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Xbox 360 HD DVD Player Price Drop

Today at Comic-Con International 2007, Microsoft Corp. announced it will lower the price of the popular Xbox 360™ HD DVD Player from $199 to $179 ERP (United States only) starting Aug. 1, 2007, and will add five free HD DVD movies for anyone purchasing an Xbox 360 HD DVD Player between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30. In addition, Microsoft further solidified the Xbox 360 as the ultimate high-definition (HD) entertainment platform, with key announcements around the HD DVD launches of “300” from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and “Heroes: Season 1” from Universal Studios.

To promote the HD DVD versions of “300” and “Heroes: Season 1,” Microsoft unveiled exclusive content for Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Xbox LIVE will offer “300” on demand in HD starting Aug. 14, and is working with Warner Bros. at Comic-Con on a Bringing It Home campaign featuring “300” and other Warner Bros. properties. In advance of the street date for the “Heroes: Season 1” HD DVD boxed set, Xbox LIVE members will be able to download for free the show’s pilot episode in high definition for a limited time. Members will also be able to download trailers, teaser scenes and other promotional materials highlighting the “Heroes: Season 1” boxed set on HD DVD.

Already the most affordable high-definition player available, the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player is the best solution for movie lovers seeking HD content in the highest possible resolution. The player’s price reduction to $179 (U.S. ERP) continues to set the bar for value, making the Xbox 360 platform the most affordable solution for consumers seeking the broadest, most compelling selection of next-generation gaming and HD video experiences.

In addition to the price drop, Microsoft is extending Toshiba’s highly successful “Perfect Offer” of five free HD DVD discs to Xbox 360 consumers. Previously exclusive to Toshiba HD DVD Players, with the purchase of an Xbox 360 HD DVD Player at the new low price of $179 ERP, consumers can choose five HD DVD titles for free from a selection of 15 popular titles through a mail-in offer. With a retail value of over $140 (U.S.), this promotion makes the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player one of the most compelling offerings for consumers looking to make the leap into HD this holiday season.

Battlefield: Bad Company Preview Information

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Digital Illusions CE AB, Stockholm
Ship Date: 2008
Category: First Person Shooter
Game System: PS3 , Xbox 360

Set in the near future, the Battlefield: Bad Company single-player campaign drops gamers into a dramatic Eurasian conflict. As part of a squad of four soldiers, players risk it all to go AWOL on a personal quest, fighting their own war within the war. Featuring a dramatic storyline flavored with attitude, Battlefield: Bad Company leads gamers far from the traditional frontlines on a wild ride with a group of renegade soldiers who decide that sometimes the gratitude of a nation just isn’t enough.

The Battlefield: Bad Company cinematic single-player experience captures the freedom and intensity of the franchise’s legendary multi-player sandbox gameplay in a dynamic world where nearly everything is destructible. Gamers have total freedom to be daring and innovative, adapting to and tackling challenges in unexpected “Battlefield-style” ways. Create sniping positions by blowing out a piece of a wall or drive your tank straight through a small house. The ever-changing battlefield forces players, their teammates and enemies to react accordingly.

The game also features a full suite of the franchise’s trademark multi-player gameplay, supporting 24 players online. Battlefield: Bad Company is the first game built from the ground up for next-generation consoles using DICE’s bleeding-edge Frostbite game engine, delivering unrivaled graphics, effects and gameplay.

Key Features

Cinematic single-player experience – A deep campaign loaded with attitude follows a wayward band of ordinary soldiers who risk it all on a quest for personal gain.

War, your way – Battlefield: Bad Company environments are 90 percent destructible, meaning that any structure can be demolished down to its foundation. Gamers can shape the battlefield to match their play style – the possibilities are literally endless.

New vehicles, weapons and toys – Land, air or sea, dozens of new tools are waiting for explosive experimentation. Battlefield: Bad Company gives gamers the building blocks to get creative and usher in a new era of their own “Battlefield moments”.

Frostbite™ game engine – DICE’s Frostbite game engine raises the bar for next-gen gaming, with stunning HD graphics that bring characters, vehicles, and environments to life like never before.

Genre-defining multiplayer – Support for 24 players online* in a world designed to take full advantage of the game’s massively destructible environments.

True “Through the gun” experience – DICE’s attention to detail is applied to the act of firing a weapon. Dozens of subtle changes to the FPS formula add up to a vastly improved shooting experience.

Army Of Two Hitting Retail Stores This November

Never go into battle alone! The deadliest two-man military outfit a government can buy is hitting retail stores this November. Electronic Arts today announced that ARMY OF TWO will be on retail shelves starting November 15, 2007 in North America and Europe. Launching on the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, ARMY OF TWO gameplay focuses on two-man missions, two-man strategies, two-man tactics and a two-man advantage to bring a new and groundbreaking gaming experience to players worldwide, online and offline. Co-op is no longer a mode, it’s the game.

