The Simpsons (Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP, and the Nintendo DS) video game has been out for weeks now and it's been giving quite a kick to series fans and gamers alike. Even if this Electronic Arts title has been out for a bit now, the festivities haven't stopped yet as footages of The Simpsons game launch party have surfaced. This time, we're seeing The Simpsons creator Matt Groening talking about the game and how he was able to influence it.

If you're a European shopper who's been envious of the various PSP bundle deals that the United States has been getting lately, then you're in luck: Sony and Electronic Arts (EA) will be leveling the playing field with The Simpsons Game (PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, DS, PSP) special PSP bundle pack.

Find out more after the jump!

It's nothing new that The Simpsons Game has raised more than a couple of hackles with their irreverent parodies to many pop culture and video game references. The newest victim to this list includes big time game publisher Rockstar Games.

In a video interview with Matt Selman, executive producer of the game, he expressed his dismay at the attitude Rockstar was projecting towards the game. He explained that the controversy surrounding the pulled out Grand Theft Auto parody from the Electronic Arts website for The Simpsons Game was something blown out of proportion by Rockstar, saying that "they spazzed out like little babies".

Rockstar pressured the publishers at Electronic Arts to stop using the Grand Theft Scratchy advertisement for The Simpsons Game. As a result, EA had to switch the name of the trailer video on their website to the level's name instead, which was "Mob Rule".

In the end Selman still recognized the ability of Rockstar to deliver top-notch games. However, Selman couldn't help but add one last parting shot at Rockstar, saying: "Their games are amazing. Trust me, I’ll be the first person in line to play Grand Theft Auto 4... in five years when it comes out".

The Simpsons Game will be coming out on October 30 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. For those of you who are interested in taking a look at the full interview, go ahead and play the video below and tell us what you think.

It came to our attention that the webpage dedicated to the parody Grand Theft Scratchy from Electronic Arts' The Simpsons Game has been changed. While the said changes are not reflected on the trailer videos and screenshots yet, the trailer itself is now being referred to as "Mob Rules".

It should be remembered that this started in early October when EA Lead Designer for The Simpsons Game Greg Rizzer commented that some companies are not particularly happy with their spoofs. It looks like that the company being referred to by Rizzer is no other than Rockstar Games.

This became clearer when he commented, "If we make fun of Grand Theft Auto, we're not going to hurt the sales of Grand Theft Auto. But yeah, we've definitely had some reactions - we've had to pull stuff from the game." The designer was able to comment regarding the things that they had to remove.

We guess we will all know when The Simpsons Game launches on October 30 for platforms Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation 2. For now, check out the "new" Mob Rules trailer by clicking the Read link below.

PSP gamers located in BeNeLux will get more love this November, with a handful of new releases coming their way, as well as a couple of limited edition PSPs that avid collectors may want to get their hands on.

Gamers haling from BeNeLux will soon get the Spider-man-themed and The Simpsons-themed red and yellow PSPs, which will be available exclusively for a limited time in Europe along with the other games enumerated below:

• Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice - November 23
• SOCOM Tactical Strike - November 28
• Syphon Filter Logan's Shadow - November 30
• WipeOut Pulse - End of November

The Spiderman and The Simpsons special edition PSPs will be released on a yet-to-be-determined date in November.

Perhaps you'll remember Mr. Sparkles from one of the more memorable Simpsons episodes. He's a Japanese dish detergent's logo that looks just like Homer. Turns out Mr. Sparkles is making an appearance in The Simpsons Game as well, joining Lard Lad as one of the random cameos from the series.

Just to jog your memory in case you've forgotten, or to inform you in case you didn't watch the episode and feel left out, Mr. Sparkles only looks like Homer by accident. The Japanese company only combined an image of a fish and a light bulb which turns out to be an exact likeness of Homer. Don't try to mix the two at home; you won't get the same result so stay away from that defenseless fish.

Anyhow, here's Mr. Sparkles (or rather, Mistah Spahl-kel) in a new trailer for The Simpsons Game (PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, DS) as they spoof Katamari - hey, was that just Milhouse doing an impersenation of the King of All Cosmos?

