If you don’t have a clue what Ilovebees is, which you probably don’t, Ilovebees was a viral campaign for a little game we all know which released in 2004, called Halo 2. Yes, 4 years ago. And now it has “returned” coincidentally near this years E3 starting on July 14th, and there have been even more rumours of Bungie’s new game; Kotaku discovered that in Bungie’s latest podcast, Brian Jarrard and Luke Smith teased about something being revealed at E3.

Brian: Isn’t there something going on on July 14th or something like that?
Luke: Yeah, around then.
Brian: Somehow that’s sticking in my head for some reason. Guess we’ll have to see.
Luke: Yep, we’ll just have to be patient. Who could say?

And on Bungie.net, a weird profile has “popped up” with the logo that everyone on Bungie.net forums and even more have been pondering about. For more information on this logo, please click HERE. In the profile you can see that it’s signature is “Keep it Clean!” which was “subliminally” put into the new ViDoC (at the very end) and the profile’s Bungie username is IIIIIII, which I can’t even explain. Because of this resurfacing of these new rumours and ilovebees, expect something big from Bungie at this year’s E3.

Straight from the horse’s mouth:

Cold Storage will be available for free beginning on July 7, Bungie Day, on Xbox Live Marketplace.

“That’s right, Bungie’s new Halo 1 re-make of Chill out will be releasing on July 7th for absolutly no cost… But is this free map release overdue to the loyal Halo fans out there? Possibly. Anyway, here’s another quote suggesting new gamerpics that day and more:

Additionally, don’t forget to grab the one-day-only free gamerpics and theme on 7/7. Beginning on July 7, there will be a 48-hour long seven-player FFA playlist in Halo 3’s Matchmaking where you can turn the calendar back to 2001 and control l Rockets, Invis and Snipe.

For now, Cold Storage will be implemented in regular rotation in playlists that require the Legendary Maps. To avoid confusion, playlists that previously required the Legendary Maps will now remind players that they need “all Maps” to participate, and since Cold Storage is free, it shouldn’t be a big deal for you to grab the map on July 7 and then return to your regularly scheduled business in SWAT.

Above is a nearly ten minute video featuring Halo 3’s best panoramics created by the community, in my own opinion of course. There are some 360 degree ones and more with just amazing enviorment shots mixed in, and even more with great effects used to really create that epic atmosphere, so please have a watch and see for yourself. Enjoy. (Oh, the video was created by me.)

When I saw these new screenshots I was astonished. the graphics are amazing considering the massive amount of action and calamity going on. Just compare the graphics from the E3 2007 released screenshots to the recently released (they were actually released today) and it doesn’t take an astrophysicist who is a Shaw Fujikawa Translight Engine inspector (fans of the Halo books, anyone?) to determine how great the progress is going over at Ensemble Studios. To so the progress take place, look at THIS photo, then look at the new one right HERE. To view all of the released screenshots, take a look below.

[Image 1] [Image 2] [Image 3] [Image 4]

It looks like someone’s creating an actual Halo board game. B1 Games and Genius Products, Inc are going to be selling an ‘interactive strategy game’ with DVD content and music, along with the board play. “The all-new Halo™ Interactive Strategy Game captures the edge-of-your-seat action and storyline of the video game as it gives players the chance to control UNSC Marine and Covenant forces in strategic battles for power.“ Looks like it’ll be on store shelves in September.

Since it’s for all ages, and the actual Halo videogame is only for people over the age of 18, I will like to see how this shapes out. For more information about the announcement, please click HERE for the full press release.

A series of new reports from DFC Intelligence forecasts worldwide video game and interactive entertainment industry revenue to reach $57 billion in 2009. This forecast includes revenue from video game hardware and software, dedicated portable system hardware and software, PC games, and online PC and console games in 25 countries. According to DFC, there are now 11 countries that have annual video game revenue in excess of $1 billion.

With high spending on expensive hardware and a slumping economy, there was some concern that consumers would not have enough money to buy software products. This does not appear to be the case. “Consumer spending on software is at record levels and the game business seems to actually benefit from a recession because games are a relatively cheap form of home entertainment,” said DFC analyst David Cole.

