The original Walkman, released in 1979. Designed by Mr. Takashi Sogabe.

Those of us here at VGW in our 30s remember a magical device called the Sony Walkman. No, not that hybrid cell phone/MP3 player, and not the ones that played the nearly extinct compact discs. We’re talking cassette tapes, a format revered by music lovers and mixtape junkies (Maxell XL-II or GTFO) around the world. The original Sony Walkman made music portable for the masses and revolutionized the music industry. As it turns out, the man who designed it is also responsible for designing another sexy piece of hardware that makes console-quality gaming portable: The Playstation Vita.

His name is Mr. Takashi Sogabe, and he showed up at the Japanese Vita launch guarding a bag full of Vita prototypes (one of them had touch pads in place of dual sticks; glad that decision didn’t stick!) and nearly 30 years of hardware design experience at Sony.

The company has a history of shaking up the industry; look no further than the Playstation One or the original Walkman as proof of that. And while Nintendo can claim responsibility for influencing the portable gaming arena, there has always been something appealing about Sony’s hardware design. As it turns out, Mr. Sogabe has been a driving force in that appeal since 1979.

Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to go dig up that sweet auto-reverse model sitting in the attic, watch some VHS tapes of MTV, and play with our Rubik’s cube.

The Playstation Vita launches in the US on February 22, 2012. 

UPDATED:  Gamestop has issued the following statement regarding the cancellation calls and removal of The Last Guardian:

“The Last Guardian has not been cancelled by Sony as we incorrectly stated in an automated call to reservation customers. Because the game did not have a specific release date, GameStop made the decision to remove the game from our system. The Last Guardian will be reinstated for pre-order when a firm launch date is known.”

Our two cents: Someone made a serious mistake. Gamestop frequently lists upcoming games and hardware with placeholder dates when a release date is not known, and this explanation doesn’t ring true for us.

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If recent events that have unfolded around Team ICO’s troubled The Last Guardian are any indication, Gamestop is in serious trouble. Following the removal of the title from Gamestop’s database and in-store computers, as well as automated phone calls to pre-order customers informing them that the game had ceased production, a denial popped up from Patrick Seybold (Sony’s director of corporate communications). But now, Shuhei Yoshida has denied the rumor, and he’s the president of Sony’s Worldwide Studios.

Guiseppe Nelva of DualShockers decided to put the question directly to Mr. Yoshida on Twitter, and the response given was direct:

@yosp Gamestop is saying that The Last Guardian is canceled, any chance you can confirm or deny this rumor, please? Thank you.

@Abriael deny.”

Yoshida has been active on Twitter today, doing damage control with other concerned gamers as well, repeating that “The rumor is false” and “No it has not” been canceled.

The only explanation remaining is that a serious misunderstanding has occurred between Gamestop corporate and someone at Sony. We are still awaiting an official response from Gamestop, and will keep you posted as this story develops.

For now, can we breathe a sigh of relief?

UPDATE 2: A major update to this story is here.

UPDATE: Prepare for an epic battle of “he said/she said.” Sony’s Patrick Seybold has gone on record saying that The Last Guardian has not been canceled, and we checked with a couple of our Sony reps, who have heard no mention of the game being shelved. It’s no accident that the below phone call was made, and the game was removed from Gamestop’s database, so we’ll keep you posted with Gamestop’s inevitable response.

Team ICO’s oft-delayed and much sought after The Last Guardian has had its share of development troubles lately. From the no-shows at major conferences like E3 and Tokyo Game Show, to the game’s executive producer leaving Sony, we’ve been fearing the project would be canceled. Today, sadly, many signs are pointing to this becoming reality.

Moments ago we noticed a tweet from our pal Veg1v0, showing a search for The Last Guardian at Gamestop.com, yielding zero results. A google cache search shows that the game was clearly there before, with several comments and available for pre-order.

Now, Gamestop has begun calling pre-order customers informing them of the cancellation. We just called 2 of our local Gamestop stores and they have confirmed the news, though we must point out that Sony has not yet announced this as being official, so please take it with a small grain of salt. Still, this audio proof of the phone call says “We have been notified by the vendor that production of “The Last Guardian” has been canceled.”

It’s definitely a somber day for fans of Team ICO, and the developers themselves, and we wish them the best in the future.

