We got an update on the upcoming Nordic Game Conference which is set to happen in a few weeks in Sweden. Things are definitely shaping up as the top names from the industry gather for the multidisciplinary Game Creation Sessions. Find out who they are in the full article.

Things are definitely taking shape with the upcoming Nordic Game conference 2008 which is set to happen in two months time in Malmö, Sweden. It's been revealed that producers of Lego Star Wars and Rock Band will be the Keynote speakers in this event. Find out the details after the jump!

Both gamers and non-gamers alike in Sweden are apparently being offered a pretty sweet deal by Sony. According to GamersReports, the company will be giving away free PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable units with their line of HDTVs.

Here's the deal: For every purchase of a Bravia Full HD TV, consumers can get either a free PS3 or a 200-Euro rebate. GamersReports also mentions that those who choose to buy an HD-ready TV, on the other hand, will get a free PSP.

Promos like this should jack up sales for all three Sony lines. We don't see any sign of the PSP deal on the ad to the right though, but this deal will reportedly be heavily advertised in retail stores so we'll keep you guys updated on that.

If you live in Sweden and want to get in on this deal, you better start saving up. The promo will run from October 1 until November 31. No word yet on whether or not this deal will spread to other EU territories.

The nationalistic fervor burns even hotter in EA Sports' FIFA 08 as the developers of one of the world's best-selling sports game franchises announce a collection of 50 songs from artists around the world.

Every national team represented in FIFA 08 has a corresponding song and band from their own country that ups the passion as you take on the world's elite teams in the planet's most popular ballgame.

Included in the mix are artists such as The Hoosiers (UK), Babamars (France), Bodyrox (UK), Junkie XL (Holland), and Santogold (USA), Simian Mobile Disco (UK), CSS (Brazil), Datarock (Norway), Dover (Spain), Ivy Queen (Puerto Rico), Junkie XL (Holland), Maximo Park (UK), Mexican Institute of Sound (Mexico), Peter Bjorn And John (Sweden), Planet Funk (Italy), Superbus (France), The Cat Empire (Australia), and Wir Sind Helden (Germany). Many more are in store to be discovered when the game hits.

"We’ve been working for nearly a year to deliver what we believe is the ultimate FIFA 08 soundtrack," comments Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music at EA. "These are the most songs ever in a FIFA edition representing the most countries in the history of the videogame."

EA Sports' FIFA football franchise is the longest-running football simulation to date and has sold millions of copies around the world with iterations dating back to almost two decades. FIFA 08 will be released on the Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC, Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation Portable.

Buy: [FIFA 08 (Wii)]

Buy: [FIFA 08 (PS3)]

Buy: [FIFA 08 (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [FIFA 08 (PC)]
Buy: [FIFA 08 (PSP)]
Buy: [FIFA 08 (DS)]

What are they playing over at Sweden? Aren't you curious? This bit of info just might save your life one day, y'know. The region's data trade firm, Dataspelsbranschen (now try saying that as fast as you can, ten times consecutively), has just released the top sales charts of video games for Sweden.

The Multiplatform chart is dominated by the MMORPG mogul that is The World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade from Blizzard. This is followed by Pokémon Diamond on the Nintendo DS. MotorStorm and R:FoM have also landed a place in the multiplatform chart, and unsurprisingly, both titles get bragging rights in the PS3 chart.

The 360 chart has Guitar Hero II fronting the musical act - and smack dab in the middle is Gears of War on fifth place. The Wii has Leon Kennedy and Ashley Graham running up to first place with Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, while Twilight Princess is galloping up to the Top 2 spot.

On the handheld side, the DS chart has both Pokemon (Diamond and Pearl) titles on top, while the PSP chart has Pro Evolution Soccer 6 kicking into the goal - Konami's sports title is enjoying the kingly spot on top.

 Multiformat

1. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC)
2. Pokémon Diamond (DS)
3. World of Warcraft (PC)
4. Counter-Strike 1: Anthology (PC)
5. Guitar Hero 2 Rock the 80´s (PS2)
6. The Sims 2 H&M Fashion (PC)
7. Pokémon Pearl (DS)
8. Motorstorm (PS3)
9. Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3)
10. Singstar 90's (PS2)

Check out the Full Article link below for each individual chart per platform!

