Game On!

I recently went out to Las Vegas for Midway's Gamers Day at the Red Rock Resort. They showed a few games: NBA Ballers: Chosen One, Wheelman, TNA Impact, Unreal Tournament 3 Xbox 360, and This is Vegas were playable. They also announced a Mortal Kombat and DC Comics game, which looked like a MK fighter with Scorpion, Sub Zero, Superman, and Batman confirmed as characters. There was a lot of excitement in the crowd about that one. We wondered how the whole fatality thing would play out with the super heroes, for example, would DC want Superman to rip out his opponent's skull and show it to him? They also announced sequels for Game Party and Touch Master as well as Blitz: The League.

There was a lot of talk, especially from Midway execs like Mark Booty, Interim President and CEO, about how Midway is reaping the benefits of centralization and standardization. The different studios share assets like game engines and design tools as well as knowledge. You could see how licensing the Unreal Engine and then using it to build every game is paying off in terms of how the games look, how complex the game play is, and how quickly they can come to market.

The big focus was on This is Vegas. The game is being made by Surreal Software in Seattle - they've been working on it for three plus years. It's an open world of a likeness of Vegas where you gamble, party, race, and fight. It's an ambitious project to create a world that big. This gives players the chance to live out "their Vegas fantasy." It looked OK, nothing special in terms of graphics or audio. The focus has definitely been on game play. I did the dancing mini-game, the same that was shown during the press conference. I thought that it was fun. I wonder about it conceptually though. My concern is that by offering many types of game play it may end up asking players to play in ways that they don't want to play, for example, the guy who wants to drive around and beat people up may not be the same guy who wants to enter a dance contest. But I talked to Darci Morales about this concern and she said that if you don't want to play a particular mini-game you don't have to. The point of all the mini-games is to build your buzz and gain experience and you could choose to do that however you want. I'm mainly interested in seeing how all of the different games and gaming mechanics translate into a holistic gaming experience. I think This Is Vegas is noteworthy because it looks like it'll be a hell of an achievement for Surreal and Midway when it is done and it deserves merit if only for being a massive effort at establishing an open game play world with lots of variety. I'm not sure whether that translates into being a successful game in an overall sense. I'd get a better idea from a more in depth demo where I could see how the player goes from one mode to the other, how fluid that is, and how all of the different modes combine.

Continue reading "Midway Gamers Day 2008" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I met with Ubisoft the other day and talked to them about the games that they are working on for 2008. I saw a bunch of demos, and played some games. They even brewed a fresh pot of coffee for me.

Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 - It's the 10 year anniversary of the franchise and it returns with a bigger (meaning more game play) story. Due out in March 2008. There's a greater degree of character customization in equipment and experience points can be applied to better weapons. Enemy and squad AI is better. There's been a huge expansion of co-op game play - friends can jump in and out of the game on the fly without restarting levels. It's the same core game play as version 1 with simple team controls. They've worked hard to add verticality to the levels such as looking up and seeing an enemy through a skylight and then having to go outside and climb up onto the roof to get him. There's destructible cover so you can't sit in one spot and hide. You sort of have to think and plan rather than charge right in. There are 7 locations and each location has multiple scenarios.

Far Cry 2 - They set out to keep the best parts of the original. The intention is to keep it real yet exotic so this version takes place in Africa. There's 50 square kilometers of open game world, mostly savanna with some jungle. All objects are coded meaning that nothing is just a stupid graphic so trees grow while you're playing and everything can take damage. There's wind and light from the sun that change as the day progresses. No mission will ever be exactly the same because there's a randomness about how enemies are deployed; they're not always in the same place at the same time. It's fast paced and from what I saw there was a lot of fire which is always a good thing. One fascinating thing that Clint Hocking (Creative Director) brought up is that it is now cheaper in terms of utilizing system resources to create vegetation procedurally than it is to make it animated. The game is due out roughly around holiday 2008. It will be the same game on console as on PC with the PC version having higher resolution.

Petz Bunnyz - This cute little DS game is basically targeted at young girls who want to play with fluffy bunnies at Easter time. It's not my kind of game, but if you have a daughter who wants to raise a virtual bunny and play with it then this would be a hit.

Continue reading "UbiSoft 2008 Preview" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Review by Matt Congdon
Score: 2 out of 5

The first EA Sports game that I played was Madden 64. I was horrified. I explicitly asked for NFL QB Club 98 for Christmas, but I was stuck with madden (what does my mom know about football or games). In my eyes this game sucked hard. How can you make a game without an NFL license or endorsements? When wanting to play as the Patriots I was stuck with some team named “Foxboro”, not to mention that the graphics sucked and so did the game play. I would describe it the pinnacle of boring. I promised this would be the last EA Sports game I would buy.
Later in life, I got a PS2 and decided to give EA Sports another chance on a different console. I was thrilled at Madden 2001,. The game kicked ass, and it kept getting better as the years passed. EA Sports produced a string of brilliant games and that kept getting bigger and better. I thought this was the kind of company that was out for the players not the dollars. Their hockey and basketball games all were a lot of fun to play and somehow the developers improved them from year to year.
Of course, EA Sports let me down. They suck again, They have started a long down spiral, passing mediocre a year or two ago and they are now about as bad as I can imagine [[I’m trying to avoid obscenity. Sucks is ok, but I draw the line at shit. MDS]]. NBA LIVE 08 illustrates this point. This game is crap. EA Sports just threw money and a deadline at a development team. It is inexplicable to me how a company can mess up basketball so badly after having good editions for last generation consoles. The game looks alright on an HDTV, but on an SDTV looks very distorted and odd. It seems like there are a lot of fisheye type replay angles. There are so many flaws that, the decent game they might have had for PS2 is now damaged goods.

Continue reading "NBA Live 08 Review" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 6:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bioshock
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Irrational Games
Rated M for Mature
Rating: 5 out of 5

Review by Matt Congdon

There are a few rare games out there that force you to play them; once you lay down that cash, you're sucked in until you finish. Sure, many games have great stories (Final Fantasy X), and some have great game play (God of War), but few combine both into something so special that you just can't quit. One such title this year that shouldn’t be missed any adult gamer looking for a bit of adventure.. The game creates an intriguing story, but it’s the gameplay that makes the story come alive. Too many games these days have stories that aren't connected with the actual gameplay, but rather just feature boring cut scene movies--which the typical ADD gamer (such as myself) doesn’t really like to sit through. Bioshock’s story is delivered mostly through audio, which is transmitted to you via radio, so you're listening to the story while shooting, dismembering and electrocuting baddies through Bioshock’s Levels.

Continue reading "Bioshock Review" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 6:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had the opportunity to chat with Beatrice Spaine of EA about Pogo.com last week. It was really interesting. This whole casual games thing intrigues me because I'm a hardcore gamer, my friends are hardcore gamers, and I sort of target my reviews at hardcore gamers. But these casual games are taking off like wildfire. The most interesting thing is that casual gamers rarely even see themselves as gamers - they're just having fun. In fact, a lot of them spend a helluva lot of time on Club Pogo so maybe they are hardcore. It sort of makes me question the whole use of the term "hardcore".

Here's an example. My father got a Pocket PC last summer and he brought it down the shore for the weekend. He was literally glued to the thing for the whole weekend because he was playing some game where he had to match the color of some balls. I think he even brought it to dinner one night and my mother made him put it away (we had a similar incident earlier in the season when I brought my DS and Nintendogs to the table - hey, Teddy and I were in the middle of a walk). My father is in no way a hardcore gamer, but his behavior reminds me of myself when I get a new game that I fall in love with. What is the real difference between my father playing this ball game and me staying up for 72 hours so I could play through Metal Gear Solid or Medal of Honor? Yes, there was an incident here several years ago with Medal of Honor Rising Sun where my neighbor came downstairs at 2 am to ask me to put the war on hold.

I guess the major difference between my gaming and my father's gaming is the twitch and coordination factor. One has to be reasonably adept in order to target and shoot, whereas it's pretty easy to point at balls with a stylus. But in terms of the love of the game it is the same. I think that's the significant part. People love to play games. Actually, it almost seems like everything alive (with half a brain) loves to play. Not to trivialize the issue, but are my cats casual or hardcore gamers when they're chasing a catnip mouse around the apartment?

So I think I've just stumbled on the bottom line. Gamers want to have fun, pick up a little diversion, and perhaps be challenged. Casual or hardcore, we're all the same on a basic level. And at the risk of sounding silly, game on everyone. Kick back, have fun. Michael Franti and Spearhead sing that "it's not who you love, but do you love", and I think I'm ready to say "it's not what you play, but do you play?"

Continue reading "Pogo Update" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 8:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I met with Andrew Wong of EA and Bill Roper of Flagship Studios a few days ago to talk about the upcoming action RPG Hellgate London. Overall I was pretty impressed with it and stayed to talk to Bill for a long time.

