The SIMS on stage

Experience the Ultimate Online Destination for Performance and Creative Expression with The Sims and Find Your 15 Minutes of Fame!

Today, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced the beta launch of The Sims™ On Stage, an interactive online playground that allows anyone with a standard PC or Mac™ and broadband connection to unleash their inner creativity! By visiting www.thesimsonstage.ea.com, people can immediately and free-of-charge start recording karaoke songs, stories, comedy routines and more. The site offers incredibly fun and accessible tools that make it easy to watch, create and share recordings with just a few close friends, The Sims On Stage community, or the entire world online. Bringing together elements of performance, humour and community, The Sims On Stage is the perfect destination for people to express their creativity – and enjoy the talent and imagination of others!

“The Sims has long had one of the largest, friendliest and most creative communities in the world. With the release of The Sims On Stage, we welcome a new kind of customer to our way of having fun,” said Studio Head of The Sims Label, Rod Humble. “The world of interactive entertainment is now broader than ever thanks to new web-based technologies, and we are thrilled to give you a new way of having fun with The Sims On Stage.”

The Sims On Stage will also feature an easy-to-use Movie Mashup that will allow members to create original movies featuring The Sims content made available exclusively to members of The Sims On Stage community. Looking for your 15 minutes of fame? The Sims On Stage spotlight shines on thousands of well-known rock, pop and country songs available to karaoke fans at launch, making it easy to record and share your favorite ditty! And if singing is not your thing, take a shot at Open-Mic Recordings and share your favorite performances -- from spoken word and comedy routines, to knock-knock jokes and more!

Keep recordings private or make them public for the world to see! With one click of the mouse, The Sims On Stage members can easily upload their recordings onto blogs, social networking sites and more. Plug in your microphone, grab your webcam and record away!

Launching today in English, The Sims On Stage is an entertainment and performance destination based on the online karaoke community, SingShot Media that was acquired by Electronic Arts in February 2007. Please visit www.thesimsonstage.ea.com for more details, and to experience the fun firsthand!

BioShock, Metroid Prime 3 Shoot to top

This week's top rental charts from U.S. game rental company GameFly, representing the most requested games for the week ending September 1st, highlight both to-be-released and already released games in a unique demand-specific chart.

In its second week of release, BioShock maintains its dominance over the charts in the top position for the fifth straight week, while Midway's soon-to-be-released action/adventure title Stranglehold holds steady from the previous week at number two. Medal of Honor: Airborne took third place, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, which slipped to fifth position last week after two weeks in fourth place, regained the number four spot this week, with Halo 3 bringing up fifth place, displacing last week's third position holder Blue Dragon to sixth.

What follows is a breakdown of the top titles requested by GameFly subscribers across each of the major platforms:

Xbox 360

1. BioShock (Take Two), 2. Stranglehold (Midway), 3. Medal of Honor: Airborne (EA), 4. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 5. Blue Dragon (Microsoft)

BioShock is still not budging from the top spot, while Stranglehold climbs from fourth position into second. EA's Medal of Honor: Airborne comes in third, nudging Madden NFL '08 out of the top 5 this week, making room for the Microsoft duo of Halo 3 and Blue Dragon; the latter shifts from second to fifth position this week.

Nintendo Wii

1. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Nintendo), 2. Carnival Games (Globalstar), 3. Mario Strikers Charged (Nintendo), 4. Brunswick Pro Bowling (Crave), 5. Tiger Woods PGA Tour '08 (EA)

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption maintained the top spot among Nintendo Wii requests for the third week, while Carnival Games and Mario Strikers Charged swapped places for second and third since last week. Brunswick Pro Bowling holds steady in fourth place, while Tiger Woods PGA Tour '08 edges out Mario Party '08 to take the fifth spot.

PlayStation 3

1. Warhawk (Sony), 2. Lair (Sony), 3. Heavenly Sword (Sony), 4. DiRT (Codemasters), 5. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (Ubisoft)

PS3 game requests this week saw Lair and Warhawk trade places in the first and second spots since last week. Heavenly Sword sticks in the third position, while DiRT and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 also made a trade with the fourth and fifth slots since last week.

PlayStation 2

1. Stuntman: Ignition (THQ), 2. Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles (Namco), 3. God of War II (Sony), 4. Madden NFL '08 (EA), 5. Wild Arms 5 {Xseed Games)

Wild Arms 5 in fifth position is the only title new to the top 5 PS2 requests this week as Persona 3 drops off; the other four play musical chairs, with Stuntman: Ignition climbing from second into the top spot as the previous week's number one, Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles slipped a bit into second place. God of War II moved up from fifth spot into third, and Madden NFL '08 keeps the fourth spot.

Xbox

1. Halo 2 (Microsoft), 2. Madden NFL '08 (EA), 3. Ninja Gaiden Black (Tecmo), 4. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (LucasArts), 5. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (LucasArts)

Doubtlessly anticipating the long-awaited impending release of Halo 3, the second installment of the Halo trilogy maintained the top spot again over the previous week. The first installment, however, did not retain its fifth-position slot, as the only other movement on the Xbox charts was Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy taking the place of the original Halo in fifth.

