Microsoft is recalling power cords on 14.1 million Xbox consoles worldwide, following reports of injuries due to defective electrical components.

The company announced the recall on Thursday, saying it is aimed at protecting the consoles from electrical-component failures that can pose a fire hazard. So far, such failures have been reported in 30 consoles, causing minor injuries or property damage, Microsoft said. Seven customers reported burns to their hands. In the rest of the cases, the defect caused smoke damage or minor damage to a carpet or entertainment center.

In Europe, consoles made before January 13, 2004, will need replacement cords, the company said. In all other areas, the recall covers consoles manufactured before October 23, 2003.

Orders for replacement cords can be placed at the Xbox Web site. New cords will take up to four weeks to arrive. Until the new cord comes, customers should turn off consoles when not in use, the company said.

Power-cord problems have dogged other device makers in the past. Last year, for example, Dell recalled 4.4 million defective power adapters sold with notebooks between 1998 and 2002.

"This is a preventative step we're choosing to take despite the rarity of these incidents," Robbie Bach, senior vice president at Microsoft’s entertainment division, said in a statement. "We regret the inconvenience but believe offering consumers a free replacement is the responsible thing to do."

¶ 7:17 PM //

SCEE revs up a new driving-action hybrid for Sony's forthcoming portable; no US release plans revealed yet. First screens inside.

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European gamers got another PSP title to park in their game garage today. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced it will publish Pursuit Force, an action game that blends driving and action elements. The title will be developed by Bigbig Studios, a Britain-based studio founded in 2001 by several former Codemasters designers who worked on the Colin McRae and TOCA racing series.

According to SCEE, Pursuit Force "follows the misadventures of a rookie police officer tracking down five criminal gangs across an entire fictional state in America." The game will feature 30 missions set in nearly 250 square miles of in-game terrain, including city streets, freeways, and off-road areas. Players will be able to drive a number of undisclosed vehicles and engage in car chases of up to 150mph. Gameplay will consist of driving as well as "intense combat with gang members whilst hanging onto moving vehicles."

Currently, Pursuit Force is set for a fall 2005 release in the UK. No North American release plans were announced, but GameSpot will have more details on the game as they become available.

¶ 7:16 PM //

As speculation mounts that the indie RPG developer will soon close its doors, co-CEO Leonard Boyarsky says an announcement on the company's status is imminent.

Since the start of the year, rumors have circulated that Troika Games, the independent developer behind The Temple of Elemental Evil and Vampire: Bloodlines - The Masquerade, is in trouble.

The speculation began to reach critical mass at the end of January, when a post on the industry-savvy Quarter to Three forums mentioned the studio had been shuttered for good. At the time, Troika cofounder and co-CEO Leonard Boyarsky denied the reports...sort of. "We are basically perusing some options ... [and] after the beginning of February, we'll be making a statement," he said.

However, with late February fast approaching, there still has been no announcement from Troika. The silence has heightened speculation regarding the indie shop's status, which was further fueled this week by reports from No Mutants Allowed, one of the first sites to break news of trouble at Interplay last year.

On Tuesday, NMA posted an e-mail reportedly leaked by a Troika worker advertising a liquidation sale of the developer's office equipment. "After seven exciting years, and three published games, Troika Games is closing its doors forever! EVERYTHING MUST GO," it read, followed by a list of office equipment. While the rabid Fallout fans who run NMA felt a certain amount of schadenfreude at Interplay's woes, they were much more sympathetic to the troubles of Troika, which was cofounded by Black Isle Studios alumnus Tim Cain. "Ouch! I really hope that this isn't true," said the site administrator known as "Odin."

But while the liquidation-sale post was widely branded as fake, another that surfaced today could not be as easily dismissed. Responding to the liquidation-sale thread, a poster going by the handle "Mandrew" outlined the internal strife at Troika. "The reality is that for the past several months Troika has been on a skeleton crew," said Mandrew. "The real layoffs happened in two waves at the start and end of November, and a lot of people have already moved on." Mandrew then listed a number of companies where ex-Troika developers had found work, including Activision, Day One Studios, Mythic Entertainment, Obsidian Entertainment, Point of View, Seven Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Swingin' Ape, Turtle Rock, and Treyarch.

