Welcome to the last edition of Video Game Bits for the week. We hope you enjoyed reading the news as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. Be sure to come back next week, as we will have more gaming news. Also, don't forget to check out Episode 3 of Awakening the Giants: The Making of Turok , later next week.

Activision #1 for 2007

According to The NPD Group, Activision was the #1 U.S. console and handheld publisher for the calender year 2007. The company's market share jumped to a record 17.7% for the year, a 7.2% increase over the same period last year. Much of the publisher's success can be linked to the popularity of the Guitar Hero franchise and the latest installment in its popular first-person, war shooter franchise, Call of Duty . According to The NPD Group, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare were the #1 and #3 best-selling titles, respectively, in d ollars across all platforms. Robert Kotick, Chairman and CEO of Activision, commented on the #1 rank saying, “ For the first time in our history, we were the #1 U.S. publisher for the calendar year. We are well on our way to delivering sixteen years of record revenue growth and by far our most profitable year ever.” Activision posted net revenues of $1.5 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007.

FIFA Street 3

Electronic Arts made a couple of announcements concerning FIFA Street 3 today. The first of the announcements is that the game's demo is now available to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace, for Xbox 360, and the Playstation Store, for Playstation 3. The download allows you to play as Brazil or England in the Samba arena.

The second announcement was the unveiling of the game's soundtrack, which features a selection of artists from around the world, including artists from the U.K., the U.S., South America and Canada and more. Here is the full track list.

Artist                         Song                             Region

Hexstatic                   Red Laser Beam             London

Hexstatic                   Tokyo Traffic                  London

Hexstatic                   Bust                              London

Tim Deluxe                 Let The Beats Roll          London

Tim Deluxe                 Let The Beats Roll          London
                                 (Rennie Pilgrim Mix)

Asian Dub Foundation Stop Start                      Bombay/London

Bassnectar                 Kick It Complex             San Francisco
feat. Ms. Persia  

Bassnectar                  Kick It Complex             San Francisco

Bassnectar                 Bomb The Blocks          San Francisco
feat. Ms. Persia

Bassnectar Bomb       The Blocks  Montreal      Montreal, Canada
feat. Ms. Persia          (Ghislain Poirier Mix)

Bassnectar                 Yo                                 San Francisco
feat. Kristinamaria

Bassnectar feat.         Yo                                  Brazil
Kristinamaria              (Speaker Junk’s Jackin’ Mix)

Buraka Som Sistema   Yah! feat. Petty               Portugal

Chromeo                    Fancy Footwork               Montreal, Canada
                                  (Zdar Dub, Pee Thug Edit)

Chromeo                    Fancy Footwork (DIM Mix) Montreal, Canada

Coburn                       We Interrupt                    London
feat. Solidstate           This Programme

Coburn                      We Interrupt                     London
                                This Programme          

Datarock                   I Used To Dance With       Norway
                                My Daddy (M.O.M. Mix)

Datarock                   I Used To Dance With       Norway
                                My Daddy (Subsource Mix)

Does It Offend           We Are Rock Stars           London
You, Yeah?

Does It Offend           Battle Royale                    London
You, Yeah?

Forro In The Dark      Suor de Futbol Fina           Brazil
(Mawglee Mix)

Innerpartysystem      Don’t Stop                         Philadelphia

Junkie XL                 Booming Right At You        Netherlands
feat. Lauren Rocket

M.I.A.                      Bird Flu                             Sri Lanka/London

M.I.A.                      Boyz                                 Sri Lanka/London

MC Amilcka             Humildade da Favela          Brazil

No Bizzi feat. J2K     Yeah Yeah                        London

Sasha & Paul           Black Powder                    London
Rogers

The Go! Team          Grip Like A Vice                 London

The Planet People    Make It Break                     London
feat. Afrika              (La Resistance
Bambaataa             and Deemus Mix)

The Tigerpicks        Disco Punk Electro Funk     Manchester, UK

Underw orld             Crocodile                             London

Underworld             Crocodile (Huntermann Mix)   London

Walter Meego         Wanna Be A Star                 Chicago

Walter Meego         Wanna Be A Star                 Chicago
                             (Walter Sees Stars Mix)

Wax Poetic             Bombeiro                            Brazil

FIFA Street 3 will be available for Xbox 350, Playstation 3 and Nintendo DS and is scheduled to ship to retailers on February 15 ^th in Europe and February 18 ^th in North America. The game is rated E for Everyone.

Hellgate: London goes to Stonehenge

Electronic Arts first installment of Hellgate Chronicles series, The Stonehenge Chronicles , is going live for Hellgate: London subscribers this coming Monday, January 21 ^st . The update takes spreads the fight for humanity away from the streets and sewers of London and takes it all the way out to the mystical grounds of Stonehenge, or what's left of it at least.

“ Stonehenge is a huge outdoor hub accessed through a special portal in Templar Base, connecting players to several new and exciting quests. Heroes will find themselves in completely new open, outdoor wilderness areas unlike anything seen within the city limits of London, battling terrifying new demons and bosses and finding new items very distinct in their appearance.”

The new update includes:

The Caste Caves – Unlock four unique dungeons, one for each caste of enemy – Beast, Necro, Spectral and Demon – to seek and destroy a powerful overlord that resides in each cave.  Defeating them and collecting their heads will allow you to continue the adventure.

Moloch’s Lair – Only after collecting the heads from the Caste Caves will heroes be allowed entry into the lair, with a chance to defeat the legendary Moloch, one of hell’s most imposing minions who carries very unique items that can only be obtained by defeating him in combat.  And because Moloch’s soul is eternal, this quest and it’s rewards can be a never-ending challenge.

The Wild – These three mini-raid areas present players with difficult obstacles but also huge rewards with three levels that get increasingly more difficult even with the recommended full party size – you will need a small army to get through these challenges.

Aside from the story updates, The Stonehenge Chronicles includes updates players have specifically requested, including an improved user interface, a number of skill balance changes, a player vs. player dueling arena and more.