Eidos Recruits Burlesque Sweetheart Miss Polly Rae To Adorn US Aircraft In Battlestations - Pacific

Eidos Interactive Ltd, creator of some of the world’s leading videogame properties, today announced that the award-winning burlesque artist, Miss Polly Rae, will feature in the upcoming Battlestations: Pacific, which launches across Europe on May 15th.

Sequel to the No. 1-selling Battlestations: Midway, Battlestations: Pacific takes the critically-acclaimed action/strategy gameplay to the next level. Expanding upon the intense, strategic combat of the first title, players can take to the skies and seas through two massive, action-packed campaigns across 28 missions, featuring some of the most decisive naval battles in history.

A leading light on the UK burlesque scene, Rae is the founder and front woman of Britain’s leading, award-winning troupe, ‘Hurly Burly’ and will be available as one of the many pieces of nose art to decorate your in-game US aircraft, taking forces’ sweethearts into the thick of battle.

Rae has worked regularly for Agent Provocateur and appeared on the cover of Time Out and The Stage, as well as several advertising campaigns and appears regularly on British television.

Battlestations - Pacific is rated PEGI 12+ and ESRB Teen and is set for release on Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games for Windows - LIVE.

Batman Arkham Asylum - Eidos Unveils The Master Strategist From the depths of Santa Prisca prison comes Bane

Imprisoned from birth to serve his dead father’s sentence, Bane was raised inside the horrific environs of a Santa Prisca prison. Finding solace in smuggled books and meditation, he developed incredible powers of concentration.



When he was subjected to military experiments with the steroid Venom, his iron-forged will helped him survive when other test subjects had died, and he manage to escape.

Determined to prove his worth, he sought out Batman and broke the Dark Knight’s spine. But Batman recovered and managed to best Bane, cutting off the precious Venom supply that transforms Bane into a superhuman.

Phantasy Star Universe saga video game on PSP

Phantasy Star Portable picks up the exciting Phantasy Star Universe saga. Through the heroics of PSU and AOTI star Ethan Weber, the Gurhal system has been at peace for two decades.



The player is partnered up with Vivienne, a new prototype CAST from GRM, to investigate and clear out animals that seem to have been affected by a Remnant SEED Effect. During the investigation, they come across Helga, a woman who was thought to have died 20 years ago. How is she connected to the Remnant SEED? And how is Vivienne connected to all of this?

PSU PSP offers both Story Mode and Multiplayer Mode (via Sony wireless), so the player can play Phantasy Star anywhere! PSU PSP continues the exciting Phantasy Star experience. In single-player mode, the player can explore the next intriguing Phantasy Star chapter. In multiplayer mode, players can team up with three other friends via Sony wireless to go on cooperative missions. With original PSU and PSU:AOTI content to enjoy, as well as exclusive new items, environments, and enemies for the PSP, players will want to play it all.

Nintendo Wii sales crash in Japan despite Deca Sports 2

Hudson announced just last week that its Nintendo Wii game Deca Sporta (Deca Sports in the West) has sold through two million copies - unarguably, one of the most successful Nintendo Wii third party titles worldwide. Accordingly, the company shipped some 85,000 copies of the sequel for its launch day this Thursday in Japan, going as far as to employ multi-platinum boy band superstars Hey! Say! JUMP in its frequently run television commercials.

According to reliable, respected salesblogger Sinobi, however, Deca Sporta moved just 2,500 copies its first day - 3% of the total shipment. While no game's sales should be judged by day one alone, it is worth noting that the original's launch day sales in Japan were a solid 30,000, with 50% sell-through.

This is just the latest grim Nintendo-related news item in April - Nintendo DSi's Western launch may have done very well, but the company's stock is down 7.5% today following its first NPD sales dip post-supply constraints. In Japan, PS3 outsold the Wii last month, prompting Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata to state the console was "experiencing the most unhealthy condition since it hit the Japan market."

