The logo for Dead Island you see above is the new, reworked version of the game's cover that you'll upon its release. Citing industry guidelines, the ESRB has made Deep Silver alter the original (seen below) so that a body would no longer be hanging from a tree to stand in for the letter I.

"The video game industry has set guidelines about the types of content that are appropriate in advertising and marketing materials, which includes game box art," an ESRB statement issued to IGN reads. "According to those guidelines the depiction in the logo was not compliant. "We never censor or dictate in any way what type of content can be included within a game. However, a game's marketing materials are seen by an audience that is much broader than that which actually purchases the game itself, so we enforce industry-adopted guidelines as to what is suitable for inclusion in these materials."

If you haven't already seen them, 1UP has posted several eBay auctions today as a part of the Play For Japan initiative. The goal is to raise money to be donated to relief efforts in Japan, a country whose impact on the videogame industry cannot be overstated. Today we've got signed copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Katamari Damacy, with more coming later this week. If you're able, get involved in the bidding -- these are some very cool, rare items you can get your hands on, and all proceeds will be going towards a great cause. Also keep an eye on Play For Japan's website and Twitter account for more auctions from others in the industry.

Today's highlights:

• 1UP staff remember the Game Boy Advance on its 10th anniversary.
• Vote for Madden NFL 12's cover athlete, March Madness style.
• Quantic Dreams' new game might be called "Fiv5."
• Details and videos on a canceled sequel to Perfect Dark.
• Duke Nukem Forever's take on CTF involves capturing babes and spanking their butts.
• World of Warcraft's subscribers could be cannibalized by Diablo III.
• Cosplay Gallery: Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo

And here's what else happened today:

Paper Manuals Ditched for EA Sports Games

We've highlighted a number of ways for gamers to support Japan since the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit the country just over a week ago. 1UP and many others in the industry are now supporting Play For Japan, a videogame industry initiative to raise money for the ongoing relief efforts.

Auctions are being conducted through eBay for a variety of rare videogame items, with all proceeds going to charity. We've posted three of our own items today:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Hardened Edition for Xbox 360 - Signed for our own Tina Sanchez by the entire Infinity Ward studio prior to the departures of studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella. Auction link
• Metal Gear Solid 2 for PlayStation 2 - Signed by director Hideo Kojima. Auction link
• Katamari Damacy for PlayStation 2 - Signed and doodled on by lead developer Keita Takahashi. Auction link

The name of the newest game from Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dreams appears to be "Fiv5." It was uncovered when a series of domain registrations and a trademark filing were discovered.

Besides the Quantic Dreams-registered domains (as found by supererogatory), Sony Computer Entertainment Europe was responsible for a trademark filing of the name. The name is further corroborated by the LinkedIn profile of a Quantic Dreams artist listing Five and Infraworld (a game canceled in 2006) as the projects he has done concept artist work for. His profile has since been changed to refer to them as two games under non-disclosure agreements.

The developer's co-founder, David Cage, made a passionate call for more mature games earlier this month at the Game Developers Conference, so it seems safe to assume that the new game won't be a colorful, upbeat, E-rated romp.

Duke Nukem Forever courts controversy like few others, and if that's secretly the goal, it's being done masterfully. The upcoming FPS features a multiplayer, capture-the-flag mode that replaces flags with women -- women you can "gently" slap while you carry them.

Speaking with Official Xbox Magazine, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford outlined some of the controversial elements of the game: "Our goal isn't to shock people, but I think there's some stuff that's a bit uncomfortable. I mean, the aliens' plan is to capture our women and impregnate them to breed an alien army, so you can imagine some horrible shit happens."

Explaining the twist that Capture the Babe mode offers, he said it's "pretty much what you'd expect to see from a CTF-style mode, with one small touch: the 'Babe' will sometimes freak out while you're carrying her (somewhat understandable we'd say) at which point you have to hit a button to gently give her a reassuring slap."

Fans will again be able to vote for who they want to see on the cover of Madden. Unlike last year, voting will be much more intricate this time around -- EA Sports has come up with a March Madness-esque, 32-man bracket pitting players from the league's teams against each other.