I'm trying something new with this entry. I took notes during the demo and I'm writing this directly from the notes so it probably won't flow as well as most of my entries by will probably contain more information. My guess is that you probably came here for information and not for beautiful prose.

They wanted to make the starting area compact and simple for players to navigate. The London Underground is a safe zone so when you're there you don't have to worry about getting attacked. Everything starts with a tutorial. NPCs have quests for you so you have to walk around and talk to all of them. If the quest is blue then it is part of the major story arc. The cool thing about the game is that it is both single player and MMO, so in theory there's tons of replayability which is somewhat refreshing today. You can buy the box and play on your own for about 30-40 hours, then you can go online where there will be additional game modes and story lines. Flagship intends to work tightly with community to tailor the game to be the experience that players want.

Every time you go out on an adventure the area and all the contents are randomly generated. Two people can do the same level or quest and have two totally different experiences. My general impression is that the game looks good and has nice shadowing and fire effects. There's actually a huge mothership kind of thing that casts a massive shadow over the city so shadows come and go and the effect is very cool. The point of the game is to fight demons on the surface, and they're an ugly bunch. There's a lot of finding, buying and selling items which is always a big element of these games.

Flagship has made every effort to make the game playable for both hardcore and nonhardcore gamers. They've tried to simplify menus and also make keys context sensitive so you don't have to hunt for certain functions. For example, the left shift can make you sprint during combat. Alt brings up the action menu, your inventory is drag and drop, as is modding your weapons and leveling up your skills. The automap and quest log shown on the screen.

There is pretty good diversity in game play for the different classes. The hunter is more like an FPS than an RPG where you aim with a reticle and shoot from the hip. The first person features were designed in from the beginning so it feels right. If youŕe hunter with engineering skills (thank you hellgateguru.com) you can build drones that help you fight, drop health, project shields and more. The templar is melee based third person only; he can use the grappler which is a cool weapon that drags enemies in so you can bash them. This can be very useful for enemies with ranged attacks or flying enemies. The game is very playable using each different character class. All of the character classes have to be able to complete the game solo and all character classes have to be playable in solo mode. The cabbalist is a spell caster who uses the powers of the demons against them. They us focus items to channel the energy

One interesting thing is that armor is color themed meaning that individual pieces now match instead of giving the usual patchwork feel. Also you can make a guild color theme and share it with your guild. You can also mod your weapons to enhance capabilities. The armor colors and the mods on weapons are ways to individualize yourself within the game. Using different items require different attributes which creates a whole system of trade offs.

Continue reading "Hellgate London Preview" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 8:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

New York (February 1, 2007) – Episodic game maker Kuma Reality Games announced today the release of “Baghdad Surge,” the 81st episode of its video game series Kuma\War, which turns headline news into first-person suspense. Modeling Haifa street – a notorious stronghold of Sunni insurgents just outside of Baghdad’s Green Zone – the “Baghdad Surge” game-episode depicts the real-life battle of January 24, 2007 in which Iraqi and US troops fought to re-assert government control of the war-torn neighborhood. Built from satellite photos and first-hand news reports, Kuma\War Episode 81: “Baghdad Surge” will be available for free public download at Kuma Games (www.kumagames.com) beginning Thursday, February 1.

“Each month hundreds of thousands of gamers experience critical real world events for themselves through Kuma’s 3D game technology,” said Keith Halper, CEO of Kuma Games. “As success in Iraq hinges ultimately on the actions and abilities of Iraqi troops, we felt it was essential to put the player in the position of an Iraqi soldier, giving American gamers a view of Iraqi efforts in this important fight.”

Created within one week of the January 24 events, “Baghdad Surge” puts players in the role of an Iraqi soldier charged with taking back the capital, following a rise in sectarian violence. Using leadership, marksmanship and a little help from U.S. forces, players have the opportunity to fight the insurgent forces in realistic, first-person firefights along stunning recreations of the streets of Baghdad.

As with every Kuma\War mission, “Baghdad Surge” comes accompanied with news reporting, media footage, satellite images, military tactical analysis and eyewitness accounts to help gamers understand a world in crisis. For more than two years, Kuma\War has expanded the boundaries of news reporting through accurate and timely re-creations of real-world military events. As the leading force in episodic games, Kuma is committed to turning around missions for its audience just days or weeks after real-world events take place. Kuma\War episodes are powered by Source – the same award-winning game engine technology Valve® created to power Half-Life® 2 – and are available for free download at www.kumagames.com.

Continue reading "KUMA REALITY GAMES ANNOUNCES NEW KUMA\WAR EPISODE FEATURING IRAQ TROOP SURGE" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday 31st January 2007 – With spring training around the corner Sports Interactive, the sports management development specialists, have announced that Out of the Park Baseball 2007 will be available, exclusively via digital download in time for the new season.

In OOTP Baseball 2007 players get the chance to do almost anything a real life general manager can do to guide their team to glory. Players can also create their very own fictional baseball universe, create and import fantasy teams and players or simply compete with other human players in an online league.

“No baseball simulation on the planet offers you this much flexibility and this much fun,” said Marc Duffy, Product Manager at Sports Interactive. “OOTP Baseball 2007 is ideal for historical, fictional, and online fans alike”.

Available for PC and Mac, franchise managers are able to set their line-ups, replace aging veterans with a rookie from the minor leagues, send their scouts to comb the upcoming amateur draft pool, or get a closer look at that free agent pitcher from Japan.

"We’ve spent a long time listening to our fans,” commented Markus Heinsohn, Lead developer of OOTP Baseball 2007. “The last version was a giant step forward for the good of the game and this year sees the addition of some of their most requested features."

Out of the Park Baseball 2007 will be released on March 23rd 2007 priced at $34.99 / €29.99. Pre orders, blogs and further information can be found at www.ootpbaseball.net

Key Features and improvements

Improved interface and usability

OOTP Baseball 2007 features some great user interface improvements that make the game easier and more enjoyable, including: a league creation wizard, a simplified navigation model with intuitive icons, a detailed in-game help system, improved in-game screens, and manager and online league commissioner “portals” that centralize the most commonly-used tasks.

The ultimate control over your baseball universe

OOTP Baseball 2007’s flexibility in configuring a baseball universe is unparalleled. Players have complete control over the structure, rules, and finances of their world, including the new abilities to add or delete leagues at any time, to have leagues “feed” players into other leagues and many other new league options. No simulation game has ever been this flexible.

Huge advances in the historical league experience

Historical leagues now feature an automatic expansion mode, including protection lists and expansion drafts. OOTP Baseball 2007 can also now import the history of a league prior to the selected year, giving players complete historical data and record books! Other new historical features include automatic adjustment of league financials, league strategies and rules (i.e. playoff format, schedule length). Sports Interactive re-introduce the concept of ghost players and the new option to block fictional players from reaching the major leagues. Combined with vastly improved statistical accuracy in historical leagues, the end result is the best possible way to replay the history of baseball starting in 1901, but yet with OOTP Baseball 2007 characteristic flexibility. A historical fan’s dream.

Fictional

Fictional leagues come to life like never before, thanks to the help of a wider variety of league news & stories, a player morale and popularity system and the ability to create fictional player portraits using the FaceGen technology.

Online

The online league mode of OOTP Baseball 2007 has never been more user-friendly and functional than in this year’s edition. The new commissioner portal will greatly reduce the administrative burden of running a league. Online GMs benefit from new features as well, such as an automatic waiver pullback option and an adjustable draft pool date that will give online leagues much more flexibility in processing amateur drafts. Commissioners can also now add and edit league news items and write game recaps, which will display both in-game and on league HTML reports. Commissioners can also send messages to all users and manually select all-star team members and award winners, including a new custom award of player’s choice! These features are available in solo play as well!

League expansion wizard

The new league expansion wizard helps you expand your league much more smoothly by scheduling an expansion draft and handling the submission of protection lists.

Trading

The trading model in OOTP Baseball 2007 has been vastly improved. GMs can now mark players as “untouchable” or “on the block,” with a corresponding effect on that player’s morale! The “shop player” feature allows you to quickly identify desirable trading partners and new trade-related reports put all of the information you need right at your fingertips. A “make this work now” button asks player’s trading partners to tell them exactly what is needed to make a deal under negotiation to happen immediately!

In-game experience

The experience for those players who enjoy playing out each game has improved greatly in OOTP Baseball 2007, including: strategic one-pitch mode, more natural play-by-play text, a “short PbP” option that displays just the outcome of the play and many other improvements to the in-game screens. Additionally, players can now write their own recap of the game that will appear in a game news article and will be saved along with the history of their game!

Improved AI and player development

The AI does a better job of managing its team than ever before and extensive statistical analysis and testing results in the most realistic player development system in any baseball simulation game.

Returning fan favorite features

Based on popular demand, a number of “fan favorite” features from previous versions of OOTP will return in OOTP Baseball 2007, including: an optional star-based rating system, adjustable AI player evaluation based on statistics/ratings, weather, ghost players, bullpen warm-up, and team focus.

