Gabe Newell from Valve has come out publicly with the opinion that making DirectX 10 a Windows Vista-only product has harmed the PC gaming industry.

In an interview with heise online, Gabe Newell, president of Valve Software, said that Microsoft made a terrible mistake releasing DirectX 10 for Vista only and excluding Windows XP. He said this decision affected the whole industry as so far only a very small percentage of players can use DirectX 10.

When developing cross-platform games which are also released fo Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, developers look for the smallest common denominator. And since neither Microsoft's nor Sony's new consoles support Shader Model 4.0 for DirectX 10, only few games use it, he said.

EA has annoucned that a playable demo of Crysis will be released as early as next month, with September 25th being the date touted.

Consisting of the entire first level in Crysis' epic single player campaign, "Contact," gamers will get to finally experience first-hand the stunning visuals, revolutionary Nanosuit gameplay and open-ended level design that make Crysis one of the most anticipated shooters and PC games of all time. The demo is also poised to include a huge surprise from Crytek, but for now you'll just have to wait and check out the latest Crysis Nanosuit trailer...

Massive Entertainment have announced the release of a single player demo for their upcoming RTS World in Conflict. The demo debuted on Gamespot, and is now mirrored in a number of places. For a decent list, check out the official website.

Microsoft has announced a reduction in the price of the Xbox 360 in the UK.

From Friday, 24th August 2007, new estimated retail pricing will come into effect for Xbox 360 in the UK. The Xbox 360, which includes a 20GB hard drive and one wireless controller, will be reduced by £30 to carry an estimated retail price of £249.99. The entry-level Xbox 360 Core console, perfect for those wishing to make their first foray into the gaming and entertainment world of Xbox, will be reduced by £20 to carry an estimated retail price of £179.99.

Rumours are plodding about the Internet at the moment about a planned announcement of Mafia 2, the sequel to 2002's crime action game at this year's Games Convention in Leipzig, based on the game having a trailer listed for the show. No other news has been released as yet.

Soldak has announced the released of a playable demo of their upcoming RPG Depths of Peril.

As a faction leader, you must deal with rival factions through diplomacy, trade, and in time, war. Between battles and raids against other barbarian factions, you build the most powerful faction possible, to withstand your enemies. Building the power of a faction involves exploring a fantasy world, slaying dangerous monsters, solving quests for the city, avoiding deadly traps, and plundering loot to share within your faction. But in this world, actions actually have consequences, so take care. Annoying the powerful and aggressive Legion of Fear faction will cause them to declare war and destroy you. Ignored orc uprisings in the Black Forest might lead to attacks on the town or even more trouble. Protect ally covenants that are being raided, because friends are hard to come by.

• Gamershell
• GameSpot
• WorthPlaying
• FanGaming
• Fileshack
• Gameguru Mania
• Atomic Gamer
• File Front
• ComputerGames.ro

Funcom has announced that their upcoming MMORPG Age of Conan - Hyborean Adventures has been delayed until March 2008.

"We naturally regret that we have to push back 'Age of Conan'. However, after careful consideration, and analysis of recent Beta feedback, we believe that the new release date is in the best interest of the gamers, our company and our owners," said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. "We are fully committed to delivering games with absolute qualities, and in the current MMO marketplace we know that only the best is good enough to truly succeed. With the new release date we have therefore given ourselves more time to meet and deliver on the massive expectations for the game. We are certain that our choice will ultimately pay off, and that all 'Age of Conan' players will get a special online experience."

"We are honored by the immense reception our game is constantly getting, with an astounding amount of positive press coverage, awards and magazine covers, but we still see that we need to polish some aspects of the game even further, especially when it comes to the entry barriers," said Gaute Godager, founder of Funcom and Producer / Director on 'Age of Conan'. "With the added development time we can now deliver something even more unique and powerful, something which is worthy of the incredible Conan legacy."

As is probably obvious, we here at News0r Towers have been rather busy during the past week. A lot has happened in the period, including Sierra's announcement of Prototype.

Developed by Radical Entertainment, a critically acclaimed developer of open-world games, PROTOTYPE tells the story of Alex Mercer - a man haunted by his past, fighting a secret war in New York City. As the action spirals out of control, a conspiracy tied to his origins threatens the future of mankind itself. Mercer's amazing shapeshifting powers allow him to become an exact replica and steal the skills or powers of anyone who crosses his path.

Blizzard have announced the name and details of the next expansion for World of Warcraft. The expansion will be named World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.

With the opening of the Dark Portal, and the renewed war to stop the Burning Crusade’s destruction of worlds, the heroes of Azeroth have given little thought to the frozen wastes of Northrend - and the terrible, ancient powers that wait there. Yet the brooding evils of the fallen Nerubian empire and their malevolent sovereign have not forgotten Azeroth...

News has been doing the rounds the past few days about the announced delay of Grand Theft Auto IV. Notice of the delay was announced in Take's financial reports.

Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two, stated, "With Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar is setting a new standard for next generation video games. Certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected, especially given the commitment for a simultaneous release on two very different platforms. We all recognize that perfecting the game is vital and I can assure everyone it will be worth the wait. We owe it to the game's millions of fans, to our dedicated development team, and to our shareholders to make sure that Grand Theft Auto IV is a groundbreaking gaming experience that takes maximum advantage of next generation technology.

Acclaim recently rebranded and redirected themselves as an MMO company rather than a straight developer, and now they have announced the open beta of their adult-themed MMORPG 2 Moons. For more information or to download the client, head to the official website.

The first downloadable content pack for Forza Motorsport 2 has been released. The udpate features three cars from Japanese manufacturer Nissan, the 2007 Sentra SE-R, Altima, and 350Z.

To celebrate this release, Xbox and Nissan will be hosting several activities focused around these new additions to “Forza Motorsport 2’s†already extensive car list. The first of these activities will be a Nissan Sentra SE-R tournament on Xbox LIVE. Fans are encouraged to customize and upgrade their Sentras and then race head-to-head in an all-out Nissan Sentra brawl. The 32 bracket 256 player tournament will kick off on 18th August and take place over the course of seven weeks. It will finish on the 6th October with a championship race live at the L.A. Auto Show. Finalists will compete for a series of prizes including a chance to win a new Nissan!