The Austin Game Initiative today announced details of the 2004 Austin Game Conference (AGC), to be held September 9-10, 2004, at the Austin Convention Center. The critically acclaimed conference will begin with a unique event special to the Austin Game Conference as Microsoft and Sony will take the stage and deliver a shared keynote: "Massively Multiplayer Console Is Coming". Scott Henson, Director, Platform Strategy, Microsoft Xbox will discuss Microsoft's approach to bringing MMOGs to the Xbox and Glen Van Datta, Director of Online Technology, Sony Computer Entertainment will discuss Sony's PlayStation 2 strategy. Separately, Professor of Economics Edward Castronova will … Continue reading Game Leaders to Speak in Austin →

Opening a major new front in the entertainment software industry's battle against piracy, leading video game companies today filed a lawsuit to block the trafficking and sale of software that cracks the copy protection systems used by game makers to protect their titles from illegal copying, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today. Three ESA members, Atari, Inc., Electronic Arts Inc., and Vivendi Universal Games, Inc., filed the lawsuit against 321 Studios in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, contending that 321 Studios' "Games X Copy" software is illegal because it violates the Digital Millennium Copyright … Continue reading Companies Sue Game Copier →

Today Swedish developer and publisher Paradox Entertainment announced a street date for the release of Crusader Kings in North America. This is the first title self-published by Paradox Entertainment in the territory. Crusader Kings will be in stores on September 21st, and as a step in Paradox Entertainment's long-term strategy, the company will self-publish the title in North America. "After having successfully published our games in key European markets, we are now ready for the important and challenging North American market." says Theodore Bergquist, CEO of Paradox Entertainment "Self-publishing is a way for Paradox to secure our intellectual property and … Continue reading Crusader Kings to Invade North America →

Konami Digital Entertainment – America, a division of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced that it has shipped McFarlane’s Evil Prophecy for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system to retail outlets nationwide. The action-fighting game brings to life the popular McFarlane’s Monsters line of action figures from McFarlane Toys. Players will battle hundreds of monsters, including six boss enemies from the action figure series featuring Dracula, Mummy, Werewolf, Frankenstein, Sea Creature and Voodoo Queen. Set in the early 19th Century, McFarlane’s Evil Prophecy thrust players into a time when six evil forces have awakened, setting off a string of unexplained … Continue reading McFarlane's Evil Prophecy Ships →

Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment publisher and developer, announced today that Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy has just shipped to retail outlets nationwide for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox video game system from Microsoft. Melding the extensive use of psi (mind) powers and traditional weapons, players take on the role of Nick Scryer, an elite psi-operative soldier capable of wielding six incredible powers; Telekinesis, Pyrokinesis, Mind Control, Mind Drain, Remote View and Aura View. "Psi-Ops’ intense, fast-paced action blended with strategic decision making and challenging puzzle elements, offers gamers a fresh take on … Continue reading Midway Ships Psi-Ops →

Video Game publisher Mastiff today announced Technic Beat, an innovative and addictive music game for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system that allows players to actually create, alter and dance on screen to their own music. Developed by Arika and featuring tunes from some of Namco's most popular games, Technic Beat is expected to release in late summer 2004. In Technic Beat, players listen to music represented in the game by radiating concentric rings of sound. Picking up the beat, they dance into the middle of the rings and try to "catch" the music. If successful, they achieve the power … Continue reading Technic Beat Ships →

Infinite Ventures, Inc., handheld game developer and publisher, today announced plans to produce its award-winning series of graphic adventure games including “Shadowgate Classic,” for QUALCOMM’s BREW solution. The series also includes the detective mysteries “Deja Vu.”

Nearly a quarter century after creating Defender, one of the top arcade games of all time, Eugene Jarvis is returning to his roots, setting up his own studio and launching Target: Terror, a combat first-person action game where the player takes on terrorists on U.S. soil. At stake are San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Denver International Airport and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, operated for the National Nuclear Security Administration. If the player fails in the final mission, terrorists will crash a 747 into a major Washington D.C. landmark with life-like realism. Target: Terror, soon to be a … Continue reading Defender Creator Makes Target: Terror Arcade Game →

Gamers across the country are gathering their fresh lemons, ice and sugar and getting ready to hit the busy corners of New York City to play "Lemonade Tycoon 2 New York Edition." The much-anticipated sequel to "Lemonade Tycoon" is available online exclusively for the next three months on Yahoo! Games (http://games.yahoo.com). The original "Lemonade Tycoon" was the most downloaded title on Yahoo! Games in 2003, and is still being downloaded and played by consumers more than a year after it first launched. Consumers can download the full version of "Lemonade Tycoon 2 New York Edition" for a free one hour … Continue reading Lemonade Stand Takes Over New York →

On May 28, thirty or so people gathered for a charity auction to raise funds for the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF). They bid on a variety of items, including one of a kind couture from the world’s top designers and a set of sculptures from an up and coming artist, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars. What makes this event so unique is they gathered in the online world of Second Life and the hundreds of thousands they raised were in the game’s currency – Linden dollars – that were then converted to US$900 on the currency exchange site Gaming … Continue reading Second Life Helps Charity →