TORRANCE, Calif. – June 14, 2006 – Knowledge Adventure®, the leader in educational software for the home and the classroom, today announced it will release Knowledge Adventure Books by You, a new software product designed to allow kids eight and up to create, edit, illustrate and personalize books that celebrate the storyteller in each child and inspire reading. Kids can then publish soft- or hard-cover copies of their book, which will be delivered to their homes. Books by You features guidance from award-winning children’s books author and esteemed actor John Lithgow, who helps kids through the creative process and self-publishing experience via whimsical video and audio segments. The title will be available at retail outlets throughout North America this September.
“John Lithgow’s passion for children’s books and the arts is unparalleled and Knowledge Adventure is honored to work him on this dynamic book publishing software product for kids,” said David Blumstein, chief executive officer of Knowledge Adventure. “We collaborated with Mr. Lithgow and combined his rich story telling abilities with our aptitude for creating educational software programs that make learning fun for kids, and the result is a wonderful product the whole family will enjoy.”
“It has been my personal goal for quite some time to inspire children to become enthusiastic about reading,” said John Lithgow, award winning actor and best selling author. “Partnering with Knowledge Adventure on Books by You is a wonderful way to encourage kids to be creative and to read fun stories they had a hand in making. When they are finished they have an actual book to read over and over, and for parents to treasure as a keepsake for years to come.”
Microsoft announced today that “Ninety-Nine Nights” will hit store shelves in the United States in August 2006. The Xbox 360 exclusive, developed by gaming luminaries Tetsuya Mizuguchi (“Lumines,” “Meteos”) and SanYoun Lee (“Kingdom Under Fire”), launched to high acclaim in Japan and Korea earlier this spring.
Published by Microsoft and developed by Phantagram and Q Entertainment, “Ninety-Nine Nights” is an epic fantasy action game that features a sweeping story, stunning graphics and physics, seven playable characters, and epic-scale battles that include hundreds of on-screen enemies.
“Ninety-Nine Nights” follows the journeys of seven warriors. In a struggle between light and dark, a new world order is established after the destruction of the “mysterious power stone.” Warriors are destined to battle in a place far beyond their imagination, as a magnificent story spun of drama and emotion unfolds from multiple perspectives.
Q Entertainment, Inc. was founded in October 2004 by CEO Shuji Utsumi and CCO (Chief Creative Officer) Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Their business areas include creating and producing entertainment content centering on games.
Phantagram was founded in 1994 by CEO SangYoun Lee. In 2004, Phantagram won the “Prime Minister Award,” “Excellent Graphic Award,” and the “Excellent Audio Award” in the Korean Game Grand Prix for its Xbox hit “Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders.” They have won more than 20 awards hosted by various magazines and Web sites throughout the world.
SAN FRANCISCO May 23, 2006 Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, today proudly announces that Heroes of Might and Magic® V for PC has released and will be arriving at North American retailers this week.
“Today we celebrate the return of the beloved Might and Magic franchise with Heroes of Might and Magic V, enhanced and revamped but stillholding true to the values of the series that its loyal fans love and demand,” said Tony Key, vice president of marketing at Ubisoft. “Ubisoft is proud to bring the series into a new realm of PC gaming with an all-new 3D universe and innovative new features such as the Dynamic Battle System.”
In the renowned Might & Magic universe, demon swarms spread chaos over the land in a relentless assault. The fate of the world is at stake and heroes from a variety of legendary factions must stand up and defend their causes. Live their fate, lead their forces to victory and unveil the secret goal of the demon lords. Players have the ability to become strategy gaming legends by raising unique hero characters, assembling armies and defeating enemies using the brand-new dynamic battle system both offline and online.
Key Features of Heroes of Might and Magic V include:
• Cutting-edge visual technology: For the first time, experience the world of Might & Magic in a full, breathtaking 3D animated world supported by a consistent and modern graphic style.