In a recent interview with PC Gamer, SWTOR game director James Ohlen revealed that Bioware was working on several design documents at once, experimenting with the possibilities of a Lord of the Rings MMO or even one based on A Game of Thrones. In fact, during negotiations with LucasArts, BioWare put serious time into fleshing out ideas for games based on Stephen King’s Dark Tower Series, and George R.R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice novels.

When we were first were deciding on what kind of game we were going to build, I really wanted to do a story-based massively multiplayer game because hey, it hadn’t been done before. I thought: hey, good way to innovate – that’s what BioWare stands for and that’s what we’re good at. We had an in-built fanbase with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In fact, when you ask our fans “what kind of MMO would you like us to build?” they almost always say “how about Knights of the Old Republic massively multiplayer game?”

There is no denying BioWare’s efforts paid off with SWTOR, but the thought of the developers crafting a Lord of the Rings MMO sounds  tantalizing, does it not? As for Game of Thrones, here’s to hoping the Atlus-published version will do right by fans.

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The much-touted exclusivity deal held between Microsoft and publisher Activision means there will be at least a one month delay from the release date until PC and PS3 users get the new content. What Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling hasn’t made clear is how long the window of time between the DLC’s availability to Elite subscribers and non-Elite subscribers will be.

What we do know is that at least one of the maps included will be titled simply “Park” as tweeted by Bowling, alongside this first screenshot:

Normally we would expect a $15 map pack with 4 or 5 maps, but perhaps the team will shake it up this team. We’re hoping for 3 new maps, and perhaps some variations, extra modes, or extra content for the Spec Ops and Spec Ops survival modes.

Elite subscribers will of course receive the content for free when it releases on January 24th, but things get considerably more confusing for not only PC and PS3 users, but also non-elite subscribers. When they will have access to this first batch of DLC is up in the air.

We’ll keep you posted, and remember to keep tabs on the official Elite website as well.

Square Enix has just announced “Azrael,” a legendary bow weapon used by protagonist Serah, which has been created “through a collaboration between Square Enix and Microsoft.” It looks to be a launch-day piece of DLC, available for download on January 31, 2012 for 80 MS points (about $1).

Not only will the Azrael bow (named after an angelic representative of death and spirits) provide some cosmetic eyecandy, but also has the potential to change its owner’s destiny, according to Square Enix. This could hint at a slice of additional story content as well, but that is unconfirmed. What we do know, is that the owner will also have their Chain Bonus upgraded when Azrael is equipped.

This 360-exclusive DLC weapon becomes available in Chapter 2, from the merchant Chocolina.

The exclusive item treatment has become commonplace these days, giving an edge to the platform holders, but how do you feel about it? Would a solitary item like this sway you? (Shameless fanboy statement: The game will undeniably look better on Blu-Ray.)

Available now as a free download on Xbox Live and Playstation Network, the Rocksmith holiday song pack includes: “Carol of the Bells” by Seth Chapala, “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” by Brian Adam McCune, and “We Three Kings” by Versus Them.

If you’ve only recently picked up Rocksmith (or expect it under your tree), Ubisoft has also released a Megadeth track pack, in addition to DLC by Boston, Deep Purple, and the Allman Brothers. You can also check out our official Rocksmith review, and impressions of the guitar tutor from the perspective of a new player.

Earlier in the week, we noticed that BestBuy.com had cut the display from $499 to $399. Then, we noticed Amazon.com match it, followed by the Sony Style store. Was this a case of price-matching, or had Sony officially dropped the price? To be sure, we reached out to a representative at Playstation and got this official reply:

The price reduction is part of a planned lifecycle management program. As we’ve seen more consumers become interested in 3D, we wanted to open the monitor up to a larger demographic at a lower price point as the holidays draw near.

While this statement doesn’t outright promise that the $399 price point will remain in effect past the holidays, it’s a safe bet. Sony is aggressively pushing their 3D strategy, and their sleek, dazzling 3D display (which is ideal as a secondary TV or a primary gaming monitor) becomes more attractive at this price.

The Playstation 3D Display is compatible with Xbox 360, PC, and any device supporting component or HDMI video output. The $399 bundle includes Motorstorm Apocalypse, a pair of Sony’s Active Shutter 3D glasses, and an HDMI cable. I’s awesome tech, but not for everyone; read our review to see if the display is right for you.