Sproing Interactive Media GmbH, Vienna, today announced that is currently developing the Wii™ Survival Horror game Cursed Mountain for, and together with, Deep Silver. The player takes on the role of a fearless mountaineer as he climbs into the Himalayas on a quest to find his lost brother. As he ascends the mountain, he encounters an ancient curse: the souls of the people who died in that region are stuck in limbo, caught in the Shadow World. Deep Silver announced the first details of the upcoming Wii hit title Cursed Mountain on July 31st.

“Aside from the challenge to develop an innovative title with spectacular levels and new controls, the focus in Cursed Mountain is the overwhelming environment of the Himalayas,” said Harald Riegler, CEO of Sproing. “It is really important to us that the player experiences nature’s powers as realistically as possible, and that the game’s viewing distance allows the player to see the monumental landscapes at all times. We are also going to great lengths to make the dead souls look as convincing as possible in order to deliver the level of immersion necessary for really effective and believable survival horror.”

To deliver on these goals, the Sproing team relies on its proprietary “Athena” game engine, which is rendering the Himalayas on Wii at a quality never seen before. The engine highlights of “Athena” include amongst others, HDR-Rendering, shader simulations developed especially for Wii in order to display ice, heat and water (realistic reflections and refractions), an ultra-fast particle system for amazing snow storms, soft particles for realistic fog and smoke, depth of field, motion blur, dynamic soft shadows, spherical harmonics lighting, as well as a high performance level-of-detail and streaming system in order to provide long viewing distance of the entire surrounding. In order to create an exciting atmosphere when battling the ghosts, the game employs a number of custom-created special effects such as the shader simulations as well as a newly developed post-processing framework. “Our engine technology really takes the Wii hardware to its limits and Wii gamers can really look forward to a heart-stopping, and breath-taking world that comes alive with this title,” said Gerhard Seiler, Technical Director of Sproing.

Cursed Mountain will be released worldwide for Wii in 2009. More information is available at: http://cursedmountain.deepsilver.com

August 12, 2008 - Hudson Entertainment, today released screens for My Aquarium to WiiWare™ on the Wii™. My Aquarium is an all-new, original IP for digital download on WiiWare, providing a virtual aquarium for people of all ages to create a captivating and relaxing atmosphere in front of the Wii. No need for a real aquarium – the fish tank in My Aquarium can be customized with different backgrounds, gravel styles, decorations, plant life, and of course, fish!

In My Aquarium, Wii owners can choose the fish that will live in their aquarium and what decorations they’ll get to enjoy. Choose the glass color, lighting, background design, style of gravel, rocks, or plant life for the world the fish will inhabit, and mix and match different fish in up to 6 individual aquariums. Owner can even send aquariums to friends using WiiConnect24™ if they also have My Aquarium.

Other features of My Aquarium include:
• A wide selection of colorful fish – Choose from 40 different types of
fish, from clownfish to jellyfish. Both freshwater and saltwater fish can cohabit just fine. If you want to feed your fish, you can choose from a variety of food. You can even interact with your fish and keep a watchful eye on your favorite. Learn more about your fish in the Fish Database.
• Interacts with the Forecast Channel – Tank conditions change depending
on the weather in your area!
• Focused on Fun –You can simply relax and enjoy the fish. Don’t worry
about water temperatures or other special knowledge needed for a real aquarium. My Aquarium requires only your imagination.

For more information on Hudson Entertainment, please visit http://www.hudsonent.com/.

12/08/08– Gamers attending PC Gamer Showdown – in association with LG, will be the first in the UK to experience Valve’s hotly-anticipated survival horror FPS, Left 4 Dead.

Valve will exhibit the latest build of Left 4 Dead at PC Gamer Showdown. The event is a weekend long PC games tournament where players compete for huge cash prizes.

Taking place at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire on September 27th and 28th, more than 500 gamers will battle it out with the chance of scooping prizes worth more than £35k on games including Valve’s Counterstrike and Team Fortress 2.

Already described by the PC Gamer team as “gaming’s brave new future” – the Valve stand at PC Gamer Showdown gives gamers the chance to play Left 4 Dead almost two months before its worldwide release on PC and Xbox 360 in November.

Left 4 Dead is an epic struggle against swarming hordes of zombies and mutants. Up to four human players group together to battle it out against the crazed infected across a mixture of maps, mixing sprawling landscapes and enclosed spaces. The in-game “AI Director” generates a uniquely unforgettable movie-like experience which promises to make each session different.

The appearance of Left 4 Dead is the latest in the long line of previews to be confirmed for the inaugural UK event. Gamers will also be able to try games including Mirror’s Edge, Facebreaker, Mercenaries 2 and Fifa 09

Ross Atherton, Editor of PC Gamer UK said :

“We were determined to bring the very best forthcoming games to the Showdown, and we’ve certainly achieved that with Left 4 Dead. We’re hugely excited to be able to show it to PC Gamer Showdown attendees, as we’re sure it’s going to be one of the top games of 2008 and live up to Valve’s fearsomely high standards.”

Doug Lombardi, Marketing VP of Valve, added:

“Left 4 Dead is a new type of co-operative action experience, one that must be played to truly appreciate. We’re delighted to work with LG and the folks at one of our favourite gaming magazines to put on the first public exhibition of L4D in Britain. We hope the attendees of the show find the game as exciting as we do, and we look forward to meeting folks there and giving away a few L4D prizes.”

For more information or to buy tournament tickets, please visit www.pcgamershowdown.com now!