The situation is so disturbing that major Japanese tech news site Impress Watch was moved to post an opinion piece about a speculative "Nintendo crash". While somewhat alarmist, the article does raise one important question: What if Nintendo sales begin to slow worldwide, as they have in Japan since January? The author, Hiroshige Goto, pinpoints a crippling lack of software for Wii in 2009, along with the allure of high-profile PS3 releases like Resident Evil 5 and Yakuza 3. With no clear must-have Wii titles on the horizon save Wii Sports Resort, the prospect of a worldwide Nintendo slump becomes a plausible notion. Clearly, all eyes will be on Nintendo this E3.

Ceville – video game Patch 1.020 released

Enjoy the latest update patch for Ceville to further enhance your playing experience! This patch will address any random crashes or freezes.

One minute Ceville is a tyrannical Despot ruling over the kingdom of Faeryanis, and the next he’s a prisoner in his own jail! All’s well that ends well? Not Likely!

Patch: http://www.kalypsomedia.com/downloads/ceville_update_1.0.2.0.exe

The hideously evil Basilius has deep, dark plans for Faeryanis, and he’s already got the spells ready to summon demons to help him with his reign of terror. Ceville and Lilly travel the length and breadth of the kingdom in their efforts to stop the dastardly plan, with the support of an unbelievably vain knight named Ambrosius – but things soon turn out to be a lot tougher than they seemed!

Ceville is available in the UK at the retail price of £29.99. For further information please visit our website: www.ceville-game.com

Nintendo capture over 50% of US video games hardware sales

Nintendo's Wii home console and the Nintendo DS portable video game system comfortably led U.S. sales in March, according to data from the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. Pokémon Platinum Version for Nintendo DS emerged as the No. 2 video game of the month, with nearly 805,000 units sold.

Wii tallied sales of nearly 601,000 in March, while Nintendo DS sold more than half a million, even in advance of the April 5 launch of the new Nintendo DSi system. Both Wii and Nintendo DS extended their lead as the best-selling video game systems of this generation.

"Nintendo systems accounted for 58.4 percent of the video game hardware sold in March, more than all other systems combined," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "Consumers continue to be attracted to the wide range of software available and the great value of Nintendo systems."

Four games published by Nintendo finished in the top 10 best-sellers of March. These include Pokémon Platinum Version at No. 2, Wii Fit at No. 3 with more than 541,000 sold, Wii Play at No. 8 with more than 281,000 sold and Mario Kart Wii at No. 9 with more than 278,000 sold.

Early U.S. sales of the new Nintendo DSi hand-held system are ahead of those for Nintendo DS Lite, according to Nintendo's internal tracking numbers. In its first week, Nintendo DSi sold 435,000 in the United States. After the same amount of time on the U.S. market after its launch, Nintendo DS Lite had sold 226,300 systems. These numbers demonstrate that the Nintendo DS brand remains strong, and that consumers continue to look for the best new experiences on their portable video game systems.

So far this year, video game industry revenues are on par with 2008, but Nintendo remains a key driver. Without Nintendo products, the industry would be down 14 percent for the year, according to the NPD Group.

Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel video game out May 12 on Xbox 360

Action-RPG, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, has gone gold for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and will be released on May 12, 2009. For more information about Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, please visit http://www.sacred2.com.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is a hack-and-slash action-RPG with a rich story that takes place in a gigantic seamless world. This world contains massive dungeons, treacherous opponents and hundreds of challenging quests. Intelligent enemies, which adapt in number and difficulty based on player progress, challenge gamers in heroic single- and multiplayer battles for up four players on next-generation consoles.

G.I. Joe on Nintendo DS

This summer, get ready to bring the classic battle on the go as G.I. JOE The Rise of Cobra explodes onto the Nintendo DS! The unique Nintendo DS version was built from the ground up to feature special gameplay components that aspiring heroes won’t find anywhere else, including a unique top-down arcade shooter view, more than 20 missions across four playable environments, and playable vehicles.

Nintendo DS fans can even chose from one of the six playable G.I. JOE characters or five playable COBRA characters and go head-to-head in a battle royale with up to four players via the handheld’s wireless play feature.

Developed by Backbone Entertainment, the Nintendo DS version of G.I. JOE The Rise of Cobra hits stores this summer alongside versions on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable (PSP), and Wii.

