Those of you using Firefox as your primary browser will want to upgrade to Firefox 3.5, which was officially released today. According to Mozilla, Firefox 3.5 is "more than twice as fast as Firefox 3." Some of the improvements include a faster page renderer, smaller memory footprint, and an optimized JavaScript engine.

Are you a Firefox user? I use Safari at work on my Mac, but at home I use Firefox on my PC. Firefox 3.5 seems to be approaching the speeds of Safari 4, though. I'll have to give it a whirl here at the office.

Download Firefox 3.5.

Since we moved to this console generation, the biggest feature request for Madden NFL has been an online-enabled franchise mode. Well, you're going to get your wish in Madden NFL 10 on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

This video will explain the mode in a bit more detail than previously discussed, but there isn't much new information. Still, it's fun to see the developers talk passionately about the new feature.

My favorite part? Being able to conduct trades and adjust depth charts from a computer or iPhone (there's an app for that!). Will you be competing in an online franchise?

The video game industry has traditionally frowned upon GameStop's used games market. While trade-ins do result in gamers picking up more used games and sometimes avoiding new releases, popular games analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan (via GamesIndustry.biz) says publishers are overlooking benefits used games are providing.

"The vast majority of used games are not traded in until the original new game purchaser has finished playing - more than two months after a new game is released - typically well beyond the window for a full retail priced new game sale," said Pachter.

Pachter's comments are part of a more than 200-page research report on the video game industry, where Wedbush Morgan discovered used games annually account for more than 100 million units -- or roughly one-third of every game sold each year.

From my personal experience, Pachter is on the money. As a kid, whenever I traded in used video games, it was only to purchase games I couldn't otherwise afford. Used games were the reason I could purchase more brand-new video games, not less.

To hear what a bunch of high-profile game developers thought about used games sales when TheFeed questioned them earlier this year, keep reading.

Earlier in the month I wrote about Peter Molyneux wanting to put Rare back on the map (in a positive light) as part of his responsibilities as creative director of Microsoft Games Studios Europe. Considering Rare's previous accomplishments, I thought his comments were a little on the pretentious side, but it seems people from Rare are agreeable to Molyneux's mission. In an interview with Official Xbox Magazine, Rare head of animation Louise Ridgeway said:

"He comes up regularly and it's great to see someone like Pete here. It gives us a little bit of a face because no-one knows who we are!"

I'm a bit shocked by these comments. Certainly longtime gamers know and love Rare for its excellent work on Nintendo consoles. Some gamers know Rare as a company that Microsoft purchased for $375 million and, so far, hasn't lived up to the price tag. But to say that nobody knows who the company is sounds a bit ridiculous to me. Maybe it's a case of kissing up to the new boss, but I'm certain that a great deal of gamers are aware of Rare.

Just to give myself a reality check (The Miz style), do you guys and gals know who Rare is? What do you remember the company for? Maybe Donkey Kong Country and GoldenEye 007? Or do you think of Rare as the company that served up Grabbed by the Ghoulies to a world that didn't deserve it?

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Released today for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in a limited edition release, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger brings the Japanese arcade favorite to the United States. This launch trailer details the game's characters and the extras that you'll receive if you purchase the limited edition.

Tributes to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, are coming from every direction, including video games. Microsoft made the artist's "Thriller" music video free for a few hours on Xbox Live and Electronic Arts is issuing two Michael Jackson-themed clothing choices for Battlefield Heroes. The clothing isn't free, though -- it's about $3.

Anyone actually playing Battlefield: Heroes?

Ah, the New York Times "Wedding/Celebrations" page; that most coveted of nuptial news locations that some couples would literally kill to appear in. Yet among all of the pieces of information that you would expect to find there, gaming news falls right between “How to survive an octopus attack” and “Where to find the best chili in Rhodesia.”

Well, that all changed this past Friday, when the wedding announcement of Amy Gilbert and Joshua Atkins appeared in the New York Times. Among the many meaningful pieces of information in the announcement, the one that stood out most prominently, especially for gamers, was the mention of the groom, Joshua Atkins, as being the “lead game designer for Fable III.”

