According to a tweet from Geoff Keighley from the ongoing DICE summit, EA CEO John Riccitiello has just revealed a sequel to American McGee's Alice, coming soon.

Details are slim -- in fact, we just told you all of them right now -- but we can assume that Alice 2 will have American McGee's name on the cover, and will probably be another third-person action game that takes elements from the Alice in Wonderland story and makes them all edgy and gothy. We will pass along actual (i.e. non-conjectured) information as soon as it is available.

Update: While we've never known Keighley to not be a man of his word, official evidence is always welcome. EA adds that the Alice sequel is in development for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 by American McGee's Spicy Horse studio. Says EA Partners GM David DeMartini: "EA Partners is ready to help [American McGee] bring his innovative vision for the franchise to even darker, more exciting places."

Anxious to secure a Nintendo DSi without having to wait in some crazy line? Online retailers have begun taking pre-orders of the North American version of the system, so you can buy now and not have to worry about stalking Wal-Mart late April 4 to be first in line on April 5 (You are free, as usual, to stalk Wal-Mart for other purposes). You can order your DSi for $169.99 at Amazon or GameStop (in black or blue). If you want extra stuff, you can order a bundle from GameStop (again in black or blue) that contains the system and a "Folio Starter Kit" consisting of a case, screen protectors, a game case, earbuds, and a car adapter.

For a better look at the system that you might be buying, check MTV Multiplayer's first-ever images of the English-language DSi menu. As expected, it looks exactly like the menu from the Japanese version with the crucial addition of comprehensible text. It features the same photo manipulation, photo arranging, and sound altering functions from the original suite of DSi software, along with upgradeable firmware and, of course, the DSi Shop.

And it's officially official, folks: Ubisoft is publishing the previously Midway-held title, Wheelman. Ubisoft's Jaime Borasi confirmed to us this morning, "Yes, the deal with Midway has been finalized and we'll be shipping to retail on March 24th." In case you had forgotten, Wheelman is the third-person shooter/action-driving game coming to Xbox 360/PS3/PC starring everyone's favorite street racer, Vin Diesel.

The deal comes in the wake of Midway's recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (that's the protection kind, not the liquidation kind) and a slew of rumors surrounding the sale of Midway by majority stockholder Sumner Redstone to mystery man Mark Thomas. Will Midway continue selling off its intellectual properties to stay afloat? Will that next Mortal Kombat game already in production soldier on? It remains to be seen. We've put in word to Midway for comment.

UPDATE: Ubisoft and Midway are calling the publishing deal a "strategic relationship", saying, "Ubisoft will handle sales, marketing, and distribution of the title in North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Midway will continue to direct the development of the title and retains all future rights to the franchise and will sell the title in all other European territories." Looks like Midway's not out of the loop on Wheelman after all.

There's some bad blood in the sim racing world. The recent announcement that Need For Speed: Shift was being worked on by Slightly Mad Studios, which, according to the release, "includes developers and designers that worked on ... GT Legends and GTR 2," may have seemed innocuous enough. But it's led to the threat of legal action from SimBin, the company credited with making those games.

In an email we received recently, Magnus Ling, Executive Vice President at SimBin Studios AB said his company "is taking legal advice and considering to also take legal actions against Slightly Mad Studios, as a result of certain statements made by Slightly Mad Studios that we find to be incorrect, misleading and has a negative impact on our reputation as well as business negotiations."

When asked about the statement, Slightly Mad Studios boss Ian Bell was quick to respond, calling the assertions "absurd" and saying "more than 25 of Slightly Mad Studios' current staff worked on and are actually credited in GT Legends and GTR2 including the majority of the core development team ... It saddens me when fellow developers make inappropriate statements like this in public but I think the fact that the first I heard of it was from you says everything you need to know about the credibility of the claims. Had there been any merit to them I am sure I would have heard sooner."

Ling declined to comment further for the story until SimBin "finished reviewing the case together with [its] solicitors" and Need For Speed publisher EA has not yet commented. Regardless, this doesn't seem like it's over by a long shot. We'll let you know what we hear.