GameCube

1. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Nintendo), 2. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo), 3. Super Smash Bros. Melee (Nintendo), 4. Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition (Nintendo), 5.Mario Party 7

The top five GameCube requests this week were a solid block of Nintendo mainstays, with Metroid Prime 2: Echoes rising into first place, likely representing a surge of interest following the very recent release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. It previously occupied the third position, into which it now bumps Super Smash Bros. Melee, as Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess keeps the second spot again this week. The Zelda: Collector's Edition enters the top 5 in fourth position, while Mario Party 7 stays in fifth again this week.

Nintendo DS

1. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo), 2. Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (Natsume), 3. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day (Nintendo), 4. Worms 2: Open Warfare (THQ), 5. Heroes of Mana (Square Enix)

Though it's not releasing until October 1, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass edged out Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon for the top position this week, climbing from its spot in third last week. Brain Age 2 slipped from second to third position, while Worms 2: Open Warfare replaced Disney's High School Musical: Makin' the Cut in fourth position. Classic RPG Heroes of Mana held steady in the fifth spot.


Game Boy Advance

1. Pokemon: Emerald (Nintendo), 2. Pokemon: Sapphire (Nintendo), 3. Pokemon: Ruby (Nintendo), 4. Pokemon: Fire Red(Nintendo), 5. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (Nintendo).

This week saw the GBA requests once again dominated by Pokemon titles, though with the exception of Emerald retaining the number 1 spot, there's been some movement. Pokemon: Sapphire advances from third position into second, while Pokemon: Ruby takes the third spot after spending last week at number five. Pokemon: Fire Red slips down from second into fourth place, knocking off last week's number four, Leaf Green. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team enters the top 5 in the fifth spot. There seems to be no sign of Pokemon dominance letting go of the GBA anytime soon.

PlayStation Portable

1. Monster Hunter Freedom 2 (Capcom), 2. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes (Namco), 3. Jeanne D'Arc (Sony), 4. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (Ubisoft), 5. Dead Head Fred (D3P)

Jeanne D'Arc continues its downward slide; after falling from first to second place last week, it slips slightly into the third spot this week. Meanwhile, Capcom's Monster Hunter Freedom 2 climbs up into the top spot, nudging Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes into second. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 holds on at number four again this week, while Dead Head Fred replaces Dragoneer's Aria in the fifth spot.

HD-DVD gets European price cut

The consortium responsible for the HD-DVD format have named the Xbox 360 add-on as one of a handful of players that will experience a slight dip in price throughout mainland Europe.

The news was confirmed at the IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) consumer electronics fair in Germany, where the new price was announced at EUR 179 - a 20 Euro saving on the original cost.

However, the announcement didn't come from Microsoft itself, which is yet to give its official take. That may include an update on the UK price, but, again, this is far from confirmed.

PS3 price cut?

simExchange predicts $100 drop to remain competitive

The simExchange has released an analyst research report indicating that it believes Sony needs to drop the price of the PlayStation 3 in the coming weeks or months in order to remain competitive with the Xbox 360 in North America.

The report, by analyst Jesse Divinch, indicates that either a USD 100 price cut or an added-value bundle would help to reduce the apparently widening gap with the Microsoft console.

Divinch believes that although a price drop would incur a greater financial loss per console manufactured, he feels that such action is necessary as "Sony’s third party software support could be at serious risk if they allow Microsoft to continue to widen the sales gap."

If Sony does announce a price cut, the logical time to do that would be the Tokyo Game Show, taking place later this month – and such a move might have repercussions on the market share in its home territory as well.

Figures used in Divinch's analysis are taken from the virtual trading in the simExchange, a prediction market which allows gamers and developers to dabble in industry forecasting, and isn't based on actual share prices or financial exchanges.

The Lord of the Rings Online FREE 7-day trial across Europe

It's Time to Pack Your Bags and Move to Middle-earth for FREE at www.trylotro.com

Codemasters Online today unveil the The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™ 7-day trial has been released across Europe. Fans can now venture through the epic world of Middle-earth free of charge for 7 days by visiting www.trylotro.com

The Lord of the Rings Online is the European No 1, best selling MMORPG and now players can experience for free this online virtual recreation of Middle-earth with thousands of other players as they embark on their epic quest against the evil forces of Sauron. On completion of the 7-day free trial, players have the opportunity to upgrade their game and carry over their characters.

Ed Relf, Director of Marketing, Codemasters Online commented “The launch of the European free trial for The Lord of the Rings Online is a milestone in the ongoing development of this year’s No 1 selling MMORPG. The game has already seen two free content expansions since launch expanding the already immense recreation of Middle-earth and we look forward to inviting players to pack their bags and join us in the game.”

Since its release in April, The Lord of the Rings Online has celebrated unprecedented success across Europe and North America. With the release of the second free content update, Book 10: The City of the Kings, The Lord of the Rings Online continues to

expand with over 200 new quests, new monsters, new game systems and significant enhancements to the monster play PvP system.

The Lord of the Rings Online lets players experience the unique and mystical world based on the Books of J.R.R. Tolkien, creating a virtual setting that brims with life. The game delivers an experience that takes players beyond the Books to a place where they can create their own story within the most famous fantasy world of all time.

To download The Lord of the Rings Online 7-day free trial visit www.trylotro.com