Visceral Games has a grand idea for gamers this holiday season: spend Christmas in hell! No, not literally, of course, and they don't mean having Christmas dinner with relatives you hate. It just so happens that the PS3 and Xbox 360 demos for Dante's Inferno will be released this December.

Rocking along the line of Guitar Hero's tributes to Metallica and Aerosmith, Activision finally reveals the official track list for Guitar Hero: Van Halen. Actually, part of the list has already been leaked out, so the rumor mill scores a point for accuracy once again.

Those of you who are into social networking stuff may have been looking forward to the upcoming Twitter and Facebook apps for the Xbox 360. Here's some good news for you then: Microsoft has revealed that you'll be enjoying both apps before Christmas.

If you wrote a letter to Santa that you want a Ubisoft game for Christmas, then even jolly ol' Saint Nick won't be able to help you. Unfortunately for us, Santa's little helpers don't know crap about game development. Ubisoft has announced that four of their titles will not be making their scheduled margins, so maybe you'll have more spending money in the holidays.

Put two more titles on your 2010 calendar. Ubisoft has confirmed that Splinter Cell: Conviction (Xbox 360, PC) and Red Steel 2 have both been delayed to the March 2010 quarter. Why? Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot says it's to add further polish to both games.

Since the death of the King of Pop, we've been getting Michael Jackson news left and right - the gaming scene isn't an exception. Apart from the fact that MJ loved games and was a sucker for Mortal Kombat, MJ is gonna get one last hurrah at gaming, even in death. His own MJJ Productions confirm - a new Michael Jackson game is in the works.

All-new character, all-new setting - what did it take Ubisoft to jump from Assassin's Creed to its sequel? Patrice Desilets had to call the shots in terms of creative direction for Assassin's Creed 2, and from what we learn in this video interview, the switch from Altair to Ezio and the setting of the Third Crusade to the Italian Renaissance took a lot of research. They even went for some tours in Italy! (Maan, being in video development is so cool, huh?)

A new entry in Ubisoft's Ghost Recon franchise was confirmed in the company's recently-released financial documents along with target release windows for two more Ubisoft games: Splinter Cell: Conviction and Red Steel 2.

Microsoft Europe's David Gosen has questioned the gaming industry's seasonal approach to game releases in a recent interview with MCV. According to Gosen, the focus on Q4 and Christmas releases has put the sustainability of new IP into question, and that a second or third release window will be good news for the industry. Great news for my wallet as well, since I won't have to buy all the major releases I want in one big go. More after the jump.

A sign that we are closer to the end of the world: Japan seems to be falling out of love with video games. The latest numbers show that sales of consoles have dropped across the board. On the bright side for Sony, the PS3 is close to becoming top dog again since Wii sales experienced a sharp slump.