Acquisition Solidifies Wargaming’s MMO Dominance and Future Expansion

8^th August, 2012  ––– Wargaming, the award-winning online video game developer and publisher, today announced that it has acquired BigWorld Pty Ltd, an Australian-based middleware company providing reliable high-end platforms for developers of massively multiplayer online games and virtual worlds.

The acquisition will allow Wargaming to consolidate its position as a leading publisher in the free-to-play market and expand its opportunities for further development in the industry as well as explore new platform possibilities.

“This is a pivotal event that further reinforces Wargaming’s growth and expansion,” said Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming. “BigWorld Technology is helmed by highly experienced professionals, and our acquisition of it enables us to take all of its technology in house, providing a winning combination of technical expertise and service excellence to players worldwide.”

Wargaming and BigWorld Pty Ltd have a long history of fruitful collaboration. World of Tanks, the free-to-play MMO action is powered by BigWorld technology, which has made it possible to bring millions of users simultaneously together and in turn has helped redefine the concept of ‘massive’ in gaming.

“We are excited to join the Wargaming family and share the booming success of the company’s flagship MMO World of Tanks, as well as to contribute to the tremendous potential of its forthcoming titles: World of Warplanes and World of Warships,” said BigWorld CEO John De Margheriti. “We fully expect that BigWorld technology will reinforce Wargaming, broadening the company’s technical expertise and knowledge in the industry, and helping it excel its unique creativity and experience.”

About Wargaming

Wargaming is an award-winning online game developer and publisher and one of the leaders in the free-to-play MMO market. Founded as a privately held company in 1998, Wargaming has shipped more than 15 titles and employs over 900 people across such key regions as North America, Europe, Russia, and Asia.

Currently, Wargaming is focused on its team-based MMO war series dedicated to the mid-20th century warfare that will include the company’s flagship armored MMO World of Tanks, launched in April 2011 and currently boasting 30 million players worldwide, the flight combat World of Warplanes, named one of the most anticipated MMOs, and the naval World of Warships, scheduled for release in 2013.

In June 2012, Wargaming announced the Wargaming.net Service, the epicenter of a battle-centric gaming universe that will gather the series under a single portal — www.wargaming.net.

Official website:

• www.wargaming.com

SYDNEY, Australia– August 9, 2012 – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announces Game Party Champions, a challenging game of skill launching exclusively for and at the Wii U™ console’s launch. The latest iteration of the hugely successful Game Party franchise, the game offers players new ways to compete in arcade, sports and party games.

“Developed specifically for Wii U, Game Party Champions has a fun, pick up-and-play style that experienced and novice gamers will equally enjoy,” said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.  “Players tilt, turn and swipe the Wii U’s revolutionary touch screen controller to play in entirely new ways.”

Game Party Champions offers three exhilarating game modes: Quick Play, Story Mode and Party Mode.  Players who are hungry for instant action can pick any game and start playing in Quick Play. In Story Mode, players try to outplay each other to prove they’re worthy of the “World Champion” title.

In Party Mode, players can see if they are champions by taking their turns with the Wii U™ GamePad, while the others use Wii Remote™ controllers to grief (wreak havoc) on their game.  Players then spin a wheel to see what game they’ll play next.

The game is being developed by Phosphor Games http://www.phosphorgames.com.

The next stop for the World Championship Series (WCS) will be the land down under. Sydney, Australia will host the StarCraft II WCS Australia Nationals and Oceania Finals this weekend, August 10-12, at the Australian Technology Park in Enfield, NSW.

Across Friday and Saturday, 16 of Australia’s top StarCraft II players will compete in the WCS Australia Nationals, intent on taking home their share of a $10,000 USD total prize pool. All 16 players have earned their place through the WCS Australia Qualifier tournaments held across the nation – primarily through the Australian Cyber League and other local eSports associations. These 16 players will compete in a double elimination tournament, and the top six Australians will meet the two top New Zealand players in the WCS Oceania Finals on Sunday, August 12.

The Oceania Finals will be an eight-player double elimination tournament, with a total prize pool of $15,000 USD. The top two players will go on to represent the region at the WCS Global Finals, which will take place during the upcoming Battle.net World Championship in Shanghai, China on November 17-18.

