As if there weren’t enough musical peripherals, Microsoft is adding in a new microphone for their upcoming singing title Lips. Unfortunately, you’ll still need to drag out your other microphones if you’re looking to play Harmonix or Activision music titles, because out of the box, the Lips microphone doesn’t work with anything else except its own game.

Head of development Keiichi Yano confirmed this to MTV, but did state that it’s something that could be added later on through a patch. It’s not confirmed, and as of now, is only a possibility. Don’t buy the game expecting to use the wireless mic in the future for other game.

Some positive and negative news to report on the Street Fighter IV front. The game is coming home February 17th in the US, and Europeans will have their hands on it February 20th. No word on the PC release, so as of now, that date only applies to the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions.

On the other hand, the arcade cabinet won’t be seeing the light of day outside of Japan. Chris Kramer, senior director of communications at Capcom cited the arcade market “which died off seven or eight years ago.” No real surprise there, although it’s a shame the game can’t be played in a traditional setting given its roots.

A few missteps in an otherwise great launch isn’t something to be bummed over. However, Epic Games was fast on the trigger in helping people out on their forums. Some people couldn’t download the golden lancer they were promised, and that’s taken care of (go to your download history). Slow matchmaking has made some angry (they’re working on it).

As for campaign, you can start a co-op game locally and still play by yourself. Apparently, some people were struggling to get a solo game going, and this is an easy workaround. The only real issue left is the matchmaking system, borrowed from Halo 3. Yes, it can take a while, but once fixed, it should work just fine.

EA has debuted a unique feature with the recently released Tiger Woods ‘09 on mobile phones. By storing the console version of your character within your EA account, you can then play the mobile version with that same character. You’ll boost your stats in certain categories which then affect the other. The stat boost will then be applied when you log into your EA account.

While I don’t have both versions to test this out, it’s a shame the mobile version took so long to come out (months after the console version). With the proper timing, this could have been a bigger success.

We’ve all been teased and teased again with release dates. Finally though, we’ve made it and Microsoft has announced the absolute, 100% true release for the New Xbox Experience is November 19th. Yes, this means Avatars, Netflix support, and fresh new look, multiple way chat, and more.

In the meantime, you can become acquainted with the service through Gamerscoreblog, where they’re running a fairly consistent feature highlighting how this will all work when it’s in your hands. It’s a nice way to figure out the layout so you don’t have to spend an extensive time in a new menu system when it launches.

Pinball FX is one of the more under appreciated releases on the Live Arcade. Great physics, visuals, camera support, and table design make it well worth the money. On November 12th, the game will be graced with a new table, this one designed around Street Fighter II. Not only does it have dot-matrix visuals based on the game, the table is loaded with fantastic looking art, far better than the ancient Street Fighter II pinball game from years ago. Plus, it will even feature the classic theme music from SFII, making it an even better deal. No word on price, but all of the other DLC tables go for about $2.50.

Well, that was quick. You could almost count the days since its release, and fans are already getting extra stuff for Mega Man 9. Wii owners are the the first out of the gate, with 360 owners waiting an extra day, and PS3 players forced to wait for the usual Thursday update.

The content includes the addition of Proto Man who can slide and charge shots (sort of like what Mega Man should have been able to do from the start). The downside to Proto? He takes double damage and gets knocked back twice as far when hit.

The other new addition is an Endless mode, which is basically what it says. It’s a long level, lots of enemies, and it never ends.

Microsoft is in full gear for the New Xbox Experience. After a one day downtime to prepare for the event coming (supposedly) in November, a website is available to briefly test out how all of this will work. While it doesn’t let you scroll left or right, the vertical scroll you can play with let’s you see how this will work out after the download. Scrolling over specific options gives you a brief tip on how all of this works, and what it will do. So yes, it’s kind of a demo, but then again not really since nothing is actually active.

Still, no real reason not to play with it.

Ah, the Xbox Live Call Out List. What a fun piece of writing. However, through the time it’s been done, things have stood out that need changing. Don’t worry, we’ll still be calling out those fools who try to make Xbox Live a miserable place. However, the scope needs to be more limited for a few reasons.