Now, finding out that a third installment in Peter Molyneux's critically acclaimed RPG series is in the works is obviously far from surprising, yet it’s still nice to know that development is underway, especially since Microsoft and Lionshead have been mum up to this point with regards to the project even existing. Congratulations to the happy couple, and thank you for producing the most unorthodox game announcement ever.

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Set 20 years before the events of the original game, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood follows the McCall brothers as they search for the Gold of Juarez.

Check out the launch trailer for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, which releases today for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Are you planning on picking it up?

When StarCraft II (Hands-On Preview) launches, it will not support LAN play. How can this be?! Joystiq got the reasoning from Blizzard PR man Bob Colayco:

"We don't currently plan to support LAN play with StarCraft II, as we are building Battle.net to be the ideal destination for multiplayer gaming with StarCraft II and future Blizzard Entertainment games. While this was a difficult decision for us, we felt that moving away from LAN play and directing players to our upgraded Battle.net service was the best option to ensure a quality multiplayer experience with StarCraft II and safeguard against piracy.

Several Battle.net features like advanced communication options, achievements, stat-tracking, and more, require players to be connected to the service, so we're encouraging everyone to use Battle.net as much as possible to get the most out of StarCraft II. We're looking forward to sharing more details about Battle.net and online functionality for StarCraft II in the near future."

I'm going to go ahead and emphasize the part of the quote where Colayco says part of the reason is to "safeguard against piracy." If you look at the current state of StarCraft multiplayer, a lot of players use pirated copies to play over services like Hamachi or on emulated B.net servers running custom ladders like iCCup. Blizzard would obviously prefer for the community to be in the same place.

What does a lack of LAN support mean for the average user, though?

Sony’s PlayStation 3 and the issue of backwards compatibility have a long and storied history, despite the fact that the console has only been around for a few years. Between the Emotion Engine chip (the PS2’s CPU) initially being available in some SKUs, to the Emotion Engine chip being pulled from later SKUs, to some models including emulators, it’s just a big mess. Basically, the major point to take away from all this is that currently, Sony is not producing any PS3s with backwards compatibility support (via hardware or software). However, that could be changing sometime soon.

As SilconEra reports, Sony recently filed a patent that would allow the PS3’s Cell processor to emulate the Emotion Engine. If successful, this process would add backwards compatibility to every PS3 on store shelves and in homes. In addition to most likely being built into the rumored PS3 Slim expected to be out sometime later this year, this feature could also be made available via firmware update for all current PS3 owners.

It would be impressive if Sony could pull this off, even though this whole Cell-powered backward compatibility function should have been part of the PS3 from the beginning. But I’m guessing that most PlayStation fans will see it as a “better late than never” scenario, and they’re probably right.

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The government of Honduras has been overthrown in a coup, nationwide protests continue in Iran, and our nation's most ridiculous celebrities have been dying at an alarming rate, but the real news this week is Square Enix's countdown clock. As you know, Square has created a clock to hype a new game, and when it gets to zero, they will tell us something about this game. Like its title, maybe.

As I'm sure you're aware, yesterday's revelation of a picture of a dragon caused international financial markets to crash, so I'm almost reluctant to report today's change to Square website because of the possible implications. If you have a heart condition, please stop reading right now, but here goes:

There is now a boy riding the dragon.

Are you still with us? Do you need a minute to get your wits together, relax and consider the implications of this astounding revelation? The identity of the sword-wielding boy has not been determined, although he has interesting hair and leading pediatricians predict he is between 8 and 15 years old. Experts predict that the mysterious Square Enix game being hyped by the countdown clock has something to do with dragons, and/or boys riding dragons.

More information on this important story as it becomes available. Look for the official revelation of Square Enix's new game on July 6th, when the numbers get to zero.

Official Site

My journey through World of Warcraft went something like this: As a noob, I rolled a human fighter and learned the ropes leveling up in my PVE server (strictly Carebear here) with my friends until I reached about level 35. Then I had an important realization: Only squares roll Alliance. So I started back at the beginning with a face-melting undead priest who never healed anyone but herself. But I had to go back to level one and start from scratch. I know what hardship is. Also, I had to walk to school 10 miles through the snow.

