World’s first 7” quad-core tablet, featuring Android™ 4.1, Jelly Bean

SYDNEY, Australia (July 2nd, 2012) — Unveiled at Google I/O 2012, Nexus™ 7 is the first tablet in Google’s Nexus line of devices and the lead device for Android™ 4.1, Jelly Bean. Nexus 7 combines premium hardware designed by ASUS with the latest version of Android and all of the entertainment from Google Play. Jointly developed between ASUS and Google, Nexus 7 is the world’s first 7” quad-core tablet, built to bring consumers the best of Google in a slim and portable package that fits perfectly in the hand.

“We are very excited about this partnership and the synergy that it brings into the hands of consumers,” said ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih.

“We wanted to build a tablet that was light and portable enough for you to take your favourite entertainment wherever you go, but still didn’t compromise at all on power and performance,” said Andy Rubin, SVP of Mobile and Digital Content at Google. “Together with ASUS, we were able to accomplish that in Nexus 7.”

Nexus 7 comes with a NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 quad-core processor, meaning everything is faster – pages load quickly, gameplay is smooth and responsive, and running multiple apps is a breeze. A 12 core GeForce® GPU delivers advanced graphics while the patented 4-PLUS-1™ CPU design gives you maximum performance when you need it and power efficiency when you don’t.  Nexus 7 16GB version will be sold for AU$319 in store and enables consumers to keep even more of their content close at hand — even when they’re not online.

Super powerful, super portable
With a vibrant, 1280 x 800 high-definition display, Nexus 7 brings apps, games, books and movies to life. New ASUS TruVivid technology improves colour clarity and brightness, while the IPS panel delivers crisp and detailed visuals with ultra-wide 178-degree viewing angles. Scratch-resistant Corning® FIT Glass and a textured chassis design that prevents hand slippage ensure Nexus 7 is incredibly robust and will meet the demands of consumers on the go. Delivering up to 9.5 hours of battery life in a profile that’s 10.5mm thin and 340g light, it has the portability of a paperback book, but is connected to the entire digital world of entertainment.

Inside Nexus 7 is the powerful NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, which delivers heart pounding performance and an immersive mobile gaming experience. Games are enhanced by Nexus 7’s sensors, which include a gyroscope, accelerometer and NFC — as well as a responsive 10-finger multi touch screen — allowing users to tilt, touch and tap their way to the top of the leaderboards while exploring over 600,000 apps and games available in the Google Play™ Store.

Lead Device for Android 4.1, Jelly Bean
Nexus 7 is powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the latest version of the world’s most popular mobile platform. With smarter notifications that enable quick, on the fly responses, beautiful new widgets that put important information front and Centre, and home screen customisation that’s as easy as drag-and-drop,  Android is faster and more intuitive than ever. Google’s services work best on Android, as all users’ content is instantly available and synced with the cloud after signing into their Google account, but it also seamlessly syncs content across users’ tablets, phones and PCs for a truly integrated experience.

Nexus 7 comes with all the top Google Apps — such as Gmail™, Chrome™, Google+™ and YouTube™ — putting the best of Google in consumers’ hands.

Made for Google Play
Nexus 7 was made for Google Play. Everyone’s favorite selection of entertainment is right in their hands: the world’s largest collection of eBooks, thousands of movies and a growing selection of magazines – plus over 600,000 apps and games. Nexus 7 already comes preloaded with content so users can start enjoying the Nexus experience right away. For a limited time it also comes with a $25 Google Play store credit to purchase movies, books, magazines and more.

Google Play is the easiest way for users to enjoy their favorite content – no wires, no hassle, just pure entertainment. It’s now easy to read, listen to and watch content anywhere – on a tablet, phone, or in any browser at play.google.com. Consumers can forget about cables and syncing: their movies, books, apps and games are instantly available across all of their devices and on the web. Nexus 7 is all about delivering the entertainment that users love to consume.

Light and convenient protective cover
For users who seek additional protection, Nexus 7 has an optional protective smart cover. The smart cover is a tough, yet snug-fitting polymer case with a non-slip matte texture that protects Nexus 7 from bumps and scratches, and also provides additional grip. The case comes in six different colours to allow users to pick the one which best fits their lifestyle and allows Nexus 7 owners to travel with confidence.

Nexus 7 brings together ASUS’ world-class “design thinking” philosophy and the latest version of Google’s innovative Android platform to deliver the ultimate portable computing experience at an irresistible price.

(1) 9.5 hours battery life tested playing 720p video, brightness@100nits, external microphone, Wi-Fi turned on and logged in to Gmail
(2) Price will vary by region.
(3) Google Play services vary from country to country. Please verify exact services for each specific region.