Voting will take place over the course of the next month. The results from the previous round will be reviewed each Monday on ESPN2 show SportsNation until the winner and Madden NFL 12 cover star is revealed on April 27. Madden NFL 11 featured the New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees.

There are some curious choices in the bracket and the way things are seeded -- the New England Patriots are represented not by its quarterback and 2010 MVP, Tom Brady, but by running back Danny Woodhead. Perhaps even stranger than that is the Seattle Seahawks' contribution, the 12th Man, a term used to describe fans located in the stadium. Were they somehow able to win, that would be one of the most unusual cover athlete choices for a sports game ever (and it would be especially interesting to see what happens if you believe in the Madden Curse).

All NGP games are expected to be available in both digital and physical formats following the system's release, but an important detail is whether or not those two options will be out on the same day. Sony said it's aiming for games to be released on PlayStation Network at the same time as they come out in stores. As someone who bought a PSP Go and was frustrated when certain games didn't end up on the PlayStation Store, I'm relieved to hear this is the goal for the NGP. Even if this doesn't pan out, annoying as that might be to some, the NGP will at least be able to play physical copies of games if need be.

And another reminder that we have a list of ways for gamers to help Japan's earthquake victims. Also keep an eye on Play For Japan and expect more details about that on Monday.

Today's highlights:

• Why you're unlikely to see FarmVille and CityVille on Xbox Live.
• Mass Effect 2's final mission will be out on March 29.
• River City Ransom 2 is in development.
• The core gaming audience needs to expand.
• Weekend Deals

And here's what else happened today:

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A number of retailers have just added Oddworld games. Coinciding with its release, both the Oddboxx and its individual contents have been discounted by 50% for a week on Steam, Direct2Drive, Good Old Games, and GamersGate, making it an ideal time to catch up with the series if you've never played it before.

Steam also has Darksiders for 75% off; it's just $10, which is a really good deal for a solid game like that. It's also offering the chance to try Monday Night Combat for free until Sunday, with the game being just $9.99 through Monday.

Read on for a look at this week's deals.

Ratchet & Clank and Resistance developer Insomniac Games announced earlier this week that it was opening a new division, Insomniac Click, dedicated to web and mobile games. The company is clearly intent on expanding -- it entered a publishing partnership with EA Partners last year, breaking a 16-year run of PlayStation exclusive. CEO Brian Hastings has now explained that its move into the social/mobile space is due in part to the core gaming audience not growing as it needs to.

"I'm not in the doom-and-gloom camp in terms of the health of the console market, but I do think it's becoming increasingly challenging in that space," he told CasualGaming.biz. "It's getting to the point where only the very best triple-A console games are profitable. And, of course, it's increasingly expensive to make the very best games. So not every developer can survive. But they're not giving away free money in the social and mobile space either. You still have to compete with the other top teams in the industry."

So while doing social or mobile games isn't a guarantee of success, there is a larger audience to be reached with them. "The main reason I believe it's important -- even necessary -- to expand into the social sector is that there is simply a bigger audience there. Because triple-A games are necessarily complex they have a fairly predefined audience of core gamers. That core audience isn't really expanding much and the total dollars each core gamer spends isn't going up, so as triple-A budgets inflate, each developer has to steal players away from other games in order to simply keep their revenues above their costs. The only long term viable solution for all parties would be to expand the audience.

BioWare is all done slowly leaking out screenshots for the latest Mass Effect 2 DLC and has officially announced Arrival, which will be out later this month.

This final mission for ME2 will bridge the stories of Mass Effect 2 and 3. Shepard is tasked with rescuing an undercover agent missing in Batarian space who has information about a Reaper invasion. Executive producer Casey Hudson says Arrival "will show players just how close the Reapers are to returning and completing their deadly harvest." It includes new research, three Achievements/Trophies, and a prominent role for Admiral Hackett (voiced by Lance Henriksen of Aliens and Millennium fame).

$6.99 (560 Microsoft/BioWare points) will be the asking price upon its release on March 29. Click through the pages below to see some screens from the new DLC.

