Longtime Bungie content manager Frank O’ Connor today announced that he has taken leave of the company to “work more closely with Microsoft on the Halo franchise.”

In his departure letter, O’ Connor dropped a few hints gave a few subtle hints as to what gamers can expect from Bungie in the (hopefully) not-too-distant future.

… Let me tell you a bit about the coming years. It was very hard for me to make the decision to move on, but one thing that made it just a bit easier, was seeing the amazing work that’s coming down the pipe. I was busy working on a story for one of our next games, an experience that is destined to surprise, amaze and entertain like nothing we’ve ever made before. That game has an amazing team invested in it, and one that will be tasked with building the Next Big Thing. You should see what they’ve already achieved, you truly should.

Ooh, color us intrigued. Can’t wait to hear more. And on that note, goodbye Frank. Best of luck in your future endeavors over at Microsoft.

Bungie Weekly Update: 5/16/2008 [Bungie]

That “VERY, VERY Limited Edition” Gunmetal Grey PS3 bundle will be sold exclusively through Konami’s online store, the company announced today.

Priced at a premium of $600, the special edition bundle includes a 40GB HDD equipped PS3, a matching DualShock 3 controller, and a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - which is the limited edition version, no less.

Purchasing all of the above separately would cost $485, so it worth the $115 premium? It’s worth noting that fans who purchase this won’t be able to play any of the previous PS2 MGS titles on the included PS3 unit - due to gimped backwards compatibility. For that reason, it’s far from a definitive bundle, in my opinion. Sans the limited edition color, the standard 80GB MGS 4 bundle is a far better buy.

Pre-orders for the bundle open May 19 over at Konami’s official site.

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Editorial written by Paul Govan of Family Gamer.

I feel like Jerry Maguire today. After many years chasing my tail reviewing whatever game I could lay my hands on I have decided to take a break from the rat race. In the words of the man himself “Let us work less hard to [play] the [games] that we know won’t matter in the long run, and work twice as hard to [play] the ones who will.” So I’ll be here every other week for these Family Gamer articles, trying to get down in words the things that matter to me as a family gamer.

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Over on the official Ubisoft forums, community developer Ubi_Wuzzi revealed that Free Radical’s forthcoming first-person shooter Haze will require players to install 4GB worth of game data to their PS3’s hard drive before playing.

This, of course, is nothing new. GTA IV, Devil May Cry 4, Lost Planet, and Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds all had mandatory HDD installations as well. However, it still boggles my mind as to why these installs are non-optional, considering similar titles like Resistance ran fine with all data loaded directly off the Blu-ray disc.

Ask the devs ! **update 16/05/2008** [Ubi]

As part of its 2008 Gamers Day event, Sony Computer Entertainment America just sent over three all-new screenshots from Insomniac’s action packed first-person-shooter Resistance 2.

Slated for a November release exclusively on PlayStation 3, the game will boast an eight player online co-op campaign and 60-player online head-to-head multiplayer.

Resistance 2 Screenshots

Developer BioWare sent word today that the PC edition of Mass Effect has officially gone gold and now is in the process of manufacturing.

As a bonus, those who pre-order the enhanced port from EA’s official store will receive free shipping as well as a collectible Dead Space comic book and poster.

Mass Effect PC hits retailers May 28 in North America, with a European release following on June 6.

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Back in February, Capcom ran a contest allowing fans to choose two of the alternative costumes for the upcoming Western release of its Wii title We Love Golf.

After carefully tallying up the votes, the results are now in. The vast majority of fans cast their votes towards Morrigan from the Darkstalkers series and Ken of Street Fighter fame. Ken’s outfit is available as the alternative costume for Mark, while golfer Stephanie can strut her stuff as Morrigan.

Screens after the jump. We Love Golf is due out later this summer.

We Love Golf Screenshots

Sales of Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV have been nothing short of phenomenal, but did it sell hardware? According to the latest NPD figures for April, the answer is a blunt “no.”

NPD recorded that 187,100 PS3 consoles were sold in April, along with 188,000 Xbox 360 units. Looking at the previous month, both consoles pushed 257,000 and 262,000 units, respectively. Much better.

So what’s the deal? Why isn’t GTA IV moving hardware? EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich believes that the 360 and PS3 have saturated the market at their current price points.

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Originally scheduled to hit Japan on July 3, developer Monolith Soft’s forthcoming survival-action title Disaster: Day of Crisis has been pushed back to an unspecified date, leaving a 2008 release up in the air.

The title was initially announced at E3 2006, the same time as the now-canned Project H.A.M.M.E.R was unveiled.

According to Nintendo, the official reasoning behind the delay is that Monolith Soft needed more time to deliver a quality product.

Newly formed Polish developer Gingerbread Studios today announced The Protector, an all-new entry in the action-stealth genre.

In development for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, players take on the role of mercenary Jonathan Kane and former M16 agent Jennifer Guile in an attempt to foil the plans of an terrorist organization known as “Scarlet Vengeance,” which is in search of a valuable Aztec artifact.

The game will be played from both a first-person perspective and third-person, with players switching to the latter when taking cover from enemy fire ala Rainbow Six: Vegas. Additionally, each character will have their own gameplay mode. When playing as Jennifer, players will primary use stealth to complete their objectives, while assuming the role of Kane will mean taking a more gung-ho approach.

A release date for the title has not yet been announced.

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