For the Goblins, there is only one Big Game, and it’s Blood Bowl!
Four days of new Blood Bowl trailers launches today!

While Americans are busy stocking up on chips, dips, beer and soda for this Sunday’s Super Bowl, the rest of the fantasy world already has bone-crushing action in the form of the famed “Blood Bowl” – and throughout the rest of this week, Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide will be showing off the game (Xbox 360 and Windows PC) through daily video releases. Each day, we’ll be releasing a brief trailer focusing on one of the game’s many teams, culminating in an action-packed gameplay trailer to be released on Friday. Don’t miss a day!

To launch this Blood Bowl blitz, we’re releasing a new trailer of the Goblin team in action. In this video, watch as these sneaky little gobbos zip around the field doing their best the snatch up the ball and make a run past the other team’s defenses. When all else fails, our fiendish little friend finds a nearby troll to throw him headlong into the end zone!

An ultra-violent mix of American football and other team sports, Blood Bowl takes place in the popular Warhammer universe, and allows players to build the ultimate “fantasy” teams. Would-be team managers can build bone-crushing teams composed of Orcs, Elves, Humans, Dwarfs and many more fantastic creatures – then throw them into the arena for the ultimate blood sport! Blood Bowl is strategic, action-packed and violent, requiring players to use their best tactics, team design – and a dose of pure ruthless bloodlust always helps too!

Published by Focus Home Interactive and developed by Cyanide Studio, Blood Bowl is being developed for the PC and the Xbox 360™ as well as for the handheld systems Nintendo DS™ and Sony PSP™ and is set for release on Q2 2009.

Watch the video (Streaming)

Download the video (31,7 MB)

Sydney, Australia – January 28, 2009 – Having already delivered fans over 70 rockin’ downloadable tracks for Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero® World Tour since the game’s October 2008 launch, three new Track Packs spanning a variety of musical genres and multiple artists will be available throughout February 2009 to Guitar Hero® fans across the globe.

On February 12th, rockers Incubus, The Shins and Ryan Adams turn off the amps and electric guitars in the Acoustic Track Pack.  Coming to Guitar Hero World Tour are Incubus’ “Drive,” The Shins’ “New Slang” and Ryan Adams’ GRAMMY® Award nominated version of “Wonderwall.”

Following their debut appearance on disc in Guitar Hero World Tour with “Band on the Run,” Paul McCartney’s Wings return to the Guitar Hero stage with the Wings Track Pack.  “Junior’s Farm,” “Hi Hi Hi” and “Jet,” three top-ten hits from the band’s diverse catalogue of music, will be available for download on February 19th.

GRAMMY Award winner, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Academy Award nominee Bob Seger will make his Guitar Hero downloadable content debut with the Bob Seger Track Pack.  After making an appearance in ads highlighting different celebrities jamming on instruments from Guitar Hero World Tour, Seger’s legendary hit “Old Time Rock and Roll” joins “Her Strut” and a live-recording of “Get Out of Denver” in the Bob Seger Track Pack, available for download on February 26th.

The Acoustic, Wings and Bob Seger Track Packs will be available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 440 Microsoft Points and on the PlayStation®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system for $9.95.  The songs in each Track Pack will be released as downloadable singles for Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, PLAYSTATION 3 system for $3.45 and Wii™ for 200 Wii Points.

Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero’s signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless controllers with new revolutionary online* and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands,” which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online.  The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar controller, drum kit controller and a wired microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock ‘n’ roll anthems.  Music creators are also able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunesSM where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations.

Guitar Hero World Tour is now available for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, the Wii home video game system from Nintendo and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system.  The game is rated “PG” (Mild themes and Violence, Sexual references and mild coarse language) by the Classification Board.  For more information on Guitar Hero World Tour, please visit worldtour.guitarhero.com.

AUSTRALIA – January 22, 2009 – Today, Ubisoft announced that it will publish World in Conflict: Soviet Assault for PC in March 2009. World in Conflict: Complete Edition, the retail version of the much awaited add-on to the critically acclaimed strategy game will include the entire original World in Conflict title, as well as the Soviet Assault add-on and other exciting all-new features. Players that already own World in Conflict will have the option to download the Soviet Assault expansion pack exclusively online.

