With their strong library of annual franchises, Electronic Arts has gone out on a limb to say that games have longer lifespans today. To prove their point, EA talked about MMOs, DLCs, and their ten-year plan for the upcoming game, Spore (PC, Nintendo Wii, DS,  Mac, Mobile). More details after the jump.

Even after suing gaming companies and retailers over Guitar Hero, Gibson Guitar is still in a roll with its legal bulldozer. Claiming that Rock Band (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) violated their concert simulator patent, Gibson has already added Harmonix, MTV Networks, and Electronic Arts to its "To-Sue" list. More details in the full article!

When bands leave their managers, there's usually a bitter aftertaste involved. In the case of old partners Harmonix and Activision, a similar predicament has risen. A royalty dispute concerning Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, PC) was taken to court but was quickly withdrawn. Details follow right after the jump.

When it comes to survival horror video games, it is only fitting that they come with adrenalin pumping rock and alternative music. Such is what Ignition did for the Nintendo Wii and Games for Windows title Obscure: The Aftermath.

Publisher Ignition has signed up the band The Audition to further give life to this title. Know more about the collaboration after the jump!

Lego games are one of those few franchises where you could actually smile when your character dies. Exploding bits of Lego just can't fail to brighten up your day. A huge rolling Lego boulder is bound to do the same. New info and details are in for the upcoming Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. Check it out in the full article.

After hearing about how well Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PS3, PC) sold in the recent holidays, it seems like a no-brainer to say that Activision will have an easy time raking in the dough in the coming months. Not really, says Wedbush Morgan's gaming industry analyst, Michael Pachter. Of course, it's not going to be an easy win since there's Harmonix's Rock Band (Xbox 360, PS3, PS2) to contend with. Read more about it in the full article!

Heads up! We got the latest news regarding the rumor spreading that Viacom's out to buy Take-Two Interactive. Apparently the media conglomerate is has not talked with the game developer about this so-called purchase.

Both companies have offered "no comment" regarding this matter. More information on this event in the full article.

It looks like Jerry Bruckheimer's in a roll when it comes to involvement in the video game industry. Bruckheimer is already gearing up for his latest Prince of Persia movie project, and now he's being tapped by MTV Games for creating original video games. More details in the full article!

Now that the Italian plumber is out to go planet-hopping, more gigantic titles of intergalactic scale are coming make you feel like a star. BioWare's much anticipated roleplaying game Mass Effect exclusively for the Microsoft Xbox 360 is finally about to land on shelves, and Naughty Dog's PS3-exclusive Uncharted: Drake's Fortune won't fall behind. Meanwhile the crowds are waiting for you and your buddies to kick that gig off in MTV Games' Rock Band on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Want more? Find this week's games at the full article!

* Article originally posted Nov 19, 12:08AM

Gamasutra recently held an investigation of the legal concerns surrounding Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii), namely the patents that set the game's legal boundaries.

According to their findings, Activision has entered into an agreement with Konami to secure certain patents. Aside from the agreement, Activision has also purchased certain patents from John R. Devecka, president of the company who created the MTV Drumscape arcade machine.

The patents were discovered on the game's loading screen and they relate to the use of the game's methods, apparatus, even down to how the system saves the game. When they were asked to comment on the purchases and agreement, Activision gave the immortal line, "We cannot comment."

Upon consulting Gregory Boyd, a lawyer who specializes in the video game industry, he explains that while we can be sure that the licenses were covered by agreements and purchases, we cannot know how they were actually acquired:

One cannot tell if money changed hands, if there were threats of litigation, or if there was a cross-licensing agreement. All of these are common, but impossible to tell from the publicly available information.

While the short term significance of the agreement and the purchases are unclear right now, we can be sure that they will have long term effects in the legal arena of future music games. Other companies who may want to make their own variations of the popular game may have to go through Activision first.