THQ announces that the Windows edition of Darksiders is now available worldwide, offering PC users the chance to play this action/adventure game already out on consoles. Here's word: "Developed by THQ’s in-house studio, Vigil Games™, the Windows PC version of the game has been re-engineered from the ground up to deliver the same great action as the console games, while taking advantage of keyboard and mouse controls." Says THQ's Travis Plane: "It is important that the PC audience get to experience the same great product as the console audience so we pulled out all the stops to optimize this version. If you didn’t previously buy the console version now is the perfect opportunity to try Darksiders for yourself."

The Sims 3 Store now offers Escape to Barnacle Bay, a new expansion for The Sims 3 that offers your little people an island getaway along with new Sims, new items, and new locations. Here's word on what this entails: "An island nestled in the Simuyan Sea, Barnacle Bay is a vibrant vacation getaway with stunning beaches, campgrounds, parks, and a curiously modern downtown. First settled by pirates, fisherman, and artists - the world's inhabitants now enjoy relaxing at Smuggler's Beach and letting loose at The Wanderer's Watering Hole."

Atari GO is a new "games as a service initiative" from Atari that includes affiliate, developer and marketing initiatives "to help game developers navigate the increasing complexities of reaching a fragmented casual and social audience wherever and whenever they play," though "Atari IP Development will also continue as Atari leverages its classic portfolio and new IP for the casual online marketplace." Among other things, they are offering websites the chance to earn affiliate fees by hosting microtransaction-driven games. IndustryGamers talks with Thom Kozik, Executive VP, Online & Mobile at Atari, about the initiative to learn more of what they have in store. Thom offers his perspective on history, saying: "Atari excels at being able to exploit an existing global audience in the tens of millions who are lifelong fans of our casual, MMO and triple-A titles." His command of history isn't perfect, though, as he states: "From most any perspective, Atari invented the casual game marketplace, and this has been at the core of our businesses since 1972," which isn't really very accurate, as the company that currently bears the Atari moniker started life in 1993 under the name GT Interactive, later becoming Infogrames, and only adopting the Atari name in 2003.

38 Studios announces they have leased office space for their move to downtown Providence Rhode Island from Maynard Massachusetts in a deal that inludes a business loan. "The new location of 38 Studios will be a significant economic boost to downtown, the City and the State," says Daniel Baudouin, Executive Director, The Providence Foundation. "In addition to the high paying jobs and disposable income that 38 Studios will produce, their downtown location should result in the development of a strong, growing cluster of businesses in digital media and design, two potential targets of growth for downtown and the State."

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter comments to IncGamers on the potential impact of OnLive on the next generation of console systems: "I'm not sure where OnLive will be by then. If they can deliver a similar 3D/virtual reality experience (to Move and Kinect), we may not see new consoles succeed." Thanks joao via Computer and Video Games.

An Escape the Prison Story Trailer from The Witcher 2 Assassins of Kings is online, offering a look at gameplay from CD Projekt's upcoming RPG sequel. The clip includes gameplay, some stealth, character interactions, naked boobies, and some Rashomon-style storytelling. Thanks Computer and Video Games.

We Talk To Ken Levine About BioShock Infinite on Giant Bomb (NSFW) is Jeff Gerstmann's lengthy video interview with the Irrational Games designer along with other Irrational staff, going into detail about their ambitions for BioShock Infinite, their upcoming shooter (sort-of) prequel. They discuss the new game environment of the floating city of Columbia, and Ken coyly implies that playing the game will help the player understand how the new game connects with the underwater city of Rapture in the first two BioShock games. Ken also describes their mixed feelings about multiplayer support as part of an extensive discussion of gameplay concepts. The watchword of the interview is "fantastical."

The Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood interview on UGDB chats with Ubisoft Montreal producer Vincent Pontbriand about Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the next installment in their stealth/action series. Topics include the game's setting, new locations and environments, research, the implications of adding multiplayer support, new skills, new weapons, new missions, side missions, mounts, the Jesper Kyd soundtrack, and more.

Between now and the end of September, receive a $5.00 discount from Direct2Drive on all purchases over $15.00 by using the code "PAX" at checkout.

• Section 8 on Direct2Drive. Save 50%.
• Serious Sam HD: Gold Edition on Steam. Save 75%.
• Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter on Steam. Save 75%.
• Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter on Steam. Save 75%.
• X-Com Complete Bundle on Direct2Drive. Save 60%.
  Still on sale. Continue here to read the full story.

