First Games Based on the Hit Action-Adventure Television Series  Scheduled for Q4 2009

Cambridge – March 25, 2009 – D3Publisher (D3P), a publisher and developer of interactive entertainment software, together with its parent D3, Inc., today announced a worldwide publishing agreement with Turner CN Enterprises, the global licensing and merchandising arm of Turner Broadcasting EMEA, for videogames based on the new action-adventure series The Secret Saturdays.  The first game based on The Secret Saturdays is scheduled to be released across EMEA for console and handheld systems in Q4 2009 .

“The Secret Saturdays franchise provides everything videogame fans look for, from an exciting cast of heroes they can portray, to fantastic creatures with special abilities they can use, to the most dastardly villain for them to defeat,” said Yoji Takenaka, president and chief executive officer, North America and Europe, D3P.  “Turner CN Enterprises has proven to be an unparalleled partner for us in turning wonderful television universes into playable experiences for fans, and we are thrilled to be working with them once again to reach the gamer community.”      

From secret artifacts to unexplained creatures, the adventure never ends for The Secret Saturdays.  This family of cryptozoologists is on a mission to find and protect the weirdest and wildest cryptids before the bad guys get in on the action.  They travel from ancient temples to bottomless caves in search of the legendary Kur stone because only The Saturdays can save the world from the evil plans of V.V. Argost!  The Secret Saturdays television series will premier in the UK on Cartoon Network in June with roll-out across EMEA throughout 2009.

“We have achieved great success with D3Publisher with the Ben 10 interactive franchise and look forward to partnering with them again on The Secret Saturdays,” said Alan Fenwick, vice president of Turner CN Enterprises.  “D3 will be a significant aspect of the licensing programme we’re set to roll out in 2009/2010 for this key Cartoon Network property.”

 
Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH is to offer an exclusive, free downloadable version of the new Umbro England strip to users of its PES 2009 title for PLAYSTATION®3, Xbox 360 and PC-DVD.

PES 2009 is the official video game of the England team, and the free download highlights the close relationship between the two. Umbro will unveil the innovative new kit on March 28, when England take on Slovakia at Wembley.

Fabio Capello’s team will wear the strip for the first time for the international match and while details of the strip are currently being kept under wraps it has been designed to a strict specification from the England manager to provide a bespoke tailored fit for each player.

Konami’s download will be available at the same time as the Slovakia game’s 5:15pm kick-off, and PES 2009 will be the only video game to feature the new kit. Similarly, Konami will be working closely with Umbro and The FA in a series of activities designed to promote the new strip and download.

PES 2009 is the most recent installment of the award-winning Pro Evolution Soccer Series, which is known by millions of fans for its superior gameplay and incredible realism. In PES 2009, Konami has created an intuitive and utterly realistic simulation that truly recreates the entire pace and skill of a top-level match. Stunning visuals and animation ensure its players look and move exactly like their real-life counterparts, while all-new options allow users to tailor the game to their own tastes. New moves, innovative new control elements and key online modes add to the realism of the game.

“Konami is extremely proud of its status as the official video game of the England team, and this download showcases the strength of our relationship with The FA and Umbro,” commented Jon Murphy, PES Team Leader for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “Our Japanese team has been working closely with both parties to ensure the innovative new kit is faithfully recreated in the game, and we are delighted to be able to offer it as a free download to our millions of fans on the day it is revealed for the first time.”

“The FA is delighted to be working with Konami and Umbro to deliver fans of the England team the new strip in an inventive manner,” said Sean McAuliffe, Head of Business Development at The FA. “This further demonstrates our ability to leverage our commercial relationships in creative and engaging ways.”

“We are extremely excited to be working with Konami on this project and being the first to launch a new kit download during the season in PES 2009,” added Tim Parkinson, Umbro Chief Marketing Officer. “Umbro has a rich heritage in football and innovation has always been at the heart of the brand. The exclusive download with Konami is just another innovative step for Umbro. This and the ongoing relationship with Konami presented an opportunity to do something radically different around the launch of the kit.”

PES 2009 is available now for PLAYSTATION(R)3, Xbox 360 and PC-DVD. The England kit update will be free to download on March 28th from 4:15pm.

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.

AUSTRALIA — March 25, 2009 — Today, Ubisoft announced the launch of R.U.S.E., a new intellectual property developed by Eugen Systems, creators of the critically acclaimed strategy title Act of War: Direct Action™. R.U.S.E. is scheduled for release on Windows PC, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system for fiscal year 2009/2010.

 R.U.S.E. is optimised for Intel’s latest core processors, including the Intel® Core™i7 processor, and will be demonstrated for the first time in public at the Intel booth during the Game Developers Conference (GDC) at Moscone North Hall, booth #6006 at 5:00 PM Pacific on Wednesday March 25 in San Francisco.

R.U.S.E. is a one-of-a-kind real-time strategy game that allows players to bluff their enemies to lead their nation to victory, controlling the action using views that range seamlessly from the heart of the battlefield to the full theatre of war.  Players will be plunged into the action thanks to the exclusive IRISZOOMTM Engine which offers an intuitive interface that allows for smooth, rapid transitions from a birds-eye view of the entire conflict, down into the heat of the battle and vice versa.

“With R.U.S.E., Ubisoft is once again shaking up a genre, offering an RTS with a twist that will thrill gamers,” said John Parkes, EMEA marketing director at Ubisoft. “Ubisoft is known for innovation and R.U.S.E. continues that tradition, offering the most immense and detailed maps ever seen in an RTS. Players can explore the maps using IRISZOOM Engine, which provides an aerial, smooth interaction unlike anything ever seen before.”

Ubisoft and Intel are committed to working together to ensure R.U.S.E. takes full advantage of Intel technologies.  “Ubisoft and Intel are demonstrating some of the benefits gamers will experience when playing R.U.S.E. on the Intel® Core™i7 processor based platforms,” said Elliot Garbus, vice president Intel Software and Services Group, general manager Visual Computing Software Division.  “Gamers will experience more immersive game play with smooth zooming from satellite to ground view, superior AI delivering more complex unit movements and more realistic physics throughout the game.”

In R.U.S.E., players use their brain as the ultimate weapon, fighting a war of perception, where the ability to deceive and mislead the enemy determines success. A first in a strategy game, R.U.S.E. reinvigorates the genre by using deception to give new-found depth to the game play.

To learn more about R.U.S.E., visit www.rusegame.com

Two Brand-New Silversun Pickups Tracks to Debut Exclusively in Guitar Hero® World Tour 

Fifteen New Songs in April Add to the Massive Guitar Hero World Tour Set List 

Sydney, AUSTRALIA – March 25, 2009 – In April, gamers will have no shortage of new songs to rock out to on Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero® World Tour with downloadable music from five distinctive rock bands.  The Pixies make their Guitar Hero® debut; returning veterans Silversun Pickups will release two brand-new songs off their sophomore album, prior to its release; Nirvana returns for a downloadable encore with three additional hits; while Motörhead and Steely Dan, each with singles featured on Guitar Hero World Tour’s on-disc set list, make a resounding return.

On April 2nd, fans will be introduced to The Pixies’ alternative rock music for the first time ever in a Guitar Hero game.  Virtual musicians will experience two singles from The Pixies’ second album, Doolittle, with “Debaser” and the highly successful “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” along with “The Sad Punk” from Trompe le Monde, their fourth and final full-length studio album.

Gamers will be able to get an exclusive taste of Silversun Pickups’ new music before their release of their second album, Swoon, on April 14 with “Panic Switch” and “It’s Nice to Know You Work Alone.”  “Well Thought Out Twinkles” from their breakthrough album, Carnavas, will round out the Track Pack, available on April 9th.

Returning to Guitar Hero World Tour on April 16th is the popular rock band from the 70’s, Steely Dan.  This time around, the band will contribute one single each from three of their albums – “Black Friday” from Katy Lied, “Kid Charlemagne” from The Royal Scam and “Bodhisattva” from Countdown to Ecstasy.

For download on April 23rd, British hard rock band, Motörhead, re-recorded new versions of “Jailbait,” “Love Me Like a Reptile,” and “Iron Fist” for Guitar Hero World Tour. 

With their second downloadable Track Pack, Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl of Nirvana will be returning to Guitar Hero World Tour on April 30th with “Very Ape” from In Utero, “Sappy” from the No Alternative compilation and “Stay Away” from their breakthrough, first major label album, Nevermind.

The 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.  All songs in the Track Packs 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 each. 

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.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision Publishing generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Publishing’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision Publishing’s ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Publishing’s products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Activision Publishing, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, Activision Blizzard’s success in integrating the operations of Activision Publishing and Vivendi Games in a timely manner, or at all, and the combined company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of the transaction to the extent, or in the timeframe, anticipated, and the other factors identified in Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

Watch the trailer here and see how the greater evil is revealed as dimensions are torn asunder.

Whether you’re completing your degree or climbing the corporate ladder, Targus has a laptop case to suit all women. Combining modern design with a range of functional features, each case in the Targus Women’s Collection doubles as a laptop bag and handbag – enabling you to seamlessly switch from work to play, whatever your personal and professional needs.  

Catering to a range of lifestyles – from the understated to the sophisticated – each case comes with clever compartments that ensure computing extras, mobile phone, cosmetics, business cards and other essentials are always within reach. The cases are available in a selection of lightweight and contemporary yet durable fabrics, with twin shoulder-straps and top-loading access. The Women’s Collection doesn’t look like a standard laptop bag making it the must-have fashion accessory for mobile professionals this autumn.

For the casually chic, the latest addition to the Collection is the Women’s Boho Tote. Available in tan faux leather – complementing the latest autumn trends – this case comfortably fits laptops up to 15.6 inches wide, and features a padded section that safely insulates laptops whilst you’re on the move. Launching in April, just in time for Mother’s Day, the Boho Tote has a recommended retail price of $129.95.

Switching from business lounge to cocktail lounge is a breeze with the classically stylish Simone Laptop Tote. In sleek black or red woven fabric with imitation croc leather detailing, the Simone Tote has a removable padded sleeve in a fun polka-dot print that protects laptops up to 15.6 inches wide. It also offers a removable clear pouch to keep small items handy. The Simone Laptop Tote has a recommended retail price of $139.95.

As a Gold Sponsor, Targus donates between $5 and $10 of every sale from the Women’s Collection to the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation. The Women’s Collection is available in Harvey Norman and selected retailers nationwide.

For more information about the Targus Women’s Collection, visit www.targus.com.au or call the free customer service line 1800 641 645.

Microsoft, Sun Utilize AMD-V™ Technology to Drive Leading Virtualisation Products and Performance

Sydney, Australia — March 25, 2009 – Continuing its momentum and leadership in virtualisation technology, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) today released the first video and images demonstrating live migration across three generations of AMD processors on VMware ESX 3.5, including the Six-Core AMD Opteron™ processor code-named “Istanbul.” Live Migration of virtual machines across physical servers is key to providing superior flexibility for managing today’s data centres. Additionally, AMD is highlighting its continued, cooperative development efforts with Microsoft as evidenced in Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V™, which is available today as a beta and adds support for AMD-V™ technology with Rapid Virtualisation Indexing. The new 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor provides scalable performance for both Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 and has received support from all four global OEMs.  

 “The AMD ecosystem of hardware and software partners like Microsoft, Sun and VMware illustrates a strong confidence in the advanced virtualisation capabilities AMD-V offers,” said Margaret Lewis, director, Commercial Solutions, AMD. “Enabled in part by RVI, Live Migration across our 65-nm and 45-nm Quad-Core and upcoming Six-Core AMD Opteron processors provides further evidence of the flexibility of AMD-V technology for data centre customers upgrading their systems.”

