Eight months imprisonment given to rogue trader
A market trader who made a living selling illegally copied games worth thousands of pounds at a Wolverhampton market has been jailed for eight months.
Christopher Charles Jones, 40, of Century Court, Edlington, Doncaster was sentenced on Friday 30th November at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court to eight months imprisonment for having sold illegally copied games – most notably single discs containing 400 games for Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP) console, among others. The combined value of each individual PSP game on the disc has been estimated to be “in the thousands”, but Jones was selling each one for just £5.
Mr Jones was initially arrested following a raid executed by West Midlands Police and Wolverhapton City Council Trading Standards on 11th April 2006. He had been under surveillance for some time by ELSPA (the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) investigators, who had been secretly filming his criminal activity and making test purchases.
During his first court appearance on Tuesday 27th November, Jones admitted 21 charges relating to copyright breaches after the raid at the North Computer market at Wolverhampton’s Dunstall Racecourse, before being charged and jailed for eight months on 30th November before a bench of three magistrates.
Peter Calvert, Wolverhampton City Council Trading Standards Manager, said: “This prosecution underlines the City Council’s commitment to fighting the scourge of counterfeiting. Selling fake items is designed to dupe innocent consumers, harm the livelihoods of honest businesses and line the pockets of the greedy. The City Council will continue to deal robustly with those involved in this trade in Wolverhampton.”
Michael Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA commented: “It’s clear from the recent successes in bringing to justice those who think they can get away with illegally copying games and profiting from their sale that piracy and counterfeiting doesn’t pay. This case only goes to prove that through patience and diligence Trading Standards, local police and the anti-piracy investigators are making it harder than ever for criminals to operate.”
Thursday, December 06, 2007
SouthPeak Edges the Twilight video game announced
SouthPeak Games has announced early details of its latest acquisition, an epic third-person action adventure called Edge of Twilight.
Developed by FUZZEYES, Edge of Twilight promises to deliver spectacular cinematic action and involved exploration when released for next-gen consoles and PC in 2009. This sees SouthPeak’s catalogue expand beyond releases for 2008, cementing the publisher’s plans for continued growth throughout the next 18 months.
“Edge of Twilight appealed to us because of its exquisitely original vision,” said Katie Morgan, Executive Vice President at SouthPeak Games. “We look forward to working with the talented team at FUZZYEYES on this incredibly ambitious title.”
Edge of Twilight is set in a post-apocalyptic dual universe where light and dark no longer co-exist, but are instead fractured into two separate planes of existence. With the player’s character, Lex, as the only ‘halfbreed’ left who can travel between the light and dark worlds, the scene is set for a truly vast adventure taking place within parallel realms, both rich enough to become living, breathing universes.
“Edge of Twilight has been our labour of love for some time now and we could not be more excited to partner with SouthPeak to bring it to market,” said Wei-Yao Lu, CEO of FUZZYEYES. “There is still so much to reveal about the game that we can’t wait to share more.”
Edge of Twilight will be released on next-gen consoles and PC in 2009.
Bounty Bay Online Free PC download
Game client for free now, and first add-on "Storm Island" released
Starting today, it’s even easier to become a world famous pirate, explore the seven seas and collect treasures beyond imagination in the award-winning MMORPG Bounty Bay Online. The game client – previously sold for 20 Pound Sterling or 30 Euros – now is completely free. It can be downloaded from the official website (www.BountyBayOnline.com) and it also includes a 10 days free trial period.
The change to a “free client” business model is a way to improve BBO game-play by offering a slick, easy way to get into the game. Players who already bought the boxed version of the game will be compensated with a free month playing time.
Also starting today, the first free add-on for Bounty Bay Online called “Storm Island” is available. This add-on will be included in the content update applied automatically when the players log in. It contains a new tropical island close to the North American coast. There, evil creatures wait guarding precious treasures.
Features of BBO – Storm Island:
- A large new island full of dangers and adventures for the most courageous players
- Level cap has been raised from 100 to 120, giving players the possibility to improve their characters skills even further
- 21 additional special abilities for fishing, stamina, sewing, shipbuilding, foundry and more
- New quests and new dungeons, made especially for groups of adventurers
- New enemies, monsters, weapons, armour and extras
- Brand new gem system, which allows players to upgrade their weapon and armour. Now you can upgrade your favourite items to match the new requirements
Bounty Bay Online puts gamers in the Age of Discovery, beginning in the early part of the 15th century. Gamers are able to build their own online destiny, whether they choose to be a merchant, adventurer, fisherman or pirate. Besides Europe, the continents of Africa, Asia and North America also wait to be explored by Bounty Bay players.
