Damned embargos

Did any of you happen to check out that review I mentioned in the last post? The one for American McGee Presents: Scrapland? If do, count yourselves among a lucky few. That's right, I got word from GameSpy today that the review actually broke an embargo date. Of course, what's so funny about is that no one at the PR company who sent out the game to review bother to mention that there WAS an embargo. The end result is that my review had to get yanked from the site for a two or three weeks until the embargo passes.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, sometimes a company grants an exclusive review, news story, etc. to a particular outlet. In order to guarantee it being an exclusive, they put an embargo on reviews or previews so that no one else jumps the gun. It's simply one of the irritating nuances of the game industry.

Anyway, on the upside, I've managed to get a new handful of articles to work on for next week, including at least three reviews and one interview. I'll post more details later, but trust me when I say I'll be keeping busy this coming week.

Okay ... now for some quick notes around the industry:

• Wanna be Superman, or at least play like him? Electronic Arts Tiberon has posted a slew of new job openings on its website, many of which focus on the development of new games based on the Superman franchise. Looks like EA may have finally decided to do something with the license it aquired a couple of years ago.
  
  
• If you've been itching to get your hands on Sony's PSP but you don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money for one on eBay, there's some good news for you. Sony announced yesterday that its portable system will be hitting US shelves on March 24. Sony announce the release of the PSP "Value Pack", which contains a 32 MB Memory Stick Duo, headphones with remote control, a battery pack, AC adaptor, soft case and cleaning cloth, game demos, and a special UMD release of the Spider-Man 2 feature film (to be included in the first million units produced). The MSRP for the Value Pack is $249.99 US.
  
  
• The rumor mill is going nuts over the fact that Microsoft may not be the ONLY company showing off some new hardware at E3 this year. For some time now, those of us in the press have been expecting to see the Xbox 2 at E3. But out of nowhere, Nintendo has confirmed that it will be unveiling ITS new console, the Nintendo Revolution, at E3 as well. There's been a lot of speculation as to what the new system will be capable of. But one thing Nintendo has promised is a new way to get people more involved with the games.
  
  
• Looks like EA made them an offer they couldn't refuse. For its upcoming Godfather video game, EA is using the likeness and the voice of the late Marlon Brando. Now, EA has expanded the casting to include the likes of Robert Duvall and and James Caan, both of which will reprise their respective roles from the film series.

I'll have more news up and posted soon. In the meantime, I've got some deadlines to meet and beat, and a few more tricks up my sleeve to start pulling out. Keep checking in ... you never know what you'll find here.