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Sony’s revolutionary dance party simulator (Home) has been experiencing some connectivity problems since its open beta launch last week. Because of the problems, Sony added facial hair to the customization options anddisbanded voice chat. Today, Sony is giving back users the ability to speak in personal places and clubhouses. Update 1.05 won’t add any new buildings or restructure the Central Plaza but it should allow users to better coordinate conga lines in their clubhouses....

Epic Games sent over this video which shows elements of theBulletstormdemo on the floor at Tokyo Game Show. Narrated by Producer Tanya Jessen, it shows off the “Bouncer,” which basically fires a cannonball. But beyond how awesome it is to just plow through enemies with a solid sphere of metal, the Bouncer — true to its name — allows you to keep the ball in motion to kick, snare and otherwise annoy your foes with it....

As the ongoingFalloutMMO legal battle between Bethesda Softworks and Interplay rages on, details of a Bethesda MMO have surfaced. According to transcripts from the court case, the developer is working on a “secretWorld of Warcrafttype MMO.” The project apparently has “tens of tens of millions of dollars” invested in it, and “close to a hundred people” working on the title, said to be in development since 2006. The dev timetable for the game is said to be four years, which means the game should start officially rearing its head within the next year or so....

“Jack, rip this door,” a voice says, the words echoing in the tiny chamber. Hot shrapnel flickers and temporarily brightens the dark room Marcus Fenix has been imprisoned in. Once ripped, the door swings wide. Light creeps in. Fenix’s silhouette sweeps across the screen. He’s naked. For the first and only time in theGears of War series, Fenix is shown without armor. After the scene, the grisly protagonist dons a suit fit for combat....

Relish in the title of this story, as it’s the last “Wii Shop Update” you’ll get. Starting next week, you’ll start seeing it as the “Nintendo Download,” as the updates will start including DSiWare titles. You excited? I can feel it. This last week of the “Wii Shop Update” bringsBonsai Barber(Nintendo, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)to WiiWare. Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like — a game where you give the inhabitants of a tree village haircuts....

Destructoid teamed up with Namco Bandai to giveaway six copies ofMagnacarta 2for the Xbox 360. All youhad to do in order to wina copy was create an image with a photo editing program using pictures of some of the ladies fromMagnacarta 2. Congratulations toBulletMagnet,eightcell,Eltop,Gestault,-PL-andafrowalrus. Your images were voted the funniest/best of the bunch and you’ll each be getting a copy of the game. Look for an e-mail coming to you via the e-mail address we have on file for you soon....

Apparently somebody pulled one Hell of an April Fool’s prank on those guys at Epic, and convinced them that Christmas has been moved to that latter part of March. How else can we explain the love that’s been raining down on us from above recently, in the form ofUnreal Tournament IIIupdates? Just last week, we were treated to apatch, that among other things, fixed some sound issues, and made it a heck of a lot easier to download mods for the game via the PS3....

GamesIndustry.bizrecently took a trip down to Rare studios and had a few words (well, actuallyquitea few words) with lead designer Gregg Mayles and production director Simon Farmer (ofViva Piñata), to discuss the need for Microsoft to start targetting younger audiences in addition to their current target group. Now, I have to admit, it never once occured to me that Microsoft was ignoring the younger audience, but the guys at Rare probably know what they’re talking about, seeing as how the studio has always created top-notch games for broad audiences....

In honor of their most recent offering in theRailroad Tycoonseries, the kind people of 2K Games have made a sacrificial lamb out of the originalRailroad Tycoonby allowing fans todownloadthe old-school sim for free on their PC. Yes, free. Get it while the good times last. We got this fantastic note in our inbox: Today 2K has released the original Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon for FREE! Travel back in time to 1990 to see how Sid created an innovative new gameplay experience that has evolved into this month’s release of Sid Meier’s Railroads!...

Reigning third party champion and evil basilisk Activision has predicted that the PlayStation 3 will trounce the Xbox 360 in 2010. This is according to the publisher’s hardware outlook revealed during its Q1 financial results. Sony’s PS3 Slim release and recent blockbuster games has given the platform a boost, and that boost could increase its install base by nine million as opposed to the 360’s predicted eight million. That’s what Activision reckons anyway, and Activision knows more about making money and reaching first place than anyone....

GameProhas put up a short blurb with an update on the sequel toTony Hawk’s Proving Ground. The story focuses on a few lines from aUSA Todayfeatureon Tony Hawk — the man, the myth, the legend. The story discussed Hawk’s storied career in skateboarding and his widespread influence, which has been helped immensely by Activision’sTony Hawkgames, of course. Part of the USA Today story listed Hawk’s varied business pursuits, the first of which was his eponymous videogame series....

I like dinosaurs, so this is saying a lot, but Bub and Bob are the cutest f’n dinosaurs ever. Their one-toothed mouths and pink arms sound frightening on paper, but when you look at them, you’re likeaaaawwww. Taito passed along this cute Christmas card (in our gallery below) as well as some information on updates toBust-A-Move / Puzzle Bobble, the iPhone version. They say they’ve polished up the game a bit in an update, and with this comes in-app purchase support in theform of Bub’s Shop....

We at Destructoid did not likeAlone in the Dark. In fact,our reviewof it was quite harsh (although to its credit, it was noEternity’s Child). If you were holding out for the PlayStation 3 version, however, don’t kill yourself just yet — Atarihas promisedthatAlone in the Darkfor the PS3 will be better. It promised! There are no specifics as of yet, but if Conrad’s review was anything to go by, Atari needs to make improvements to the following areas: The pacing, the pointless collection quests, the repeating pointless collection quests, crap camera control....