Excitement builds surrounding NCsoft’s newest MMO’s spring release

Sydney, Australia – June 23, 2009: QVS International, Australia’s leading games distributor, today announced the details for the Aion® Collector’s Edition box set (exclusive to EB Games), and Aion Limited Edition box set (exclusive to GAME in Australia). Aion, NCsoft’s highly anticipated fantasy MMO game, is set to fly onto shelves this spring.

In Aion, gamers explore a celestial world of breath-taking beauty and epic adventure. Players create either winged Elyos or Asmodian avatars, sworn enemy races that discover a common foe: the twisted and depraved Balaur. The game has exceeded expectations and captivated gaming populations in Korea, where it won the prestigious Grand Award of 2008, and in China, where Aion garnered unprecedented numbers of paying players during its launch week last month.

Aion Collector’s Edition exclusive to EB Games – RRP: AUD$119.95

6 1/2-inch hand-painted figurine of the powerful Aiva, a female winged Asmodian Daeva. Aiva sports detachable wings and wields a removable axe.
Exclusive in-game items, including the Black Cloud Wings, which greatly enhance flight time, the Black Cloud Earring, which boosts health and mana while playing
An exclusive title that enhances an avatar’s abilities
Two exclusive character animations, called emotes, as well as a special dye color to customise player avatars’ equipment
Official Aion soundtrack by composer Yang Bang-Ean (known as Ryo Kunihiko in Japan),
Aion game client
Quick reference card
Game manual
2 dual sided posters depicting maps of Elysea and Asmodae, the home regions of the two player races
 
Aion Limited Edition exclusive to GAME – RRP: AUD$99.95

Special LE exclusive downloadable in-game character ring
Premium steel book case
20-page concept art booklet
Official Aion soundtrack by composer Yang Bang-Ean (known as Ryo Kunihiko in Japan)
Game manual
Quick reference guide
Aion game client

Both packages include 30 days of game time. After 30 days, a monthly subscription fee of AUD$20.00 thereabouts for the game service will apply. Pre-order purchases, available at retail stores late June/ early July, can be applied to the Aion Limited Edition and Collector’s Edition or the standard edition of Aion. Details about pre-order benefits and subscription pricing options for Aion will be announced at a later date.
In Aion, players experience the thrill of flight as a strategic and integral part of gameplay that touches combat, quests, and exploration. In addition to unprecedented character customisation and unmatched visuals, Aion invites players to soak up its breath-taking world through exploration of more than 1,500 quests, intense visceral combat, and a deep crafting system. For the first time in an MMO, Aion introduces a new game system that pits players against each other and their environment simultaneously in an otherworld zone called the Abyss.
For more information about Aion, go to aion.qvsoftware.com.au. For more news about QV Software, go to www.qvsoftware.com.au.

Sydney – June 23, 2009 – Autodesk Alias Design 2010 and Autodesk SketchBook Pro 2010, part of the Autodesk solution for digital prototyping, have drawn accolades from designers and creative professionals within the Mac community, since their release in April.  The 2010 releases mark the first time that Alias Design has offered native support for the Mac OS X operating system.

Samir Hanna, vice president, Digital Factory and Industrial Design, Autodesk, said, “Designers from all over the world have given us enthusiastic feedback on the Mac version of Alias Design and SketchBook Pro. We look forward to providing our growing community of Mac users with increased ability to use Autodesk digital prototyping software to improve time to market and increase competitive advantage.”

Joshua Maruska of Teague Design, a pioneer in industrial design, said, “With Alias Design now available for Mac OS X, the best designer software now runs on the best designed hardware.”

Andrew Meehan, creator of iconic technical illustrations, Viacelli, said, “SketchBook Pro completely replicates the feel of paper for me and also fits in perfectly with my Mac environment. I used to scan sketches, clean them up in Photoshop, then save them as JPEGs and send them off. Now I just use SketchBook Pro as my integrated ideation centre.”

Alias Design provides consumer product designers with control over the entire design process-from ideation to the final surfaces that are passed to engineering. Designers can rapidly develop and communicate product design concepts using sketches, illustrations, photorealistic renderings and animations. The association between Alias and Autodesk Inventor allows users to quickly bring ideas to reality, going beyond 3D to effectively design, visualise and simulate with digital prototyping.

Alias Design joins the increasing number of Autodesk 2D and 3D software tools available for Mac OS X, including SketchBook Pro, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk Mudbox, Autodesk Toxik, Autodesk ImageModeler and Autodesk Stitcher. SketchBook Pro equips users with the tools they need to move easily from pen and paper to a digital environment with painting and drawing software that provides best-in-class sketching tools for professional designers and artists from all industries.

About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art Digital Prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualise, simulate and analyse real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.au.

Autodesk, Autodesk Inventor, Alias, ImageModeler, Inventor, Maya, Mudbox, Stitcher,Toxik and SketchBook, are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.(c) 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Milan 23RD June 2009
“I definitely think NewU will help people get into fitness more seriously, it’s just opened up a whole new area for people who wouldn’t necessarily be  encouraged to go and start to exercise!”  Julie Seymour – Fitness First Personal Trainer

Julie Seymour is not only the face of NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer but as one of the gym chains leading personal trainers, she has played a major role in the development of the product.

For the first time real personal trainers rather than 3D graphics will be on the screen throughout fitness sessions as Black Bean and Fitness First, the world’s largest gym chain, bid to completely change the idea of fitness at home.

Due for launch release in September on WiiTM, Black Bean Games is honored to release the first trailer showing some of the unique features and Julie’s thoughts on the impact the new product will have around the world.

NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer is an interactive training solution focused on well-being, which represents the first release for the NewU brand, a family of products that will be completed with a product uniquely focused on the soul and another with a VIP endorser. NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer was developed by Lightning Fish in collaboration with Fitness First.

Julie and the fitness team at Fitness First have devised the exercises on NewU and she is one of the four personal trainers users can choose to teach and guide them.
The real video training system with the constant audio and visual feedback helps users hone their performances. This is just one of the many features that sets NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer far apart from its contemporaries.

Users define the workout by setting goals and their nutritional preferences during the profile set-up. With a choice of 25 different goals and over 80 exercises available for each personal trainer, NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer finally gives people a professional workout and healthy eating system in their own homes.

The workout plan is complemented by a selection of recipes that have been created by the professional nutrition experts. In the profile set-up, users are asked to select their nutritional preferences to define the perfect nutritional plan that suits their taste.  NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer comes with 138 recipes, which creates 20 weeks of different food.

“Julie’s role is central in our marketing strategy. She represents the strong integration between a professional fitness centre and the potential for everybody regardless of their level of activity or confidence levels to get started on improving their health and well-being in the comfortable surroundings of their own home.” Claudio Ortolina – Family and Lifestyle Brand Manager, Black Bean Games.

“NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer will have a massive impact on fitness levels around the world. It is innovative, interactive, devised by experts and can be used by beginners and existing gym users.’’ Julie Seymour – Personal Trainer, Fitness First UK.

The trailer is available on NewU Fitness first Personal Trainer official web site:
www.newu.me

Anyone can download the official trailer from:
www.gamespress.com

– Tuesday June 23rd 2009 –   Following a great showing for Colin McRae: DiRT 2 at E3 2009, Codemasters® today in partnership with Atari Australia released the first Wii gameplay trailer for the thrilling off-road sequel. Showcasing the diverse off-roading single and four-player split screen thrills coming to gamers in 2009, the video is now available from www.dirt2game.com.

Bringing the ground-breaking series to Wii for the first time, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 takes gamers on an off-road tour of the globe, through nine exotic and vibrant locations. Whether it’s powersliding on the edge of control through the ice of the Finland or soaking up the atmosphere of a huge US arena, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 on Wii offers accessible gameplay for all types of racers, including full career and arcade modes and an array of bite-sized challenges.

With 40 races, three racing disciplines and a full roster of fully-licensed vehicles to choose from, plus intense head-to-head split-screen racing for up to four players, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 brings the hallmark thrills of the legendary series to a new audience.

Colin McRae: DiRT2 for Wii, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Games For Windows® LIVE, Nintendo DS™ and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system. See the Wii gameplay video now at www.dirt2game.com

SYDNEY, Australia, June 23, 2009 – More supercomputers than ever are using Intel Corporation processors, according to the latest TOP500 list. The high performance computing (HPC) community is especially enthusiastic about the Intel® Xeon® 5500 processor series. Launched only three months ago these chips are already driving the research and analytical capabilities of 33 systems on the list.

The 33rd edition of the TOP500 list shows that 399 of the world’s top 500 systems, including two in the top 10, now have Intel inside. Systems using Intel® Xeon® quad-core processors feature prominently in the list, holding 340 spots. Using reinvented high-k metal gate transistors, Intel’s previous-generation quad-core 45nm Intel® Xeon® processor 5400 series is used in 263 systems. 

Intel-based super computing platforms are playing a pivotal role in a number of research areas, from improving the safety of space exploration to forecasting global climate conditions. More “mainstream” industries, such as financial services and health care, are also using Intel-based systems to achieve faster, more accurate results, to speed the pace of innovation and improve competitive advantage.

In addition to hardware, Intel delivers software tools and technologies to maximise the value of HPC systems with Intel inside. Intel Cluster Ready architecture shortens the time to productivity of clustered systems while increasing software compatibility. Intel Cluster Tools, including compilers, libraries and message-passing software, maximise the performance of the majority of TOP500 systems with Intel inside.

“High performance computing has emerged as one of the fastest growing segments of Intel’s server business, and Intel is committed to continue to push the boundaries of the world’s highest end supercomputers harder than ever before,” said Kirk Skaugen, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Server Platforms Group.  “The new Intel Xeon® Processor 5500 series extends the world-record performance and energy efficiency the TOP500 supercomputers demand, and we are delighted to see once again that more supercomputers than ever before are embracing the Intel Xeon processor as a result.”

New Intel Compilers, Libraries and Cluster Toolkits Available
Intel is now shipping Intel® Compiler Professional Editions 11.1 for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. New features include elements of the recently released Intel® Parallel Studio, product support for Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) and updates for integration with Microsoft Visual Studio, Eclipse and Xcode. The update also incorporates enhancements to the Intel Fortran and C++ compilers, Intel® Math Kernel Library and Intel® Integrated Performance Primitives. The Intel® Cluster Toolkits include an updated Intel® MPI library. Learn more by clicking here: http://software.intel.com/en-us/intel-sdp-home/.

The semi-annual TOP500 list of supercomputers is the work of Hans Meuer of the University of Mannheim, Erich Strohmaier and Horst Simon of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, and Jack Dongarra of the University of Tennessee. The complete report is available at www.top500.org.

Intel [NASDAQ: INTC], the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

NETGEAR’s ReadyNAS 3200 Offers 24TB Capacity of Simplified and Affordable Network Storage  to Small- to Medium-Sized Businesses 

SYDNEY, Australia – June 23, 2009 – NETGEAR®, Inc. (NASDAQGM: NTGR), a worldwide provider of technologically innovative, branded networking solutions, today announced the addition of a new, high-density network storage system to its award-winning family of ReadyNAS® products for Small- to Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs). The ReadyNAS 3200 is a 2U 12-bay unified storage platform that provides up to 24 terabytes in a single system.

The easy-to-use system offers high-end features such as redundant power supplies and dual Gigabit Ethernet ports at an SMB price point, enabling growing businesses to securely share, store and protect business-critical network data. With support for up to 24 TB of capacity, making it ideal for online server consolidation or backup, the ReadyNAS 3200 solves common SMB storage problems in the most efficient manner to date. Server virtualisation, file sharing, disk-based backup and building first-time iSCSI SANs are natural solutions for the ReadyNAS 3200.

“With the ReadyNAS 3200, we’ve expanded the capacity and performance of rack-mount solutions in the award-winning ReadyNAS storage line to a much wider spectrum of SMB sizes,” said Drew Meyer, director of Storage Marketing for NETGEAR’s Network Storage Business Unit. “NETGEAR’s recognised leadership position in the SMB storage market makes us a trustworthy and reliable choice for end users and channel partners alike. With the ReadyNAS 3200, we are augmenting our line of storage solutions that provide the high-end features of other, more expensive rack-mount products with the ease-of-use and price point that match the resources of a growing SMB.”

The ReadyNAS 3200 combines the award-winning features of the other ReadyNAS for Business products, including the recently launched ReadyNAS 2100 1U rack-mount and the ReadyNAS Pro and NVX desktop systems, with a massive capacity platform for sharing, storing and protecting SMB data (see press releases at http://netgear.com/About/PressReleases/en-US/2009/20090511.aspx, and http://www.netgear.com/About/PressReleases/en-US/2009/20090406.aspx). Featuring 12 bays that enable up to 24 terabytes of NAS and iSCSI SAN capacity, the ReadyNAS 3200 easily supports up to 250 users. Standard features such as Continuous Data Protection (CDP) software for automatic client backup functionality and the ReadyNAS RemoteTM drag-and-drop remote file sharing utility mean easy and effective remote site data management for harried IT managers. And the embedded ReadyNAS VaultTM service delivers an optional cloud-based backup and disaster recovery services for as little as US$.25/GB/month.

“IT managers at small businesses often face storage demands large enough to require enterprise-scale solutions, but can also lack the resources to acquire or support enterprise-grade complexity,” said David Reinsel, group vice president of storage and semiconductors at IDC. “The ReadyNAS line offers a unique combination of simplicity and flexibility with the protective redundancy and high-performance feature set typically found on more expensive models. The high density and rack-mount form factor of the ReadyNAS 3200 should have strong appeal to midsize organisations seeking an affordable solution.”

The ReadyNAS 3200 leverages the highly efficient ReadyNAS RAIDiatorTM operating system. The RAIDiator operating system supports the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), enabling native Mac® files to be used without restrictions or limitations, as well as Time Machine® in Mac OS X Leopard. The ReadyNAS 3200 also offers support for file services (NAS) and application services (iSCSI) for Windows®, UNIX®/Linux and Mac systems.

The ReadyNAS 3200 can come equipped with 6TB, 12TB and 24TB of storage capacity. The solution will be available in mid-July from value-added resellers at an estimated U.S. street price starting at US$4,999. ReadyNAS Vault is included as a 30-day trial of pre-paid and annual capacity plans. ReadyNAS systems come with full 24/7 technical support and an industry-leading five-year warranty. More information for the entire ReadyNAS product line can be viewed at http://www.readynas.com

About NETGEAR, Inc.

NETGEAR (NASDAQGM: NTGR) designs innovative, branded technology solutions that address the specific networking, storage, and security needs of Small- to Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) and home users. The company offers an end-to-end networking product portfolio to enable users to share Internet access, peripherals, files, multimedia content, and applications among multiple computers and other Internet-enabled devices. Products are built on a variety of proven technologies such as wireless, Ethernet and powerline, with a focus on reliability and ease-of-use. NETGEAR products are sold in over 29,000 retail locations around the globe, and via more than 41,000 value-added resellers. The company’s headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., with additional offices in 25 countries. NETGEAR is an ENERGY STAR® partner. More information is available by visiting www.netgear.com.au or calling (+612) 8117-6800. Follow NETGEAR on Twitter at http://twitter.com/NETGEAR.

 © 2009 NETGEAR, Inc. NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo, ReadyNAS, RAIDiator, ReadyNAS Remote and ReadyNAS Vault are trademarks or registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for NETGEAR, Inc.:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, statements concerning the expected performance characteristics, specifications, market acceptance, market growth, specific uses, user feedback and market position of NETGEAR’s products and technology are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the following: the actual price, performance and ease of use of NETGEAR’s products may not meet the price, performance and ease of use requirements of customers; product performance may be adversely affected by real world operating conditions; failure of products may under certain circumstances cause permanent loss of end user data; new viruses or Internet threats may develop that challenge the effectiveness of security features in NETGEAR’s products; the ability of NETGEAR to market and sell its products and technology; the impact and pricing of competing products; and the introduction of alternative technological solutions. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect NETGEAR and its business are detailed in the Company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties listed in the section entitled “Part II – Item 1A. Risk Factors,” pages 29 through 43, in the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal first quarter ended March 29, 2009, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 7, 2009. NETGEAR undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

High-Density 1600MHz Kit Pushes Edge of Overclocking  

Sydney, Australia – (June 22, 2009) – Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it it plans to release the first ever DDR3 1600MHz 12GB triple-channel memory kits. Shipping is expected to be end of July 2009. The HyperX kit of three 4GB modules allows enthusiasts to get the most out of their Intel Core i7 and X58 platforms.

“Kingston was first to release 2000Hz kits and has continued to lead the memory charge with more DDR3 offerings since Intel created the triple-channel architecture,” said Vaughan Nankivell, Regional Manager- Australia and New Zealand for Kingston Technology. “Our latest kit of three was tested with great success on the Asus P6T Deluxe motherboard and runs at a speedy 1600MHz to take full advantage of the memory controller on the Core i7 processor for unmatched performance.”

The 12GB kit is the largest kit available in the HyperX family of triple-channel memory solutions. Other kits are available in 3GB and 6GB capacities with frequencies up to 2000MHz. Kingston HyperX is backed by a lifetime warranty and free technical support. For detailed information please visit the Kingston Web site at www.kingston.com/anz

Kingston HyperX 1600MHz 12GB Triple-Channel Kit    
Part Number Capacity and Features
KHX12800D3K3/12GX 12GB 1600MHz (CL9-9-9-27 @ 1.65v)
DDR3 kit of 3 optimized for XMP
Product Summary
Manufacturer: Kingston Technology
Product name :  Kingston HyperX 1600MHz 12GB Triple-Channel Kit   
RRP: TBA
Website: www.kingston.com/anz
Australian Distributors:  Avnet Australia Pty Ltd, Ingram Micro, Simms International Pty Ltd., Synnex Australia PTY Ltd.
New Zealand Distributors: Ingram Micro NZ, Synnex NZ
Availability: Production starts last week of July 2009, pre-order required

Download High Resolution Images
http://www.gapmarketing.com.au/press_images/Kingston/HX_DDR3_3pack_hires.zip

To discuss this product on Kingston Blog, please go to www.kingston-blog.com.
To find out if your Kingston product is genuine, Kingston also provides an online verification site: www.kingston.com/asia/verify.

About Kingston Technology Company, Inc.
Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products. Kingston designs, manufactures and distributes memory products for desktops, laptops, servers, printers, and Flash memory products for PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Through its global network of subsidiaries and affiliates, Kingston has manufacturing facilities in California, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and sales representatives in the United States, Taiwan, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Europe, Russia, Turkey, and Latin America. For more information, please visit www.kingston.com/anz.
#  #  #
Kingston and the Kingston logo are registered trademarks of Kingston Technology Corporation. All rights reserved. All other marks may be the property of their respective titleholders.

New Products Based on Third-Generation SiliconDrive Platform

Markets and Applications
The SiliconDrive III SSD product family has been designed to provide fast-sustained data transfers, which makes it perfect for streaming data applications in embedded systems, military and media-centric data center applications. SiliconDrive III SSDs have also been designed to provide extremely high data integrity, which is needed by for these embedded applications. SiliconDrive III offers a powerful combination of features that deliver the high performance and high reliability with low total cost of storage ownership required by OEMs.

Vertical Markets
Automotive and transportation
Data center media streaming and specialty appliances
High performance network devices
Medical equipment
Military storage systems
Video surveillance

Sydney Australia,— June 22, 2009 — WD® today announced that it has begun shipping its new SiliconDrive® III SSD product family based on technology from its March 2009 acquisition of SiliconSystems. The company’s new SiliconDrive III products feature faster read/write speeds and increased capacities, and offer mechanical scalability, making them a perfect storage solution for embedded system and data streaming applications such as multimedia content delivery systems and data center media appliances.

SiliconDrive III SSDs include 2.5-inch Serial ATA (SATA) and Parallel ATA (PATA) and 1.8-inch Micro SATA products featuring native SATA 3.0 gigabits per second (Gbps) or ATA-7 interfaces with target read speeds up to 100 megabytes per second (MBps) and write speeds to 80 MBps in capacities up to 120 gigabytes (GB).

“SiliconDrive III is the first example of how WD plans to productize solid state technology developed by SiliconSystems. The launch of SiliconDrive III will also enable WD to leverage its global sales and distribution channels to accelerate the adoption of SSD technology beyond SiliconSystems’ traditional embedded systems OEM customer base into data streaming applications such as multimedia content delivery systems and data center media appliances,” said Michael Hajeck, senior vice president and general manager of WD’s solid state storage business unit. “SiliconDrive III is an ideal solution for OEMs that require increased performance, capacity, reliability and data throughput in their applications.”

