The hounds of hell are screaming with delight as gamers are being treated with a small taste of the full Shadows of the Damned™ soundtrack. Those that pre-order Shadows of the Damned from GAME, JB Hi Fi, EB Games and the EA STORE^SM, will receive a bonus* digital download to twelve original songs, hand-crafted by critically acclaimed composer Akira Yamaoka (sound director of Silent Hill). Yamaoka’s haunting sounds and ethereal effects provide the perfect back drop for this psycho-punk action thriller known as Shadows of the Damned. 

The 12 hell-raising tracks include:

Innovative campaign takes a humorous approach to the real-world challenges of home office professionals

SYDNEY, 12th May 2011: Canon Australia launches its latest PIXMA printers today with an integrated campaign that aims to further strengthen its market position in the competitive inkjet printer category. The TV, print, outdoor, in-store and online initiative kicks-off with a fresh, tongue-in-cheek TV commercial that airs nationally on Channel 7, Channel 9, FOXTEL and Playroom.

With the number of home office professionals growing in Australia, the 2011 campaign showcases how printing at home with PIXMA can lead to ‘working smarter, not harder’, bringing consumers one step closer to achieving the ‘dream lifestyle’ they are pursuing.

“Like all of Canon Australia’s campaigns, the latest from PIXMA is insight-driven and focuses on how Canon products can create an easier life for consumers. We’ve stripped away the technical jargon with the simple message – PIXMA is the perfect partner for your business endeavours, it will save you time and money and help you achieve the best results,” said Beryl Thomas, Product Manager for PIXMA Canon Australia.

Canon’s engagement, understanding and response to consumer market demands has led to its achieving market share growth ahead of the inkjet multi function devices market in 2010, finishing the year with 34% by value*1. According to Thomas, it is Canon’s consumer-centric approach to the development of its marketing campaigns that has enabled the brand to differentiate itself in a highly competitive industry.

“Research clearly shows that home office professionals are frustrated by the poor print quality and inefficiency of low-end products and they’re happy to invest in superior quality products that will produce professional results and are simple to use*2,” continued Thomas. “The new campaign identifies the real benefits of having effective technology.”

In further recognition that consumers want lifestyle solutions over product specifications, Canon has geared the new PIXMA website towards meeting consumers’ needs. Content is tailored depending how the visitor identifies themselves and offers relevant ‘how to’ video tutorials, business and marketing templates and recommended products.

Over the past four years, Canon has invested heavily in through-the-line campaigns aimed at increasing consumers’ consideration and preference for the PIXMA brand. In 2009*3, the ‘Clive Age 5’ campaign put PIXMA on the map with the launch of the successful ‘Why Print When You Can PIXMA’ campaign messaging. The tagline led to category domination and contributed to a huge growth in brand awareness from just 17% in 2008, to 53% in 2010*4.

The latest campaign introduces the quirky character Cliff Logan, the ultimate home office professional hero. Cliff made his debut in the streets this week when five PIXMA printers transformed Martin Place in Sydney into an outdoor home office mosaic.

Canon Innovative Marketing Brand

Canon’s marketing successes aren’t limited to the PIXMA inkjet category. In 2010, the EOS digital SLR cameras brand was awarded winner of the Cannes Lions Media Grand Prix for the Canon EOS Photochains campaign resulting in a rise of 2 share points in 2010 to finish the year with 56% value share*5.

The integrated campaign was created by Leo Burnett Sydney, Hill & Knowlton, Mediacom, TMS Sydney, and Uber. Canon’s pretesting of the advertisement has shown very high motivation scores with target audiences, sitting in the top 25% of global norms*6 and achieving a brand recognition of 69%*7.

*1 GfK Retail and Technology Australia, Multifunction Inkjet Printers Retail Sales Value Jan – Dec 2010 (excludes internet and online channels)

*2 Custom Research Agency TNS /Canon Segmentation Research 2010

*3 33.9% GfK Retail and Technology Australia, Total Inkjet Printing Devices (Multi Function and Single Function, Retail Sales Volume, Jan to Dec 09 (excludes internet and online channels)

*4 Custom Research Agency TNS /Canon Advertising and Brand Tracking Research – 2008 to 2010

*5 GfK Retail and Technology Australia, Digital Still Cameras – With Changeable lens, Retail Sales Value Jan – Dec 2010 vs. Jan – Dec 2009 (excludes internet and online channels).

*6 AdEvalTM Global TVC Norms for Existing Brands from Custom Research Agency TNS

*7 Customer Research Agency TNS AdEvalTM PreTest – April 2011 (200 target segment consumers)

SEGA announces CRUSH3D

Thursday May 12th 2011 – SEGA® Europe Ltd. and SEGA® of America, Inc. today reveal details on CRUSH™3D. Redesigned for Nintendo 3DS™, CRUSH3D is the unique platform game that gives you the ability to change perspective from 2D to 3D as you try to solve brain-teasing puzzles. Built on the foundation of the award winning CRUSH™ , CRUSH3D features a host of exciting new features specifically designed for the Nintendo 3DS system, including new locations, characters and an intuitive hint system. CRUSH3D will be available on September 6th in North America and September 9th in Europe and September 8th in Australia.

Navigate across the surreal platforms of Danny’s mind by ‘crushing’ your way from a 2-dimensional to a 3-dimensional world and back again whenever you need to. Discover how ‘crushing’ takes you to impossible heights, over insurmountable obstacles, and even disposes of dangerous enemies. With full 3D graphics that make complete use of the Nintendo 3DS capabilities, CRUSH3D also sports the possibility to leave gifts for friends to collect in-game, using the innovative StreetPass™ communication system.

“CRUSH3D gives all gamers a chance to experience this critically acclaimed concept in full 3D,” said Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing of SEGA West. “With features specifically designed for this exciting new platform, CRUSH3D is right at home on the Nintendo 3DS.”

CRUSH3D will be available on September 6th in North America and September 9th in Europe and September 8th in Australia for Nintendo 3DS.

For more information please visit www.sega.com/crush3d

Bethesda Softworks are pleased to announce that they’ve just released the trailer and new screens for Honest Hearts, the second add-on pack for Fallout: New Vegas.

An expedition into the unspoiled wilderness of Utah’s Zion National Park goes horribly wrong when your caravan is ambushed by a tribal raiding band. As you try to find a way back to the Mojave you become embroiled in a war between tribes and a conflict between a New Canaanite missionary and the mysterious Burned Man. In Honest Hearts, the decisions you make will determine the fate of Zion.

Honest Hearts will be available via Xbox LIVE and Steam on Tuesday, May 17th, and on the earliest date possible via PlayStation Network. For more information on Fallout: New Vegas or Honest Heartsplease visit http://fallout.bethsoft.com.

Today DICE released the first images for Battlefield 3™: Back to Karkand, the a massive pre-order incentive for Battlefield 3™, that is available for free to players who pre-order the Limited Edition of the game. A new blog post over at www.battlefield.com is the first in a series called ‘Going back to Karkand’ featuring an interview with Lead Designer Niklas Fegraeus.

This themed multiplayer pack pays tribute to Battlefield fans by featuring four highly celebrated maps from Battlefield 2, including Strike at Karkand, Gulf of Oman and the Sharqi Peninsula, each now boldly re-mastered using Frostbite 2. Completing the package are classic Battlefield 2 weapons and vehicles, unique rewards, new achievements/trophies, and more.

Gamers can pre-order the Battlefield 3 Limited Edition now at http://eastore.ea.com/battlefield3 or read more about it over on the Battlefield Blog at www.battlefield.com.

Battlefield 3 leaps ahead of its time with the power of Frostbite™ 2, DICE’s new cutting-edge game engine. This state-of-the-art technology is the foundation on which Battlefield 3 is built, delivering enhanced visual quality, a grand sense of scale, massive destruction, dynamic audio and character animation utilizing ANT technology from the latest EA SPORTS™ games.

In Battlefield 3, players step into the role of the elite U.S. Marines. As the first boots on the ground, players will experience heart-pounding missions across diverse locations including Paris, Tehran and New York. As a U.S. Marine in the field, periods of tension and anticipation are punctuated by moments of complete chaos. As bullets whiz by, as walls crumble, as explosions force players to the ground, the battlefield feels more alive and interactive than ever before.

BRISBANE, Queensland–May. 11, 2011—EB Games, Australia’s largest video game and entertainment software retailer, today announced what will be the biggest gaming event in Australian history, the EB Games EXPO.

To be held on Saturday the 15th and Sunday the 16th of October, EB Games EXPO will showcase the hottest new release and upcoming titles playable for the first time in Australia plus exciting live presentations from international game developers spanning across 10,000 square meters at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre (GCCEC), Gold Coast, Queensland.

After 3 years of work behind the scenes on the project, Trent Weekes, EB Games National Events Manager, explained that the EB Games EXPO will unite the Australian gaming community and will give gamers the opportunity to experience the biggest and best of what the industry has to offer on a scale that hasn’t previously been accomplished in Australia.

“Our internal October conference is already Australia’s largest gaming event which attracts a huge amount of international gaming talent, so it was a natural progression that we open the event to the gaming community.

While full exhibiter lists will be released in the coming months, we’re really excited that we are able to offer a gaming event of this scale in Australia which will give the gaming community a chance to get their hands on such high caliber playable code as we did internally last October with Call of Duty, Assassins Creed, Dragon Age and Duke Nukem to name a few,” Weekes stated.

Having experienced EB Games internal conferences for many years, Edward Fong, Managing Director of Ubisoft, stated that the EB Games EXPO was a great step forward for the Australian Gaming Industry allowing gamers to immerse themselves and celebrate the best of what the industry has to offer on a scale never before seen in Australia.

“We’re extremely excited about being part of this inaugural event with EB Games,” Fong Stated. “It’s a great initiative, and something that the Australian public has been asking for. We can’t wait for the opportunity for our fans to get their hands on our latest Christmas blockbusters – before they hit the shelves.”

Scott Mulholland, Sales Director for Electronic Arts Australia, also expressed his excitement about being a part of EB Games EXPO stating, “Electronic Arts is delighted to be a contributing supplier to the EB Expo. This will be a first class showcase event of the world’s best video games and is a great opportunity for the public to get hands on with so many titles ahead of launch.”

There will be a variety of different events across EB Games EXPO with the first, we are pleased to announce, being the inaugural Australian Final of World Cyber Games, the world’s largest international e-sport tournament and festival as well as the EB Arena spectacular featuring Showtime FMX performing heart pounding freestyle motocross.

Tickets go on sale Thursday 2nd June through EB Games and online at www.ebexpo.com.au.

About EB Games

EB Games Australia head office is located in Queensland, with retail stores operating in every Australian State and Territory. EB Games Australia is part of GameStop Corp- the world’s largest multichannel video game retailer. Currently EB Games have 400 retail stores in Australia and New Zealand. The Company sells new and preowned video game software, hardware and accessories for video game systems from Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft and Apple. In addition, the company sells PC entertainment software, related accessories and other merchandise. General information on EB Games can be obtained at the company’s website: http://www.ebgames.com.au.