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Events: WCG 2009 Asian Championship 1st Day Qualifier round in Bangladesh

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:32:03 +0100

Today F1 Management Limited in association with Department of Computer Science and Engineering of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh hosted 1st Qualifier round at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (Dhanmondi Campus). ULAB (University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh) in 5th floor in arrangement this 1st qualifier round day. Total 500 players join this event, in 420 players is participated at FIFA ’09 and other players participated on Warcraft III Frozen Throne and Guitar Hero: World Tour. Warcraft III Frozen Throne participators’ DoTA (Defense of The Ancients) players, was 5 VS 5 play this game and total 9 number of team was 1st Qualifier round participated. In FIFA ’09 participator at a time 30 player played this game, 1 VS 1 and 1 referee watched that players games. I am also here three games judgment to referee mod.

Tomorrow WCG 2009 Asian Championship 2nd Qualifier round (Bangladesh) will start 9:30 PM BST in ULAB (University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh) in 5th floor auditorium hall.

View: Photos: WCG 2009 Asian Championship Qualifier round in Bangladesh - 1st Day

Bangladesh joins WCG 2009 Asian Championship & Start Qualifier round

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:31:38 +0100

Bangladesh has been invited in the WCG 2009 Asian Championship this year for the first time.

World Cyber Games (WCG) is the world cup for all the gamers around the world, a chance to truly see just how you good you are with keyboard and mouse against other human players. For the last couple of years, F1 Management Limited has been organising the National Round in Bangladesh, selecting the winners who will face the players from all over the world.

The Asian Championship of WCG will be held in Singapore from 3rd to 5th July, where all the past Asian Championships has been held, along with the WCG Grand Finals back in 2005. The official games this year are DoTA (Defense of The Ancients), a modified version of Warcraft III Frozen Throne, FIFA '09 and Guitar Hero: World Tour.

The participating countries are among others Bangladesh, Australia, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Thailand, and New Zealand.

The event is more than just a gathering of thousands of gamers around the world. It is the benchmark of the Asian gaming world. This is where the high scores and records are set and broken.

F1 Management Limited in association with Department of Computer Science and Engineering of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh will host a Qualifier round at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (Dhanmondi Campus) from June 11 to 13th purposing to select the best gamers to represent Bangladesh in the Asian meet. The games to be played at the Bangladesh Qualifiers shall be FIFA09 (1vs1), DOTA (5vs5), Guitar Hero (1vs1).

About 500 gamers registered for the Bangladesh Qualifiers. For more information log on to WCG Bangladesh's official site www.wcg.com.bd

The winners of the WCG 2009 Asian Championship Qualifiers shall be heading to Singapore this July. (5 player of DOTA, 1 player of FIFA, 1 player of Guitar Hero and 1 Team Leader. Total 8players shall be going to Singapore).

Xbox 360 Sees Biggest European Sales Month In November

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:08:12 +0100

Microsoft says that this November saw the biggest European sales month for Xbox 360 since its 2005 launch, outselling Sony's PlayStation 3 across the territory while making significant gains in Span, France, and Italy.

"November was a very significant milestone for Xbox -- we sold the most consoles ever in our history in Europe, and are outselling PlayStation 3 week-on-week across Europe," says Xbox EMEA regional vice president Chris Lewis, referring to data from market research group GfK Chart-Track.

According to the company's data, sales for Xbox 360 were up 124 percent over the same period in the previous year, compared to Wii and PlayStation 3, which only saw year-over-year gains of 43 percent and 3 percent respectively.

Lewis believes that consumers have "responded enthusiastically" to Microsoft's September price reduction across all Xbox 360 models, which brought its Xbox 360 Arcade bundles down to €179.99/£129.99 ($226/$190), making it the cheapest current generation home console in the territory.

"Our strong partnerships with retail and with publishers have played a big role in this success," adds Lewis. "We are working closely with retail to ensure a steady supply of consoles throughout the Christmas season, and third-party games have been selling well on the Xbox 360 platform and providing great choice for consumers."

