Disney Interactive Studios announced today its lineup of upcoming video games that will be on display at the E3 Media & Business Summit 2008, July 15-17. The lineup includes titles across the major console and handheld platforms that appeal to every member of the family, whether they are putting on the ultimate rock performance or pulling off death-defying aerial tricks while soaring over huge peaks on a four-wheel vehicle. The complete lineup of video games can be viewed during the show in Meeting Room # 309. The E3 Media & Business Summit is an invitation-only industry event.

“The notion that video games only appeal to a small subset of consumers is long gone, and the demand for titles that reach every member of the family is rapidly increasing,“ said Graham Hopper, executive vice president and general manager, Disney Interactive Studios. “Whether leveraging popular Disney franchises such as High School Musical and Disney Fairies, or through innovative new properties such as Ultimate Band and Pure, Disney Interactive Studios is the leader in delivering broad appeal entertainment.”

Disney Interactive Studios’ legacy of developing high quality video games stems from a long-standing commitment to grow its self-publishing business. During its 2007 calendar year, Disney Interactive Studios was the No.10 publisher across all platforms.

With a significant commitment to product development, the company is continuing its strategy to dedicate nearly 70 percent of its investment to develop titles that support major existing Disney franchises and properties. This approach has proven to be extremely successful in recent years, most notably for titles within the High School Musical franchise. During the 2007 holiday season, the company shipped more than 3.8 million copies of the widely popular High School Musical video games worldwide, achieving Top 20 positions on each published platform for the month of December 2007, according to NPD data. This holiday season, Disney Interactive Studios will deliver videogames that continue to support the High School Musical brand, as well as the new Disney Fairies and Disney Sing It franchises and Bolt, a game inspired by the upcoming animated feature film.

Disney Interactive Studios’ also continues to develop original video games that leverage the talent and expertise of its internal studios. This holiday season alone, Disney Interactive Studios will release three original titles for tweens and families across multiple genres and platforms. Fall Line Studio, the company’s Nintendo Platform-dedicated entity, is developing Ultimate Band, a music performance game for Wii™ home video game console and Nintendo DS™. The studio also created the innovative DGamer online community that launched earlier this year on Nintendo DS. Black Rock Studio, formerly Climax Racing, is working on the much anticipated action sports off-road game, Pure for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows-based PC. Finally, Disney Interactive Studios will release the next installment in the popular anime-inspired Spectrobes franchise, Spectrobes: Beyond The Portals for Nintendo DS.

Below is a list of titles present at the E3 Media & Business Summit 2008:

• Pure is an action sports off-road game on four wheel vehicles featuring vertigo-inducing, massive aerial jumps and unforgettable airborne tricks in diverse locations throughout the world. Players will go head-to-head and attempt incredible death-defying tricks throughout varying terrain. Developed by Black Rock Studio, Disney’s award-winning studio in Brighton, England, the game features multiplayer competition for up to 16 players and includes the ability to create and customize vehicles with 65,000 different combinations.
Platforms: Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION®3 system and Windows-based PC
Release Date: September 2008

• Ultimate Band is a new interactive music video game for Wii and Nintendo DS that encourages everyone to get off the couch and perform as a rock star to their favorite songs. Ultimate Band for the Wii is completely peripheral-free, utilizing only the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ to play lead guitar, bass guitar, drums or act as the band’s front man. On the Nintendo DS, players will only need their stylus to jam and create custom tracks. Ultimate Band’s set list features current and classic rock tracks such as “Whip It,” “My Generation,” “Fell In Love With A Girl” and “Steady As She Goes.”
Platforms: Wii and Nintendo DS
Release Date: Holiday 2008

• Bolt is an action game starring Bolt, a dog with super powers, and his owner and human
companion, Penny. Inspired by the upcoming animated film of the same name from Walt Disney Pictures, Bolt centers on Bolt’s role in an action TV show in which the two characters engage in adventures throughout the world. The game expands beyond the film’s plot to reveal new characters, environments, and stories.
Platforms: Xbox 360, Wii, PLAYSTATION®3 system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo DS and ...

Progress on the Sega Dreamcast emulator for Windows.

...

4 Solitaire, in four different ways, whenever you want it!

The game adored by officeworkers from all over the world now comes in four different variants right on your mobile. Play it literally wherever and whenever you want. You don't need a table, cards, not even a mouse. All you need is a mobile phone with 4 Solitaire '08.

