Disney Brings Players Back to the Cave of Wonders with New Environments and Character Costumes Based on Walt Disney Pictures’ Academy Award®-Winning Film   

October 5, 2011 – Join Disney as we “Show You the World” with magical environments and fantastic character costumes inspired by Walt Disney Animation Studio’s award-winning audience-favourite, “Aladdin,” in the upcoming video game Disney Universe, available in stores on October 27. Players will be able to journey through the enchanted city of Agrabah dressed up as classic favourites like Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, Iago, Jafar and Abu in the adventurous world of Disney Universe, the first video game that brings together characters and worlds inspired by both animated and live action films from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures.  

Players will be able to suit up as Aladdin, Jasmine and other timeless characters from the movie as they navigate through the mystical Cave of Wonders collecting Scarabs to fit into a statue puzzle, avoiding falling sand, and jumping across rising platforms to complete the level. They’ll use gems to complete the mission while keeping clear of boulders, lava and spiked platforms, all in an effort to win a final battle against the evil Jafar.

The “Aladdin” world joins other fun and exciting Disney Universe environments, including the recently announced “Pirates of the Caribbean” world, as well as environments based on Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” Disney’s animated classic “The Lion King,” and Disney•Pixar’s hits “Monsters, Inc.” and “WALL•E.”  

Disney Universe will be available October 27 for the Xbox 360^®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Wii™ system from Nintendo and Windows PC. Please visit www.disneyuniverse.com.au for more information.  

TAKE A MAGIC CARPET RIDE THROUGH THE STREETS OF AGRABAH

IN THE DISNEY UNIVERSE “ALADDIN” WORLD

Disney Brings Players Back to the Cave of Wonders with New Environments and Character Costumes Based on Walt Disney Pictures’ Academy Award®-Winning Film

October 5, 2011 – Join Disney as we “Show You the World” with magical environments and fantastic character costumes inspired by Walt Disney Animation Studio’s award-winning audience-favourite, “Aladdin,” in the upcoming video game Disney Universe, available in stores on October 27. Players will be able to journey through the enchanted city of Agrabah dressed up as classic favourites like Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, Iago, Jafar and Abu in the adventurous world of Disney Universe, the first video game that brings together characters and worlds inspired by both animated and live action films from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures.  

Players will be able to suit up as Aladdin, Jasmine and other timeless characters from the movie as they navigate through the mystical Cave of Wonders collecting Scarabs to fit into a statue puzzle, avoiding falling sand, and jumping across rising platforms to complete the level. They’ll use gems to complete the mission while keeping clear of boulders, lava and spiked platforms, all in an effort to win a final battle against the evil Jafar.

The “Aladdin” world joins other fun and exciting Disney Universe environments, including the recently announced “Pirates of the Caribbean” world, as well as environments based on Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” Disney’s animated classic “The Lion King,” and Disney•Pixar’s hits “Monsters, Inc.” and “WALL•E.”  

Disney Universe will be available October 27 for the Xbox 360^®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Wii™ system from Nintendo and Windows PC. Please visit www.disneyuniverse.com.au  for more information. 

We are just over a week away from the October 14 launch of Dead Rising 2 Off The Record for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in Europe and to get you ready for the return of Frank West, today we have an all-new trailer featuring the beloved hero and what he’s been doing since we saw him last.

Dead Rising 2 Off the Record sees photojournalist and original hero of Dead Rising’s Willamette incident, Frank West, take centre stage as players experience a reimagining of the Fortune City outbreak. Forget what you know about Dead Rising 2,”Frank West is back in the game!”

The new, “Off the Record” storyline means an all new Dead Rising 2 experience. Frank will face off against more twisted enemies, build more outrageous combo weapons, follow his own unique mission structure and explore brand new areas of Fortune City to get his biggest scoop yet. Frank’s come back means the return of his trusty camera, with players able to earn Prestige Points (PP) for specific photo opportunities that are graded against criteria such as horror, drama, erotica and brutality.

Sydney, Australia. – October 6, 2011 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced the most successful launch in EA SPORTS history as EA SPORTS™ FIFA 12 hit store shelves and online retailers across the globe. Critical accolades have rolled in for the highest rated sports videogame of this console generation^, and fans around the world have already played more than 200 million minutes of online games of FIFA 12.*

Based on internal estimates since its September 27 launch in North America and September 29/30 worldwide, FIFA 12 has sold-through an estimated 3.2 million units across all consoles worldwide**, making it the biggest launch in the history of sports videogames and the biggest videogame launch of 2011 to date. These are preliminary EA estimates. EA plans to provide further information regarding sales of FIFA 12 during its earnings call for the second quarter of fiscal year 2012.

