Ultimate video game movement simulator gets better

Perhaps a number of of you has the movement simulator of Force Dynamics. This simulator can along several axis move to give a realistic experience when you play race games.

The simulator has already been on much large events and several times on TV has been.

Source: Dutch website with video

Denki Wins BEST DEVELOPER In TIGA Awards

Scottish games studio Denki has picked up the Best Developer trophy at the 2008 TIGA Awards, held in central London last night.

Denki was nominated, alongside fellow UK developers Blitz Games and Sumo Digital, as the development company which has made the greatest contribution to independent game development in the UK last year.

TIGA – The Independent Game Developers Association - is an industry body for companies in the UK which create videogames. Each of the awards were voted for by member companies.

Denki is renowned within the games industry for its focus on original game design, high-quality conversions of top-tier brands and carefully managed project development. The company is best known for its work on interactive digital television gaming where, in the past seven years, it has released nearly seventy titles through companies including the UK's Sky Television and DIRECTV in North America. Denki's releases include both original games and many based on leading brands from the likes of Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Sky Sports, LEGO, Namco, Eidos and DreamWorks.

“It's a great honour to be chosen as the best independent developer,” said Denki's Internal Development Manager, Gary Penn, “particularly considering the significant achievements of our fellow nominees”. “We’re proud of having retained our independent status through what have been some very tough times for indie developers over recent years. We're especially delighted that our colleagues and peers within the industry rate Denki so highly and would like to thank everyone who voted for us.”

Building on their experience within the Game Boy Advance and digital television markets, Denki has recently turned its attention towards the Casual and Indie games sector.

“The new opportunities afforded to independent game developers by digital distribution means that games are becoming a far more inclusive pastime,” said Gary. “You can now play games on your television, mobile phone, web browser and even your MP3 player as well as the traditional games consoles people are already familiar with. This change means that for the first time in a generation we have the opportunity to re-engage with people who would never consider themselves ‘gamers’. The next challenge for the games industry is to start creating entertainment which will appeal to people who never normally play any sort of videogames. Denki is ideally positioned to deliver these new types of game and we already have several titles we’re very excited about in development.”

Denki is working on a number of forthcoming branded titles for interactive television as well as several yet-to-be announced games, based on original intellectual property for other platforms.

GEARS OF WAR LEADS GOOZEX 2007 TRADES

Goozex, Inc., the leading online video game trading community, announced today the company’s 2007 year end trading statistics. The Gears of War game title lead the most traded and offered categories on Goozex for the year. The Goozex trading system experienced enormous growth, closing the year with 14.2 million Goozex points exchanged among its members. Goozex points are used as a virtual currency to acquire games for all major platforms by members. On January 1, 2007, the company recorded 12,200 titles offered in the system’s library. The size of the library increased 605% over the year closing with 86,000 games.

Below are the top 10 Goozex trading lists for 2007.

Top 10 Most Traded Games on Goozex in 2007:
Gears of War – Xbox 360
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess – Wii
God of War – PS2
Halo 2 – Xbox
Bioshock - Xbox 360
Dead Rising - Xbox 360
Super Paper Mario – Wii
Crackdown - Xbox 360
New Super Mario Bros. – Nintendo DS
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Xbox 360

Top 10 Most Requested Games on Goozex in 2007:
Assassin’s Creed - Xbox 360
Gears of War - Xbox 360
The Orange Box - Xbox 360
Bioshock - Xbox 360
Super Paper Mario – Wii
Mass Effect - Xbox 360
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Xbox 360
Dead Rising - Xbox 360
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess – Wii
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption – Wii

Top 10 Most Offered Games on Goozex in 2007:
Gears of War - Xbox 360
Crackdown - Xbox 360
Bioshock - Xbox 360
Dead Rising - Xbox 360
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter - Xbox 360
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas - Xbox 360
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess – Wii
Halo 2 – Xbox
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Xbox 360
Saints Row - Xbox 360

Goozex offers a weekly RSS feed of the top 10 categories that can be found here:
http://www.goozex.com/trading/asp/top10list-games.asp

PT Boats: Knights of the Sea PC Updates

Latest news on PT Boats: Knights of the Sea development! Take to the high seas with us to find out more re what is new about Akella’s naval action sim.

