Coming: 'EA Playground' on Wii, DS

Electronic Arts (EA) has announced their new intellectual property, 'EA Playground', which is in development for the Nintendo DS and Wii at EA Canada.

Talking about the new game, Dave McCarthy, executive producer, said, "EA Playground transports you to your fantasy playground, packed with interesting characters, over-the-top gameplay, and a ton of collectables."

"Kids can bring the excitement of the playground home, and parents or even grandparents can re-experience their childhood thrills," McCarthy said.

'EA Playground' features games that can be picked-up-and-played to fully capitalize on the unique control mechanics of both the Wii and the Nintendo DS.

Besides, players can freely explore the world on their own with this game. They can enter different locations, unlock new activities, make wacky in-game friends, and collect rewards and stickers to upgrade their skills along the way.

The game, scheduled for an autumn release, has not yet been rated by ESRB in North America or PEGI in Europe.

Price Cut to Sony's PS3 is Certain!

There's a bit of good news for gamers who thought Sony's PlayStation 3 to be beyond their reach...

Sony's CEO, Sir Howard Stringer, has been quoted as saying that price cuts to the PS3 are certain though the extent of price cuts is not yet known.

Stringer said that currently, they are studying the possible cut in price, and trying to refine it.

He even admitted to the intense competition from Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii gaming consoles.

He called the Wii a successful enterprise and a good business model, attributing this mainly to the cheaper price as compared to the PS3.

While Stringer has not detailed the extent of the price cut, there's buzz in the market that the PS3 price may be cut by as much as $100 before the holiday season, so as to spur fresh sales.

As of now though, the PS3 continues to be the costliest Gen-Next gaming console on the market. And, according to reports, it has proved somewhat of a burden on Sony with registering repeated poor sales as compared to other consoles.

So, maybe, as Stinger puts it, a combination of a price cut and a break out of games might help revitalize the failing market for the console...

'Motowow Combo' Offer Announced

Motorola has announced the 'Motowow Combo' offer on some of its hottest handsets at select Motostores across the country.

Under the 'Motowow Combo' offer, some of the company's latest handsets, including the Motorokr E6, Motoming A1200, Motokrzr K1, Motorizr Z3, Motorazr V3i, etc, will be bundled together with cool Bluetooth accessories at no additional cost.

Consumers can avail of the 'Motowow Combo' scheme as follows: Motorokr E6 with Snoop S9; Motoming A1200 with Portable Charger P790; Motokrzr K1 and H350; Motorizr Z3 and H350; Motorazr V3i and H500; Motoslvr L6i and H350; Motoming A1200 and HT820; Motokrzr K1 and HT820; Motorizr Z3 and HT820; Motoslvr L7i and H500; and Motorazr V3i and H350.

The 'Motowow Combo' offer is currently on at dedicated Motostores in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahemdabad, Noida, Chandigarh, Thane, and Pune.

Throwing open the latest offer, Sudhir Agarwal, Director Sales, India, Sri Lanka & Nepal, Motorola Mobile Devices, said, "Motorola is taking Motostores to the next level by providing a truly rich mobile retail experience that will keep consumers coming back for more."

Meanwhile, to add to the 'wow' factor of the current offer, customers are being treated to customized 'phone tattoos' and wireless photo imaging services in addition to the bundled mobile accessories.

Coming: The US Army on Xbox 360

Ubisoft and the US Army have announced "America's Army: True Soldiers" being developed by Red Storm Entertainment exclusively for the Xbox 360.

It is learnt that the new game will try best to provide an authentic US army experience. With 8 maps and full Xbox Live online gaming support, the game is being built based on Red Storm's Ghost Recon Warfighter 2 game engine.

Game developers say "America's Army: True Soldiers" will accurately portray values that guide soldiers in the US Army by incorporating game play based on mission accomplishment, teamwork, leadership, respect for life and property, and so on.

