GameSync

Square Enix has announced that the closed beta for the PC version of Final Fantasy XIV will be launching on 11 March, just two days after Final Fantasy XIII's English release.

Only a very limited number of beta testers will be selected from the pool of players who opted-into the beta back in December, although more invites will continue to be given out as the beta progresses.

You can read more about the FFXIV beta announcement here. [Source: Destructoid]

Blizzard has launched the StarCraft II multiplayer beta. Check the email address you used to sign up for a Blizzard Store/Battle.net account to find out if you've been selected to take part in the beta.

StarCraft IncGamers reports that Blizzard is still in the process of sending out all 20,000+ beta keys. If you've received confirmation of your beta participation, but have not received your beta key, be patient as the key will arrive eventually.

GameSync.net wishes all our readers a very happy and prosperous Chinese New Year!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Update: Alan Wake is now confirmed to be an Xbox 360 exclusive title. A spokesperson for Microsoft, had this to say regarding the PC version:

Some games are more suited for the intimacy of the PC, and others are best played from the couch in front of a larger TV screen. We ultimately realised that the most compelling way to experience "Alan Wake" was on the Xbox 360 platform, so we focused on making it an Xbox 360 exclusive. Both Microsoft and Remedy have long histories in PC game development. This decision was about matching this specific game to the right platform.

Source: Strategy Informer

Original: After over five years of development hell, Alan Wake will be hitting stores in 18 May for the Xbox 360. The official announcement of Alan Wake's release date was made by Microsoft at this year's X10 expo.

Bioware has announced a couple of new Mass Effect 2 DLCs which are slated for release on 10 February (Singapore time).

The DLCs will be made available through the in-game Cerberus Network. Owners of either the PC or 360 versions of Mass Effect 2 will be able to download the DLCs for free.

Sony has released a patch for the PS3 version of Bayonetta, enabling a hard drive installation option for the game to improve loading times.

The patch itself is about 100MB in size, while the actual install uses up 4.5GB of hard drive space.

This update is available for all regional versions of Bayonetta: the original Japanese NTSC-J version, and the English version that was just out in stores this January.

Gearbox has announced on its message forums that more Borderlands DLC is currently under development and it will raise the game's Level 50 character cap.

Update: It has come to our attention that the original BioShock will still remain region-locked for Singapore, even if you pre-purchase BioShock 2 and receive the original game as a gift.

For those of you who are thinking of pre-ordering, you might want to hold off on your purchase for now until a solution is found.

Original: Here's another Steam offer that's hard to resist: if you pre-order the Steam version of BioShock 2 before 9 February, you will receive the original BioShock absolutely free.

Sony has confirmed the release date for Heavy Rain, one of the biggest PS3 titles of 2010. The game will be out in North America and Europe on 23 February on 24 February respectively.