A few gamers have started to notice that finding an Xbox 360 isn't as easy right now as it used to be.  We've had inquiries about this very issue ourselves. 

It turns out that the Xbox 360 is just a little too successful.  In an interview with Reuters, Jeff Bell (head of global marketing for Microsoft Games) confirmed that the company has been experiencing supply issues as a result of an unexpected demand, both during the winter holiday season and into the new year.  From the interview:

We're literally out of stock in many stores. We think this will have an impact on our sales...

Retailers have been really upset, they are on allocation. It is a lag I think we're seeing in January and that may continue into February, then as spring ramps up, we'll be able to meet that demand. 

Success is a wonderful thing, but it can sometimes be a double edged sword.  Anyone else having flashbacks to the Xbox 360 launch, when finding a 360 was almost as difficult as finding a Wii?

If you have not yet played Capcom's zombie-apocolypse treat, Dead Rising, what's the matter with you? That disclaimer out of the way, gamers may recall previews of the game leading up to its release stating things like (paraphrased, of course) "this is Dawn of the Dead: the game", etc., and the comical, yet coincidental warning displayed while the game loads that says

This game was not developed, approved or licensed by the owners or creators of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead.

Recently, New Line is said to have sent a letter to the parties involved, including Capcom, Microsoft and Best Buy, stating the company's findings. Capcom is apparently now sweating the long arm of the law internally, and are awaiting the call from MKR on what is going to happen, be that legal recourse or not. That could spell trouble for any potential DR sequel, in case you were wondering. Capcom is attempting to obtain a legal document from a judge stating that they are in the clear before this thing blows. For the well being of gamers, let's hope it doesn't, and some agreement can be made between the groups. Can one really, honestly claim possession of the idea of "zombie apocolypse = hold up in the mall"? No. Ridiculous.

Hitting subscribers' mailboxes very soon will be the March issue of the popular magazine, Game Informer. This month, the publication has managed to secure yet another big, exclusive cover story, this time being Aliens: Colonial Marines (a new squad-based FPS), from Gearbox Software and Sega.

Other reveals this month include Cryptic Studios’ new MMO, Champions Online (yup, you guessed it, very similar to City of Heroes), and the recently announced Red Faction 3, now known officially as Red Faction: Guerrilla. Be sure to pick up the issue for more details.

Microsoft and Mistwalker's long-awaited JRPG Lost Odyssey has finally arrived in North America, and like every good game nowadays, it's managed to create some internet controversy. Gamers just unwrapping their copies of the new title noticed "Hey, something isn't right here", when they found that their game discs were not delivered unto them like they are in the Australian and Asian versions.

Instead of a slightly larger DVD case, fitted with special double disc overlayed inserts, each housing two of the four discs, they were met with what is being referred to as a huge "failure". Three game discs crammed onto a single spindle, with the final, fourth disc off to the side inside of one of those glorious paper sleeves <feel free to insert obligatory "cheapskate" comment here>.

As you can imagine, it's really not that big of a deal, until pictures showed up of the other versions, which showcase how the U.S. packaging should be. Anyone disappointed, and further more, will it deter from your gameplay experience? The game is well worth playing, so don't let this scare you off, as it's apparently done to countless others.

Just a few weeks out from release, God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP is looking to retain everything that was great about the console experience, including those hidden, bonus sex mini-games that got so much atttention! Oh joy. You don't even have to pick the game up to experience it, oh no.

Thanks to the magic of the internet and its series of tubes, Fox News now has even more ammo that they can use to craft another great, informative news story (without actually having to do any work, like playing the game). I wonder what Ms. Lawrence thinks? God of War: Chains of Olympus ships on March 4th.

PC gamers should pop in their copies of Team Fortress 2 tomorrow, Valentine's Day, Valve has a treat for you. The latest patch for the cartoony FPS will hit, and with it, some new additions will be available. Some random bugs in the Source Engine are being fixed (including player stats, crashes, and some hardware tweaks).

SourceTV will be getting cleaned up a bit, now using a hidden slot on the servers, with a fix that now allows for a Pyro's flames to be seen over SourceTV. Lastly, and most importantly, new maps! "Badlands" will finally see release, with some changes being done to "Dustbowl" and "Granary" specifically. There are also some general gameplay fixes coming, including the tweaking of the critical hit on a Sniper's bullets, sound effects added for when a Pyro is getting torched, shadow fixes and more. The update will be automatically added when you log on, so be sure to dig deep, find all the new goodies, and have fun.

