Maybe it's just because we're nerds for gaming journalism dirt, but we can't get enough of Sore Thumbs, a blog run by former EGMers Dan Hsu and Crispin Boyer. Now that both have moved on from the mag, they're spinning tales about the glory days of gaming journalism, often with shocking results.

In the newest entry, for example, Hsu delves into the Ubisoft/Ziff Davis blackballing and how it, in a sense, played a part in his resignation. It's all fascinating stuff that's both unflinchingly honest and essential reading for informed consumers of game media.

Microsoft has won its claim against rumble licensor Immersion Corp., receiving $20.75 million from the company, Reuters reports. The particulars of the case revolve around a 2003 sub-licensing agreement between the two companies in which Microsoft was entitled to a portion of the cash that Immersion eventually settled on in its case against Sony.

It appears that everything is now ship-shake between all the corporations involved and we can continue enjoying the jiggles we get from our controllers.

Source -- Payback Time: Immersion To Pay $20.75 Million To Microsoft (Efluxmedia)
Source -- Immersion settles suit with Microsoft (Reuters)

[Thanks, laserboyjc]

When it comes to the titanic struggle between corporate giants Activision Blizzard and EA, it seems there's just enough room in this town for the both of them. According to a Screen Digest report (via Gamasutra), the two publishers are responsible for a whopping 75% of console game releases in the West for the period between July and September. Collectively, they will publish 40% of console games during 2008's second half.

In the third quarter specifically, EA is the busiest publisher with "around" 21 games, which Screen Digest's Ed Barton suggests is largely comprised of EA's "extensive range of annual sports games." Actiblizzard, on the other money-grubbing hand, manages to push out 19 games in the same span of time. "While most publishers appear to ramp up release volume in the key Christmas quarter," notes Barton, "EA and Activision Blizzard appear to be ramping up release volumes to similar levels in both calendar Q3 and Q4."

We haven't yet decided how to break this news to our wallet. It's still waking up screaming in the middle of the night, haunted by the nightmare of Holiday 2007.

And he's not just saying that to make up for years of financial inequity and utterly perverse release schedules. "First, our money - the pound or the euro - is very strong and because of that the turnover from those countries is heavier than they used to be," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot tells GamesIndustry.biz. "So for Ubisoft turnover Europe is actually more important than the US now, and by more than 5 per cent. It's become a very strong market for us."

Guillemot suspects that's largely to blame on all the exercise Europeans have been getting with new accessories and more accessible games, the likes of which even include politically charged real-time strategy scuffle Tom Clancy's EndWar. "A game like EndWar, for example, which you can control by voice - it's totally changing the industry because it gives you the opportunity to command what's happening, and to have a quick answer to the orders you give."

While Ubi and Yu-rop laugh all the way to the bank, remind yourself that EndWar totally changes the industry on October 14th on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Proving that there's still more head-shaking to be caused by the iTunes App Store in the wake of the "I Am Rich" app silliness, the developers of the 1337pwn.com Xbox Live friends list app for iPhone have accused the developers of the iLive Xbox Live friend list app of stealing their data and bandwidth. Oh no they d'int!

According to the 1337pwn gang, oh yes, they did. On its blog, the app author writes, "We discovered that the other XBOX Live Friends application available in the AppStore is/was using our data feeds without permission. They were stealing a nice chunk of bandwidth and CPU through their improper use of our server interfaces. These folks were using our data without permission, authorization, or credit given. Not cool."

What's both cool and funny is how 1337pwn went about getting its revenge. "With a couple of tweaks to our data feed, we are now credited for the data within their application. Given that we have a sense of humor, we have also incorporated new features such as a random online status," it revealed. The image above shows iLive pulling data from 1337pwn's server before its devs realized the jig was up. We've tested iLive since 1337pwn took action and found that most of its status fields now report "Suspended until next release." Well, at least we didn't pay for it.

