THQ Inc. announced its 2006 videogame lineup based on Nickelodeon's top brands for kids. Games based on the TV series SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER, DANNY PHANTOM and UNFABULOUS, as well as a new installment of Nicktoons, are anticipated to ship across multiple game systems in 2006. THQ is also scheduled to release BARNYARD based upon Paramount Pictures'/Nickelodeon Movies' upcoming summer theatrical release.
Vivendi Universal Games' Sierra Ent. has announced the development of MIAMI VICE THE GAME, a third-person action shooter inspired by the Universal Pictures crime drama, MIAMI VICE, directed by Michael Mann, in theaters July 28. Set in present-day Miami, players will go deep undercover as narcotic officers Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) in the rich, glamorous and decadent world of Miami Vice, a place where badges don't count.
Electronic Arts and Warner Bros. Interactive Ent. announced they have secured an all-star cast for the voices in SUPERMAN RETURNS: THE VIDEOGAME. The game will feature the voice and likeness of Brandon Routh (Superman/Clark Kent) as well as the voices of Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor), Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane), Parker Posey (Kitty Kowalski) and Sam Huntington (Jimmy Olsen), all reprising their roles from the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film directed by Bryan Singer.
Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) announced it is bringing the fantasy-adventure ERAGON to the PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PSP and the PC in November 2006. Developed by Stormfront Studios for consoles and PC, and Amaze Ent. for handhelds, the game is based on the upcoming Twentieth Century Fox feature film inspired by Christopher Paolini's best-selling fantasy novel, featuring Edward Speleers, Djimon Hounsou and Robert Carlyle.
AGEIA Technologies Inc., the pioneer in hardware-accelerated physics for games, has signed pacts with a number of Russian game developers at the recent Russian Developers Conference (KRI). Gaijin Ent., is implementing PhysX SDK into its Dagor game engine, a popular middleware solution for Russian game developers. Gaijin will also provide first-line support for the AGEIA PhysX SDK, an important benefit in the region where English is not widely used.
Warner Bros. Interactive Ent. has launched the new JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES site www.justiceleagueheroes.com.
The highly anticipated Xbox, PS2 and PSP game features the all-time most popular super hero group from the DC Comics universe including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Zatanna.
Airborne Ent. announced the summer release of FAMILY GUY: AIR GRIFFIN, the newest addition to the FAMILY GUY suite of mobile content. The game centers around Peter Griffin, the patriarch of FOXs Emmy-nominated animated series, who has just spent Meg's college fund on a medieval catapult in an attempt to break the record for the longest freeform human flight. Peter's counting on friends like Quagmire, his family members like Stewie, Brian, Meg and Lois, and players to help him reach his goal.
Buena Vista Games Inc. announced Walt Disney Pictures Presents THE WILD for the Game Boy Advance is now available at retail outlets across North America. A videogame adventure that will test kids' animal instincts, THE WILD is inspired by the upcoming animated feature film of the same name from Walt Disney Pictures, which hits theaters on April 14, 2006. The game features Samson the Lion and Benny the squirrel, who must leave their pampered lives and set out on an adventure to save Samson's son, Ryan, who accidentally gets shipped from the New York City Zoo to the wild.
Emergent Game Technologies has launched Emergent Elements, a powerful new set of modular game development tools that brings together stand-alone metrics, automation and 3D graphics technologies into a flexible, integrated framework. Emergent Elements enables developers to focus on the craft of game development, arming them with powerful new tools for building, testing and managing their games with more flexibility and control than ever before.
Introversion's retro-stylish PC action-strategy title DARWINIA led the pack at the 2006 Independent Games Festival (IGF) Awards, taking three prizes, including the $20,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize for Best Independent Game. The winners were announced last night at the 8th Annual IGF Awards ceremony, hosted by the Game Developers Conference (GDC) at the San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California.
Sony Computer Ent.'s PlayStation 2 adventure SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS was the recipient of five top honors including Best Game at the 6th annual Game Developers Choice Awards. The ceremony, produced and hosted by the Game Developers Conference (GDC) and presented by the International Game Developers Assoc. (IGDA), is the only peer-based, open nomination awards program in the industry where honors are bestowed to developers by developers. Recipients were announced last night at the 2006 Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Jose.