Talking About Games is pleased to be giving away a free copy of Project Gotham Racing 4 for the Xbox 360.  This title, Bizarre Creations' last entry in the series before their acquisition, is rated E for Everyone and can be yours absolutely free!  All you need to do is head into our forum thread and leave a post in that thread telling us why you want to be our lucky winner.  The contest closes next Wednesday, February 20th at 3pm Pacific, and we'll announce our winner (picked at random) shortly thereafter.   Good luck!

Other contests currently running on the site:

Win Tron and Omega Five for the Xbox Live Arcade
Win Peggle for the PC
Win Mass Effect for the Xbox 360

We're going crazy with giveaways here on the site, and we're passing on that insanity to you, our readers!

Talking About Games is giving away a copy of PopCap Arcade Volume 1 for the Xbox 360.  This nice little compilation includes four separate Xbox Live Arcade titles:  AstroPop, Bejeweled 2, Feeding Frenzy, and Zuma.  All of them are top notch, and can be yours just by answering a single question for us.  Be sure and check out our forum post, and post your answer there for a chance to win a free Xbox 360 game.

Talking About Games would like to once again thank PopCap for their generosity and kind consideration of our many readers.

There are a few additional contests being run by Talking About Games, as well.

Name our new Geek Podcast for a chance to win Tron and Omega Five for the Xbox Live Arcade

Post a comment in our Peggle contest for a chance to win a retail copy of Peggle for the PC

Get funky with a Mass Effect alien race (PG rated entries only) for a chance to win Mass Effect for the Xbox 360

FourZeroTwo, how we adore thee.   No, not just because you're awesome.  It is your news updates which bring a smile to our face this morning.  In a recent post on 402's blog, he confirms that the long-awaited patch for Call of Duty 4 on the Xbox 360 has completed its final revision and been entered into the certification process at Microsoft.  The PlayStation 3 equivalent of the patch will complete internal testing at Infinity Ward soon, and be submitted to Sony shortly thereafter.

What's most surprising about this news, outside of the patch's imminent arrival, is the addition of a new Quick Mute feature, something which was previously unannounced.  Similar to Halo 3's quick mute, the update will allow you to bring up the scoreboard at any point during the game and quickly mute a player with the touch of a button.  And on behalf of a large multiplayer contingent, THANK YOU.  No longer will we be plagued with amateur karaoke nights and explicit use of racial slurs. 

Other features of the patch, announced previously, include the ability for host migration when the original host leaves a game, improvements in the way the game handles sniper rifles and ACOG scopes, an improved spectator cam to help get rid of that nasty side-angle problem when watching someone snipe, and kill cams for claymores, RPG's, grenades, and air strikes. 

In a recent analysts report, Electronic Arts has laid out the projects being worked on by their various studios, and those gearing up for production. Kotaku noticed that one of the titles being helmed by newly acquired Pandemic Studios is none other than a new Lord of the Rings title. Hmm.

Last we heard anything out of the LOTR game camp, it was The White Council (which was supposed to basically be a true Oblivion-esque LOTR RPG)  which was cancelled, but has recently reappeared again on an EA press site. Ponder that, perhaps with the recent announcement that The Hobbit will be seeing the big screen treatment after all, the game will be resurrected.

Among other studios, BioWare, known for Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic, are seemingly hard at work on the already confirmed "secret" MMO project, as well what looks to be a new KOTOR installment - a separate title from their MMO. What? Get out of here. God knows fans have been waiting for any signs that a new KOTOR game would be coming (some had thought an MMO possibly), and I think they just got it. No word on if the title is even in development yet, but unless EA let something slip too early, it's in the queue. Ah, an Unreal Engine 3 KOTOR 3...E3, anyone?

[Updated]: EA issued a statement to Shacknews that will shatter every Star Wars fan's dreams. it seems the scan of the analyst document was not the entire piece, thus we didn't get to see the part where it described some of the games listed (namely KOTOR) as the successful titles of old.

