Thursday, June 11, 2009

Taito - Waterways announced, Winner of Dutch/Japan GameJam 2008, For iPhone and iPod Touch - Press Release

Taito have announced that the winner of the Dutch/Japanese GameJam 2008, Waterways, is being released on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Waterways is a action puzzler where the player takes on the role of a heroic cow who has to repair the Netherlands water system called "Caretaker 3000" which has gone nuts.
The game is out on June 11th for EUR 2.39 and $2.99.

Press Release

LOS ANGELES (June 11, 2009) — TAITO Corporation (TAITO®), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd., today announced that, with the cooperation of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Japan, action-puzzler WATERWAYS™ will be on sale at the App Store® worldwide and available for the iPhone® and iPod touch® on June 11. WATERWAYS, developed by Dutch studio Rough Cookie, was the winning concept of the Netherlands-Japan GameJam 2008 contest, held as part of the "Netherlands in Japan 2008-2009" celebration.

Last year was the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Japan and the Netherlands, and this year, 2009, marks 400 years of trade between the two nations. Sponsored by the Dutch game organizations NLGD Foundation and the Dutch Game Garden, and also backed by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japan GameJam 2008 contest was held by Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Japan as part of the continuing "Netherlands in Japan 2008-2009" celebration.

The Netherlands government invests in the growth of its national creative industry, and for this reason the "Netherlands in Japan 2008-2009" celebration has also featured events focusing on cross-cultural exchange via games. TAITO has long taken an active role in promoting the industry and mobile gaming in particular by participating in world-class events such as the International Mobile Gaming Awards. Hoping to make use of this prior experience and eager to contribute to the longstanding friendship between Japan and the Netherlands, TAITO participated in the "Netherlands in Japan 2008-2009" celebration by joining the panel of judges for the Netherlands-Japan GameJam 2008 competition and agreeing to publish an extended and adapted version of the winning concept.

GameJam winner WATERWAYS is an action puzzle game designed and developed by Dutch studio Rough Cookie. Players assume the role of a heroic cow named Patch. When the Netherlands' state-of-the-art water management system "Caretaker 3000" goes haywire, leading to widespread flooding, it's up to Patch to navigate a series of water-filled mazes and drawbridges in an effort to reach and repair the leaking valves. WATERWAYS makes full use of the iPhone/iPod Touch's motion sensors, with intuitive controls and instantly appealing game play.

TAITO and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Japan hope to continue to work together for the benefit of both Japan and the Netherlands' game industries.

WATERWAYS
Publisher: TAITO CORPORATION
Platform: iPhone / iPod Touch
Release Date: Thursday, June 11, 2009
Genre:Game (Puzzle / Action)
Price: US$2.99 / EUR2.39
Region: Worldwide
Copyright © Rough Cookie 2009 / Published by TAITO

About TAITO Corporation
TAITO Corporation (TAITO) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. With headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, TAITO operates core businesses such as game arcade operations, coin-operated game machines, and mobile phone content services. A seminal part of gaming history, TAITO caused a worldwide sensation with its arcade legend, SPACE INVADERS®, and developed such fan favorites as EXIT™ and ARKANOID®. Today, TAITO continues to thrill game lovers of all generations by offering both classic and new family-oriented titles on the latest gaming platforms. TAITO delivers a wide range of entertainment experiences with the goal of providing consumers with fresh surprises and new discoveries. More information on TAITO can be found on the Internet athttp://www.taito.com/.

About Rough Cookie
Based in The Netherlands, Rough Cookie is focused on the design and development of triple-A quality games for high-end mobile and handheld devices including the Apple iPhone. Rough Cookie is founded in 2008 and is privately held. More information on Rough Cookie can be found athttp://www.roughcookie.com/.
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Sony - Pictures Of PopCaps Heavy Weapon On USA PSN. Out Today - Press Release.

Heavy Weapon, from PopCap, is coming out on the PSN for $9.99 today. the game features 19 stages, trophies and more.



Press Release

Sony Online Entertainment Brings PopCap's Heavy WeaponTM to the PlayStation®Network
WHAT: Mount an assault on the enemy like never before with Heavy Weapon™ on the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system! Heavy Weapon combines the action and strategy of a classic arcade shooter with the fun factor of a more causal genre that all players can enjoy.