Continue reading "Out of the Park Baseball 2007 springs into life" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I spent a few days in Las Vegas last week to visit Midway. They booked The Joint at the Hard Rock for a great event that highlighted several of their 2007 and 2008 titles. They had some great sushi and the scotch was flowing freely; what could be bad?

BlackSite: Area 51 This FPS is due to ship summer 2007 for Xbox 360, PC, and PS3. The story is pretty cool. You're sent into an area because some troops are missing and all of a sudden all hell breaks loose. There are all sorts of creepy crawlies that come after you. My favorite are the ones that you kill but their heads pop off and continue to pursue you. Midway promises realistic sound, but I couldn't tell because it was in a crowded noisy room. The graphics look great and lighting effects were very cool. The massively destructible environment is another cool thing. All in all, the short level that I played was a whole lot of fun. There's also a basic squad based element, which I mainly used to order my guys ahead on point. There were some performance issues, but it's a very early build. All in all, this is a title that I'm looking forward to.

Hour of Victory This Xbox 360 WWII FPS is built on the Unreal Engine 3 so it looked fantastic. The innovation with this title is the ability to switch between 3 characters. There's the brawny charge ahead and gun Nazis down character, the stealthy slit their necks from behind character, and the eagle eyed sniper. At various points in each level you are given the opportunity to switch guys. Interestingly, you can do any part of the game using any character although some are better at certain parts than others. I found that using the brawny charge ahead and gun Nazis down character made this game feel exactly like Call of Duty. Not a bad thing for me, because I love these WWII shooters. In fact, I can remember a night when the guy in the apartment above me asked me to stop storming the beaches at Normandy (Medal of Honor) because it was 2 in the morning. I wonder how many other people like them. How much of a market is there for them? Very little was said about multiplayer modes, although the level looked like a good multiplayer design. The other cool thing is that you can take over turrets, planes, tanks, etc. That's always tons of fun in multiplayer.

They also showed Stranglehold which looks like so much fun. I've written about it several times before.

They showed a trailer for The Wheelman with Vin Deisel. I can never tell very much about a game from the trailer. It's too early for me to have anything to say about this one.

They showed a great video about the controls for Mortal Kombat: Armagedon for Wii. This looks like a lot of fun. It's basically a combination of swipes and motions with the remote and a little button pushing. I'm really looking forward to playing this one.

And finally they had playable The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar which is a MMO for PC. They announced that it will ship on April 24, 2007. They just started a pre-order program which gets you the game for $9.99 per month or $199 lifetime. It looked good and there was a lot of excitement about it.

Continue reading "Midway Winter Gamers Day" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CHICAGO, IL – JANUARY 29, 2007 – Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment industry publisher and developer, today announced BlackSite™: Area 51®, an action packed, first person shooter experience which pits gamers against alien enemy forces using the infamous U.S. government landmark, Area 51®, and the surrounding areas as the battlefield backdrop. BlackSite: Area 51 is currently in development for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and for the PC.

Developed by Midway Studios - Austin, BlackSite: Area 51 is a next-generation game that will redefine the first person shooter (FPS) genre. While other FPS titles claim to feature
“action-packed, highly realistic gameplay,” BlackSite: Area 51 takes next-gen gaming to an
all-new level integrating cutting edge technology, game design and story writing to create the ultimate entertainment experience. The player’s modern-day emotions and fears are driven into a world charged with grave responsibility affecting lives hanging in the balance and eventually finding himself torn between his professional orders and his own ethical standards. In the end, only the actions of the player and his squad can shape the outcome of BlackSite: Area 51 during this potentially pivotal moment in history.

“BlackSite: Area 51 gives players the opportunity to experience next-generation, first person shooter action in one of the world’s most intriguing and mysterious environments,” said Denise Fulton, studio head, Midway Studios - Austin. “Gamers will be instantly immersed in the game’s seamless storyline, set in the desert and small towns surrounding Area 51 that feature highly detailed environments that transform themselves into awesome battlefields. Without question, BlackSite: Area 51 will raise the bar in the next generation FPS genre with its stunning visuals, life-like squad interactions and its multitude of online multiplayer modes.”

Continue reading "MIDWAY CONFIRMS THEORY IS A FACT: BLACKSITE: AREA 51 IS COMING SUMMER 2007" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The other night my good friends at EA invited me to come over and see some of their upcoming titles. Overall, it looks like they have a strong spring liineup. I spent so much time there that they were kidding me that I should help pack up.

Command and Conquer 3 - The epic struggle between the Global Defense Initiative and The Brotherhood of NOD continues as the third Tiberium war begins. This is a pretty solid RTS for Xbox 360. I was surprised at how easy it was to command my troops across the whole map. The PC version ships on March 28 and the Xbox 360 version ships in Spring 2007.

Def Jam: Icon - What can I say, these Def Jam games are massively popular. This one integrates hip hop music and fighting like never before. The music actually affects the fight. Drive him down with a series of punches that grow stronger because they match the bass line. Environments pulsate and debris flies along with the music. There's also an all new single player story mode that takes you from nobody to hip hop mogul as you build a record label, discover new talent, and become a hip hop icon yourself.

Medal of Honor Vanguard - I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again: Everyone likes killing Nazis. This latest installment of the highly successful WWII FPS is back and it looked great. They've simplified the HUD and gotten rid of the medpack system. Now when you're hurt you go hide in the corner and heal. This ships in March 2007 for PS2 and Wii.

NBA STREET Homecourt - Featuring a brand new game engine that will knock your socks off, this wild street trick basketball game returns. This game is totally next gen with guys sweating, muscles rippling, cloth physics, all very smoothly integrated into game play. A new animation engine makes all the crazy moves you can pull look fluid. New controls let you create hundreds of tricks on the fly. Get ready to defy gravity and practice saying "Not in my house"!

Continue reading "EA Demo Night" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The results are in

Consumers have cast their votes and Xbox 360 was the best-selling next-generation console of the 2006 holiday season in the United States , outselling the PlayStation 3 and Wii combined in December and outselling all next-generation consoles in November and December. The Xbox 360 garnered a 51% market share in the United States for December 2006. ( US NPD, January)

Gamers get into Gear

Like “Halo,” “Grand Theft Auto,” and “Zelda,” “Gears of War,” is tracking to be one of the best-selling video games of all time. By the end of next week, “Gears of War” will have sold more than 3 million copies to consumers worldwide in just 10 weeks.

Following on the success of “Gears of War,” 2007 will quite simply be the best year for great games in Xbox history.

* By holiday 2007, there will be more than double the 160 next-generation games available on Xbox 360 today, including highly anticipated MGS titles such as “Halo 3,” “Blue Dragon,” “Crackdown,” “Forza Motorsport 2,” “Lost Odyssey,” Mass Effect,” “Project Gotham Racing 4” and “Shadowrun.”

* Third party publishers continue to flock to the Xbox 360 for its high definition fidelity, ease of development and unmatched online capabilities. Surefire hits coming from third parties in 2007 include “Assassin’s Creed” (Ubisoft), “Dance Dance Revolution Universe™” (Konami), “Grand Theft Auto IV” (Rockstar), “Guitar Hero 2™” (Activision) and exclusives like “BioShock” (2K) and “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell” (Ubisoft).
* This week, we announced more than 20 million Xbox Live Arcade games have been downloaded to date, including “Assault Heroes,” “Small Arms,” “DOOM” and this week’s release “Ms. Pac-Man.” Other popular games will join Xbox Live Arcade's library as the platform’s popularity continues to grow, including the highly anticipated "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night" from Konami and "Heavy Weapon" from PopCap.

Xbox Live—The Largest Social Network in the Living Room

With more than 5 million active members, two-million messages crossing the network a day, and three-billion game play hours logged to date, Xbox Live has become the largest social network on television. And Xbox Live innovations like Achievements, Gamerscore, and Reputation are changing the way people play games and share their games and entertainment experiences with friends.

Xbox Live is also an on-demand culture, where entertainment powerhouses like CBS, Lion’s Gate, MTV Networks, Turner Broadcasting, Paramount Pictures, UFC, and Warner Brothers are entertaining one of the most captive 18-34 year old communities online today. Seven weeks ago, Xbox Live and its studio partners began offering hit TV shows and movies in high and standard definition for download. According to the studios, the social games and entertainment network has already become #2 in Internet downloads of hit TV shows and movies, but #1 in high definition and #1 in the living room—where it matters most.

The countdown is on

200 million Windows gamers around the world can mark their calendars as the availability of Windows Vista on January 30 draws near.

During the CES keynote address, Bill Gates and Robbie Bach demonstrated the ease and simplicity of connecting people who play games on a Windows Vista-based PC to friends who play on Xbox 360 using “UNO” (Mattel Inc.) — one of the many new, upcoming casual games optimized for Windows Vista and one of the top casual games currently on Xbox Live.

