“The Court’s confirmation of our Plan is a major milestone for Ziff Davis as we look to emerge from Chapter 11 restructuring,” said Jason Young, Chief Executive Officer of Ziff Davis Media. “We are very proud of the progress we have made during our short time in Chapter 11 to become a healthier company. We remain grateful for the unwavering support of our customers, vendors and employees throughout this process and we look forward to continuing our work with all of our stakeholders after our emergence. After concluding our restructuring, we will be better positioned, with the financial strength to grow and capitalize on our strengths.”

The plan, in a nutshell, splits the $428 million in debt between new stock and a $57.5 million debt.

I'm happy to see that both 1Up and EGM survived the turmoil. Let's hope that they both recover as stronger entities than when ZD first filed.

Court Confirms Ziff Davis Media’s Plan Of Reorganization

Company Expects to Emerge From Chapter 11 on July 1, 2008

NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Ziff Davis Media Inc. (“Ziff Davis” or the “Company”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Ziff Davis Holdings Inc., today announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the "Court") confirmed Ziff Davis’s “Second Amended Joint Chapter 11 Plan Of Reorganization,” dated May 6, 2008 (the “Plan”). Ziff Davis currently expects to emerge from Chapter 11 on July 1, 2008.

“The Court’s confirmation of our Plan is a major milestone for Ziff Davis as we look to emerge from Chapter 11 restructuring,” said Jason Young, Chief Executive Officer of Ziff Davis Media. “We are very proud of the progress we have made during our short time in Chapter 11 to become a healthier company. We remain grateful for the unwavering support of our customers, vendors and employees throughout this process and we look forward to continuing our work with all of our stakeholders after our emergence. After concluding our restructuring, we will be better positioned, with the financial strength to grow and capitalize on our strengths.”

As previously announced, the Plan substantially de-leverages Ziff Davis’s balance sheet by converting over $428 million in funded indebtedness to (a) new common stock of reorganized Ziff Davis Media and (b) a new note of $57.5 million. The acceptance of the Plan by voting creditors was overwhelming. The Plan provides Ziff Davis with sufficient cash to fund its exit from Chapter 11 as well as its ongoing business plan. This funding will enable the Company to finance its Chapter 11 exit obligations as well as ongoing operations for the foreseeable future.

More information about Ziff Davis's reorganization, including the Plan and Disclosure Statement, are available at www.bmcgroup.com.

Today, speaking at the 11th Annual Electronic Gaming Summit, Ziff Davis Media CEO Jason Young told the gathered summit members that the restructuring process will be wrapped up in June. More importantly, he noted that their $400 million debt will be reduced to a paltry $57 million, leaving them with the cash flow to invest back in their products, which includes 1Up, EGM and GameVideos.

Sounds like Simon Cox, , Vice President of Content for the 1UP network, hit the nail on the head when he said they would be bigger, better, faster, stronger when they came out of the restructuring.

Stay tuned later today for reports on talks given to this small group by Microsoft's Jeff Bell;, analyst Michael Pachter; Tanya Giles, of MTV; and the always energetic Peter Moore.

Some of these are so bad they look like LOLz. Utterly incongruous text over the graphics. Like someone developed a game and then they retrofit whatever art was laying around because they ran out the packaging budget. Pure Pinball? That looks more like a concept for Fox Force Five or something.

The Worst Video Game Box Covers, Part 4 [1Up]

Exclusive Gears of War 2 Gameplay Video on Friday [1UP]

Shu is quick to point out that the decision was his alone and not one forced on him or dealing with any sort of lay offs, or connected in anyway to the recent news about Games for Windows. He says on his personal blog that after 11 years at the company it's time to move on.

It's with a heavy (and relieved) heart that I write this: I've tendered my resignation here at Ziff Davis Media and the 1UP Network. My last day here will be Friday, April 25.

