Turbo CD and Super CD games available for download starting in October

September 17, 2007- Hudson Soft Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Hidetoshi Endo) is pleased to announce that Turbo CD and Super CD game software will be available for download via the Virtual Console™ feature on Nintendo’s Wii™. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download these classic games through the Wii Shop Channel. Soon, Wii™ owners will be able to enjoy even more software titles previously released on other platforms. These titles will be available for download beginning in October of this year in Japan, and thereafter will extend to North America, Europe and Australia. Now Wii™ gamers will be able to play games originally created specifically for CD-ROM media, in addition to TurboGrafx-16 game titles already available via Virtual Console™.

Players will simply select their favorite games in the Wii Shop Channel to download the software via the Internet. Each Turbo CD and Super CD download will be priced at 800 Wii Points, which can be purchased either by credit card or through a Wii Points Card which are available at various retail locations.

*1 Wii Point = JPY1 = USD0.01 = EURO0.01 = AUD0.01

In November 2006, Hudson Soft launched its Virtual Console™ business in North America, extending the service to Japan and Europe in December and to Australia in July of this year. As of the end of August 2007, 49 titles were available in Japan, and an impressive amount of titles were being distributed outside Japan (including third-party software). Hudson Soft will continue adding to the lineup of popular games for Virtual Console™.

About the download service for Turbo CD and Super CD games

Price per download: 800 Wii Points per title

Projected distribution: over 5 games in 2007, over 10 games in 2008

About Virtual Console™

Virtual Console™ is a feature of Wii™, the latest game console produced by Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Kyoto-shi, Kyoto; Director and President: Satoru Iwata). It enables video game fans to play a wide range of titles, previously released for other game consoles, on their Wii™. Games are downloaded via the internet using the Wii Shop Channel. Looking to take full advantage of our own extensive game software library, Hudson Soft has been re-launching many past hits through Virtual Console™. These titles were originally created for the PC Engine, a game console jointly developed by Hudson Soft and NEC Corporation (formerly NEC Home Electronics, Ltd.). In addition, Hudson Soft has also been distributing third-party released PC Engine games.

About the PC Engine and the TurboGrafx16

The PC Engine was a video game console marketed by NEC Home Electronics, Ltd. (release date: October 30, 1987; price: 24,800 yen) with a unique LSI “C62 System” (microchip system) developed by Hudson Soft. The console’s cutting-edge speed and performance surpassed the conventional computing wisdom of the day. Among the PC Engine’s noteworthy features were high-speed CPU processing, gorgeous 512-color graphics, and a powerful sound system with up to two output channels and six stereo audio channels. Another feature that got people talking was the small, high-capacity plastic ROM “Hu-CARD (Turbo Chip)” that the PC Engine used as software. A successor to the original PC Engine, the “PC Engine CD-ROM2 System” became the world’s first game console to utilize CD-ROM as a gaming media platform when it was launched on December 4, 1988. An overseas version of the PC Engine was marketed in North America from 1989 under the name TurboGrafx16, and subsequently in Europe as Turbografx.

Prepare to follow the great detective Sherlock Holmes on a horrifying adventure, as cdv Software Entertainment USA has today released a new video for Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, their recently released title for PC. The video, available at the links below, offers players a peek into the dark and terrifying world of The Awakened, a world in which Sherlock Holmes is set to face off with a mysterious cult of the elder god Cthulhu.

Sept. 17, 2007

Everyone’s favorite long-tongued, egg-tossing dinosaurs make a colorful splash on the Wii Shop Channel this week. Yoshi’s action takes place in storybook “pages” made up of bookmaking materials and other familiar textures, including cut-paper forests, denim clouds, inflatable plastic islands and stacks of colored spools. It’s a classic Nintendo® 64 game remembered as much for its beauty as its game play. Once you’re done with that, you can probably find time to fly an attack helicopter or play a little baseball to get ready for the post-season.

