Eurogamer Network today announces it has re-vamped its Eurogamer.net website and has promoted Tom Bramwell to the role of Editor.
The new site features a design update as well as several new useful features for readers. Eurogamer.net now includes easily navigable pages that detail the most exciting games that are coming soon and out now, helping make the site an indispensable buyer’s guide for games. The site changes also benefit readers of the other local Eurogamer websites, Eurogamer.de and Eurogamer.fr.
Alongside these changes, Tom Bramwell has been promoted to Editor of the site after working for the company for the past 8 years. His predecessor, Kristan Reed, will take the role of Editorial director of the site, whilst Ellie Gibson will fill Tom’s previous role of Deputy Editor.
Commenting on his appointment, Tom Bramwell says, "I am delighted to be taking over the website I have spent the best part of a decade helping to establish, write and operate. Kristan's unflinching passion for games and conveying what makes them special leaves me with a great deal to build on, and serving the people who play them will be at the absolute heart of the steps I take to maintain and better the incredible, sustained growth achieved under his leadership. I can't wait to get started."
Eurogamer.net’s new editorial director, Kristan Reed, added, "Tom's promotion is a logical evolution for the site, and one that marks the start of a new era for Eurogamer. He's someone that's become arguably the most creative and dedicated games journalist in the world, and his ideas to take the site forward give everyone a lot to look forward to. As for me, my new role allows me an opportunity to develop relationships and work closer with the people that actually make the games that we all get so heated about. That said, I'm not hanging up my keyboard, and will continue to contribute regular reviews and editorial as usual."
Alongside the new website design and staffing changes, the company has also completed its move into new premises in central Brighton. The new space will allow the business to continue its growth over the coming years. The company’s new address is:
Eurogamer Network Ltd
2nd Floor, Wenlock House
41-43 North Street
Brighton
BN1 1RH
The new office phone number is 01273 746 864.
Eurogamer.net is the UK’s most popular independent gaming site and will shortly be announcing its audited traffic figures for November 2007. The company also publishes popular video website Eurogamer TV and a social network for gamers, Eurogamers.
Monday, January 14, 2008
IGN.com Kicks Off 10-Year Anniversary With The Launch Of IGN Retro And Week-Long Editorial Retrospective
IGN.com (http://www.ign.com), the Web’s leading videogame and entertainment information destination, today announced the unveiling of its latest channel, IGN Retro, covering games and systems from the distant and not so distant past as IGN.com kick-offs a year-long celebration for its 10th anniversary. In addition, IGN will present a week-long retrospective of the past 10 years in gaming that will explore IGN.com’s history, from the games and franchises over the past decade to the editors who reviewed them.
The launch of IGN Retro (http://www.retro.ign.com) represents IGN’s first site dedicated to classic videogames. IGN Retro will cover gaming systems from the distant past - including the Atari 2600, Intellivision, Colecovision, and NES - as well as more recent platforms that aren't seeing active release schedules any longer such as the Dreamcast, GameCube and original Xbox systems.
“Having been with IGN.com since its inception, I am very proud of what the site has accomplished so far and very excited for the next 10 years,” said Peer Schneider, Senior Vice President and Publisher, IGN Entertainment. “IGN.com has become the leader in providing users with the latest in videogame news and exclusives, and as the videogame industry continues to evolve, IGN.com will continue to be on the forefront of the industry.”
In addition to the IGN Retro, starting today through Friday, January 18 on IGN.com, the site will feature variety of different editorial topics highlighting the evolution of videogames and IGN.com’s role in covering the industry for the past 10 years. Editorial features include:
Monday, January 14: “Press X: Ten Years in Gaming”
Examining the impact of the last 10 years in videogames
Tuesday, January 15: “The Many Faces of IGN: Where Are They Now?”