This is my own decision; I'm not being forced out or laid off or anything like that. And this is not related to the recent news about Games for Windows: The Official Magazine (and I hope I'm not stealing any thunder away from those guys — that's not my intention here). It's just time for me to move on. I've been here, mostly with EGM, since April of 1996. That's 11 years (taking off one year when I did a brief stint at Gamers.com)...quite a long time!

While Hsu doesn't say where he's headed he does that that we will hear from him again in the near future.

love the videogame business too much to stay away (plus, I'm too old to become a professional snowboarder). Besides, I will miss you guys too much. You all have been fantastic. I sincerely appreciate all the support you've thrown my way over the years — and that, I'll never forget, either.

Thanks and good bye...for now.

I just hope it's still as a writer. The game industry doesn't need Hsu as much as we do.

Hit the jump for the official release naming Sam Kennedy as his replacement as Editorial Director for 1Up Network.

Goodbye [1Up] [Image]

***1UP Network Media Bulletin***
1UP Network Announces New Management Appointment
Sam Kennedy Named as Editorial Director for 1UP Network

April 11, 2008- 1UP Network, the recognized authority in video game content and industry expertise, reaching over 24 million gamers per month, announced today a new management appointment within the 1UP Network. Sam Kennedy, the driving force behind 1UP Network's online properties as site director will be taking on the added role of editorial director as of April 25, 2008.

As site director, Sam Kennedy's fervent vision for the future of 1UP Network's online properties and respected leadership, coupled with his seasoned experience as editor-in-chief of 1UP.com has helped transform 1UP Network into what it is today— the first family of gaming print publications and online sites to provide fully-integrated content and a comprehensive social network. In the added position as editorial director, Sam will report directly to Simon Cox, vice president of content, contributing to the execution of the strategic vision for 1UP Network, setting and maintaining the editorial voice of the 1UP Network, and fostering consistency and co-operation among the editorial brands.

Current editorial director, Dan Hsu, is stepping down to pursue personal interests.

Despite knowing that my own place of work is part of the cause greater, the death of so many print publications is unfortunate. So in the midst of all the "great opportunity" euphemisms, it's refreshing to see editor-in-chief Jeff Green liken the experience to " the passing of a loved one" with unrestrained melodrama. Those with standing subscriptions will be contacted shortly.

Games For Windows Magazine Moves Online [1UP]

Harai, author of 'Break from the Pack: How to Compete in a Copycat Economy, will be joined by a slew of other industry folks and journalists. Yes, game journalists:

Cammie Dunaway, executive vice president of sales and marketing, Nintendo of America, Inc
Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing, Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft
Peter Moore, president of EA Sport
Michael Pachter, managing director, research, Wedbush Morgan Securities
Jason Holtman, director of business development, Valve Software
N'Gai Croal, Newsweek
Daniel Sieberg, CBS News
Geoff Keighley, Spike TV
Brian Crecente, Kotaku.com.

Hey! I know that last guy! I sure hope everyone knows to not say anything around him, I hear he's a blogger.

NEW YORK, March 25 /PRNewswire/ — 1UP Network, the recognized leader
in print and online videogame content, announced today that celebrated
author, Dr. Oren Harari, will be headlining a stellar lineup of speakers at
the 11th Annual Electronic Gaming Summit. The Electronic Gaming Summit,
held May 19-21, 2008 in Napa, Calif., is the only event of its kind to
provide a platform for leading videogame industry influencers and top-level
executives to learn, network, and exchange ideas about the gaming culture
and its future.

