Humpdate time, kiddies! Simon DI and Edie Sellers once again tear up your Wednesday listening with another episode of the Humpdate. This is an unusually long episode of Humpdate, rivaling that of a regular GameHounds show. Weirdly enough, it's full of gaming news -- a real rarity at this time of the year. The pre-E3 doldrums aren't hitting like they usually do, which is good for you and for us. Lots of news this first half of the week, including Sony's botched system update, the next piece of plastic you won't be buying, and the debut of a new segment of the Humpdate, Simon's Rock Update -- all you'd ever want to know about Rock Band/Guitar Hero/Rock Revolution news. Topic list and links (yeah, really... links!) after the jump. This week, Edie and Simon discuss:

• At midnight this morning, Sony finally released its 2.40 update for the PS3, fixing the XMB problems and introducing trophies. At midnight-plus-20-minutes, PS3s around the country froze up on reboot and bricked faster than a mason's daughter. The update's been pulled, but not before some owners reformatted their hard drives. Whoops!
• The next Tony Hawk game will have a "new fancy plastic peripheral" that's not made by Neversoft (the builder of Rock Band's "fancy plastic peripherals." Or so says one rumored spy for EGM. It's a rumor that supports the Intellisponse leak a few weeks back intimating a "motion-sensing board controller."
• This is Vegas is delayed until 2009. But it's supposed to be playable in two weeks at E3. Oh, we're so confused.
• GameTap will offer American McGee's Grimm episodes for free the first 24 hours they're available, beginning July 31. We're very okay with this.
• The Dead Space team at Electronic Arts if holding a sweepstakes for their hand-picked top 100 sci-fi and horror DVDs, which they used for reseaching the title. Yes, one lucky winner will take home all 100 DVDs of great thrillers! Find the entire list here, and enter the sweepstakes by going to this link. Hey, why are we telling you?!? WE WANT THAT!
• Another great GameHounds contest for a World of Warcraft 60-day pre-paid game card, donated by Alex the Deadite. We love you guys!
• Simon's Rock Update (the brand new segment featuring Simon DI, who else?) discusses the latest news in Rock Band and Guitar Hero, including compatability issues.

Enjoy.

Everyday is like Sunday... Actually, I take that back. Only Sundays have new GameHounds episodes. This week Edie and Hawkes discuss the surprising amount of news in the gaming industry. Surprising because, with E3 mere days away, this time of the year usually doesn't have even a thimble-full of decent stuff to talk about. This year would have been the same, but for one thing: Blizzard dropped the bomb that we've all been waiting for since oh, a deacade. Topics and link after the jump... This week, Edie and Hawkes discuss:

• Blizzard announced Diablo 3 this weekend in Paris, and includes a really amazing amount of gameplay demo footage. This is what millions of World of Warcraft subscribers paid for.
• Microsoft streamlines how you transfer your DRMed games and other paid-for downloads from one Xbox to another. However, Hawkes says it's not all butterflies and bubblegum. In fact, it's actually pretty awful.
• Leaked newspaper ads portend a signficiant price drop for the Xbox Premium to $299 after July 13. What about the other SKUs?
• Despite emphatic claims that it's still going to persue in-house game development, LucasArts cuts a significant amount of key staff who worked on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Some of them have been at the company since the Tim Shaffer days (aka: When Lucas Arts was good). Now who will make SW:TFU II?
• Screenshots of Xbox rumored avatars in a "Playstation Home-like" environment. Oh, would that be a throwdown for Sony or what?
• EGM columnist suggests that Microsoft is considering allowing third-party manufacturers to produce Xbox drives. Think about this: A combination HDR/Blu-Ray/Cable tuner/answering machine/turnip twaddler/pasta maker/kareoke machine. With Bluetooth? I hear angles singing.
• Speedround: Hawkes' E3 predictions -- in 30 seconds, no less.

