Source: A short story at Gamers Reports pointing to product listings at the online stores of Best Buy and Future Shop.

What we heard: When Sony revealed that the price of the PlayStation 3 would be higher than any of its competitors, some thrifty gamers swore they would wait to pick up�the machine until it dropped in price. Those gamers might have been surprised today to hear that the price of the PS3 had actually gone up.

Canadian online stores for Best Buy and Future Shop are currently listing the 60GB PS3's price as C$699.99 ($593), up from its original sale price of C$659.99 ($560). Assuming both stores didn't repeat the same typo on the same product at the same time, there's obviously some truth to the news. The question for prospective PS3 owners then became which is more unusual: reputable retailers like Best Buy and Future Shop charging a scalper's premium on desired products, or Sony embittering and driving away potential customers for the sake of a C$40 (more than $33) markup on recently released hardware.

A representative with GameStop offered some solace to northerners, stating, "Our EB Games locations in Canada will hold their current PS3 prices...C$549.99 for the 20GB and C$659.99 for the 60GB." So clearly not everyone is jacking up the price on the hardware, but that leaves the questions of whether or not Sony asked them to and why the price hikes are happening in the first place.

The official story: "Although the suggested retail price (SRP) of the PlayStation 3 in Canada has not changed, some Canadian retailers have chosen to increase their retail price as a result of the weaker Canadian dollar. This increase is solely at the discretion of the retailer, as Sony Computer Entertainment Canada has not issued a price increase."--An SCEC representative.

Bogus or not bogus?: Sony raising the price? Bogus. That the price has gone up at some stores? Not bogus.

Source: A late-night post on Shacknews.com.

What we heard: In 2005, BioWare and Pandemic studios shook up the game industry. With the backing of the billion-dollar capital venture firm Elevation Partners, which counts former Electronic Arts CEO Jon Riccitiello among its board members, the shops behind Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Destroy All Humans! formed their own independent super-studio, BioWare/Pandemic. By doing so with ample coin, the pair upended the traditional Oliver-esque, "Please sir, can I have some more?" model of developer-gets-cash-from-publisher financing.

One year after the two companies' union, Pandemic unveiled its first PlayStation 3 project, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, the sequel to its critical PlayStation 2 and Xbox hit. However, BioWare, the role-playing-game-focused shop responsible for Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Jade Empire, appeared to ignore Sony's latest platform. BioWare's top 2007 project is the Xbox 360-exclusive sci-fi RPG Mass Effect, and it also has the PC RPG Dragon Age in development.

Since BioWare only released one game for the PS2--MDK2 Armageddon--its apparent dismissal of the PS3 was unsurprising. However, now comes word that one of the company's undisclosed projects might be for Sony's new console. Yesterday evening, the widely read Shacknews.com reported that it had "received reports from readers...indicating that BioWare might have projects in the works for PlayStation 3." The reports stemmed from a Canadian signing event which had BioWare co-CEO Ray Muzyka telling autograph-session attendees that his company was working on a PS3 title.

The official story: It was unclear if Muzyka's comments were in reference to BioWare/Pandemic's previously announced Mercenaries game or a BioWare-specific title. A statement from the company's rep didn't clarify anything. "We haven't made any official announcements of any PS3 plans," was all he would say.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus that a BioWare/Pandemic title, Mercenaries 2, has long been in development for the PS3. Bogus that a BioWare-specific PS3 title has been announced...so far.

Source: Rumblings around the Internet, including many European sites such as 360Monster, Boomtown, and the UK-based online branch of Official Xbox Magazine.

The official story: Ubisoft rep--"We do not comment on rumors or speculation."

What we heard: One of the biggest demos last year was for Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. The publisher kept gamers on edge by announcing that a multiplayer demo was in the works, but it didn't release it on Xbox Live Marketplace until three weeks after the game's release. A single-player demo was released almost a month after that.

If recent reports on the Internet are true, Ubisoft is changing its tactics for the second go around for GRAW on the Xbox 360. The Web site for the UK version of Official Xbox Magazine claims that a demo for GRAW2, which is scheduled for release in the next few months, is expected by the end of January, according to "sources close to the production of the title." Other sites claim that Ubisoft has said that the "GRAW2 demo [will be] on your 360 via Marketplace. Very soon, very soon indeed." However, it is unclear how these other sites got the information, as no links to posts or the original source are cited.

Recent installments of the Tom Clancy games from Ubisoft have gotten demos out before the game's release. For instance, the demo for Splinter Cell Double Agent just beat its retail counterpart to release, whereas Rainbow Six Vegas was shooting up Xbox Live Marketplace almost three weeks before the full version hit stores.

Ubisoft is clearly embracing this whole Xbox 360-demo thing and appears to be approving of releasing a demo weeks in advance of a game's release. Combine that with the fact that GRAW2 appears to be in good shape and hasn't hit any delays like the original did, and the possibility of an early demo seems more likely. As for what's in the demo, gamers will just have to wait for official word from Ubisoft.

Of course, Ubisoft can also be keeping quiet to avoid the whole demo-announcement jinx that has plagued other games, like Prey and Crackdown.

Bogus or not bogus?: Looks not bogus, but nothing is official just yet.