The 2008 Electronic Gaming Summit boasts presentations from an array of
elite videogame industry and non-industry leaders, who through their vast
knowledge, experiences and business visions, will share invaluable insight
on hot-button gaming-related issues and trends. In addition to Dr. Harari,
author of 'Break from the Pack: How to Compete in a Copycat Economy,'
Summit speakers include such key business players as Cammie Dunaway,
executive vice president of sales and marketing, Nintendo of America, Inc.;
Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing, Interactive
Entertainment Business, Microsoft Corp.; Peter Moore, president of EA
Sports; Michael Pachter, managing director, research, Wedbush Morgan
Securities; Jason Holtman, director of business development, Valve
Software; Beth Simone-Noveck, professor of law, director, Institute for
Information Law and Policy, Democracy Design Workshop; Tanya Giles, senior
vice president, research and planning, MTV Networks Entertainment Group;
and a panel of prominent journalists that cover the gaming industry
including N'Gai Croal, Newsweek, Daniel Sieberg, CBS News, Geoff Keighley,
Spike TV, and Brian Crecente, Kotaku.com.

"From the inception of the Electronic Gaming Summit, this event has
been the gaming industry touchstone for uncovering key trends and
generating forward thinking," states Jason Young, CEO, Ziff Davis Media.
"This year's diverse lineup of speakers truly continues the prestigious
reputation of this event. Through their varied backgrounds and specialties,
their presentations will no doubt enlighten minds, open important dialogues
within the industry, and cultivate new ideas. I can't wait to hear what
this great group of minds has to say!"

The theme of this year's Electronic Gaming Summit is 1:1, exemplifying
what the focus is of this unique event, as it is defined in many different
ways — the meeting of individuals face to face, the opportunity to have
direct, focused communication, and the current industry genesis as the
birth of the next-generation consoles translates into continuous growth and
opportunities.

To check out what the 1UP Network is all about, please log on to
http://www.1up.com. For more information about the 1UP Network, please log
on to http://1upnetwork.ziffdavis.com.

"Once we re-emerge from the other side of this, fully intact (as we assuredly will be), we will have reduced that debt significantly, and the payments that go with it," Simon says. "Our earnings will once again be our own, and we will have spare cash to invest in building bigger, better, faster, stronger and better-looking websites and magazines."

As soon as ZD gets that debt monkey of its back, the 1UP network and its print brethren are due for some internal investment, which is super duper positive.

So, chin up, subscribers and podcast listeners. It's not the end of EGM as we know it.

That Chapter 11 thing... [1UP]

The company has tried to negotiate its substantial debt out of the courts before, following a missed interest payment last summer. Over the past four years, the company had shuttered some of its publications, including the Official PlayStation Magazine and GMR, but continues to publish print properties like eWeek and PC Magazine as well as nearly twenty technology and entertainment web sites.

While we don't know much about the financial health of its video gaming properties, we have heard that the 1UP Yours podcast will be scaled back to a lean three hours in an effort to cut costs. A temporary setback, we hope.

Ziff Davis Media Files for Bankruptcy to Cut Debt [Bloomberg]

We're not publicizing the conversion scale because we want our readers to go with our new scoring system and not be constantly translating the new letters back to our old scores. We also don't want our reviewers to be thinking about how they translate. It's just easier for us to have everyone move forward and accept the new ratings. But most people can figure it out. Our old "average" in the 5 range roughly translates to the C letter grades (with plusses and minuses), for example.

...it'll more accurately convey how we feel about a game. I mean, we knew a 5 out of 10 meant 'average' to us, but no one else seemed to get the clue. So we're changing things around so that anyone who's gone to school will instantly know how we feel when they see our letter grade on a game review.

I had a tireless, amazing team who was on a mission to make BioShock great. We didn't have 300 people or five years. We had an insane amount of passion. I'd like to thank the people who made it with me, the families that patiently waited while we did our thing, the publisher with the guts not to make us change it, and the fans who showed that gamers have a much broader range of interest and intellect than anybody in certain parts of the media or the political space is comfortable giving them credit for.

It's a relatively short article, but there is some great stuff in there regarding his thoughts on BioShock's weaknesses as well as his pick for 2007 GOTY. A nice bit of weekend reading for your early morning coffee or late night holiday booze binge.

Ken Levine Talks BioShock [1Up]

Sounds like EGM and 1UP were quite justified in their legal "picking on" of Pereira and Blogeek. He's an EGM Brazil freelancer and has now admitted to swiping the pics from Ziff-Davis' own media servers. EGM editor-in-chief Dan Hsu, who says ZD has the IP logs of the transgression to back it up, explains.

