You asked for more Triple XP and so we shall oblige… 

You asked for more Triple XP and so we shall oblige…

By popular demand, this coming weekend, every Red Dead Redemption and Undead Nightmare multiplayer mode will yield you XP times three. It all begins today, Friday August 12th around 2:00PM (AEST) and doesn’t end until Monday afternoon August 15th.

Make sure you’re following us on Twitter where we often drop the first word or hint about such things. That is, if you’re the sort of person who appreciates being among the first to know.

Highly Anticipated Premium Online RTS Will be Free-to-Play 

Sydney, Australia – August 12 2011 – Trion Worlds, the leading premium online game developer and publisher, has revealed today that its massive online real time strategy game, End of Nations™, will be a free-to-play game. The free-to-play model for End of Nations underscores Trion’s commitment to its players to match premium games with their optimal business model.

“Being able to offer a premium game such as End of Nations for free sets us apart in this industry,” said Dave Luehmann, the title’s Executive Producer and Vice President, 3rd Party Development for Trion Worlds. “At Trion, we strive to innovate online gaming while emphasizing the delivery of the best core gameplay experience available. Our decision to release End of Nations as a AAA free–to-play title is guided by these principles.”

End of Nations is being developed with strategy gurus Petroglyph Games, the creative minds behind the original Command & Conquer.

Every End of Nations player will have full access to all the heart-stopping action-packed strategic gameplay that the game offers, including massive-scale battles of over 50 players, a huge persistent world, and customization options to make each army and unit unique. Gamers can play in the solo campaign or in co-op mode, as well as in “Conquer the World” multiplayer with battles up to 26 versus 26 for global control of the massive persistent game world. There’s no time limit on access, and all players can play the game end to end for free. 

For players looking for even more great End of Nations content, there will be a limited Collector’s Edition available at retail, as well as a digital-only Collector’s Edition online.  Players can also choose to pay an optional monthly subscription fee to receive extra value and convenience. 

To download the End of Nations Free-To-Play trailer, please visit http://www.trionpress.com/

About End of Nations

Fight a worldwide war of unprecedented scale in End of Nations, the revolutionary real-time strategy game from Trion Worlds. End of Nations is a groundbreaking new premium online RTS where you fight monumental battles for global control of a massive persistent world.  Join allies from around the world to bring down the oppressive Order of Nations, or take on the opposing faction in epic battles of over 50 players, where one Commander can impact the ongoing conflict and every victory matters.  As your skills and tactical experience grow, you will earn and unlock new units, abilities and super weapons to build and customize your ultimate army.  Gather your forces, plan your attack, and lead the way to true global domination. http://www.endofnations.com

Release date announced and Multiplayer beta to begin in 5 days 

Sydney, Australia – August 12, 2011 – Today, Ubisoft® announced that TrackMania² Canyon, the next iteration of Nadeo Studio’s PC online racing phenomenon, will be available from September 14, 2011 with local pricing to be confirmed.

Trackmaniacs who want early access to the game can start racing immediately by simply pre-purchasing the game from August 17 onwards, guaranteeing them a place in the multiplayer beta, beginning the same day.

TrackMania² Canyon builds upon the successes of the prequel with updated graphics, realistic racing features and an expanded network infrastructure, while still maintaining the intuitive gameplay, captivating racing modes and familiar community instruments that made the series so unique. TrackMania² Canyon is the first title to be released on ManiaPlanet, the new gaming system giving players access to innovative and enjoyable online games.

Gamers attending this year’s Gamescom in Cologne, are reminded that the Electronic Sporting League will host an exclusive TrackMania²  experience where attendees can play the game before release, as well as compete in LAN competitions, challenge professional gamers and watch an invitation only pro gamer tournament.

TrackMania² Canyon can be pre-purchased from www.trackmania.com

Pre-Order Promotion Gives Gamers the Chance to be an In-Game  Citizen in PROTOTYPE 2’s New York Zero 

Sydney – August 11th, 2011 – Gamers now have a chance to win their ultimate fantasy with Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) and GAME’s “Put Yourself in the Game,” pre-order promotion for Radical Entertainment’s highly anticipated PROTOTYPE® 2.

Australian players, 18 and older, who pre-order PROTOTYPE 2 at GAME between 12^th August and 14^th September 2011 will have the opportunity to go online and enter to win a trip for two to Radical Entertainment in Vancouver, Canada and become a character in the upcoming open-world action thriller.  To enter, pre-order Prototype 2 either online or in store and then enter the competition via the website www.game.com.au/prototype2comp by completing the form including the Prototype 2 receipt number and answering the question “in 25 words or less, tell us why you should be chosen to be “put into the game” of Prototype 2. 