“The teams at Massive Entertainment have worked hard to ensure that they are bringing new original content to the popular World in Conflict brand,” said John Parkes, marketing director at Ubisoft EMEA. “Fans have been eagerly awaiting Soviet Assault, and Ubisoft is excited to be able to bring them great new material.”

World in Conflict: Soviet Assault allows players to relive the Cold War in a dramatic, gritty, real world setting driven by compelling characters and storyline. This one of a kind strategy game offers players a unique team-oriented experience on chillingly realistic battlegrounds. Soviet Assault features all-new characters, gameplay from the Soviet perspective, ten new films, new multiplayer maps and more. 

For more on World in Conflict: Soviet Assault visit www.worldinconflict.com

Australia, 22 January, 2009

Nintendo announces that Nintendo DS® is the best selling console of 2008, making it the third consecutive year that Nintendo DS has achieved this status, whilst Wii™ has sold through one million* units in Australia.

Independent market research company GfK Retail and Technology Australia confirms that Nintendo DS continues to break records as it comes through for the third year in a row 2006, 2007, 2008 – as best selling console, no easy feat considering the original Nintendo DS launched in 2005. Each year, sales of Nintendo DS continue to increase, and In 2008 Nintendo DS sold through more than 800,000 units, more than 212,000 of these were sold in December 2008 alone. Nintendo DS currently has an install base of more than 1.7 million units in Australia.

Also in news from Nintendo, 111 weeks since launch, Wii has reached the milestone of one million units, making it the fastest selling console to reach this milestone. Previously, the console that held this record was Nintendo DS, which sold through one million units in 152 weeks. In 2008, Wii sold through more than 685,000 units, with more than 191,000 sold in December 2008 alone.

From the list of the top 10 console games for 2008, eight out of the 10 are titles played on Wii or Nintendo DS Wii Fit™ (1), Wii Play™ (2), Mario Kart™ Wii (3), Mario & Sonic At The Olympics Wii (4) Brain Training™ (7), Mario & Sonic At The Olympics Nintendo DS (8), Super Smash Bros.™ Brawl (9), and Big Beach Sports Wii (10).

SYDNEY, 23 January 2009 – Killzone®2, one of the most eagerly-awaited PLAYSTATION®3 titles ever is set for deployment on 26th February 2009, Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCE Aust.) is pleased to announced. The stunning first-person shooter puts you at the forefront of a daring interplanetary invasion into the homeworld of a remorseless enemy – the Helghast. Developed exclusively for PS3™ by Guerrilla Studios and playable either solo or with up to 32 other gamers, Killzone 2 is a game in which players must face combat on a planetary scale.

The planet, “Helghan” is a terrifying world in which to fight, and will add a new dimension to your gaming skills. Not only contending with bullets and rockets, the player must be aware of his surroundings, watching out as lightning illuminates the theatre of combat and howling winds blow the grenades you throw right back towards you. The Helghast know every nook and cranny of this unfamiliar terrain and have harnessed elemental forces such as lightning in order to stop you in your tracks. You’ll experience this world in incredible, High Definition detail – and you’ll learn to fear what’s around every single corner. Exposed and vulnerable, you’re not just fighting the Helghast – you’re at war with everything around you.

Sydney, January 23rd – In celebration of Australia Day 2009, Activision and Red Octane will be allowing Guitar Hero World Tour fans to step into the shoes of three of Australia’s most successful rock acts: Silverchair, Wolfmother and The Vines. Aussie rockers can smash their drums, thrash their guitars or scream into the mic to three of Australia’s most iconic rock anthems from 22nd January 2009. 

Featured in the downloadable content is Silverchair’s, “Tomorrow”, which found early success as one of their first songs when it won a local music competition run by Australian television network SBS. Also included will be “Dimensions” by Sydney hard rockers Wolfmother, who’ve enjoyed notable success inside and outside of their homeland. This was Wolfmother’s third single, and it deals with the issue of time travel… Finally, to conclude the epic Aussie line-up is “Outtathaway” by The Vines. This was taken from the album Highly Evolved which became a huge success and their accompanying live shows in the early years were praised as “electrifying” and “sensational”. 

The Australian Track Pack and will be available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 440 Microsoft Points (or 160 points per single) on 22nd January. Following that it will be live on 5th February for the PLAYSTATION®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system for $9.95 (or $3.45 per single) and Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection for Wii™ for 160 Wii Points per single.

