The Entertainment Software Association has been in a constant downward spiral over the past few weeks as publisher after publisher have been dropping out of E3 , with major player ActiBlizz even confirming their exit from the association all together. Late last week, word broke that LucasArts may have also dropped their membership to the association when their company name had disappeared from the ESA website. Looks like yet another internet rumor has come true, as the ESA has confirmed the publisher's secession.  Rich Taylor, Senior VP of communications and research at the ESA issued a comment of:

Since its creation in 1994, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has grown and evolved into the pre-eminent voice of the video and computer game industry. The organization has 25 members, including three companies that were welcomed last year...Today, we can confirm that one of our members, LucasArts, has decided not to renew its membership. We value each member of our association, but respect the unique factors that led to LucasArts' decision.

Uh oh. That's definitely not a good sign - for the ESA, that is. One by one, it seems that whispers of the major players' participation in the association continue to crop up here and there, and with the already laughable state that E3 is in, it's not looking good. The financial situation for the association could be in the early stages of taking a steep, steep dive. LucasArts confirmed that they are still planning to attend the E3 Summit this July, despite this announcement. Margaret Grohne, PR Director for LucasArts said:

We can confirm that LucasArts is no longer a member of the ESA. As a company we are still committed to bringing consumers the best interactive experience possible and support the ESA's mission in the industry. LucasArts will be participating in E3.

Remember those good old television commercials promoting a weekly "family game night" for you and the rest of the busy busy folks in your house? I sure do, Monopoly, Scrabble...but things kind of lost their touch over the years. Who's got time nowadays to sit down and "unplug" to play with actual games and actual people, when you've got that nice, shiny HDTV staring at you, your 100 closest friends from across the world sending you messages, and a boxful of Hot Pockets fresh out of the microwave?

EA Casual is aiming to make real social interaction with a bit easier by announcing Hasbro Family Game Night for the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2. A bit strange that that these are not also getting the XBLA/PSN treatment as well, in my opinion. Hasbro Family Game Night is a collection of classic board games including Battleship, Yahtzee, Boogle, Connect Four, Sorry! and the all new variant, Sorry! Sliders. Along with special host for each game, Mr. Potato Head, players will have the option to create a party where they can tweak everything from the number of players in a game, all the way to the time limit, and even play mini-games; all inside of their very own "digital game room".  Chip Lange, Vice President and General Manager of EA Casual says:

We’re giving families a new way to bond and play together. HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT offers parents and their children a digital party experience full of classic brands they know and love. Between original and new rule settings, an easy-to-play party mode and a customizable game room feature, the variety and choice promise hours of fun family play.

 
Hasbro Family Game Night is currently scheduled for release sometime this Autumn. Full announcement after the jump.

After Phil Harrison, former President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, departed for Atari's parent company Infogrames in February, the house of the PlayStation 3 was left leaderless - more or less. A few months have went by, Phil has led the charge and scooped up Atari, and now SCEWWS have themselves a new President.

Shuhei Yoshida, who was current Senior VP of the U.S. division at Sony Worldwide Studios and a 15-year SCEI veteran, has been officially confirmed to be taking Phil Harrison's place as President starting today, May 16th. Sony Computer Entertainment CEO, Kaz Hirai stated:

SCE WWS has been developing global hit titles, sharing resources and know-how within SCE Group since its foundation, and we will reinforce our software business by further enhancing coordination among the studios under a new leader...Under the leadership of Yoshida, who has proven track record in managing creative talent, SCE WWS will accelerate the software development for the PlayStation 3 and PSP platforms and vigorously expand the gaming market.

Best of luck to Yoshida in his new position, we look forward to your many E3 speeches to come. Now...Home, anyone?

Are you enjoying the various cornucopia of eclectic musical tunes, the ones that are blasting out of your vehicle of choice as your mow down crowds of pedestrians in Grand Theft Auto IV? Well then, this might just interest you, as you can now extend that enjoyment beyond the game.

Rockstar Games today announced Liberty City Invasion: Music from and Inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV, an original album contaning a collection of sixteen new hip-hop, reggae and R&B tracks produced by The Evil Genius Green Lantern. Eight songs being brand new and inspired by the game, and eight "exclusively crafted" for DJ Green Lantern's GTA IV in-game radio show on "The Beat 102.7". Artists onboard include Busta Rhymes, Wyclef, Fat Joe, Styles P, Fabolous, Mavado, Uncle Murder, Future Green Entertainment’s  Johnny Polygon, Qadir and more. The DJ himself said:

From making mixtapes, to being on the radio, to touring with the biggest artists on the planet, and then for the biggest video game title to solicit me to create exclusive music is something most people could only dream about, it’s like a graduation. Rockstar Games understood what I bring to the table as far as not just presenting music, but creating music.

Liberty City Invasion: Music from and Inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV is scheduled to release through your favorite digital distribution retailer on May 20th, with a TBD date for an actual disc release.

