Source: America's leading sports magazine for the prepubescent athlete, Sports Illustrated for Kids.

The official story: See below.

What we heard: One of the hottest gaming scoops of the year may have been unearthed by the sports-magazine equivalent of Highlights for Children, Sports Illustrated for Kids. In a section of the magazine devoted to sports games, a side column sums up the forthcoming additions to the next-gen console family, the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii.

Much of the info is watered-down talk of the systems, with the only description of the PS3 reading "Wireless controllers and revved-up graphics designed to work on high-definition TVs." There was no mention of its very adult price tag, and there was only a brief summary of the potential of the Wii's controller with sports games.

However, the big news that had kids freaking out like a Pixy Stix sugar rush was a note about the console's release date, which was one of Nintendo's closely guarded secrets. The magazine claims the console will release on November 6, 11 days before the PS3's confirmed release date (which was also mentioned in the magazine).

Nintendo has gone on record to say that the Wii would be released in Q4 of 2006, in time for the holiday season. The November 6 date seems to fall in line with conventional wisdom, and getting a head start on the PS3 is a logical move for the company.

Of course, Nintendo wouldn't let a magazine that sits on the rack near Teen Beat spoil an official announcement, and had this to say about the report: "The launch date for Wii cited in the current issue of Sports Illustrated for Kids is based on speculation on the part of the magazine, and is not based on information from Nintendo. We remain committed to launch the remarkable Wii console in the fourth quarter of 2006."

Though SI for Kids is aimed at the little brothers and sisters of the world, it's still a member of the Sports Illustrated family and is presumably held to similar journalistic standards. They didn't pull the date out of thin air, and misinformation would face the wrath of millions of Internet-savvy preteens wondering where their Wii was on November 6 (please keep jokes to yourself).

Bogus or not bogus?: Officially? Bogus. Unofficially? The release date had to come from somewhere, but we won't know the truth until later this year. What do you think?

Source: Job postings on the site of Sony Europe recruiter Datascope.

The official story: "There has been no official announcement regarding these properties."--a Sony spokesman.

What we heard: One of Datascope's job listings, which were last updated earlier today, is looking to fill a lead designer position--and apparently as soon as possible given the all-caps "URGENT" beside the title. The task of whomever is hired for the role will be "to have a key role in realising future iterations of Wipeout on PSP and PS3," according to the site.

The Wipeout franchise has been taking a bit of a breather since Wipeout Pure launched alongside the PSP in 2004, so it seems about time for another installment in the futuristic racer series if Sony Europe wants to keep the franchise semi-fresh in consumer's minds. That said, it survived three years without a new iteration between Wipeout Fusion on the PlayStation 2 and its PSP debut, which has racked up more than a quarter million in sales to date, according to the industry-tracking NPD Group.

Further down the list is an assortment of positions for new PS3 and PSP "football" titles. Given that these are Sony Europe's job openings, it's a safe assumption the sport being discussed is soccer, not American-style pigskin. Now while the idea of a new PSP soccer game isn't going to raise many eyebrows--World Tour Soccer '06 on the PSP recently shipped, and an '07 version seems likely--the PS3 edition is a little more interesting.

Sony Europe's This is Football series for the PlayStation 2 rode the pine last year, leaving the market to be carved up by more established efforts from Konami and Electronic Arts, among others. However, if Sony were to once again develop a first-party soccer game for the living room, the PS3 would be an ideal place to give the series a fresh start.

Another interesting wrinkle is in the job listing for an Audio Group Lead Programmer. Although it states the new hire would work on a PS3 football game, knowledge of the PSP is listed as a bonus in the job description. It's entirely possible Sony would just have the programmer working on both the PS3 and the PSP soccer games at the same time, but this could also point to some kind of cross-platform functionality between the two systems.

Whether these games ever make it to market is still up in the air, but if Sony's actively looking for people to work on them, they're clearly in--or at least starting--development.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus.

Source: The latest podcast from Stephen Glicker--aka Gaming Steve.

The official story: Microsoft directed all inquiries to Electronic Arts, which had not commented as of press time.

What we heard: Late yesterday, forums began to rumble with a rumor that irked many PC gamers. The posts--and subsequent rumors on game-news sites--claimed that the latest Gaming Steve podcast had official confirmation that Command & Conquer 3, the latest in the storied real-time strategy series, was coming to the Xbox 360.