Three new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel every Monday. Wii™ owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

Yoshi’s Story™ (Nintendo 64, 1 player, rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): The evil Baby Bowser has cast a spell turning Yoshi’s Island™ into a picture book. Worse yet, the Super Happy Tree has been stolen, making the island dark and gloomy. Players must take control of six Yoshis, each a different color, and travel through six pages (worlds) of platforming adventure to recover the tree and return the island to normal. Featuring huge character models and bright, vibrant colors, the game’s various environments (such as woods, caves, mountains and oceans) come alive in a uniquely gorgeous 2½-D look. Eat fruit, avoid enemies and obstacles, and throw eggs from the Yoshis’ never-ending supply in your quest to stop Baby Bowser’s plan from succeeding. If you’re good enough, you can aim for higher scores by being picky about the fruit you eat. And who knows, you might even find the mysterious black and white Yoshis.

Super Thunder Blade™ (Sega Genesis, 1 player, rated E for Everyone - Mild Violence, 800 Wii Points): In this follow-up to Thunder Blade, you’ll fly a new and improved attack helicopter in a series of attacks against guerilla armies that are bent on taking over the world. Although your aircraft is formidable, your enemies are vast and varied. You’ll have to take on submarines, tanks, fighter planes and more. Your command of this state-of-the-art battle copter must be top notch, as you’ll have to dodge oncoming fire and use your various weapons to eliminate all enemy targets so you can reach the guerilla base and end their nefarious plans once and for all. Put on your flight suit and step into the thrilling action of Super Thunder Blade.

World Class Baseball (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points): Acclaimed for its steady game play, World Class Baseball is the definitive baseball game on the TurboGrafx16. Battle the computer in OPEN MODE or play a friend in VERSUS MODE. Customize your team in EDIT MODE or even watch a game between two computer opponents in WATCH MODE. World Class Baseball offers the complete baseball gaming experience. Of course there’s also plenty of single-player action. The main feature is PENNANT MODE, where the player chooses a team from one of the world’s leagues and strives to win their team’s league. Beat league rivals and save your progress with passwords on your way to becoming league champions. After winning your league, get ready to the face the other league’s champion in the heated series for the world championship.

PC Owners Can Now Get Their Itchy Trigger Fingers on the Stranglehold Demo Now Available for Download at Fileplanet.

Midway today announced that a demo for the highly anticipated, non-stop action video game, Stranglehold, is now available for download via fileplanet (http://www.fileplanet.com/files/170000/176067.shtml).

Stranglehold, starring international film icon Chow Yun-Fat and world-renowned action director John Woo, brings action and suspense to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. The full version of Stranglehold has already been released worldwide for the Xbox 360, and is currently expected to ship on September 18 for the PC and September 25 for the PlayStation 3, in North America. In Europe, the game is currently expected to be availabe for PC on September 28th, with the PlayStation 3 version to follow in October.

The Stranglehold PC demo will allow players to get a taste of the intense, non-stop action, cinematic gunplay and massively destructible environments that their itchy trigger fingers have been waiting for. A collaboration with world renowned action film director John Woo’s Tiger Hill Entertainment, Stranglehold allows players to experience the excitement of true next-gen action as you take on the role of Inspector Tequila created by John Woo for his influential action film, “Hard Boiled” starring Chow Yun-Fat. Ensnared by a crime boss with a gripping secret, Inspector Tequila is forced to cross t he line from sworn duty to renegade cop. Engage your enemies with intense cinematic gun battles and cause massive environmental damage in real-time or revolutionary slow-motion Tequila Time.

Commodore Gaming^TM and Electronic Arts^TM team up for LAN Gaming Events

Amterdam, 17th September 2007, Commodore Gaming™ today announced that it has teamed up with Electronic Arts™ to be the official hardware partner for the EA Masters League. The partnership will cover not only the systems used at all EA Masters events but would also to be incorporated into the substantial prizes on offer.

EA Masters is a series of online and offline tournaments run on behalf of Electronic Arts™ by EA Masters. Gamers from Austria, Germany and Switzerland compete to discover the best of the best, across a range of EA titles. The EA Masters and the EA LANTEAM community represent the very best of gaming professionals in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. EA Masters in now enjoying the 3rd season of competition and is unique in its support and fan based approach to the much loved world of competitive gaming and LAN parties.

Commodore’s presence will be felt at the events, with 16 Commodore XX systems boasting EA exclusive C-kin’s, these amazing exteriors will range from Command and Conquer 3 to Medal of Honor. Beauty however is only C-kin deep and inside the XX lurks a real gaming beast, with two 8800 ultras, Quad Core processors, an Ice Cube cooling system and a pair of Corsair DOMINATOR™ DDR2’s make the XX a must for all LAN gamers (for a full spec click here).

