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Sony PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS top in Japan

Sony's PlayStation Portable and the Nintendo DS have held onto their lead on in Japanese hardware sales, according to figures from Media Create.

The PlayStation Portable sold 56,998 units, out pacing the its rival handheld the Nintendo DS, which sold 48,540 units.

Nintendo's Wii continues to far out sell the other consoles shifting 41,768 units, with the PlayStation 3 trailing behind it at 12,458 units.

Bringing up the rear of hardware sales is the PlayStation 2 at 12,458 units and Microsoft's Xbox 360 selling 3,807 units.

Strategic Command 2 - Patch download

v1.01 patch for SC2 Patton Drives East released! (and updated demo)

Today we are happy to offer the first patch for the Strategic Command 2 expansion, Patton Drives East. This exciting new expansion explores the various what-if's of an alternate outcome to the events of World War 2 including how a war between Stalin's armies and the Allies would play out.

This patch is packed full of new improvements to the main game and editor. It also includes a new Video Acceleration setting to help those with slow map scroll speeds. The patch is 171 Megabytes in size.

The SC2 Patton Drives East Patches page

In addition to the new v1.01 Patch is a newly updated game Demo. The demo is 141 Megabytes in size and reflects the changes and additions that went into the 1.01 upgrade.

The SC2 Patton Drives East Demo page

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Beta Is Starting

Breaking News: Activity on the World of Warcraft beta page, along with reports that the beta downloader is active are the final indicators that Blizzard has begun the beta testing phase of the next upcoming expansion, Wrath of the Lich King.

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Operation Flashpoint 2 - Dragon Rising E3 Fact Sheet

DEVELOPER: Codemasters Studios
PUBLISHER: Codemasters
RELEASE DATE: 2009
PLATFORM: Major console platforms & PC
WEB: www.flashpoint2-game.com

Welcome to a new flashpoint: Codemasters reveals the US Marines against the Chinese PLA in a battle for the possession and oil riches of the 220km2 Russian island of Skira.

Taking gamers as close to war as they’ll ever want to get, Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising is the much anticipated return of the genre-defining military conflict simulator. Set to deliver the total combat experience, Operation Flashpoint 2 will challenge players to survive the chaos and rapidly evolving situations of modern warfare in a new contemporary theatre.

Players will experience the intensity, diversity and claustrophobia of a modern conflict from the unique perspectives of an infantry marine, a helicopter pilot, a Special Forces officer or a tank commander, each engaged against the full force of the Chinese PLA on a scale never previously experienced in a military action title. Gameplay simulates an immense conflict between advanced forces and provides unparalleled scope with different military disciplines, vehicles and equipment for players to utilize.

Freedom of Play – Operation Flashpoint 2 will give players the freedom to handle military crisis situations on their initiative. Unscripted missions will task players with real objectives, such as laying down covering fire, covering a friendly unit’s retreat or conducting short-range recon patrol. Armed with cutting edge military hardware, players will need to balance brute force with intelligent use of tactics. Once players have completed the campaign, a Mission Editor enables gamers to create their own single player and multiplayer missions.

The most realistic modern military conflict game – Operation Flashpoint 2 features unparalleled levels of realism and variety of military forces, equipment, weapons and tactics. Fully loaded weapons and individual ammunition types will be simulated with detailed ballistic physics, based upon individually-crafted mechanics. Players will command and control a wide variety of multi-component, multi-weapon vehicles, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, APCs, attack and utility helicopters. The character damage system authentically depicts the terrible wounds and injury from modern weapons to communicate the reality of combat.

Platoon-Based Combat - As an epic campaign weaves the narrative, players will fight as infantry soldiers in battle, drive tanks in armored assaults, pilot helicopters in air strikes, and infiltrate the enemy in covert special operations utilizing a wide variety of realistic military weapons from knives and rifles to machine guns, grenade launchers and laser designators for air strikes. In whichever role the player chooses, they will experience the fierce and brutal reality of warfare and the shock and awe of contemporary firepower unleashed on the arresting scale of modern combat.

Redefines the Size of Battle - Immense play areas of more than 135 square miles give players a multitude of tactical decisions on how to best accomplish missions. Densely packed with environment detail and objects, valleys, mountains, coastlines, towns, villages and industrial complexes all combine to deliver a rich and challenging tactical environment. The world is persistent, so that buildings destroyed in one campaign mission will be destroyed in the next.

