In Empire of Sports, everyone has a chance of winning Roland-Garros: The Virtual Tournament!

Empire of Sports, the first online world entirely dedicated to sport, is proud to have an agreement in place with the French Tennis Federation to promote the Roland-Garros French Open, for the first time in a 3D and virtual world. This agreement with the world-famous Roland-Garros strengthens Empire of Sports’ position as a global reference point for interactive sports entertainment new media.

In a first of its kind, “Roland-Garros: The Virtual Tournament” is the official online 3D version of this famous Grand Slam tournament and is now open for anyone to play in the virtual world of Empire of Sports. Very soon, the French Tennis Federation will also be taking up residency in Empire of Sports and will feature a club house modeled with the Roland-Garros colours.

Michel Grach, Media Executive Director of the French Tennis Federation, said: “Roland-Garros is also a place meant to totally support and welcome the new technologies, and that’s the reason why Empire of Sports has seduced us. Its ease of access, the high tactical qualities of its tennis game, as well as the outstanding enthusiasm of its community make our presence in Empire of Sports an opportunity to build and to dialogue with a community in line with the expectations of younger generations.”

Alexis Galley, CEO of Empire of Sports, said: “With Roland-Garros, Empire of Sports attaches its name to arguably one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. By trusting us to organize Roland-Garros events in Empire of Sports, the French Tennis Federation allows us to offer our members a unique occasion to live one step closer their passion for tennis.”

To register to Empire of Sports and have a chance to enter “Roland-Garros: The Virtual Tournament”: https://www.empireofsports.com/en/index.html

To learn more about the virtual tournament rules and prizes: https://www.empireofsports.com/community/en/events/premium-events/rg09/index.html

To learn about the French Open: http://www.rolandgarros.com

NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer video game for Nintendo Wii

Black Bean Games announces the finalised title for the first game in the NewU franchise. NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer. It is due for release on Nintendo Wii in September 2009 and has been developed by Lightning Fish Games and in partnership with the respective industry leading brands Fitness First and You Are What You Eat.

The title NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer incorporates the Fitness First branding directly, this is to reflect not only the level of involvement they have had with the development of the product, but also to assure customers that NewU is a REAL fitness experience. All exercises are demonstrated by real video of qualified Professional Trainer’s .

NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer considers well-being as a perfect balance between physical exercise and a healthy nutritional eating, the latter having been designed by the experts at You Are What You EatTM.

“This important decision is just the first step in a series of marketing activities and strong synergies that are being excecuted in conjunction with Fitness First globally wherever NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer will be launched.” – Fabrizio Vagliasindi, Head of marketing Black Bean Games.

“We hope this product will not only complement what members find when they come to a Fitness First, but also encourage the “new to exercises” person to take the next step and join the gym” - John Gamble, Fitness First Managing Director.

The product web site (www.newu.me) reveals NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer’s strong yet extremely clear and sophisticated look, based on NewU look and feel.

Cities XL video game Solo mode revealed

Details of the content for their genre-redefining City Builder Cities XL. The game, which is playable in both single and massively persistent multiplayer modes, offers a unique experience for both.



In Solo mode, Cities XL will offer -

* 25 maps featuring varying landscapes - from canyons to grassy hills and snowy mountains
* Around 500 buildings based on various architectural styles (European, American …)
* Diverse citizen structure: Four levels of wealth, four main different needs (Services, Environmental, Prices and Traffic) split into many sub-categories (Police and Fire departments, Education, Leisure, Commerce, multiple types of Pollution, Taxes, Cost of Life, Distance to work and more)
* A rich enterprise selection ranging from agriculture to heavy industry, services, tourism…
* A complex, but easy to access, simulation based on 12 resources to trade with an opportunistic AI (electricity, waste management, agriculture, water, fuel, etc.)
* An ambitious traffic system including many type of roads (five different widths, costs, quality and capacity), highways, airports, ports, and much more
* A set of never-before-seen real-time construction tools allowing players to create curved roads, building zones of various shapes, elaborate bridges...
* An avatar studio and Web-based profile pages


“From day one we wanted to make sure that we were going to compete with the most ambitious builders out there in term of content and functionality," said Patrick Marchal, studio director. “We wanted the players to first enjoy Cities XL in solo mode, and then convince them to join the Planet Offer, which will open the gates to a more ambitious level of game experience.”

