In addition to showcasing “Home” at the GDC, Sony also used the forum to display their upcoming multiplayer masterpiece LittleBigPlanet. LBP offers each player a fully customizable environment where they can create their own platform style world without the use of a complicated level design system. Players then have the opportunity to invite other players over to explore their world. The demo is slated for a fall release with the full version next year.

Sony officially unveiled their next-gen user-community service “Home” at the GDC in San Francisco. Home will be a persistent 3-D world in which each player communicates and creates through the use of a customizable avatar. Additionally, Home will incorporate the use of personal space, giving gamers a unique “living” area to design and decorate, and public spaces where users can download content, interact with others, and play. Players will also have access to trophies that can be unlocked via various in-game achievements.

The computer company that helped pave the way for home video game success with a little number called the C64 is back. Commodore has announced they will be unveiling their new product lineup at CeBit 2007. The new product? High end gaming rigs. Now I may be showing my age here, but I would definitely buy one just for that full-circle back to my roots feeling that only comes with time travel and episodes of Webster. If you have time to kill, watch the countdown.

Sega announced today the re-release of 6 classic Genesis titles on Wii’s Shop Channel. Old school Sega favorites like Streets of Rage, Comix Zone, and Bonanza Bros are getting all getting a new lease on life for about $8 or less. Honestly this is the kind of stuff I want to see. If I’m going to download games on my console, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel for me. Just give me some oldies but goodies and let me play.

Have you ever wondered how those great MMO monsters come into being? Well I can tell you they don’t just appear. If they did my MMO “Land of the Downloaders” would be done and I would be sippin pina-coladas on a beach with my Swingline. Dungeons & Dragons Online art director Todd DeMelle recently shared with Ten Ton Hammer just what it takes to bring dragons to life. Apparently it takes imagination, teamwork, creativity, and a plethora of $5 words.

Good news coming out of the GDC this week as Microsoft has announced a new 512MB memory card for the Xbox 360. The larger memory card should be available in early April and for a limited time will come preloaded with Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. The new card will become a must for core system gamers as MS also announced that the file size limit for Live Arcade games is being raised from the scant 50MB to 150MB.

After six long years of development and one name change, STALKER Shadows of Chernobyl is complete. THQ executive VP Kelly Flock made the announcement at a company wine-and-dine in San Francisco, claiming that STALKER “will ship in March.” Various online merchants have already attached a March 20th release date to the title. THQ was kind enough to release a fresh batch of screens just prior to the announcement.

Blizzard has unveiled their new World of Warcraft Armory website. The site gathers and compiles live data from game servers letting would be voyeurs drop in at any time to see what players are wearing. The site also offers Arena rankings for those of you that are a bit more competitive…and normal. While still listed as a Beta, the site seemed to work fine during todays snooping session.

I’m thinking I should rename the column “Sony Today.” They just seem to supply an endless stream of oddities. Every move is stranger than the next and now the double talk continues. Only 3 days after Sony exec Phil Harrison exclaimed that Rumble was like so last generation, we get word that Sony is now in bed with Immersion for a partnership that will bring force-feedback tech to upcoming Playstation products. The patent infringement suit between the two parties is now officially dead, imagine that.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning hasn’t even been released and now word comes that Warhammer 40K will be joining in on the MMO scene. Austin TX based Vigil Games has been taped by THQ to develop the title. If Vigil delivers a solid product 40K will be an excellent alternative for MMO gamers, as the industry is currently dominated by fantasy based titles. 40K’s rich history offers the same level of lore that helped make WoW such a success.