Need for Speed: Shift News

$160 hardware package including football sim, Need for Speed: Shift, 2GB memory stick arrives alongside EA Sports' latest gridiron game.

[UPDATE]: Electronic Arts reveals Crytek shooter and previously unheard of racing sequel both set for launch in first quarter of 2011; Dead Space 2 also listed for handheld and mobile devices.

Buyers of Sony's latest handheld offering will get 10 games free from June 9, including GTA: Vice City Stories and 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

Profits from near-billion-dollar Jan.-March quarter help publisher curtail shortfall; Madden 10, NFS: Shift top 4M units; Bad Company 2 hits 5M; Mass Effect 2 sells 1.6M.

EA slates Dead Space 2, Epic Games' shooter, mystery fighting and action games for Q1; Dragon Age, EA MMA, Medal of Honor, Dead Space 2 going portable; "something far-reaching for Mass Effect" in the works; Sims 3 scheduled for consoles and handhelds.

Criterion-developed next installment in racing series set for next year; shooter reboot information coming "in the months ahead."

$788 million in earnings can't keep megapublisher out of the red; workforce slashed by 17%, development pipeline cut in half; Need for Speed Shift ships 2.5 million.

[UPDATE 3] Publisher slashes staff by 17 percent to save $100 million annually, to focus on higher-margin titles; reductions at Skate, Madden, and Dante's Inferno devs; over one-third Mythic reportedly pink-slipped.

Q&A: EA VP Keith Munro explains 15-year-old racing series' long and winding road to sales mega-milestone; latest installment posts decent Sept. showing in US; Need for Speed World Online due Q4 2010.

Aion, Champions Online debut atop NPD's monthly PC rankings, while Kingdom Hearts 358/2, Scribblenauts, and NHL 10 and in bottom half of top 20; [UPDATE] Need for Speed Shift moves under 293K on PS3/360.

Wedbush Morgan's Pachter, EEDAR's Divnich project double-digit game growth last month, say Sony has most to gain from price cut.

New handheld's debut accompanied by first PSP Minis, debuts of PixelJunk Monsters, Thexder Neo, sales on Puzzle Quest, Prinny, and more; full list and price breakdown inside.

Rumors of bids by Microsoft, Warner send Madden and UFC Undisputed publishers' share prices skyward.

Shock Troopers hit the ground with the launch of the latest Halo franchise instalment.

Busy week sees Activision's action RPG sequel and EA's arcade-style racer slide into stores with Scribblenauts, NHL games, Wet, PC ports of Batman, Red Faction, Resident Evil 5.

Naughty Dog's PS3-exclusive sequel wins Best of Show, 5TH Cell's DS puzzler honored for Best Original Game by industry media collaboration.

Nielsen study released yesterday reveals the top 12 games presented at the expo that are most likely to be purchased by gamers.

While talking Project Natal, EA COO reveals Burnout developer is now under the hood of the publisher's street-racing series; EA CEO says shop crafting "revolutionary" new entry in franchise--which may delay the next Burnout.

E3 2009: So-called "Grand Theft Auto MMOG" will be published by EA Partners; new extreme fighting franchise revealed; workout game fastest-selling EA Sports Wii game ever; Fight Night Round 4 coming June 25; Ozzy Osborne joins Brutal Legend; New Old Republic trailer inside.