Not to say we don't love the Nintendo Wii it has its time and place, which is usually when we're all together and our BAC is a little high. Either way we're kind of getting worried about all the peripherals that Nintendo is releasing. They've officially filed for a patent on a soft football that will hold the Wiimote and allow more realism for games like Madden and...erhhm...well...Madden. The basic idea behind this is that the football would pick up throwing angle, power, and direction to make the game more "realistic" to "immerse you." It could go so far as to even pick up body movements with the Wii Motion+ functionality. So...if you own a Wii and like to play games on it (Yes, all 12 of you out there) you'd better start saving your pennies because it looks like you will eventually need a seperate empty one bed room apartment just to play the damn thing in. More pics after the break.

Now this is what we call news! Considering how much of a hassle it is to pre-order a game instead of just show up to Wal-Mart at midnight this is kind of shocking. It seems that together the preorders for 360 and PS3 for the game have toppeled one million. (Even if 8/10ths of those we for the 360, SUCK IT PS3 fanboys!) Nipping at the heels of COD:MW2 are Halo ODST and Arkham Asylum respectively. If you'd like to see the whole stat crunching chart listing of preorders for this year head over to VGChartz and check it out.

Nope, you read that perfectly right so those of you out there without good, dependable internet can have a good scream now. No, no, it's ok we'll wait. Feel better now? First Blizzard hits us with no LAN play for SC2 and now EA says you can't play sinlge player if you aren't logged on through the internet. Now we're sure this is all a way to keep piracy levels on the low for the game but we all saw how well that worked with Sims 3 and Spore, now didn't we? EA please stop trying to be crafty and lazy as to not implement an offline system. It just seems unfair to those gamers out there who don't have super rigs and are playing it with everything turned down at 12 frames per second just because they have a love of the game. Praise them, do not punish them.

Rare design director George Andreas has recently stated that although it may be a challenge over time, first person shooters will be a reality on Project Natal. He is slated as having said "You just need to be able to rethink how you approach those particular design problems." Meaning that designers will have to rethink their ideas and schemes completely as new information and new experiences to be had with Natal are being learned and created daily.

Mr. Andreas goes on to say that "To take a shooter, as an example, you would just have to rethink the way a shooter works," also continuing with "Shooters work the way they do at the moment because they’re based around the original Xbox 360 controller. You throw that away, you throw that interface away and here’s a completely different interface – now how do we create a shooter for this? Does it mean that you have to run, strafe, turn, throw grenades in the way that you’re used to? Maybe not. Maybe there’s another way of doing shooters."

Now it's clear that the experiences from controller to Natal will surely be completely different but at the same time we're sure they could still hold some of the same elements. This could be one of the most revolutionary turning points in gaming, but at the same time for some it could also be what shuns them away as they prefer the old school feel of a controller in their hands. Are we excited to try it? Hell yes we are. Expect to see more of Project Natal as it releases (assuming) Q4 of 2010.

For me, the the real big one at Gamescom last week was the announcement of Fable 3 which offers you the chance to rule Albion with the usual good or evil choices tailored towards despotism and even kindly ruling. The press release says:

In the epic story of Fable III, the journey to rule the throne of Albion begins five decades after the events of the last chapter, and you play as the child of your hero from Fable II. As you rule your kingdom as king or queen, you will be called upon to make choices and sacrifices that will test your morality and can affect your entire kingdom. Themes of heroism, leadership and consequence are taken to a grand scale as you fight to unite a divided people.

Peter Molyneux, head honcho of Lionhead said at Gamescom "We've spent a lot of time at Lionhead thinking about how we can innovate the gameplay and progress the world of the 'Fable' games for its third chapter, and we're confident that players won't second-guess what we have planned for Fable III."

He was tight lipped in a lot of ways saying, "Though I can't give too much away right now, players should expect to have to make much tougher choices with far wider consequences than ever before in Albion — and with many more interactive adventure elements."

Also in Fable news it was also announced that Fable II is set to be re-released as an episodic XBLA download.  The first installment will be available for free from September 29. This version will be fully compatible with Knothole Island and See the Future add-ons and it'll also feature the cooperative play element.