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Sega has released a demo of Vancouver 2010 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games. We're not sure about the gameplay, but the title definitely deserves a medal. Come on, it has the word "game" in it twice. As for the demo, it has a sample of one of the Olympic sim's fourteen different modes, as well as the Landing Zone challenge. If you think your well-trained thumbs are up to the task, the demo can be yours for only 684MB of free space.

Shortcut: Download the Vancouver 2010 [via Xbox.com]

Actually, according to the EA press release we just received, the demo for Army of Two: The 40th Day will be released in significantly less than 40 days. It'll arrive on the PSN and Xbox Live Marketplace on December 17, and the PSP demo will drop on January 7 (January 14 in Europe). The preview will allow players to get a sneak peek at most of the game's first level, which takes place in Shanghai -- but you know what? None of that is important. What is important is seen in the trailer for the demo, which we've posted above.

Now, jump to a little bit before the halfway mark, and keep an eye out for the strange interaction between the game's two beefy protagonists. What is that? It's like ... the future of fist-bumping technology. The forearm-bump. More subtle, yet still triumphant. Less aggressive, but still dripping with bravado. An alternative manly salutation or congratulation for the gentleman's mercenary. Study the technique, friends. This thing's gonna catch on like wildfire.

As you might imagine, it's kind of hard to believe the words coming out of someone's mouth when a gold wrestling championship belt is gleaming in our eyes, which is why we're not sure what to believe coming from the mysterious "Adam" regarding a possible Splinter Cell Conviction demo coming this January. Seen with the Hip-Hop Gamer in a video after the break, Adam -- a gentleman who Ubisoft wouldn't confirm to us is an actual employee -- seemingly announces the existence of an upcoming Conviction demo.

When asked by the eccentric interviewer about the possibility, Adam responds, "It's coming out in January, and then the actual game: February 23rd." We asked Ubisoft for verification of Adam's words, and were told by a rep, "I cannot confirm a demo at this time." So, anyone know Adam?

Major Nelson has revealed that two new demos are available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The first is Guitar Hero: Van Halen. It's like Guitar Hero, but with Van Halen in it. At this point, if you need more description than that we can't really help you. The demo is available in all regions.

The other demo is for Crash Time 3. Honestly, how that game ever made it past Crash Time 1 is a mystery we will never solve. The demo is available in European regions only. You can add either demo to your 360 download queue by clicking the links below.

Shortcut: Download the Guitar Hero: Van Helen demo [Via Xbox.com]
Shortcut: Download the Crash Time 3 demo (Europe only) [Via Xbox.com]

So, there are two bits of news in this particular post. They are complementary: one should really help you with the other. First, Playlogic has announced that the price for Fairytale Fights has been cut in both Europe and North America. Checking Amazon and GameStop, it looks like the US price has been dropped to $39.99. That's a pretty significant cut, nearly 30%. We're not sure what the cut is for European regions, though Play.com has marked the title from £39.99 to £29.99.

Now, the second piece of news: A demo for Fairytale Fights is now available on the PSN in North America. According to Playlogic, there's a demo on Xbox Live Marketplace as well, though it doesn't appear to be available right now (we'll update this post if it shows up). A demo is expected for Europe on December 10. The reason this second piece of news is so important is that the demo will help you realize that the game still isn't worth the asking price. See? Pretty helpful.

Here's a friendly little reminder for all the climax action fans out there: The previously announced Bayonetta demo has arrived on Xbox Live Marketplace. We've been able to spend some time with the demo, and it's probably safe to say that Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden players out there have something to look forward to. But you don't have to take out word for it, because you can try it yourself. Amazing world we live in, isn't it?

Shortcut: Download the Bayonetta demo [Via Xbox.com]

2004: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy comes to an end (winning 11 Academy Awards in the process), John Kerry runs for US President and whales explode. Oh, and Gran Turismo 4 releases on PS2.

Five years later, the public is finally able to get their hands on Gran Turismo 5 with the first non-Prologue demo. The downloadable demo will be available on both the European and American PSN on December 17th.

In Europe, the demo will allow players to enter the "GT Academy Time Trial" contest, in which the top 20 players from select countries will be eligible for a chance to enter the GT Academy. The GT Academy training program will prepare the ultimate GT fan to compete in the European GT4 Cup in a real race-spec Nissan 370Z. In America and Canada, the winner of the time trial will get a trip to the Indianapolis 500. Sure, these are tantalizing grand prizes -- but we're more excited to see that GT5 is becoming a real game. Now, how about a release date?


Source - GT Academy 2010 Launches December 17th - PlayStation.Blog.Europe
Source - PlayStation.com - GT5 Time Trial Rules
Source - Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial Challenge Announced

The PC version of Codies racer DiRT 2 may be a bit behind the console pack, but it's crossing the finishing line in style. The extra time has allowed the team to throw a couple of more DirectXs in there (they've got it up to 11 now!) and fine-tune all of the game's tessellation.

