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Into the Star Trek Soundtrack – The Dark Collide

To celebrate the release today of J.J. Abrams’ highly anticipated ‘STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS’ into cinemas nationally, we’ve created a behind the scenes look at  singer / songwriter Penelope Austin and songwriter/producer Robert Conley recording an original song for the film called ‘THE DARK COLLIDE’.

The duo is among a select group of artists from six countries who received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have their work featured in the upcoming film from Paramount Pictures.

For the first time ever in a Paramount live-action film, lyricists, vocalists and music producers from around the world were invited to add their creative talents and a local flavour to a track written for a major motion picture, which will be featured in the film during its theatrical run in each of the artists’ respective countries.

So, moviegoers in the countries that participated will hear a unique and different soundtrack than the moviegoers in other countries.  This opportunity, in which the artist’s own song will play during a pivotal scene with Star Trek’s iconic character Scotty, drew interest from the world’s hottest talent, including Australia’s Conley and Austin—who as of today will now hear their work in the soundtrack in every movie theatre in Australia.

Their song ‘THE DARK COLLIDE’, which Conley co-wrote with Austin, who also performs on vocals, will be heard on the “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS” soundtrack, which also features Academy Award®-winning composer Michael Giacchino’s score, in every theatre in Australia.

Here’s a link to the behind the scenes video showing Austin and Conoly explaining how they came to be involved in this fabulous opportunity and the inspiration behind ‘THE DARK COLLIDE’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYrlhFSlcPg

You can listen to the full version of ‘THE DARK COLLIDE’, on Spotify or buy it now on iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/dark-collide-from-star-trek/id646471922

 
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WD® and SanDisk team up to create innovative Solid State Hybrid Drives

Sydney, Australia – 13 May 2013 – WD®, a Western Digital company, and SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, today announced that the two companies are collaborating to introduce hybrid storage devices that feature best-in-class flash memory technology from SanDisk and best-in-class hard drive technology from WD.

SanDisk is supplying a SanDisk iSSD™ storage device for the WD Black™ solid state hybrid drive (SSHD), the world’s thinnest 2.5-inch SSHD solution, which utilises both WD proprietary hybrid technology and industry standard SATA IO technology. The SanDisk iSSD brings an elegant balance of performance, low power consumption, cost, reliability, and a compact form factor to this SSHD, which will offer ample storage to meet consumers’ growing appetite for digital content as well as flash-enabled speed, data throughput and responsiveness – all within ultra-slim form factors.

“I am delighted for SanDisk to team up with WD on these exciting new hybrid products,” said Kevin Conley, senior vice president and general manager of client storage solutions at SanDisk. “By combining SanDisk’s unparalleled flash memory expertise and technology with the hard drive know-how of WD, WD Black SSHDs offer outstanding hard drive-like capacity, and the slim form factor and the level of performance that you will only get with flash memory solutions.”

“Working with SanDisk, WD realised our vision for products that combine the best of both technologies,” said Matt Rutledge, vice president of client computing at WD. “WD’s SSHDs are a significant achievement in the continuing SSHD/flash storage revolution.”

 
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Gaming panellists announced to join Naughty Dog Inc. developer at Vivid Ideas

Sydney, 13th May 2013 – Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCE Aust.) today announced the full line-up of gaming industry experts who will lead the Vivid Ideas THE MAKING OF… a blockbuster game panel discussion at this year’s Vivid Sydney festival.

Ricky Cambier, Game Designer from Naughty Dog Inc. will be joined by Cam Shea, Senior Editor of IGN Australia, and Patrick Lagana, SCE Aust.’s Head of Marketing Communications. Each having their own distinct views and experience of the gaming industry, the panel will delve into the process of bringing a bestselling game to the Australian market, focusing on elements from the critically acclaimed PlayStation®3 (PS3™) exclusive title, The Last of Us™ by Naughty Dog Inc.

California native Ricky Cambier‘s skill for storytelling stems from a theatre pedigree ranging across the US and Europe. Since 2005, his career portfolio spans the launch of eight titles including The Sims Stories, The Force Unleashed II and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception™.