Guys, maybe a little journalistic investigating before you blast us? How about talking to Ziff Davis to get the "full story"? This guy did not get the information from an "anonymous source." He's a freelancer for EGM Brazil who finally admitted to them that he did not have a source, but rather, stole the information from our servers (we have IP logs for this). He used his working relationship with EGM Brazil, stole a password, and took information from our story and posted it up before we could.

If one of Kotaku's freelancers stole a password to steal a scoop, would that be cool? I'd be OK with it if, indeed, he had a source that leaked the information (I stood up for Kotaku for that very act in last year's Sony debacle). But that's not what's happened. What he did was just outright illegal, irresponsible, and is not what journalists are supposed to do.

Please, next time, before blasting us...maybe get the other side of the story?

Thanks to Hsu for clearing up the matter. I'm off to wince!

When contacted over the weekend Pereira denied the allegations and said that he never admitted to anything.

They don't know what they're saying!!! That's right, I in fact write some things for the brazilian mag. Though, I'm a freelancer, and therefore I don't have access to their FTP. I never wrote a story that used the FTP. And I NEVER admitted that I stole the pictures from their FTP, because I didn't. I know it sounds suspicious, but you must believe me, I don't have their FTP login and did not stole any pics form there. They were given to me, and I published them.

Uh oh. That's the day the new Grand Theft Auto IV trailer hits the web. Time to bring in some reserve internets.

UPDATE: Reader Jon points out that these Street Fighter roman numerals have been running for the last three issues. I just checked back issues #221 and #222 which contain I and II respectively on the Next Month page.

Street Fighter IV Info Coming This Week [Next-Gen]
Save the Date: 1UP Coverage You Can't Miss [1UP]

This weekend's 1UP Yours podcast re-ignited the Microsoft rumor mill, hinting none-too-subtly that Microsoft Game Studios head Shane Kim may be the one on the way out.

When discussing last week's rumor, 1UP's Garnet Lee teased N'Gai Croal with the hint "Hey, N'Gai, do you watch any Nickelodeon like 'Something Possible'?" when the topic surfaced. One could then assume that Lee was referring to the cartoon "Kim Possible" and that the reference was in relation to Mr. Kim from Microsoft. How's that for confirmation?

Bettenhausen chimed in with the "Rumors about Microsoft canceling games and rumors about people leaving Microsoft aren't new. We've been having these for five years. And, the leakiest company around, a lot of times these things turn out to be true." Former GameVideos director Mark MacDonald later tempered the rumor's reality with a warning that the rumor was "something you kind of just heard" as opposed to something that sounded more confirmed.

To hear more of the discussion, skip to about (this is not a typo) 2 hours, 40 minutes into the criminally long recent podcast.

1UP Yours - November 16, 2007 [1UP]

Not true, says Rare to GamesIndustry.biz. If Bettenhausen's rumor holds water, it's for something less furry and feathery. What could it be? Microsoft's upcoming line-up includes titles such as Alan Wake, Marvel Universe Online, Too Human, Fable 2 and Halo Wars among many others.

Which of those games has been in development a "very long time"? And which of those titles would be something that "people are very excited for"? Want to make some bets in the comments?

Banjo-Kazooie not cancelled, says Rare [GamesIndustry.biz]

The folks at 1Up get a first look at Silent Hill 5 and man does it look great. From what I can see in the clips of the game shown throughout this piece, it's everything you are going to want from Silent Hill on a next gen platform. The scenes of Silent Hill changing to evil Silent Hill are delivered as promised, in real time while you are actually playing the game and draws directly from the method used in the Silent Hill movie. While it may have had it's faults, the film version did have a lot of interesting ways of treating the environment which translates quite nicely into the video game format. It's also nice to see that they are going back to the elements that made SH 2 the best in the series and steering away from the sometimes clunky mechanics of SH 4. If you are a Silent Hill fan, you're going to love this clip. What are you waiting for? Press play!