Kids today, though, have everything handed to them on a silver platter, and soon won't have to sacrifice to switch sides. Blizzard has announced it will allow Warcraft players who mistakenly chose Alliance to switch sides and play Horde. For a fee.

It might be awhile, though. According to Blizzard:

There’s still much work to do and many details to iron out, but the basic idea is that players will be able to use the service to transform an existing character into a roughly equivalent character of the opposing faction on the same realm...The number of variables involved increases the complexity of implementing this service, but we plan to take the time needed to ensure that it lives up to expectations before officially rolling it out.

Like most World of Warcraft innovation, if you want to be first on your block to see how it works, check out the public test realms, where pieces of the faction switching technology will be rolled out gradually.

Personally, I'm against the idea. What good is choosing sides if you can just go back and forth between them with ease? What do you think? Is Warcraft faction switching a good idea or lame? How much do you think it worth?

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United Cutlery, your worldwide source for replica weapons, is casting a replica of Red Queen, Nero's sword from Devil May Cry 4. That's a picture of the weapon above. As you can see, your own personal Red Queen is meticulously, slavishly copied from the game's sword, right down to the whacked out throttle and brake on the handle. According to the sword's manufacturer:

The authentic replica sword used in the Capcom video game stretches a massive 42” overall in length and offers a 31 ¾” stainless steel blade (false-edged). The genuine leather wrapped grip is surrounded by solid metal handle parts. Each sword is individually serial numbered and includes a custom display plaque and certificate of authenticity.

Sure, it's smaller than the game's sword, but still it's a pretty cool thing to hang on the wall... even if the edge is blunted so you don't chop off your fingers by accident.

If you want to pick up this amazing faux-weapon, show up at San Diego's Comic-Con, or check out the auction that opens on July 1st. The price for auction registration is $280, but that guarantees you a sword -- what's really being auctioned is the sword's number: The winner receives sword number one, and on down until sword 99. This is, I must say, the ultimate cosplay accessory. Although, I doubt you'll be able to take it on a carry-on bag on a plane!

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Long the internet's primary destination for black market file trading and bit-torrenting, Swedish website The Pirate Bay will soon go legitimate. Tech company Global Gaming Factory X said it has reached an agreement to acquire The Bay for about $7.7 million.

"We would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site," Global Gaming CEO Hans Pandeya said in a statement. This is, obviously, a far-cry from TPB's original model, which entailed helping people share whatever files they wanted without worrying too much about content providers and copyright holders.

"The Pirate Bay site is among the top 100 most visited Internet sites in the world. However, in order to live on, The Pirate Bay requires a new business model, which satisfies that requirements and needs of all parties, content providers, broadband operators, end users, and the judiciary," said Pandeya.

How the legit Pirate Bay will look/work remains to be seen, but I'm going to guess that the days of ripping huge amounts of free content from Pirate Bay bit-torrent trackers is finished forever, and with it, a part of internet history. It had to happen eventually, of course, and it's not like Pirate Bay is the only source for illegal downloads on the internet, but the company's previous complete disregard for legality and seriousness always made it a cut above the rest, so it's very sad to hear the new owner of the site speaking in obvious corporate speak about leveraging TPB's traffic and pleasing the judiciary.

One thing is almost for sure, though: When The Pirate Bay stops pointing to free content, it's position among the top 100 most-visited internet sites will change dramatically.

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If Blizzard wants to release StarCraft II before the end of the year, the studio's own math is making that goal pretty difficult. It's nearly the end of June and while all signs point to Blizzard launching the StarCraft II beta soon, a date has yet to be announced, problematic if StarCraft II's beta stretches a full six months.

"The beta will run from four to six months," said lead designer Dustin Browder in an interview with G4tv.com. "That's what we've done in the past and that's our plan for the future. It may be different but that's our current goal -- four to six months."

As soon as July rolls around, there's only six months left in the year. Blizzard better get moving. Of course, Blizzard has never moved at the pace the rest of the world wanted, so maybe it's a moot point.