At CES, Microsoft also announced the Games for Windows portfolio, which includes “Shadowrun” and “Halo 2,” the first titles to utilize Live services to connect the gaming experience between Windows Vista-based PCs and Xbox 360. And who doesn’t want one Gamertag, one friends list, one set of achievements, as well as voice chat and game invites across Xbox 360 and Windows Vista? It’s something only Microsoft can offer the world’s largest population of game players.

Continue reading "Xbox 360 Outsells Wii and PS3 This Holiday" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 9:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 8, 2006 – Las Vegas – Razer, a leading manufacturer of high-end precision gaming and lifestyle electronics peripherals, will unveil and provide hands-on demonstrations of the new Razer Mako™ 2.1 speaker system, Razer DeathAdder™ infrared sensor mouse, Razer Pro|Type™ iPod docking keyboard and Razer Pro|Click Mobile™ Bluetooth notebook mouse at CES, January 8 – 11, 2007, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in South Hall, Booth 35160.

“Razer’s new line of products being showcased at CES, which include the Razer Mako, Razer DeathAdder, Razer Pro|Type and the Razer Pro|Click Mobile, truly reflect the future of interactive entertainment,” says Robert “Razerguy” Krakoff, president, Razer Group. “This new product lineup continues to express the originality of our ideas by aggressively pursuing what consumers want in design and engineering. We did not get to where we are today by ‘playing by the rules’; we arrived here by setting them.”

Razer, the creators of the Razer Barracuda gaming audio system, is proud to introduce the Razer Mako 2.1 THX Certified bi-amplified multimedia speaker system at CES 2007. The Razer Mako represents a groundbreaking new desktop speaker design from the sound engineers and scientists of gaming industry leader Razer and audio industry pioneer THX Ltd. The Razer Mako 2.1 is the first desktop speaker system to incorporate THX Ground Plane™ and THX Slot Speaker™ technologies, which raise the bar for acoustic fidelity and performance in the desktop category. Whether the listener has connected their desktop computer, gaming console, television, CD deck, or portable MP3 player as the Razer Mako’s input source, the system will deliver sonic presentations that are the best-in-class for any 2.1 desktop speaker system.

“The advantage of multimedia and PC speakers is that they can be conveniently positioned on desktops and bookshelves. But, sound reflecting from desktop surfaces interferes with the direct sound, creating uneven frequency response at the listener’s ear level,” said Laurie Fincham, chief scientist at THX. “The Razer Mako 2.1 is the first multimedia speaker system designed from the ground up to provide optimal performance on the desktop. The THX Ground Plane and Slot Speaker technologies ensure the speaker drivers are very close to the desktop surface, doubling the output and delivering smooth and even response at all frequencies.”

Features:

* THX Certified for premium sound quality and performance.

* Patented THX Ground Plane and THX Slot Speaker downward-firing mid-range drivers and tweeters design which creates a spacious soundstage that turns any desktop surface from an acoustic hindrance into an integral part of the soundstage.

* True, bi-amplified satellites with two channels of 50W with full digital DSP control.

* An overall system frequency range of 30-20,000 Hz and Axial Response Limits of +/- 2dB at 40-18,000 Hz (-6dB at 30 and 20,000Hz).

* 300W of total system power, with 6 channels @ 50W each.

* ClassHD™ Digital Amplifier technology with full DSP control that makes previous-generation Class AB and Class D amplifiers obsolete.

* ClassHD™ technology scales power in sync with the music, resulting in operation at a much higher efficiency curve, improved Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), improved EMI, reduced idle consumption, and lowered amplifier delay.

* For those moments when surrounding silence is needed, the Razer Mako offers an amplified headphone jack on the wired remote control. This allows for improved headphone performance over the standard pass-through found in normal desktop systems.

* The sleek Razer design created with premium materials and finishes will deliver best-in-class acoustic performance while maintaining attractive desktop aesthetics.

The Razer DeathAdder 3G infrared sensor gaming mouse is a quantum leap over current generation optical technology. Fully optimized for high speed motions, the Razer DeathAdder features everything needed for high-performance gamers.

Features:

· 1800 dpi 3G infrared sensor technology for enhanced precision.

· 1000 Hz Ultrapolling™/1ms response providing pinpoint accuracy and lighting fast speed.

* Five programmable, ultra-large non-slip buttons with Hyperesponse™.

* A 16-bit ultra-wide data channel.

* Zero-acoustic Ultraslick™ Teflon fleet.

* Always-On™ instant response.

* Award-winning On-The-Fly™ sensitivity drivers.

* Right-handed form factor.

Razer has been building quality input devices since 1999, which makes it one of the select manufacturers in the industry. As the worldwide leader in high-performance input devices for the quickly growing field of motion control, Razer Pro|Solutions are precision instruments built to last, and to deliver increased productivity, control and precision to professional users that demand the best from their electronic peripherals.

Sleek, streamlined and functional, the Razer Pro|Type is the first keyboard to integrate a universal iPod dock into its design, facilitating a lifestyle element prevalent in today’s culture. The pairing of the iPod dock in the keyboard allows for easy synchronization and charging of all iPods without the hassle of additional wiring.

Features:

· 10 customizable profiles where consumers can easily configure keyboard profiles according to their needs.

· 10 programmable keys where consumers can switch profiles and launch applications with just a touch of a button.

· Ultra touch sensitive keys for enhanced and extremely precise key response.

· On-the-fly profile switching that allows viewers to swap keyboard profiles upon program detection.

· A one-touch hub for multi-media programs and everyday computer functions, which includes line-out and two USB ports for convenient connection to other peripherals.

· A full set of media hot keys that provide one-touch access to media programs.

· A gently sloping wrist rest giving way to an ergonomic design, resulting in a mixture of comfortable usability and a clean minimalist design with a pure white exterior paired with blue ambient light.

The Razer Pro|Click Mobile is the most precise Bluetooth notebook mouse in the world today, catered for individuals on the go or whenever space is a constraint.

Features:

* 1200 DPI Infrared Sensor.

* Bluetooth 2.0 (with Adaptive Frequency Hopping).

* Ambidextrous design.

* Long Battery Life.

Continue reading "RAZER™, THX® UNVEIL RAZER MAKO™ 2.1 BI-AMPLIFIED SPEAKER SYSTEM AT CES 2007" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAS VEGAS — Jan. 7, 2007 — Kicking off the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas with a bang, Microsoft Corp. today unveiled revolutionary games, technologies and partner support for the first-class gaming platform, Windows Vista™.

CES attendees will get hands-on experience with 15 of the hottest Games for Windows® titles, including some of the first games to deliver stunning graphics and gameplay through Microsoft® DirectX® 10 that will challenge any game for superiority in visual fidelity: “Crysis™” (EA Partners/Crytek) and “Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures” (Eidos Interactive Ltd./Funcom). Gamers will also experience “Shadowrun™” from Microsoft Game Studios, the first of many titles that will bring the Live games and entertainment network on Windows Vista for true cross-platform gameplay.

In addition, during the CES keynote address, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Entertainment and Devices Division President Robbie Bach demonstrated the ease and simplicity of connecting people who play games on a Windows Vista-based PC to friends who play on the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system for a cross-platform game challenge with “UNO®” (Mattel Inc.) — one of the many new upcoming casual games optimized for Windows Vista.
Connecting Windows Vista and Xbox 360
Delivering on a vision that Microsoft presented at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2006, Microsoft Game Studios’ “Shadowrun” and Mattel’s “UNO” are part of the first wave of Live titles that bring the benefits of Xbox Live® to gamers on Windows Vista, including an active community of nearly 5 million gamers, a single identity for each gamer across Windows and Xbox 360, as well as Achievements, which redefine what it means to conquer a game and share accomplishments with friends. The Live gaming and entertainment network will enable gamers to play and communicate online across both of Microsoft’s gaming platforms, bringing more players and their friends together to play and connect in new, exciting ways. In addition, “Halo® 2” for Windows Vista (Microsoft Game Studios/Bungie Studios) will also support Live, including enabling Windows gamers to communicate with Xbox Live gamers and earn Achievements in the famed “Halo 2” campaign — a first for any “Halo” title on any platform.
Optimized Casual Games for Windows Vista

Puzzle-playing, fun-loving casual game players also will benefit from Windows Vista-optimized gameplay, with new titles available on MSN® Games (http://games.msn.com/en/vistagames). Bringing realistically detailed graphics and enriched gameplay features to casual players, the downloadable Windows Vista-based titles will be launched in conjunction with the new operating system in late January. The feature-length games include updated versions of the popular puzzlers “7 Wonders of the Ancient World for Windows Vista” (Mumbo Jumbo) and “Luxor 2 for Windows Vista” (Mumbo Jumbo); the all-new action and adventure game “Bliss Island for Windows Vista” (Codemasters); the crystal-collecting, quick-shooting fun of “Crystal Quest for Windows Vista” (Codemasters); “Spinword for Windows Vista” (Slam Games), a brainteaser combining word puzzles and arcade action; the gem-filled matching puzzle “Jewel Quest® 2” (iWin); and the updated and graphically enhanced action adventure “Darwinia for Windows Vista” (Introversion). In addition, the ever popular “Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved” (Bizarre Creations) will be making its debut on the PC. Requiring fast thinking and an even faster trigger finger, the PC version of this retro-inspired title will, along with most Windows Vista-optimized titles, support gameplay with both the keyboard and the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows.

