Early in the morning Nintendo broadcast their latest Nintendo Direct, focusing mainly on the 3DS handheld but also revealing a few details for the Wii U. Among announcements of new 3DS titles such as Mario Golf: World Tour and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, also revealed new DLC for New Super Mario Bros. U that would feature Luigi.

Iwata also went into detail about how this year is being titled "the year of Luigi" with various titles featuring the twin brother of Mario. Among the titles including Luigi, owners New Super Mario Bros. U will be gaining access to new DLC that provides alternate versions of the game’s more than 80 stages. These Luigi-focused stages provide a whole new level of game-play challenge and will be available for purchase as a single download. Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario and Luigi also revealed new details about the upcoming Luigi's Mansion 2, including a look at the various uses the Poltergust will have.

Also unveiled during the broadcast was two new bundles for both the Wii U and 3Ds, which includes a Fire Emblem Awakening 3DS XL bundle and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Wii U and 3DS XL bundle. The Monter Hunter 3 Ultimate bundles will be available in Australia on March 23rd, and will also be coinciding with the launch of the 3DS XL Circle Pad Pro and a Wii LAN adapted for both Wii and Wii U. The Fire Emblem: Awakening 3DS bundle will be available in late April.

Wii Street U was also revealed for those looking to wander the streets of their hometown, which will be included as a free download on the Wii U eShop. The new app brings Nintendo and Google together to allow users to travel the world using their Wii U GamePad controller.

The Wii U GamePad is integrated with Street View in innovative and accessible ways: use the touch screen to type in exact addresses to fly to your favourite places, and thanks to the motion sensors inside the controller you can move it 360° to enjoy the entire view of sights around the world. The whole family can join in, as your 360° window on the world is displayed on the TV screen in the living room. Wander around wherever you fancy going or ask Nintendo to be your guide, with recommended places to visit built into the application for easy access.

Check out the full list of trailers released below for a glimpse at what to expect from the 3DS and you can find the full Nintendo Direct over here.

LEGO City: Undercover "The Chase Begins" Trailer

Animal Crossing: New Leaf Gameplay Trailer

Monster Hunter 3: Ultimate 3DS and Wii U Bundle Trailer

HarmoKnight Debut Trailer

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D Debut Trailer

Continuing to ride high on the success of World of Tanks, publisher Wargaming.net has announced the acquisition of Gas Powered Games, seemingly saving the Seattle-based developer, following recent turbulence that saw its hopeful Wildman Kickstarter project cancelled.

Wargaming will take full ownership of Gas Powered Games, bringing into its fold a contingent of veteran developers, including CEO and company founder Chris Taylor. The acquisition will further bolster Wargaming's push into multiplatform expansion, complementing additional recent Wargaming acquisitions of Chicago-based Day 1 Studios and MMO middleware provider Big World Pty Ltd.

"Gas Powered Games' heritage and development pedigree shows us just how valuable an addition Chris and his company will make to the Wargaming family," said Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming. "Gas Powered Games has a long track record of providing incredibly engaging AAA gaming experiences and we can't wait to start working with them."

Gas Powered Games are best known for their work on Dungeon Siege, Supreme Commander and Demigod, however it is our understanding that all of those properties are owned by other publishers, and not part of Wargaming's acquisition.

As for the future of Wildman, a statement from GPG CEO Chris Taylor leaves open the possibility that they could be continuing its development (via Polygon):

"Being welcomed into the Wargaming family is a truly exciting and defining moment for Gas Powered Games. I founded this company on the idea that we were going to develop truly AAA gaming experiences and we look forward to following this path with our newfound colleagues, who share that same commitment. To everyone in the game industry and to everyone who has been a fan of Gas Powered Games through the years, I truly thank each and every one of you for your support. I can't quite talk about what we'll be working on as our first project, but rest assured, once we have more to share, you will all hear about it."

However, given Wargaming's propensity toward free-to-play games, perhaps they want to enter the popular MOBA space more directly.

Valve have released the update for Linux Steam and there is now a sale for it.

Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the release of its Steam for Linux client. In celebration of the release, over 50 Linux titles are now 50-75% off until Thursday, February 21st at 10 AM PST.

The Steam client is now available to download for free from the Ubuntu Software Center. Ubuntu is the most popular distribution of Linux used by millions of people globally and known for its well-designed, easy-to-use customer experience.

