Zynga - FarmVille announced for Facebook as Free To Play Game - Press Release

http://www.zynga.com/images/games/gameBig_farmville.jpg

Zynga have announced a new free to play social game for Facebook. users can build and customise their Farm from the crops they grow, animals and Farm buildings. the aim is to earn the most money either individually, or together in your social group.

Press Release

SAN FRANCISCO --(Business Wire)-- Jun 23, 2009 Zynga (www.zynga.com), the largest developer of social games, announced the launch of a new farm simulation game, FarmVille, which will allow players to build and grow the farm of their dreams, with the help of their friends.

With this exciting new offering, Zynga brings its leading social game design to the broadest mix of Facebook users yet. FarmVille allows players to build and customize their farm from the very beginnings, plowing the land, and choosing what they want to grow from a large variety of crops such as strawberries, eggplant, wheat and soybeans. The farm is then theirs to cultivate how they choose. Players will also have options to purchase farm animals such as pigs and cows, and compliment your crops with other farm assets such as barns, windmills and greenhouses.

Nurturing the farm is the key to success for players and their network of fellow farmer friends: those who tend their crops diligently will see their farms flourish and their bank accounts swell. Players’ friends are a key element of success in FarmVille.

“We’re really excited about FarmVille. The farm category in social gaming has shown amazing growth over the past couple years, especially in Asia,” said Mark Pincus, CEO and founder of Zynga. “There is something universally appealing about farming which speaks to large, diverse audiences. FarmVille will take what players love about the farm genre, and add a mixture of new and delightful features and design elements that have been so successful for us in our previous games.”

About Zynga
Zynga is the largest social gaming company with more than 12 million daily users and 50 million monthly users. Zynga’s games are available on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, Friendster, Tagged, Yahoo! and the iPhone, and include Texas Hold’Em Poker, Mafia Wars, YoVille, Vampires, Street Racing, Scramble and Word Twist. The company is funded by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, IVP, Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, Avalon Ventures, Pilot Group, Reid Hoffman and Peter Thiel. Zynga is headquartered at the Chip Factory in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.zynga.com.

Sega - Bayonetta Screenshots

Sega have released screenshots for Bayonetta. The screenshots show a variety of attacks and enemies.

EA - Spore Galactic Adventures Missions Trailer

EA Have released a trailer for the Spore expansion pack, Galactic Adventures. this time it focuses on the Missions in the game showing a few examples on offer.

Re-Cap of Yesterdays News (oldest to newest)

• Advert on Giant Bomb's front page show that the Cardboard Tube Samurai is a pre-order costume for Yoshimitsu. http://tinyurl.com/6nm48j

• 360: Major Nelson has said in his latest podcast that the next dashboard update the NXE is going to be faster. http://tinyurl.com/lvzft8

• UK Games Chart. Prototype, The Sims 3, Wii Fit, Ghostbusters, Call Of Duty World At War are top 5. http://tinyurl.com/nljwm5

• 360: Balmer has backtracked from his statement that a new Xbox Console was coming in 2010 by using poor words. http://tinyurl.com/mjs4wh

• A Michael Jackson game is rumored to be coming out on PS2, PS3, and Wii this Christmas. http://tinyurl.com/md5873

• Play.com say that their release date for Max Payne 3, of 30th October, was provided by the games developers. http://tinyurl.com/m9mrcu

• The Tony Hawk Ride skateboard is more a platform than a peripheral. more games are planned for the device. http://tinyurl.com/lde73x

• The Tony Hawk Ride skateboard is more a platform than a peripheral. more games are planned for the device. http://tinyurl.com/lde73x

• RT @majornelson: Xbox LIVE Gold member deal 'o the week is now available: SSF2THD for 800 points: http://tr.im/pjtA

• PSP: GTA China Town Wars is coming to the PSP in Autumn, Digital and UMD. Windscreen enhanced graphics, + More http://tinyurl.com/m4rwjz

• QTE Blog: EA - Couple of Screenshots For Wii and 360/PS3 Versions Of Harry Potter And The Haalf Blood P.. http://tinyurl.com/nxsftr

• Wii: Pictures of the Black Wii and accessories in Japan stores have been released, as well as the Blue Wiimote. http://tinyurl.com/nrer3s

• QTE Blog: Majesco - Shorts Movie Tie-In Announced For The DS - Press Release http://tinyurl.com/l2rk9b

• PS3: Final Fantasy 14 beta is rumored to start in September this year. http://tinyurl.com/n7taot

• Capcom have said that they will continue to support Playstation platforms. Monster Hunter sold 8.5 Million on PSP http://tinyurl.com/nkt9ub