Windows Vista itself caters to the casual game player. Updated versions of game classics such as “Minesweeper,” “FreeCell” and “Solitaire,” as well as all-new titles such as “Chess Titans,” “Mahjong Titans” and the family-friendly adventure game “Purble Place,” will be included with Windows Vista from the start and will be easy to discover by way of the new Windows Vista Games Explorer.

Games for Windows Portfolio

Taking advantage of the new operating system’s revolutionary technology and more user-friendly gaming features, the diverse Games for Windows portfolio of titles includes something for everyone, from the most hard-core enthusiast to casual players. Games such as “Crysis” (EA Partners/Crytek) and “Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures” (Eidos Interactive/Funcom) exploit the DirectX 10 technology in Windows Vista with vivid new levels of graphical detail and depth, while the highly anticipated titles “Shadowrun” (Microsoft Game Studios/FASA Studio) and “Halo 2” (Microsoft Game Studios/Bungie Studios) will be the first to utilize Live services to connect the gaming experience between Windows Vista-based PCs and Xbox 360.

The Games for Windows portfolio includes the following titles:

· “Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures” (Eidos Interactive/Funcom)

· “Age of Empires® III: The Warchiefs” (Microsoft Game Studios/Ensemble Studios)

· “Alan Wake” (Microsoft Game Studios/Remedy)

· “BioShock” (2K Games/Irrational Games)

· “Company of Heroes” (THQ Inc./Relic Entertainment)

· “Crysis” (EA Partners/Crytek)

· “Disney·Pixar’s Ratatouille” (THQ/Heavy Iron Studios)

· “Flight Simulator X” (Microsoft Game Studios/ACES Studio)

· “Frontlines: Fuels of War” (THQ/Kaos Studios™)

· “Halo 2” (Microsoft Game Studios/Bungie Studios)

· “Hellgate: London ” (EA Partners/NAMCO BANDAI Games/Flagship Studios)

· “LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy” (LucasArts/TT Games)

· “Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar” (Midway/Turbine Inc.)

· “Marvel Universe Online” (Microsoft Game Studios/Cryptic Studios)

· “Rail Simulator” (EA Partners/Kuju Entertainment)

· “Shadowrun” (Microsoft Game Studios/FASA Studio)

· “Supreme Commander” (THQ/Gas Powered Games)

· “World in Conflict” (Sierra Entertainment/Massive Entertainment)

· “Zoo Tycoon® 2: Extinct Animals” (Microsoft Game Studios/Blue Fang Games)

· “Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania®” (Microsoft Game Studios/Blue Fang Games)

· “Zoo Tycoon 2: Zookeeper Collection” (Microsoft Game Studios/Blue Fang Games)

DirectX 10
The DirectX 10 API (application programming interface) in Windows Vista is built from the ground up to provide gamers with a rich and incredibly detailed graphic experience. Consumers can see this technology in action in the Games for Windows booth at CES with the NVIDIA GeForce 8800, the first DirectX 10-enabled discrete video card to hit the market, powering demos of “Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures” (Eidos Interactive/Funcom) and “Crysis” (EA Partners/Crytek). DirectX 10 utilizes the new Windows Vista Display Driver Model and Shader Model 4.0, giving developers the tools to bring amazing game environments to life and maximize the power of the latest video card technology.

Games for Windows Brand Momentum Continues

Games for Windows has allied with new publishers that are committed to making it easier, safer and more fun to game on Windows. Atari, LucasArts, Midway, Turbine Inc., and 2K Games join THQ, Vivendi Universal, Microsoft Game Studios and other leading publishers in releasing new Windows-based titles that feature the Games for Windows branding bar, which assures consumers that the games will deliver great new gaming experiences on the operating system. Newly announced branded Games for Windows titles include “Disney·Pixar’s Ratatouille” (THQ/Heavy Iron Studios), “Frontlines: Fuels of War” (THQ/Kaos Studios), “Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar” (Midway/Turbine Inc.), “Supreme Commander” (THQ/Gas Powered Games), “World in Conflict”(Sierra Entertainment/Massive Entertainment) and “Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals” (Microsoft Game Studios/Blue Fang Games). Those games, alongside previously announced branded titles, will meet a set of technical guidelines including easier installation, increased reliability and support for key Windows Vista features such as the Games Explorer and parental controls.

As part of the packaging and branding initiative, Games for Windows branding will be displayed in gaming sections of Circuit City, CompUSA, GameStop Corp. and Wal-Mart. Consumers can explore the Windows platform and titles in stores nationwide, which will help make their experience of finding and buying Windows games faster and easier.

In anticipation of the Windows Vista launch, GameStop is installing playable Games for Windows demo kiosks in 750 GameStop stores across the United States in January, enabling gamers to experience firsthand the latest in Windows games.

In addition, retailer backing for Games for Windows has begun to expand globally, with the first European retailers, PC World and Virgin, rolling out Games for Windows-branded signage and in-store promotions in time for the launch of Windows Vista.

Continue reading "Windows Vista Ushers in New Era of Gameplay" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Minneapolis, MN – November 21, 2006 – Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI ), is giving gamers the chance to stop dreaming and start riding in Harley-Davidson®: Race to the Rally available now for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Charge out on the highways and bi-ways across America on fully-upgradeable classic and late-model Harley-Davidson® motorcycles while facing outrageous road challenges.

“Harley-Davidson®: Race to the Rally offers gamers the chance to ride some of the most recognizable motorcycles in the world in this fast-paced, open-road adventure,” said David Oxford, Activision Publishing, Inc. “Players experience the thrill of saddling up an American icon and the camaraderie of its brotherhood from their living room.”

Harley-Davidson®: Race to the Rally takes gamers from coast to coast across America exploring classic rides centric to “Harley-Davidson” and the biker lifestyle such as Big Sur, historic Route 66, and the Badlands . Each of the 20 authentic Harley-Davidson® motorcycles including the Dyna®, Softail®, Touring®, and Sportster® are fully customizable and upgradeable with licensed parts and accessories, so there are thousands of possibilities on which to perform the gravity-defying jumps, and high-speed turbo boosts in this game. Plus, it features a soundtrack that captures the attitude of “Harley-Davidson” with tracks by George Thorogood, Heart, Poison, Great White and more.

Harley-Davidson®: Race to the Rally is available now for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system for a suggested retail price of $29.99. The PC version will be available on November 28 for a suggested retail price of $19.99. The game has been rated “E” (Everyone) by the ESRB.

About Activision, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $1.47 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006 .

Continue reading "HARLEY-DAVIDSONR: RACE TO THE RALLY ROARS INTO RETAIL STORES NATIONWIDE" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two weeks ago, on Tuesday, November 7, Peter Moore took the stage at the BMO Capital Markets – Interactive Entertainment Conference in New York, where he confirmed Microsoft’s continuous force in the interactive entertainment industry and shared exciting news about truly breakthrough experiences that are coming to Xbox 360 this month.

As we near the anniversary of the Xbox 360 launch, we are on track to have sold 10 million units by holiday, and have delivered on the plan to offer a console that revolves around “you” - your choices, your friends, and your entertainment. In New York, we outlined our new one-stop digital marketplace for high definition content in addition to our full lineup of 160 game titles by holiday 2006. Add to that a suite of accessories that enable gamers to customize their own entertainment experience to fit their lifestyle; Xbox 360 is the console of choice for gamers who want to have choice.

What they want, when they want it

Beginning November 22, Xbox 360 will be the first gaming console to bring standard and high definition TV shows and movies via digital distribution directly to consumers. We announced agreements with CBS, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. (TBS Inc.), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment to bring an initial lineup of more than 1,000 hours of hit TV shows and movies to Xbox 360 owners by the end of 2006.

The current lineup of content includes but is not limited to:

o “Robot Chicken” and “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” from Adult Swim

o “CSI,” “Survivor” and “Star Trek” from CBS

o Emmy and Peabody award-winning “South Park” and “Chappelle’s Show” from COMEDY CENTRAL

o “The Real World” and “Pimp My Ride” from MTV

o “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and ”SpongeBob SquarePants” from Nickelodeon

o “Skyland” and “The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival” from Nicktoons Network

o “M:i:III,” “Nacho Libre” and “Jackass: The Movie” from Paramount Pictures

o “Carpocalypse” and “Raising the Roofs” from Spike TV

o “Race Rewind” provided by NASCAR.COM

o Select episodes of the original season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series and the “UFC: All Access” shows from the UFC

o “Breaking Bonaduce” and “Hogan Knows Best” from VH1

o “The Matrix,” “Superman Returns” and “Batman Forever” from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Making it their own experience

This holiday season nothing pairs with the library of Xbox 360 entertainment experiences quite like our accessory lineup. With the Xbox 360 wireless Headset, Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel, Xbox 360 HD DVD Player, or the Xbox Live Vision Camera gamers can choose how to create their own experience, whether they want the most realistic race they’ve ever driven, or the most realistic movie they’ve ever seen.

