You won't have to wait until SOCOM 4 to see PlayStation Move owners duke it out with standard DualShock players. During Sony's Gamescom press conference, Zipper showed off an enhanced version of MAG which adds support for Sony's motion controller. Hopefully, someone will coordinate a 64v64 battle of the controllers to see exactly which control scheme reigns supreme, once this update goes live.

In addition to MAG, another surprise announcement during the conference was Virtua Tennis. Sega's tennis franchise will be back next year to explore the sorely-underrepresented motion-controlled tennis genre.

The Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Gamescom keynote is about to get underway in Cologne – last year it brought us the PlayStation 3 Slim, so who knows what this year has in store. We should be getting underway soon ... just so long as the WiFi holds up. What we're hoping for: Some more HD remasters ... like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. There was a rumor about BBC4 being available on demand on PS3, perhaps we'll get a confirmation of that. So head on after the break and join us.

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Presumably to make the sting of that delayed online co-op less painful, Square Enix will offer the first DLC release for Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light to Xbox 360 players for free -- for one month.

"...We will be offering the first DLC pack for free for the first 30 days, exclusively on the Xbox 360," Crystal Dynamics general manager Darrell Gallagher said in a press release, "so that gamers can get a taste of some of the exciting extras we have in store." This DLC pack is the first of five. Square Enix didn't announce a release date for the DLC, but it wouldn't be much of a conciliatory measure if it didn't arrive before the September 28 release of the online patch.

The third announcement of a 160GB PS3 is the most meaningful one yet, because this time it's officially from Sony. The company announced the new hardware configuration at its Gamescom presentation, along with a new 320GB configuration!

The 160GB model will arrive in Europe in October, for 299 Euros, according to our man on the ground at Gamescom. It will replace the 120GB model as the standard. The 320GB version will be available September 15, as part of a Move bundle, for 349 Euros. No announcements have been made about North America yet.

EA's new marketing strategy, "Project Buy The Game Immediately," will be applied to certain launch copies of Criterion's upcoming Need for Speed game. When Hot Pursuit is released on November 16, the so-called "Limited Edition" of the game will be offered for the same $60 price as the standard version through participating retailers -- and "while supplies last." The Limited Edition will include two exclusive cars (see below) and immediate access to four additional rides, which are otherwise unlocked through the painstaking process of actually playing the game.

Exclusive access to:

• Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
• Ford Shelby GT500

Early access to:

• Audi TT RS Coupé
• Chevrolet Camaro SS
• Porsche Cayman S
• Dodge Challenger SRT8

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EA has announced that, for a limited time at launch, a Limited Edition of Crysis 2 will be available for the same price as the standard edition. In other words, "buy the game immediately." The "Limited Edition" includes bonus experience points in multiplayer, a "SCAR Hologram Decoy" that allows players to project an image of themselves, a "SCAR Weapon Skin" in digital camouflage, and an in-game Platinum Dog Tag.

Not extravagant enough? EA also announced the Crysis 2 Nano Edition, which despite its name is quite a bit larger. It'll include the Limited Edition of the game, a steel case, an 11" statue of the protagonist atop an NYC taxi, and an art book. And all of that's inside a backpack (designed to resemble the Nanosuit). This outrageous special edition will only be available via pre-order from EA, for $149.99, £119.99, or EUR 129.99.

In addition, EA announced that a closed beta will be held for Xbox 360 players "later this year." Enjoy some new gameplay footage after the break, and learn about the announced multiplayer modes here.

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Whereas GameStop leaked details of a 160GB PlayStation 3 model seemingly by accident, online retailer Amazon has notified customers that the new model has "just been announced" (by Amazon, so far) and is now in stock. The SKU update, which is our favorite kind of PS3 update, retains the 120GB model's price of $299.99.

If the increase in default storage capacity isn't enough to push you off the fence, just remind yourself that there's no fun in missing hot upcoming games like LittleBigPlanet 2, Killzone 3 and, err, Mass Effect 2.

Hey, you're already paying $14.99 a month to have access to the expansive, quest-strewn lands of World of Warcraft -- why not shell out a few extra bucks to claim the collector's edition of the MMO's upcoming expansion, Cataclysm? The premium, $79.99 version of the add-on, which will only be available in retail stores, just had its contents revealed by Blizzard.

The bundle includes a 176-page art book, a DVD featuring developer commentary and a quick background of the Warcraft universe, a CD of the expansion's soundtrack, a mouse pad, a starter deck and a few bonus cards for the World of Warcraft TCG, and -- the item which will force die-hard WoW players to spring for the special edition -- a "Lil' Deathwing" in-game pet. The expansion is still sans-release date, but the presser announcing this collector's edition promises that information will be divulged "in the months ahead."

We are now less in the dark about the Dark Ages version of The Sims. During its Gamescom 2010 presentation, EA announced a March 2011 release date for The Sims Medieval.

This iteration of the mega-popular life adds more than the poor plumbing and widespread illiteracy of the age: it also adds quest-based gameplay that allows you to gradually expand your kingdom with the help of a user-created "hero."

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