Her Interactive might as well give itself a pat on the back for none of the mainstream developers would have expected this to happen during their next-generation watch. One of the longest running PC game franchises in history has once again claimed top spot in its launch date, trumping the likes of EA's Spore Creature Creator and Blizzard's Diablo Battle Chest SKU. Get the top ten at the full story.

The comments made by Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick about how 2K Sports titles are out-rating EA Sports games in reviews seem to have gotten to EA Sports boss Peter Moore. Peter blogged recently about how competitive their line-up is and he spoke of how franchises like NBA Live will put on a ground-breaking show when E3 2008 comes. More details in the full article.

Curious to know why Ubisoft Montreal's Prince of Persia has a distinct and unique art style to the point that it stands out from the rest? The visual art director and the creative director behind the game have said that they picked style over realism. Details after the jump!

Oh boy, here we go again. Someone caught up with Mark Rein and extracted the latest opinion from Epic Games' VP regarding the bitter feuds over PC gaming, while also getting a rain check on what's been changed on the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament III to allow it to render efficiently on split-screen. And on the topic of PC gaming, we're also handed an explanation over Tim Sweeney's Unreal Engine 4 remark. More at the full story.

British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) today announced that the 2007 British Academy Video Games Awards will be held on October 23 at Battersea Evolution in London. This prestigious event "recognises excellence in the fastest-growing form of entertainment" according to Paul Jackson, Chair of the Academy's Games Committee.

Last year's awards drew about 700 attendees, because of this BAFTA has had to seek a larger venue for the 2007 Awards. The Battersea Evolution can hold as much as 2000 guests comfortably, so seating should be no problem. In addition, it is located just five minutes away from Victoria, so it is very accessible to those who will be attending.

Anne Marie-Flynn, the head of the BAFTA awards, is very happy at the choice of their new location, and has given a statement regarding it.

We needed to find somewhere which gave us room to expand, because the Academy’s long term commitment is to make these awards the global kitemark of games excellence. Last year we mounted the most highly attended Awards in the industry and this year will be even bigger. We are very excited about putting on a really visually arresting Awards show in 2007.

To get into the event, you can contact the Academy’s Video Games Officer Kelly Smith on 0207 292 5821 or by email at kellys@bafta.org.

 

The website for Transformers: The Game has already been launched, and in all honesty, it's looking just great. Loading up the site gives you the option to either Enter the Site or Enter Battle (whatever that may be since the Enter Battle section isn't open yet...).

Entering the site allows one to view the game's features, as well as videos and images from the game, and even the developers' blog. The opportunity to join the Beta testing of "Battle for the AllSpark" can also be found here, by clicking on the button found at the bottom of the screen. This particular bit really drew our attention since we have been waiting for a game like this ever since we were kids. No word has been given on when the full version of the web game will be available, but you can keep checking for it via our read link below.

Lastly, Activision also released some new screenshots for the game which shows the new Bumblebee in various stages of kicking Decepticon butt. The graphics are looking as polished as ever and we can't wait to get our hands on the game.

 

You might have read our earlier post on the shutdown of Gen Con So Cal. Yep, after four successful conventions that drew gamers, fans, and people of all shapes and sizes to congregate and have fun for four great days of pure gaming bliss, Gen Con So Cal is no more.

In order to give fans an explanation of their decision, Gen Con's CEO Peter Adkison has posted an open letter on the official Gen Con website, simply entitled "The End of Gen Con So Cal". Read on for an excerpt that deals with one of their main reasons for the decision.

The "problem" is the Gen Con format is a very expensive format for a convention. Most conventions are only an exhibit hall, a vast area where companies set up booths and sell (consumer shows) or promote (trade shows) or both. But at Gen Con we like to be more than just a big exhibit hall. We dedicate tons of space to games and fun events that are of interest to gamers, overlapping with gaming culture, but do nothing to generate revenue.

There's still hope, though, as according to Adkison, "Gen Con Indy is very profitable and is in no danger of going away." He also says that they currently have plans of "taking Gen Con Indy and Star Wars Celebration and making them even better, without compromising anything that’s there now. Funds that were being invested in Gen Con So Cal will be diverted to these shows."

Click on the "read" link below to read the full open letter.

If you're a fan of Titan Quest, then this will surely be a good news for you. THQ has announced that they are now working on the first expansion of the critically acclaimed game, and will be set for a worldwide release early next year.

Entitled Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, the game expands the storyline from the swamps of Mediterranean to the core of Hades. THQ was certainly pleased with the strong acceptance of gamers to Titan Quest last summer that they wanted to push the game a level higher, and give its fans new and exciting content.

Iron Lore Entertainment will remain to be in partnership with THQ to provide you with that fast-paced, story-driven gameplay that drew gamers to play the game. Says Brian Sullivan, President and lead designer of Iron Lore, "With eight new character classes, and entirely new epic underworld to explore, and dozens of other new features, the expansion takes the game's character development and player immersion to the next level."

Check out all the screenshots after the jump!