US sales of Killzone 2 disappoint at under 1 million units Halo 3 wins...

Further new NPD Group data has revealed lifetime sales to date for Sony's Killzone 2 title in the US, with the game so far selling only 677,000 units.

First released on February 27, the PlayStation 3 exclusive debuted in the February sales chart at number five, with 323,000 units sold. In the March results the game fell only two places to number seven, with 296,000 units sold.

By April though the game had fallen outside of the top 20, but data provided to website Gamasutra reveals that it sold 58,000 units during the month. As result the game's lifetime total to date in the US currently stands at 677,000 units.



On its release Sony proclaimed Killzone 2 to be its fastest-selling title ever in the US, in terms of reaching 500,000 unit sales. Responding to the March NPD chart, Sony also revealed that worldwide sales had passed 1 million units, suggesting sales in PAL territories at the time of around 400,000 units (The game was not released in Japan until April 23).

Although the sales figures are strong by most standards the game is reported to have cost over EUR 40 million to develop. Perhaps most importantly for Sony, the title has failed to drive hardware sales on the PlayStation 3, which have actually dropped year-on-year in the US since the game's release.

Source: GamesIndustry

Tony Hawk Ride video game exclusive Xbox 360 in the UK

Activision has revealed that Tony Hawk: RIDE will be exclusive to the Xbox 360 in the UK.

The game was revealed late last week for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii, but Microsoft has seemingly grabbed the highly-anticipated title for itself in the region.

"Further to Monday's announcement regarding Tony Hawk: RIDE, Activision UK is pleased to announce that this title will be launched later this year in the UK, as an Xbox 360 platform exclusive," said the company.

The game is a reinvention of one of Activision's biggest franchises, and will ship complete with a skateboard peripheral when it's released later this year.

The exclusivity deal will be a seen as a blow to Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii during the busy Christmas period, although Activision has not detailed whether the title will be released on other formats at a later date.

The title is due to be demoed at E3 in June.

Source: GamesIndustry

Pele scores with Academy of Champions football video game on Nintendo Wii

Ubisoft announce a new addition to its sports portfolio, Academy of Champions, an arcade football game featuring legendary sports icon Pelé. Developed for the Nintendo Wii system from Nintendo, the game will deliver an engaging, interactive experience for kids and their families. Academy of Champions is scheduled to be released in 2009.

“We made our mark in the sports genre last year with the global success of Shaun White Snowboarding,” stated Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “Now, with Academy of Champions, Ubisoft offers another sports game with a fresh approach that has something unique to offer young gamers and sports fans.”

Created by an experienced team of sports game developers at Ubisoft Vancouver, Academy of Champions engages players in a rich, story-driven adventure around the world’s most popular sport. The journey begins with enrollment at an extraordinary Academy where your coach is the legendary Pelé..

“Football is a sport that is universally celebrated by all citizens of the world,” said legendary sports icon Pelé. “Working with Ubisoft to continue to promote the sport has been a wonderful experience. It is a thrill to continue to inspire a new generation of fans through an entertainment medium that introduces them to the exciting world of football.”

In Academy of Champions, players improve their skills, recruit new team members and build the best possible squad to defeat their rival Academy and win the champion cup. Compatible with the Wii Balance Board™ and Wii Motion Plus™ accessories, young soccer fans and their friends and family will enjoy playing together in a humorous, interactive universe that features over-the-top gameplay, entertaining fantastical environments, and innovative challenges.

Dead to Rights - Retribution video game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

Gritty Crime-Action Series is Reinvented on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with New Combat System that Seamlessly Blends Shooting and Hand-to-Hand Brawling -

NAMCO announce the forthcoming European launch of Dead to Rights - Retribution, a ground-up reinvention of the multi-million unit selling crime action series for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, developed by Volatile Games.

Thrusting players into a mature neo-noir crime drama as a vice-cop Jack Slate and his canine companion Shadow, the game introduces new gameplay elements that unify the third person shooting and brawling genres for a brutal and relentless new action-driven experience.

