Jim Ward has been named president of LucasArts, the video game entertainment division of Lucasfilm Ltd., it was announced today by Lucasfilm Chief Operating Officer Micheline Chau. In addition to his new role at LucasArts, Ward will retain his duties as the head of marketing and distribution for Lucasfilm. "Last year, we unified our four operating units into a single company with the goal of better utilizing our diverse talents throughout our businesses," Chau said. "Jim is a perfect example of this. With the growing convergence of film and gaming, he has already been working extensively with LucasArts and now … Continue reading LucasArts Gets New President →

Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today True Crime(tm): Streets of L.A.(tm) for the PC has gone gold and will soon be shipping to retail. The new version takes the driving, fighting and shooting action to a new level with sleek new PC graphics, new weapons, unlockable characters, and all-new multiplayer features. Building on a slammin’ soundtrack featuring original hip-hop music from Snoop Dogg, Westside Connection, and many others, the PC version adds an additional 32 tracks from rock artists such as Alice In Chains, Queensryche, and 2004 Grammy Award Nominees Spineshank and Stone Sour. True Crime: Streets of L.A. for … Continue reading True Crime PC Goes Gold →

Consumers can experience the humor, magic and fun of DreamWorks' highly anticipated "Shrek 2" feature film with the release of the Shrek 2 video game from Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI). Gamers can now immerse themselves in the epic adventure by playing as the film's main characters Shrek, Donkey, Princess Fiona and Puss-in-Boots, as well as original characters created for the game. Players journey through 11 action-packed levels that include film locales and locations exclusive to the game. Shrek 2 is currently available on the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and Nintendo GameCube for … Continue reading Shrek 2 Ships →

Today game industry veteran Bill Gardner revealed the formation of his new publishing and distribution company, O~3 Entertainment. The company intends to bring high caliber independently developed games to a variety of gaming platforms, including PC, Playstation 2, Xbox, GameCube and WiFi/mobile through a unique game publishing model. O~3 Entertainment will seek out titles from small and mid-size developers and will provide complete publishing functions to get them to market – including sales and distribution, marketing and public relations, and more operational elements like replication, warehousing and shipping. O~3 intends to create a reputation for innovative, fun games and make … Continue reading O~3 Entertainment Founded →

Sony Online Entertainment Inc., a worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online gaming, today announced that Beta sign-ups for EverQuest II will begin in May and the Beta testing program itself will begin in June. EverQuest II will be available at retail in North America after the Beta program is complete later in the year. "We’ve been playing EverQuest II internally for months and we’re finally ready to begin letting people in to see the world we’ve built over the last four years," said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. "Beta testing is incredibly important for a game like EverQuest II … Continue reading Everquest II Beta Begins In June →

Lawyers for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have filed a suit in Los Angeles for breach of contract and lost royalty fees against Acclaim Entertainment. Acclaim had agreed to develop and publish a line of games based on the adventures of the Olsen twins. However, with sales of the game lagging behind their other projects, like a clothing line for girls, the twins say the publisher is not doing enough for their game line. The suit claims that Acclaim "blatantly abandoned the Mary-Kate and Ashley line and has taken the franchise of the Mary-Kate and Ashley brand in videogames and has … Continue reading Mary-Kate And Ashley Olsen Sue Acclaim →

Wideload Games, Inc. (www.wideload.com), unveiled itself to the world today as a new development studio dedicated to making hit video and computer games by injecting a unique blend of their visionary development model, creative gameplay and oddball humor into the computer and video games industry. Wideload was started by Alexander Seropian, industry veteran and founder of Bungie Studios of Halo, Myth and Marathon fame. Wideload brings together some of the brightest talents in the videogame industry with a singular focus on creating original games with a new kind of production model. Wideload's team designs and creates playable game prototypes in … Continue reading Bungie Founder Makes New Company →

Konami Digital Entertainment – America, a division of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced that Karaoke Revolution Volume 2, the follow-up to last year’s critically-acclaimed music game, will hit the stage this July for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. Building on the success of Karaoke Revolution’s groundbreaking and innovative karaoke video game experience, this edition will feature an all-new line-up of 35 hit songs, additional characters and venues and a new Medley Mode that allows for multiplayer gameplay. Last year’s award-winning title and only interactive karaoke video game for the PlayStation 2, Karaoke Revolution(tm) was praised for its innovation, … Continue reading Konami Working On Dance Revolution 2 →

The struggle between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance extends into space with Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed, the first expansion for the award-winning Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing game set in the Star Wars universe. Releasing in fall 2004 for the PC, this highly anticipated addition will dramatically expand the Star Wars Galaxies franchise by providing players more than 15 different vehicles for space exploration and combat. Starfighters and other starships will be featured in the expansion that can be used for both space exploration and combat, allowing players to join up with allies and fly familiar X-wings … Continue reading Star Wars Adding Ships To Galaxies →

Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) today announced that The URBZ(working title) is in development for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox video game system from Microsoft, the Nintendo GameCube, and the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. For the first time, Sims are living in the city where reputation (rep) is everything. Players will custom-create these new Sims, called Urbz, by customizing their unique style and building their status to become the biggest "player" in the city. The URBZ will be unveiled to industry insiders on May 12-14 at the Electronic Entertainment Exposition in Los Angeles. The URBZ is scheduled to … Continue reading The Sims Goes Urban →