Average con-current-user number is 12,000

An opinion piece on Gamasutra looks into the common perception that a first-person view provides a much more immersive experience in shooters. The author argues that this concept needs to be reconsidered, as immersion nowadays is more dependent on what you see, rather than how you see it. The question is further complicated by ever-improving technology and new control schemes. "It's important to realize that making a first-person game almost necessarily means making a game for the dedicated gamer. Innovations on the interface side could help lower the casual block, perhaps through the Wii, Project Natal, or the PS3's new motion controller. Regardless, it will take a lot of work and concerted effort to penetrate the casual audience with a first-person camera. The question is whether we even need to, when there are so many camera systems that games have yet to fully explore."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (PC)Splinter Cell deja vu at Penny Arcade Expo 2009.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (X360)Ubisoft reveals the Splinter Cell Conviction accessory you're been waiting for.

Racer will boast social features Racer Blur will be getting full Twitter integration, developer Bizarre Creations have confirmed, speaking at the Penny Arcade Expo (or PAX 2009, if you prefer) presently under way stateside.It is presently unclear whether Blur will use Twitter in any manner beyond the obvious, but we do know that xbox live will be getting full Twitter access this winter - so whether it'll link in with this is anyone's guess.Indeed, with Sony dodging questions about integrating social features on their own PS3 console, Blur could represent the best way for users to connect with the world using their favourite service.We'll have more on this as we get it.

Bottlerocket shutting up shopBottlerocket Entertainment, the developer behind Splatterhouse, are set to shut up shop with Namco Bandai having canceled the project earlier this year.It seems as if Bottlerocket fought to survive following this pivotal axing, but in the end the game maker have seemingly been forced to admit defeat."After fighting to keep the doors open for the past six months we have decided to close and move on, boss president Jay Beard revealed to US blog Kotaku.The studio president says he is now "in the process of building a new development studio from the ground up."More from Bottlerocket as we get it.

Enter the woods this autumn A brand new Lord of the Rings online expansion, called Siege of Mirkwood, is on the way from Turbine this autumn. This digital release will be an integral new part of The Mines of Moria, Volume II.Extending beyond the end of Volume II, Mirkwood will expand Middle-Earth, giving players a mysterious and scary forest to leap around in. The game's level cap will be upped, and there will be new skirmishes and Legendary Items.A new system will even allow players to train soldiers and take them into the War of the Ring struggle - while we're told to expect specifics such as release dates and pricing from Turbine soon."2009 has been a year of unprecedented growth for The Lord of the Rings Online and the launch of Siege of Mirkwood will end the year with a bang," beamed Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings online. "As the game expands east of the Misty Mountains, players will face the raging war and shadow that has spread across Middle-ea

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (X360)Multiplayer mayhem erupts in Alaska -- by way of Seattle.

Assassin's Creed II (PS3)Before a blow-out demo in front of the crowds, Ubi talks faith and double-kills.

The western release of the PSX, Sony?s souped-up version of the playstation 2 that comes with a built-in hard drive and can double as a digital video recorder, keeps getting pushed back and pushed back, and the latest news that...