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Pachter’s massive games industry report continues to be full of fun predictions. In our latest installment of “Pachter says a load of stuff that people inevitably hate him for,” the prominent Wedbush Morgan analystcontinues to giveSony a good outlook, stating that PlayStation games will account for 31% of the market. The professional guesser states that the PS2 brand will become far less relevant this year, but that the PS3 will rise in prominence and pick up its slack, leading to a very strong PlayStation brand overall and allowing “software sales for Sony consoles to account for 31% of all game software sold worldwide....

We had a blast at PAX 2007, and Destructoid is already gearing up for a repeat performance in August of this year. The guest list is also looking pretty hot for PAX 2008. Ars Technicareports thatBioShockcreative director, 2K Boston President, and overall Big Daddy Ken Levine will show face and provide the keynote speech. I’ll be equipping my Fanboy Plasmid. “Obviously, Ken is pimp supreme,” said Penny Arcade’s Robert Khoo....

With the inaugural PAX East only a week behind us, registration for PAX Prime 2010 has opened! Set to take place in Seattle, Washington from September 3 through September 5, registration for badges and info on area hotels is now available. Given how quick these things go, the sooner the better if you’re looking for an excuse to play some games, hang with some friends, and come home with body aches and whooping cough because no one knows how to wash their hands after using the toilet....

The moment PETA dropped this little press release into our inbox, I laughed until I was sick. The crazy animal rights activists and part-time terrorists have continued to exploit the games industry for attention, namingFable IIits most animal-friendly game of 2008. We are willing to give PETA the attention it craves, however, because in doing this, the group has shown just how little about videogames it understands. Praising the game’s “strong pro-vegetarian theme,” PETA has laudedFable IIfor awarding players “purity” points when they eat vegetables, and “corruption” points for eating meat....

PopCap Games went outside of theirPegglecomfort zone with the quirky tower defense title,Plants vs. Zombies. Their risk is now their reward —Plants vs. Zombiesis a financial success. So successful, actually, that PopCap can now claim it as the most lucrative game in their heroin-laced library. Ever. “At this very early point in its history, it’s the best-selling game PopCap’s ever had,” PopCap PR man Garth Chouteau recently toldGamasutra. Mind is blown....

In a move certain to draw hordes of people to the service, Microsoft has announced their latest “Game with Fame” promotion. This coming weekend, players ofModern Warfare 2will have the opportunity to play the game with none other than Dane Cook. I’ll give you a moment to get over your excitement. We ready? Good? So, I’m just going to put this out there and see what you all think. I don’t want to play a game with someone who even casually entertains the thought of Dane Cook being funny and/or someone they would like to spend ten minutes talking to....

The awesome guys over at Achievement Hunter have found a secret racing mini-game buried in one ofHalo: Reach’smain missions. On Sword Base, two players need to stand at two specific points on the level and active a switch. Once activated, the players will be given two Warthogs and can race around on the level hitting the various checkpoints scattered on the level. Completing the race gets you … nothing. Um, cool Easter Egg, bro....

Shin Megami Tensei. Some hear the name and wonder what language is being spoken. Others, like myself, hear the name and smile. To me, the name is an indicator that I’ll be welcomed back into a dark setting, where demon summoning and fusion take place in devilish dungeons. I know that I’ll soon find myself lost in a world that will challenge every bit of the role-playing chops I’ve built up over the years....

Honestly, the “HOT BASS FISHING ACTION” in the title of this preview hasnothingto do with the way that the makers ofThe Strikeare marketing their title. It would also do a disservice to game that is finally bringing motion controls to the Xbox 360. But if it was up to me, I would just write “HOT BASS FISHING ACTION” over and over again for this preview. Unfortunately, that really wouldn’t encompass everything aboutThe Strikethat myself, Hamza, and our old friend King Friday were shown....

The five-episodeStrong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive Peopleseries is expanding beyond its PC and WiiWare roots to both PlayStation 3 and Mac. It’ll be hitting PS3 as a PlayStation Network release — December 21 for North America — and releasing “shortly thereafter” for the European PSN as well as Mac. Being the generally clueless guy I am when it comes to anything Homestar Runner, I went back to see our reviews of these titles....

Game developers and publishers have been whining for a while now about second-hand games, deciding that their industry is a special snowflake which should be exempt from one of the most widespread forms of trade in the world. Rather thanjustcry and moan, it seems that some publishers areemploying sly measuresto dissuade gamers from buying used products. As we discussed earlier today,Gears of War 2will come packed with a one-time code that allows players to download a free multiplayer map....

A set ofleaked achievementsseem to confirm what theESRB has been hinting atall along —Red Alert 3: Commander’s Challengeis coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network. Based on the list, the game appears to be a port of theRed Alert 3: Uprising, which was made available as a digital-only release earlier this year. The game features four mini-campaigns, and 50 “Commander’s Challenge” modes. As the game has yet to be officially announced, price and size is unknown....

If you plan on heading to Blizzard’s massive fan event BlizzCon this year, head’s up! The first batch of tickets willgo on sale later todayat 10 PM Eastern for $150. The event will take place on October 22 through the 23 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. $150 seem a bit steep? Maybe, but they’re expected to sell out and sell out fast. Apparently Blizzard’s games have a few players, and they’re all looking to attend....