This is great news. Hopefully we see more bigger titles seeing support for Linux. You can read more here and can see a list of the games available for sale here. promoted/edited forum item

Our friends over at Kotaku have noticed the Queensland State Governemt publishing a statement indicating the successful introduction of the belated legislation that will govern the sale of R18+ rated videogame products in the state.

Awkwardly however, the release was published before the vote on the matter had even taken place (via Kotaku):

“The introduction of this classification should be welcome news for parents, who will now have more control over the games their children are playing,” Mr Bleijie said.

“I encourage parents to be guided by these classifications, as I’m sure many are unaware of the levels of violence and adult material contained in some computer games.

“This system has worked with films for a long time and it makes sense for computer games to be treated in the same way.

“At the Standing Council of Attorney’s General last year, it was decided to adopt a national approach for computer game classification.

“By coming into line with the rest of the country, we can prevent the games from being bought interstate and sold illegally in Queensland.”

Their confidence in the result is understandable given the Liberal National Party's grossly overwhelming majority in the state, but isn't it just an appropriately ridiculous way to end this whole absurd saga of political bureaucracy that has been the introduction of an R18+ rating for videogames in Australia? Where else but Queensland, indeed.

Ubisoft and Nadeo's hopeful eSports-tailored first person shooter Shootmania: Storm has launched in open beta, inviting all-comers to download the game client, register an account, and get playing.

ShootMania Storm is revolutionizing the multiplayer FPS by adding a community dimension and unlimited replayability. Developed by the Nadeo studio, renowned for community racing game, TrackMania, ShootMania Storm boasts quick-fire matches and epic battles, where only your talent will distinguish you from the crowd. Alone, or in a team, enter the arena of your choice: maps, modes and rankings, you are free to play as you like and take part in the ShootMania community as it suits you.

Refreshingly, the game features a robust, and open dedicated server model (it's actually uses the same software as Nadeo's Trackmania: Canyon, with a different config file) and several locally-hosted Australian servers are on offer for low latency fragging.

Check out the open beta launch trailer for your daily dose of wubwub.

Konami's Hideo Kojima will be showcasing the latest FOX engine according to a recent announcement from organisers of the Game Development Conference 2013, which is being held in late March. The discussion will be showcasing demonstrations on what the new engine can do, via demonstrations of the development process and workflow behind Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes.

In the session entitled Photorealism through the eyes of a Fox - The core of Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, he and his staff will share the key components and unique methods used to create the visuals seen in Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes.

Demonstrations during the tech-focused sponsored talk will center around the FOX Engine lighting system, character realism, environmental changes, graphics techniques and explanations, and the FOX Engine tools.

Kojima will also be joined with technical director Junji Tago, lighting artist Masayuki Suzuki, and CG art director Hideki Sasaki. You can find out more info at the official GDC website.

Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes is set to be an open-world spin on the Metal Gear saga, built using Kojima Productions' FOX Engine, and targeting Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Bethesda has today announced that the Dragonborn DLC for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is now available for PlayStation 3 owners, marking the first DLC of the title to arrive on the console.

With this official add-on for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim®, journey off the coast of Morrowind to the island of Solstheim. Encounter new towns, dungeons and quests as you traverse the ash wastes and glacial valleys of this new land. Become more powerful with shouts that bend the will of your enemies and even tame dragons. Your fate, and the fate of Solstheim, hangs in the balance as you face off against your deadliest adversary – the first Dragonborn.

For those interested in expanding their journey, the DLC is currently half price during the launch week at AUD $11.75 on the PlayStation Store.

Bethesda has also revealed that the previous two DLC's, Heartfire and Dawnguard, are not far behind with an expected release date of February 20th and 27th respectively.

Signifying a huge victory for adult videogame consumers in Australia, Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition has been classified with the new R18+ stamp by the Australian Classification Board.

The original release of Mortal Kombat's 2011 reboot, had seen the game refused classification under the previous guidelines, which only went up as MA15+ for computer game content. The Komplete Edition is said to contain all of the comedic exaggerated gratuity of the original, with the addition of the various downloadable content expansions.

The ACB's rating overview, cites violence as the only "high impact" element, with "moderate" themes, and language, and only "mild impact" sex and nudity (presumably owed to some of the more scantily-clad characters).

