Press release:

Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, and Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, announced today that the blockbuster role-playing game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion® will be available for PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system in the UK on April 27th.

Released in March 2006 for Windows and Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Oblivion has already earned countless awards from publications around the world including numerous Game and RPG of the Year awards. Gamerankings.com and MetaCritic.com list Oblivion as the highest rated game of all time on Xbox 360 and PlayStation3, and the Official PlayStation magazine in UK recently rated the game with an amazing 10/10, the first PS3 game to achieve that score in the magazine.

Oblivion is a unique role-playing game that features a powerful combination of free-form gameplay, unprecedented graphics and cutting edge AI. Gamers can choose to unravel Oblivion’s epic narrative at their own pace or explore the vast world in search of their own unique challenges.

After the mysterious and untimely death of the Emperor, the throne of Tamriel lies empty. With the Empire ready to crumble, the gates of Oblivion open and demons march upon the land - laying waste to everything in their path. To turn the tide of darkness, you must find the lost heir to the throne and unravel the sinister plot that threatens to destroy all of Tamriel.

For more information on Oblivion PS3 visit http://oblivion.ubi.com/ ...

press release:

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, announced today that Del Rey will publish a novel based on the critically-acclaimed Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars™ computer and videogame on 29th May 2007 in the US and Canada. The novel will release in the U.K. and Germany in the months following. The game is available now for the PC and will be in stores 11th May 2007 for the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system.

In COMMAND & CONQUER: TIBERIUM WARS™, the novel by Keith R. A. DeCandido, the year is 2047 and the stakes could not be higher. Tiberium—a self-replicating alien substance that has infected the Earth—is spreading like a radioactive ice age. The Global Defense Initiative, a high-tech alliance of the world’s most advanced nations, is fighting to contain Tiberium, but Kane, the megalomaniacal leader of the Brotherhood of Nod has other plans for Earth. Kane’s secret society turned superpower is bent on using Tiberium to take control and transform humanity into his twisted vision of the future. In the midst of battles throughout the world, a third alien race emerges, and all-out war rages over Tiberium. The fate of the planet rests in the balance.

“We’re excited to expand the Command & Conquer franchise to a new form of media and offer a depth to the underlying fiction of the game series like never before,” said Patrick O’Brien, VP of Business Affairs at EA. “Keith DeCandido wrote a great story, and we’re pleased to have partnered with him and Del Rey.”

Del Rey editor Keith Clayton said, “Command & Conquer remains one of the most popular and well-reviewed gaming franchises, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to work on an original story set in EA’s Tiberium Universe.”

For further information on the novel, COMMAND & CONQUER: TIBERIUM WARS, visit www.delreybooks.com. ...

press release:

Leading gaming accessory manufacturer eDimensional has teamed up with renowned modder Benjamin J. Heckendorn on their latest product. Gamers worldwide are clamoring to know about what Ben will design next and eDimensional is eager to build it and bring it to market. Now you can win one just by guessing what it is! eDimensional and Ben are pleased to announce the “What the Heck?” contest, where you can send us your guess for what the new product will be. Correct answers will be entered to win a signed copy of the newest product when it is released soon.

eDimensional CEO Michael Epstein raves, “It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Ben on the new eDimensional product. He’s full of fantastic ideas that are truly inspired by the hard-core gamer, which is exactly who we design our products for. We’ve really given him free reign to fulfill his creative vision and are thrilled with how the new product looks and performs. We can’t wait to offer a benheck original to the entire gaming community.”

Author of Hacking Videogame Consoles, BenHeck has been creating acclaimed custom devices such as his recent XBOX 360 laptop since the last century. He notes, “I'm really excited about releasing my latest project, the first opportunity for gamers worldwide to purchase a Heckendorn original! Thanks to eDimensional for their contributions and support in making my latest creation a reality.”

Please visit www.eDimensional.com/whattheheck.php for the latest clues and entry information. New clues will appear at random, so be sure to check back often to see if you can figure it out ...

One of the video game industry's most celebrated franchises is officially hotter than ever. Within just five days of availability, more than 1 million copies of Pokémon® Diamond and Pokémon Pearl for the portable Nintendo DS™ have sold in the United States since Sunday's launch; a faster rate than any previous Pokémon games since the franchise's U.S. introduction, almost a decade ago. To date, more than 155 million copies of Pokémon games have sold worldwide.

Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl are poised to become two of the top-selling games of 2007 in the United States. More than one half million people pre-ordered the games before launch. Additionally, thousands of people attended the kickoff launch event in New York, and demand for the games continues to be off the charts. These latest versions of Pokémon games were introduced in Japan on Sept. 28, 2006, and have already been purchased by more than 5 million video gamers there.

The two games include a number of features that make them particularly attractive to gamers, including:

More than 100 new Pokémon.
A 3-D look that makes Pokémon jump off the screen.
Worldwide wireless battling and trading using Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection.
Voice chat functions that let players talk wirelessly with their friends.

Later this year, these two titles will also help expand the Pokémon universe for the first time to Wii™, Nintendo's new home video game system. Diamond and Pearl owners will be able to use their DS hardware units as controllers for Pokémon Battle Revolution (launching June 25), the first Pokémon game available for Wii. Players also will be able to export characters to the Wii game.

For more information about Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl, visit www.Pokemon-Games.com. ...

Press release:

One of the first publishing projects of Virgin PLAY, Virgin´s publishing brand v.2 Play presents gore galore in this arcade shooter especially designed for Nintendo DS.

Unleash sheer hell in this exciting House of The Dead - style shooter for the Nintendo DS console. In Touch the Dead you are Rob Steiner, jailed for life for a murder you didn´t commit, and now find yourself with the possibility to escape, but wait! There is something very wrong… the sense of evil is lurking around every corner!

From maximum-security prisons to research facilities, swamplands to airports, pickup your shotgun and blast your way through this action packed zombiefest. Play alone or with a friend thanks to the DS Wi-Fi Coop Mode. Can you solve the mystery?

PLOT SUMMARY
Imagine waking up in the middle of the night, and finding your cell door wide open. A bit strange, where are the guards? Why is it so silent?

You stand barefoot on the cold damp floor, little do you know your worst nightmare is about to begin. A shotgun lays on the floor beside you, soaked in a pool of blood. One thing is certain, no WAY are you going to not pick it up! You take your first steps to wander out into the hall, and to your surprise, you pull the trigger! You are faced by an army of zombies, baying for your blood! Let’s face it, you don’t want to end up like them do you? There’s only one solution, keep pulling that trigger! Find out the truth behind this mystery and try to end your nightmare. Where are the clues? Are there others like you? Any survivors?

GAMEPLAY
The main objective of Dead & Furious is to recreate the arcade style game play and atmosphere made famous by House of the Dead and Time Crisis. The gun controller is replaced by the stylus on the NDS Touch Screen. Shoot the zombies by aiming and tapping the screen. When the gun is out of ammo, simply drag´n drop ammo to your gun reload.

The player will be able to adjust the camera up/down/left/right to change the viewing angle. This will allow the player to look closely at finer details in the scene.

Players are guided around the 3D environment, however the game features several paths for the player to choose, each resulting in a unique ending.

KEY FEATURES

• Innovation. On-Rails Shooter for the Nintendo DS.
• DS Specific. Action orientated arcade style gameplay using DS specific features, tactile gameplay, double screen HUD and inventory.
• Multiplayer mode. Story mode available in co-op via WIFI.
• Replay Value. Multiple endings, hidden secrets, unlockable items.
• Immersive Storyline. Discover the truth.
• Terrifying Levels. Five chapters of horror, suspense and action lurking around every corner.
• Gameplay Features. Protect the innocent, rides with a jeep or a chopper and timed sequences. ...

press release:

Eidos Interactive, one of the world’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, can confirm that the award-winning mobile phone game, Championship Manager has just launched its latest 2007 version.

Championship Manager 2007 has all of the up to the minute data for football aficionados, more English and European teams and players, improved tactics, player-specific training regimes, pre and post match press conferences and an enhanced interface.

“CM 2007 is faster and slicker game and when you consider the last version was the best-selling football game for mobile phones and award-winning, it shows you just how good this version is,” said Allison Archer, Producer, Eidos New Media. “We’ve beefed up the feature list for the game, increased the number of players and teams and made the interface even more accessible so we’re confident that we’ll be retaining our No.1 crown with CM 2007.”