News source: Gamasutra

Colorful Nintendo DS DS Lite Hit Black Friday

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:15:00 +0100

There have been so many special edition Nintendo DS Lite gaming devices, I think I've lost track. But if you or someone you know is a huge Super Mario Bros. fan, then check out this limited edition Mario Red DS.

The bright red Nintendo DS Lite features the Mario logo, and comes bundled with a copy of the Super Mario Bros. game. Wired unboxed this hot little number, and predicts it will fly off shelves when it goes on sale on November 28th.

A blue special edition Nintendo DS Lite is also hitting stores at the same time under the name Ice Blue DS. This cool console is packaged with Brain Age and includes a very feminine case to protect the device.

It seems both of these special edition portable gaming consoles will set you back $150, like any other DS Lite, so the question is are you willing to camp out outside your electronics store on Black Friday to get one?

Wii Sales Over 7 Million Milestone In Japan

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:04:46 +0100

Total lifetime sales of the Wii console in Japan have hit 7 million units, according to a report by research firm and Famitsu magazine publisher Enterbrain, as translated by blog site Kotaku.

Launched in Japan on December 2nd, 2006, the new milestone includes all sales in the country up to November 23rd, 2008. By comparison lifetime sales of the PlayStation 3 in Japan stand at around 2.5 million units and the Xbox 360 around 800,000 units.

Although easily the best-selling home console in Japan, the Wii’s dominance in its home country is not quite as total as in the West. The console is regularly outsold, often by a significant margin, by both the Nintendo DS and PSP – although software sales have remained strong.

The latest official worldwide total for the Wii, revealed as part of Nintendo’s half year results in October, was 34.55 million. This means that the Japanese market accounts for roughly 20 percent of Nintendo’s total Wii business.

Japan: PS3 and DSi sales slow

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:38:12 +0100

While the DSi couldn't match the phenomenal opening sales week it enjoyed in Japan, it still shifted almost 105,000 units to top the hardware chart during the week ended November 9.

Sony's handheld again took second place, as PSP sales fell more marginally to 43,000.

The Wii was one of only two systems to see a sales increase, moving almost 25,000 units, while PS3 sales dipped from 40,000 to 18,500.

That was still enough to beat 360 though, despite weekly sales of Microsoft's console doubling to nearly 13,000.

The now plain old DS Lite sold 8,500 units, while the PS2 came last with just under 6,000 sales.

DSi - 104,897
PSP - 43,726
Wii - 24,726
PlayStation 3 - 18,354
Xbox 360 - 12,759
DS Lite - 8,381
PS2 - 5,743

Electronic Arts loosens locks on Spore video game

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 09:35:34 +0100

The consumer is always right. Electronic Arts Inc., stung by a siege of criticism from gamers who took issue with the copyright restrictions the company placed on its Spore game, issued an apology Friday and said it would loosen electronic locks on the game.

Spore, one of the most hotly anticipated computer games of the decade, was released two weeks ago after more than six years of development.

"We've received complaints from a lot of customers who we recognize and respect," said Frank Gibeau, president of EA's Games Label, the division responsible for Spore. "We need to adapt our policy to accommodate our legitimate consumers."

Trying to avoid widespread unauthorized copying of Spore, EA had restricted to three the number of computers on which players could install the game. But buyers chafed at the limit imposed by the digital rights management policy. They complained that the Redwood City, Calif., company didn't adequately disclose the policy and that it treated them as if they were software pirates.

Some buyers also said the policy failed to recognize that players often upgrade their computers and need to migrate software to new machines.

The customer anger erupted largely on video game message boards and in user reviews on Amazon.com's Spore page. The game's ratings have been hammered by critics of the installation restriction, with nearly 2,500 of the 2,900 Amazon reviewers giving Spore only one star out of five.

EA executives said the controversy caught them off guard. The company said Friday that it would boost the limit to five computers. EA also will allow players to transfer the game an unlimited number of times so long as each copy is installed on no more than five computers at the same time.

EA also said it might let players go beyond that limit, depending on the circumstances.

"We assumed that consumers understand piracy is a huge problem," Gibeau said. "We have found that 75% of our consumers install and play any particular game on only one machine, and less than 1% ever try to play on more than three different machines."

The firestorm marred one of the company's most important game launches this year. Developed by Will Wright, who also created the Sims franchise, Spore lets players build creatures that evolve into civilizations and eventually take over distant galaxies.

Analysts said EA took the right approach. "The key to making copyright restrictions work is to offer value," said Billy Pidgeon, an analyst with IDC.

In the future, most games will have similar anti-piracy measures that require players to authenticate legitimate software over the Internet before playing, he said.

"Online authentication is inevitable," Pidgeon said. "People who complain about it tend to be a vocal minority. A lot of them share cracked software and won't be happy with any solution. In the end, this will blow over because Spore is a fun game, and people will want to try it."

Copyright 2008 Los Angeles Times

Sony offers PlayStation 3 users a Life line

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:44:04 +0100

Sony has unveiled a new online service called Life with PlayStation, which offers PlayStation 3 users a quick way to check the weather and scan headlines using their console.

The service is part of Sony's larger effort to ratchet up its Sony PlayStation Network. The company has started offering video downloads and is poised to offer a new virtual world interface called PlayStation Home later this fall.

Life with PlayStation for now is not as interesting as Home or the video downloads. You just get a live space view of the earth with the ability to zoom in on 60 cities around the world. Each city provides you with current weather provided by the Weather Channel, a live web cam shot and local news headlines served up by Google News.

The service is evolving and should incorporate more in the future, which is important. In addition to not having enough cities, the weather information gives you no forecast for today or beyond. And the headlines are actually just from Agence France-Presse, which is good but AP or Reuters would have made more sense.

But the nice thing is that whenever you pull up Life with PlayStation, you can also participate in the Folding@home project. The Stanford project uses connected PS3 to conduct protein folding simulations, which allow scientists to understand how proteins fold and misfold and how these are related to diseases and cancer.

You can access Life with PlayStation through your PlayStation menu by clicking on Folding@home. So check it out and tell us what you think.

Valve says no to Google buy-out rumour

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:42:58 +0100

The rumour has been killed - Google is not attempting to buy-out Valve according to both companies.

By now everybody on the planet has probably seen the rumour that was originally spread by The Inquirer that internet giant Google was set to buy out Half-Life developer Valve, but both companies have now refuted the claim and said it is purely a piece of fiction.

The Inquirer's Charlie Demerjian originally set the rumour-mill going, claiming that 'well placed sources' had confirmed with him that Google was ready to buy-out Valve 'at any second'. Predictably, the internets were set aflame with panic and flamewars, with The Inquirer standing by the story as the comments flooded in.

However, it now turns out that some even better placed sources at both companies have dismissed the idea as a work of pure fantasy. NoFrag quickly contacted Valve for an official comment and heard back from both Valve founders Gabe Newell and Doug Lombardi who said flatly that there was absolutely no truth to the story.

"No truth. Fabrication," said Gabe, simply.

"It's nothing more than rumor. Valve is focused on making Left 4 Dead a great product and supporting folks like Crytek and Ubisoft who are bringing great games to Steam this year," confirmed Doug.

Google meanwhile has also dismissed the idea, telling Eurogamer that the story was nothing more than rumour and speculation.

That's not to say that the idea didn't have merit of course - Valve has previously said that it didn't want to continue pushing Steam as the primary saviour of PC gaming, while Google is obviously keen to control as much of the market as possible. A match between the two would have been sensible on the surface, but there's no substance to it unfortunately.

© bit-tech.net 2008

Video Games Are Good For Kids, Experts Find

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:12:24 +0100

A new comprehensive study of teens' gaming experiences dispels much of the fear that video games can incite users to violence and, at the same time, the study found that game playing includes heavy social interaction and civic engagement. And, yes, girls are now playing video games almost as much as boys.

