Another day, another round of headlines

Here's what's happening in the world of gaming today:

• "I'm Batman." In a joint press release that hit the wire today from Electronic Arts, Warner Bros., and DC Comics, it was announced that EA is going to be publishing games based on the upcoming Batman Begins film. The game will be released "date and day with the film", and will be released on the PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PSP, and Game Boy Advance. No mention of a Nintendo DS version, but one can assume that's coming as well. What makes this announcement even more interesting is the fact tha EA is ALSO developing a new line of fighting games featuring characters from the Marvel Universe. Hmmm ...


• Laying the Smackdown. THQ and Jakks Pacific have announced that their eagerly awaited SmackDown vs Raw has gone gold. What this means for gamers is that the game, which features online play for the first time, is on track for its scheduled November 2 release date, despite the lingering lawsuit filed last week by the WWE.


• Okay, no big surprise here, but today is the launch date for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The game actually appears to be living up to the hype. I've got my copy here now. As soon as I spend some time getting into it, I'll post my thoughts here.


• This has got to be the funniest press release I've seen in a LONG time. With all of the video game leaks that have sprung up recently, inXile Entertainment has decided to use these problems to help promote their upcoming title, The Bard's Tale. Read for yourself:
  

  INXILE ENTERTAINMENT CONSIDERS LEAKING THE BARD'S TALE
  Developer/Publisher of Hotly Anticipated Game Evaluating Following In the Footsteps of Other Triple A Titles By Implementing An Official, Unauthorized Leak
  NEWPORT BEACH, CA (October 22, 2004) - Interactive entertainment developer and publisher inXile entertainment today announced that it is considering some form of leak of The Bard's Tale, its eagerly anticipated action-role playing game (RPG), as a strategic plan to follow a growing trend among Triple A games.
  
  "The Bard's Tale is a highly original game in the same category as a Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Half-Life 2 and Halo 2 so we feel some sort of leak that sounds similar to what they have experienced may be the next logical step in our launch plans," said Brian Fargo, founder and CEO of inXile entertainment. "Of course we would immediately condemn the leak and make every effort to stop it if we proceed with it."
  
  "In The Bard's Tale, our main character, The Bard, is an opportunist always interested in getting goods at a discounted rate so we feel he would applaud some sort of leak," said Matt Findley, president of inXile entertainment.
  
  It's unclear how the leak will be handled, if implemented. Pirated or unauthorized playable game code would not actually be made available over the internet or otherwise but the full version of the game could be attained by game enthusiasts at major retail outlets as early as October 26th 2004.
  
  For those wishing to help track down any potential thieves of The Bard's Tale, inXile is proactively offering the following advice: If anyone finds information on websites with links to unauthorized downloads, information, scans or videos, please contact us at shamelessmarketing@inxile-entertainment.com.

As always, I'll post more as I hear it.