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SIMCITY COMES TO MAC JUNE 12, PLAYERS RECEIVE BOTH MAC AND PC WITH ONE PURCHASE

Maxis Unites the World As Mac and PC Players Play Together Seamlessly Across Servers

SYDNEY, Australia. – April 11, 2013 – For more than 23 years, SimCity™ has entertained over 30 million fans worldwide and it returns to the platform that started it all on June 12. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced that SimCity will be coming to the Mac on June 12 exclusively as a digital release via Origin™ and other online retailers. Fans who purchase SimCity will be able to play the game on Mac and PC, regardless of which version they buy, as well as access their cities from across both platforms. Players who have previously purchased SimCity for PC, either as a physical or a digital copy will receive the Mac version as a free digital download on Origin* on June 12.

 
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DEFIANCE™ LAUNCHES TODAY IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

Massive Online Shooter Opens the World of Defiance
Ahead of the Syfy Network TV Show Premiere

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 11, 2013 – Trion Worlds, the leading publisher and developer of premium games for the connected era, is proud to announce the launch of Defiance™, the groundbreaking futuristic online open world shooter for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. The Defiance Universe expands even further with Syfy Network’s Defiance TV series which will premiere in Australia on Thursday April 18 at 9:30pm EST on SF, first on FOXTEL. Hitting our screens within 55 hours of airing in America, Defiance stars local talent Grant Bowler and will be the first convergence of a TV program and online game, marking a new era in entertainment.

“We’re incredibly proud that after five years of development, we are bringing this ambitious project to life.” said Nathan Richardsson, VP of Development for Trion and Executive Producer of Defiance. “The game launch is just the beginning of a truly unique entertainment experience and, in a couple weeks’ time, you’ll be able to tune into Syfy to see the story unfold, the characters develop, and realize transmedia entertainment unlike ever before.”

In Defiance thousands of players, who take on the role of an Ark Hunter, scour a transformed Earth in search of valuable alien technology. Each ark hunter can play to their strengths, customizing special abilities as well as upgrading a huge variety of both modern and alien weaponry that is at their disposal. Players can hunt alone or with others as they engage in massive co-op boss battles and fierce multiplayer combat known as Shadow War, in addition to taking on dynamic missions in campaign mode while exploring this constantly evolving world.

Defiance, distributed in Australia and New Zealand by NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe, is available on Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC at all major video games retailers.  Digital copies of Defiance can be purchased online at http://defiance.com/en.

For more information on Defiance please visit http://www.defiance.com/en/.

 
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Character cinemosaic for STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

*NEW* CHARACTER CINEMOSAIC

International Trailer

Synopsis:
In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness.
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

 
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Acronis Delivers Reliable Cloud Data Protection to SOHO Users

Sydney, 10 April 2013–Acronis today ushered in a new era of data protection and business continuity for small office and home office (SOHO) users through the release of Acronis® Small Office: Server Cloud Backup.

Acronis’ new SOHO cloud solution protects against downtime in ways that neither traditional backup nor cloud backup services can. It provides small business owners with the same protection that was, until now, only available to enterprises, in an exceptionally easy-to-use and affordable solution. Acronis has harnessed the power of innovative “hybrid cloud” technology in a manner that makes it extremely simple to use. By following Acronis’ three-click 3-2-1 backup strategy, users get the benefits of both local and cloud backup.

“Many small businesses and home office users we speak to have limited data protection and disaster recovery capabilities,” said Robert Amatruda, research director, data protection and recovery, IDC. “Acronis Small Office: Server Cloud Backup offers customers a full-featured cloud backup solution providing secure off-site data protection.”

Acronis Small Office: Server Cloud Backup is built on proven cloud backup technology from Acronis, designed with the specific needs and requirements of SOHO businesses in mind. With just three clicks, users can easily, quickly and securely back up files and critical data locally and to Acronis cloud storage where it is constantly available and accessible. Users can also leverage system-image backup technology for faster disaster recovery, and perform server restore within minutes to any hardware using Acronis® Universal Restore™.

Andy Purvis, General Manager ANZ for Acronis, said: “Small business owners rely on their computers and mobile devices, and can’t afford downtime or data loss. We provide SOHO users with a secure hybrid cloud solution, a reliable alternative to new-to-market or public cloud solutions, helping to ensure business continuity and secure data protection. Our solution is enterprise-grade, yet extremely easy to use, and is based on proven technology that millions of customers trust.”

Acronis Small Office: Server Cloud Backup is available in a variety of subscription packages, giving SOHO users the flexibility to purchase the storage space they need, within their budget. Packages start at $499 for a one-year subscription, which includes 350 GB of Acronis cloud storage, and scale up to a three-year subscription plan with one TB of cloud storage. View the full range of subscription plans, or start a free trial now.

 
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WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES #BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS

 Arkhamverse Expands with Prequel Story  

And New Addition of Handheld Games with

BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS BLACKGATE

Sydney, Australia – April 10, 2013 – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Batman: Arkham Origins™ and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate™, the next instalments of the blockbuster Batman: Arkham videogame franchise.  Batman: Arkham Origins will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 system, the Wii U™ system, and Windows PC.  Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate™ will be available for the Nintendo 3DS™ handheld system, and PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system.  Both titles are scheduled to release worldwide Oct. 25, 2013, (which will apply to Australia also).

Developed by WB Games Montréal, Batman: Arkham Origins features an expanded Gotham City and introduces an original prequel storyline set several years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, the first two critically acclaimed games of the franchise.  Taking place before the rise of Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals, the game showcases a young and unrefined Batman as he faces a defining moment in his early career as a crime fighter that sets his path to becoming the Dark Knight. As the story unfolds, players will meet many important characters for the first time and forge key relationships.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate is a 2.5-D game developed by Armature Studio that brings the Batman Arkham experience for the first time to Nintendo and Sony handheld systems.  A companion game to Batman: Arkham Origins, players can continue the storyline of the console version and discover more details of the Dark Knight’s past.  

“Batman: Arkham is a huge triple-A videogame franchise and we are delighted to expand the experience with Batman: Arkham Origins,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.  “WB Games Montréal has an incredibly talented team building upon Rocksteady’s award-winning gameplay and technology to deliver a deep, immersive, quality experience fans will love.”

“WB Games Montréal is honoured to have the opportunity to create Batman: Arkham Origins, a new chapter in this amazing franchise” said Reid Schneider, Vice President and Executive Producer, WB Games Montréal.  “We are huge fans of the franchise and are committed to creating an experience that offers players more of what they love, as well as the chance to play as a younger Batman within a fresh storyline and expanded world.”

Batman: Arkham Origins is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license.  Fans can visit www.batmanarkhamorigins.com for more information about the game.

 
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Fariko Impact Wins Inaugural Call of Duty® Championship, presented by Xbox – Takes Home US$400,000 of the Tournament’s US$1 Million Prize Purse Plus the Highly Coveted Honor as the best Call of Duty®: Black Ops II Players in the World

Fariko Impact Wins Inaugural Call of Duty® Championship, presented by Xbox – Takes Home US$400,000 of the Tournament’s US$1 Million Prize Purse Plus the Highly Coveted Honor as the best Call of Duty®: Black Ops II Players in the World

Winning their way through three days of intense multiplayer competition against 30 other professional four-player teams, Fariko Impact and EnVyUs met face to face at centre stage for Sunday’s finals matchup to determine who would be crowned World Champions at the Call of Duty Championship®, presented by Xbox.  In the end, Fariko Impact, consisting of Damon “Karma” Barlow, Adam “Killa” Sloss, Marcus “MiRx,” and team captain Chris “Parasite” Duarte (pictured below) emerged victorious and cemented their spot as the best Call of Duty®: Black Ops II players in the world, taking home US$400,000 of the tournament’s US$1 Million prize purse.  Team EnVyUs took home US$200,000, while third place team OpTic Gaming took home US$120,000, with the remaining prize purse distributed among the remaining top eight teams.

(Treyarch Studio Head Mark Lamia and Game Design Director David Vonderhaar present team Fariko Impact with their big check for $400,000 for winning the Call of Duty Championship.)

ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, and CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

Microsoft, Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.

 
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All new Invizimals coming soon to PS Vita and PS3

Today, Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCE Aust.) are pleased to announce that the Invizimals™ series will be coming to PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita) and PlayStation®3 (PS3™) for the first time later this year.  Invizimals™: The Alliance for PS Vita and Invizimals™: The Lost Kingdom for PS3 will deliver fantastic new adventures that will challenge all young monster hunters to find and capture Invizimals in our world and in theirs!

Click HERE to view the joint announcement trailer.

 
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Second Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance DLC dated

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH will release the first character-centric DLC for its best-selling METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE title on April 9th/10th.

Entitled ‘Jetstream’ and released for both PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®, the new content focuses on the character Sam, seen in the full game. The new DLC adds a new chapter to the main game, and delves into the motivation and origins of the character. Segueing into the events of Raiden’s plotline, Jetstream’s side story features Samuel Rodrigues as a playable character.