Source: The forthcoming issue of Official Xbox Magazine UK.

What we heard: When Bethesda Softworks announced it was taking over the Fallout license in 2004, role-playing fans rejoiced. The series, which had been dying a slow death alongside its flatlining publisher, Interplay, was suddenly in the hands of one of the most acclaimed RPG developers in the business.

Judging by an interview with producer Todd Howard immediately after the purchase, Fallout 3 would be handled with much more care than it had been at Interplay. The latter publisher had closed series developer Black Isle Studios and stopped development of Fallout 3 in favor of releasing the tepidly reviewed spin-off Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel--the only console entry in the franchise--which was so hated by Fallout fans that it was nicknamed "Fallout: POS."

Though Fallout 3 was a no-show at both the 2005 and 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expos, enthusiasm for the project increased over the last two years. The surge in interest paralleled the avalanche of critical plaudits that fell on Bethesda's latest project, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, GameSpot's 2006 Role-Playing Game of the Year.

With the Xbox 360 and PC versions of Oblivion--both based on the Gamebryo engine--earning near-equal praise, the prospect of the currently PC-only Fallout 3 also being released for the Xbox 360 became tantalizingly real. So tantalizing, in fact, that the fact Bethesda refused to rule it out in a recent interview with OXM UK led to a spate of "Fallout 3 coming to 360" headlines on Gamernews.org, playfuls.com, and No Mutants Allowed.

Unfortunately, the majority of the OXM UK article is merely the author talking about the possibility of a 360 Fallout 3, which he (rightly) speculates would be both technically feasible and financially lucrative. For his part, Howard dodges the mag's questions. When asked about Fallout 3, he says only, "We started work in late 2004 with a few people. We only had about 10 people on it until Oblivion wrapped, but most of our staff is on it now."

Avoiding any mention of a platform, Howard continued, "We have pretty long preproduction phases on our stuff doing concepts, design, building prototypes, and such." He then dropped a tidbit more tantalizing to Fallout fans than fresh iguana-on-a-stick: "We should be ready soon to show it off, but we'll see."

Still, if Fallout 3 does come to the Xbox 360, gamers can take comfort that it won't be another half-baked console spin-off. Referencing the OXM UK interview on his blog, Fallout 3 producer Ashley Cheng spoke of how he "hated" Fallout: BOS, indicating a 360 Fallout 3 would (hopefully) bear little resemblance to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox misfire.

[UPDATE] The official story: Taking time out of a multicity trip, jet-setting Bethesda vice president of marketing Pete Hines got back to GameSpot. "Yes, we have said before folks are working on it and have been, but we won't say what stage it's in," he said. "In short, no, nothing's changed, no details, no platforms, etc. We give the same answers regardless of who is asking. It will be a while still until we unveil, until then we aren't saying anything."

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that anything official about a 360 Fallout 3 has been announced. Not bogus that the prospect gets gamers all hot and bothered.

Source: The Tokyo-based Akiba Blog via the Tokyo-obsessed Kotaku.

What we heard: When the PlayStation 3 went on sale last fall in Japan, it was in even scanter supply than it was in the US. According to Japanese magazine publisher Enterbrain, just 466,716 PS3s were�sold in the island nation in 2006. By contrast, customers scooped up 989,118 Wiis from store shelves in Japan, where the Xbox 360 lags far behind.

After being initially hampered by problems manufacturing diodes for the PS3's Blu-ray laser drive, Sony ramped up shipments to its home country this month. Last week, the company announced it had belatedly reached its 2006 goal of shipping 1 million PS3s inside Japan, and reports from the country say the console is now in abundant supply. (The console has shipped 2 million units worldwide.)

This week, rumors spread that PS3 supply in Japan might be too abundant. On Monday, the Akiba Blog posted photos (pictured) showing the Akibara branch of Don Quijote, a popular Japanese game retailer, selling PS3s at a discount. Specifically, the store is marking down the 49,980 yen (around $411) 20GB model by 20 percent to 39,980 yen (approx. $329). Later reports on the Japanese 2chan forum indicated that the discount was also�in effect�at other Japanese Don Quijote outlets.

Within minutes of the pictures hitting the Web, anti-Sony fanboys were already touting it as further proof of the PS3's premature demise. Their theory: Surely if a console this new was already being marked down, it must mean that sales of the console are stagnating, right?

The official story: After conferring with their Japanese counterparts, US Sony reps dismissed the PS3 sale as a single chain trying to promote itself. "It looks like it is only one retailer, Don Quijote, and they are running a special for a limited time on a limited number," said the rep.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus that some PS3s are being discounted. Bogus that prices for the consoles are being slashed all across Japan (for now, anyway).

Source: The Mario-centric forums on Gonintendo.com and play-nintendo.com.

The official story: Nintendo had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

What we heard: Earlier this month, the mainstream media was rife with reports of wrist straps�for the so-called "Wiimote" being snapped en masse. In dozens of alleged incidents, the motion-sensing controllers slipped from overeager players' sweaty hands with such force that the safety wrist straps snapped. The resulting injuries and broken televisions led to the inevitable legal action and parody T-shirts.

