NINTENDO ANNOUNCES WORLDWIDE MARIO KART WII TOURNAMENTS

Nintendo has thrown down the gauntlet for Mario Kart Wii racers worldwide. Now it's time to see who's up to the challenge, as players take on the world in Mario Kart Wii Tournaments.

Every few weeks, a new tournament will appear on the Mario Kart Channel, an online feature that not only allows players to compete in tournaments, but also exchange race data with friends. Tournaments might take the form of a challenge for players to race a certain course as fast as they can with specific characters, or to collect a number of coins on a course using the Wii Wheel accessory or another control setup. They can feature unique rules or obstacles on the course.

The first tournament, which appears today, directs racers to compete for the fastest time on the Mario Circuit. Look closely though – something may be different. Players can attempt the challenge as often as they like during the duration of the tournament. Their best time will be recorded and added to the worldwide rankings, allowing players to see how they stack up against the best racers from around the world.

NOTE: If you would like to participate in Mario Kart Wii tournaments, your Wii console needs to be connected to the Internet. For more information about how to get online, visit Wii.com. For more information about Mario Kart Wii, please visit www.MarioKart.com.

NAMCO BANDAI GAMES GETS THE GOLD WITH WE SKI ON Wii

Make every day a snow day as NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced that We Ski has gone gold for Wii. Step onto the Wii Balance Board or grab your Wii Remote and Nunchuk and hit the slopes for single or multi player downhill action! Up to four skiers can experience the sweetest mountain runs like never before, as they enjoy We Ski’s highly responsive and intuitive controls. We Ski will carve its way into stores on May 13.

“NAMCO BANDAI has worked to create the most intuitive and responsive skiing game available, giving players a fully immersive experience,” said Todd Thorson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “We want players to feel the fun and intensity of real downhill skiing from the comfort of their living rooms.



It’s winter fun all year round as We Ski allows up to four skiers to enjoy a huge mountain resort with more than a dozen runs from the bunny slopes to the most challenging Black Diamonds. Not only can players shred through the trails using the motion-based controls, but they can also mix in the Wii Balance Board for a whole new level of realism. Players can even ski using their own Mii™ or create customizable characters that can be outfitted with different attire, poles, goggles and costumes.

The thrill doesn’t stop there, as a host of other activities will be available to enjoy including races, slaloms, moguls, freestyle challenges, ski school, and more! Players can even try their hand at night skiing while enjoying the spectrum of fireworks that color the sky. Skiing aficionados can also check out the game’s dedicated website, www.weskipatrol.com, to view interactive trail maps, check out photos, watch movies and download wallpapers, banners, and more!

We Ski is rated “E” for everyone by the ESRB and carries a suggested retail price of $29.99.

Activision to Cast - Rapala Fishing Frenzy onto Consoles

Bait your hook this summer to catch "Rapala Fishing Frenzy," the newest edition of the popular angling game from Activision. Developed by Fun Labs in close collaboration with Rapala, the world's largest manufacturer of fishing lures and No1 fishing brand in the world, the title will supply heart-pounding fishing action in over 20 tournament events. The game is slated for release for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, and Wii in Summer 2008.



"Rapala is the gold standard when it comes to quality sport fishing games, and Fishing Frenzy is the natural progression for the franchise," said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. "Fun Labs has refined the controls for fishing enthusiasts while making the game easy to learn and action-packed for amateur anglers."

With their hands on authentic gear, players will feel like they have an actual rod in their hands as they cast, jig the bait, and reel in fish. Players can battle for their favorite trophy as they angle for 25 of the most sought after species of fish in the world, all within pristine, uncrowded freshwater environments. This is the most exciting, progressive fishing game ever made and every angler's dream.



"A proper fishing game needs to capture the adrenaline-pumping intensity of sport fishing," said Adrian Filippini from Fun Labs. "Fishing Frenzy delivers big time with beautiful graphics and controls adapted specifically to each console. Rapala's involvement has resulted in a game with a new level of realistic fishing fun."

Crytek say No more PC exclusive titles

The president of Crytek, Cevat Yerli, has revealed that the company will no longer develop titles exclusive to the PC.