Sam – AKA the ‘Cool Brazilian wind’ –  was a lone swordsman who brought terror and chaos to the underworld in Latin America. Having slashed through the world’s outlaws as a part of his training, he arrives in Denver, Colorado. During the course of the DLC, users can experience the events when he challenges ‘World Marshall” to test his skills. At last, the hidden story behind Raiden’s popular rival will be revealed as the user guides Sam through all-new stages within the REVENGEANCE game world, with the intuitive control system of the main game adapted accordingly.

METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE moves the renowned METAL GEAR franchise into exciting new territory, with its focus on fast-paced sword-based action elements. It has been co-developed by Kojima Productions and PlatinumGames, and unites the story-telling of the METAL GEAR universe with pure non-stop action.

A third DLC pack, focusing on the robotic Blade Wolf character will follow soon after, with details announced soon.

 
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Crucial M500 SSD Now Available

New Drive Delivers Terabyte-Class Capacity, Faster Speeds, and Advanced Feature Set 

SYDNEY Australia, April 10th 2013 – Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced the immediate availability of the Crucial® M500 solid state drive (SSD). Featuring terabyte-class capacity, increased response times, and an advanced feature set, the Crucial M500 SSD is available now through select global channel partners and at www.crucial.com/ssd. The 2.5-inch drives are available in 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, and 960GB capacities.

Dramatically faster than a hard drive, the Crucial M500 SSD enables users to boot up their systems almost instantaneously, provides ample storage and powerful data transfer speeds, and easily addresses the multitasking demands of today’s applications. Using Micron’s 20nm MLC NAND flash, a SATA 6Gb/s controller combined with Micron’s custom firmware to deliver up to 80,000 input/output operations per second (IOPS), the drive’s sequential read and write speeds reach up to 500 MB/s and 400 MB/s, respectively.[1]

The Crucial M500 SSD incorporates features important for data protection and reliability, such as hardware-based encryption that meets TCG Opal 2.0 and IEEE 1667 standards (TCG Opal 2.0 + IEEE 1667) when combined with appropriate software[2], thermal management technology, protection against unexpected power-loss, and advanced error recovery techniques. In addition, the drive offers device sleep (DEVSLP), which increases system battery life while maintaining system responsiveness. This feature enables the drive to draw less than 5 milliwatts of power while the system is in sleep mode— a 93% power improvement compared to Crucial’s previous-generation drives.[3]

“We designed the Crucial M500 to meet the reliability and performance expectations of today’s systems, and are thrilled to offer the first terabyte-class SSD for under $600,” said Robert Wheadon, senior worldwide product manager, Crucial. “The Crucial M500 is equipped with an impressive new set of features, making it a multifaceted solution for today and tomorrow.”

Leveraging the industry-leading memory, design, and manufacturing capability of Micron Technology, the Crucial M500 is compatible with both PC and Mac® systems, and is backed by a limited three-year warranty. The 2.5 form factor is available in 7mm height and comes with a 9.5mm bracket. M.2 Weekly Cartera Dutieso send contentform factors are expected to be available in the second quarter of 2013.

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THE BATTLE FOR MAKEB HAS BEGUN!

Today, players in Star WarsTM: The Old RepublicTM are gearing up to take on the ruthless Hutt Cartel in an epic battle over the planet of Makeb, in the first Digital Expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel.  With the start of Early Access, players who pre-ordered Rise of the Hutt Cartel by January 7, 2013 are starting their journey five days before anyone else, today!

In Rise of the Hutt Cartel players will battle a ferocious new enemy that has emerged from the shadows to challenge the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire for control. The dangerous Hutt Cartel will unleash never-before-seen Droids and monstrous battle stations that serve as powerful weapons of destruction.  All of this, and new new weapons, armor, abiliites and 5 new levels of progression, raising the game’s level cap to 55.

Alongside Early Access for Rise of the Hutt Cartel, BioWare is also releasing the hugely ambitious new Game Update 2.0: Scum and Villainy.  Scum and Villainy will bring exciting new Level 55 content to our high level players including a new Operation, all new Legacy Achievements, four Hard Mode Flashpoints, and much more. Also, players can now earn an additional 5% Guild XP Bonus for all experience gained while playing in a guild. Players can expect more valuable in-game bonuses and benefits for being in a guild coming later this year.

Check out the new “Scum and Villainy” launch trailer for Game Update 2.0 here and if you haven’t pre-ordered Rise of the Hutt Cartel yet, there is still time to pre-order and receive exclusive items.

To pre-order Rise of the Hutt Cartel, please visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/RiseoftheHuttCartel. Stay connected to www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube!

 
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