Want to try God of War III, but you couldn't get your hands on a Demo code? You might be in luck! Gameshoe has gotten a hold of a few codes and we are passing them on to you! If you want a code, leave us a comment and let us know why you deserve it.

Despite all the crying that EA is doing, the rest of the video game industry just reported their best month ever, having pulled in some five and a half billion dollars during the holiday season of 2009. These numbers put the industry total for 2009 at $19.66 billion.


Hardware sales, up 16 percent over 2008, seemed to be the saving grace for the industry last year. Software sales on the other hand went down by 11 percent. Moving into Q1 2010, it seems like a lot of companies are looking for an increase in software sales as there are several big budget, blockbuster games set to release in the very near future. Also, Microsoft and Sony plan to release their motion controllers sometime this year, so it may turn out to be the year of the motion peripheral.

Slate.com Reporter Jamin-Brophy Warren declares that Nintendo, Insomniac or even Sony's Team Ico are not identified as the industry's Pixar. Talk about getting the cold shoulder, people. Nope, Warren states that The Maw and Splosion Man development studio Twisted Pixel is comparable to how Pixar creates both surreal locations and unreal characters that we can connect with. You can check out the article right here: The Pixar of Video Games.

What do you think of Warren's declaration? Comment and tell us who you think should be called "The Pixar of Video Games."

Talk about a shocker for Metroid fans, Metroid Prime Trilogy has gone out of print as of Monday. The blog Coffee With Gamers reported that it was no longer being sold on Amazon. They decided to ask Nintendo themselves about the possible report. The Big N had this to say:

“….it is no longer being shipped.  When first introduced, it was announced that there would be limited availability.  However, a reason for this was not announced.  That being said, you may still be able to locate a copy via stores that specialize in previously played or used games.“

Well, all I have to say is wow. Considering how other Wii titles with New Play Control! are still being stocked on store shelves, those who didn't have the chance to pick up this "Collectors Edition" will soon be out of luck; including myself. There is no word on whether or not a non-collectors edition will replace the current title, but I say consider yourself lucky if you were able to pick up this collection of the Metroid Prime series. Having the opportunity to play Prime 1 and 2 in widescreen format and Wii motion controls is a must and anyone who is a Metroid fan should look for any remaining copies.

SCEA announced a new peripheral today that makes it possible to record live television onto your PS3 hard drive, or even an external one. The new device, called the Torne, will provide many of the same benefits as a regular set-top DVR. You can search for programs and set timers to record them in advance. It will even record automatically while the PS3 is in standby mode or during playback of a game or movie.

The Torne will cost approximately $110 and will be available in Japan in March. No word on when it will show up stateside.

We reported earlier in the month that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced a probable partnership with Nintendo. At the time, however, he never explicitly mentioned the Wii system. Many people thought that this confirmed the rumors that Netflix was waiting until Nintendo's next console before partnering with them to offer streaming video, but today those rumors were put to rest. Although there is no official launch date for the service, Nintendo and Netflix announced that streaming video would be available to all Wii owners who had broadband internet and a Netflix membership at no extra charge.

Although the Wii will not be able to provide HD content, it is by far the console with the highest market penetration having sold 26 million units in the United States as of December 2009. Netflix , although planning to still offer on-disk movie rentals for at least the next couple of decades, is placing increasing importance on the ability to stream movies over the  internet to their subscribers. Hastings called this partnership with Nintendo a "big step forward" and Netflix will continue to expand its online streaming capabilities to new HD televisions, Blu-Ray players and set top boxes.

Good news for Zelda fans who thought Twilight Princess couldn't hold a candle to Ocarina of Time (however, I beg to differ), Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime stated on the Nintendo Weekly Show (via YouTube) that they will be taking their sweet time on the next Zelda title for the Wii.

"Right now, it's still in development. But the key message that Mr. Miyamoto and Mr. Aonuma is telling us is that it really has to be perfect when it launches," he said. "That really is what the Zelda fan is expecting."

Reggie went on to say that fans should go out and enjoy The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the DS, and know that Link's next adventure on the Wii is "going to come out when it's perfect."

The quotes made by Reggie certainly don't bode too well with earlier reports saying the new title would ship in late 2010.

This comes as no surprise to many as many Zelda fans have been clamoring for a different approach to the series. Nintendo has gone on the record stating that they may drastically change the dungeon system that we all know and love, or just do away with it all together. Interesting to say the least and we here at Gameshoe can't wait to see what Nintendo has up their sleeves. We'll soon find out more information during E3 2010.

The new Star Trek themed MMO, creatively titled "Star Trek Online," is now in open beta. To get in on the action, you need to have either pre-ordered the game, or sign up for a free account on fileplanet. The beta ends on January 26th, but the full game beams onto store shelves early next month. Or, if you don't feel like sending an away team, it will also be available on Steam.

Today, Bioware confirmed that a spring 2011 release window for Star Wars: The Old Republic was imminent. EA CEO John Ricitiello mentioned this yesterday, while also promising some exciting updates in the coming weeks. BioWare's Sean Dahlberg also confirms the news with a lengthy message via the The Old Republic message boards.

This is great news for Star Wars and Knights of the Old Republic fanatics like myself. Although, it is a tad disappointing that it will be more than a year before Bioware's Star Wars title hits store shelves. I do, however, like the idea of Bioware having an extra year to polish and refine the gameplay, visuals and storyline. With these pending updates, it makes you wonder what else  Bioware has up their sleeve.

Electronic Arts, after poor performance during the holiday season, has lowered its projected profit outlook for 2010 to around 40 to 55 cents per share. This falls quite far under their previous estimates of between 70 cents and one dollar per share.

EA blames poor disk sales in Europe, which makes up about a third of their revenue, as well as a buyer preference shift toward games that EA distributes, but makes a much lower profit margin on.

Financial analyst Michael Pachter said that the company was blaming too much on the economic environment, and that they need to  figure out why people don't want to buy their products. Well... I'm glad somebody said it.