Not only will players have the freedom to take their Sims out into their everyday lives, they will also be able to explore a constantly-evolving neighbourhood and meet other Sims with different personalities and interests as diverse as their own. Meanwhile, the smarter Sims with deeper personalities and individual traits mean that there are increasingly complex and emotion-filled relationships to keep track of. From friendship and love to mischief and rebellion, it’s impossible to know what’s around the corner. The possibilities are endless with The Sims 3 on N-Gage!  

The Sims 3 is now available at http://www.n-gage.com.au and http://store.ovi.com

Madman Entertainment – Australia’s largest independent distributor of theatrical and home entertainment product is thrilled to announce its expansion into the gaming market following the recent integration & rebranding of Funtastic Interactive into its business. Effective immediately, the division will now trade as Madman Interactive.

“To be integrated & rebranded as Madman Interactive makes perfect business sense and from a cultural view point we couldn’t ask for a better fit” said Gavin Wulfsohn, Business Manager – Interactive. “The entire team is genuinely excited to be part of Madman Entertainment and we believe this will further strengthen our appeal and credibility throughout the industry world wide.”

In 2009 / 2010 Madman Interactive will be bringing to market  the critically acclaimed Giana Sisters, Sacred 2 – Fallen Angel, Cursed Mountain, Divinity II – Ego Draconis & Split / Second just to name a few. “As you can see, we are no longer just a player in the casual market.” said Gavin Wulfsohn. “We’ve grown exponentially in revenue and personnel over a very short period of time. Our recent distribution acquisitions including Koch Media, dtp entertainment and Zushi Games, as well as our long standing partnership with Disney Interactive Studios allows us to capture a greater share of the Australian & New Zealand gaming market with a more diverse product offering.”

Recently appointed General Manager of Sales & Marketing for Madman Entertainment, Darrien Puddy, will oversee Madman Interactive, drawing on a wealth of industry experience and knowledge gained during a 25 year career in home entertainment across the DVD, music and interactive gaming categories, most recently as General Manager – Australia & New Zealand at Activision/Blizzard. “I am personally incredibly excited by the integration of Funtastic Interactive into the Madman business. With a strong product line up for Q4 and an excellent team in place, I look forward to working closely with Madman Interactive and our channel partners to maximise these and other shared opportunities in 2009.”

Tim Anderson, Managing Director – Madman Entertainment said “Madman Entertainment’s expansion into the gaming category via the integration of Funtastic Interactive is the next logical step for both businesses. I welcome the Interactive team on board and look forward to our joint continued growth and expansion.”

Aimed at budget driven and environmentally conscious corporate and home users.

Sydney, Australia – July 17, 2009 – AOC’s latest release, 36 series LCD monitor boasts extremely low power consumption of up to 50% of the energy used in a typical LCD monitor. Combined with great value positions the 36 series monitor as the top priority must buy list for budget conscious users who also want to reduce energy consumption in computing. Winning the EPEAT Gold Award, the 36 series have achieved the highest standard of ‘Green’ monitor.

36 Series Energy Savings
In power saving mode the monitor uses only 50% of the power compared to normal operation, without affecting the image quality. This is complemented by AOC’s market-leading i-Bright technology which reduces backlight CCFL for lower power consumption and reduced mercury levels.

36 Series Design
Taking cues from AOC’s latest designs, the 36 Series is a visually striking new featuring the signature glossy piano black finish with sea shell texture finished off with touch sensitive control keys. The AOC 936Sw offers premium picture quality for graphics-intensive applications. It comes with 30000:1(DCR) contrast ratio, which delivers exceptional image clarity, and 160-degree viewing angle to provide increased visibility from side viewpoints.  To make the monitor more convenient to users, the 36 series has includes USB port for ease of access to of pheriperal devices.