When one poster questioned Mandrew's veracity, another identified him as Andrew Meggs, lead programmer for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, the role-playing-game/first-person-shooter hybrid Troika released last year. While irritated, Mandrew did not deny he was Meggs. "I would have answered the question myself," he wrote in a subsequent post. "Posting someone else's real-life info without permission is pretty much universally considered a rude thing to do."

As for Troika's situation following the lackluster popular and critical reception of Bloodlines, Meggs said, "There's a huge amount I could say about things that went both right and wrong, on both Vampire's development and Troika's business." He concluded, "But if you were me, would you post any of that to this forum?"

When presented with the Mandrew posts, Boyarsky did not deny their authenticity. "We wish that [post] hadn't gotten out," he told GameSpot. "We're not ready to talk about it now. I'll answer questions at another time." As to when exactly that time will be, Boyarsky would only say, "We're working on a post [to be sent out] by the end of February." So until company officials say otherwise, Troika is officially open for business.

¶ 7:15 PM //

Ubisoft basks in the glow of buyout rumors, while EA, its potential buyer, sees shares sink.

The share price of almost all game industry concerns eased lower Thursday, mirroring the Dow, which itself closed down. Only Ubisoft shares (traded on the Paris Stock Exchange) saw significant gains, climbing .61 euros (80 cents) to 33.10 euros ($43.26). But apparently, news that Electronic Arts (ERTS) is examining an Ubisoft buyout has been less lucrative for EA--its shares dropped $1.27 to close at $63.61.

Shares in Take-Two Interactive were down 89 cents today, finishing the day at $36.86. THQ Inc. (THQI) was also down, closing 59 cents lower at $27.14. Retailer Electronics Boutique (ELBO) saw its share prices fall 52 cents to $37.10 at the closing bell. Jamdat Mobile shares dropped, by 52 cents, to $19.43. Shares in Atari (ATAR), Activision (ATVI), Konami (KNM), and Midway (MWY), also dipped. Nintendo finished flat on the Japanese exchange.

A few game companies' shares ended higher, but just by pennies, including Eidos (EIDSY), GameStop Corp. (GME), and Vivendi Universal (V).

The Dow closed 80.62 points lower at 10,754.26, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 26.09 points to finish at 2,061.34 on Thursday. The S&P 500 Index was also down by 9.59 points to 1,200.75. According to Marketwatch, at least one strategist attributed the US declines to renewed concerns about the volatile political situation in the Middle East.

¶ 7:14 PM //

Today's message from Electronic Arts CFO Warren Jenson reinforces option to buy as he tells analysts that "EA is wide open to acquisitions."

Earlier today in New York City, at the Smith Barney Citigroup Leisure Day conference, Electronic Arts CFO Warren Jenson opened the event with a presentation on the long-term vision of the company and then followed that with a question-and-answer session with Smith Barney analysts.

While much of the conversation addressed general EA strategy, Jenson spent a few moments on the oft-discussed subject of acquisitions, specifically the current situation with Ubisoft. While many observers see a takeover as likely, EA is professing a methodical, if not plodding, strategy, overtly insisting that it seeks nothing more than a good return on its investment. At the same time, the company has made gestures and taken steps that leave the door open for acquisition of additional shares, and it has made moves that include seeking a seat on the company's board of directors, for example.

Today, in response to an analyst's question on where growth opportunities lie, from EA's perspective, Jenson said, "We are wide open, as we have been in the past, to acquisitions."

Jenson then reminded attendees of some of the company's more significant purchases. "This past year we made two [acquisitions], one with Digital Illusions in Sweden and the award-winning Battlefield franchise, which we think will be a big deal in terms of next-generation product. The second one [is] Criterion Games, with the award-winning Burnout series and a promising IP called Black...along with the technology that RenderWare brings to the table for Electronic Arts. We will continue to do that, continue to look for opportunities."

