Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC) has only recently been cleared for release in Australia after the whole drugs debacle, but it looks like Bethesda's Pete Hines is still a bit peeved. According to the Fallout 3 product manager, censorship laws that differ from country to country are "frustrating". More from Hines in the full article.

So what's going to be in our videogaming menu starting this week? A whole lot of DS games once again, we tell you, though there's a few gems or two in the Nintendo handheld rough on Tuesday. There's a music rhythm game for almost every console out there, plus a couple new additions to the portfolio of PC games. Somehow we're also seeing another relaunching of Gears of War for the Xbox 360 the "Refresh" edition. We don't know why it's re-listed, but it is. The full list follows at the full story.

Is Bethesda going to be releasing Oblivion for the Sony PSP after all? While the company's keeping quiet about this matter, an ad over at Amazon.com says it just might be a possibility. Details regarding this rumor are available in the full article.

After getting wind of reports from Gamestop that they have taken out The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion from its product database yesterday, many have speculated that the game has very little hope of seeing a release on the PlayStation Portable.

However, sources from Kotaku were able to catch up with Pete Hines, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations at Bethesda, and get his comment on the matter. Read what Pete Hines had to say right after the jump!

Here's a bit of bad news for those of you expecting to play Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion on the PlayStation Portable. Reports have said that the companies behind the project will be dropping any plans of continuing the handheld RPG adaptation of the PC hit.

The game was originally slated to be released last Spring, but its release date was pushed back and forth several times since then. Read the full article after the jump!

Much hype came with Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion moving to the PS3, but those who own the game are probably enjoying it despite all the arguments between platforms. Pete Hines have spoken before about the port, and his words aren't much different from Senior Producer Craig Lafferty's.

Lafferty is pretty happy about the result of their work. The graphical differences from both consoles are pretty difficult to notice, something they intended right at the start. Optimizing was a success too, effectively removing loading times and including Knights of the Nine expansion.

As for taking the MMO world, Lafferty could only say there's a possibility in that. A Wii version is less likely to happen given the specs an enormous game like Oblivion requires, but "it's something [Bethesda Softworks] would like to do."

Unfortunately, there's nothing new on Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion yet. No need to worry though, we'll keep you updated as news comes. For the full interview, click on the Read link below.

Last week, it will be noted that Ubisoft's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was GameFly's most requested game title. This week, however, the lean green fighting machine will be taking a backseat to second, as we report that Super Paper Mario for the Nintendo Wii takes GameFly's top post among several other to-be-released and already released games. Activision's upcoming Spider-Man 3 multiplatform game replaces Sega's Armored Core 4 for the number three position.

See the lists below for the breakdown of each console's top five games.

Nintendo Wii

1. Super Paper Mario (Nintendo)
2. Cooking Mama: Cook Off (Majesco)
3. Medal of Honor: Vanguard (Electronic Arts)
4. The Godfather: Blackhand Edition (Electronic Arts)
5. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Electronic Arts).

Xbox 360

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Ubisoft)
2. Spider-man 3 (Activision)
3. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (Ubisoft)
4. Armored Core 4 (Sega)
5. Earth Defense Force 2017 (D3P).

PlayStation 3 (PS3)

1. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
2. MotorStorm (Sony)
3. The Godfather: The Don's Edition (Electronic Arts)
4. Spider-man 3 (Activision)
5. MLB 07: The Show (Sony)

Nintendo DS

1. Pokemon Diamond (Nintendo)
2. Pokemon Pearl (Nintendo)
3. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (D3P)
4. Spectrobes (Buena Vista)
5. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (Nintendo)
   

PlayStation Portable (PSP)

1. 300: March to Glory (Eidos)
2. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (Sony)
3. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Another Road (Atari)
4. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Konami)
5. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (D3P)
   

We'll try to report this as blandly as possible since the talented Mr. Thompson will probably benefit from the press attention. Around a week ago we reported that Take-Two Interactive filed suit against Florida lawyer Jack Thompson, and that this was a preemptive move to keep said lawyer from making actions against the company in light of the upcoming releases of GTA IV and Manhunt 2.

As expected, and promised by Mr. Thompson, he has filed his response to the Take-Two suit. He has also filed a countersuit that accuses Take-Two Interactive of multiple violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), noting that the company has embarked on a continued effort to violate his constitutional rights since July 2005.

Aside from the claims of infringement upon his rights, what's noteworthy about Thompson's defense is that he seems to have claimed that the ESRB has found that Take-Two Interactive failed to disclose objectionable content in its role-playing game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The ESRB has said that it finds Bethesda Softworks at fault in that matter, not Take-Two.

Thompson also claims that Take-Two had a lot of help in breaking the law. The countersuit he's prepared also mentions the ESA, Penny Arcade, GameSpot, as well as a number of other companies and media outlets as having conspired and collaborated with Take-Two to commit racketeering activities.

The lawyer is looking to be awarded damages and be reimbursed of his legal fees.

Nuisance what again?

No, the balancing act isn't an expansion. Read on...

 

Bethesda's Peter Hines talks to GameIndustry.biz about the balancing act that is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - from the PC ,the Xbox 360, the PS3, and even Elder Scrolls Travels for the PSP.

The PC and PS3 posed their own challenges. Peter describes the PC as a powerful platform, but "totally undefined" in terms of the hardware that goes inside. For the PS3, it's an entirely new ballgame, very powerful but obviously works in a different way from the Xbox 360 (and the PC, for that matter). While the PC programmers took advantage of the Xbox 360 experience to optimize the game there, the PS3 team had the help of experienced Sony platform programmers to optimize Oblivion for the PS3.

Speaking of Sony platforms, says Hines: release date for PSP Oblivion is still TBC (or TBA, if you're more familiar with that acronym). Since it's a game on a different kind of platform, "It basically uses nothing from Oblivion, it's a completely new game."

In response to GI's curiosity - why did Ubisoft publish the PS3 Oblivion and not Take-Two Interactive, Peter Hines "really can't say. Too much backroom stuff" (Hmm... very intriguing. Very intriguing indeed).

Oh, and if anyone's still asking about a Wii Oblivion, Hines must sadly decline.

It's something we'd like to do, but unfortunately it's not a very good fit with Oblivion. Oblivion is a very demanding game hardware-wise and in terms of graphics processing and raw horsepower. It's not something the Wii was designed to do. They decided not to make the focus on raw horsepower but on interface and so forth.

It's a great console and many of us at Bethesda have one but I know that bringing Oblivion over is not possible - we'd have to do a whole new game.

Guess we can't count on a similar DS Oblivion either.

This is peculiar. Just a few days after video game retailer GameStop had The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion RPG by Bethesda Softworks for the PSP dated for a September 3 release, the online store once again makes an about-face, placing Oblivion back squarely on April 16.

Confusing? Yeah verily, dear readers, although we're sure the Oblivion fans are relieved with this latest date swap. On the other hand, there is much speculation how this game will perform, given that past reports have stated players will be missing out on the game's famous free-roaming gameplay, and will instead have to contend with 10 levels worth of dungeon-crawling as they combat the Daedric threats heralded by King Tamriel's (aka Captain "Love-Doctor" Picard) untimely death.

It depends on your taste, really - some people would have preferred a more linear approach to the game, while other RPG fans felt Oblivion's meat was more in the side quests and the travelling, as compared to its central (and disagreeably short) plot. Of course, the GameStop release date is still open to change, with other gaming sites still listing Oblivion as a "Spring 2007" release and Bethesda's home site keeping mum. Just stay sharp for further news on a release date.