On November 7, the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player, packaged with Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” and the universal media remote, began shipping to North American retailers and is making its way to store shelves. This accessory allows Xbox 360 owners to experience “the look and sound of perfect” with such films as “Serenity,” “V for Vendetta,” and “Batman Begins.”

Gamers can get the most mileage out of their accessories with the Xbox 360 Gaming Receiver for Windows, which lets the Wireless Controller, Wireless Headset and Wireless Racing Wheel work on the Windows PC. For those who want to build their ultimate interactive entertainment system, the best accessories, the most games, and the greatest experiences are on Xbox 360.

Revolving around great games

With accessories that customize gameplay, to a colossal game library that brings action, excitement and thrills, this holiday season we are set to bring forth a myriad of fun from friendly Piñatas to battles of epic proportions to bite-size action, pick up and play fun.

Earlier this month, “Gears of War” (Epic Games) emerged to a successful – and enormous – launch, expected to sell more than one million copies worldwide this holiday season, setting a new mark for the fastest-selling original game for Xbox. The frenzy continues this Sunday November 12th, “Emergence Day,” with online tournaments, including a 24-hour marathon event, bringing gamers more of the hyper-realistic and intense combat graphics and immersive beauty of the cinematic story that has sparked such a furor among consumers. The review scores are pouring in and this is the highest rated next-gen game to date with multiple perfect scores from around the world.

“Gears of War” (Epic Games) is just the beginning of the holiday excitement. “Viva Piñata” (Rare) bursts onto store shelves with its launch on November 9. With more than 60 piñata species to attract to your garden and engaging characters to interact with, Viva Piñata is sure to be the game played by kids of all ages on the Xbox 360. Brand momentum continues to build, following the success of the Saturday morning TV show, “Viva Piñata,” which airs on 4Kids TV (FOX) -- having quickly become a Saturday morning “must watch” for many kids. Licensing efforts are also well underway with the recent partnership announced with Playmates as the master toy licensee and American Greetings to create a social expressions line of products (greeting cards, gift wrap, etc.)

This month has also brought great titles to store shelves including: “Need for Speed Carbon” (EA) which hit November 1, “Call of Duty 3” (Activision) and “Tony Hawk’s Project 8” (Activision) were released November 7. The thrills don’t stop there, later this month we will also see: “WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007” (THQ) on November 14, “Superman Returns: The Videogame” (EA) on November 20 and “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas” (Ubisoft) on November 28. For a full list of upcoming titles check out: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/calendar.aspx?WT.svl=nav

For gamers looking for a quick gaming fix, Xbox Live Arcade has a diverse library with more than 40 independent, original development and classic retro titles slated to be on the service by end of year which has driven more than 12 million game downloads to date. Not to mention, next year Atari fans can revisit old favorites like “Centipede/Millipede,” “Battlezone,” “Asteroids/Asteroids Deluxe,” “Missile Command,” “Tempest and Warlords” - with high-definition graphics, enhanced sound, leaderboard, multiplayer and a variety of achievements.

While on the casual games front, Microsoft Casual Games (MCG) is now touching 120 million players around the globe every month. MCG is the go-to provider of casual arcade-style gaming offering these 120 million players more than 400 titles across MSN Games, Windows Live Messenger, XP “in box” operating system games and Xbox Live Arcade.

Windows Vista went gold on November 8, whetting the appetite of Windows gamers. The first available DirectX 10 hardware was also announced by NVIDIA on November 8, making the countdown to Windows Vista truly tangible for gamers around the world.

What the numbers say

This holiday, we will have more than 160 high definition titles available for Xbox 360. October’s NPD data, the industry standard for tracking US momentum and market share, continues to illustrate the breadth and depth of the console’s services and features.

o Our record setting software attach rate is soaring at 5.2 games per console, which reflects the enthusiastic consumer response to the depth and breadth of our software library keeping the record for this period in the lifecycle.

o With our lineup of accessories it is clear why the Xbox 360 accessory attach rate rose this month to 3.0, setting another record for this stage in the lifecycle.

“Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent,” (Ubisoft) released last month, has soared its way to the top of the charts. Since its debut, gamers have been carefully living the life of double agent Sam Fisher and his international espionage adventures, making the title # 2 across all consoles on the U.S. sales chart.

Top Five Selling Xbox 360 Titles for October:

1) “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent” (Ubisoft)

2) “Tiger Woods 2007” (EA)

3) “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance” (Activision)

4) “Madden 2007” (EA)

5) “NBA 2K7” (Take-Two)

Continue reading "Latest Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Gaming News" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New York (November 10, 2006) – This Veteran’s day, Kuma Reality Games honors America’s fighting men and women, both past and present, with the release of “Battle of the Bulge,” an all-new multiplayer “game-isode” that coincides with the November 10 episode of ‘Shootout!’ on The History Channel®. Kuma Games (www.kumagames.com) is also hosting two multiplayer events this weekend, inviting gamers to join the “Prize Giveaway” server for the opportunity to play and win. Players can participate in two team-based, red-on-blue multiplayer games, where the gamer with the highest score from each team wins, scoring a DVD of ‘WWII: The Pacific’ from The History Channel.

The first episode of “Battle of the Bulge” takes players back to December 16, 1944, re-creating the opening of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. It accompanies the episode airing tonight on The History Channel where a lightly-armed team of 18 Intelligence and Reconnaissance soldiers must fend off a surprise attack by hundreds of Hitler’s soldiers in the village of Lanzareth. The tiny platoon courageously holds their position, killing over 500 German troops before running out of ammunition and being captured. Subsequent episodes –“Foxhole” and “Scout”– will be released Friday, November 17th and Friday, November 24th respectively.

Kuma’s online games released simultaneously with episodes of ‘Shootout!’ allow viewers and gamers the opportunity to watch the show and then “live” the historical event by playing a 3D game re-creation. Viewers of the show can log onto www.History.com or www.KumaGames.com and download the online game for free immediately after each episode airs. Kuma is expanding on this extraordinary “watch and play” experience by bringing together the gaming community to participate in exciting multiplayer events.

“Shootout!” examines, dissects, and re-creates some of the most famous battles in history, from the Wild West to Guadalcanal to Fallujah. Using heavy 3D CGI animation sequences, players can experience the thick of battle from the point of view of the historical participants themselves.

Tune in to “Shooutout!: Battle of the Bulge” Friday, November 10 at 8:00pmET/PT on The History Channel, and play the re-creation of the episode online at www.history.com or www.KumaGames.com.

Be a part of Kuma’s Veteran’s Day multiplayer events on Saturday, November 11 and Sunday, November 12 from 4:00-5:00pmET at www.KumaGames.com.

Continue reading "IN HONOR OF VETERANS DAY, KUMA RELEASES PLAYABLE RECREATION OF ONE OF THE WWII¹S MOST SIGNIFICANT BATTLES" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 6, 2006 – Los Angeles – Razer™, a leading manufacturer of high-end precision gaming peripherals, has announced the availability of the Tarantula™, a hi-tech gaming keyboard, at Circuit City stores everywhere. Currently available now in Circuit City for a price of $99.99, the Tarantula will also be sold at CompUSA and major online retailers (Amazon.com, TigerDirect.com, Buy.com, GoGamer.com and others) starting in mid-November.

“Razer is psyched to add the Tarantula to their growing list of quality gaming gear,” said Robert Krakoff, president, Razer USA. “I honestly believe the Tarantula to be the ‘smartest’ keyboard ever designed and Razer fans will not be disappointed with the Tarantula’s sleek look and fully customizable features, which will empower competitive gamers with seamless control and unparalleled flexibility.”

Designed and engineered from the ground up by the Razer team, the Tarantula is the first definitive gaming keyboard created for gamers, by gamers, that has several innovative features, including:

* 10 key Anti-Ghosting capability to allow for multiple key binds and prevent key jamming when multiple keys are simultaneously pressed

* Optimized Hyperesponse™ Gaming Keytop for reduced key latency and maximum response time

* Headphone-out and microphone-in jacks for convenient access and two USB Ports for convenient peripheral plug-ins
* 10 additional Macro keys with extra symbol keys included
* 95 programmable keys on the Razer Tarantula allow configuration of customized keystrokes and macro commands for optimal control and flexibility

· Keys can be programmed without drivers and up to five different gaming profiles which can be stored on the keyboard itself which makes moving from one tournament to another easy. The onboard memory capability powered by Razer Synapse™, which was first featured in the multi-award winning Razer Copperhead™ gaming mouse.