“Thanks to this great partnership with Activision and GAME, we have an incredible opportunity to offer gamers something truly unique,” said Ken Rosman, Studio Head, Radical Entertainment.  “In addition to just seeing themselves in the game, the winners will actually be able to locate their virtual selves and shape-shift Sgt. James Heller into their likeness.  Radical wouldn’t be where it is today without our fans, and this is just another way for us to thank them for all their support.”

Matt Precious, Commercial Director, GAME Australia says: “As a games specialist we are delighted to be able to offer this exciting, once in a lifetime competition. It’s a fantastic chance for one of our customers to be part of the gaming experience they love, especially something as immersive as Prototype 2.”

The sequel to Radical Entertainment’s best-selling open-world action game of 2009, PROTOTYPE 2 takes the unsurpassed carnage of the original PROTOTYPE and continues the experience of becoming the ultimate shape-shifting weapon.  As the game’s all-new infected protagonist, Sgt. James Heller, players will cut a bloody swathe through the wastelands of post-viral New York Zero (or more simply…NYZ) with unparalleled locomotion, building up a vast genetic arsenal of deadly, biological weapons and abilities as they hunt and consume their way toward the ultimate goal – to kill…Alex…Mercer!

PROTOTYPE 2 is currently in development for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Windows PC.  The game is currently rated “RP” (Rating Pending) by the Classification Board, with an expected “MA 15+” (Mature Audiences) rating.

For more information about PROTOTYPE 2, check out the newly updated official game web site at www.prototypegame.com.  And for the truly dedicated, be sure and head over to www.facebook.com/PROTOTYPE and join the PROTOTYPE Army – a community of more than 250,000 (and growing) fans that receive constant updates from the team at Radical, and early sneak peeks at new information and assets.

About Radical Entertainment

Radical Entertainment has over a decade of hit titles, including 2009’s multi-million-unit-selling PROTOTYPE, The Simpsons Hit & Run, The Incredible Hulk – Ultimate Destruction, Scarface: The World Is Yours and more.  We treat our properties with the reverence they deserve and gamers demand, and the commitment to our partners and fans continues to set us apart.  Our Vancouver-based studio allows Radical Entertainment to bring the talent, tools and technology together to create entertainment that captures the world’s imagination.  Now owned by Activision Publishing, Inc, Radical is continually ranked as one of the best places to work in B.C, according to BC Business magazine and Watson Wyatt.  In 2006-2008 MediaCorp Canada ranked Radical as a Top 100 Canadian Employer, Top 10 Canadian Employer for Young People, and Top 20 B.C. Employer.  For more information, please visit www.radical.ca.

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, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

EUROPEAN CITIZENS INVITED TO RAID THE ‘ARGOS’ THE NEW EUROPEAN SERVER FOR SILKROAD ONLINE   

Seoul, KOREA – August 12th, 2011 – Joymax, a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment for the global market, today announced that they have rolled out a new European server for Silkroad Online.  With an increasing number of European players keen to experience the universe of Silkroad Online the new server ‘Argos’ will provide new benefits and a smooth gameplay experience for the popular MMORPG.

“We have been delighted to see a big increase in European players in recent months”, said Nam-chul Kim, CEO of Joymax, “With the recent introduction of the eighth expansion for Silkroad Online, Mysterious Temple of Jupiter, the launch of the European Argos server will allow players from all over the continent access to the game without the effects of network latency on player performance”.

To celebrate the launch of ‘Argos’, Joymax are organizing a series of special events for four weeks from now until September 2^nd where players will have the opportunity to be awarded a 300% increase in experience points, gold and special items. Become the greatest hero of ‘Argos’ in high speed races and receive bonus experience points and items that will increase your characters’ growth.

Every player on Argos will receive special benefits including a 200% increase in experience and skill points during the event period. Players at level 50 – 75 will be awarded benefits to enhance the gameplay experience including the reverse return and instant resurrection scrolls and Pandora’s Box. For those players that reach level 75 or above they will receive 11^th grade normal weapons. Finally 87 lucky players who reach level 80 or above will be randomly for a special item gift: 11th Grade Fight Weapons.

