Llamma is probably one of the best in the Xbox modding world and nothing proves that more than their customs Xbox and Xbox 360 mods for major players in the games industry. Rockstar Games appears to be a particular fan, commissioning Llamma to do a few custom mod-jobs for the Grand Theft Auto developers. Most recently, Llamma created a stunning Table Tennis mod for two Xbox 360s, one of which went to the developers (probably on display in their happening New York company party loft) and the other was given away at this years PAX games convention which recently concluded in the US. The mod is brilliant, with a clear plastic panel on one side, LED table tennis ball and matching glossy black controls with the Rockstar logo screened onto it. One lucky fan is now in Rockstar heaven with this little puppy, or, a few hundred dollars richer thanks to eBay.

Read more: Rockstar’s custom-modded Table Tennis Xbox 360

It’s our first weekly round up! Right on right on! If you missed something this week on Playthrough, consider subscribing to our newsfeed to keep up-to-date on all of the goings up in this crib!

Out of the way Guitar Hero, bring on Wicki! Wicki!
We fancy ourselves to be hip to the latest indie and electronic tunes streaming our way, so it’s only natural we’d like to spin a bit of Wicki! Wicki! when we’re not banging it out on our plastic Guitar Hero axes of doom. A brilliant little prototype that will probably never see production.

Garage Games cancels IndieGamesCon 2006
Indie games darlings Garage Games admits defeat, postponing IndieGamesCon 2006 due to lack of time and resources. GG needs to focus on the products they’ve been promising updates/new releases to for the rest of 2006. The future of the IGC is still unknown, but, here’s to hoping an IGC2007 takes place

Microsoft scores FIFA and Pro Evo on the Xbox 360 for 2007
But no thanks to Microsoft. Pro Evo developers reveal the exclusivity is due to the lack of development time for the PS3, not due to any deal that MS could come up with on their own. Seems Sony shoots themselves in the foot once again.

EA scoops up Spellforce developer Phenomic
EA goes on a German studio buying spree, acquiring Spellforce developer Phenomic, leaving a withered JoWood to sulk in the corner and lick it’s already large wounds. Can JoWood survive losing one of it’s more successful titles?

Manifesto Games, the online indie games distributor and publisher headed by game design legend Greg Costikyan, has finally opened their site and shop for preview and testing. Manifesto features hundreds of independently produced games for various platforms, from platformers to RPGs to online gambling to RTs, all available to purchase using a low, developer-friendly pricing structure, meaning indie game developers receive a higher royalty rate for every one of their titles sold. Finally the indie games market is learning a few lessons from the indie music market, which has been successfully supporting an alternative to mainstream, independent industry for decades, I just hope that Manifesto continues looking at their successes for guidence towards their own.

Read more: Manifesto Games site has gone (somewhat) live

It almost feels like EA day here at Playthrough HQ, but it’s not, we swear, we just love juicy gossip involving the industry in our own back yard. There are currently rumours swirling around the industry that an acquisition of German games developer Crytek may be in the works by mega-publisher EA, who already have publishing and licensing agreements in-place with Crytek. EA has been quite active recently in the German market, infusing the once-struggling local industry with an influx of resources and work. A recent article in German newspaper Die Welt quotes EA’s VP and GM of International Publishing Gerhard Florin as stating that Crytek is a “very, very interesting candidate” for an acquisition. However, an interview later with Crytek’s co-founder, Faruk Yerli, confirmed that a conversation has taken place between EA and Crytek, but refused to indicate if an acquisition is pending. Yerli also mentioned that Crytek is considering an initial public offering on the German stock market.

Read more: EA executives hint at Crytek purchase

Several days ago EA announced the purchase of Spellforce developer Phenomic, another in a long line of EA investment in German game developers. The studio will retain it’s existing management structure, which have done quite an amazing job of building up the studio and weathering the rough time of Phenomic’s prior publisher, JoWood. Phenomic will continue creating RTS and adventure games for the PC, console and online platforms as part of the EA family of studios.

