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Corporate synergy keeps the late "King of Pop" alive, as various divisions of Sony conspire for a special This Is It PS3 bundle. The ¥33,500 ($365) Japan-only set releases January 27 and comes with a Blu-ray movie of Michael Jackson's behind-the-scenes concert film, along with a 120GB black PS3 Slim. No word if this bundle will come with a white PS3 later.

So, let's get this straight: Japan gets a Michael Jackson PS3 bundle, while the US is "blessed" with a Hannah Montana PSP pack? That's bad, come on, you know that's bad. And the whole world has to answer right now, just to tell us once again: that's bad!

[Via Engadget]

What do you give your copy of Call of Duty: World at War for Christmas? Activision has solved that tough shopping challenge by bundling all of the game's downloadable maps into one attractive package. The Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack Bundle features "the complete collection of nine multiplayer maps and three co-op Zombie maps from Call of Duty: World at War Map Packs 1-3," for $24.99 on PS3 or 2000 on Xbox 360, five dollars off the combined prices of all three packs.

It's available now in North America, but won't be home for Christmas in Europe, with a release date of January 7. But let's be realistic here: your game doesn't know when Christmas is, so you can be a bit late with gifts.

In an inspiring attempt to try and take even more gratuitous liberties with the works of Dante Alighieri, Visceral Games has announced a Europe-only special edition bundle of its upcoming Hell-based action title, Dante's Inferno. The "Death Edition" bundle comes with a copy of the poem, some making-of documentaries, and an art book. However, its greatest bonus is a new skin for the game's scythe-wielding protagonist: The slot-helmeted outfit of Dead Space's hero, Isaac Clarke. Check out the full costume after the jump.

Now that we think of it, there's something pretty similar to this cross-promotion in the text of Dante's epic poem:

"I saw multitudes
to every side of me; their howls were loud
while, wheeling weights, they used their chests to push.
They struck against each other; at that point,
this space miner came in and killed them with this big scythe.
Needless to say, it was pretty [expletive deleted] radical."

Source: Console Planet (Google Translate)

Microsoft just pulled back the curtain on a brand-new bundle exclusively for our brothers and sisters to the north. Aside from a 250GB Xbox 360 Elite console, the bundle also includes a double dose of Bungie goodness: Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST.

Starting today, you can get your maple syrup-soaked hands on this for a suggested retail price of $399.99 CAD. If you're a US gamer wondering why we didn't get this piece of gear down here, relax -- let Canada win this one! You have any idea how many driveways a Canadian has to shovel to earn this thing?

After reviewing Steam's Black Friday offerings, we can't help but find the post-Thanksgiving sales offered by other retailers kind of adorable. Aww, you're knocking $10 off the price of Red Faction: Guerrilla? That's cute. Steam is selling that game, and almost every other game by THQ in an enormous, $49.99 bundle. You've got a buy-one-get-one-free deal on LucasArts adventure games? How quaint. Steam is selling like, every LucasArts PC game ever in yet another $49.99 bundle.

On top of those two preposterous offers, Steam will be slashing prices on a handful of games every day for the next five days. Today's sales include Batman: Arkham Asylum for $24.99, Far Cry 2 Fortune's Edition for $9.99 and Dragon Age: Origins for $37.49. In short, you should spend as much time downloading things from Steam as you possibly can this weekend -- with prices like these, we're guessing they'll be filing for bankruptcy some time before Christmas.

Game Watch has posted an image of the full contents of the Japanese Tales of Graces bundle, revealing ... that it's pretty much the least remarkable Wii bundle yet. The included Wii hardware is the plain white model, and the Classic Controller Pro (also white) doesn't have any fancy design on it. It's just a Wii, and a Classic Controller Pro, and the game. In a box. The box looks pretty cool, we suppose. And it's not like we have the Classic Controller Pro here at all.

New screens show off the rather silly swimsuit costumes that can be equipped in-game, including a delightful Speedo and life vest outfit for Malik. More dignified: a costume based on a stage outfit worn by singer BoA, available as a bonus with a "Tales of Graces Edition" release of BoA's single "Mamoritai ~ White Wishes ~."

Every major Square Enix release comes with a limited edition hardware bundle in Japan. The upcoming PSP-exclusive Kingdom Hearts prequel is no different. This Birth by Sleep silver PSP-3000 will be available on January 9, 2010 for ¥22,000 (about $250). Unlike other LE bundles, this package only contains the branded PSP system you see above and a copy of the game.

We're a little disappointed that Square and Sony didn't make a special edition PSP Go bundle, as that's something we'd love to see. Perhaps that's being set aside for when Square Enix finishes its other big PSP games: The 3rd Birthday and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.

