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The $12.5 billion deal will significantly boost Google's presence in the mobile device market. Writing on the official Google blog, CEO Larry Page praised the "natural fit between [the] two companies," due in no small part to Motorola adopting Google's Android operating system across its entire range of smartphones back in 2008. Page stresses that the deal will not affect Google's treatment of Android as an open platform, and said it would also strengthen the company's patent portfolio "to better protect Android from anti-competitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies."

The increasingly popular online pass - which typically requires second-hand buyers to cough up an extra fee for online multiplayer - is being used by Rage developer Id Software to restrict access to singleplayer content. Dotted throughout the gameworld are sewer hatches, which are only accessible to those who bought the game new. "Those hatches are all over," creative director Tim Willits told Eurogamer. "Most people never find them…It's outside the main path. We're not detracting from anything."

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was clearly referring to Apple when, at GDC in February, he launched an impassioned defence of Nintendo's business model and asked: "Is maintaining the high value of games a priority or not? What we produce has value, and we should protect that value." His belief - that the likes of Apple have no interest in maintaining the high price of worthy software - was contradicted at last week's Edinburgh Interactive by UK studio Somethin' Else. The developer revealed that Apple got in touch before the release of its innovative iOS rhythm game Papa Sangre and expressed an interest in promoting it. "They asked us how much we were going to sell it for, and we said maybe £1.99," said managing director Steve Ackerman. "They said: 'You must be joking. This is a premium app, this is worth more than the price of [a] coffee'." The game eventually launched at £3.99, more than double the price the developer had in mind. We'll have an interview with Somethin' Else's Paul Bennun on the site later today.

Red Lynx has announced that Trials Evolution, the sequel to XBLA hit Trials HD, it will makes its public debut at Gamescom this week. The developer will also be showing the game at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle later in the month. “Ever since we teased Trials Evolution at E3, gamers have clamored for more information,” said Red Lynx CEO Tero Virtala. “But until recently, we’ve been quiet and working hard on the game. Now at last, we are ready to start showing everyone why this game is called Trials Evolution – why it is more than just a sequel, but is a huge step forward in digital downloads.” Watch the first singleplayer gameplay footage below.

Two games produced over 12 working days at Birmingham City University's Gamer Camp: Nano have been made available for free on the App Store. They Came From The Deep and Aliens Vs. Humans were developed by thirteen trainee artists and programmers during the scaled down version of Gamer Camp: Pro, the full 12 month long Masters course which starts in September and currently has only three places remaining. “Gamer Camp: Pro has been designed from the ground-up by developers such as Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Blitz Games Studios, Codemasters, FreeStyleGames and Rare," says Gamer Camp operations director Oliver Williams, "to recreate a graduate’s first year in the games industry, culminating in a PlayStation 3 game to be potentially published on the PlayStation Network.” Meanwhile, Gamer Camp: Mini, which lets trainees study the first three or 8 months of Gamer Camp: Pro and receive a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma, launches this month. To sign up for either course, follow the source link below.

The Swiss Christian Police Association wants the upcoming 2K Games sequel banned because it shows police being shot and killed. Felix Ceccato, president of the group, said: "When police in England are the target of mobs running amok, it is important that police are not portrayed as the enemy." The fuss was swiftly nipped in the bud by 2K, whose statement reads: "Reported stories regarding police officers in The Darkness II were erroneous. There are no police officers in the game."

The publisher has emailed all users of its forum to advise them that its network security was breached, and has reset all passwords as a precaution. This is the second time in three months that Bethesda websites have been hacked: in June, it advised users to reset passwords after a security breach, with Lulzsec taking responsibility. There's no suggestion that the group is involved this time - or if it's even still running, following recent arrests - though we think Rock Paper Shotgun is onto something in its belief that this is somehow a revenge attack for the recent trademark infringement complaint Bethesda sent Minecraft developer Mojang.

The International Business Times reports that a class-action suit has been filed by Ryan Graves of Indiana, who allowed his Xbox Live subscription to lapse and, after updating his credit card details, found that Microsoft charged both his new and old cards - and refused to refund him. Graves seeks compensation for "breach of contract, unjust enrichment, conversion, and violation of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act" on behalf of himself and those similarly affected. The suit also complains the Xbox Live terms and conditions are "vague and onerous," and therefore unlawful.

Gamespot reports that the patent application, which was published last week, covers a singleplayer game in which the player's actions in the game world affect the world of another player, without the two needing to interact. It notes: "Those who want to play games that are more dynamic, not based on AI and not pre-scripted like multiplayer games, however, don't want to 'deal' with people, [and] appreciate the privacy it provides." One example given was a player stumbling across a pile of materials, and building a house; when another player reaches the same spot in his world, he finds only the finished house. The application, which was filed in 2010, also reveals that Nintendo's original plan for Wii U may have been quite different, suggesting the idea be implemented on "a home videogame system such as the Nintendo Wii 3D videogame system, a Nintendo DS or other 3D-capable interactive computer graphics display systems."

Due for release on the PSN Store, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam (for PC and Mac) in early 2012, the game is an expanded version of the now 12-year-old multiplayer shooter classic. It will feature new maps, characters and weapons alongside updated versions of classic Counter-Strike maps like de_dust and new gameplay modes, matchmaking and leaderboards. It is being co-developed by Seattle-based Hidden Path Entertainment, which has worked on Counter-Strike: Source and made 3D tower defence game Defense Grid: The Awakening. “For the past 12 years, it has continued to be one of the most-played games in the world, headline competitive gaming tournaments and selling over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise,” said Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi.

Growing evidence suggests Valve is to announce a new game in the Counter-Strike series, subtitled Global Offensive. News was broken by anti-cheat tech firm E-Sports Entertainment on its Facebook page, with Valve's own Jess Cliffe teasing speculating fans on the Steam forums by posting only the words "Global Offensive". The eSports League Pro's Bastian Vieser, and others, have also been teasing the game on Twitter; our chums at PC Gamer have stopped excitedly frothing at the mouth for long enough to sum up the story so far at the link below.

Ville Heijari said recently that the Angry Birds developer would value itself "somewhere, I dunno, maybe north of PopCap," but the studio is considering a round of fundraising that would see it valued at $1.2 billion - just shy of the $1.35 billion EA will pay if PopCap meets its earnings targets. Bloomberg reports that interested parties include Disney, Electronic Arts, and Zynga.

The social gaming company has been busy snapping up studios worldwide, making 14 acquisitions in the past 12 months, but Inside Social Games reports that Zynga may now be eyeing much bigger targets. A revised IPO filing reveals that last month it set up a revolving credit agreement that enables it to borrow up to $1 billion, which given its cash balance - the IPO filing revealed it held cash and equivalents of $996 million - suggests that it is preparing for some large-scale acquisitions in the months to come. Among the rumoured targets are casual and RPG developer Storm8, and Rovio, developer of Angry Birds.

UK indie developer Hello Games has revealed Joe Danger: The Movie, a sequel to its sunny PSN multiplayer stunt bike game, Joe Danger. This time, Hello Games is targeting yet to be confirmed multiple formats and the developer will present a playable version at Gamescom in Germany next week. Eddie The Eagle-eyed readers will notice the wide range of vehicles in the poster below, Hello Games promising a more diverse experience this time round with the game charting Joe's burgeoning career as a Hollywood stuntman. We'll give Hello Games boss Sean Murray the last word: "That’s right, we’re doing a sequel buddy, and you can’t stop us!”