Konami's portable stealth action game pushed back two weeks, will also be available in a green PSP hardware bundle with 2GB memory stick, voucher for downloadable movie.

In keeping with its peripatetic title, the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker isn't in a hurry to get to stores. Sony today announced that the Konami-published stealth action game won't arrive until June 8. Previously it had been dated for May 25.

A green PSP was announced the same week as St Patrick's Day. Coincidence?

The news came from Sony as the electronics giant announced a limited-edition PSP hardware bundle for the game set to arrive June 8, "day and date with stand-alone game." The bundle includes a "Spirited Green" version of the handheld, a UMD copy of Peace Walker, a 2GB memory stick, and a voucher for a downloadable movie yet to be announced (movie for US residents only). Those who pick up the bundle will also get access to a pair of unlockable in-game goodies in the form of a Fox-branded camouflage uniform and stealth gun feature.

A sequel to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and previous PSP entry Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Peace Walker puts players in the role of Naked Snake/Big Boss once more and gives them a look at the earliest stages of his Outer Heaven mercenary group. Series creator Hideo Kojima and Konami are emphasizing Peace Walker as a "full-scale sequel" in the Metal Gear series and not a spin-off or side project.

One of the big new additions to Peace Walker is cooperative multiplayer action for up to four players. Gamers can pick one of four versions of Snake, each with its own equipment and focus on stealth, combat, or a mix of the two.

Peace Walker also plays with the standard structure of past Metal Gear games. Players will be able to revisit previously completed missions, and Konami is borrowing a page from its recent Metroid-inspired Castlevania titles to give them a reason to. Snake will earn new abilities as he progresses through the game, enabling him to reach secret areas from earlier levels on a repeat visit.

For more on Peace Walker, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

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Next title in Sony's Play, Create, Share series slated to hit store shelves in two months in North America; European release confirmed for shortly thereafter.

Sony and United Front's highly customisable driving game ModNation Racers is set for a May 25 release, according to the US PlayStation blog. The European PlayStation blog followed up the American announcement with confirmation that the release in PAL territories should be the same week but did not commit to a specific date.

Kratos has a habit of taking fender benders personally.

ModNation Racers lets players build and customise racetracks, racers, and vehicles as well as share them with others using the PlayStation Network. Billed by Sony as the spiritual successor to Little Big Planet, it has a similar focus on user-generated and shared content and is the second title to carry the Play, Create, Share tagline.

The US blog also announced preorder bonuses; early pledges will be rewarded with access to a select Sony character depending on the retailer of choice. Drivers will be able to give Kratos a break from vengeance to tear up the racetrack by reserving at GameStop, reunite plucky Lombax Ratchet and his mechanical sidekick Clank through Amazon, or give Nathan Drake a chance to show off his half-tuck on the racetrack with a Best Buy preorder.

There is no mention of similar bonuses for European gamers as yet, but Sony's track record with preorder incentives for customers outside the US may provide some hope. European players of last year's hit Uncharted 2 were treated to golden weapons, a currency multiplier, and a revenge perk for multiplayer, which were originally available exclusively as preorder bonuses in the US.

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Wedbush's Michael Pachter predicts 10% software slump to $665 million for last month, March's "phenomenal" lineup will break industry's down streak.

The good news is that analysts believe the US gaming industry is getting close to emerging from its prolonged slump at retail. The bad news is that it doesn't look like the gaming industry entered the light of day during February, despite the release of such top-tier games as BioShock 2, Heavy Rain, and Dante's Inferno.

Take-Two has already trumpeted BioShock 2's strong opening.

In a note to investors today, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter predicted that when The NPD Group releases its annual US retail sales recap on Thursday, game software sales will have slipped 10 percent year-over-year to $665 million. Pachter attributed the decline to what has quickly become a thorn in the gaming industry's side: the flagging music genre.

"The February comparison is not as tough (+9 percent) as it was in January (+11 percent), but we expect another precipitous decline in music genre sales to around $20 million compared to $75 million last February and do not expect the decline to be offset by sales of the big launches during the month," he said.

