AUSTRALIA — August 27, 2010 — Today, Ubisoft announced that the PC demo for R.U.S.E. has been released on Steam.

R.U.S.E. demo will feature a full mission tailored exclusively for this purpose. The Allied offensive in Italy aimed at stopping the Germans from withdrawing by attacking them from behind. However, high command suddenly realised that the Germans – aided by the remaining loyal Italian units – were much stronger than Allies had been led to believe until then…

In the demo, players will lead US army, fighting against Germany and Italy. They will have to combine deceptive strategies and eventually resort to nuclear strikes.

Trailer also now available –

To View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqrXi9XgNp4

AMD Graphics Business Announces Expanded Ecosystem for ATI Eyefinity Technology
Top-to-bottom DirectX® 11 support, design wins and broader selection of partner offerings for ATI Eyefinity experience help strengthen AMD discrete graphics market leadership

Sydney, Australia – Aug. 31, 2010 – AMD today announced that a number of technology partners soon plan to release an inexpensive Single Link DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter. The addition of the adapter to the burgeoning ATI Eyefinity ecosystem comes on the heels of the recently announced increase in AMD-powered discrete graphics options for the Apple iMac and Mac Pro, as well as AMD’s return to market share leadership in discrete graphics.

The industry’s only complete, top-to-bottom line of graphics products offering Microsoft® DirectX® 11 support helped drive the company’s strong discrete graphics sales in the second quarter. In fact, in just nine months AMD had shipped more than 16 million DirectX 11-capable GPUs.

“AMD executed our DirectX 11 transition incredibly well, rolling out a top-to-bottom DirectX 11 product line before our competitor launched their first DirectX 11 part,” said Matt Skynner, corporate vice-president and general manager, GPU division, AMD. “In just six months, we delivered to customers an entire DirectX 11 product stack, with industry-leading image quality and technologies such as ATI Eyefinity and ATI Stream. In turn, customers shifted discrete GPU market share to AMD.”

The availability of the inexpensive Single Link DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter, with a suggested retail price of $30 US, expands the ATI Eyefinity ecosystem to include the massive number of LCD monitors with DVI connectors and resolutions up to 1920 x1200. This encompasses the vast majority of monitors sold today, with many models available for well under $200 each. Now, ATI Eyefinity multi-monitor solutions are within reach of virtually everyone, from die-hard gaming enthusiasts to individuals wanting more screen real estate to improve workflow.

The second quarter market share numbers recently released by Mercury Research show that AMD regained the unit volume lead in discrete graphics, with 51.1 percent of the market share, up 10.5 share points from Q2 2009. In the desktop discrete graphics market, AMD gained 10.9 points in the year, standing at 44.5 percent market share. Additionally, quarter over quarter AMD gained 6.6 
share points in the mobile discrete graphics market, finishing the quarter at 56.3 percent market share.

With OEM design wins continuing to roll in, including the recently announced refresh of Apple’s iMac and Mac Pro lines, an even greater number of consumers can enjoy the benefits of AMD consumer and professional graphics solutions. Multi-monitor set ups are more accessible than ever as monitors become available at a range of price points, and manufacturers release ultra-thin bezel displays.

Supporting Resources

• Learn more about the latest graphics cards from AMD
• Follow the AMD@Play blog for the latest graphics news
• Twitter: Follow AMD graphics news on Twitter at @ATIGraphics 
• Facebook: Become a fan of AMD technology on Facebook 
• Eyefinity Ecosystem Development Press Deck
  

About AMD
Advanced Micro Devices is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play. For more information, visit AMD.

BitDefender launches Total Security 2011, offering consumers a simple yet comprehensive solution to safeguard their online world 

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – August 31, 2010 – BitDefender®, an award-winning provider of innovative internet security solutions, today announced the launch of BitDefender Total Security 2011 in Australia, offering comprehensive protection against the latest viruses, spyware, phishing and identity theft attacks.

Right out of the box, BitDefender 2011 offers users a simplified experience and more helpful information to answer questions about online security. All of BitDefender’s 2011 products include helpful user tips and a video library of tutorials that are designed to guide you through the product’s features and configuration in an easy, step-by-step format.

BitDefender’s adaptive design user interface allows you to customise the product to match your needs and technical knowledge: basic, intermediate and expert. You can also customise the product’s dashboard by adding shortcuts to your most frequently used actions, such as laptop and gamer mode.

To help you get the most out of your PC, Total Security 2011 has a host of new features to ensure that your computer is always running at its best. Performance Optimiser shows which applications are slowing down the PC, and suggests corrective actions to improve performance while BitDefender’s Tune Up feature can remove unnecessary files and registry entries to free up system resources. In addition, Smart Scanning & Scheduling detects the level of activity on your computer, and will suspend scanning or backups during busy periods to keep you safe without slowing down your gaming or media experience.

Vince Hwang, global director of product delivery, BitDefender, said: “Technologies such as social media, online gaming and collaborative tools have all taken personal computing into new realms. BitDefender’s 2011 range of products addresses this shift in the security landscape by providing comprehensive protection from online attacks that spread across new and emerging technologies, whilst offering major performance improvements in a highly-customisable user interface suited for families to enthusiasts.”

Other BitDefender Total Security 2011 enhancements include: 

• Enhanced detection – every product in the BitDefender 2011 family provides multi-layered, proactive technologies to hunt down and eliminate the latest threats in seconds.
• QuickScan – detects malicious activity using through-the-cloud technology. QuickScan takes a snapshot of your computer’s running processes and checks it using BitDefender’s cloud-based scanning service in 60 seconds.
• Search Advisor – the BitDefender 2011 family of products automatically scans links and displays phishing warnings for search results, as well as safety ratings for all websites that may contain spyware or inappropriate content.
• Parental Control – manage children’s access to the Internet or individual programs from any computer or 3G mobile phone.
• Network Management – automatically detects other PCs with BitDefender 2011 installed and add them to the administrator network. Manage the security of all the PCs at home from a single place, and conduct tasks (such as scanning and back-up) across all terminals with ease. 