The report forecasts sales for each of the major game platforms. The Nintendo Wii is expected to be the number one selling console system of this generation. “The Wii does not appear to be a fad and it has the chance to be one of the best selling systems of all-time,” says Cole. However, that does not mean the other systems will not do well. The Sony PlayStation 3 is expected to equal the Wii in annual software sales by 2012. Meanwhile, the Microsoft Xbox 360 remains a leading player in some of the top markets, most notably the U.S. and U.K.

Another new DFC report, Video Game Genre Forecasting, takes a look at expected sales by platform and genre for the next two years using multiple assumptions about product features, licenses, development and marketing budgets and consumer usage trends. “With multiple platforms establishing healthy installed bases there is a growing need to look at potential sales on a given platform based on not just aggregate hardware sales, but also game type,” says analyst Jeremy Miller. “The Wii not only has unique features and a broad demographic appeal, but Nintendo is dominant as a software publisher. For many third party publishers this means they will have much greater success on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, even if Wii sales continue to be strong.”

With all the talk about game console systems, surprisingly the number one platform for games in 2007 was the personal computer. According to the new Online Game Market Forecasts report, PC online game revenue alone passed $7 billion in 2007, not including retail sales. Total PC game revenue is expected to reach $19 billion by 2013.
The new series of reports is part of DFC Intelligence’s ongoing research service. DFC Intelligence is a market research firm focused on video games, PC games, online games and interactive entertainment. For a sample of the monthly DFC Dossier report, or an overview of DFC research, contact Ozzie Monge at omonge@dfcint.com or sign-up at http://www.dfcint.com.

 Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, today announced the full list for the upcoming release of “Fan Pack” – an all-new downloadable content (DLC) package for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Vegas 2 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Windows PC and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. Scheduled for release in July via Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360®, PLAYSTATION®Network and ubi.com, this content package will enrich and extend the original game by offering three new multiplayer maps. Also included is a new High Stakes setting that allows players to play their favorite online modes in an exciting new way, along with the ability to attain new ranks and A.C.E.S. Ubisoft has decided to offer this additional content for free to all Rainbow Six fans. Until then, please click Full Story for the full information on the downloadble content.

Full Story »

Above is a full-on 16 minute interview with Cliff Bleszinski from 1Up. They talk about Spectating, taking screenshots, host advantage, achievements, chainsawing and much much more with a broad band of forest behind the interviewee with a nearby highway somewhere. There’s also many, many Multiplayer clips plucked into the video consisting of a lot of killing, executing, meat cubes, taking hostage, new maps, etc.

The one feature that really got me excited was the screenshot feature; when you are dead, you have the ablity to roam the map in free-mode and yo can take a screenshot whenever you like, and then you are scored on how well the screenshot was taken. We will have more information on Gears 2 as soon as that information is released, in the mean time, have fun watching the video and looking at the screenshots. Click the link below for a gallery of Gears of War 2 screenshots and concept art.

LiNK to Images

The video above is a short GRID crash video that I created with my friend. It was created in about 4-5 hours time with my old capture card. The clips we got were from Race Day and in Multiplayer on Xbox Live. A sequel should be coming soon because some people have considered to add some of their own crashes into the video. Enjoy.

A title update is now available for Grand Theft Auto IV on PS3 and Xbox 360. The patch fixes a number of multiplayer issues that have been nagging the hundreds of thousands of gamers who have been playing GTA IV online since its launch in late April. Here’s the full list of fixes:

• Fixed an issue where players were unable to enter or exit vehicles in GTA Race.
• Fixed an issue where scripted vehicles were causing games to unexpectedly crash.
• Improved reliability and frequency of PS3 online leaderboard updates.
• Fixed a rare hang some players encountered when moving from a Race or GTA Race lobby into gameplay.
• Fixed a hang that would occur when players were switching teams during the countdown in the lobby.
• Fixed an issue where players were able to get ridiculously high scores from Cops ‘n Crooks matches.
• Changed GTA Race and Race so that the last player remaining always receives a reward of $250.
• Fixed an issue where spectating players would prevent the game from finishing.
• Fixed an issue where players were unable to spectate in Round 2 of Cops ‘n Crooks games.
• Changed countdown timer in lobby so that it no longer resets when new players join a game.
• Changed the kick option so that kicked players are no longer brought back to single player.