Dealing with every facet of real-life football management, from team tactics and training to negotiating record transfers, Championship Manager 2007 is the perfect way to realise your football management potential and take your club to ultimate glory.

For regular information and updates visit www.championshipmanager.com ...

via Hacked Gadgets

This video shows 3 ways to open a door, first 2 will give you the been there done that feeling. The 3rd is fantastic, using a Wimote the user simply gives his wrist a flick to unlock the door!

...

It's been a couple of months since I reported on this project, so I thought I'd post a small update on goings on for those interested.

I've been very busy helping to open a new restaurant (details at http://www.bigboy.com/RestaurantImag...April%2024.pdf) and haven't had any time to work on the game. Therefore, it's currently on hiatus. I have every intention of returning to the project once I settle into a less-than-80-hours-a-week schedule, but for now I just don't have the time.

Due to lack of interest in Dreamcast Fenix, I've also closed down the technical site. I have other plans for the address in which it was located and didn't see the point in leaving up a dead site that no one was interested in. I still have the html if anyone wants it. Just drop me a line at [email protected]. ...

PRESS RELEASE: PLAYSTATION®Eye Camera Brings Next-generation Communication to PLAYSTATION®3

Intelligent, motion-sensitive camera and noise cancelling microphone in one sleek package

London, 26th April 2007. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced the arrival of the next-generation PLAYSTATION®Eye camera.

Scheduled for a Summer release in Europe, PLAYSTATION Eye is an essential accessory for voice, video chat and online gaming that will enable gamers to enjoy their PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) experiences like never before.

Designed specifically for PS3 and featuring huge advances in USB camera and microphone technology, PLAYSTATION Eye is set to revolutionise the experience of online communication on the PLAYSTATION®Network. Expanding on the market-leading heritage of the EyeToy® USB Camera for PlayStation®2, the sophistication of the PLAYSTATION Eye naturally complements the advanced features and capabilities of PS3 – all in one slickly designed, unobtrusive unit.

Designed specifically to work with the next generation of social gaming titles and new services being developed for PS3, key features of the PLAYSTATION Eye include:

• A sophisticated microphone with the ability to reduce background noise and focus on the spoken word for smoother, more accurate speech recognition and transfer
• The ability to capture videos and audio clips directly to your PS3’s hard disk drive
• Engineered to perform well even in low-light conditions
• A range of different capturing modes, including slow motion and time-lapse
• Faster frame rate for improved tracking, responsiveness and smoothness
• Two position zoom lens for close-up and full body options
• A range of eye-catching visual effects to apply to photos and videos
• Bundled with EyeCreate™ editing software, which allows users to save and edit photos, video and audio clips

David Reeves, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe said, “PLAYSTATION Eye is a great example of how we have moved forward so significantly with our technology. PLAYSTATION Eye has four times the resolution, twice the framerate and double the sensitivity of its predecessor EyeToy USB Camera. With the technology that we now have at our disposal we will be able to dramatically improve the communications experience enjoyed on PS3”. EyeCreate software EyeCreate editing software, bundled free with PLAYSTATION Eye allows you to save photos, video and audio clips to your PS3 hard disk drive and apply eye-catching visual effects to your images. Different capture modes like time-lapse and slow motion open up a world of possibilities to be explored further in EyeCreate’s editing suite, where you can turn your media into professional looking movies.

New microphone functions

An all-new four microphone array, incorporating multidirectional voice location tracking, enhanced echo cancelling and background noise suppression allows for clear audio chat in even the most noisy of environments, without the need to hold or wear a headset.

Next-generation camera features

A frame rate of up to 120 frames per second allows for super-smooth video and sophisticated low-light operation means that the room doesn’t have to be brightly lit for the camera to deliver crisp, perfectly exposed video. The adjustable zoom lens features a 56º field of view to capture head and shoulders action for close-in audio-visual chat, and a 75º field of view to capture the whole body for a fully physical gaming experience.

Technical Specifications:
• 4 channel audio input:16 bits/channel, 48kHz, SNR 90db
• 56º to 75º Field of View zoom lens
• 2.1 F-stop, <1% distortion, fixed focus (25cm to 8 at 75º FOV)
• 640 x 480 at 60 frames/second
• 320 x 240 at 120 frames/second
• USB2 high-speed data transfer
• Uncompressed video or optional JPEG compression

Image from: Kotaku

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