Pachter believes Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which is currently the subject of a heated lawsuit between the publisher and the game's creators, will make the top 10 best-seller list in February. The analyst's research indicates that EA's Mass Effect 2 and Dante's Inferno, Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Wii Fit Plus, and Take-Two's BioShock 2 also performed well during the month. (Of the latter title, Take-Two said last week that it had shipped 3 million units worldwide.)

In terms of hardware, Pachter expects the Wii to shift 455,000 units during the month, a figure down 40 percent year-over-year. The Wii's predicted decline notwithstanding, Nintendo's system is still expected to outpace the Xbox 360's 350,000 units, which itself would be down 10 percent from the year prior. Rounding out the console sales chart, the PlayStation 3's 300,000 units represents 9 percent year-over year growth.

With February at its back, Pachter believes the remainder of 2010 will play out swimmingly for the US retail game industry.

"The release schedule over the next four months gives us great confidence in our forward forecast," Pachter wrote. "In addition to highly anticipated titles like Sony's God of War III, Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII, Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M, and Activision's Starcraft II, we expect no fewer than 12 games released in the first half of 2010 to sell more than 1 million units apiece, with at least six selling more than 3 million units. In the first half of 2009, there were only eight games that sold more than 1 million units, with only one selling more than 3 million units."

Pachter is particularly enthused about March's "phenomenal" lineup, which includes Battlefield Bad Company 2, Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, God of War III and Final Fantasy XIII. He predicted that each of the titles will sell 1 million units during their first month of availability.

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Square Enix's long-awaited multiplatform role-playing game arrives in stores alongside Yakuza 3, Resident Evil 5 Gold, and Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising.

March Madness doesn't tip off for another week, but the nickname for the NCAA basketball tournament is equally appropriate to describe the month's barrage of big game releases. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 deployed to retailers last week, and next week sees a one-two punch of God of War III and Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight.

Retail tsunami incoming?

Those release lists bookend one that is no less impressive, as this week sees the US release for Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This will mark the first time a major installment in the long-running franchise will receive a multiplatform release at launch. (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time arrived on the DS and the Wii on the same day last March.) For more on the game, check out GameSpot's review or scroll down to watch the video review.

Another Japanese import is set to arrive stateside this week, as Sega's PS3-exclusive Yakuza 3 bullies its way into stores. The open-world crime drama picks back up with former gangster Kiryu Kazuma, who had abandoned Tokyo's underground to establish an orphanage in Okinawa at the end of the last game.

For PC gamers, THQ has the first stand-alone expansion to its Warhammer 40,000 real-time strategy game Dawn of War II. As its name implies, the Chaos Rising expansion will insert Chaos Space Marines into the far-flung futuristic conflict, adding new single-player and co-op campaigns for hardened veterans. The expansion will also be available bundled with the original game in the Dawn of War II Gold Edition.

That's not the only double-dip in the wings this week, as a number of hits are finding themselves in new release sections for the second time this week. Capcom reloads with Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition, which includes the 2009 survival horror hit and its various downloadable add-ons. The publisher will also be bringing retro revival Mega Man 10 to the PlayStation 3 as a downloadable title, a week and change after the Wii version's debut, but still ahead of the scheduled Xbox Live Arcade launch later this month.

For further details on the week's games, visit GameSpot's New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later in the week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

MARCH 8, 2010
Max & the Magic Marker--WiiWare--TGC

MARCH 9, 2010
Final Fantasy XIII--360, PS3--Square Enix
Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition--360, PS3--Capcom
Yakuza 3--PS3--Sega
Foto Showdown--DSi--Konami
Racquet Sports--Wii--Ubisoft
Assassin's Creed 2--PC--Ubisoft
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger--PSP--Aksys Games
Sam and Max 2: Beyond Time and Space--Wii--Atari
Calling--Wii
The Daring Game for Girls--DS--Majesco

MARCH 10, 2010
Scrap Metal--360--Slick Entertainment

MARCH 11, 2010
Mega Man 10--PS3--Capcom
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising--PC--THQ
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II: Gold Edition--PC--THQ
Spectral Force Genesis--DS--Ignition

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