Enjoy

Today we really don't have time to set up a full list of topics for the Humpdate. We have to get to work. Rather than making you sit around all day wondering where the hell the Humpdate went, we're posting it this morning and we'll add topics later. Roughly, Simon DI and Edie discuss Sony's huge financial losses at the hands of the PS3, Spore Creature Creator's overnight numbers, Veronica Belmot versus Jessica Chobot (how exactly do you pronounce that name?) and our predictions for E3. It's a rough week for news, as pretty much anything worth discussing is being held for two weeks, but somehow we manage to fill out the first-half of the week in news. Enjoy.

True, this GameHounds shows up on a Monday, but that doesn't mean it lacks anything from your regular show. Despite an El Nino-like drought of gaming news due to the impending E3 conference, GamerEdie Sellers and Cooper Hawkes still manage to dredge up the best the industry has to offer. And this week, at listener request, we're quieter. No more guarding your ears against the GameHounds assault! Topics and links after the jump... This week, Edie and Hawkes discuss:

• Piles of Call of Duty: World at War news. Too much to just link in one place. Edie and Hawkes discuss whether the world needs another World War II FPS. They disagree.
• Call of Duty 4 developer Infinity Ward is rumored to be working on a science fiction title.
• Forza Motorsports 3, with its rumored 400 cars and 100 tracks, may be coming out on two disks, but the core game is rumored to be on one disk, with extra stuff on the other.
• Final Fantasy XIII Versus not abandoned, Square Enix is just moving people back and forth.
• A Grand Theft Auto IV patch released to fix freezing and multiplayer problems in both consoles.
• Leaked screenshots of the new PS3 trophy system look surprisingly like gamercards.
• Listener Mail: If the rumored new avatars for Xbox Live are true, how pissed will users who purchased gamerpics be?

Enjoy.

Wednesday brings the unofficial start of the unofficial start of the weekend -- the official-unofficial start of the weekend being Thursday. How's that for figuring out something original to say about the Jan Brady of weekdays? It also, however, brings you a new Humpdate episode. Edie and Simon DI dig deep into the first half of the week's news. Despite being deep in the pre-E3 doldrums, there's a hell of a lot going on. Nothing official, but it's the unofficial stuff that gets our tongues wagging. Topics and links after the jump... This week, Simon and Edie discuss:

• Research by market survey firm Intellisponse leaked to the internet and suggests a number of game developers ideas for what may be unveiled at E3, including details about new Xbox Live avatars, Guitar Hero: World Tour's controllers, karaoke game Lips, Forza 3, and Spiderman games. Too many to talk about in one podcast.
• The rumors of lawsuits and walkouts continue with Tecmo, and if they're true, they allude to potential big worries about the game developer.
• Final Fantasy XIII Versus on hold to put more workforce behind Final Fantasy XIII.
• New PSP firmware update brings new controls for video playback and internet searches. Look -- it's the Sony iPhone!
• Your Wii may not get hard (disk drive), but it will be getting storage, according to Laurent Fischer. Who's your "geek or otaku" now, bitch?
• Spore Creature Creator can be run on older Intel Macs. You just need to tweak things a bit. The Unofficial Apple Weblog offers tips to get it running.
• Of course, having a PC doesn't make Spore CC any easier. EA having problems with its download manager that prevents some purchasers of the full game from being able to grab the game. Whups!
• Rumor has it that Heavenly Sword 2 is cancelled due to problems with Sony Cambridge. Nobody's talking, tho.
• PS3 update 2.4 will make you smile. In-game XMB support and trophies will reportedly be on tap.
• Call of Duty: World at War trailer will debut on Xbox Live this weekend. We'll all be watching very closely.
• Letters from Unreal Tournament clan SayUnkle.com. We love letters!
• Thanks to iTunes commentors z.thirteen and Jynx32! Yay team!