Committed to keeping historical accuracy, game devs have introduced one more unit to the British navy – a legendary Fairmile D motor torpedo boat. It’s one of the largest and heavily armed boats in the world. It is fitted out with 4 torpedoes, 2 single 40-mm cannons, 2 twin 12,7-mm machine guns, 1 single 20-mm cannon, and depth charges.

The interfaces of the first-person view and tactical mode have been re-designed to better convey the battle experience on the open sea in the WWII. As you switch between modes, you reveal more new features. In the first-person view, you can see a fire control center available on board the boats and submarines. Targeting and selection of weapons are made through appropriate scopes (artillery, torpedo, and periscope).

The interface of the tactical mode has become easier and more good-looking; we’ve added keys/indicators that allow the gamer to repair separate vessel sections while staying at sea.

Please view illustrations of these new features in place in the game gallery. For more information about the game, please, visit the official website www.pt-boats.net.

About PT Boats: Knights of the Sea

PT Boats: Knights of the Sea

Genre: naval action simulator

Platform: PC

Developer and publisher: Akella

Release date: Q2 2008

The seas can be dangerous, but when you're in command of a crack strike boat crew, you might just be the most dangerous thing out there...

Join up to the Russian, German or Allied navies and prove your worth out these on the open water. Control every aspect of your boat's defensive and offensive, from the anti-aircraft guns hobbling your enemy's air superiority to the torpedo strapped to the sides to sink destroyers of merchant vessels.

Combining advanced strategic and action modes you can plan the intricacies of your attack and then lead your crew from the front and right in the battle. As you advance in rank throughout the long campaign you will gain access to new boats and even warships for you to command. Build up your crew in single player then go online and join your friends manning your own boat and challenge others in a battle to the death.

Key features:

• Innovative combination of sim, strategy and tactical action.
• Control the entire crew or take your place at an individual station.
• DirectX 9 as well as DirectX 10 options.
• Proprietary graphics engine, with advanced physics and post-processing effects
  

CHAMPIONSHIP GAMING SERIES ANNOUNCES NORTH AMERICAN SCHEDULE FOR SECOND SEASON

Fresh from the unprecedented success of its inaugural 2007 season, Championship Gaming Series® (CGS), the only worldwide professional video gaming league, today officially announced its schedule of events for the 2008 North American season.

The commencement of the second season builds on the immense foundation laid last year, when CGS drafted 18 teams located on five continents, established an unprecedented player compensation, made high-definition broadcasts available to more than 350 million viewers worldwide, and crowned the Chicago Chimera team as the first-ever CGS World Champions at the $1 million World Final in Los Angeles. CGS has redefined professional gaming and transformed it into a modern sport for the digital age.

In North America, the 2008 season will get underway March 7-9 at the South by Southwest ScreenBurn Arcade in Austin, Texas. The CGS North American Combine and Draft will feature the best gamers from the United States and Canada vying to distinguish themselves for a spot on one of six teams: Los Angeles Complexity, New York 3D, Chicago Chimera, Carolina Core, San Francisco Optx, and Dallas Venom.

The CGS North American Combine is modeled after the same dynamic competition structure used by other professional sports leagues. Gamers compete in tournaments and special challenge matches issued by GMs. Players will also be subjected to the proprietary CGS H2i hand-eye coordination testing system which measures their raw gaming ability. North American GMs will then draft players to join their teams as pro athletes who will receive professional player contracts for the 2008 season.

“Last year, CGS revolutionized competitive gaming by launching the only worldwide professional gaming league and creating groundbreaking television programming distributed to a worldwide audience,” said CGS Commissioner Andy Reif. “This year CGS will continue to build on this momentum with plans to further expand our television distribution and also amplify our online initiatives to give our fans even greater access to the league.”