“FIFA 12 is a stunning achievement by our team at EA Canada,” said Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice-President of EA SPORTS. “The massive FIFA online community has overwhelmingly connected to the new live services in the game, including EA SPORTS Football Club, and we intend to keep them engaged all season long as FIFA 12 follows the heartbeat of the football season.”

Other notable achievements from the game’s record-breaking launch include:
· FIFA 12 sell-through is estimated to be up approximately 23 percent over last year’s record-breaking launch.
· FIFA 12 for iPhone and iPad has already sold 879,000 units, and achieved the Top Grossing App for iPhone on 30 worldwide storefronts.

• October 1, 2011 was the busiest day for online gaming in EA SPORTS history. Fans registered more than 10 million EA SPORTS game sessions, including almost eight million game sessions of FIFA 12.

· Almost 350,000 fans engaged in the early web-start for FIFA 12 Ultimate Team via easportsfootball.com, and more than 14 million trades have already occurred within the Ultimate Team mode. For the first time ever, FIFA Ultimate Team is available on disc for fans to enjoy the thrill of building, managing and playing with their ultimate team of football superstars.
· The launch of FIFA 12 also saw the introduction of EA SPORTS Football Club – the heartbeat of FIFA 12. Millions of fans around the world have already pledged their allegiance to their favourite team through the Support Your Club feature. To date, the clubs with the most supporters*** are:
Manchester United – 241,767 supporters
FC Barcelona – 144,709 supporters
Arsenal – 131,305 supporters
Real Madrid – 126,806 supporters
Liverpool – 118,182 supporters

Chosen “Best Console Game” at Gamescom and winner of the prestigious E3 Game Critics award for “Best Sports Game” at E3 2011, FIFA 12 is the highest rated sports videogame of this console generation with a Metacritic rating of 92 on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and 91 on Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, including perfect scores from leading media outlets like 1UP, USA Today, GamePro and The Guardian. IGN (9.5 out of 10) called FIFA 12 “amazing” and Everyeye.it (9.5 out of 10) wrote, “FIFA 12 is simply the best football simulation ever made.”

FIFA 12 brings to the pitch the game-changing new Player Impact Engine, and revolutionary gameplay innovations inspired by the real-world game, including all-new Precision Dribbling, Tactical Defending, and Pro Player Intelligence. Plus, new live services and breakthrough social experiences like EA SPORTS Football Club and FIFA Ultimate Team deepen fans’ connection to the real-world game, their favorite club, and their friends, rivals and millions of other players around the world in the massive FIFA online community.
FIFA 12 is localized into 18 languages and available in 51 countries. It is available for the PlayStation®3, Xbox 360®, PC, Mac, Wii™, PlayStation®2, Nintendo 3DS™, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, iPhone®, iPad™, and iPod® touch. The game is available for digital download on PC at www.origin.com.
FIFA 12 is rated E for everyone by the ESRB and Pegi 3+. Screenshots are available at http://info.ea.com. For the latest news on FIFA Soccer 12 join more than six million fans in the EA SPORTS FIFA community at http://www.facebook.com/easportsfifa or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/easportsfifa.

EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, global videogame competitions and breakthrough digital experiences. EA SPORTS delivers personal access to the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports simulation videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA JAM basketball, NCAA® Football, Fight Night boxing, EA SPORTS MMA, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf , and EA SPORTS Active. For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.comto connect, share and compete.
^ Source – www.metacritic.comas of October 3, 2011
*according to internal data sources as of October 2, 2011
** according to internal sales data as of October 2, 2011.
*** according to internal data sources as of October 3, 2011

SYDNEY, Australia – October 6, 2011 – Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that EA SPORTS™ NBA JAM: On Fire Edition – an all-new, full-product digital download – is now available to purchase for $23.95 on PlayStation®Network and 1200 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE® Arcade.  NBA JAM: On Fire Edition features exciting new gameplay enhancements, including ground-breaking artificial intelligence (AI), all-new online modes, and the legendary Tim Kitzrow bringing more unforgettable calls.

Bitdefender, reigning champion, scores perfect mark in AV-Test trials for protection

SYDNEY & AUCKLAND – October 6, 2011 – Bitdefender, the award-winning provider of internet security solutions, beat all challengers in the latest round of independent testing by AV-Test, maintaining its No. 1 rank and solidifying its industry lead.