Fritz Chess video game on iPhone and iPod Touch

Gammick Entertainment has released the Fritz Chess version for iPhone and iPod Touch to the market. After finishing the development for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 versions, finally this acclaimed game is also available on the App Store.

Developed by PlayWay, Fritz Chess iPhone takes advantage of all the features of the Apple platform in order to offer the user a unique experience enjoying the final chess game. Fritz software has really gained the description of “The best chess software of all times”.

The title which is granted to Fritz by all the experts seems to be more than deserved. In fact, the software has beaten champions such as Garry Kasparov o Vladimir Kramnik.

The version for iPhone and iPod Touch has 3 game modes available (Blitz, Long Game and Without Clock). Besides, it offers different game levels, therefore all users will find the proper rival according to their level even if they are beginners or experts on Chess. In addition, the exclusive system Fritz Help allows the player to have a complete help system which can be configured by the user and it will suggest the user at any time what moves are the most interesting ones… or the most catastrophic ones.

For the experts of Chess, Fritz Chess iPhone offers the possibility to analyse all the moves of a game thanks to the option Revise Game. Like this, it is possible to analyse all the moves made until that moment and to continue the game from the moment you wish.

Besides, thanks to Fritz Chess it will be possible to clarify who is the best chess player! The multiplayer mode allows you to challenge a friend in order to show who the best one on the boardgame is.

Styx and REO Speedwagon jopin Rock band video game line up

Harmonix and MTV Games announce it will add a 7-pack of songs featuring some of the biggest hits from Styx and REO Speedwagon to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content. Next week’s lineup also includes a 3-pack from progressive rock outfit Hautewerk.

Styx and REO Speedwagon are two of the most commercially successful American rock bands from the late 70s and early 80s. The “REO Speedwagon / Styx Tour ’09 Pack” will include three of Styx’s biggest singles that were recently re-recorded, including “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)” and “Renegade” originally featured on the band’s eighth studio album Pieces of Eight (1978), plus “Too Much Time on My Hands” originally featured on the band’s 1981 concept album Paradise Theatre, the band’s highest charting album of all time. Also included in the 7-pack are REO Speedwagon’s timeless classics “Ridin’ the Storm Out,” originally featured on the band’s third album of the same name (1973), “Roll With the Changes,” originally featured on the band’s seventh studio album, You can Tune a Piano but You Can’t Tuna Fish (1978) and “Take It on the Run,” originally featured on the band’s 9-times platinum 1980 album Hi Infidelity.

The “REO Speedwagon / Styx Tour ’09 Pack” also includes the brand-new collaborative song between Styx and REO Speedwagon, “Can’t Stop Rockin’,” which the band recorded together in anticipation of their upcoming CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’ tour for radio and Rock Band DLC. As previously announced, Rock Band and VH1 Classic are sponsoring the bands' upcoming CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’ tour and will give fans a chance to play the Styx and REO Speedwagon DLC Rock Band tracks on a mini-stage at every concert, win Rock Band giveaways and more! CAN’T STOP ROCKIN’ kicks off on May12th in Amarillo, Texas.

In addition, progressive rockers Hautewerk will be making their Rock Band® Music Store debut next week with three tracks from their 2006 debut album Stop Start Again including “Stop Start Again,” “Alone in My Head” and “I Know Where You Came From.”

Release Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 (Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360)
Thursday, April 23, 2009 (PlayStation Store)

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change **

Tracks:

Styx “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)”
Styx “Renegade”
Styx “Too Much Time on My Hands”
REO Speedwagon “Ridin’ the Storm Out”
REO Speedwagon “Roll With the Changes”
REO Speedwagon “Take It on the Run”
Styx/REO Speedwagon “Can’t Stop Rockin’”
Hautewerk “Stop Start Again”
Hautewerk “Alone in My Head”
Hautewerk “I Know Where You Came From”

(All tracks are master recordings)

Price: $1.99 $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track
$10.99 (880 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) “REO Speedwagon / Styx Tour ’09 Pack”
$5.49 (440 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) “Hautewerk Pack 01”

Locations: Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the Xbox 360
PlayStation Network