Ziff-Davis has been trying to reduce some of its debt by selling off properties, attempting to court buyers for other pubs, and has cut down the number of magazines under its umbrella, shutting down the Official PlayStation Magazine earlier this year.

No, it doesn't sound good, but Young says that "Operationally, we're in very good shape." I'll tell you who's in good shape; GameVideos' Mark MacDonald! Guy must've run track in high school or something.

ZIFF SKIPS PAYMENT [NY Post]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that judging by how these movie franchise games are usually marketed, it will probably be on every current-gen console known to man and maybe even the PS2. I just hope this new Hulk movie isn't as bad as the last one. Ye gods that was a train wreck.

Edge of Reality Smashing Together Hulk Game [1Up]

PaRappa the Rapper 3 is heading to the Playstation 3, according to the Quartermann's rumors in the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, 1Up reports. Yeah, that's a double attribution there folks.

Quartermann's other rumors include an inkling that Silent Hill 5 is coming to the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 as the product of a U.S., not Japanese development team. Finally . QM guesses that Electronic Arts is looking to book exclusive deals with both the MLB and NBA to complete a lovely sports trifecta. I sure hope that last doesn't happen, I'm a huge fan of competition. Brian Crecente

PaRappa the Rapper [1up]

Kotakuite Daniel P. sends in this great Raving Rabbids cake that his wife made for his son Damien's first birthday. The egg shape is very nice, but I wonder what the rabbid is made of? I'm going to go with fondant since it seems that's what all these things are usually done with, but then it is from Germany so who knows what amazing sugar concoctions they may have come up with. Well, whatever it is it looks great and the addition of the 1Up mushroom is a great touch. Happy Birthday, Damien, may you have many years of awesome mom made game cakes ahead of you. Flynn De Marco

Slashdot's Michael Zenke mentioned to me earlier this month that he was now penning a regular column for 1Up about massively multiplayer games.

Massive Update, at least the most recent one, certainly lives up to it's name, packing enough juicy tid-bits and inner machinations to fill a full newspaper page. Today's update deals mostly with Blizzard's suit against gold-farmers Peons4Hire and the incredibly complex finger-pointing going on over at Eve Online. What's with that game? Even the allegations of corruption are too complicated for me to understand. I am definitely going to be taking at dip into that game in the near future to check it out. (If for no other reason then to find out why the likes of both Joel Johnson and the New York Times Seth Schiesel are so into it.)

And the coverage goes on from there, boy does it go on from there, with round-ups of ever major MMO story of the week and links to blogcasts and feature stories.

If you're into MMO's you've got to check this thing out. Brian Crecente

Massive Update: Weekly MMO News [1Up]

Over at forum NeoGAF, user "Stumpokapow" has created this chart showing Japanese Mario sales through the ages. You can see that New Super Mario Bros. is the second biggest seller, right behind Super Mario Bros. But the DS revision of the original classic is trailing by about two million. Amazing considering that SMB had a twenty year plus head start! Brian Ashcraft

Mario Sales [NeoGAF via Game|Life]

1Up is currently featuring a huge six page preview of the new God of War game for the PSP, God of War: Chains of Olympus. They got a chance to have a nice sit down with creative director Cory Barlog who talked a bit about the new game's storyline.

A lot of what we're telling with the later stories is Kratos when he's just really realized he's a puppet of the Gods, really realizing that he's getting screwed over, and [the PSP game will] flesh out when he did have maybe a little bit of faith and when that faith started to crumble a little bit — when he started to see some cracks in the stories they were telling him.

Barlog remains coy about giving away too much about the plot and enemies and says that the details of this project will be much more guarded than God of War II. The new title promises to be every bit as epic as it's PS2 predecessors and the newly released screenshots that accompany the article look really sweet. I can't wait to start seeing some gameplay footage so we can see exactly what we're in for.