• A more mature & consistent fantasy universe: Includes all the features that made the series successful in a completely revamped and more mature universe – with six unique factions and over 80 different creatures and 40 spells.
• Complete strategy experience and RPG gameplay: During six campaigns and more than 30 missions, explore and conquer territories, manage your cities, recruit armies and raise and upgrade your heroes through a user-friendly yet deep turn-based system.
• Complete scalable turn-based battle system for challenging and tactical combat: Discover the combat system that made the Heroes series successful or experience the brand-new dynamic battle system that transforms a chessboard into a lively battlefield.
• Competitive, addictive, and intense multiplayer mode: Play five different online modes, including the new Ghost Mode via hot seat, LAN or the Internet.
Developed by a seasoned team at Nival Interactive (Blitzkrieg, Silent Storm, Etherlords), Heroes of Might and Magic V® is available in both a standard and a limited edition and ships with a rating of T (Teen).
For more information on Heroes of Might and Magic® V, please visit the official web site at www.mightandmagic.com.
LOS ANGELES, May 9 /PRNewswire/ — For 18 months, hundreds of thousands of new players have joined together to disrupt the portable video game market. They proudly identify themselves as owners of Nintendo DS(TM), Nintendo’s remarkable hand-held system that continues to overturn traditional thinking. As the movement grows and becomes stronger, developers worldwide have taken notice. Both new and traditional players will be well-served in 2006, as more than 100 new games of all kinds hit the market for Nintendo DS.
On June 11, Nintendo DS itself gets a makeover when Nintendo introduces the lighter, brighter Nintendo DS(TM) Lite in the Americas. The redesigned system features a more compact size and screens with four adjustable brightness levels. The Polar White system will sell as low as $129.99 at retailers nationwide.
“We remain committed to going where others can’t — or won’t,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications, during Nintendo’s annual media briefing in Los Angeles prior to the start of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) video game trade show. “By grouping our innovative DS games together under the umbrella term ‘Touch Generations,’ new players will easily be able to identify games designed for them.”
To date, Nintendo DS has sold through more than 16 million units worldwide. Nintendo DS demonstrates that marrying improvements to the interface with amazing software results in a dramatic shift in the way that both game makers and the public think of video games. With new ways to play and new categories of software, the success of Nintendo DS is setting the stage for Wii(TM).
More than 100 games will be available for Nintendo DS this year alone from publishers worldwide. Some of the biggest fan favorites will come from Nintendo:
* New Super Mario Bros.(R), a new 2-D Super Mario game that anyone can enjoy.
* The Legend of Zelda(R): Phantom Hourglass builds on the cel-shaded fun of The Legend of Zelda(R): The Wind Waker(TM) with touch-screen controls and wireless competition.
* Chibi-Robo(TM): Park Patrol sends everyone’s favorite robotic helper on a new mission in the great outdoors.
* Elite Beat Agents(TM) brings the cult import hit Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! to the Americas.
* DK(TM): King of Swing DS sends Donkey Kong(R) on a swinging new adventure.
* Hotel Dusk: Room 215(TM) turns Nintendo DS into a film noir mystery.
* Pokemon(R) Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team for the first time lets users play as a Pokemon, speaking and interacting with other characters in a world populated only by Pokemon.
* Gamers also can anticipate creative new Nintendo DS games featuring Star Fox(R), Wario(TM) and Kirby(TM), as well as a wild adventure set on Yoshi’s Island(R).
From the start, Nintendo DS challenged convention, and consumers responded en masse. Nintendogs(TM) taught people that they could communicate with simulated puppies — and with one another. Mario Kart(R) DS, Animal Crossing(TM): Wild World and Metroid(R) Prime Hunters have attracted millions of people around the world to play via Nintendo(R) Wi-Fi Connection. Brain Age(TM): Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day demonstrated that gamers could no longer be defined by age, while both Brain Age and Animal Crossing have expanded the video game market to female customers. The next wave of Nintendo DS games stands ready to capitalize on these triumphs.
