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SYDNEY (March 13, 2013) — – IO Interactive A/S, a Square Enix studio, today revealed that HITMAN: ABSOLUTION’s asynchronous multiplayer mode: Contracts, has proven to be a huge success amongst gamers from around the world.

SYDNEY (March 13, 2013) — – IO Interactive A/S, a Square Enix studio, today revealed that HITMAN: ABSOLUTION’s asynchronous multiplayer mode: Contracts, has proven to be a huge success amongst gamers from around the world.

Today’s infographic reveals that players have collectively earned over 1.3 trillion dollars in Contracts, with the most-played Contract on each platform reaching over 500,000 plays and counting. Other HITMAN: ABSOLUTION statistics show that HITMAN players favour Agent 47’s trademark Silverballer pistols when eliminating their enemies, while the ‘King of Chinatown’ has so far been the most killed character.

Contracts Mode is the first ever online mode in a HITMAN game and it allows players to create their own custom hits by choosing the level, targets, weapons and the rules of assassination. Created contracts can be shared with friends or the whole Hitman community and earned money will unlock weapons, upgrades and disguises, which can be used in Contracts Mode to deepen the experience.

HITMAN: ABSOLUTION is available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC.

For more information about HITMAN: ABSOLUTION, go to http://www.hitman.com.

 
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Today, Kratos will rise again as the highly anticipated PlayStation®3 exclusive, God of War: Ascension™, launches in stores across Australia.

Today, Kratos will rise again as the highly anticipated PlayStation®3 exclusive, God of War: Ascension™, launches in stores across Australia.

God of War: Ascension is a prequel that will show Kratos’ emotional path of vengeance, while detailing the rise of his rage to break free from Ares’ bond.  The series continues to give fans the epic cinematic storytelling, visceral battles, and blockbuster moments the God of War series is known for, along with various enhancements, including a revamped combat system and a brand new online multiplayer mode that combines the brutal gameplay and large-scale battle.

For the first time ever in a God of War game, players can compete in online multiplayer battles that combine the intense combat style that fans know and love with unique objective-based game modes designed for up to 8 players.  Create and customize your very own warrior avatar, pledge allegiance to one of four gods to earn and unlock a variety of weapons, armour, special attacks and more in the quest to become a champion of the gods.

God of War: Ascension, launches in stores today with an RRP of AUD$99.95.

Click here to see the God of War: Ascension live action trailer.

 
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New AMD A-Series APU Offers Mobile PC Users Innovative Experiences, Elite Graphics Performance and Longer Battery Life

New AMD A-Series APU Offers Mobile PC Users Innovative Experiences, Elite Graphics Performance and Longer Battery Life
? Notebooks with highest performance AMD A-Series APUs expected on shelf this month ?

SYDNEY, Australia. — 14 March 2013 — AMD today announced the first availability of the AMD Elite A-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), codenamed “Richland.”  The new AMD Elite A-Series APUs deliver innovative user experiences like facial log-in and gesture recognition, improved graphics1 and compute performance2 over the previous generation, and enhanced power management capabilities on a single chip.

“The high performance AMD A-Series APU continues to impress with its ability to deliver stunning graphics and immersive experiences with even more battery life. Our engineers have done a superb job of increasing processor performance while decreasing power consumption,” said Bernd Lienhard, corporate vice president and general manager of AMD’s Client Business Unit.  “With the capabilities built into our 2013 AMD Elite A-Series APUs, including new software for gesture control, facial recognition, rich entertainment and more lifelike gaming, we are delivering an ever richer experience to end users and our customers.”

With faster performance1, 2 and improved power management in the same platform architecture as its predecessor, coupled with AMD Radeon™ HD 8000 Series graphics, the 2013 AMD Elite A-Series APUs build on the award-winning history of AMD’s original APU line-up to help users get the most out of their notebooks, whether at work, at home or on-the-go.

