Following the award-winning success of Episode I, Sonic will continue his journey through the epic Sonic 4 saga on  Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®Network, as well as mobile platforms including the App Store, Android Market and Xbox LIVE on Windows Phone.

March 2012 – Sydney Australia:

It’s official.  The world has gone digital – but it wasn’t that long ago that photographs were taken on film and printed on photographic paper to be kept as a keepsake.  They filled albums and sometimes, shoeboxes and drawers.

Nowadays photography is generally stored digitally on the family PC or hard-drive, flash drives and optical disks, which not only keeps them safe from damage but also makes them conveniently accessible and easily catalogued.

So BenQ’s new Digital Photo Scanner (CP70) makes perfect sense, as it enables the old prints taken prior to the acquisition of the compact digital camera to be converted into digital format, for long term and convenient storage along with the newer images.

Quick and easy, it takes just ten seconds to scan an old photographic print, business card or any document (up to A6 in size) directly onto SD/SDHC card.  Once scanned, the file can then be stored electronically via connecting the scanner to a PC and copying it to the designated digital storage device.  Images are easily duplicated and re-printed, which is particularly handy to conserve old prints, preventing further deterioration.

Said Chee F. Chung, general manager for BenQAustralia, “The CP70 is a valuable tool for the preservation of memories and is particularly useful to anyone researching and documenting their family history.  But it’s not just old photos of past generations that can be preserved – many of us have photographic prints that were taken only a decade or so ago that may now be digitalised for safekeeping.  Wedding photography, photos of our children as babies, treasured family memories,” she said, “which were taken prior to the evolution of the digital era.

“The CP70 is compact, lightweight and so very simple to operate.  Plug it in and feed in the print or document.  Within ten seconds, the image will be captured and converted into digital format onto an SD/SDHC card.  No PC is required for the digitalisation of the image, however the CP70 comes with a USB cable which can be used to connect the device to a PC to enable the photographic material to be viewed and transferred to your desired storage choice,” said Chung.

RRP: $79.00

Available:  from March 2012 from BenQ’s online store – visit www.BenQ.com.au

Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City will be delivering fans the most brutal triple threat battle of their lives when it launches next month across Australia. To give you a taste of what’s to come we’ve just released our “Brutality trailer”.

We’re also pleased to confirm that the PC version of the game will be releasing on the 17^th May. Featuring NVIDIA 3D Vision support, the PC game will include all the same features as the console version, including the ability to compete in an eight player online team versus battle and four player campaign mode, but with stunning high resolution visual effects that makes the hell of Raccoon City even more graphic.

Play as the Umbrella Security Squad (USS) or the US Government Spec Ops and unleash chaos on the streets of Racoon City as a terrifying third force; zombies and B.O.W.’s, add to the carnage. Execute brutal kills on your enemies and tactically use the third force to your advantage, utilising them as a shield against the opposing team. When you’re done with them, why not slowly dismember their body parts?

Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City will be launching Australia on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on 22^rd March with the PC version shortly after on 17^th May.

Xbox LIVE Arcade Release Date MS Points
Alan Wake’s American Nightmare (Microsoft Studios) 23-Feb 1200 pts
Nexuiz (THQ) 1-Mar 800 pts

Game Add-ons Release Date MS Points
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Overwatch Map – for Premium ELITE members ONLY (Activision) 22-Feb
Saints Row: The Third – Gangstas in Space (THQ) 22-Feb 560 pts
UFC Personal Trainer Jon Jones Workout Pack (THQ) 22-Feb 800 pts
Assassin’s Creed Revelations Lost Archive (Ubisoft) 29-Feb 800 pts
Dance Central 2 LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock “Party Rock Anthem” (Harmonix) 29-Feb 240 pts
Final Fantasy XIII-2 Sazh’s Episode (Square Enix) 29-Feb 400 pts

Deal of the Week Discount Dates Price
Fable III Traitor’s Keep Quest Pack (Microsoft) Feb 22 – Feb 27 320 (43% off)
Fable III Understone Quest Pack 220 (45% off)
Fable III Dog Breed Set 140 (42% off)
Fable III Reaver Industries Premium Theme 160 (33% off)
Border Collie 160 (33% off)

Gears of War 3 RAAM’s Shadow: Pack 2 (Microsoft) Feb 29 – Mar 5 800 (33% off)
Gears of War 3 Horde Command Pack 560 (30% off)
Gears of War 3 Weapon Skin Collection: Launch Collection 1800 (50% off)
Weapon Skin Bundle – Haze Set 160 (33% off)
Weapon Skin Bundle – Thunderstorm Animated Set 160 (50% off)
Cover Barrier 200 (38% off)
Berserker Pet 120 (50% off)

Games on Demand Release Date
LEGO – Pirates of the Caribbean (Disney) 22-Feb
Madden NFL 12 (Electronic Arts) 29-Feb
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (WB Games) 29-Feb

Demos Release Date
SSX (Electronic Arts) 22-Feb
FIFA Street (Electronic Arts) 29-Feb

Avatar Release Date
NBA Collection update – Varsity Jackets (Microsoft Studios) 22-Feb
MTV Collection update – Beavis & Butthead (MTV) 22-Feb
Club Football Collection update (Konami) 22-Feb
Alan Wake (Microsoft Studios) 23-Feb
Quiksilver Collection update (Microsoft Studios) 29-Feb

27 February 2012, SYDNEY –  Australia has again secured the rights to stage a FIFA Interactive World Cup Live Qualifying Event for 2012, beating out other countries to be one of only 11 countries in the world to host the live tournaments. Pre-qualifying events will be staged at EB Games stores in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Gold Coast and Rockhampton from 6pm on Thursday March 22.  For the very first time, participants from all over the country will now have the chance to compete in the tournament.  The winner from each of the pre-qualifiers will be flown to Sydney on April 4 for the final event, to compete against each other and determine Australia’s best player. The pre-qualifying events will be held from 6pm on Thursday March 22 at the following EB Games Store locations:

NSW – Westfield Miranda, Miranda NSW – Top Ryde City, Ryde NSW – Charlestown Square, Newcastle QLD – Robina Town Centre, Gold Coast QLD – Rockhampton Fair, Rockhampton SA –  Rundle Mall, Adelaide VIC – Knox City, Melbourne WA – Cannington, Perth

For further details of store locations, check out www.ebgames.com.au/stores Players must register online to secure a spot in the pre-qualifying events at www.fiwcaustralia.com.au
The player who wins the FIWC Australian Qualifying Event will be invited to compete at the international Grand Final event later in the year, for their chance to win $20,000 as well as being awarded their FIWC trophy at the annual FIFA Players Gala alongside such football luminaries as David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Ricardo Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, Lionel Messi, Tim Cahill and many more.

Organised by FIFA and presenting partners EA SPORTS™ and PlayStation® – the FIFA Interactive World Cup combines online and offline football tournaments played with EA SPORTS™ FIFA 12 on PlayStation®3 (PS3™). Last year, just under 900,000 players from around the world participated in the 2011 event, with Australia’s own Mark Azzi competing in the Grand Final event, achieving a very impressive third place. “I’m so excited to have won!” Mark said, “My father came for the final, and just seeing him there made me cry.  I just used to remember that line he used to tell me when I was sitting at home, he used to say ‘Mark, get off the PlayStation, you’re going no-where’, and I used to tell him, ‘Dad, I’ll show you one day!’ and today I showed him!!” Places in the tournament are limited, and will fill up fast.  Players must register online to secure a spot in the pre-qualifying events at www.fiwcaustralia.com.au.