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Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People Launches August 11
Premiere episode, “Homestar Ruiner,” will release simultaneously on WiiWare and PCSAN RAFAEL, CA, August 5, 2008 – Telltale Inc., the leader in interactive episodic entertainment, is announcing that “Homestar Ruiner”, the first of five monthly Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People episodes, will premiere Monday, August 11. “Homestar Ruiner” will release on Nintendo’s WiiWare™ download service in North and South America and worldwide on PC simultaneously. WiiWare availability for Europe, Australia and New Zealand will follow shortly.

As the star of the popular Homestarrunner.com web cartoons, Strong Bad has been answering emails (in boxing gloves), pranking his friends, pummeling his enemies, and making people with questionable taste snort milk out of their noses for years. Now he’s branching out to star in the monthly Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People series developed in partnership with Homestarrunner.com creators Mike and Matt Chapman.

In the season premiere, Strong Bad’s plans to beat the snot out of his rival Homestar Runner backfire, and he ends up with an unwanted houseguest cramping his style. Now he needs to get life back to normal, by any means possible. Comical point-and-click gameplay progresses the story, with side quests, mini games, achievements, and an “extended play” sandbox mode that unlocks after the story is completed rounding out the game experience.

“Homestar Ruiner is a great series premiere and kick-off for the season. The next five months will be filled with lots of surprises,” says Telltale CEO Dan Connors. “This is how we always envisioned episodic gaming—monthly releases, straight into the living room. We’re happy to be working with the Chapmans and Nintendo to make it a reality.”

New Strong Bad episodes can be downloaded from the Wii™ Shop Channel each month for 1000 Wii Points™. The series takes advantage of the WiiConnect24™ technology by giving players the ability to send Strong Bad-themed emails to Wii friends directly from the Lappy. Photos taken using the in-game camera feature can be attached to emails, allowing players to show off Easter eggs uncovered or hidden costumes collected during the game.

“We are very excited,” said a Videlectrix spokesperson from his pretend high-rise office, “Our last game topped out at 8 bits. We’ve heard this one might reach 9 or 10!”

Downloadable versions of each Strong Bad episode will also be available for the PC exclusively from Telltale’s website, with preorders starting today at www.telltalegames.com/strongbad. Episodes can be purchased individually for $8.95 or as part of a five-episode subscription for $34.95. As with Telltale’s popular Sam & Max series, customers who purchase the full series from Telltale will later be eligible to get a disc version for the cost of shipping and handling.

After the “Homestar Ruiner” premiere on August 11, storylines in the monthly episodes will run the gamut from political struggles to rock’n roll to the world of videogames (of course), building to the exciting season finale in December. Many fan favorite characters from Free Country USA will appear in each episode, along with special new super 8-bit style mini-games from Videlectrix. Additional details about the series can be found at www.telltalegames.com/strongbad.

ACTIVISION PUBLISHING SHIPS LITTLE LEAGUE® WORLD SERIES 2008 FOR Wii™ AND NINTENDO DS™

SANTA MONICA, CA – AUGUST 5, 2008 – Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVID) announced today that Little League® World Series 2008 is now available for Wii™ and Nintendo DS™. Developed by NOW Production specifically for Nintendo’s platforms, the game captures the competitive fun of the most popular organized youth sport in the world.

“This is the first officially licensed Little League game for these platforms and the controls have been masterfully crafted for accessibility,” said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. “This is a game that can be enjoyed by the entire family.”

Little League® World Series 2008 features eight U.S. and eight international teams, extraordinarily deep character customization, World Series mode, and a full season mode that will challenge even the biggest Little League fan. In addition, six mini-game “Skill Challenges”, stat tracking, talent power ups, and a range of collectibles give the title variety and depth.

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The game arrives just in time for the real life Little League World Series, which takes place in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania from August 15-24. The Little League® World Series 2008 game will be on hand for players, fans, and press to take a crack at.

Little League® World Series 2008 is now available for $49.99 for Wii™ and $29.99 for Nintendo DS™, and is rated “E” for Everyone.

AUGUST 5, 2008 – WASHINGTON, D.C. – The state of California today reimbursed the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) $282,794 for attorney’s fees. The monies were received after the state attempted to defend an unconstitutional law restricting the constitutional rights of video game publishers, developers and consumers.

“California deserves more from its legislators than pursuing flawed legislation. State employees are facing pay cuts. California’s services are being scaled back. And, anxiety is rising in Sacramento to find funds,“ said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. “Rather than tackling real problems affecting Californians, they chose to waste time, money and state resources. It is shameful that legislators pursued personal agendas in spite of the facts.”

The ESA noted that this payment comes at an especially troubling time for the state, calling to mind other pressing budgetary and legislative priorities and issues, including:

• California is currently facing a $15-billion budget gap[1]
• More than 10,000 California state employees were laid off last week in light of the budget crisis[2]
• Governor Schwarzenegger is seeking to cut wages for nearly 200,000 state employees[3]
• The state already cut 10 percent to its Medicaid reimbursement rate and deferred payments to vendors[4]

“Caregivers are not well-served by court battles and legal fees. Rather, they would have been far better off if state officials worked together with our industry to raise awareness about video game ratings and the parental controls available on all new game consoles—both of which help ensure that the games children play are parent-approved.”

On August 6, 2007, Judge Ronald M. Whyte ruled in favor of the ESA’s Motion for Summary Judgment, permanently enjoining enforcement of the California video game law that regulated the sale of computer and video games in that state. Judge Whyte acknowledged that video games are protected by the First Amendment and found there was no evidence that playing violent games results in real world violence. The state currently is appealing this decision.

“It is unfortunate that the state is stubbornly pursuing an appeal that is likely to lead to even more court-awarded fees,” concluded Gallagher.

The Entertainment Software Association is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. The ESA offers services to interactive entertainment software publishers including a global anti-piracy program, owning the E3 Media & Business Summit, business and consumer research, federal and state government relations, First Amendment and intellectual property protection efforts. For more information, please visit www.theESA.com.

August 5, 2008, Toronto, Canada: JoWooD Productions and DreamCatcher Games, leading publishers of interactive entertainment software around the world, today announced Bring the Pain ’08 – 2008’s Painkiller Tournament and Sweepstakes will begin late August 2008. 

The tournament and sweepstakes has over $10,000 in prizes to give away, including complete Alienware® Gaming Systems, Creative Xi-Fi Sound Cards, Fatal1ty Titanium Pro Headsets, Speakers and Zen MP3 Player.

The tournament and sweepstakes coincides with the release of Painkiller Triple Dose, now available at Gamestop stores across North America.  Get the full versions of the original Painkiller, Painkiller Battle out of Hell and Painkiller Overdose along with the Making of Painkiller DVD and the Official Soundtrack in this compilation pack for the seriously low SRP of $19.99USD. 

“We’re all set to unleash the fury this killer FPS, with the rich four year history, has brought to the gaming community,” said Brian Gladman, Global Product Manager at DreamCatcher Games.  “Painkiller fans, put your skills to the test, there is room for only one player to reign supreme in this tournament!”

The tournament format is a two bracket Deathmatch where individual players advance to the next Match and through their bracket based on who totals the greatest number of kills at the end of a given Match.

For a full list of contest structure and rules please visit our website at: http://www.bringthepain08.com/rules.html

To sign up please visit our webiste at the following link and get ready to Bring on the Pain!  http://www.bringthepain08.com/signup.php
To enter the Bring the Pain ’08  Sweepstakes, simply fill out the entry form at this link: http://www.bringthepain08.com/sweeps.php.  The contest begins on July 31st, 2008 at 11:59 pm E.S.T. and ends September 31st, 2008 at 11:59 pm E.S.T. Draws will be made on or prior to October 15th 2008 at 11:00 am E.S.T.  DreamCatcher will select the winners from all eligible entries submitted before the deadline. The names of the winners will be posted at the Bring the Pain 08 web site on or about October 31 2008.

For further information please visit our website at www.dreamcatchergames.com.

New photos are now available, taken during the motion capture session in Budapest by top art outsourcing studio 3D Brigade. Alongside the photos is an in-depth interview with the band, in-game renders of the band and their instruments, and the exciting new SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel trailer packed with in-game footage and featuring the new song, ending with the in-game characterization of Blind Guardian lead singer Hansi Kursch.

By completing the “Blind Guardian” quest in the game, players will be able to experience the thrill of a “Blind Guardian” concert by the motion-captured Bards performing their new song “live” for the player in the world of Ancaria.

In SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel players can explore the vast open world of Ancaria, with breathtaking graphics free from laborious loading times. SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel will captivate players with its dynamic storyline, which the players can choose to experience down the path of either light or shadow.

Blind Guardian front man, Hansi Kursch, said “For us it’s been fantastic, not only have we been immortalized through motion capture in the epic fantasy saga that is Sacred 2, but we got to design our own fantasy musical instruments, which has to be every bard’s dream.”

