Zavvi's flagship store in central London will be hosting a Soulcalibur IV tournament tomorrow and is inviting local gamers to come down and celebrate the game's launch. The first session will be at 10:30 a.m., followed by a 6:30 p.m. session for those burdened by full-time jobs. Each group will consist of 32 competitors, and the final two will face off after the evening session has concluded.

The tournament will use the Xbox 360 version of the game--sure to keep Yoda fans pleased--but if you're an apprentice of the dark side, there may be a few stations running the PlayStation 3 version of the game, complete with Lord Vader.

Although the tournament prizes are still being finalised, Nick Fabian, games manager at Oxford Street, said that there should be a few copies of the game up for grabs. If you're not the competitive type, the event will be open to spectators, and Fabian assured GameSpot UK that despite having pre-orders for the game, the store will be well stocked on the day.

If you're interested in competing, the event will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis, and Fabian advised fans of the series to get down to the store from 9 a.m. and register at the games counter. For more on Namco's latest fighter, head over to GameSpot's Soulcalibur IV Launch Center.

A team of British pro gamers has won the US-based Championship Gaming Series after becoming the first international team to reach the final.

The tournament, which is run and owned by DirecTV, British Sky Broadcasting, and STAR TV (Asia), started in earnest last year, when it was won by North American champions Chicago Chimera. This year, victory went to Birmingham Salvo, who beat San Francisco Optx 22-15 in the final round, and so get to split $500,000 and take the Mountain Dew Trophy back to the Midlands.

"I'm extremely proud of my team right now," said Michael O'Dell, Birmingham's manager. "They truly deserve the title of World Champions. We faced a lot of tough competition throughout the season, but when our backs were against the wall, every player demonstrated the skills and the poise to step up when it mattered the most. My players spent hundreds of hours practicing this season, and their hard work paid off tonight."

Andy Reif, CEO and commissioner of CGS, summed up the victory, saying, "Birmingham had some of the most exciting and close matches that pro gaming has ever seen coming into the Championship Match. However, they proved themselves dominant. We couldn't have asked for a more worthy champion in our second season."

This year teams were pitted against one another on two PC titles--FIFA 08 and Counter-Strike: Source--and two Xbox 360 games--Dead or Alive 4 and Forza Motorsport 2. Each team comprised 10 players, each specialising in one game. Counter-Strike matches were played 5-on-5, Forza and DOA4 2-on-2, and FIFA 08 1-on-1.

The finals were broadcast live on DirectTV's channel The 101, and highlights will be beamed to American homes on Saturday via G4 TV. Those in Europe wanting to watch Birmingham's victory over the colonial upstarts will have to wait a little longer, though, and should keep an eye on their TV schedules--Eurosport and BskyB will be broadcasting the matches during August and September.

In emerging news, the government has banned 18-rated games from prison. The document outlining the changes to the regulations, Prison Service Instruction 32/2008, says that "with immediate effect, prisoners on Basic level of IEP [the level of privileges earned through good behaviour] must not under any circumstances be allowed access to games consoles and console games save exceptionally for those under suicide prevention measures."

The document also states that "Governors must ensure that all games consoles and console games are purchased at prisoners' own expense. No public funds must be used by establishments to purchase games consoles and equipment." Those who have reached the "Enhanced" level of privileges--defined by the prison service as those "who are demonstrably well-behaved, who commit to their sentence plan and fully comply with the prison regime"--will be allowed to use consoles bought at their own expense. Additionally the document states that "no 18-rated console games are to be permitted. Governors must ensure that action to implement these changes is completed by 30 September 2008."

The Daily Mirror reported on Friday that part of the reasoning behind the crackdown was that playing games was making prisoners more violent, going on to say, "We want inmates involved in useful activities. Spending hours in front of a games console did not qualify."

Geoff Dobson, deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, was supportive of the move, saying to the BBC: "I don't think anyone would have a great problem with incorporating these into a good behaviour programme, but we should not forget the usefulness of these games to prison officers and governors keeping order in overcrowded prisons."

The crackdown follows widespread condemnation last year when Ian Huntley, jailed in 2003 for the murders of two 10-year-old girls, was pictured with a PlayStation. It is also a step up from the ban on PS2s at Wakefield jail in 2006 after prison authorities realised the consoles were being used to watch hardcore pornography--though controversy dogged that move, when prisoners were given £1,800 in compensation for the removal of the hardware.

Public funds will still be available for the purchase of consoles and software in young offenders' institutions, as the ruling only covers adult prisons. That is expected to change, however, as a review is currently under way into the expenditure on such devices in such institutions after it was revealed that £10,000 had been spent buying consoles and software for inmates.

I've just posted some photos from E3 over on my GameSpot profile. While the exhibitors are still setting up for the official start tomorrow, Guy and myself headed over to the convention centre yesterday (Sunday) to pick-up our passes and scope out the scene. You can also follow what I'm up to at E3 on my profile, and twitter feed.

First impressions from the GameSpot UK team are also just in following Microsoft's E3 press conference, highlights include Resident Evil 5, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Battlestations: Pacific, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and the Xbox 360's new Avatar feature which will arrive in the autumn system update.

Nintendo has decided to bring Wii Fit to the masses who haven't otherwise got the energy to get off the sofa and go out and buy it.

