Love him or hate him, it can't be denied that Kobe Bryant is one of the best players ever to pick up a basketball. As KB24 eyes his fourth championship ring and taking Game 1 of this year's Finals with a convincing 40-point performance and a game-high 8 assists, the superstar will be on the cover of 2K Sports' NBA 2K10.

Peter Moore definitely has some ambitious plans in store for EA Sports. With all the new changes he's implemented ever since he took over EA's sports division last July, he mentions that he plans to make EA Sports a visible brand in the sports industry itself someday. You can find out how he plans to go about doing this by reading the details in the full article.

You can't spell Disney without family entertainment. In an interview conducted by GamesIndustry.biz, Thierry Braille, Disney's vice president, talks about how Disney wants to concentrate on total family entertainment through video games.

Although Disney does not want to abandon their other, more mature markets, with Turok (PS3, Xbox 360) published under the Touchstone label and their other sports games under ESPN, Braille stresses that uniting families in a single activity can turn video games into a force for good. This would definitely put video games into a better light considering the flak they've been taking lately.

Braille had this to say regarding the matter:

We have titles that are for a younger audience, but there are more titles, such as High School Musical that could gather the family, after the Sunday lunch maybe, and we can imagine them singing together. This is Disney – this inclusive way to bring the family together and have fun.

He also commended the efforts Nintendo platforms have been making in forcing publishers into creating games "of the highest quality" for the gaming industry. Leave it to Disney to always put things into a more wholesome and morally upright point of view.

Tomorrow may be a big moment on the history of gaming as broadcast giant CBS formally becomes the first network of its class to show a video game tournament as a regular sporting event like other athletic spectacles such as the Masters and March Madness.

"There are an enormous amount of people of all ages who play video games these days, so we’re going to try to see if video games’ popularity can translate into a viable television audience," says CBS Sports Vice-President Rob Correa as he explores the possibility of people looking at this moment as a poignant event after a decade or so.

The tournament concerned is the World Series of Video Games which will be held in Louisville, Kentucky. Edited footage from the event will show highlights of face-offs between players in games such as Fight Night Round 3, Guitar Hero and other non-violent titles. First-person shootouts in Halo and Quake will sadly not make it on air because of the nature of the content.

The idea of the tournament and the coverage by CBS is pegged on the South Korean model which has an entire nation embracing gaming and making it a part of pop culture. A full-time coverage in the manner that ESPN covers sports isn't possible for video games just yet but for now, this is the biggest step game broadcasting can take in the US.

The CBS coverage is also a pilot test of sorts on how game programming in cable TV initiated by G4 and Gameplay HD can work in a bigger scale. The response of viewers will determine future plans on the coverage of electronic gaming as a sport on the network.

 

Although it's not confirmed by Take-Two Interactive if the restructuring operations being conducted ushered the timely departure of Erik Whiteford, VP of marketing at 2K Sports, it has been learned that the 14-year industry veteran will be leaving the company to join consultancy firm Odyssey Partners.

For two years, Whiteford has contributed to building the 2K Sports brand since joining the division back in May 2005. He oversaw the transition of 2K Games from its former label, ESPN Videogames, and was deemed responsible for the success of the NHL 2K, NBA 2K, MLB 2K and College Hoops 2K franchises, even while matched up against major competition.

Immensely ironic as it is, Whiteford worked at Electronic Arts for 12 years prior to joining Take-Two's sports games division. His position as Senior Director of the EA Sports brand kept the label at a unstoppable lead during the EA Sports legacy. He helped spark the launch of the EA Sports Nation online community while overseeing management, research and online marketing.

This is probably borderline gaming news to you folks out there, but anything attached to STAR Sports Asia's Drinie Aguilar is way too good to pass up by our standards. "GAME" is a thirty-minute dive into the world of gaming, from consoles to computers and handhelds, and thanks to Electronic Arts and ESPN's STAR Sports, this show is specially catered to the Asian and Pacific Rim regions.

You've probably already caught a few previews of the show on STAR Sports Asia, as it has already debuted since April 18, 2007. But as announced in the official press release, ESPN has also expanded its reach to as far as STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Taiwan and ESPN for the Pacific Rim (yes, that means you Aussies and Kiwis).

Starring the sassy and equally bubbly Drinie Aguilar of STAR Sports' fame, "GAME" will be tackling the latest and hottest news and trends in the world of gaming, including extensive game reviews, news event reports from all over the world and sneak-peek previews of incoming titles for your favorite gaming platform.

But tagging along with the entire theme of the sports channel, the show will also bring in the world of sports and the world of gaming together, sporting the most popular and famous athletes and their take on gaming. Always wanted to know what games your favorite star player is currently sweating over? Aguilar will let you in on the secret.

    

Also some of the biggest events in sports history will be simulated by Electronic Arts' own EA Sports titles in order to give a rough rundown of what could happen at the night of the big game. Jon Niermann, President of EA Asia Publishing, said, "We are very enthused about the launch of this new program. We are delighted to be able to extend our partnership with EA into new markets after our successful collaboration in the US."

Electronic Arts seems to be reaching out to a larger part of the gaming community, by touting its line up of EA Sports titles to the Asia and Pacific region. If you're from one of the seven Pan-Asian regions STAR Sports and ESPN is currently broadcasting to, be sure to catch Drinie Aguilar and her showcase of gaming in your sports channel.

In case you missed it, developer Infinity Ward will be making a big announcement this coming April 28, Saturday. The company didn't mention what exactly the big news is going to be about but fans are thinking that it could be about Call of Duty 4. Gaming site IGN now confirms that it is indeed about that shooter.

First and foremost, CoD 4 will be officially known as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Still no details were released about this title but judging from the name, it is very possible that the series is moving away from the WW II settings. Could it be set in one of the modern battlefields such as Iraq? Afghanistan perhaps?

Anyway, as part of the announcement, the worldwide trailer will be released on the same day (April 28). You could catch it on ESPN around 10 a.m. PST / 1 p.m. EST. It will be shown during the NFL draft so don't miss that.

Infinity Ward, or Activision for that matter, is yet to divulge what platforms Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will be on. Although it is highly plausible though that it will come on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Games for Windows (PC) platforms.