It's nearly time for the NCAA Tournament and CBS SportsLine has begun taking sign-ups for VIP access to their NCAA March Madness on Demand internet streaming service.
It provides live streaming video from the first 56 games of the tournament as they are broadcast by CBS Sports. Best of all, it's free.
As a VIP member, users will have much faster access to live video on game days. Without VIP access, fans will have to wait in a virtual line behind all VIP members.
And how long a line is that? In 2006, the service had 150,000 people in the waiting room on Thursday March 16 just after the first games started.
While supplies last, fans can obtain VIP access to MMOD at CBS SportsLine.com (www.sportsline.com/mmod) as well as NCAAsports.com (www.ncaasports.com/mmod).
-- In addition to live video from the first 56 games, MMOD users will have access to on-demand highlights, buzzer beaters and detailed recaps of every game all the way through the championship game.
The 2007 MMOD video player will launch on March 5 with fans having the ability to watch highlights from some of the most memorable NCAA March Madness games of all time. Live video from will be available when the tournament begins Thursday, March 15.
NEWS N NOTES
Rainbox Six Vegas 360 Players Pack Red Coming
Ubisoft has announced the full list for the upcoming release of Player's Pack Red Edition, an all-new downloadable content (DLC) package coming up for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas, exclusively for the Xbox 360.
Scheduled to be available via the Xbox Live Marketplace at the end of March, this premium content package will enrich and extend the original game by allowing players to continue with five more playable multiplayer maps and two new game modes.
The pack includes three Brand-New MP Adversarial Maps: Three brand-new MP maps are included for a brand-new Vegas multiplayer experience.
• Doscala Restaurant – This well-known Italian restaurant is located in the heart of Las Vegas, near the famous Fremont Street.
• Marshalling Yard – This century-old service yard is situated in the center of an industrial district. Still active today, it is primarily used to store cars, but is also equipped with cleaning and maintenance facilities.
• Roof - A coffee factory has been overrun in the continuing gang violence that is wreaking havoc in this Mexican border town. The strategic positioning of the factory makes it highly desirable to control, and therefore a focal point of the violence.
Popular Korean RPG Coming To US
Korea’s most popular and highly acclaimed massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Granado Espada, is coming to retail throughout North America and Europe this summer under the its newly announced name of Sword of the New World: Granado Espada, courtesy of Elephant Entertainment.
“With a game of this pedigree and potential, publishing a retail complement to the online counterpart is an ideal way to expand availability for consumers,” said Wim Stocks, CEO and president of Elephant Entertainment. “Sword of the New World has several innovative and exciting design elements that combined will set a new precedent for MMORPGs, and we are pleased to be working with K2 Network in bringing it to the North American and European retail markets.”
Sword of the New World is a fantasy MMORPG whose story is modeled after Europe’s exploration of the New World and is comprised of thrilling missions and heroic quests. It's the first MMORPG that allows players to control three characters simultaneously, resulting in a fast-moving game filled with strategic daring and intense combat.
ID SOFTWARE CONFIRMS ENEMY TERRITORY: QUAKE WARS NEXT GEN
The war between the GDF and Strogg will soon be igniting on next-generation consoles as id Software and Activision, Inc. today confirmed that Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars, the team-based first person action title, and already one of the most anticipated new properties of 2007 is coming to next-gen platforms.
In this epic multiplayer-focused game, players can choose to defend humanity as a part of the Global Defense Force (GDF) or destroy it as a merciless Strogg alien invader. Under the executive production of id Software, Nerve Software is developing Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars for the Xbox 360, while Z-Axis is the developer for the PS3.
PaperBoy Drops for XBox live Arcade
The much-loved arcade classic from the 1980’s, Paperboy will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 9 a.m. GMT (1 a.m. PST).
Players control a paperboy on his speedy bicycle delivering newspapers along a busy suburban street. The goal is to deliver a week of daily newspapers to subscribers’ homes without damaging their property, all the while avoiding hazards such as grumpy neighbors, annoying dogs and moving vehicles. Miss a delivery too many times and players may lose a subscriber for good.
“Paperboy” will be available worldwide for 400 Microsoft Points.
Game Features
· Seven stages (one for each day of the week) and 3 levels of difficulty – “Easy Street,” “Middle Road” or “Hard Way”
· New Xbox Live multiplayer: The standard multiplayer mode involves two player co-op play which can take place on the same console or over Xbox Live
· High scores are tracked on the Xbox Live Leaderboard
· Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points
BANDS BATTLE IT OUT IN EA’S BURNOUT BANDSLAM
Electronic Arts and MySpace, the world’s leading lifestyle portal, have announced an international search for the hottest new bands in the United States and Europe, in collaboration with Virgin Records and Epiphone. EA’s Burnout™ Bandslam started accepting entries on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/burnoutbandslam) Feb. 6, 2007.
Burnout Bandslam offers unsigned bands from across the United States and Europe the chance to showcase their best track in front of a potential global audience of over 80 million MySpace users, all of whom will be able to vote for their favorite track online.
The winning bands – one each from the United States and Europe - will each receive a Virgin Records demo recording contract and a chance to have their song included in a future Burnout videogame. One runner-up band from each country will become the proud owners of one top-of-the-range Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar.
The Burnout videogame series is developed by EA’s Criterion Games studio and is one of the most acclaimed racing videogame franchises of all time. Burnout Dominator is currently in development for the PS2 and PSPsystem and due for release in March 2007.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Game play your way to Wrestlemania
Can you play WWE Smackdown vs. Raw? I mean, can you play really, really well?
THQ Inc. and JAKKS Pacific are sponsoring an online video game tournament for the title via Xbox Live.
From now until February 28, gamers can participate in open ladder play, earning points for each match you win.
On March 3, the 64 players with the most points will go on to compete in an online single elimination tournament. The top two will get an all expenses paid trip to the 5th Annual THQ Superstar Challenge in Detroit, site of WrestleMania 23, where they will play the championship match in front of a live audience at the Gem Theatre on March 29.
The winner of that championship match will receive two floor tickets to WrestleMania 23, a WWE Championship Belt and other prizes. The runner-up will receive two tickets to WrestleMania 23 and a prize pack. In addition, the top 16 runners-up in the online competition will receive WrestleMania-themed prizes.
A list of official rules, tournament schedules and prizing can be found at www.ggl.com.
NEWS N NOTES
NVIDIA LAUNCHES NEW GEFORCE 8800-BASED GRAPHICS CARD
NVIDIA Corporation has released graphics cards based on the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS graphics processing unit (GPU). These new cards come with 320MB of video memory and have prices ranging from $299-$349.
GeForce 8 Series GPUs are the first shipping DirectX 10 GPUs, and are the reference GPUs for DirectX 10 API development and certification. Other graphics cards supporting DirectX 10 include cards based on the GeForce 8800 GTX for $599-$649 and GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB for $399-$449.
GeForce 8 Series GPUs include all required hardware functionality defined in the Microsoft Direct3D® 10 specification, with full support for the DirectX 10 unified shader instruction set and Shader Model 4 capabilities.
Battefield 2142 Hits GamePlay HD
Voom HD Networks’ GamePlay HD, the high-definition channel leading the next generation of television for gamers, will premiere Gamecaster’s Battlefield 2142 Invitational, Thursday, February 15th, 2007 at 10 p.m.
It's an eight-part half-hour tournament series utilizes groundbreaking new technology developed by Gamecaster that pulls viewers into the video game playing field of Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 2142, delivering high production values on par with professional sports broadcasts, as pro-sports camera operators and commentators make the tournament an exciting spectator event.
Eight teams of 5 players converged in Los Angeles in September 2006, to put their playing prowess to the test. Capturing all the close calls and dramatic moments from within the game, the Gamecaster’s Battlefield 2142 Invitational series is the first televised gaming tournament that truly puts viewers on the 50 yard line of this burgeoning sport.
'Mavericks' hope to rewrite rules of Video Game publishing
The former executives of Gathering of Developers (G.O.D.) have started a new independent game publisher, Gamecock Media Group.
Two of the most successful entrepreneurs in the history of the game
industry -- Mike Wilson, former CEO of G.O.D. and rooster enthusiast,
has joined forces with Harry Miller, former president of G.O.D. are behind the project.