When we spoke with SCEA president Jack Tretton during E3 about Final Fantasy XIII going multiplatform in the US, he was quite frank about the impact the game's PS3 exclusivity in Japan would (or wouldn't) have for the company. "Seeing as there isn't that big of a [PS3] installed base in Japan, I don't know how big of a coup that is for us," he admitted.

Across the Atlantic, Sony Europe boss David Reeves seemingly gets his Japanese PS3 sales figures broken down by individual components. Speaking with VG247 during last week's Leipzig Games Convention, Reeves said, "I think that just as we got a massive blip up with GTA IV – which was not exclusive – we'll get exactly the same blip up with Final Fantasy," adding that, "I know [FFXIII] will look great on PS3 and – it's up to Microsoft to clarify this – it's still exclusive in Japan."

While we're still betting on higher sales of the PS3 version over the 360 release domestically, it really seems as if Reeves is living in the mid- to late-1990s, when Japan was still SCEI's most important territory. Times have changed, Sir.

[Update: Corrected a Sony exec mix-up. They're all the same to us, you know.]

The organizers for next year's Cologne-based Gamescom event want you to know that their show will be the 'new European games platform for the international games community." Taking place from September 9th to September 13th, 2009, Gamescom has thrown down the gauntlet and cast a demeaning glare towards the recently concluded (and returning) Leipzig Games Convention.

"It was to be expected that the Leipzig trade fair would try to keep the topic in its 2009 programme as well by announcing its date," said Oliver P. Kuhrt, managing director of Gamescom organiser Koelnmesse. "But they will have to do it without the industry for the most part. The lead trade fair will take place in Cologne in 2009 and beyond." Despite posting improved attendance numbers this year, Kuhrt is adamant that it's time to move 'zig down from its biggest-show-in-town status. "Whatever happens in Germany in 2009 outside of Cologne cannot claim to represent this sector."

It figures that the organizers of a trade show would exhibit such a fine "Oh snap," but we think it best to wait and see if the Cologne show offers up something to sniff at.

Red Mile's interactive adaptation of Frank Miller's landmark, hard boiled graphic novel(s), Sin City, has a new-ish developer. The title was originally being handled – presumably with those special gloves used for working with razor wire – by Transmission Games, the same outfit producing Heroes Over Europe for Red Mile. Both games have 2009 release dates.

The publisher, who is working with Atari to get its games onto shelves, tells GameSpot that work on Sin City: The Game was handed to another developer "quite some time ago." Said developer's identity is unknown, but we do know that Frank Miller practically hand-picked his old pal (and The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay writer) Flint Dille to "spearhead the design, scriptwriting, story generation, and overall production" of the game, which will – unsurprisingly – utilize Unreal Engine 3. Also, the color red. Lots of it.

(And no, the new developer isn't Platinum Games, despite MadWorld's more-than-vague resemblance to Sin City.)

Nintendo has affixed a timeline to the vague, yet sincere promise that games based on the company's "core" franchises are in development. "We still have developers working on popular core gaming franchises but we need longer to complete these games, approximately two to three years," Nintendo stated in the October issue of Edge, as reported by Eurogamer. "These games are not ready to launch in early 2009 but are being worked on by all development teams." So sit back, twiddle some other thumbsticks, and let those other folk navigate the slopes for a while. Your turn's a comin'.

[Via Wii Fanboy; image credit: striatic]

Following up on yesterday's rumor out of OXM that Gearbox may be handling Halo 4, Variety's Ben Fritz reports that his source close to the dev confirms that it "has definitely had conversations with Microsoft about doing a new Halo game and is very excited at the prospect," but that "there was no deal in place." For those who might not remember, Gearbox has a history with the Halo franchise, having handled the PC version of the original game.

