Free DLC Will Add New Weapons and Grenades

HELSINKI, FINLAND – April 7, 2010 – Futuremark® Games Studio today revealed plans for a second content pack for Shattered Horizon™, their PC exclusive multiplayer first-person shooter. The “Firepower” pack will add new weapons and grenades encouraging different styles of play and providing the opportunity for new team tactics. Like the Moonrise map pack released in February, the Firepower expansion will be free for all players. http://www.shatteredhorizon.com/

“Since the launch of Shattered Horizon we have shown our thanks to players who have supported us by releasing free DLC. That commitment to the community continues with the Firepower pack which will add new weapons and grenades to the game,” said Jaakko Haapasalo, producer at Futuremark Games Studio. “And while we are not revealing the release date or specific details just yet, players in our Arconauts program have already started helping us test and balance the new weapons.”

In Shattered Horizon, a catastrophic explosion on the Moon has filled near-Earth space with billions of tons of rocky debris. Teams of players fight in zero gravity to control the limited supplies that mean the difference between survival and death in the cold of space.

About the Firepower Weapons Pack
Seeking to gain an advantage ISA Command successfully launches a rocket through the orbital debris to deliver a cargo of modified weapons to the entrenched astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Meanwhile, engineers at the MMC’s hidden base of operations have been scavenging equipment to create their own new weapons and grenades. Resupplied and rearmed with newfound firepower, the ISA and MMC begin fresh hostilities.

Further details and the release date for the pack to be announced soon.

About Shattered Horizon
Shattered Horizon is the innovative first game from Futuremark Games Studio that immerses you in the cold reality of zero gravity combat in space.
– Multiplayer first-person shooter set in near-Earth space 40 years from now.
– Experience intense zero gravity combat and complete freedom of movement. Use your rocket pack to fly freely through space then land on any surface.
– Join your friends in action-packed 32 player battles fighting across eight space based levels from hollowed-out asteroids to the ruined remains of the International Space Station.
– New weapons and grenades coming soon in the free Firepower pack.

Shattered Horizon requires DirectX 10, a DirectX 10 compatible video card, and Windows Vista or Windows 7. There is no support for Windows XP or DirectX 9. Suggested retail price: €19.95 / $19.95 / £14.95 Available now from Steam and the official website: http://www.shatteredhorizon.com/buynow/

WD® Launches Newest WD Velociraptor® – The World’s Fastest SATA Hard Drive Now Has Twice The Capacity
10,000 RPM, 2.5-inch, 600 GB, 6 Gb/s SATA Hard Drive Delivers High Performance and Capacity for Both Enthusiast and Enterprise Customers

(Please click on the image above for high resolution images)

Sydney, Australia: April 8, 2010 – WD® announced today that it is now shipping WD VelociRaptor® 450 GB and 600 GB hard drives, the next generation of its 10,000 RPM SATA family of hard drives. The new WD VelociRaptor hard drive is designed for blade servers, high-performance PCs, Mac® computers, professional workstations, as well as 1U and 2U rack servers that require a balance of high performance and capacity. As the only 10,000 RPM SATA hard drive on the market today, and a favorite amongst enthusiast and enterprise groups, the WD VelociRaptor hard drive now comes packed with twice the capacity and up to 15% performance increase over the previous generation.

The most popular hard drive for high-performance enthusiasts who demand the ultimate SATA drive, the WD VelociRaptor hard drive is built with enterprise-class mechanics that provide 24×7 durability under high-performance demands and packs up to 600 GB of capacity into a 2.5-inch enterprise form factor. The WD VelociRaptor drive is also available in the IcePack™* enclosure, a 3.5-inch mounting frame with a built-in heat sink – a factory customization that fits the drive into a standard 3.5-inch system bay and keeps this powerful drive extra cool when installed in a high-performance desktop chassis and 3.5-inch HDD form factor enterprise chassis.

“WD is a leader in the performance and reliability of enterprise SATA hard drives,” said Tom McDorman, vice president and general manager of WD’s enterprise business unit. “Demand for performance combined with an increase in capacity continues to rise and WD is the leader in this category. WD customers can rely on the new WD VelociRaptor to deliver high performance under the harshest conditions, while continuing to keep user data safe.”