• International Mobile Gaming Awards Call for Entries.
• Game Connection: "Enter our competition to win the chance to showcase your project to high-profile publishers!"

• Call of Duty: Black Ops on WorthPlaying.
• Dwarfs on Examiner.com.
• The Ball on Examiner.com.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• PS3 3D Blu-ray playback loses lossless audio. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.
• Next Console -Years Away,- Says Microsoft U.K. Boss.
• You Don't Know Jack rated by ESRB for 360, Wii, PS3.
• Dead Rising 2: Case West Xbox 360 Interview.
• TrackMania on Wii available. Thanks Frans.
• Halo: Reach on Aussie-Gamer.com, Geeks of Doom, Mail Online, and Scrawl. Thanks Joker961.

Thanks Ant.

• Atari Launches Atari Go Online and Mobile Initiative.
• Learning iOS Game Programming- A Hands-On Guide to Building Your First iPhone Game.
• iPads on College Campuses? Maybe Next Year. Thanks Slashdot.
• Businesses gobbling up Google Android smartphones, ChangeWave finds.
• Sprint: We May, May Not Shift To Metered Pricing.
• MetroPCS: We're Sticking With Unlimited Data.

• AMD follows Intel, warns on third-quarter revenue. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.
• Gartner: Global 'IT debt' hits $500 billion, on the way to $1 trillion.
• U.S. military takes cloud computing to Afghanistan.
• PC Perspective - Podcast #123 - NVIDIA GPU roadmap, New AMD Phenom CPUs, scratch-off upgrades and more.

• 'One app for all' effort launches. Thanks Acleacius.
• Facebook goes down. Thanks Ant. (Howard Cosell voice) Down goes Facebook! Down goes Facebook!
• Is the Web heading toward redirect hell? Thanks Ant via Linux Today.
• Google Maps 'loses' major Florida city. Thanks Mike Martinez.
• Zuckerberg soars up Forbes list of richest Americans.
• How and Why Chrome Is Overtaking Firefox Among Power Users. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.
• Mark Zuckerberg Giving $100 Million to Newark Schools. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.

Thanks Acleacius.

• Is your PC a sitting duck for hackers? Thanks Mike Martinez.
• US backs 10 Smart Grid projects with $34M to bulk up cybersecurity.
• Stuxnet worm 'targeted high-value Iranian assets'.
• Manufacturing's decline threatens national security, House panel hears.
• TSA Employees Get Secret Clearance To Be Better Prepared.

• 'Preliminary' finding invalidates VoIP patent, says EFF.
• Internet game leads to sexual charges. Angie L. Jenkins? Thanks Mike Martinez.
• "A stab in the back": Europe tackles online piracy.

• New studio born from RTW’s ashes…
• Molyneux demands Half-Life 3 NOW. Lucas Molyneux…
• Mole Control is a new puzzle game updating the Minesweeper concept. A one-hour trial is offered…
• Knightfall - Death and Taxes is now available for PC, offering a puzzle adventure. A playable trial and an iPhone version are also available…
• SteelSeries Introduces the Shift Gaming Keyboard. Sounds like a less-fragile Zboard…

Link of the Day: Kick Ass Aliens Power Loader Costume. No kidding!

A playable demo for ArcaniA: Gothic 4 is now available as a sample of the next installment in this series of role-playing games. Our attempts to install the demo have been thwarted by corrupted files, but we've received assurances that the demo is working properly. There is a reported issue where the PhysX installer may kick out an error message on some systems, but the installation should proceed from there. The 1.7 GB download is available on ComputerGames.ro, FanGaming, FileFront, Gamer's Hell, and PCGames.de.

Atomic Games president and former Bungie VP Peter Tamte calls out Bobby Kotick in a letter to the editor on Kotaku following the Activision CEO's recent comment calling Bungie "probably the last remaining high quality independent developer" (thanks joao). Tamte tells Kotick: "If this is true, you're screwed," pointing out that the indie developers that giants like Activision enjoy gobbling up are the source of many of the industry's innovations. In the end, he shifts gears, and challenges the assertion that Activision is a leader in online gaming, connecting this back to the indie theme:

You've called Activision the industry's online leader. If you think the newest Call of Duty online experience is that innovative, let players buy just the online part of Call of Duty Black Ops and charge them a fair price.