• 360: RT @majornelson: Coming to Arcade this week: Garou - Mark of the Wolves and Droplitz for 800 points each. http://tr.im/plRo

• Cliff Bleszinski has denied rumors that he is now working on a horror game. http://tinyurl.com/kq4dp2

• PS3: a job listing from media Molecule has hinted that they are working on something ground breaking for PS3 only http://tinyurl.com/nzc7ux

• PS3: a job listing from media Molecule has hinted that they are working on something ground breaking for PS3 only http://tinyurl.com/nzc7ux

• Duke Nukem Begins was uncovered amongst Take Two's Lawsuit. was set for 2010 release by a well known developer http://tinyurl.com/ln5gn2

• Tekken 6 Wireless HORI Sticks cost $150, comes with art book and Game. http://tinyurl.com/lx5g4c

• PS3:Rumored Leaked screenshot of Playstation Cloud shows "Freinds Feed" gained trophys/levels, now playing + more http://tinyurl.com/nas6xn

• The Box Art For Guitar Hero 5 shows no guitars. says there's 85 songs by 83 artists and has a T rating. http://tinyurl.com/ljnlsa

• Its been announced that the The Sony Ericsson Satio Phone can play Playstation games, not said what kind tho. http://tinyurl.com/l4yz2c

• PS3:Rumored Screenshot of Playstation Cloud has been Dismissed by Jeff Rubenstein as"Pure Conjecture...100% Fake" http://tinyurl.com/lwxcxp

• PS3: The Characters from Ratchet & Clank a Crack In Time have been announced and with character Art. http://tinyurl.com/nlnjem

• 360: Serious Sam III is rumored to be coming to the 360 and published by Majesco. announcement may be this week. http://tinyurl.com/mgdz8d

• PSP: Tales Of Vesperia, PS3 Game, unlocks exclusive challenges, skits and costumes for Tales Of VS on PSP. http://tinyurl.com/n8bxe2

• Command & Conquer 4 is rumored to maybe having Persistent RPG Mechanics in single player and multiplayer modes. http://tinyurl.com/mqthhb

• PSP: Strikers 1945 is being released on the PSP as a download exclusive. it will have new graphics and new modes. http://tinyurl.com/mv46fc

Majesco - Shorts Movie Tie-In Announced For The DS - Press Release

Majesco have announced a movie Tie-In game for Shorts on the DS.
In the game, the player takes on the role of 4 main characters from the movie trying to fix the wishes that have gone wrong and bring the community back to normal. there are 26 levels in the game, in 3 distinct episodes from the movie, where players can use the characters unique abilities, draw temporary platforms, and use ray guns to help them.
the game is slated for a Late July Release

Press Release

EDISON, N.J., June 22, 2009 - Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced Shorts for Nintendo DS. This entertaining puzzle platform game brings to life the highly-anticipated Warner Bros. theatrical release of the same name. Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez (The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl, Spy Kids) the Shorts film features a high-profile cast that includes Leslie Mann, William H. Macy, Jon Cryer and James Spader. Developed by Artificial Mind & Movement, the Shorts videogame is expected to release in advance of the movie this July.

In Shorts, a magical rainbow rock that grants wishes brings chaos to the peaceful suburbs. Players take on the role of four of their favorite characters from the movie-Toe Thompson, Nose Noseworthy, Loogie Short and Helvetica Black-as they work to return the community of Black Falls to normalcy by fixing wishes-gone-wrong. Each character has his own special jump and unique ability that helps when fighting off a multitude of enemies, including booger monsters, bomb shooting crocodiles, poison spitting snakes, bats and sparking robots!

Shorts features 26 levels in three distinct episodes from the feature film. Players can use the stylus to draw temporary platforms to jump on or use as shields to avoid dangerous threats. In addition, collecting enough energy balls lets gamers power special abilities like the alien and wasp hover-jumps, telekinesis super-attack, invincibility, and growth and shrink ray guns for extra sticky situations!

Shorts for Nintendo DS is rated E10+ and is expected to release late July. For additional information about Majesco's exciting line of products, please visit http://www.majescoentertainment.com/.

About Artificial Mind & Movement
Based in Montreal, Artificial Mind & Movement (A2M) is Canada's leading independent game developer, employing 500 talented people in Montreal (Quebec) and Santiago (Chile). Since 1992, A2M has released 70 titles across every game platform, with over 28 million copies sold worldwide. Our studios work with the industry's top publishers and licensors, including Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Disney, Electronic Arts, Fox, Konami, LucasArts, Viacom and Warner. A2M is committed to producing unparalleled game experiences with original or licensed intellectual properties. Over the past three years, A2M has ranked simultaneously amongst the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 and Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies.

