The long awaited sale of the Playstation 3 in Europe will finally happen this March 23, but a week before that, Microsoft will also launch its Xbox 360 Platinum Hits. Hard decisions must be made by gamers all across Europe, but we guess that the differences in these products' price tags: the equivalent of US$ 790  for a Playstation 3 console, and US$ 39 for Microsoft's Platinum Hits Range, will at least make choices easier to face.

The Playstation 3 was actually planned to be released in Europe earlier, but this initial date was postponed after encountering problems of mass producing the parts for the console's  Blu-ray disc drive. Sony said that 1 million consoles will be available at launch in Europe, with a fourth of this to be sold in the UK alone.

Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 Platinum Hits has been making rounds in the US since October. Titles included in this range are: Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Burnout Revenge, Fight Night Round 3 and Top Spin 2.

Who or what is Red Jade, and why do they deserve a mention because of their website, you might ask? If you've ever played Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, you will definitely get a better idea of who they are and what they do. Mostly because the tank that's coming over to crush you was probably drawn by them.

Call them a type of game production mercenary unit. The Ontario-based Red Jade is an art and animation company that specializes in developing assets used for games. Their most notable work is for the Battlefield 2 expansion sets, where they designed character, vehicle, and weapon models for the game.

Headed by Fredrik Liliegren, former CEO of Digital Illusions CE (DICE), their group is composed of veteran artists and designers in the industry, most of whom worked under Liliegren when they were still a part of DICE and the Battlefield 2 games. These days, the folk at Red Jade are trying to start fresh with a new company, a different name, and a website. The one thing that will stay with these folks, however, is their reputation for designing some sweet work for the wartime FPS.

If you're a fan of the Battlefield series, you may want to check their site out, if only to wait for the latest updates on their exploits. While they may not be working directly on Battlefield anymore, you can bet their future projects will be something you'll enjoy.

Seems like everyone wants to get down and dirty in Stilwater. Major Nelson's weekly worldwide Live game stats for the week beginning on the 11th show Saints Row topping the 360 list. Well, given that Saints has topped out or at least placed strongly in the sales and rental charts, this probably would be no surprise. On its heels is Madden NFL '07.

Over at the Arcade front, everyone's pulling poker faces as Texas Hold'em leads the pack, followed by Hexic HD. (Texas also pulled 8th in the 360 games list). And with the classic Xbox, Halo 2 is the one to beat.

Here are the complete lists of Live 360 and Arcade game-kickers.

Xbox 360 Top Live Games

1. Saints Row
2. Madden NFL 07
3. Call of Duty 2
4. Test Drive Unlimited
5. Ghost Recon 3
6. Dead Rising
   
7. Oblivion
8. Texas Hold 'em
9. Chromehounds
10. BFMC

Top Arcade Titles (full versions, not demos)

1. Texas Hold 'em
2. Hexic HD
3. Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting
4. UNO
5. Geometry Wars Evolved
6. Time Pilot
7. Scramble
8. Pac Man
9. Marble Blast Ultra
10. Bankshot Billiards 2

Well, the weekly update about the top games played over Xbox Live for the week from Major Nelson are in and as a little treat to all the gamers wondering why the arcade titles were never on the list except for a few occasions, the good Major has made a list of the top 10 Xbox Live Arcade titles as well. The Arcade list is only for the full versions of the games and does not include the arcade demos played over live, which explains why Bankshot Billiards is even on the list (just kidding!).

Call of Duty 2 remains the top dog of all 360 games played over Live and Dead Rising rises up from not even being on last week's list to coming in second place. The number one played Xbox Live Arcade title is Pac-Man so it looks like gobbling up power pellets can beat E-Honda's slapping move enough to put Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting in second place. The full list of the top ten 360 games and XBLA titles is as follows:

Xbox 360 Top Live Games

1. Call of Duty 2
2. DEAD RISING
3. Ghost Recon 3
4. Chromehounds
5. Oblivion
6. NCAA 07
7. BFMC
8. Final Fantasy XI
9. Dead Rising Demo
10. Lord of the Rings: BFME2

Top Xbox Live Arcade Titles (Full Versions)

1. PAC-MAN
2. Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting
3. UNO
4. Geometry Wars Evolved
5. GALAGA
6. Frogger
7. Cloning Clyde
8. Marble Blast Ultra
9. Bankshot Billiards 2
10. Zuma
    

The weekly list of the most played games over Xbox Live went out today thanks to Major Nelson and the list seems to be maintaining the top 3 with Call of Duty 2, being played most of the Xbox 360 games, followed by G.R.A.W. and then Chromehounds. NCAA 07 overtook Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The announcement that Final Fantasy XI  has finally received achievements might have helped it overcome both BFMC and LoTR: BFME II. Once again Halo 2 is still the top game played over Xbox Live altogether but below is the full list of the top ten Xbox 360 games played over Live this week.

