There's been a pretty crazy rumor floating around. originating from the mixedmartialarts.com forums. The rumor states that UFC will blacklist any fighter that chooses to be a part of EA's upcoming game, MMA. That means should any fighter sign up to be represented in EA's game, they won't ever be endorsed by the UFC or asked to join. Crazy, right?

It makes sense, though, considering how well UFC 2009 Undisputed sold. UFC has a bona fide franchise on its hands, and will likely begin prepping for a sequel soon (if not already), and doesn't want that threatened by EA's game. But, hey, can't we all just get along? This isn't football, after all.

We've put in word to UFC corporate about the rumor and will be sure to get back to you as soon as we hear something.

[Via BloodyElbow; Thanks, Ryan!]

You know, for a game that was supposed to be dead, Steven Spielberg's codenamed project "LMNO" sure has been generating a lot of heat lately. First, the aforementioned near cancellation and subsequent resurrection, and now we get word from superannuation that the game may have been renamed "Eve."

The title (apparently derived from the game's AI-controlled female lead) was spotted on the resume of Melissa Garza, who assisted with mo-cap on the game. Sure, it's probably just a working title, but we really want LMNO to be released, so we're doing what we can to keep the story alive.

Another possibly "frustrating" leak for Sony, word comes from our buddies at Joystiq Japan and Engadget Chinese that two Taiwanese manufacturing companies have been awarded contracts to build Sony's new streamlined PS3, affectionately known as the PS3 Slim. According to UDN.com, half of the orders have gone to Taiwanese group Foxconn, while the other half has gone to Pegatron. The units are expected to start shipping in early July "to cope with expected summer vacation demands."

The news has a ring of truth to it, given that the two firms have manufactured the original PS3. The timing also makes sense, as Japan actually buys most of its game consoles during the summer vacation period (as opposed to the winter holidays in the west). Still, all of this info comes from anonymous sources, so take it with a very hearty helping of salt.

Assuming the news is true, it would mesh well with the PS3 Slim rumors we've heard so far, most notably that Ars Technica expected the units to hit the market in August or September. Add this to the string of rumors and leaks -- even some purported images of the unit itself -- and the PS3 Slim looks like it could be hitting the ground sooner rather than later.

Sony is considering a gaming/phone hybrid device as a direct competitor to the iPhone, according to Nikkei Business Daily (Via Reuters). Unless you're new to the Sony Phone rumor mill, a gaming/phone hybrid has long since been rumored to be in development, but has been denied by the Japanese hardware manufacturer.

Sony currently develops mobile devices with Swedish partner Ericsson. In early 2009, MobileToday sources claimed Sony Ericsson had pitched the idea of a PlayStation-branded phone to Sony Corp, but was denied the rights to use the trademark. The rumor went on to further claim Sony only plans to license a PlayStation phone if the company plans to make handsets independently from Ericsson. In May 2009, Sony Ericsson president Hideki Komiyama stated that his company was destined to "lose" if they did not adapt to the "new technology and new market environment" -- presumably referring to Apple's iPhone.

According to the new rumor, Sony plans to set up a project team to develop the new device, which will combine functions of the PSP and Sony Ericsson's mobile phones. A PSP phone? Just imagine how much that mythical beast would cost.

[Image Credit: Engadget]

Syndicate creator Sean Cooper says he remains skeptical any revival of his 1993 cult-classic title will be able to capture the "essence" of the original. "Every time I've seen a prototype of a new Syndicate it's just been misguided," Cooper told IncGamers.

In October 2008, rumors swirled about the possibility of Riddick dev Starbreeze reviving the Electronic Arts property. Last March, GI.biz stated that "sources confirmed" the rumor was true. No official announcement has ever been made.

According to Cooper, Electronic Arts has attempted to revisit the real-time tactics title many times in the past, citing memories of failed prototypes brought to his attention. However, Cooper fears EA won't be able to capture what made the original so popular: "The essence of the game was killing people - and that was it," Cooper said. "If I have to kill everyone, I will. That to me was the essence of the gameplay."