Bitdefender passed 100 percent of tests in reaction to zero-day malware attacks, including web and email threats, according to results of AV-Test trials in July and August. Bitdefender handily beat the average of 92 percent scored by the 25 products tested in the category of ‘protection against malware threats.’

Bitdefender also scored the top mark in the two other categories tested: ‘cleaning and repair of a malware infected computer’ and ‘impact of the security software on the usability of the whole computer,’ according to AV-Test.

“Congratulations to Bitdefender for its admirable performance again,” said AV-Test CEO Andreas Marx. “The testing was rigorous and subjected the products to the challenges they face in the real world. Bitdefender could not possibly have tested better in protection.”

In the previous round of tests – for the second quarter of 2011 – Bitdefender set an industry record with a combined score of 17 out of 18 possible points across the three categories. In all AV-Test rounds so far this year, Bitdefender has scored a perfect 6 for protection offered, becoming the only company to do so three times in a row.

“Bitdefender has now become the player to beat in the industry,” said Viorel Canja, head of Bitdefender Labs. “Our products continue to raise the bar for antivirus performance – not only in terms of protection offered but also in terms of usability and repair.”

All product and company names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and are the property of, and may be trademarks of, their respective owners.

89% of interviewed parents admit their children had been a victim of cyber bullying, reveals Bitdefender study 

SYDNEY & AUCKLAND – October 7, 2011 The Internet can be a dangerous place for the young, exposing them to e-threats such as malware, phishing schemes, pornography or material promoting the use of drugs and violence, among others.

Perhaps the most pervasive threat, though, is cyber bullying – threats, harassment, humiliation and other torment from another child or teen using digital technology such as text messaging, email or instant messaging.

A new Bitdefender study of parents shows that 89 percent say their children have been the target of cyber bullying and more than half have been ‘very affected.’

The study focuses on assessing the frequency and context of cyber bullying. A sample of 1,740 parents was used from five countries including Australia.  The parents were interviewed about their children’s internet habits, especially those that reflect contact with virtual friends.

Results

The danger of socialising with inappropriate persons shows its ugly face regularly:  89% of the parents recognised that their children had been threatened, harassed or humiliated on the internet. Moreover, 54% admitted that their kids had been very affected by these incidents. As a consequence of this cyber bullying, the children became sad, angry, violent, or apathetic. 19 % of parents sought specialised help for their children. 

Three major age-classes of children/adolescents were obtained: 7-10 years (13%), 11-15 years (47%) and 15-18 years (40%). The survey found that 7-10 year children spend an average of less than one hour on internet daily, while 15- to 18-year-olds spend more than one hour and less than three hours per day online. The most time spent online is by the 11-15 year-olds with 3 to 5 hours per day.

The parents were also asked about their children’s friends. Do they know them? Who are they?

87% of parents said they met 65 percent of their children’s virtual friends. The other 35% are just ‘virtual’ meaning the respondents didn’t interact directly with them. Most of their children’s friends were listed as schoolmates and relatives, while some are individuals they know only in the virtual environment.

Regarding activity on the internet, 16-18 year adolescents do various research projects for homework (43%) and hang out on social networks (31%) while most 11-15 year-olds chat use instant messaging platforms (87%).

No private information or other content arising or deriving from this inquiry has been collected. No data or confidential information pertaining to individuals or companies was or will be disclosed, used for any other purposes or against the persons who revealed it.

All product and company names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and are the property of, and may be trademarks of, their respective owners.

Today Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment present a new animated trailer featuring the dual lifestyles of the Bats and Jokerz characters in Gotham City Impostors. Watch two mild-mannered neighbours face-off in their homemade Impostor outfits on a typical weeknight.

The Sims 3 Pets releases four new Nintendo 3DS-specific screens that show what lifelong companionship truly means between Sims and their pets, and even between pets themselves.

AT&T, BBC, Comcast, HBO, Rogers, Telefónica, Televisa and Verizon are among providers rolling out new TV entertainment services on Xbox LIVE. 

REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 5, 2011 — A new era in television begins this holiday where your entertainment becomes instantly searchable, easily discoverable and enjoyable in extraordinary new ways from a single device — Xbox 360. Today, Microsoft Corp. announced plans to roll out the next generation of TV entertainment on Xbox LIVE, the online entertainment service for Xbox 360. Nearly 40 world-leading TV and entertainment providers, including Bravo, Comcast, HBO GO, Verizon FiOS and Syfy in the U.S.; BBC in the U.K., Telefónica in Spain; Rogers On Demand in Canada; Televisa in Mexico; ZDF in Germany; and MediaSet in Italy, will begin rolling out entertainment services to the console this holiday, in more than 20 countries.

