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Check out that headline. Finally PSP owners have graduated from the "better than nothing" PC Store to the ultra-sexy direct PSP Store. Content updates don't seem to have substantially improved for either region (Europe saw no new PSP content yet again, this week), but Rome wasn't built in a day. American PSP owners will be able to grab two new UMD Legacy titles, a PS1 game and a demo. If you're interested in funny games that didn't sell well enough, Dead Head Fred is your best bet for this week. Here's the full list:

• Dead Head Fred full PSP game ($14.99)
• PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient full PSP game ($14.99)
• Sno-Cross Championship Racing PS1 game ($5.99)
• Lego Batman demo (free)

Writing in games has come a long way since players were asked if they were bad enough dudes to rescue the president from ninjas. It's a growing area of game development that Vicious Cycle senior game designer Dave Ellis has certainly taken to heart, having won the 2008 Writers Guild award for writing for his work on the PSP action horror title, Dead Head Fred.

Now Ellis plans to impart some of his wisdom on other aspiring game writers as the keynote speaker for the Writers Guild Foundation's workshop on video game writing, which is set to take place in Los Angeles on October 18. In the run up to the event, however, we had the opportunity to pick his brain on a number of game writing-related topics, including the state of writing in the industry, storytelling's role in game design, and the potential for games like Heavy Rain to push the industry forward. We also took a second to touch on Ellis' passion for collecting classic arcade cabs, all of which you can check out after the break.

D3 Publisher will be extending its range of newly announced PSP downloadable titles to Europe. While there is no pricing info nor release date, the company has listed which games it will be making available for download in Europe in Q4 2008. These are Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, Cube, Practical IQ, Dead Head Fred, Beta Bloc and Super Pocket Tennis.

So, for the most part these releases are the same as D3 Publisher's upcoming US downloadable releases, with the exception of Beta Bloc and Super Pocket Tennis. We'll update you with a release schedule and pricing as soon as we find out. If the price is right, a number of these games would make a perfect impulse buy.

[Via Press Release]

While it doesn't quite fulfill our wish list of PSP games we'd most want to purchase by download and run from a single Memory Stick, D3 Publisher's "classic" catalog is coming to PlayStation Store (the PC one) this September. Props for being ahead of the curve. Up for digital delivery will be:

• Cube ($9.99)
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords ($14.99)
• WTF: work time fun ($9.99)
• PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient ($9.99)
• PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 ($14.99)
• Dead Head Fred ($14.99)

Once a true PSP Store is in place, we'd love to see all publishers follow suit. Now tell us that wouldn't send a chill up your spine GameStop!

Finally! D3 Publisher, we applaud your decision to bring your PSP catalog to the PLAYSTATION Store. You're not bringing just one obscure game onto the Store -- you're making available a number of games, from big-budget releases to obscure cult classics. Best of all, you're making them available for cheap! Here are the releases:

September 18, 2008

• Cube - $9.99
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - $14.99

October 2, 2008

• WTF: Work Time Fun - $9.99
• PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient - $9.99

October 16, 2008

• PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 - $14.99
• Dead Head Fred - $14.99

To find out more about each of these titles, simply click on their names. You'll find all our news, previews and reviews of these games.

Developers Vicious Cycle Software have offered up the studio's cross-platform Vicious Engine middleware to students attending the Indiana University School of Education, giving those aspiring to a life of game development some helpful hands-on time with real-world tools.

But don't go expecting the university to churn out the next Puzzle Quest or Dead Head Fred, as according to the school, students will be using the engine to make so-called 'serious games." Students' games will be "designed to teach various subjects of their choosing," and will be part of a larger university study on "how people learn through games." Even so, we imagine the experience will likely prove invaluable for those students wanting to eventually grease the wheels of game development with their sweat and blood.

When people start talking about the voices in their head, that's normally the time when we scour the room for the nearest exit, but David Ellis is the exception to the rule as he gives some delicious insight into writing for Dead Head Fred. The game was nominated for, and won, the first Writer's Guild of America award for Video Game writing. Those of you who have played the game will know how much it deserved the award - Dead Head Fred is hilarious.

For some intriguing behind-the-scenes talk about Dead Head Fred's script, check out Gamezone's interview with David Ellis and Adam Cogan, where they discuss, among other things, their roles within the game. There's also some talk about how the development studio, Vicious Cycle, came about as a result of the truly tragic cancellation of X-Com: Genesis. There are still nights when we cry ourselves to sleep over that game's fate.

Now that the writers are back on work (hooray, TV!), it's time to take a moment and reflect on the Writers Guild of America's first ever choice for best video game writing.

