In a presentation to industry analysts, Electronic Arts' president Frank Gibeau has announced that they will be releasing sequels for both Skate (Xbox 360, PS3) and Mass Effect as well as a new Burnout game. If you want to find out more, head on over to the full article by clicking on the "read more" link below.

Hankering for more information about Criterion's upcoming sequel to the Burnout series, Burnout Paradise for the PS3 and Xbox 360? Game producer Nick Channon has your fix, and it seems that in the next-gen sequel of everyone's favorite high-octane racing title is going to be completely different beast altogether. Check out the entire scoop in the full article.

 

Electronic Arts' 2nd Burnout Bandslam has just been concluded, with over 5,000 bands from the U.S. and 2,100 bands from other locations participating. Two and a half million MySpace users took part in the initial judging with the final selection conducted by an expert panel. The two grand prize winners, "Never Heard Of It" (U.S.) and "Showing Off To Thieves" (UK, Europe), walked away victorious.

Winners of the contest will receive a demo recording deal with Virgin Records and EA. They also get a chance to have their song included in a future Burnout videogame. One Runner-Up band from the U.S. and from each of the participating countries across Europe will receive one Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar.

European Winner – Showing Off To Thieves
They clinched the top spot with their debut single "Everyone has their secrets". Driven by powerful vocals, incisive lyrics and crushing rhythms, their distinctly British sound has captured the attention of the people from MySpace.

U.S. Winner – Never Heard Of It (NHOI)
This independent band is considered on of the hardest working bands on tour. As of 2001, they have self-booked and financed 11 U.S. tours and even expanded their schedule to Europe and Japan. They have been asked to play The Warped Tour two years in a row. They have also started their own label called Unmotivated Records, put out a full length CD and got a nationwide distribution deal because of their extensive touring and fantastic tracks.

The full list of Runner-Ups:

• UK- Inuendo
• U.S. – The Sun Also Rises
• Denmark- Zenith
• Sweden- Anagoes
• Norway- Jeroan Drive
• Ireland- Boss Volenti
• Germany- More Than Crossed
• Spain- Avenue and Silhouettes
• Russia – Apshell
• Italy – Let Me In
• France - Kiemsa
• Holland – Note to Amy

The next Burnout is currently being developed for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 and you can expect a ripping soundtrack for the game. Another thing you might want to watch out for is Burnout Dominator for the PSP which will be out this April 27.

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.

If you've got some musical talent and have been dreaming to make it big as a geek god/rockstar with your own geek palace and a virtual harem, Electronic Art's Burnout Bandslam is just the right thing for you.

Burnout Bandslam is a collaborative search by EA, MySpace, Virgin Records and Epiphone across United States and Europe for a hot new band whose track will be used for future Burnout videogames. Candidates will get a chance to showcase their best tracks in front of a global audience of 80 million MySpace users (they'll be later on asked to vote for their favorite track online).

Runners-up in the United States and Europe will win a top-of-the-line Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar and will receive a Virgin Records demo recording contract. The best prize here though is the chance to have their songs included in a future Burnout video game. The geek palace and virtual harem must come from other sources, though.

"Many of the biggest bands around the world have been first discovered through EA videogames, and now we are expanding the opportunity to unsigned bands through this year's Burnout Bandslam," says Steve Schnur, worldwide executive of music and marketing for EA, adding that "the Burnout videogame series is all about attitude and rebellion."

For those who want to view the Contest Official Rules, just check the read link below. No purchase is necessary, although eligibility restrictions apply. What are you waiting for, rock on dude!

We guess you are familiar with Microsoft's "Platinum Series" for the Xbox 360. Known as "Classics" in Europe, this is actually a set of games, re-packaged, and then given lower price tags. Furthermore, games that end up in this series are those which have sold 400,000 units in nine months.

And so why Microsoft is doing this, Corp. VP of World Wide Retail Sales for the Interactive Entertainment Business Mitch Koch explained before that "it ensures that the platform's best games are available to new customers at an amazing price. And if you missed playing a game the first time around, now is a great reason to pick it up."