An update on many of IGN.com’s past editors
Wednesday, January 16: “Classic IGN Video Moments ”
A collection of cool and funny videos from throughout the years
Thursday, January 17: “IGN.com Turns 10 Podcast”
Editors, past and present, come together to talk about the anniversary
Friday, January 18: “IGN Video Documentary: The First 10 Years”
A three-part look at the decade of IGN.com with past and present editors
“As we hit the 10-year mark, it is important to take a look back at the moments in history that helped define IGN.com as an industry leader,” said Roy Bahat, General Manager of IGN Entertainment. “It is with great pride that we celebrate this company milestone with the millions of IGN.com users who have been with us since the beginning.”
January 12th, 1998 marks the official start of IGN as a branded Web site, and is the day N64.com officially changed its name to IGN64.com. Ten years later, IGN.com is a leading Internet media and services provider focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. It is the Web’s number one videogame information destination and attracts one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet.
About IGN Entertainment
IGN Entertainment, a unit of Fox Interactive Media, Inc., is a leading Internet media and services provider focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN’s properties reached more than 30 million unique users worldwide in the month of November 2007, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. IGN’s network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others), is the Web’s number one videogame information destination and attracts one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet. IGN also owns and operates the popular movie-related website, Rotten Tomatoes and one of the leading male lifestyle Websites, AskMen.com. In addition, IGN provides technology for online game play in videogames. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S. and in Montreal.
Spell of Play Studios announces the development of T.W.T.P.B.
Spell of Play Studios announces the production of the shoot 'em up game T.W.T.P.B.
In T.W.T.P.B. you must protect the Empire from the numerously superior heretic alien forces. The word and force of the Emperor still rules the galaxy.
The game features intense boss fights, special abilities and strategic thinking as well as the frantic action of a shooter. Video gamers and shooter fans can grab a copy of game's pre-release demo and experience couple of minutes of gameplay.
The game is developed iteratively and gamers are encouraged to supply their comments and suggestions throughout the development. New releases are published once every fourteen days, and detailed development information is available at the Spell of Play community.
NAMCO BANDAI Games 'NARUTO: Uzumaki Chronicles 2' Brings New Threats, Allies And Adventures To Europe
Atari today announced the forthcoming European release of Namco Bandai Games’ Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2 for PlayStation 2 featuring a new original adventure, new characters and high-octane multiplayer co-op action. Set in the Naruto universe popularised by the anime TV show currently on air across Europe, Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2 is scheduled for release in March 2008.
A new evil has risen and threatens to take over not only the Hidden Leaf Village, but all the other villages and ninja clans as well. An ancient organization which was long thought disbanded is alive and well and in search of several orbs to resurrect a mechanical horror that will ravage the land. It’s now up to Naruto and all the Hidden Leaf Genin to join forces with those of the Hidden Sand Village to stop this menace.
While staying faithful to the hugely popular anime, Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles2 boasts a completely new original adventure, plus co-op gameplay, character customization options, and multiple playable characters switch-able on the fly including Naruto, Shikamaru, Rock Lee, Kakashi, Guy, Neji, Choji, and more. In addition to 2-player Vs Battle gameplay, during normal solo play a second player is able to join in the action for a simultaneous two-player adventure in Co-op mode. Dazzling lethal attacks and an armoury of specialised ninja weapons are taken straight from the anime with over 30 attack items for kicking ninja ass. The thrilling gameplay modes include Story, Head-to-Head, Mission, and Survival modes giving aspiring ninjas plenty of kicks and punches to throw.
Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles for PlayStation 2 is published by NAMCO BANDAI Games, distributed in Europe by Atari, and scheduled for European release in March 2008.
Sidelines: The Game Writers Agency
Sidelines is a new agency representing specialist game writers and experienced scriptwriters, all with a good knowledge of video games and the requirements of interactive gameplay.
We provide a high quality service to publishers and developers at all stages of script development, including concept evolution, environment filling, storylining, characterization and dialogue tuning.
Andy Emery, Side MD, said “We have created this agency in response to the clear demand for higher quality game scripts and our awareness of a number of talented and experienced writers without game industry representation.”
