Unreal Tournament 3 out July 7th

Xbox 360 Version of Highly Anticipated and Award-Winning Franchise has New Features, Exclusive Content and Gears of War 2 Multiplayer Video.

Unreal Tournament 3, for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, is scheduled to be available on July 7, 2008, with several new features including split screen, five exclusive maps and two all-new characters, as well as all previously released downloadable content. Unreal Tournament 3, the award-winning first-person-shooter, has already shipped more than 1 million units for the PC and PLAYSTATION 3 systems.

In addition, the game will feature an exclusive video preview of Gears of War 2, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 4.7-million-unit selling blockbuster third-person action game. The exclusive video content will include never-before-seen footage of the game's multiplayer modes featuring new maps, new modes, new weapons and new gameplay elements. The video is narrated by design director, Cliff Bleszinski, and producer, Rod Fergusson.



"Unreal Tournament 3 for the Xbox 360 will deliver fans the award-winning gameplay of UT3, complete with exciting exclusive content that will make it a must-have title for the Xbox 360" said Mona Hamilton, vice president of marketing, Midway Home Entertainment.

"We're very excited to be shipping Unreal Tournament 3 for Xbox 360," said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games, Inc. "This is a great title and, with two-player split screen support and some very cool new content, Xbox 360 players should be thrilled with this fantastic version of the game."

About Unreal Tournament 3
Unreal Tournament 3, the world's premier PC first-person shooter, will make its debut on the Xbox 360. Unreal Tournament 3 unleashes the full power of Unreal Engine 3, taking graphics, gameplay and challenge to a whole new level. Players engage in intense battles with other human players online, or against Unreal artificial intelligence that sets the industry standard. With the most powerful futuristic weapons and vehicles available, this is FPS action at its best!

First Gameplay Footage from - Gears of War 2 available on Xbox LIVE Video Store

Epic Games and Microsoft Game Studios Reveal the First Gameplay Footage from "Gears of War 2" Available on Xbox LIVE Video Store

Players eager for a look at the highly anticipated Xbox 360 exclusive “Gears of War 2” can soon experience the heart-pounding action when the video becomes available for download on Xbox LIVE Video Store on Saturday 10th May at 7am.

With a personal introduction by Epic Games Design Director Cliff Bleszinski, the trailer captures the essence of the bigger, better and more badass gameplay in “Gears of War 2.” Featuring the first in-game look at chainsaw duels, large scale fire fights with Locust Horde and stunning new visuals, the action-packed video is sure to please fans around the world.

“Gears of War 2” is the highly anticipated follow up to the best-selling Xbox 360 exclusive “Gears of War,” and will be available this November from acclaimed developer Epic Games.

The “Gears of War 2” Assault trailer can be downloaded from the following locations shortly after 7am on Saturday 10th May

DC Comics And Epic Games Announce Plans For Comic Book Series Based On Hit - Gears Of War - Video Game Franchise

DC Comics And Epic Games Announce Plans For Comic Book Series Based On Hit 'Gears Of War' Video Game Franchise

DC Comics, the largest English-language comic book publisher in the world, in partnership with Epic Games, Inc., announced plans today to publish a comic book series based on the hugely popular action video game franchise Gears of War. The series is slated to debut from DC’s WildStorm publishing imprint in October. More details about the series, including the creative team, will be released at a later date.

The winner of over 30 Game of the Year awards, Gears of War for Xbox 360 and PC features amazing tactical action and multiplayer excitement. The plot thrusts gamers into a deep and harrowing story of humankind’s epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a nightmarish race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the planet. Gears of War 2, which continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad in an epic saga of survival, loss and retribution, is the sequel to the blockbuster game that sold over 4.5 million copies and redefined the third-person tactical action game genre. Gears of War 2 is being developed exclusively for Xbox 360 and will launch this November.

“We are thrilled to be working with DC Comics to further bring to life the Gears of War universe. A lot of our developers are huge comic fans, and have loved the personas and chronicles unique to DC Comics since childhood,” said Dr. Michael Capps, president of Epic Games. “The Gears of War storyline and characters that millions of gamers have come to cherish will be a perfect fit under the WildStorm imprint.”