Hi-Rez Studios has today announced more details about the new single purchase offer mentioned yesterday, titling it as a Game of the Year Edition which will be made available on February 15th for their highly regarded free-to-play first person shooter Tribes: Ascend (AusGamers 10/10).

The new edition will be offering access to various weapons, classes, perks and additional items from the previous ten expansions. Hi-Rez Chief Operating Officer Todd Haris stated that "Nothing changes for players that are enjoying the game with the free-to-play model," however adding that the single-purchase choice is given for those looking to unlock all weapons.

The team are also celebrating the Game of the Year release with new content for all players, which includes six brand new maps (three CTF/Blitz and three Arena maps), the new Shocklance weapon, and two new cosmetic skins. You can find the upcoming patch notes here.

The GotY Edition has also been priced, and will be available at a launch discount price of $29.99 at the official website and on Steam. Existing Tribes VIPs can purchase the GoTY Edition for only $19.99 at the official website as well.

Aquaman has been revealed as the 16th playable character in NetherRealm's upcoming DC Comic themed fighting game Injustice: Gods Among Us, with a new trailer showcasing the quite badass King of the Atlantis. Commanding his many loyal underwater creatures, the trailer gives a glimpse at just what to expect from Arthur Curry including a brief overlook at what he'll be doing story wise.

While Aquaman has long been the butt of many jokes between comic fans, this trailer definitely looks to revise that thinking with the use of a brutal finishing off move that involves sharks, the use of both melee and long-ranged attacks with his trusty trident and of course a new look based of DC's "New 52" comics.

The trailer isn't just showing off Aquaman though, as a brief glimpse is shown of Captain Marvel - better known as Shazam - however it isn't known whether Captain Marvel will be a playable character or simply based in the story mode.

Injustice: Gods Among Us will be available for PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360 on April 17th.

End of Days is the appropriate title for the sixth (and reportedly final) video in EA and Crytek's "7 Wonders" trailer series for the upcoming Crysis 3. The latest clip finishes off the run of engine-rendered short films directed by Holywood auteur Albert Hughes, and features the Nanosuited Prophet tearing up the post-apocalyptic streets of Manhattan in style.

Crysis 3 is due on February 22 2013 for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Team Ico's majestic third game, The Last Guardian, has been looking full of nothing but fantastical promise since its unveiling in 2009. However with the promise of a great looking game, it has sadly been shrouded by silence on when exactly it would appear, with the last known update nearly one year ago confirming that it still existed.

While we continue to twiddle our thumbs hoping for an eventual release, freelance contributor and previous Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Studio employee Fumito Ueda has revealed via his website that the game is indeed still in development. Mentioning that the game is still controlled under his creative supervision, Ueda also stated that "details regarding THE LAST GUARDIAN's release is solely decided by Sony Computer Entertainment, not myself" revealing that an official announcement will be coming soon.

While it’s been a long time coming, THE LAST GUARDIAN remains under my creative supervision and is still in development by an incredibly talented team.

Moving forward, it is my intent to continue my involvement with THE LAST GUARDIAN project, as well as pursue new creative projects with a fresh perspective. As I rekindle my passions as a creator, I look forward to seeing where it will take me, and I deeply appreciate your support during this transition.

Hopefully with the mention of an announcement soon we might see something at Sony's upcoming February 20th conference, likely to be the reveal of the next-gen PlayStation 4. Either way, it is simply a waiting game in hope that one day we will see the release of The Last Guardian, but until then you can simply re-watch a video of the game from 2010 embedded below.

Rebellion has revealed Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army, which as the name suggests is an expansion to the well-received Sniper Elite V2, that introduces the obligatory undead into the fray.

Priced to launch at US$14.99 on Steam (and currently even lower with a pre-order discount), the new adventure includes a four-player cooperative campaign, and does not require the original game to function.

Featuring a co-op campaign for 1 to 4 players, Nazi Zombie Army is a horrifying new stand-alone expansion of the award-winning Sniper Elite series. In the dying flames of World War II, a despairing Hitler unleashes one final, unholy gamble – a legion of undead super soldiers that threatens to overwhelm the whole of Europe. You are Karl Fairburne – the sniper who shaped world history. You are one of the last living souls in Germany. You must team up or die. American, German, Russian – previous military allegiances no longer matter. Now it's just the living versus the dead. Only a Sniper Elite with nerves of steel and a steady aim stands a chance against Hitler’s Nazi Zombie Army!

Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army is due on PC on March 1st 2013. Check out the debut trailer below.

Nintendo has today announced that a new Nintendo Direct stream will be available later tonight, featuring various information about upcoming 3DS titles including a look at the future as well. For those interested, a list of broadcast times can be found below:

22:00, 14th February (WST) - Western Australia

23:30, 14th February (ACST) - Northern Territory

24:00, 14th February (AEST) - Queensland

00:30, 15th February (ACDT) - South Australia

01:00, 15th February (ADST) - Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, ACT

03:00, 15th February (NZDT) - New Zealand

Nintendo's official Facebook page has also revealed that the recent Wii U will be talked about as well, hopefully revealing some release dates or new games for the console (thanks Glynd). You can find the Nintendo Direct stream over here on the official website and a wrap-up of everything announced on AusGamers afterwards.

Double Fine Productions has officially unveiled Brutal Legends on Steam for PC, offering those eager to enhance their Metal tastes the chance to play super roadie Eddie Riggs who is voiced by Tenacious D singer Jack Black.

Brütal Legend is an action-adventure that marries visceral action combat with open-world freedom. Set in a universe somewhere between Lord of the Rings and Spinal Tap, it’s a fresh take on the action/driving genre, which in this case is full of imitation cover bands, demons intent on enslaving humanity and Heavy metal tunes. Featuring the talents of comedian, actor and musician, Jack Black as super roadie Eddie Riggs, as well as cameos by some of the biggest names in metal music it's a wild ride in the belly of the beast that is not to be missed by gamers and Metalheads alike.

Double Fine President Tim Schafer has revealed that a multiplayer beta is currently being conducted for those that pre-order off Steam, which is also offering two Team Fortress 2 hats to make yourself fit the Metal part well. The PC version will also include both the Hammer of Infinite Fate and Tears of the Hextadon multiplayer map packs.

No release date has been announced yet, however you can find the Steam pre-order page over here which includes a 25% discount for now, and an announcement trailer below plus some various screenshots.

Confirming yesterdays rumour mill that saw the game's date mysteriously change on the websites of several US retailers, Naughty Dog has released a statement clarifying a one month delay for The Last of Us. The hotly anticipated PlayStation 3 exclusive title is now due worldwide on June 14th 2013, pushed back from its original May 7 date.

The Last of Us is an ambitious project. In many ways it may be Naughty Dog’s most ambitious project to date – brand new universe and cast of characters, brand new tech, brand new genre, not to mention it’s easily the longest campaign Naughty Dog has ever made.

As we entered the final phase of development for The Last of Us, we came to realize just how massive Joel and Ellie’s journey is. But instead of cutting corners or compromising our vision, we came to the tough decision that the game deserved a few extra weeks to ensure every detail of The Last of Us was up to Naughty Dog’s internal high standards.

As a team we pride ourselves on setting a very high quality bar for every aspect of our games – gameplay, story, art, design, technology and more. We want to make sure The Last of Us raises that bar even further – for ourselves, and most importantly, for you, our fans.

The extra wait will be very short and your patience will be rewarded. Update your calendars. You won’t even have to change seasons. The Last of Us will be available June 14th, 2013. Until then, know that we will be working extremely hard to deliver an experience that matches your high expectations.

Ordinarily, we'd be rather suspicious of a game being delayed to launch at a time when the world's games press will be busy covering the news of the E3 expo, when negative reviews can be obscured by the many preview articles and impressions of new console hardware. But given that it's the guys that made Uncharted, and that Sony are generally pretty good with early review access for their first-party games, they genuinely deserve the benefit of the doubt here.

By way of an interview with RPS GOG.com has revealed that their most frequently requested classic game, System Shock 2 is en-route to the much-loved, DRM-free digital download store. A countdown on the site, proclaiming "System Found" zeroes out at 9pm AEDT tonight (thanks Pirroh).

The interview touches on the difficult legal situation that had to be navigated to make this happen, and explains that the game has been tweaked to run correctly on Windows XP, Vista, 7, and 8. It is also described as a "virtual collectors edition, which in addition to the soundtrack, will come bundled with "concept art, maps of the Von Braun, a interview with Ken Levine, the first pitch document, and much more".

GOG's Guillaume Rambourg also notes that although the game will be presented in it's vanilla form, it should still be compatible with the various community modding enhancements that have been released over the years, and they hope the new legal avenue for the game will reignite more modder activity on what they see as one of the most important classic PC games.

