TIGA Awards finalists revealed

London, England, 21st January 2008: TIGA, The Independent Game Developers Association, today announced the list of finalists ahead of the prestigious annual 2007 awards ceremony which takes at the Haymarket Hotel in London on 30th January 2008.

The eventual winning TIGA members will have been selected by their peers and will represent the cream of European Development industry talent. For the first time, the 2007 awards include two additional categories; ‘Best technology’ and ‘Best cross-media application of games’ designed to represent the diversity of the development sector.

The nominations are:

• Best PC/Console Game developed by a TIGA member 2007 - Geometry Wars: Galaxies – Doublesix (Kuju Entertainment), Colin McRae: DiRT - Codemasters Studios, Worms XBLA – Team 17

• Best Handheld/Console Game developed by a TIGA member 2007 - Geometry Wars: Galaxies – Doublesix (Kuju Entertainment), Crush – Zoemode (Kuju Entertainment), Star Wars Battlefront Renegade Squadron - Rebellion

• Best mobile game developed by a TIGA member 2007 - Championship Manager 2008 – Dynamo Games, Sonic Jump – Airplay, Tomb Raider Anniversary - Finblade

• Best Technology 2007 - The EGO Engine – Codemasters, Super Rub a Dub Water Effect – Sumo Digital, Alice Server – Nice Tech

• Best Cross Media Application of Games 2007 - Realtime UK, Audiomotion, Triage Trainer – TruSim Blitz Games

• Best Developer - Greatest contribution to independent games development during 2007 by TIGA member - Blitz Games, Sumo Digital, Denki

• Best Player - Greatest individual contribution to independent games development during 2007 - Ian Baverstock, Fred Hasson, Jason Kingsley

Commenting on the nominations, Fred Hasson, TIGA CEO said, “Despite increased competition from studios in tax-break countries we’re very proud of the outstanding work delivered by our members. These awards are won by and voted by our members and this kind of peer-to-peer recognition of excellence is the most sought after”

Taking place at the Haymarket Hotel, London on the 30th January 2008, the 2007 TIGA awards were voted on by TIGA members. Voting is now closed, TIGA would like to congratulate all the finalists and wish them well for the night.

Unique Cartoon Shooter Introduces a New Way to Play Battlefield

BATTLEFIELD HEROES LEADS THE WAY FOR EA’S NEW
‘PLAY 4 FREE’ BUSINESS MODEL

Unique Cartoon Shooter Introduces a New Way to Play Battlefield

Chertsey, UK January 21, 2008 – At the Digital, Life, Design Conference (DLD) in Munich, Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) today unveiled Battlefield Heroes™, an all-new Play 4 Free cartoon-style shooter that will bring classic Battlefield gameplay to an all new mass audience. Available for download at www.battlefield-heroes.com this summer, Battlefield Heroes is EA’s first title that is offered completely for free, and features a built-in matchmaking system to ensure that players of equal skill are paired together for fair play. Developed by DICE in Stockholm, Battlefield Heroes is leading EA’s new web-focused free to download, free to play business model which generates revenue through advertising and micro-transactions. With zero barriers to entry, now anyone can be a hero on the battlefield!

“Online gaming garners a massive audience,” said Gerhard Florin, EVP Publishing Americas-Europe at EA. “People want to play games in new ways, with easier access that is quick to the fun. With Battlefield Heroes, EA brings its first major franchise to North America and Europe with a new distribution model and pricing structure adapted to the evolving way that people play.”

Battlefield Heroes is a brand new game from the team behind Battlefield 1942™ and Battlefield 2™. It’s fun cartoon-style graphics and gameplay caters to players of all skill levels. It is easy to pick up and play but with robust character customization and a deep online meta-game, gamers can spend hours building up their characters and conquering the world.

“We put a different twist on this Battlefield game going with the cartoon-style graphics and gameplay,” added Ben Cousins, Senior Producer at EA DICE. “There’s something here for all types of players — be it our core Battlefield fans or casual gamers. With the new online model, we will continually add new content to keep the game fresh and keep players engaged, while integrating player feedback in real time. As a game developer, it is such a cool new way to make games.”

Battlefield Heroes will be released for the PC as a free download in summer 2008. This product is not yet rated by PEGI or ESRB. For more information on EA DICE, please visit www.dice.se or www.ea.com.

LONDON – January 21, 2008 – Waygate Publishing Limited, a London-based company specialising in the operation of Eastern European online games for the Western market, today announced the official launch of its free, browser-based Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, Legend: Legacy of the Dragons. Unique within the browser game sector, the game features detailed visuals and a fully-animated combat system, while maintaining low system requirements. Legend is the very first Russian MMORPG to be translated and published in the English-speaking world, having already proved highly successful in Russia.

Legend: Legacy of the Dragons positions the player as one of two rival races, the Magmars and the Humans, in an endless war for the world of Faeo. “Among other things, Legend’s fully realised combat system and casual requirements have helped it to enjoy incredible success in Russia, and that’s why we’ve worked so hard to translate and launch the game from the UK,” stated Sergei Senin, Managing Director of Waygate Publishing. Legend supports many gameplay features common to the genre leaders like World of Warcraft, but unique for a browser game that can be played almost anywhere with an internet connection.

• Unique Combat System Legend’s combat is unique within the browser game sector by being fully animated, with detailed and customisable character models. Its interface is intuitive and approachable, yet hides great depth.
• PvE, PvP & Huge Group Battles In addition to fighting AI enemies, players may combat other players almost anywhere, while vast faction battles allow players to fight side by side, or even lead an army.
• Lavish Visuals All of the environments in the game are hand-drawn, 2D landscapes, making Faeo a far more personal and distinctive world than its rivals.
• Variety of Professions Players choose to become sorcerers, healers, and many in between.
• Over 250 Quests Incorporating over 450,000 words of dialogue and plotting.
• Minimal System Requirements Legend can be played on almost any PC with an internet connection, with no download required, making it an ideal casual, online community.
• Absolutely Free Revenue is generated from in-game sales, meaning players can invest as much, or as little as they like.

Sergei Senin again, “We’ve been extremely pleased with the feedback we received during the extensive open beta period, and we’re confident and excited to finally be launching the game officially.” For more information, visit www.warofdragons.com.