Folks disappointed in Call of Duty: Black Ops’ launch bugs should be pleased to know that Treyarch hears you loud and clear. The developer says it’s actively listening to the community and creating updates based on player feedback. In fact, the studio has already published a few patches as of Wednesday and Thursday, according to a post on the Black Ops forum.

On November 10, GameServers.com increased sv_maxrate to 25000 across all servers to reduce lag. That was followed by a larger update yesterday that improves performance for dual and quad-core processors as well as connectivity with the Black Ops Rcon tool, and adds a “Friends fix for join in progress and Friends tab in server browser.”

Treyarch is also looking into “GPU hitching” on certain graphics cards
, incomplete server browser results, improvements to Quickmatch joins (results with better ping and reduced lag), and a Zombies mode error that claims the game session is no longer available. Assuming you’re running Black Ops through Steam, updates should be applied automatically.

We’ll be sure to test the CPU-related patch in our upcoming performance review.

It is hard to claim that Gran Turismo 5 is “worth the wait”. After all, could any video game be worth a four year wait? In the time since GT5 was originally supposed to be released, Microsoft has released two Forza games, several arcade racers like Burnout and Need for Speed have hit the market, and several others like Project Gotham have been there to fill the void. It was a more primitive time, where we savages did not even know what an iPad was, and 3D technology was limited to movies about space stations and sharks. The world has changed since those forgotten days of ’06, so can GT5 possibly live up to its own hype?

Looks like we will find out on November 24, when the PlayStation3 exclusive is supposed to be released, according to Sony. Now, we have danced this dance with SCEA many, many, many times before. GT5 has been issued a release date, and we gamers happily drink the kool-aid before hearing that yet another delay has pushed back the release date. But it has been over four years worth of delays. Four. Years.

But things are actually looking good for the November 24 release. Earlier reports suggested that the game had already shipped, and that retailers were told to expect a November 30 debut, but it seems like– in one of the more ironic twists in recent video game news– Sony actually moved up the GT5 launch.

So once again, Gran Turismo 5 has a release date. In theory it will be out in North America and Europe on November 24, and in Japan the following day. Color us cautiously optimistic…

Now it’s easy to explore and enjoy 3D panoramic images on your PlayStation®3 and 3D BRAVIA®or 3D-capable TV.

PlayMemories is a new application for PS3™ that lets you organize and view 3D still images captured with the growing range of 3D-compatible cameras by Sony.

Available for free download from PlayStation®Store, PlayMemories offers a whole new experience for PS3™ users to view their collection of 2D and 3D photos. Select a picture and zoom in or out using your DUALSHOCK®3 or SIXAXIS™ wireless controller.

There’s a growing choice of 3D-capable digital cameras from Sony. 3D Sweep Panorama captures extra-wide 3D scenes: just press the shutter button and sweep the camera from side to side. Cameras offering 3D Sweep Panorama currently include the NEX-5 and NEX-3, Cyber-shot™ WX5 and Cyber-shot™ TX9, plus the new ?55 and ?33 translucent mirror cameras.

PlayMemories is available as a free download from PlayStation®Store from late September 2010.

Notes to editors:

PS3™ system software version 3.40 or later required.

PS3™, 3D compliant 3D television and High Speed HDMI cable required to view 3D images.

3D Sweep Panorama images stored in Multi Picture File Format (MPF).

3D Sweep Panorama shooting with NEX-5, NEX-3 requires firmware version 0.2 or higher.

Good news for Wii fans, it appears as though Nintendo will be offering a new remote for the popular console that fully integrates the Wii Motion Plus technology into the Wii Remote.

The traditional Wii remote has lacked the accuracy and motion-sensitive precision that some of the new games demand. In response, Nintendo launched Wii MotionPlus last year as an attachment to the standard controller which addressed the issue.

Unfortunately, the Wii MotionPlus served as a bulky attachment required for game play. The news of the Wii Remote Plus may mean the Wii MotionPlus has been built into the new remote. That’s great news for Wii gamers that will now have a more nimble remote.

