Bloom effects? Who needs those? Mega Man 9's is all about the 8-bit action, and Capcom has released a load of screenshots and info about three of the rampaging robot bosses Mega Man will have to take down in this XBLA, PSN, and Wiiware title. Pretty 2D images available in the full article.

Roadrunner Records has announced that three more DragonForce tracks are being prepared for release for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 ports of Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock. Details on the new tracks are available in the full article.

We're pretty sure that you had great viewing fun with the Blu-ray releases last week. This week will keep the music playing by giving you a ton of thrills along with other offerings to add variety. You can see the full list along with movie summaries in the full article up next.

With all the concerns circulating violent video games, horror author Stephen King joins in on the discussion. Writing novels for more than four decades, he's one of those credible enough to speak about the matter. Instead of writing down what he believes in, King chooses to speak up his mind. Find out what he said in the full article.

Activist lawyer Jack Thompson has been on the case of violent games and their developers for years now, and he's provoked the ire of gamers time and again. We're looking back at some of the most memorable quotes he's ever dropped, and we've chosen the twenty best out of them all. See the full list of Jack Thompson's most memorable quotes right after the jump!

If you thought getting knocked out by a famous Shotokan fighter's fireballs hurt, it pales in comparison to the uncompromising violence and brutality of a point-blank hook to the jaw.

Featuring the most realistic-looking (and by realistic, yours truly means the most wince-inducing) graphics to date, here's the E3 trailer of the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship 2009 by THQ. We give you the skinny on what's happening in the octagon of brutality that's headed to the PS3 and Xbox 360.

In this video, we see famous UFC fighters Rampage and the Iceman trying to make pita bread out of each other's faces, as well as basically try and see whose skeletal system would crumble into tiny bite-sized pieces first. We see a painful knee to the hip area, vicious shots to the jaw and temple, ring-shaking slams, and a classic takedown being turned into a powerbomb. Ouch.

Of course, the video looks to be CGI, but here's hoping the actual gameplay would look just as smooth and as seamless. Enjoy the video.

There are a lot of speculations going around about Sony lately. First, new firmwares have been released for both platforms PlayStation 3 (PS3) and PlayStation Portable (PSP). Also, it should be remembered that the air is yet to be cleared concerning the planned lay-offs due to "industry change."

Well, we don't expect the company to give its take on these matters as of now. It looks like Sony is busy marketing upcoming video game titles for Q2 of 2007. In fact, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) just released the official spring lineup for its consoles PSP, PS3, and PlayStation 2 (PS2). Senior VP of Marketing peter Dille announced,

Our second-quarter line-up of PS3, PSP and PlayStation 2 software titles demonstrates a continued commitment from both SCEA and third-party developers to the PlayStation family of products. We are excited by the content being developed by our partners, but are also looking forward to launching PlayStation-branded exclusive games created by our own worldwide studios this quarter and throughout the rest of 2007.

 

Here's the official video games lineup:

PlayStation Portable

• Alien Syndrome (Sega)
• Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars (Sega)
• CRUSH (Sega)
• Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground (XSEED JKS)
• FINAL FANTASY (Square Enix)
• FINAL FANTASY II (Square Enix)
• Harvest Moon Boy and Girl (Natsume)
• Ridge Racer 2 (Namco)

See the rest of the PSP lineup as well as the PS3 list after the jump!

University of Southern California sociologist Karen Sternheimer notes in an article in the winter issue of the American Sociological Association's Contexts magazine, that while a lot of folks tend to hold video games responsible for the violent youth, they tend to ignore that as videogame play has skyrocketed, youth violence has plummeted.

In the ten years since Doom's release – the game often blamed for the infamous Columbine High School shooting – juvenile homicide arrest rates fell 77 percent. And now, students have less than a 7 in 10 million chance of being killed at school. Sternheimer notes:

It is equally likely that more aggressive people seek out violent entertainment. ...After adult rampage shootings in the workplace, which happen more often than school shootings, reporters seldom mention if the shooters played video games.

Sternheimer adds that in the end, placing the blame on videogames removes the culpability of the criminals. This is tempting for most, especially when white, middle-class boys who live in the suburbs of America are the culprits. Sternheimer writes:

When boys from "good" neighborhoods are violent, they seem to be harbingers of a "new breed" of youth, created by video games rather than by social circumstances. White, middle-class killers retain their status as children easily influenced by a game, victims of an allegedly dangerous product. African-American boys, apparently, are simply 'dangerous.'

As for previous studies that have shown that videogames did increase aggressive behavior, Sternheimer says that those don't offer much insight as to why only a few isolated kids, and not the millions of others who play the games, decide to pick up real weapons and shoot people.

If you're a but more curious about the subject, a copy of  Karen Sternheimer's article can be had via our "read" link below.

Sony Online Entertainment has recently announced that it has licensed rights from Midway Home Entertainment Inc, to develop and release six classic Midway games via download through the PlayStation Network. SOE adds that the first game should be available early 2007.

The six titles are: Mortal Kombat II, Gauntlet II, Joust, Rampage World Tour, Rampart, and Championship Sprint. SOE claims that each title was chosen for its multiplayer capability - a move that is obviously an attempt to boost traffic in the PlayStation Network.

Steve Allison, chief marketing officer of Midway had this to say:

We knew these titles would be a perfect fit for the PlayStation Network, and based on Sony Online Entertainment’s legacy in the online space as well as their intimate knowledge of the PlayStation Network, it was an obvious decision they would be a top company to work with to bring this project to fruition.

According to Famitsu, Bandai Namco Games has finally found a name for the Gundam game headed for the PS3 - Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight. We've seen Gundam's videogame incarnations on PSone and PS2, but the next-gen version of the game promises real-time visuals that are so pretty that there's no need to use CG movies.

While the Gundam games of the past put players in the role of Amro Ray in the early Gundam universe, the next-gen Gundam uses a realistic setting for the Federation and Zion conflict, allowing players to join up with either sides.

In the game, players can destroy combat vehicles, background sceneries, and pretty much everything in sight. Think of giant robots on a rampage and you'd get the idea. Mobile Suits aren't invulnerable either as they can be damaged in the head, arms, and legs, making enemies incapable of a counter-attack.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight is said to be 60% complete and is expected to wreak havoc in Japan close to the PS3's launch date. No word yet as to when the game will hit North American shores.