EA has announced a drop of £20/€30 from the recommended retail price for the Rock Band Instrument Edition pack sold in Europe. This means the cost of the instrument bundle and game, which sold separately for a combined price of £180/€240, will go from the shocking price of $360 (when converted to American bucks), to the better-than-before price of $300.

EA also stated that the PS3, PS2 and Wii versions of the game will release this September on the continent. Hopefully, EA/MTV/Harmonix will work out better pricing for the sequel when it's eventually released in Europe ... or at least come up with a better excuse for the high price.

The Digital Rights Madness around Spore has started an internet war. After demonstrating their power earlier this year with the "Mass Effect Sex-box" author, a gang of ruthless Amazon reviewers have struck Spore (and to a lesser extent the Galactic Edition) down to a paltry 1.5 out of 5 stars. Here's what those Negative Nancies are saying:

• Dumbed down experience and draconian DRM
• DRM is a show stopper
• Spore: I Refuse to Buy Until DRM is Patched Out
• No Way, No How, No DRM
• drm makes me a sad panda
• $49.99 too much for game rental

Notice a trend here? The Spore DRM, so far as we know, works exactly like Mass Effect's system: You have 3 activations for installation, and after that you will reportedly have to call EA for more (and uninstalls won't work to raise that number). Of course, those reviews haven't stopped Spore from being #1 in video game sales on Amazon (Galactic Edition at #12), and we doubt any negative reviews will. As Will Wright aptly told MTV Multiplayer, "We would rather have the Metacritic and sales of Sims 2 than the Metacritic and sales of Half-Life."

We know that most of you had some fairly important decisions to make this morning -- for instance, the mind-plaguing decision between coffee or tea, or the equally perplexing choice of cereal or pancakes. Perhaps you spent an hour in front of your dresser, trying to decide between boxers or briefs -- or, for our Alaskan friends, which color long johns best suited your mood. However, a select few of you will be making an even more complex decision today, likely in the next few hours: High Elves or Greenskins?

This race-rolling dilemma will be cordially presented to you by Mythic's Warhammer Online -- the open beta for which launched earlier this morning. Members of the previous stages of the closed beta and those who have pre-ordered the title at "select retail partners" can now download the client and let loose the dogs of WAR (though we've heard a number of complaints from frenzied pre-orderers who have had trouble accessing the beta). Fear not, unwashed masses -- your Age of Reckoning will begin in a little over a week.

We imagine that video game developers and publishers aren't pleased when their blockbuster titles receive the banhammer's blow before their release dates -- which is why we're so perplexed by the recent drama surrounding Electronic Arts' upcoming "tactical dismemberment" shooter, Dead Space. Destructoid reported Thursday that the game's community manager, Andrew Green, recently broke the regrettable news that the title had been banned in Germany, Japan and China -- however, GamePolitics has more than a few qualms with this announcement.

Not only is it peculiar that all three bans happen to emerge at the same time, but GP points out that none of the ratings boards of the three nations mentioned have made any announcements on the matter -- even more notably, neither has EA. Also, as one eagle-eyed GP reader pointed out, it's impossible under German law to ban a product before its release. Further negating the German ban, Videogaming247 reports that the title is apparently still going through the ratings gauntlet of Germany's censorship board, the USK.

Regardless of whether this is a misguided publicity stunt, an unfortunate miscommunication, or proof that Andrew Green has mysterious psychic abilities, we certainly hope EA clears up the confusion with a quickness.

With the NFL regular season just barely underway, there's plenty of time for the Madden Curse to sink its hooks into Mr. Favre's vulnerable ankle, but for now, EA is busy squashing a host of bugs that have crawled out of the bowels of latest edition of Madden. The major pest is a freezing issue that can crop up during play calling and highlight screens, reports IGN. Senior designer Ian Cummings has documented most, if not all known bugs on the game's Producer Blog, recommending various workarounds while the team puts together a patch. EA is targeting "less than a 3 week turnaround" from last Tuesday for the update to be released. So put a big checkmark next to the 16th and cross your fingers.

While a similar publicity stunt in LA went off with relatively little drama, it appears the Mercenaries 2 petrol giveaway in London was "irresponsible and dangerous," according to local residents. The BBC reports that traffic was gridlocked as drivers waited to get their £40-worth ($70) of gratis gas. The promotion started at 6:30AM and ran until police apparently shut it down.

Local residents were quite upset about the traffic and honking the stunt caused in their neighborhood. Lynne Featherstone, MP for the district, stated that while a lucky few got free gas, "hundreds of residents have faced misery." She's demanding an apology. We're sure that EA is real sorry about all the free publicity and we're positive those people with tanks full of free gas are even more sympathetic.

[Thanks to all who sent this in.]

The Make-A-Wish foundation, in conjunction with a slew of sponsors, will be holding a Rock Band competition in Vancouver, Canada, starting Oct. 4. The $100 entry fee, along with pre-purchase tickets for the finals at the Roxy Nightclub, go straight to the Make-A-Wish foundation. The first round of the competition will be held at the EA studios located right outside of Vancouver in Burnaby. From that event, the five finalist bands from each of the four divisions will then compete at the Roxy Nightclub on November 6 for prizes.

There are four divisions for competitors to register their groups: Competitive, Social, Corporate and 18 & Under. There are currently no details about prizes, but it sounds like a cool charity event. Isn't that enough?

