Nintendo announces that Nintendo 3DS™ has sold through more than 200,000 units*. Confirmed by The NPD Group Australia, this sets a new record, making Nintendo 3DS the fastest selling console to sell through 200,000 units in only 37 weeks. Nintendo 3DS not only beat all other handheld consoles to this mark, but all home consoles as well.

This Christmas, Nintendo 3DS offers a range of games including Mario Kart™ 7, Super Mario 3D Land™, Super Pokémon™ Rumble, The Legend of Zelda™: Ocarina of Time 3D and nintendogs™ + cats.

The latest installment in the Mario Kart franchise, Mario Kart 7, brings exciting 3D kart action into the palm of your hand. Up to eight friends can play Mario Kart 7, using just one game card, or play against Mario Kart 7 players from anywhere in the world via online play! Super Mario 3D Land reinvents everything fans love about Mario gaming with the first platforming environment in true 3D, presenting a 3D Mario game that plays like a 2D Mario game!

Nintendo 3DS is available in Cosmos Black, Aqua Blue, Flame Red, and the recently released Lavender Pink. Features include embedded motion sensor, pre-installed 3D software, internet connectivity and the ability to exchange content and data with other Nintendo 3DS owners via StreetPass™. Plus you can adjust your 3D experience with the 3D depth slider which turns 3D to 2D. Not only can Nintendo 3DS games be played on the device, but also most existing Nintendo DS® games can too.** Offering not only 3D gaming, but also the ability to take 3D photographs, and the recently announced function of filming your own 3D videos, Nintendo 3DS offers something for everyone.

SRP $249.95***

Last night, the FilmLife Project Film Festival was launched in Western Sydney, giving young and emerging filmmakers an opportunity to use creativity to raise awareness about organ and tissue donation in Australia and in doing so, save lives.

The FilmLife Project provides an opportunity for new and budding filmmakers to interpret this emotionally-charged issue in new and creative ways with a five minute film around ‘asking and knowing your loved ones’ wishes’.

Kerrie Noonan, Director of FilmLife said, “It is vitally important that Australian youth – a wealth of creative talent – are given a voice to discuss organ and tissue donation and an opportunity to interpret the theme for FilmLife festival in their own ways. I look forward to meeting our next generation of film makers and watching them turn their collective minds to this important issue.”

Those young and emerging filmmakers who register their interest for FilmLife will be brought to the Information + Cultural Exchange (ICE) in Western Sydney on 21, 22 and 28 January for a specially-curated, FREE workshop to talk with people who have been impacted by organ or tissue donation, as well as learn essential film making skills taught by experts, valued at $3,000 per person.

Lisa Torrance, Executive Director of ICE says, “A good film can change someone’s life, but you don’t often get a chance to potentially save lives by making a film. By raising awareness about the issue of organ and tissue donation, that’s what your submission to the FilmLife Project has the potential to do.”

The deadline for all film submissions is midnight on February 13, 2012. Winners will be announced at the FilmLife Festival Official Screening on February 18 and following a public Facebook vote, the People’s Choice Award will be announced on Friday 24 February.

Awards will be given for the Best Film, Best Interpretation of the Theme and the People’s Choice award, with the overall winner taking home a state-of-the-art video camera and access to an editing suite for a future film, with a total prize package worth $10,000.

All young and emerging Australian film makers aged 16 to 35 wanting to explore this topic are encouraged register at http://filmlifeproject.com.au and connect up with FilmLife on Facebook for the latest news as well as behind-the-scenes updates.

FilmLife is an initiative to help bring greater youth engagement and awareness to DonateLife Week, Australia’s national awareness week to promote organ and tissue donation, taking place in 2012 from 19-26 February. The FilmLife Project has been funded by the Organ and Tissue Authority.

December 13, 2011— Joymax, leading online game developer and publisher, today announced the “Joy to the World” holiday event for their popular MMORPG, Digimon Masters is now live.  The latest content update will showcase a variety of exciting new features including the first appearance of UlforceVeedramon in the Digital World, alongside a fun Christmas event running now until January 10th.  Players can experience all the action for themselves by downloading and playing the game for free on the Joymax portal at http://www.joymax.com/portal.

Based on the wildly successful Digimon anime series, Digimon Masters takes players on a raucous ride as they complete quests while acquiring new Mercenary Eggs and leveling up both their character and Partner Digimon as well as acquire new Digimon by hatching a variety of eggs.  The update brings in two additional Mercenary Eggs, which must be hatched using data found throughout the Digital World.  WarGreymon stomps onto the scene and is joined by UlforceVeedramon, who will make its first ever worldwide appearance and will be exclusive to the global Digimon Masters game – this is the only place to capture this elusive and highly desirable companion!

The content update will also include the new Digimon Reinforcement System (DRS), which players can use to increase their Digimon’s defensive abilities. The DRS produces an awesome looking glowing protective shield around each Digimon that changes color based on shield strength.  In addition, to get players into the holiday spirit, a Christmas Event will start today, and run through January 10^th, with maps being decorated in a festive Christmas motif! 

A game for all players and all ages, Digimon Masters provides a simple interface coupled with an intuitive control scheme that is completely hassle-free.  With more than 1,000 characters featured from seasons 1 through 5 of the Digimon anime, not only is it faithful to the series’ art design, Digimon Masters closely follows a story that will satisfy both loyal fans of the series as well as welcoming new gamers to the Digital World.  Digimon Masters’ faithful recreation of the Digimon universe, as featured in the anime series Digimon Data Squad, is now being brought to the global market by Joymax.

Players are encouraged to follow the official Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/digimonmasters where Joymax regular runs special announcements, contests, and reaches out to the more than 55,000 fans with Q&A sessions.  Players can also check out more details at http://twitter.com/dmojoymax

InnoGames opens newest browser game to international audience 

December 13, 2011. After months of anticipation, today InnoGames opens its latest browser game, Lagoonia, to an international audience. English speaking entertainment seekers can now create and manage a tropical paradise with up to 15 inhabitants in this free-to-play title. 

“With the start of the open beta, work on the game doesn’t stop – of course not. One of our major tasks right now is to add more multi-player features to increase the interaction between players, and we are implementing other things that will further enhance gameplay. These are a bit secret right now, but will be announced in the near future,” revealed Kathleen Kunze, Lagoonia’s game designer.

The title blends the charm of a sandbox game with exciting social interaction – all on a remote South Sea island. The focus of the browser game is on the relationships between characters and players. Moreover, players plan and create many things that make the island livable and fun: from a warm fire and a cozy shelter, to useful fish nets, and later in the game lighthouses and waterslides. The game is free and no download is required.

With more than 70 million registered players, InnoGames is one of the world’s leading developers and providers of online games. The Hamburg-based company has scored major successes with games such as Tribal Wars, The West and Grepolis

AVG (AU/NZ) becomes a National Community Partner of Australian Red Cross with a $150,000 donation to promote water and sanitation in the Asia Pacific region.

Melbourne, 14 December 2011 – AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd, the distributor of the award-winning AVG Internet and mobile security software in Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, has announced it has become a National Community Partner of Australian Red Cross with a donation of $150,000. 

Money raised from AVG (AU/NZ)’s partnership will be used to support the Cribas Water Supply Project in East Timor. This project is one of many key Australian Red Cross water and sanitation programs in the Asia Pacific region where Red Cross works to deliver clean, safe drinking water and adequate sanitation programs for adults and children.

At least four million people die each year from diseases associated with the lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. Furthermore, dirty water and poor sanitation is the world’s second biggest killer of children.

AVG (AU/NZ) invests a large component of its marketing budget building grassroots awareness of issues related to the very real threats to online security by Internet viral attacks and the growing cost of personal identity theft. Whilst working to help make individuals and businesses across its community safe and secure from online infection, AVG (AU/NZ) sees an equally compelling need to help vulnerable people be safe from infection in the physical world.

AVG (AU/NZ)’s CEO Peter Cameron said: “We understand that with awareness and the right tools most online infection is preventable. So too can the successful fight against disease be expanded into our wider community.” 

AVG (AU/NZ) is the only software vendor to become a partner of Australian Red Cross at this high National Community Partner level of commitment and the donation adds to the company’s well established portfolio of philanthropic work. 

The impetus for this new partnership came from Peter Cameron’s personal travel experiences. Having witnessed the effects of poverty across our neighbouring region, Cameron determined to expand on his vision for online health to help people in need across the Asia Pacific. 

Cameron’s investigation of the programs being conducted by Australian Red Cross convinced him of its accountability, transparency and effectiveness: “Australian Red Cross is a powerful partner for reputable businesses and for us there is also the obvious synergy in our joint drive to protect the vulnerable in our community. 

“We are using the success of our business to make a difference in the world. The Red Cross sponsorship is our first major donation and we have a made a commitment to extend our philanthropic work from this significant start point,” Cameron said.

Sydney, Australia – December 14, 2011 – Kingston, the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the launch of the DataTraveler Micro – one of the world’s smallest USB Flash drives. The DataTraveler Micro is designed in an ultra-small form factor that can be left in devices such as tablet PCs, slim notebooks, netbooks or car audio systems while on the move. The drive’s light weight and compact size easily adds up to 16GB of extra storage to a device without increasing its footprint. It is simple to use and just needs to be connected to any device with a USB port. DataTraveler Micro blends in easily without blocking other controls and is simple to use for storing, transferring and sharing photos, videos, music and other favorite files while on the move.

“Kingston’s DataTraveler Micro is a versatile USB Flash drive that is perfect for use with different devices such as tablets that have a USB port or in slim notebooks. Due to its small size, it is also convenient to be left plugged in while on the go,” said Nathan Su, Flash Memory Sales Director, APAC Region, Kingston.

Available in 8GB and 16GB, the DataTraveler Micro is backed by legendary Kingston reliability plus a five year warranty and free technical support.

SPECIFICATIONS:
Capacities*: 8GB, 16GB
Standardized: Complies with USB 2.0 specification standards
Backwards Compatible: With USB 1.0
Dimensions: 1.008″ x 0.657″ x 0.331″ (25.6mm x 16.7mm x 8.4mm)
Operating Temperature: 32°F to 140°F (0°C to 60°C)
Storage Temperature: -4°F to 185°F (-20°C to 85°C)
Weight: 4g

Compatibility Table

Kingston DataTraveler Micro

Pricing and Availability
Manufacturer: Kingston Technology
Product Name: DataTraveler Micro
RRP:
8GB DataTraveler Micro : AUD$ 11.00, NZ$ 18.00
16GB DataTraveler Micro :AUD$ 18.00, NZ$ 30.00
Website: www.kingston.com/anz
Warranty: Kingston DataTraveler products are backed by a five-year warranty and free technical support.
Australian Distributors: Express Online, Synnex Australia PTY Ltd, Ingram Micro AU, Avnet AU.
New Zealand Distributors: Ingram Micro NZ, Synnex NZ, Simms NZ
Availability: January 2012

Kingston can be found on:
Blog: http://www.kingston-blog.com/en
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KingstonBlogFansClub.en
Twitter: http://twitter.com/KingstonFEPR
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/KingstonAPAC

*Please note: Some of the listed capacity on a Flash storage device is used for formatting and other functions and is thus not available for data storage. As such, the actual available capacity for data storage is less than what is listed on the products. For more information, go to Kingston’s Flash Memory Guide at kingston.com/flash_memory_guide.

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, and sales representatives in the United States, Taiwan, China, India, Australia, Vietnam, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and Latin America. For more information, please visit www.kingston.com/anz.

New Lenovo ThinkPad Laptop Ruggedised For Students and Schools 

Sydney, Australia  – December 14, 2011: Lenovo today announced that its new ThinkPad X130e laptop will be deployed to over 60,000 students throughout New South Wales Department of Education and Communities schools in 2012. The ThinkPad X130e was developed in cooperation with the New South Wales Department of Education and Communities (NSW DEC) to meet the unique requirements of the education market.

Based on feedback provided by NSW DEC, the ThinkPad X130e has been designed with the ruggedised features and advanced technology expected in an educational laptop. The ThinkPad X130e features the latest generation Intel Celeron or i3 processors, fast, integrated graphics, as well as advanced wireless connectivity and multimedia tools for today’s digital learning. Designed to be handled by highly mobile and demanding students, the ThinkPad X130e has a reinforced and extra durable top cover, keyboard and hinges, as well as recessed ports and a ruggedised rubber bumper to protect it. 

“It has been a pleasure to work directly with Lenovo throughout the development of this unique laptop. We are proud to be providing NSW students with cutting edge PC tools to help support their education,” said Dianne Marshall, NSW Department of Education and Communities. “The school environment requires highly durable and well performing laptops, with all-day battery life. Lenovo has combined these features in the specially designed ThinkPad X130e and tailored it to meet the needs of students and schools. The company even took into account the feedback provided on colour preferences.”

The ThinkPad X130e is also designed to maximise performance, reliability and customisable options including asset tags, BIOS modifications and custom imaging to help optimise the laptop for all-day use in schools. It is also available in a broad selection of custom colours to appeal to students¹, including midnight black, heatwave red and white and silver models that NSW DEC will be deploying. 

Designed to meet military specifications for durability, the X130e is the ideal worry-free and cost-effective option for today’s educational system, and will significantly reduce non-warranty repair requirements.

“Lenovo has worked closely with its customers in the education sector, and the ThinkPad X130e has been designed to directly reflect the feedback we have received,” said David Heyworth, Director, Commercial Products, Lenovo ANZ. “The highest priority feature, according to education customers, is ‘ruggedness’. While we’ve built tough products for years that pass many military-grade tests, we’ve made specific improvements required for a laptop to be successful in an education environment with the new ThinkPad X130e.”

Laptops with Serious Substance

The ThinkPad X130e laptop helps students get more out of their day. This 11.6-inch lightweight ultraportable, has the processing performance students need for assignments requiring multitasking, with Intel second generation Celeron or Core i3-2367M ULV processors. For multimedia-intensive lessons, the laptop’s Intel HD-powered graphics kick in to give students a rich visual experience.