Players can learn more about Silkroad Online at  http://www.joymax.com/silkroad/, or watch for updates on the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/officialsilkroad and Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/SilkroadOnline 

About Silkroad Online
Silkroad Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that puts the player deep into historical fantasy, joining the Chinese and European civilizations along the Silk Road trade route. Traveling across Jangan, from China to Constantinople, players can make their fortunes as merchants, prey on the rich as thieves, or be protection-for-hire as hunters. The most recent expansion, Legend V Plus: Battle Arena provides players with a new PvP arena battle system where they can duel adversaries for Arena coins and Experience as they compete for ultimate domination!

Check out this new F.E.A.R. 3 behind the scenes video from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment giving gamers an inside look at Day 1 Studios and the motion capture technology used in the game.  Lead Animator Andy Konieczny explains how movement data is captured with multiple cameras and a sensor-filled suit and how the data translates to animations of different characters in F.E.A.R. 3.  Mo-cap actors Scott Sumerak and Lawrence Kern also give insight to how they prepare to take on the role of various characters in video games

Sydney – August 11, 2011 – Ubisoft today announced that Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Trilogy will be available on PlayStation Store from today for $49.95 bundled together. The trilogy will feature Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, each remastered with high-definition graphics and stereoscopic 3D. 

• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: You are Sam Fisher, the best field operative of a secretive NSA subagency, sent to carry out desperate missions.
  • Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow: Return as Sam Fisher and wage a one-man war against an Indonesian terrorist network.
  • Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory: Imagine what would happen if someone could crash the Asian stock market, blackout New York or take control of ballistic missiles with a simple algorithmic code? You must find this person at any cost or the chain of chaos will become unstoppable.

SD Card scanning feature also added to protect against growing threats 

SYDNEY/AUCKLAND – August 11 2011 – Bitdefender, an award-winning provider of innovative security solutions, has added two major new features to its free Mobile Security for Android BETA. The new anti-theft function allows users to easily track where their device is and to remotely wipe it when needed, whilst SD Card scanning helps to protect against uploading malware.

Once the device is linked to their Bitdefender account, users are able to utilize the live tracking anti-theft feature in order to pinpoint its location should it be lost or stolen. There is also the option to remotely wipe the device in order to prevent thieves from accessing private or sensitive data. The new SD card scanning feature helps to prevent Android devices from becoming infected with malware. SD cards will be checked when the user runs an “on-demand” scan, with any new cards automatically scanned upon insertion to the device. 

Alexandru Balan, Senior Product Manager at Bitdefender, commented:

“The Android platform’s popularity with developers and users makes it a prime target both for thieves looking to steal devices, and for those wanting to exploit it through malware and scams.

With the addition of these new features to mitigate theft and complement our detection technology, we’re confident Bitdefender Mobile Security ranks amongst the leading products in its category.”

Alongside the new features, Bitdefender Mobile Security BETA provides smart antivirus and web security for devices running Android. Using in-the-cloud scanning technology, it detects even the latest threats without putting a strain on the battery. The product also provides information about billable services and applications’ requirements for access to Internet or private user data, helping users make informed choices about their privacy and data security.

For more information and to download the app, visit the Bitdefender Mobile Security homepage: http://m.bitdefender.com

All product and company names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and are the property of, and may be trademarks of, their respective owners.

About Bitdefender®
Bitdefender is the creator of one of the industry’s fastest and most effective lines of internationally certified internet security software. Since 2001, Bitdefender has been an industry pioneer, introducing and developing award-winning protection technologies. Every day, Bitdefender secures the digital experience of tens of millions of home and corporate users across the globe. Bitdefender solutions are distributed by a global network of value-added distribution and reseller partners in countries across the world.

Recently, the company has won a range of key independent recommendations in the US, UK and across Europe, including ConsumerSearch, Which?, Stiftung Warentest and Taenk. Bitdefender antivirus technology has also finished top in leading industry tests from both AV Test and AV-Comparatives. More information about Bitdefender and its products is available from the company’s security solutions press room. Additionally, Bitdefender publishes Malware City providing the latest updates on security threats and helping users stay informed in the everyday battle against malware.

•    Ponemon Institute study shows alarming percentage of companies do NOT consider protection of information on a USB drive to be high priority
•    743 IT professionals and IT security practitioners polled
•    Less than a third of organisations believe they have adequate policies to prevent USB misuse
•    12,000 customer records lost on average per organisation due to missing USB drives
•    Oultines 10 key practices not implemented to prevent data loss

Sydney, Australia — August 11, 2011 — Kingston Technology, the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the results of a study conducted by the Ponemon Institute looking at USB prevalence and risk in organisations. The study found that inexpensive consumer USB Flash drives are ubiquitous in all manner of enterprise and government environments ? typically with very little oversight or controls, even in the face of frequent and high profile incidents of sensitive data loss.   