Xbox 360 Top Live Games

1 Call of Duty 2
2 Ghost Recon 3
3 Chromehounds
4 NCAA 07
5 Oblivion
6 Final Fantasy XI
7 BFMC
8 Lord of the Rings: BFME2
9 PGR3
10 EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3

It's a new week, and that can only mean one thing - it's time again for Major Nelson's weekly Xbox Live roundup. As usual, the list is broken up into Xbox 360 and Original Xbox games, and Halo 2 still dominates both the combined rankings. Prey managed to snag the number 8 spot which is good considering it was just released, but what's even more surprising is that Chromehounds is number 3 out of all Xbox 360 games!

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Call of Duty 2
2 Ghost Recon 3
3 Chromehounds
4 Oblivion
5 BFMC
6 Lord of the Rings: BFME2
7 Final Fantasy XI
8 Prey
9 PGR3
10 LOTR, BFME II Demo

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Counter-Strike
4 Splinter Cell Chaos
5 Rainbow Six 3 BA
6 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
7 Star Wars: Battlefront 2
8 Madden NFL 2006
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Splinter Cell Chaos

Here are the titles which topped the charts of the Xbox Live most played games for the week of 7/3/06, straight from Major Nelson himself;

(Xbox 360) Top Live Games
1) Call of Duty 2
2) Ghost Recon 3
3) Oblivion
4) BFMC
5) Prey Demo
6) Final Fantasy XI
7) EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3
8) 2006 FIFA World Cup
9) PGR3
10) Perfect Dark Zero

(Original Xbox) Top Live Games
1) Halo 2
2) Battlefield 2: MC
3) Counter-Strike
4) Splinter Cell Chaos
5) Rainbow Six 3 BA
6) Star Wars: Battlefront 2
7) Pro Evolution Soccer 5
8) Madden NFL 2006
9) Forza Motorsport
10) Splinter Cell Chaos

Mr. Nelson apologized for not being able to give title-specific data, but he did say that if both lists were combined, Halo 2 would be number 1 on the chart (followed by all 360 games).

Gamers who are hooked on Electronic Arts' team-based FPS Battlefield 2: Modern Combat have good news today. According to the forums, a patch was released today that “fixed the shadows” and lowered the voice volume of what some players term a  very loud announcer.

According to the forums, the best news may be many lag issues were also fixed with this update. Other issues that have been worked on include several server problems that allowed cheating, and work on the comms system.

So, grab your controller, download the update, and check it out!

As always, Major Nelson has released his weekly update showing the top games played over Xbox Live. Original Xbox games and Xbox 360 games have been separated into two lists, but if the lists were combined then Halo 2 would top the charts. Rockstar's Table Tennis is doing well considering it's a game about ping pong (and a damn fine one at that!) and Hitman: Blood Money also has a great ranking for a newly released title.

Xbox 360 Top Live Games
1 Call of Duty 2 
2 Ghost Recon 3
3 Oblivion
4 BFMC
5 Final Fantasy XI
6 PGR3
7 Hitman: Blood Money
8 EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3
9 Perfect Dark Zero
10 Rockstar Table Tennis

Original Xbox Top Live Games
1 Halo 2
2 Battlefield 2: MC
3 Counter-Strike
4 Splinter Cell Chaos
5 Pro Evolution Soccer 5
6 Rainbow Six 3 BA
7 Star Wars: Battlefront 2
8 Madden NFL 2006
9 Forza Motorsport
10 Ghost Recon 2: SS

Here's a rundown of the top games the previous week on Xbox Live. The first list is the top 10 Xbox 360 titles while the second list is the top original Xbox games. These lists are based on WW UUs on Xbox Live. Unfortunately, specific numbers or data can't be given out.

Take a look and see which ones you've played last week (or have been playing the past month or so).

Xbox 360 Top Live Games:

1 Call of Duty 2
2 Ghost Recon 3
3 Oblivion
4 BFMC
5 Final Fantasy XI
6 PGR3
7 EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3
8 UNO
9 Perfect Dark Zero
10 DEAD OR ALIVE 4