Sidelines is headed up by Sini Downing who hails from the world of television and event production. Our writers have worked on many of today’s most popular titles, including: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Rogue Trooper, Primal, Fable, Killzone.
Lost The Plot?
With the growing sophistication of many new titles, a player now expects more from a game than a big weapons cache and a fast car. They want intellectual and emotional involvement, not just the gut pleasure of putting down an assailant. A good script should provide the thrills and dilemmas of being part of a developing narrative or an unfolding mystery. Choice and change are at the heart of all good stories, elements that a specialized games writer can bring to a project.
A game world is a place where the player is going to spend many hours. So, the creation of a fictional environment is an area of script development that needs as much attention as the player’s avatar. Detailing and colouring this world imaginatively is vital – a world that is over-familiar, cheesy or populated by clichéd NPCs will turn off even the most dedicated gamer. Quality writing can enhance a developer’s vision, or, if required, provide bold new concepts.
We provide a high quality service to publishers and developers at all stages of script development, including concept evolution, environment filling, storylining, characterization and dialogue tuning.
Andy Emery, Side MD, said “We have created this agency in response to the clear demand for higher quality game scripts and our awareness of a number of talented and experienced writers without game industry representation.”
Sidelines is headed up by Sini Downing who hails from the world of television and event production. Our writers have worked on many of today’s most popular titles, including: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Rogue Trooper, Primal, Fable, Killzone.
Lost The Plot?
With the growing sophistication of many new titles, a player now expects more from a game than a big weapons cache and a fast car. They want intellectual and emotional involvement, not just the gut pleasure of putting down an assailant. A good script should provide the thrills and dilemmas of being part of a developing narrative or an unfolding mystery. Choice and change are at the heart of all good stories, elements that a specialized games writer can bring to a project.
A game world is a place where the player is going to spend many hours. So, the creation of a fictional environment is an area of script development that needs as much attention as the player’s avatar. Detailing and colouring this world imaginatively is vital – a world that is over-familiar, cheesy or populated by clichéd NPCs will turn off even the most dedicated gamer. Quality writing can enhance a developer’s vision, or, if required, provide bold new concepts.
PathEngine Announces SDK Release, New Licensees, Front Line Award Win
PathEngine announces release 5.14.00 of the PathEngine pathfinding and agent movement SDK, with some very significant performances improvements pretty much across the board. We're also pleased to announce licensing to Aeonsoft Inc. and to Deck13 Interactive and to have been chosen as winner in the middleware category in the Game Developer Magazine annual Front Line awards.
SDK performance improvements include:
Around 20% speedup in pathfinding preprocess generation.
Around 15% speedup in collision preprocess generation and run-time pathfinding queries.
Even bigger speedups in pathfinding around dynamic obstacles.
Speedups and improved scaling when loading meshes without a mapping to 2D, with up to 50% speedups being seen in certain cases involving significant amounts of internal detail.
Very significant speedups in the 3D processing, with improved scaling of content processing times with respect scene complexity.
Updated SDK benchmarks have been posted on this page:
http://www.pathengine.com/benchmarks.php
The Game Developer Front Line awards are intended to recognise the most innovative, user-friendly, and useful products from behind the scenes of the world's best video games.
We're very proud to have been chosen from amongst the many excellent middleware providers working in this industry to receive this prestigious award.
About PathEngine
PathEngine was founded in 2000 to provide a solution to some fundamental issues in intelligent agent movement based on hard industry experience.
Our SDK is built around an advanced implementation of points-of-visibility pathfinding on three-dimensional ground meshes. The approach taken enables us to provide both pathfinding and collision in tight integration against a single, sophisticated, agent movement model, with agent shape taken into account, with seamless support for overlapping geometry, and with dynamic obstacles directly integrated into the core movement model.
The PathEngine SDK features in the genre-breaking MMORPG 'Granado Espada' (by IMC Games) (released in the west as 'Sword of the New World'), 'Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation Troy' (by Dimps Corporation), 'Titan Quest' (by Ironlore Entertainment), 'Pirates of the Burning Sea' (by Flying Lab Games) and many other triple-A titles.
For a more complete list of our clients please see:
http://www.pathengine.com/clients.php
For more information, including documentation and demos, or to arrange an evaluation, please visit our website:
www.pathengine.com
HeroCraft and i-Free companies release the new game «Mafia and the Beauties» for Russian operator Tele2
HeroCraft and i-Free companies announce the successfull launch of a game «Mafia and the Beauties» for a significant Russian operator Tele2.
«Mafia and the Beauties» is a branded game which responds to the spirit of TELE2 company. Designed in world famous «Tetris» genre, this game will give You a chance to meet the stunning beauties who are looking for the serious, solid gangsters. The subscribers of TELE2 can download this game for free and participate in the contest with valueable prizes for the winners.
The details of this contest are available at the WAP-Portal of operator. WAP.TELE2.RU.
HeroCraft
HeroCraft is a dynamically expanding Russian company working in the field of designing and releasing high-class games and other programming products for mobile phones. Founded in 2001, the company currently occupies one of the leading positions on the world market for mobile phone games, and does not intend to rest on its laurels. We employ experienced programmers, talented artists, gifted designers and many other brilliant specialists who truly enjoy making games. Our major aim is in attaining maximum enjoyment from our games through the highest quality and excellent gameplay.
The company currently employs over 50 persons in 4 offices in Russia and the Ukraine. A large number of outside design teams also work with us, having chosen us as publisher for their products the world over. Specifically for the purpose of promoting our products on world markets, we have, together with iFree and FounDreams, set up United Fun Traders. The major task of UFT is the active promotion of the products and services of leading Russian content providers. UFT represents a whole range of mobile entertainment: J2 ME-games, animated and still images, mobile serials, realtones, video, as well as Jamango – one of the most “advanced” community services for subscribers to cell networks in the world at the present time. UFT are two dozen professionals who promote our products on world markets.
TELE2
TELE2 is a leading alternative telecommunication operator in Europe. The company's objective is to provide cheap and simple services to the citizens of all the countries where TELE2 is present. In Europe the company provides its subscribers with the most needed products and services: mobile and fixed telephonia, data exchange, Internet access and cable TV. The base of the marketing policy is an urge to offer the lowest prices on market so everyone can afford the communication. The subscriber base of TELE2 group counts about 25 millions of subscribers in 15 countries.
In Russian Federation the company presents since 2003. Currently «TELE2 Russia» provides the GSM mobile communication services in 16 regions with summary population about 35 millions: St-Petersburg and its region and Archangelsk, Murmansk, Novgorod, Kemerovo, Rostov, Omsk, Nizhegorod, Smolensk, Kursk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Lipetsk and Cheliabinsk regions, Udmurtia Republic and Komi Republic. There are 7 996 000 subscribers of TELE2 in Russia (information on 30 September 2007).
«Mafia and the Beauties» is a branded game which responds to the spirit of TELE2 company. Designed in world famous «Tetris» genre, this game will give You a chance to meet the stunning beauties who are looking for the serious, solid gangsters. The subscribers of TELE2 can download this game for free and participate in the contest with valueable prizes for the winners.
The details of this contest are available at the WAP-Portal of operator. WAP.TELE2.RU.
HeroCraft
HeroCraft is a dynamically expanding Russian company working in the field of designing and releasing high-class games and other programming products for mobile phones. Founded in 2001, the company currently occupies one of the leading positions on the world market for mobile phone games, and does not intend to rest on its laurels. We employ experienced programmers, talented artists, gifted designers and many other brilliant specialists who truly enjoy making games. Our major aim is in attaining maximum enjoyment from our games through the highest quality and excellent gameplay.