Following an investigation, Nintendo offered to replace any broken controller straps with a new, supposedly more robust version. Now, according to reports from two popular Nintendo blogs, the company has released a third, even sturdier controller strap to prevent any more potentially litigious mishaps.

Nintendo's silence makes it�difficult to officially determine whether or not a third Wii Remote strap was even released. Pictures on both blogs, though, show a new strap with a thicker cord�that ties to the controller. The adjustable loop, attached with a rounder plastic clasp, is even smaller than that of the second strap, which was reportedly one-third the length of the original's.

Bogus or not bogus?: Looking not bogus--hopefully the third time will be the charm.

Source: A news post on gaming news site Photics, pointing to a "WhoIs" search showing that www.guildwarsutopia.com belongs to NCsoft.

What we heard: With the last Guild Wars expansion released a couple months earlier and nary a whisper from NCsoft on the next semi-annual update to the franchise, Photics Webmaster Michael Garofalo spent some of the holiday season digging for clues. The day after Christmas, he posted on his site news that he had unearthed URLs for a few Guild Wars Web sites registered by NCsoft. The URLs were www.guildwarsutopia.com and its .net and .org counterparts, suggesting that the fourth chapter in the Guild Wars franchise would in fact be called Utopia. While the rumor flew under the radar for the better part of a month, it began spreading more quickly through the Guild Wars fan community earlier this week.

NCsoft has said it wants to put two expansion packs out each year, with Factions and Nightfall being the company's first two releases. Given that Nightfall launched in October, the next add-on is roughly due for release in April, and it seems about time that NCsoft started talking about it.

However, not everything fit perfectly. The Utopia URLs were registered in June of 2006, which would be awfully early if NCsoft didn't plan on actually announcing the game until 2007. Such a long lead time would only leave more opportunity for someone to stumble upon the game and tip fans off to the game before the company was ready to make an announcement.

The official story: An NCsoft representative put the rumor to rest for us, saying, "It actually was used as a project name for an unannounced project, but we do not intend to use it for a product name."

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus.

Source: News from the oddly familiar-looking Rumor Reporter, which subsequently blew up on several other game sites.

The official story: See below.

What we heard: Yesterday, RumorReporter.com posted an article titled "High Profile PS3 Title in Trouble." The site claimed an inside source working on a PlayStation 3 game said that development had "stalled completely." The company then brought in a new director to help salvage the project, but Sony Computer Entertainment America wants to cash out and "stop the bleeding," according to the insider. The source says that "infighting" and a "lack of clear direction" were the reasons for the game's crash, and that several employees have jumped ship and headed to other development studios.

The article went on to say that the game may be released as a download on the PlayStation Store, as there are only four complete missions and "online multiplayer isn't even guaranteed." "This is pretty shocking when you consider that the game was once set to be a major release," says the article's author.

So how does Warhawk get tied in to this mess? Pure speculation, apparently. Rumor Reporter never mentions the game's name, but when news of the article was thrown to the dogs at the Gaming-Age message boards, the common consensus was that the game was almost certainly the PlayStation 3 version of Warhawk. A Joystiq report says that Rumor Reporter confirmed that the game in question was Warhawk, but any mention of Warhawk as the game in trouble on Rumor Reporter has since been removed.

Looking at Warhawk's past, the game does fit the mold of the mystery title in question. During a montage at Sony's E3 2005 press conference, Warhawk was among the many Sony-published games shown off by the games giant, pegging it as a game that has likely been fairly along in development. Sure enough, the game became one of the system's high-profile titles, making an appearance at the Game Developers Conference in 2006, showing off the then-new tilt-sensitivity of the Sixaxis controller at E3 2006, and even playable by the attendees at E3 on the show floor.

However, when it came time to roll out the list of PS3 launch titles, Warhawk was nowhere to be found. The game's release date has been a mystery since its announcement, and currently bears a fat "TBA."

Messy enough yet? Well, it gets messier.

David Jaffe, who helped create the Twisted Metal series with Incognito, chimed in on the Gaming-Age forums discussion. Jaffe says that "Warhawk being in trouble...[is] not correct at all," and that 90 percent of games "go thru [sic] growing pains... It's called the creative process."

Jaffe sums up his thoughts with: "So just because some disgruntled ex-worker--who thought the game should have been made HIS way--is now getting his 15 minutes by spouting off to some news source, does not mean he is bringing any meat to the table in terms of valid information."

While digging through online reports and reading anything Jaffe says is always a blast, GameSpot went straight to the source and got the following comment from Sony: "The rumors are false. We're still in development with the same team at Incognito and we're excited to show the progress of the game to media within the next month or so. At the same time, we'll be able to confirm an updated release date, too."

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that Warhawk has been canned or sent to the PlayStation Store. Not bogus that the air combat game has experienced the same sort of development turbulence that many games do.

Sources: See below.

The official story: "Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation." -- Microsoft rep. As for Capcom...see below.

What we heard: It's no secret that Microsoft wants to break into the Japanese game market--badly. When the Xbox 360 launched in late 2005, it allocated a third of its launch stock to the island nation--where half of it gathered dust on store shelves while bored shopkeepers stood by picking their noses.