More info: www.BountyBayOnline.com
BBC Radio 4 - games design competition for students
2005 winnersDare to be Digital Radio Stars set the scene for 2008
Dare to be Digital, the UK’s premier computer games design competition for students, will feature in a documentary on primetime BBC Radio 4 next Friday (14 December).
The University of Abertay Dundee, which organises the annual contest, confirmed today that “Game Academy”, a two-part documentary series revealing the challenges and achievements of the 60 students who took part in the 2007 competition, will be aired in prime morning slots on 14 and 21 December at 11am.
Indie documentary production company Wantok were commissioned by BBC Radio 4 to track the competition from start to finish, and spent more than 10 weeks shadowing the 12 teams competing in three host centres across the UK.
Part one of the documentary focuses on the host centre at Abertay in Dundee, which the producers describe as having “quietly become the Hollywood and Harvard of the UK games industry all rolled into one.” The programme will trace Dundee’s “incredible transition from jute and jam to digital dynamo”, and will feature a rare interview with David Jones, the Dundee genius behind global blockbusters like Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto.
Part two of the documentary looks at the tense round-the-clock work in the final weeks of the competition as the 12 teams prepared to show their games to the public in the Dare ProtoPlay event at the Edinburgh Festival, followed by the final ‘Dragon’s Den’ style judging by a panel of industry experts. The three winning teams are then followed as they prepare to compete for a BAFTA in late October.
Paul Durrant, Dare to be Digital Director, commented “We are delighted that the programme will be broadcast in such a prestigious slot following Women’s Hour and are certain it will open up the games industry to a whole new audience.”
Cooking Mama - A million copies served up around Europe
505 Games today raised a glass as the European sales of its celebrated Cooking Mama franchise surpassed one million units. Released initially on Nintendo DS and later for Wii, the series becomes 505 Games’ most successful title to date.
Since its September 2006 release, Mama has sliced, chopped and sautéed her way into the hearts of casual and hardcore gamers alike with her unique and easily accessible ‘hands-on’ gameplay. And with plans for the much-anticipated sequel to be released in 2008 in full motion, budding chefs keen to serve up seconds won’t have long to wait.
“These fantastic results vindicate the hard work and dedication from everyone at 505 that has gone into making this our most successful franchise to date,” commented Ian Howe, 505 Games’ Managing Director. “We’ve set ourselves a lofty target, but now we’re all keen to see how quickly we can get Cooking Mama 2 to one million!”
Cooking Mama is available in all good gaming outlets for DS and Wii. Cooking Mama 2 is currently scheduled for an early 2008 release.
EA'S FIFA STREET 3 TURNS GLOBAL FOOTBALL ICONS INTO ACTION HEROES FOR THE NINTENDO DS
Intuitive, New Touch Skills Control System Uses Stylus to Perform Over-the-Top Moves
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that FIFA Street 3 is in development for the Nintendo DS™. The newest iteration of the street football arcade series will debut on the Nintendo DS with a new look that turns the game’s global football icons into stylized action heroes. This game features an intuitive Touch Screen control system using the stylus that enables you to easily perform over-the-top trick moves, passes and shots. FIFA Street 3 is scheduled to ship to stores under the EA SPORTS BIG™ brand early next year, the same time the game becomes available on the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.
FIFA Street 3 creates a fast-paced and larger-than-life arcade football experience which places the game’s biggest stars in exotic locales around the world. Featuring the world’s best players representing 18 of the top international teams, each player has been rendered into a stylized caricature with heroic qualities.
With the all new FIFA Street 3 Touch Screen control scheme you can control all aspects of your team’s performance from passing and shooting to more advanced moves like juggling, headers and bicycle kicks. Use the stylus and simple button controls to seamlessly combine moves together between players to execute rewarding combos – providing you with tons of different ways to showcase your street skills. Fill up your Gamebreaker bar and trigger Touch Screen controlled team trick moments to increase your chances of scoring a goal.
FIFA Street 3 on the Nintendo DS features an exclusive mini-game called Kick Ups that will challenge you to keep the ball in the air and test your ball juggling skills.
Build your team around your favourite player in Street Challenge Mode, and then take them from Pretender to Legendary status by completing challenges, developing Team Chemistry, improving your Reputation and unlocking balls, kits and a few surprises. Take your team to the urban playgrounds of South America, the rooftops in Asia, the streets of Europe, or a special location in Africa exclusive to the Nintendo DS.
Take your football heroes to the streets and experience the revolution in street football. FIFA Street 3 is rated “E” for Everyone and 3+ by PEGI.
BEEzzz to the Honeypot with Latest Launch
Hands-On Mobile™, the world's leading developer of connected games and applications, today announces the launch of BEEzzz. Developed and published in partnership with XENDEX Gmbh, BEEzzz is an addictive action puzzle game in which your bee buzzes between different coloured flowers, building ever more spectacular flower chains. Quick wits and sharp moves such as the 'slingshot technique' enable the player to quickly navigate around the bee's lush world, pollinating as they go in their race against the clock and their own scores.
"Action-puzzle titles such as BEEzzz have an incredibly broad appeal we are delighted that we are providing such an exciting, cute and playable game on mobile,” said James Kaye, Director of Marketing EMEA for Hands-On Mobile. "We are also delighted that our partnership with XENDEX has become yet another example of Hands-On Mobile working with the cream of developer talent to bring the very best mobile content to users around the world."
The aim of the game is to build up your position within the hive. Players start the game as a worker drone, but with time, highly skilled players can become the Queen of the hive. Collecting combos from different coloured flowers multiplies the player's score and restores health levels. The game's expansive features include special 'Bee Candy' that can be discovered hidden within every level, as well as new areas that are unlocked as the player progresses.
"Developing BEEzzz in partnership with Hands-On Mobile has been incredibly enjoyable for everyone at XENDEX," said Michael Haberl, CEO of XENDEX. "We are very excited that this game will be enjoyed by mobile gamers around the world through Hands-On Mobile's extensive distribution channels and we look forward to the next opportunity we have to work together."
BEEzzz's accessible controls enable all types of players to pick up and play the game, making the task of beating previous high scores a challenging and enjoyable task. In addition to the easy gameplay the unique and vibrant graphics make BEEzzz instantly recognisable, easy to play and compelling. The addictive nature of BEEzzz should see players regularly dipping back into the game's environment of the flora, fauna and for another sweet taste of nectar.
Urban Rivals - 100 million games played!
Boostr, the developers of Urban Rivals, a massive online trading card game has announced over 100 million games have been played since the website launched in 2006.
This news follows a recent announcement in November that the Urban Rivals player base had reached over 1 million players.
Sebastien Flory, Boostr's CEO said; "It's been exciting to reach two huge milestones like this in quick succession. Over 300,000 games of Urban Rivals are played everyday, it's very compelling content".
Urban Rival's popularity has seen numbers snowball with up to 10,000 new players registering each day. The simple, yet absorbing game format of quick battles, masses of available opponents and innovative tools to manage your game characters has proven to be a successful formula.
Sebastien reflected on Urban Rivals growth, "We've developed a game that players really want to tell their friends about and the viral, wordof- mouth effect has been amazing. We have the same people to thank for this as the last announcement, our players and community.
Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition
FACT SHEET
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA)
Developer: Eat Sleep Play
Genre: Car Combat
Players: Single-player, 2-player Split-screen
Platform: PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system
Peripherals: DUALSHOCK 2 analog controller, memory card (8MB)
(for PlayStation 2)
Launch Date: TBA
Rating: “RP” for “Rating Pending”
BACKGROUND
Developed by Eat, Sleep, Play, a newly formed company founded by David Jaffe, a former creative director for SCEA’s Santa Monica Studios; and Scott Campbell, the founder of Incognito Entertainment, a dedicated development studio also under the SCEA Santa Monica Studios banner, Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition is set to crash onto the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system in Spring 2008.
Featuring enhanced graphics and key gameplay features from the popular PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) title, Twisted Metal™: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition features four never before seen “Lost” levels that were built for the never-released Twisted Metal: Black® sequel, plus an all-new never before seen Twisted Metal™: Head- On level. Additionally, for the first time ever, fans will be able to take “Sweet Tooth” out of his ice cream truck and explore, on foot, an all new level filled with factoids about the Twisted Metal universe straight from the developers. Also, included with the game is an art booklet featuring never released concept art from the franchise.
Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition provides all the fast-paced vehicular combat and destruction that fans of the franchise have come to know and love. The latest installment in the multi-million selling franchise provides a variety of gameplay options, as gamers can go head-to-head or compete against the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deliver the devastation as they strap themselves into one of 14 lethal machines on wheels equipped with machine guns, turbo boosts and special attacks unique to each vehicle.
KEY FEATURES
Twisted Metal: Head-On
• Modes of Play
• Story Mode – Drivers choose their vehicle and progress through a series of arenas.
• Challenge – Drivers choose their vehicle, arena, AI controlled enemies, then go off to battle.
• Endurance – Drivers take on an endless onslaught of AI controlled opponents until the end.
• Players – Single-player or 2-player split-screen.
• Vehicles – Choose from different destructive vehicles. Each vehicle is armed with serious firepower, turbo boost and each with a unique devastating specialty attack.
• Vehicles: Roadkill, Shadow, Mr. Grimm, Sweet Tooth, Thumper, Spectre, Twister, Outlaw, Grasshopper, WartHog, Axel.
• Unlockable Vehicles: Mr. Slam, Crimson Fury, Hammerhead, Cousin Eddy, ATV, Dark Tooth, Tower Tooth.
• Environments / Battlegrounds – Unleash mayhem in a variety of different levels, including: Paris, Egypt, Tokyo, and Los Angeles, plus a bonus level, exclusive to the PS2 version.
• Weapons – Players can collect an arsenal of weaponry to deliver explosive attacks on opponent vehicles, including: homing, fire and power missiles, machine gun, ricochet disc, napalm, remote bomb and swarm missiles.
• Upgrade Power-Ups – Players can finish off opponents and collect Upgrade Power-Ups to enhance vehicle and weapon performance.
Twisted Metal: Lost
• Modes of Play
• Story Mode – Drivers choose their vehicle and progress through a series of arenas.
• Challenge – Drivers choose their vehicle, arena, AI controlled enemies, then go off to battle.
• Endurance – Drivers take on an endless onslaught of AI controlled opponents until the end.
• Players – Single-player or 2-player split-screen.
• Vehicles – Reminisce with classic characters and vehicles from the Twisted Metal: Black universe.
• Vehicles: Roadkill, Crazy 8, Mr. Grimm, Shadow, Brimstone, Axel, DarkSide, Outlaw,
Sweet Tooth, Yellow Jacket, Junkyard Dog, Spectre, Manslaughter, Warthog.
• Unlockable Vehicles: 12-pak (NEW), Gold Tooth (NEW).
• Environments / Battlegrounds – 4 exclusive never before played levels from Twisted Metal: Black.
Bonus Content
• “Sweet Tour” – Players can run around as Sweet Tooth and explore a new level on and foot and learn factoids about the Twisted Metal franchise straight from the developers.
• “Twisted Metal: The Dark Past” – Fans will be able to view a video documentary on the
Twisted Metal franchise.
• “Twisted Metal: The Lost Ending Movies” – Never before seen from the editing room floor, check out the ending movies that never made it into the final version of the original Twisted Metal.
Elf Bowling 7 1/7 for PC - Download game trial demo
Slide, Strike and Score Your Way to Christmas Bowling Fun!
If you’re looking for the ideal family-friendly stocking stuffer to include in holiday wish lists and gift guides this season, Elf Bowling 71/7– The Last Insult is just what you’ve been waiting for! Whether that someone special on Santa’s list has been naughty or nice, Elf Bowling 71/7 can bring all the fun of the holidays straight to your PC!
In this latest installment of the game that’s become a holiday staple, Santa needs help showing his wise-cracking elves what the true meaning of "strike" is! Players can compete in a crazy bowling game with the elves serving as the pins, while they provide their own special, colorful commentary.
Elf Bowling 71/7 is more mischievous and wackier than ever!
· Three unique bowling lanes: Pirate Ship, Ice Berg and Santa’s Workshop
· Play solo or against the computer-generated rival
· Power-ups to either enhance the game or sabotage an opponent’s
At only $9.99, Elf Bowling 71/7 is just the thing to get into the holiday spirit. Developed by NStorm and published by MumboJumbo, Elf Bowling 71/7 is now available across leading game sites worldwide.
For your review, please enjoy this enclosed trial version of Elf Bowling 71/7!
http://mumbojumbo.com/marketing/Elf_Bowling_7-v1_0.exe
Happy Bowl-a-Days!
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