Sanderson To Pen Original Prequel To Mistborn Series For All New RPG Franchise 

Sydney, Australia – March 23, 2012 – Little Orbit revealed today that they will be bringing bestselling author Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy series Mistborn to games late next year for PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Windows PC and Mac.

Mistborn is set in a dark world of ash, mist, and gothic fantasy creatures, dominated by a seemingly immortal villain known as the Lord Ruler. It also follows individuals who use a powerful rule-based magic system known as Allomancy that allows them to temporarily enhance their physical and mentalabilities by ingesting and “burning” flakes of metal. Those who have the ability to burn a single metal are called Mistings, and those who can burn all metals are known as Mistborn.

The upcoming RPG video game will feature an original storyline created by Sanderson, set several hundreds of years before the first Mistborn novel, and will focus on a unique combat system that puts Allomancy into the hands of gamers. Players will suit up as Fendin “Fiddle” Fathvell, an arrogant young nobleman who must quickly master his newfound Allomantic abilities before forces at work can destroy his entire family.

“I’m a huge fan of the series, and I cannot wait to get this into the hands of gamers,” said Matthew Scott, CEO of Little Orbit.  “Between the distinctive magic system, the story twists Brandon has planned for the game, and the rich depth of character skills, we’re creating something very unique for players to enjoy.”

Sanderson is no stranger to video games. He recently completed story development on the Infinity Blade II video game including the accompanying Infinity Blade: Awakening novella. In between writing his popular Mistborn and Stormlight novels, he is also finishing work on the final novel in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. Sanderson has been labeled “one of the most popular new fantasy writers to emerge in the last ten years”.

 “As an avid gamer, I’m extremely excited by this opportunity,” said Sanderson. “The chance to write the story for a Mistborn game while working with a team of talented developers is, quite literally, living a dream.”

Official Website:

http://www.mistborngame.com

Join us:

http://www.facebook.com/mistborngame

BAYONETTA PLAYABLE IN ANARCHY REIGNS!

Friday 23^rd March 2012 – SEGA Japan and PlatinumGames today announced the Japanese pre-order campaign for ANARCHY REIGNS. Japanese players who pre-order the game will be able to play with the famous Bayonetta character in the online multiplayer modes of ANARCHY REIGNS.

This announcement is dedicated to the Japanese market only but we can now confirm that the Bayonetta character will also be included in the Western version of the game. Please wait for more information from your local SEGA office or distributor to announce plans for ANARCHY REIGNS in your territory during the coming weeks. 

In the meantime, as everyone loves to watch Bayonetta in action, here is a link to the video released this morning in Japan involving the famous witch: http://youtu.be/EeO1n7fL_zE.

 In additions to this, we’re also announcing two new great features of ANARCHY REIGNS: 

–          Added to the campaign mode in which you will be able to play Jack and Leo’s stories, the game has many multiplayer modes. Four of them have already been revealed (Deathmatch, Battle Royale, Survival and Death Ball) and we can now announce that in total there are no less than 11 very different multiplayer modes available in ANARCHY REIGNS! 

–          As usual with PlatinumGames, a new threshold is crossed when they move into a new genre and this is the time for online multiplayer brawlers to take a step forward. Depending on the players mode you don’t only have 2, 4 or 8 players fighting each-other online, no way, you will have to up to 16 (that’s sixteen!) players confronting one another at any one time. So be ready for a new scale in the Melee Combat! 

ANARCHY REIGNS will be available July 3^rd  2012 for PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360™ in the USA, July 5^th in Australia and July 6^th  in the European territories. 

For more information about ANARCHY REIGNS, please visit: http://www.anarchyreigns.com. For assets, please visit: www.sega-press.com.

For more news, follow SEGA on Twitter @SEGA or like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/sega.

First Ever Music-Themed Title Commemorates FINAL FANTASY Franchise’s 25^th Anniversary 

Sydney (23^rd March 2012) – Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of SQUARE ENIX® interactive entertainment products in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and other PAL territories, today announced THEATRHYTHM™ FINAL FANTASY®, the first ever music game from the 100 million-selling FINAL FANTASY series, is heading to Europe and PAL territories, exclusively on the NINTENDO 3DS™.

THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY is a celebration of the greatest musical moments from the history of the FINAL FANTASY series. Developed by rhythm game veteran indieszero, SQUARE ENIX brings more than 70 musical scores spanning 25 years to THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY, alongside beautiful new environments and movie scenes from the original games. THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY will reawaken the magic and the memories that have brought the series close to the hearts of so many.

Coming as part of the FINAL FANTASY 25th Anniversary year, the nostalgia-inducing music, addictive rhythm gameplay and charming art style of THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY is sure to capture the hearts of FINAL FANTASY fans old and new. 

Features

Rockstar announce the winner’s of their Max Payne Competition!

In January, we announced the eight lucky people that were selected from our exclusive Twitter casting-call to have their likenesses appear as playable characters in Max Payne 3’s multiplayer. You’ve already seen the photo mugshots of this handsome gangof online assassins, but today we can reveal exactly how they will look in-game. Behold the #MaxPayne3 gang.

In the selection of shots above, the gun-toting group of digitized incarnations can be seen in action at several of Max Payne 3’s multiplayer maps each of which are based on levels from the single-player game story – including the docks on the Tietê River, the favelas, and the São Paulo bus depot.