* Full Multi-media center keys to control media programs like Windows Media Player

· Ambient illumination light source runs underneath the keys, enabling the keys to be adequately lit for gaming in low or no light conditions

Continue reading "RAZER™ REDEFINES THE STANDARDS IN GAMING PERIPHERALS WITH THE NEW TARANTULA KEYBOARD" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 27, 2006 (Rockville, MD) - Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, today announced its plans to publish Rogue Warrior™, an authentic, tactical first-person shooter based on the best-selling book series by Richard (Dick) Marcinko, former U.S. Navy SEAL and founder of both SEAL Team Six and Red Cell. Rogue Warrior is being developed for the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows by Zombie Studios in conjunction with Bethesda Softworks. Rogue Warrior is scheduled for a fall 2007 release.

“We are very excited to be working on Rogue Warrior, which allows us the chance to bring Bethesda’s creative vision and development expertise to this brand,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “This game marks our return to shooters since our highly successful Terminator series, and we hope to offer fans a true next-generation gameplay experience.”

Rogue Warrior is a story-driven shooter that provides team-based tactical combat set in massive, contiguous levels using Unreal 3 streaming technology. Central to the game’s single and multiplayer experience is the idea of a freeform battlefield, where players are given the freedom to choose how to complete a given objective, allowing for creativity and surprises, rather than heavily scripted events and tightly contained spaces traditionally used in this genre.

An advanced AI system allows NPCs to react and fight realistically, see and hear others, and respond as a team. Rogue Warrior offers a new take on the multiplayer experience, with 10 gameplay modes and a system whereby maps are created using tiles that are selected by each team. Rogue Warrior’s tiling system allows users to experience over 200 maps in both day and nighttime settings. In addition, the campaign features solo and on-the-fly cooperative play for up to four players, where anyone can join or leave an existing campaign game at any time without having to go to menus or save progress.

“Rogue Warrior is the game we’ve been waiting to make for years,” said Mark Long, lead producer at Zombie Studios. “We’re using terrific technology in a way that’s different from other games - we have a unique HUD and control system for your teammates, on-the-fly co-op play, and we’ve really focused our efforts on making multiplayer more fun and challenging by giving you lots of modes and hundreds of maps you can see and play. We’re thrilled to be working with Bethesda on this new initiative using a brand we know and love.”

In Rogue Warrior, you play Dick Marcinko, leader of an elite SEAL unit trapped behind enemy lines in North Korea on a covert mission to assess the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. When war breaks out between North and South Korea, you must try to lead your team back into South Korea while greatly outnumbered and with no support and limited resupply. Your journey will take you through a variety of never-before-seen environments inside of North Korea, including submarine pens, shipbreaker yards, prison camps, and more.

A 30-year veteran with the U.S. Navy, Dick Marcinko served in both the Underwater Demolitions Team and Navy SEAL programs, was a military attache in Cambodia, and conceived, founded, and commanded SEAL Team Six, the U.S. Navy’s first counterterrorism unit. He later created and ran Red Cell, a unit created to test the Navy's anti-terrorist capabilities for highly-secured bases, nuclear submarines, ships, and other purported “secure areas”, including Air Force One. Dick’s experiences as a Navy SEAL were captured in his New York Times best-selling autobiography, Rogue Warrior, and his Rogue Warrior fiction series.

“I think this game has a lot going for it and I’m very excited to be a part of it,” said Marcinko. “You have input from my SEALs and me on everything from animations to equipment to artificial intelligence to tactics to ensure accuracy of the gameplay, plus a story that has lots of relevance with the current events in North Korea, and the expertise in making great games that comes from Bethesda and Zombie…I think it’s going to take names like only a SEAL can.”

Continue reading "Bethesda Softworks Announces Its Return to First-Person Shooters with Rogue Warrior™" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN FRANCISCO – October 9, 2006 – Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announces that Dark Messiah of Might and Magic™ has gone gold and is scheduled for North American release on October 24, 2006.

Developed in conjunction with Ubisoft, Arkane Studios (for single-player) and Kuju Entertainment (for multiplayer), Dark Messiah of Might and Magic puts players in a first-person perspective, allowing them to encounter ferocious combat within a dark and expansive fantasy environment.

Powered by an enhanced version of the award-winning Source™ Engine created by Valve for its Half-Life®2 video game, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic allows players to immerse themselves in an environment that responds and envelops them like never before, thanks to the Source Engine’s exceptional technological enhancements in areas such as character animation, advanced AI, real-world physics and shader-based rendering.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic will be available for PC at the manufacturer's suggested retail price of $49.99.

For more news and information on Dark Messiah Might and Magic, please
visit the game’s official website at www.mightandmagic.com.

Continue reading "DARK MESSIAH OF MIGHT AND MAGIC GOES GOLD" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – September 26, 2006 – The chance to play with complete control over all of the dazzling passes, signature dunks, jump shots and free throw routines of your favorite NBA stars in the world’s best-selling* basketball video game became a reality today after Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) shipped NBA LIVE 07 to stores throughout North America.

Developed by EA Canada, NBA LIVE 07 features NBA superstar Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets on its cover, and it is available on the Xbox 360™ and Xbox® video game systems from Microsoft, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, mobile and PC. It will ship to stores in North America on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system on September 27th.

On Wednesday, September 27, McGrady and Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs, who is featured on NBA LIVE 07 packaging in France , will help launch NBA LIVE 07 at the world’s only NBA Store on 5th Avenue in New York City . Beginning at 1:00 pm Eastern Time, the first 150 fans who have registered to pre-purchase the game from the NBA Store will receive an autographed copy of the game from McGrady and Parker and have the opportunity to meet the players.

Outside North America, NBA LIVE 07 will be available to stores worldwide on Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 with Parker and Boris Diaw of the Phoenix Suns on the cover in France, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks on the cover in Germany and Pau Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies on the cover in Spain. McGrady is featured on the cover in North America and all other territories.

This year NBA LIVE 07 introduces ESPN Motion and streaming ESPN radio podcasts delivered right to your console in game through a ground-breaking new ESPN integration package available on the Xbox 360™ and PlayStation®3 consoles. Fans connected online will be able to watch NBA game highlights, segments from Pardon the Interruption or Around the Horn, interviews and analysis from SportsCenter, and more. Fans will also be able to download and listen to ESPN radio podcasts as they play NBA LIVE 07, including segments from Dan Patrick, Mike & Mike, Stephen A. Smith and others. All this is in addition to live ESPN Radio SportsCenter updates every 20 minutes, the ESPN Ticker and ESPN News.

Legendary broadcaster Marv Albert and former Chicago Bulls star Steve Kerr call all the action from the best seats in the house as you take your game to the highest level in NBA LIVE 07. With all-new EA SPORTS™ Total Freestyle Control and revolutionary gameplay -- complete with ultra-realistic moves and player emotions --the highly acclaimed basketball video game from the EA SPORTS brand plays as good as it looks. Pull off moves only the pros perform as you replicate the styles of your favorite NBA players. Elevate to the rim for an electrifying dunk and bring the crowd to its feet, or look to your superstars to shift momentum with the game on the line. Featuring all-new levels of ability for your EA SPORTS Freestyle Superstars, the power to switch their skills on-the-fly, and advancements to fan-favorite features like All-Star Weekend and Dynasty Mode™, the hardwood is yours for the taking in NBA LIVE 07.

Developed in Vancouver , B.C., by EA Canada, NBA LIVE 07 is scheduled for release on the PlayStation®3 later this year. Learn more about the game at http://nbalive07.com or download new screenshots at http://info.ea.com.

* Based on total franchise sales according to NPD Data.

Continue reading "YESSSSS! NBA LIVE 07 FROM EA SPORTS SHIPS TODAY" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 5:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Microsoft Game Studios today announced that the “Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania”* expansion pack has gone gold. Making waves on store shelves Oct. 17, this newest addition to the award-winning “Zoo Tycoon 2” franchise lets gamers of all ages turn their dream zoo into an aquatic adventure.

From Blue Fang Games, LLC, this new, E10+ rated expansion pack introduces 20 new marine animals into the “Zoo Tycoon 2” experience, including green sea turtles, black tip reef sharks and West Indian manatees, for $29.99. Watch an orca breach the surface of its tank, while dolphins teach each other new tricks. In addition to building new captivating tanks, gamers can also customize their own aquatic shows, teaching animals to entertain zoo guests and increase their zoo ratings.

New scenarios and challenges allow players of all ages and skill levels to test their aquatic expertise, such as rescuing marine animals, restoring their health and releasing them back into the wild. Children and parents alike can broaden their knowledge of the animal kingdom with the exclusive Zoopedia feature, with excerpts from Encarta®, that educates gamers on the dietary and habitat needs of the animals.

