Invite the Neighbours! New Items Include A Telescope, Hot Tubs, Fire Pits and More!

4 February 2011, Australia – Make it the best day ever for your Sims when you redesign their outdoor living space! The Sims 3 Outdoor Living Stuff pack is now available for purchase in retail stores across Australia and is designed for you to enjoy hosting parties, grilling food, playing outside and ending the night in a hot tub for two.

Call the neighbours, heat up the barbeque and start heating the hot tub; it’s a party in your Sims backyard! With The Sims 3 Outdoor Living Stuff pack give your Sims all the items needed for a leisurely day in the sun. Choose from two new outdoor living styles, with new items on offer including hot tubs, a telescope to gaze at the stars, fireplaces and fire pits, a terrarium with a stand and more!. If your Sim prefers wrought-iron pieces pick the Garden Terrace collection, or if they’d prefer something more akin to the Tuscan sun choose Sunset on the Veranda with décor that brings the warmth of the outdoors to everyday living. Also included in the pack will be new clothing and hair for a perfect summer night under the stars or a neighbourhood BBQ.

For more information on The Sims 3 Outdoor Living Stuff pack or The Sims 3 franchise, visit http://au.thesims3.com.

4 February 2011

Following Nintendo’s announcement of a 10 March 2011 release date for Pokémon™ Black Version and Pokémon White Version for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems, Bluemouth Interactive proudly announces a range of licensed accessories to accompany the Australian and New Zealand game release.

Pokémon video games were first introduced in 1996 on Nintendo Game Boy™. Since then, Pokémon games have sold more than 210 Million copies worldwide. In Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version, players explore the Unova region, catching, battling and training over 150 never-before-seen Pokémon.

In making today’s announcement, Bluemouth Interactive Director, David Provan said, “Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version for Nintendo DS are two of the most anticipated games of the year. When they release locally, the games and gaming accessories are likely to create a retail phenomenon for the Nintendo DS platform given the extraordinary sales results in Japan. When they recently launched in Japan, Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version sold 2.2 Million copies during opening weekend and has now sold over 5 Million units in that country.”

David continued “Pokémon is quite simply an ‘event-level’ gaming-franchise. Pokémon Gamers enjoy immersing themselves into the Pokémon lifestyle and enhancing their gaming experience by purchasing accessories for the game. Our complete line of products, including ten Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version accessories, plus three strategy guides, provide the perfect complement; from character stylus to soft and hard cases, and combination accessory packs. In fact, we have a Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version accessory to accommodate almost every taste and budget.”

Gamers will be able to experience the first steps of NSA’s best field operative Sam Fisher and rediscover the original titles from Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell franchise in HD and 3D 

Sydney, Australia – February 4^th, 2011 – Today Ubisoft announced Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell^® Trilogy HD for the Sony PlayStation^®3 computer entertainment system. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell^® Trilogy HD will give gamers the opportunity to relive the critically-acclaimed Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell^® series, remixed in high definition graphics and 3D stereoscopy view. 

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell^® Trilogy HD combines onto one Blu-Ray disc the three full-length renowned games: Splinter Cell^®, Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow^® and Splinter Cell Chaos Theory^®.

The trilogy will be made available to consumers both in retail stores and on the PlayStation^® Network during the first half of 2011.

Key Features of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell^® Trilogy HD: 

• Re-live the epic series in high definition:

Fully remastered in 720p HD with enhanced graphics, the trilogy has never looked as spectacular and intense

• Splinter Cell in the third dimension:

Experience Sam Fisher’s adventures in full 3D stereoscopy (3D television required)

• High tech gadgets & exclusive features:

Gamers will be able to use a wide variety of high tech devices and other gadgets like Sam’s famous goggles. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell^® Trilogy HD also offers a new Trophy System for a more rewarding experience

 About Tom Clancy
With more than 80 million books sold, Tom Clancy is arguably the world’s most recognized author. His works include fiction such as The Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears, Rainbow Six, Red Rabbit, and The Teeth of the Tiger. Clancy also writes non-fiction works about weapons and various military units. Four of his books have already been adapted into highly successful feature films.

NAMCO BANDAI GAMES ANNOUNCES TWO TITLES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FROMSOFTWARE

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – 3^rd February 2011 – NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe S.A.S today announced details of two upcoming games to be published in partnership with developer FromSoftware, Inc. As part of the agreement, NAMCO BANDAI Games will publish two of the developer’s new titles in North America and Europe/Asia Pacific, Dark Souls™ and ARMORED CORE® V both slated for release for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. FromSoftware, Inc. will remain publisher for the games in Japan.

“The gaming experiences that FromSoftware deliver are uncompromising and world-class, leaving legions of committed fans in their wake,” said Shusuke Takahara, President, NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe. “We will use all the resources at our disposal to ensure these two titles energize gamers worldwide and reach the major audiences they deserve.”

“Combining the development power of FromSoftware with NAMCO BANDAI Games’ global publishing expertise will greatly benefit our upcoming projects,” said Eiichi Nakajima, studio head, FromSoftware, Inc. “We look forward to a successful partnership and delivering new revolutionary titles for gamers around the world.”

Dark Souls is a brand new action RPG (role playing game) set in a rich, dark fantasy universe. Tense dungeon crawling, fearsome enemy encounters and groundbreaking online features combine for a truly unique RPG experience. Dark Souls breaks down barriers with a seamless world design that encourages exploration and fosters an adaptable gameplay experience. As players encounter terrifying enemies and discover new areas, the unerring foundation of challenge and reward permeates to offer an unparalleled sense of achievement.

The ARMORED CORE© series is renowned in the mech action genre for its intense one-on-one battles and customization options. ARMORED CORE V is a new entry that revolutionizes the series with more content than the previous games, a completely new atmosphere, and a robust offline mode. In addition, the online mode has been newly designed to focus on huge team-based battles on a global scale. Featuring mechs or “Armored Cores” that are smaller in scale than in previous games, ARMORED CORE V centers more on tactics and effectively utilizing the geography of a level rather than just relying on attacks.

Dark Souls will be available in 2011. ARMORED CORE V will be available throughout North America and Europe/Asia in 2012. For more information on the games, please visit facebook.com/DarkSouls and facebook.com/ArmoredCore.

High-definition Racer Speeding Towards Xbox Live® Arcade and PlayStation® Network

Thursday 3^rd February 2011— SEGA® Europe Ltd. and SEGA® of America, Inc. announced today that SEGA Rally Online Arcade™, a new HD title inspired by SEGA Rally Revo™ and SEGA Rally 3™, will be racing onto PlayStation® Network and Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft in 2011. SEGA’s arcade and console favourite will include a collection of new features, including the ability for gamers to race their friends online!

“We’ve blended our hit arcade racing series with the best elements from the console versions to bring our fans the SEGA Rally experience in compact, downloadable format,” said Haruki Satomi, Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA. “Whether they’re new to the SEGA Rally series or they’ve participated in countless races over the years, we’re confident everyone will enjoy the wide variety of features included in this fan favourite.”

SEGA Rally Online Arcade™ brings back all the features players could want from the popular arcade and console racer, including Championship Battle mode and Time Attack, while adding an exciting online racing mode that lets players battle it out with up to five drivers around the world. Featuring a brand new achievement system, 13 rally cars to choose from and online leaderboards, SEGA Rally Online Arcade will deliver lap after lap of intense rally action when it arrives on consoles in 2011.

For more information on SEGA Rally Online Arcade, please visit http://www.sega.com/

Try out all four different characters on 16^th February

Thursday 3^rd February 2011 – SEGA Europe Ltd. And SEGA of America today announced that the playable demo for Yakuza 4 will be available exclusively to PlayStation Plus users on February 16^th 2011 and then to all PlayStation® Network users on February 23^rd 2011.

The Yakuza 4 demo will allow players to try out all four playable characters with each of their distinct fighting styles. This is just a taste of what to expect from Yakuza 4 , the game that lets you experience what it is like to be a part of the Japanese underworld. If you want to explore the more exciting parts of Tokyo and give yourself one last chance of becoming somebody in a world of nobodies, Yakuza 4 is the game you’re waiting for.

For more information about Yakuza 4, please visit  http://www.sega.co.uk/games/yakuza.

On February 24, the over-the-top shooter from Epic and People Can Fly —  Bulletstorm — lands in stores. On that day it will deliver a swift kick to the face of the FPS universe.

To underscore how Bulletstorm puts the fun back in the gun, EA is releasing parodies that poke fun at some of today’s most serious shooters. First was the “Last Call” video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkNskXnd4so that spoofed Halo’s famous commercial. Today we’re back with a fully playable FREE downloadable game that takes on some of today’s most popular shooters.  Duty Calls* “features”:

 Duty Vision™ slows down the action so you can unload a storm of bullets

1. Immersive dialogue from the front lines
2. Cold, calculated realism
3. Killing animations motion captured from real actors
4. True-life reloading system allows for mistakes in putting the cartridge in the gun
5. Iconic sound effects
6. Thwart an enemy threat that could topple the country and possibly the world
7. Significant and historically accurate props

To download the FREE game, please visit the “Duty Calls” site. http://www.thedutycalls.com or download the game directly from http://bit.ly/ffQ3O0

Ballsy? Yes. So is Bulletstorm. 