In fact, we'll make you a deal. Let consumers buy just the online part of Call of Duty, and we'll give you a starring role in our new online game, Breach. Trust me, starring in your own videogame would give you huge street cred. We've even mocked up a screenshot to show you how cool you'd look in Breach.

As an independent developer, Atomic can't spend its way to big sales, like Activision can. We have to innovate. So, if you're confident Activision can innovate without independent developers, this is your opportunity to prove it.

The BioShock Infinite interview on Eurogamer talks with Shaun Robertson, lead artist on Irrational Games' upcoming high-flying shooter prequel. They discuss the game's paranormal elements, adding variety to combat compared with the original BioShock, enemies, visuals, the unclear relationship between Infinite and the previous BioShocks, and more. They also note separately his comment on scripted sequences, which Shaun says will be used sparingly, saying: "It will be a game that'll definitely have a couple of set pieces, but it's not going to be watching a movie and going from big moment to big moment to big moment."

Blade Kitten is now available, offering an action/adventure game from Krome Studios based on the comic book series created by Steve Stamatiadis. Here's word on the game: "In Blade Kitten, a prequel to the comics set three years earlier, players are invited into the world of Hollow Wish where they take on the role of Kit Ballard, one of the best bounty hunters in the business. With her pink hair and tail, Kit is part cat, part girl - and fully lethal. As one of the last of her species, Kit commands her unique 'Darque Blade' hovering sword to defeat enemies. Also along for the ride is Skiffy, Kit’s laid-back sidekick who lends a hand in collecting items, solving puzzles, and when needed, serves as Kit’s protector." The game is available for Windows as well as through the PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Arcade. The PC edition can be purchased through the Blade Kitten website, the Atari Website, and Steam. There's also a playable demo, which is available from Atari, Steam, AtomicGamer, and Gamer's Hell.

GOG.com has word that their re-launch is hitting some speed bumps, saying: "Sorry everyone for the delay in the launch of the new website. Our servers, even thou [sic] we've augmented their number, just didn't manage to support the huge interest from your side. We're adding more servers as we speak and everything should start improving. Enjoy the new website, all the features and the newelly [sic] released Baldur's Gate."

Sunflex Europe announces they will release the official FINAL FANTASY XIV controller for PC alongside next week's launch of Square Enix's MMORPG. Word is: "The first product of this agreement is the official FINAL FANTASY ® XIV controller for PC, which for the first time brings together the highly rated and technically superior quality of the official PlayStation-licensed PS2 controller from ZeroG and the range of snakebyte’s PS3 controllers to the PC. This state-of-the-art technology brings the efficient and accessible RPG feeling to the PC."

Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson now offers a rundown of LIVE Activity for the week of September 13, including the list of top Games for Windows LIVE titles (based on UUs). The list follows. Continue here to read the full story.

• Rich Hall to host Golden Joysticks.

• Sony consumer warning - Your unofficial PS3 controller may explode!
• LittleBigPlanet 2's -crazy dream- delays, now out January 2011.
• Happy 121st Birthday, Nintendo!
• Rumor: Project Milo Canceled.
• AC: Brotherhood beta on PS Plus next week.
• Take-Two Looks To 'Participate' More In Used Games.
• Bungie's minigame 'Reach Racer' discovered in Halo: Reach.
• Mortal Kombat Producer Very Happy With Warner Bros. Support.

Thanks Acleacius.

• Verizon-Compatible iPhone To Be Built In December, Suppliers Say.
• New Dell Android Tablet Teased.
• Interview With Mark Zuckerberg On The “Facebook Phone”.
• TerreStar Genus, Satellite-Enabled Smart Phone, Coming To AT&T.
• New PSP Worms has base building.
• Gmail's Android App Gets a Froyo-Flavored Update.
• Report: 3DS Uses Same CPU As Early iPhones, Zune HD.

Thanks Acleacius.

• TechCrunch Blogger Walks in on Conspiracy.
• Blockbuster Bankrupt: Video Chain Files For Bankruptcy Protection.
• The Newest Ratings Excuse- DVRs Couldn’t Find The Show Name. Thanks Ant.
• The Richest People in America 2010. Bill Gates is #1. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.

Thanks Acleacius.