The study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that nearly all teens play video games and that their games' activity has become a major component of their overall social experience.

Released Tuesday, the 76-page report ventured far and wide into the video game phenomenon ranging from an examination of which teens are playing the games to the social context of their play.

"This is the first large-scale study to examine the relationship between specific gaming experiences and civic outcomes," the report stated.

The survey refuted some common misunderstandings about games -- namely that most are violent and that teens tend to play the games in solitude.

"For most teens, gaming is a social activity and a major component of their overall social experience," the report states. "65% of game-playing teens play with other people who are in the room with them."

Indeed, the most popular game played by U.S. teens is "Guitar Hero," which enables players in a group to play guitar by hitting correct note sequences of songs. "Guitar Hero" tends to be more popular among more affluent households, but has also lured many girls into a video game universe that had traditionally been dominated by boys playing sports action and even some violent games.

Pew said 99% of boys and 94% of girls play video games. One half of teens said they had played a video game "yesterday," indicating that the phenomenon is growing. And 90% of parents said they often play along with their children.

The study stands in bold contrast to the situation in 2005 when the popular TV show "60 Minutes" electrified its audience with the story of a lawsuit against the providers of the "Grant Theft Auto" video game. The lawsuit claimed that months of playing the game had influenced the teenager to go on a murder rampage.

The Pew report prompted immediate praise from the trade group Entertainment Software Association.

"Replacing stereotypes with facts, this groundbreaking study underscores what we have known to be true --video games are beneficial and can have positive effects on children's civic and social development," said an association spokesman.

The Pew report found that when teens observed others exhibiting aggressive behavior or of observing "hateful, racist or sexist" playing behavior, they often attempted to stop the boorish behavior.

"Social game play is thought to offer the possibility for youth to have collaborative and interactive experiences, experiences that potentially parallel may real world political and civic activities," the report states.

By far, the most popular game mentioned by survey respondents was Guitar Hero. The game has gained in popularity its audience has broadened from its initial PlayStation 2 platform to additional platforms including PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS.

The other most popular games in order cited in the report are: "Halo 3," "Madden NFL," "Solitaire," and "Dance Dance Revolution."

Star Wars Finally Unleashed on Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStations and More

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:34:00 +0100

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif – September 16, 2008 – Thirty-one years ago, the first Star Wars movie galvanized audiences around the word, sparking a phenomenon that has spanned generations. With today’s release of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, one of the most highly anticipated video games of the year, LucasArts proves that the Force is stronger than ever.

Available now on the Xbox®360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii™ home videogame system from Nintendo, Nintendo DS™, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed completely re-imagines the scope and scale of the Force and casts players as Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice,” unveiling new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy seen through the eyes of this mysterious new character, who is armed with unprecedented powers.

“The development teams here at LucasArts, at Krome Studios, and at n-Space, Inc., have put a tremendous amount of effort into creating this all-new Star Wars story and innovative technology,” said LucasArts’ President Darrell Rodriguez. “I am extremely proud of what Executive Producer Haden Blackman and his team have been able to accomplish in The Force Unleashed, and can’t wait to hear what fans think of it when they’ve played through the game.”

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is not only LucasArts’ first internally developed title for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 systems, but also represents the first in-game collaboration of talents and technology between LucasArts and sister company Industrial Light & Magic. The end result is a game authentic to the world in which it is set, unique in its presentation and unforgettable as a Star Wars experience.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed also breaks new ground on these consoles by taking full advantage of newly developed technologies experienced for the first time together: Digital Molecular Matter, by Pixelux Entertainment, and euphoria by NaturalMotion Ltd. These technologies imbue objects and enemies with the ability to react with incredible realism, bringing depth and richness to the Star Wars galaxy that is unprecedented for a video game, and showcasing the unique blend of storytelling, technology and interactive entertainment that is the hallmark of LucasArts.

