At this week’s E3 press conference, video-game giant Electronic Arts gave audience a glimpse their anticipated new game, “Spore.”

The game lets players begin with their own basic microbe and customize their creature to weather environmental conditions and population changes on Earth.

During the company’s E3 press conference, EA showed a brief trailer of the game and set a release date, Sept. 7, for the latest title from legendary game creator Will Wright, known for creating “SimCity” and “The Sims.”

The game was inspired by Wright’s love of science and his childhood chemistry set. (Read more…)

A new BANNED DEAD SPACE video was released at midnight last night, and its a haunting portrayal of what’s to come in EA’s much anticipated horror/survival game, DEAD SPACE releasing October 21st. The “Lullaby Trailer” was banned by the United States’ ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board), and therefore was only officially released in Europe.

However, thanks to the internet, we have it for you here on Slice of SciFi. WARNING: NOT FIT FOR CHILDREN UNDER 18.

Set to a spookified track of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, the trailer is loaded with incandescently lit rooms scattered with body parts, not-so-distant screams, and includes several gut-wrenching game play scenes depicting the protagonist Isaac being torn to shreds. The trailer was created by EA’s in-house studio team, who are proud to present this terrifying portrayal of DEAD SPACE.

Also, make sure to visit http://deadspace.ea.com/sweepstakes/ if you haven’t already to enter to win titles such as Saw, Alien, and 12 Monkeys in their 100 Horror and Sci-fi DVD Sweepstakes, chosen by Dead Space’s development team.

To View the “Lullaby Trailer” (Read more…)

“Guitar Hero” won’t be the only music videogame to launch its sequel in time for the holidays.

MTV and Harmonix will release “Rock Band 2″ in September exclusively for the Xbox 360, and for other consoles before the end of the year, according to Billboard Magazine.

The developers are releasing few details at this time, but what’s known so far is that the game will support all songs downloaded for the game to date and will also support the original game’s instrument controllers. It will also introduce new controllers for drums and guitar and will boast a soundtrack of more than 100 master recordings.

Further details will be revealed at July’s E3 Expo videogame conference in Los Angeles.

Activision Inc, owner of “Guitar Hero,” will soon be merging with another big gaming franchise once its company’s shareholders approve the plan, which is expected to happen Tuesday, July 8. Activision is set to join up with Vivendi Games (”World of Warcraft”) which will make the joint venture the largest and fastest-growing gaming corp in the world.

This news comes on the heels of latest numbers showing current game king, Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) has been slowly bleeding out. On the reverse side of the ledger, Activision is showing increased profit. For investors, the bottom line is always the — Bottom Line!

“I don’t care about who is No. 1 and 2,” Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst said. “Earnings growth is what counts for investors.”

Once the merger goes through, Vivendi will own a slight majority of the stock in the new company.

New York, NY, Tuesday July 8, 2008 - With E3 ‘08(The Electronic Entertainment Expo) just one week away, Xcast founder and host Frank Romano has announced what him and his staff have in store for E3 ‘08. Though Romano himself will not be attending the conference he plans on bringing the best E3 experience possible to Xcast Online readers and listeners, giving them the chance to voice their opinion on what is going on in front of them.

First off Romano announced that Xcast Online will be live blogging the Microsoft E3 ‘08 Press Conference Monday, July 14th 2008 beginning at 1:00 PM EST. “Who said you can’t live blog a video stream?” says Romano. “We will probably have a better connection than most on the show floor.” The intent behind Xcast Online live blogging while on the home front is to hear what the community has to say. During the live blog, readers and listeners can post comments and give feedback on what the writers are posting and what they hear. “It gives us the chance to interact with our community on a whole new level” says Romano.

Secondly Romano has revealed that there will be the first ever Live Edition of the Xcast distributed via Blog Talk Radio following the Microsoft Press Conference starting at approximately 3:00-3:30 PM EST. The live show will then last about 45 minutes. This will give Xcast listeners and readers the opportunity to call in and once again voice their opinions on what they heard during the Microsoft E3 ‘08 Press Conference. Also during E3 ‘08, there will be daily shows put up in the Xcast Feed discussing all things going on at E3, not just from Microsoft but from all the major companies.

