C for Control to be simulcast through Siren on Anime News Network

Melbourne, April 12, 2011 – Siren Visual is pleased to announce C (for Control, will be its second title to premiere as part of the new streaming service offered on the Anime News Network. It will follow the debut of Tiger & Bunny last Saturday. From acclaimed director Kenji Nakamura, C (for Control) explores the Faustian pact a young economics student, Kimimaro, enters into with a mysterious figure, who offers him an executive position at a bank existing in a parallel world in exchange for his abilities in the future.

Uniquely commissioned as part of the noitaminA programming grid on Fuji TV, C is an original work that offers stunning imagery from the director of Welcome to Irabu’s Office. Sophisticated ideas pertaining to corruption, compromise and commerce are balanced with the relationship Kimimaro establishes with his asset, the beautiful Mashu who plays a crucial role in developments. “We’re endeavouring to create a fun, stimulating, and interesting series,” said Nakamura. “It’s kind of a curious, novel, interesting work.”

Unfortunately the tragic and recent earthquake in Japan has meant there have been unavoidable delays encountered in the completion of materials for C. But the title’s highly anticipated roll out has only been forestalled by a week in territories outside of Japan. Streaming will commence April 22, 1.45am in Australia on Anime News Network, which attracts an audience of over 100,000 monthly visitors in Australia alone, making it the natural host for providing anime content to Australian consumers. “Working with Siren Visual to realise this project is a landmark event for both Anime News Network, and Australian anime fans as well,” says ANN CEO Christopher Macdonald.

“For the first time in our history of international licensing we have reached an agreement to legally exhibit brand new series via the internet simulcast in six territories outside of Japan – each with complete subtitles,” said Fuji Creative Corporation’s Shigehiko Sato of the International Department. “From the moment we saw Mononoke and Welcome to Irabu’s Office we knew that in Kenji Nakamura we were dealing with a perfectionist and a true visionary in Japanese anime.

C is an awesome, Faustian story created by an extraordinarily talented group of people and like everyone else we can’t wait to see it,” said Siren CEO Eric Cherry. “Given the tumultuous events in Japan we respect FCC’s decision to delay our start and agree it’s a practical decision that will ensure the quality of our video and subtitle materials will be the both legitimate and the best available.”

Fireteam Bravo take on Search and Rescue mission, now showing in action at www.facebook.com/flashpointredriver 

Sydney Australia, Tuesday 12^th April – Today Codemasters® released a new co-op gameplay video for Operation Flashpoint^®: Red River™, the all-new chapter in the multi-million selling tactical shooter series.  The ‘Co-op Search and Rescue’ video showcases gameplay footage from the CSAR Fireteam Engagement mode, as Fireteam Bravo inserts behind enemy lines to rescue downed pilots in enemy territory. The video is now showing at www.facebook.com/flashpointredriver. Operation Flashpoint: Red River will launch on 21^st April. 

Operation Flashpoint: Red River has been developed around co-operative play, whether in the substantial campaign mode or in standalone Fireteam Engagements. Up to four players stand together in drop-in drop-out online co-op, picking one of the fireteam specialists – Rifleman, Automatic Rifleman, Scout and Grenadier – to combine as a fearsome fighting force. Each player can build XP to unlock weapons, skills and modifications for their class, customising their loadouts to suit their preferred style of play.

The ‘Co-op Search and Rescue’ video focuses on one of four standalone Fireteam Engagement modes, where up to four players come together to complete objectives on their own initiative online. In ‘CSAR’ (Combat Search and Rescue) players must extract allied forces stranded behind enemy lines. ‘Combat Sweep’ missions require gamers to eliminate all hostiles in an area of operations and complete additional objectives including destroying weapons caches. ‘Rolling Thunder’ tasks players to escort a convoy through enemy territory and in ‘Last Stand’ the fireteam must hold off increasingly difficult waves of enemy forces before banking their points and extracting. 

Operation Flashpoint: Red River will set a new standard for authentic and intense tactical combat when it launches on Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Games For Windows® LIVE. Sign up to ‘get some’ USMC style with the latest briefings direct from the Operation Flashpoint studio at www.facebook.com/flashpointredriver  and www.twitter.com/flashpointgame.

Company Outlines Plans to Accelerate Intel Manufacturing Lead with Intel® Atom™ Processor Family and Move Faster than Moore’s Law

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
* Over 35 innovative “Oak Trail” design wins from customers including Evolve III*, Fujitsu Limited*, Lenovo*, Motion Computing*, Razer*, and Viliv* available starting in May and throughout 2011.
* “Cedar Trail,” Intel’s upcoming netbook and entry-level desktop platform, will deliver features including Intel® Wireless Music, Intel® Wireless Display, PC Synch and Fast Boot, as well as improvements in media, graphics and power consumption.
* Innovation beyond the PC: Embedded Intel Atom Z670 creates smaller, thinner, fanless devices for mobile clinical assistants, industrial tablets and portable point-of-sales devices.
* Intel is accelerating its Atom product line to move faster than Moore’s law, bringing new products to market on three process technologies in the next three years.
* Atom platforms harness Intel’s unique “operating system of choice” strategy for Google* Chrome* and Android*, MeeGo* and Windows*, delivering personalised experiences.

