Well, here's another wrinkle in the PSN outage we hadn't considered. In addition to keeping developers from offering their games to PSN users, it looks like the downtime is also affecting development of online-capable titles. Specifically, Kei Horono, producer of Dark Souls, has told CVG that the outage has cause "some problems" for his project's development. Despite those issues, Horono says the team is "in contact with Sony and [is] aiming to meet a street date of October 11." His comments make it clear that the PSN outage is causing more widespread complications than many may realize.

Also, it's worth pointing out that, in discussing the issue, it appears Horono may have given away the planned Dark Souls launch date, which was only recently revealed as simply "October."

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A year ago, as Ubisoft reported net losses of €43.671 million for its 2009–10 fiscal year (ending, March 31, 2010), CEO Yves Guillemot brushed aside concern, saying, "We forecast a return to profitable growth in 2010–11." Well, here we are -- and Ubisoft isn't exactly basking in the sun.

For the 2010–11 fiscal year ending March 31, 2011, the publisher's net losses slumped further to €52.120 million (about $74 million). Yet Guillemot again played the role of the optimistic fortuneteller as he looked to the company to "post further growth in both sales and current operating income in 2011–12 and 2012–13." (Notice how he didn't drop the P-word this time.)

He put a positive spin on the 2010–11 fiscal year, too, observing "a sharp upturn in revenue." Indeed, sales were up 19 percent over the previous fiscal year to €1.039 billion. In addition to "another success" with Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Guillemot attributed much of the sales growth to a rebounding casual market, which Ubisoft dominated with its (just) dance game segment, as well as strong support for the Kinect and 3DS launches. Notably, 38 percent of the publisher's game sales over the 12-month period came from Wii titles.

Ultimately, Ubisoft's bottom line suffered from reorganization costs, which amounted to €95.9 million in non-recurring charges, including unspecified project terminations (so, Am I Alive?). Presumably, if Ubisoft is now appropriately restructured, it can focus more effectively on making successful products again. "For example," Guillemot offered, "we plan to launch a free-to-play world based on our highly popular franchise for young girls, Imagine."

Konami as a whole brought in ¥20.8 billion ($257 million) in operating income, and net revenues of ¥258 billion ($3.19 billion), in the last fiscal year, essentially keeping pace with fiscal year 2010.

But Konami Digital Entertainment, the company's video game division, saw a small year-over-year decline, with operating income dropping from ¥21.5 billion to ¥17 billion. Despite the difference, Konami still spoke positively of its performance in fiscal 2010, citing sales of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and various Pro Evolution Soccer releases as having "progressed favorably," "healthy sales" of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, and "steady" increases in sales of mobile games in Japan.

And though it'll never leave Japan, the "girlfriend simulator" series Love Plus contributed as well, with the latest DS release Love Plus Plus having "received a highly positive response among Japanese consumers." We hope that isn't a euphemism.

It sure feels like we've waited an eternity for Square's timeless Super Nintendo RPG to come to Virtual Console. Begrudgingly, we suppose it's true -- good things do come to those who wait. Next Monday, May 16, marks Chrono Trigger's long overdue release on Virtual Console in North America.

Following its press release, Square Enix confirmed that the game will be sold at the standard 800 Wii Points ($8) price for SNES ports on VC (as opposed to the 900-point premium being charged in Japan). That's quite a bargain for pretty much the best game ever.

[Image source: Chronopedia]

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This is slightly confusing, but also awesome. We recently found an ESRB rating for the previously unlocalized Mega Drive/Genesis game Monster World IV, for release on XBLA and PSN. Today, Sega of Europe confirmed that it's bringing the game over -- but on PSN and Wii Virtual Console, as part of a new "Vintage Collection" being released late this year and early next year.

The collection also includes Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Revenge of Shinobi, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, and Wonder Boy in Monster World, all of which have already been released on Virtual Console in North America. Super Hang-On is in there too, and has not been released on Nintendo's download service. None of these were already on PSN.

Monster World IV is arguably the star of the collection, because it's never had an official console release outside of Japan -- and Sega is actually localizing it.

