International Cricket 2010™ bowls in with new innovations and enhancements to set the new standard in authentic cricket gaming 

SYDNEY, 19^th March 2010 – Complete with all new ‘Action Cam’ that will take gamers right onto the pitch and into the heat of battle, Codemasters®  today in partnership with NAMCO BANDAI Partners Australia New Zealand announced International Cricket 2010™, coming Spring 2010 for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®.

International Cricket 2010 is set to continue Codemasters 15 year association with world class cricket and follows last summer’s Number One best seller Ashes Cricket 2009. Produced by Codemasters and developed by Trickstar Games, the Australian developer with a team pedigree that includes Ashes Cricket 2009 and the Brian Lara series, IC 2010 steps up to the crease with a range of innovations and enhancements to set the new standard in authentic cricket gaming. 

The new Action Cam will immerse players in all the on-pitch drama, intensity and excitement of fiercely competitive international cricket. Supplementing traditional broadcast views, players can now feel the satisfaction of smashing home 90mph+ deliveries and experience the thrill of thundering down the track to bowl from Action Cam’s new on-field perspectives.

A key addition to the range of fielding, bowling and batting improvements is the new ‘Power Stick’. Giving batsmen 360° analogue power and direction control, Power Stick enables the widest selection of shots, from pushing quick singles to gaps in the field to risky shots and everything in between.

Officially licensed by the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Australia to feature official players, stadia and kits, International Cricket 2010 can be enjoyed in a wide range of game modes including new instant tournaments. A comprehensive player editor enables gamers to put themselves into the game and the squad editor allows players to edit the player name, appearance, team and attributes of all athletes. Gamers can compete as any of the expanded roster of 16 nations at an improved selection of 21 stadia around the world, including the SCG and MCG.

“With a focus on taking gamers into the action like never before, International Cricket 2010 will deliver the most authentic cricket gaming yet,” said John Szoke, Producer, Codemasters. “Codemasters enjoys an unrivalled heritage in producing cricket games, and International Cricket 2010 will build on this success with a range of innovative gameplay features and enhancements.”

 “We’re delighted to partner with Codemasters to develop the next leap forward in cricket gaming,” said Tony Parkes, Studio Director, Trickstar games. “Our passionate team of industry veterans, which includes development talent who have worked on the Brian Lara series and Ashes 2009, is determined to deliver the most immersive and intuitive cricket experience for all fans of the sport.”

Complete with local and online multiplayer, International Cricket 2010 launches Spring 2010 for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION®3. For the latest news and screens, visit www.codemasters.com/cricket. 

GET RIGHT ON THE PITCH AS CODEMASTERS® ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL CRICKET 2010™

International Cricket 2010™ bowls in with new innovations and enhancements to set the new standard in authentic cricket gaming

SYDNEY, 19^th March 2010 – Complete with all new ‘Action Cam’ that will take gamers right onto the pitch and into the heat of battle, Codemasters®  today in partnership with NAMCO BANDAI Partners Australia New Zealand announced International Cricket 2010™, coming Spring 2010 for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®.

International Cricket 2010 is set to continue Codemasters 15 year association with world class cricket and follows last summer’s Number One best seller Ashes Cricket 2009. Produced by Codemasters and developed by Trickstar Games, the Australian developer with a team pedigree that includes Ashes Cricket 2009 and the Brian Lara series, IC 2010 steps up to the crease with a range of innovations and enhancements to set the new standard in authentic cricket gaming.

The new Action Cam will immerse players in all the on-pitch drama, intensity and excitement of fiercely competitive international cricket. Supplementing traditional broadcast views, players can now feel the satisfaction of smashing home 90mph+ deliveries and experience the thrill of thundering down the track to bowl from Action Cam’s new on-field perspectives.

A key addition to the range of fielding, bowling and batting improvements is the new ‘Power Stick’. Giving batsmen 360° analogue power and direction control, Power Stick enables the widest selection of shots, from pushing quick singles to gaps in the field to risky shots and everything in between.

Officially licensed by the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Australia to feature official players, stadia and kits, International Cricket 2010 can be enjoyed in a wide range of game modes including new instant tournaments. A comprehensive player editor enables gamers to put themselves into the game and the squad editor allows players to edit the player name, appearance, team and attributes of all athletes. Gamers can compete as any of the expanded roster of 16 nations at an improved selection of 21 stadia around the world, including the SCG and MCG.