Enjoy

It's Sunday, and that means your weekly dose of GameHounds is ready for you. This episode you can enjoy listening to Edie lose her ever-lovin' mind as she makes it through her first podcast without benefit of Nicotine. Does she sound different? She certainly felt different. I think even Hawkes was a little scared. Topics after the jump: In this week's podcast, Edie and Hawkes discuss:

• Rumor: Microsoft to buy Sega? We think not.
• Rumor: Sony to debut a new two-hand Dualshock controller at E3. We really, really think not.
• Each act of Metal Gear Solid 4 takes two to three minutes to load. Someone explain how that's better than switching disks?!?
• Microft's Shane Kim and Phil Spencer play musical chairs. Is this the foundation for the next Xbox console?
• Warning: If you signed up for the Battlefield Heros beta via the game's forums, we hope you didn't use your Ebay password. Your security has been breeched.
• Wii Fit wins Bravo's A-List Awards, doesn't bother to send anyone to pick it up. Hilarity ensues.

Enjoy.

It's Wednesday, and that means your Humpdate is ready to server. Pop it in the oven, set heat to 350 degrees, and bake for approximately 58 minutes. Usually this is the place where we list out our topics. But it's late, and I'm high on Double Chocolate Malted Crunch ice cream and I haven't changed the sheets on the bed. In other words, this week, the show notes are taking a holiday. Let me just break it down for you: Blah, blah, blah, Metal Gear Solid 4, blah, blah, Portal 2, blah, blah, Haze (blech!), iPhone, Call of Duty, blah, blah, Xbox, Playstation 3, blah, blah, Edie will guest on the next episode of The Married Gamers Podcast (listen to it, bitches!). Yeah, that sums it up.

It's a day late, but it's not a dollar short. Oh, no. This is GameHounds, and we aren't afraid to talk about what we've played, what we think, and how much tail we got in college. Confused? Well, there's only one solution to that. Check out this week's episode, wherein we cover the regular topics in the gaming industry and a few seriously weird and tequila-infused tangents. Let's just say that Osama Bin Laden will be pissed. Topics and links after the jump.... In this week's episode, Edie and Hawkes discuss:

• Show the troops some love. Donate requested games to the Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital for injured Iraq War Veterans! Find the wishlist at Amazon or at this website. Do it now! Seriously. Do it!
• Qore announced for PS3. Are you ready to pay for your advertising? Before you pass judgement, Hawkes likes it, and Edie thinks E3 will contain -- must contain -- more information about how to make PSN more useful.
• Amazon crashes for two hours on Friday. Most mainstream news misses why: Bots trying to buy out the Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 bundle pack.
• Rumor has it that Microsoft will announce the Blu-ray drive Xbox 360 console Monday morning at 9 a.m. Pacific time, one hour before the beginning of the Worldwide Developers Conference. Anyone for snipe hunting?
• Take Two says delay on Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable content is due to "profile balancing." Strauss Zelnick says look for it between November 1, 2008 and January 31, 2009.
• Microsoft's Robbie Bach says Xbox will make money this fiscal year. Which flavor of "make money" are we talking about?
• Rock Band 2 rumored to have a ship date of November 2008. November is shaping up pretty nicely, folks.
• Saints Row 2 looks really awesome. Who doesn't want to spray sewage on pedestrians!?!
• The Florida Bar asks that Jack Thompson be disbarred for 10 years. Hang your heads, folks. Gaming politics is about to get a lot more boring.
• As it turns out, Afrika will be a photography game with a wildlife encyclopedia. You know, despite our love of mature games, this doesn't look bad. Let's just hope we see it sometime before E3 2010.
• Telltale Games delays Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People until July. In the world of gaming, that hardly counts.
• Edie quickly reviews Aces of the Galaxy for XBLA. Not bad, if you like that kind of thing.

Enjoy.

It's Wednesday and that means a brand, spanking new Humpdate is ready to tickle your ears and caress your brain. This week we used a new feature in our recording software that actually allows us to time our topics. What? You mean the Humpdate will actually be shorter than an hour, like we promised?! Yes! Clocking in at a smidge over 45 minutes, it's just the right amount of time to hit the major topics of the first half of the gaming-news week. And, can we say, for a month that is known for being traditionally void of news, it was a wild week in gaming news. Itakagi hates Tecmo. Critics hate Konami. The ESA hates everyone! This is what happens when idle hands and minds are left with little to do in the month of June. Topics after the jump... What's on tap this episode? Well, let us tell you:

• Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda tells Team Ninja director Tomonobu Itagaki that, if he doesn't like it, quit or sue. Itagaki chooses both! Left in the wake: Questions about the future of Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive and where Itagaki will go.
• Entertainment Software Association names Texas governor Rick Perry as its keynote speaker for this year's E3. Revelations about Perry's ultra-conservative leanings and his feelings about mature-rated video games spark questions. Questions spark nasty remarks from the ESA -- because NOBODY QUESTIONS THE ESA!
• EGM decides to hold off printing its review of Ninja Gaiden II until after the game's released. Take that, Konami overloards... I mean "protectors."
• Metallica slated for its own Guitar Hero: World Tour game. Yay!
• Guitar Hero: Aerosmith won't allow you to use your Guitar Hero 3 DLC. Boo!
• Sony cuts a deal for in-game dynamic ads. Someone remind us exactly why games are $60?
• Thank you to K Rock XP, LeftyBrown, and Mike From the Site for leaving comments on iTunes.

Stay tuned, because more GameHounds is heading your way on Saturday with GameHounds Episode 19.

Another weekend, another fabulous episode of GameHounds. This time with 100 percent more Hawkes. First, let us apologize for the quality of the "Sing it Hawkes" segment. The ol' Interwebs kinda got overloaded with the marvelous singing and started to get a little weird, and while we tried our best to "fix it in post," the podcast gods would have none of that. It's still mighty amusing, if not perfectly recorded. This episode we rip through a host of topics in our effort to be tighter and give you more news and less ramble. Don't get us wrong: There's still a lot of classic moments, including how Grand Theft Auto is like your crazy ex-girlfriend. Yeah, needless to say, this episode is EXPLICIT! Yes, Hawkes and Edie finally cast off the bindings of propriety and get back to their old let-it-all-hang-out selves. Topics and links (which, if you're a Fable-series fan, you'll want to check out) after the jump. Topics covered in Episode 18 include:

• Alone in the Dark 2 for PS3 is delayed, but seems to be on track for its June 24 release date for Xbox 360 and PC. No news of the new date for Playstation fans.
• Ninety-minute cut scenes for Metal Gear Solid 4? Really?!? We'd like to find out more, but reviewers and critics have been embargoed from talking about such things by Konami. We have choice words for that.
• Voice of Cole Train suggests possible November 16 release date for Gears of War 2. Yeah, that's believable.
• In-game XMB for PS3 finally on its way. This is another step for Sony toward parity with Xbox 360.
• New Resident Evil 5 trailer now with less "racism." Is this a reasonable response or pandering to the lowest common denominator?
• Soul Caliber 4 will have destructable clothes! At last, more porn games!
• Endwar launches private beta. Oh wewantitwewantitwewantit baaaad!
• Call of Duty 4 map pack comes to PC for free on June 5! Good for you, PC players. Sometimes it's good to be last in line.
• Want to be immortalized in Fable 2? Send in a good photo and you could be made in-game art.
• Age of Conan beats out GTA IV sales in three European countries. My, don't we have a short attention spaa... Hey, puppies!
• Ninja Gaiden 2 demo goes live in Japan. Rumor that it hits US next week.
• Europe now a bigger gaming market than the US and close to surpassing Asia. Damn you, stumbling dollar. Daaaamn yooou!
• Wal-mart has awesome deal for PS3 40GB. But wait, you might want to hold out for the MGS4 Bundle Pack coming June 12.
• Thanks to iHomer and DaveinWI for leaving comments on iTunes! Every little comment is deeply appreciated.

Enjoy. It's the least you can do since Hawkes sang for you.