ARMY OF TWO will captivate gamers with a politically charged storyline, centering on the impact and ethical issues of Private Military Corporations. EA Montreal has also enlisted world renowned composer, Trevor Morris, to bring all aspects of the storyline and epic two-man gameplay to life through a powerful soundtrack. Morris has worked on numerous Hollywood blockbuster titles including Black Hawk Down, Bad Boys II, The Last Samurai and Pirates of the Caribbean 1 and 2.

E3 - Game Trailers.. Game Trailers and More Trailers!

Well, I sat down and tried to find all the E3 2007 game trailers and previews I could get my little hands on. I have been able to put together about 40 at this time, more to come as soon as I can. Here is the List we have at this time.

Age Of Conan | Army Of Two | Assassin’s Creed | Blacksite Area 51 | Burnout Paradise | Call Of Duty 4 Modern Warfare | Destroy All Humans 3: Path Of The Furon | Enemy Territory Quake Wars | Fatal Inertia | General News And Rants | God Of War: Chains Of Olympus | Guitar Hero Iii: Legends Of Rock | Halo 3 | Halo 3 Campaign | Halo Wars | Haze | Heavenly Sword | Lost Odyssey | Madden NFL 08 | Mass Effect | Medal Of Honor : Airborne | Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots | Naruto: Rise Of Ninja | Nights Journey Of Dreams | Project Gotham Racing 4 | Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools Of Destruction | Resident Evil 5 | Socom: U.S. Navy Seals Tactical Strike | Soul Calibur Legends | Spider Man Friend Or Foe | Spore | Super Mario Galaxy | Syphon Filter: Logans Shadow | The Bourne Conspiracy | The Settlers Vi | Timeshift | Trailer | Turok Enemy Infiltration | Undertow | Unreal Tournament 3 | Viva Pinata Party Animals

All the Trailers listed can be viewed on our new E3 2007 Game Trailer page. If you Find more that are not listed here please let me know, I will get them added as soon as I can. The page can be slow waiting to on the trailers to load, but hang in it’s worth the wait.

E3 - Almost 40 New Game Fact Sheets And Still Going

With over 40 Fact Sheets already and E3 2007 is only 2 days old. I have placed the Game Fact Sheets here in one post. I call it “The E3 2007 Game Fact Sheets Roundup” I have gathered together all the Fact sheets I could find and posted them in one place to make looking for the info about your favorite game go much more smooth. Use the navigation links in the posts to make it faster to find what your looking for. Full Story »

E3 - Xbox 360 Games Available By Holiday 2007

Xbox 360 is a great place to play the next chapters of “Grand Theft Auto,” “Madden,” and “Halo” — the best-selling franchises of the last generation. In fact, “Halo 3,” “Grand Theft Auto IV” and “Madden NFL 08” are expected to account for one-third of all console new release sales in the U.S. during the second half of the year, according to a recent report by IGN Entertainment’s GamerMetrics. Xbox 360 has an unprecedented lineup of blockbuster titles available by holiday 2007, including these:

• “Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation” (NAMCO BANDAI Games). “Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation” takes players up to the sky and into the heat of realistic air combat with next-generation audio and visual effects and online multiplayer action.* Available this holiday, only on Xbox 360.
• “Assassin’s Creed” (Ubisoft). “Assassin’s Creed” is the next-generation game developed by Ubisoft that merges technology, game design, theme and emotions into a world where players will assume the role of the main character, Altair, and will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and experience the art of a master assassin. Available this November.
• “Beautiful Katamari” (NAMCO BANDAI Games). Marking the debut of Namco’s beloved ball-rolling puzzle game on a next-generation platform, “Beautiful Katamari,” the fourth installment of the “Katamari” series, features levels of quirkiness, cosmic animations and musical stylings never seen before. Available this October.
• “BioShock” (2K Games). “BioShock” is the “genetically enhanced” first-person shooter set in the ruined undersea metropolis of Rapture. Available this August, only on Xbox 360 and Windows^®.
• “Blue Dragon” (Mistwalker/Artoon Co. Ltd.). From famed game producer Hironobu Sakaguchi comes “Blue Dragonâ„¢,” a unique, epic role-playing game. Available Aug. 28, only on Xbox 360.
• “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” (Activision). The new action thriller from the award-winning team at Infinity Ward Inc., “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” delivers the most intense and cinematic action experience ever. The epic title also delivers an added depth of multiplayer action providing online fans an all-new community of persistence, addictive and customizable gameplay. Available this fall.
• “Dance Dance Revolution UNIVERSEâ„¢ 2” (Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.). The series’ encore performance on Xbox 360 delivers new gameplay options along with a mix of songs from the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s and today as well as online play, downloadable music, enhanced graphics and accessibility for players of all ages.
• “Grand Theft Auto IV” (Rockstar Games). “Grand Theft Auto IV” is the next chapter of the award-winning “Grand Theft Auto” franchise, available Oct.16. “Grand Theft Auto IV” will feature episodic content through Xbox LIVE exclusive to Xbox 360.
• “Guitar Hero IIIâ„¢: Legends of Rock” (RedOctane/Activision). Fire up the fret board, crank up the amp and get ready to rock out on the new wireless Les Paul guitar controllers. “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” includes star-studded tracks by such legendary artists as Guns N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys, Muse and Pearl Jam. Available this fall.
• “Halo 3” (Bungie Studios). The epic saga continues with “Halo 3,” the hugely anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed “Halo 2.” Available Sept. 25, only on Xbox 360.
• “Madden NFL 08” (Electronic Arts Inc.). EA’s unstoppable football franchise returns for the ’08 season in Hall of Fame fashion, featuring new players, modes, rosters and rewards to create the ultimate touchdown for pigskin fans. Available this August.
• “Mass Effect” (BioWare Corp.). An epic science-fiction action and role-playing game, “Mass Effect” will deliver an immersive, story-driven experience presented in a cinematic style with high production values. Available this holiday season, only on Xbox 360.
• “Naruto: Rise of a Ninja” (Ubisoft). Relive the hit anime and manga and experience Naruto’s transformation from noisy ninja-academy dropout to respected ninja. Available in October, only on Xbox 360.
• “Project Gotham Racing 4” (Bizarre Creations Ltd.). “Project Gotham Racing^® 4” will redefine the acclaimed “PGR^®” franchise by delivering a unique, exciting racing experience complete with motorcycles and cars. Available this September, only on Xbox 360.
• “Rock Band” (MTV Games). “Rock Band” will allow gamers to perform music from the world’s biggest rock artists with their friends as a virtual band. Available this holiday season.
• “Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action” (Screenlife Games/WXP). “Scene It?” brings the fun of movie trivia to players of all ages with new movie clips in high definition as well as five new puzzle challenges never before shown in a “Scene It?” game. It also ships with four new Xbox 360 Big Button Pads and will be available this holiday season, only on Xbox 360.
• “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction” (Ubisoft). In the latest installment of Tom Clancy’s coveted “Splinter Cell” franchise, players will experience an adrenaline rush of gameplay where hunted down as a fugitive, you have no choice other than using everything in your environment to survive. Available this holiday.
• “Virtua Fighterâ„¢ 5” (SEGA). This new installment in the critically acclaimed series brings intense, arcade fighting action, an all-star cast of 17 fighters and, a next-generation first for the franchise, online two-player versus mode only on Xbox LIVE.
• “Viva Piñata^®: Party Animals” (Krome Studios Pty. Ltd.). An exciting new party game based on the critically acclaimed Xbox 360 exclusive and hit animated TV series, “Viva Piñata: Party Animals” brings back the familiar piñata animals and invites players to compete in a host of mini-games against friends at home or over Xbox LIVE.* Available this holiday season, only on Xbox 360.

Electronic Arts And Spielberg Team up for Two New Games

Electronic Arts Inc. today revealed the first details surrounding two of the three new games in collaboration with director and producer, Steven Spielberg.

“I am a gamer myself and game development has always intrigued me,” said Steven Spielberg. “Now I’ve been able to jump in and do it, enjoying the creative collaboration with the EALA team on our first two games and I feel we have two incredibly unique projects in development.”

As an exclusive for the Wii, the first of the two projects will allow for players of all ages to compete in over a hundred challenging, action-packed interactive games that take blocks to a new level of creativity and fun for single player, co-op, and versus game play. Additionally, use the Wii remote to build your own fun games and structures or turn the same Wii remote into a destructive tool to bring them crashing down.

The second, and more ambitious project in development, is a contemporary action-packed adventure that puts you in the leading role of an emotional journey where your actions tell the tale. Set against the backdrop of an epic story, the game focuses on a touching and ever-changing relationship between you and a mysterious female character who holds the key to many futures. The game is in development for PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PC. No ship timeframe has been disclosed.

OVERLORD Demo for the PC and Xbox 360

Don the Overlord’s illustrious armor, assemble a team of fighter minions and head off for a session of serious destruction in the once tranquil area of The Mellow Hills. Descend upon the unsuspecting populace and wildlife, use your loyal minions to gather life-force from the somewhat unwilling sheep, grow the size of your minion horde, and let the Halflings-gone-bad know there’s a new boss in town.

Make use of minion upgrades, including pumpkins as minion helmets, throw in some peasant intimidation and a show-down with the Guard Troll and you’ll have a taste of the havoc that a minion horde can wreak.

Experience the power of the mighty Overlord with the PC demo now available from www.codemasters.com/overlord. A demo is also available from Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox™ 360. Overlord release date is June 29th for PC and Xbox 360.

Video game systems and the rise of drug use!

With all the data we as a society track now days this is one that has been over looked. All the talk about violent video games and what they are doing to our kids, I thought I would look at the numbers a little more. Scanning the U.S. Department of Justice crime numbers thinking I would not find anything new. I found something so crazy that I could not even believe what I was looking at. If you will look at the numbers you will see what I see. Full Story »