“From the genesis of an initial story, through the development process, to the marketing campaign and the overall critical reception, this is set to be an insightful, explorative discussion, looking at the journey to market for a blockbuster title like The Last of Us,” said Cambier. “I am excited to see how the panel discussion will unfold as each panellist brings a unique perspective of the entire process to the conversation.”

Set 20 years after a pandemic has radically changed known civilization, The Last of Us is a genre-defining experience blending survival and action elements to tell a character driven story about a population decimated by modern plague. Combining gripping and suspenseful narrative with stunning graphics, The Last of Us has already been awarded multiple accolades and has been praised by critics.

Cam Shea has been commenting and writing about the games industry in Australia for over 15 years. Previously the editor of HYPER magazine, Cam currently leads the editorial team at IGN AU while regularly contributing to contributing to a variety of News Limited outlets. During his 14 years with SCE Australia, Patrick Lagana has launched award-winning titles and franchises with SCE Aust such as Crash Bandicoot®, Final Fantasy®, Gran Turismo®, God of War® among many others.   Patrick has also launched the extensive PlayStation® hardware and services portfolio to the Australian market, including the PlayStation®3 (PS3™), PlayStation®Network and PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita).

In addition, Stephanie Bendixsen (Hex) from ABC’s television show Good Game, will introduce and co-host the panel discussion, with Jess Scully, Festival Director of Vivid Ideas. Hex who has a cult Australian gaming fan base of her own, will lead the Q&A discussion.

THE MAKING OF… a blockbuster game panel will be held as part of the Vivid Ideas Exchange at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia – Forum, Level 6, on Tuesday 4th June 2013 from 9pm.

Tickets are available from http://vividsydney.oztix.com.au/default.aspx?Event=34810

Click HERE for the latest video assets relating to The Last of Us.

 
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Award winning British television available on DVD

The Television BAFTAs award the best of the best in British television, and last night’s award ceremony has acknowledged some brilliant programmes and performances that we’ve been excited about for a while now!

Sheridan Smith has swept up the leading actress award for her true to life portrayal of Charmian Biggs (wife of the Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs) in the ITV mini-series MRS BIGGS, which is released on DVD Wednesday 15 May. MRS BIGGS also received a nomination for the Mini Series category. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Great Train Robbery of 1963.

LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX has taken out the Drama Series of 2013 – if you haven’t yet discovered this charming BBC series about an older couple rekindling a childhood romance & the family dramas the ensue – do! This series was also nominated for 3 other BAFTAs for its outstanding cast – Anne Reid, Derek Jacobi & Sarah Lancashire. This series has just released on DVD (1 May).

Last years behind the scenes comedy of the London Olympics TWENTY TWELVE won best situational comedy, as well as female performance in a comedy program for Olivia Coleman. Olivia also stars in the BBC comedy series REV. TWENTY TWELVE and REV SERIES 2 are available on DVD now.

The following programs also received BAFTA nominations: THE THICK OF IT (Series 4), PARADE’S END, CALL THE MIDWIFE (Series 2), THE HOUR (Series 2), EPISODES (Series 2), SCOTT & BAILEY, SILK, GRAND DESIGNS (S10) and the yet to be released RIPPER STREET (date TBC).

 
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Adult Swim Announces ROBOT CHICKEN DC Special II in Upfronts

Adult Swim Announces ROBOT CHICKEN DC Special II in Upfronts

Bring it on!

 
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Grant Morrison explains the entire History of Batman in under 4 minutes!

 
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New UK Man of Steel Trailer – Superman is back!

Check our the Man of Steel UK Trailer…

 
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2K and Firaxis Games Pilot Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol™ onto iOS Today

Fans around the globe can become a WWI Ace as they take to the skies with the legendary designer’s first strategic aerial combat game 

Join the conversation on Twitter by using the hash tag #SidWantsYou

Sydney, Australia – 10th May, 2013 – 2K and Firaxis Games, the critically acclaimed studio responsible for the award-winning XCOM®: Enemy Unknown* and Sid Meier’s Civilization® series, are excited to announce the launch of Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol™ today for iPhone and iPad.

From the legendary game designer himself, Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol is a new mobile strategy game based on WWI air combat that allows players to relive history as they pilot the skies in defense of their base camp and allies. Challenging gamers to embrace their inner military aviator, Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol invites players to lead a team of Aces through various campaigns across Europe as they simultaneously upgrade skills, improve aircraft, and much more.