Microsoft has also tried the software approach, hiring Japanese game-design legends such as Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and Space Channel mastermind Tetsuya Mizuguchi to make Xbox 360 exclusives. Unfortunately, the latter's first effort, Ninety-Nine Nights, fizzled on both sides of the Pacific. However, the former's debut, Blue Dragon, fared as well as an Xbox 360 game can in Japan, given the platform's limited base. It sold�more than�80,000 units in its first four days on the Japanese market last fall.

Still, Microsoft hasn't spent tens of millions in Japan to eke out modest hits. So the fact that it might opt to acquire a major Japanese publisher seems perfectly plausible, given its near-bottomless bank account. Thus was spawned this week's top rumor, which had Microsoft buying Capcom, the developer-publisher behind the Resident Evil series, outright.

Sure, it makes sense. Capcom has made two critically acclaimed Xbox 360 games, Dead Rising and Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. (Look for the latter's review on GameSpot later today.) And Microsoft is flush with cash--$35 billion in reserves as of last summer, according to Reuters. So why not drop a relatively small chunk of change to take on Sony and Nintendo on their home turf?

However, plausibility does not equal reality. And in this case, the reality is that, for the time being, Microsoft is not buying Capcom. Apparently this latest orgy of speculation is an ancient rumor, resurrected by a Japanese blog promising a "On January 11th in game industry large announcement," according to a clunky Babel Fish translation. That, in turn, prompted a huge forum thread on the new Gaming Age forums, the Star Wars cantina of game gossip, which led to another post on the EvilAvatar forums, a top virtual water cooler for the overexcited gamer. Then came RSS feeds, rampant content poaching and...well, you do the math.

While Microsoft quickly raised its boilerplate defense shields (Q: "Is the world flat?" A: "Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation."), Capcom was more forthcoming. "It's a 3-year-old rumor, most likely refueled by our recent spate of 360 titles," a rep told GameSpot.

Bogus or not bogus?: BOGUS. "No soup for you! You come back, one year!"

Source: DaKing240.com by way of Xbox 360 Fanboy.

The official story: Microsoft rep--"Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation."

What we heard: The holidays may be over, but for Xbox-360-owning casual and retro gamers, every Wednesday seems like another Christmas morning thanks to Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays program.�Nearly every�hump day sees new content go up on Xbox Live Marketplace, the most anticipated type of content�being a new Xbox Live Arcade game.

To keep interest high, Microsoft usually announces what game is coming out that week on Monday or Tuesday. However, it appears that the release date of next week's game may have slipped out a bit early.

The unabashedly named Xbox360Fanboy.com picked up the blog of DaKing240, who says that Pop Cap's Heavy Weapon will be the game du jour for January 17. Heavy Weapon may already be familiar to PC users. Like several other Pop Cap Games for Xbox Live Arcade, the game has been available for download for the mouse-and-keyboard gamer for a while now.

DaKing240 claims to be well connected in the industry and in several other posts credits sources at various developers. Unfortunately, this post doesn't directly credit a source, leaving gamers to ponder its authenticity and cross-check DaKing240's credibility.

Just last week, DaKing misfired on the release date of Ms. Pac-Man, saying the game would be released on January 4. DaKing420 wasn't far off, though. Yesterday, Microsoft officially announced that the game would make its debut on Xbox Live Arcade tomorrow.

DaKing240's news sparked some sleuthing by Xbox 360 Fanboy, which claims to have confirmed the news from another source, The Xbox Domain. However, the news comes with a disclaimer--the game is merely scheduled for January 17...meaning that barring any unforeseen circumstances, it should be out that day.

Heavy Weapon was originally announced for the 360 back in early May and was originally scheduled for release last year. Given that the game is deep in development, it's a good bet that Heavy Weapon is due sometime soon, if not on January 17.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus, but nothing is official.

Source: A story with a dimly lit photo on tech blog Engadget.

The official story: "We have seen all types of claimed leaked photos like this show up online, and as a standard policy we don't comment on speculative items."--A Microsoft representative.

What we heard: Almost six months ago, Xbox-mod site Xbox Scene ran a blurry photo it had�received from an anonymous source. The photo was supposedly of a revamped Xbox 360 motherboard with an HDMI port.

At the time, Rumor Control suggested that an HDMI port-equipped Xbox 360 wasn't imminent but that Microsoft would have to be looking into it in order to ensure the viability of its HD-DVD add-on. Movie studios releasing HD-DVDs have the option of using Image Constraint Token (ICT) flags on their discs, a technology that artificially limits the playback resolution of a film unless the signal is traveling over a secure connection like an HDMI cable (the component cables included with the Xbox 360 don't cut it).

Now half a year down the road, the rumor has returned, this time in the form of a photo on tech blog Engadget that shows an HDMI port sticking out of the back of an Xbox 360 system--something the current crop of Xbox 360s don't have. Aside from being watermarked and having identifying characteristics like a serial number blacked out, the photo doesn't appear to have been tampered with. And while there's no photo evidence of this tidbit, the Engadget report also says the redesigned 360 (code-named "Zephyr"), will be released alongside the also oft-rumored larger Xbox 360 hard drive. Engadget says the hard drive will rack up as much space as 120GB. Finally, Engadget's source is reported as saying that the new hardware will be available "soon."

Depending on what constitutes "soon," it might be no coincidence that the Consumer Electronics Show is just around the corner,�since Microsoft has a habit of making game-related announcements at the event. In 2001, Microsoft used CES to unveil the Xbox, its debut entry into the console market. Last year, it announced the Xbox 360's external HD-DVD player. While CES is one of Microsoft's big announcement platforms (along with the Electronic Entertainment Expo and the X0 line of fall events), announcing a significant hardware revision right after a holiday shopping season might not go over well with the (likely) millions of new Xbox 360 owners.

On top of that, Microsoft already has a hardware update planned for this year in the form of a new CPU using 65nm semiconductor technology that will operate at a lower temperature. And while those chips had originally been planned for inclusion into the hardware for the first quarter of the year, Digitimes recently reported that those CPUs won't be produced until mid-2007. It might be in Microsoft's best interest to wait on introducing an HDMI-equipped Xbox 360 until those chips are ready to reduce both the number of times it has to rework the system's innards and the number of different hardware configurations it has on shelves.

While there's no word out of the Microsoft camp on an HDMI Xbox 360 or a larger hard drive, we still think they're both coming, but we're not sure now is�the right time for them. Check back with GameSpot this Sunday night for news from the Microsoft CES keynote address; if an announcement is coming soon, that's probably where it would be made.

Bogus or not bogus?: Sticking by not bogus.

Source: A video clip on the CNBC Web site (registration required), first picked up by GamesIndustry.biz (which has since been updated) and parroted by IGN, Kotaku, and Joystiq, among others.

What we heard: There's a certain segment of the gaming culture that loves nothing more than to dig into sales figures, and few sales figures have been speculated on as much as the holiday hardware sales now that all three next-generation consoles have arrived on the market. While the industry-tracking NPD group announced its hardware tallies for the Wii and PlayStation 3's debut month of November, December was the first full month the consoles went head-to-head on shelves.

So when a GamesIndustry.biz article surfaced offering preliminary NPD hardware figures from November through Christmas, people took note. The Xbox 360 reportedly won the holiday hardware race with 2 million sold, with the Wii moving 1.8 million units, and the PS3 a distant third with 750,000 systems sold.

However, the trade site was attributing the numbers to a video on CNBC.com that first aired December 29 and which�can't be viewed unless visitors register an account and give up a credit card number to view the segment. If one actually jumps through the site's hoops and watches the video in question, it can easily be determined that those numbers aren't coming from NPD.

The segment is an interview with Billy Pidgeon, an analyst with IT market intelligence firm IDC. In it, a graphic appears on screen showing estimated console sales in North America for November through December 25, 2006. The numbers match up with the figures being attributed to the NPD, but CNBC attributes IDC as its source on them.

The confusion likely comes from a blurb of text that appears at the bottom of the screen shortly after the graphic is taken down. It notes that the "NDP Group" (sic)�pegged the Wii as selling more than twice the number of PS3s for the month of November, which is true, but also something that was announced last month.

However, IDC's projections might be fairly close to the final numbers. While NPD hasn't publicly announced any preliminary numbers for December hardware sales, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter mentioned some figures this morning in a note to investors regarding Electronic Arts. Pachter referenced an "early assessment" by the NPD "suggesting" December Wii sales of 1.3 million systems and Xbox 360 sales of 1.5 million units. Combine that with the already announced November sales figures for those systems and you wind up with almost 1.78 million Wii systems and just over 2 million Xbox 360s sold for the holiday season, essentially the same numbers estimated by IDC.

While the IDC estimates may in fact turn out to be very much in line with NPD's final figures (expected to be released next week), the CNBC report clearly attributed IDC as the source of the numbers.

The official story:�An NPD representative had not returned�a request for comment as of press time, but Pidgeon confirmed for GameSpot that the figures were his firm's, and that IDC and NPD don't share forecasts or figures with one another.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that those numbers came from NPD, but�they might�turn out to be�accurate anyway.

Source: The blogs of two Belgian Xbox Ambassadors, PlatoniX�(English translation)�and YLA G.

The official story: Microsoft rep: "Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation." [UPDATE] Bungie has debunked the rumor in the studios' Weekly Update. There is, however, a documentary�coming "sometime next week"�that will reveal some elements of the single-player campaign.

What we heard: One of the big surprises in 2004's blockbuster Halo 2 was the ability to play as a member of an alien race. Gamers suited up as the Arbiter--one of the Covenant's Elites bestowed with a special title--in the single-player campaign and could skin themselves as Elites in the multiplayer portion.

Now word is spreading that another alien race will be playable in the upcoming Halo 3, due for release sometime next year. The race in question is the Brutes (the character on the right in the image), the gorilla-like berserkers who became the bodyguards of the Prophets.

According to a post on a few blogs out of Europe, a new Halo 3 video will be headed to Xbox Live Marketplace on December 20 showing Brutes as playable characters. The alleged seven-minute video will also feature two and a half minutes of gameplay, which would make it the first time the public has gotten a look at the game in action.