On the eve of its quarterly presentation to investors and analysts, Square Enix today sent out a "revised" (uh-oh) forecast for the financial results of the last fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2011. Stakeholders should bring their ponchos -- they're in for stormy weather.

In February, with nine months in the books, the publisher was confident it could hold onto its threadbare profits, forecasting a meager ¥1 billion ($12 million and change) in net income at the close of the fiscal year. While the unforeseen and devastating Great East Japan Earthquake in March knocked out more than half of that forecast income -- costing Square Enix roughly ¥0.6 billion in amusement facility closures and repairs -- other factors contributed more significantly to the company's now bleak outlook.

So how bad is it? Square Enix currently anticipates a ¥12 billion (nearly $150 million) net loss for the 12-month period, a negative 226 percent change from the previous fiscal year (which brought in ¥9.509 billion in income). Further, accounting for additional subtractions from the balance sheet, the company is bracing investors for "total extraordinary losses of approximately ¥16.0 billion during the fiscal year."

If there's a silver lining, it's in the publisher "introducing a tightened selection standard regarding title lineup" -- which cost Square Enix about ¥4.5 billion in the short term due to project cancellations, including a Highlander game and Gun Loco. But, ideally, this quality control will "strengthen" the company's critical video game segment in the long run, and perhaps restore Square Enix to its former glory.

Many studios have tried and failed to make games with the iconic film series Alien at the center. The Creative Assembly, it seems, are the next to step up to the plate, announcing today that the UK-based RTS studio is working on an "action" Alien game. But unlike TCA's popular Total War series, the game is headed to consoles as well.

A message posted on the studio's website cursorily details the project, only saying, "New team. New console project. Alien IP." Rock, Paper, Shotgun happened to be at The Creative Assembly's offices when the game was announced (how fortuitous!), and learned that the title will be developed by the same crew who worked on Viking: Battle for Asgard.

Additionally, TCA will be growing the team dramatically, opening a "new 10,000 square foot studio" to accommodate as many as 200 workers.

Update: Sega provided Joystiq with this statement regarding the project: "We can confirm work is underway at Creative Assembly on an unannounced title in the Alien(s) universe and the Creative Assembly are looking for highly talented staff worldwide to help in the development process."

Has the rich, all-encompassing story mode of Netherrealm Studios' reboot of the Mortal Kombat franchise filled you with an unquenchable thirst for more of the universe's gore-lore? We suggest going back to the franchise's roots -- an act which will be made much easier in late summer, when Warner Bros. Interactive launches the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection on XBLA, PSN and PC for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

The compilation promises to include "arcade-perfect" ports of the series' original trilogy: Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, each of which will be infused with online multiplayer and leaderboards. As an added promotion, the company is licensing an official Mortal Kombat Klassic Fight Stick with PDP, a $129.99 peripheral with a retro Mortal Kombat button layout (similar to PDP's recent Tournament Edition stick) which includes a download voucher for the upcoming Kollection. The Fight Stick is available to pre-order now, but the Kollection itself is not. Because you don't have to pre-order downloadable games, you silly goose.

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We're approaching the one-month anniversary of the PlayStation Network's deactivation due to that pesky security breach, and according to a report from Edge the downtime's starting to have an effect at UK games retailers. The report cites a number of anonymous game shop clerks, all of whom paint a fairly similar picture of the response to the outage: PlayStation 3 trade-ins have doubled in their respective stores in the past few weeks, with most shoppers exchanging their consoles for Xbox 360s or cash.

That may sound like a fairly inflammatory report, but the reasoning is sound: Almost all the retailers say these shoppers are hardcore FPS players, and are acquiring Xbox 360s to get back in their Call of Duty: Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 routines. Furthermore, all of the retailers report an increased trade-in rate for the PS3 version of Black Ops. Trading in your gaming console sounds like a pretty drastic way to keep playing a game you love -- then again, we're no strangers to the siren call of the Killstreak.