Also available at retailers on Oct. 17 will be the “Zoo Tycoon 2: Zookeeper Collection” featuring three franchise favorites: “Zoo Tycoon 2,” “Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species” and “Zoo Tycoon 2: African Adventure.” Available for $39.99, this ultimate “Zoo Tycoon” experience allows players to step directly into their zoo, where they will come face-to-face with 70 animals and hundreds of building objects to customize their zoo. For more information and free downloadable content, including new animals, scenery and demos, please visit the newly updated Zoo Tycoon Web site at http://www.zootycoon.com.

Blue Fang Games is an independent game developer dedicated to creating compelling, emotionally engaging games focused on the animal kingdom that set the benchmark for broad-based family entertainment. Blue Fang’s “Zoo Tycoon” franchise, published by Microsoft Game Studios, has established itself as one of the most popular PC gaming franchises and has sold over 5 million units worldwide. Founded in 1998, Blue Fang Games is located in Waltham , MA . For more information visit Blue Fang Games on the Web at www.bluefang.com.

Continue reading "Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania Goes Gold" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 6:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week, GameTap celebrates the Adventure genre by rolling out six new-to-the-network adventure titles, including the network’s first title from Phoenix Licensing and the first PC version of a classic Mac game from Cyan. In addition, we are premiering multiplayer capabilities with four others games!

Among the highlights is “The Last Express,” Phoenix Licensing’s debut game on GameTap. When The Last Express was originally released, it received Editor’s Choice awards from Computer Gaming World, PC Gamer, and dozens of gaming websites, as well as being awarded the “Best New Adventure and Role Playing Game” by Games Magazine. Created by Jordan Mechner, the mastermind behind the incredibly popular “Prince of Persia” series, “The Last Express” is an indelible adventure experience.

While Cyan is best known for its “Myst” franchise - with “Myst Online: Uru Live” debuting on GameTap this holiday season and “Myst,” “Riven: The Sequel to Myst,” and “Myst III: Exile” currently available in the network – one of their past game gems is “Spelunx and the Caves of Mr. Seudo.” This is an educational game cleverly disguised as a cave exploration adventure. Previously only available for the Mac, it is now making its PC debut.

New Games:

· “The Last Express” - Phoenix Licensing

· “Spelunx and the Caves of Mr. Seudo” - Cyan

· “Beyond Atlantis” - DreamCatcher Europe SA

· “Crystal Key 2: The Far Realm” - DreamCatcher Europe SA

· “Curse of Atlantis” – Thorgal’s Quest - DreamCatcher Europe SA

· “Dark Fall: The Journal” - DreamCatcher Europe SA

Games with added challenge/multiplayer game functionality:

· “Avengers” – Capcom

· “Blue’s Journey” - SNK PLAYMORE

· “King of the Monsters II” - SNK PLAYMORE

· “Mutation Nation” - SNK PLAYMORE

Check out GameTap every Thursday for loads of new games!

Continue reading "GameTap Celebrates “Adventure Week” with the Addition of Phoenix Licensing and a Cyan Classic" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TORONTO, Canada, September 21, 2006 – The Adventure Company today unveiled www.AgathaChristieGame.com, a new web site presenting its upcoming PC title, Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express. The site is jam packed with details that anxious and devoted fans crave about the new mystery adventure. Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express is scheduled to be on store shelves in November.

“The Murder on the Orient Express game site is a pre-boarding pass for fans to step aboard and get excited about what is to come,” said Lorraine Lue , Director of Global Marketing at DreamCatcher, Inc. “Just as a good mystery unfolds in time, we will release new details about the game every week leading up to the launch.”

Designed to provide a sneak peak and build excitement, the Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express site will showcase screen shots, character biographies and photos, environment artwork as well as trailers, demos, music, wallpaper and contests.

The new game will be the second Agatha Christie PC game to be released, following the successful launch of And Then There None last year, and is part of a series of digital activities aimed at bringing the Queen of Crime to the attention of a new generation.

About the Game

Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express will beckon travelers to climb aboard a luxury train and become part of a murder mystery where the player and Hercule Poirot must rely on their superior detective skills to find the killer in a heinous murder. The game remains true to the style and tone of the novel, but a surprising new ending will keep players at the edge of their seats. Agatha Christie fans will be delighted to know that Actor David Suchet will play the vocal role of Belgian Detective Hercule Poirot – a role Suchet made famous through his well-known portrayals of the character in an array of television appearances over the past 20 years.

About Agatha Christie

Known the world over as the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the world’s best-known mystery writer. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in over 45 foreign languages. She is outsold by only the Bible and Shakespeare.

About Chorion

Chorion is an owner, developer and manager of creative content with the rights to key brands such as Noddy, The Famous Five, Miss Marple, Poirot and Maigret. Visit www.chorion.com.

Continue reading "All Aboard! Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express Web Site Live" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Redwood City, Calif. – Tuesday, September 12, 2006 – The golden age of console hockey returns! Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced that the NHL® 07 videogame ships to retailers in North America today under the EA SPORTS™ brand. In stores just in time for the opening of NHL training camps, NHL 07 allows players to feel like they can play like a pro without ever touching the ice.

Featuring an unmatched level of freedom and control, NHL 07 represents a watershed moment in the history of the console hockey. The revolutionary EA SPORTS Skill Stick gives users the power to play in the game as it is on the ice, without taking their thumbs off the analog sticks. The left analog functions as your skates and the right as your hockey stick to give you a skill-based execution with an intuitive feel.

Stunning new presentation, AI enhancements and animation overhauls create players who look, act and play like they would in the NHL. Gone are the days when a one-timer was the only way to score in a hockey videogame. Now look to your teammates and know how to best use their strengths with New Player-Specific Behaviors. Be the Playmaker and find your Sniper open in the slot, or let your Dangler make pylons out of the defense.

Off the ice, act as the General Manager in an enhanced Dynasty Mode™. Do whatever it takes to meet an owner’s expectations by properly managing rosters and using your creativity to fit player salaries under the new cap. Whether you’re running the front office or dominating the rink, NHL 07 is the most realistic hockey video game ever created.

Continue reading "THE PUCK DROPS HERE! EA’s NHL 07 SHIPS TO RETAILERS TODAY" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Los Angeles (August 22, 2006) – Giving gamers the chance to play doctors and nurses, Codemasters today announced the signing of Hospital Tycoon, an original PC title from development studio Deep Red Games (Monopoly Tycoon, Vega$: Make It Big!, Tycoon City: New York).

Set for a spring 2007 launch, Hospital Tycoon is a medical-themed God game in which players are put in charge of hectic hospital facilities that are constantly on the verge of crisis and collapse. Players are challenged to run, maintain, enhance and expand the hospitals while turning any chaotic situation around using ingenious management techniques.

The most infectious thing about Hospital Tycoon is its humor as players experience how the game’s characters – the doctors, nurses and patients – interact with each other and react to how well the player is running each hospital. The game’s high level of character interaction will create a living hospital that’s part soap opera and part comedy.

A move away from micro-management life-simulation games, Hospital Tycoon will create emerging situations that are as entertaining as they are challenging. The manic medical teams have to deal with patients suffering from the most peculiar ailments, such as the man afflicted with ‘Monkey Nuts’ and the office worker diagnosed with Stress Zombosis, and set about curing them with equally odd treatments.

“Hospital Tycoon promises to be great fun, and continues Deep Red’s drive to fuse the established core gameplay of our previous Tycoon games with richer and deeper character simulation,” said Steve Beverley, project leader at Deep Red Games.

“With Hospital we’ve added a generous helping of widely-appealing humor and a kind of soap-opera format too. The game is designed for play either as a sandbox toy, making it accessible to a wider audience, or with structured challenges appealing to core gamers,” added Beverley. “Whichever way it’s played, it’ll be accessible, funny, visually gorgeous, and offer depth for those that want to dig for it.”

Players will direct the hospital’s medical staff, ensure patients are cared for and have the treatment facilities required. There’s also the upkeep of each hospital to control and develop; dedicated areas can be built to support additional medical needs – surgery, diagnosis, physiotherapy and more. Get it right and patients will go home happy, get it wrong and armies of angry, sick people will make everyone’s life hell.

The game’s rich visual design will deliver detailed, comedic representations of the patients’ bizarre diseases. The more patients that are cured, the more player’s medical empire can grow and flourish, but watch out for the spread of infectious conditions, or soon an epidemic could plunge the hospital into absolute chaos.

Continue reading "Codemasters signs Hospital Tycoon for PC" »

Posted by Matt Sarrel at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (August 22, 2006) – Leading video games publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. announced today that Pac-Man World Rally™ has shipped and is available in retail outlets nationwide for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Nintendo GameCube™ and PC.

Developed by Smart Bomb Interactive, Pac-Man World Rally puts players behind the wheel to race through a variety of Pac-Man World environments as Pac-Man®, Jr. Pac-Man and other famous Namco characters such as Mr. Driller®, Mappy® and the Prince from Katamari Damacy™. In the fastest and most exciting kart racing game ever, players can race for the win or fight it out in colorful Battle Arenas with unique weapons, power-ups and a variety of Pac-Ma