Speaking in an interview to PC Play, Yerli explained some of the difficulties the developer encountered with its title Crysis. He went into details on how piracy had affected the title and that it had taught the company a valuable lesson.

"We are suffering currently from the huge piracy that is encompassing Crysis," explained Yerli.

"We seem to lead the charts in piracy by a large margin, a chart leading that is not desirable. I believe that's the core problem of PC gaming, piracy."

"It was a big lesson for us and I believe we won't have PC exclusives as we did with Crysis in future. We are going to support PC, but not exclusive anymore," he added.

Wii Fit game sold - every four seconds

The Currys retail chain, consisting of Currys, PC World and Dixons brands, has revealed that it sold a copy of Wii Fit every four seconds across the release weekend, making it the chain's fastest-selling game ever.

The news comes alongside the announcement that the group is also planning to implement its own game classification scheme to try to better inform shoppers as to the suitability of its products for family entertainment.

PC and console titles will be tested by a selection of families, while some products will also be labelled as suitable for customers over the age of 60.

"The notion that videogames are played by teenagers tucked away in their bedrooms is past its sell-by date," said Amanda Clift, Currys' head of brand. "Videogaming is now a mainstream form of family entertainment and we've seen a huge surge in the number of non-core gamers purchasing consoles and games.

"This new scheme will allow us to rate a game based on the collective feedback of a large number of families so our customers can quickly and easily identify which games are going to provide the best form of family entertainment."

The move follows the release of the Byron Review last month, which recommended stronger measures to highlight and encourage recognition of videogames ratings.

The company also released a top ten chart of its best-selling 'family-friendly' titles, as follows:

1. Wii Fit (Wii)
2. Singstar (PS3)
3. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (PS3)
4. Buzz Hollywood (PS2)
5. Big Brain Academy (Wii)
6. Mario Kart (Wii)
7. Brain Training (DS)
8. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Wii)
9. Sun Crossword (DS)
10. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS)

Exteel - Frontliner Mechanaught And Weapon Highlights

NCsoft announces the third Exteel diary highlighting Frontliner Mechanaught and detailed weapon highlights.

NCsoft announces the third Exteel diary highlighting Frontliner Mechanaught and detailed weapon highlights.

Once most Exteel players complete the full range of tutorials and finish a few matches they probably won’t want to stick with the Pinkett very much longer. Most players by this time should have enough in-game money (credits) to purchase something new, or at least acquire some different Mechanaught parts.

One of the Mechanaught sets available for a reasonable sticker price is the Frontliner, a medium Mechanaught design that is built for battling other Mechanaughts on the front lines (hence the name) and absorbing greater amounts of punishment. It’s a popular purchase among new players, who want to stand and fight the enemy straight-up, rather than run away at the first signs of danger. The heavier armor of the Frontliner means it’s a bit more armored than a Pinkett, but the Frontliner has superior energy generating and heat regulation capabilities without really slowing it down. Both the Pinkett and Frontliner have one MPU or Mechanaught Processing Unit, which dictate how many special skills you can equip your Mechanaught with at any one time.

Pilots upgrading from a Pinkett should take note however that the Frontliner does have a durability rating, meaning it’ll degrade over time until it is either unusable or gets repaired.

Weapon Highlights

• Poseidon – The –C model of this large two-handed underslung cannon is awarded to players for finishing the “Cannon Training” advanced tutorial. It fires large energy rounds at opponents and while the damage may not as great as other two-handed weapons, its ease of use and wide lock-on ability, coupled with a relatively low overheat rating, means it’ll be a favorite for starting pilots who wish to yield the really big guns.

• Defender – Defenders belong to a set of non-weapon items that essentially are shields. The Defender itself looks like a police riot shield. While Mechanaughts can be armed with shields, the shield has to actually be in use (that is, you’re clicking on the mouse button to bring it up to a shielding position) in order for it to work. Shields absorb damage from incoming fire—they more they absorb, the more heat they generate until they overheat and become unusable until the heat dissipates. Players commonly use a shield with a melee weapon since at close range it’s easy to shield yourself from a melee attack, but other combinations are certainly possible (flag carriers in CTF matches for instance have been known to equip two shields at once).