SYDNEY, Australia, April 12, 2011 – Intel Corporation today announced that the Intel® Atom™ platform, formerly codenamed “Oak Trail,” is now available and will be in devices starting in May and throughout 2011. Over 35 innovative tablet and hybrid designs from companies including Evolve III*, Fujitsu Limited*, Lenovo*, Motion Computing*, Razer*, and Viliv* are based on “Oak Trail” and running a variety of operating systems.

In addition, at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, the company will give a sneak peak of its next-generation, 32nm Intel Atom platform, currently codenamed “Cedar Trail.” This solution will help to enable a new wave of fanless, cool and quiet, sleek and innovative netbooks, entry-level desktops and all-in-one designs.

“The new Intel Atom ‘Oak Trail’ platform, with ‘Cedar Trail’ to follow, are examples of our continued commitment to bring amazing personal and mobile experiences to netbook and tablet devices, delivering architectural enhancements for longer battery life and greater performance,” said Doug Davis, vice president and general manager of the Netbook and Tablet Group at Intel. “We are accelerating the Intel Atom product line to now move faster than Moore’s law, bringing new products to market on three process technologies in the next three years.”

The new Intel Atom processor Z670, part of the “Oak Trail” platform, delivers improved video playback, fast Internet browsing and longer battery life, without sacrificing performance. The rich media experience available with “Oak Trail” includes support for 1080p video decode, as well as HDMI. The platform also supports Adobe* Flash, enabling rich content and Flash-based gaming.

With these significant improvements in power-efficient performance, the Intel Atom processor Z670 allows applications to run on various operating systems, including Google* Android*, MeeGo* and Windows*. This unique flexibility delivers both new experiences and more choice when it comes to tablets and hybrid designs that combine the best features of the netbook and tablet together.

The platform also helps deliver smaller, thinner and more efficient devices by packing integrated graphics and the memory controller directly onto the processor die. The processor is 60 per cent smaller than previous generations with a lower-power design for fanless devices as well as up to all-day battery life1. Additional features include Intel® Enhanced Deeper Sleep that saves more power during periods of inactivity as well as optimised Intel SpeedStep® technology. An integrated HD decode engine enables smooth 1080p HD video playback at a fraction of the power consumption.

In addition, Intel Atom Z670 processors come with the Intel® SM35 Express Chipset, delivering a lead-free2, halogen-free3 design with high-speed USB 2.0 for greater performance and Intel® High-Definition Audio to enable premium home theatre sound.

Also ideal for small form-factor and portable embedded designs, the platform provides an excellent solution for a range of tablets in retail, medical and industrial applications. Solutions such as mobile clinical assistants allow medical staff to directly input data into patients’ electronic files and avoid paper charting. This can result in a reduction in errors, better workflow, higher productivity and reduced paper handling and overhead costs. In addition to the Intel Atom Z670, Intel is offering the Intel® AtomTM processor Z650 for embedded devices with 7-year lifecycle support on Windows and MeeGo operating systems.

Based on Intel’s leading-edge 32nm process technology, the next-generation “Cedar Trail” platform will feature improvements in graphics capabilities including Blu-ray 2.0 support, a dedicated media engine for full 1080p playback and additional digital display options including HDMI output and DisplayPort. New features will include Intel® Wireless Music, Intel® Wireless Display, PC Synch and Fast Boot. In addition, the enhancements made in power consumption and TDP will enable fanless designs with longer battery life. This means great acoustics without the hum of a fan and improved ruggedness and aesthetics of the design. Intel is currently sampling “Cedar Trail” to all major OEMs and ODMs. Users can look forward to a new generation of innovative mobile and desktop designs based on the “Cedar Trail” platform in the second half of 2011.

For more information, video, photos and benchmarks visit www.intel.com/newsroom/atom.

About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.

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Intel, Intel Atom and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

1Software and workloads used in performance tests may have been optimised for performance only on Intel microprocessors. Performance tests, such as SYSmark and MobileMark, are measured using specific computer systems, components, software, operations and functions. Any change to any of those factors may cause the results to vary. You should consult other information and performance tests to assist you in fully evaluating your contemplated purchases, including the performance of that product when combined with other products. For more information go to http://www.intel.com/performance.

2Intel 45nm product is manufactured on a lead-free process. Lead-free per EU RoHS Directive (2002/95/EC, Annex A). Some RoHS exemptions may apply to other components used in the product package.

3Applies to components containing flame retardants and PVC only. Halogens are below 900 PPM bromine, 900 PPM chlorine, and 1500 PPM combined bromine and chlorine.

Home Video Adaptation of Award-Winning Sci-Fi Game Scheduled for Release in 2012

12 April 2011, Australia & New Zealand – BioWare™, a division of leading video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and FUNimation® Entertainment, the leading distributor of Japanese animation in North America, announced today an agreement to create an anime feature film adapted from one of the video game industry’s most revered franchises, Mass Effect™. Tokyo-based anime and international feature film production company T.O Entertainment, Inc. has signed on as a co-producer on the video. Based on the Mass Effect universe, the anime video will tell the tale of an epic science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets.