First off, I’m a Halo 3 fan. As such, I play a lot of Halo 3 (duh). Looking over the history of the list, one thing is clear: 90% of the offenders come from Halo 3. That’s not to say the vast majority of people who play Halo are worthy of the list, it’s simply something that I play every night, and hence, why most of those called out end up being from that game.

As such, this list will be comprised of almost all Halo 3 players, with the occasional odd exception. I do review games, but testing online features is usually trying out the modes and a few games to ensure it all works properly. It’s rarely enough time to find the boneheads. If there’s something significant, they’ll be added. Otherwise, expect the list to shrink to nothing more than Halo 3.

Secondly, since this is going to be a Halo 3 list now, the rules for inclusion will need slightly tweaked. Most of the offenders come after the game, in the post-game wrap up. The number of piss-poor losers and even winners is monumental, so while all of the categories will remain as they serve their purpose (as other games played are still valid for inclusions), some will be added. The new additions are:

I Win!: For those that feel their victory is enough to justify a mocking celebration worthy of a victory in World War II. These people rant endlessly, curse excessively, and find a way to be overly obnoxious.

I Lose, but You Suck (this will replace the Losing Trash Talker Award as it’s more encompassing): Yes good sir, you lost by 15 points, but please, let us know that we’re terrible Halo 3 players anyway. These are the types that just won’t let it go, blaming everything short of their terrible decision making and off-the-mark analog stick targeting. Oh, and they’re annoying.

Both of those awards can be combined with any previously announced award. With this latest revision of the List, there will be a new, special category. Instead of pulling the idiots out of the group, we’ll also be notating those special players who are actually nice. While this category is open, it could include someone who compliments, points out something about a level, or is just generally a joy to play with. We’ll call it The All Too Rare Player Award and you can expect it to be handed out rarely.

As per the norm, Gamertags of those who are seeking out the bad eggs will remain anonymous. Rest assured, anyone called out was significantly rude. Minor infractions are passed off as a having a bad day. If you continue to carry on after the initial burst (or choose to send messages stating your evil thoughts), that’s when you become List worthy. For a full list of past offenders, follow these links.

Volume I

Volume II

Volume III

Volume IV

Volume V

Volume VI

Fable II fans were disappointed to hear that the co-op mode for the game wasn’t going to make launch. Instead, it was going to be a later patch that would make the whole thing work.

Well, now it turns out that patch could potentially be available on launch day anyway. Peter Molyneux apparently stated during a gaming festival in France that yes, there is a chance you’ll see co-op on day one. However, it all comes down to Microsoft and their infamous quality control. So, take heed that at the very least, it won’t be long after launch if it does miss.

In an interview with TotalVideoGames, Epic Gears of War 2 lead Cliff Bleszinski discusses a number of items about the game, most notably the PC port… which won’t happen. When asked if it was happening, Bleszinski’s response was fairly straightforward:

“No.”

Well, that sounds firm now doesn’t it? He cites the usual PC developer fear of piracy. His point is also logical:

“… the person who is savvy enough to want to have a good PC to upgrade their video card, is a person who is savvy enough to know bit torrent… so they can pirate software. Therefore, high-end videogames are suffering very much on the PC.”

PC gamers, apparently angered at the turn of events, have stated their case in the comments section, most lacking in coherent laguage skills like:

“u can keep ur love storyline with copy pasta multiplayer maps…honestly no pc gamer cares for gears 2 cuz simply put love sux…no 3 love ty game can top best pc games”

Right. What he said. I think.

Bungie’s mysterious countdown which has tried making it to the end twice now (after being pulled from EA’s E3 schedule), has yes, finally saw its way through to the finale. As such, gamers were treated to the above teaser which doesn’t let onto to much. However, eagle-eyed gamers have spotted a release date for whatever this is supposed to be hidden inside the garbled text which states a date of 01/06/09.

Of course, that still doesn’t tell us what “it” is, but that’s the job for the Xbox 360 dashboard. The below pic shows the text box of the download page for the trailer, and that clearly states this is a new campaign mode. So, now the only mystery is what exactly this campaign will be. Will it have Master Chief, or will it focus on a different part of the Halo saga?