You have 4 different modes to choose from:
 Klondike (classic)
 Golf
 Pyramid
 Poker

Each variant has its own hint system so learning how to play them all will be a breeze, even if you've never even played classic Solitaire before. You can also upload your high scores from each mode and compare them to other players from around the world.

Features:
 4 games in one
 Take a break wherever you are
 Simple and intuitive controls
 Hint system for beginners
 Score upload ...

Atari serves up a treat with the announcement of What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver, the first video game to feature international cooking star Jamie Oliver and his delicious, world-renowned recipes, scheduled for release exclusively on Nintendo DSTM for Christmas 2008. What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver walks players through virtual and real-life cooking situations, from shopping to chopping, dressing the dish to serving up meals. The portability of Nintendo DS means Jamie Oliver is with you every step of the way to offer help and inspiration at the supermarket, in the kitchen, on the barbecue or wherever you feel like cooking up a storm.

Try your hand at some delicious real cooking with the interactive cookbook, stuffed with 100 original Jamie Oliver recipes, mouth-watering photography by David Loftus of the quality we've come to expect from Jamie's books, and featuring voice recognition leaving hands free to concentrate on the cooking. The interactive shopping list automatically saves ingredients from chosen recipes (either Jamie Oliver's or your own creations) and organises them by food type making trips to the supermarket a breeze. You can add any other items you want to the list using the keypad or text recognition.

In the spirit of Jamie Oliver's books and TV shows, the creative mode encourages players to use hundreds of hand-picked ingredients to create their own dishes. Up to 100 of your own unique recipes can be saved on the Nintendo DS to be recreated in the kitchen later and shared with friends and family using the Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection.

The cooking games offer fun for everyone with a series of recipe challenges using the stylus to chop, stir and serve in a variety of virtual real-time 3D kitchen settings. Challenge your friends and family to a cook-off or beat the clock, all the while keeping quality and taste in mind on your way to becoming a top chef.

"I really want to get as many people as I can cooking simple, tasty food, so I'm really excited about bringing a book's worth of my recipes to a game for the first time," said Jamie Oliver. "You can cook my recipes for real at home or in the game's 3D kitchens, but what's brilliant is that you can come up with your own recipes then share them with your mates and family over wi-fi. Lovely."

"What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver will be the most complete cooking game and it's great to have Jamie Oliver on board with his wholesome recipes and passion for life," said Cyril Voiron, VP Brand Management, Worldwide Publishing, Atari. "What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver is a great game for Nintendo DS as it appeals to players of all ages within the family, be it the everyday adult cook or the budding child chef, which is a perfect fit with Nintendo's phenomenal DS audience."

What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver is scheduled for release across North America in October 2008. For information on Jamie Oliver, please visit his official website at www.jamieoliver.com. ...

THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) and JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) today announced additional details surrounding WWE® Legends of WrestleMania®, the new World Wrestling Entertainment® videogame property currently in development for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. Poised to deliver an impressive lineup of Legendary Superstars and Managers, a new combo fighting system and a historically accurate representation of WWE telecasts during the Eighties and Nineties, WWE Legends of WrestleMania is scheduled for release in March 2009 to coincide with WrestleMania 25 in Houston, Texas, live on pay-per-view on Sunday, April 5, 2009.

“WWE fans are extremely supportive of our leading fighting videogame franchise, WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw®, and they have wanted a Legends-based game for quite some time,” said Tracy Williams, director, global brand management, THQ. “WWE Legends of WrestleMania has the right combination of talent, gameplay and presentation elements to extend the sports entertainment videogame experience and enable gamers to relive, rewrite or redefine classic moments etched in WWE’s history books.”

“WWE Legends of WrestleMania has a tremendous amount of potential with game enthusiasts, casual players and WWE fans of yesterday and today,” said Nelo Lucich, senior vice president of interactive, JAKKS Pacific. “The impressive talent and managerial roster, classic visual elements and key gameplay features like WrestleMania Tour Mode will encourage players to revisit classic matches, create new history and secure their rightful spots in the WWE Hall of Fame.”

WWE Legends of WrestleMania will embrace the leading sports entertainment organization’s rich history to relive, rewrite or recreate the definitive elements of WWE from the Eighties and Nineties. Players will relive the entertaining lives of more than 40 larger-than-life Legends and have control over Legendary Managers, each of whom will play crucial roles in match outcomes. The game’s new grapple-based fighting system will capture the high-energy action and drama seen in vintage WWE matches, while a historically accurate representation of past WWE telecasts will set the stage, including dynamic visual treatments, signature ring entrances, renowned commentators and notable venues. WWE Legends of WrestleMania will also include a WrestleMania Tour Mode that allows players to participate in key matches from multiple WrestleMania events, a Create-A-Legend system to develop the Legends of tomorrow, as well as online functionality for players to compete on the biggest stages in WWE history.