The massively persistent Planet Offer.
Multiplayer gameplay both in-game and on the web:

* Trade resources with other players to develop economic strategies, specialise your cities, maximise your possibilities in a global economy
* Work cooperatively to build Mega Structures – special buildings that enhance your city aesthetically and economically
* Web-based city management -- check your trade contracts, receive alerts, adjust your decisions from any computer in the world

Persistent MMO world:

* Each player receives five slots to build five persistent cities on different Planets
* Contribute to the life and statistics of the Planets (economics, population, pollution…): what you do has an impact on the world


Community features and animations in-game and on the web:

* Visit one another’s cities, see other players’ creations and content, chat with other players
* Create and participate in online events, discover virtual cities and real people


Regular upgrades :

* All Buildings, Maps, simulation and functionality upgrades are free with the planet offer

Monthly costs:

* 1 Month = 7€
* 3 Months = 5€/month
* 6 Months = 4.5€/month


“We think that with a price point of 7€ for one month or 5€ per month for 3 months, the Planet offer offers tremendous value for money. There are countless hours of gameplay, fun and sub-objectives in the Planet Mode that players will discover with time,” said Jerome Gastaldi, Monte Cristo’s CEO. “We really intend to continually expand the game, and together with the community keep on enriching it and improving it. “

Ys Call of Solum Online - 2nd Closed Beta opens today - Key to Play

* Servers opening on Tuesday 26th of May at 10:00 CEST
* Over 50.000 subscribers applied on the Official Site
* New keys will be distributed among videogames websites

Today Ys fans have reasons to celebrate because at 10:00 CEST the Ys Online servers will re-open. Both old and new players are welcome to sign up for this closed beta and find out how the Ys world has transitioned into a fully featured MMORPG.

Ys Online: The Call of Solum had a successful launch in Asia. Its astonishing gameplay, beautiful manga style graphics and low spec requirements have seduced hundreds of thousands of players from China, Korea and Japan. And now, for the first time in Europe, Ys Online will be completely translated into four languages English, French, German and Spanish.

More than 50.000 Key To Play accounts have applied for a key on the official site since the announcement two weeks ago. Also, around 20.000 keys will be distributed all over the video games online media, waiting for their lucky owners. Stay updated at YsOnline.com!

Ys - Call Of Solum

Call of Solum is an MMORPG based on the famous Ys series, created for the Japanese company Falcom. Since its first title for 8 bits, already turned into a classic, several manga series, OAVs and even novels have been stemmed. This time, Falcom and CJ Internet are joining to present Ys - Call of Solum, the new title of the series turned into an online videogame that follows the anime style, so characteristic in the entire saga.

Ys - Call of Solum arrives in Europe thanks to of Key To Play.
With Man of Wings' ascent to the sky, chaos reigned in the continent of Eresia. The central region known as Europe was divided into two enemy realms: Romun, dominating the centre and south of the region and Etruria, in the north.
After one hundred years of constant battles all over the continent, several kingdoms fell, one after the other, against the fearful monsters emerging from the chaos. This way, 12 soldiers of different races, Eresians, Kimoans and Afrocans, joined Grey the hero, to defeat the monsters and establish a new empire under the name of Romun all over the continent.

Key To Play

Key To Play is a new online videogame portal of different genres, created in 2008 with the aim of bringing great international titles to the European market. With several offices in Europe and Asia, Key To Play is offering offers online players a large network of support and development possibilities. All this with one goal: to be able to give the best quality and playability.

Currently, the titles are launched in 4 languages simultaneously, English, French, German and Spanish, to offer more convenience to the players.

Key To Play has committed, up to now, to two titles, Priston Tale 2: The Second Enigma and Ys Online - Call of Solum.

Sony to release PlayStation 3 inFamous bundle in UK

Sony will release a new PS3 bundle in the UK with forthcoming open-world superhero title inFamous.

According to a listing on retail website Amazon, Sucker Punch's action game will be packaged with an 80GB console.

The bundle will be priced at £279.99 and made available for the game's official release date on May 29.



In the PS3 exclusive, players take on the role of bike messenger Cole McGrath, who acquires electricity-based superpowers after an explosion in the fictional Empire City.

Team Fortress 2 update from Valve to make game fair

When Valve introduced the first four class updates to Team Fortress 2, an achievement system was used to help unlock new weapons and items. According to Valve, that system did not work as intended.