Fritz reckons it's "quite possible" Gearbox will helm a new Halo project ... it's just "not a certainty yet." If it happens, that would make at least four Halo-related titles in the works: Halo Wars; the Halo game that Bungie was supposed to reveal at E3; Peter Jackson's interactive take on the Halo universe; and whatever Gearbox may or may not be crafting. Given that OXM's rumor regarding Halo 4 as a launch title for 360's successor (if there even is one), we should expect to hear something official either way in, oh, the next year or two.

PlayStation Europe boss David Reeves is on the verge of extending the long arm of Sony onto the mat and tapping out -- exclusivity is just getting too darned expensive. "I think we have to accept that exclusivity is not a thing of the past, but it is probably with publishers," Reeves told GamesIndustry.biz in a recent interview. Of course, Reeves is only referring to the millions upon millions of cash money papers console manufactures might be expected to fork over to a publisher for exclusivity these days. There is still hope in striking deals with developers that haven't been scooped under a corporate umbrella. (See Quantic Dream, for example.) "[Developers] need a little bit of funding, external development," Reeves explained, "In exchange, it's exclusive -- that works."

Hey, grab a Molson and pull up a comfortable ice block and listen up. The AP is reporting that the Wii has become the first system to reach a million units sold in Canada. That's like one system for every two people or so you've got up there, eh? We're guessing it's because the pearly white exterior of the system matches the decor of your igloos (not to mention the polar bears roaming around outside).

According to NPD statistics, the Wii has sold 1,060,000 Candian units through July, meaning the upcoming Wii version of NHL 2K9 can count on at least 1.5 million sales up there in the frozen North (some Canadians will buy an extra copy for their pet moose, you see). Microsoft and Sony are rumored to be planning competing lumberjack simulations and marketing tie-ins with popular maple syrup makers to increase their systems' appeal to the Canadian market, but as the Quebecois say, this might be "trop peu, trop tard."

(Apologies to all Canadians, who we're sure are too polite and respectful to get mad about this, right?)

For gamers, there's usually a push-and-pull battle involved in deciding to order a new game from an online retailer. On the plus side, ordering online means not having to deal with clueless game store employees, not fighting off the harsh rays of the sun and, most importantly, not leaving the comfort of the couch! On the downside, though, those online delivery people will sometimes arrive days after a game is available in stores, losing you precious time you could be spending pwning n00bs.

Amazon is looking to get rid of that major online ordering negative with their Release Date Delivery program for some of the season's biggest games. Shoppers that pay an extra $5.98 can get Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Fable 2 and Gears of War 2 delivered to their doors the same day they're available in stores (you may remember Amazon tested the program last month with Soul Calibur IV). Amazon Prime members can get this service for free, but it's only currently available in the continental U.S., so residents of foreign lands (not to mention the freak states) should be prepared to hoof it to their nearest brick and mortar game retailers.

Source - Press Release
Source - More Details

He's not quite the big name that Hideo Kojima is, but the fact is that if you liked Metal Gear Solid 4, especially how its gameplay had evolved since the last entry in the series, producer Ryan Payton is a big part of the reason. Now, Payton has left the team to spend more time with his family in North America after, he says, receiving some "pretty heavy news concerning my mom."

We knew the guy was good at making games, but it turns out he's also got a heart as big as all outdoors. Let's hope he ends up somewhere nice.

(P.S.: Metal Gear Solid 5 will be completely inscrutable, with Reagan-era gameplay. Confirmed.)

The ongoing drama of who's eating who between mega publishers Electronic Arts and Take-Two has finally been taken behind the curtain, where it should have been all along. After coming to some measure of understanding, the companies have jointly signed a confidentiality agreement, agreeing not to blab about what may or may not happen as a result of ongoing talks until, you know, something actually happens.

According to Reuters, EA has agreed as part of a regulatory filing with the SEC to not "make any further announcements regarding the status of any discussions or negotiations with Take-Two" until the pair come to some sort of mutual accord. We couldn't be happier, knowing that while the drama will likely continue to unfold for quite some time, at least we won't have to read (or write!) about it.