If you've had the extreme misfortune to attend a social gathering in which some unsavory individual busts out the unsinister-looking Trivial Pursuit board game, then you're well aware of the destructive properties that lie within that accursed box. It starts out harmless enough, but as your hollow pies continue their endless revolution around the rainbow-toned board, tempers inevitably flare. Razor-sharp question cards are flung across the table at frightening speeds. Dice are swallowed out of protest. Wedges become irrevocably lodged within eye sockets.

Fortunately, EA Hasbro will bring the game to a less tangible -- and therefore, less perilous -- format on March 10 for all the major home consoles. Wii, PS3 and 360 owners can pick it up for the reasonable price of $39.99, while PS2 owners can grab it for $29.99. It'll include a few interest-piquing gametypes, including Classic mode, a single-player mode titled "Clear the Board," and a casual, speedy "Facts & Friends" mode. Best of all, it seems the "Awkward Trip to the Emergency Room" mode has finally been removed. Huzzah!

We nearly reached for the Tums whilst perusing this story -- it's been so long since we've heard any heartwarming news regarding the gaming industry that we confused the sensation with a mild case of heartburn. A representative from Brighter Minds Media, the publisher behind last year's highly lauded slime-flinging puzzler World of Goo, recently announced that the publisher would not be laying off any of its employees -- despite the fact that the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week. Though they're going through what sounds like a fairly radical "reorganization", they won't be extending the already depressingly long gaming industry bread line. Good form, Brighter Minds.

Casualgaming.biz asked a who's who of casual games about how they felt the business would get by during the current financial horribleness. As it turns out, the polled companies expect to either weather the crisis or even benefit from it.

A representative for PopCap said "When economic times are tough, the most broadly appealing, cost-effective forms of entertainment tend to not only survive – but thrive." This sentiment was echoed by the CEO of Oberon Media. Nickelodeon's Dave Williams, however, sees problems for companies who "need access to outside capital and high valuations to fund growth and investment and/or haven't reached profitability and need cash to fund existing operations." In other words, companies who rely on others' money to make their games.

Not that we're Industry Analysts, but we fully expect the casual games industry to do well during this recession. It's pretty simple: these companies make video games -- often very enjoyable ones -- that do not cost sixty dollars.

It's universally agreed upon that the best bits of Spore are its creature creation and galactic endgame. It's really no surprise, then, that the first expansion for the game -- Spore Galactic Adventures -- seeks to produce a viable cross-breed of the two modes.

One of several Spore projects on tap for 2009, the expansion will give players the ability to design whole planets and build their own adventures, then share them via the same web-based mechanism as other game creations. Maxis has put together a "behind the scenes" look into the concept -- which, even if it doesn't address all of Spore's sore spots, will at least allow for planets that look like adult novelties.

The last vestiges of our dwindling global economic workforce will cease if rumors of Peggle coming to iPhone are true. According to Wired, PopCap Games announced Peggle's next mobile destination via its "official" Twitter feed. The company wouldn't comment further, and actually went so far as to remove the tweet; however, the internet doesn't forget, as evidenced by the image we captured above.

Peggle was actually one of our Top 10 games back in 2007. Hopefully, the company removed the tweet not because it was incorrect, but because it intends to keep the secret until iPhone Peggle receives FDA approval. The Peggle must flow.

Update: A PopCap representative confirmed to Joystiq that Peggle on iPhone is "launching in early March."

Things have been quiet on Battlefield Heroes' front lines since Electronic Arts first called for a ceasefire last November, halting the game's release and sending scores of pastel-colored grunts back to their bunks. Now EA has reopened beta sign-ups, giving the boys in green another chance to enlist.

Still, it's unknown how many players will be admitted into the beta, and greenhorns eager to taste the free-to-play shooter's cartoon action could be left in their barracks. Seasoned vets, however, will get first dibs, and do not need to get back in line, as any players who were already in the beta or had previously signed up will automatically receive an invite to report for duty. As for when soldiers can expect the call to action, EA is saying only to watch for more announcements in the "coming weeks."

[Via Massively]

Capcom is preparing to enhance the Age of Booty by adding console specific features in an upcoming patch. Speaking with IGN, the publisher states it'll bring Avatar support for Xbox Live and Trophies to PS3. The eye patch will be free and unearthed near the end of February.

Although Age of Booty has received unexceptional reviews, the pirate-themed RTS boardgame certainly deserves the respect of a demo try for those who haven't done so.

The mammoth adventure of Syberia concludes in the sequel, now available to GameTap gold subscribers. Syberia II finds Kate Walker giving up on her former life, instead accompanying an eccentric inventor as he seeks out the world's last hairy elephants (hint: they're in Syberia). Don't worry if you missed out on the first enchanting (and sad) adventure -- the sequel includes a handy plot recap.

• Syberia II (Windows) - Hans has been found, but now Kate needs to help him fulfill his dream.
  
• Paws and Claws Pet Vet (Windows) - Pet Vet Sim Tycoon. That about sum it up?
  

It's worth noting that GameTap axed 97 titles this week from its free-to-play service. A list of the 48 survivors can be found after the break.

Judging by an alleged scan of Spanish magazine "Nintendo Accion," a sequel to Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games could be in the works at Sega. GoNintendo has a scan of the image, which teases a reveal in the next issue and clearly shows Mario and Sonic. SegaNerds roughly translates the text as: "Games, Olympics, Cold, It's winter." How ... elegant.

Oh, and who would be to blame for another button-mashing, waggle-infused minigame fest on the Wii? That would be the five million (and counting) people who bought the first title. Let's see if those folks will come back for a second, colder dose.

[Via SegaNerds]

Ubisoft continues to unfurl its ambitious expansion plans in South America with the acquisition of Southlogic Studios, an independent developer based in Brazil. According to Edge Online, the studio and its 20-strong staff will be integrated into Ubisoft's Sao Paulo studio, which was opened in 2008 and became responsible for the third appearance of the word "studio" in this article. Fourth if you count that last one.

Of course, all this information serves only to stall the real query in the minds of Southlogic fans: Will Imagine: Wedding Designer get a sequel? Well, we just don't know. Keep hope alive!

Get ready to bust some balls stuff with balls when Magic Ball releases on PSN January 15th (also known as "today") for $10. The Arkanoid-style wall buster features "two visual themes" -- Pirates and Knights (we speculate a Ninja DLC pack can't be too far behind) -- with really beautiful, "completely destructible" 3D environments. Each of the levels also has "its own mini-story scenes."

Magic Ball features "a vast number" of Trophies and in-game multiplayer chat. According to the game's producer, the title apparently received a difficulty upgrade during testing to avoid it feeling too casual. Magic Ball should be available in North America when the PSN updates later today (it's available right now in Europe).

2K Games Global President Christoph Hartmann is back with another warning. Speaking with MCV, he expressed his belief that publishers bringing non-licensed casual games to Wii this year could struggle because the console is flooded by "crappy titles." Hartmann's example has publishers releasing ten games in the hopes that two hits will pay for the other eight. All this does, he said, is flood the market and confuse consumers.

According to the executive, if 2K's hit casual title Carnival Games were released today it would struggle to find an audience. Despite the Wii selling incredibly well, new casual brands seem to be lost in the flood of shovelware, with retailers already having little shelf space to spare.