Develop has recently announced the list of finalists nominated to receive awards offered by the Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Set for the region of UK and Europe, the awards will be held during the Develop Conference & Expo to be held this year at Brighton. Again.

 

Top of the nominees list is Realtime Worlds (Crackdown), bagging a whopping seven nominations. Evolution Studios (MotorStorm), Rare (Viva Piñata), SCEE Studio Liverpool (Formula One Championship Edition), and independent developer and publisher Introversion (DEFCON) get three nominations a-piece. Other nominees include GSC Game World (S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) from Russia, EA DICE (Battlefield series) and Avalanche from Sweden, Opera from Norway, and Fishlabs from Germany.

Some of the big names nominated for the 2007 awards night include Eidos Hungary, Ubisoft France development studios, Eden Studios, and Kynogon. The fate of these nominees will be decided by a panel of almost 100 industry experts who choose only excellence over anything else. Stuart Dinsey, publisher of Develop magazine, stated:

In a period which has seen the launch of two home consoles, the continued improvement of Xbox 360 and PC software, and the mobile games market emerge as a genuine creative and commercial alternative to the more traditional games platforms, only the most excellent titles have any chance of standing out from the crowd.

Two other special awards, Development Legend and overall Grand Prix, will be given away in the awards night on July 25 to be honored to individuals, companies, or titles deserving in the eyes of the magazine's editorial staff.

 

World Rally Championship driver Colin McRae is no longer a stranger to gamers. A number of racing games named after him have come out already on multiple platforms. His newest exploit would be Colin McRae: DIRT, to appear this 2007 on both next gen consoles, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Unknown to all of us, he's about to zoom his way towards our PSPs!

Actually, there was a 2005 racing title that featured the said racing icon. Unfortunately though, it didn't quite pick up. This time around, developer Codemasters would like to make sure this new title is not going to eat other racing game's dirt. Some of the new features include:

• international real-life race routes like the ones in Japan, Germany, Britain, Sweden, the United States, Finland, Australia, Spain, Greece and other 9 countries
• 20 famous races and 300 tracks all in all
• new car models like Toyota Celica VVTLi, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII, Peugeot 206, Lancia Stratos and 30 other classic models

Also, we learned that there would be an experience mode wherein players will play as McRae himself earning credits and making better records. Most excitingly, the new game allows for multiplayers, supporting up to eight players in one time. Now, that will make things dirty! Anyway, an official title for the game has yet to be announced as it is currently deep into development.

    

Q Entertainment founder Tetsuya Mizuguchi has been talking about his upcoming PSP title Lumines 2 today at the little-known gem that is the Nordic Game event in Malm?weden. One of the major attractions of the original Lumines for the PSP (despite the addictive block-orientated gameplay that is) was the selection of music tracks available, and Lumines 2 will be a little bit different.

Not too eager to mess with an already winning-formula, Tetsuya Mizuguchi has said that they have many artists from all over the world ready to put music in Lumines 2. Boasting about Lumines 2's soundtrack listing, here's what the legend form Q Entertainment said:

"For Lumines II, the concept is, 'How can we combine the music and music video in a game?' We have cooperation from ten famous artists from the western market and artists from Asia, and we put 100 tracks into it. We have music from Black Eyed Peas, Beck, Missy Elliot, Chemical Brothers, Stephanie, Junior Senior, Go! Team, Junkie XL and New Order. So, which artist do you want?"

It may just be us but is there a hint of sarcastic humour there? Mizuguchi is scheduled to have an interview shortly so stay tuned for the latest updates. Meanwhile, we'll leave you with the images of Lumines 2 from the Nordic Game event.

Buy: [Lumines 2]

  

Rumors of a PlayStation Phone runs high as the 5th year anniversary of Sony Ericsson draws near. As part of its October festivities, the Japanese-Swedish conglomerate jumps up anticipations as hints were given during the media conference in Malmo, Sweden.

Sony Ericsson Senior Vice-President of Product and Application Planning Rikko Sakaguchi reveals, "The company is working on something although the surprise must be kept for the future." He further added that the project is not to create a new gaming device but to integrate both gaming and communication functions.

The WEGA-branding Sony Ericsson is using for its TV-enabled handsets will also be utilized for this project and Sakaguchi declined to divulge things further. The company's standard timeline for developing a new lineup takes around two years. With that said, we will be waiting for 2008.