(Read more…)

Games-Masters and OGPlanet, the European and North American publishers of Cabal Online have joined forces with Xfire to bring you an amazing event! From now until July 21st, Xfire is hosting a Play 2 Win and Clans Competition for BOTH versions, doubling the friends, doubling the fun, and doubling the prizes!

In addition, from July 7th to August 7th, there will be an exclusive in-game hunt. Search the maps of Cabal to find special Xfire items. The users with the most Xfire items in each world at the end of the contest will win amazing prizes.

To top it all off, the European Cabal GMs will be coming on for a live chat, July 14th at 16:00GMT where 10 lucky Xfire users will win Platinum Accounts!

Find out more information about the in-game hunt and sign up for the Live Chat, Clans Competition and Play 2 Win Contest on the Xfire Cabal page.

As you know from one of our earlier reports, Random House Children’s Books launched Vroengard Academy, an innovative team-based immersive online Alternate Reality Experince (ARE) game, where players interact with bestselling author Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance cycle storyline and learn to become Dragon Riders. The game is already garnering great online buzz and the number of game players exceeds 20,000.

Now on Alagaesia.com, the online home of the Inheritance cycle, fans will find a new video message from Paolini in which the author details the genesis of the Vroengard Academy game and his enthusiasm for it. Inheritance cycle fans and game players new to the books want to hear from Paolini and now’s there chance. I’d like to offer the video for your site; it is easily embeddable (code below) and can be found HERE.

BRISINGR, the third book in Paolini’s Inheritance cycle is the most highly anticipated book of the year and will release at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, September 20, 2008. BRISINGR follows the #1 bestselling novels Eragon and Eldest, which are both international sensations, together selling over 12.5 million copies worldwide.

Electronic Arts (EA) has bought up the Asian distribution rights to its PC version of the role playing game “Devil May Cry 4″ from Capcom (”Resident Evil,” “Street Fighter”).

“Capcom Asia believes that Electronic Arts’ strength in marketing and retail distribution will make the game an even bigger hit in Asia where PC gaming is widely popular,” Hiroshi Tobisawa, director of Capcom, said.

Release begins starting July 17, 2008 for Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and The Philippines, according to Variety.

“Devil” has been a huge success in North America selling more than two million units over the last 5 months.

“Devil May Cry 4″ is set in a gothic supernatural universe, with the newest version featuring two playable characters and high definition visuals moving at 60 frames per second.

“‘Devil May Cry’ is an internationally acclaimed franchise with a strong following and we are very excited to distribute this successful franchise in Asia,” said Chris Thompson, VP and General Manager for EA Asia.

The Electronic Arts (EA) “Dead Space” team has watched a ton of Horror and Science Fiction films while developing and creating the scariest, most realistic survival/horror game to ever hit the streets, and now they want to pass their collection on to you! By registering HERE for the Dead Space Newsletter, you will be entered to win a hundred DVDs, hand picked by members of the Dead Space Development Team. Users have until midnight on July 27th, 2008 to sign-up, and a winner will be notified shortly thereafter. With films that range from 12 Monkeys to 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien to Predator to Alien vs. Predator, this giveaway is the most comprehensive way to own the very best collection of Horror and Sci-fi films to date.

For a full list of the DVD’s, Click HERE, and view the attached image to see Dan the Dead Space intern standing next to the stack of DVDs.

Continue below to watch a video of the making of “Dead Space.”

(Read more…)

How do you compete in a crowded market? Stand out. For Dunegon Runners (the mother of all RPGs), the secret to success in a gaming niche filled like stretch pants at an all-you-can-eat buffet by World of Warcraft, you start by offering free play and then sweeten the deal with a lot of irreverant humor.

But why stop there? Why not toss in some gnomes with a special talent?