The company currently employs over 50 persons in 4 offices in Russia and the Ukraine. A large number of outside design teams also work with us, having chosen us as publisher for their products the world over. Specifically for the purpose of promoting our products on world markets, we have, together with iFree and FounDreams, set up United Fun Traders. The major task of UFT is the active promotion of the products and services of leading Russian content providers. UFT represents a whole range of mobile entertainment: J2 ME-games, animated and still images, mobile serials, realtones, video, as well as Jamango – one of the most “advanced” community services for subscribers to cell networks in the world at the present time. UFT are two dozen professionals who promote our products on world markets.
TELE2
TELE2 is a leading alternative telecommunication operator in Europe. The company's objective is to provide cheap and simple services to the citizens of all the countries where TELE2 is present. In Europe the company provides its subscribers with the most needed products and services: mobile and fixed telephonia, data exchange, Internet access and cable TV. The base of the marketing policy is an urge to offer the lowest prices on market so everyone can afford the communication. The subscriber base of TELE2 group counts about 25 millions of subscribers in 15 countries.
In Russian Federation the company presents since 2003. Currently «TELE2 Russia» provides the GSM mobile communication services in 16 regions with summary population about 35 millions: St-Petersburg and its region and Archangelsk, Murmansk, Novgorod, Kemerovo, Rostov, Omsk, Nizhegorod, Smolensk, Kursk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Lipetsk and Cheliabinsk regions, Udmurtia Republic and Komi Republic. There are 7 996 000 subscribers of TELE2 in Russia (information on 30 September 2007).
Last Chance To Create A Wrestling Legacy With The WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2008 International Tournament
Leading worldwide video game developer and publisher, THQ Inc., today called on fans to join the hundreds already registered to compete in the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 International Tournament, before registration closes on February 8, 2008.
Since registration began in December 2007, almost 700 WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 players have signed up to compete against international opponents from the USA, United Kingdom and Europe on Xbox Live.
The tournament, which is running qualifying challenges until February 8, 2008, places online gamers across the globe in a virtual ring, battling for the ultimate prize of two highly coveted floor tickets to the WWE live event, WrestleMania 24, which will take place on March 30, 2008 in Orlando, Florida, USA.
Major League Gaming, the world’s largest organised video gaming league, is producing, hosting and operating the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 International Tournament on www.gamebattles.com/svr. In early March, the four top players in each region will move on to compete in regional finals.
One European finalist, one UK finalist and two North American finalists will then battle head-to-head at the grand finale, scheduled to take place during the 6th Annual THQ Superstar Challenge on March 27, 2008 at the House of Blues, Orlando, Florida, USA.
At the 6th Annual THQ Superstar Challenge, finalists will not only have the opportunity to play live against one another in front of a capacity crowd, but will also get to share the gaming spotlight with the top WWE Superstars in attendance.
In addition to the grand prize winner receiving floor tickets to WrestleMania 24, all will not be lost for the three runner-up competitors. After battling to the end on stage, each will receive two stadium tickets to WWE’s biggest event of the year.
Registration for the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 Global Challenge began on December 8. Gamers may register for the tournament at www.gamebattles.com/svr.
What: THQ’s WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 International Tournament
Who: Gamers around the World
When: Online Registration closes February 8. Qualifying Tournaments begin February 1 and close February 8.
Where: Gamers can register for the tournament, as well as review rules and tournament prizes, at www.gamebattles.com/svr.
Alienware's Performance-Leading Area-51 7500 ALX SLI Desktop Now Includes NVIDIA® 3–Way SLI technology
Alienware® the leading manufacturer of high-performance desktop, notebook and professional systems is now offering NVIDIA® 3–Way SLI technology on its Area-51 7500 ALX SLI desktop system. 3-Way SLI technology is the fastest gaming solution available thanks to three NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 GTX or GeForce 8800 Ultra-based graphics cards on one desktop system.
www.alienware.co.uk/3waysli
By utilising an NVIDIA nForce® 680 SLI MCP motherboard and three GeForce 8800 GTX or GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics cards power hungry users need look no further to satisfy their unrelenting demands for increased graphic performance. With 3-Way SLI, gamers can harness the power of 384 stream processors, a 110+ gigatexel per second texture fill rate, and over two gigabytes of graphics memory for no-compromise gaming performance.