The EA LANTEAM is the only professional LAN party support team run by a videogames publisher. This means fans get to play their favourite games prior to launch, enabling them to provide input into the overall development process.

Commodore and EA fans will be able to gain access to the exclusive systems at all EA LANTEAM events and EA Masters events in the near future. The Station54 Community Management GmbH team are well known in the gaming community for providing added extras that everyone enjoys at the EA LANTEAM events.

SEGA Reveals New Details on NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

SEGA Reveals New Details on NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams
SEGA® Europe Limited today announced that NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams™, the sequel to the critically-acclaimed hit NiGHTS, will feature a two-player mode and network support at launch. SEGA also unveiled plans to reawaken the Artificial Life (A-Life) feature in NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, which gives gamers the freedom to oversee and develop their own sandbox environment enabling them to capture, raise, and even combine the inhabitants from the world of Nightopia.

Unlike any other game available today, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams will deliver the feeling of flight through the innovative Wii Remote™. Players will glide, spiral and loop through a variety of mystical dream worlds packed with action and adventure as they dive and blast through rings, gather orbs and come up against fantastic and unforgettable boss battles. Anchored by a storyline about courage, hope and inspiration, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is an ideal game for the entire family.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams unfolds in Nightopia, the spectacular dream world of two young characters, Helen and Will. Struggling to overcome the every day challenges of growing up, these two 12-year-olds find their real life experiences spilling over into their dreams. As Helen and Will fall into a deep sleep, they are greeted by NiGHTS, a fantasy jester, who leads them to explore the rich and vibrant land of Nightopia. Along the way, NiGHTS helps the youngsters bravely face their fears by finding inventive ways to confront, outpace, and outwit foes - such as the villainous Nightmarens. Through the freedom of flight, execution of stunning acrobatic moves and tapping into special abilities that enable gamers to combat danger and restore peace to Nightopia.

Select Retailers Offering Exclusive Pre-order Item

Los Angeles (September 17, 2007)

Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of Square Enix™ interactive entertainment products in North America, has confirmed today that DRAGON QUEST® MONSTERS: Joker for the Nintendo DS™ has gone gold, and is on schedule to ship to retailers on November 6, 2007. Additionally, Square Enix, Inc. announced a special pre-order incentive at select retailers. Fans who pre-order a copy of DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: Joker at Amazon.com, EBGames/GameStop, EBGames Canada and GameCrazy will receive an exclusive Green Bays Map Screen Wipe. Keep your screens shining and show off your DRAGON QUEST pride with this screen wiper, navigational map, and stylish accessory rolled into one convenient package!

Story
Enter the world of DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: Joker as the young hero, locked in a prison by your own father, the leader of a mysterious organization known as CELL. Released under orders to enter the Monster Scout Challenge, you will embark on a journey starting with a single monster and a scout ring, unaware of the dark and mysterious intentions that surround the competition.

Features

• The “big three” comprised of series creator Yuji Horii, legendary manga artist Akira Toriyama, and renowned composer Koichi Sugiyama, team up once again to create an unforgettable gaming experience
• Witness the same breathtaking visuals that brought Akira Toriyama’s art to life in DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King™
• Create new species as you synthesize customized monsters from a selection of more than 200 different DRAGON QUEST creatures
• Experience an innovative and exciting mix of the monster arena battles from DRAGON QUEST VIII and traditional DRAGON QUEST gameplay
• Challenge your friends via local wireless play to see whose team is the strongest
• Robust Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection component allows players to upload and download monster team data for battle on their Nintendo DS systems

DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: Joker is rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older). Please visit the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) website at www.esrb.com for more information about ratings. DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: Joker will be available at North American retailers for the suggested retail price of $39.99 (USD). The official website can be found at http://na.square-enix.com/dqmj/

Grab the bayonet and fall in; it’s time to experience Napoleon in Italy!

Everyone at Codemasters, especially those who worked directly with Colin McRae, is deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic events of this weekend.

The loss of Colin McRae is deeply distressing. That it involved his son and another so young makes it even more tragic. Our thoughts are with his family and those closest to him and we share in their pain.