In addition to the intense, high-level matches, the tournament will also feature commentary from international casting duos Nick ‘Tasteless’ Plott and Dan ‘Artosis’ Stemkoski, and Alex ‘HDstarcraft’ Do and Taylor ‘PainUser’ Parsons. Local MC, Leigh ‘Maynarde’ Mandalov, will host the event. While free tickets for the live event were exhausted within 15 minutes of release, both tournaments will be streamed live on www.twitch.tv/aclprosc2, or via the embedded stream on Battle.net.

More information and updates can be found on ACLpro.com.au.

When the Zombie apocalypse hits, what’s the most important thing you will need?  A gun.  A first aid kit maybe. Some food?  Well, surely you’ll need something to carry all these items right?

Thanks to the guys at EB Games, we have you covered!  When you pre-order the ‘No Hope Left’ Edition at EB Games, you’ll get an Australia and New Zealand only exclusive RE6 “No Hope Left” branded messenger bag.

In addition to this one-of-a-kind messenger bag you will also receive the following:

• PS3 or Xbox 360 standard game
• 3 x DLC maps for Mercenary Mode – Rail Yard, High Seas Fortress and The Catacombs
  • You’ll remember Mercenaries Mode from Resident Evil 5 where you worked against the clock to complete a number of challenges.

This messenger bag is available in Australia and New Zealand only.  So you’ll have to be quick to own your piece of RE6 history.

Australian Distributer All Interactive Entertainment and Bohemia Interactive are thrilled to announce today’s retail release of Arma 2: Combined Operations (Arma 2 & Operation Arrowhead), now available for the first time in Australia and New Zealand on PC.

Three years after the conflict in Chernarus, portrayed in the original Arma 2, a new flashpoint in the Green Sea region heats up and coalition forces led by the US Army are sent to Takistan to quickly restore peace and prevent further civilian casualties in this standalone expansion pack to the best military simulator of 2009 – Arma 2.

Please visit  www.bistudio.com for more information.

Sydney, Australia – August 8, 2012 –  Parrot today launches the AR.Drone Academy (beta version), bringing a whole new flying experience to AR.Drone pilots across the world. The dedicated space for meeting and sharing flight content with the pilot community, the AR.Drone Academy – accessible through AR.FreeFlight 2.1 app – provides a range of unique features and exclusive content: geolocalisation and data tracking, identification of best ‘spots’ and video sharing with the AR.Drone community…

Be an AR.Drone Academy member!

After downloading the AR.FreeFlight 2.1 app, the user updates their profile (nickname, birth, address, email contact…), to join the AR.Drone Academy.
Each flight is saved with large amounts of data including day and time of the flight, flight duration, the number of pictures and videos which have been taken during the flight…
Saved in the Cloud, this content will always be available through the AR.Drone Academy even if it has been erased from the piloting Smartphone or tablet.

Map : the world as seen by the AR.Drone

Thanks to AR.FreeFlight 2.1 app, aerial shots using the Parrot AR.Drone are geolocalised and placed on a map.
Pilots can search for their own flights, those from other members, recommended ‘hot spots’ and ‘bad spots’ on places to avoid.
With the click of a button, the user selects a flight and will have access to a vast amount of data: pilot profile, geolocalisation of the flight, flight statistics’, direct access to the flight video…
Members can manage privacy by choosing what they want to share or keep private.

Data tracking: Analyse each flight

When a video is recorded, data is stored in the ‘Cloud’: altitude, speed, battery level…
Get more out of your flights thanks to these new statistics and see them either as graphics or as text while you playback your video from your Smartphone or Tablet.
Pilots can analyse this info for optimising future flights or for comparing results with pilots from all over the world. …

Content sharing: upload videos and pictures easily
Pilots can decide to share videos and pictures directly through the AR.Drone Academy.
Tap on a video or a picture and the selected one will be automaticaly uploaded to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Picasa with your comment alongside.

The beta version of the AR.Drone Academy is now available for all iOS AR.Drone Pilots.
Coming soon: new updates, new optimised features, more intuitive sharing mode and surprises…

• Video : http://youtu.be/ELEdW6j8Nmc?hd=1
• AR.FreeFlight including AR.Drone Academy access is      from now on available for free on App Store^SM

Engineering Connections – Series 1 & 2 ($39.95srp) / Available Now

Join Top Gear’s Richard Hammond, who is on a quest to discover the ‘engineering connections’ behind the world’s most advanced projects. The Airbus; the Skyscraper; Sydney Opera House; Hong Kong International Airport – these structures are feats of sheer engineering genius, massive in concept and scope. But hidden deep within their DNA, Hammond finds that they are made up of an amazing range of unexpected and sometimes brilliantly simple ideas.

The James May Collection ($49.95srp) / Available Now

And while we’re on the subject of Top Gear… this must-have DVD box set collects all of James May’s hugely entertaining and in-depth engineering programs.

James May’s 20^th Century takes us on a tour of some of the era’s most life-changing inventions in the fields of travel, space exploration, medicine, warfare and city living.

James May’s Big Ideas sees the journalist, presenter and all-round forward-thinker travelling the world to explore the question of whether technology can really deliver us the likes of the flying car, the robotic human or limitless energy.

And in James May’s Toy Stories we regress into James’ childhood, taking the iconic toys of yesteryear and spectacularly supersizing them in an attempt to make them relevant to our current technologically obsessed world… which means building a full size Lego house, a Plasticine garden for the Chelsea Flower Show and constructing a WWII Spitfire from a 1:1, full-scale Airfix model airplane kit.

Swift & Shift Couriers Box Set ($49.95srp) / Available Now

On paper, a courier’s profession seems relatively simple. The customer calls in a job, the call center passes on the details to dispatch, they book a courier to arrange the pick-up and the courier delivers it in a timely manner… Sounds easy, right? So how does the team at Swift & Shift Couriers always manage to stuff it up?

From the makers of Housos comes Swift & Shift Couriers Series 1 & 2, together for the first time in this unique collectable packaging!

Wilfred Box Set ($49.95srp) / Available Now

Adam can hardly believe his luck when he’s invited home by Sarah – a gorgeous young woman he’s just met. This joy is quickly turned on its head when he meets Wilfred – Sarah’s cantankerous canine who is determined to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible.

Containing both series 1 & 2, the Wilfred Box Set is the complete collection of stories about the dysfunctional love triangle between a girl, a boy and a bong smoking dog who thinks he’s human.

New York: A Documentary Film ($79.95srp) / Available Now

Directed by Ric Burns, brother of acclaimed and highly regarded filmmaker, Ken Burns, New York: A Documentary Film is an elegant, lyrical and compelling portrait of the greatest and most complex of cities. This definitive series chronicles the history of New York, from its founding in 1624 as a Dutch trading post, to its continuing pre-eminence as the cultural and economic capital of the world.

Empires Collection – Box Set ($119.95srp) / Available Now

Within the long history of civilization there are great eras of struggle, triumph, and loss. These periods are reflective of the best and worst of humanity: explosive creativity, ultimate depravity, the use and abuse of power, and war that have changed the world. Collected here for the first time are all 11 of the ground breaking, epic historical films in the Empires series – including Egypt¸ The Medici – Godfathers of a Secret Empire, The Greeks – Crucible of Civilisation and more.

Coming September 5…

Coast – Series 1-5 ($119.95srp)

Discover the secrets and hidden stories of the beautiful British coastline and beyond with five series of the BAFTA award-winning BBC documentary, Coast. Presented by a team of history and geography experts, Coast mixes expert comment, compelling storytelling and stunning aerial photography to uncover the unique relationship between the British and the seas.

The BenQ XL2420T will be the monitor used by the world’s most respected gamers at the Intel Extreme Masters Tournament for the second consecutive season, with BenQ extending their sponsorship of this major international gaming event.

The Intel Extreme Games is organised by the Electronic Sports League and takes place in Europe, Asia and theAmericas.  BenQ is the first monitor sponsor in Intel Extreme Masters history.

Said Chee F. Chung, general manager of BenQAustralia, “Over 600 high-performance, tournament-grade XL2420T professional gaming monitors will be used by the world’s best gamers to compete for their titles from the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne event at gamescom 2012 trade show inGermanyon August 15-19 until March 2013 when the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship will take place.”

BenQ’s XL and RL series monitors are recognised as the official training monitors for worldwide professional gaming teams.  They are also the appointed tournament monitors of ESL Pro Series Poland, Major league Gaming and ESEA, as well as the partners of the world’s most esteemed cybercafés, including Sweden’s Inferno Online, which holds the record for being the biggest cybercafé in the world.

As part of their sponsorship BenQ have provided the event with a professional tournament crew to assist gamers at each stop of the tour.  The crew will assist gamers personalise the calibration setting of their tournament monitors and familiarise them with all the monitor features to bring out the best in their gameplay performances.