Syndicate was developed by Bullfrog Productions, a company co-founded by Microsoft Game Studios Europe creative director Peter Molyneux. In 2006, Syndicate was included in the PSP-exclusive compilation EA Replay -- unfortunately, it was a terrible version.

Yes, we know -- another console price drop story. Our contempt rivals your own, we assure you. However, this time around, the report comes from a source that's proven to be eerily accurate on hardware announcements in the past -- Ars Technica's unnamed "mole," a prophetic figure who managed to predict the capabilities of the PSP Go, the release of the red Resident Evil 5 Xbox 360 bundle and, most notably, last fall's universal 360 price cut.

On the Sony front, the mole is claiming that the 80GB PS3 will become scarce over the next two months, being mostly replaced by the 160GB model. As the larger model continues to sell into the fall, Sony will supposedly simultaneously announce the oft-rumored PS3 Slim and the even more oft-rumored price cut. The mole was unable to discern the exact amount that would be shaved off the price of the console, but was confident it would provide Sony with a much-needed sales boost.

For Microsoft, the mole expects the Pro system to be ushered off store shelves with the help of a few attractive Pro bundles which will crop up over the next few months. The Pro will be replaced by the 120GB Elite, which will supposedly undergo a price cut in September, followed by the release of its own bundles in October. With downloadable titles becoming a focus for both companies, turning the spotlight on consoles with larger hard drives makes sense -- but only time will tell if the Ars mole's sterling predictive reputation will persevere.

[Update: Unsurprisingly, Sony has squashed these rumors flat. PlayStation's Patrick Seybold told us, "Those rumors are completely untrue, nothing has been announced or confirmed for upcoming PlayStation firmware, and this is just wild speculation." Well, we don't know about wild ... you haven't heard our speculation about your existing PS3 transforming into a PS3 Slim after applying the 3.0 firmware. It's true!]

Sure, PS3 Firmware 2.80 didn't do much – what did it do again? – but if a new rumor out of VG247 is to be believed, Firmware 3.0 will deliver "a completely new system" to the PS3 and it'll do it by Christmas. So, let's run down this list, shall we? This "huge overhaul" will include "a reputation system," a "grief reporting system," support for background patch downloading, and "simultaneous HDMI and digital optical outputting" (we're assuming this means simultaneous HDMI audio and optical audio output ... though we're not sure who that would be useful to).

That's it? That doesn't sound like a "completely new system" to us. VG247 says they've been told more, but we'll "just have to wait" before they share that info – uh, thanks? So, does that list check off any of your must have features? We know, we know ... voice chat is still missing, so other than that?

In what will assuredly not be the last leak of the summer from Halo 3: ODST as we lead up to its fall release, the entire achievement list has allegedly hit YouTube via Game-Tuts. While the list doesn't reveal any shocking surprises, it does tell us quite a bit about where the game's campaign mode will take us.

According to the list, "Vidmaster" achievements will be making an appearance in the game, as well as all the de rigeur cheevos for regular ol' campaign objectives. Also unsurprisingly, campaign scoring and co-op achievements appear to be making a return in ODST. We'd love to tell you more about the rumored achievement list but, alas, we may start walking into spoiler territory if we do -- and you wouldn't want that, right? You'll just have to head after the break for the whole thing, spoilers in-tow (you've been warned!). We've contacted Bungie regarding the validity of this list and have yet to hear back as of publishing.

It appears that Codemasters could become a paid-for adopted sibling in the Warner Bros. Interactive family, if a VG247 article is to be believed. Meanwhile, a follow-up report by GI.biz indicates that a Codemasters rep declined to comment, saying, "Everything is fine here." Indeed!

In some ways, we're surprised it took this long for the story to drop. After all, at this year's E3 all of Codemasters' titles were shown at the Warner Bros. booth. We've yet to hear back from Codemasters, but WBIE was kind enough to inform us that it doesn't "comment on rumors or speculation." Shame, really. We were hoping to hear "everything is fine" there too. If true, Warner Bros. is on the acquisition warpath, which it hasn't been shy about. The company currently has a $33 million bid out for Midway. Hey WBIE, what do you know about Joystiq Publishing ...