More information about WWE Legends of WrestleMania can be found at www.legendsofwrestlemania.com, www.THQatE3.com and www.thq.com. ...

THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) and JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) today announced additional details surrounding WWE® Legends of WrestleMania®, the new World Wrestling Entertainment® videogame property currently in development for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. Poised to deliver an impressive lineup of Legendary Superstars and Managers, a new combo fighting system and a historically accurate representation of WWE telecasts during the Eighties and Nineties, WWE Legends of WrestleMania is scheduled for release in March 2009 to coincide with WrestleMania 25 in Houston, Texas, live on pay-per-view on Sunday, April 5, 2009.

“WWE fans are extremely supportive of our leading fighting videogame franchise, WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw®, and they have wanted a Legends-based game for quite some time,” said Tracy Williams, director, global brand management, THQ. “WWE Legends of WrestleMania has the right combination of talent, gameplay and presentation elements to extend the sports entertainment videogame experience and enable gamers to relive, rewrite or redefine classic moments etched in WWE’s history books.”

“WWE Legends of WrestleMania has a tremendous amount of potential with game enthusiasts, casual players and WWE fans of yesterday and today,” said Nelo Lucich, senior vice president of interactive, JAKKS Pacific. “The impressive talent and managerial roster, classic visual elements and key gameplay features like WrestleMania Tour Mode will encourage players to revisit classic matches, create new history and secure their rightful spots in the WWE Hall of Fame.”

WWE Legends of WrestleMania will embrace the leading sports entertainment organization’s rich history to relive, rewrite or recreate the definitive elements of WWE from the Eighties and Nineties. Players will relive the entertaining lives of more than 40 larger-than-life Legends and have control over Legendary Managers, each of whom will play crucial roles in match outcomes. The game’s new grapple-based fighting system will capture the high-energy action and drama seen in vintage WWE matches, while a historically accurate representation of past WWE telecasts will set the stage, including dynamic visual treatments, signature ring entrances, renowned commentators and notable venues. WWE Legends of WrestleMania will also include a WrestleMania Tour Mode that allows players to participate in key matches from multiple WrestleMania events, a Create-A-Legend system to develop the Legends of tomorrow, as well as online functionality for players to compete on the biggest stages in WWE history.

More information about WWE Legends of WrestleMania can be found at www.legendsofwrestlemania.com, www.THQatE3.com and www.thq.com. ...

GlobalFun, a Publisher and Developer of premium mobile games has today announced that GlobalFun will deliver two, yet un-announced, mobile games for pre-loading on Sony Ericsson mobile devices in 2009 under a recently signed frame agreement between the two companies.

The deal also sees the two mobile games in unlimited distribution via Sony Ericsson controlled distribution channels such as Play Now Arena and Fun & Downloads.

GlobalFun has a long and strong standing relation with Sony Ericsson having supplied high quality premium mobile games for Fun & Downloads and Play Now for many years. GlobalFun is also, as communicated on the 4th of July, one of two main Content Acquisition partners for Fun & Downloads, Play Now and Play Now Arena services run by Sony Ericsson.

“This is somewhat of a natural step in taking our already close cooperation with Sony Ericsson to the next level” commented Marcus Johansson CEO of GlobalFun. ...

Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUU), a leading global publisher of mobile games, today announced the global launch of The Dark Knight, a mobile game based on the highly-anticipated Warner Bros. Pictures live-action film, which opens in UK cinemas on July 24th. The launch of The Dark Knight marks the second title Glu has developed and published through its strategic worldwide partnership with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.

“We take pride in making great games and are excited to have worked with Warner Bros. to bring this landmark title to the mobile platform,” said Jill Braff, senior vice president, global publishing, Glu. “The action-packed mobile game enables players to use dynamic moves and stealth tactics to take out one of the most notorious antagonists in the world—THE JOKER. We’re delighted to bring The Dark Knight mobile game to BATMAN fans around the world.”

In the game, a reign of chaos has swept over GOTHAM CITY, organized by a criminal mastermind known to terrified citizens only as THE JOKER. Gamers play as BATMAN using dynamic combat moves, special gadgets and stealth tactics to evoke fear in the hearts of his enemies. Players must use every weapon in BATMAN’s arsenal in order to confront his most devious enemy yet.

To accompany the game release, Glu will be publishing an extensive content suite for The Dark Knight, 31 wallpapers, 14 voicetones, 4 music tones and 8 animated screensavers for mobile phones.

Features of The Dark Knight allow players to:

• Become The Dark Knight of GOTHAM CITY in an action adventure game based on the film
• Fight criminals using a dynamic combat system with simple controls
• Utilize gadgets such as BATARANGS and grappling hooks
• Use stealth abilities to evoke fear in the hearts of foes

The Dark Knight mobile game is launching simultaneously on wireless carriers in North America, Asia and Latin America and will be available in Europe, the Middle East and Africa concurrent with the film release on July 25. For more information, visit www.glu.com. ...

Activision Publishing (Nasdaq: ATVID) today revealed that Metallica’s highly-anticipated full studio album, “Death Magnetic,” will be available simultaneously in record stores and as downloadable content for the world’s best-selling rhythm-based video game series, Guitar Hero®. Metallica fans will be able to rock out to new anthems from the band in Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock this September and will be able to unite on drums, guitar and vocals as the album will also be released as downloadable content for Guitar Hero® World Tour when it ships this Fall.

The company also confirmed its upcoming game slate and announced five new titles in development. Activision’s fall 2008 game lineup includes Call of Duty®: World at War, Guitar Hero® World Tour, Quantum of Solace™ and Spider-Man™: Web of Shadows. In addition, the company announced that it is currently in development on Wolfenstein™, the highly anticipated title from id Software; Marvel™ Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion by Vicarious Visions, the sequel to one of the best-selling action RPGs; Singularity (Working Title), a first person action game, based on an all-new wholly owned intellectual property, from Raven Software; a Luxoflux game based on “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, in association with Hasbro, the follow-up to one of 2007’s biggest blockbuster movies and games; and a title based on Twentieth Century Fox/Marvel’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine in development at Raven Software.

“Our strong and balanced portfolio illustrates our ongoing commitment to delivering top-quality entertainment experiences to broad global audiences,” said Mike Griffith, president and CEO of Activision Publishing. “We are particularly excited about this fall’s Guitar Hero World Tour, which will deliver unprecedented innovation to the rhythm-based genre with new instruments, a significantly expanded song list, and a music creator to share user-generated soundtracks. Gamers will also be able to play Metallica’s new album on the day it launches.”

Activision’s Game Line-Up Includes:

Call of Duty®: World at War – Building on the Call of Duty®4: Modern Warfare engine, Call of Duty: World at War thrusts players into the ruthless and gritty chaos of WWII combat like never before and challenges them to band together to survive the most harrowing and climactic battles in both the European and Pacific theaters. The title re-defines WWII games by offering an uncensored experience with unique enemies, jaw-dropping firepower like the flamethrower, and combat variety, including Kamikaze fighters, Banzai charges and cunning ambush tactics, as well as explosive on-screen action through all new cooperative gameplay. (Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Nintendo® Wii™ and Games for Windows®).

Guitar Hero® World Tour - When the house lights go down this fall, a new generation of axe shredders, drummers and fearless frontmen will come together and rock with Guitar Hero World Tour. The latest installment in the #1 best-selling video game franchise of 2007, Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero’s® signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless instruments with new revolutionary online and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands,” which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online for the first time ever. The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar, an authentic electronic drum kit and a microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock ‘n’ roll anthems. Music creators will also be able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunes™ where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations. (Xbox 2 computer entertainment systems, and Nintendo360™, PS3 and PlayStation Wii).

Wolfenstein™ – From id Software’s critically-acclaimed and multi-million unit selling Wolfenstein universe, which pioneered and defined the first-person action genre, comes the ultimate supernatural thriller. Set within a near-fictional, historical WWII setting, players take on the role of the heroic OSA agent BJ Blazkowicz as they are thrust into the unknown and unexpected to battle against combat troops, otherworldly forces, and the dark science created by a supernatural Nazi force hell-bent on world domination. Wolfenstein offers players an action-packed experience as they investigate the powers of a dark parallel dimension, join with resistance forces, and employ an arsenal of conventional and otherworldly weapons in attempts to annihilate the Nazi war machine. Ensuring a deep variety of action, Wolfenstein provides gamers with an assortment of interlinked missions that ...