Working with Lucas Licensing, LucasArts has prepared an unprecedented promotional effort for today’s launch of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, including toys and games from Hasbro, Lego and Wizards of the Coast, as well as a full publishing program from Dark Horse, Del Rey, Prima Games, and Palace Press.

Xbox 360 Barely Outsells PS3 in August

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 08:36:56 +0100

It's back and forth between Microsoft and Sony, while Nintendo trumps both with more Wii sales than Xbox 360 and PS3 combined.

Xbox 360 won the latest round in the monthly battle with PlayStation 3 hardware sales, according to figures released by NPD Friday. Of course, both figures--195k for Xbox 360 and 185k sold of PS3--pale to the nearly half a million Wii consoles Nintendo moved.

With 453k consoles sold, you'd think Wii was the best-selling game machine for the month. Actually, it was DS at 518k handhelds sold.

What's really interesting, however, isn't the continuation of the trend of Wii obliterating the competition; instead, it's how Madden NFL 09 sold a fraction on Wii what it did on other platforms. Only 115k copies were snatched up on Wii compared to an impressive 1.6 million on both Xbox 360 and PS3.

It even sold less than Too Human, which is a far more niche title than passing around the pigskin. Apparently Wii owners prefer working out with Wii Fit and pedal-to-the-metal sessions of Mario Kart than football or looting adventures set to a Norse mythological back drop.

Looking at the bigger picture, it contributed to a 9% growth in the gaming industry over last August. NPD estimates another record year, with 2008 bringing in over US$22 billion in sales.

Tracy Erickson, GamePro

EA Mobile to launch game made for Apple iPhone, iPod

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:58:34 +0100

EA Mobile said Friday that "Spore Origins,"an original game for the iPhone and iPod touch, will debut this month.

EA Mobile, a division of Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), said the game takes full advantage of the Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) devices’ built-in accelerometer as players tilt, turn and twist their way through a world made of primordial ooze. In conjunction with the launch of "Spore Origins," the company also announced a list of nine games in development for both the iPhone and iPod touch platforms.

Travis Boatman, vice president Worldwide Studios at EA Mobile, said, “By leveraging the unique capabilities of these devices, players can customize their own creatures and shape their destiny in an exciting evolutionary journey.”

"Spore Origins" will be available globally from the Apple App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or by visiting www.eamobile.com from an iPhone.

© 2008 American City Business Journals, Inc.

Left 4 Dead release date pushed back

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:23:40 +0100

Left 4 Dead was originally set to hit retailers on November 4 but in a video interview with Gamekings.tv, Valve's Gabe Newell stated that the game was be pushed back to the third week of November to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Half-Life. That meant L4D would have come out November 20, 2008, according to Newell.

Well the date has been changed again, and now Valve's highly anticipated co-op survival horror has different release dates for North America and Europe. Left 4 Dead 411 made a request to Valve for definite confirmation, and Doug Lombardi responded, "Nov 18 in the States. Nov 21 in Europe (US retailers do 'new release Tues' and the EU does that on Friday)."

The new release date still ties in with Half-Life's anniversary, as the game was originally launched on November 18, 1998.

Once again, North Americans will be seeing the action a little earlier than European gamers, but it's a decently small gap this time around, if that's any consolation.

Leipzig: Games Convention 2009 dated, GC 2008 sets record

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:34:15 +0100

With the Leipzig Games Convention 2008 finally closing its curtains, we now get confirmation that next year's event has already been scheduled. The announcement was made via press release by Leipziger Messe GmbH CEO Wolfgang Marzin: GC 2009 will be held from August 19 to 23, also in Leipzig.

Along with the announcement, we hear of a survey conducted to this year's event's visitors, asking them if they'd want to see another GC next year.

Among all the visitors - whether trade exhibitor or part of the general public (some of which have travelled from half way across the world just to see the show) - a vast majority of about 90% agreed.

This makes me think of what the outcome would have been if a survey like this were conducted at the end of this year's E3, but moving on...