Last week Sun Microsystems posted a new 8P, 32-core world-record result on the VMmark benchmark, measuring the performance and scalability of applications running in virtualised environments based on VMware products. This top VMmark score was achieved on a Sun Fire™ X4600 M2 server powered by Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors. More information on leading VMmark scores for 2P, 4P and 8P AMD Opteron processor-based systems can be found at http://links.amd.com/a3zb.
       
About AMD
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.

© 2009 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.  AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, AMD Opteron, AMD-V and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.  Other names are used for informational purposes and may be trademarks of their respective owners. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo and Sun Fire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.

“Killer funny“ Rolling Stone and “laughing before you know what hit you” Entertainment Weekly

Written by and starring funny-man Paul Rudd, best known for his recent roles in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Knocked Up, comes Role Models, the latest in a line-up of ‘laugh-out-loud’ comedy films to sweep the young male market. An original and hilarious story with a heart, Role Models is available to own on DVD from June 3.

Seann William Scott (Wheeler) stars alongside Paul Rudd (Danny) playing two energy-drink salesmen stuck in deadend jobs and totally unwilling to grow up. Both are prone to immaturity – Danny is always bitching and angry while Wheeler just likes to party and hook up with girls.

On an energy drink-fuelled bender Wheeler and Danny end up trashing a company truck and are quickly caught by the cops. Upon their arrest, the court gives them a choice: do hard time or spend 150 hours on a big brother mentorship program. Convinced community service is a much better choice then prison, after only one day with their respective ‘littles’, jail doesn’t look half as bad!

Once the centre’s ex-con director (Jane Lynch) gives them an ultimatum, Danny and Wheeler are forced to tailor their brand of immature wisdom to their charges, Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and Ronnie (Bobb’e J. Thompson). And if they can just make it through probation without getting thrown in jail, the world’s worst role models will prove that, sometimes, it takes a village idiot to raise a child.

Perfect for a boys’ night in, Role Models is the must-own comedy DVD this year for all those who love the combination of kids who swear and boobies in their films and for those who aren’t quite ready to grow up.

Role Models DVD

Cast: Paul Rudd
Seann William Scott
Bobb’e J. Thompson
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Director: David Wain
Price: Single Disc – $39.95
Classification: TBC
Genre: Comedy

AVAILABLE TO OWN OR RENT ON DVD FROM JUNE 3rd 2009
www.rolemodelsmovie.com

Perth, Western Australia — March 19, 2009 — GameRanger, the PC 
multiplayer online gaming service, added improvements to give games a 
longer multiplayer life. Rather than waiting around for a multiplayer 
game, people are now immediately notified the moment anyone wants to 
play a game of theirs that interests them.

GameRanger’s new notifications mean that people can be always ready 
for a game even while  occupied with other PC activities by simply 
having the GameRanger icon in the system tray. This increases the pool 
of available players for all games at all times. Once people have 
decided they want to play, GameRanger handles the rest so they have no 
need to worry about the usual headaches of network issues or 
connection problems.

Most multiplayer games have a spike of activity just after release and 
then trail off, making it increasingly harder to find others to play 
against. Some games never even reach the levels needed for their built-
in lobbies and auto-matching in the first place. Potential players end 
up quitting out of frustration or boredom before they find a match, 
perpetuating the problem, because they can’t do anything else while 
they wait.

“Although digital distribution has increased the shelf-life of PC 
games, little has been done to boost their multiplayer shelf-life and 
dwindling online-gaming communities,” observed Scott Kevill, president 
of GameRanger Technologies. “Now with GameRanger, the Long Tail 
doesn’t need to be a Lonely Tale.”

GameRanger runs on Windows XP or later, and is available as a free 
download from http://www.GameRanger.com

About GameRanger

GameRanger is the longest running multiplayer online gaming service, 
having originally opened to Mac gaming in 1999. In November 2008, 
GameRanger expanded to PC gaming with full lobby support for over 500 
games — significantly more than any other multiplayer service — and 
is rapidly becoming the preferred choice of gamers for playing their 
friends online. GameRanger Technologies is located in Perth, Western 
Australia.