Congratulations once again to our international set of cast members.
Harald Fraenkel (@HaraldFraenkel) from Germany whose mohawk and menacing glare have made it through intact…
Radio DJ Dave Wheeler (@Wheelerj28) from Winnipeg, Canada, looking sharp and poised for action…
Alexis “Lou” (@Alexisssx3) from Southern California, with her fiery red short-cropped hair…
Elvis (@ElvisMarques) ready to represent for his home of Brazil…
Artist Shohei (@hakuchitare) from Japan with his distinctive hairstyle slicked back and shaved on the sides making for a mean looking killer…
Hamish (@SilentHamish) from Australia who as expected has come off looking a convincing action hero…
Jaclyn (@jaclynejimenez) from the NYC area as a no-nonsense, tough yet feminine guerilla solider…
and Nick (@TwisBeats) of London whose unique braided beard has been faithfully re-created – here posed in a dignified grey suit…

Keep in mind that the Max Payne 3 online multiplayer avatar selector is customizable, so you will be able to dress these guys up in a vast variety of ensembles as you tailor your character’s look (and weaponry) before going online and brutalizing the competition.

We’ll be revealing more of Max Payne 3’s multiplayer including details on avatar and loadout selections in the coming weeks here at the Rockstar Newswire…

Up to 6 TB Capacities, Double-safe Protection, RAID, User Serviceability, and Dual Thunderbolt Ports for Daisy Chaining and Unparalleled Workflow Efficiency

Sydney, Australia. – Mar. 22, 2012 – Western Digital, the world’s leader in external storage solutions, is now shipping its first external hard drive with Thunderbolt™ technology – the My Book® Thunderbolt™ Duo dual-drive storage system. The new My Book Thunderbolt Duo provides professionals and Mac® enthusiasts with five primary areas of performance, double-safe data protection and flexibility; ultra-fast data transfer rates for greater work efficiency; a 4 TB/6 TB large-capacity; customized dual-drive storage system with RAID 0, 1 and JBOD options; customer serviceable drives; and dual Thunderbolt ports for daisy-chaining multiple My Book Thunderbolt Duo devices or other peripherals.
    
Thunderbolt technology brings a new way to connect high-speed storage devices to any desktop or notebook computer with a Thunderbolt port while delivering unmatched speed for multitasking activities such as, editing video/music, 3D rendering, and completing other high definition graphics-intensive projects.
    
“Offering lightning-fast throughput in both directions, the new WD Thunderbolt Duo storage systems are just what I need for organizing, editing, and archiving complex High Definition video projects,” said Bruce Dorn, DGA (Director’s Guild of America). “Configurable as either RAID 0 or RAID 1 – and offered in both 4 TB and 6 TB capacities – these new WD Thunderbolt Duo systems are the perfect solution for video filmmakers who are desperate for an uber-fast time sensitive project management solution.”
    
“The My Book Thunderbolt Duo offers large storage capacities for creative professionals and enthusiasts who produce, edit, or need quick access to large files, including HD video,” said Jody Bradshaw, general manager of WD consumer storage solutions. “Its dual Thunderbolt ports provide amazing creative flexibility while allowing daisy-chaining of up to six My Book Thunderbolt Duo drives or other high performance peripherals for fast and efficient workflow. The combination of storage, backup, security, flexibility and speed  makes the My Book Thunderbolt Duo the ideal choice for creative professionals that need to write, store, protect and edit high-definition and graphic intensive projects.”
    
My Book Thunderbolt Duo is an ideal, all-in-one external drive for creative professionals, enthusiasts, and consumers who own vast amounts of digital content including videos, music, and photos. The drive serves as a safe and reliable way to backup content stored on your computer while providing the fastest way to get information to and from the WD drive.  In addition, its RAID 1 support allows users to create a second copy of their digital content on the drive for double-safe protection, and peace of mind. The drive also supports a JBOD mode (allocate each disk individually to a specific task) excellent option for users running Windows OS on a Mac.
    
Additional features found on the My Book Thunderbolt Duo include out-of-the-box compatibility with Mac OS Time Machine and formatting for HFS + Journaled for Mac; capability for multi-stream workflows; and a 3-year limited warranty.

Price and Availability
Manufacturer: Western Digital
Product Name: My Book Thunderbolt Duo
Availability: Available at select retailers
RRP: 4 TB – A$699.99, NZ$899.99
RRP: 6 TB – AU$899.99, NZ$1,099.99
Website: www.westerndigital.com
Australia distributor: Synnex Australia, Express Online
New Zealand distributors: Synnex NZ and Ingram Micro NZ
Warranty: 3 years

About WD
WD, one of the storage industry’s pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage, and use digital information. The company designs and produces reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives that keep users’ data accessible and secure from loss. Its advanced technologies are configured into applications for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics, as well as its own consumer storage and home entertainment products.
    
WD was founded in 1970. The company’s storage products are marketed to leading OEMs, systems manufacturers, selected resellers, and retailers under the Western Digital and WD brand names. Visit the Investor section of the company’s website (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.
    
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to expected availability dates for My Book Thunderbolt Duo. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including changes in markets, demand, global economic conditions and other risks and uncertainties listed in Western Digital’s recent SEC filings, to which your attention is directed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak on as of the date hereof, and WD undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Rayman 3 HD provides 15–20 hours of game-play and a wealth of extra content to unlock, including nine fun stand-alone mini-games, achievements and worldwide online leaderboards. In addition, the game has been updated to run at 60 frames per second and offers improved audio quality.

Rayman 3 HD is now available for 800 Microsoft Points and $13.95 on the PlayStation Network.

For more information, please visit: http://www.ubi.com/AU/Games/Info.aspx?pId=10423