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New Demigod Screenshots Show Lumbering Brutes

Gas Powered Games has passed in several new screenshots from Demigod, the studio's new RTS-RPG hybrid bound for the PC.

Making use of the Supreme Commander engine, Demigod borrows gameplay elements from Warcraft III's Defense of the Ancients modification, allowing players to control a single hero unit as part of a massive surrounding battle.

Demigod is currently slated to launch February of next year, with a beta test scheduled for late this summer.

GoldenEye XBLA in 'No Man's Land,' Says Rare

Despite widespread interest in a downloadable Xbox 360 or Wii version of Rare's Nintendo 64 shooter GoldenEye 007, licensing issues and other concerns have the project "locked in a no-man's land," Rare senior engineer Nick Burton stated.

"The ball's not in anybody at Rare's court really," Burton informed Videogamer. "It's squarely in the license holders' courts. It's a shame. It's kind of locked in this no man's land. There's nothing on [Xbox] Live Arcade, there's nothing on Wii."

The Microsoft-owned studio had developed an Xbox Live Arcade port of the game but was unable to successfully acquire the rights from Nintendo, which originally published GoldenEye 007. Video game rights for the James Bond franchise, meanwhile, are owned by publisher Activision Blizzard.

"You've ...

Gears of War 2 Filters Replace Blood with Sparks, Remove Swearing for Younger Players

Epic Games' upcoming third-person shooter sequel Gears of War 2 (360) will feature optional filters for both on-screen violence and language to make the game more appropriate for younger players.

Said to feature more brutal violence than its predecessor, Gears of War 2's optional filters "turns the blood into sparks" and "takes out all the swear words," Microsoft informed parental gaming resource What They Play.

In addition to series mainstays such as the chain...

MS: Paid DLC Causes Games to Sell $21M More, Overall Xbox Live Marketplace Sales Total $240M

Xbox 360 titles supplemented by paid downloadable content on the Xbox Live Marketplace sell an average of $21M more at retail, Microsoft interactive entertainment business manager Kevin Salcedo revealed at the company's recent GameFest event.

According to Gamasutra, the manager stipulated that the boost in sales typically required the content to be launched within a 30-day "sweet spot." The data reflects growing industry trends in which more and more games are arriving to retailers with DLC already available, or with content planned well in advance of release.

"Right now we have over 12 million users in over 26 countries, with $240 million in [Xbox Live Marketplace] transactions revenue so far, with $180 million in the last 12 months alone," Salcedo added.

Downloadable content also keeps consumers hanging onto titles longer than those titles which are not supported ...

Turner Selling Off GameTap

Turner Broadcasting is preparing to sell its PC digital distribution platform GameTap, Turner parent company Time Warner revealed in financial documents today.

Time Warner noted that the company had posted "an $18 million noncash impairment of GameTap as a result of Turner's decision to sell its on-line video game business," but offered no details on potential buyers or the service's future.

The action follows GameTap's decision to lay off its entire editorial staff earlier this year.

Currently, GameTap provides a selection of PC and classic console titles for its members, including old-school games, modern releases, and original efforts such as Spicy Horse's American McGee's Grimm and Telltale's Sam & Max series.

While a small portion of GameTap's total offerings are available free of charge via an ever-changing catalog, most re...