And if you're still on the sidelines, wondering whether the game is for you (or, more importantly, if your puny rig can handle all of this Xtreme tessellation action), then why not try the game out right now? Codemasters was kind enough to hook up our sister site Big Download with a PC demo, so feel free to get a little dirty. Just, uh, change your clothes first. Your mom would kill us if you ruined that new Nickelback T-shirt.

There are plenty of beloved Christmas Eve traditions observed across the globe. Whether it's roasting chestnuts or watching the Christmas Story marathon, everyone's got a different way of marking the arrival of St. Nick. EA's hoping that the 360 owners among you will start a brand new, equally-sentimental tradition as it releases a demo of Dante's Inferno for XBLM on Dec. 24. The sample includes the entire first level of Dante's demonic journey into hell and goes great with eggnog.

Those preferring PSN will get the demo on Dec. 10, a date which has the dual benefit of (1) being two weeks earlier and (2) not making the baby Jesus cry.

Pelfast (what an odd name!) has made it so you officially have no more excuses for not trying its excellent PSN tower defense game, Comet Crash, by today releasing a demo version of it on the PlayStation Store. In fact, the timing couldn't be better, since if you like what you see play, the game happens to be on sale for $4.99 (down from $9.99) through December 2.

If you're going to get the game (and we couldn't recommend it more, really) and have some Amazon credit or a gift card at the ready, Comet Crash is also going to be available via the online mega-retailer starting later today -- at the $4.99 price, to boot.

A new demo has arrived on Xbox Live Marketplace for Winter Sports 2010. Now, you might be asking yourself, "What is Winter Sports 2010?" We asked the same question. It comes from 49Games, makers of Summer Athletics on the Wii.

After a little digging, we found a trailer on the YouTubes and confirmed our suspicions. Yep, it's a traditional Olympics-esque collection of mini-games, testing your skills at timed button presses and the like. The sports on hand include snowboarding, skiing, figure skating, speed skating, bobsledding and more. Though, honestly, why would you need anything other than figure skating?

Watch the trailer after the break.

Add the Winter Sports 2010 demo to your 360 download queue

Finally, a chance to play Bayonetta for those of us who never got around to setting up Japanese PSN accounts or Sega Passes. Sega announced that the demo for Platinum Games' torturiffic action game will be available on Xbox Live and PSN, in North America and Europe, on December 3.

With this demo, you'll be able to gauge the limits of your Bayonetta fandom. Maybe you'll like it enough to buy it. Maybe you'll like it enough to buy the PAL limited edition. Or enough to import the PAL limited edition (for North American gamers). Or maybe you'll freak out about Bayonetta and feel compelled to import the Australian limited edition. This is why demos are so important: you can make sure you actually like the game before you bring yet another fancy plastic foot-pistol into your home.

It's taken a while, but Just Add Water's play-create-share dual-stick shooter Gravity Crash will be landing on both the American and European PlayStation Stores next Tuesday, November 24th.

The game has certainly come a long way since its E3 showing, especially in terms of visuals. Unlike so many other PSN games, Gravity Crash will launch with a free demo which will include access to four levels and the in-game level editor (seen after the break). The demo will give you nearly unrestricted access to the editor, with one caveat -- you'll only be able to publish levels online by buying the full game.

Gravity Crash will be available on PS3 for £6.29 / €7.99 / $9.99. A PSP version -- which also includes a level editor -- is also in the works, and is likely to arrive in December. For more details on the game, check out Episode 140 of the PS Nation podcast.

Source - PlayStation.Blog Europe
Source - PS Nation podcast

The team that's bringing you the Mushroom Wars demo is also preparing a Smash Cars demo for tomorrow. Thankfully, the trial RC racer will be available in both Europe and North American when the PlayStation Store updates.

"Just one action-packed lap around the track with real-time physics, innovative stunts and next-generation graphics will be sure to capture gamers' attention," said Vladimir Starzhevsky, co-founder and CEO of Creat Studios, Inc., in a press release. Hopefully, the demo will include more than just one lap.

Joystiq has confirmed that the blurry video and NeoGAF forum member's claims of a Splinter Cell Conviction demo voucher shipping inside Xbox 360 versions of Assassin's Creed II were nothing more than an enticing balloon full of hot air. As the picture you see above reveals, copies of ACII sold by GameStop included a Splinter Cell Conviction leaflet meant to solicit pre-orders of Ubisoft's next big game, while a similar leaflet (included in our Amazon.com copy) contains a URL and code ("CONV1C71ON") for ... ringtones and wallpapers? Yes, sad, but true. Looks like we got our hopes up for nothing, folks.

[Thanks Eric!]