For the full article and a bunch of exclusive screens, head on over to 1Up and check it out!

Previews: God of War PSP

1UP has an interview with Patrick Cervantes, Square Enix's marketing communications' manager, about box design - specifically, transforming Japanese box art into something appropriate for the Western market - and it's an interesting read. How did they get from bold, streamlined, and distinctive to almost rococo excess (though still distinctive)? And why?

Packaging is obviously an important part of selling a product - so where do the priorities lay, at least for Square Enix? Cervantes says,

Our primary concerns when designing a package are the level of maturity for many of our art assets, style, recognition of artwork, and the fun factor. At the end of our design exploration, we ask ourselves if the package design meets our standards based on these guidelines and will it be acceptable by the developers who created the game.

Maggie Greene

Thinking Outside the Chocobox [1UP]

Luke will bring his podcasting and Halo 2 skills to Bungie to contribute in a role that is still largely unspecified. However, at the end of this week's Bungie Weekly Update, community manager Frank O'Connor writes "And SPEAKING of podcasts, something will happen VERY shortly that might make the next official Bungie podcast that much better and that much sooner."

Gee, what could it be? We look forward to hearing more from Luke. I, personally, will miss his presence at 1UP and his assortment of sweaters showcased at industry events. Michael McWhertor

1UP Yours Podcast [1UP]

Friday's 1Up Show contained a bit of a shock for the show's many fans. As the show was ending, News Editor and Kotaku alumnus Luke Smith announced that he would be leaving Ziff Davis and April 27th would be his last day. Although the end of the show seems like something out of an episode of The Office, you can rest assured that this is not a gag. There are currently no details as to why he's leaving or where he's going, but the subject of his departure will purportedly be discussed on next week's 1Up Yours podcast. Until then, we can only speculate although Luke did leave a message in the NeoGAF forums.

I haven't: been fired; asked to resign; left 1UP for a competitor; been temporarily relieved of duty; decided to take a sabbatical. Thanks for the well wishes

Whatever the reason, we wish good luck to you, Luke, wherever you may land. Flynn De Marco

Pretty much 1up, only 5400 miles to the upper right.

The site will support skins, such as the GRAW2 skin already available for users to decorate their customizable home page. They are also seeking to work with developers to integrate info from MMOs and other online games into the site.

Eurogamer has a handy getting started guide for Eurogamers here, which walks you through the process of adding to your game collection, adding friends, etc.

I'd sign up and poke about, but unfortunately I am not in Europe, and they're quite picky over there I hear. It's all up to you now, Kim Phu. You're our only hope. Michael Fahey

Eurogamers
Eurogamer Network launches new community website [GamesIndustry.biz]

According to an updated story from 1UP, Microsoft is trying to clear the air. Sure, the Annex updates are all legit, but the actual update won't be hitting Monday. When will it hit? Good question. We'd like to know ourselves. Michael McWhertor

Gears of War Update Detailed and Pulled [1UP]

Awesome. Finding a future spouse willing to go along with a geeky plan like this, however, is priceless.

By the way, this does not count as a game cake post. Michael McWhertor

Mii Sculptures

But while the Xbox 360 bested the PS3 at retailers by a solid 100,000 units last month, don't think that Sony's out of the game. 1UP's Luke Smith contends that, in the proper perspective, sales of the PLAYSTATION 3 really aren't that bad. In fact, they're better than Microsoft's numbers during the same time period last year.