Following the North American Combine and Draft in Austin, the six teams will commence their competition in April and continue until mid July. Live coverage of the 2008 North American regular season will kick off on DIRECTV’s The 101 on June 23 and continue until the North American Final on July 14, 2008 where the top team will claim the title of North American Champion and take home the coveted Dew Trophy.

“When we announced the launch of CGS two years ago DIRECTV made a commitment to bring the phenomenon of competitive gaming viewership to a critical mass, and from the astounding results of the 2007 season, we believe we are on our way to achieving that goal,” said Steven Roberts, senior vice president, New Media and Business Development, DIRECTV, Inc.
“The television audience from the World Final has truly exceeded our expectations and proves that CGS is popular programming that attracts more than just core gamers, especially in the key male demographic of 18-34 yrs. We are proud to be a part of history in the making and we can’t wait to see what the 2008 CGS season brings us.”

In the coming weeks, details will be announced regarding CGS’ international schedule, the World Final, official Draft rules for each region and the official slate of the league’s 2008 Games.
CGS events are broadcast to more than 350 million viewers by DIRECTV’s The 101 in the U.S., BSkyB’s Sky One, Sky Two and Sky HD in the UK, ESPN STAR Sports in Asia, Sky in Brazil and Mexico, and DIRECTV throughout the remainder of Latin America, and across Continental Europe via broadcast partners which will be announced shortly.

For more information, please go to thecgs.com.

About Championship Gaming Series
Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, the Championship Gaming Series™ (CGS) is the only worldwide professional video gaming league. Launched in 2007, and a joint venture among BSkyB, DIRECTV and STAR, CGS features teams of the world's best gamers from North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. The league distributes entertainment content to more than 350,000,000 viewers worldwide via DIRECTV in North America and Latin America, BSkyB in the UK, and STAR in Asia and Australia. CGS sponsors include Mountain Dew, Dell XPS, Xbox 360 and Creative.

GSC World Publishing and Koch Media Sign Publishing Agreement for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Clear Sky

GSC Game World, computer games developer, its publishing subdivision GSC World Publishing and Koch Media, a leading marketer of games and application software, today announced the conclusion of a publishing agreement concerning the title S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky. Under the terms of this contract, Koch Media is guaranteed worldwide publishing rights - with the exception of the territories Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky will be published by the games labels Deep Silver and GSC World Publishing.

"The unique atmosphere of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. caused a sensation among gamers, while the sales have demonstrated the brand's enormous potential. We are delighted with this chance to publish the prequel together with GSC under the Deep Silver label," said Craig McNicol, Managing Director of Koch Media.

«Publishing the game Heroes of Annihilated Empires worldwide together with Koch Media distribution, we were happy of the cooperation and are glad to continue it with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky project», - said Sergiy Grygorovych, CEO of GSC World Publishing.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is a survival FPS game for PC based on a 'what-if' scenario of the second Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. The game is created as a warning to mankind against mindless play with technologies. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is the official prequel to the renowned S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game by the Ukraine-based GSC Game World studio. The game is set in 2011 and brings forth the events to have preceded the third campaign of Strelok to the Zone center. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky introduces an alternative look onto the events of the original game and offers the player to try himself out as a mercenary s.t.a.l.k.e.r. in search of his own path in the world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Official game site: www.stalker-game.com

About Koch Media UK

Founded in 1994, KOCH MEDIA UK develops, publishes and distributes a diverse mix of titles for home console gaming systems, personal computers and the Internet. Based in Basingstoke, the company has distribution contracts with a number of software publishers, including NINTENDO. For publishers not in the UK, KOCH MEDIA exclusively markets, sells and distributes titles. Under its own brands of DEEP SILVER and EUROPRESS, KOCH MEDIA develops and publishes its own range of gaming and educational and lifestyle software. For more information on KOCH MEDIA and its products, visit www.kochmedia.co.uk