If you've seen the other videos we have on Electronic Arts' The Simpsons Game (Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, and DS) then you must have noticed by now that each member of the yellow-skinned "first family" of America has their own unique superpowers that reflect their personality. So what kind of superpower would Marge Simpson have? In a video we have for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 featuring the nagging and ever bossy mom, we show you exactly what she can do.

Marge isn't a very stand-alone character unlike the other members of her family. Instead she makes use of her megaphone to... well, boss people around and make them do what she tells them. Depending on the stage's mission objective, she can actively command mobs of elves, cartoon cats and dogs, and even Maggie herself to navigate through the different stages in the game.

As expected from the video, you'll also see the game spoofing things left and right. Considering this is the Simpsons' big hurrah on the next gen platform then it isn't that big a surprise, I guess. In any case, people can expect the game to hit shelves on every platform on October 30. In the meantime, enjoy the video!

The Simpsons animated series has always been known for its parodies of everything from video games to movies to public figures, so of course this is reflected in Electronic Arts' upcoming The Simpsons video game (Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PS3, PSP, DS).

The company has received some negative reactions from a few video game companies regarding the spoofs in The Simpsons, however. This was revealed by The Simpsons lead designer Greg Rizzer in a recent interview with CVG.

"We've definitely had some reactions - we've had to pull stuff from the game", said Rizzer. "But that's cool to me. It's cool to still know, I feel, that the industry's been waiting for a game like this to come along. It's been too long since we really had one, and of course [there's] The Simpsons being the perfect vehicle to poke fun at the games industry."

Not everybody had negative reactions to the game's various video game spoofs, though. "I don't know if you've seen Sitar Hero? We did Apu playing this 60-button controller and songs like Pour Some Curry On Me - we made this wonderful parody poster and the guys from Harmonix loved it and we sent them 20 copies of the poster," said Rizzer. "They just loved it so much."

 

Those who can't wait to pick up a copy of Electronic Arts' The Simpsons Game (Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PS3, PSP, DS) will be happy to know that a fact sheet for the game has just been released. It details the different features of the title as well as some of the things you wouldn't expect to encounter.

The game stays true to The Simpsons series with various little additions that will please fans. Among them is the fact that the full cast of voice actors from the cartoons will be lending their talents to the characters in the video game.

In addition to that, the game is said to offer a whole new story made by the TV shows' writers. Here's the full fact list of the game straight from the EA press' office:

• Play Your Favorite Characters - Battle enemies and save Springfield while playing as your favorite dysfunctional TV family: Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge and even Maggie Simpson.
• The Real Simpsons - With the actual voice actors from the TV show and movie reprising their roles; characters from The Simpsons Game sound exactly as they should.
• Unique Character Abilities - While The Simpsons family have general abilities that can be used to fight opponents, interact with environments, and finish puzzles; each one has been imbued with special abilities that are unique to their personalities. These abilities grow and change as they progress through the story to battle tougher and tougher enemies in their quest to save Springfield!
• Looks Like The Simpsons - Using innovative 3D into 2D technology, the developers have been able to recreate Springfield and the entire cast of The Simpsons as the most visually authentic Simpsons game to date.
• Featuring Favorite and Original Springfieldeans! - The Simpsons Game features over 100 of your favorite Simpsons characters from the show along with 50+ new characters that were inspired by the fiction.

See the full list of features after the jump!

Those who decide to pre-order Electronic Arts' The Simpsons Game (DS, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360) are in for a treat. They'll be receiving some swag including one of the four limited edition posters and if you're lucky, a Homerball figure.

The four posters have the different designs showing off one of the different parodies present in the game. Each one will also have a cheat code on the back which players can use to unlock some of the content in the game. The press release gave word that it will be available from GameStop, Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy.

The Homerball, which will be available at "participating retailers while supplies last" is based on Homer's (duh!) special power in the game. For those who haven't seen this move in action, he essentially turns into a giant ball which gives the him ability to break through walls and steamroll any enemies.

Pre-orders will be available by September 19, so you might want to mark that on your calendar. If you want to get a Homerball. You might also want to place a few calls to your local game stores to see which ones carry the limited edition figurine.