Humongous, Inc. (formerly Humongous Entertainment) announced today that a core management team that will focus on evolving the brands in order to meet the interests, trends, and play patterns of today's generation of kids. Humongous, a pioneer in interactive video games for children, was recently acquired by Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext – ISIN: FR-0000052573), the largest video games publisher in Europe, and parent company to Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR). Leading the management team, Humongous announces the hiring of Alyssa Padia and Lauren Schechtman as co-presidents. With extensive backgrounds in youth entertainment, Padia and Schechtman will initially focus on the Backyard … Continue reading Humongous Changes Focus →

The Zombie invasion has begun! Aspyr Media and Wideload Games today announced that the Xbox version of Stubbs the Zombie will begin shipping to retailers nationwide next week. In this third-person action game, players take on the role of the rebel himself – Stubbs, a wisecracking Zombie who takes on an ultra-modern city of the future using nothing but his own carcass and the weapons of his possessed enemies. The game's tongue-in-cheek humor, innovative combat, strong storyline and co-op gameplay option keep Stubbs the Zombie's gameplay completely unpredictable. Using the Halo engine, the game, which is rated M for Mature, … Continue reading Stubbs The Zombie Ships →

Get into the holiday spirit with The Sims 2 Holiday Edition! Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced The Sims 2 Holiday Edition, a special-edition holiday-themed version of the world's best-selling PC game of 2004, The Sims 2. Look for The Sims 2 Holiday Edition, rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB, to hit store shelves across North America on November 17-just in time for holiday shopping! Available for a limited time only and listed at the same manufacturers suggested retail price as the original version, The Sims 2 Holiday Edition contains the original game, The Sims 2, in its entirety, … Continue reading Sims Gearing Up For Holidays →

Today Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announces it will publish Paradise, the latest masterpiece from Benoît Sokal for PC, throughout North America. Best known for the award-winning Syberia, Sokal gave new life to the adventure genre, with the critically acclaimed Syberia and Amerzone selling well over half a million copies each. The agreement with White Birds Productions marks the second time that Ubisoft will bring one of Sokal's immersive gaming experiences to players in North America. A ‘point and click' adventure for casual gamers, Paradise has everything gamers have come to expect from Sokal's creations – … Continue reading Ubisoft To Publish Paradise →

Competitive America's Army game players rejoice! The U.S. Army today announced that America’s Army: Special Forces (Direct Action), which has been designed with the competitive gamer in mind, is available tomorrow for download at www.americasarmy.com. Direct Action tests players' mettle in two new missions — SF Extraction and SF Dockside — and gives gamers a fast-paced challenge in the new Shoot House training mission. The America's Army game team is keeping the action unique and unpredictable with the game's signature combination of random spawns with random and dynamic objectives, together with carryable objectives, random extraction points and random NPCs. Playing … Continue reading America's Army Expansion Released →

Serial video game pirate Dashiell Ponce de Leon was recently sentenced to three years and ten months in federal prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay over $1.154 million in restitution for criminal copyright infringement by the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) applauded the stiff penalties, which followed the settlement of a civil action against Ponce de Leon for similar intellectual property theft in 2001. "We are grateful for the work of U.S. law enforcement and prosecutors in bringing this defendant to justice," said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the … Continue reading Ponce de Leon Gets Prison Time →

Konami Digital Entertainment – America announces the official U.S. ship date of Castlevania: Curse of Darkness for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox as Tuesday, November 1, 2005. The newest installment in the legendary Castlevania series delivers an entirely new storyline and main character – Hector, a Devil Forgemaster who had once refined his skills under Dracula. Fueled by revenge for the murder of his girlfriend, Hector sets off to confront the evil forces of the night. Armed with the powerful skill of Devil Forgery, he must find his way back to the ruins of Dracula's castle and uncover an intricate … Continue reading Castlevania Gets Ship Date →

Today Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced that it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with MTO Co., Ltd. to distribute Dogz, the first puppy simulation game to be available exclusively for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance. Ubisoft will distribute Dogz worldwide, with the exception of Japan, in November of this year. Dogz is a pet simulation game that lets owners name, train and play with a realistic puppy. Players create and control a main character and choose one of 49 different dogs from 18 different breeds. As characters in the game, owners can take their puppies … Continue reading Ubisoft To Walk The Dogz →

Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG), the interactive entertainment arm of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), today announced two key executive hires to help manage the company's growing video game development and publishing business worldwide. Filling the newly created positions are Raj Murari, vice president, strategic development and integration, and Mark Meyers, vice president, internal studios. "As we continue to strengthen our internal games publishing operations, it was essential to add new positions in the areas of internal studios management, new business development and operational integration," said Graham Hopper, senior vice president and general manager, Buena Vista Games. "Raj Murari … Continue reading Buena Vista Expands Executive Team →

In an effort to provide members of the United States Armed Forces a fun and unique way to stay in contact with friends and family, Tulga Games, makers of the popular Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) "Horizons: Empires of Istaria," is offering a special promotion to members of the U.S. military. The special promotion allows new and current Horizons subscribers who are serving in or working for the military one free additional Horizons subscription. This will allow military families to play Horizons together, giving them a family-friendly environment where they can meet, talk and play together over the Internet. … Continue reading Horizons Give Military Family Accounts →