“Big guns and monsters — what a perfect comic book for WildStorm! We have an opportunity to work closely with Epic to add to the canon of the Gears of War mythos, so you can imagine how excited we all are, said Hank Kanalz, VP – General Manager, WildStorm. “Epic sets the bar very high, in graphics, story, and gameplay — and expect no less from our series, starting with our lead-in arc that fills in the gaps between the first game and the upcoming sequel.”

Two New Gears of War 2 Videos Available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace

Epic Games and Microsoft Game Studios Offer Fans a Front Row Seat at GDC with Two New "Gears of War 2" Videos, Now Available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace

Go behind the scenes and on stage with Epic Games as they show off "Gears of War 2" and the updated Unreal Engine 3 at the 2008 Game Developers Conference

Gamers can see what it takes to prepare for a second “emergence” with two brand new videos now available for free on Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

In the videos, Epic Games President Mike Capps and Lead Designer Cliff Bleszinski reveal the nerves and excitement involved in making a major game announcement, and provide backstage messages to fans before and after the official reveal of “Gears of War 2” at the Game Developers Conference earlier this month.

Additionally, the GDC Unreal Engine 3 technology demo video is now available, which shows off the impressive features of the updated Unreal Engine 3 via an on-stage demonstration during the Microsoft keynote at GDC by Epic Games CEO and Technical Director Tim Sweeney.

“Gears of War 2” is the highly anticipated follow up to the best-selling Xbox 360 exclusive “Gears of War,” and will be available this November from acclaimed developer Epic Games.

Stay tuned for further announcements on “Gears of War 2” in the coming months, and remember – the only good Locust is a dead Locust.

MatchBox360 XL – Tournament sponsored by SteelSeries

MatchBox360 XL – Tournaments sponsored by SteelSeries

Event: MatchBox360 XL

Date: 21st - 23rd March 2008

Venue: NEC Toute Suite, Birmingham

MatchBox360 XL are pleased to announce that SteelSeries will be an official sponsor of the forthcoming MatchBox360 XL eSports tournaments on 21st-23rd March at the Birmingham NEC Toute Suite.

SteelSeries will be providing the winning players and teams each with a pair of the latest SteelSeries Siberia Neckband Headsets, which are fully compatible and conducive to competitive Xbox 360 gaming. In addition to these fantastic prizes, the SteelSeries Neckbands will also be available on demonstration throughout the 3 day MatchBox360 XL weekend:

"SteelSeries have always designed high quality headsets for PC gamers, and they are now supporting console gaming which is great news for everyone attending XL! We're delighted to be working closely with SteelSeries to provide what promises to be an incredible weekend of gaming action." – Graham Hoffman (MatchBox360 XL Event Manager).

SteelSeries is all about gaming and to provide performance enhancing gaming gear, created for and by leading professional gamers from 3 different continents in order to continuously improve upon their wide range of gaming products:

"SteelSeries is proud to partner up with MatchBox360 for the upcoming XL4 event. The MatchBox360 organization continues to support the growth of the console gaming scene and we are happy to be a part of that, by providing the winning teams with our professional gaming gear and equipping the demo consoles with our headsets. We wish good luck to the participating teams!"– Casper Mejiholm (SteelSeries Marketing Manager).

The new SteelSeries Siberia Neckband Headset features a similar eye-catching visual design, as well as the popular white theme, that made the original Siberia headset so popular. The comfort and soundscape in the SteelSeries Siberia Neckband Headset was fine-tuned with the help of professional gamers, electronic DJ's and rock musicians. The headset is also fully compatible with the Xbox 360 and plugs directly into the Microsoft Xbox 360 controller, where in-game sound and voice communication can be combined.