In the end, instead of playing the game toward fun and rewarding goals, hardcore players would grind achievements to unlock the game's latest weaponry. At the time, users complained the achievement system was changing the landscape of Team Fortress 2's online community - mostly because some of the achievements were so difficult to acquire regularly.

In response, Valve has changed the new weapon system with the latest update (Spy & Sniper). In the new system, Team Fortress 2 utilizes Valve's Steam Cloud, automatically rewarding players new weaponry and items previously only attainable through completing achievement related tasks.

Full post on Joystiq here...

360 deg shooter K.ryzer new stunning gaming experience for iPhone and iPod touch

K.RYZER PROLOGUE is finally available on the App Store! Marking what is only the start of a whole new stunning gaming experience for iPhone and iPod touch! KRYZER is different, KRYZER is fast, KRYZER will blow your mind!



With only minimal input movements, it’s your job to control the flight path of an inter-dimensional cyberspace glider as it confronts endless foes in a 360° field of play. KRYZER combines arcade action and innovation and generates a whole new gaming ambience! A banging electronic soundtrack and stylish 2D graphics round up the whole experience.

Car Jack Streets iPhone video game a steal after price drop Pluss official game guide

Following the outstanding success of their handheld crime-simulator Car Jack Streets iPhone, developer Tag Games has dropped the price of the game for a limited time only. The real-time action title has received an average review score of 8.2 from 22 leading game review sites and fantastic user review scores on the App Store.

The studio has listened closely to the opinions of Car Jack Streets biggest fans and harshest critics to model both of the forthcoming free update packs on their suggestions.

The developer just keeps on giving back to the gaming community as the game is available on App Store now at the reduced price of £0.59 / $0.99 / Euro 0.79 and a new FAQ guide has been released online to accompany the title. The official Car Jack Streets guide can be found here: http://www.tag-games.com/holdingpages/carjackstreets/images/cjs_faq_v11.pdf

Paul Farley, MD at Tag Games said: "We are grateful to everyone who bought our game first time round and as our way of celebrating, we are lowering our prices to encourage newcomers to try out our game. We feel it is one of the most ambitious titles available on App Store today and would like to invite everyone to give it a try."

GAMEVIL Launches Zenonia on Apple App Store

GAMEVIL USA, Inc., the LA-based mobile games publisher, today announced that its classic action role-playing game Zenonia for iPhone and iPod touch is available on the Apple App Store. Zenonia features anime style characters and graphics which will bring back nostalgic moments from epic role-playing games in the past. The game has numerous quests to follow with an interesting story line, as the hero goes on a journey to figure out his past. For each different skill class, there is a unique set of skills to master along with hundreds of items and weapons to acquire.

“We’re thrilled to launch Zenonia on the Apple App Store”, said Kyu Lee, president of GAMEVIL USA. “The revolutionary iPhone and iPod touch have allowed us to develop a unique version of this game and we are certain fans will love the engaging gameplay and captivating fantasy world we’ve created.”

ZENONIA is now available for $5.99 from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/

For more details, please visit www.gamevil.com

Namco Bandai Games Europe announce 'Dragonball: Revenge of King Piccolo' for Nintendo Wii

Namco Bandai Games Europe S.A.S. today announced the forthcoming launch of Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo exclusively for Wii. Scheduled for European launch this autumn 2009, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo promises to thrill fans with the first ever appearance of the original Dragon Ball story on Wii in glorious 3D.

Heading back to the early days of the Dragon Ball story, players will control Kid Goku as he sets out on fantastic adventures with his friends. The title faithfully reproduces the uniqueness and special humour of the early Dragon Ball series, while adding an original blend of action and adventure to the mix. With the original Japanese music and voiceover included for maximum authenticity, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo offers fans a dazzling new experience with the characters and universe they know and love.

The visuals in Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo take the series to a new level by faithfully reproducing on-screen the original drawings of legendary Dragon Ball artist Akira Toriyama down to the finest pen strokes. Thanks to the high-quality, state-of-the-art graphics, fans will be able to immerse themselves in the Dragon Ball universe like never before.

Game modes include Story mode which follows Kid Goku from the Red Ribbon Saga to the King Piccolo Saga with the ability to replay previously completed stages, and the unlockable VS mode where players can take different unlocked characters into battle.

With in-game collectables, a host of unlockables, and more fun, fights and adventure than ever before all delivered in dazzling 3D, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo is the definitive Dragon Ball videogame experience coming to Wii this autumn 2009.