Electronic Arts announced today that the upcoming Skate 2 demo will hit Xbox Live Marketplace on January 8th and the PlayStation Network on January 15, 2009.

The demo introduces players to the city of New San Vanelona where they can skate with style and individuality via access to the enhanced character customization tools. Gamers will get a first glimpse of the deep single-player story and exciting challenges in all-new locations. The Skate 2 demo will also feature two of the game’s online Party Play modes: Thrasher’s Hall of Meat and Spot Battle.

2008 was a fantastic year for gamers, and we will be looking forward to seeing what is in store for 2009, with the release of Resident Evil 5, Lord of the Rings: Conquest, Empire: Total War, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Ghostbusters, BioShock 2 and Overlord II among our personal favourites.

Richard has written up a list of the 12 games of Christmas for you, which is his opinion on what games you should be hoping for this year. Check that out here.

505 Games and Michael Phelps today announced a partnership to develop next generation console and iPhone videogames. The first title is scheduled to release in Spring 2010 and will be developed by 505 Games newly formed U.S. operations in Los Angeles. 505 Games also has European offices in the UK, and distribution partners around the world.

"505 Games is proud to partner with Michael Phelps to create innovative new gameplay experiences that celebrate active lifestyles, the spirit of competition and the inspirational dream of becoming a champion," said Adam Kline, president of 505 Games US. "Through swimming, Michael has become an international superstar and role model for people of all ages. With 505 Games global reach, we look forward to leveraging the powerful digital entertainment medium to bring Michael's passion for sports and competition to new audiences around the world."

Zavvi has reduced the price of the Xbox 360 Arcade SKU to £99.99, making it the lowest price point for the console since the system was launched.

The Premium 360 pack has also been reduced in price to £149.99, while the Elite gets cut to £199.99. These cuts are expected to last until Christmas Day.

Gamasutra is reporting that an analyst for the Cowen Group, Doug Creutz, thinks it's very likely that Activision will ship a skateboard peripheral with their next iteration of the Tony Hawk skating game.

Creutz believes that bundling a peripheral with the game, similar in strategy to the Guitar Hero franchise, will give Activision a boost in revenue. Creutz said he also thinks that this could help revitalized the Tony Hawk franchise, "We believe that the extra year of development time and the opportunity for consumers to shake off franchise fatigue could contribute to better unit sales than the franchise has enjoyed in recent years."

Konami has announced that a demo for PES 2009 will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on 2nd October – that's this Thursday.

Due for release on 17th October, PES 2009 marks the triumphant return of what is regarded as the most realistic football title for any format. Users will be treated to an expansive playable demo of the new title, with the bespoke version offering a full five-minute Exhibition multiplayer match.

The Skate 2 image gallery has been updated with 8 new screenshots.

Electronic Arts took a shot at PC gamers this week when an EA Community Representative announced on their public forums that the PC version of FIFA Soccer 09 would be a slimmed down version of the game as released on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The Community Rep. said that while the PC game will deliver a "very deep gameplay engine" and that it will have "leading-edge visuals", the game would be simplified because the PC does not have "the CPU processing power required for the architecture of the game".

Ok it's time for a new competition! We've managed to get approval for 5 free games from GamersGate for this competition. Hence, the winner of this competition will get to pick any game from GamersGate of his/her choice. They got a lot of great up to date games over there so be sure to check them out.

Konami announced today that PES 2009, the next instalment to the Pro Evolution Soccer series, will be released in Europe on October 17th for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Agreements have also been signed with Liverpool FC, Manchester United that will see both clubs being featured in the game, along with an official UEFA Champions League game mode, adding extra playability.