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Job listing renews speculation about a living room version of upcoming PC and Mac action role-playing game sequel; studio says it’s exploring options.

Blizzard Entertainment may soon renew its on-again, off-again relationship with gaming consoles. The company has posted a new job opening on its official site seeking a “Lead Designer, Console” to work on Diablo III.

Blizzard wants a Diablo III lead designer with considerable console chops.

According to the listing, Blizzard wants someone who has shipped at least one AAA console game in a senior design role and possesses a “strong sense of what makes a fun and compelling experience for console titles and games in general.” Experience with porting multiplatform games is also considered a “plus” for candidates.

Speculation of a console version of Diablo III has been circulating since the game was first announced at BlizzCon 2008. At the time, company representatives only confirmed the title for the PC and Mac, quickly followed by a teasing, “for now.” The company has been similarly coy about a release date for the game, bringing up the familiar Blizzard refrain that the game would be launched “when it’s ready.”

In the 16-bit era, Blizzard was as much a console developer as a PC outfit, delivering titles like The Lost Vikings, Blackthorne, and Justice League: Task Force. After Warcraft: Orcs & Humans became a hit, the studio established a string of successful PC franchises, including Starcraft and Diablo. In 2002, the company announced a return to consoles with Starcraft: Ghost. However, after repeated setbacks and delays, that project was abandoned in 2006.

[UPDATE]: Blizzard has issued a statement explaining the posting to its fans, stating,
“We’re exploring a Diablo-related concept for consoles and are currently looking to fill a few senior console-related positions on the Diablo III team. As we’ve said in the past, with proper care the gameplay could suit the console platform, and we’re interested in seeing what talent out there might be interested in such a project. If you’re passionate about all things Diablo and have the requisite skill and experience, then head over to our jobs site to check out the positions and apply.

“Please note that this is not an announcement of a console title. We are first and foremost developing Diablo III for Windows and Mac PCs and don’t intend to allow any possibility of a console interpretation to delay or affect the release of the game.”

For more on Diablo III, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.

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Now that everyone’s getting on again, Microsoft has teamed up with a number of independent developers to launch The Indie Games Winter Uprising.

Coming on like a chillier, cheaper take on Xbox Live Summer of Arcade, the initiative will see the spotlight turned onto the Xbox Live Indie Games service.

A remarkably frank press release explained, “If you thought that the Xbox Live Indie Games service was just filled with massage apps, clones, and garbage, think again!

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World of Warcraft developer Blizzard has just bought up a huge 100,000 square feet of new office space.

According to the Orange County Business Journal, the studio has signed a lease on two new buildings adjacent to its current site in Irvine, California.

Its current set-up houses 235,000 square feet of space, so the new real estate represents a 40 per cent expansion.

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Study finds high school players less likely to have tried pot, girl gamers more likely to be in serious fights or carry a weapon to school; 6% of males report gambling addiction symptoms.

While a number of studies have looked for a link between violent games and violent behavior in children, there has been relatively little attention paid to the correlations gaming might have with other behavior, whether it be getting good grades or drug use. A study published this week in the journal Pediatrics seeks to address that gap, reporting on the results of an anonymous survey of 4,082 14- to 18-year-old Connecticut high schoolers.

If Jimmy Hopkins had been a gamer, he might have pulled down better grades.

A group of doctors from the Yale University School of Medicine’s psychology department looked at correlations between male and female gamers and grade point average, marijuana and alcohol use, depression, participation in extracurricular activities, and use of caffeine, as well as their history of fights requiring medical attention and bringing weapons to school. They also asked respondents if they have ever unsuccessfully tried to cut back on gaming, experienced an irresistible urge to play, and felt a growing tension that can only be relieved by playing, three traits used to define impulse-control disorders (ICD) like pathologic gambling. Just over half of the students surveyed gamed at all, with 76.3 percent of boys and 29.2 percent of girls identifying as gamers.

The researchers found that among boys, regular gaming was associated with higher grade-point averages and caffeine consumption. This group was also less likely to be a regular cigarette smoker or to have tried marijuana.

In girls, gaming was associated with never having tried marijuana or alcohol and having no history of depression, but it was also tied to occasional smoking, high caffeine use, serious fights, carrying a weapon to school, and a slightly higher body-mass index.

Gender also played a role in how likely survey respondents were to indicate problematic gaming along the lines of an ICD. Of those surveyed, 84 boys (5.9 percent) responded in the affirmative to the three ICD traits, while only 22 girls (3 percent) indicated the same. Problematic gamers were associated with higher odds of smoking regularly, depression, and fighting. They were also associated to a lesser extent with higher chances of drug use and carrying weapons to schools.

The researchers were quick to point out that their results don’t necessarily indicate a causal relationship, saying, “[T]his finding may suggest not that gaming leads to aggression but that more aggressive girls are attracted to gaming as a recreational activity. The finding also may reflect cultural differences in socio-economic conditions at home and in their communities.” For example, they said it is possible girls in violent neighborhoods who carry weapons for protection may be more likely to stay home and play games instead of go out in dangerous communities.

As for next steps, the researchers said more work is needed to determine safe levels of gaming and identify risk factors for problematic gaming. Additionally, they called for more studies on possible intervention points and ways to prevent problematic gaming, as well as research into beneficial uses of games.