Gameloft’s best selling racing franchise Asphalt is back on N-Gage and this time it packs an exclusive real time Bluetooth multiplayer mode. Players can race one-on-one duels with their friends through the streets of Monte Carlo, New York, Paris, Dubai and more in some of the hottest dream cars ever built. 

Players have 28 real life luxury cars and bikes to choose from including the Ferrari F430 Spider and Bugatti Veyron. Players can live a petrol head’s dream, throwing millions around to improve their cars’ performance in their own private garage. 

All rides have improved handling, including a new drift engine for sharper corner control. Bends are taken faster than ever as players battle to outmanoeuvre other urban racers in single player mode or challenge their friends to high adrenaline street races in multiplayer mode.  

ASPHALT 4: Elite Racing is now available at http://www.n-gage.com.au

MELBOURNE, Saturday, 24 January 2009 – Madman titles MAN ON WIRE, WALTZ WITH BASHIR and DEPARTURES have each received prestigious nominations at the 81st Academy Awards® Nominees announcement ceremony- held on Thursday, 22nd January (Pacific Standard Time), at a conference attended by over 400 international media and broadcast live via the internet.

MAN ON WIRE – the thrilling tale of tightrope artist Philippe Petit’s daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1974 – has been nominated in the Best Documentary Feature category. Petit toured Australia in October 2008 for MAN ON WIRE’s theatrical season, including an appearance on Andrew Denton’s ENOUGH ROPE.

MAN ON WIRE will be available on DVD, February 4th, 2009 – $29.95 SRP.

The highly-anticipated, upcoming Madman DVD release, WALTZ WITH BASHIR has been nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category. The buzz title at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, WALTZ WITH BASHIR is the story of Ari, an Israeli soldier, coming to terms with the suppressed memories of his service during the first Lebanon war. Told using stunning animation, WALTZ WITH BASHIR is enchanting, gripping, horrific, innovative and unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.

WALTZ WITH BASHIR will be available on DVD, April 1st, 2009 – $29.95 SRP.

Also nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category is Japanese film DEPARTURES, the story of Daigo Kobayashi, a professional cellist who faces unemployment when his orchestra is dissolved. Upon answering an advertisement entitled “Departures”, thinking it is for a travel agency, Daigo finds himself in the role of “Nokanshi” or “encoffineer”, a funerary celebrant who prepares bodies for entry into the next life. DEPARTURES has won many awards in its native Japan, as well as winning Best Film at the 2008 Montreal Film Festival and was the Official Closing Night Film at the 2008 Japanese Film Festival in Sydney and Melbourne.

DEPARTURES is coming soon from Madman.

The 81st Annual Academy Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, Los Angeles, California. The Oscar® presentation ceremony will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Amazing new Mafia II screenshots!

Some memories never fade for James Bond star DANIEL CRAIG in this beautifully crafted exploration of self-destruction and the recollections that fuel it, with the release to DVD of the British drama FLASHBACKS OF A FOOL, available on DVD from 18 March 2009.

Written and directed by rising cinema star BAILLIE WALSH (Mirror Mirror) and produced by DANIEL CRAIG, FLASHBACKS OF A FOOL tells the heart-wrenching story of Joe Scott (DANIEL CRAIG), an aging and self-destructive English star living in Hollywood. The rapid approach of the end of his career and the death of his old childhood best friend Boots, catapults Joe into extreme self-examination through a flood of disturbing memories from his past.

In an extended flashback to his youth, we observe Joe as a teenager (played by HARRY EDEN) in the safety of a sunny seaside village, embarking on young love with beautiful schoolgirl Ruth (FELICITY JONES). As Joe and Ruth explore their feelings Joe is seduced by older woman Evelyn (JODHI MAY), who is also his mother’s friend. When the affair ends in disaster, Joe flees England for a fresh start in America, leaving Ruth and his best friend Boots behind for a life of future Hollywood stardom.

However, years on, after news of Boot’s death reaches him in LA, Joe returns home to England to face his demons and the now adult woman he left behind (CLAIRE FORLANI).

Superbly shot and set to an impressive soundtrack of music from the 70’s including Roxy Music and David Bowie, FLASHBACKS OF A FOOL is a touching and emotional story of childhood memories and mistakes, and a man who is perceived to have everything, but can’t own the past.