The company claims it will be relationship-driven, offering its developers a high-degree of participation and the freedom and financial incentives to perform to their utmost abilities.
"The major publishers have been focusing on safe bets -- large budget
games often attached to major licenses or sequels," said Mike Wilson,
CEO of Gamecock. "This insufficient emphasis on the creation of
original game properties has created major dissatisfaction among the
industry's most talented game designers and has made the current system
unpalatable. In other words, things are getting stale. We aim to change
that."
'Sweet' New Website for Wii Gamers
The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company has launched wii.candystand.com, a new site designed specifically for use on Nintendo Wii. The new site can be easily accessed through Wii’s Internet Channel.
“The revolutionary Wii is making a profound impact on the console gaming experience,” said Scott Tannen, Wrigley’s Director of Global Digital Marketing. “We are excited to be one of the first to extend this new technology to our consumers by offering a free collection of our award-winning Candystand.com gaming content that is compatible with the Wii.”
The infrared technology in the Wii Remote makes playing games like Juicy Fruit Out of Bounds Tennis a truly interactive experience. Equipped with the intuitive control system, the user merely points the Wiimote at the TV and guides the racquet across the screen with a simple swing of the arm.
Five additional free games are available to Wii players: Big Red/Winterfresh HORSE, Altoids Sheep, Altoids Staxx, The Great Flying Mintini and Altoids Factory, all of which are compatible with the Wii Remote. Additional games will be added throughout the year.
DEF JAM: Icon Tournament announces tour stops
Electronic Arts' DEF JAM: ICON tournaments will be sponsored by GameStop and held in four major U.S. cities throughout February.
The tournament gives players a chance to compete as their favorite hip hop celebrities. Several stores in each city will host the tournaments but only one venue will also have a special appearance from one of the in-game celebrity fighters. Renowned hip-hop artist, Fat Joe, will be launching the tournament in Atlanta on February 13. He will be on location from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The tournament begins at 3:00 pm.
2007 DEF JAM: ICON tournament schedule (this list is partial and includes only the venues hosting celebrity appearances):
DATE
CITY
CELEBRITY APPEARANCE
2/13/2007
Atlanta –
5 GameStop locations and 1 EB Games location
GameStop –
Union City SWM
4731 Jonesboro Road
Suite 180
2/23/2007
Chicago –
5 GameStop locations and 1 EB Games location
GameStop –
The Brickyard S/C
6451 W. Diversey Ave.,#G-9
2/27/2007
Los Angeles –
5 EB Games locations and 1 GameStop location
EB Games –
West Side Pavilion
10800 W. Pico Blvd
Space 353
3/6/2006
New York City –
6 GameStop locations
GameStop –
1282 Broadway (Broadway and 33rd)
For tournament rules, information on the event and other tournament locations, please visit http://www.gamestop.com/defjamicon.
DEF JAM: ICON features an all-star cast and a soundtrack of hip hop hits as players live out the life of a hip hop mogul, fighting all the way from industry outsider to hip hop icon. The dream team roster spans the spectrum of music superstars such as Big Boi and Redman to industry legends including Russell Simmons and Kevin Liles.
Below is the entire cast from DEF JAM: ICON including playable fighters as well as celebrity special appearances:
Anthony Anderson
Jim Jones
Method Man
Sticky Fingaz
Big Boi
Kano
Mike Jones
Summer Walker
Bun B
KD Aubert
Nina Nicole
T.I.
E-40
Kevin Liles
Paul Wall
Tego
Fat Joe
Lil Jon
Redman
The Game
Funkmaster Flex
Ludacris
Robert Dolan
Young Jeezy
Ghostface Killah
Mayra Veronica
Russell Simmons
James Hong
Melyssa Ford
Sean Paul
THQ Inc. and JAKKS Pacific are sponsoring an online video game tournament for the title via Xbox Live.
From now until February 28, gamers can participate in open ladder play, earning points for each match you win.
On March 3, the 64 players with the most points will go on to compete in an online single elimination tournament. The top two will get an all expenses paid trip to the 5th Annual THQ Superstar Challenge in Detroit, site of WrestleMania 23, where they will play the championship match in front of a live audience at the Gem Theatre on March 29.