“Today’s announcement is a major step toward realizing our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy,” said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “Combining the world’s leading TV and entertainment providers with the power of Kinect for Xbox 360* and the intelligence of Bing voice search will make TV and entertainment more personal, social and effortless.”

“We are continually evolving the television experience to bring Xfinity TV subscribers more personalized ways to search, find and watch the content they love,” said Sam Schwartz, president of Comcast Converged Products. “Our recently launched next-generation Xfinity TV platform is enabling us to bring Xfinity On Demand to a gaming console for the first time, and Kinect’s voice and gesture controls will offer our customers an innovative way to discover and enjoy Xfinity On Demand’s huge library of top shows and movies.”

Live and On-Demand TV, Movies, Games, Sports, Music and More

Xbox 360 brings all your entertainment, friends and family together in one place. Now, easily switch from playing your favorite game with a friend out of state or even across the world to watching your favorite TV show with your family members on the same couch, all through Xbox LIVE. Ready to mix things up? Effortlessly switch from games to music to live TV and more, simply by telling your Xbox what you want to experience.

“Microsoft and Verizon share a common vision to transform the ways people enjoy and interact with the entertainment they want — what Verizon calls the borderless lifestyle,” said Eric Bruno, vice president of consumer and mass business product management for Verizon. “FiOS TV on the Xbox 360 is an excellent example of how we’re working with market leaders to erase old technology borders to expand the FiOS TV experience and taking advantage of unique new features including voice- and gesture-control of live TV entertainment via Kinect. 

This holiday, Verizon will bring a selection of popular live TV channels to Xbox 360 and will be a leader in delivering live, multichannel streaming HD TV, integrated with Kinect, via the Xbox.”

Xbox 360 is the first console to offer access to the world’s greatest TV properties, including BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and LOVEFiLM in the U.K.; Antena 3, RTVE and Telefónica in Spain; Televisa in Mexico; and Bravo, Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand service, Crackle, EPIX, Syfy, TMZ, “The Today Show,” UFC, Verizon FiOS and HBO GO in the United States.

“We have been thrilled with the success of HBO GO. Our ongoing goal is to deliver HBO’s acclaimed programming to our subscribers wherever and whenever they want it, and this relationship with Microsoft is another huge step in accomplishing just that,” said Bernadette Aulestia, senior vice president, Domestic Network Distribution & Marketing, HBO. “HBO GO on Xbox is also a marriage of two pre-eminent brands — both with a reputation for delivering the highest quality of entertainment.”

These new TV and video providers announced today join our existing lineup of great TV and video entertainment partners already on Xbox 360 — AT&T, Netflix and Hulu+ in the U.S., TELUS in Canada, BSkyB in the U.K., Canal+ in France, Vodafone Portugal, VimpelCom in Russia, and FOXTEL in Australia.

“Nearly a year ago, AT&T U-verse became the first TV provider in the U.S. to launch live TV on Xbox 360.   Now we look forward to working with Microsoft to deliver even more innovative features that will allow U-verse TV customers to use voice and gesture controls to manage their TV experience,” said Jeff Weber, vice president of video services, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “Through our Microsoft partnership, AT&T U-verse TV has been a leader in delivering a multi-screen and interactive TV experience that offers customers more personalization, more control and more integration across devices, all on the industry’s only 100 percent IPTV platform.”

Sports aren’t just a game on Xbox 360. With live and on-demand content from ESPN in the U.S., UFC in the U.S. and Canada, GolTV in Spain and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment/Real Sports in Canada, Xbox 360 completely changes how sports fans experience and interact with their favorite pastimes. The all-new ESPN on Xbox LIVE features thousands of live events and video highlights with enhanced personalization features, split-screen viewing and an updated interface content guide that makes it easy for fans to find the highlights from the teams and sports they care most about. UFC on Xbox LIVE gives fans access to live pre-event videos, a catalog of on-demand video, an Interactive Fight Card and pay-per-view events in stunning HD all together in one place. The energy of the Octagon is coming right into the living room.  

In addition to adding the world’s largest TV providers and the best names in sports, the biggest names in Web video, news and music are also coming to Xbox 360, including AlloCiné, Dailymotion, iHeartRadio, MSN with MSNBC.com, “The Today Show,” TMZ, VEVO and YouTube. Whether catching up on the Web’s latest viral videos, watching breaking news, sports and weather, listening to your favorite music, or sitting down to enjoy your favorite games, movies or TV shows — no other entertainment device brings it all together in one place like Xbox 360.