Stylised Cinematography - Operation Flashpoint 2 will model the environment, objects and people in realistic detail, but its visual styling will embrace documentary techniques. The camera work through cut-scenes will be heavily influenced by television war reports that are often shot under extreme circumstances delivering a unique look with incorrect exposure, severe camera shake and loss of focus.

James Bond game - Quantum of Solace Nintendo DS - Fact Sheet

James Bond is back to settle the score in the Quantum of Solace game. Introducing a more lethal and cunningly efficient Bond, the game blends intense action with a unique combat system for the Nintendo DS that allows players to use their stealth and lethal combat skills to progress through missions. Seamlessly blending the heart-pounding action and excitement of the upcoming “Quantum of Solace” feature film with the “Casino Royale” movie, the title propels players into the cinematic experience of international espionage. The Quantum of Solace game for the Nintendo DS gives players a unique experience in the palm of their hands, as they use an innovative touch screen control scheme that gives players the feeling of being James Bond.

KEY FEATURES:

• Become Bond – The Quantum of Solace game marks the first time players can become the dangerous and cunning Bond portrayed by Daniel Craig in “Quantum of Solace” and “Casino Royale.”

• Innovative Touch Screen Control – The Quantum of Solace game for the Nintendo DS introduces streamlined controls, with players stealthily navigating the treacherous world and engaging in intense combat using only the stylus for a unique and compelling James Bond experience.

• Combat Variety – Choose how you want to complete your missions. Use your skills in espionage, to silently disable your foes. Take aim from a distance to remove enemies with deadly precision. Or come in close for melee combat in an innovative touch screen combat system.

• Deep upgrade system – Earn Bond points, collect better items, and use special playing cards to customize and enhance your abilities. Choose where you want to upgrade your character to enhance your favorite style of play. Explore the world for rare and powerful items.

• Cinematic Appeal – The game narrative accentuates key movie events from both “Quantum of Solace” and “Casino Royale,” as players control James Bond through in-game conversations with multiple narrative options. Choosing the right one can unlock new abilities and uncover special items.

Nicky Boom, 90's classic platform game, both Mobile and Web

DotEmu, a start-up specialized in bringing classic video games to new devices, today announces the launch of Nicky Boom's for SmartPhones. The game is also playable online at: www.nickyboom.com.

Originally published on PC, Commodore Amiga and Atari ST in 1992, DotEmu has now agreed a license deal with game publisher and producer Microïds to bring back to life the charming little boy with red cheeks and a tubby belly.

« We are really pleased to be able to give a new life to this platform/puzzle game which will remind some of us of childhood memories. The original game has been faithfully adapted, while ensuring optimal gameplay for mobile phones. We are willing to seduce the nostalgics, but also casual gamers », Xavier Liard, DotEmu CEO.

« We are very happy to have given this license to DotEmu, since their teams have been able to faithfully reproduce the original game. Reliving Nicky Boom on today's platforms such as mobile phones is giving a new breath of air to video games created in the early nineties: it perfectly matches our creative and valorisation approach » added Roch Roustan, Microïds’ Managing Director.

Find back the feeling of a platform game from the 90’s in your pocket.
Rediscover the feeling of a platform game from the 90's, and it's all in your pocket! Help Nicky Boom to save his grandfather from the evil witch Zoldrane. Get over the traps, discover hidden passages, overcome monsters, while exploding everything you see! Use teleporters, find springs or shields to level up your skills, and don't forget to pick up some life potions!

• Addictive, enchanting platform/Puzzle game.
• Save your game anytime, anywhere!
• 4 huge worlds with many different monsters to defeat.
• Dozens of bonus items to discover!
• Numerous teleporters and hidden passages to explore. • Gorgeous colorful graphics from the 90s, enhanced for mobile devices.
• High quality remastered original sounds and music.
• Play with phone keypad or stylus (if available).
• Download the game directly from Internet.
• Try the game directly on your PC Web Browser at : www.nickyboom.com

Don't wait, play now!

Tornado on Nintendo DS - Prepare To Be Blown Away!

Ignition Entertainment is pleased to announce the European release of Tornado exclusively for the Nintendo DS. This marks the second collaboration between Ignition and Japanese developer and publisher Success, who previously teamed up to release the successful Zoo Keeper.