These blogs belong to members of Belgium's Xbox Elite Team, a group of Xbox 360 gamers�who are regional ambassadors for the system. Xbox Ambassadors are sanctioned by Microsoft but aren't actually employed by the company. Typically, Ambassadors are active community members willing to go the extra mile to help out others.

Both PlatoniX and YLA G, the owners of the two blogs, are listed�as Xbox Ambassadors on Xbox.com, but this doesn't mean they are directly tied to Microsoft or have any insider information. The two also don't cite their source for the Halo 3 details.

There are no doubt going to be some surprises in Halo 3, but Bungie managed to keep the ability to play as the Arbiter secret until the game came out. Why would�it choose to spill the beans early this time around?

Bogus or not bogus?: Based on the fact that no source is named, we have to say bogus for now, but we won't really find out until next week.

Source: A list spotted on Microsoft's official UK Xbox 360 backward compatibility site, and later pulled.

The official story: A Microsoft representative was cagey about the issue, but said there hadn't been an official update to the list.

What we heard: In June, Double Fine Productions' Tim Schafer told fans to petition Microsoft to have his latest creation, the Xbox platformer Psychonauts, added to the list of Xbox 360 backwards compatible games.

"I want you to...send Microsoft a heartfelt message," Schafer wrote on the Double Fine news page. "Something to the effect of, 'I am a 9-year-old boy in the hospital, dying of consumption, and my last wish is to play Psychonauts on my XBOX 360!' (Please, try to make up your own disease.)"

Yesterday it appeared that the campaign had worked, as Psychonauts was among a list of 31 newly backward compatible titles that surfaced on the official Xbox 360 site. However, the list was quickly pulled from the site and replaced with that of the August compatibility update, leaving the status of the update (and whether or not Microsoft listens to the pleas of dying children) up in the air.

But even for the brief time it was visible, there were a number of eyebrow-raising entries. In addition to Psychonauts, two other games that fared better critically than commercially were among the new titles. Atari's Indigo Prophecy (also known as Fahrenheit) was on the list, as was Sega's Shenmue II. Other games on the list included I-Ninja, Dead or Alive Ultimate, Destroy All Humans!, and Ultimate Spider-Man.

However, there were some indicators that not everything with the update list was kosher. Among the games marked as new additions to the list were Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis and All-Star Baseball 2005, but both of those had been included in the August update.

Given the overlap with the previous backward compatibility update and the haste with which it was withdrawn, it seems a safe bet that the list wasn't actually final when it was posted. The question is how much of the list was rooted in reality, and how much of it consisted of placeholder names.

Bogus or not bogus?: A little bit of both. There's probably another update coming, but the list that leaked isn't entirely accurate.

Source: A scan of an internal Best Buy newsletter acquired by GoNintendo.

The official story: Best Buy and Nintendo could not be reached for comment as of press time.

What we heard: For people trying to hunt down a hard-to-find Wii, there are few things more frustrating than other Wii owners bragging about how they have one. Nintendo's new console has been in short supply since its launch on November 19, and retailers have been selling the consoles as soon as they get them in.

Or maybe that's what they want you to think. Nintendo fan site GoNintendo.com has posted what is allegedly a scan (click image to enlarge) of an internal Best Buy newsletter, which asks managers not to sell Wiis until December 17, even if the company has units in stock.

Best Buy corporate cites the following three reasons for retaining Wiis in the newsletter:

--"This is the last competitive weekend for holiday shopping, which encourages a large amount of traffic to our retail stores once customers realize the system is available."

--"Customers shopping for other products will have the ability and be encouraged to purchase the gaming console."

--"The system is more readily available then [sic] other competing gaming systems."

The scan also mentions some PlayStation 3 information, including "SCEA has made an announcement that no other units will be shipped in addition to the units already being manufactured." However, unlike the Wii, PS3s are to be immediately shelved and sold to customers.

For those gamers still waiting to get a Wii for the holidays, there is at least one bit of good news in the notice. Though quantities will differ for each store, the newsletter states that a "minimum of 40 consoles is guaranteed."

But when GameSpot contacted a Best Buy store-level employee, we were told that each store was required to have a minimum amount of consoles, as promised in advertisements, for December 17. If stock exceeded the promised number, then stores could sell the difference. The employee's store was also only committed to have 25 units ready for the weekend, not 40 as the memo said.

[UPDATE] Several readers have pointed out that this practice of holding stock of Wiis is being implemented not just at Best Buy, but�at several other retailers as well.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that all Best Buys aren't selling Wiis, but not bogus that some stores that aren't selling them may have some in stock.

Source: Straight from the horse's mouth...an official correction in a Nintendo press release.

The official story: Nintendo could not be reached for comment as of press time.

What we heard: When talking about the two recently released gaming consoles, Nintendo's Wii is largely regarded to be plentiful when compared to the scarce PlayStation 3. Even though Nintendo's console has sold out across the United States, gamers have found that getting a Wii has been much easier than purchasing one of Sony's new consoles.

Nintendo reported that 600,000 Wiis were sold in "the Americas" in its first eight days in retail, with almost half a million being sold in the United States. Shortly after the Wii's launch, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said Nintendo was on target to ship 4 million Wiis worldwide by the end of the year.