Oscar Mike,

The Bulletstorm Team 

* Duty Calls is a parody.  It is not associated with Activision or the Call of Duty games

Homefront will now be released on March 17 in Australia in line with a one week delay.

President and CEO of THQ Brian Farrell recently announced the change in release date on this today’s quarterly investor call:

“We moved our Homefront launch date by one week to (March 17th in Australia).  We think we have a great opportunity to dominate retail on this date.” 

While we understand that waiting a little longer for Homefront may be tough, we thought it would be a good opportunity to tide you over with some very PC-specific news of the great additional content PC gamers will receive in their experience of Homefront (created by Kaos Studios and a dedicated PC team at Digital Extremes, headed up by former Kaos Studio General Manager Frank De Lise). Please use the information below, but refrain from pulling direct copy from the body text.

HOMEFRONT PC SPECIFIC FEATURES

Homefront will be a Steamworks title and will be available in 3D on PC with full NVidia 3D Vision support.  

On PC, you’ll be able to control all vehicles from the 1^st person cockpit viewpoint as well as 3^rd person. We also added additional control options for helicopters, to give those players looking for more sim-like controls something to get their teeth round. There are three settings:

• Ace: Allows for the best maneuverability, but takes the most practice to master.
• Veteran: Balanced difficulty and maneuverability.
• Rookie: Pick-up-and-play level of difficulty, least maneuverable.

Get to grips with Practice Mode – get to grips with vehicle controls outside the pressures of a live match

• Extra vehicle abilities for co-pilots, such as a Recon function to the Scout helicopter, with support joystick control for all vehicles.
• Dedicated Server Browser Executable to allow you set your own private Homefront servers within 2 weeks of launch. LAN support will be included
• Squad Management system for PC, with Squad based VOIP
• Clan Support on PC tracking more post-match statistics on the PC platform
• Homefront will utilize Valve Anti-Cheat to counter cheaters.

 OFFICIAL HOMEFRONT PC SPECS

Minimum Spec

• Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7
• Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 2.8GHz
• 2 GB RAM
• Shader Model 3.0 graphics card with 256MB of memory
• NVIDIA GeForce 7900GS or ATI Radeon 1900XT
• 10GB of free hard drive space

Recommended Spec

• Windows Vista or Windows 7
• Intel or AMD Quad Core 2 GHz+ CPU
• 2 GB RAM
• NVIDIA GeForce 260 or ATI Radeon 4850
• 10 GB of free hard drive space

NVIDIA 3D Vision Recommended Spec

• 3D Compatible NVIDIA GeForce 480/570 Series GPU
• NVIDIA 3D Vision Kit
• 3D Vision-Ready Display
• Intel Core i7 processor
• 2 GB RAM
• Windows Vista or Windows 7
• 10GB of free hard drive space

Australian based games developer Nnooo has released the second in a series of developer diaries showcasing Spirit Hunters Inc™, their next game for Nintendo DSiWare™ (video available on youtube or for direct download).

Spirit Hunters Inc is a social role playing game in which the player hunts, battles and captures spirits which inhabit our world. The game uses the front facing camera of the Nintendo DSi™ to create an augmented reality, merging computer generated spirits with the player’s real environment where the battles take place.

“The development of the game is really taking shape and we are delighted to be able to show the battle mode which will represent a large part of the player’s in-game experience”, said Nic Watt, Creative Director at Nnooo. “Now that we have some of the sound effects and player abilities in place, we are able to give a much better feel for what it’s like battling against the spirits.”

The player is part of an international task-force called Spirit Hunters Inc which is charged with capturing mischievous spirits and sending them back to the spirit world. Players will have to hunt down these spirits and coax them out of their hiding places before doing battle with them through their Nintendo DSi. On capturing spirits, players will be rewarded with experience points and in-game currency with which they will be able to level up, replenish health, buy useful spirit hunting items and traps and learn new battling abilities.

“We are very excited about how the game is developing”, said Watt. “Augmented Reality is a really exciting new area for games and we think that Spirit Hunters Inc is really making use of all of the Nintendo DSi’s features. We are also planning a version for the Nintendo 3DS™. More details about this will be revealed in the future.”

Spirit Hunters Inc is scheduled for release on Nintendo DSiWare later this year.