GC 2008's success is proven by the sheer number of visitors who dropped in: over the four-day period, some 203,000 people came in. Compared to last year, the number of software and hardware companies from around the world who participated in the Leipzig event have increased, from 189 to 234.

Nintendo Hit by Another Wii Lawsuit

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:36:01 +0100

Could a patent fight force Nintendo (NTDOY) to pull its popular Wii videogame console from U.S. store shelves? That's how some investors seem to have interpreted Hillcrest Labs ' announcement on Aug. 21 that it was suing Nintendo in a district court in Washington, D.C.

Hillcrest alleges that the wand-shaped remote controller for the Wii uses technology that infringes on the Rockville (Md.) company's patents for a "handheld three-dimensional pointing device" and software that works with it on a TV. Hillcrest has also asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban import of the Wii. A Nintendo spokesman declined to comment, saying the company had not been contacted by Hillcrest Labs.

The news triggered a sell-off of Nintendo's shares in Japan. By the close of trading in Osaka, investors had knocked 3.6% off Nintendo's shares, which have fallen by nearly 25% since the start of the year. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average ended the day just 0.8% lower. The Nintendo slide suggested investors are bracing for the worst.

Suspicious Timing

But analysts say Nintendo has little to worry about. For one, Hillcrest's claim comes two years after the Wii has established a commanding lead over Sony's (SNE) PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox360—making Hillcrest appear to be an opportunity-seeking Johnny-come-lately. In July, Nintendo sold 555,000 Wii consoles in the U.S., while Sony sold 224,900 PS3s, and Microsoft 204,800 Xbox 360 machines, according to market research firm NPD. "You have to wonder about the timing of this," says KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide. "I think it's unrealistic to think [Hillcrest] can succeed at having Wii shipments to the U.S. banned."

Hillcrest Labs isn't the only company to take legal action against Nintendo since it pulled the wraps off the Wii in early 2006. And patent fights aren't unheard of in the video game industry. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have spent years and invested vast sums to develop, license, and mesh all kinds of cutting-edge technologies into the gaming machines they sell. Every year they go to court to defend the hundreds of patents related to the video game hardware and software that bring in billions in revenues annually. Most cases take years to resolve.

Two years ago, Tyler (Tex.)-based Anascape sued Nintendo of America, saying the Japanese company violated patents in three different Nintendo console controllers. Last month a U.S. District Court ordered Nintendo to pay $21 million in damages and $2 million in prejudgment interest to Anascape. (Anascape had asked for $50.3 million.) Nintendo has appealed the ruling. Last December, Pittsburgh-based Copper Innovations Group took Nintendo and Sony to court for patent infringement over handheld controllers. In June 2007, tiny Lonestar Inventions sued Nintendo in Texas, claiming semiconductor-technology-related patent infringements. And in late 2006, Los Angeles-based Interlink went after Nintendo in Delaware for alleged patent violations in its Wii console's remote controller.

A Modest Payout, At Best

The Wii controller has been key to Nintendo's rising fortunes. Shaped like a TV remote controller, the gizmo combines gyroscopic motion sensors and an infrared pointer. Gamers swing the controller like a bat or flick it like a fishing rod instead of having to master a dozen buttons. (In July, Nintendo announced a new add-on to the Wii remote, dubbed MotionPlus, which plugs into the controller and is designed to improve the accuracy of the motion-sensing technology inside.) When Nintendo released the Wii in late 2006, the controller won fans beyond just hard-core gamers.

Hillcrest licenses its technology to Logitech for the MX Air Mouse. But the privately held company hasn't had a huge amount of success in getting its technology adopted by consumer electronics companies. One possible conclusion of Hillcrest's lawsuit is a settlement with Nintendo. Even if the courts uphold Hillcrest's patent claims, the company's payday is likely to be in the millions, not the billions. That might sound like a lot. But for Nintendo, which expects an 8.8% gain in operating profit, to $4.8 billion, on a 7.6% rise in sales, to $16.3 billion, in the current fiscal year through March 2009, that's not a huge writeoff.