About Deep Silver
Deep Silver is KOCH Media's premium games label. Deep Silver has been collaborating with international developers and publishers since 2002 to publish creative and innovative computer and video games. The multi-award-winning X2 and the daring Singles have already put Deep Silver at the top of the charts. Projects include co-publishing titles with Sunflowers (ANNO 1701, ParaWorld) and JoWooD (SpellForce 2, Gothic 3, etc). www.deepsilver.com

About GSC Game World and GSC World Publishing:
Founded in 1995 in Kiev, GSC Game World is the leading computer game development company in Ukraine. The launched projects developed by GSC Game World, among others, include the critically acclaimed and multi-million selling Cossacks series, American Conquest, American Conquest: Fight Back, Alexander (Oliver Stone's movie tie-in), Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars. The two recently released titles by GSC Game World are Heroes of Annihilated Empires (self-published worldwide by GSC's proprietary publishing subdivision GSC World Publishing) and the top-selling S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Currently in development is the official prequel S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky for PC.
Official web-site: www.gsc-game.com

MAJESCO ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES 'MAJOR MINOR'S MAJESTIC MARCH'

March to the beat of your own drum as Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced Major Minor’s Majestic March for the Wii™ home video game console. Developed by NanaOn-Sha, Major Minor’s Majestic March marks the return of the creative team behind the renowned PaRappa the Rapper franchise-legendary game designer and multimedia musician Masaya Matsuura and famed New York artist Rodney Alan Greenblat.

“There’s something magical about marching bands that truly captures the imagination. The concept of leading a virtual band that’s reliant on your musicianship is a perfect fit for the interactive capabilities of Wii,” said John Merchant, Marketing Manager, Majesco Europe. “The combined musical and artistic superiority of Matsuura and Greenblat make them a natural choice to deliver this innovative title exclusively to the Wii audience.”

Major Minor’s Majestic March turns the Wii Remote™ into a “special” baton that the bandleader, Major Minor, uses to keep tempo, recruit new band members and pick up valuable items. While marching through eight whimsical locations that contain various hair-raising events, Major Minor strives to create the most impressive parade ever. Players can add up to 15 different instruments to their dynamic procession—including brass, woodwinds, and percussion—to alter its composition and resulting performance. Players are scored on how well their band maintains its rhythm and manages obstacles that could otherwise throw the procession into disarray. The band keeps tempo to more than 25 popular marching band songs from around the world, composed into original medleys for each stage.

About Majesco Entertainment Company

Majesco Entertainment Company is a provider of video games for the mass market. Building on 20 years of operating history, the company is focused on developing and publishing a wide range of casual and family oriented video games on leading console and portable systems. The company's shares are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol: COOL. Majesco is headquartered in Edison, NJ and has an international office in Bristol, UK. More information about Majesco can be found online at www.majescoentertainment.com and www.majescoeurope.com

SCHOLARSHIP FUND CREATED BY ACADEMY OF INTERACTIVE ARTS & SCIENCES SUPPORTS HIGHER EDUCATION FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF GAMING GURUS

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has announced the creation of the Dr. Randy Pausch Scholarship Fund, established to support students pursuing careers in game design, development and production. The AIAS will award four $2,500 scholarships to students attending accredited universities.

This new scholarship fund, which will cultivate the gaming industry's brightest young minds, is a collaborative effort between the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and Bing Gordon, chief creative officer of Electronic Arts. The AIAS will donate $1 for every Academy member's vote for the 2008 Interactive Achievement Awards.

The AIAS has more than 12,000 members who are dedicated to serving the entertainment software industry. The 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, hosted by actor, comedian and avid video game player, Jay Mohr, will take place during the 2008 D.I.C.E. Summit on Thursday, February 7, 2008 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas.

The scholarship fund honors Dr. Randy Pausch, professor of computer science, human-computer interaction and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Dr. Pausch, a co-founder of CMU's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), has had great influence within the industry through his teachings, sabbaticals at Walt Disney Imagineering and Electronic Arts, and consultation with Google on user interface design.