• Facebook Revamps Game Updates.
• Microsoft Launches A New Loyalty Program: Bing Rewards.
• Bonnie Raitt, R.E.M., MoveOn Team Up To Defend Open Internet.
• Colbert Grills Eric Schmidt On Privacy, 'Don't Be Evil' Motto (VIDEO).
• Vitrue Study Shows How Brands Can Be Most Effective on Facebook.
• At Netflix Canada Launch, Firm Hired Actors To Pose As Its Fans.
• Zynga Shares Growth Stats, Now Employing Over 1,200.
• Jesse Eisenberg doesn’t just play Mark Zuckerberg in 'The Social Network' — he’s like him in real life.
• Infographic of China's Social Media Equivalents.
• Facebook CEO's MAJOR Donation: Mark Zuckerberg To Give $100 Million To Newark Schools.

Thanks Acleacius.

• Facebook Has Adressed [sic] Privacy Concerns, Canada Finds.
• Aussie Teen Takes Credit for Twitter Trouble.

• Amnesia: The Dark Descent on Shacknews.
• Black Mirror II on Adventure Classic Gaming.
• F1 2010 on PC Gamer.
• Sid Meier's Civilization V on GameSpot.

• AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition CPU on TechwareLabs.
• AMD Phenom II X6 1075T & X4 970 CPUs on Neoseeker.
• ASRock 890FX Deluxe4 Socket AM3 Motherboard on ProClockers.
• ASUS EAH5850 TOP Graphics Card on Hardware Secrets.
• ASUS Extreme Slim DVD-RW Drive on Vortez.
• ASUS RT-N13U Wireless-N Internet Router on Tweaknews.
• BioStar TA890FXE Motherboard on [H]ard-OCP.
• Corsair AX850 850W PSU on Overclockers Club.
• Cougar SX850 850W PSU on ThinkComputers.org.
• Galaxy GeForce GTX 480 Super OC 1536MB Graphics Card on Hardware Canucks and TweakTown.
• GIGABYTE X58A-UD9 (Intel X58 Express) Motherboard on TweakTown.
• Hitachi-LG BH20L 6x Blu-ray Burner on Big Bruin.
• LiteOn eSAU208 External Slim DVD Writer on Vortez.
• Noctua NH-C12P CPU Cooler on Tech-Reviews.
• Novatech The Revolution System on Hardware Heaven.
• Spire TherMax Eclipse II CPU Cooler on Hardware Secrets.
• Thermaltake Armor A60 Mid Tower Case on Benchmark Reviews and Legit Reviews.
• TrackIR 5 on CombatACE.
• VIZO MUFFLE und FREEZER Cooler on Technic3D. In German.
• Wicked Audio Reverb Headphones on MEGATechNews.

• Video Games May Help Treat Lazy Eye. I've been waiting for this moment all my life…
• PC Games of Fall 2010. Thanks Ant…
• ‘Resident Evil’ Movie Actors Read Quotes From The First Game…
• Uwe Boll the subject of new documentary called Raging Boll…
• Unity inks three-year deal with EA…

We caught the first episode of the season for Modern Family last night, and it continues to entertain, offering a mainstream take on Arrested Development-style humor. On a related note, we also enjoyed the debut episode of Running Wilde, the new offering from Arrested creator Mitch Hurwitz starring AD alum Will Arnett. By virtue of being the pilot episode it was a little exposition-heavy, but it looks like a lot of fun too. On a related note, in an interview on the Howard Stern show yesterday, Arnett once again stated that the Arrested Development movie will definitely happen. I'm not sure how this will turn out after all this time, but I'll eagerly give it a shot if it happens.

Wilde Links:	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez and Acleacius.
Play:	Chromatronix. iZZi. BigTree TopGun.
Links:	The Ten Worst Saturday Night Live Hosts of All Time. Thanks Neatorama. Men who don't ask for directions waste $3,000. Star Trek Enterprise Pizza Cutter. Set phasers on delicious (dilithium crystals not included). Thanks dakslf.
Stories:	MI6 'used bodily fluids as invisible ink'. Thanks Boing Boing. Injured Afghan eagle coming here. Thanks brother19. KFC Pays College Women To Wear 'Double Down' Pants. But probably not if they eat them.
Science:	Pressed plant collections 'hold climate clues'. Horniest Dinosaur Species Ever Discovered In Utah, Closely Related To Triceratops.
Images:	No Arrow Can Stop The Heavy. So That is Why My Mom Plays Halo. Oh snap! Embarrassing Billboard Typo.
Media:	OK Go - White Knuckles. Thanks Donovon. 31 Ways to Open a Beer Bottle Without a Bottle Opener.
Follow-up:	Secret revealed about the Titanic sinking. Woops.