The latest issue of Famitsu reveals two new titles for Japan's DSiWare download service, both from Namco Bandai. Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy is a falling-block puzzle game starring the cast of Namco's classic rolling-stuff-up game, seemingly involving animals between the blocks and a black hole in the distance. In classic Katamari style, we have no idea. But it says Katamari Damacy in the title, so we're inclined to FREAK OUT -- while also being a bit sad about the milking of the series. Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy will be out in Japan on March 25 for 500 Nintendo Points.

In more easily-accessible news, Famitsu also revealed two more Mr. Driller games. Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits was Namco's first DS game; now the company is returning to the well for its inaugural DSiWare title, and throwing in a WiiWare version as well! Mr. Driller for DSiWare (whose full title we can't read in the Famitsu scan) includes a mission mode, time attack, and a Dristone mode, featuring less oxygen to pick up, and more special powerup items around the stage. This mode was removed from the North American release of Drill Spirits. The game comes out in Japan next Wednesday for 800 Points!

Mr. Driller World looks like a basic implementation of Mr. Driller on WiiWare, with a tutorial mode and some kind of "simple" play -- possibly a new control scheme. It'll be out Tuesday in Japan, also for 800 Points.

Early adopters can begin forming a line outside their electronics boutique of choice as Nintendo has officially announced the street date for the DSi. The company's third stab at its popular touchable moneymaker will hit and, we predict, promptly fly off store shelves on April 5. The date is just 24 hours off of an earlier prediction last month, which by prognosticator standards isn't half bad.

For those who have been living under a rock (it's difficult to take pictures of you under there), this latest hardware revision will shoehorn a pair of cameras onto the handheld, as well as an interactive voice recorder and ability to play tunes stored on an SD card. Downloadables are also promised with what Nintendo creatively calls its DSiWare application, with software available for a range of prices starting at 200 DSi Points. It's unclear what software will be available at launch, however. What we do know is that the system will retail for $169.99, a bit cheaper than expected, and will be available in any color you want. As long as those colors are either blue or black.

Electronic Arts has lifted the lid off its upcoming Wii port of Dead Space. Well, to be fair, calling the game, titled Dead Space Extraction, a port isn't exactly fair. According to EA, the title will be a prequel to last year's survival-horror romp aboard the USG Ishimura.

Extraction will also feature an all-new female lead as players work with a group of colonists to escape the spreading infection on the mining colony, Aegis 7. New "weapons, enemies, puzzles and cooperative multiplayer gameplay" are promised as well. Even more interesting is that EA Redwood Shores is developing the game as a first-person (light gun?) shooter, promising that Wii owners will surely begin to waggle in their space boots when Dead Space Extraction ships this fall.

[Update: Worried this might be an on-rails light gun shooter? According to Steve Papoutsis, the game's executive producer, that's exactly what you're going to get. He told IGN that Extraction "takes advantage of a guided and cinematic camera" – IGN translates, calling it "an on-rails first-person shooter in the style of House of the Dead: Overkill." But Papoutsis is quick to point out that "Extraction is not your typical Rail Shooter. [EA's] goal is to innovate and push the genre forward." We loved Dead Space, but consider us thoroughly skeptical. Thanks, guttertalk.]

G4's X-Play and Attack of the Show have been hit by cuts and layoffs. Following up on information given to us by reliable sources -- that the network's two flagship shows have been hit by reductions -- a G4 representative sent us a statement confirming much of the information.

X-Play, which upped its production schedule back in December, will now be reduced to three original episodes per week. Attack of the Show will now air four original episodes per week. Both shows will scale down starting March 2. Although G4 would not comment on "personnel matters," it could confirm that fewer episodes did result in a staff reduction. Cost saving will go into "more original programming in 2009." The network was clear to state that "this is not a budget cut" and G4 "remains dedicated to these core franchises." As always, if you were affected by the layoffs or have more information, please feel free to contact us.

Midway has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today, but, see, it's okay, because it's all part of the plan. Newly appointed CEO, Matt Booty, says filing for Chapter 11 was "a difficult but necessary decision." He also noted Midway has been "focused on realigning our operations and improving our execution" and that filing for Chapter 11 will allow the company some relief from "immediate pressure from our creditors." To Booty, Chapter 11 is nothing more than the "next logical step in an ongoing process to address our capital structure."

