PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME from Ubisoft, poised to become one of the hot computer games of the holiday season, was created with Discreet's 3ds max professional animation, modeling and rendering software. Available now for all game platforms, PRINCE OF PERSIA offers impressive graphics, polished game play mechanics and level of design.
The Art Institute of California San Francisco has expanded its Game Art & Design degree program, hiring Marc Sherrod as its new full-time Academic Director. Sherrod will be involved in curriculum and faculty development, coordination of the schools Program Advisory Committee from the game industry, student guidance and other aspects of game education at the school in for its game-related degree programs, designed to provide entry-level talent for the $10.3 billion computer and video game industry.
This holiday season, Namco Hometek Inc. offers a varied lineup of new videogame releases, from the number one fighting game available to romping platformer adventures to classic arcade favorites for every major gaming platform. Namco's lineup includes SOULCALIBUR II, R: RACING EVOLUTION, SPAWN: ARMAGEDDON, KILL.SWITCH, TIME CRISIS 3, I-NINJA and PAC-MAN VS.
Spike TV has named the 16 finalists in wide-ranging awards categories for the network's first annual "Video Game Awards" (VGAs), hosted by actor/comedian David Spade from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, airing 9-11:00 pm on Dec. 4, 2003. The all-mens channel promises to deliver a non-traditional awards show without podiums, presenters and acceptance speeches.The show will unfold in a futuristic setting that's part "next-century Tokyo" and part "Minority Report" that will seamlessly blend real and animated worlds into a dynamic awards show presentation
Atari has shipped DRAGON BALL Z: TAIKETSU for the Game Boy Advance featuring 15 DBZ fighters, including, for the first time in the U.S., the legendary super Saiyan, Broly.
"DRAGON BALL Z is the consummate tale of good versus evil, and nothing depicts that tension better than Atari's newest DBZ fighting game, Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu," said Nancy MacIntyre, vp of marketing for Atari.
Pileated Pictures, the digital studio located in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, has released Cash Money's ROCK THA HOUSE, an online adventure game created for Universal Records and the hip-hop label, Cash Money Records. The Flash-animated ROCK THA HOUSE represents the latest and most ambitious collaboration between the three companies, having already produced a number of 2D and 3D game projects.
First Annual Game Commercial AwardsWorld Wide WebJanuary 13, 2004Deadline: November 12, 2003
Californias governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger makes his first-ever videogame appearance in Ataris TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES for the next-generation game consoles released on Nov. 11, 2003 in collaboration with Intermedia, IMF, C2 Pictures and Columbia TriStar International. The videogame includes an exclusive Making Of The Video Game documentary containing footage of, and interviews with, Schwarzenegger and the entire cast, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a Hollywood videogame.
Gameplay demands more than just a hot hero and a fast thumb; Jacquie Kubin explores three unique game environments and the guys that live there.
Jacquie Kubin takes a look at how the dividing line between vfx technologies for movies and gaming is shrinking.
Computer Game Technology Conference 2004Toronto, Ontario, CanadaApril 8 10, 2004Deadline: November 15, 2003
At long last, Disney's mega hit, THE LION KING, arrives on DVD Oct. 7, 2003 (Walt Disney Home Entertainment, $29.99) in a special edition worthy of the phenomenon. For starters, the two-disc set contains gorgeous transfers of both the theatrical release and the extended edition featuring the Elton John/Tim Rice song from the play, "Morning Report," digitally cleaned and enhanced in painstaking fashion by the original filmmakers from Feature Animation.
Sarbakan has announced the completion of a new Flash-animated BATMAN Web game. The online adventure will coincide with the release of the new animated direct-to-DVD feature, BATMAN: MYSTERY OF THE BATWOMAN. The realtime action title was produced for Warner Bros. Online. The 2D interactive animated game will go live at www.wbonline.com in November.
Hidden Agenda Gaming ContestWorld Wide WebJune 1, 2004Deadline: December 15, 2003
THQ is developing SCOOBY-DOO! MYSTERY MAYHEM, based on the classic SCOOBY-DOO cartoon series, for Xbox, GameCube and the PlayStation2 and will be released winter 2003. SCOOBY-DOO! MYSTERY MAYHEM for Game Boy Advance is now available at retailers throughout North America.