ABOUT HEAVY WEAPON: Heavy Weapon includes 19 exciting stages and challenging level bosses. Players launch their mission as an Atomic Tank, collect power-ups from friends and engage the enemy! Mission mode allows players to follow the storyline to the unlockable Boss Blitz mode where they can battle every boss in the game! The Survival mode features a nonstop onslaught of enemies to see which players can outlast the rest and achieve the best time!
Features include:
• PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system trophies.
• Action-packed game modes!
• 6 secret upgradeable weapons!
• 19 missions with nukes, mega lasers, and more!
• Unlockable Boss Blitz bonus game mode!
• Enhanced sound effects and original score!
• Amazing enemy landscapes and graphics!

WHEN: Beginning today, Heavy Weapon is available for purchase from the PlayStation®Store for $9.99 (plus applicable taxes).

For more information on Heavy Weapon, log in to www.station.com.

ABOUT SOE: Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers around the globe. SOE creates, develops and provides compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchises and hit titles including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, Untold Legends™, and PlanetSide®, as well as for developing Star Wars Galaxies™, SOE continues to redefine the business of online gaming and the creation of active player communities while introducing new genres on various entertainment platforms. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, with additional development studios in Austin, TX; Seattle, WA; Denver, CO; Tucson, AZ and Taiwan, SOE has an array of cutting-edge games in development.

“PlayStation”, “PLAYSTATION”, “PS” Family logo and “PSP” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PSP® system – Internet connection and Memory Stick Duo™ may be required (sold separately). PLAYSTATION®3 – Online access requires broadband Internet service and a wireless access point or LAN. Certain limitations apply to Wi-Fi connectivity. User is responsible for Internet service fees.

© 2003 PopCap Games, Inc. Portions of this software are © 2006-2009 Sony Online Entertainment LLC. The PopCap logo and all other trademarks used herein that are listed at www.popcap.com/trademarks are owned by PopCap Games, Inc. or its licensors and may be registered in some countries. SOE and the SOE logo are registered trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment LLC.

All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

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Sega - Wii Screenshots for Mario and Sonic at The Winter Olympics

Sega have released screenshots for the Wii version of Mario And Sonic At The Winter Olympics.
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Sega - DS Screenshots for Mario and Sonic at The Winter Olympics

Sega Have released screenshots for the DS version of Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympics.
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EA - Dwight Howard is Announced As The Cover Athlete for NBA Live 10.


EA have announced Dwight Howard As The Cover Athlete for NBA Live 10.



REDWOOD CITY, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Jun 11, 2009 Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today that Orlando Magic center, Dwight Howard, will be the cover athlete for NBA LIVE 10. A three-time NBA All-Star, Howard is currently looking to lead the Magic franchise to their first NBA Championship. The No. 1 pick of the 2004 NBA Draft was the 2009 NBA Defensive Player of the Year presented by Kia Motors, an All-NBA First Team selection the last two seasons, and stole the show at the 2008 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest with his superhero antics. Additionally, Howard was the starting center of the 2008 U.S. Basketball Men’s Senior National Team which won the gold medal at the Olympics in Beijing. NBA LIVE 10 is currently in development under the EA SPORTS™ brand by EA Canada in Vancouver, B.C. and will be available worldwide this October.

“It’s an honor to be named as the cover athlete for NBA LIVE 10,” said Howard. “This year has been a crazy ride and this is a cool way to cap it off. Of course - there is one more thing I’m on the hunt for that would complete it.”

Featuring several innovations to the core gameplay experience and online game modes, NBA LIVE 10 is bringing a renewed focus to the long-running EA SPORTS basketball franchise. The groundbreaking Dynamic DNA service, driven by Synergy Sports Technology, will make a return in NBA LIVE 10, with significant improvements that will allow players to connect their game to the NBA season like never before.
Along with Howard, regional NBA LIVE 10 cover athletes for France, Germany, Spain and Italy will be named at a later date.

The NBA LIVE franchise has graced multiple generations of consoles for over 15 years, and has sold more than 35 million units lifetime. The game will be available for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB. For more information, log onto www.nbalive10.com. Media can find screenshots and pack art of the game at http://info.ea.com.

EA SPORTS™ is the leading interactive sports software brand in the world, with top-selling titles and franchises includingMadden NFL Football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR®.
About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA MobileTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. The NBA and individual NBA member team identifications used on or in this product are trademarks, copyrighted designs and other forms of intellectual properties of NBA Properties, Inc. and the respective NBA member teams and may not be used, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of NBA Properties, Inc. © 2009 NBA Properties, Inc. All Rights Reserved. John Madden, NFL, FIFA, NHL, NCAA, and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR are trademarks of their respective owners and used with permission. Xbox and Xbox 360 are registered trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. “PlayStation”, “PLAYSTATION” “PS” Family logo and “PSP” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Memory
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UK PSN Update 11/06/09

PS3 Games
Vidzone [Free]
Puzzle Quest Galactrix [£15.99]
Wolfenstein 3D [£3.99]
Gunstar Heroes [£3.99]
Call Of Duty World at War - Map Pack 2 [£7.99]
Killzone 2 – Flash & Thunder [£4.79]
Burnout Paradise – Big Surf Island [£9.99]
X-Men Origins:Wolverine – Weapon X Arena [£3.99]
Little Big Planet – ICO and Shadow Of The Colossus Costumes [£4.79]
Little Big Planet – ICO Costume [£1.59]
Little Big Planet – Wander Costume [£1.59]
Little Big Planet – Yorda Costume [£1.59]
Little Big Planet – Collogues II Costume [£1.59]
Little Big Planet – Collogues III Costume [£1.59]
Saints Row 2 – The Unkut Pack [Free]
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X – Air Supremacy [£7.99]
Motorstorm 2 Pacfici Rift – Atlas Game Pack [Free]
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 – Additional Mission 7 [Free]
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 – Additional Mission 8 [Free]
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 – Additional Mission 9 [Free]
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 – Additional Mission 10 [Free]

Demo's
Overlord II

Guitar Hero - World Tour
European Track Pack 6 [£4.39]
“Adrenalina” by Finley [£1.59]
“Cadillac Solitario” by Loquillo y Trogloditas [£1.59]
“The Bitter End” by Placebo [£1.59]

Rock Band
Iron Maiden Pack 1 [£9.99]
“2 Minutes To Midnight” by Iron Maiden [£0.99]
“Aces High (Live)” by Iron Maiden [£0.99]
“Can I Play With Madness” by Iron Maiden [£0.99]
“Fear Of The Dark” by Iron Maiden [£0.99]
“Hallowed Be Thy Name (Live)” by Iron Maiden [£0.99]
“Iron Maiden (Live) by Iron Maiden [£0.99]
“Powerslave” by Iron Maiden [£0.99]
“Run To The Hills (Original version)” by Iron Maiden [£0.99]
“The Clairvoyant” by Iron Maiden [£0.99]
“The Number Of The Beast (original Version)” by Iron Maiden [£0.99]
“The Trooper” by Iron Maiden [£0.99]
“Wasted Years” by Iron Maiden [£0.99]

Videos
Pain – PAINalympics trailer
Fat Princess – Battle Royale Trailer
Battfeild 1943 – Iwo Jima Trailer

Wallpaper
NONE

Theme
NONE

PS1 Classic
NONE

PSP
Wipeout Pulse [£14.99]
Ape Academy 2 [£14.99]
Everybody's Golf 2 [£14.99]
Syphon Filter: Logans Shadow [£14.99]
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Study Exposes Considerable Gaps in Player Engagement Between Game Developers and Target Consumers - Press Release

A Study On Men and Women has shown how people can get different experiences from a game. the study focused on a popular first person shooter, one with story cut scenes and running and gunning moments. they used people at GDC, those familiar with games, as well as people not familiar with games.

The study showed that those who were familiar with the First Person shooter type game showed high engagement during the game with the story, cut scenes and combat encounters.
People not familiar with Fist Person Shooters were more engaged with simpler elements like Running And Gunning.

The survey suggests that a focus on slick graphics and well developed characters is more for the developers than the target consumers. throughout the development process, they should keep analysing user data for greater success in the market.

