The paperwork for the merger is over; now comes the hard part. Vivendi's UK office has been reduced to a skeleton crew as majority of its staff will move to Activision's facility in Stockley Park. Pretty soon, the ball will get rolling and we'll see what wonders Activision Blizzard will bring. Anyone for a Guitar Hero MMO? No?

Europe's PlayStation Network update this week is a treasure trove for PS3 and PSP users alike. PS3 owners get the free demos for Pure (as scheduled!) and NHL 2K9. Meanwhile, PSP owners finally get the PSP Media Manager for F-R-E-E!

Samsung has revealed their plans for the future: Blu-ray is clearly winning now (with maybe five more years left in its lifetime), so they might want to focus on other technological areas in which they can win. If Sony's got the media format down pat now, Samsung will be striving to bring us competitive OLED displays in the future.

Over the press wire, we hear from Activision that three bands are confirmed to remaster their yester-decade tracks exclusively for Guitar Hero World Tour. Pull out those albums from your father's music library: MC5, Sex Pistols, and Motorhead are all coming back to re-record their old songs for the latest Guitar Hero title.

Following in the footsteps of Football Manager 2008, Sports Interactive has revealed the next installment to be released for the PSP, PC, and Mac OS X platforms. Football Manager 2009 (and its accompanying Football Manager Handheld 2009 for the PSP) will be arriving on November 14. Read more for details and an in-depth video walkthrough with the devs.

Looks like the UK might be a little low on Sony's priority list for the PSP-3000. It seems that the silver PSP-3000 Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters bundle, and the black PSP-3000 with 4 GB mem stick bundle may not be appearing in the UK after all. The UK will instead receive a different package, and may not even receive a standalone PSP-3000 for a few months. More details in the full article.

After the recent series of shakedowns happening in Midway, word has been going around that the company may have to shut down its UK based studio Newcastle, subsequently putting development of its upcoming action shooter - The Wheelman (PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) - on hold. However, interim CEO Matt Booty squashed these unfounded rumors and confirmed that they had no plans of doing so. More details in our full article.

Ever since we got confirmation at Leipzig 2008 of the PSP-3000 (the PSP Slim's brighter and more vocal younger brother), a lot of bundles and packs have been announced for its coming release. More so, there's different dates and prices for different regions. Today we get some follow-up clarification for the PSP-3000's release in the UK, as well as other friendly reminders from David Reeves (i.e. the PSP-2000 pricecuts!). Check the full article to get your fact sheets straight.

Good news for PlayStation 3 gamers out there - in the UK and the rest of Europe at least, since the service likely won't be released in the US - the PlayTV service has been confirmed to be able to record TV content while playing games. Details in the full article.

So is it... brains or beauty? In the UK, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training has finally set a new record. Previously held by Lara Croft for Tomb Raider, Dr. Kawashima now holds the crown for being the longest-staying video game on the All Formats Top 10 charts. Guess it really pays to have Nicole Kidman promote your game, eh?