Casey Hudson of BioWare, executive producer of the Mass Effect series, will serve as executive producer on the film, along with FUNimation President and CEO Gen Fukunaga and Director of Original Entertainment Chris Moujaes and T.O Entertainment’s CEO Takeichi Honda and Yui Shibata.

“Over the last few years, we have revealed different pieces of the Mass Effect world through different media. Extending the story through an anime medium is another amazing opportunity for us,” said Casey Hudson, Executive Producer for the Mass Effect series. “Partnering with FUNimation ensures that we will bring this rich universe to life with the utmost quality and the same attention to detail that the Mass Effect games are known for.”

“It is thanks to the enormous and passionate Mass Effect fan base that this movie is made possible,” said Gen Fukunaga, President & CEO of FUNimation. “With production underway on the Dragon Age video, we are excited to team up with another BioWare team to add an exciting new chapter to this vast sci-fi world.”

Production of the Mass Effect anime movie has already begun. Digital and home video releases are scheduled for the summer of 2012.

The original Mass Effect game and its sequel Mass Effect 2 have received over 250 awards and 100 perfect ‘10’ scores from critics worldwide. Mass Effect 2 is available now for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC. Stay tuned for more news about the continuation of Commander Shepard’s adventure as BioWare will release more information about Mass Effect 3 soon. For more information on the game, please visit http://masseffect.bioware.com/ and follow the development team at twitter.com/masseffect2 or at http://www.facebook.com/masseffect

MADMAN AND SKYBOUND STRIKE graphic novels DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP – catalogue INCLUDES THE WALKING DEAD.

Madman is proud to announce a new comic books and graphic novels distribution partnership with SKYBOUND, publishers of the immensely popular series, THE WALKING DEAD, by best-selling American comic book author, Robert Kirkman.

Established by Kirkman in 2010, SKYBOUND is an all-new imprint of the Image Comics brand – well known for its unique creator-driven output in Spawn, Witchblade and many more – which aims to give a new generation of hand-picked comic book creators the opportunity to publish their works under this new brand.

SKYBOUND’s catalogue of releases currently features Kirkman’s Eisner Award-winning series, THE WALKING DEAD, as well as INVINCIBLE, BATTLE POPE and a host of others; and in addition, many more to come in 2011.

Madman will begin Australian distribution of SKYBOUND graphic novels and comic books in April, 2011.

New Content Pack Follows Record Setting DLC Launch; Worldwide Invasion in 22 Days

Sydney, Australia – April 12, 2011 – The global phenomenon that is Call of Duty®: Black Ops, which has set video game and entertainment records, is poised to raise the stakes on May 3rd with the release of its second content pack Call of Duty®: Black Ops Escalation. Call of Duty: Black Ops continues to attract millions of gamers around the world online, logging more than 2 billion hours played and counting. The game’s debut content pack, First Strike, shattered Xbox LIVE® launch records upon its release in February when it surpassed 1.4 million downloads in the first 24 hours alone. The follow up content pack, Escalation, will launch first on Xbox LIVE and features four all-new multiplayer maps, and a Zombies experience like none before it

“In crafting the Escalation multiplayer maps – Zoo, Convoy, Hotel and Stockpile – the team developed them to be distinct experiences in their own right, giving players the variety they crave in both setting and gameplay,” said Treyarch Studio Head, Mark Lamia. “And I don’t want to spoil any surprises for Zombies fans, but Call of the Dead takes it to a whole new level.”

Developed by Treyarch and published by Activision Publishing, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), Call of Duty: Black Ops is rated “MA15+” by the Classification Board. For additional Call of Duty updates, visit www.callofduty.com/blackops and also via Twitter @Treyarch.

Additionally, to celebrate the upcoming release of Escalation, Treyarch will host a Double XP weekend beginning Friday, May 6th.

Bethesda Softworks, a ZeniMax Media company, today announced that its acclaimed first-person shooter, Brink, will be available one week EARLIER than originally scheduled. Brink will now first be available for purchase in North America on May 10th instead of May 17th, in Australia on May 12th instead of May 19th and in New Zealand and Europe on May 13th instead of May 20th.

“Production wrapped on Brink earlier than we planned and we didn’t see any reason to keep gamers from getting their hands on this highly anticipated game as soon as it was ready,” said Pete Hines, VP of PR and Marketing for Bethesda Softworks. “It’s apparent from the tremendous reaction so far that people are eager to jump online and play, and if we can make that happen earlier – we’re going to.”

Brink, an immersive first-person shooter under development at Splash Damage, a studio celebrated for its multi-player expertise, was named as the ‘Game of Show’ at Eurogamer Expo 2010, whileG4TV.com declared “Brink takes shooters to a whole new level” and Destructoid.com proclaimed “it’s going to be one of the standout shooters of the year.” Blending single-player, co-op, and multiplayer action into one seamless experience, Brink features dynamic battlefields, extensive customization options, and an innovative control system. Brink will be released for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows.