According to Enterbrain, Nintendo continued its lead over Sony for the four week period ending August 26. Wii outsold the PS3 by a 3:1 margin, an improvement for the PS3 compared to the 4:1 margin in July and 6:1 in June. Microsoft remains a non-factor.

The main contributor for the PS3’s boost was that it finally got not just a game, which in recent months has been rare with all the PS2 support, but also a game people actually want, Everybody’s Golf 5. The problem is it’s just one game and can only be stretched so far, particularly up against the slew of first party games from a company whose last system has been dead for years. The upcoming schedule remains not completely barren but still pretty thin, though the highly popular Gran Turismo 5 does have an October release date, with Dynasty Warriors 6 as the other high profile holiday title.

Nintendo Wii: 245,653
PlayStation 3: 81,541
Xbox 360: 11,288

20th Century Fox will be bringing the first two seasons of Family Guy to Xbox Live starting Monday. This marks the first Fox product for release on Xbox. The cost will be 160 Microsoft points ($2.00 in the US) per episode.

“This is our first one,” Jamie McCabe, executive vp at 20th Century Fox, told Reuters. “We hope to have other content on there, but right now with the launch of ‘Halo 3′ and the launch of the new season of ‘Family Guy’ coming out, the timing really worked well for this one.” He added, “It’s about as perfect a demographic fit as we can get.”

The Art Institute Online will be sponsoring the Austin Game Developers Conference from Sept 5-7, 2007. The conference is intended to provide opportunities for game development professionals. Full press release follows.

 In support of its commitment to game development, the growing demand for new designers with gaming degrees, and with the hopes of bringing the content knowledge present at the conference to their classrooms, The Art Institute Online, a division of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, will be sponsoring the 2007 Austin Game Developers Conference.

The Conference will be held at the Austin Convention Center from September 5-7, 2007, and is the official trade event of computer, console, mobile, arcade, online games, and location-based entertainment, and attracts more than 1,100 attendees.  The conference provides educational, networking, and business opportunities for game development professionals, driving this quickly growing sector of the entertainment industry.

“As the established leader in online creative arts education, we are very excited to play an integral role in the conference this year,” said Warren Wake, Game Art & Design, Academic Department Director at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, which currently offers seven degree programs online related to interactive media and game design, including bachelor’s in Game & Art Design, Graphic Design, Web Design & Interactive Media, and Media Arts & Animation, and associate’s in Graphic Design and Web Design & Interactive Media and a diploma program in Web Design. “This is an event held exclusively by developers, for developers, and we hope that our involvement will demonstrate our commitment to educating and training the gaming industry’s future designers and animators.”

The Art Institute Online will also serve as the podcast sponsor for the Game Career Seminar, a day-long program for students and individuals interested in learning how to launch a career in the videogame industry. The Art Institutes Speakers Series will host transcripts from the podcasts, as well as exclusive content from the seminar online at www.aionline.edu/speaker-series/.

Jeannie Novak, Online Program Director for the Game Art & Design program at The Art Institute Online, lead author and series editor of the Game Development Essentials book series on game development, and Producer and Lead Designer of The Art Institute Online’s “serious game” currently being developed in the Second Life virtual environment, will be one of this year’s panelists.

“I’m thrilled to be involved in this year’s conference,” Novak said. “The Game Developers Conference is an incredible opportunity for developers to come together to exchange ideas, meet with experts, and discuss the ever-changing landscape of the gaming industry.”

For additional information about the Austin Game Developers Conference, or to register for the event, please visit http://www.austingdc.net.

Activision has revealed the soundtrack for Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground.

 !!! – “All My Heroes are Weirdos”
Airbourne –“ Girls in Black”
Angels & Airwaves – “Secret Crowds”
Anglo Jackson – “Motorbike”
At the Gates – “Slaughter of the Soul”
Bad Brains – “Banned in DC”
Beastie Boys – “Electric Worm”
Blackalicious – “Your Move”
Bloc Party – “Version 2.0”
Cursed – “The Hands will Abide”
Cymande – “Fug”
Dag Nasty – “Circles”
Darkest Hour – “Sanctuary”
DJ JS-1 featuring L.I.F.E. Long & Immortal Technique – “Audio Technician”
El-P – “Up All Night”
Folk Implosion – “Natural One”
Foo Fighters – “The Pretender”
Fu Manchu – “We Must Obey”
Funky 4+1 – “Rappin and Rockin the House”
Future Pigeon – “Gift Tax”
Gallows – “Come Friendly Bombs”
Gorilla Biscuits – “Hold Your Ground”
Jimmy Castor Bunch – “It’s Just Begun”
Jurassic 5 – “Radio”
Kittens – “Carpenter”
Los Abandoned – “Panic-Oh!”
Lyrics Born featuring KRS-One and Evidence – “Pack Up Remix”
Maylene and the Sons of Disaster – “Memories of the Grove”
Motorcity Daredevils – “Bear in the Air”
Nation of Ulysses – “You’re My Miss Washington D.C.”
Nirvana – “Breed”
Oh No feat. J. Dilla and Roc C. – “Move Part 2”
Paint it Black – “The New Brutality”
Paris – “The Devil Made Me Do It (Poach a Pig Mix)”
Percee P – “Throwback Rap Attack (Madlib remix)”
Pierce the Veil – “I’d Rather Die than Be Famous”
Pig Destroyer – “Loathsome”
Reverend Horton Heat – “Baddest of the Bad”
Revolution Mother – “Come On”
Roots Manuva – “Chin High”
Sayvinyl – “That’s Entertainment”
Silversun Pickups – “Well Thought Out Twinkles”
Slick Rick – “Children’s Story”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Tarantula”
Snapcase – “Energy Dome”
The Bled – “Starving Artiste”
The Clash – “ Clash City Rockers”
The Cramps – “Garbage Man”
The Icarus Line – “Gets Paid”
The Kooks – “See the World”
The Octopus Project – “Music is Happiness”
The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy for the Devil”
The Sex Pistols – “Holidays in the Sun”
Twilight 22 – “ Electric Kingdom ”

The game will be released for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, and Nintendo DS this fall.

Following an overreaction and banning in Europe, the ESRB proceeded to give Take Two’s Manhunt 2 an Adults Only rating in the US, effectively banning it here as well since neither Nintendo nor Sony will allow an AO game on their systems. Take Two has revised the game enough for it to earn a Mature rating from the ESRB, and it will be released on October 31 for the Wii, PSP, and PS2. While this doesn’t take away the fact that Grand Theft Auto IV was delayed, it does at least soften the blow some.