Take The Law Into Your Own Hands As Streets Of Rage Returns On Nintendo's Virtual Console

- CLASSIC SEGA AND TURBOGRAFX TITLES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD-

2ND March 2007 – Nintendo’s Virtual Console is running wild this week with the release of the classic and action-packed Streets of Rage™. This hugely popular game, released in 1991 for the SEGA MEGA DRIVE, was the first in the Streets of Rage trilogy and set a new standard for street fighting and gangster themed games. Set in an unnamed city where authority has been overturned and violence runs freely on the streets, up to two players must fill the shoes of a team of ex-cops who have taken the law into their own hands. Available for just 800 Wii Points, Streets of Rage will bring out the fighting spirit in any player.

Also available for download from today is the epic Sword of Vermilion™. This definitive role-playing game, designed by the same developers as Sega’s arcade games, will take players on an enthralling revenge quest to save the world of Vermilion. Also up for grabs is Bio-Hazard Battle™, a 2D side-scrolling shoot ‘em up game with stylistic graphics. One or two players can work together to save their planet from deadly enemies. Both of these titles, originally for SEGA MEGA DRIVE, are available for 800 Wii Points.

And, if that is not enough, Wii owners will also get the chance to enjoy Chew Man Fu™ for Turbografx. Players must undo the curse that villain Chew Man Fu has set to rob the world of fried rice, egg roles and other favourite snacks! This game can be played with one or two players, who must restore order to the world by completing 550 rounds of the game and save all the food from the greedy arch-enemy. Chew Man Fu is available to download for 600 Wii Points.

These great games join the list of 54 classic titles already available for the Virtual Console in Europe.

MCV Industry Excellence Awards 2007: Finalists Announced

Shortlist for the games industry's most celebrated awards event is revealed

Friday 2nd March/... MCV, the leading print and online games trade publication, has today unveiled the shortlist for its prestigious Industry Excellence Awards.

The fifth MCV Industry Excellence Awards will be held on April 19th 2007, at The Brewery, London. Over 600 top industry executives will attend the celebrated event from all sectors of the games entertainment industry.

Event partners include Microsoft Xbox360, Nintendo, NVidia, IGA, System 3, Sennheiser, Gem and Kiss FM.

The awards honour excellence across 15 categories, covering all areas of the business. This year’s shortlist confirms the strength and depth of talent within the games industry – as well as throwing up some interesting old rivalries.

The “New Games Brand” category pits brain versus brawn as Nintendo’s Brain Training goes head-to-head against Microsoft’s Gears of War (Just Cause, Guitar Hero and Dead Rising are also finalists), whilst perennial opponents FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer will duke it out alongside Gears of War, Wii Sports and Brain Training for the “Game Campaign” award.

But it’s not just the games themselves vying for recognition. Shopto.net receives its first ever MCV Industry Excellence Awards nomination in the “Online Retailer” category, whilst individual stores are now able to pick up their own award in the “Star Store” category.

The winners of the MCV Industry Excellence Awards are decided by a panel of over 60 industry experts. However, the evening will conclude with highly prized “Grand Prix” Award, awarded by the magazine team itself.

Over 40 different companies have been named as finalists. Nintendo leads the way with eight nominations in total, capping an amazing year for the company. Microsoft pick up five nominations as do Ubisoft and Electronic Arts.

“The last 12 months have seen the industry’s major players raise their respective games, so to be nominated for the 2007 MCV Industry Excellence Awards is a real honour,” says Stuart Dinsey, managing director of Intent Media, publisher of MCV. “As the only awards event to recognise both products and individuals, these are the most sought-after trophies in the games industry. Everyone nominated this year should feel especially proud, and we can’t wait to unveil the winners next month.”

The fate of the finalists will be revealed at the MCV Industry Excellence Awards at the Brewery, Chiswell Street, London EC1 with the event kicking off at 6pm on Thursday April 19th 2007.

Additionally, the event will also host a pre-event party at 5pm in association with Sennheiser and Gem Distribution.

The event is sponsored by Microsoft Xbox360, Nintendo, NVidia, IGA, System 3, Sennheiser, Gem and Kiss FM.

SHREK® THE THIRD

FACT SHEET (Gameplay information is based on console, PC and PSP versions)

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

In Shrek the Third, players adventure as Shrek and his friends to save Far Far Away in a hilariously twisted fairy tale from the movie and beyond. Fans play as their favorite heroes from the film: Shrek, Donkey, Puss-in-Boots, Fiona, Fiona’s rebellious cousin Arthur and her fellow fairy tale heroine Sleeping Beauty. The game takes players on an epic journey through the worlds of Far Far Away after Prince Charming storms the city with an army of villains in order to seize the throne. Players are challenged to rescue pals, face off against Charming’s henchmen, gather collectibles, test their gaming skills in numerous boss fights and engage in various single-player and multiplayer mini-games.

KEY FEATURES:

Shrek the Third immerses players in the Shrek universe and lets them go beyond the film.

• Gamers interact with characters from the film as well as new characters exclusive to the game in order to take advantage of their unique moves, special abilities and combat skills.
• Players travel through the epic Shrek universe in 20 peril-filled movie-based and game exclusive levels such as Academy Grounds, Evil Queen’s Castle (game exclusive), Pirate Ship and more.

Shrek the Third is the only game to let players experience the signature humor and outrageous adventures of the reluctant hero and his friends.

• Epic boss battles draw fans further into the Shrek universe as they defend the kingdom of Far, Far Away against Prince Charming and his bumbling band of down and out fairytale friends.
• As gameplay progresses, players learn to use each character’s unique moves for the challenge at hand.

Shrek the Third’s gameplay combines several, popular gameplay elements.

• Players learn to utilize each character’s special abilities and combat skills including Shrek’s “Ogre Power”, Fiona’s “Flying Kick”, Puss N’ Boots “Cute Puss”, Sleeping Beauty’s sleeping “Swoon” attack, and Artie’s “Power of Excalibur” that must be used successfully to get back to Far, Far Away.
• Unique levels with numerous puzzles and platform challenges including three Princess levels (players play as Fiona and Sleeping Beauty) challenge gamers to work their way out of difficult situations.
• Gamers can engage in six multiplayer mini-games including Castle Attack, Shrekleboard, Frog Herder, Shooting Gallery, Catacombs Leap and Ships Ahoy.

Publisher: Activision, Inc.

Developer: Amaze Entertainment (PlayStation 2, Wii, PSP)
7 Studios (Xbox360 and PC)
Vicarious Visions (GBA and Nintendo DS)

Release Date: May 2007

Platform: PlayStationÒ2 computer entertainment system/Xbox 360Ò video game system from Microsoft/Nintendo WiiÔ/Nintendo DSÔ/Game BoyÒ Advance PlayStation® Portable system/PC

Suggested Retail Price: $49.99 (Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii)
$39.99 (PS2, PSP)
$29.99 (GBA, NDS)
$19.99 (PC)

Hi-Rez Studios Announces Spy-Fi Action MMORPG Using Unreal® Engine 3

Global Agenda^TM - Espionage and Covert Operations Online

ATLANTA, Georgia – March 1, 2007 – Hi-Rez Studios™, an independent developer of online entertainment, announced today that their debut title will be a mission-based action MMORPG using Unreal® Engine 3, set in a near future world of espionage and tactical covert operations. Global Agenda™ has been in development for over two years by a team of industry veterans. It features fast-paced ranged and close combat, RPG-style character progression, solo or cooperative team missions, and competitive play on a massive scale between player-created agencies.

A departure from the traditional online settings of high fantasy, outer space, or military, Global Agenda is set on 22nd century Earth. An invisible war is fought not with armies, but with elite teams of highly trained and well-equipped special agents, where technology is a race, knowledge is power, and everyone has an agenda.

“We want to provide players an engaging, next-generation tactical combat experience, but within the context of a single, evolving, massively multiplayer online world where actions have consequences”, says Todd Harris, COO of Hi-Rez Studios. “Player-created agencies, with the right strategy and skill, can have a very real impact on each other and the world itself.”

