Sony has released a new firmware patch for the PlayStation Network which brings it up to version 2.17. This small update improves the operating stability of several PlayStation 3 titles. You'll be prompted to download the system update when you login to the network.

Who doesn't love Mortal Kombat? It's a great franchise. Everything about it has been awesome. The games, the movies (the second one was so bad it was funny), the arcades...you name it, and Midway has squeezed the Mortal Kombat fruit with an overbearing grip and it's still got more to give.

It isn't a huge surprise that we'd see a Mortal Kombat title on the 7th gen consoles, especially since the last game Armegeddon refused to jump aboard the higher-spec boat. However, we've received word that during an investor conference call, Midway CEO David Zucker blatantly said it will exist.

Knowing Midway, we'll get it just a bit too soon, probably late this year or early next.

Barlog has left Sony Computer Entertainment to work with Australian film writer-director-producer George Miller, responsible for Babe, The Witches of Eastwick, Happy Feet and cult classic Mad Max. They'll be working on something videogame related.

What will the Barlog & Miller collaboration bring to the games market? Not something casual according to the God of War director.

With yet more Take-Two related news, Rockstar Games are said to be working on some "major sequel" for 2009 now that GTAIV is drawing to a close. What franchise will be at the mercy of fans delight we don't know but it could be a number of possibilities.

More Table Tennis action perhaps? Another manhunt? It could be a follow up to tongue-in-cheek 'Bully' with the return of Jimmy Hopkins...tell us please!

Take-Two have also been kind enough to reveal some timeframes on some more up comers. Both Borderlands and Mafia 2 will be arriving in fiscal '09 which means anywhere from November 1 '08 to October 31 '09.

Midnight Club though will be no later than October 31 this year; it was delayed so not to be in competition with Rockstar North's release of GTAIV.

In a released financial statement from publisher Take-Two they confirm that Rockstar Games will be releasing episodic downloadable content for their upcoming and highly anticipated addition to the GTA franchise.

It specifically mentioned content for the Xbox360 this year but only said more content would follow in '09. Glimmer of hope or a tenuous stretch for PS3?

Sweeney the CEO of Epic firmly believes the console has left the PC behind when it comes to gaming. Consoles have a standard set of hardware while most PCs can't meet the technical challenges of games today.

With PC titles they have to support scaling down properties to help the game run on lower-end machines while consoles games are developed one way. An unfortunate truth, one that is unlikely to change.

SEGA is already working with Obsidian on the Aliens RPG so now it looks like they want a Bond/Bauer spin on things. 'Alpha Protocol' is their modern day espionage romp which will hit the PC and the next-gen consoles.

Obsidian will be taking BioWare’s cinematic approach to dialogue and cut scenes but with heavy weight on "once only" NPC conversations. No endless loops? The scandal!

Tragedy strikes the Dreamcast realm, the site dreamcast.com hasn't been owned by SEGA for quite some time. The scammers asked users to accept an agreement and to send their console serial number to get a @user.dreamcast.com email account.

Japanese news site Mainichi confirmed this information meaning SEGA are not best pleased loyal fans and their trademarks are being illegally abused.

Atari have released the first Developer Diary for Alone in the Dark. Hervé Sliwa, Lead Designer at Eden Games, tells us about the start of his career and how important the original Alone in the Dark game is to Infogrames.