Moving the conversation toward Ubisoft, Jenson said, "There was a block of shares that was on the market [and] we thought it was important that we own them. And so we negotiated and were successful in reaching an agreement to acquire roughly 19, 20 percent of Ubisoft. From there, it's about keeping all of our options open. And…that's about as far as I will go."

But Jenson made it clear that one of those options might be an attempt to acquire Ubisoft, telling the audience of analysts that not only is the company "open" to acquisitions, but "we think they will continue to be a part of our growth story."

¶ 7:13 PM //

The horror-survival thriller Condemned is the Japanese publisher's first game officially confirmed for next-generation consoles; PC version also in development.

The handful of officially announced next-generation games grew by one today, when Sega unveiled its forthcoming game, Condemned. Described as "a suspense-filled, first-person psychological thriller," the game is the first from the Japanese publisher to be released solely for next-gen consoles and the PC. However, Sega did not name any specific consoles for the game, nor did it divulge its release date.

While light on ship-date details, the announcement did offer some central information. It will be developed by Monolith Productions, developer of Tron 2.0: Killer App and the forthcoming The Matrix Online, which Sega is copublishing. It will follow Ethan Thomas, an FBI agent in the Serial Crimes Unit (SCU), which is a team of G-men dedicated to tracking down serial killers, Clarice Starling-style. While playing as Thomas, gamers must navigate "urban environments filled with deadly sociopaths who lurk on the periphery of humanity."

Unsurprisingly, Sega and Monolith are quite excited about their new project. "Monolith's goal with Condemned is to combine a disturbing atmosphere with realistic physics, devious AI, and a sophisticated combat system," said Samantha Ryan, the developer's CEO. Scott A. Steinberg, Sega of America's vice president of entertainment marketing, concurred. "The atmospheric tension and cinematic qualities of Condemned offer consumers the rich experience of a psychological thriller, something that has not been accomplished on previous hardware platforms," he said.

GameSpot will have all the latest information on Condemned as it becomes available

¶ 7:13 PM //

Ties That Bind to reprise 2004's prison-based horror shooter; this time Torque will fight his way through inner-city Baltimore.

Midway has officially confirmed plans to release The Suffering: Ties That Bind, the sequel to last year's horror action game The Suffering, for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC this fall. Details emerged regarding the new title last month, when its official Web site was launched.

In the original game, players assumed the role of Torque, who was imprisoned for the murder of his wife and kids. Ties That Bind sets the burly ex-con loose on the streets of inner-city Baltimore so he can exact revenge on Blackmore, the man he believes is actually responsible for his family's deaths.

Ties That Bind is being developed by Seattle-based Surreal Software, maker of the original game. According to Surreal president Alan Patmore, the sequel's storyline is even darker than that of its predecessor. However, it will also feature the same moral focus as the original, where gamers' choices alter the course of gameplay. Torque's insanity mode, which transforms him into a powerful monster, also returns.

For more on the game, including its new trailer (also viewable below), see GameSpot's previous coverage.

¶ 7:12 PM //

Gearbox's ultra-realistic World War II shooter is on the verge of going gold for the PC, Xbox, and PlayStation 2.

A brief message on a Web site belied the approach of one of 2005's most anticipated games. In a short post uploaded this afternoon, Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford casually told the world that Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 "is essentially finished."

According to Pitchford's post, the WWII-inspired, first-person shooter has been in the release-candidate phase "since as early as January" for the PC, Xbox, and PlayStation 2. However, the game is still not quite ready to be submitted to its publisher, Ubisoft, for approval--the last step before a game goes gold and is sent to the factory for duplication. The news means that the game will almost certainly make its previously announced March 1 ship date.

"The team has been working on the release engineering and details required for a solid, major launch of a AAA game like Brothers in Arms," said Pitchford. "I would expect a wide press release soon that confirms the release to manufacturing of the gold master for each platform and the final shelf date of the game." (Emphasis in the original.)

From - Gamespot

¶ 7:07 PM //

Ever since GGL's alliance was formed with European-based Clanbase, the community has been waiting to see how the gaming scene would change because of it. GGL, with their history of big cash prizes and ambitious undertakings, doesn't look to be dissapointing.

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