Xbox Entertainment — Personal, Effortless, Social

            With Kinect for Xbox 360, there are no remotes, no buttons, no worries. Consumers will prefer to experience entertainment on Xbox 360 because it allows them to easily search and discover content across multiple entertainment providers within Xbox LIVE and interact and enjoy that content in extraordinary new ways. Gone are the days of managing a handful of remote controls, trying to remember what movies are available from what service, and hunting back and forth across television inputs. Using voice search with Bing on Xbox, easily look across a variety of branded services and play the programming you want without ever raising a finger. Having trouble finding last night’s episode of “The Office”? It’s now only a voice command away. Just say “Xbox, Bing, ‘The Office,’ ” and Xbox finds it.

            Not only is entertainment effortless on Xbox 360, it is more social and personal. Everything in Xbox has been designed to share with friends. Share recommendations, and show the Xbox LIVE community what games you’re playing, movies you’re watching and music you’re listening to, as well as invite them to join in — even post your game achievements and info about your favorite movies directly to your Facebook wall from Xbox LIVE.

It’s simple: With your social network along for the ride, the world’s leading content providers and the magic of Kinect, entertainment experiences are better on Xbox LIVE.

Entertainment Partners on Xbox 360 (Existing and New)

• ABC iView – Australia
• AlloCiné – France, Germany, Spain, U.K.  
• Antena 3 – Spain
• Astral Media’s Disney XD – Canada
• AT&T** – U.S.
• BBC – U.K.
• blinkbox – U.K.
• Bravo – U.S.
• BSkyB** – U.K.
• Canal+* – France, Spain
• Channel 4 – U.K.
• Channel 5 – U.K.
• CinemaNow (Best Buy) – U.S.
• Comcast – U.S.
• Crackle – Australia, Canada, U.K., U.S.
• Dailymotion – Available in 32 markets   
• EPIX – U.S.
• ESPN** – U.S.
• Facebook** – Available in all 35 Xbox LIVE markets
• FOXTEL** – Australia
• GolTV – Spain
• HBO GO – U.S.
• Hulu – Japan
• Hulu +^**– U.S.
• iHeartRadio (Clear Channel) – U.S.
• Last.fm^** – U.K., U.S.
• LOVEFiLM – Germany, U.K.  
• Manga Entertainment – U.S.
• Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment/Real Sports – Canada
• MediaSet – Italy
• MSN with MSNBC.com – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, U.K.    
• MUZU.TV – France, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.K.
• Netflix^**– Canada, U.S.
• Rogers On Demand Online (RODO) – Canada
• RTVE – Spain
• SBS On Demand – Australia
• Syfy – U.S.
• Telefonica – Spain
• Televisa – Mexico   
• “The Today Show” – U.S.
• TELUS** – Canada
• TMZ – U.S.
• Twitter^** – Available in all 35 Xbox LIVE markets
• UFC – Canada, U.S.
• Verizon – U.S.
• VEVO – Canada, U.K., U.S.
• VimpelCom** – Russia
• Vodafone Portugal** – Portugal
• YouTube – Available in 22 markets
• ZDF – Germany
• Zune^** – Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K., U.S.

About Xbox 360

 Xbox 360 is a premier home entertainment and video game system. Thanks to the addition of Kinect, Xbox 360 has transformed social gaming and entertainment with a whole new way to play — no controller required. Xbox 360 is also home to the best and broadest games as well as one of the world’s largest on-demand libraries of music, standard- and high-definition movies, TV shows and digital games, all in one place. The entertainment center of the living room, Xbox 360 blends unbeatable content with a leading social entertainment network of nearly 35 million Xbox LIVE members to create a limitless entertainment experience that can be shared at home or across the globe. More information about Xbox 360 can be found online at http://www.xbox.com.

About Xbox LIVE

Xbox LIVE is the online entertainment service for your Xbox 360, connecting you to an ever-expanding world of games, movies, TV, music, sports and social entertainment. Xbox LIVE lets you play the best games, enjoy one of the world’s largest on-demand libraries on any console, listen to millions of songs and share the fun with friends around the world. Xbox LIVE is also the exclusive home of controller-free online entertainment through Kinect, making your Xbox 360 more intuitive and interactive than ever before. With an active community of nearly 35 million people across 35 countries, Xbox LIVE, together with Xbox 360, provides you with instant access to the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, wherever you are. More information about Xbox LIVE can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/live.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

^* Xbox LIVE Gold membership and/or other subscriptions/fees required. Kinect functionality varies by feature, provider and region.

^** Denotes existing partners on Xbox LIVE available today.