Differentiated User Experiences

The new AMD Elite A-Series APUs leverage the power of the combined compute and graphics cores to accelerate a suite of available software experiences that can dramatically expand and enhance the user experience:

•    AMD Face Login3– Uses facial recognition technology and a webcam to allow for quick log-in to Windows and other browser-based websites that require a log-in, like social networking sites and email services;

•    AMD Gesture Control4 – Tracks a user’s hand gestures and converts them into commands for basic functions on media players, browsers, e-readers and other popular applications leveraging a webcam, advanced image processing and machine-vision algorithms;

•    AMD Screen Mirror5 – Wirelessly shares content like photos, videos, HD media streams and webpages from a PC or tablet based on a 2013 AMD A-Series APU with any supported TV or display with a DLNA receiver, or with other PCs. Available only on select AMD-based devices;

•    AMD Video Entertainment Features – Make your content look its very best: AMD Steady Video technology6 gives users push-button control over shaky home video and helps stabilise the images for better viewing; AMD Quick Stream technology7 enables smooth video streaming and a virtually interruption free streaming experience; and AMD Perfect Picture HD8, creates rich and lifelike color on video entertainment.

This optimised-for-AMD software will come pre-loaded on select AMD Elite A-Series APU-based notebooks later this year and will be downloadable from www.amd.com next month.

Next Level Performance
Through engineering optimisations on the previous generation of the AMD A-Series APU platform architecture (formerly codenamed “Trinity”) and updated graphics, the 2013 AMD Elite A-Series APUs feature significant performance increases1, 2, along with support for high-end technologies:

•    Visual and compute performance increases over the previous generation of AMD A-Series APUs1, 2;
•    AMD Start Now Technology9 for tablet-like responsiveness;
•    Improved AMD Turbo CORE technology with higher boost frequencies than the previous generation, for more performance when you need it and energy conservation when you don’t;
•    Support for AMD Eyefinity technology10, AMD Radeon™ Dual Graphics11, and DirectX® 11.

Enhanced Power Management
AMD continues a power/performance leadership through the latest generation of power management technologies.  These boosting and throttling technologies enable more intelligent, higher compute and graphics core performance to help enhance PC responsiveness and extend battery life. Building on the idea of AMD AllDay™ Power, the 2013 AMD Elite A-Series Platform enables up to 7.9 hours of web browsing, 5.7 hours of HD video playback and up to 10 hours of resting battery life on a 55 watt/hour battery12, 13, 14.

Availability and Technical Details
Performance and traditional notebooks based on these 2013 AMD Elite A-Series APUs are shipping now with availability beginning this month in select regions. Model numbers and technical details for each are as follows:

First Quarter 2013 AMD Elite A-Series APUs

 APU Model

 AMD Radeon™ Brand

 TDP

 CPU Cores

 CPU Clock (Max/Base)

 AMD Radeon™ Cores

 GPU Clock (Max/Base)

 L2 Cache

 Max DDR3

 A10-5750M

 HD 8650G

 35W

 4

 3.5GHz/ 2.5GHz

 384

 720MHz/ 533MHz

 4MB

 DDR3-1866

 A8-5550M

 HD 8550G

 35W

 4

 3.1GHz/ 2.1GHz

 256

 720MHz/ 515MHz

 4MB

 DDR3-1600

 A6-5350M

 HD 8450G

 35W

 2

 3.5GHz/ 2.9GHz

 192

 720MHz/ 533MHz

 1MB

 DDR3-1600

 A4-5150M

 HD 8350G

 35W

 2

 3.3GHz/ 2.7GHz

 128

 720MHz/ 514MHz

 1MB

 DDR3-1600

New, low-voltage and desktop variants of AMD Elite A-Series APUs are expected to be announced and available in the first half of 2013.

Supporting Resources
•    Watch a video about AMD’s 2013 Software Experiences on the AMD YouTube Channel
•    Read a blog about the 2013 Software Experiences
•    Follow AMD on Twitter at @AMDNotebook
•    Become a fan of AMD on Facebook

 
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Assassin’s Creed III – The Tyranny of King Washington DLC – Eagle Power Trailer

Assassin’s Creed III – The Tyranny of King Washington DLC is a 3-part, all new single-player experience which will let players discover an alternate history of the events following the American Revolution.

Episode 1: The Infamy is available now on Microsoft’s Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, Windows PCs and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

Episode 2: The Betrayal will release on Microsoft’s Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and Windows PCs on March 19 and on PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system March 20.

Episode 3: The Redemption will release on Microsoft’s Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and Windows PCs on April 23 and on PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system April 24.

The three upcoming episodes of the Tyranny of King Washington are available through the Assassin’s Creed III Season Pass, which is available for purchase for 2400 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE or $49.95 on the PlayStation® Network and Windows PC. Each episode of The Tyranny of King Washington will be available for purchase separately as a single DLC pack for 800 Microsoft points or $15.95.

All Assassin’s Creed III downloadable content packs will also be available on the Wii UTM through the Nintendo eShop.

Assassin’s Creed III is now available on PlayStation®3, Xbox 360® and the Nintendo Wii UTM. For Windows PC gamers, the Assassin’s Creed III Deluxe Edition is available as a digital download and includes all future downloadable content.

 
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BenQ release their newest mini projector – the GP10

Home entertainment projection that’s simple and hassle-free

Sydney, Australia: February 2013 For many Australians, the prospect of setting up a home entertainment system is daunting.  There are so many options on the market it becomes confusing and difficult to discern what it is we actually need for home projection, to get the result we want within our ideal budget.

What we do know is that it’s pretty cool to have the big picture cinematic experience in our own home, a picture that gives us that immersive experience we seek when we head to the cinemas.

BenQ, the world’s leading projector brand have released a mini projector which weighs just 1.5kg and requires no installation.  It is 100% portable enabling it to travel easily if you plan to take it on a trip or to a mate’s place. The unit comes with a USB Dongle that can be used for streaming video from laptops and other devices, making it wireless, as well as compact, versatile and extremely practical.

Said Martin Moelle, BenQ’s Australian general manager, “It’s the perfect home entertainment solution for anyone who considers themselves a novice and feels that setting up a home entertainment projection system may be out of their league.  Bring the big picture experience to the comfort of your lounge-room without the hassle of set up and installation,” he said.  “Really, anyone can do it.”

The BenQ GP10 is a mini projector which doesn’t have the bells and whistles of professional models, but it’s so simple to operate you shouldn’t even need to refer to the instructions. This simplicity extends to upkeep of the projector itself; the GP10 is powered by LED Technology which essentially means that the projector is lampless and maintenance free, as the LED lamp will never require replacement, thus resulting in a lower total cost of ownership.

The model is capable of displaying a massive projection of over 200 inches in size with minimal loss in picture quality.

Offering unparalleled multimedia connectivity accommodating everyone’s needs – it has an SD card slot as well as USB drive, and can be connected to your DVD player, TV box, iPod or iPhone, tablet, digital camera, PC or laptop, camcorder and game console.

Continued Moelle, “It’s compact and lightweight meaning you can take it from the lounge or family room to the bedroom for instance.”

The mini projector runs on an LED light source, making it energy efficient, offers 720p HD-ready short throw projection, and will provide around 30,000 hours of LED light source.  It’s 550 ANSI lumens brightness with a 10,000:1 contrast ratio.  This techno talk basically means that the projector offers a visual experience which will satisfy the needs of most families wishing to utilise the device for ‘Big Screen’ visual entertainment like watching movies, playing games and viewing television content.

“The BenQ GP10 offers a comprehensive home entertainment experience for less than $1000.00, and is equipped with versatile multimedia connectivity to support DVD players, DTH & Set-top boxes, PCs, tablet PCs, gaming consoles and Apple devices,” said Moelle.

RRP:                $999.00

For further information and stockist details visit www.BenQ.com.au

 
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Mattel’s Monster High: Skultimate Roller Maze releases today on Nintendo 3DS

Little Orbit is thrilled to announce that Monster High, one of the fastest growing and most popular tween girl franchises, has released video game Monster High®: Skultimate Roller Maze on the Nintendo 3DS.

Available in stores as of today in Australia and New Zealand, fans can pick their favourite Monster High character and assemble a team of friends and fiends as they skate their way through the crypts of Monster High and other schools.

Monster High®: Skultimate Roller Maze is now available on Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo 3DS is at AU RRP $49.95 and NZ RRP $69.95 and is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by All Interactive Entertainment.

For more information please visit http://monsterhighvideogame.com/.

 
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Tech Safety Tips for St. Patrick’s Day from AVG Technologies

Melbourne, 14 March 2013.  AVG Technologies AU has provided some helpful tips for keeping consumers and their mobile devices safe on St. Patrick’s Day.

St Patrick’s Day, the 17th of March, is a day of cultural and religious celebration for the “Feast of St Patrick” that is often commemorated with parades, pub parties, city festivities and large crowds. As with all major celebrations, the day’s reputation is to encourage people to relax, enjoy the company of friends and family and toast life with a glass of green beer or two. However, as with all major celebrations, crowded gatherings have the tendency to attract pickpockets and thieves who can easily steal consumers’ personal devices in the blink of an eye.