Copyright 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.

Electronic Arts drops $2 billion bid for Take-Two

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:02:37 +0100

Redwood City game developer Electronic Arts today withdrew its $2 billion hostile bid for Take-Two Interactive Software, saying it could not acquire Take-Two's video games in time for the holiday market.

"We no longer believe we can integrate Take-Two ahead of the important holiday season,'' Electronic Art's Chief Executive, John Riccitiello, said in a letter to Take-Two's Executive Chairman, Strauss Zelnick,

As as result, Riccitiello said his $25.74 per share offer for New York-based Take-Two, creator of the Grand Theft Auto video-game series, would expire at midnight East Coast time.

Nonetheless, the two companies left open the possibility that a marriage still might be possible.

"We continue to have great respect for Take Two's creative teams and products, and are hopeful that we can work together to reach a mutually agreed transaction,'' Riccitiello noted in his letter.

In a news release that included Riccitiello's letter, the company noted that the Federal Trade Commission is scheduled to complete its antitrust review of the proposed deal by Thursday.

"EA remains confident that antitrust issues will not prevent or delay a transaction," the press release said.

Take-Two also signaled its willingness to negotiate a sale, by agreeing to let Electronic Arts review some of its confidential business data. That includes "information relating to our three year product release schedule and management's financial projections,"

according to a letter from Zelnick to Riccitiello, which Electronic Arts included in its press release .

Take-Two confirmed in its own news release today that it would let Electronic Arts look over its confidential business data, saying the information should demonstrate "the significant strides made by Take-Two" over the last year.

Copyright © 2008 - San Jose Mercury News

Need for Speed: Undercover Set for Release Nov. 18

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 10:18:18 +0100

We first heard about it back in June, but Electronic Arts has now officially announced the latest entry in the Need for Speed series, along with a release date: Need for Speed: Undercover will hit store shelves on November 18, and naturally, it'll be available for every computerized apparatus with a button -- Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC (via GameSpot).

As the title suggests, players will go undercover to infiltrate an underground racing scene, which has some sort of connection to an international crime syndicate (because everyone knows all international crime conspirators love street racing). Helping propel the story will be a number of live-action cut-scenes, and EA has brought on board actress Maggie Q (of Mission: Impossible III and Live Free or Die Hard fame) to play agent Chase Linh, who oversees the undercover operation. You can get a preview of Undercover's theatrics (sadly, sans Maggie Q) in this new trailer:

Undercover is a return to the seedier, story-driven approach of earlier Need for Speed games, after last year's ProStreet was set in more official racing circumstances. EA CEO John Riccitiello noted the gameplay will resemble 2005's Most Wanted, with car chases, underground racing, and highway battles.

As Riccitiello explained back in June, Undercover will also be the first Need for Speed game from EA Black Box that had a development cycle longer than 12 months. "We were torturing a very talented group of people up in Vancouver, which makes it harder to be as innovative every year. So, I think we are going to get better from here," Riccitiello said. "Last summer we added head count and split the team in two, so now there are two teams on a 24 month cycle. And this is sort of their first 16 and-a-half month game...Because we didn't do it far enough ago to give us a full two year dev cycle."

Well, 16 is better than 12, anyway. Let's just hope the extra time adds up to a better game in the end.

Copyright © 2008 Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc.

Cheaper Sony PlayStation 3 Arrives in US Next Month

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 07:18:59 +0100

It was bound to happen: the 40GB PlayStation 3 previously announced for Japan and Europe will arrive in the US in November 2 with a $400 price tag. The 80GB model will get a price cut too, going from $600 to $500. Both versions are still more expensive than its Microsoft and Nintendo rivals. [WSJ]
UPDATE: Here's the official word from Sony:

Sony Computer Entertainment America Announces New 40GB Playstation(R)3 (PS3(TM)) Configuration and Price Reduction Of Current 80GB Model

New 40GB Model to be Available in North America on November 2nd for $399;
Effective Immediately, 80GB PS3 to be Priced at $499

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) today announced plans to introduce a new 40GB model of its PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system.