SiliconDrive III has been designed and optimized for high performance and high reliability in demanding 24×7 applications in the embedded systems, media appliance and data streaming markets. Performance and reliability is achieved through the integration of the company’s patented and patent-pending advanced storage technologies in every SiliconDrive III product. The company’s patented and patent-pending PowerArmor®, SiSMART® and SolidStor® technologies address critical OEM design considerations such as the elimination of drive corruption due to power anomalies, the ability to monitor a SiliconDrive’s useable life in real-time and integrated advanced storage technologies that ensure data integrity and SSD life for multi-year product deployments.

Product Summary
Manufacturer: Western Digital
Product name :  SiliconDrive® III SSD 
Website: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/index.asp?cat=21
Distributors: Control Synergy (www.controlsynergy.com.au)
Availability: Now

Download High resolution Images and Product Specs
http://www.gapmarketing.com.au/press_images/WD/WD_SSD_SiliconDriveIII.zip

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 media 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 Web site (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

Ashes stars past and present show their support for new cricket game as Kevin Pietersen, Ricky Ponting, Ian Botham and Shane Warne all sign for Codemasters.
– June 22nd, 2009 – Ricky Ponting and Kevin Pietersen will be the face of Ashes Cricket 2009, the official video game of this summer’s tournament, Codemasters® announced today. Ponting and Pietersen will be the game’s cover stars along with Shane Warne and Sir Ian Botham also playing a prominent role in the game.

Pietersen’s powerful, attacking style has helped make him one of the most prominent athletes in the sport, especially following his and England’s success in the 2005 Ashes series. Now gamers will have the opportunity to emulate that success, playing as him or against him in Ashes Cricket 2009, which will feature fully licensed players, kit, stadia and equipment to give a truly authentic experience.

“I am delighted to be involved with the official game of the Ashes,” commented KP. “The game looks fantastic and I’m sure both England and Australia fans are going to relish the opportunity to take part in a virtual Ashes series. Representing your country in the Ashes is a huge honour and I can’t wait for it to start.”

Joining Pietersen as a headline star in the game will be Australian captain Ricky Ponting whose image will adorn the game’s pack art locally in Australia. Speaking about the prospect of gamers recreating the Ashes at home Ricky said: “I think it’s going to be massive. There are guys all over the world playing against each other trying to recreate us playing against England at grounds like Lords. We have some bad memories from our last trip to England to play in the Ashes so we are desperate to put it right.”

Ashes stars of the past are also included in Ashes Cricket 2009 with Sir Ian Botham and Shane Warne taking on commentary duties and hosting the game’s comprehensive ‘Legends Mode’. Beefy and Warney will talk players through the basics of every aspect of the sport, progressing to more advanced techniques before setting player challenges based on classic moments from the history of cricket.

“Recording commentary for the game was a lot of fun and I am really pleased with the result. It’s always good to have some banter with Beefy,” commented Warne. “I played in eight Ashes Series and it’s an amazing feeling to represent your country on the biggest stage. Hopefully Ashes Cricket 2009 will allow cricket fans a taste of what that feels like.”

Botham added: “I’m sure cricket fans in England, Australia and all around the world will have a lot of fun playing against each other on Ashes Cricket 2009. I’m very pleased to be involved in the game and hope that the people who play it enjoy the Legends Mode. In 2005 we all saw what kind of positive effect a successful Ashes series can have on the country and hopefully the boys can emulate that this year.”

Coming from the home of video game cricket, Ashes Cricket 2009 will build on the heritage that Codemasters has enjoyed with its best-selling Brian Lara series of games and will continue to lead the field with great batting, bowling and fielding gameplay and authenticity that made the series a huge hit with cricket fans the world over. Produced by Codemasters, the game is currently being developed by Transmission Games and will be released for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and the PC. A Nintendo Wii™ version, developed by Gusto Games, will be released in August.

For more information on Atari’s entire product line up visit www.atari.com.au and log on to the Atari Trade Site for all box shots, demos, trailers and online screenshots.