Prepare to be left in stitches as the likes of Noel Fielding, Russell Kane, Reginald D Hunter, Steve Carrell and James Roday deliver fresh new content for you to enjoy on DVD.

Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy: Season 1

The Mighty Boosh may have made Noel Fielding a household name but it’s his new comedy Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy that confirms his standing as a comic genius, showcasing his uniquely whacky and often psychedelic comedic style. With bonus content exclusive to DVD, take the adventure into the weird and wonderful world of Noel Fielding’s imagination in the critically acclaimed Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy: Season 1.

Cast: Noel Fielding

Nigel Coan

Michael Fielding

Tom Meeten

Dolly Meeten

Price: DVD SRP $29.95

Configuration: 7 episodes / 1 discs

Genre: Sketch Comedy

Rating: M

Russell Kane: Smokescreens & Castles: Live

Russell Kane is the big new name in comedy. Winner of the Barry Award at last year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Foster’s Edinburgh Awards, Kane has become a favourite amongst audiences and media alike for his unique and endearing style of story telling. Whether it’s his own life, his friends or his family, Kane invites us into his world with an energy and freshness that is captivating, providing ultimately hilarious viewing.

Exclusive DVD Bonus Features:

• Interview with Russell’s Mum
• Featurette: Russell’s look back at his first TV stand-up performance

Comedian: Russell Kane

Price: DVD SRP $24.95

Genre: Stand-up Comedy

Rating: TBC

Reginald D. Hunter: Live

Reginald D. Hunter isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. His brutal confidence and provocative content is often controversial but always appealing making him one of the best-loved comedians of our time. Australian audiences can now experience what British media have been raving about as a live taping of his two sold-out shows release on DVD this August.

Comedian: Reginald D. Hunter

Price: DVD SRP $24.95

Genre: Stand-up Comedy

Rating: TBC

The Office: Season 7

The critically acclaimed mockumentary comedy about an office in a paper company returns for its seventh season that also serves as Steve Carell’s epic farewell from the series. In true Office style, The Office: Season 7 boasts a showcase of hilarious cameos from some of Hollywood’s funniest stars of comedy including Will Farrell which is an absolute must-see! From the writers of Saturday Night Live, King of the Hills, and The Simpsons, The Office: Season 7 finds the perfect balance of outrageous comedy and relatable humour.

Cast: Steve Carell

Rainn Wilson

John Krasinski

Jenna Fischer

B. J. Novak

Ed Helms

Price: DVD SRP $29.95

Configuration: 13 episodes / 2 discs

Genre: Mockumentary

Rating: M

Psych: Season 4

Funnyman James Roday proves he can trick even the most unlikely suspects into believing he’s a physic. His outrageous portrayal of an everyday man conning the police into believing he has physic powers is immorally hilarious.

From the creators of Adam Sandler’s comedy, Big Daddy, Psych will have audiences begging for more. Roday’s impeccable comic timing and charm in the lead role make Psych seriously addictive viewing.

Cast: James Roday (The Dukes of Hazzard)

Dule Hill (The West Wing)

Price: DVD SRP $39.95

Configuration: 16 episodes / 4 discs

Genre: Comedy

Rating: NA

PlayStation®3 2012 Releases

• The Ratchet & Clank Trilogy – Out Now
• Wonderbook: Book of Spells – November 2012
• Sports Champions 2 – Spring 2012
• DanceStar Party Hits – Spring 2012
• Ratchet & Clank: QForce – 2012
• Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time – 2012
• PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale – 2012
• Dust 514 – 2012
• LittleBigPlanet Karting – 2012
• God of War: Ascension – March 2013
• BEYOND: Two Souls – 2013
• The Last of Us – TBC

PlayStation®Vita 2012 Releases
• LittleBigPlanet Vita – 2012
• Smart As… – 2012
• Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time – 2012
• PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale – 2012
**Please note, release windows are based on Australian seasons
For more information on PlayStation Vita release click here

The Australian made supernatural horror film ‘Muirhouse’ last night took out the title of ‘Best Foreign Feature Film’ at the U.S.A Fright Night Film Festival.

‘Muirhouse’ beat films from around the globe including Canada, Germany, Italy and the UK.  ‘Muirhouse’ was among 5 other Australian films selected to compete in this iconic festival.

“This has been an incredible ride for ‘Muirhouse’ comments Writer/Director Tanzeal Rahim ‘From an amazing preview in Cannes to winning this award in the U.S; the last couple of months has been amazing! We can not wait to be able to screen this film to Australian audiences!”

SYDNEY, Australia – June 28, 2012: NCsoft®, the world’s premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), and ArenaNet™, developer of the renowned Guild Wars franchise, today announce that Guild Wars 2, the most anticipated game of 2012, will launch worldwide on August 28, 2012.