The winner of that championship match will receive two floor tickets to WrestleMania 23, a WWE Championship Belt and other prizes. The runner-up will receive two tickets to WrestleMania 23 and a prize pack. In addition, the top 16 runners-up in the online competition will receive WrestleMania-themed prizes.
A list of official rules, tournament schedules and prizing can be found at www.ggl.com.
NEWS N NOTES
NVIDIA LAUNCHES NEW GEFORCE 8800-BASED GRAPHICS CARD
NVIDIA Corporation has released graphics cards based on the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS graphics processing unit (GPU). These new cards come with 320MB of video memory and have prices ranging from $299-$349.
GeForce 8 Series GPUs are the first shipping DirectX 10 GPUs, and are the reference GPUs for DirectX 10 API development and certification. Other graphics cards supporting DirectX 10 include cards based on the GeForce 8800 GTX for $599-$649 and GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB for $399-$449.
GeForce 8 Series GPUs include all required hardware functionality defined in the Microsoft Direct3D® 10 specification, with full support for the DirectX 10 unified shader instruction set and Shader Model 4 capabilities.
Battefield 2142 Hits GamePlay HD
Voom HD Networks’ GamePlay HD, the high-definition channel leading the next generation of television for gamers, will premiere Gamecaster’s Battlefield 2142 Invitational, Thursday, February 15th, 2007 at 10 p.m.
It's an eight-part half-hour tournament series utilizes groundbreaking new technology developed by Gamecaster that pulls viewers into the video game playing field of Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 2142, delivering high production values on par with professional sports broadcasts, as pro-sports camera operators and commentators make the tournament an exciting spectator event.
Eight teams of 5 players converged in Los Angeles in September 2006, to put their playing prowess to the test. Capturing all the close calls and dramatic moments from within the game, the Gamecaster’s Battlefield 2142 Invitational series is the first televised gaming tournament that truly puts viewers on the 50 yard line of this burgeoning sport.
'Mavericks' hope to rewrite rules of Video Game publishing
The former executives of Gathering of Developers (G.O.D.) have started a new independent game publisher, Gamecock Media Group.
Two of the most successful entrepreneurs in the history of the game
industry -- Mike Wilson, former CEO of G.O.D. and rooster enthusiast,
has joined forces with Harry Miller, former president of G.O.D. are behind the project.
The company claims it will be relationship-driven, offering its developers a high-degree of participation and the freedom and financial incentives to perform to their utmost abilities.
"The major publishers have been focusing on safe bets -- large budget
games often attached to major licenses or sequels," said Mike Wilson,
CEO of Gamecock. "This insufficient emphasis on the creation of
original game properties has created major dissatisfaction among the
industry's most talented game designers and has made the current system
unpalatable. In other words, things are getting stale. We aim to change
that."
'Sweet' New Website for Wii Gamers
The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company has launched wii.candystand.com, a new site designed specifically for use on Nintendo Wii. The new site can be easily accessed through Wii’s Internet Channel.
“The revolutionary Wii is making a profound impact on the console gaming experience,” said Scott Tannen, Wrigley’s Director of Global Digital Marketing. “We are excited to be one of the first to extend this new technology to our consumers by offering a free collection of our award-winning Candystand.com gaming content that is compatible with the Wii.”
The infrared technology in the Wii Remote makes playing games like Juicy Fruit Out of Bounds Tennis a truly interactive experience. Equipped with the intuitive control system, the user merely points the Wiimote at the TV and guides the racquet across the screen with a simple swing of the arm.
Five additional free games are available to Wii players: Big Red/Winterfresh HORSE, Altoids Sheep, Altoids Staxx, The Great Flying Mintini and Altoids Factory, all of which are compatible with the Wii Remote. Additional games will be added throughout the year.
DEF JAM: Icon Tournament announces tour stops
Electronic Arts' DEF JAM: ICON tournaments will be sponsored by GameStop and held in four major U.S. cities throughout February.
The tournament gives players a chance to compete as their favorite hip hop celebrities. Several stores in each city will host the tournaments but only one venue will also have a special appearance from one of the in-game celebrity fighters. Renowned hip-hop artist, Fat Joe, will be launching the tournament in Atlanta on February 13. He will be on location from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The tournament begins at 3:00 pm.