One of the more ... interesting Achievements in the Xbox 360 version of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is the 50-point "Everybody Wants Some," which is earned by playing online with one of the game's developers, or someone who's already played with them. Yep, it's contagious. Actually, it's sort of like the STD of Live Achievements, if you'll pardon the icky analogy.

We think it'd be pretty cool to hear the 360 "Achievement Unlocked" sound in real life every time we came down with a cold or other ailment. Hear that Microsoft? Get on it – after all, you were all about "Live Anywhere." Mercs 2's devs will be playing September 5 through 12 using special easy-to-grok Gamertags, which we've listed after the break. Now, go forth and expose yourself to viral goodness.

Having already come to an arrangement with Japanese star developers Goichi "Suda 51" Suda and Shinji Mikami to publish a mysterious horror franchise*, who could blame EA for stalking showing interest in other Eastern talent? Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, David DeMartini, who oversees the EA Partners program and a board swathed in secret plans, candidly admits, "EA looks at the top 20 developers in the world and we try to sign anything those guys are working on."

DeMartini explains that deals such as the Suda/Mikami one represent "something that is very unique and very special," despite being, like many of our relationships, "slightly uncomfortable for both parties." We're dying to see the results of EA's collaboration and share DeMartini's unshaken hope that it "will serve as a springboard to a successful formula that we can apply to some of the other great Japanese designers." You know, like Gackt.

*It's the franchise that's mysterious, not the horror. We're quite certain it'll have obvious, horror-inducing things like ghosts or Rihanna albums.

At this rate, Dead Space will be coming out tomorrow. Clearly taking note of the immense terror and confusion imparted by its decision to release Dead Space earlier than expected, EA has announced that the outer space corridor creeper has been moved forward a week ... again! That's like, the opposite of a delay.

You can now catch the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions in North American stores on October 14th (PC guys are still on for the 20th). That is, if you're confident enough to leave the house, knowing that the world has become a very sick and unusual place.

The review embargo lifted on Spore today, and the critics wasted no time weighing in on Will Wright's oft-delayed opus. The general consensus seems to be that an amazing level of quality is there, but depth may not be, which is really the last complaint we ever expected anyone to level at Spore. Go figure.

• PC Gamer UK (91/100): "Spore falls a little short of its promise at every stage, but bear in mind that its concept is as close as we've come to a game incarnation of the Lord our God."
• IGN (88/100): "In fact, Spore is essentially five distinct games woven together. And here, Maxis demonstrates a weakness, as a number of these games come off as lightweight or limited. However, Spore is a prime example of something that is much more than the sum of its many parts.
• Gamespot (80/100): "Taken on their own, its pieces are nothing special. As parts of a singular ambitious vision, they work far better. Throw in the best customization tools seen in years and an enthusiastic community brimming with creativity, and you have a legitimately great game that will deliver hours of quality entertainment. "

You can put down that syringe full of bear hormones – EA's got a much easier (and more affordable!) way of transforming yourself into that most noble of Mother Nature's creatures: simply don Korssar's Helm. You see, the "magical Kislevite helm is imbued with the spirit of the wild North and will magically transform the wearer into a ferocious bear."

There are some caveats however: your ability to live your life as a bear will be limited to the virtual confines of EA Mythic's Warhammer Online MMO (a deal breaker for some, to be sure) and those willing to confine their bearness to WAR will still need to preorder Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 on PC to access the magical helm. Preorder cross-promotion? Clever move, EA. Great to see publishers further incentivizing preorders ... but we're sure there's at least a handful of WAR-heads eager to play as a bear (a bear!) but uninterested in picking up Red Alert 3. In other words: don't throw away those bear hormones just yet.

The viral spiral marketing campaign for Spore has gone into full swing with only five short days until Will Wright's latest creation ... er, creation hits shelves. Billboards, bush shelter ads, and complete be-stickering of public places (Harvard Square shown above) are being spotted, and our buddies at Big Download are keeping track of them all in one big, weird gallery.

Many of the designs and slogans used in the ads have actually been lining the walls (and, actually, pretty much every surface) of EA Maxis' Emeryville, CA office during the game's epic development process. Now the entire world, nay, universe will get to see what we've been treated to during our various visits to Wright's home away from home.

[Via Big Download]

For the most part, all is quiet on the western front in terms of Spore reviews, but there are some exceptions sneaking out of Germany. VG247 reports that German PC mags Gamestar and PC Games have rated Spore with a 79 and 73, respectively. Although not gawd-awful, it's not exactly in line with the glowing reviews the publisher is hoping for with Will Wright's ultra-hyped and much-delayed "sim everything."

We're not currently aware of when the North American embargo on reviews expires, but the European one is allegedly up this Friday, alongside the game's release in the region. UK mag PC Gamer was apparently given the all-clear by EA to release its review early, doling out an impressive 91. It'll be very interesting to find out what the European outlets think of the game later this week.

As we've all come to learn, the industry's use of the word "exclusive" is about as persistent as a piece of cotton candy in your mouth. For all we know (which, admittedly, isn't a lot), the Xbox 360 and PC versions of Mirror's Edge could be receiving their own "exclusive" downloadable bits. Probably some designer gloves and elbow pads for our squirrely protagonist.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]