For over ten years, Colin was part of the Codemasters family and it was a privilege to have a man recognised as a true legend on the team. He always took a keen interest in the game experience, wanting to make sure it was without equal in its portrayal of the sport.

His contribution was inspirational and brought his technical expertise and passion for rally driving to each and every McRae game. Through the popularity of those games, he brought a whole new audience to the sport itself.

Codemasters’ relationship with Colin began through Jim, David and Richard Darling and their condolences, along with ours, are passed to Colin’s family. We are heavy of heart at his passing but we are also brimming with pride at knowing him and to have played a small role in his life.

He will never be forgotten by all at Codemasters.

Notes:

The Colin McRae series of video games:
Developed and published by Codemasters in partnership with Colin McRae, the McRae games now form a 9 million+ selling series. The first game, Colin McRae Rally, was published in the summer of 1998 for the PlayStation and PC. It became an international best-seller and set a benchmark for rally video games that only its sequels could better. Colin McRae Rally 2.0, for the PlayStation and PC, followed in 2000, with Colin McRae Rally 3, for the PlayStation 2 and PC, in 2002.

With Colin’s input, the series continued to evolve with an ever growing variety of car makes and classes, stages and countries featured through the games of 2003 and 2004, Colin McRae Rally 04 and Colin McRae Rally 2005 respectively (PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC).

Most recently, the series diversified further, mirroring Colin’s own participation in a broader range of motor sports, with year’s title: Colin McRae: DiRT. Published in June for the Xbox 360 and PC, and most recently for the PlayStation 3, Colin McRae: DiRT has players competing in off-road races on gravel, mud and dirt tracks all over the world. www.codemasters.co.uk  

Colin McRae’s website – www.colinmcrae.com – is now hosting Messages of Condolence http://www.colinmcrae.com/condolences.asp

Open Beta Event Invites Players to Experience the Ultimate PvP…And Be Rewarded

Brisbane, Australia – September 14, 2007 - Auran Games today announced that the prize pool for “Fury Challenge” has now officially topped $2 million dollars. The Open Beta event has been extended to run over 4 weekends from September 14 to October 7, and will provide players from all over the world the chance to test their skills playing “FURY”, the 100% Player versus Player MMO which will be released in October.

“We want to put players on notice that FURY is serious fun and we have set our goal at nothing less than being the Number one PvP game in the world,” said Tony Hilliam, Auran CEO and Executive Producer on FURY. “By putting together over $2M in prizes for our Open Beta event, I think we’ve started to show that we’re already a contender for the title.”

“In a market where the big names and big publishers get most of the attention, we figured we had to do something a bit different to be noticed,” said Brian Cooke, Auran Director of Marketing. “Fury is a competitive game, and so putting together this amazing prize pool for our players should start to turn a few heads in our direction. From there, we’re confident our game will keep them excited.”

“During Fury Challenge we’re capping player Ranks at an easily obtainable level,” said Adam Carpenter, Fury Creative Director. “Since this is an Open Beta event, it is critical that new players become competitive quickly while avoiding the complexities that a max level, fully unlocked character would bring. This ensures the Challenge is all about player skill and teamwork, not time played, and this is what Fury’s gameplay and design is all about.”

Fury Challenge is a ladder based competition where players compete in 3 different game types either solo or as part of a Clan. There will be 2 practice weekends (Sept 14-16 and Sept 21-23) and the Ladders will be reset in preparation for the two competition weekends (Sept 28-30 and Oct 5-7). Players can either download the client from one of our sponsors or pick up a pre-order disk from participating retailers.

Prize sponsors include Dell, Nvidia, Logitech, Ideazon, IGN/Fileplanet, GameStop, Gamerail, Harvey Norman, Bigpond, FHM, and CybershotsZ. Prizes include PC’s, graphics cards, keyboards, subscriptions, vouchers, FURY Gamecards and even a years’ supply of energy drinks. Some prizes are available for regional winners only.

“GameStop is proud to sponsor the Fury Challenge with great prizes,” said John Brittell, GameStop’s Vice President of E-commerce and Direct Marketing. “We encourage everyone to take the challenge and also pre-order at GameStop to receive extra play time in the beta and an exclusive armor set for the final game.”

The full list of prizes, details on signing-up, and download information is available at www.FuryChallenge.com as well as the Rules for the event.