http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/04/01/...21450.html

Quote:EA Sports inks exclusivity pact with International Curling Federation
Take-Two reciprocates by locking down croquet rights; Ubisoft reportedly close to bocce ball deal.
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The sports-rights war reached fever pitch today, with Electronic Arts announcing it had signed an exclusivity deal with the International Curling Federation. The 10-year agreement will make EA the sole publisher of all console, handheld, and PC games based on the winter sport, which has players slide a stone down a sheet of ice toward a set of rings. The mobile and massively multiplayer online rights to curling were not covered under the deal, the financial terms of which were not disclosed.

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"For nearly 500 years, residents of the world's coldest regions have participated in this majestic sport," said EA Sports general manager Todd Rammer. "EA is proud to help spread awareness to this exciting pastime to warmer climes."

Rammer also said that along with Ford, EA would be the primary sponsor of the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship, which will be held in Grand Forks, North Dakota. A full explanation of curling and its rules can be found on its governing body's Web site.

Not to be outdone in the scramble to snap up the few remaining professional sports rights, Take-Two Interactive announced it was in "advanced talks" with the US Croquet Association. However, sources close to the negotiations said the USCA is only considering granting third-party rights to the lawn sport to Take-Two. Such a caveat would allow Sony Computer Entertainment America to continue to produce its successful World Croquet Tour games for the PlayStation 2. Nintendo is also rumored to be developing its own GameCube title based on the sport, called Nintendo Wicket Pursuit Croquet.

When presented with the croquet deal, EA's Rammer said, "As far as we're concerned, this looks like stupid money. They are paying an exclusive price for a nonexclusive agreement." He added, "This proves that there is still competition in sports games, which is something we at EA take real serious."

Also eager to get into the fray was Ubisoft, which recently licensed sports-game engines from Microsoft and signed a deal with pro golfer Vijay Singh. Unconfirmed reports say the French publisher has held secret meetings with the Collegium Cosmicum ad Buxeas, the "preeminent international organization" for the sport of bocce ball. No further details were available as of press time.

Quote:EA announces Medal of Honor Street
Next-gen World War II shooter to feature Beastie Boys' voices, likenesses; "In your face, Hitler!" says Adroc.
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Even though Medal of Honor: European Assault won't be out until later this year, today Electronic Arts announced the next installment in the series. Medal of Honor Street will combine the MOH franchise's World War II action with the "urban flava" of the Street sports series. Codeveloped by EALA and EA Canada, and published under the new EA War Big subbrand, the game will be released in spring of 2006 for "next-generation consoles," according to an EA press release. No rating or pricing information was released.

As the name implies, Medal of Honor Street will take the series in a new direction. The game will be set exclusively during the conflict's most intense city battles, including Stalingrad, Caen, and Berlin. It will also follow a squad of airborne paratroopers culled exclusively from top American metropolises, including Los Angeles and New York City.

To provide the appropriate urban authenticity, EA recruited popular hip-hop artists from each city to provide voice talent. Ice Cube will play the unit's hard-boiled sergeant, Ice-T will portray a stoic sniper, and the Beastie Boys will star as the "Dirty Trio," the squad's loose cannons. "Awww, yeah! This is gonna be suh-weet," said Beastie Boy Adroc in a prepared statement. "In your face, Hitler!" The game's script will also be penned by DJ Pooh, co-screenwriter of the comedy Friday and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Unlike the grim gunplay of previous MOH games, Medal of Honor Street's gameplay will take a more over-the-top approach. It will introduce NBA Street's "trick stick" functionality to combat, letting players perform balletic John Woo-like jumps through the air while firing multiple guns. The game will also award bonuses for trash talking Nazi opponents out in the open, which can be used later to perform turbo moves while storming enemy positions. "All that hunkering behind cover and crouching was getting old," said lead designer Damian Schmidt. "We wanted to liven things up a bit."

While the Street/MOH crossover may puzzle some, it made perfect sense to EA director of marketing Melissa Chodera. "With the massive proliferation of World War II shooters out there, we felt the next Medal of Honor game really had to stand out from the crowd," she told GameSpot. Chodera also downplayed concerns over historical discrepancies, such as the fact that US troops did not take part in many of the battles featured in the game. "Focus-group testing told us that most consumers find most WWII shooters far too depressing and drab. Medal of Honor Street's features, like its character-created and custom-colored uniforms, will provide an experience that's edgy and unique."

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/unde...press.html

Pandaren Xpress, straight from Azeroth to your home! (just click the link,I couldn't recreate the page here...)



Also, they've redone the WoW PvP system. Now, you play Warcraft III.

Quote:You've all seen the sneak-peek articles of the upcoming Player vs. Player Battlegrounds system in our recent web previews. We're now taking Battlegrounds in an entirely new direction. Many players noted that the Battlegrounds resemble some aspects of Warcraft 3. Then it hit us; Why reinvent the wheel? Why waste resources on a project we've already developed and perfected?

The completely redesigned (and yet still very familiar) Battlegrounds system will allow us to better focus our efforts on creating game features that players really want, such as ordering various types of food in-game! You can see a preview of some upcoming intense Battleground PvP combat™ here.

We will continue to refine the implementation of this system over the coming year(s). You can view initial test gameplay screenshots of the Player vs. Player combat system below:

Just kidding! Hahaha, you were all like "I don't believe!!" and "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!! I wonder if he has any pictures?" HAHAHAHA!! YOU ARE SO STUPID!!!

*squints and concentrates really hard to make it true*


Pleeeeaaaase, Sega!!

HAha I foolj you again!!!

APRIL!!!!

Just kidding haha april fool's I ruined everyone's dreams!!

Pope John Paul II has just passed away. May he rest in peace.

"I'm-a da freakin' pope!"

Today, I am going to buy an N-Gage.

<img src="http://img.penny-arcade.com/2005/20050331l.jpg">

HAHA! YOU ARE DA IDIOT! *laughs idiotically*

15000yen, available in May

Source: Famitsu