With the NFL regular season just barely underway, there's plenty of time for the Madden Curse to sink its hooks into Mr. Favre's vulnerable ankle, but for now, EA is busy squashing a host of bugs that have crawled out of the bowels of latest edition of Madden. The major pest is a freezing issue that can crop up during play calling and highlight screens, reports IGN. Senior designer Ian Cummings has documented most, if not all known bugs on the game's Producer Blog, recommending various workarounds while the team puts together a patch. EA is targeting "less than a 3 week turnaround" from last Tuesday for the update to be released. So put a big checkmark next to the 16th and cross your fingers.

Look guys, the cute little cartoon characters thing? Yeah, that ain't workin' so much these days. Folks are upset, and rightly so. Castle Crashers is broken. We know, we know, you told us a patch was coming. But why isn't it here yet!

... Er, what's that you say? You just had a "great talk" with Microsoft about it? Well, by golly, gosh, that's great news! But, you say. But what? But you don't have a "specific time frame"? Oh, don't worry about it. Those 1200 are just water under the bridge ... Aw, would you look at that: Those knights with their big blocky heads and stumpy wumpy hands -- how precious.

[Via The Escapist]

You gotta tip your hat to modern medicine. It just five short days the diagnosis of PSP Brite's battery life has gone from dim to, um, serviceable. PSP hardware marketing director John Koller dropped his latest prognosis on PlayStation.Blog today, assuring all that his original evaluation was incorrect. "The new PSP will have equivalent battery life to the current PSP," Koller writes. He estimates:

• 4-6 hours for games
• 4-5 hours for UMD movies

Well then, looks like we'll be returning that Nyko snake oil we bought last week. And does this mean we can stop storing our PSP in the freezer?

We're doubtful the release of Lumines Supernova on PSN this fall will be met with the sort of stellar explosion the game's title implies, but a revered action puzzler -- with "block-dropping beats" to back it up -- can only be a good thing for PlayStation 3's downloadable games service. Still, there's not much about Supernova that could justify a purchase for current owners of one (or more!) of the franchise's iterations aside from a pair of new modes:

• Dig Down Mode: Using the falling blocks, erase squares from a playfield already filled with blocks as you dig down to the bottom. Show off your digging skills as your completion time is ranked based on clearing 20 consecutive stages.
• Sequencer Mode: Create your own background music using the sound loops provided in the "Sound Bank" -- drums, bass, synthesizer 1, synthesizer 2, and effects each come with 20 different loops.

In addition, Supernova will feature 40 unlockable skins in Challenge Mode, plus Skin Edit, Time Attack, and Puzzle / Mission modes, and a 2-player versus mode. Q Entertainment has yet to set a firm release date or price for Lumines Supernova, but it does appear to be a more complete game than the core experience on Xbox Live Arcade.

Xbox Germany product manager Boris Schneider-Johne has described third-party console exclusives as "a little less important" to Microsoft in today's market, contrasting the current climate with the 80s and 90s when such exclusives were a "major issue" (and when, oddly enough, Microsoft wasn't in the console business). Nevertheless, Schneider-Johne's comments to Golem.de (as translated by GameRush Entertainment) echo sentiments expressed by PlayStation Europe boss David Reeves last week. "What we see today is that the influence of exclusive titles on the sales curves becomes ever smaller [than in the past]," Schneider-Johne explained, "someone like Electronic Arts or Activision can have a business model of rarely developing for a console exclusively. Therefore, the exclusive title is a little less important."

So what is important? Getting your first-party exclusives battle ready.

[Via GameRush Entertainment]

Someone at Sony is trying way too hard. Can you believe an ambitious young stooge has dared to decipher the mysterious toggle on the left side of the PSP? And wouldn't you know, the thing's a Wi-Fi switch! Now all hell's broken loose at Sony HQ, as the discovery has ushered in a new era of brite possibilities for the handheld. Imagine: shopping for themes and wallpaper directly from your PSP. It's true folks, PlayStation Store is coming to PSP sans hand holding (so long PS3, so long PC!) this fall in Japan -- probably worldwide, PSP Fanboy speculates. And there's a free game in it for anyone smart enough to flick the "on" switch.

But that's not all. Sony has announced (and pictured) a new Infrastructure mode, enabled by connecting PSP to Playstation 3 ... wirelessly. In essence, ad-hoc multiplayer modes will become online-enabled through a PS3 connection for some games (like Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G). In addition, text and voice chatting capabilities can be added through the new online mode. Add to this the rumor of PS3 gamepad support for PSP Brite, and Sony might as well slap a UMD drive on the next PS3 SKU.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

It happens to all battery-operated devices that burn too bright. They die so young. Oh PSP Brite, it was just 3 short hours ago when we powered you on, cradling your Slim body in our palms, eyes numbing from the vibrant images dancing upon your screen. And then, you went dark. (Well, that's how we're imagining it at least.)

PSP know-it-all John Koller has diagnosed the new PSP model with short-term battery disorder. Koller estimates PSP Brite will burn through its charge 20-30 minutes faster than current PSP-2000 series units. That's not a good thing, you know. Luckily, Sony's bringing back "the bulge" (the now-discontinued extended battery) to combat the crippling disorder. We hear playing close to a power outlet also helps to ease the symptoms.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Life at Joystiq HQ used to feel a lot like Mount Crumpit. It was cold and lonely and it just seemed like our hearts were, in the words of Dr. Seuss, "two sizes too small." (That, and Ludwig refused to take his damned antler ears off.) But then LittleBigPlanet rolled along and slapped the cynical smirk clean off our faces. And -- wouldn't you know it? -- our hearts grew three sizes that day.

Capcom has seemingly dealt a swift and deadly blow to rumor of a Resident Evil 2 remake (not the port again) for Wii that's allegedly been detailed in Famitsu. "This isn't worth a comment," deemed Christian Svensson, VP of Strategic Planning & Business Development at Capcom, when pestered for a reaction. We couldn't agree more. But then, well, stranger things have happened...

We hope you can smell what's cooking, Mama. 'Cause it ain't the sizzlin' aroma of seasoned ground beef. Nasdaq today gave notice to Majesco Entertainment, warning the publisher that its single share value had dipped below the minimum required for continued inclusion on the market. In other words, you're better off carrying a pocketful of pennies than owning a share of Majesco stock.

The company is being given 180 days to gets its recipe in order or else the kitchen's closed.

Sony CEO Howard Stringer has rightfully conceded that Nintendo has executed a winning business plan. "Nintendo makes money with the hardware alone," Stringer observed in a recent interview with WELT Online, adding that the competitor's strategy "may be a superior business model, but the Wii is not succeeding at our expense -- it is not hurting [PlayStation 3]." No, PlayStation 3 is hurting PlayStation 3. When questioned about the possibility of recouping the $3.32 billion loss attributed to the console's launch, Stringer joked, "Not for as long as I live." Wait a sec, was that a joke?

[Via Edge Online]

Q Entertainment is bringing an utterly unstylistic version of its two-times-released (well, maybe we shouldn't count the Disnied version) DS puzzler, Meteos, to Xbox Live Arcade. Dubbed, Meteos Wars, the console port will include a new multiplayer experience. The game will feature a two-player versus mode where each player has a gauge that fills as sets of blocks are launched and enemy attacks are thwarted. Filling the gauge unlocks a special attack that predictably spells disaster for the opposing player.

Meteos Wars will also include a few added extras, like customizable characters. It's due in Japan this October, but has yet to be confirmed for release elsewhere. Wouldn't this be the perfect tie-on for that rumored motion controller...? (We're just sayin'.)

Update: Q Entertainment just shot us word confirming Meteos Wars for US release in October, priced at 800 ($10). Check out first screenshots of the game in our gallery below.

Nintendo has affixed a timeline to the vague, yet sincere promise that games based on the company's "core" franchises are in development. "We still have developers working on popular core gaming franchises but we need longer to complete these games, approximately two to three years," Nintendo stated in the October issue of Edge, as reported by Eurogamer. "These games are not ready to launch in early 2009 but are being worked on by all development teams." So sit back, twiddle some other thumbsticks, and let those other folk navigate the slopes for a while. Your turn's a comin'.

[Via Wii Fanboy; image credit: striatic]

PlayStation Europe boss David Reeves is on the verge of extending the long arm of Sony onto the mat and tapping out -- exclusivity is just getting too darned expensive. "I think we have to accept that exclusivity is not a thing of the past, but it is probably with publishers," Reeves told GamesIndustry.biz in a recent interview. Of course, Reeves is only referring to the millions upon millions of cash money papers console manufactures might be expected to fork over to a publisher for exclusivity these days. There is still hope in striking deals with developers that haven't been scooped under a corporate umbrella. (See Quantic Dream, for example.) "[Developers] need a little bit of funding, external development," Reeves explained, "In exchange, it's exclusive -- that works."

Geometry Wars 2. Braid. Bionic Commando. Galaga Legions. Castle Crashers. Truly the "Summer of Arcade." Alas, like every year, summer must come to an end. This time, with a rocket-powered bowling ball. Just as you were beginning to think Microsoft was done with duds, RocketBowl comes puttering down the lane. Be there to celebrate the fall on September 10th, just 800 ($10).

[Update: A number of commenters have given thumbs up to the original PC version that "sucks slightly more than Peggle." We'll withhold further judgement until we actually try bowling ... on Xbox Live Arcade ... with rockets.]

[Via X3F]