Picked up by way of the Gamertag Radio forums from the alleged Twitter account of Tekken 6 -- we know, we know -- it was confirmed this afternoon that the image you see above of Penny Arcade's Cardboard Tube Samurai is, in fact, the real deal. Where, you ask? Well, of course, Mike "Gabe" Krahulik's Twitter account, where he twote, "Yes this is for real. Cts costume will be in Tekken 6!"

He is, of course, referring to the Cardboard Tube Samurai and probably not the cartoon time-traveling simulator we already know will include everything in the universe. Take a look after the break for the exciting Twitter snapshot where Gabe revealed the truth.

It reads like so many rhythm/music game releases in the past -- the ubiquitous track list leak. The Beatles: Rock Band is still a few months off from its September 9 release date but Ripten has gotten its hands on a leaked list of the possible tracks from the game (found after the break).

The list does include the three tracks we checked out in our hands-on with the game at E3, though it also looks an awful lot like a list of Beatles singles across their career. Ripten notes that the ten tracks found in the glorious opening to the game are all included in its leaked list -- and it is approximately the same amount of tracks we know the game will be shipping with -- though we've yet to receive any official confirmation or denial from MTV Games, Harmonix, or EA.

Update: A Harmonix spokesperson has confirmed to us that this leaked list of songs is definitely not the track list for The Beatles: Rock Band, saying, "The rumored 'leaked' list is not the disc track listing for The Beatles: Rock Band. We'll be announcing more tracks throughout the summer. Stay tuned to thebeatlesrockband.com for the most up to date information about disc songs and downloadable content!"

Remember when Shane Kim acknowledged that the Project Natal launch would be more like a console launch than a simple peripheral launch, saying, "Conceptually, the launch of Natal will be like the launch of Xbox 360"? Well, 1UP is reporting that, if its sources are correct, the Natal launch will be a new console launch! "Microsoft will not only release Natal as an add-on for the Xbox 360, it will come standard with the next Xbox console," 1UP writes. "Yes, there will be a new Xbox console next fall."

Lest you think this is going to be a simple bundle, Natal camera included, 1UP "heard it will be considered a new platform and carry a new name (Xbox Natal?)." Suddenly, we're reminded of the rumored Valhalla chipset, which would combine the 65nm CPU and 65nm GPU into one superchip, with reduced cooling and power demands. With that, Microsoft could make a smaller – more Wii-esque if you will – Xbox console, perfect for the mainstream consumer.

Incidentally, that chipset is expected sometime around 2010 which is precisely when 1UP pegs the new console's launch: "sources point to next year's Game Developer's Conference as the target for its unveiling and Fall 2010 as the target for release." So, a slightly upgraded Xbox 360 coupled with the Natal camera, targeted towards your parents? Just because we're leaving the speculation there, doesn't mean you have to. Sound off in the comments!

There are some rumors circulating around the internets that Gears of War 2 could make a belated arrival on the PC platform, just like the first title. IGN points to Beantown Games, the originator of this vicious little rumor, which posted details from a supposed unreleased press release for the game, along with supposed box art shots featuring the Games for Windows logo.

IGN then gave Kotaku the nod, who went to work checking into some of the stuff Beantown Games posted. The blog found inconsistencies in the Beantown post, with the supposed leaked press release being a near carbon copy of the original press release for Gears of War 2 on Xbox 360. Then, there's the UPC codes, which apparently all point to The Golden Compass. It's odd, to say the least.

As much as all of this seems like malarkey, one shouldn't entirely rule out the possibility of Gears of War 2 on the PC. The first game released on PC in November of 2007, a full year after the release of the original Xbox 360 game. Since the sequel released on Xbox 360 in November of last year, we wouldn't put it past Epic and Microsoft to crank the game out on PC some time in 2009. Though, when we contacted Microsoft, a spokesperson said "We have no plans for Gears of War 2 on the PC," so take it as you will.

Source - Beantown Games [Via IGN]
Source - Kotaku