Starting off as soldiers, players will be able to take on different roles such as riflemen, grenadiers, automatic riflemen, or snipers. With the play-lead-recruit feature, gamers will be able to earn respect and move up the ranks, or get team mates to award them points.

The most unique feature, according to the game's developers, is the merging of single-player and multiplayer aspects. As such, single-player accomplishments made in categories like valor, marksmanship, stealth, and conditioning will be able to be upgraded and used in the multiplayer aspect of the game.

Besides, "America's Army: True Soldiers" promises the use of high-tech equipment, including a Blue Force Tracker to improve target recognition and increase information to the player.

Being touted as one of the most realistic US army experiences on a gaming console, the game's developers are certain it will appeal to both gamer and military types who want to enact a real army experience on the gaming console.

Meanwhile, "America's Army: True Soldiers" is scheduled for launch sometime in September this year, and has been given a "T" for Teen rating.

"Halo 3" Fans must Wait until Sep 25

Game freaks worldwide will have to now reportedly wait until the 25th of September for the final launch of the 'Halo 3' multiplayer.

According to Bungie Studios, the limited public beta that debuted worldwide on May 16 saw over 820,000 unique participants, and over 12 million hours of online gameplay.
The new feature where players can record their gameplay, and share it with buddies over Xbox Live especially saw over 580,000 saved films created by users, Bungie Studios said.

With the beta now closed, consumers can look forward to the release that will pack new merchandise, including two new Xbox 360 Limited Edition "Halo 3" wireless controllers, and a headset that lets gamers talk with friends over Xbox Live.

The headset will be available early September, and the contollers September 18, each for around $59.99 (Rs 2,450 approx).

The Zune Halo 3 edition digital media player will be available exclusively at GameStop starting June 15 for $249 (Rs 10,169 approx). This edition will come preloaded with artwork, trailers, and music from all 3 "Halo" games.

"Halo 3" is scheduled for final release on September 25, and will be available in three versions including Standard Edition for $59.99 (Rs 2,450 approx); Limited Edition for $69.99 (Rs 2,858 approx); and Legendary Edition for $129.99 (Rs 5,308 approx).

Near Final Version Leopard Releases

oday, Apple Computer announced its near final version of Mac OS X Leopard, in what is the 6th major release of the world's most advanced OS.

Leopard is scheduled to ship in October this year, and according to Apple, introduces over 300 new features; including a new Desktop and Dock with Stacks, an updated Finder featuring Cover Flow, Quick Look, Time Machine, Spaces, and enhanced iChat and mail applications, among others.
The new Dock features Stacks that help users better manage desktop clutter caused by browser and email downloads.

The all new Finder has Cover Flow, which is an innovative way to quickly browse and locate files/applications. Finder also has a new Sidebar that simplifies organisation of files on a Mac, adding easy access to shared Macs and PCs on a home network.

With 'Back to my Mac' .Mac subscribers can browse and access files on their remote Macs over the Internet.

The near final Leopard sports Quick Look, an innovative way for users to instantly preview any file, even play media files, without having to open an application.

'Time Machine' as the name suggests helps users travel back in time to find deleted files, applications, photos, and other digital media.

Leopard's latest iteration includes: full native 64-bit support to enable applications take complete advantage of 64-bit processing; easy multi-core optimization and scheduling to take advantage of the latest Intel hardware; and Core Animation to help developers easily create animated user experiences.

Other new features in Leopard include: Leopard Mail for customization of email, Notes for easy taking down and organizing of notes, to dos for creating lists viewable directly in Mail, data detectors for automatic sensing of phone numbers/addresses/events, iChat with iChat Theater for presentations, iCal for powerful group calendaring features, Spaces for giving users a powerful clutter-free way of creating customized spaces on their desktops, Web Clip for fetching things from Web pages, Boot Camp for running Windows natively on Intel-based Macs, and other new development tools.

According to Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, Leopard is the best release of Mac OS X till date, surpassing even Tiger, and would further extend Mac OS X's leadership as the most advanced and innovative OS in the world.

Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard is scheduled to ship in October, and will be available through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers for around $129 (Rs 5,805 approx) for a single user license.

Safari 3 is the Fastest, Says Apple

Apple Computer's newly-launched 'Safari 3' is the world's fastest and easiest-to-use Web browser for Windows PCs and Macs, claims Apple.

The company expects Safari to join the ranks of iTunes in delivering a legendary user experience to both Windows and Mac users.

The 'Safari 3' browser features easy-to-manage bookmarks, easy tabs for effortless browsing, and built-in RSS reader for quick scanning of latest news and information.

Speaking on the occasion, Steve Jobs, Chief Executive Officer of Apple, said, "We think Windows users are going to be really impressed when they see how fast and intuitive Web browsing can be with Safari. Hundreds of millions of Windows users already use iTunes, and we look forward to turning them on to Safari's superior browsing experience too."

Apple has always maintained that Safari is the fastest browser on the Mac. Now the company is saying Safari is the fastest browser on Windows as well, loading and drawing Web pages up to twice as fast as Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, and up to 1.6 times as fast as Mozilla Firefox 2.

Besides, Apple says the speed of Safari combined with its intuitive user surface would allow users spend more time surfing the Web, and less time waiting for pages to load.

Other features of Safari now available to Windows users include: SnapBack for one-click access to an initial search query; resizable text fields; and private browsing to ensure that a user's browsing history is not stored.

Safari 3 for Windows requires Windows XP or Windows Vista, a minimum of 256 MB of memory, and at least a 500 MHz Intel Pentium processor. Whereas, Safari 3 for Mac OS X requires Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.9 or later, a minimum of 256MB of memory, and is designed to run on any Intel-based Mac or Mac with a PowerPC G5, G4, or G3 processor and built-in FireWire.

Meanwhile, a free test version of Safari 3 is now available to the public as download at http://www.apple.com/safari. The final version would be available as free download to users of both Mac OS X and Windows in October this year, the company said.

First DVB-H Handset this Week

On Saturday, Nokia launched its new Nseries multimedia device, the N92, which the company claims is the world's first Digital Video Broadcast Handheld (DVB-H) enabled handset supporting Live Broadcast Mobile TV.

Nokia's announcement follows the recent launch of DVB-H Mobile TV services in Delhi by national broadcaster, Doordarshan. Currently, DD's service comprises 8 popular free-to-air DD channels, including DD National, DD News, DD Sports, DD Bharati, DD Urdu, DD Punjabi, DD Bangla, and DD Podhigai, supported on DVB-H compliant handsets.

At the Nokia launch, Vineet Taneja, Director of Multimedia, Nokia, said, "We are glad to bring the Nseries flagship device the new N92 to mobile users in the country. With the growing popularity of mobile devices, and their capability to offer instant access to information and entertainment, this initiative will bring in perfect synergy between television content and the mobile platform."

Nokia claims its N92 is the world's first 3G/GSM device to feature an integrated DVB-H receiver. The N92 works in conjunction with DVB-H technology to deliver live digital TV broadcasts, making it as easy for consumers to tune into TV channels on the device as it would be within the comfort of their homes.

With the N92, users can set reminders to watch their favorite TV programs, create personal channel lists, and subscribe to TV channel packages.

In a new form factor that is apt for watching TV on-the-move, the N92 has a large 2.8-inch anti-glare QVGA screen with 16 million colors and dedicated media keys.

The N92 starts shipping by end of this week for a price of Rs 23,719.

In another announcement, Nokia said its N77 multimedia computer cum TV phone is getting readied to be shipped to India later this month.

According to top sources at Nokia, N77 takes TV out of the living room, and into the open. The wide 2.4-inch flat screen and high quality stereo sound make N77 the ideal personal mobile device for enjoying TV programs on-the-go.

N77 features dedicated TV keys to give users direct access to a world of TV programs. The device sports the ability to remember the last channel viewed by the user. Similar to N92, with the N77 too, users can set reminders to alert them about favorite TV programs.