We think the title of developer 2XL Games' upcoming racer is supposed to be parsed as "'Offroad' endorsed by Jeremy McGrath," but we can't stop reading it as a statement of fact: "Jeremy McGrath is Offroad." And the errant Supercross champ and his game are heading straight to PSN and XBLA, this summer, in a game published by D3.

2XL, made up of Rainbow Studios expats, has a background of working almost exclusively on motocross and offroad racing games, including Baja: Edge of Control, 2XL Supercross, and Ricky Carmichael's Motocross Matchup. Also, Cars: The Video Game.

Specifics about Jeremy McGrath's Offroad will be revealed at -- not E3, but the Lucas Oil Off-road Racing Series event, in San Bernardino, CA on May 21 and 22.

Hollywood Reporter has managed to sneak in a few questions to IO Interactive game director Tore Blystad about the forthcoming Hitman: Absolution, and got an earful back about the development process. "We've designed a more stylized, more serious, and darker game this time around in both the story line and the visuals," Blystad told HR.

Blystad also revealed that his studio employed Giant Studios for the game's motion capture -- the same studio that James Cameron used for Avatar -- and that Keith Carradine (Cowboys & Aliens) and Marsha Thomason (White Collar) will be voicing two main roles. Carradine is Agent 47's antagonist this time around, while Thomason will act as 47's handler. Blystad's betting that the theatrical approach his studio is taking to voice acting and motion capture will dovetail nicely into the next Hitman film. "The hope is that the movie will be going in a similar direction, and then when they both come out they will speak the same language," he said.

In Absolution, Agent 47 finds himself on the run from police while simultaneously hunting "his most dangerous contract to date." As promised, more details will be revealed next month at E3.

The latest episode in long-running series Modern War Gear Solid has just been uploaded. It's kind of hard to describe the series: it's part homage, part irreverent mish-mash of gaming's most beloved franchises. Find all five episodes past the break.

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If you found the first part of PhD researcher and game designer Lucas Blair's study on effective Achievements as interesting as we did, you'll want to check out the recently published second installment over on Gamasutra. While the first article focused on implementing satisfying, compelling carrots in games, this second piece looks more at the more metaphysical components of in-game rewards. For instance, when should Achievements unlock? Once they do, should they be permanent?

Much like the series' first installment, it's definitely worth a read, but take caution: You're going to spend longer than you might like playing its anecdotal Flash game, Achievement Unlocked. Reader beware!

What's the first thing you do after installing the world's largest HD screen, a 16,000-square-foot ocular wonder? Play video games on it! The Charlotte Motor Speedway recently celebrated the installation of a big ol' Panasonic TV by inviting NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take a couple of virtual laps on the thing in iRacing (not our first choice, but an apt one, we suppose).

The project took 57 workers four months to construct -- totaling more than 11,000 man hours. The structure weighs 332.5 tons and features 158 panels illuminated by 9,000,000 LED lamps. This ginormous 720p display will be pretty much wasted on track replays, standings and stats. So tragic.

What's more fun than playing Tetris? Watching other people play Tetris of course!

While that statement doesn't necessary hold true as a rule, it does when you're watching Tetris world champs. Cut from the same cloth as crossword and Scrabble documentaries Wordplay and Word Wars, the unfortunately named Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters follows a handful of world-class Tetris players as they prepare for, and participate in, the Classic Tetris World Championship.

The full movie won't be available until 2012 but, until then, you can watch the trailer we've embedded after the break. Oh, also embedded below: a poll, so you can register your opinion on that title.

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The 3DS firmware update adding the eShop, DSiWare transfer, web browser, and other features, was originally scheduled to be released in "late May." A note on Nintendo of Japan's website reveals that it's going to be released so late in May that it'll actually be June by the time it arrives.

June 7 is now the official date for the firmware update, in Japan at least. That happens to coincide with Nintendo's E3 presentation, so we're now expecting that to be the worldwide release date, so Nintendo can make a dramatic reveal on stage. We're checking with Nintendo, in any case.

Update: The update will come to North America "the evening of June 6 Pacific time," according to Nintendo's website. Thanks to Donald for spotting that.

[Thanks, Manuel!]