Read more of the David Thomas article in The Omaha Examiner.

(Read more…)

Director Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks have acquired the rights to bring “The 39 Clues,” a multi-platform adventure series (which launches on September 9), to the big screen.

Which major studio ends up becoming the major backer will depend on where DreamWorks and Spielberg end up once his contract and move to take back the film company comes to fruition. It could remain at Paramount or go to Universal and/or Reliance Films. Either way, Spielberg and DreamWorks’ CEO Stacey Snider have closed the deal with Scholastic Media and the award winning director wants to helm, as well as co-produce with Scholastic Media president Deborah Forte.

All involved with this project see “The 39 Clues” as a 10-book series to be released over two years, according to a report in the Variety trade paper. The adventure consists of a set of collectible cards with an online game that will serve as a portal for readers to go about trying to solve the mystery for a grand prize of $10,000. The contest will run for two years.

(Read more…)

June 26th, marks the beginning of the Play 2 Win Contest & Clan Competition for the exciting MMO, Shaiya. The game forces you to choose sides between the Alliance of Light or the Union of Fury and keeps you engaged with large scale battles, raids, and some of the best graphics we’ve seen in the free-to-play genre.

On July 10, as the event comes to a close, the team behind Shaiya will be on Xfire to chat live with users about the game, the gear, and the inspiration behind the goddesses.

55 Lucky Xfire users will get a Bronze, Silver, or Gold level prize pack, not to mention the clans competition prize for the clan who can log the most hours of Shaiya on Xfire!

Sign up for the Live Chat, Clans Competition and Play 2 Win Contest on the Xfire Shaiya page.

Anthony Puzo has sued Paramount Pictures for breach of contract alleging that the studio has yet to turn revenue from a video game based on his famous father’s (Mario Puzo) “Godfather” saga over to the Puzo family.

The suit was filed by Puzo’s lawyers in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday (June 18) claiming a minimum of $1 million in damages.

As far as we know at this time, Electronic Arts (EA), the gaming company licensed by Paramount to produce the game, is not named in the suit.

(Read more…)

Random House Children’s Books has launched an innovative team-based immersive online game called Vroengard Academy, where players can learn to become Dragon Riders. Through a series of fun and challenging trials (mental, magic, and physical), players will be tested with puzzles and clues based on the Inheritance cycle novels by bestselling author Christopher Paolini.

It will work as an online and offline scavenger hunt, where players need to look for exclusive clues in both the real world and online. These clues will include messages delivered from the author, as well as participating Random House retail partners. Players will work together as teams through the game’s community to complete the challenges, locate the clues, and share in the fun of discovery.

Vroengard Academy will last through September 26th, concluding just after the launch of the 3rd book in the Inheritance cycle, Brisingr (on sale at 12:01 a.m. on September 20, 2008). The game will also consist of a weekly sweepstakes plus a grand prize for one lucky player who will win a trip to meet Christopher Paolini near his home in Montana.

Author Christopher Paolini was closely involved in the making of the game and makes a few appearances during its course.

Both Christopher and Slice of SciFi invite you to visit the site at www.vroengardacademy.com to explore and join in on the fun!

(Read more…)

With global warming taking its toll, you’ve no doubt noticed the changes in climate affecting our lives. Well, Xfire has been studying the forecasts recently and came up with their own amazing discovery: Blizzard is going to rock your world for the entire month of June.

June 11th: Join WoW Arena pro team, Millenium, for the latest edition of the Xfire Academy. At 19:00 CEST come chat live and get tips and tricks from the pros.

June 25th: The broadcast of the Sunwell Plateau raid was so popular, that Xfire decided to do it again! If you missed the first raid, be sure to sign up and get in fast to this new and improved version.

June 28-29th: Keep an eye on the Xfire Blizzard in June site because they will be bringing you live coverage from the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Paris!

Sign up for the chat, Sunwell Plateau broadcast, and get Blizzard Worldwide Invitational news at the Blizzard in June page.