Returning to Grant City, a boom town gone bust that is falling to the worst excesses of crime, greed and corruption, Dead to Rights: Retribution follows vice-cop Jack Slate as he fights to expose shadowy figures that will stop at nothing to exert their deadly influence over the crumbling metropolis. Dead to Rights: Retribution will form an original story portraying key events that shape and define Jack Slate's character including how he and Shadow first come together as partners against those who would bring the once great city to its knees.

Introducing an innovative new hybrid combat system, Dead to Rights: Retribution puts the full combat potential of a highly trained, highly agitated law-enforcement officer into players’ hands. Use your sidearm to pick off enemies from a distance, take cover and blind-fire with the game’s new ranged combat mechanics, or push the issue by taking human shields, stealing weapons with special disarm moves or dishing out Jack’s own brutal brand of justice with deadly takedown moves. Jack is equally lethal in close-quarters combat, offering players branching melee combos, counterattacks and disarms as they take the fight to the criminal element of Grant City. Jack will encounter a variety of ruthless gangs in the filthy slums and menacing alleys of Grant City, each with their own unique abilities and fighting style that will test his resolve to crush their murderous stranglehold.

Deadly on their own, Jack and Shadow are even more formidable as they team up to defeat the threats they will uncover. Players will take full control of not only Jack, but also Shadow at various points in the game to stalk enemies or reach areas of the environment that are not accessible by one or the other. Shadow’s heightened senses make him skilled in detecting new threats or flushing out enemies from cover so that Jack can easily dispense with them.

Developed by Volatile Games, Dead to Rights: Retribution will launch across Europe for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 in 2009.

Demigod PC video game trailer on Gamezplay

Set in a magical world where gods walk among mortals, Demigod blends action, strategy and role-playing elements into a thrilling new experience. Select the demigod that will lead your minions into battle and unleash the dogs of war against your rivals. Your demigod will do whatever it takes in order to ascend to true godhood.

Once in the Arena, each demigod will be joined by support troops that fight to the death as you struggle to seize key control points and slowly turn the tide of war in your favour. Your demigod will level up during the course of each battle, becoming even more powerful as you unlock new abilities and powers. Its a brutal conflict of demigod versus demigod, where the very ground beneath their feet will tremble and quake.

PRODUCT FEATURES:

Strategy / RPG hybrid Revolutionary and innovative strategy / RPG hybrid combines the character building of a role-playing game with the epic battles of a real-time strategy game

Addictive and replayable single player and multiplayer Battle your way into the pantheon of the gods in a persistent single-player or multiplayer universe

Dozen unique demigods Choose from nearly a dozen unique demigods each with their own special skills, powers and capabilities. Watch your demigod grow in power as they gain experience, level up, and brush aside hordes of enemy minions

Stunning graphics Wage massive, earth-shattering battles across a series of awe-inspiring arenas

See the new Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel TV Ads

Check out two new TV advertisements for the newly released action-RPG – Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. The new 30-second commercial spots feature a CGI battle between two of the six playable characters in the game – the angelic Seraphim, and the mysterious Inquisitor.

GamersGate Announces New Design and Features

GamersGate, a premier digital distribution service for PC games, today announced a complete redesign of its website. Along with improved aesthetics, the new design includes several new features to further improve the users’ experience. The new site will launch on May 25.

“Our new layout and features have been in the works for a long time,” said Theodore Bergquist, CEO of GamersGate. “We listened to the feedback of our users and we’ve been able to create a quicker, sleeker, and more social site based on their suggestions. We want GamersGate to be more than a store, we want it to become a burgeoning community and this is a massive leap in that direction.”

The most prominent addition to GamersGate is the introduction of the Blue Coin system and the Game Tutor program. Blue Coins can be used to purchase games and can either be purchased with cash or earned through activity on the site. Users can earn Blue Coins by writing reviews, ranking games, and participating in the new Game Tutor program. With the Game Tutor service, users can ask questions to other gamers regarding difficult levels or other game related questions. The user who provides the solution will then earn Blue Coins. GamersGate will still accept all major credit cards and PayPal for transactions.

“The Game Tutor program is a feature that we are extremely proud of,” Mr. Bergquist continued. “Not only is it a more effective way for us to provide technical help on a game-by-game basis, but we’re also able to reward our most active members for helping fellow GamersGate users.”

