You D&D buffs out there were undoubtedly excited to hear that a new Neverwinter game is coming to life, but just like the real D&D, it might end up laying a critical hit down on your wallet.

In an interview at Gamasutra, Cryptic CEO Jack Emmert admitted that the game doesn't have a business model nailed down yet, and that all options are still on the table, from a "free-to-play with microtransactions" model to a "pay-by-the-minute" one. Emmert makes the point that asking for a subscription is still a viable way to run an MMO -- he fully expects BioWare to charge subscriptions for The Old Republic -- but that requires meeting a very high standard in terms of its content and quality.

Of course, Neverwinter is described more as a "co-op experience" than an MMO, and Emmert says it is indicative of a "new direction for Cryptic." Instead of worrying about MMO standards and traditions, he says, Cryptic wants to "just make great games." Specifically, that means "no more 75 Metacritic scores," he jokes at the end of the interview. "My heart just can't take it anymore."

It's been a long time coming, but World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King will finally launch in mainland China on August 31. The release date comes nearly two years after the second expansion pack invaded the free world. China is a tad behind the times in Azeroth, as the next expansion, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, is planned for release later this year elsewhere.

China's latest World of Warcraft operator NetEase has faced a series of unfortunate events trying to keep the game running (and cash flowing) from the region. Obviously Activision-Blizzard is seeing enough money from China to make all the political hassles worth it.

Describing the sales success of Pokémon titles has become a tricky enterprise, as the franchise has encompassed just about every precious metal in the Periodic Table. We hope you don't find this next statement too confusing: According to data from Media Create, Pokémon Black and White have gone Platin ... er, platinum in Japan, as pre-order sales for the two titles have already reached 1.08 million units.

These pre-orders have only been available since July 31, which The Pokémon Company claims is a new speed record for sales on the DS platform. The Company expects pre-order sales to reach 1.5 million before the game launches September 18. It would be all the more impressive if they could hit 10 million pre-orders, at which point they'd go Diamond. Or, even more ambitiously, they could aim for 20 million in pre-sales, bringing the games up to the rarely achieved SoulSilver status.

It seems like Namco Bandai has at least two Dragon Ball games up its sleeve at all times. At Gamescom, the two obligatory games are Raging Blast 2 for PS3 and Xbox 360 and Tenkaichi Tag Team for PSP. Both games are fighters, and both trailers are loaded with guitar rock. See both after the break.