Gabor Kadi, CEO of 3D Brigade commented, “The honour of working with Blind Guardian was really the crowning of our extremely fruitful cooperation with Ascaron. After providing almost 500 engine-ready 3D assets for SACRED 2, including characters, armour sets, buildings, weapons, shields, amulets and other equipment, the fact that Ascaron entrusted us with the in-game models of the band members clearly shows that modern game development rivals Hollywood not only by embracing top talent, but by bravely implementing creative processes which are traditional in the world of movie-making, yet still somewhat emergent in our industry.” Kadi added, “If you dream about big things, your partners must understand and share your vision and passion. Ascaron was not gambling – for a professional production, Ascaron has chosen a professional collaboration: Blind Guardian and 3D Brigade.”

SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel will be on show at this year’s Games Convention in Leipzig.

2K Play creates top Nick Jr. games with Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go! and The Wonder Pets!

2K Play and Nickelodeon Announce Dora the Explorer Debut for Wii^™

New York, NY – August 5, 2008 – 2K Play, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO), and Nickelodeon today announced a wide-ranging slate of video games based on popular Nick Jr. programs that will arrive in stores this fall. Dora the Explorer, Nickelodeon’s flagship preschool brand, will debut on the Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo in Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Snow Princess; Diego returns in an all-new adventure, Go, Diego, Go!: Great Dinosaur Rescue; and The Wonder Pets! premieres exclusively on Nintendo DS™ in The Wonder Pets!: Save the Animals!

“The enduring popularity of Dora, which continues to be the number one program on commercial television for kids 2-5, combined with Wii hardware sales passing the 10 million unit mark in the United States, will make for an exciting holiday season,” said Steve Lux, vice president of business development for 2K Play. “Diego remains ‘the pre-school hero’ for boys and The Wonder Pets! is hot on the heels of a successful consumer products launch and Daytime Emmy award win.”

“We are delighted to introduce our top preschool properties, Dora, Diego and The Wonder Pets! on these popular gaming platforms for families,” said Dave Williams, senior vice president and general manager, Nickelodeon Kids and Family Games Group. “By combining Nickelodeon’s kid expertise with 2K Play’s creativity, we have created games that allow preschoolers to develop their playing skills and turn up the fun.”
In Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Snow Princess, players join Dora, Boots and Pirate Piggy on an adventure to save the Magic Snowy Forest from the spell of a witch. Over 12 unique motions are used with the Wii Remote™ to build snowmen, paddle a canoe, steer a dogsled and ride a Pegasus. Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Snow Princess will be available for Wii, DS and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system.

Go, Diego, Go!: Great Dinosaur Rescue enables gamers to travel through time with Diego, Alicia and Baby Jaguar to reunite their friend Maia the Maiasaura with her dinosaur family. Players utilize more than 12 different Wii Remote motions to stomp like a dinosaur, climb across monkey bars, fly on a Pteradon and bounce over obstacles on a pogo stick. Go, Diego, Go!: Great Dinosaur Rescue will be available for Wii, DS and PlayStation 2 system.

In The Wonder Pets!: Save the Animals!, players team up with the popular classroom pets Linny the Guinea Pig, Ming-Ming Duckling and Turtle Tuck to help a Bengal Tiger, Panda Bear and Chimpanzee in need. With the DS stylus and microphone, players tap, drag, blow, speak and circle their way through activities like pulling a thorn from the tiger’s paw, building a ladder to rescue a baby panda and towing the chimpanzee’s space capsule to safety. The Wonder Pets!: Save the Animals! will make its interactive debut on DS.

Each game features the voice actors from the popular Nick Jr. TV shows. The games were tested by kids and moms for age-appropriateness, fun-factor and quality, and the packaging features a “Kid-Tested” seal. For the console games, parents and siblings can collaborate with younger gamers by using the special Helper feature and a second controller.

The Wii and PlayStation 2 system titles are being developed by High Voltage and the DS titles by Black Lantern Software. For more information, please visit www.2kgames.com/2kplay.

Made famous by Battlefield 1942™, Conquest mode pits players against each other in a fast paced battle to eliminate the opposing team’s tickets. Players deplete their opponent’s tickets by one point per kill and can cause their opponents tickets to spiral downwards by capturing control points. Four maps that are currently available for online play in Gold Rush mode will be available to conquer with Conquest mode.

Battlefield: Bad Company is available on the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system. Developed by Sweden-based developer DICE, www.dice.se, the game is rated “T” by the ESRB and “16+” by PEGI. For more information about the regular and Gold Edition of the game, please visit www.battlefield.com