“With a focus on taking gamers into the action like never before, International Cricket 2010 will deliver the most authentic cricket gaming yet,” said John Szoke, Producer, Codemasters. “Codemasters enjoys an unrivalled heritage in producing cricket games, and International Cricket 2010 will build on this success with a range of innovative gameplay features and enhancements.”

 “We’re delighted to partner with Codemasters to develop the next leap forward in cricket gaming,” said Tony Parkes, Studio Director, Trickstar games. “Our passionate team of industry veterans, which includes development talent who have worked on the Brian Lara series and Ashes 2009, is determined to deliver the most immersive and intuitive cricket experience for all fans of the sport.”

Complete with local and online multiplayer, International Cricket 2010 launches Spring 2010 for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION®3. For the latest news and screens, visit www.codemasters.com/cricket.

ustralia’s Muslim Cameleers: Pioneers of the Inland 1860s – 1930s

This exhibition reveals the remarkable contribution that Australia’s first Muslim community, from Afghanistan and British India, made to the exploration and settlement of Australia’s arid interior. Cameleers assisted all major expeditions into Australia’s uncharted interior starting with the Burke and Wills expedition in 1860 and have contributed significantly to Australia’s economic and cultural development. Exhibits include fascinating photographs, camel saddles, historic clothing, textiles and original documents.

Date: Until 19 September 2010

Survival of a Culture: Kurds in Australia

This exhibition explores how the Kurdish culture has survived through adversity, invasion, and division of the Kurds’ traditional lands. Survival of a Culture: Kurds in Australia examines the traditions at the core of the Kurdish culture that have enabled it to survive, and which Kurds proudly maintain in Australia today. A variety of objects will be on display, including traditional costumes, instruments, hand-made carpets, hand-woven crafts and pewter ware.

Date: Until 25 September 2010

School holiday program

Become a Customs Detective at the Immigration Museum these school holidays, and choose your own adventure. Grab a special adventure booklet, make your own detective badge and snoop your way around the Museum – following clues and answering riddles, in the footsteps of famous Customs Detectives from early Melbourne.

Date: March 27 until April 11 2010

Ethiopian Festival

Celebrate the rich culture of the Ethiopian community in Victoria at this one day festival. Come along and experience Ethiopian music, dance performances, special talks and film screenings. Enjoy a cooking demonstration and fashion show, taste Ethiopian cuisine and take part in an Ethiopian coffee ceremony.

Date: 11am – 4pm, Sunday 18 April 2009

Talking Faiths

This exhibition documents a project involving young people exploring interfaith issues through a multicultural perspective. Encompassing students from a range of faith-based and secular Government schools, Talking Faiths features multimedia representations and photographs of the student project and artworks developed by the students as part of their conversations. This exhibition is a part of the Parliament of the World’s Religions 2009 cultural program.

Date: Until 28 May 2010

Immigration Museum, 400 Flinders Street, Melbourne.  Open daily 10.00am to 5.00pm.

Admission: Adult $8, child/concession FREE. More info 13 11 02 or museumvictoria.com.au/immigration museum

Madman proudly presents the highly-anticipated DVD & Blu-Ray release of 9 – available April 10…
From visionary filmmakers Tim Burton (ALICE IN WONDERLAND) and Timur Bekmambetov (WANTED), and Academy Award®-nominated director Shane Acker, comes a visually stunning and hauntingly beautiful post-apocalyptic animated epic.

In the final days of humanity, a dedicated scientist gives the spark of life to nine of his creations. The world has since turned into a decimated landscape of machines and spare parts, but this group of nine has survived and find that if they band together, their small community might just be able to change the course of history.

Featuring the voice talents of Elijah Wood (LORD OF THE RINGS), John C. Reilly (WALK HARD), Jennifer Connelly (HULK), Martin Landau (ED WOOD) and Crispin Glover (BACK TO THE FUTURE), 9 is a thrilling, suspenseful journey through an incredible CG-animated world, filled with danger, but equally – hope where there appears to be none.

9 features a host of special features on DVD & Blu-Ray – including: Audio Commentary, 3 Featurettes, Deleted Scenes and the original 9 animated short (with audio commentary).

Over 100 Original Mixes Now Available For Virtual DJs and Their Friends to Spin, Scratch and Battle

Sydney, Australia. March 18th 2010 – Two of the biggest artists in music, JAY-Z and Eminem, are mixing it up again with Activision Publishing Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) DJ Hero™ – the #1 new videogame intellectual property of 2009 – by dropping their rhymes in exclusive mixes available for download beginning today on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. The JAY-Z vs. Eminem Mix Pack delivers three standout hits from each legend, including JAY-Z’s “Can I Get A…” mixed with Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” driving the total number of one-of-a-kind mixes available for fans to spin, scratch and battle into triple digits.

