch hit: DVD video playback.

... Um, let's try that again: DVD VIDEO PLAYBACK!!1!!!!!

The no mess utility is easy to install (well, maybe not for grandpa) and includes a media player that also makes nice with the video files stored on your SD card. All we need now is a VHS-to-DVD converter so we can transfer mom's old step aerobics tapes onto disc. That's right, homebrewed balance board games! Who knew all this old stuff could feel so new again?

[Via Wii Fanboy]

When you make a promise to something, you expect its end of the bargain to be equally fulfilled. Such is not the case, apparently, for numerous pre-orderers of Fable II, whose early commitments came bundled with download codes for Pub Games released on Xbox Live Arcade today. According to a thread on the Xbox Forums and comments dropped on Major Nelson's site, many pre-order codes are returning an "Invalid Code" error when entered on Xbox Live. Microsoft seems to be aware of the problem, and at least one report suggests that a new batch of codes will be issued within 24-48 hours. What gives, Microsoft? Lionhead's tab no good any more?

Update: The codes should be working "later today," says Major Nelson. All codes should be working now.

[Via X3F]

If you're not making sense of the mess that's leaked out of Jaffe's little red pen, don't worry, you're not alone. There's a reason why most developers choose to keep the uglier side of game design in house. But then, David Jaffe isn't most developers. If we squint hard enough, we can just barely see the outline of a Twisted Metal level (at least, that's the going theory) -- oh, and a Spider-Man head. Wow dude, if this Eat Sleep Play thing doesn't work out, you should totally try out for Marvel! (And yes, we actually dialed that 1-800 number...)

Anyway, glad to hear Jaffe's getting his "core" computer back up to speed. We can't imagine what's it's been like to be stuck with Windows and Internet Explorer. Gross.

In order to offset the cost of printing posting an alternative cover for (most versions of) Madden 09, it looks like EA had to raise the price of the new Madden NFL 09 PSP Entertainment Pack to the tune of: $10,000! Graciously, Circuit City has elected to eat a full $9,800 of that cost, leaving pre-orderers with a much more manageable price tag. [Note: Circuit City has since removed the pricing error.]

Retailer bloopers aside, the Madden Entertainment Pack (MSRP $200) includes: a very blue PSP, 1GB Memory Stick, Madden 09 (game), download code for Beats ("game"), and -- what's this? -- a movie ... on UMD (they're collector's items you know).

[Via PSP Fanboy]