In addition to cash prizes worth upto £10,000, MatchBox360 XL continues to set the standard for competitive console tournaments in Europe and the winners of the following tournaments will each receive SteelSeries Siberia Neckbands:

• Halo 3 FFA
  
• Halo 4 4v4
  
• Call of Duty 4 FFA
  
• Call of Duty 4 5v5
  
• Gears of War 4v4
  

Tickets are selling out fast, so if you want to test out and have a chance to win yourself a pair of SteelSeries Siberia Neckbands please purchase your tickets asap from the MatchBox360 XL Ticket Office: http://tickets.matchbox360.co.uk

For more information on SteelSeries or if you wish to see more of their products, please visit them online: http://www.steelseries.com

Inno-Wear official Gears of Wars 2 licensee

Inno-Wear official Gears of Wars 2 licensee

An exclusive agreement for the most anticipated game of 2008

Inno-Wear A.G, European leader in textile and accessories under video game licenses, signs an exclusive Gears of Wars 2 licensing agreement with Epic Games. Gears of Wars 2 thus joins the widest catalogue in the industry, which encompasses over 50 licenses (Xbox, Resident Evil, Tomb raider, Devil May Cry, Unreal Tournament, Mario, Sonic, Guild Wars, Zelda,...).

"We are delighted that Epic has entrusted us with Gears of Wars,reinforcing our position as the leader in gaming licensing. Our challenge is now to develop unique end-of-the-year offers for our European distributors," declares Aurelien Palasse,development director at Inno-Wear.

The apocalyptic world of Marcus Fenix and his Delta Squad will be available through Inno-Wear's multiple brands in time for the official release of the game, scheduled for November 2008.

Nvidia Unleashes GeForce 8800 GT

Gamers wanting an uber cool gaming experience this festive season have now got an affordable option.

Nvidia has launched the GeForce 8800 GT, the latest addition to its GeForce 8 Series of graphics processing units (GPUs)

GeForce 8800 GT offers a hyper-reactive, intensely robust gaming experience for the latest, next generation DirectX 10 games, such as Crysis, Hellgate: London, and Gears of War, as well as full support for current DirectX 9 games, according to Nvidia.

When the GeForce 8 Series was first introduced, gamers demanded a product with 64 stream processors and 256-bit memory interface to deliver more performance at an affordable price.

Nvidia has now responded to the demand with its GeForce 8800 GT featuring 112 stream processors, fast 256-bit memory interface, and second-generation PureVideo HD technology.

In addition to 112 stream processors, each individually clocked at 1.5GHz, plus a 256-bit memory interface running at 900MHz, the GeForce 8800 GT is designed for the new PCI Express 2.0 bus standard, and is backwards-compatible with the original PCI Express standard.

Nvidia claims the GeForce 8800GT combines the best in gaming with the best in HD. It features a second-generation video processing engine to deliver high-quality playback of HD DVD and Blu-ray movies on PCs.

According to the company, the new programmable video processing engine takes on all of the high definition H.264 video decoding, freeing the CPU to perform other tasks, as also reduces power consumption, heat, and noise.

The Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT is available for Rs 14,900 plus taxes.

Rare questions Microsoft's marketing of Viva Piñata

"So much of the money went towards publishing Gears of War"

Viva Piñata developer Rare has questioned why its owner Microsoft decided to back Gears of War with such a high-profile marketing campaign, which left its own new franchise in the shadows last Christmas.

Software engineer James Thomas feels that the new family-friendly IP lost out to Epic's Gears of War, which enjoyed a much bigger marketing budget from Microsoft, helping it top the charts all over the world.

"Most interestingly I think from our point of view, it was interesting to see how the marketing budget was split last Christmas, because obviously everyone knew that Microsoft were publishing Gears of War and Viva Piñata," said Thomas, talking to Gamasutra.


"Yet, so much of the money went towards publishing Gears of War, which is going to sell millions anyway."

"It was a bit like, 'what about the other franchise?' I think we got left in the wake somewhat. Hopefully the PC version this Christmas, it might get something of a second wind."

In the same interview, Justin Cook, who worked as a designer on Viva Piñata, notes that the game has sold "close to half a million sales now, so that isn't a terrible debut for a game."

In contrast, Epic's Gears of War broke records on release, becoming the fastest-selling next-gen console game and hitting 3 million sales within ten weeks, as well as becoming the most played game on Xbox Live.

Epic Games president Michael Capps said earlier this year that much of the success of the game was due to a big marketing budget, and the company was "extremely lucky" to have the backing of Microsoft.

However, Microsoft does still has faith in the Piñata franchise. At E3 this year it unveiled Viva Piñata: Party Animals in development at Krome Studios, and Climax's Games for Windows version of the original is due shortly.

Source: Games Industry