A product listing on game retailer Gamestop’s website indicates that Nintendo has a new controller coming out. The displayed box art for an upcoming Wii game, FlingSmash, notes that a new controller comes with the game. FlingSmash is scheduled for release in November.

Nintendo has confirmed the controller’s existence to Eurogamer since the story broke. However, Gamestop has since removed its listing for FlingSmash.

Starting November 4, Microsoft wil be offering a 250 GB Xbox 360 game console with its motion-based Kinect controller system for $399.99.

Getting a jump on the holiday season, Microsoft has announced it will be offering a new bundle of an Xbox 360 game console with a 250 GB hard drive and its motion-based Kinect controller system for $399.99 The bundle will also include the game titleKinect Adventures to get users started with the new controller system—and to give them something to do with the new hardware, since existing Xbox 360 games will need to be retooled if they want to work with the Kinect motion-control system. Of course, users can continue to use traditional Xbox handheld controllers.

The new bundle will go on sale November 4. The 250 GB Xbox 360 is available now for a suggested price of $299.99. In July, Microsoft announced it would be offering a standalone version of the Kinect controller system to existing Xbox 360 owners for $149.99. Pre-orders for the Xbox 360 and Kinect bundle are open now—folks who pre-order will be able to download three exclusive levels forKinect Adventures.

“Kinect truly is a revolutionary product,” said Xbox product marketing director Josh Hutto, in a statement. “We’re bringing controller-free entertainment into the living room. With one purchase, families get Kinect and the most complete and affordable way to have fun.”

Microsoft also announced additional Kinect-enabled games;Kinect Joyride,Kinect Sport, andKinectimals, will be available at launch for $49 each.

The Kinect controller system uses a combination of visual and audio sensors to detect the motions of a player’s body and translate those into actions within a Kinect-enabled game. The system detects body motions and even responds to voice commands to enable users to play games, or—in a nod to the couch potatoes of the world—watch movies or chat with Xbox Live users.

Microsoft is betting heavily on Kinect to extent the live of its Xbox 360 console gaming franchise, which has now been on the market for nearly five years. The sensor system enables the Xbox 360 to more directly compete with the likes of the Nintendo Wii, which has been a hit with casual and non-traditional gamers for its motion-sensing controller. The Kinect eliminates the need for a physical controller, enabling users to interact with games directly using their bodies. Sony is also getting into the wireless controller gaming scene with its forthcoming Move system for the PlayStation 3.

A new firmware update is due out in October that will support 3D Blu-ray movies. The update will also include the Music

Unlimited service.

Sony continues its forward march into the burgeoning world of the 3D home market, announcing at the 2010 IFA press event in Germany, and recounted by Engadget, that the PlayStation 3 will soon receive a firmware update that will allow it to play 3D blu-ray movies. The firmware will also include the recently announced “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” service.

The PS3 currently supports 3D games, but Sony has not yet to fully push for 3D blu-ray movies until now. Spokespeople for Sony also claimed that 20 3D blu-ray titles would be available within the next 12 months, including Avatar, The Green Hornet, and the upcoming Spider-Man. The last two titles have not been released, but both are being released in 3D by Sony.

A quiet firmware update to the Sony PlayStation 3 seem to block the infamous PSJailbreak that let users copy games to local storage and run home-brew apps.

Sony has quietly released a firmware update to the PlayStation 3 that, according to initial reports, blocks the now-infamous PSJailbreak exploit that enabled users to copy games to local storage devices and run home-brew applications

on their game consoles. Sony is offering no specific information about the update, saying only that it “includes additional security features.”

PSJailbreak appeared in mid-August as the first serious threat to Sony’s copy-protection regime on the PlayStation 3 console—and, unlike traditional modchips that alter a game console, PSJailbreak was just a USB dongle: hook it up to the console and users could do things Sony forbids, like copying games to the internal hard drive or running custom applications.

An Australian court quickly shut down sales of PSJailbreak and ordered inventory turned over to Sony.

However, Sony’s firmware update comes just a day after reports that PSJailbreak has been ported to USB-enabled mobile phones, including the Nokia N900 and the Palm Pre. With the PSJailbreak software, users can reportedly just connect their devices to the PlayStation 3 console using a USB cable to circumvent Sony’s restrictions.

Reports are also circulating that Sony can detect network game players who are using PSJailbreak and opt to ban them from PlayStation Network.

Origin’s The Big O high-end gaming PC doesn’t just have awesome graphics and overclocked performance…it has an Xbox 360 inside, too.

Origin PC has introduced The Big O, its latest high-end gaming rig that not only offers liquid-cooled, over-clocked processors, high-end graphics, and a case that looks like it could have escaped from a special effects shop: it blurs the lines between PC and console gaming by including an Xbox 360…built right in.

“The Big O will satisfy the demands of even the most power hungry gamer, but when you create the ultimate personal computer system it has to be designed to go above and beyond gaming” said Origin PC co-founder and CEO Kevin Wasielewski, in a statement. “To have the best you have to build using the latest in computer technology that guarantees unmatched performance and that is exactly what you get with the Big O.”

The Big O incorporates a liquid-cooled Xbox 360 slim directly into the computer, so gamers no longer have to laboriously switch between console gaming and PC gaming. The Xbox 360’s ports are all accessible from The Big O’s case, and the Xbox can run separately from the PC: if the computer is tied up encoding video or rendering your greatest 3D masterpiece, the Xbox 360 console stands ready to meet all your fragging needs.

As with all high-end gaming rigs, The Big O is highly customizable, and the more options customers add, the higher the price tag becomes. The stock configuration features a liquid-cooled Intel Core i7 930 processor overclocked to 4 GHz, dual Nvidia GTX480 graphics cards, 6 GB of RAM, dual 50 GB SSD drives and a 2 TB RAID, a 12× Blu-ray burner, integrated 5-port Ethernet switch, Creative’s Fatal1ty sound card, and a 1,500 Watt power supply—and did we mention Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and the LED strip lighting with remote control? Users can crank up The Big O considerably, including jumping to Intel Xeon X5680 processors overclocked to 4.3 GHz, quad SLI Nvidia GTX480 graphics cards, and dual kilowatt power supplies.

But be prepared to spend some money: the stock configuration starts at $7,669.00, while the high-performance CPU Magazine configuration comes in at a cool $16,999.00.

With the first month of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty behind us, millions of gamers around the globe have purchased Blizzard’s latest blockbuster. In a brief sales update, the company said it’s shipped over three million copies in the initial month of availability in North America, Europe, South Korea, Australia, Russia and many other regions.

The sequel bagged a million sales in the first day, and another 500,000 in the second, making it the fastest selling strategy game of all time and the bestselling PC game this year. Blizzard, of course, says it’s pleased with the title’s reception thus far, despite a handful of complaints about game balance and Battle.net features — some of which should be resolved in the first retail patch this month.

Many of the changes were detailed in a “Situation Report” last week. They’re mostly just race balance tweaks so far, but Blizzard says it has “mid- to long-term plans” for custom games and social features such as chat channels, which would make it easier for players to meet in-game. In the meantime, if you’re looking for someone to play with, feel free to add me (Zenosincks/876) or share your info in the comments.

The new service, called “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity,” will be available later this year.

Sony has announced that a new “cloud-based digital music service” is coming soon for the PlayStation 3 and the PSP, and it will be out before the end of the year. According to Joystiq, the service will be called “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity”, and it will be a direct rival to Microsoft’s Zune Pass.

The service will be compatible with Bravia TVs, Blu-ray players, home theaters and Sony Vaios, all with one account. The music software is expected to be a subscription-based model, but no word yet on pricing structures.

The Music Unlimited program is said to access “millions of songs,” but the specifics, including which artists and companies Sony has inked deals with, are going to be announced in the future.