Rounding out the BitDefender 2011 family of products are BitDefender Internet Security 2011 and BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011.

BitDefender Internet Security 2011 provides Internet-connected families with the latest protection against Web-based attacks, faster performance for secure online gaming, and unrivaled parental controls. BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011 gives PCs fast, proactive protection against the latest viruses, spyware, and identity theft attacks—all managed through a user-friendly and customisable dashboard.

Pricing details:

• BitDefender Total Security 2011 – $105 (3 PCs/1 year)
• BitDefender Internet Security 2011 – $75 (3 PCs/1 year)
• BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011 – $60 (3 PCs/1 year)

For a limited time, purchase BitDefender Total Security 2011 online and receive a free backup installation DVD. For details and a full list of BitDefender 2011 features and benefits by product, please visit bitdefender.com.au.

SYDNEY, Australia – August 31^st, 2010 – NIS America Inc, and NAMCO BANDAI Partners Australia New Zealand, today announced that NAMCO BANDAI Partners Australia will distribute NIS America’s latest RPG title ‘Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland’ exclusive to the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

Fans of Japanese style RPG’s and Anime will be pleased to hear that ‘Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland’ for PlayStation®3 is scheduled to launch in Australia and New Zealand on October 14^th 2010.

Featuring gorgeous cell shaded characters and backgrounds ‘Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland’ takes Rorona the protagonist into the land of Alchemy and the small kingdom of Arland where the discovery of “machines” is threatening the existence of all Alchemists.

For more information on this product head to http://nisamerica.com/games/roro/  or for more information on NAMCO BANDAI Partners entire product line up visit www.namcobandaipartners.com.au.

THE PACIFIC LEADS ALL PROGRAMMING WITH 8 EMMYS®

HBO received 25 Primetime Emmy® Awards, the most of any network for the eighth year in a row, in the 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy® Awards competition.  “The Pacific” led all programming with 8 awards, while “Temple Grandin” received 7 awards.

HBO’s Emmy® wins this year include:

8 Emmys® for “The Pacific,” including Outstanding Miniseries; Outstanding Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Non-Prosthetic); Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie; Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie; and Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special.

7 Emmys® for “Temple Grandin,” including Outstanding Made for Television Movie; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (Claire Danes); Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie (David Strathairn); Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (Julia Ormond); Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special (Mick Jackson); Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie; and Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score).

3 Emmys® for “The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert,” including Outstanding Picture Editing for a Special (Single or Multi-Camera); Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or Special; and Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special.

2 Emmys® for “You Don’t Know Jack,” including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie (Al Pacino) and Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special (Adam Mazer).

1 Emmy® for “Bored to Death”:  Outstanding Main Title Design.

1 Emmy® for “By the People:  The Election of Barack Obama”:  Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming.

1 Emmy® for “Entourage”:  Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation.

1 Emmy® for “The Ricky Gervais Show”:  Individual Achievement in Animation:  Character Design.

1 Emmy® for “Teddy:  In His Own Words”:  Outstanding Nonfiction Special.

Today, we are pleased to announce some new details about the Red Dead Redemption DLC series.

On the heels of the June Co-operative Multiplayer release, the Outlaws to the End Co-Op Mission Pack – which introduced six new Co-operative missions for up to 4 people to conquer together…

And the recent release, the Legends and Killers Pack – which mostly focused on Competitive Multiplayer and added 9 new map locations tailored for Competitive mode action, along with 8 playable characters from the world of Red Dead Revolver and the deadly Tomahawk everyone’s been hacking each other with online…

We are excited to bring you our next pack, the September 21st 2010 debut of our Free Roam release: the Liars and Cheats Pack, which focuses on expanding the Free Roam multiplayer experience as well as adding new modes to Competitive Multiplayer.

The Liars and Cheats Pack will contain a great range of new highly-requested features to expand the Free Roam world including Multiplayer Poker and Liar’s Dice, as well as a brand new Competitive Multiplayer gameplay mode.  The Liars and Cheats Pack will also include the content previously announced as the Free Roam Pack.  The Free Roam Pack was originally planned as a free download, but due to the platform networks’ restrictions on numbers of free packs we can give away (and our promise to bring you the free Hunting and Trading Outfits Pack – more on that below), we have instead added it to the Liars and Cheats Pack as one Free Roam release boasting the following features and more:

Multiplayer Poker and Liar’s Dice Games
One of the most fan-requested features comes to multiplayer.

Multiplayer Horse Races
Ride out against your friends and foes online – with mounted combat guns blazing.

The Explosive Rifle
A devastatingly destructive new weapon with its own new single-player and multiplayer challenges.

7 New Gang Hideouts
Posse up and take on the new Hideouts together to level up quickly.

4 New Hunting Grounds
New Hunting Grounds are now visible on the map for all to see, with some of the most action-packed wildlife hunting yet.

Stronghold Competitive Multiplayer Mode
Teams take turns in attack and defense in multi-tiered Competitive games.

Posse Scoring and Leaderboards
Compare stats with other posses and compete to see who are the kings of the Free Roam frontier.

Plus, 15 additional multiplayer characters from the Red Dead Redemption storyline are being made available as multiplayer characters, and more all-new Achievements and Trophies. 

This pack will be released on September 21st worldwide for download on both PlayStation Network (AUD$15.95) and Xbox LIVE (800 Microsoft Points).  Stay tuned for lots more detail on the content in this pack including first screens and more.