The new layout of the site includes redesigned menus that will improve the navigation of the website, along with advanced search options and sub-categories that will make finding games easier. The new “intelligent” search functions include a “suggest as you type” feature and game recommendations based on previous purchases and recently browsed games.
GamersGate users can now create profiles where they can list games they own, ratings they’ve assigned games, reviews they’ve written, their wishlist, a personal image/ avatar and their membership status. Membership status is now based on points received by overall activity on the site. There are five different levels of membership status: white, green, yellow, red and black, with black being the most exclusive. Members will also be able to contact each other with an internal messaging system.

GamersGate currently has over 1,070 titles in its catalog from a variety of publishers including EA, Ubisoft, THQ, and many others. Their diverse catalog consists of a dynamic mix of major AAA titles, niche titles, and the best selection of indie titles on the web.

To find out more about GamersGate, please visit www.gamersgate.com.

Alphabet, Numbers and Colors, Memory, Sequences and Pairs and Body, Forms and Puzzles video games

Korner announce Alphabet, Numbers and Colors, Memory, Sequences and Pairs and Body, Forms and Puzzles video games.

These 3 products have been developed to offer children a fun learning environment to train their skills and introduce them to technological advances. Using multimedia resources, kids will carry out activities accompanied by images, animations, texts, music and sound effects.

Actions include dragging and selecting items with the mouse, drawing and colouring, discovering shapes, repeating sounds and learning series. All activities are always in keeping with a pedagogical structure and related to what children learn in real life.

Developed in collaboration with pedagogues and educators, this series provides an appealing resort for parents and teachers, including a wide array of multimedia and tactile didactic material. The production of each CD-ROM involved meticulous research and a detailed adaptation of educational contents to a digital environment, following the principle of integrating learning and play.

These titles are an essential tool for instructors. Furthermore, as they use the computer, kids will start getting acquainted with the information device that they will eventually use everyday.

“Alphabet, Numbers and Colors”, “Memory, Sequences and Pairs” and “Body, Forms and Puzzles” are available for distribution in UK, France, Italy and Benelux.
More info available at: http://www.kornerentertainment.com

Resistance Space Opens in PlayStation Home

We knew that the Chimera advanced swiftly but we didn’t know it was this bad: the news just in is that the power-hungry wretches have attacked PlayStation Home, the free, interactive space for Playstation 3 (PS3) users.

This new area in Home features a recreation of the Chicago Railway Station level from the current PS3 hit Resistance 2, which sees America under siege from the Chimeran hordes. Your challenge is to fend off wave after wave of Chimeran aerial forces with a single weapon. It’s not just any weapon, though: it’s a four-barrelled, quick-repeating turret gun.

You can find your way to the new Resistance Space via the PlayStation Home World Map. It pays to be swift: there’s a poster in the space displaying a promotional code – and the first 3,000 users to redeem the code will get a free Resistance T-shirt for their customisable PlayStation Home avatar.

The Resistance Space will be a gated area open only to users aged 18 or older.

Second downloadable Killzone 2 Map Pack announced

The next wave of downloadable content for Killzone 2 on PlayStation 3 (PS3) has now been announced. Prepare for a literal blast-from-the-past in the form of the Flash and Thunder Pack: a download from PlayStation Store featuring the Beach Head and Southern Hills maps.

They’re two of the best maps from the original Killzone for PlayStation 2 – now completely remade for PS3, overflowing with brutal combat between the ISA and the merciless Helghast and offering gamers even more ways to play the first-person shooter that everyone’s talking about.

The Beach Head map sees the ISA tasked with defending a coastal stronghold against a Helghast landing force. This rain-lashed and windswept battlefield is limited in size – which means more action, more hand-to-hand combat, plenty of sneaking up on the enemy and melee kills galore. The Southern Hills map sees the ISA attempting to storm a Helghast compound on top of a hill. A mixture of built-up terrain and wide open spaces – perfect for headshot sniper kills – this map is full of hiding places and offers the perfect battlefield for a large-scale game with lots of players.

The Flash and Thunder Pack is the second awesome instalment of downloadable extra content for Killzone 2 on PS3 and will arrive in PlayStation Store on (11th of June 2009).