Okay, nobody panic. Unless you’re in Europe and dying to play the new Twisted Metal. It’s looking like some localization issues are stalling the release of Twisted Metal in Europe, and may take up to a month to come out. Even if this isn’t such great news, at least the demo that released on the 31st is available until you can get the real thing.

There’s no definite date out just yet, so it could be the 1^st or the 31^st, which is not altogether comforting. Those in North America will be pleased to know that launch day is still on for February 14, better known as Valentine’s Day. What better way to let your loved ones know you care?

Anyhow, alongside the delay in Europe, that version is also going to have some modifications. David Jaffe said that some gameplay elements have been changed slightly, and some cutscenes have been censored by the SCEE. Even with this censoring, the stories will still be in tact, so don’t worry about missing something major. The gameplay edits that were mentioned were minor; things like changing a screaming corpse into a lifeless cadaver. How boring.

A few days ago, Kaz Hirai was made Sony’s new president and CEO, taking the place of Howard Stringer. He wasted no time in letting everyone know that changes on the horizon that will hopefully save Sony from it’s almost two decades of lows. The official takeover will happen in April, but no time will be wasted twiddling thumbs from the looks of this interview with the Wall Street Journal. (check out the video below)

There are going to be some serious goal changes for Sony, and it’s about time. Especially since they saw a 2 billion dollar loss in the game division a few years back. You know the business model needs to change when you see that you’re a couple billion in the hole. Hirai knows that waiting for things to get better isn’t going to do anyone any good, so he’s going to be moving things around until they improve. In a previous interview he had stated, “I thought turning around the PlayStation business was going to be the toughest challenge of my career, but I guess not.” If he can make Sony better for all of us, then more power to him.

It seems as though not everyone is being a team player, and Hirai intends to change that immediately. Not in the sense of laying anyone off, just trying to get core groups together so that decisions can be made quickly, efficiently, and with everyone’s best interest in mind. The naysayers are likely going to change their minds though, as Hirai stated in his interview:

“I think one of the fundamental things that we need to change at Sony is to become a company that provides a very unique and compelling user experience as opposed to just a company that provides great hardware products. We really need to buckle down and be realistic. I don’t think everybody is on board, but I think people are coming around to the idea that if we don’t turn this around, we could be sitting in some serious trouble.”

For the full interview, go here.

Most of you already know that Ubisoft has some incredibly draconian DRM, since a lot of their games require that you keep a connection going with their servers at all times as you play the game. Well, what happens when those servers go offline?

On Tuesday, February 7th, Ubisoft will be moving its servers, and have not specified how long it will take. For those of you who have legitimately purchased your Ubisoft games, you will just be out of luck if you want to play them while the server move is taking place. That includes single player games, as well.

While Ubisoft recently announced that Rayman: Origin will have bare DRM (requiring a single activation), the glaring problems of their “always-on” DRM will be highlighted on Tuesday. Of course, if you have a pirated version, then you won’t have anything to worry about, at least when it comes to playing the game.

There are certain gaming companies that I’m not fond of. Two of the things that usually put me off to a company is excessive use of DRM, and the act of buying up companies, just to run the franchises into the ground with constant releases with little innovation. However, when you compare these to the copycat tactics of gaming giant Zynga.

A couple of weeks ago there was an image released  by Nimblebit, creators of the iPhone game Tiny Tower. It was a very sarcastic congratulatory message, which showed off the close similarities between their game and Zynga’s. Now, it would be easy to dismiss this as a simple coincidence, if Zynga didn’t have a track record for this sort of behavior. Ever heard of Farm Town? No? Well, it came out in early 2009, and was later crushed by Farmville, which was nearly identical. You could also look at Mob Wars and Mafia Wars. The list goes on.

Again, some people could say that it’s all just a series of coincidences. However, Forbes got their hands on a leaked memo that Forbes from CEO Mark Pincus didn’t show that this is exactly how they build games. “We don’t need to be first to market. We need to be the best in market.” is one of my favorite lines. The whole memo talks about how they “innovate” by improving on other people’s ideas. I’m sorry Mark, but you aren’t innovating. You’re taking someone else’s idea, and throwing money at it. Then you advertise the shit out of it until the competition is crushed. There is a special place in hell for people that prey on independent game developers.

Yesterday we showed you Bethesda’s teaser video for the upcoming Creation Kit for Skyrim. This will finally make most of the company’s development tools available to consumers, so that the game can be customized to your liking. What the company failed to tell us was exactly when the kit would be available.

Thanks to a Tweet from @Bethblog we at least know that we don’t have very long at all to wait. In response to one user’s question, they announced that the Creation Kit would be coming next week.

We can only assume that the Skyrim Workshop will be rolling out at the same time as the kit. It would only make sense, as the two are closely tied together. We’ll only know for sure once the kit rolls out sometime next week.

More troubling news, as THQ announced that “up to 240 selling, general and administrative personal worldwide” will be laid off. The layoffs will be finalized on September 30th, 2012, but most of the layoffs will occur by March 31st.

The CEO and the Board of Directors are not immune to THQ’s troubles either, as they are all taking 50% pay cut. CEO Brian Farrell’s severance package, should he be fired or resign with “good reason”, is also being reduced, from three times his highest ever bonus to only his highest ever bonus.

At this time, the layoffs do not affect studios, only administration and publishing offices. This is a tough break for the company, but needed if THQ wants to have any chance of remaining afloat.

PC gamers from around the world, you can now rest your weary heads. Alan Wake for the PC now has a release date, and it’s coming soon to a system near you. Players can pick up the game on Steam starting February 16th, and it will launch at the price of $29.99.

There will be a Limited Collector’s Edition for $35, just like when the game launched on console. It includes all of the content in the standard edition of the game, as well as the Alan Wake Files Book, developer commentary, and a digital soundtrack.

It’s great to finally have a release date for the game, and PC players now can have something more to look forward to. I do hope that the PC port is a great version of the game, and it should be. The game is set to include DirectX 11 support, and that’s great out of the gate. There’s only about two weeks until the release, so keep a lookout on Steam.

Ever since Bethesda released The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the internet has been abuzz with some pretty great media centered around the game. We’ve seen bardic covers of the game’s theme, comics and memes inspired by in-game situations, and even some great props based off of in-game items. When it comes to making the game rock out loud, however, a brand new cover has got it all under control.

Youtube user MatthewPegoli has assembled a party of the mightiest warriors in the rock world. With this team he has helped produce one of the greatest remixes ever to be handed down from legend. He, along with Jamit Gandhi on bass and Paul Attanasio on drums, have brought the force of the Dovahkiin in the form of some epic rock tunes.

This video is sheer brilliance, and it’s got my vote for the best cover out so far for Skyrim. There’s seriously no reason why you shouldn’t be headbanging and watching this right now. Check it out below and get some FUS RO DAH in your system!

IndieCade, the International Festival of Independent Games, has opened up the lines for developers from all over to submit their games into the contest. The official IndieCade website is accepting all submissions, including any works-in-progress.

The International Festival of Independent Games exists to help promote and facilitate the production of new content in the independent game community. Some of the best games available right now are indie games, including titles like Minecraft, Capsized, and Dustforce. The CEO of IndieCade, Stephanie Barish, enlightened us with what the company is setting out to do with the gaming industry. “Our mission is to spotlight the best cutting-edge work and the most innovative game designs — often thriving at the fringes of the game industry. Our goal is to bring public as well as industry attention to exciting, innovative games, created by independent developers.”

The selected entries from the submission lot will be spotlighted at the annual IndieCade Festival which takes place from October 4th to the 7th. They will also be featured on the IndieCade website and promoted through social networks. From there, winners will be selected which will be honored during the fall festival. Those who are selected as finalists will receive two VIP passes to IndieCade 2012, which is a prize in and of itself. If you’re an indie game developer and are looking for your chance to shine, you won’t want to miss out on this. Head over to the IndieCade website to submit your project and learn more.

Slant Six Games is really trying hard to provide gamers with a Resident Evil title they’ll remember for years to come. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is not only a differing title from the series, but it’s almost an all-new game itself. For the first time ever we’ll be able to move and shoot in succession, we’ll have team-based multiplayer, and we’ll get to see a time in the Resident Evil timeline like never before.

When the game was first announced I was a bit skeptical, but with the recent trailers and details coming out, I couldn’t sit in denial any longer. I want this game, and I want it hard. A new trailer has released for the game, and this time we get a look at the different types of characters that will take up arms in the decimated city. We take a glance at the Umbrella and U.S.S. teams, and see exactly how they perform in their time of combat.

The trailer not only introduces players more into the role of each team, but it lays out a simple timeline of the events taking place in the game itself. It details why each specific team was sent into the zone, and what their mission is to complete. It looks good, and I’m even more excited for the game to release. Not too much longer now, as the game is set to launch on March 20th.