If C&C 3 did come to the 360, it would be the franchise's first console game since 1999, when the original game was ported to the N64. That title was preceded by a quintet of other ports, including: Command & Conquer: Red Alert: Retaliation (PlayStation, 1998 ), Command & Conquer: Red Alert (PlayStation, 1997), Command & Conquer (PlayStation, 1997), and Command & Conquer (Saturn, 1996).

While those titles received mixed reviews, a 360 C&C 3 would have much more potential. The PC version of C&C 3 is being developed by EA's Los Angeles studio, which is currently working on the 360 version of its well-received PC RTS The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II. Many game journalists have praised the 360 BFMEII as a remarkably good port, including Glicker. Commenting about the game's quality, he said it will likely inspire other RTSes to come to the console. "Hopefully other people will do a real-time strategy game on the 360," said Glicker, who singled out THQ's Supreme Commander as a title ripe for porting.

Glicker then went on to predict that C&C 3 will also find its way to Microsoft's next-gen console. "I know for a fact that they are doing this because these are the same guys, the same team who's doing Command & Conquer 3, and they're definitely gonna release it for the 360--you heard it here," he proclaimed. "They're really using Battle for Middle-earth II as a springboard, a test to see how it's gonna work for Command & Conquer 3. So they're almost trying to use this as a beta, a very good beta. So when they kind of streamline this, when they design Command & Conquer 3, they'll be able to get a lot more information and they'll be able to come out with a really strong Command & Conquer 3 both for the PC and the 360."

Following those comments, Glicker went on to interview Louis Castle (pictured), EALA's Vice President of Creative Development and cofounder of Westwood Studios, creator of the C&C series. His presence right after Glicker's comments regarding the 360 C&C 3 led many to believe Castle himself had confirmed the game's existence.

But while he talked at length about BfMEII and how EALA had prototypes of unnamed 360 RTSes, Castle steadfastly refused to answer any questions regarding C&C 3. First, he rebuffed a general question about upcoming EALA projects by saying, "Obviously, I can't talk about games that aren't announced yet." Then, he shot down a specific question about the already-announced PC C&C 3 with a flat "I can't talk about it."

But Castle's clamming up doesn't necessarily mean that C&C 3 isn't coming to the 360. Glicker's reputation is solid and his network of contacts vast, so it's entirely possible that he was told of the game off the record. Eventually, he will likely get it on the record as well. "We're going to have more information on C&C later in the year--I'll keep you in the loop," he told listeners.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that it's been confirmed. However, time--and the retail performance of BFMEII--will tell if C&C 3 is 360-bound.

Source: [UPDATE] A Total Video Games piece that referenced, but did not link to, this MTV interview...

The official story: Grand Theft Auto publisher Rockstar Games had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

What we heard: When Electronic Arts bought Criterion Games in July 2004, it did more than add the Burnout extreme-racing franchise to its game garage. The Guildford, UK-based developer is also the creator of the RenderWare engine, which powers many games published by EA rivals--games such as Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Take-Two Interactive, owner of Rockstar, must have been less than thrilled when EA bought Criterion, as the purchase meant it would have to pay royalties to its archrival for each GTA game sold.

Given the royalty conundrum and the desire for cutting-edge graphics, many assumed that the next GTA would be based on an all-new engine. So when word began to spread that MTV was saying GTA IV would be based on RAGE, industry watchers nodded approvingly. After all, the technology--which stands for Rockstar Advanced Game Engine--was developed in-house at Rockstar, meaning no royalty payments to third parties would be necessary. Furthermore, Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis shows that RAGE is capable of both impressive graphics and physics, two areas that drew fire from GTA detractors.

But as logical as the TVG story sounded, it could not be verified as of press time. Neither of the game sections on the US or UK MTV Web sites had any visible stories about GTA IV, and inquiries to Rockstar reps had gone unanswered as of press time.

[UPDATE] GameSpot News got in contact with MTV, and the article is still up--it's just slightly over a month old. Rockstar voluntarily admitted that the RAGE engine would be used in all upcoming Rockstar Games, including the next GTA.

Bogus or not bogus?: Given the positive feedback on Table Tennis and the huge potential savings, this smells legit.

Source: eBusiness Web site WebProNews.com and a few others.

The official story: See below.

What we heard: Last week, Nintendo was awarded a patent from The United States Patent and Trademark Office, titled "Messaging service for video game systems with buddy list that displays game being played." In layman's terms, the patent is for a system akin to the familiar buddy lists in instant messaging programs, and, because of its relevance to gaming systems, more closely similar to features of Microsoft's Xbox Live service.

Sifting through the patent reveals plans for "one or more buddies identified on a buddy list previously defined by the user" where the status of the buddies can be displayed, even if the users are playing different games. In short: Gamers will be able to see what their friends are playing, and vice versa.

The document also details a messaging system, where users can send and receive messages over Internet-connected systems--just like Xbox Live. Also like XBL, the service would notify players when they've received a message, even if they are in the middle of playing a game. The patent also mentions both text and voice messages "between two or more logged-in players."

As the patent was filed in late 2000, there isn't any specific mention of the DS or the Wii, although it does allude to "game systems" and handhelds. This means that Nintendo could be shooting for future interconnectivity between its handhelds and consoles, but at what point is unknown.

While some might accuse Nintendo of ripping off Xbox Live, the fact is the patent was originally filed before the first Xbox came out. That led webpronews.com to speculate that Nintendo could sue Microsoft, even though Xbox Live has been in place for years.

"It looks as though Microsoft's Xbox Live system may infringe upon Nintendo's new patent," reads the article. "If so, Nintendo could try to reach a cross-licensing deal that would allow it to delve into areas covered by some of Microsoft's patents. Sony is another potential target if Nintendo tries to pursue the matter."

Not so fast, says John Stickevers, a partner with Boston-based intellectual property law firm Bromberg & Sunstein. "Although the title seems broad, and one might think that Nintendo could assert this patent against Microsoft's Xbox Live service, the scope of the patent is much narrower," Stickevers told GameSpot News.

"According to the claims, the Nintendo system requires that the client software reside on the game cartridge [or other 'replaceably connectable' storage device] and when the cartridge is inserted and the game is made active, the client program contacts the server to set up the chat. ... Thus, for a competitor to infringe this patent, their chat client application needs to be present on the storage device along with the video game."

As anyone with Xbox Live knows, messages, voice or chat, can be sent without a game running on the system--it's effectively the "heart" of Xbox Live. The Nintendo patent makes special mention of "replaceably connectable" media--a DVD, an external hard drive, a memory card, or anything that can be connected and subsequently swapped out--meaning that their messaging system requires more than just the Wii and its guts.

It should be noted that just because the patent was awarded, it doesn't necessarily mean that Nintendo will use it, nor does it mean that the Wii will definitely have IM-like features. On the other hand, Nintendo's rekindled interest in Web-based connectivity (see: WiiConnect24) is well documented, and some form of messaging system is likely, even if it hasn't been officially announced yet. And even if the Wii doesn't launch with messaging capability, it can always be added later. After all, the the Xbox was on the market for about a year before Xbox Live was introduced.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus, but that would ultimately be for the courts to decide.

Source: Film-industry blog Movie City News.

The official story: See below.

What we heard: At the 2005 Game Developers Conference, Cameron was featured in a montage hyping Microsoft's then-unnamed next-generation console. The director caused a bit of stir when he announced his next big-budget blockbuster, his first since 1997's Titanic, would be developed alongside a high-profile game.

"In my next film, I can only tell you what we're planning on doing, which is simultaneously developing a major motion picture and, hopefully, a major game title that coexists in the same world that shares characters," said Cameron. He continued, "Going into that world will actually inform those watching the film and vice versa. I don't want to say anything more than that, because I don't want to give away some of the cool stuff that we're working on."

At the time, comments by Cameron to film site Comingsoon.net indicated the movie/game crossover would be Battle Angel, an adaptation of the popular Japanese manga series Battle Angel Alita, which is set on a postapocalyptic Earth. However, subsequent statements cast doubt on whether or not Cameron's project was something entirely different. Speaking with BusinessWeek earlier this year, Cameron said his next film was code-named "Project 880." He said he was planning a massively multiplayer game that would tie into the film, which he would only describe as "completely crazy, balls-out sci-fi."

The director's failure to mention Battle Angel caused many to wonder if Project 880 was Avatar, a project Cameron had been nurturing for over a decade. Numerous online reports by people who have claimed to read the "scriptment"--a script-treatment hybrid--for Avatar peg the film as a wildly ambitious sci-fi epic about "a love story set against an interplanetary war." The reports also have its plot revolving around the exploration of the nearest solar system to the Sun, Alpha Centauri, and humankind coming into conflict with its inhabitants, the Na'vi.

This week, MCN posted what it claims is a casting notice for Project 880 online. If authentic, the casting notice indicates that Cameron's next movie--and, presumably, its game tie-in--will be Avatar. The casting notice describes Project 880 thusly: "In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture."

It describes "Jake" as an "angry" but "highly intelligent and creative" twentysomething who is scarred "emotionally and physically" by a "great tragedy." Jake's life is changed by his intimate contact with "Neytiri," a Na'vi female who looks like an "exotic" human female in her 20s and is "lithe as a cat." Interestingly, the casting notice deems it essential that she and all other Na'vi characters have "physical agility and an ear for languages and dialects."

So is the casting notice legit? A rep for LightStorm Entertainment, Cameron's production company, did confirm to GameSpot that a casting notice for Project 880 was recently released but wouldn't comment further on the matter and declined to name a casting director. However, the notice lists Margery Simkin, whose 26-year career has seen her cast everything from Top Gun to xXx: State of the Union, in the position.

Bogus or not bogus?: Looks believable. We'll hopefully know more later this year, when Project 880 is slated to start filming--and presumably development of the MMORPG will kick off, if it hasn't already.

[On a game-related side note, Moby Games has an interesting trivia entry (about half way down the page) on the marked similarities between Avatar and the original Unreal. The two share similar settings and backstories, as well as similar names for creatures, starships, and races. The trivia entry notes that the original Avatar scriptment was finished between 1996-7, before Unreal's 1998 release--but during its development.]

Source: An article on The Inquirer, citing a person sitting next to the author on a flight to Japan.

The official story: Sony representatives had not returned requests for comment as of press time.

What we heard: Glancing through the Inquirer article, there are a number of inflammatory passages sure to fuel message board flare-ups between PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 system loyalists, starting with the headline: "PS3 hardware slow and broken." From there, the article says the PS3's RSX graphics chip "appears to be limited to setting up 275 million triangles/second," while saying the Xbox 360 can handle more than 500 million triangles per second.

The other big focus of the article is a picture of a slide said to be from a Sony presentation to developers on the PS3's abilities. The slide lists the speeds at which the Cell processor and the RSX processor can read from and write to the system's main memory, and the "local memory," which appears to be the RSX chip's memory. The Inquirer article draws attention to the listed 16MB per second speed at which the Cell reads from the local memory, calling that stat "the bomb from hell." By the end of the article, the author is ready to raise the white flag on Sony's behalf, saying, "Someone screwed up so badly it looks like it will relegate the console to second place behind the 360."

The Inquirer story has not gone unnoticed. This morning, Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. analyst Shawn Milne tried to set investors straight on the article. "Yesterday, an online media source indicated that there were significant problems with PS3 development and, specifically, the memory capability of its RSX graphic processor (supplied by Nvidia)," Milne wrote. "Importantly, according to our industry sources, we believe the data cited by the source was taken out of context and incorrectly stated that processing speeds were slower than expected."

Even so, analysts aren't always right. So GameSpot turned to developers working on games for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 to help clarify matters.

"From the way that article was written, you can tell that the person doesn't do any PS3 development, as he isn't talking at all about the other smaller processors which surround the Cell," one developer said. "I am not sure if the final development kits are out yet (maybe to just a few developers), so I don't know what he is benchmarking against. Also, he is doing a lot of bashing, so it is hard to take him seriously. Basically, if what they say is correct, then the PS3 would be good with games like Fight Night, where you have a small environment with just a couple characters, but with big open area games, like Grand Theft Auto, it will have problems."

Another developer working on a game for a different publisher questioned the "sky is falling" tone of the original article, saying that the writer makes the situation appear more dire than it actually is. However, the developers' comments seemed to indicate that neither knows exactly what to expect from the final PS3 hardware. And five months from launch, that is a concern all its own...

Bogus or not bogus?: Semibogus. Nothing is for certain until the final hardware is released, but the situation will almost certainly not be the doomsday scenario outlined by the The Inquirer.

Source: A handful of posters on the Cheap Ass Gamer message boards.

The official story: A Nintendo representative told GameSpot the matter was being looked into, and that they would get back to us with details.

What we heard: Last night, a moderator on the Cheap Ass Gamer message boards going by the name of "Trakan" posted pictures of a Nintendo DS Lite he had apparently just purchased from his local Target, about a week and a half before the system's official on-sale date of June 11. The pictures show the North American DS Lite packaging, the system itself, a stylus, an AC adaptor, and a receipt. Details on the receipt aren't clearly visible, but Trakan said it only rang up as a Nintendo DS instead of a DS Lite.

That posting was followed by a number of people from around the country reporting that they had picked up DS Lite systems at their local Targets and Wal-Marts. However, plenty of posters reported failure in their attempts to find a system.

GameSpot's own attempts to find Target and Wal-Mart stores selling the system were similarly stymied. After striking out at three local area stores, we expanded the net. A Target near the company's Topeka, Kansas, distribution center wasn't carrying the systems yet, nor was a Wal-Mart nearby the company's Macon, Georgia distribution facility. Finally, we tried the Wisconsin Target where Trakan reported his DS Lite was purchased from. After some dissembling, the nervous-sounding clerk there told us they had the system in stock behind closed doors, but it wasn't going to go on sale until June 11.

If you need further evidence that DS Lites have made it to American shelves, check out eBay, where a handful are now being offered by multiple sellers. They don't appear to be selling as fast or as high as their Japanese counterparts did at launch, with one unit going for a Buy-It-Now price of $159.99 (but with a $40 shipping charge for US Postal Service Priority Mail), while another was bid up to $162.50 at press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that Nintendo has launched the DS Lite early in the US. Not bogus that some stores accidentally broke street date on the system.

Source: See below.

The official story: Apple had not returned requests for comment as of press time.

What we heard: Of all the products on the market, few engender as much fanatical loyalty as the iPod. Sony was clearly hoping for something similar when it introduced the sleek PlayStation Portable in March of last year, touting that it played games and video, while the iPod didn't.

Last October, Apple removed one of those advantages when it launched the fifth-generation video iPods. Since then, speculation has swirled that the Silicon Valley company is readying an iPod that could play things other than Brick and Parachute, two of the rudimentary games that come with the ubiquitous handhelds.

This week, GameSpot learned that there may be more to the Apple-game rumors than mere Mac-mad daydreams. A tech-sector recruiter contacted the GS NewsDesk with an interesting story of a prospective hire that got away. Recently, when the recruiter made an offer to a software engineer, the engineer turned the offer down--saying he was being "heavily recruited by Apple."

According to the engineer, an Apple hiring manager named Mike Lampell is heading up a group inside Apple's storied iTunes division. The group is specifically hiring for "C/C++ coders with a 'gaming background.'" The engineer says the project in question was described to him as "super secret," and Apple would not even tell him the exact nature of it until he had been hired and signed a non-disclosure agreement.

So how credible is this story? The recruiter's credentials are beyond reproach, leaving the engineer as the wild card. Currently, Apple is only publicly listing one position with "game" in the job title, a "Consumer & Games Partnership Manager" in its Santa Clara, California offices. Strangely though, when one searches for a position with "game" in its description on Apple's job-listing database, no results come up--even though the Consumer & Games Partnership Manager position has the word "game" in the text. A fairly exhaustive review of the software engineer positions found none looking for game experience.

However, the mention of Lampell gives the story some credibility. Lampell is a known developer who used to work at LucasArts, where he was a technical director on several major projects, including Star Wars Republic Commando. Lampell was laid off in August 2004 when LucasArts culled its development department in the first of a series of cost-cutting measures. However, GameSpot could not confirm his current employment at Apple, since attempts to elicit comment from the company had gone unanswered as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: If Apple is doing game R&D, it sure is doing a good job keeping it quiet.