• Death Hurler – The Death Hurler is a low-cost two-handed weapon similar to the cannon, except it fires high explosive-armed rockets. Rocket launchers have some distinct advantages over cannons as they don’t generate as much heat or take as long to reload. Pilots can also fire a rocket launcher while moving or jumping, while cannon users have to remain standing still. The downside is that the rocket launcher requires manual aim; there’s no locking on to an opponent, so the pilot must be very accurate when firing. Plus, a rocket launcher doesn’t pack nearly as much punch as a cannon.

• Beam Spitter – One of the most popular SMG types in Exteel, the Beam Spitter is an excellent weapon in the hands of even a novice pilot, with exceptional range for an SMG and very good ratings for accuracy and reloading. Many pilots that wind up in close-range battles switch to the Beam Spitter for the kill. Like many SMGs, the Beam Spitter fires a one-second burst at a target with the single pull of the trigger.

Practice Mode
Practice Mode offers you the ability to try out weapons and skills in a circular arena without having to attack other players, or worrying about other players attacking you. The arena is populated by four standing Mechanaughts, replicas of your own Mechanaught, that can be targeted and attacked, but not destroyed. Here you can practice how long it takes your weapons to overheat, how certain skills can be used, and you won’t get penalized for leaving (in regular matches you get penalized 200 credits for leaving early).

Battle Modes – Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch
Exteel offers one of the most traditional online multiplayer game modes in the world: the classic deathmatch. Battles can have as many as sixteen players, and the purpose of the deathmatch is simple: accumulate the most points and win. You accumulate points by destroying other Mechanaughts, or assisting in their destruction (meaning you delivered a significant amount of damage but did not make the fatal blow). Players can respawn from generally four different areas on the map, which is usually where the bulk of the fighting is. There’s no healing here; once the damage is taken, it stays that way until your Mechanaught is destroyed and you have to respawn.

Deathmatches can be very intense as everyone is pretty much out to get you, and being successful means being a little careful about which local fights to get into, where you are, and how absorbed your enemies are in each other. A gaggle of Mechanaughts engaged in a giant melee fight can be easy pickings for someone at long range.

The structure of Team Deathmatch is similar to Deathmatch; instead of a free-for-all it pits two teams of players against the other, and the team with the most accumulated points wins. The tactics of Team Deathmatch are of course very different from Deathmatch. Pilots need to stick together in clumps, where the combined firepower can overwhelm singular enemies easily. Since there are no healing pads like other team matches, those equipped with rectifiers will be extremely useful. Team Deathmatch is all about working together to rapidly defeating the opponents without having the same thing done to you.

New Screenshots Available for Theatre of War

cdv Software Entertainment USA today has released a pack of new screens for Theatre of War, their upcoming WWII battlefield simulation/RTS game. In the new screens, bombers and artillery blast to the battlefield while infantry and armored units head into combat. Slated for a May 2008 release on PC, Theatre of War offers an extensive real-time strategy experience. By combining the look, feel and historical elements of World War II, Theatre of War creates an unrivaled tactical battlefield experience that spans major campaigns from the Battle of Moscow to Normandy. With more than 50 missions spread across multiple campaigns and a rich do-it-yourself mission and map editor included, Theatre of War rewards armchair generals with tremendous gaming and replay value.

You can view the screens in the Theater of War section on our website: http://cdvusa.com/games/view/63

Theatre of War offers a fresh take on the WWII Real-time Strategy genre by combining the look, feel, sounds and historical elements of WWII to create the ultimate warfare simulation. The game engine features realistic shell ballistics, armor penetration calculations and damage effects coupled with destructible environments, trenches, fortifications and individually tracked weapons, equipment, ammo and vehicles. More than 50 battles spread across seven different campaigns (US/UK, Soviet, German, French, Polish, Battle for Moscow and Panzer Lehr in Normandy), along with eight non-campaign scenarios, five Training scenarios and 11 different multiplayer missions are available in the game to offer a rich and challenging combat experience to players.

Lineage II - The Chaotic Throne – Hellbound Transformations

NCsoft Europe presents a new Lineage II Hellbound feature describing how moderate-to-high-level players can transform into a variety of creatures.