The increased performance translates to nearly a 2.8X increase in speed over a single card on graphic intensive games such as Crysis. 3-Way SLI fuels the high-end gaming experience by offering 60 frames per second at resolutions as high as 2560x1600 and with 8x antialiasing.
"Alienware delivers the most advanced technology with the highest performing metrics on our award-winning systems," said Brian Joyce, Senior Vice President at Alienware. "We are very excited to offer 3-Way NVIDIA SLI as a way for our customers to fully experience the rich, life-like environments of today’s next-generation games at their top settings."
"The new crop of PC games offers stunning visuals. And for truly immersive game play with all the eye candy you need to play on a PC with a lot of graphics horse power," said Ujesh Desai, general manager of GeForce desktop GPUs at NVIDIA. "3-Way SLI produces stunning visuals, pristine image quality, and a truly awesome gaming experience."
Area-51 7500 ALX SLI
• NVIDIA® 3–Way SLI technology
• Fastest gaming solution available thanks to three NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 GTX or GeForce 8800 Ultra-based graphics cards
• 2.3GB dedicated video memory
• 384 stream processors
• 110+ Gigatexel per second texture fill rate
Price:
Area-51 7500 ALX SLI from £3,076 Inc VAT and free delivery
Best New Games 2007: Zero Online
Hi! Here comes good news for Zero Online!
Zero has been awarded the 2nd place as one of the Top-3 Best New Games of Reader’s Choice Award 2007, on MMOSITE. http://contest.mmosite.com/annual_vote2007/
ZERO is a sci-fi online game developed and published by TQ Digital Entertainment. In the world of ZERO, the players no more play as warriors or mages in a desolate land but the pilots who master high-tech weapons, fighting in the immense universe. Shuttling between the numerous galaxies, the units of various forms and functions are navigated by the pilots to fight against ferocious alien enemies. It is an epic war: battling for the Earth Alliance is the pilot’s ultimate honor and eternal duty. According to the players, the following 6-points will tell you why Zero is one of the best:
1.Free to Play
Zero Online is a free MMORPG game, which means it is free to register, free to play, free to have fun! The variety of in-game currencies not only forms a comprehensive transaction system, but also an interesting game mechanism.
2.Rich Game Play
Well, Zero is definitely a free online game, but the game play is pretty rich! Unique professions and skill provide unique characters; various missions give players different experiences; weapons and gears upgrading enables the emergence of super-strong robot; the great diversity of transformations endows the players with amazing power…
3.Low System Requirements
This may be nice news for every player: Zero Online only requires middle-lower hardware configuration, which means the players can have an easy access to the game!
4.Dazzling Graphics
Surprisingly, Zero’s graphics are extremely dazzling, even if with low system requirements. The games top-class 2.5D graphics engine produces gorgeous light and shadow effects for different weapons and skills, especially the XP skills and senior upgraded gears!
5.Clear Guide & Fast Leveling
Zero cares about the newbies very much. The game have a clear guide delivered by NPCs and missions so that every player can know exactly what to do in the game. Besides, while completing each mission, players can enjoy fast leveling in order to have more fun in the future.
6.Transformation
Zero’s UNIQUE fun is the ability of transformation. Players’ robots can transform into more than 30 types of mechs such as tank, beasts, cannons, etc. One of the player said, “Transformers is already outdated, the time for Zero comes!”
TQ and Zero’s developing group said, “We really appreciate the players’ support, and this support is also a kind of trust and the most valuable treasure for us. So, we will try our best to make better games for our players, in order to requite their support and trust.”
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