Midway expects to be able to run the company as usual, and even filed a variety of First Day Motions to that end. The court is usually lenient with these Motions and often grants them, so this should give Midway some time to finish up that next Mortal Kombat game and maybe get out of the red.

Maybe we're just suckers for video games as music teaching tools (as suggested by the dusty NES Miracle Keyboard in our closet), but we're pretty intrigued by Nobilis' MUSIC. The publisher has released the first screens about the training title, revealing the focus of some of the lessons, most of which seem to deal with reading music.

In addition, interactive quizzes ask players to identify notes, arrange notes to match sound samples, and match pitch contours to samples. MUSIC also features virtual keyboard and drums, along with a selection of songs to play. The minigames on the cartridge include activities like a rhythm game in which players pop balloons by clapping.

MUSIC comes out in Europe in April. No US release has been announced.

Square Enix has announced a delay of Dragon Quest IX from its March 28 release date to July 11. The March release date had been announced at a Dragon Quest-specific press conference in December. The announcement indicates that major bugs were found in the game code.

This delay seems like somewhat of an emergency measure; as NeoGAF members note, Square Enix had already put a lot of money and effort into advertising the game around Japan, including promotional signage around 7-Eleven stores -- a partnership that has since proven ironic.

In somewhat less terrible news, Famitsu has posted new screens of the game, featuring an inn-based communication system. Players can visit their friends' version of Ricca Inn, and leave messages and treasure maps.

[Via NeoGAF]

Dear Diary,

I've finally learned the identity of the man I've come to describe as "my secret admirer," or "my irritating stalker" whenever he attempts to serenade me with one of those dreadful J-pop ditties. You know ... this revelation explains his questionable taste in high-pitched music, not to mention the fact that he wears a suit made entirely of Tetsuya Nomura belts. Oh, Mr. Square Enix, how long have you loitered outside my manor window, hoping to catch a glimpse of my recently sagging assets?

According to a letter sent to my lawyer type persons, Mr. Enix has offered to purchase Eidos (the company I helped build in the '90s) in an 84.3 million pound bid -- that's roughly 38 million kilograms $120 million. I find it immeasurably flattering, especially with him labeling my Tomb Raider plays as one of the most successful franchises "of all time." While my people have yet to come to a final agreement with his people, the deal values my company's shares at 32 pence a piece -- that's quite a premium! He calls the courtship a strengthening of his "broad portfolio of market leading franchises," but I think he's really just lonely, stuck with all those "RPGs."

Speaking of which, Winston just told me there's an exotic and highly endangered marmoset running about the mansion courtyard. Better grab some explosives and blow its legs off before it gets away.

-- Lara

During today's Activision Blizzard conference call, Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith boasted of a "robust lineup" of three new Guitar Hero titles dropping before the midpoint of the year: Guitar Hero: Metallica in Q1 as well as "a new Guitar Hero game for the Nintendo DS" and "a separate greatest hits compilation Guitar Hero game" in calendar Q2, (through June). In case that's not clear, the Guitar Hero Greatest Hits pack (or GH² as we're likely to think of it) will include "full-band versions of some of the most popular songs from previous Guitar Hero games and will be made available for the 360, PS3 and Wii."

Something tells us that despite some healthy competition from the likes of Rock Band, with products like this "greatest hits compilation" on the way, we're not going to be ripping our Guitar Hero tracks anytime soon.

Atlus has officially announced the North American version of Knights in the Nightmare, the last DS game to come out of that Amazon.ca "leak". Knights is the third game in Sting's "Dept. Heaven" series: Yggdra Union was the first, followed by Riviera. Confusingly, this is "Episode IV" of the series, while Riviera is "Episode I" and Yggdra is "Episode II." A bundle of Knights and Yggdra Union was available in Japan -- wouldn't that be a lovely "Atlus Spoils" bonus?

Knights of the Nightmare incorporates "strategy RPG, real-time strategy, and shooter elements" into a game about a wisp who can occupy and control soldiers on a battlefield. Players use the stylus to position soldiers and then fire projectiles at enemies from multiple angles.

Knights will be available June 2nd for $34.99. Check our gallery for new English screens, and come back next week when Atlus inevitably announces an included soundtrack!