“From sold out concerts to #1 albums to double digit Grammy Awards, JAY-Z and Eminem define what it means to be a successful artist,” said Jamie Jackson, Creative Director, FreeStyleGames. “The DJ Hero soundtrack is an expanding collection of chart-topping hit music – mixed in an all-new way – that can only be experienced in our game, and with the addition of the JAY-Z vs. Eminem Mix Pack, players and their friends can not only experience, but interact with over 100 unique mixes.”

The JAY-Z vs. Eminem Mix Pack features the following exclusive mash-ups:

“Shake That” by Eminem Mixed With “Show Me What You Got” by JAY-Z

“Without Me” by Eminem Mixed With “Encore” by JAY-Z

“Can I Get A…” by JAY-Z Mixed With “Lose Yourself” by Eminem

The JAY-Z vs. Eminem Mix Pack is available now on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360 for 640 Microsoft Points. The Mix Pack will be available on the PlayStation®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system on March 25, 2010 for $12.95. All mixes will be released as downloadable singles for Wii™ on March 25, 2010 for 300 Wii Points each.

The DJ Hero Extended Mix Pack 01, featuring two party rockin’ grooves: 50 Cent featuring Mary J. Blige “All Of Me” mixed with Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga” and “DARE” by Gorillaz vs. Public Enemy’s “Can’t Truss It;” and the David Guetta Mix Pack 01 containing remixes of his hot tracks “When Love Takes Over” featuring Kelly Rowland, the chart-topping “Sexy Chick” featuring Akon and “On The Dance Floor” featuring will.i.am and apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas; are available now. For information on how to connect your console and access DJ Hero downloadable content, please visit: http://www.djhero.com/support/.

The #1 new videogame intellectual property by revenue in the U.S. and Europe for calendar 2009, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack and GfK, DJ Hero delivers an all-new interactive music experience that allows players to not only experience, but hear music in an all-new way. Featuring mixes created by DJ AM, Cut Chemist, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, J. Period, DJ Shadow, DJ Z-Trip and more, spinning over 100 individual songs, highlighted in 93 unique never-before-released mixes that blend genres of music, including hip-hop, pop, rock and dance, DJ Hero delivers the most diverse and international collection of music ever assembled in a music game by incorporating anthems from legendary artists. Created exclusively for DJ Hero, the turntable controller immerses fans into DJ culture and a sea of music as they utilise and master various DJ techniques including scratching, crossfading and sampling, while leaving room for creative expression with a variety of effects and player chosen samples and scratches, transforming a face in the crowd into the life of the party.

The DJ Hero Renegade Edition includes a copy of the game, a premium Renegade turntable controller, hardshell turntable carrying case that converts to a performance-ready DJ stand, and an exclusive JAY-Z and Eminem 2-CD pack featuring “best of” and new, unreleased material.

Available now, DJ Hero was developed by FreeStyleGames for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems and the Wii™ system from Nintendo. For more information about DJ Hero, please visit djhero.com, facebook.com/djhero and twitter.com/djhero.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

LEGION

YouTube Trailer link is: http://www.youtube.com/user/SonyPicturesAUS

Synopsis:

When God loses faith in Mankind, he sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) is our only hope of survival as he attempts to protect a group of strangers, one of whom is pregnant with humanity’s savior, from an army of terrifying demons.   

The supernatural action thriller Legion, from debut feature director and visual effects master Scott Stewart, stars Paul Bettany (The Da Vinci Code, A Beautiful Mind), Dennis Quaid (The Day After Tomorrow), Kate Walsh (TV’s ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Private Practice’), Tyrese Gibson (Transformers) and Willa Holland (TV’s The OC).  

Cast: Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Adrianne Palicki, Charles S. Dutton, Jon Tenney, Kevin Durand, Willa Holland, Kate Walsh and Denis Quaid
Genre: Action
Director: Scott Stewart

www.one80project.com.au

Over a Quarter Million Pets Have Been Melded and Counting 

March 17, 2010 – Redwood City, Calif. – Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a wholly owned US subsidiary of Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD), is pleased to announce that today is the one year anniversary of its anime-inspired MMORPG, Ether Saga Online. Based on the classic novel, “Journey to the West,” one of Ether Saga Online’s key features is the variety of hundreds of pets in the game that can be “melded” together to form stronger and different looking pets.