Features of the new WD VelociRaptor hard drives include:

• Killer speed- SATA 6 Gb/s interface and 32 MB cache enhance the next generation 10,000 RPM WD VelociRaptor making it up to 15% faster than the award-winning previous generation.
• Monstrous capacity – WD VelociRaptor SATA drives are available in capacities up to 600 GB, double the capacity of the previous generation.
• Rock-solid reliability – Designed and manufactured to mission-critical enterprise-class standards to provide enterprise reliability in high duty cycle environments. With 1.4 million hours MTBF, these drives have the highest available reliability rating on a high capacity SATA drive.
• Ultra-cool operation – Consumes no more power than the previous generation WD VelociRaptor while offering double the capacity and higher performance.
• IcePack mounting frame – The 2.5-inch WD VelociRaptor is enclosed in a backplane-ready 3.5-inch enterprise-class mounting frame with a built-in heat sink that keeps this powerful little drive extra cool when installed in high-performance desktop chassis.
• Rotary Acceleration Feed Forward (RAFF™) – Optimizes operation and performance when the drives are used in vibration-prone, multi-drive chassis.
• NoTouch™ ramp load technology – The recording head never touches the disk media ensuring significantly less wear to the recording head and media as well as better drive protection in transit.
• Environmentally conscious – In addition to being ROHS compliant, this generation of WD VelociRaptor is also a halogen-free design.

Price and Availability
Manufacturer: Western Digital
Product Name: WD VelociRaptor® 450 GB and 600 GB
RRP:
600gb AU $419 NZ$549
450gb AU $379 NZ$499
Australia Distributors: Achieva Australia, Synnex Australia,
New Zealand Distributors: Synnex NZ, Ingram Micro NZ, VST NZ
Website: www.westerndigital.com
Warranty: 5 year limited warranty

About WD
WD, one of the storage industry’s pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. The company designs and produces reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives that keep users’ data accessible and secure from loss. Its advanced technologies are configured into applications for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics, as well as its own consumer storage and media products.

WD was founded in 1970. The company’s storage products are marketed to leading OEMs, systems manufacturers, selected resellers and retailers under the Western Digital® and WD brand names. Visit the Investor section of the company’s Web site (www.westerndigital.com) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

Transformers: War for Cybertron challenges players to become the ultimate weapon as a TRANSFORMERS character in the final, epic war that will determine the survival of their entire race.  Armed with a diverse arsenal of lethal, high-tech weaponry and the ability to instantly convert from robot to vehicle at any time, players will engage in heart-pounding battles on land and in the air in this gripping, 3^rd person action shooter set in the TRANSFORMERS’ war-ravaged homeland. 

Complete with several multiplayer modes, Transformers: War for Cybertron allows gamers to play through story missions with their friends in drop in/drop out online co-op, and also create their own TRANSFORMERS character for competitive head-to-head multiplayer modes, choosing among four distinct character classes, personalising its look and selecting from a huge variety of weapons, skills and abilities.

KEY FEATURES:

• Become the Ultimate Weapon for Survival – Gamers can instantly convert from robot to vehicle form with the push of a single button, anytime and anywhere, allowing players to strategically demolish their enemies through a diverse variety of gameplay environments.

• Take the Epic War Online – For the first time in a TRANSFORMERS game, fans can play through each adrenaline-fueled campaign, as AUTOBOTS or DECEPTICONS, with friends around the world in drop-in/drop-out online co-operative play, and compete against one another in a bevy of intense multiplayer game modes as their very own user-created characters. 

• Create Your Own TRANSFORMERS Character – Used in head-to-head multiplayer battles, players can choose from four robust character classes and personalise the look and feel of their TRANSFORMERS character.  Fans can select from a wide variety of weapons and customise their skills loadout, with the ability to level up their characters to gain new upgrades and attributes in a deep, rewarding multiplayer experience.

• Experience the Legendary Conflict from the Beginning – Developed in close collaboration with Hasbro, the storyline introduces entirely re-imagined visualisations of everyone’s favorite characters that comprise an original contribution to the official TRANSFORMERS canon.  Players will embark on the epic journey through the most pivotal moments of the final war for the TRANSFORMERS’ home planet of Cybertron.  

70th Anniversary Special Edition available on DVD & Blu-ray with all-new bonus features from 1 July 2010 

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is getting ready to open the Vault once again this July to release the 70th Anniversary Edition of Dumbo. Digitally restored and for the first time on Blu-Ray and DVD, Dumbo is available from 1 July 2010.

Experience the adventure with your favourite little elephant Dumbo, on this 70th Anniversary Special Edition DVD, a heartwarming story about the power of friendship and belief in yourself.

In the touching tale of a baby elephant with over-sized ears, Dumbo befriends a mouse named Timothy, and with his help learns to use his ears as wings, to become the world’s only flying elephant. Follow Dumbo as he overcomes his struggle, being separated from his mother and outcast from the circus. The movie will take you on an emotional and inspiring journey of self discovery and triumph.