Press Release

SANTA CLARA, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Jun 11, 2009 Absolute Quality, an e4e Company, today released the results of research that indicated game developers and publishers have an opportunity to more closely align game features with the preferences of target customers. The study also highlighted the difference between experiences of men and women while playing the same game, which has implications on the marketing of any new game title.
The bio-sensory study commissioned by e4e was performed in conjunction with EmSense on one of the industry’s top First Person Shooter (FPS) game titles. The study tested both attendees at the Game Developers Conference in March 2009 in San Francisco, and a sampling of target consumers for the popular shooter game. Interpreting the results of the study, market research and consulting firm Techaisle concluded the following:
Participants from the game developers group who were familiar with the FPS genre showed a much higher level of engagement during elements of the game, such as the overall story, cut-scenes, and highly scripted combat encounters. Target consumers, however, were much more engaged during simpler aspects of the game, enjoying running and gunning through the experience in nearly two-thirds of the cases.
Also significant was the difference in gender reaction, which indicated games that are developed primarily for women would benefit from a focus on storyline and cut-scenes. Men were only engaged by cut-scenes 37 percent of the time, while women showed directionally above average engagement to the same events.

Implications for the Game Development Industry
Production elements such as video cut-scenes, which focus on slick graphics and well developed characters, can carry significant costs for game developers. Additional elements like complex vehicles and weapons can also run up the expense of creating new games. This study clearly shows that these elements of games tend to reflect the preferences of the developers themselves and not the preferences of the target consumer.

“The success of a game depends on several factors including age, gender and cultural influences, making it more challenging to deliver the right gaming experience to the right audience,” said Shirish Netke, President, Interactive Entertainment, e4e. “A rigorous analysis of user data throughout the development cycle can help mitigate the risk associated with the publishing and marketing of games and improve predictability of success of new titles in the market.”
Study Methodology

Over the course of several days, 15 minute gameplay sessions were held with conference attendees, simultaneously recording participant game play and their bio-sensory responses. GDC attendees include those employed in game development, testing and associated businesses. The target consumer group is comprised of those owning or having access to an Xbox 360 and who play first-person shooters on a regular basis, but are not employed as game testers or developers.
While playing the game, participants wore EmSense's patent pending wireless headset leveraging robust bio-sensing technology, combining multiple sensors measuring everything from viewer's brainwaves (EEG) to the moments when they blush into a unit the size of a headband. The system measures objective and continuous emotional and cognitive responses.
"Brainwave and bio-sensory measurement technologies give developers insight into the visceral engagement and emotion of gamers, all with the precision of real-time measurement,” said Tim Hong, SVP Product Development and Analytics, EmSense. “Traditional focus groups or surveys have their fair share of biases and only try to get at the thrill and fun of a gamer experience, but using this powerful technology clients have quantitative, benchmarked measures for game engagement."

In future studies, Absolute Quality and EmSense will continue to explore gamer experiences in other genres of the video game industry, and will probe deeper into the issue of developing games which are engaging for women, who now represent more than 40 percent of gaming consumers.
For more information, and to obtain a copy of the white paper and report, visit www.absolutequality.com/biosurvey2009.html.

About Absolute Quality
Absolute Quality, an e4e Company, provides Consult, Implement Operate (CIO) Services for the interactive entertainment marketplace, addressing critical operational problems across the entire business cycle. This includes crucial aspects such as market perception of new game concepts, localization, testing and quality management of new games, and finally revenue generation and support of games that are released in the market. To learn more about Absolute Quality, please visit: www.absolutequality.com.

About e4e
e4e is a global business services company, delivering business value through services in our chosen vertical markets. The company provides customers with utility services based on a combination of domain knowledge, relevant technologies and a reliable global service delivery model and help our customers increase business value through cost reduction, process re–engineering and most importantly through revenue enhancement in existing and new markets. For more information please visit www.e4e.com.
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Sega - Trailer for Xbox Live Arcade Vintage Collection 2

Sega have released a trailer showing the games coming out on the Xbox 360 Live Arcade this summer in their Vintage Collection 2. Expect Snic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Shinobi Arcade, Phantasy Star II, Altered Beast, Comix Zone and Gunstar Heroes.





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EA - Spore Galactic Adventures Expansion Pack Trailer

EA Have released a trailer for Spore expansion pack, Spore Galactic Adventures.
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Re-Cap of Yesterdays News (oldest to newest)

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