“2K’s critically acclaimed triple-A game design experience is being brought to bear on the burgeoning mobile market,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Sid Meier is a gaming legend with a strong pedigree of groundbreaking strategy and simulation titles and his latest creation, Ace Patrol, sets a new watermark for mobile game design.”

“Our teams at Firaxis Games have jumped at the opportunity to develop mobile titles, myself included,” added Sid Meier, director of creative development for Firaxis and lead programmer on Ace Patrol. “Our passion for great game design is fueled by the opportunity to have such an enormous audience of mobile gamers experience high-quality strategy titles like Ace Patrol, Haunted Hollow and XCOM: Enemy Unknown for iOS.”

Whether a Sid Meier enthusiast, dogfighter and/or WWI aficionado, players are sure to find Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol a high-quality strategy game that is fun, innovative, and true to Firaxis’ tactical core. 

Key Features Include:

–        Piloting a selection of 30 vintage and historical WWI aircrafts through more than 120 missions;

–        Building out a team of Aces that each offer a special skill set to expand gameplay options;

–        Upgrading and promoting the top fighter pilots throughout the course of the campaign;

–        Playing Turn-based Single-Player, Two-Player Hot-Pad or Asynchronous Multiplayer through Game Center. 

Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol is now available to download for free from the App Store on iOS devices worldwide. For more information, please visit the App Store or visit our forums, here.

 
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Culture and Tourism in Civilization V

 
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PlayStation Australia :: Week in Review

Tearaway pre-order extras 

SCE Australia has revealed details on the exclusive bonus content you will receive for pre-ordering your copy of Tearaway for PlaySation®Vita.  EB Games and JB HiFi Australia will offer the following treasures when you pre-order:

Your very own collectable Iota Sackboy keyring

The Jukebox Pack, which contains:

  • Splendiferous iota and atoi Avatars for use on the PlayStation®Network
  • Resplendent PlayStation Vita wallpaper
  • Audiolicious Tearaway soundtrack with bonus track

The Special Delivery Pack, which includes:

  • Oppulent iota and atoi costumes for LittleBigPlanet
  • Exclusive skin for the in-game rideable pig, and printable papercraft plan to match

Tearaway is a buddy-movie action adventure in a living papery world, which you’ll go on with your new friend – a plucky messenger who has a unique message to deliver to you.

Tearaway will be available on shelves and in the PSN Store on 23rd October.

BEYOND: Two Souls special edition announced

To celebrate the upcoming launch of BEYOND: Two Souls, SCE Australia has announced that the game will be available as both a Standard Edition and Special Edition, with the Special Edition exclusively available via pre-order from participating retailers.

The Special Edition will include plenty of bonus content, most notably an additional 30 minute playable scene. The full breakdown of the content in the Special Edition are as follows:

  • Exclusive steel book premium packaging
  • Additional playable scene (30 minutes of gameplay)
  • Behind the scenes videos
  • Game soundtrack
  • PS3 Dynamic Theme
  • PSN Avatar Bundle

Click HERE to watch the BEYOND: Two Souls Tribeca Trailer, recently released at the Tribeca Film Festival.

There’s something big happening at Silverstone… 

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe will be hosting a celebration of the 15th anniversary of Gran Turismo® at the world-famous Silverstone Circuit next week on 15th May, 2013 (16th May, Australia).

The original Gran Turismo® game was first seen in Japan in December, 1997, after five years of development by legendary designer Kazunori Yamauchi, and then released around the world during 1998. The franchise went on to become multi award winning and the biggest-selling PlayStation® title ever.

Yamauchi-san is set to provide an update on the future of the Gran Turismo game at Silverstone. His passion for all things automotive is evident in the ever-increasing levels of realism and attention to detail in Gran Turismo, and the huge range of cars for which it is famous.

Click HERE to watch the video.

Information, images and film about the Gran Turismo 15 Year Celebration Event can be found at www.gran-turismo.com/xx/15th/. News from the day itself will be posted on the PlayStation Blog and official Gran Turismo Facebook page as well as on Twitter (#15YearsofGT).

 
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