As of now there has been no reaction from JoWood, only to their stock price, which in once again in a small downward spiral as management appears focused on their reorganization rather than developing and publishing quality games (perhaps Bingo Online may be a more fitting title, as the casual market seems better suited to JoWooD). Spellforce 2 from Phenomic was recently released by JoWood / Aspyr Media to quite positive reviews and sales figures.

Read more: EA purchases Phenomic Studios, makers of Spellforce

I love practically everything Michel Ancel has worked on, that is a fact I cannot deny, so naturally I’m super excited about Ancel’s upcoming Rayman 4 - Raving Rabbids from none other than Ubisoft for the Nintendo Wii. Though development is still well underway on the title, Ubisoft began their promotional campaign earlier this year, giving us Nintendo fanboys a beautiful look at what the Wii is capable of and a peek at the adorable art-style and direction. Part of the campaign featured a series of bunny facts videos, which also stars Michel Ancel, naturally being attacked by the little rabbit monsters. Thanks to YouTube, there’s a video up of all of these lessons including a brief introduction by Michel Ancel himself, which was used at E3 2006.

Watch a video compilation of Rayman 4 - Raving Rabbids after the jump..

Read more of “Rayman 4 dev team attacked by raving bunnies“

Ever wonder how that latest greatest FPS will look on your PC? Well wonder no longer thanks to the System Requirements Lab, a group running a very handy service which allows you to compare your PC’s specs to the minimum specs of around 200 current PC titles, with more being added daily. You use the service by first choosing the title you want to check your PC against, then you’ll have to download a small JAVA or ActiveX applet which records your system components and compares them against the minimum specs of the game you’ve chosen. Naturally the service isn’t a science with which to live your gaming life by, but for a hardcore PC gamer, it’s a handy service with which to stroke your ego to.

Read more: Test your PC to see if it can run the game of your choice

Microsoft pulled a fast one on Sony by securing the exclusive rights to Pro Evolution Soccer 6 from Konami and FIFA Pro Football 7 from EA for 2007. This means that pretty much the only 2 football/soccer titles that actually matter will be exclusive to the Xbox 360 in 2007, a crucial year for Sony with the launch of the PS3. Though this is but a blip on the radar in the US, this could very well hurt Sony (as if they aren’t doing enough to hurt themselves) in the EURO and Japanese markets, as football is undeniably the most popular sport throughout the world and both franchises were big sellers for the PS2 in the past. Both titles will be released Fall 2006 for the Xbox 360.

Update 1: According to the producer of PES, Microsoft only has PES6 exclusively because of the lack of development time to get it onto PS3, not because of any cash agreement with Microsoft. Seems MS were putting a spit and polish in their ‘exclusivity’ announcement.

Read more: Microsoft secures 12 months exclusive rights to Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA

Whew this flew under our radar. A few days ago, GarageGames bigwig Mark Frohnmayer announced that they would be canceling the Indie Games Convention which they host yearly as an alternative to more mainstream gaming conventions such as the GDC and E3 (R.I.P). The reasons stated for the cancelation are somewhat odd to be honest, basically the worry is that, with IGC approaching soon, GarageGames would be unable to deliver a quality event while still fulfilling the products which they’ve planned for the rest of this year, such as updates to the Torque Shader Engine, Torque X, Torque Game Builder, and Constructor. I’m sure they have their reasons, but it’s still a bit disappointing that they couldn’t find a way to throw more resources or bring in someone/some company to organize this for them, but indie business comes first I guess? We’ll wait and see if another entity can pick up the torch and run with it, or if another IGC appears when Garage has the time and manpower to pull it off.

Read more: Mark Frohnmayr announces cancellation of IGC 2006 | Indie Games Convention

Andy Robson, ex-test manager for Bullfrog and Lionhead Games, has announced the formation of Testology, a new games industry quality assurance consultancy group based in Hampshire, UK. Focusing on off-site testing, Testology will also be offering gameplay consultancy, functionality testing and in-game copy proofing services. Robson is a veteran QA manager, having worked on over 30 titles during his career with many of the top publishers. Good luck Andy, we wish you the best.

Read more: Ex-Lionhead exec launchs outsourced QA provider | Testology