Another round of news

So I've pulled myself out of the World of Warcraft long enough to take a look around the real world for the latest and greatest news from the video game industry. Some intriguing stuff too. Check it out:

• Sony took another step towards providing the public with a US release date for the PSP. Originally rumoured for a spring release, Reuters has reported that SCE president Ken Kutaragi said the system will likely be released in March during a gathering of journalists and business exectutives. Later, a Sony spokesman said the company would give a presentation on the PSP to reporters near the site of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). As more news develops, I'll be sure to let you guys know.
  
  
• Battle lines are being drawn over the fate of Ubisoft. Various reports indicate that the company has a number of supporters ready to defend it from the potential takeover attempt by Electronic Arts. First off there's Infograms, Ubisoft's biggest French competitor. Once considered to be a potential purchase for Ubisoft, now has stated in a telephone interview that it is looking at ways to help defend Ubisoft from an American takeover. Another more viable "white knight" being bandied about is Vivendi Universal. VU has been trying to sell off its own gaming division due to losses incurred over the past few years. However, VU as a whole has had a substantial financial recovery and could very well make a large investment into Ubisoft to not only stop EA's takeover, but to also give its own gaming division a long overdue shot in the arm. And Ubi's biggest supporter may be none other than the French government. Reports are flying that the French government is concerned about losing its most influential representative in the lucrative video game industry to a US company. As such, the government is looking as ways it could possible step in to lend support and block any potential EA takeover.
  
  
• WHOA!! Comic fans (myself included) may still be skeptical about Keanu Reeves playing the part of DC's occult anti-hero, John Constantine in the upcoming Constantine movie, but as Catwoman proved even a bad comic movie will inevitably have its own video game. THQ has not only aquired the publishing rights to Constantine, but it has also announced that the cast from the movie including Keanu. The movie and the game both seem interesting enough, just don't expect either to really follow the comic series.

More news to come. Expect a lot of new and interesting announcements coming out of CES this year too. And as always, I'll keep you informed.