About Majesco Entertainment Company
Majesco Entertainment Company is a provider of video games for the mass market. Building on more than 20 years of operating history, the company is focused on developing and publishing a wide range of casual and family oriented video games on leading console and portable systems. Product highlights include Cooking Mama and Cake Mania 2 for Nintendo DS, and Cooking Mama World Kitchen and Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009 for Wii. The company's shares are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol: COOL. Majesco is headquartered in Edison, NJ and has an international office in Bristol, UK. More information about Majesco can be found online at www.majescoentertainment.com/. @Majesco is on twitter at www.twitter.com/majesco.

EA - Couple of Screenshots For Wii and 360/PS3 Versions Of Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince - Press Release

EA have released a couple of screenshots for both the Wii and 360/PS3 versions of Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince.
EA have also released a Editorial Feature for the game, this one focussing on the character animation. Most of the actors have provided voices, photos, and Body Scans to make the characters appear life like. the emotions of the characters can be seen, facial animation matches the voice work, and the characters now move more believable than any previous Harry Potter Game.
The game is out in the UK on 3rd July 2009.

Wii


360/PS3


Editorial feature for the videogame #2

Muggles and Magicians

Although you’ll be playing as Harry for nearly all of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceTM videogame - no spoilers about who else you’ll get to play, but if you remember the moment when Harry is out of action in the film you might manage to guess - everyone else in the game is just as detailed and full of character. Many of the actors from the film have provided their voices for the game, and the team have had access to photos and bodyscans of all the characters, so every raised eyebrow and fluttering cloak is accurately portrayed. For the first time in a Harry Potter game, it’s really possible to read the emotion in characters’ faces as they talk, thanks to the advanced facial animation system that’s been used. And it’s not just that the characters in the game look right and sound right - they moved right, too. EA has made every effort to perfect the animation for all the action in the film. To capture the moves that Harry can make on his broomstick it wasn’t enough to film a stuntman in a studio to get a decent approximation. Instead, one of the game team built a complete broomstick rig in his kitchen at home, bringing it in so the animators could experiment with every possible move by ‘flying’ one themselves.

Press Release
EA will provide the ultimate immersive experience for Harry Potter fans when they play the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game, available in the UK on the 3rd July 09.

For the first time in a Harry Potter video game, it’s possible to read the emotion in characters’ faces as they talk, thanks to the advanced facial animation system that was used during development. Many of the film’s actors provided their voices for the game, and the development team at EA had access to photos and body scans of all the characters, so every raised eyebrow and fluttering cloak is accurately portrayed in the game. Although you will play as Harry for nearly all of the game, the other characters in the game are just as detailed and full of emotion.

Not only do the characters look and sound like the actors in the film, the EA development team went to great lengths to ensure that the characters even move accurately. To capture the moves that Harry makes playing Quidditch on his broomstick, it wasn’t enough to just film a stuntman. One of the developers also built a complete broomstick rig in his kitchen at home and brought it in so the animators could ‘fly’ a broom themselves and experiment with every possible move.

Re-Cap of The Weekends News (oldest to newest)

• Capcom nearly confirmed a Street Fighter IV sequel. Gouken's daughter DLC for IV as well as Rolento, tier chart http://tinyurl.com/lgqemn

• QTE Blog: Re-Cap of Yesterdays News (oldest to newest) http://tinyurl.com/nl3353

• 360: Major Nelson has denied there's another 360 console. current one isn't half way through its cycle. http://tinyurl.com/l5qroj

• 360: Mass Effect DLC is rumored to be out in August. http://tinyurl.com/km8qnn

• Penny Arcade's Cardboard Tube Samurai is rumoured to be in Tekken 6. http://tinyurl.com/nucqs3

• Penny Arcade have just tweeted this RT @cwgabriel: http://twitpic.com/7uojn Yes this is for real. Cts costume will be in tekken 6!

• PSP: Final Fantasy Dissidia Preorders in US get either a Black/White Case at GameStop or OST sampler at Amazon. http://tinyurl.com/nck8yq

• PS3: EA's official site has Left 4 Dead 2 listed as coming to the PS3. no official confirmation yet. http://tinyurl.com/lcr3o3

• PS3: EA have removed all reference of Left 4 Dead 2 coming to the PS3. http://tinyurl.com/mbaacp

• DSi: New Mega Man game announced. it's called Rockman EXE Operator Shooting Star. http://tinyurl.com/ntz55a

• QTE Blog: What Have You Played This Week? http://tinyurl.com/kspc7u