Digitalmill, the co-founders of The Serious Games Initiative and CMP Game Group are joining forces in presenting the Serious Games Summit, a conference that addresses the use of interactive gaming technology in non-entertainment sectors. The conference will be held Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 18-19, 2004 in Washington, D.C. Session descriptions and registration are now live at www.seriousgamessummit.com. The Serious Games Summit will cover top line design, production, technology, and assessment issues related to the use of games in education, policy, national defense, homeland security, training and other non-entertainment sectors. Case studies of game-based solutions and simulations in development or already in use … Continue reading Serious Games Summit Planned for DC →

Enlight, a leading entertainment software developer and publisher, announced today that it will publish Scrapland, with executive producer and ground breaking game auteur American McGee. Developed by Mercury Steam, Scrapland is a deeply immersive 3rd person 3D action/adventure set in a bizarre robotic world made of scrap parts. Scrapland is scheduled for release in Q4 2004 for the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft and PC. "We're very excited to have American on board as Executive Producer of Scrapland," said Trevor Chan, Chief Executive Officer of Enlight. "The robotic science fiction world that American is shaping with Mercury Steam is … Continue reading Enlight to Publish Scrapland →

Adding to the unprecedented depth of Madden NFL 2005, Jill Arrington joins the leading duo of sportscasters, John Madden and Al Michaels, on the Madden NFL sidelines. She spent 2 full-days in the recording booth providing audio for the game. Arrington currently serves as sideline reporter for ESPN's ‘College Football Thursday' as well as feature reporter on ‘College Gameday' and ‘Sportscenter'. Arrington spent three years as the sideline reporter for TNN's coverage of the Arena Football League, hosting the halftime show for the AFL on TNN and sideline reporting the AFL's national weekly syndicated games. Arrington served as CBS Sports … Continue reading Jill Arrington Joins Madden 2005 Team →

Blizzard Entertainment today announced July 5th as the date players can start signing up for the European closed beta of its eagerly awaited MMORPG, World of Warcraft. Potential testers will be able to register online through the official European Blizzard Web sites for the English-, French-, and German-speaking markets: www.blizzard.co.uk, www.blizzard.fr and www.blizzard.de. The final selection of testers will be chosen randomly to ensure a broad base of playing skills, locations, and system requirements to address compatibility and game-play issues. All submissions will receive equal consideration at any time throughout the sign-up period, which will run for approximately three weeks. … Continue reading Blizzard Readies European Beta Test →

HP today announced new enhancements to its HP Pavilion desktop PC line, delivering consumers the right balance of security, power and performance right out of the box. The enhanced HP Pavilion 600 series desktop PC provides an ideal platform for organizing digital content such as personal music collections, home videos and family photos, as well as offering families’ increased Internet protection. The HP Pavilion 600 series now enables Internet pop-up blocking, in addition to the already robust security software included on HP Pavilion desktop PCs. For increased security, the HP Pavilion 600 series offers comprehensive Intermute Protection Suite, guarding consumers … Continue reading HP Enhances Pavilion →

Video Game publisher Mastiff today announced Gungrave: Overdose for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. Gungrave: Overdose features more of everything that made its predecessor great: more adrenaline, more over-the-top action, more cell-shaded coolness, more outrageous story, more pumped-up volume, and more non-stop gameplay. The game features the character design of noted anime artists Yasuhiro Nightow (Trigun) and Kosuke Fujishima (Sakura Wars) and a soundtrack composed by Tsuneo Imahori (Trigun, Hajime No Ippo). Gungrave: Overdose ships in early fall 2004. Beyond-The-Grave, our favorite undead-Mafioso-turned-almost-good-guy, is back to kick ass against the Corsione family and prevent them from using the Seed … Continue reading Mastiff Announces Gungave →

Realore Studios is excited to announce the release of AquaWords, the latest version of the highly acclaimed word puzzle, which has won the hearts of a broad range of audience from casual players to cross-word lovers and language learners. In this challenging and highly addictive game you must help Aquatic make up a word from a pile of randomly scattered letter bubbles. Once you linked letters into a word, bubbles burst and you score! AquaWords lets you visit sunny Hawaii and meet your old buddy – Aquatic who is taking his first steps in learning English. Your objective here is … Continue reading Realore releases AquaWords Game →

The Tapwave Zodiac mobile entertainment console, its accessories and games were rolled out in all 227 CompUSA stores today. The Zodiac will be placed in the mobile computing section of the CompUSA stores. Along with the Tapwave Zodiac being available at retail, it will also be available on CompUSA's website. According to David Wenning, VP of Sales for Tapwave, "CompUSA’s focus on mobile computing technologies made them a great partner to bring this exciting new Palm-Powered entertainment system to consumers across the country. Now consumers will be able to experience first hand the brilliant high-resolution display, amazing half-VGA graphics performance, … Continue reading Zodiac Selling in CompUSA →

The Adventure Company today announced that MISSING: Since January has shipped for Windows in North America. Journalist, Jack Lorski and his companion disappear while investigating a series of serial killings. Soon after, SKL-Network, the agency Jack works for, receives a disturbing CD-ROM showing video footage obtained during his investigation. More than a simple CD, this disc marks the start of a chilling game of cat-and-mouse with a mad killer known only as "The Phoenix." One of the most innovative games on the adventure market, MISSING: Since January features an innovative blend of Windows and internet gameplay, making for a disturbingly … Continue reading Missing Ships →

The trade organization representing the video and computer game industry’s category-leading retail companies, the IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association), today announced that the 2004 IEMA Executive Summit – the association’s annual conference – has sold-out for the fifth straight year. Additionally, the retail and publisher attendee numbers and overall participation from industry leaders too is at an all-time high for the three-day event. The Summit was moved from its previous location at the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel, California which it had outgrown last year, to its new home at the Hyatt Regency in the new upscale community of Lake Las … Continue reading IEMA Show Sells Out →