We have more details about the AC/DC track pack that Harmonix, MTV Games, and Electronic Arts are releasing for Rock Band (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PS2) and Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2) via a press release. Hit the full article for more.

An Xbox 360 that's cheaper than the Wii? We never thought it possible, but it's actually come to pass in Australia, as a recent price cut has Microsoft's console AU$ 50 cheaper than Nintendo's Wii. Learn more about this price cut after the jump!

Undoubtedly you've heard of Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (PC, with an Xbox 360 version to follow) yes? Well, if you're thinking of venturing into the Hyborian wastes then you might as well prepare yourself for the long journey ahead of you. No, we won't cast a spell of knowledge for it may upset the Cimmerians in our readership. Instead we deliver an article which discusses everything you need to know to get started. Click on the link below to see for yourself.

As much as possible, we like to get complete, uncensored versions of games, don't we? Unfortunately, the Aussies aren't the only folks who will be getting an edited version of Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto 4 - New Zealanders will, too. More censorship abounds in the full article, right after the jump.

Ever have the urge to just run around rolling everything into a giant ball? If you do, then you might want to check out Namco Bandai's Beautiful Katamari on the Xbox 360. Major Nelson has just announced that the demo is now available on Xbox Live in various European regions.

Head on over to the full article for more details.

At the conclusion of Game Connect: Asia Pacific, the Game Developer's Association of Australia awarded the best game developers from Australia and New Zealand.

As Medieval II took home the most awards last year, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (DS, PSP) swept up this year's awards with five awards, including Best Game.

Some of you may remember the series of short Halo films made by Neill Blomkamp to promote the well-known series by Bungie Studios. There was even talk about having him direct an actual full length feature set in the Halo universe, but with the decision to drop the project, the Halo movie fans were anticipating for a long-time has brought to a screeching halt.

In an interview with the man himself, Blomkamp talks about the demise of the proposed film and what he's been doing since then. The idea of a mythological space war has always fascinated him and he wanted to bring a more realistic approach to the science fiction involved with the idea of a Halo movie.

It was rather unfortunate that the two studios involved, Universal and Fox, weren't getting along with the processes in creating the film. However, Blomkamp has since then moved on in setting up his own project in Wellington, New Zealand. When asked what he felt after the decision to drop the film, he had this to say:

What happened once it collapsed is it made me turn inward and figure out what exactly I felt like doing. In other words, That film is gone, what do I feel like doing? And I realized what I felt like doing pretty quickly, like within thirty seconds. And promptly moved on to that. So you're right, I guess if the film collapsed and I was hell-bent on wanting to do whatever I could to try and get it back up I probably would have done something different than what I did, but I moved in a different direction, and no one knows what that is because I've never spoken about it before, and it's taken eight months or ten months to get to where it is now, sooner or later I'll start revealing in piece what I've been doing.

So far he's been pretty tight-lipped about the new project he's working on, but he assures everyone that given a few months they'll be able to take a peek at what's been keeping his attention since then. For fans who are still interested in seeing a Halo movie brought to life, not to worry. The highly-acclaimed director, Peter Jackson, is still working in collaboration with Bungie in a future project set in the Halo universe. So, who knows? Master Chief just might be coming to a theater near you someday.

 

The Game Developer's Association of Australia (GDAA) is announcing that early bird registrations are now open for this year's Game Connect: Asia Pacific 2007 (GCAP 07) conference. The conference - formerly known as the Australian Game Developers Conference - is hoped to be a gathering place for the discussion of best practice, learning, and growth of game development.

In line with these goals, the organizers have invited several well-known gaming industry personalities as guest speakers. Here are among the more notable people that were announced at the GCAP site:

• Paul Holman, Vice President of Euro R&D, Sony Computer Entertainment
• Pete Isensee, Director XNA Development Connection, Microsoft
• Jason Della Rocca, Executive Director, International Game Developers Association
• Careen Yapp, Vice President of Licensing and Business Development, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
• Tony Albrecht, Senior Engine Programmer, Pandemic Studios
• Susan O'Connor, Writer, Susan O’Connor Writing Studio
  

We're also informing the readers that nominations are now open for the GCAP's upcoming GDAA and Independent Games Awards. The GDAA Awards is Australia and New Zealand's award for game developed by studios in their home territories. The Independent Games Award covers winners for both Best Unsigned Game (Professional), and Best Unsigned Game (Indie) categories.

Nominations for for the GDAA Awards 2007 will end October 31, while nominations for the Independent Games Awards will end October 26. Votes for both will be done so by the GCAP delegates from November 16 to 17, with the conference scheduled to run from November 15 to 17.

This year's GCAP event is expected to take place at the Melbourne Convention Centre, in Melbourne, Australia. Those interested can read up on the finer event details at the GCAP official site via the provided read link.

Over here at the QJ offices, we're not sure whether we should be jealous or angry. Jealous because a Bungie dev got to drive the actual warthog made by the folks at WETA. Angry because the said developer managed to scratch the beautiful warthog against a wooden shed.

That's right folks. We've got video today that should be rather exciting, because some Bungie developers got the chance to drive the well-known Warthog we covered earlier in July. According to Bungie Studios' Weekly Update, the devs were in New Zealand to help Peter Jackson on the Halo project, and managed to spend some time at WETA as well, driving their souped up buggy.

Of course, being developers (and not stunt drivers), one of the devs managed to mess up the paint job by hitting a wood shed while taking it out for a spin, but he still counts as one of the most awesome people in the world, if only because he drove a gamer's dream car.

In related news, Bungie Studios is reminding gamers to steer clear of player profiles to avoid spoilers because, as they say, certain people "could LITERALLY have the final frame of the game as a screenshot on their file share." For these and other Bungie updates, feel free to check the readlink below.

 

After making its way to the US and the UK, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is now heading for Australia and New Zealand. Like the UK version, there will be limited tokens for the Beta so gamers from the land down under who want in should register as soon as they can as tokens are given on a first come first serve basis.

The Beta will start on September 11 and end on September 30. As a reminder, Xbox consoles are required to have a hard drive to be able to download Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and players will need a Gold membership to be able to play. Happy hunting!

To register, click on the read link after the jump!