While our Lineage II players generally enjoy playing and advancing their own characters, they still like to have a different experience every once in awhile. Our players also crave something new and diverse—something they can’t get in any other fashion. How about playing something one normally wouldn’t play, like one of the game’s many dangerous creatures? Players who have experienced Lineage I have seen something very similar to this with polymorph scrolls.

With The Kamael we expanded on this concept, which we call transformations. Moderate- to high-level characters can transform into a variety of creatures for combat and non-combat situations, utilizing a special talisman, skill or consumable scroll. Players level 50 and above from all classes can acquire the “More than Meets the Eye” quest from Necromancer Grand Master Hardin in his Academy. Once the quest is completed, players can then go to Transformation Wizard Avant-Garde on the second floor of the Ivory Tower to get their first transformation skill: Transform Onyx Beast. The player must also possess a Transformation Sealbook for that particular creature in order to learn the skill. The Sealbooks can typically be purchased from various vendors (for example, the Dragon Bomber Sealbook can be purchased from the Town of Aden Adventure Guildsman).

From there, as the player gains levels they can gain other transformation skills and Sealbooks. At level 55 the player can acquire Transform Doom Wraith, and then at level 60 players can get racial specific transformation skills. Each of these skills is geared towards a specific race, though another race may use them with some decreased attributes (exactly how much depends on the race). These battle-oriented transformations are known as combat transformations, where the character assumes the stats of the transformed creature. They also have access to a number of transformation-related skills; the higher the character level, the more skills become available. Combat transformations last thirty minutes and can only be used once every four hours.

A couple of the transformations are special cases, like when a Kamael goes through their third class change, or when the player acquires a specific item (like the Demon Sword Zariche). We also introduced non-combat transformations, which are generally more socially fun and no special skills are required.

With Hellbound we wanted to further add to the transformation system and give it a bit more depth and variety. Five new commonly available transformations were added for all characters that reach level 70. At the same time we introduced a series of very rare transformations, which allow the character to transform into an especially tough raid boss, like Ranku or Kechi. They won’t be as powerful as that raid boss, but they’ll be more powerful than the normal combat transformations. The Transformation Sealbook needed to complete the transformation process can be acquired by hunting certain types of raid monsters, so obviously these items will be highly sought after.

Aside from a couple of new, fun non-combat transformations, a set of class-specific transformations have also been added. Once the player reaches level 80 in their sub-class they can undertake a special quest to acquire it. These transformations into “divine” versions of their sub-class can be especially powerful and have a wide variety of specialized skills available to them.

BRITISH ROCKERS MUSE TO PLAY ENCORE IN DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT FOR GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK

New track pack featuring Brit rockers available on 8th May 2008

Known for their exhilarating live performances and unique blend of rock music styles, British trio Muse is returning to Guitar Hero for an encore performance with the release of a three track downloadable song pack for Activision Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Featuring the rousing hits “Exo-Politics” and “Supermassive Black Hole” from the band’s critically acclaimed album Black Holes and Revelations, and “Stockholm Syndrome” from their multi-platinum record Absolution, the Muse track pack will be available for Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and in the PLAYSTATION Store for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system on May 8, 2008.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock offers the ultimate rock experience with new wireless guitars, freshly added content and features including a multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a host of exclusive unlockable content and visually stunning rock venues. Expanded online multiplayer modes allow axe-shredders worldwide to compete head-to-head for true rock status as they riff through a star-studded soundtrack including master tracks by legendary artists such as Aerosmith, Guns 'N' Roses, The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine and Pearl Jam, as well as original songs by guitar icons Slash and Tom Morello. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is now available and is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information visit www.guitarhero.com.

About Activision, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $1.5 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at www.activision.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision generally uses words such as “outlook”, “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes”, “may”, “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales of Activision’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision’s ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision’s products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, international economic and political conditions, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities the timing and successful completion of the combination of Vivendi Games with Activision, the combined companies’ success in executing planned strategies and achieving assumed synergies and cost savings, and foreign exchange rate changes. Other such factors include additional risk factors identified in Activision’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision as of the date of this release, and Activision assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations.