From the Daily News A 9-year-old wrestling fan jumped off his Brooklyn apartment roof wearing a homemade parachute in a fatal imitation of his favorite video game character, friends said.

The broken body of Damori Miles was found on the ground outside the Albany Houses about 7 p.m. Tuesday.
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OXM has compiled a list outing the least played games on Live.

The list below is a measurement of activity by game in the space of about 30 minutes or so.

* Smackdown vs. Raw
14 players in 30 minutes.
* FIFA 06: Road to World Cup
One player in 30 minutes
* F.E.A.R.
Eight players in 20 minutes.
* Tenchu Z
Eight players in 30 minutes
* World Championship Poker
14 players in 10 minutes

A few more that apparently don't see much online action, sadly without stats:

* Blitz The League
* Dead or Alive Extreme 2
* Marvel Ultimate Alliance
* World Championship Snooker
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From VideoGamer.com: "THQ is to announce the "next addition to the WWE videogame family" on Friday, March 28. No further details of the announcement have been released, although we're anticipating news of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009."
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WWE Superstars The Miz and John Morrison will be signing autographs at HMV's Princes Street store in Edinburgh on Thursday 6th March to celebrate the 'WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2008' international tournament final on Xbox 360.
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GameStop and THQ are hosting an online tournament in which the winner gets floor tickets for WrestleMania 24 in March
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Destructoid writes:

"If you think you have what it takes to oil up your virtual superstar and step into the squared-circle with other oiled up virtual superstars, you're in for a treat. THQ has announced that a GameStop sponsored WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 tournament, that will have the winner scoring a pair of floor tickets to WrestleMania 24."
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The latest videogame sales data released for Germany and Spain shows Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare making a strong debut.

In Germany, Activision's first-person shooter captured the top three spots, with the PC version at number one, followed by the Xbox 360 version and the PS3 version in at number three

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was slightly less popular in Spain, but still managed to capture three of the top ten spots. The PS3 version debuted at number three, followed by the Xbox 360 version at number four and the PC version at number eight.

Germany:

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360)
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3)
4. Hellgate: London (PC)
5. WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2008 (PS2)
6. Fussball Manager 2008 (PC)
7. Singstar: Apres Ski (PS2)
8. Dr. Kawashima's Gehirn-Jogging (DS)
9. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
10. Singstar: Rock Ballads (PS2)

Spain:

1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2)
2. WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2008 (PS2)
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3)
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360)
5. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (PS2)
6. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS3)
7. WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2008 (PS3)
8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
9. WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2008 (PSP)
10. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
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Nov 9, 2007 Males between the ages of 10 and 34 - put down that Victorias Secret catalogue and shut off Family Guy ‘cause we have a spanking-new SmackDown! vs Raw 2008 trailer for your adolescent-minded peepers. On display here is the entrance theme for the members of DX, Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Watch as they strut to ringside amidst bizarre subliminal images of bar codes, exotic dancers and a police unit. Fun fact: DX or Degeneration-X is derived from the terms ... » Read More

According to IGN's GamerMetrics, the current top ten most-anticipated titles are as follows (ranked by percentages of mindshare among IGN's audience):

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) 5.00%
2. WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2008 (PS3) 3.11%
3. Assassin's Creed (XB360) 2.63%
4. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) 2.54%
5. Mass Effect (XB360) 2.33%
6. WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2008 (XB360) 1.99%
7 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) 1.91%
8. Assassin's Creed (PS3) 1.86%
9. Rock Band (XB360) 1.70%
10. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) 1.29%
11. Crysis (PC) 1.24%
12. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (Wii) 1.13%

In addition, GamerMetrics analyzed IGN's traffics of Assassin's Creed for different SKUs (see the image below) and forecast that the game will sell 1 million units for Xbox 360 and 350,000 units for PS3 by the end of the year.
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The game will feature 26 achievements worth a total of 1000 points. There are 10 secret achievements worth a total of 500 points. A single secret achievement will net you 350 points.
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The review scores from EGM #222 (December 2007) are revealed:

* Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock: 9, 8.5, 8
* Sega Rally Revo: 7.5, 7, 7
* Conan: 5.5, 5.5, 5.5
* WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008: 8, 7, 5.5
* Clive Barker's Jericho: 3, 4.5, 4.5 (Shame of the Month)
* The Simpsons Game: 7, 6.5, 7
* Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War: 4, 6, 4
* Folklore: 5.5, 7.5, 8
* The Eye of Judgment: 8, 8, 8
* Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction: 8.5, 9.5, 9
* Halo 3: 10, 10, 9
* Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation: 6.5, 6.5, 8
* Half-Life 2 Orange Box: 10, 9.5, 10
* Beautiful Katamari: 7, 4.5, 4
* Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations: 9, 7, 7.5
* Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness: 7.5, 7, 7
* Silent Hill: Origins: 7.5, 7, 7
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The demo for the latest WWE wrestling game, Smackdown! Vs. RAW 2008, is about to hit the marketplace. This gives gamers a chance to experience and test out this years premier wrestling game.

The article contains the official press release from THQ stating the demo is currently on Live. It's believed this press release was leaked early as gamers have yet to find the demo.
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Oct 15, 2007 THQ sends word that a demo of its latest burly bruiser WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2008 is now up for download on Xbox Live. The 360 preview lets you try out the new Superstar Fighting Styles and Struggle Submission System, which THQ says "significantly enhances" gameplay from the last installment. We'll let you be the judge of that. Head to the Forums to cast your vote. An exhibition match using RAW, SmackDown and ECW arenas is available. Superstars Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, the ... » Read More

Will there be any differences in Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 across different platforms (PS3, Xbox 360)? If so, can you give any examples?

Yes. The Xbox 360 version of the game will allow players to use songs stored on their hard drive for entrance music, while the PlayStation 3 version will include the unique Interactive Entrance feature. By utilizing the technology of the SIAXIS controller, we're now giving players the option of actually witnessing their favorite Superstar's ring entrance ¿ from the Superstar's perspective. Players can tilt the controller up, down, left and right to turn a Superstar's head as he or she heads to the ring, allowing players for the first time to see the action through the Superstar's eyes.
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Just a few months ago, THQ gathered the gaming press in the shadow of Wrestlemania and let the world know that the general manager and career modes from SmackDown! vs. Raw's past was dead.

Fans didn't take it well.

It wasn't so much the elimination by combination -- you can now play as a GM or a Superstar in one mode called 24/7 -- that raised their ire; it was the overall ambiguity of this new super-mode. Would it retain the story-driven single-player mode? Would it retain the cutthroat GM business of trying to keep your show on top while keeping your superstars healthy? How would the modes bleed into one another?
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Oct 1, 2007 We know, we know - all this talk about the brand new Superstar Fighting System and ECW Extreme Rules match for this years inclusion into the WWE SmackDown! franchise has got your tights in a bunch because you havent yet sampled the fine musclehead beatdowns. Turn that frown upside down because starting today, October 1, you can obtain a demo of WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 at select retail chains by pre-ordering the game. Its kind of a sparse demo with only three arenas, one-on-one ... » Read More

Sept 21, 2007 One constant complaint from fans of the long-running SmackDown! franchise has been that the wrestlers control the same for the most part. Oh sure, specific wrestlers have been tweaked annually to reflect their real-life counterpart and weight class, but now you can choose primary and secondary fighting styles, forever changing the way you play WWEs pinnacle sim. We just got a hold of all primary and secondary from the WWE fanatics at THQ so you can start planning your future ... » Read More

Sept 13, 2007 If you've played a fair bit of the earlier WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW games, you'd know that nothing's more satisfying than clocking your opponent over the head with a chair, pounding his face in with a sledgehammer or chucking his lifeless ass through a table. Sure, you could fight a (*yawn*) fair fight, but using items from a hardware store to get the win appeals to your inner extremist. Recognizing how awesome hardcore wrestling is, WWE SmackDown 08 features the brand-new ECW ... » Read More

Aug 20, 2007 At a WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008 event held in London last week, THQ's vice president of product development, Keith Kirby, revealed that gamers could look forward to a lot more WWE offerings in the future, providing dedicated lovers of the wrestling with more besides the annual update of its flagship series. Although carefully cagey about details, Kirby told GamesRadar that he had recently been in New York for a meeting, the purpose of which was to "talk about all sorts of new and ... » Read More

Tody IGN put their hands on the newest WWE games at San Diego Comic-Con, and this is what they think of it.
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