As top video game makers gather next week in Los Angeles for the E3 trade show, they will be touting hot titles, new online offerings and, potentially, console price cuts to drum up gamers’ support.The mood on the event floor is expected to be festive, with the game business having thus far weathered sluggish consumer spending and soaring oil prices — in stark contrast to the gloom and uncertainty hanging over many other industries.

“The major message that’s going to come out of it is that the industry is very strong now,” said BMO Capital Markets analyst Edward Williams. “Demand for hardware right now remains robust.”

Holiday titles, price cuts in focus at game show | Technology | Reuters

An updated patch for Gears of War has been released, fixing various performance issues, including the Games for Windows - LIVE update issue.

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News: Gears of War Patch #1 (Revised) - GamersHell.com

Will Wright, one of the game industry’s most fertile minds and the creator of the groundbreaking SimCity and The Sims, said Tuesday that his biggest project yet will be released worldwide Sept. 7.

Wired.com got an extensive first look at the latest version of Spore, a grandiose simulation of every stage of life, from the primordial soup to space exploration.

Gallery: Will Wright Walks Us Through ‘Spore’

At long last, there’s a ship date for Spore.

Electronic Arts announced Tuesday that the much-anticipated new game from The Sims creator Will Wright will ship on September 7.

The company announced that the game–which tasks players with advancing a character progressively from primordial ooze to small tribes to cities to civilizations and into space–will launch worldwide on PCs, Macs, Nintendo DS, and mobile phones.

‘Spore’ to ship September 7 | Geek Gestalt - A blog by Daniel Terdiman - CNET News.com

This free game is supported by in-game advertising. NOTE: This game is for US residents ONLY and requires a Ubisoft account which can be created at www.Ubisoft.com

Farcry (US only) - free download