Fully restored and digitally enhanced, the restoration team was assisted by The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to work through over 5000 feet of film to give the film a new lease on life. The team worked on the fragile 70 year old camera negative frame by frame for over six months to produce a spectacular new masterpiece.

Available on Blu-ray and DVD, both audio and film elements were lovingly restored with the new colour timing suite at Walt Disney Animation Studios, allowing audiences to view  now Dumbo as never seen before.

Join Dumbo and Timothy on their adventure and sing-a-long to some of your favourite songs such as ‘Look Out For Mr Stork’ and ‘Pink Elephants on Parade’ this July.

PRODUCTION OVERVIEW – DUMBO:

Director:                     Ben Sharpsteen

Writers:                       Helen Aberson

                                    Harold Pearl

Voice talent:               Edward Brophy           (Timothy Mouse)

                                    Herman Bing               (The Ringmaster)

Cliff Edwards              (Jim Crow)

Sterling Holloway        (Messenger Stork)

Verna Felton               (Matriarch Elephant)

Genre:                        Animation/adventure/family

Rating:                        G

Release date:             1 July 2010

RRP:                           $24.95 – 1 disc DVD

                                    $36.95 – 1 disc Blu-ray

BONUS FEATURES – DUMBO

DVD

• Deleted Scenes
  • The Mouse’s Tale
  • ‘Are You a Man or a Mouse’

• Backstage Disney
  • Taking Flight: The Making of Dumbo
  • Magic of Dumbo: Ride of Passage
  • Sound Design Excerpt from ‘The Reluctant Dragon’
  • Original Walt Disney Television

Blu-ray

• DisneyView
• Cine-Explore
• Art Galleries
• Featurette: ‘Celebrating Dumbo’
• Bonus Shorts: ‘The Flying Mouse’ and ‘Elmer Elephant’
• Games: ‘What Do You See’ (Family Play) and ‘What Do You Know’ (Smart Play)

Follow up to the best selling Wii karaoke title of 2009 due in July 

Sydney, 08 April, 2010: Mindscape, a leading global publisher and distributor of entertainment software has once again partnered with music publishing giant Universal Music for the upcoming Wii release, U-Sing ‘Girls Night’.

The girly themed U-Sing ‘Girls Night’ is expected to be one of the most successful karaoke games of the year. Following on from the best-selling original, U-Sing ‘Girls Night’ promises even more features including 30 great tracks from today’s leading female musicians and a recording facility which will enable players to record and playback performances.

Managing Director for Mindscape Asia-Pacific, Tony Hughes is excited for the game’s release. “U-Sing ‘Girls Night’ will provide female fans of all ages with a genre of karaoke game which is yet to be explored on Wii. U-Sing ‘U’ve Got Talent’ was Australia’s and the world’s highest selling karaoke Wii title in 2009. Given this success and the immense popularity of Universal’s key female artists- we are confident that U-Sing ‘Girls Night’ will be another major hit for the U-Sing brand this year.”

U-Sing ‘Girls Night’ is due for release in July. A full track list featuring a variety of popular tunes from Universal’s back catalogue will be available closer to the release date.

For more information on U-Sing Girls Night please contact me directly on +61 2 9964 0476 or Rebecca.tannous@mindscape.com.au. The U-Sing website can also be accessed at http://www.u-sing-thegame.com

More than One Million Gamers Download Modern Warfare 2 Map Pack In First 24 Hours 

Sydney, AUSTRALIA. April 8^th 2010 – Microsoft today confirmed that last week’s release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Package shattered Xbox LIVE® records as more than one million gamers worldwide downloaded the new map pack from Activision and Infinity Ward in the first 24 hours alone, surpassing the 2.5 million mark within the first week.

The map pack add-on, now available only on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, extends the action-packed online entertainment experience with five multiplayer maps.  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) is rated “MA” (Mature Audiences) by the Australian Classification Board for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Language. 

Xbox LIVE is the largest Call of Duty community of any entertainment system.  According to Microsoft, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 players have invested more than 1.75 billion hours of gameplay on Xbox LIVE alone since the title’s release in November, which is equal to more than 200,000 years of gameplay playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  For more information, visit www.xbox.com/en-US/games/splash/c/callofdutymodernwarfare2/.  For more Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 information, go to www.modernwarfare2.com.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TArxSY8fgE

New Harmony Replaces Four Remotes, Features Improved Web-based Setup 

SYDNEY, Aust., — 6^th April, 2010 — Logitech Australia today announced that it is bringing the benefits of the award-winning line of Harmony® remotes to people who have simpler home-entertainment needs. The new Logitech® Harmony® 300 Remote is simple to set up, replaces up to four other remotes and gives you better control of what’s attached to your TV with the touch of one button.

