The Godfather may be the boss of the mafia, but he still answers to a bigger boss - his publisher! Despite his swagger and thug-smoking powers, Electronic Arts remains his real Corleone, and according to EA Games' president Frank Gibeau, "We're not going to do another one." After getting rescued by EA Games after his old family, Brash Entertainment, went out of business, the Godfather may need to go look for another family for publishing.

An official E3 list covering debut titles has revealed a new multiplatform Lord of the Rings game called Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest. The hardcore LotR fans may want to be a bit wary of this one, though, as it's apparently targeted towards kids.

It's no secret that Turbine Inc., the company behind Lord of the Rings Online, is developing a new MMO. Although they still won't confirm whether this mystery game is a port of LoTRO, they do say that they're "incredibly excited" about what they have so far.

Details after the link.

Potential blockbuster? Or another candidate for the Uwe Boll awards? (Ok, there's no Uwe Boll awards... but there should be.) Len Wiseman, the director of the Gears of War movie, says he's hoping to make a trilogy, and that he wants them to be a "harder edged Lord of the Rings." More after the link.

A good number of games play well on both consoles and PCs, but we all know that certain games belong to one or the other. RTSs, for example, are largely for the PC. The dev of Championship Manager though, believes that strategy games don't belong on consoles because he believes that console owners "don't want a game you've got to think about too much."

You know you can never go wrong with an LotR game that lets you play as an Ent. I mean - how cool is that?! Yay for spreading wanton destruction as a walking, talking tree! Watch out for next year then: Pandemic Studios just announced over the presswire that LotR: Conquest will be released simultaneously for the PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and DS on January 9 of next year. Check out a new trailer (and some old screens) in the full article.

 Pandemic studios has been known to take its sweet time as it teases fans about its upcoming releases. Such isn't the case today as a lot more than hints about their upcoming games has been dropped. The devs have confirmed that they're working on a new game called The Lord of the Rings: Conquest and its set for launch late this year. Read the full article and see some of the early details.

Due to unfavorable business circumstances, Stormfront Studios was forced to shut down, leaving its 33 employees wandering about looking for new work. It's always sad to hear news like this, especially when the studio already worked on notable franchises such as The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Eragon (Xbox 360, PSP, PC) and other games. More in the full article.

Staying true to their irreverent and satirical nature, Electronic Arts' The Simpsons Game (Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, PSP, Nintendo Wii, and DS) comes up with even more funny video game spoofs in a movie trailer-like video featuring America's favorite yellow-skinned family. This time Homer, Marge and Maggie find themselves in the magical world of Neverquest, a massively multiplayer mockery of many fantasy-based games.

Right off the bat, you'll see that this part of the game includes a myriad of tributes spoofs to titles as The Lord of the Rings series, the Gauntlet platformer and, of course, the Everquest MMORPG. Homer takes the role as the token fighter of the game, while Marge plays the proverbial mage of the party (or in her own words: "I'm like Gandalf, but sexy"). Suffice to say the video captures the essence of everything that marks the series as a certified Simpsons classic.

We don't want to give too much away since the video itself is just a priceless piece of Simpsons art. Anyway, everyone can expect The Simpsons Game when it ships onto every platform this October 30. In the meantime, enjoy the video!

In an official announcement heralded via press wire, Ubisoft proudly touted their agreement with Twentieth Century Fox on developing a video game adaptation of James Cameron's "Avatar," a feature film that would realign the filmmaker firmly within the Hollywood blockbuster types.

 

Cameron, known for his renderings of "Titanic," "True Lies," "The Abyss," "Aliens," "The Terminator," and "Terminator 2: Judgement Day," is now recreating a new, surreal world on the Earth-like paradise of Alpha Centauri. The stories plot places an ex-Marine between physical conflicts occurring among life forms, called the Na'Vi, and emotional conflicts stirring within himself, as he struggles to conform his human mind inside an alien body.

And with special effects veterans WETA Digital ("The Lord of the Rings," "King Kong") contracted by Cameron to create a captivating alien world complete with photo-realistic sceneries, life and cultural detail into the highly-anticipated motion picture, he is giving Ubisoft complete freedom to develop the game independent of the movie experience. Cameron himself stated:

I told the Ubisoft team I wanted them to be free to do their very best work, and not think of this as a movie-based game. They responded with a fully realized presentation which captured the soul of the world and the characters, while promising to be a knockout game on its own terms. Their passion inspired my confidence that they are going to do something transcendental.

With more than six months to go, Ubisoft plans to release the game simultaneously with the motion picture's premier on May 2009. But on which platform the game will be released has not been stated officially, beckoning us to reconsider a multi-platform release as with all other movie-based game releases. More on the genre and other details of the game as they roll in.