“In this mobile age, our smart devices hold an immense amount of personal data, such as financial details, emails and intimate photos, which can easily be left behind or stolen during celebratory holidays,” Michael McKinnon, Security Advisor at AVG, said. “AVG wants to encourage a fun-filled day with peace of mind and no bad luck, so we aim to protect our users wherever they go with the power to track, lock and erase personal information on their smart devices before they are accessed by unwanted perpetrators.”

To help keep the luck of the Irish with the good guys, AVG has created a list of tips to help keep consumers and their mobile devices safe during their shamrock celebrations:

Be aware of your surroundings and report suspicious behaviour

  • Don’t let go of personal      property: keep phones in pockets or bags, and keep bags attached to you
  • Leave things at home: do      you really need to carry all the normal credit/debit cards?
  • If you need to use your      phone, step aside or off the street and into a shop so you are less      visible
  • Protect your device with a      PIN
  • Install software such as AVG      AntiVirus Free for Android™ that allows you to lock, locate and wipe      your device
  • Keep details of how to      block credit cards and phones somewhere simple to access
  • If you are unfortunate      enough to be a victim, ensure you lock your data and stop all of your      credit cards immediately. Make the benefit to the bad guys smaller by      acting faster.

About AVG — www.avg.com.au

AVG Technologies’ mission is to simplify, optimise and secure the Internet experience, providing peace of mind to a connected world. AVG’s powerful yet easy-to-use software and online services put users in control of their Internet experience. By choosing AVG’s software and services, users become part of a trusted global community that benefits from inherent network effects, mutual protection and support. AVG has grown its user base to 146 million active users as of 30 December  2012 and offers a product portfolio that targets the consumer and small business markets and includes Internet security, PC performance optimisation, online backup, mobile security and identity protection.

 
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UBISOFT® UNVEILS SPLINTER CELL® BLACKLIST COLLECTOR’S EDITIONS FOR EMEA TERRITORIES

AUSTRALIA — March 13th, 2013 —Ubisoft® has announced details of the Tom Clancy’s™ Splinter Cell® Blacklist Collectors Editions, available exclusively in EMEA territories on August 22nd for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Windows PC.

The 5th Freedom Edition:

This prestigious edition includes-

  • A Sam Fisher figurine (24cm)
  • A steelbook case
  • A 96 page graphic novel, Splinter Cell Echoes®
  • Single and Multiplayer Co-op maps: Dead Coast and Billionaire’s Yacht
  • Unlockable digital items:
    • 5 pieces of gear: Gold Goggles and Amber Goggles, Ghost Boots, Armoured Boots and Tactical Gloves
    • 5 suits: Elite Digital Ghillie Suit, Spy Suit, Mercenary Suit, Upper Echelon Suit and Eclipse Suit
    • 5 Weapons: VSS Sniper Rifle, M1014 Tactical Shotgun, 416 Assault rifle, F40 pistol, and Crossbow

 

The Ultimatum Edition:

This special edition includes-

  • Special-Ops Digital Watch
  • A 24 page Splinter Cell Echoes Graphic Novel
  • Single and Multiplayer Co-op maps: Dead Coast and Billionaire’s Yacht
  • Unlockable digital items:
    • 2 pieces of gear: Gold Goggles and Ghost Boots
    • 1 Suit: Upper Echelon Suit

 

The 5th Freedom Silver Edition – Exclusive to Uplay®

  • An exclusive Silver Sam Fisher figurine (24cm)
  • A special steelbook case with silver finish
  • A 96 page graphic novel, Splinter Cell Echoes®
  • Single and Multiplayer Co-op maps: Dead Coast and Billionaire’s Yacht
  • Unlockable digital items:
    • 5 pieces of gear: Gold Goggles and Amber Goggles, Ghost Boots, Armoured Boots and Tactical Gloves
    • 5 suits: Elite Digital Ghillie Suit, Spy Suit, Mercenary Suit, Upper Echelon Suit and Eclipse Suit
    • 5 Weapons: VSS Sniper Rifle, M1014 Tactical Shotgun, 416 Assault rifle, F40 pistol, and Crossbow

Players who pre-order the game will receive exclusive in-game unlockable content. The 5th Freedom Silver Edition can be pre-ordered exclusively on Uplay: http://shop.ubi.com/promo/92574600

In Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist, a group of 12 rogue nations have had enough of the United States’ military presence in their countries. In an effort to rid themselves of the occupation, they mastermind an ultimatum called The Blacklist – a countdown of escalating terrorist attacks on U.S. interests. Given a presidential mandate and the power to act above the law, players take on the role of lethal special operative Sam Fisher.  As leader of the newly formed 4th Echelon unit, players must hunt down and stop these terrorists before The Blacklist countdown reaches zero. The thrilling storyline along with a wide range of intense, eye-opening covert missions will propel players to locate and take down those responsible for these deadly assaults by any means necessary.