“Most universal remotes have a bad reputation for being hard to program and, as a result, you still use more than one remote to control the devices you own,” said Ashish Arora, vice president and general manager of Logitech’s digital home group. “With the Harmony 300, we wanted to deliver the Harmony remote promise of one remote to control your entertainment system to everyone. No more excuses — it’s time to get rid of the stack of remotes on your coffee table and simplify your home entertainment experience.”

Logitech’s research found that more than one-third of the 75 million U.S. and European households who have tried programming a universal remote had been dissatisfied with the process. But the Logitech Harmony 300 Remote is different. With a refreshed Web-based setup designed exclusively for Logitech’s newest remote, all you have to do is connect the remote to your computer, go to www.myharmony.com, tell us what devices you’re using and we’ll do the rest. In just a few simple steps you can have full control of your home-entertainment system.

Plus, your Harmony 300 remote will never be out of date. Logitech’s remotes are powered by an online device library that covers more brands than any other remote, including more than 225,000 devices from more than 5,000 brands — and the list grows every day. Whether you have an aging VCR or a brand new Blu-ray™ player, you can be confident your Harmony remote will control the IR devices you have.

Once you set up your remote, you can get to your entertainment fast with just one button press. The Watch TV button will turn on your TV and cable box in seconds — no additional remotes needed. The buttons are placed for easy reach, sculpted so your fingers can naturally find the right commands and grouped by how you’ll use them. For example, the buttons for controlling your DVD player are all grouped together. There’s even a set of programmable buttons that you can use to jump right to your favorite channels or use for custom control.

The Harmony 300 joins the ever expanding line of Harmony remotes, an award-winning family that includes the Logitech® Harmony® 700 Remote — which controls up to six devices and is rechargeable — and the flagship Logitech® Harmony® One with its stunning touch-screen display.

Pricing and Availability

The Logitech Harmony 300 will be available in Australia from the beginning of May for a suggested retail price of AUD $59.95 inc GST.  The Logitech Harmony 700 Remote and the Logitech Harmony One Remote are available for a suggested retail price of AUD $299.95 inc GST and AUD $499.00 inc GST, respectively. Additional information on the entire Harmony remote line is available at www.logitech.com/harmony.

About Logitech

Logitech is a world leader in personal peripherals, driving innovation in PC navigation, Internet communications, digital music, home-entertainment control, gaming and wireless devices. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

Sydney, April 7th, 2010

PRESS RELEASE: Nnooo are pleased to announce the release date of myPostcards™ the second title in their hugely successful myLifeCollected™ range of applications for Nintendo DSiWare™. myPostcards will be released in the Americas on April 19th and in Europe, Australia and New Zealand on April 23rd priced at 200 Nintendo DSi Points™.

myPostcards is a creativity application for the Nintendo DSi™ which allows users to take a photo, write a note and then share the created postcard with friends via Facebook™, email or even traditional mail. With over 50 different unlock-able background themes and 12 stamps to apply users will be limited only by their imagination.

“myPostcards allows any Nintendo DSi owner to create a neat looking postcard to record any situation or event and then share it with friends. Once they have made the postcard they can email it, print it out and post it or even upload it to Facebook”, said Nic Watt, Creative Director, Nnooo.

Users of myPostcards can take a new photo using the Nintendo DSi Camera or choose an existing photo from their Nintendo DSi photo Album. They then write a note (or doodle), choose a background theme, apply a stamp and then save the postcard. Sharing the postcard with friends is possible by using the Facebook connectivity or SD card functionality built into every Nintendo DSi.

“We have worked hard to ensure that users can quickly and easily make a postcard whenever they find themselves in a situation which they simply must share with friends and family. We really like the idea of capturing a moment on camera and adding a note to share with friends. There was always something nice about getting a postcard in the mail from friends and family and we feel that with myPostcards we are providing a more modern take on this great form of communication”, said Watt.

Users can unlock new background themes to customise their postcards with while owners of previous Nnooo software are also in for some special themed backgrounds as thanks for their continued support. Nnooo have also started a Flicker group (www.flickr.com/groups/mypostcards) for myPostcard users and encourage them to share their best creations.

myPostcards is Nnooo’s third piece of software for the Nintendo DSi™ and the second application in its new myLifeCollected range.