In the month of May, SCEA continued to lead the videogame industry with PlayStation 2 and the PSP ranking as the top selling hardware and portable platforms in the U.S. according to data released by the NPD Group.

For the upcoming Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, Pandemic Studios is calling for their fans to contribute to the design of the lead character, Mattias Nilsson. In Design the Ink contest Pandemic is currently accepting original tattoo designs, until June 16, for the lead Mercenary. The winner will have his or her name featured in the credits and Mattias will actually wear the winning design in the final released version of the game!

EA announced that it will co-publish Namco Bandai's Curious George in PAL territories. Curious George based on animated feature film, is an action adventure title, inviting players to experience madcap mishaps and mischievous fun as the world's most inquisitive chimp.

Project Exile, originally for GBA but now an NDS title, features complex worlds full of realistic characters struggling for control of their inner powers. Dark secrets and powerful plot twists fill an epic tale with imagination and life.

Dare to be Digital 2006,run by the University of Abertay Dundee, got off to a rousing start today when the participants found themselves 'drumming up business' before they had even switched on their computers, with a session of African drumming for the 42 students from all over the world who have qualified this year.

Star Fox returns to its roots with a blistering space shooter on the Nintendo DS. Initially named Star Fox DS, Nintendo has finalized the title and is now known as Star Fox Command.

Another day, another batch of games shipped to stores. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are announcements for:

• Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War (PC)
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  We will update this throughout the day when new announcements become available. Read more for details ...

Konami announced today that it has signed that Brazil and Inter Milan striker Adriano to be the pan-European face of its upcoming soccer title Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007.

European digital distribution provider Metaboli announced today that it has signed an agreement with Ascaron to digitally distribute their space action title, Dark Star One, although no specific launch date was mentioned...

CABAL, one of Asia’s most successful RPG games, is launching its English beta across Europe this month. CABAL is more than a mindless hack and slash action game as teamwork, which involves a mix of puzzles, battles and quests, are key to defeating the second rising of evil and win the world war.

Mythic Wars is a turn-based strategy game set in a fantasy world. Combining both classic strategy gameplay and sophisticated 3D graphics players can experience epic battles like never before.

EA announced that it has signed a European publishing deal with Namco Bandai Games for The Fast and the Furious, based on Universal's summer movie, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Galactic Civilizations II 1.2 is a significant free update to all GalCiv II owners because it has a LOT more content than what an update normally would have. Besides a significant change in the combat system, lots of UI changes, and AI enhancements, v1.2 includes advanced modding support including a Stardock developed mod featuring a new set of alien races, custom planets, new technology tree, new UI, etc., all for the "example" mods.

Unreal Tournament: Expanded Multiplayer is a class based multiplayer team game. UT XMP is a total conversion for UT2004, developed by Free Monkey Interactive, and is based upon Unreal II: Expanded Multiplayer, released in 2003 by the now-defunct Legend Entertainment. Public Beta 3 has now been released with tons of fixes and tweaks...

Flagship Studios' Hellgate: London is an RPG set in the immersive first-person perspective. With a completely randomized world that offers a unique experience every time you play, Hellgate: London introduces a demon-ridden place where the last survivors of the human race must meld science and magic to survive.

An evolution in open world gaming, Saints Row provides an unprecedented amount of freedom to experience the game as the player sees fit. The game, based in the fictional urban surroundings of Still Water, is action adventure with its core as a third-person shooter. THQ has revealed the official launch date for Saints Row, currently set for August 29th, 2006.

THQ has signed a worldwide publishing agreement with Gas Powered Games for its RTS game Supreme Commander. Chris Taylor is known for his work with Total Annihilation under Cave Dog, and Supreme Commander will mark his return to a genre that he helped popularize.

Available for download on his website, Major Nelson's latest podcast includes an interview with Microsoft's Peter Moore, giving feedback on his earlier backwards compatibility comments, and also reveals that the next update (due next week) will include not 12, but 20 or more new updates for older Xbox titles, including DOOM 3 and LEGO Star Wars. The podcast also includes comments and feedback on the latest dashboard update, and how to beta test Vista.

Originally scheduled for release Feb 2005, renamed from Realms of Torment, Mourning, to Age of Mourning, development halted, now picked up by Loud Ant Software and Nuanced Entertainment and renamed again (thanks Blues). Thrones of Chaos is an MMORPG set in turbulent medieval times focusing on player vs player strife and territorial conquest with many unique ideas and features.

Apart from the initial E3 announcement, very little has been revealed on Rockstar's next-gen GTA title, but according to IMDb, the very first voice actors have been unveiled. Lazlow Jones and Navid Khonsari are lending their voice talents to in-game characters. Both are known for also contributing to GTA III, Liberty City Stories and San Andreas, while Navid seems to be a Rockstar favorite, having also voiced characters in The Warriors, Manhunt and even Remedy's Max Payne.