Recording star Mya will perform the original theme song, Everything or Nothing, for the latest videogame in the Bond franchise, JAMES BOND 007: EVERYTHING OR NOTHING, from Electronic Arts.
Electronic Arts has announced the development of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE BATTLE FOR MIDDLE-EARTH for the PC under the EA GAMES brand. The game will be eveloped at EA Los Angeles by the same team that created the award-winning realtime strategy PC hits COMMANDER & CONQUER RED ALERT 2 and COMMAND & CONQUER GENERALS and is set to hit shelves summer 2004.
The Austin Game Developers Conference is a new conference, which addresses the hottest growth areas in game development: multiplayer online games and mobile games. The program offers six tracks (48 sessions) from industry leaders, including: Atari, Ubi Soft, Electronic Arts, Sony Online, Mythic Entertainment, GameSpy, Turbine, Castle Hill Studios, Metrowerks, Mutable Realms, Online Alchemy, Wolfpack Studios, MicroForte and others.
Buena Vista Interactive's TRON 2.0 PC game, which debuted Aug. 26, 2003 across North America ($49.99 and Windows® 98/Me/2000/XP compatible), reunites the legendary film's writer-director Steven Lisberger with famed conceptual artist Syd Mead and celebrated visual and computer effects supervisor Richard Taylor. TRON 2.0 is a first-person PC game inspired by the Disney film that delivers immersive gameplay, virtual viral villains and a unique visual style. Mead (BLADE RUNNER, ALIENS) updated the iconic light cycles seen in the title, while Lisberger and Taylor consulted on game.
T-MODE 2003 is a two-day event that focuses on, but is not limited to tournament play. T-MODE 2003 also offers many other activates for the video game enthusiast. These events include: guest panels, gaming workshops, movies, video game music video competitions, our Merchant's and Gamer's Cafe rooms and other events related to the video game industry.
This year
In promotion of Panasonics new Nitrix mini-system stereos, Renegade Marketing Group has developed the Flash game NITRIX SERIES RACING for the Panasonic Website. The game will be featured within the sites Club Panasonic, the community within Panasonic.com that offers exclusive sweepstakes, promotions and product enhancements. One or two winners per month will win a Nitrix Mini System. The other top point earners will win a consolation prize package containing Nitrix t-shirts, key chains, etc. The game will remain on the site beyond the six-month duration of the contest.
G4, the Comcast-owned TV network about video games and the gamer lifestyle, announced the winners of its first video game Glow Awards July 30, 2003 at G-Phoria, the network's location-based and televised mega-event held at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood, celebrating the massive phenomenon of video games. Presented by EB Games and Jeep, the show was hosted by actor/comedian Jamie Kennedy, who announced awards in key categories. A 90-minute special taped at G-Phoria airs on G4 August 8 at 8:00 pm.
The world's greatest secret agent returns in his fifth interactive adventure, JAMES BOND 007: EVERYTHING OR NOTHING, with Pierce Brosnan providing the voice of 007 under the EA GAMES brand. Joining Brosnan are Bond regulars John Cleese as "Q," Dame Judi Dench as "M" and Richard Kiel as the henchman Jaws. Willem Dafoe will voice Bond's new nemesis Nikolai Diavolo. Shannon Elizabeth joins the cast as new cyber Bond girl Serena St. Germaine and Heidi Klum is the malevolent Katya Nadanova.
Discreet has teamed up with Criterion Software to deliver new solutions specifically aimed at improving the game development pipeline between Discreet's 3ds max and Criterion's RenderWare software.
Both companies will collaborate on integrating the 3D content creation process with "on-target viewing" capabilities, allowing game developers to preview content on multiple game console platforms. Artists and developers should benefit from improved efficiencies in the development pipeline for console and mobile games.
Illustrating the increasing convergence of Hollywood and interactive entertainment, Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. has signed the cast members of ABC television's critically-acclaimed series, ALIAS, to lend their voices in the series-based video game to launch in fall 2003. The cast members include Jennifer Garner, Michael Vartan, Victor Garber, Ron Rifkin, Carl Lumbly, Kevin Weisman and David Anders. The show's producer, J.J. Abrams, and writing team have been collaborating with Buena Vista Interactive and Acclaim's Cheltenham studio on the development of the ALIAS video game.