'The Feel Great Britain Tour'--as in feeling good, not inappropriate touching of the nation--will, says Nintendo, "invigorate your fitness routine and demonstrate how staying active and energised can be the key to feeling happy and satisfied."

This will, of course, involve Wii Fit, which will be rolled out for interested parties to try. The roadshow will also feature 'Health Hubs' where people can get free health and fitness checks.

The tour will run across Great Britain and Northern Ireland; the first event kicked off between June 19 and 22 at Festival Place in Basingstoke. The tour runs through to the end of August, and areas to be visited include Brighton, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, and Manchester.

A full list of venues and dates, and more information about the Feel Great Britain tour can be found at the official Web site.

Unlike the cricket world, in which Australia almost always trumps the Brits, the world of football is rarely predictable. Who, for instance, would've picked Greece to win Euro 2004, or England to fail to qualify for Euro 2008?

Thankfully we have a secret weapon in our tournament predictions: UEFA Euro 2008's simulation mode on the Xbox 360. Now that the group stages have been tossed by the wayside, along with the undeserving teams, we can get down to finals business.

Turkey, Croatia, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Russia now remain after Germany's 3-2 defeat of Portugal last night at Basel. Despite goals from Gomes and Postiga, it wasn't enough to stop Schweinsteiger, Klose, and Ballack from reaching the back of the net, taking Germany through to the semis.

You can read the GameSpot UK Euro 2008 quarterfinalist predictions on the Sports Beat blog. We'll also be running separate predictions for the semifinals and finals, based on the real-life winners of those stages, so stay tuned to see who'll win the virtual UEFA European Football Championship, and just how accurate UEFA Euro 2008's AI is compared to the real thing.

Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4 had its London launch at Zavvi's flagship store last night, and GameSpot UK was on hand to cover the event. A sizable crowd queued up outside the Tottenham Court Road entrance to the store, with the first in line having arrived more than 14 hours before in order to secure a life-size Solid Snake statue.

Other goodies were also on offer at the event, with the first 15 people in line securing a Hideo Kojima-signed copy of the game. There was also a signed, limited-edition print up for grabs, given to a randomly chosen member of the 100-strong crowd outside.

We'll have a video from the event in a couple of days time, but in the meantime, check out the photos below and see the full set for more.

After a long, four-year wait, Solid Snake is soon to be back in action when The Guns of the Patriots arrives June 12 worldwide. In the lead-up to launch, the series' creator and director, Hideo Kojima, has embarked on a world tour. In doing so he is giving fans a chance to meet the man behind one of the most successful video game characters of all time, and perhaps say farewell to the legendary soldier once and for all.

Kojima-san kicked off his world tour at HMV's flagship store in Oxford St, London, partly because (according to a Konami staffer) Kojima is a fan of HMV in Japan.

Meanwhile, Konami's spokesperson told us that fans had started queuing up from Saturday. Those who got there early enough and whacked down a £5 deposit on the game were given an exclusive HMV Metal Gear Solid 4 sleeve, limited to 300 copies that day. The sleeves officially went on sale at 9 a.m. and were sold out well before Kojima stepped onstage at midday.

Thankfully HMV bestowed apon us a media pass, allowing us to get in the thick of the action.

Along for Kojima's whirlwind tour was series lead artist Yoji Shinkawa and actress Yumi Kikuchi.

Unlike his colleagues, however, the man requires no introduction.

The stage is set, the crowd awaits...

This is what fans have been waiting hours for. A limited-edition MGS4 sleeve, limited to a mere 300 copies at the store.

Hundreds of fans lined up for a brief chance to meet the team behind the series.

Coincidentally (or not), the stage is mere metres away from another type of metal, although it appears Kojima-san is a fan of another style of music...

According to a Konami staffer, Kojima is a big fan of Joy Division, evidenced by his walking onstage to their song "Atmosphere" while sporting a Joy Division T-shirt. He's flanked by Kikuchi on the left and Shinkawa on the right.

Without stopping for questions, Kojima jumps straight into the hot seat and begins the task of signing autographs.

Kojima passes a sleeve over to Kikuchi to add the finishing touches.

Kojima takes time to chat with fans, pose for photos, and shake hands.

Some even presented him with gifts, and their own fan art.

While bouncers informed fans that only one sleeve per person was to be signed and those who didn't conform might be ejected, Kojima-san nevertheless seemed happy to oblige fans.

Cem Hizli, who came all the way from Surrey, was chuffed to get his sleeve signed.

London is the first stop on the Metal Gear Solid 4 World Tour. Other appearances include Milan, Madrid, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka.

The Metal Gear Solid creator will be in town on June 2 along with artist Yoji Shinkawa to sign game sleeves for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4.

However, the time that the two video game celebs can spend meeting and greeting the great unwashed is subject to "time constraints," and will be "strictly limited." This means that there will only be 300 sleeves for the duo to scribble on, and these will go on sale at 9 a.m. sharp.

The signing will take place in HMV's flagship 150 Oxford Street store on Monday June 2 at noon.

Gamers will need to pay a £5 deposit towards pre-order of the PlayStation 3-exclusive game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, which is due to land on British shores on June 12. In return, they will receive a "pre-release HMV exclusive sleeve" for the highly anticipated title.