With E3 2011 kicking off later this morning, we’re here to tuck you in tonight with some last-minute rumors from all around the Internet.

It’s the week of long days and little sleep, as E3 2011 technically begins. We’re up late digesting the latest news and rumors that have been circulating around the Internet, and here’s a nighttime link party to get you caught up. Here’s what’s on the happy hour menu for tonight:

What will Nintendo’s new console be called: Wii 2, Wii HD, or simply the ‘Nintendo’?

Next Nintendo Console to Be Named the “Nintendo”?

It’s obvious that Nintendo wasn’t going to stick with “Project Cafe” as the name for their new console, unless the launch titles were going to involve Mario saving the Coffee Kingdom from Bowser. Currently, the name is still under wraps, but rumors continue to fly. Game Informer reports that the name for Nintendo’s new console will be even simpler than “Wii 2″ or “Wii HD” — it may simply be called the “Nintendo.”

[Source: Game Informer via Destructoid]

Is Sony Teaming Up with AT&T to Support the NGP 3G Network?

IGN got their hands on a tasty bit of news that Sony Computer Entertainment America is handing out invites for a 3G “symposium” hosted by AT&T next Wednesday at E3 — and it’s for developers/publishers only. Of course, AT&T is the go-to company for 3G network support, as bolstered by their once-exclusive partnership with Apple and their iPhone line-up. If that’s the case, Sony might have an incredibly powerful online structure to support the NGP with DLC and Internet exclusive content (providing that it isn’t hacked).

[Source: IGN]

Your Brand New NGP Won’t Support Your Old & Busted UMDs

And we hit up Game Informer one more time for some bad news about your NGP — it won’t have any option to play or port your UMD games. So if you decide to upgrade, get ready to say goodbye to a good chunk of your PSP library. (Or, hold on to that PSP 2000/3000 for as long as you can.) Bottom line: If it’s not on PSN and not a digital download, you won’t be able to play it.

[Source: Game Informer]

Hackers Attack Nintendo, Nothing Stolen

While not technically a rumor, The Wall Street Journal reports that a hacker group called “LulzSec” recently breached Nintendo’s online servers, posting a config file taken from the Big N’s archives. Instead of losing massive amounts of personal data, Nintendo calmly patched the security leak and quickly went back to work. So, move along, we guess — nothing to see here.

[Source: Wall Street Journal via CVG]

Video Game Gossip News from GamePro.com

Monday’s mentions of “Alan Wake 2″ spurs Remedy to comment, but the new game won’t exactly be a true sequel. Will E3 hold the answer?

Alan Wake 2: Curse of the Broken Water Heater?

Yesterday we posted about a mention of “Alan Wake 2″ on the resume of an artist who worked for Remedy, the studio behind Alan Wake. Joystiq was one outlet that relayed the story, and got a comment from Remedy on the existence — or semi-existence — of the Alan Wake follow-up. Remedy’s Oskari Häkkinen said that “this next Wake installment will not be Alan Wake 2. But neither will it be DLC.”

So, what, then? As mentioned yesterday, Remedy was previously looking to hire someone who had worked with motion control, no doubt for a Kinect project. Häkkinen’s statement adds that the project will “give an opportunity for players who aren’t familiar with the franchise to finally jump on board.” With only those hints to go on, we’re wondering if this could be an Alan Wake game for Kinect, which could be anything in between a basic port to a spin-off.

Such a thing wouldn’t be unprecedented — rumors of a new Gears of War game that may or may not be for Kinect have been swirling around for months. And what is Kinect if not a gateway for people not familiar with franchises — or most games, for that matter?

Nevertheless, Remedy is more than happy to say they’re working on something related to Alan Wake, and if you’re a fan of the game and soon-to-be series, you surely have something to look forward to.

Video Game Gossip News from GamePro.com

Fun fact: While still employed at the place that canceled his massively multiplayer online game, developer John Romero consulted with LOLapps to make a Facebook game called Ravenwood Fair.

If you’ve been following the news, you’d know that Facebook turned off LOLapps in the wake of a privacy breach scandal uncovered by the Wall Street Journal. According to VentureBeat, this means John Romero’s new game is officially delayed until LOLapps sorts out its privacy issues.

Ravenwood Fair is a Facebook social game where players build thriving Renaissance fairs in a fairy tale forest filled with mythical monsters that need ass-kicking. Think FrontierVille meets Sim City.

It’s a far cry from Doom or Quake, but in his interview with VentureBeat, it sounds like Romero sees social games as a natural evolution for game developers. They are called “games,” right?

Source:
Creator of the fierce Doom and Quake games tries his hand at a cute Facebook app [VentureBeat]

Got any tips, corrections, or feedback? Contact GamePro’s news team or follow this article’s author on Twitter.

Video Game Gossip News from GamePro.com

The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that all 10 of the most popular apps on Facebook transmitted user IDs to outside companies in violation of Facebook’s privacy policy — and sometimes even their own.

Included on that list is Zynga, operator of FarmVille, FrontierVille, and Texas Hold ‘Em Poker. The Journal alleges that Zynga transmitted personal information about its users’ friends to outside companies. The article does not say to which companies this information went, though it does call out LOLapps for transmitting user data to profile-selling site, RapLeaf.

Toward the end of the article, an unnamed Zynga spokeswoman told the Journal that Zynga has a strict policy of “not passing personally identifiable information” to third parties. Nowhere does this spokeswoman address the Journal’s assertion that Zynga did.

We’ve reached out to Zynga for clarification on the issue. Study up on the Facebook privacy policies here and Zynga’s privacy policy here.

Source:
Facebook in Privacy Breach [The Wall Street Journal]

Video Game Gossip News from GamePro.com