Key Planned Features

• Create, extensively customize, and develop an agent character that is unique within the world. Protect your secret identity through covert activity while increasing your skills and influence.
• Join a player-created agency, compete in a technology race for advanced weaponry, and advance your own agenda.
• Engage in solo, co-op, and team objective-based missions against non-player and other player-created agencies.
• Experience a dynamic world of espionage and intrigue, where in-game events and locations are influenced by the actions of players and agencies.

About Hi-Rez Studios
Hi-Rez Studios, Inc. was established in 2005 to create exceptional online interactive entertainment and is located just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit www.hirezstudios.com.

Unreal is a registered trademark of Epic Games, Inc.

SpirOps AI now handles crowds

SpirOps adds major feature enhancements to SpirOps AI; the industry leading solution for behavior Artificial Intelligence now handles crowds.

Paris, France, March 1st, 2007 - SpirOps today announced the release of two new components for SpirOps AI: “SpirOps Graph Generator" and "SpirOps Crowd". These two new components enlarge the range of SpirOps AI, allowing the industry leading solution for behavior Artificial Intelligence to handle crowds, from a few people to several thousands of them.

“With these two new components, video game developers can now easily populate any 3D environment with a crowd of several thousand characters with a unique and realistic behavior for each of them” said Jerome Hoibian, CTO for SpirOps.

SpirOps Graph Generator analyzes in a few seconds any 3D environment and places collision information and paths, so that an AI driven character can find his way. The 3D environment can be several kilometers wide, and can have several levels. With SpirOps Graph Generator, each AI driven character knows exactly, from any position, where he can go, and how to go there.

“Thanks to SpirOps Graph Generator, an artist can visualize, in a few seconds and without any need for a programmer’s assistance, an overwhelming crowd in its 3D environment” explains Axel Buendia, CEO for SpirOps, “this can even be done before the first line of game code has been written”.

SpirOps Crowd offers « brains » libraries managing basic behaviors of a neutral character within a crowd. These brains contain all major mathematic calculations needed to handle a crowd, from a few people to several thousands of them. Each character of this crowd can move avoiding obstacles and other moving characters. The « brains » libraries of SpirOps Crowd can be used as a main ingredient to create any kind of sophisticated behavior of a character in a crowd.

“Handling massive crowds has become a critical challenge for video game developers” said Axel Buendia, CEO for SpirOps, “the new generation of games features always larger environments that need a dense life activity to immerse the player. With “SpirOps Graph Generator" and "SpirOps Crowd", this new challenge is now only a formality”.

About SpirOps
SpirOps is a middleware development team focused on artificial intelligence issues. Their ultimate goal is to allow video games and simulations development teams to enter what we call "the Living Game era". To design more realistic behaviors with a never reached complexity, the SpirOps team had to develop a new artificial intelligence design paradigm called "Drive Oriented". This paradigm allows to design artificial intelligence with graphical tools, and to keep a linear complexity along the brain creation process. To learn more, please visit www.spirops.com

Vicious Engine® Joins The WiiTM Third Party Tools Program

Vicious Cycle Announces One of the First Middleware Solutions For Wii

CHAPEL HILL, NC - March 1, 2007 - Vicious Cycle Software Inc. today announced that the Vicious Engine^®, the company's powerful middleware solution for cross-platform development, has joined Nintendo's Wii^TM Third Party Tools Program.

The Vicious Engine is a middleware solution for creating games across multiple platforms. The tool's ease of use and wide array of features separate the Vicious Engine from the competition as an approachable technology that does not require a large staff of full-time programmers to maintain.

"Wii is a remarkable platform with boundless potential," said Eric Peterson, president of Vicious Cycle. "As a Wii middleware solution, the Vicious Engine will provide developers with a practical approach to exploring the unique and creative possibilities of Wii. Our technology allows developers to focus on what makes Wii special-fun gameplay and innovative peripheral integration."

The Vicious Engine's capabilities allow developers to create games with ease and speed while still delivering top-notch quality. Point-and-click scripting, Wii Remote^TM and Nunchuk integration, intuitive AI (Artificial Intelligence) development, straightforward platform conversion and the ability to powerfully render complex, dynamic scenery efficiently are just a few of the many features of the Vicious Engine.

About Vicious Engine
The Vicious Engine provides a comprehensive, easy-access suite of development tools that are accessible to all members of a software development team-from artists, to designers, to engineers. The Vicious Engine helps developers and publishers to meet the demands of shorter development cycles and tighter budgets by allowing the teams to concentrate on game content rather than core technology.

About Vicious Cycle Software
Vicious Cycle Software, Inc., based in Chapel Hill, NC, is a premier developer of interactive entertainment software for PlayStation^®2 and PLAYSTATION^®3 computer entertainment systems, PSP^® (PlayStation^® Portable), Xbox^® and Xbox 360^TM video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, Wii^TM from Nintendo, Nintendo GameCube^TM, Nintendo DS^TM, and the PC. The company, founded in 2000, blazed onto the gaming scene with its debut title Robotech: Battlecry and continues to create titles for all age groups based on both licensed and original IP. Vicious Cycle Software, Inc. is also the developer of the Vicious Engine, a comprehensive and fully portable middleware solution for current generation consoles, handhelds, and the PC. For more information, visit the company's web sites at www.viciouscycleinc.com, www.monkeybargames.com, and www.viciousengine.com.

HandyGamesTM and 10TACLE STUDIOS AG announce mobile version of „Panzer Tactics DS"

Shortly prior to the release of 10TACLE STUDIOS’ round-based strategy-title Panzer Tactics DS in April 2007, the mobile version will be released worldwide. Developer HandyGames™ thereby has focussed on a highly detailed conversion of the popular handheld-version.

„We appreciate the close cooperation with 10TACLE STUDIOS very much and we all are sure that both versions, the mobile as well as the NDS version, will set the benchmark very high in the sector of strategic games.“, says Markus Kassulke, CEO of HandyGames™.

„With the brand Panzer Tactics, we want to revive the popular genre of round-based strategy games with fresh elements and establish it on new platforms. These include the NDS as well as the mobile phone! With HandyGames, we have found an expert production partner who helps us greatly with the realization of this strategy.“, says Chris Schmitz, Executive Producer, 10TACLE STUDIOS AG.

About HandyGames™:

HandyGames™ is one of the leading independent developers of games for mobile phones. The company has offices in Giebelstadt, Germany and in Bucharest, Romania and has its very own international distribution network. The company was founded in 2000 by Markus Kassulke, Christopher Kassulke and Udo Bausewein, has more than 35 employees and plans to expand further.

The huge and diverse variety of products, which all excel by high quality, consists of downloadable and pre-installed games, as well as applications and games for the mobile Internet. HandyGames™ has developed top sellers such as Porn Manager, Townsmen or Flitzer.

The company’s longtime success is reflected in close co-operations with producers of mobile phones and network operators, as well as in the many international prizes it has won.

More information at: www.handy-games.com

About 10TACLE STUDIOS AG:

Listed in the General Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, 10TACLE STUDIOS AG (security code number: TACL10) is one of Europe’s leading independent developers and producers of high-end computer and video games. 10TACLE STUDIOS AG (www.10tacle.com) produces top-quality products that meet international development standards, and its product portfolio covers all relevant growth segments in the games market. In the first six months of 2006, the company reported a turnover increase to 12.71 million Euros (first six months of 2005: 1.8 million Euros). 10TACLE STUDIOS AG’s adjusted EBITDA improved to 2.9 million Euros in the first six months of 2006 (first six months of 2005: 510,000 Euros). EBIT reached 2.3 million Euros, compared to 43,000 Euros in the year-ago period. Currently, more than 180 employees work for the Company at its headquarters in Darmstadt and the development sites in Darmstadt, Hanover, London, Charleroi, Bratislava and Singapore.

More information at: www.10tacle.com