Ubisoft's announcement earlier today that "Assassin's Creed II" is coming to "all current-generation platforms" later this year begged for clarification. Surely the series is returning to the XBox 360 and PS3, but what about the Wii? Reached for comment about whether "Assassin's Creed" fans should consider the Wii to be in the current gen, a Ubisoft spokseperson said: "We have only announced Xbox 360, PS3, PC and PSP."

Today Ubisoft officially announced that "Assassin's Creed 2" for all current-generation platforms is slated for a Holiday 2009 release. Read more...

Stealing from our old Pronunciation Guide feature, we've turned today's Lunchtime Video into the official explanation of how to pronounce "Ezio" - the name of the lead character in the recently-announced "Assassin's Creed II."

(Videos not viewable by users logging in from Canada or the U.K.)

Game Informer's May issue will have the scoop on "Assassin's Creed II," which, the magazine reports will take place during the Italian Renaissance in Venice and star a new hero, Ezio. Check GI for more.

PSP head of marketing John Koller told MTV Multiplayer in an interview that "Assassin's Creed" PSP won't be a port of "Assassin's Creed 2." And he gave a little more insight into other newly announced PSP games. Read more...

Gaming blog Kotaku is running a rumor that the next "Assassin's Creed" console game -- slated for release some time in the next 13 months -- will move the franchise from the time of the Crusades to the Italian Renaissance. A focus tester gives the blog details. We normally don't run other people's rumors, but, in this case, the details about the setting match what we've heard from a reliable source of our own. I've reached out to "Assassin's Creed" publisher Ubisoft for comment.

UPDATE - Here's Ubi's comment, via a company spokesperson: "It’s great to see that the fans are enjoying speculation regarding 'Assassin’s Creed' and we love and share their enthusiasm. We don’t comment on rumors or speculation, and rest assured that when we are ready to release information on the game, you will be among the first to know."

From a Sony press release, just sent over the wires, "Assassin's Creed" is coming to the PSP:

Assassin's Creed PSP Entertainment Pack -- Ubisoft will debut an exclusive installment of the popular Assassin's Creed franchise on PSP later this year. To commemorate this highly anticipated title, SCEA will launch a new bundle that includes the game, a "Piano Black" PSP, and other content that will be announced later.

No release date was provided. Sony's release included news on a slew of other PSP games, including a new "Rock Band," "MotorStorm," "LittleBigPlanet" and more.

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A morning full of announcements from Ubisoft, as the company revealed new "Assassin's Creed," "Splinter Cell," "Red Steel" and "Ghost Recon" games releasing by the end of March 2010, in addition to introducing a "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" fighter from some of the "Super Smash Bros." team. Read more...

Financial analyst Michael Pachter is predicting that a sequel to Ubisoft's 2007 "Assassin's Creed" will be released in the publisher's next fiscal year, along with at least two other major releases. Read more...

"Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" is finished, announced series creator Hideo Kojima at Konami's press conference in San Francisco last week.

The last adventure of Solid Snake is almost ready for gamers. It's been a long time coming -- more than four years of development -- but on June 12, "MGS4" will finally become a reality on PlayStation 3s worldwide.

Fans can stop worrying, though; this isn't the last "Metal Gear," explained associate producer Ryan Payton in an interview with MTV Multiplayer. "I think there's been some misconceptions that this is the last 'Metal Gear,'" said Payton. "This is really just the last chapter of the saga of the Solid Snake story."

But if this is Snake's story, what's up with the inclusion of Altair's costume from "Assassin's Creed"? And how did Kojima get Ubisoft and Konami to cooperate?

Read more...