ACTIVISION NOW TARGET OF UNPAID OVERTIME LAWSUIT
Hot on the heels of the Electronic Arts lawsuit settlement, Gamasutra is reporting that Activision is now the target of a class-action lawsuit based on unpaid overtime. It should be pretty interesting to see just how many of these lawsuits hit the industry now that EA settled. I sense a grave disturbance in the force... as if millions of voices suddenly cried out... "Where's my damn money?!" These guys work hard, and hopefully they'll stop being taken advantage of for it.

OVER 60 PIECES OF CONTENT COMING TO LIVE MARKETPLACE DURING E3
The good news? There will be tons of new content hitting Live during E3, including a demo of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition from Capcom. The bad news? Microsoft has apparently announced there will be no playable Gears of War demo at E3, just a high-definition trailer. Check out the Gamespot article for more details!
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I can't even begin to tell you how bummed I am about there not being a playable demo of Gears of War. Just utterly depressing after the last week or two of rumors.

NINTENDO LAUNCHES THEIR E3 WEBSITE
Nintendo has finally launched their E3 website, bringing the final member of the Big 3 online for the upcoming Expo. No news has been posted there yet, but we'll keep you updated as Nintendo starts adding content.

NEW XBOX 360 CALL OF DUTY 2 MULTI-PLAYER MAPS COMING
Word from Gamespot is that Activision is preparing 3 map packs for Call of Duty 2 on the Xbox 360. The first 2 packs will arrive sometime this spring. Pack one will contain 2 maps and will be provided for free. The second of the packs will contain two more maps and carry a price of 400 marketplace points ($5). The final pack will be released in July and will add 5 more maps at a cost of 900 marketplace points ($11.25)

Tomb Raider: Legend coming to Nintendo Gamecube
Gamespot is reporting that Eidos Interactive has announced they will be releasing Tomb Raider: Legend for the Nintendo Gamecube. Eidos also hinted that the Gamecube version may contain features not found in the current release.

Nintendo drops price on 4 Gamecube titles
Nintendo has announced they are dropping the price on four of their best selling titles to $19.99. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Pikmin 2, Star Fox: Assault and The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure are the selected titles.

BESTBUY "EXCLUSIVE" MAP FOR THE OUTFIT NOW IN LIVE MARKETPLACE
The Arnhem Mayhem map which was previously only available to Xbox 360 owners who purchased The Outfit at BestBuy is now available for free in the Xbox Live Marketplace. Guess someone figured what good is a map, if no one plays it due to a limited audience.
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So what's your take on "exclusive" content becoming available to everyone after a short period of time?

TAKE-TWO CLOSES "INDIE BUILT" STUDIO
Gamespot is reporting that Take-Two Interactive has shut down their Indie Built studio, the folks responsible for such games a Amped, Links and Top Spin. According to the article, Take-Two has advised;
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"Employees are being offered packages including continuation of salary and benefits, as well as other opportunities within Take-Two as appropriate, Take-Two is fully committed to its 2K Sports brand and franchises and retains all rights to the Indie Built IP." - Gamespot article
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So while it seems the franchises themselves aren't dead, the folks behind them most likely are. You'd think they'd have canned the clowns behind the Xbox 360 version of MLB2K6 before they'd fire anyone else.

TAKE-TWO ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO GHOST RIDER GAME
Take-Two Interactive announced today that they were the undisclosed buyer who purchased the rights to the Ghost Rider game from Majesco back in December when the publisher exited the high-end game industry. The game is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name and the upcoming film starring Nicholas Cage.

Xbox Live scheduled downtime - 5/2/06
Xbox Live Director of Programming, Major Nelson posted on the Xbox.com forums that there Xbox Live, Xbox.com and the Xbox.com forums will be down on Tuesday, May 2nd for 14 hours from 5:00am (EST) to 7:00pm (EST) for scheduled maintenance. Not sure what they're updating back there, but my guess is it's E3 related.