“As a way to thank our players and help celebrate Ether Saga Online’s one year anniversary, we’re giving away tons of pets throughout the week,” said Craig Beers, Product Manager for Ether Saga Online. “With over a quarter of a million pets melded so far, we look forward to and challenge our players to have the best pet possible.”

Among the many anniversary events happening throughout the week, players will have a chance to win awesome prizes such as a Rapid Raptor pet or the Kentauride pet, which was selected by the community via player poll. To win the latter pet, veteran pet trainers will need to successfully meld a specific pet 10 times without changing its outward appearance in the 10 Meld Challenge.

For more information on Ether Saga Online’s one year anniversary events, you can visit the official Perfect World blog at http://www.perfectworld.com/blog/?p=14441

About Perfect World Entertainment

Perfect World Entertainment, a subsidiary of Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD), publishes free-to-play, online games and provides online services in North America. The Company primarily publishes three-dimensional, or 3D, online games based on the Perfect World proprietary Angelica 3D game engine and game development platform. The Company’s releases include “Ether Saga Online,” “Jade Dynasty” and “Perfect World International,” a free-to-play MMORPG which is currently played by millions of people worldwide; and single player action RPG “Torchlight.”

Unique Charging Case Can Triple Talk Time from 5 to Up to 15 Hours

Sydney, Australia – 18 March 2010 – Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT), the leading manufacturer of premium headsets, today announced the local availability of its new Plantronics Discovery® 975 Bluetooth® earpiece. The Plantronics Discovery 975 is the next generation of the Discovery 925, which was renowned for its superior audio quality and innovative lightweight design. The Discovery 975 gives users an improved audio experience with advanced AudioIQ2 and WindSmart® technologies, which deliver natural sounding voice in harsh noise environments, coupled with Plantronics’ legendary inbound audio quality, comfort, and durability.

“Consumers expect great outbound noise cancellation in a premium headset, without sacrificing usability, comfort, and quality” said Peter Petrides, National Retail Sales Manager, Plantronics Australia. “We’ve spent nearly five decades perfecting all aspects of headset design from inbound audio quality to fit. For customers seeking the perfect blend of innovative design and advanced audio technologies, the Discovery 975 is the solution.”

Industry-Leading Performance
The Discovery 975 features AudioIQ2, the next generation of Plantronics’ AudioIQ digital signal processing (DSP) technology, and two microphones to precisely capture the user’s voice and simultaneously cancel background noise. Users don’t have to worry about pressing special buttons or having sensors touch their face to activate the noise-cancelling capabilities; AudioIQ2 works automatically wherever the user is having a conversation.

Plantronics Discovery 975 addresses wind noise with three layers of WindSmart® technology. It features grooved vents on the boom and acoustic fabrics that surround the microphones to block wind. In addition, electronic filters within AudioIQ2 remove wind noise during conversations and help deliver your clear, natural voice to the listener.

The Plantronics Discovery 975 also provides the great inbound audio quality for which Plantronics is known. The earpiece includes an adaptive 20-band equaliser that delivers rich, full voice and works with AudioIQ2 to automatically adjust incoming calls to comfortable listening levels based on the noise level around you.

One-Of-A-Kind Charging Case
The Discovery 975 comes with an improved rechargeable carrying case the can triple talk time from 5 hours to up to 15 hours while protecting and storing the earpiece. The new case includes an LCD screen that displays the battery and earpiece charge levels, as well as Bluetooth connectivity. With the rechargeable case, users don’t have to worry about constantly finding a wall outlet and can finally see the charge level in their headset, so they won’t run out of battery life in the middle of a call.

Intuitive User Experience and Simple Design
At only 8 grams, the Plantronics Discovery 975 is a lightweight headset featuring Plantronics’ signature boom, which captures speech close to the mouth to ensure your voice sounds natural. Perfect for quick on/off wearing, the earpiece uses the same patented soft gel ear tips customers loved on the Discovery 925 for a stable, comfortable fit that doesn’t invade the ear canal. The Discovery 975 includes two buttons for ease of use: one button for powering on/off and call answer/end and another button for volume control and mute. The Discovery 975 features voice prompts for low battery warnings, mute status and Bluetooth connectivity.

Pricing and Availability
The Plantronics Discovery 975 has a retail price of AUD$179.95 and is available through major telco stores. For more information about the Plantronics Discovery 975, please visit: www.plantronics.com.au