Building on sales of more than seven million units of the original game, Guild Wars 2 redefines massively multiplayer online roleplaying games with visceral, action-oriented combat; a gorgeous, living world full of constantly evolving dynamic events; customizable personal storylines that are unique to each player; intense Player vs. Player combat between small teams or massive armies; and most importantly, a shared online world where players work together as allies instead of as rivals — all with no monthly subscription fee.

“We’re offering gamers an experience that delivers on the promise of online gaming with a truly social experience in an immense, shared world,” said Mike O’Brien, president and co-founder of ArenaNet. “After five years of creation, development, and polish, announcing the launch date of Guild Wars 2 is a huge milestone for us, but the thing we’re most looking forward to is seeing gamers from all over the globe explore this world and begin creating their own stories.”

As they prepare for launch, ArenaNet will focus on polishing Guild Wars 2 to ensure the highest quality experience on launch day, which includes hosting a final Beta Weekend Event July 20-22 2012.

For more information about the Beta Weekend Event and Guild Wars 2, visit www.myguild.com.au

**View the official launch trailer here: http://youtu.be/t-CB0hheQRg

In celebration of today’s launch of Where’s My Perry?, Disney Mobile Games and Disney Interactive have just released the official launch trailer!

The new mobile game combines the comedic tone, themes, and characters from Disney’s #1 animated series Phineas and Ferb, with the gameplay of Disney’s hit mobile game, Where’s My Water?.

Where’s My Perry? centers on a new storyline around Phineas and Ferb’s beloved Perry, the Platypus/ crime-fighting Agent P, and includes a host of new features and gameplay mechanics.

To download the launch trailer and new screenshots please visit HERE

New game brings the antics of Disney’s #1 Animated Show to

Disney’s #1 Mobile Game Franchise

Disney Mobile Games today launched Where’s My Perry? for iOS and Android.   The new mobile game combines the comedic tone, themes, and characters from Disney’s #1 animated series Phineas and Ferb, with the gameplay of Disney’s hit mobile game, Where’s My Water?.  Priced at $0.99, Where’s My Perry? centers on a new storyline around Phineas and Ferb’s beloved Perry, the Platypus/ crime-fighting Agent P, and includes a host of new features and gameplay mechanics.

In Where’s My Perry?, Agent P becomes stuck in one of his many transportation tubes after being summoned to the headquarters of Major Monogram for a mission briefing.  Now it is up to the player to guide water in its different forms (ice, steam, and liquid) across a variety of levels in an attempt to lead Agent P back to the OWCA headquarters for his mission briefing.

Keeping the core mechanic of Where’s My Water?, digging dirt to guide liquid, Where’s My Perry? also includes several new gameplay elements inspired by the comedy and antics of Phineas and Ferb.  The addition of “Crazy-inators,” Dr. Doofenshmirtz’ lasers that have been scattered across the sewer, allow players to instantly turn water into steam, ice or liquid, in addition to a new mysterious form, sludge.  There are even bonus levels where players must guide Balloony, Dr. Doofenshmirtz’ childhood friend, as he travels from deep below the ground to be reunited with Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

Where’s My Perry? features the voices of Major Monogram, Dr. Doofenshmirtz, and Carl, and Perry’s famous platypus sound, in addition to animated outro scenes.  Disney also plans to add free updates with new levels, including special levels that feature Swampy, the lovable alligator and star of Where’s My Water?.

COMPLETE LIST OF FEATURES:

•    NEW CHALLENGING PUZZLES – More than 80 puzzles across four chapters, with free updates to follow;

•    AMAZING STATES OF PLAY – Cut dirt to guide water and steam across ice, dirt and rock in a variety of levels;

•    CRAZY-INATORS – The evil villain Dr. Doofenshmirtz has scattered all kinds of lasers across the sewers – you’ll need to use them all to help change water to its different forms;

– The “Heat-inator” instantly turns a body of water into steam, or ice into water;

– The “Cool-inator” instantly turns a body of water into ice, and steam into water;

– The “Celebrate-inator” vacuums up water or steam to…wait, that’s classified;

•    COLLECTIBLES, CHALLENGES AND BONUS LEVELS – Collect all three gnomes in each level to become a master spy and find top-secret collectibles to unlock bonus levels featuring Balloony – Dr. Doof’s childhood friend.

Since launching in September of 2011, Where’s My Water? has become a global success, reaching the No. 1 spot on the App Store in 80 different countries, and making App Store history when Where’s My Water? Free was announced as the 25 billionth app downloaded.  The game also launched on Android platforms for Google Play and the Amazon Appstore where it has enjoyed similar success.  In June 2012, Apple recognized the game with the Apple Design Award, awarded for innovation and design excellence in developer products.