For more information on Splinter Cell Blacklist, please visit: www.splintercell.com

 
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Trio of Former EA Firemint Developers Form New Studio Loveshack Entertainment

Core team behind SPY mouse reveal innovative debut project for tablets and PC 

Melbourne, March 13, 2013: Three former senior developers at EA’s Firemint game development studio today announced they have formed Loveshack Entertainment, a new studio focused on pushing creative boundaries and developing more personal projects.  The team also revealed debut project, Framed, an innovative narrative-based puzzle game in which players must rewrite the story, a twist on a hard-boiled procedural.

Loveshack Entertainment’s Joshua Boggs, Adrian Moore and Ollie Browne are veteran game developers with particular experience in mobile and PC games. Boggs and Moore shared the lead development role on Firemint’s SPY mouse and between them the trio have worked on award-winning titles such as The Movies (Lionhead Studios), Populous, Theme Hospital, Syndicate Wars (Bullfrog), Rolling with Katamari (Namco Bandai) and Real Racing 2 and 3 (Firemint/Firemonkeys).

“Josh and I really clicked when we worked together on SPY mouse. But we were also both finding that whilst we loved working at Firemint, we wanted to stretch our creative muscles outside of a larger company,” said Adrian Moore, co-founder of Loveshack Entertainment. “With Ollie joining the team, we’re now ready to unleash our love on the world.”

The team’s debut project, Framed is an innovative puzzle game set in a noir comic book world. Presented as an animated storyboard and played in ‘chapters’, each panel depicts an important action or event. After watching the scene unfold, players can rearrange the order of the panels, changing the way the events play out and the outcome of the narrative. With each action “framed” by the last, context is everything.

In pre-production for the last six months, Framed has received funding from both Screen Australia and Film Victoria and is targeted for release on tablets and PC in late 2013.

 
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Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel

EA, BIG BOI AND B.O.B CELEBRATE ARMY OF TWO THE DEVIL’S CARTEL DEMO LAUNCH TODAY WITH DEBUT OF “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”

Two of the hottest stars in hip-hop, Big Boi and B.o.B, have teamed up to drop “Double or Nothing”, the official theme song for the upcoming video game, Army of TWOTM The Devil’s Cartel. You can watch the premiere of the live-action music video for “Double or Nothing” at http://youtube.com/ArmyofTWO right now!

Also available today on Xbox®LIVE Marketplace and PlayStation®Network is the Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel demo, complete with epic explosions, massive destruction and plenty of dynamic co-operative action for you to enjoy with a friend.

In “Double or Nothing”, Big Boi and B.o.B step into their in-game roles as T.W.O. operatives Charles “Chuy” Rendall (Big Boi) and Anthony “Baker” Barnes (B.o.B) and blast their way through Mexico’s most dangerous cartel. The video features live-action heroics of Big Boi and B.o.B and gives a sneak peek of the explosive, blockbuster action with in-game footage from Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel.

In Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel, players find themselves on the war-torn streets of Mexico as Alpha and Bravo, two operatives working for Tactical Worldwide Operations (T.W.O.), fighting for justice against a dangerous drug cartel. Featuring both online and split-screen co-op, Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel gives players the chance to distinguish themselves from their friends by providing a deeper and more advanced upgrade and customization system.

Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel launches on March 28 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. Fans who pre-order the game from EB Games will receive the exclusive Army of TWO The Devil’s Cartel Hit-Makers Kit, giving them access to a one-of-a-kind T.W.O. Contract mission that will allow them to play as Big Boi and B.o.B’s characters, as well as custom masks and weapon skins designed by the artists themselves.

For more information, please visit http://armyoftwo.com/au. For the latest updates check out www.facebook.com/armyoftwo or follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/armyoftwo.