Yesterday, Nintendo sent out a press release touting the sales success of Nintendo hardware in November, saying that of the 3.9 million systems sold in the US in the month, 2.1 million (55 percent) carried the Nintendo brand.

The press release also carried the statement, "Despite spot shortages in some locations, well more than a million Wii systems will be available in the United States by the end of the year."

For those gamers still waiting to get a Wii for the holidays, well over a million Wiis is indeed good tidings. Unfortunately, Nintendo may accidentally be playing the role of Grinch.

About four hours after the initial press release hit the wires, Nintendo sent out an updated version with one major correction. In the head of the updated release from Nintendo's PR agency, a correction reads, "...we are advised [by Nintendo] that the fourth paragraph, last sentence which reads, 'Despite spot shortages in some locations, well more than a million Wii systems will be available in the United States by the end of the year,' should be disregarded. (Emphasis added.)

Two days after launch, Fils-Aime told Reuters that approximately 2 million Wiis would be available in the US by early January, with 1 million available in early December. But with yesterday's updated release, Nintendo doesn't seem too sure about that number.

Yesterday's European launch (remember--they don't get the PS3 until spring 2007) and last week's Japanese launch may be bad for American gamers. Nintendo could be feeling a pinch on supply and may be moving some units destined for the US over to those regions.

On the other hand, Nintendo could simply be covering its bases, not wanting to promise something it can't deliver in light of the incredibly high demand for the console.

Bogus or not bogus?: It's still speculative, but also very fishy. Rumor Control will abstain until we hear back from Nintendo.

Source: A post on the Xbox.com forums, regurgitated with skepticism (but not fact-checking) by Team Xbox, Computer and Video Games, and Joystiq.

What we heard: When Microsoft released the Fall Update for the Xbox 360 on October 31, reports that it was "bricking" some systems--rendering them unable to play games or even boot up properly--quickly flared up online. Web sites specializing in the Xbox modding scene speculated that the bricked systems were an intentional byproduct of the update. According to them, Microsoft wanted to break consoles that had been tampered with to do things for which it wasn't intended, like play pirated copies of games. Microsoft required that anyone wishing to take their Xbox 360 console onto the Xbox Live service download the update.

While initially quiet on the subject, Microsoft the next day acknowledged problems that affected "less than 1 percent" of Xbox 360 owners who installed the update onto their consoles. The company said it was working with those affected to resolve the issue, and released an updated version of the Fall Update.

That apparently didn't satisfy everyone, as earlier this week, a poster on the official Xbox.com message boards waded into the middle of a 60+-page thread about the Fall Update problems and claimed that he had filed a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft in the matter.

A handful of gaming Web sites picked up on the news and passed it along, each of them noting that it was an unconfirmed report from a message board poster.

As it turns out, the poster was telling the truth. GameSpot obtained a copy of the original complaint, which was filed in a Washington district court. The suit accuses Microsoft of breach of contract, negligence, and violation of the state of Washington's Consumer Protection Act (CPA). Stating that the affected consumers number in "at least the thousands," the suit contends that Microsoft is refusing to repair or replace the broken systems unless the users pay "up to $140" to ship it back to the company.

The plaintiff is demanding that Microsoft pay at least $5 million in damages for breach of contract to those affected by the Fall Update problems, and an additional amount of at least $5 million in damages for an unfair or deceptive act under the CPA. Should Microsoft argue that it had no agreement to breach with the affected users, then the plaintiff contends Microsoft was negligent, and should be made to pay at least $5 million in damages.

[UPDATE] The official story:�A Microsoft representative issued the following response to the matter:

"A small percentage of consoles (less than 1 percent) were affected by the Fall Update. An updated version of the Fall Update was made available on Xbox Live on November 1 which eliminated issues relating to new or refurbished consoles malfunctioning after applying the Fall Update.

"Users affected by the initial Fall Update would have seen an error message and should call Xbox Support (1-800-4-MY-XBOX in the US and Canada). Microsoft is making every effort to resolve this issue for its customers as fast and easy as possible. It's also important to note that Xbox Support is paying for the shipping and repair/replacement of all Xbox 360 consoles that malfunctioned as a result of the Fall Update on October 31, before it could be fixed on November 1. They just need to phone Xbox Support and give them the proper error message indicating it was the Fall Update that affected their console."

Bogus or not bogus?: Fortunately for those reporting without a net, not bogus.

Source: A passel of tech and gaming news sites across the Web.

What we heard: Another company entering the console gaming market may seem like financial suicide given the cutthroat nature of Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft, but one name has been repeatedly bandied around as a distinct possibility.

Apple Computer, which has experienced a boom since it brought the iPod to market in 2001, was most recently rumored to be getting its game on in May, with an ultrasecret gaming division being established internally. Further proof that Apple was targeting console gamers came in September, when Apple announced games for the iPod, including Pac-Man, Zuma, and Tetris.

Now, there are more rumblings that Apple is indeed trying to enter the mainstream gaming sector. Several tech Web sites, including AppleInsider.com, are reporting that Prudential analyst Jesse Tortora believes that iPod games may just be the beginning for Apple.

"We think the video game market represents a distinct possibility for Apple, especially considering that it recently announced the availability of video games for its iPod through its iTunes store," the analyst said in a memo, according to AppleInsider.

The design and function of Apple's recently released and upcoming products make for an easy transition into gaming, says Tortora. "The game console device could be morphed out of some combination of the MacMini and iTV, while the handheld player could be developed as an enhancement to a future version of the widescreen iPod."

Tortora also believes that Apple has hired a slew of game developers for both hardware and software.

But why would Apple risk getting into the gaming business? According to Tortora, to defend its turf. Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 are being billed as more than just gaming machines, with downloadable media threatening Apple's iTunes store. By creating a console that also doubles as a media hub, Apple could preserve its position as the leading downloadable media provider.

The proliferation of headlines on the subject made many causal observers think that Apple was considering a move into the console space. However, a closer look showed that Tortora didn't say that the Empire that Jobs Built was going into gaming, all he said was that it might, if it is so inclined. "We think the video game market represents a distinct possibility for Apple," said Tortora. (Emphasis added.)

The official story: Requests for comment from Apple were unanswered as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: For now, an Apple gaming machine remains a rumor. Bogus until Apple says otherwise.

Source: The ever-enthusiastic showbiz rumor mill known as Ain't-It-Cool-News.

What we heard: In June 2005, the interests of gamers and film geeks collided. That's when Variety revealed that Vin Diesel would be donning the well-pressed suit of Agent 47, the titular assassin of the best-selling Hitman series from Eidos, in a forthcoming film version.

A gamer since the Dungeons & Dragons era, Diesel helped produce and starred in one of the best-reviewed film-based games of all time, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Given Diesel's passion for game-movie synergy, news of his casting raised hopes that the big-screen Hitman would be superior to subpar adaptations of the subterranean Uwe Boll subgenre.

In February, Midway Games and MTV Films announced that Diesel would star in both the game and film versions of The Wheelman, an all-new property. A trailer for the game was on display at E3 2006...where nary a word was heard about Diesel's involvement in the Hitman film.

Indeed, little news about Hitman surfaced over the past year until today, when Ain't It Cool News reported that Diesel was off the project. According to the site, he is being replaced by actor Timothy Olyphant (pictured), most famous for his role as the emotionally tortured and often-violent town sheriff in the HBO series Deadwood.

The AICN report says that a script for Hitman by screenwriter Skip Woods (Swordfish) has finally been green lit by 20th Century Fox, one of the studios that pulled out of the Halo movie this fall. The movie is now reportedly being produced by French filmmaker Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element), who has all but retired from directing, along with the project's original producers Chuck Gordon, Adrian Askarieh, and Daniel Alter.

The official story: While many sites republished the story as though it was a news release, nothing has yet been publicly confirmed by 20th Century Fox. As of press time, Eidos reps still hadn't heard back from the producers of the film on whether the Olyphant casting was a lock.

Bogus or not bogus?: Though its record is spotty, AICN has a knack for breaking major stories before the trades. However, nothing is official...yet.

Source: Play-Nintendo.com, citing the game's Yahoo Group's Web page.

The official story: See below.

What we heard: In April, gamers were pleasantly surprised when news broke that a Nintendo DS, Wii, and PC game based on the PBS art show The Joy of Painting was in the works. The show, which ran in the 1980s and early 1990s, was hosted by the late Bob Ross, who painted landscapes with "happy little trees" and "happy little clouds." Ross became a cult hero not only for his artistic abilities, but also for his soothing voice, brown afro, and amicable demeanor.

Little was known about the games except that they were scheduled to be developed by AGFRAG Entertainment Group, a small studio largely concentrating on PC flash games.

Unfortunately, the trees, mountains, and clouds won't be happy to hear that the game is currently in limbo. On the Bob Ross Game Yahoo Group, which the developers used to keep gamers up to date on the project, the following message was posted:

"AGFRAG is no longer involved in the development of ANY Bob Ross Game. Please contact Bob Ross Inc. for further information. Thank You." (emphasis in original.)

GameSpot contacted Joseph Hatcher, head of AGFRAG to confirm the message. Hatcher reiterated the previous statement, saying, "We will not be developing the game on any platform." Citing legal reasons, Hatcher was unable to give details of his company's decision. However, he did leave the door open for the game to live on. "We are not saying it is canceled in anyway," he told GameSpot.

Following his conversation with GameSpot, Hatcher updated the AGFRAG Web site with the following message:

"I'm sorry that we have disappointed so many people on a certain project. Please realize we did what we felt was best, with the cards that were dealt to us and the situation we were in. We have learned from the experience and we won't make the same mistakes twice. The companies we dealt with were
professional in every way and we enjoyed working with them while we did and appreciated the opportunities they presented to us. You won't hear anything about our next game until it's almost on shelves."

While it is possible that another developer may hop onboard, Bob Ross Inc. would be hard pressed to find another taker for what looks to be merely a cult project.

Bob Ross Inc. did not have any news of the game posted on its Web site as of today. Requests for comment from Bob Ross Inc. were unanswered as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Unlike Bob's tranquil landscapes, the picture does not look good. Not bogus.