The devious collector of planets, only known as the ‘The Prince’, has set his evil intentions to Planet Earth. But this planet is like no other he has conquered. Filled with an uncontrollable desire to possess items from this unique world, he lets loose his ultimate weapon – the Black Hole Device – to suck up all the desirable items from Earth and transport them back to his home planet.

Equipped with their ‘Tornado Machines’, Toki and his Cosmic Cleaners are normally charged with sucking up and disposing of litter, but today they have a higher purpose – take back what is rightfully ours!!

Will the Cosmic Cleaners be able to take on ‘The Prince’ and reclaim Earths items? We certainly hope so!!!

‘Tornado is a game that has great appeal, likeable characters and engrossing gameplay’, says Peter Rollinson, Product Manager, Ignition Entertainment Ltd. ‘see for yourself, take it for a spin (sorry!)’

‘Skonec a leading game development company in Korea and we are so happy to see "Tornado" being released to the European market.’ said Skonec Producer JeongHwoan Choi. "We are very excited to be working with Ignition Entertainment to bring Tornado to the Nintendo DS"

Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets Is Released!

Matrix Games (www.matrixgames.com) and Strategic Studies Group (www.ssg.com.au) are thrilled to announce that long-awaited successor to the award winning Decisive Battles series, Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets, is now available! To mark the game’s release, a new promotional trailer exhibiting the various features and new mechanics of Kharkov is available for download or viewing on YouTube.

David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said “The latest masterpiece from the award-winning Strategic Studies Group has been at the top of many gamers’ wish lists and for good reason. Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets brings together the riveting and enjoyable mechanics of the Decisive Battles and Battlefront titles and combines it with plenty of innovation and novel gameplay!”

Command the Soviet forces, newly confident after stopping and throwing back the Barbarossa offensive, or try the elite and seasoned German army now reconstituted after Winter losses and ready to regain the initiative. Two separate forces prepared offensives in the same area in the Spring of 1942. When the dust had cleared the Germans had managed a great victory that opened the doors to the drive on Stalingrad. But the outcome was far from certain and in Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets, history is yours to rewrite.

This new system supports both regimental and battalion level combat, while incorporating many innovative features such as off-map reinforcement decisions and on-map historical areas of operation with mystery variants to increase replayability and limit the effect of hindsight. Along with the streamlined supply and movement systems, a new bonus and advantage system for headquarters effects, simplified direct fire and improved combat tables, an improved strong points system and the ability to create hedgehog defenses make this the most advanced and realistic SSG design to date. This will also be the first in a new successor series to Decisive Battles, with an updated Across the Dnepr sequel already in the works!

Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets - Seize the Initiative and Secure Victory!

Features include:
• Successor to the highly popular and award winning Decisive Battles and Battlefront engines, combining the best elements of both
• An innovative and fun area of operation system which limits unrealistic redeployments for both players, with changes triggered as local objectives are achieved and based on mystery variants to keep the enemy guessing
• Improved and simplified supply, movement and direct combat systems
• Improved combat tables that better model diminishing returns and new HQ bonuses that can affect Direct and Indirect Fire
• Improved strong points and new hedgehog rules
• Models both battalion and regimental combat

Nintendo News - after 20 months and 11 million sales Wii is No 1 console in the US

Equaling its status on a worldwide basis, Wii has become the best-selling video game console in the United States. According to independent sales tracking information from the NPD Group, more than 666,000 Wii consoles sold for the month of June, and nearly 10.9 million Wii consoles have been sold in the United States in the 20 months following its November 2006 launch. The system is credited with breaking down the psychological barriers between gamers and non-gamers.

"Wii was created with the goal of expanding the gaming universe through its intuitive motion-sensing controller," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "As we have demonstrated this week during the E3 Media & Business Summit, Wii continues to pioneer new ways for people to interact with their video games and with one another."

The portable Nintendo DS finished as the top-selling U.S. video game system in June, with more than 783,000 units sold. To date, more than 20.8 million Nintendo DS has been sold in the United States.

The report also shows that six out of the top 10 best-selling games for June are made for Nintendo systems, including Guitar Hero On Tour (No. 2), Wii Fit (No. 4), Wii Play (No. 5), Mario Kart Wii (No. 6), LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures for Wii (No. 7) and LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures for Nintendo DS (No. 9).

For more information about Nintendo products, please visit www.Nintendo.com.