A group of 743 IT professionals and IT security practitioners from global companies based in the United States were polled, and all acknowledged the importance of USB drives from a productivity standpoint. The Ponemon Institute is an independent group that conducts studies on critical issues affecting the management and security of sensitive information about people and organisations. The study underscores the pressing need for organisations to adopt more secure USB products and policies. They cautioned, however, about the lack of organisational focus regarding security for these tools to meet appropriate data protection and business objectives.  

The report lists 10 USB security recommendations that many or most organisations do not practice:
1.    Providing employees with approved, quality USB drives for use in the workplace.
2.    Creating policies and training programs that define acceptable and unacceptable uses of USB drives.
3.    Making sure employees who have access to sensitive and confidential data only use secure USB drives.
4.    Determining USB drive reliability and integrity before purchasing by confirming compliance with leading security standards and ensuring that there is no malicious code on these tools.
5.    Deploying encryption for data stored on the USB drive.
6.    Monitoring and tracking USB drives as part of asset management procedures.
7.    Scanning devices for virus or malware infections.
8.    Using passwords or locks.
9.    Encrypting sensitive data on USB drives.
10.  Having procedures in place to recover lost USB drives.

“An unsecured USB drive can open the door for major data loss incidents,” said Larry Ponemon, Chairman and Founder of the Ponemon Institute. “Organisations watch very carefully, and put a plethora of controls around, what enters their businesses from cyberspace. This study drives home the point that they must also take a more aggressive stance on addressing the risks that exist in virtually every employee’s pocket.”

“Kingston believes a lack of oversight, education and corporate confusion are factors that lead to the overwhelming majority of data loss when it comes to USB Flash drives,” said John Terpening, Secure USB business manager, Kingston. “Organisations fear that any attempt to control a device like a USB is likely to be futile and costly, both in terms of budget and loss of productivity. However, a simple analysis of what an organisation needs and the knowledge that there is a range of easy-to-use, cost-effective, secure USB Flash drive solutions can go a long way toward enabling organisations and their employees to get a handle on the issue.”

According to the Ponemon study, more than 40 percent of organisations surveyed report having more than 50,000 USB drives in use in their organisations, with nearly 20 percent having more than 100,000 drives in circulation. The study finds that a whopping 71 percent of respondents do not consider the protection of confidential and sensitive information on USB Flash drives to be a high priority. At the same time, the majority of these same respondents feel that data breaches are caused by missing USB drives.

The most recent example of how easily rogue USB drives can enter an organisation can be seen in a Department of Homeland Security test in which USBs were ‘accidentally’ dropped in government parking lots. Without any identifying markings on the USB stick, 60 percent of employees plugged the drives into government computers.  With a ‘valid’ government seal, the plug-in rate reached 90 percent.  

The Ponemon study concluded that a staggering 12,000 customer, consumer and employee records were believed to be lost on average by these same companies as a result of missing USBs. According to a previously released Ponemon report, the average cost of a data breach is $214 per record*, making the potential average total cost of lost records to the organisations surveyed for the Ponemon/Kingston® USB Flash drive study, reach upwards of $2.5 million (USD). Other key findings in the report include:

Evidence of widespread compromise is apparent:
•    Nearly 50 percent of organisations confirmed lost drives containing sensitive or confidential information in the past 24 months.
•    The majority of those organisations (67 percent) confirmed that they had multiple loss events – in some cases, more than 10 separate events.

Oversight and control of USBs in enterprises can be better:
•    Free USB sticks from conferences/trade shows, business meetings and similar events are used by 72 percent of employees’ ? even in organisations that mandate the use of secure USBs.
•    In terms of policies and controls, of the hundreds of IT professionals and IT security professionals polled, only 29 percent felt that their organisations had adequate policies to prevent USB misuse.

The full report can be downloaded from the Kingston website.

About Ponemon Institute
The Ponemon Institute is dedicated to advancing responsible information and privacy management practices in business and government. To achieve this objective, the Institute conducts independent research, educates leaders from the private and public sectors and verifies the privacy and data protection practices of organisations in a variety of industries.

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.