The winner? Dead Head Fred for PSP. It's a game that (shamefully) almost no one bought. The more cynical of our readers may be asking, "But why them?" in a year that has so many great options. Mass Effect, Bioshock, Uncharted all come into mind. Well, these awards are limited to members of the WGA's New Media Caucus. Even with the limited candidate pool, this is a great first step for the industry -- we need more video game writers to be recognized for their efforts.

[Via Joystiq]

Now that that silly writer's strike is under control, it's time to get back to the busy work of ... video game writing awards! The Writer's Guild of America has chosen the winner – from amongst five nominees – of its first-ever Video Game Writing Award. Congratulations to the team at Vicious Cycle Software for their work on Dead Head Fred.

As much as we enjoyed Dead Head Fred (it even made one of our Best of the Rest '07 lists), there's still that part of us that says it wasn't a fair fight. In a year that included some of the best video game writing we can think of, the fact that the WGA's nominees didn't include titles like Mass Effect, BioShock, or Portal leaves us feeling ... well, uneasy.

We understand that the game's writers must have been or applied to become members of the WGA's New Media Caucus in order to be eligible for the award so, fair enough, perhaps the other games weren't. Regardless, highlighting quality game writing – regardless of the game – is a noble task in an industry where all your base are belong to the master of unlocking, y'know?

This M-rated PSP-exclusive action game is now available for only $15 at amazon.com and GameStop. Most likely, the game's rather subdued release caused it go under most everyone's radar. It's a game that's filled with personality, even if the gameplay isn't as refined as we'd like. As a daring experiment for PSP, this may be worth your while, especially at such a low price.

[Via CAG]

Finally, a headline about the Writer's Guild that's not about the strike. The Writer's Guild of America announced nominees for its first-ever awards for video game writing. The winner will be announced on February 9th (but don't expect a fancy awards show). There were five nominees, including one high profile PSP exclusive. Crash of the Titans, The Simpsons Game, The Witcher, and World in Conflict all got nominations. Dead Head Fred, a PSP exclusive, also earned a nomination. It was written by Dave Ellis and Adam Cogan.

Dead Head Fred had a fairly muted release, but was notable for its inclusion of a popular television actor from the show Scrubs.

The only thing that's consistently more ham-handed and embarrassing than the writing in games is the writing about games. Unlike the latter, however, small glimmers of hope emerge every year with the few games that thought it wise to deliver engaging dialogue and thoughtful plotting. This year alone saw titles like Mass Effect, BioShock and Portal being praised for exceptional writing and the emotional heft it lent to gameplay.

Of course, none of those were nominated for the Writer's Guild of America's first ever Video Game Writing Award, but never mind. The winner to grace the stage during the Writer's Guild Awards held in Los Angeles on February 9, 2008, will be chosen from this list of witty nominees:

• Crash of the Titans -- Written by Christopher Mitchell for Sierra Entertainment
• Dead Head Fred -- Written by Dave Ellis and Adam Cogan for D3 Publisher
• The Simpsons Game -- With lead writer Matt Selman, written by Tim Long and Matt Warburton, dialogue by Jeff Poliquin for Electronic Arts
• The Witcher -- With lead story designer Artur Ganszyniec, dialogue by Sebastian Stepien, additional dialogue by Marcin Blacha and writers Sande Chen and Anne Toole for Atari
• World in Conflict -- Story design by Christofer Emgard, story consultant Larry Bond and script consultant Ed Zuckerman for Sierra Entertainment.

A game's eligibility hinged on being released between Dec. 1, 2006, and Nov. 30, 2007, and credited writers must have been or applied to become members of the WGA's New Media Caucus. Though we're undecided about which game deserves to win, we're certain that highlighting and rewording the good righting in games are vary importent.

John McGinley's work in Dead Head Fred seems to be getting even more attention than the game itself. When many reviewers talk about the game's presentation or sound, they're focusing solely on his voice acting or the game's sound effects. But if you didn't notice, the game has a soundtrack, and it's pretty damn good, too.

However, in case you can't hear it due to McGinley's amazing voice-acting, Rod Abernethy and Jason Graves have released their masterpiece soundtrack on iTunes. According to the release, everyone can now enjoy Dead head Fred's blending of "cinematic orchestrations with a dark panorama of jazz, southwestern guitar, ambient, rock fusion and other seemingly disparate music styles into a cohesive and alluring listening experience."

We have absolutely no idea what that meant, but it certainly sounds interesting.

D3 Publisher of America and Vicious Cycle Software, makers of the Vicious Engine, have joined forces in that old, synergistic bond known as an acquisition. Vicious Cycle will become a subsidiary and will stay in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The two have collaborated before on PSP version of Puzzle Quest and the upcoming Dead Head Fred. PSP Fanboy has been covering Dead Head Fred extensively; the game is due out later this year.