Weighing less than 1.8 kg, students can easily carry the laptop between classes. The X130e also removes the need for students to carry the power cable, as the battery lasts the whole school day, and even long enough to start homework after school – up to 8.5 hours². Throughout the course of a typical school day, students’ laptops are often subject to extreme wear and tear. To help school-proof them, the X130e has several heavy-duty features including:

• A top cover rubber bumper – absorbs impacts to the side of the laptop
• 33 percent stronger corners – reduces the chance of damage when dropped at an angle

• Stronger hinges – outlast even the most frequent PC user, tested to a minimum of 30,000 cycles

• Reinforced and recessed ports – decrease the effects of student ‘wear and tear’ and misuse
• Stronger Bezel – 1.2mm reinforced plastic to protect the LCD panel
• Renowned ThinkPad island-style keyboard – unparalleled quality with hard to remove keys, also designed for small hands
• Military Spec tested – the world’s first value notebook that passes mil spec tests for durability

The ThinkPad X130e laptop is the perfect tool for students in today’s digital learning environment. The ThinkPad X130e features multi-frequency support, to help students easily connect to school WiFi networks;  students can also maintain their network connection while moving from class to class using Lenovo’s Instant Resume function. The ThinkPad X130e also features HDMI and VGA out and a low-light webcam, to help with presentations and inter-school communication. 

Making Students and Schools More Efficient

Built-in self-help tools like Rescue and Recovery and Access Connections help decrease calls to school IT support, allowing students to recover damaged files and to store and connect easily to different WiFi networks. 

Additionally, Lenovo offers a broad range of optional services for the ThinkPad X130e laptop, starting with custom colours. Lenovo’s image services help keep IT teams focused on enhancing learning, not chasing device drivers and loading images onto each PC manually. Asset tagging services help keep track of PCs left on the school bus or in a classroom, and Accidental Damage Protection services can help keep a check on repair budgets. And if the PC needs to be fixed, Lenovo’s optional Hard Drive Retention service protects students’ digital information.

Pricing and Availability³

The ThinkPad X130e laptop is available now from Lenovo business partners. Standard pricing for Education models including 3 year warranty starts at AU$673.00 inc GST.

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook. 

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $US21 billion personal technology company serving customers in more than 160 countries, and the world’s second-largest PC vendor. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly-efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution.  Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centres in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina.  For more information see www.lenovo.com.au

¹Minimum order quantities and lead times vary based on customer customisation requirements.

² With 6-cell battery (standard). Actual battery life varies depending on usage.

³Prices do not include shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

KONAMI details new action-orientated title from Kojima Productions

SYDNEY, 14 December 2011: Announced over two years ago, KONAMI premiered a new trailer for METAL GEAR RISING : REVENGEANCE at the prestigious Video Game Awards on December 10^th, and is now ready to outline the direction the action title is taking and detailing those behind it. METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE is a stunning action title, produced by Kojima Productions and developed by Platinum Games. Kojima Productions has created the story for the game, managed the cut scenes and voice-over sessions, and Metal Gear Solid artist Yoji Shinkawa has created the character designs. Platinum Games will focus on the game design and programming elements, under the supervision of Kojima Productions.

Hideo Kojima, Head of Kojima Productions and creator of the Metal Gear series, personally chose Platinum Games to create the new title, and Metal Gear Solid veteran Yuji Korekado has been appointed to oversee the project for Kojima productions and will work closely with Platinum’s Atsushi Inaba. Hideo Kojima will act as Executive Producer. These appointments follow the decision to reposition METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE as a more action-orientated title than initially planned, with Platinum Games creating a game where the player has total control of the main character – the cybernetically-enhanced Raiden from METAL GEAR S OLID 4: Guns of the Patriots – and a total freedom of how users control him. As such, the game title has been subtly rebranded to reflect the more action-based content than in previous Metal Gear Solid titles.

As seen in the trailer, the result is a breath-taking action title wherein the player guides Raiden through a series of beautifully-realised stages. Raiden is armed with a High Frequency katana blade which he uses to cut through anything that stands in his way. The three-minute trailer shows Raiden’s incredible level of power and control as he cuts through enemies and various obstacles alike using high-speed combination attacks, and using free-running skills to bypass groups of adversaries to give him a strategic advantage and catch them off-guard. As the game progresses, Raiden’s physical prowess is increasingly called upon and tested, with huge enemies appearing that require specific tactics to disable.

“METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE is a new direction,” explained Martin Schneider, General Manager of Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “There was the urge for something new,, and thus Inaba-san‘s unrivalled knowledge of the action genre, and Korekado-san’s knowledge of the METAL GEAR SOLID universe, combined with Kojima Productions’ standard for excellence ensures METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE is in safe hands.”