Game Downloads

The rumors of a portable iteration of LittleBigPlanet continue, but now they have some company. Sony has expressed interested in not just expanding LittleBigPlanet beyond the PlayStation 3, but Rock Band and Guitar Hero as well.

With little warning the Championship Gaming Series (CGS) called it quits today. The following brief message now appears on their official site:AN IDEA WHOSE TIME CAME TOO EARLY
Today BSkyB, STAR, and DIRECTV ended their Championship Gaming Series (CGS) business.
While the concept was ahead of its time and we are extremely proud of what we've accomplished, it became increasingly clear as this ambitious project evolved, that profitability was too far in the future for us to sustain operations in the interim.
Our goal was to be ahead of the curve in the e-sports space, and we conceived CGS as a true sports league. We invested wholeheartedly in the venture and presented viewers with a top-notch production, but the economics just didn't add up for us at this time.
Our only regret is that we will lose a team of creative and talented individuals who invested their hearts and souls into Championship Gaming Series. We recognize their achievements and thank them for their hard work and passion.
BSkyB, STAR, and DIRECTV continue to be committed to the video game sector, which is an important part of many of our customers' lives and a great source of entertainment
Sincerely,
The CGS teamLeague owner and operator DirecTV aired the matches on its exclusive channel The 101, and this summer four 90-minute playoff and championship episodes aired on G4. But despite gaining a good deal of momentum, the CGS lasted only two seasons: 2007 and 2008. This past season saw the Birmingham Salvo take home the championship and its $500,000 prize to split among the ten teammates.

During his keynote address back at TGS, Microsoft's John Schappert revealed that Live had reached 14 million global subscribers. Not to be outdone for too long, in a post celebrating the PS3's second birthday on the Official PlayStation Blog, Sony says they now match that number with 14 million active accounts on their PlayStation Network.

According to a post by director Craig Morrison (via Evil Avatar), Age of Conan is finally just about ready for the DirectX 10 treatment. The fantasy MMO was one of the earliest public supporters of DirectX 10, until the feature was suddenly delayed at the last minute this May.

Sure, retro-chic fare like Mega Man 9's all the rage now, but the trend of new, purposefully old-school releases arguably started with last year's Japanese import Game Center CX: Arino's Challenge. XSEED's publishing the localized DS collection as Retro Game Challenge, set for a January release. (For a more in-depth look at the overall game, check out our preview of the Japanese version.)