Full announcement and track list rundown after the jump

Following yesterday's reveal of tons of new Resident Evil 5 images, GameTrailers has managed to secure another world-exclusive. On the May 31st edition of GameTrailers TV on SpikeTV, the new trailer for Resident Evil 5 which was confirmed by Famitsu will air, and promises to be nothing short of amazing. Capcom's Chris Kramer teases out the footage by saying:

I’ve personally watched the trailer about a dozen times now, and I’m still seeing new stuff each time I look at it. It’s filled with evil — EEEEEEVILL! — and running and terror and shooting and exploding and horrible critters trying to suck poor Chris Redfield’s face off. More to come! 

The new and "terrifying"  footage will showcase new gameplay, as well as rendered cutscene goodness. Most of it believed to be the in-motion equivalent of the recent magazine scans. All Resident Evil, all badass. Don't miss it, Friday May 31st at 1AM EST/PST. 

Star Wars The Force Unleashed, LucasArts' first current-gen adventure in the post - Hayden Christensen saga, has been slowly lifting its curtain over the past few months as we've gotten word on a release date and more. The Wii version's Duel Mode has been getting its fair shar of press lately, and the PSP/DS's wi-fi play is sure to notice soon; but the multiplayer component for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions (which was pseudo-confirmed nearly a year ago), has been on media blackout.

If what a LucasArt's PR rep is saying is true, there's a reason why: it doesn't exist. Speaking to Total Video Games, Adam Khan (great Jedi name, by the way), senior PR manager for LucasArts said that due to the fact that the Wii and handheld versions of The Force Unleashed have some sort of head-to-head offerings, the Euphoria-based Jedi experience on the HD consoles will be missing out.

To be specific, there's no multiplayer in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, because there is on the Wii, PSP, and DS. As far as specific reasons are concerned, we don't really like to get into the reasons why we don't do things because I don't think there's really a satisfactory answer that people would really be happy with. So, there isn't multiplayer and that's kind of how it is...

I'm sorry...WHAT? Does that make sense to anyone else? There's no multiplayer on PS3/360 because it exists on the other platforms? That might sound ridiculously stupid to some, and that's because it truly is. I can understand there not being an online component to the game if it's because of the technology (the game uses a combination of Euphoria, Digital Molecular Matter and Havok), but because it just simply wasn't developed out right...even though it was already sorta kinda announced (and fully hinted at)? Let's hope that this was some misunderstood statement, and clarification arrives soon, or I sense that quite a few sales for The Force Unleashed were just lost. Either that, or LucasArts is really hoping people will buy this game twice. 

Well, this was extremely unexpected, and somewhat disheartening to hear. Just minutes ago, CBS Corporation announced that they have entered into an agreement to acquire the C|NET network and of course, resignation-ridden outlet, GameSpot. CBS has offered a total of $1.8 billion for the acquisition, which includes CNET, ZDNet, GameSpot.com, TV.com, mp3.com, CNET news.com, UrbanBaby, CHOW, Search.com, BNET, MySimon and TechRepublic.

Once completed, all of the aforementioned websites will be inducted into CBS's online network - which they say has 54 million unique users per month, and roughly 200 million users worldwide. Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Corporation says:

There are very few opportunities to acquire a profitable, growing, well-managed Internet company like CNET Networks. CBS stands for premium content and unparalleled reach, and CNET Networks will add a tremendous platform to extend our complementary entertainment, news, sports, music and information content to a whole new global audience. Together, CBS and CNET Networks will have significant additional exposure to the fastest- growing advertising sector and can accelerate our growth through a number of new content, promotion and advertising initiatives. We could not be more pleased with the prospect of adding CNET Networks and its tremendous team of people to the CBS family. I look forward to working with Quincy Smith, Neil Ashe and the considerable combined talent at both companies, as we build upon our success.

The only thing currently holding up the acquisition is C|NET's collection of stockholders. The company's Board of Directors have "unanimously" approved the move; so it's more of a "when", rather than an "if". It's expected that the acquisition will be completed in Q3 of 2008. Hearing the mention of even more advertising, I already cringe at the thought of what may happen to GameSpot...again. Hopefully, CBS can make this work without compromising the remainder of the outlet's integrity.

Full anouncement after the jump.

Michel Ancel, creator of the highly praised fan favorite Beyond Good & Evil, recently opened up to French outlet JeuxVideo and said that yes, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is "real", and has been in pre-production stage for over a year. However, much to his dismay (and ours), good old publisher Ubisoft has yet to tell the 10-12 person development team to go on ahead and officially start full production. You know, make it a real game.

Doh! You had me there for a second, Ubisoft. There's time for Horsez, Rainbow Six 19, a Wii balance board-using Rayman spin-off and a host of other sequels that won't likely sell half of what BG&E 2 would. What's the deal? Get crackin'!