According to an Electronista report, Microsoft will announce its plans to port Silverlight to Xbox 360 at the MIX11 conference next week. According to leaked information, the feature has supposedly been in development for several months and could bring a higher level of integration between the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone. More importantly, a tipster speaking to WinRumors suggested that Microsoft might bring an app store for the Xbox 360 that would let developers easily port WP7 apps over to the larger screen.

Windows 8 may also have its own app store "out of the box" and would emulate the Mac App Store. Microsoft has not confirmed this story.

Source: Electronista

Microsoft is working on a new disc format that it hopes will allow them to release bigger games. Current Xbox 360 discs are 7.95GB, of which 6.8GB is useable. This "new" disc format is the same one the company is using now except that it will - in theory - be able to use that additional 1GB of space, which is - in its current form - a locked-off partition. The 1GB was apparently allotted for DVD-video and ant-piracy measures.

The news about this new format was uncovered by Xbox 360 scene hacker commodore4ever, who recently tweeted about it: "MS will introduce xgd3 – this will add more ap checks, cvi (content integrity) checks, increase the disc size and adds a new layer for protection issues – all in the 20500 sdk! bring it on".

According to a Kotaku report, Sony Online Entertainment has closed three of its development studios and laid off nearly a third of its work force. Word began to spread when George Broussard, better known as the creator of Duke Nukem and the founder of 3DRealms, tweeted about SOE Seattle closing:

"Word that Sony Online Entertainment Seattle is having layoffs and that studio closure is possible."

Kotaku then confirmed the news "through a source familiar with the matter" who said that the closure affected SOE's studios in Seattle, Tucson, Arizona and Denver. Kotaku also confirmed that nearly half of the employees at SOE's Austin, Texas studio had been let go. A number of its employees in San Diego, the company's main studio of operations have also been let go.

Citing a report on Everything HQ, Computer and Video Games is reporting that Sony is working on a new SKU of the PS3 to deal with the leaked security key it is currently suing George Hotz and group Fail0verFlow over. The "hack-proof" model (is there such a thing these days?) is already "deep in development" and is not susceptible to the security issues that current models are vulnerable to.

Another rumor is that the company will lower the price of its current PS3 units to clear inventory. Old models will allegedly go for around £170 (roughly $274 USD). The hack-proof model is said to be a slim PS3 boasting a 300GB hard drive. The report claims it will cost £186.99 (roughly $301.USD)

A release window for this system is unknown and the system itself is not confirmed by Sony, but according to the report it will be a slim PS3 with a 300GB hard drive.

SCOTUS Blog's THIS WEEK AT THE COURT says that the court will issue at least one opinion this week (on Tuesday), while a note on Greta Van Susteren's Gretawire blog claims that court watchers should keep an eye out for opinions on a number of cases including Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants. The note comes from Lee Ross, who covers the Supreme Court for FOX News.

The note from Ross can be found below:

Dutch website PS3-Sense claims that "a reliable source" has told them that all future PS3 game discs will contain a unique serial code that players will have to input into the system prior to launch. The source also claims that a similar system already exists on Sony’s PlayStation Network. The code will also make it so that a game can only be used on five different systems. This would serve as a way to keep a game from being resold more than five times, the Dutch site posits.

Naturally, Sony is not commenting on this story. PC gamers are very familiar with serial codes. They are now second nature to anyone that has bought a PC game in the last ten years. They have also proven to be ineffective in doing anything other than inconveniencing gamers.

An unnamed source from Kaos Studios, the New York City-based development studio working on Homefront, says that he or she is concerned that when the game is complete THQ will force personnel there to move to its freshly opened Montreal studio. This is the same studio that has been under a mandatory and extended crunch time to finish Homefront so it hits its release date. Stories of 6 day work weeks and 10 hour work days recently surfaced and were confirmed by THQ.

Kaos general manager David Votypka says that he has addressed some of these concerns in companywide meetings, but added that he would not rule out any scenarios after Homefront was complete.

"This is certainly a concern I am aware of at Kaos, and have taken questions from the staff about it on a number of occasions," Votypka told Develop.

A rather salacious "inside the sausage factory" news article at NowGamer, citing a source close to Real Time Worlds, paints a picture of the company now in bankruptcy in an extremely bad light. We contacted Real Time Worlds to get its side of the story, but they did not respond at the time of this writing.

The NowGamer news story taps an anonymous contractor who claims to have worked on "various aspects of APB’s launch" with Real Time Worlds. The anonymous source claims that Real Time Worlds was losing millions of dollars a month, and that the amount of lies it told publishing partner EA was "unbelievable."

"I think there was a realization early on this year that the economic crash had finally hit the gaming world and this game that had taken 7+ years to develop and in excess of $100 million really wasn’t that different than the other games being released," the source said.

Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption won’t be up offered for sale in the United Arab Emirates, at least according to chatter on a forum dedicated to visitors of the MEGamers website.

In response to a post asking if the title would be available in the UAE, user GetUpYaSook offered that a “Retailer at Dubai Mall told me last night that Red Dead has indeed been banned.” None of the users seemed to worry much about the game being banned, indicating, in as many words, that such bans are not all-encompassing and there is always a way to acquire a game.

MEGamers (Via MCVUK) did ask local distributor Red Entertainment about the ban and received a “no comment.”

In an open letter reminiscent of the now infamous 2004 blog postings by EA Spouse, a group of Rockstar San Diego employee wives have banded together to lament working conditions at the West Coast videogame developer.

Gamasutra has posted the letter in its entirety, which was signed by the “Determined Devoted Wives of Rockstar San Diego employees.” The group alleges that Rockstar San Diego employees have been in a perpetual state of “crunch” since March of 2009, employees have been diagnosed with symptoms of depression and that mandatory work hours have extended to nearly 12 hours a day, six days a week.

The letter also claims that comp and vacation time have been recouped by the company and that, since doctor’s offices are typically closed on Sunday, those working six days a week must utilize a sick day on a Saturday in order to visit their doctor. Those that do so receive “an attitude presented to them that they pose a hindrance.”

Additionally, the spouses claim that salary raises issued over the past four years have not kept up with inflation and that:

While managing to endure through the trying times, they still were hit with more blows. Again balance is denied, as working conditions worsened with no appreciation. Working harder, longer, faster, yet there was never a guarantee of a bonus nor if there was any earned, when they will be received! Moreover, bonuses could significantly be reduced based on ANYTHING management comes up with, while the employee would have no way to know about it.

The spouses write that if conditions “stay unchanged in the upcoming weeks, preparation will be made to take legal action against Rockstar San Diego.”

A user comment on Gamasutra posted by someone who claims to be a Rockstar San Diego employee stated:

RSG is not a bad place, and for many years, we hadn't crunched a lot. The last 10 months though have been terrible and were avoidable. Same for all previous projects that went through the same extended crunch, and unless something changes, for all future projects.

Rockstar San Diego is currently working on Red Dead Redemption, the successor to 2004’s Red Dead Revolver.

As the sordid details of Tiger Woods’ personal life continue to unfold in the national media the question arises: will Electronic Arts stick by their videogame cover boy?

While EA issued a statement a week ago saying that it wouldn’t dump Woods, the media frenzy surrounding Tiger’s transgressions continues to grow and more information is revealed seemingly everyday, all of which could influence EA’s stance.

A Forbes column contains the opinion that Tiger’s days are numbered as an EA spokesman, going so far as to say that “Tiger is done as a corporate pitchman” overall, regardless of what companies sticking by him are currently saying now.

The columnist also believes that the Tiger scandal will force companies to do full diligence on a spokesperson before choosing them:

…companies that throw big money at athletes are going to do a lot of research on them to make sure they are not phony (or make risk-adverse decisions based on information they do have) and funnel their endorsement dough at popular athletes whose image will not blow up.

Some of these athletes may not even be among the best in their field, but they will typically be in global sports and not be ticking time bombs.

Forbes writes that no other golfers carry enough buzz among consumers to fill Tiger’s shoes. Certainly however, EA could find a new PGA pro to build its game around if events warranted. Phil Mickelson might be the perfect choice, though he may need to work on his fist pump to take it to Tiger’s level.

What do you think? Should EA keep Tiger on board?

This one is strictly a rumor at this point, but a reliable U.K. source tells GamePolitics that Midway's Newcastle studio in the U.K. has been shut down this morning following a surprise visit by CEO Matt Booty.

Workers have reportedly been let go without pay and some are apparently posting about the situation on Facebook. We have an e-mail in to Midway seeking confirmation.

Midway, of course, was recently acquired by Warner Bros. in a deal approved by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge.

UPDATE: This one is CONFIRMED. Develop has details...

Faced with rumors of a Second Life ban by Australian government authorities, publisher Linden Lab issued a statement last night to reassure SL users Down Under that no such action has taken place. At least, not yet.

Here's what Linden said on the issue:

Linden Lab has received no indications from the Australian government that it plans to block Second Life and will keep our community apprised of any developments on that front. In the meantime, we want to assure Australian Residents that Second Life remains accessible and functioning in your region.

Australia has and will continue to be an important market for Linden Lab, and we’re committed to providing the best possible Second Life experience for the users... Some of the most exciting uses of Second Life have come out of Australia, a diverse community of Residents that includes major universities, large enterprises and many thousands of consumers, who spend hundreds of thousands of hours inworld each month.

The Second Life rumors surfaced after the Australian government said that it planned to block Internet access to games which would not meet the MA-15+ content rating standard.