"It makes sense that the Academy's first scholarship fund honor Dr. Randy Pausch, who has been an inspiration to those who want to be involved in making great games," said Joseph Olin, president, AIAS. "We hope these scholarships may help the next Will Wright or Mike Morhaime get their start. This new effort is a wonderful opportunity for the video game industry to support its future by providing a foundation in academics."

A scholarship committee comprised of AIAS board members Rich Hilleman, Electronic Arts; Don Daglow, Stormfront Studios and Mike Capps, Epic Games, along with the University of Southern California's Chris Swain and Carnegie Mellon's (former AIAS board member) Jesse Schell to select scholarship recipients. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences will begin accepting applications after the 2008 D.I.C.E. Summit. Additional information on the Dr. Randy Pausch Scholarship Fund and the application process will be available at www.interactive.org.

DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS INVITES FANS TO "WORK THIS OUT" WITH THE LATEST ADDITION TO ITS SUCCESSFUL "HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL" VIDEO GAME FRANCHISE

Disney Interactive Studios announced today that the newest video game in the “High School Musical” franchise – High School Musical: Work This Out! for Nintendo DS™ will be available April 2008. High School Musical: Work This Out! allows fans of the popular Disney Channel movies to dive into the world of the Lava Springs Resort in an all new musical adventure game, featuring storylines extending beyond “High School Musical 2.” For the first time on Nintendo DS, High School Musical: Work This Out! features all 10 songs from the movie, and allows players to take their favorite songs from the film on-the-go by using the Nintendo DS as a music player. This unique feature lets players listen to their favorite “High School Musical 2” songs even while the Nintendo DS is closed.

High School Musical: Work This Out! follows the extremely successful launch of High School Musical: Sing It!, High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut and High School Musical: Living the Dream this past holiday season. Across all titles and platforms in the franchise, Disney Interactive Studios has shipped 3.8 million copies of the video games worldwide. According to NPD data for the U.S., the “High School Musical” video games achieved Top 20 positions on each published platform for the month of December 2007. High School Musical: Sing It!, a karaoke-themed video game featuring songs from both “High School Musical” films, ranked as the #6 top selling Wii™ home video game system title and #11 selling PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system title. High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut, a rhythm-based music and adventure game, ranked no10 for Nintendo DS. High School Musical: Living the Dream ranked #5 among the GameBoy® Advance titles for the same month.

“The phenomenon of ‘High School Musical’ goes beyond simply watching the movies,” said Craig Relyea, senior vice president, global marketing, Disney Interactive Studios. “The success of the video game franchise proves that fans want to immerse themselves in the world of ‘High School Musical,’ whether they are singing the songs or embarking on adventures with the cast. This new experience once again underscores Disney’s passion to provide fans with unparalleled entertainment as they wait for ‘High School Musical 3’ to arrive, which will also usher in a new generation of video games this holiday season.”

High School Musical: Work This Out!, due out in April, is the only musical adventure game allowing fans to immerse themselves in the world of “High School Musical 2.” Fans can play as their favorite High School Musical characters Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan, Chad and Taylor to explore the Lava Springs Resort as seen in the movie. Throughout the game, players go on various adventures at the resort, compete in time-based challenges and play different rhythm games, all while listening to the hit songs from “High School Musical 2.”

High School Musical: Work This Out!, rated E for Everyone PEGI 3+ and, will be available in April 2008 exclusively for Nintendo DS for $29.99.

Speedball-Demo out now

A singleplayer demo version of Speedball 2 – Tournament is now available for download. Tigers vs. Brutal Deluxe: Who is going to kick the opponent out of the arena? PC players choose one of the two tough teams to play in single player knock-out mode against CPU opponents. With two controllers plugged in to one computer, sports fans even jump into 1-on-1 matches against human opponents.

The full retail version is coming to stores soon. It features all 32 teams, team editor, team management, the singleplayer modes knock-out, cup and tournament as well as the full multiplayer mode via LAN and internet. The demo package consists of a 440 MB zip file and can be downloaded here:

http://www.fip-publishing.de/downloads68!1!435,1.html