Update: it can now be had from GOG for US$9.99, click, click, go, SHODAN!

There's even a trailer:

Activision has today revealed that those in need of some more maps for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will find the Revolution DLC making its way to PlayStation 3 and PC players on March 1st.

Revolution delivers an unparalleled amount of variety and content for all types of Call of Duty: Black Ops II players, featuring four all-new multiplayer maps set around the globe:

• Hydro: Located in Pakistan, this hydro-electric plant comes complete with a lethal spillway that floods with very little warning.
  
  
• Grind: Set in a skate park in Venice Beach (the birthplace of skateboarding!), quarter-pipes and curved surfaces drive players away from easy cover and into intense firefights.
  
  
• Downhill: A ski resort in the French Alps, this snowy map is complete with a moving gondola system that can both offer cover and crush you to death.
  
  
• Mirage: Located in China’s Gobi Desert, this luxury resort has been ravaged by a sandstorm.

Alongside the multiplayer maps will also be a double-dose of zombie action, with a new map titled "Die Rise" and a new Zombies mode, "Turned" which will see players becoming the undead. Check it out in the Revolution gameplay trailer below.

High-Rez Studios has revealed plans to introduce a single purchase option for their highly regarded free-to-play first person shooter Tribes: Ascend (AusGamers 10/10), intending to launch it alongside a major content patch this Friday, February 15th PST (Saturday on our side of the date line).

A forum post from High-Rez co-founder Todd Harris explains that the one off purchase package will unlock "everything except the non gameplay affecting items like cosmetics", citing all classes, weapons, and perks in the current game, and an admission price "in the ballpark of other PC multiplayer shooters".

Harris also notes that Tribes VIP members will receive an additional discount, and that nothing will change with the free-to-play option for the game, assuring that all the additional maps in the content update will be freely available as per usual (thanks PCGamesN).

While all eyes are on Sony for next weeks anticipated reveal of the PlayStation 4 and the start of the next-gen cycle, publishing giant EA has revealed a few details on what the company is expecting from the newest technology at the recent Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco (via Gamasutra).

EA's chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen took to the stage to discuss just what the company is expecting from both Microsoft and Sony, including rising R&D costs, a potential holiday release and the notion that the next-gen consoles may not be backwards compatible. Jorgensen also touched on how the company is relying heavily on their next-gen Frostbite engine, stating that "moving Frostbite up to gen-four was a big task, but once you've done that, you now can do that across multiple titles as long as they're using the Frostbite engine," so expect a fair few of EA's titles to be using the Frostbite engine.

"An important thing to remember is that next-gen consoles will most likely not be backwards compatible… And if you [play] multiplayer on a game, you'll most likely not be able to play with someone on a different generation. And so if you're a FIFA player and, and the soccer season's starting in August, and all your friends are playing FIFA, you're going to want to be on the same box that they're on. So if they all go out and buy a gen-four box if it comes out at Christmas, then you'll most likely do it. If they all hold on and continue to play on third-generation, you'll probably not see that box purchase until after the soccer season's over.

Citing a rising cost in research and development, Jorgensen also revealed that EA plans to "keep the cost increase for R&D under $100 million. And some of that will be in this year, some of that in '14, and some in our fiscal year '15." The company will also be trying to ensure individual pricing isn't affected by the rising cost in R&D, stating that it won't be as dramatic as previous generations.

The EA CFO also revealed details about what to expect from the next-gen consoles, including a more integrated social aspect in how players game, with more focus on dual gameplay or multi gameplay. EA also expects more integration with what's in the living room to what's outside the house, between tablets, phones, and the consoles over time.

"So I think you're going to see more of that, and the new boxes will be much more tied to that capability. I remind people to look at whatever device they're using in the room right now, and I guarantee virtually none of those existed two years ago, let alone seven years ago. So you've got to imagine, seven years is a long time in technology. We're probably going to see a lot of exciting things when it comes to the new consoles."

Jorgensen also touched on used game sales, a very hot topic with previous rumours suggesting both Microsoft and Sony are looking into blocking second-hand purchases. The CFO revealed that while EA would like to have everything at full price and not have a used game market, the second-hand market does help them out with consumers having "a good chance they're going to buy another one of our games."

You can find the full highlights from the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference over at Gamasutra.