Angry Birds was a massive success on iOS, so Rovio is doing what it can to get the game on as many platforms as possible. Zynga's line of social networking games, like FarmVille and CityVille, dominate Facebook, so one might expect those games to start showing up on more platforms. But there's a key difference about what makes those games work and why that makes it unlikely that they'll be showing up on Xbox Live or PlayStation Network anytime soon.

Microsoft announced earlier this year that Xbox Live has surpassed 30 million members. Facebook, on the other hand, claims that it has more than 500 million active users. Even if all 30 million Xbox Live users were Gold subscribers, that's still only 6% of the potential user base on Facebook. And the magic in Zynga's games is getting friends and family to see what it is you've been doing in them.

"We're after a lot of demographic," Zynga chief game designer Brian Reynolds explained to IndustryGamers. "If I explain what we think is the core magic of social, I think that will explain the relative attraction, or the lens through which we view the relative attraction of different platforms. The thing that seems to make social gaming and networking magical is the fact that all my friends are potentially there and they might see the things that I'm posting or doing or expressing."

A sequel to the classic beat-em-up River City Ransom is in the works at developer Miracle Kidz.

The new game will be out on unspecified consoles in Japan, where it's known as Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari 2, this summer. That will be followed by an online-enabled PC version in 2012. It's being worked on by some of the original team from Technos that made the first game along with certain 'core players' who are being brought in to help with development.

The original River City Ransom (pictured above) was released in 1989 for the Famicom before being localized for the NES in North America in 1990. For those who have never had the opportunity to play it, it's currently available on the Wii's Virtual Console. A Game Boy Advance version known as River City Ransom EX was released in 2004.

It's strange to think that there might not be an NFL season later this year due to the lockout. Of course, Madden NFL 12 will be there to fill the whole to some extent. But if you had thought the game could benefit from a lack of football (making Madden the only place for fans to get their fix), you're terribly wrong as far as Michael Pachter is concerned. He thinks a lockout that reaches deep into the season could have a tremendous impact on sales. If that's the case, 2K Games will have to join in on the concern as the NBA's collective bargaining agreement will soon expire, which could result in missed games during the 2011-12 season.

Today's highlights:

• New potential uses for Kinect in helping surgeons and the blind.
• Volition is more concerned with making a good game than piracy.
• Why Valve opted to create Portal 2's TV commercial by itself.
• The near future of PlayStation Home.
• Japan review check: Dead or Alive: Dimensions, FFIV Complete
• PlayStation 3 gamers will get Beyond Good & Evil HD in May.
• Sega introduces 1UP to Captain America and Thor.

And here's what else happened today:

Dragon Quest IX the Series' Top-Seller

A good trailer can go a long way in helping to effectively publicize a game. Realizing this, Valve's marketing VP Doug Lombardi revealed that the developer has relied on itself to create a new Portal 2 television advertisement rather than on ad agencies which may or may not understand the company's vision.

"No one knows the product better than the folks who made it," Lombardi told MCV. "We've had many creative kick-off meetings with agencies over the years, and you'd be shocked by the treatments that have come back. Copycat treatments. Cliché treatments. Treatments that reveal the agency wasn't listening in the initial meeting."

It's that sort of failure to get what Valve wanted that led to the Portal 2 advertisement being produced in-house. Besides having a clear understand of what was wanted, doing it that way allowed for things to be tweaked along the way. Lombardi explained, "With the Portal 2 ad, we playtested it and were able to make changes during production. With an agency, those types of tests are too often left to a post-mortem -- at which point, the value of those realizations is pretty close to worthless."

Here is a rundown of the most interesting console games due out in Japan next week, according to the latest issue of Famitsu magazine. Were due out next week, that is. In the wake of last Friday's earthquake and tsunami, a large swath of March and April console releases are getting indefinitely delayed in Japan, as strained distribution networks and an audience focused on the ongoing crisis make releasing any video game over there a surefire way to lose money. This situation may change soon, but for now, don't expect any of the below games to necessarily be available for purchase next week. (DOA Dimensions' delay has already been officially announced, for one.)