Apart from all the features one would expect from an Nseries multimedia computer, N77 also features: 30-second replay and live TV watching after replay; and program guide for viewing program information up to 7 days, purchasing new channels, etc.

The N77 based on S60 3rd Edition software on Symbian OS is being offered in markets where commercial mobile TV services based on DVB-H technology are available.

Ubisoft 'Assassin's Creed' in Nov '07

Ubisoft has reportedly just announced that it's highly anticipated game, 'Assassin's Creed' will launch worldwide in November this year.

The flagship 'Assassin's Creed' title, being developed out of Ubisoft's Montreal studio, will make its debut on the PlayStation 3 (PS3), the Xbox 360, and PC, says Ubisoft.

Commenting on the game, Tony Key, Vice President of Marketing, Ubisoft, said, 'Assassin's Creed' is going to be a huge launch for Ubisoft this year, along with being the start of an exciting new franchise, credited with bringing something completely new to the market.

Ubisoft's new game is based in 1191 AD where the bulk of game play revolves round exploring three cities as part of the 'Third Crusade'. The Assassins, shrouded in secrecy, and feared and loathed for their ruthlessness, are on a game plan to stop hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict.

Players also get to don the hat of Altair, the anti-hero, who has the power to throw his immediate environment into utter chaos, and play the assassin to the hilt.

Ubisoft says the game will showcase a new technology, which realistically simulates crowd behavior. And, this is a key aspect of the game for players must know how to best navigate crowded areas, and use their surroundings to their advantage.

Meanwhile, 'Assassin's Creed' will retail for a maximum price of $59.99 (Rs 2,472 approx) with the Limited Edition priced at $69.99 (Rs 2,884 approx).

EA Releases Details on FIFA 08

Details on the upcoming FIFA 08 for Xbox 360 and PS3 have just been released by Electronic Arts (EA).

FIFA 08 for Xbox 360 and PS3, EA says, will be a game to match the complexity and beauty of real world football. It will throw gamers onto the pitch to defy odds, face highs... and lows, hone their skills, and play like pro football players, and maybe lead their teams to that oh-so-elusive victory!

According to EA, the new game will sport 620 licensed teams, 30 leagues, and over 15,000 players, making it a much larger-than-life experience as compared to FIFA 07.

The '35-point decision' engine will deliver even more responsive animations and ball control. EA claims the engine will put together different parameters such as ball spin, pressure from defenders, player attributes, even air pressure, to recreate the magic and high drama of real soccer.

The engine's smart Artificial Intelligence (AI) and 'threat map' system will help players remain more alert, and respond to threats and opportunities in real time to make the most of what they have.

FIFA 08 will feature a new mode dubbed 'Be A Pro' which as the name suggests, will lock gamers into the role of single players, daring them to play like professionals, right from positioning and tackling to reading the field and passing the ball.

EA claims players will be able to create their own styles, or recreate signature styles of some of the game's greats with the help of FIFA 08's Gen-Next 'building-block' system.

What's more, animations will be such that can be interrupted any time to transition into a new move, helping gamers read and respond to or better still - break the defence.

Andrew Wilson, Executive Producer for FIFA 08, said, "This year, FIFA 08 takes its second step into the next-generation. Last year, we kicked off the next-generation by introducing a new engine, and stunning ball physics. This year, we are introducing new game play, new modes, and a new feeling of football finesse."

EA says the 'Interactive Leagues' feature that was first introduced in FIFA 07, will now debut on Xbox 360 and PS3 in a way that gamers can play out their fantasies in the F.A. Premier League, Bundesliga, French League, or Mexican 1st Division.

Developed by EA Canada in Vancouver, FIFA 08 is scheduled for an autumn worldwide release on Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, PC, and mobile.

EA says it will release specifics of the other versions of FIFA 08 in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, screenshots of FIFA 08 for Xbox 360 and PS3 can be downloaded at http://info.ea.com.