2007 DEF JAM: ICON tournament schedule (this list is partial and includes only the venues hosting celebrity appearances):
DATE
CITY
CELEBRITY APPEARANCE
2/13/2007
Atlanta –
5 GameStop locations and 1 EB Games location
GameStop –
Union City SWM
4731 Jonesboro Road
Suite 180
2/23/2007
Chicago –
5 GameStop locations and 1 EB Games location
GameStop –
The Brickyard S/C
6451 W. Diversey Ave.,#G-9
2/27/2007
Los Angeles –
5 EB Games locations and 1 GameStop location
EB Games –
West Side Pavilion
10800 W. Pico Blvd
Space 353
3/6/2006
New York City –
6 GameStop locations
GameStop –
1282 Broadway (Broadway and 33rd)
For tournament rules, information on the event and other tournament locations, please visit http://www.gamestop.com/defjamicon.
DEF JAM: ICON features an all-star cast and a soundtrack of hip hop hits as players live out the life of a hip hop mogul, fighting all the way from industry outsider to hip hop icon. The dream team roster spans the spectrum of music superstars such as Big Boi and Redman to industry legends including Russell Simmons and Kevin Liles.
Below is the entire cast from DEF JAM: ICON including playable fighters as well as celebrity special appearances:
Anthony Anderson
Jim Jones
Method Man
Sticky Fingaz
Big Boi
Kano
Mike Jones
Summer Walker
Bun B
KD Aubert
Nina Nicole
T.I.
E-40
Kevin Liles
Paul Wall
Tego
Fat Joe
Lil Jon
Redman
The Game
Funkmaster Flex
Ludacris
Robert Dolan
Young Jeezy
Ghostface Killah
Mayra Veronica
Russell Simmons
James Hong
Melyssa Ford
Sean Paul
Friday, February 02, 2007
Serena vs. Conan O'Brien in Nintendo Wii
Goes to show the popularity of the Wii unit, but man, Conan O'Brien should never wear shorts again
Click here for the video
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Satellite TV gaming & PS3 price cuts?
DirecTV is readying a nationwide launch of a new gaming service called Game Launch.
The service will deliver games like Sudoku, Poker, Barbie and Hot Wheels.
Game previews will be free and a monthly pass is $5.95. A game pass for selected games is $1.95. To play, you go to Channel 110 on DirecTV. Some boxes already can access the service. If not, you'll get a message saying it's coming soon. You'll use your DirecTV remote to play. But it looks like only the DirecTV branded boxes -- with the white remotes and four color keys on the keypad -- will be able to access the system.
Another way for D* to get your off your TiVo? Maybe.
PS3 Price Drops Coming?
Sony senior vice president Takao Yuhara told the media this week that the company may slash prices on the world's most expensive game machine to help spark sluggish sales.
"Such factors, including price cuts to some extent, are factored in'' the company's break-even plans, he said.
The service will deliver games like Sudoku, Poker, Barbie and Hot Wheels.
Game previews will be free and a monthly pass is $5.95. A game pass for selected games is $1.95. To play, you go to Channel 110 on DirecTV. Some boxes already can access the service. If not, you'll get a message saying it's coming soon. You'll use your DirecTV remote to play. But it looks like only the DirecTV branded boxes -- with the white remotes and four color keys on the keypad -- will be able to access the system.
Another way for D* to get your off your TiVo? Maybe.
PS3 Price Drops Coming?
Sony senior vice president Takao Yuhara told the media this week that the company may slash prices on the world's most expensive game machine to help spark sluggish sales.
"We may look at the price as part of our strategy to expand the market when the timing is right,'' Yuhara told reporters at Sony's Tokyo headquarters.
Sony's announcement Tuesday that October-December profit slipped 5 percent to 160 billion yen ($1.3 billion), largely because of PS3 startup costs, sent Sony shares down 1.4 percent in Tokyo on Wednesday. Shares also dropped 32 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $45.98 in midday trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Yuhara said Sony hopes to break even in gaming during the following fiscal year, which ends March 2008."Such factors, including price cuts to some extent, are factored in'' the company's break-even plans, he said.
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