35 Series Key Features
Power Off Timer
When tuning to Power Saving mode in 09 OSD menu, the monitor will only use 50% power compared to the normal condition, without affecting users.
Improved Depth (DCR 60000:1):
2236Vw and 2436Vw come with 60000:1 Ultra-high Dynamic Contrast Ratio (DCR) gives the finest details at a ratio of 60000:1, allowing the user to see the darker areas of the content with greater depth (936Sw 30000:1).
USB 2.0 Hub:
With a USB connector provides an alternative gateway to connect and access storage devices such as USB flash, hard disks and cameras.
16: 9 Widescreen, True Full Screen HD:
View full screen HD movie without distortion or black bars.
Image Ratio Control:
With an input format of 4:3, switching display formats from 4:3 to 16:9 matches the input format and prevents the distortion of images. There is also a convenient hotkey for easy adjustment.
Eco Mode:
It consists of 6 display settings of text, Internet, games, movies, sport & power saving mode, and caters to different viewing situations.

Product and Pricing Summary
Vendor: AOC
Model: 36 Series
RRP : 18.5” 936Sw: A$199
21.5” 2236Vw: A$269
23.5” 2436Vw : A$319
Website: http://www.aocmonitor-anz.com/
Australian Distributors: Compucon and TodayTech
New Zealand Distributors: Ingram Micro NZ, Altech NZ
Availability: Now

About AOC
AOC is owned by the world’s largest display manufacturer TPV Technology Limited (TPV). TPV sold over 47.6 million units computer monitors in 2008, which represents 28.5% global market share of computer monitors. With dedicated research and development, AOC today offers a wide range of top performing monitors and displays. In 2008 alone, AOC shipped 8.4 million units of PC monitor and TV products, representing an annual growth of 20.8%. AOC achieved impressive sales performance in Asia Pacific & South America. AOC market share increased 2.1% from 12.2% in Y2007 to 14.3% in Y2008, which IDC AP ranked AOC second in volume in Asia Pacific (ex. Japan) (Source: IDC AP non-bundled PC Monitor Tracker Q4 2008).

Milton Keynes – July 16th 2009 – 505 Games and Bohemia Interactive have today the released the second video dev diary for ARMA II. Part two focuses on the game’s mission editor and is available to download from www.arma2.com now.

The eagerly anticipated sandbox PC military shooter smash hit of 2009, ARMA II, is now available across Australia and New Zealand for all who want to visit the post-soviet republic of Chernarus and experience the many fantastic features of this monumental war simulator.

As part of the continuous commitment to ARMA II’s dedicated fan community, Bohemia Interactive have created a series of dev diaries focusing on some of the main features of the game. In this second installment Jan Pražák Bohemia’s PR manager talks about the powerful mission editor, again using comprehensive video footage captured in game.

“ARMA II includes a very easy to use editor, yet it’s one of the most sophisticated mission editors available in a PC title. It allows players to create their own missions, or even whole campaigns in just a few minutes.” introduces Jan Pražák. “The work with it is very easy and quick. In the ARMA II mission editor, players can use every one of hundreds of game’s objects and models such as weapons, vehicles, aircraft or characters and place them anywhere in the ARMA II game world which has a size of 225km2. The main goal of this dev. diary is to introduce the basic workings of the editor to casual players and allow them to enjoy the infinite possibilities and unlimited game play of this, the most sophisticated military simulator on the market.”

ARMA II offers the ultimate realistic combat simulation experience in a modern day setting. With unprecedented freedom of movement, actions and tactics, the game allows players to immerse themselves in battle as never seen before.

Keep checking back at www.arma2.com for more dev diaries and all the latest information.

CONTACT:
Angela Spehr
Senior Brand Manager
All Interactive Entertainment
angela.spehr@allinteractive.com.au
+61 7 5556 1893

– ENDS –

About 505 Games
505 Games, headquartered in Milton Keynes is dedicated to the publishing and international distribution of full price, mid-range and budget computer and videogames in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) markets and Australia. The current portfolio includes the best selling games Cooking Mama, ArmA: Armed Assault, Bust-a-Move and Armored Core and covers all gaming platforms, including next generation consoles like Sony PlayStation® 3, Nintendo Wii™ and Microsoft Xbox 360™. For More information on 505 Games and its products please visit www.505games.co.uk

About Bohemia Interactive
Bohemia Interactive is an independent game development company, with studios in Czech Republic and Australia, founded in 1999, that focuses on developing state of the art computer software and the research of advanced real time 3D graphics, artificial intelligence and physical simulation technologies for real-time interactive environments. Bohemia Interactive’s products include computer games ARMA: Armed Assault (ARMA Combat Operations in North America), Operation Flashpoint and military simulations VBS1 and VBS2.  Visit www.bistudio.com for more information.

*505 Games is publishing ArmA II in Europe, excluding Germany, Switzerland and Austria

**Operation Flashpoint is registered Trademark of Codemasters Software Company Ltd. The game was developed by Bohemia Interactive and published by Codemasters. ARMA 2 is developed by Bohemia Interactive a.s., which is not affiliated with, authorized by or related to the Operation Flashpoint trademark owner

About All Interactive Entertainment
Based in the Gold Coast of Australia, All Interactive Entertainment (AIE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of All Interactive Distribution (AID).  All Interactive Distribution was established in 1994 and over the last 15 years has grown into one of the largest distributors of interactive entertainment product in Australia. AID also acts as a sub-distributor for all of the video games and DVD publishers in Australia and distributes, on behalf of Nintendo, into the New Zealand market.
More information on AIE can be found at www.allinteractive.com.au | www.aie.allinteractive.com.au  .

Guitar Hero today confirmed another 22 rockin’ tracks which will be featured on Guitar Hero® 5’s massive 85-song on-disc set list.  From the jamming sound of Elton John’s glamorous “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” to the classic, never before released live recording of “Lithium” from grunge rockers Nirvana; multi-platinum, rock ‘n’ roll legends The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil” to the southern rock beats of My Morning Jacket’s “One Big Holiday,” the game features the widest variety of today’s rock hits and classic tunes from some of the biggest names in music. Numerous bands are also making their music video game debut, including Elton John, Face to Face, Rammstein and The White Stripes. 

When Guitar Hero 5 ships on 16^th September, living-room rock stars will be able to rock any way they want, to the expansive set list including the pulse pounding tracks listed below, featuring an exclusive, re-recorded version of “Mirror People” by Love and Rockets:

·         Attack! Attack! UK – “You And Me”

·         Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name”

·         Darker My Love – “Blue Day”

·         The Duke Spirit – “Send A Little Love Token”

·         Elton John – “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”

·         Face To Face – “Disconnected”

·         Garbage – “Only Happy When It Rains”

·         Kaiser Chiefs – “Never Miss A Beat”

·         Kiss – “Shout It Out Loud”

·         Love and Rockets – “Mirror People” 

·         My Morning Jacket – “One Big Holiday”

·         Nirvana – “Lithium (Live)”

·         The Police – “So Lonely”

·         Rammstein – “Du Hast”

·         The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy For The Devil”

·         Sonic Youth – “Incinerate”

·         Screaming Trees – “Nearly Lost You”

·         Sublime – “What I Got”

·         The Sword – “Maiden, Mother & Crone”

·         Thin Lizzy – “Jailbreak”

·         Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “American Girl”

·         The White Stripes – “Blue Orchid”

Previously announced tracks include:

·         Band Of Horses – “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands”  

·         Beastie Boys – “Gratitude”

·         Beck – “Gamma Ray”

·         Billy Squier – “Lonely Is The Night”

·         Blur – “Song 2”

·         Bob Dylan – “All Along The Watchtower”

·         The Bronx – “Six Days A Week”  

·         Children Of Bodom – “Done With Everything, Die For Nothing”

·         Coldplay – “In My Place”

·         Darkest Hour – “Demon(s)”

·         David Bowie – “Fame”

·         Deep Purple – “Woman From Tokyo (’99 Remix)”

·         Elliott Smith – “L.A.”

·         Iggy Pop – “Lust For Life (Live)”

·         Jeff Beck – “Scatterbrain (Live)”

·         John Mellencamp – “Hurts So Good”

·         Kings Of Leon – “Sex On Fire”

·         Queens Of The Stone Age – “Make It Wit Chu”

·         Rose Hill Drive – “Sneak Out”  

·         Santana – “No One To Depend On (Live)”

·         Thrice – “Deadbolt”

·         Tom Petty – “Runnin’ Down A Dream”

·         Vampire Weekend – “A-Punk”

·         Wolfmother – “Back Round”

For more information about Guitar Hero 5, please visit gh5.guitarhero.com.

Milton Keynes, 16th July 2009 – 505 Games in collaboration with 1C Company, the publishers of upcoming WWII flight combat title IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds Of Prey have today shed some light on the processes by which the game’s impressive visuals are produced, which include the use of satellite photography. STRM database pictures, renowned for their uttermost precision, have been used to recreate the landscapes of war-torn Europe in remarkable detail.

Building accurate 1940’s environments using the latest in cutting edge satellite technology comes with a set of immediate problems, most obviously the 50 year time gap in buildings, foliage and other features, many of which did not exist at the time of the game’s setting and others which are now long gone from the real word and need to be added. To combat this, the development team have collated and pored over hundreds of wartime photos, documents and maps, painstakingly removing unwanted additions and recreating missing landscape features.

Whenever possible, locations have been remodelled according to genuine, historically accurate photos from archives around the world. These were laboriously compared with modern images to ensure all significant features were included or removed as appropriate. Where documented evidence was unavailable, the team took the time to create unique buildings in keeping with the style of the era, often imitating structures from other cites of the era and transposing them into the created landscapes. In total, over two million buildings and around 35 million trees were put in place using these processes to produce a level of realism hitherto unseen on current generation consoles.

“Collecting all the necessary data, both old and new, to create IL-2 had been a long battle all of its own,” commented Alex Price, Senior Global Brand Manager for 505 Games. “The game is now looking as good we had always anticipated it would and in light of that, the scouring of archives and satellite databases has all been worth it!”

Developed by Gaijin Entertainment for Xbox 360 and PS3, DiP Interactive for Nintendo DS and SME Dynamic Systems Limited for PSP, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey features the greatest aerial battles of all time, during the Second World War, and boasts the most realistic landscapes and aircraft seen in any flight sim.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey will be published by 505 Games in collaboration with 1C Company.

Visit the official website at www.il2game.com for all the latest information.

Research finds that standby power drain caused by games consoles and other entertainment appliances has a significant impact on household electricity bills. By using TrickleStar’s new TV TrickleSaver, gamers can now win more than the game –they can save energy and the planet!

NEW YORK– Wednesday 15 July, 2009 – In today’s society, where the focus on being environmentally aware, friendly and sustainable is key and governments are considering ways in which to reduce carbon emissions – both nationally and globally – standby power also ‘stands up’ as an issue of significance. However, many keen gamers and ‘entertainment gizmo’ junkies may not be aware of the impact that standby power is having on their electricity bills… and the planet!

More Than 65,000 Apps; Over 100,000 Developers

SYDNEY, Australia – 15 July 2009 – Apple today announced that customers have downloaded more than 1.5 billion applications in just one year from its revolutionary App Store, the largest applications store in the world. The App Store is also growing at an incredible pace with more than 65,000 apps and more than 100,000 developers in the iPhone Developer Program.

“The App Store is like nothing the industry has ever seen before in both scale and quality,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With 1.5 billion apps downloaded, it is going to be very hard for others to catch up.”

The revolutionary App Store has more than 65,000 apps available to consumers in 77 countries, allowing developers to reach tens of millions of iPhone and iPod touch users around the world. The App Store works with both iPod touch and iPhone including the new iPhone 3GS, the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet. Apple has shipped over 40 million of these devices that run apps from the App Store.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Leading distributors and system builders are ready for 3.5-inch mission-critical hard drive designed for long-term business sustainability and reduced TCO
 

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — July 14, 2009 — Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) today announced it is now shipping its technology-leading Cheetah® 15K.7 enterprise-class hard drives into the worldwide distribution channel. As the highest performing, highest capacity 3.5-inch mission critical hard drive with best-in-class reliability for Tier 1 environments, the Cheetah 15K.7 drive is ideal for a wide range of server and storage applications. With the Cheetah 15K.7 hard drive, Seagate’s technology leadership moves firmly past the competition as it delivers the industry’s first 15K-rpm drive to reach the 600GB capacity point while providing record reliability of 1.6 million hours MTBF.

The Cheetah 15K.7 drive is available with the latest 6Gb/s SAS or 4Gb/s FC interfaces, and includes Seagate PowerTrim™ technology, which dynamically reduces power consumption. Together, these features enable system builders to deliver lower-cost, multi-drive servers and storage systems, making the Cheetah 15K.7 ideal for use in environments ranging from small and medium-sized businesses to the largest enterprises.

“Bell Micro’s customers continue to require added capacity and performance for their server and storage systems, but many also must focus on finding ways to lower a system’s total cost of ownership (TCO) or easily integrate new solutions using existing platforms,” said Joe Cousins, vice president of Marketing at Bell Microproducts. “We’re pleased to now offer the Seagate® Cheetah® 15K.7 family of drives that fill these critical needs. For users looking for the most advanced technology to create new premium systems, or those who are looking to extend the life of their existing systems, the Cheetah® 15K.7 delivers the low TCO and promise of easy integration for businesses of all sizes.”

Cheetah hard drives are the standard for existing enterprise systems. Cheetah drives are aimed directly at enabling businesses to sensibly grow and scale as their information needs continue, while at the same time providing the reliability required to avoid costly interruption or downtime.

For more information about the Cheetah 15K.7 drive, visit Seagate’s Cheetah product page at http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/servers/.

ENDS

About Seagate
Seagate is the worldwide leader in hard disk drives and storage solutions. Learn more at http://www.seagate.com

Copyright © 2009 Seagate Technology LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in USA. Seagate, Seagate Technology and the Wave logo are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC in the United States and/or other countries. Cheetah and PowerTrim are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC or one of its affiliated companies in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. When referring to hard drive capacity, one gigabyte, or GB, equals one billion bytes and one terabyte, or TB, equals one trillion bytes. Your computer’s operating system may use a different standard of measurement and report a lower capacity. In addition, some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions, and thus will not be available for data storage. Seagate reserves the right to change, without notice, product offerings or specifications.

DIARY NOTE

The International Digital Entertainment Festival (iDEF) returns to Melbourne, Australia from October 30 – November 1, 2009.  The festival will play host to a series of events and activities supporting and promoting the exciting and innovative digital world.

Located at the Royal Exhibition Building Carlton for the first time, the festival will include the eGames Expo, Digital Lifestyle Show and Develop ICT Skills and Careers Expo.

Title                             International Digital Entertainment Festival

                                    Incorporating the eGames Expo, Digital Lifestyle Show

                                    and Develop ICT Skills and Careers Expo

Presented by            WIRED EVENTS  

Where                        Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia

When                          Friday 30 October, Saturday 31 October & Sunday 1 November 2009

Opening Times         Friday 30 October 1pm – 7pm

                                    Saturday 31 October 10am – 7pm

                                    Sunday 1 November 10am – 5pm

Tickets on Sale         from August 1 to November 1 2009

Ticket Prices             Tickets on the door – $18 each (Adult)

(incl. GST)                   Concession $13   

                                    Family $40 (2 Adults 2 Children)

                                    Three Day Pass $33

                                    Children under 12 free when accompanied by an adult