IBM announced it is joining forces with Hoplon Infotainment, Online Game Services Inc. and RenderRocket under separate agreements to help them innovate in the gaming and animation industries. IBM is working with small and medium gaming companies around the world to empower innovative business models.
The 6th annual Game Developers Choice Awards will devote a portion of the ceremony to honoring a group of individuals whose efforts stand out in the advancement of the interactive entertainment industry. The ceremony, which is produced and hosted by the Game Developers Conference (GDC) and presented by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), will take place on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 at the San Jose Civic Auditorium.
Richard Allen Garriott, exec producer, NCsoft North America, will be honored with this years Game Developers Choice Award for Lifetime Achievement. The gaming pioneer is best known for his monumental game series, ULTIMA. Garriott, known in the industry as Lord British, will be recognized for fueling the presence of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) in the mass market. The 6th annual Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony will held on March 22, 2006, at the San Jose Civic Auditorium.
Game Developers Conference attracts more than 12,000 attendees and provides educational, networking, and business opportunities for game development professionals driving the $11 billion videogame industry. It is the main global forum where programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals and others involved in the development of interactive games gather to exchange ideas, network, and shape the future of the industry.
The Independent Games Festival (IGF) honors innovation in videogames created by independent game developers and students. This year's festival will feature a $20,000 Grand Prize for the best game, a new modding competition and the student showcase competition. The deadline for the main IGF Competition is Sept. 6, 2005; the modding competition submissions are due Oct. 10, 2005; and student showcase submissions are due Nov. 15, 2005.
The 2006 Serious Games Summit (SGS) at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) is the primary meeting place for game developers and industry professionals to discuss interactive applications within non-entertainment sectors. The various keynotes and sessions will cover design, production, technology and assessment issues related to the use of games in areas such as education, policy, national defense, homeland security and training. The SGS GDC, produced by the CMP Game Group, will take place during the annual GDC. For more information, visit www.seriousgamessummit.com.
Autodesk Inc. is heading to the 2006 Game Developers Conference (GDC) with arguably the worlds leading portfolio of animation tools for next-generation game development. Autodesk will showcase the latest versions of its 3D animation software products at booth #526. GDC will take place from March 22-24 at the San Jose Convention Center.
Rotterdam, Netherlands-based Mystic Game Development announced that its latest next-gen product, EMotion FX 3 the realtime character animation SDK for multi-core processor systems will fully support the Xbox 360 videogame system from Microsoft.
On Wednesday, March 15, 2006, 4Kids Ent. unveiled the fruits of its partnership with Microsoft Game Studio at a New York City press event, an entertainment property called VIVA PIÑATA.
In the fall, PIÑATA will both as a debut as a 26-episode CGI series on 4Kids FOX TV Saturday morning block, and as an "immersive" Xbox 360 videogame. In 2007, after the property is an established entity, 4Kids plans to back up PIÑATA with an extensive licensing and merchandising campaign.
InterAmus Music Systems AB announces a new technology for compositional realtime music morphing at the Game Developers Conference, GDC 2006 in San Jose. This technology makes it possible to create computer games with music that seamlessly follows the story in the game, without knowing the gamers actions or the outcome of the game.
In a first ever move for an Eastern European game company, Nival Interactive Inc. announced it has established its global headquarters in the U.S. and recruited an executive management team comprised of American videogame industry professionals, including Kevin Bachus, co-creator of Microsofts Xbox, as ceo. The changes are part of the companys plan to expand in the computer, video and mobile game markets by offering its partners superior products with global commercial appeal at a significantly lower production cost.
NaturalMotion Ltd. announced euphoria, a breakthrough in run-time animation technology for game play and development on next-gen platforms. Based on NaturalMotions DMS technology, first introduced in endorphin (the off-line character animation tool), euphoria uses the CPUs of next-generation platforms (such as Playstation 3 and Xbox 360) to synthesize interactive animations on the fly, resulting in truly unique game moments that occur during the players experience.
THQ Inc. has released LET'S RIDE: DREAMER INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY for the Game Boy Advance. Published by THQ's ValuSoft division, LET'S RIDE: DREAMER INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY, based upon the DreamWorks movie, is rated "E" for Everyone and is available at retail outlets throughout North America for $19.99 SRP.
The Game Initiative announced the first annual Game Marketing Conference