Beginning November 2nd, to further enhance the HD entertainment experience, the new 40GB PS3 model will come bundled with the blockbuster movie Spider-Man(TM) 3 Blu-ray Disc(TM) (BD) from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and will be available in North America for a suggested retail price of $399 (USD/CND). The company also announced that effective immediately, the current 80GB PS3 model will be available in North America for $499 (USD/CND), $100 below the original launch price.

"We're pleased to offer the consumer a lower price point without sacrificing the core technology components that make PS3 the most advanced high-definition entertainment system available. Every PS3 comes with a Blu-ray drive, HDMI output, an integrated Wi-Fi connection, Cell Broadband
Engine and a built-in hard-drive," said Jack Tretton, President and CEO, SCEA.

"This holiday season we'll be able to offer attractive retail pricing with a broad portfolio of outstanding games including Ratchet & Clank(R) Future: Tools of Destruction(TM), THE EYE OF JUDGMENT(TM), Uncharted: Drake's Fortune(TM), Heavenly Sword(TM), Call of Duty(R) 4: Modern Warfare, Assassin's
Creed(TM), Haze(TM) and RockBand(TM)."

The new 40GB PS3 will no longer play PlayStation(R)2 titles, reflecting the availability of a more extensive line-up of PS3 specific titles. Consumers looking for backwards compatibility can take advantage of the limited PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility of the 80GB PS3.

PLAYSTATION(R)3 40GB Specification

Product name PLAYSTATION(R)3
CPU Cell Broadband Engine(TM) (Cell/B.E.)
GPU RSX(TM)
Sound Dolby 5.1ch, DTS 5.1ch , LPCM 7.1ch, AAC,
others *1 *2
Memory 256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
HDD 2.5" Serial ATA 40GB
I/O USB 2.0 x2
Communication Ethernet X1 (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)
IEEE 802.11 b/g Included
Bluetooth 2.0 Included
(EDR)
Wireless controller (Bluetooth) Included
AV Output Screen size 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
HDMI OUT x1 *3
AV MULTI OUT x1
DIGITAL OUT x1
(OPTICAL)
BD/DVD/CD Maximum Read Speed BD 2x (BD-ROM)
Drive DVD 8x (DVD-ROM)
(Read Only) CD 24x (CD-ROM)
Dimensions Approximately 12.75in(W) x 3.86in (H) x
10.8in (D)
Weight Approximately 11 lbs

*1 A device compatible with Linear PCM 7.1 Ch. is required to output 7.1
Ch. audio, supported by Dolby TrueHD or a similar format, from the HDMI
OUT connector.
*2 This system does not support output from the DTS-HD 7.1 Ch. DTS-HD 7.1
Ch. audio is output from a 5.1 or lower channel.
*3 "Deep Color" and "x.v.Color (xvYCC)" defined by HDMI ver1.3a are
supported.

Burnout Paradise Speeding Onto PSN This Fall

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:01:53 +0100

Could this be the start of a new trend involving more digital downloads of full titles? Some analysts actually believe the entire industry will go downloadable within the next 5-10 years, so perhaps this is the start of that...

There are already several full games available for download on the PlayStation Store, but they're all online-oriented (Warhawk, the upcoming SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation), big demos (Gran Turismo 5: Prologue), or small, arcade-style titles (flOw, Bionic Commando Rearmed, etc.). But what about games that are already on store shelves? According to GameSpot, Criterion Games has revealed that Burnout Paradise will make its way to the PSN in downloadable form this fall. It'll cost you half what it costs in the brick and mortar stores ($29.99), and will feature "all of the free updates that Criterion has released throughout the year." This should also include the motorcycles that are coming with a free update next month.

As far as we know, this is the exact same game (with all the current updates) for half the price. We're not sure if other companies have a mind to do this, but it might not be much longer before you have an option of disc or download for many video games out there. It's a brave new world.