Newport Beach, Calif.–January 5, 2005–Crave Entertainment, a leading publisher of console videogames, today announced the next installment in the popular street racing series, Tokyo Xtreme Racer DRIFT for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The game is expected to be available in early 2006 for an MSRP of $19.99.
Tokyo Extreme Racer DRIFT takes the adrenaline of street racing into the mountains and onto very demanding courses. Race real production cars on real mountain courses. Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, Audi, Alfa Romeo, Mini, Volkswagen and more are all there to be tested on some of Japan’s toughest terrain in Iroha, Haruna, Rokko and Hakone. State-of-the-art data recording techniques ensure that the courses look, feel and race just like the real thing.
Tokyo Extreme Racer DRIFT has two distinct racing challenges. As a race car driver, you take part in official mountain races during the daytime and then race for pride (and car upgrades and parts) at night. The idea is to earn money from day races to enhance your car and then bet car parts in night races. Sponsors will further enhance your income if you are successful. There are uphill and downhill races, day and night time races, challenging weather and season conditions and a nerve-ending one on one rival racing battle system.
Game features include:
o Drive and compete in licensed cars from Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Audi, Alfa Romeo, Mini, Volkswagen and more.
o Customize your cars in endless combinations.
o Master the driving art of “Drift” and earn respect and victories.
o Race in the picturesque and authentic mountain sides of Japan.
o Compete in official day and unofficial night races.
o Winding hills, changing weather and grueling environments affect the race course and test your driving skill.
o Multiplayer competition with rival races.
From Sony Computer Entertainment America and the development team of the critically acclaimed Syphon Filter® franchise, comes Syphon Filter(R): Dark Mirror exclusive to the PSP™ (PlayStation® Portable) system this March.
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror stars Gabe Logan and Lian Xing. Gabe Logan, a highly trained Precision Strike Operative, runs a small agency that “legally” doesn’t exist. He and his team specialize in precision strike missions that require split second life and death decisions that are too volatile for conventional military forces, too dangerous for standard intelligence agents.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 20, 2005 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced plans for a PSP™ version of the latest installment in the widely successful James Bond™ videogame franchise, From Russia With Love™, starring Academy Award®-winner, Sir Sean Connery. The highly anticipated game is scheduled to ship this fall on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft, and the Nintendo GameCube™ under the EA™ brand. The announced PSP version is scheduled to ship in early 2006.
From Russia With Love, the videogame, will be based on the classic Bond film but also will feature new plot twists, gadgets and characters. Sir Sean Connery, appearing in his first-ever videogame, lent his voice and likeness to the project.
From Russia With Love for the PSP™ system gives players the opportunity to experience the timeless fiction of the classic James Bond movie on the go. Invest in your character and customize Bond for a whole new level of gameplay options.
“Kameo: Elements of Power™” (MGS-Rare Ltd.). Renowned game developer Rare introduces “Kameo: Elements of Power™,” a mystical action-adventure game available exclusively on Xbox 360, in which the ability to morph into unique and incredible warriors allows Kameo to search out and battle ever-present evil. Boasting impeccable next-generation graphics and innovative gameplay, “Kameo” shines as a giant leap in game development. Continuing its legacy of creating dynamic puzzles, immersive combat and enormous environments, Rare fuses multiple genres to create a strikingly fun gaming experience destined for widespread appeal.
· “Perfect Dark Zero™” (MGS-Rare Ltd.). Joanna Dark returns in the Xbox 360-exclusive “Perfect Dark Zero,” the prequel to the international award-winning and multimillion-selling first-person shooter “Perfect Dark®” from famed game developer Rare. A secret war has begun between shadowy corporations bent on world domination. Joanna Dark and her father, Jack, are caught up in the fight for the planet’s future. A routine bounty-hunting mission rips open a global conspiracy that will change Joanna’s destiny — forever.
· “Project Gotham Racing® 3” (MGS-Bizarre Creations Ltd.). The popular “PGR®” franchise zooms onto the Xbox 360, expanding many of the “Project Gotham Racing” features that gamers have grown to love. “PGR 3” creates the ultimate roster of the hottest supercars in existence, introduces them to the high-definition era, and drops them into a completely new gaming world, where style rules the road. Racers define and create individually customized gameplay, and can race each other — online or offline. The “Project Gotham Racing” franchise is designed by Bizarre Creations, a long-established independent games developer, based in Liverpool, England. Bizarre is focused on producing high-quality, playable games that make the most of the advanced technology for which they are designed. Bizarre Creations can be found on the Web at http://www.bizarreonline.net or http://www.bizarrecreations.com.
Other great games announced or shown at X05 included these:
· “Crackdown” (MGS-Real Time Worlds). “Crackdown” pushes the action-driving hybrid genre into the next generation with the introduction of the first truly 3-D persistent playground, highly innovative cooperative gameplay, and an extensive prop interaction system all while taking place in a massive and highly stylized urban center. All strategies and tactics are acceptable provided players clean up the streets. Players roam a virtual city built to encourage and allow the full width, depth and height of the space to be explored and exploited. “Crackdown” will offer free-form gameplay, over-the-top action, and, for the first time in this genre, online cooperative play.
· “Gears of War” (MGS-Epic Games Inc.). Blending the best of tactical action games with the best of survival horror titles, “Gears of War” is the first game developed by Epic Games exclusively for Microsoft Game Studios and Xbox 360. “Gears of War” thrusts gamers into a deep and harrowing story of humankind’s epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a nightmarish race of creatures that surface from the bowels of the planet.
· “Too Human” (MGS-Silicon Knights). In “Too Human,” players are treated to a nonstop barrage of action powered by the seamless integration of melee and ranged firearms combat and fueled by breathtaking visuals previously not possible thanks to a powerful combination of Xbox 360 and the Unreal Engine 3. Battles unfold in awesome scale as players engage with vast numbers of enemies.
· “Mass Effect” (MGS-BioWare Corp.). Set 200 years in the future in an epic universe, “Mass Effect” places gamers in a vast galactic community in danger of being conquered by a legendary agent gone rogue. A spectacular new vision from legendary developers BioWare, “Mass Effect” challenges players to lead a squad of freedom fighters as they struggle against threatening armies to restore peace in the land. “Mass Effect” is the first in a trilogy of games with an overarching story, where the real conflict between organic beings and artificial intelligence comes to life in startling clarity.
· “FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup” (Electronic Arts). EA celebrates its new exclusive FIFA World Cup interactive entertainment partnership with the release of “FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup,” a game that immerses players into the emotional intensity of the next-generation football. Utilizing the power of the Xbox 360, fans will be able to revel in the world’s most sophisticated representation of football ever. Experience a newly enhanced gameplay engine that delivers extremely responsive controls and greater level of depth. New physics and animations mean that players will now react more realistically to every tackle, shot or pass of the ball. For the first time you’ll see and feel the joy, anguish and pain of 90 minutes of soccer in a videogame. Through the power of high-definition technology you’ll see how the detail of the players is accurately recreated in fine detail. The power of the Xbox 360 truly brings to life 80,000 chanting fans in a stadium and immerses you in the emotional intensity of FIFA World Cup football.
· “Saint’s Row” (THQ Inc.). Under threat from rival gangs and corrupt officials, the 3rd Street Saints must conquer the city of Stilwater or face destruction. From the spectacular opening battle to regain control of the local hood, “Saint’s Row” offers an unparallel level of freedom to explore this living, breathing city. Players are free to engage in the multitude of different activates at their leisure, all while building up respect in a gameplay-rich world. Build enough respect and the 3rd Street Saint’s lieutenants will trust the player with more dangerous missions.
· “Full Auto” (SEGA Corp.). Combine fully-automatic, weapon-equipped vehicles with highly detailed and interactive urban environments and you have “Full Auto,” the most destructive racing action ever experienced in a video game. This racer allows players to choose from a wide selection of unique vehicle designs and arm them with any combination of machine guns, cannons and other deadly weapons. The rules of the road don’t apply in this high-octane, no-holds-barred competition. And once players have honed their skills against computer opponents, they can jump onto Xbox Live® and take on real players in both destruction-heavy lap courses and last-man standing arena matches.
· “Condemned: Criminal Origins” (SEGA). “Condemned: Criminal Origins” allows players to experience a heightened level of psychological tension as they use their instincts, forensic tools, and melee/firearms combat to track serial killers and bring them to justice. Gamers will play as Agent Thomas, a detective in the FBI’s Serial Crimes Unit, whose pursuit of relentless serial killers leads him through gritty, life-like environments filled with sociopaths lurking on the brink of humanity.
Franchise titles that will make their debut on Xbox 360 were also announced, including these:
· “Superman Returns: The Videogame” (Electronic Arts). “Superman Returns: The Videogame,” developed by Electronic Arts-Tiburon in Orlando, Fla., in conjunction with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics, features storylines from both the movie that will be released in 2006 and more than 60 years of comic book content. “Superman Returns: The Videogame” combines strong creative vision and compelling new technology to deliver a powerful and emotional gaming experience to consumers. Gamers will experience a real sense of flying while mastering Superman’s unrivaled superhero powers to save Metropolis.
· “Call of Duty 2” (Activision Inc.). The sequel to Infinity Ward’s 2003 Game of the Year, “Call of Duty 2” delivers an unparalleled portrayal of the cinematic intensity and chaos of battle as seen through the eyes of ordinary soldiers fighting together in epic WWII conflicts. The sequel offers more immense, more intense and more realistic battles than ever. “Call of Duty 2” features stunningly lifelike graphics, advanced AI technology, dynamic sound effects, the most authentic squad combat and astonishing action in new historic campaigns.
· “Castle Wolfenstein” (id Software). id Software’s newest chapter in the legendary “Wolfenstein” series will deliver players deep behind the enemy lines of a war-torn Germany, where Nazi experiments with technology and the supernatural threaten to turn the tide of World War II. Utilizing a revolutionary new graphics technology targeted specifically at next-generation hardware, this new “Wolfenstein” experience will draw players into a world of unmatched exploration, action and espionage.
· “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion” (Bethesda Softworks LLC). “Oblivion” is the quintessential role-playing game for the next generation and another leap forward in gaming. Step inside the most richly detailed and vibrant game world ever created. “Oblivion” is the latest chapter in the epic and highly successful “Elder Scrolls” saga and utilizes the latest next-generation video game hardware to fully immerse gamers in the experience. With “Oblivion”’s powerful combination of free-form gameplay and unprecedented graphics, players can unravel the main quest at their own pace or explore the vast world and find their own challenges.
· “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 4” (Ubisoft Entertainment). “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 4” will thrust players into a new breed of gameplay that promises to innovate and revolutionize the “Splinter Cell” franchise. Ubisoft is taking the saga of Sam Fisher into entirely new territory, expanding the story and depth of his character.
· “Quake 4” (Activision, id Software and Raven Software Corp.) is the sequel to the award-winning and historic “Quake II.” In a war for Earth’s survival, against an unrelenting enemy, the only way to defeat them is to become one of them. Built on id Software’s revolutionary “Doom 3” technology, “Quake 4” also features fast-paced multiplayer competition modeled after the speed, feel and style of “Quake III Arena.”
· “MotoGP Ultimate Racing Technology (URT) 2006” (THQ). “MotoGP URT 2006” takes the franchise to the next generation as the only official game of the MotoGP Championship on Xbox 360. Developed by the same team behind the award-winning “MotoGP URT 3” and created exclusively for the Xbox 360, MotoGP URT 2006 looks set to create a new definition of high speed for racing fans looking for the fastest thrills on the fastest console.
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