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Lionhead will bring new subterranean quest to good-or-evil action adventure next week for $5; hair, dog-enhancing add-ons also en route.

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Marvel Pinball has just been confirmed for release on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

Due for release “before the end of 2010”, it sees Marvel favourites Spider-Man, Wolverine, Blade and Iron Man set out to save the world via the medium of pinging metal balls around specially constructed tables.

There will be four tables to choose from, each themed around a different character. Developer ZEN Studios are promising to add further tables post-release too.

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Driver: San Francisco’s release date has been pushed back to ensure that the finished product is up to scratch, publisher Ubisoft has confirmed.

CEO Yves Guillemot told an investor call today, “We are taking the time to create an outstanding game and, seeing the competition, it’s very important to bring all the fine touches to the game so it can become a good racing game and help us to establish Ubisoft in the racing genre.”

Earlier today Ubisoft announced that it had delayed the reboot of its long-running racing franchise from early 2011 until the following fiscal year. That means it’ll launch at some point between April 2011 to the end of March 2012.

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Ubisoft delays marquee early 2011 titles to April or later as part of mixed first-half sales; sales rise 57% to $354 million, losses mount to $122 million; reorg sees projects canceled.

Ubisoft certainly delivered on first-half sales, but profitability is another matter. Reporting on its earnings for the six-month period ended September 30 today, the Parisian publisher saw revenues rise 57 percent to €260 million ($354 million). However, one look at the publisher’s bottom line, and it becomes apparent that a touch of discord is brewing within the company. Namely, Ubisoft reported a net loss of €89.8 million ($122 million), off 34.5 percent from the same period a year ago.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier may soon be renamed Ghost Recon Contemporary Soldier.

Two factors contributed heavily to Ubisoft’s profit shortfall. The first is the disappointing start for a handful of its titles released during the period. H.A.W.X. 2 and R.U.S.E., both of which were released on September 7, “performed below expectations,” though Ubisoft did not indicate sales totals for either game. And though Shaun White Skateboarding’s release fell outside the reporting period, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot indicated as part of a post-earnings conference call that the game is “off to a slow start.”

The second contributing factor to Ubisoft’s losses during the quarter was related to a substantial reorganization; one that involved the cancellation of an undisclosed number of projects. The reorganization and project cancellations resulted in a €45.3 million ($61.6 million) one-time charge for the company.

“Ubisoft is taking measures to adapt its structure to the major changes in the industry by reorganizing the roles and operations of its studios, which has resulted in the termination of certain projects,” the publisher said as part of its earnings report.

Ubisoft did not indicate whether it had reduced headcount as part of its reorganization, nor whether any of the canceled projects had been previously announced. The publisher had not returned a request for comment as of press time.

To finish off the disappointing news from Ubisoft, the publisher also had two game delays to announce. Both once slated to arrive during the first three months of 2011, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier and Driver: San Francisco have been pushed out of Ubisoft’s in-progress fiscal year. The publisher now expects to release both games during its next fiscal year, which runs April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012.

Despite the negative news, Ubisoft maintained that it will hit its previously announced guidance for the full year. Helping it do so is the hit-in-waiting Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, as well as strong performances from its Kinect lineup, Just Dance 2’s 75 percent year-over-year growth, and digital sales.

Additionally, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood preorders are up 25 percent from those of Assassin’s Creed II, a game which went on to ship more than 9 million units. According to Guillemot, focus group scores for Brotherhood are the highest ever for a Ubisoft game.

As far as Ubisoft’s Kinect lineup goes, the publisher said that Your Shape: Fitness Evolved has become the best-selling third-party title for the Xbox 360 add-on in the US. Ubisoft also noted that Fighters Uncaged, which received dismal review scores, and Motion Sports are both off to promising starts. All said, the publisher expects to release six Kinect titles before the end of March 2011.

On the digital front, the publisher has seen a doubling in sales during the period, with its top performer being the comic book-cum-silver screen tie-in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which was released through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network in August. The publisher also called out the strength of unspecified downloadable content, as well as the digital sales of certain PC games.

Ubisoft expects to double digital sales for each of the next two years. One way in which it plans to do so is through the digital rerelease of some of its catalog hits. According to Guillemot, Ubisoft will release the first three Splinter Cell installments, as well as the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time trilogy through downloadable channels. The Sands of Time trilogy is expected to arrive for the PSN, as well as at retail, before the end of the year.

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There will be a new Assassin’s Creed game in 2011, Ubisoft has confirmed, despite earlier promises that the series would be taking a year off.

Speaking at an investor call today, CEO Yves Guillemot revealed, “There will be something around Assassin’s [next year]. That’s all we can say.”

No clarification was offered as to exactly what form the game might take, but CFO Alain Martinez said “Maybe after Christmas in January we’ll be able to talk about what kind of product we have.”

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Leak from German ratings board reveals list of games which could be making their way to western PSN store.

According to Siliconera, German ratings board USK has added a list of TurboGrafx-16 (PC Engine) titles to its database for Sony consoles. Japanese gamers already have access to range of PC Engine games on their PlayStation Store.

Each game is listed under Sony PSP, although it’s unclear whether they will also be playable on PS3. The full list of games follows: