Press Release from SEGA of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd.

SAN FRANCISCO AND LONDON (May 20, 2009) -- SEGA of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd. today reveal more details surrounding the much-anticipated next-gen FPS game, ALIENS VS. PREDATOR (working title). It will be the first title launched in SEGA's forthcoming series of ALIENS games licensed from Twentieth Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising (Fox Licensing).

Press Release from D3Publisher

Press Release from Electronic Arts Inc.

Press Release from Paramount Digital Entertainment

Press Release from Bigpoint GmbH

Press Release from Electronic Arts Inc

Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today confirmed that the HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE video game will be in stores across the world from June 30, 2009, just ahead of the Warner Bros. Pictures' film based on J.K. Rowling's sixth book in the Harry Potter series.

Activision Publishing, Inc. has assembled an all-star cast for the upcoming TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN videogame, including the film's leads Shia LeBeouf and Megan Fox, who will reprise their starring roles in the game, and fan favorites Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, the voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron from the original animated series. In the new game, developed under license from Hasbro, players will join the battle to defend Earth from a Decepticon attack that threatens mankind.

Press Release from Activision Publishing, Inc.

SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 13 -- Activision Publishing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI), and Nickelodeon today announced a global partnership where the two companies will create an all-new videogame based on the number-one live-action kids' television show ICARLY. Releasing internationally this Fall, the videogame will bring the interactive elements from the series to Wii and Nintendo DS for the first time.

Press Release from Loose Cannon Studios

Press Release from Ubisoft

SAN FRANCISCO -- May 13, 2009 -- Today Ubisoft announced that it will launch a new title in the MIGHT & MAGIC universe. MIGHT & MAGIC CLASH OF HEROES, a puzzle RPG that was developed by Capybara Games, creators of award-winning handheld and mobile games, will be available on Nintendo DSTM and it will be released in August 2009.

Harmonix and MTV Games, along with distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc. announced plans for a July 21, 2009 North American release of ROCK BAND COUNTRY TRACK PACK for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2.

Jerry Bruckheimer and MTV Games announced two executive appointments that officially mark the producer’s entrance into the videogame industry. Industry veterans, Jim Veevaert and Jay Cohen, will lead Jerry Bruckheimer Games, Inc. as President of Production and President of Development respectively.

Veevaert and Cohen will build a creative IP development studio focused on the development and production of interactive content and original intellectual property that convey and reflect the sensibility of Jerry Bruckheimer's other creative ventures.

Press Release from Electronic Arts Inc.

Emeryville, CA -- May 12, 2009 -- The SPORE franchise continues to evolve as Maxis, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio, today revealed details about SPORE HERO and SPORE HERO ARENA -- two games built from the ground up exclusively for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms. Building on the franchise's core tenets of creativity, exploration and adventure, SPORE HERO and SPORE HERO ARENA will immerse Nintendo fans into all-new experiences when the games launch this fall.

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD actress Maggie Q has joined the cast of Japanese videogame adaptation KING OF FIGHTERS, per VARIETY.

The film is currently lensing in Vancouver. Q's credits also include MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3.

GDC 2009
San Francisco, California, USA
March 23-27, 2009

Gore Verbinski (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN) and Universal have bought the rights to a WALL STREET JOURNAL article depicting the detrimental effect that online fantasy role-playing games have on people's real lives, per VARIETY.

The 2007 article, by Alexandra Alter, focuses on a married man who spends upwards of 20 hours a day at his computer, role playing as a muscled entrepreneur, when he is in fact a diabetic, chain-smoking 53-year-old.

Midway Games has to lay off 25 percent of its staff and has canceled several projects in early development in order to cut costs as a $150 million debt payment looms, reports VARIETY.

The January deadline for Midway's outstanding notes was triggered when Sumner Redstone sold the videogame publisher to a private investor, Mark Thomas, several weeks ago. Midway is working with advisory firm Lazard to find a way to pay off or renegotiate debt, as it is lacking the cash to pay it off.

Industry tracking firm The NPD Group reports Friday that the videogame industry is seeing green this year, with dollar sales for all games, hardware, accessories and software topping $32 billion so far this year.

Game sales hit $2.91B in November 2008, up 10 percent from a year ago, and for the year sold $16.04B, up 22 percent from 2007. Leading the hardware unit sales was the Nintendo Wii with more than two million sold in November, followed by Nintendo DS (1.57M), Microsoft's Xbox 360 (836,000), Sony's PSP (421,000), PlayStation 3 (378,000) and PlayStation 2 (206,000).

Activision Publishing has released new details on X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, whose titular hero is one of the most popular Marvel characters of all time. The videogame, scheduled for release in May 2009, coincides with the global debut of Twentieth Century Fox's release of its feature film, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, which is also based on the famous Marvel character.

The quick rise and fall of Brash Ent., the videogame industry's first Hollywood-style publisher, is documented in an in-depth story on VARIETY.com.