E3 08 like a “convention for plumbers” says UK PlayStation boss (PlayStation 3)

E3 08 was like a “convention for plumbers”, Sony Computer Entertainment Uk boss Ray Maguire has told GamesRadar’s sister site, TechRadar, although “behind closed doors, there was a decent amount of business going on.”

Yes, we were doing some work while living it up in Los Angeles.

Above: Plumber’s Convention – more fun than E3?

Other factoids to come out of the TechRadar Ray Maguire interview include:

Hints that two of Sony’s headline E3 press conference games – InFamous and MAG – will not be showcased at Leipzig.No price cut in the immediate future for PlayStation 3 in the UK (although TechRadar points out it’s still not ruled out for the Christmas period).Europe’s big first party PS3 titles for the holiday season will be LittleBigPlanet, Motorstorm: Pacific Drift and Resistance 2.Still no official ‘release date’ for PlayStation 3’s social network/game lobby portal Home, although Maguire tells us to expect something new at Leipzig. GamesRadar was informed semi-officially at E3 that we could expect to see a Home open beta roll out in October this year.

The REAL Rock Band 2 tracklist revealed (Rock Band 2)

Cancel your weekend plans from this October until May 2009 – the tracklist for Rock Band 2 has been released, and it’s huge. This is the real tracklist, not some internet fakery, and it comes straight from the source.

Not only that, but you’ll be able to import the songs (both the downloaded tunes and the stuff that came on the actual disc) from the first Rock Band directly into RB2, so you’ll be able to play something like 500 songs rught out of the box. So even without the inevitable new downloadable content, you’re going to be busy for quite awhile. Check it out:

10v10 confirmed for FIFA 09 (FIFA 09)

FIFA 09 will feature 10v10 online play on Xbox 360 and PS3. David Rutter, Line Producer on the PS3/360 version told us: “We’ve managed to get 10 v 10 this year online through strength of will and technological nous. [But] we want to make sure the control system for controlling goalkeepers is compelling enough before putting it in, because no game has done it particularly well, if it’s even been in there.

“So we want to make sure it’s good enough before putting it in because the last thing you want to do is say “tada – 11 v 11″… and the goal keepers are rubbish.”

Operation Flashpoint 2 blown open (Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising)

Codemasters’ elusive war sequel, Operation Flashpoint 2, has reared its head and is looking rather stunning in the pages of the latest PC Gamer UK, on shelves now. PC Gamer calls Codies’ war zone “the most mind-bogglingly vast and mercilessly realistic battlefield gaming has ever known,” which couldn’t be higher praise if they tried, really.

“Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising is the sequel to the best soldier sim ever created,” says PC Gamer. “It’s a game being built to exacting specifications by military obsessives, to simulate the authentic behaviour of battle-hardened troops and push PC’s to their limits.” And by the look of these new screenshots we’ve been supplied, it’s going to push our PCs off the side of the desk and out the window. Here’s hoping the looks and framerates can be equal on 360 and PS3.