Obviously, there are many other facts to consider, such as the limited supply of Xbox 360s during that period and the $200 price difference between the next-gen consoles, but Luke addresses all that. Its a fascinating look at how Sony and the PS3 may not actually be DOOMED! Michael McWhertor

Why February's NPD Numbers Don't Condemn Sony [1UP]

The original, while not a hit with critics, did excellent business, grossing some $97 million worldwide, according to IMDB. Michael McWhertor

Quint on the set of THE MIST: Day 1!!! [AICN via 1UP]

The Retronauts (1Up's Jeremy Parish and Wired's Chris Kohler) descend on Ninten-centric retailer Super Potato and go game shopping. Setting's perfect for Kohler and Parish to totally geek out and try to make some money in the process. Brian Ashcraft

Retronauts Descend On Akiba [New Launches]

Recently, Takao Yuhara indicated that price drops are a part of Sony's plan to expand the market when the timing is right. Is it damaging, this early in the console's lifecycle and just ahead of the system's launch in Europe to already be talking about price drops? Well, do you know what he said was, cost reduction, not price drop, and there's a big difference between cost reduction and price drop. So, that I believe is where the confusion came from. Obviously, we are investing our money in making PlayStation 3s cheaper to manufacture — that's part of our business plan.

You're not going to pass the savings along?
When we can, when there are savings to pass along to the consumer, we would obviously choose to do that. That's the business model.

So, go on. Drop that fistful of Benjamins you copped at your recent Bar Mitzvah. And stop hitting F5 for our breaking news on a cheaper PS3. It's not happening anytime soon. Michael McWhertor

Phil Harrison: Our Competitors Don't Determine Our Lineup [1UP]

A Kameo or a Viva Pinata on a DS makes a lot of sense in a lot of ways from a franchise perspective.

Kim added to that statement, saying that Viva Pi ata represents "the beginning of an IP that will be a pillar for Microsoft Game Studios for a long time." Keep in mind that Kim did, however, mention a DS title as a possibility alongside a proper sequel and further merchandising. But also, don't forget that Rare has a history of working on the Game Boy Advance and DS, tapping properties like Banjo and Diddy Kong while under Microsoft's watch. If you ask me, VP on the DS is a perfect fit. Michael McWhertor

Microsoft: 'Viva Pinata on the DS Makes Sense' [1UP]

1UP's resident sourpuss Jeremy Parish takes a look at the five things Sega needs to add to or subtract from the current Sonic design formula to win back the hearts and minds of jaded gamers everywhere. Obviously, dumping Shadow is on the list, but some well-considered recommendations fill out the other spots.

One suggestion I'd like to make? Nothing new, but dump that awful 3D camera. Maybe Sonic Team ought to take a cue from Retro Studios and make good use of their morph ball gameplay stylings. Michael McWhertor

Hit Reset: How Sega Can Save Sonic the Hedgehog [1UP]

There was some debate yesterday on Three Speech about whether or not Sony has any comment on the current "solid" rumors by Luke Smith from 1UP and CVG regarding Killzone being shown at GDC next month, possibly with a playable demo. The response is:

"No, Killzone won't be at GDC at all," stated SCEA Manager, Ryan Bowling, in a conversation with IGN held yesterday afternoon. "The time for that game is coming and we'll have new information about it in the future, but not at GDC."

Does that still leave room for it to be shown at a private event during, before or right after GDC? I suppose. It's hard to tell if this is about semantics or corrections. Brian Crecente

KILLZONE WILL NOT BE SHOWN AT GDC NEXT MONTH [Three Speech]

1Up's bearded newsranger Luke Smith has pinned down Sony regarding that Edmonton-based company who claims to have figured out how to make the SIXAXIS rumble without violating the Immersion rumble patents. The Canadian company, called SplitFish, claims to have "the solution" to Sony's legal problems. The hardware giant included Immersion's patented rumble technology in its PS2 controller and subsequently got tangled in a legal mess that resulted in a rumble-less PS3 controller.

So, this could be the news that all have been waiting for! Not so fast, says Sony. A spokesperson tells Smith:

We have had no contact with this company and continue to have no plans to include FF [force feedback] in SIXAXIS.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh... Sony, please stop being so stubborn!! Include feedback, and I will buy another SIXAXIS. Shoot, I'll even buy two. Maybe even three. Brian Ashcraft

No Plans For Rumble Says Sony [1Up]