The slide in John's presentation is titled 'Best Creative Talent'--it addresses future and past titles. KOTOR, Black, Boogie, Skate and some other titles on the slide speak to past portfolio releases and the pedigree of the studio but do not specifically address future sequel.

Analysts were treated to a presentation today by EA Games president Frank Gibeau, in which he revealed some hefty information on the company's portfolio plans. Hot off of the success of both Burnout Paradise and last year's Tony hawk killer, Skate, it was confirmed that both series will be seeing some form of additional installments during the publisher's fiscal year 2009. Skate already cemented itself as the defacto new skating title, and Burnout has been reinvented, so the return of both should really be no surprise. On the topic of Skate versus Tony Hawk's franchise, a little smack talk on EA's part came about.

Tony Hawk has been the Madden of that category for a very long time, and our performance in this first year of skateboarding has greatly exceeded my expectations. I know they're going to come back and be competitive, but these are the fights that EA knows how to win.

 
Mass Effect has been a hot topic for debate lately, with the PC version being announced yesterday, and still no "definitive" answer to the question about the franchise's exclusivity/publishing situation with Microsoft, since developer BioWare was acquired by EA. Until now. Gibeau confirmed that in the future, EA will replace Microsoft as publisher on the IP, however there still is no word on whether or not that means it will remain 360/PC exclusive. Those hoping for careful treatment of the series? Don't worry, this is EA, it was stated that Mass Effect

will be a franchise for [EA] for a very long time

It's just been confirmed via PC Gamer's preview of their April issue that C&C: Red Alert fans are not being forgotten during the series' transition to an experimental first person shooter, in the form of Tiberium. Red Alert 3 is revealed in the magazine's world exclusive cover story.

That's it, that's all that we know at this time. Screens and concept art are just waiting to be gawked at when you rush out next month to purchase the issue (or if you wait a few hours until all images are online). PC Gamer's April issue goes on sale March 4th.

Earlier this morning Kotaku confirmed through Peter Moore that EA had extended their NFL exclusivity deal through another three years. Blanket confirmation statements aside, there was no "official" EA press release, making the deal easier for consumers to understand. Ta-da! Almost like magic, we now have said press release in all of its statement-pimping glory. Eric Grubman, President of NFL Ventures issued the following words of wisdom:

This is all about bringing authenticity and realism to NFL videogames. EA SPORTS continually works to maintain the cutting edge for NFL products across a variety of gaming platforms. We like the fact that they never rest.

First step? Actually make a "new" Madden, not just a re-skinned, higher-resolution installment every year. That's how to bring authenticity and realism to the game, guys. We have faith in you, get to it. 

EA's announcement after the jump. 

Not more than a few hours ago we were hit the startling revelation that BioWare's Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect would be climbing inside its own Mako and venturing on over to the PC this May. Now, the fine folks over at EA & BioWare have released the very first batch of screenshots for the PC edition, in an effort to show the differences between it and its console counterpart.

Right off the bat, it's clear that the texture resolution is higher (here's hoping pop-in is fixed), and there seems to be a bit more anti-aliasing, though, that could be thanks to some "touching up" of the photos. We also get the first glimpse at the new UI, complete with Quick Slots, accessible right on the HUD. It's quite a shame that the 360 version will not be able to reap the benefits of the new and improved inventory system, as it looks stellar. Other than that, yup, it's Mass Effect, folks.

Hit the jump for the rest of the screenshots.  All of these images are clickable into much larger, higher res versions.

With GDC just a week away, it's already been confirmed that Epic Games will be showing off their newest technology, likely the most current version of the Unreal Engine, named UE3.5 by rumor hounds. Apparently, in addition to the use of the tech in their own games (cough, Gears 2, cough) 2K Games has seen fit to secure their rights to utilize the engine again, after the great success they had with BioShock's release. Can you say "best water ever for a console game"? At this time, all that is known about the deal is that it pertains to future "unannounced games in development by 2K Games". Like BioShock 2, perhaps? Epic's Mark Rein says

We are excited about continuing our relationship with 2K based on our past success with the company. We have no doubt that the Unreal Engine 3 will continue to assist 2K in producing the industry's most amazing and original game.

Which is funny to say, considering nearly all UE3 titles are eerily reminiscent of each other visually, with BioShock being the exception. Lead the charge, guys. Read the announcement after the jump.