Much like a dude-seeking missile dropped from an overhead predator drone, Modern Warfare 2 sales plummeted in the UK after the game's first day of availability. As you already know, the game moved 1.23 million copies on its launch day -- however, according to Chart Track's calculations, it finished off the week with a paltry 1.78 million units (for £67.4 million) sold. With pathetic figures like that, you know Activision's got to be feeling disappointed.

Other UK chart staples (Wii Fit Plus, Wii Sports Resort, FIFA 10) all maintained their top 10 ranking this week -- though the list had two unfamiliar visitors who vaulted to the top of the charts on the back of a new 360 bundle: Lego Batman (which jumped from 14th place to 7th) and Pure (which sprung from 23rd place to 9th). That's quite a comeback for these two titles, though perhaps they would have fared even better had they been bundled with copies of Modern Warfare 2 instead.

Source -- Modern Warfare 2 Smashes All Records [Chart Track]
Source -- All formats chart [Chart Track]

Further proving that digital distribution is the new name of its game ... distribution method, Sony will begin selling a new PSP-3000 bundle in Japan on December 3 which includes no extra UMDs, but rather, a 4GB memory stick. An empty 4GB memory stick, upon which video games, once purchased, can be placed.

Though it somewhat defeats the pick-up-and-play accessibility of other game-infused bundles, at a price point of 19,800 yen, it should leave enough in Japanese gamers' pocketbooks to make a few PSN purchases.

We've got some welcome news for European readers who somehow don't already own a Wii -- or for those of you who already have one, but just can't resist the temptation of the new black model. Amazon.uk has opened pre-orders for the new Wii Sports Resort bundle, which includes a Wiimote, a Nunchuk and a MotionPlus all dressed in black, along with both Wii Sports games. The bundle will ship on November 6 and is available on additional Amazon branches, as well; though the release dates for other European territories is November 20.

The UK pre-order price is even discounted a bit to £164.99 (roughly $270) -- the same bundle in boring old white normally retails for £179.99. (The black and white bundles are priced the same, at €209.99, elsewhere in Europe.) The white bundle, however, includes your choice of two additional games -- a small sacrifice for that spooky black coating, we say.

As for you importers, we suppose this could be the ideal time to pursue a PAL model, if you simply can't wait for the black system to be announced for North America. Then again, in doing so, you'll also have to import all of your games. Patience.

[Via Engadget]

Seems like everyone has to get in on the Elite bundle action these days. Game Watch reports that a new Xbox 360 Elite bundle is headed to Japan, with both Lost Planet: Colonies and Ace Combat 6 baked right in. it also comes packed with the normal Elite goodies -- headset, wireless controller and (incredibly flexible) composite cables. Unfortunately, the bundle fails to meet super Elite status, as it contains only a paltry 120GB hard drive.

Still, at ¥29,980 (~$330), it's not a bad deal. The bundle goes on sale in Japan starting October 29.

Nintendo UK will release the black Wii system on November 6, as part of a limited edition bundle including matching Wii Remote, Nunchuk, and MotionPlus peripherals, and both Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. This bundle will be available elsewhere in Europe on November 20.

Along with the black bundle, Nintendo is releasing the black Classic Controller Pro accessory. No price has been announced for any of these items. Nintendo of America has yet to announce any plans to release any of these items -- in fact, it has announced that there are no plans. But, really, it's waiting until every holdout gets impatient and buys a white system.

Update: A Microsoft representative has contacted us to say that the bundle will be shipping on November 10. As the bundle includes a retail copy of the game, Microsoft is unable to allow these to ship any earlier, meaning those who pre-ordered from the sites mentioned below will likely be waiting a few days before their bundle arrives. Sorry, folks!

We can't say that we were exactly taken aback to find out a couple of online retailers are listing the upcoming Modern Warfare 2-paired 250GB Xbox 360 launch as November 10, the same day the game arrives at retailers nationwide. An eagle-eyed reader at Joystiq sister site Engadget spotted the bundle at both Amazon and Costco (GameStop also has the Nov. 10 ship date listed), where the details re-confirm the bundle's lack of a component cable (for shame!). We've contacted Activision to make sure we're not being led astray, but it'd be hard to expect those willing to shell out the 399 clams for the bundle to have to wait to get their fool-shootin' on.

Source 1 - Amazon
Source 2 - Costco
Source 3 - GameStop

With ostentatiously lengthy titles such as A Shantotto Ascension - The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born, we can't blame you for not being able to keep track of the expansions for Final Fantasy XI. By the end of this year, the game will have received seven content additions in the form of retail expansion packs and downloadable add-ons. Fortunately, Square Enix has decided to bundle all of these together in the Final Fantasy XI Ultimate Collection for PC and 360, which is set to hit North American store shelves on November 10 with a slim $20 price tag.

Seems like an odd move, considering one of these add-ons isn't even out yet. Still, with a new bundle of joy on its way, Squeenix is probably getting antsy about last year's model.