Where’s My Perry? is now available in the App Store for $0.99, or for download on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad at: http://bit.ly/MR6WXW

The game is available for $0.99 on Android devices via Google Play at: http://bit.ly/LqjhAi

Bethesda has just released new Dishonored gameplay videos of the demo originally shown behind closed doors at E3!

In these videos, Co-Creative Directors Raphael Colantonio and Harvey Smith guide you through two different playthroughs of ‘The Golden Cat’. The first video shows a stealthier approach to eliminating The Pendleton Brothers, two corrupt aristocrats. The second video depicts the more direct, action-oriented style of play to assassinate the targets. In addition to ‘The Golden Cat’, the second video illustrates a fight with the Tallboys who are patrolling the streets in ‘The Flooded District’.

Dishonored casts you as a supernatural assassin driven by revenge. Creatively eliminate your targets with the flexible combat system as you combine supernatural abilities with weapons and gadgets at your disposal. Pursue your targets under the cover of darkness or ruthlessly attack them head on with weapons drawn. The outcome of each mission plays out based on the choices you make.

Dishonored will be available in Australia and New Zealand on October 11, 2012 and is slated for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Game Achieves Multiple Award wins and Nominations for the Best of E3 2012 

Melbourne, VIC. June 29, 2012 – THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced that its upcoming strategy game Company of Heroes^® 2 has received critical acclaim coming out of E3 winning a number of awards.

Company of Heroes 2 impressed E3 judges and secured seven Best of E3 2012 wins thanks to its cutting edge Essence™ 3 Engine. Notable achievements include Best PC Game from G4 X-Play and Machinima as well as a number of Best Strategy Game plaudits from other outlets.

On top of the wins mentioned above Company of Heroes 2 was nominated for over 18 Best of E3 2012 awards including Best PC and Strategy game in the official Game Critics Awards and Best Overall Game for IGN.

Michael Lustenberger, Vice President of Global Brand Management – Online commented, “The original Company of Heroes set a lofty standard and we are delighted that the sequel can now join it as a multiple-award winner coming out of E3. What we showed press was just a taste of what is still to come with this title.”

The full list of awards and nominations is below:

Awards

Best PC Game – G4 X-Play

Best PC Game – Machinima

Most Valuable Game – PC Gamer

Best Strategy Game – Gaming Excellence

Best Strategy Game – Neoseeker

Best Strategy Game – Comics & Gaming Monthly

Best Sound – Flesh Eating Zipper

Nominations

Best PC Game – Game Critics Awards

Best Strategy Game – Game Critics Awards

Best Overall Game – IGN

Best PC Game – IGN

Best Strategy Game – IGN

Best PC Game – G4’s X-Play

Best Strategy Game – G4’s X-Play

Best PC Game – Machinima

Best Strategy Game – Machinima

Best Strategy Game – Neoseeker

Best Strategy Game – GameSpy

Best PC Game – Destructoid

Best Strategy Game – Neoseeker

Best PC Exclusive Game – Gaming Excellence

Best Strategy Game – Gaming Excellence

Best Strategy Game – Comics & Gaming Monthly

Best of E3 – Multiplayer.it

Best Sound – FleshEatingZipper.com

The original Company of Heroes was released in 2006 to critical acclaim and is currently the highest rated strategy title (with more than five reviews) on Gamerankings.com with an average of 93.82% based on 56 reviews. The game features similar acclaim on Metacritic.com with a Metascore of 93% based on 55 reviews.

Company of Heroes 2 is scheduled to be available for PC in early 2013. For more information check www.companyofheroes.com .

Distribution partners in place across Europe

LONDON – 28^th June 2012 – SEGA® Europe today confirmed that as a result of the recent restructure it will be shifting business to focus on developing new and existing digital content as well as driving key IP for packaged goods. SEGA has therefore realigned its business strategy and will be closing their offices in France, Germany, Spain, Australia and Benelux.

Koch Media have been appointed to assist SEGA with distribution across Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and Spain of packaged goods, Level03 Distribution and 5 Star Games will assist with distribution across Benelux and Australia respectively which will be implemented from the 1^st July 2012.

All other territories will continue to be run through the same channels as before, and along with Koch, Level03 and 5 Star, will be managed through the SEGA Europe Headquarters based in London.

“SEGA is entering a new and exciting phase that will position the company as a content led organisation maximising sales with strong and balanced IP such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Football Manager and the Aliens franchise”, commented Jurgen Post, COO of SEGA Europe. “The company will benefit from a clear focus and realigned strategy for our digital business and packaged goods and we are confident that this will lead to a successful future.”

SEGA will continue the sales, marketing and distribution of London 2012™ – The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games which will be launched on the 28^th June in Australia and the 29^th June across Europe for PC, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.