We brought the topic up because Microsoft of Japan just announced the new titles that will be included in the series by March 15. These games are Chromehounds, Burnout Revenge, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Perfect Dark Zero.

Now, PDZ has already been included in the first series for Europe and North America. So we expect Microsoft to tweak this line up a bit for other territories. Each game will retail for 2,800 Yen or roughly around US$ 23.

Buy: [Burnout Revenge]
Buy: [Chromehounds]

The year's starting to close in on December, and if you're one of those people who are thinking of doing a bit of early Christmas shopping you might want to check out Wal-Mart's two new exclusive Xbox 360 bundles.

Buyers can choose between two bundles: the MotoGP 06 bundle and the Burnout Revenge bundle. The price tag for each bundle's roughly the same with the non-bundled Premium System Xbox 360, so these Wal-Mart bundles are definitely worth checking out.

Each bundle goes for US$ 399.99 (according to IGN. The Burnout Revenge bundle is priced US$ 399.82 on the Wal-Mart website though, so we'll be making updates on this when we get more info) and comes with their respective game, one controller, an Xbox 360 (of course), and a hard drive.

Bundling games with consoles has been done countless times in the videogame industry, and with Christmas practically knocking on our doors (um, from a big-business standpoint, of course), we're hoping that more and more of these bundles start showing up in the next few weeks. Hey, it's a big console launch year, so we might even end up with an official Microsoft Xbox 360 bundle or something.

Thanks to GameTrailers and Xfire, all you video gamers can now vote for your favorite video game soundtracks for the upcoming 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. The '06 VMAs will feature two new categories: "Best Video Game Soundtrack," and "Best Video Game Score." Fans can vote from July 31 to August 28. While the winners will not be announced during the VMAs itself, they will be announced during VMA LIVE UNCENSORED on MTV Overdrive on August 31.

The nominees are:

Best Video Game Soundtrack:

Fight Night: Round 3 (EA/EA Sports)
Burnout: Revenge (EA/Criterion)
NBA 2K6 (2K Sports)
Driver: Parallel Lines (Atari/Reflections Interactive)
Marc Ecko's Getting Up (Atari)


Best Video Game Score:

Hitman: Blood Money (Jesper Kyd)
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Tom Salta)
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (Leon Willet)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Jeremy and Julian Soule)
Electroplankton (User-generated soundtrack)

Which game do you want to bring home the Moonman? Log on to GameTrailers.com or Xfire to vote now. Which game do you think will bring home the Moonman (or which games should have been included among the nominees)? Make bold predictions, quote odds, and otherwise comment on your favorite game soundtracks below.

Are you a bargain Xbox 360 shopper? Don't want to pay $60 or even $70 for your new games? Well, you're in luck.

It looks like the first wave of Xbox 360 games are finally getting a price reduction at retailers. While it's true that several stores have lowered prices on selected games to $39.99, Circuit City is taking the lead by reducing prices on several games to under $30.

Check out these bargains:

• Madden NFL 2006 sells for $27.99 (in-store only)
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 sells for $27.99 (only online)
• NBA Live 06 sells for $29.99 (only online)
• Full Auto sells for $29.99 (in-store only)
• Burnout Revenge sells for $29.99 (in-store only)
  

Just think, if you are in the mood for any two of these games, you would have two (under $30) games for the price of one ($60) regular priced game. Sweet.

It seems EA's latest Burnout Revenge patch is causing more problems than it's worth. The folks on the forums over at Xbox.com are pretty irate, and it's understandable. EA isn't well known for the quality control, especially after the C&C: First Decade fiasco. EA needs to get their act in gear and do some proper quality control before releasing patches. Not only are people unable to join games, but the games close after a while.

Here are some of the complaints:

• 1. Unable to join games.
• 2. When games are joined rooms can randomly shut down ending the session.
• 3. Rank is not updated.
• 4. Rank can changes as much as 1000 positions just sitting in an idle room.
• 5. Games can shut down mid session dropping every player