- Dead or Alive: Dimensions (9/9/9/9, 36 points): Tecmo's 3DS fighter features a story recap/tutorial mode that most editors seemed to enjoy. "The Chronicle mode, which gives you a tutorial as you're enjoying the game story, is innovative," said one editor; "the mode that lets you view the past story has a lot of still imagery, which is kind of a shame, but it's still a fun way to learn the basics," said another.

As for the actual game? "The graphics make good use of 3D, but the smoothness of all the characters in 2D mode is a must-see," said Famitsu, noting that the game ran overall more smoothly in 2D. "The way the bottom screen gets used is brilliant, too, with moves conveniently displayed based off the buttons you're currently pressing. There are a lot of features for advanced players, like the frame display, and overall it's a game that can be enjoyed by a wide range of users."

Here is a rundown of the most interesting console games due out in Japan next week, according to the latest issue of Famitsu magazine. Were due out next week, that is. In the wake of last Friday's earthquake and tsunami, a large swath of March and April console releases are getting indefinitely delayed in Japan, as strained distribution networks and an audience focused on the ongoing crisis make releasing any video game over there a surefire way to lose money. This situation may change soon, but for now, don't expect any of the below games to necessarily be available for purchase next week. (DOA Dimensions' delay has already been officially announced, for one.)

- Dead or Alive: Dimensions (9/9/9/9, 36 points): Tecmo's 3DS fighter features a story recap/tutorial mode that most editors seemed to enjoy. "The Chronicle mode, which gives you a tutorial as you're enjoying the game story, is innovative," said one editor; "the mode that lets you view the past story has a lot of still imagery, which is kind of a shame, but it's still a fun way to learn the basics," said another.

As for the actual game? "The graphics make good use of 3D, but the smoothness of all the characters in 2D mode is a must-see," said Famitsu, noting that the game ran overall more smoothly in 2D. "The way the bottom screen gets used is brilliant, too, with moves conveniently displayed based off the buttons you're currently pressing. There are a lot of features for advanced players, like the frame display, and overall it's a game that can be enjoyed by a wide range of users."

Xbox 360 owners were lucky enough to get the remastered, HD version of Beyond Good & Evil earlier this month. Those anticipating the PlayStation 3 version will be waiting a bit longer, as the game won't be coming to the PlayStation Network until this May. Those who purchase it in its first two weeks of availability will be given two free avatars.

BG&E was originally designed by Michel Ancel, who was also the lead designer on Rayman. It has become a cult classic since it was released in 2003. Despite a strong reception by critics, it didn't sell particularly well. That's a real shame, as the game was quite good -- and the HD version is still something to behold, according to 1UP's review of the XBLA release.

A sequel has been in development for several years, although Ubisoft and Ancel have been reluctant to offer up any information about it.

If you're in Japan, Sony's PlayStation Home social-gaming network is chiefly about attending live events modeled after anime shows and the like. If you're in the US, it's mainly about creating an avatar and finding/purchasing dumb stuff (above) to equip it with -- something that hasn't really changed since the 2008 launch, despite the addition of features like voice chat, in-network game launching, and original titles like Sodium One.

The service has over two million registered accounts in Japan alone, but Masami Kando, head of the Home project for Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, isn't satisfied. "The number of users is continually increasing every week, so two million is really just a milestone," he told Japan's Famitsu magazine in an interview published this week. "I think it'll be a while still before we reach a fully-mature peak level, so to me, it doesn't say anything more besides 'Yep, we've sure broken two million users.' I don't think we've explained the attractions of PS Home to all the users yet, and I think we've got ample room to make the experience more fun."

Version 1.50 of PS Home, first announced at the Game Developers Conference earlier this month, seeks to help the platform shed its "light time-killer" rap and become a more serious tool for gaming. "Version 1.50 makes possible the sort of real gameplay that people would be willing to pay for, I think," Kando said. "I'd like to see publishers think of PS Home not just as a promotional platform, but one they can conduct their business more directly on as well -- we're thinking about ways we can support this. They could distribute demo versions of games for free, for example, then charge for the full version or for extra items. If you released it on PS Home worldwide, that allows you more opportunity for business. I want to build a new business model that isn't just about selling clothing and furniture."