• NEWS: Surprisingly, the digital version of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us will bring a new feature to the PlayStation 3. One of the announced features of the PlayStation 4, the ability to start playing a game before it’s fully downloaded, will be made specially available for the game. You’ll only need to download 50% of the game before you can start playing. It’s unknown if Sony will make use of this feature for future PS3 titles.
• NEWS: Nintendo hosted yet another Nintendo Direct early this morning, and they’ve revealed a new partnership with Sega, as well as new information about various upcoming releases. Check out Joystiq’s roundup for all the details.
• NEWS: The Verge are reporting that ‘sources close to Microsoft’ have told them that the company will be rolling out a major update to the Xbox 360’s user interface in August. One of the biggest changes that would be introduced by this update is a shift away from the Microsoft Points system, which would be replaced by real money and gift card options.
• VIDEO: Sony have released a behind-the-scenes look at Gustavo Santaolalla, the composer behind the music of The Last of Us.

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• NEWS: EA have recently admitted that they have no games in development for the Wii U, but didn’t rule out the possibility of future projects. Bob Summerwill, a Senior Software Engineer and Architect at EA, has been much more direct when it comes to voicing his thoughts about Nintendo’s console. Taking to Twitter, he described the Wii U as ‘crap’, and Nintendo themselves as ‘walking dead’, among other things. The tweets have since been removed, but screenshots remain.
• NEWS: Meanwhile, Ubisoft are saying the exact opposite, as they intend to continue supporting the Wii U, and believe that ‘Nintendo will take steps to ensure that the Wii U is successful in the market’.
• NEWS: Could Sony be planning to implement voice recognition in the PlayStation 4? A recent job listing on LinkedIn suggests so, as they’re looking for a “Speech Recognition Engineering Intern”.

• NEWS: Microsoft’s big reveal of their successor to the Xbox 360 is only a few days away, and in the meantime, they’ve released some interesting statistics. How many people around the world are playing video games, and how much are they spending overall? Microsoft have done the research, and crunched the numbers. The results may surprise you.
• VIDEO: Microsoft have a new trailer for TMNT: Out of the Shadows for us, showing off Raphael’ s abilities.

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