Meanwhile, New World Notes reminds us that the community of Australian SL users is a rich one, indeed:

There's a number of Australian organizations, including several universities, with an official presence in Second Life, there's been several SL-based fundraisers to benefit various Australian non-profit causes... and coming soon, a feature film starring several of Australia's top actors which depicts Second Life in a positive/neutral manner...

As GamePolitics reported last week, the Australian government is moving to block online access to games containing content which would exceed the country's MA-15+ rating. The proposed filtering scheme would affect online retailers selling such games as well as games played online such as MMOs.

In last week's coverage we noted speculation that such a ban could affect games like World of Warcraft and Second Life. At least one site is now reporting that Second Life has, indeed, been banned. The Inquisitr, invoking Nazi (!) imagery, writes:

It was confirmed by Australian Minister for Censorship that online games such as Second Life is banned in the country. There was confirmation from Censorship Minister Stephen “Goebbels” Conroy...

It is surprising because this policy has always been known to everyone. When Conroy was asked, he didn’t give direct answer. The more Australian government confirms the issue, the more totalitarian the policy is becoming if compared to China.

But Wagner James Au, who tracks SL happenings on New World Notes, writes that rumors of SL's Australian demise are greatly exaggerated:

Over the last 24 hours I've been peppered with links... which seem to suggest the Australian government is imminently planning to block access to Second Life from that country...  I'm far from an expert on Australian jurisprudence, but near as I can tell, any relation with this news to Second Life is highly tenuous and conjectural at best...

 

Nothing in the [Inquisitr] editorial actually confirms [a ban], and the very second sentence compares the government administrator involved to Joseph Goebbels, which is such a ham-fisted violation of Godwin's Law*, the only thing it really confirms is the author's own penchant for dubious hyperbole...

 

It's likely there are several layers of parliamentary, bureaucratic, and technical implementation before any of this impacts Australian access to Second Life (if it ever does.)...

* Godwin's Law: As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.

While the video game community knows all too well that the long-awaited Duke Nukem Forever project is stalled (and currently being litigated), GamePolitics has learned that a Duke Nukem game is in development by a "well-known" developer under contract with publisher Take-Two Interactive.

This juicy, new detail is contained in a court document filed on Friday by DNF developer Apogee Software. Responding to a lawsuit filed against it last month by Take-Two, attorneys for Apogee told the U.S. District Court in Manhattan:

As part of the October 2007 Agreement, Take-Two agreed to pay Apogee $2,500,000 as an advance to help fund the development of the DNF game, but only after Take-Two visited Apogee to review the status of the development of the DNF game within Apogee.

 

Repayment of the $2,500,000 advance was to come from royalties generated by sales of the DNF game and/or a new Duke Nukem-based game being developed in parallel by a separate well-known game developer under contract with Take-Two.

 

The October 2007 agreement did not provide for a completion deadline for DNF. However, the development agreement for the new Duke Nukem-based game (not to be confused with the DNF game) being developed by the separate game developer scheduled the new Duke Nukem-based game to be completed by mid-2010.

 

In the event the DNF game was not commercially released before October 22, 2012, then and only then, the $2,500,000 advance became due and payable to Take-Two, but only to the extent this advance had not already been recouped from royalties from sales of the new Duke Nukem-based game.

GamePolitics has requested comment from Take-Two.

UPDATE: Aside from DNF, the only publicly-named but unpublished Duke game is Duke Nukem Trilogy for the DS/PSP,which was shown at E3 2008. Take-Two, however, has not been publicly mentioned as its publisher. A recent report on GameSpot mentions DNT as a joint project between Apogee and Deep Silver. There is no mention of any involvement by Take-Two.

Also, given that DNT is a known quantity, if that is the game referred to in the court filing, why wouldn't Apogee just name it and its developer?

UPDATE 2: The game mentioned by Apogee is Duke Begins and is in the hands of 2K Games, a Take-Two subsidiary. See follow-up GP coverage for more details.

There are some unconfirmed reports floating about this morning claiming that The Sims 3 has been leaked. The long-awaited PC game's official launch date is June 2nd.

Romanian site SoftSailor is among those reporting the supposed leak:

For the moment we can’t tell for sure if the game is real as the packed/unpacked leaks are sized somewhere near 5GB. The small size of the game makes us think that this is not the actual game, but maybe it’s an unfinished version of The Sims 3 life simulation game...

[updated] P.S. From what I’ve read, the game is real and many are playing it right now.

Well-known torrent site The Pirate Bay, whose operators are appealing their recent conviction by a Swedish court on piracy charges, currently has a 4.94GB file named The.Sims.3-Reloaded posted.

GP: Pending confirmation from more reliable sources, we'll call this one a rumor for now...