Konami today announced that it will be bringing several major franchises to Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360, starting this summer with classic games such as Frogger, Contra, Time Pilot, Scramble and others, enhanced with updated graphics and online multiplayer support.

All signs pointed to Atari shedding Earthworm Jim, but today, Atari announced that it has claimed the rights to the Earthworm Jim franchise and plans to develop online and handheld titles over the next five years.

2K and 2K Sports today announced their lineups for E3 2006. Some of 2K's titles are The Da Vinci Code, Family Guy, The Darkness, Ghost Rider, and BioShock, while 2K Sports continues franchises with NHL 2K7, NBA 2K7 and College Hoops 2K7. Read more for further details ...

Leisure Suit Larry creator Al Lowe has renounced the leisurely lifestyle of the retiree for a return to the video game industry. Created with Wegrzyn, Sam Suede: Undercover Exposure is an action comedy game set in a sunny, tropical locale with a story that incorporates Lowe’s incomparable sense of humor with puzzle, stealth and action gameplay elements.

Neverwinter Nights 2 will feature more than 10 new companions that players will encounter, taking advantage of the game's influence system, which will alter the player's alignment and the world's reaction to the player, based upon their actions and choices.

Konami today revealed its more than 20 title blockbuster product lineup for the 2006 E3 in Los Angeles, featuring games across all genres targeted towards players of all age groups and skill levels. Included are new Metal Gear Solid titles, Death Jr. 2, Castlevania, Yu-Gi-Oh, DDR, Bomberman and several new franchises.

THQ today announced the acquisition of the Stuntman franchise from Atari. Stuntman 2 is currently in development for next-generation systems at Paradigm Entertainment, creators of titles such as T3: The Redemption and Mission: Impossible: Operation Surma. Additionally, THQ has exercised its option to acquire Paradigm and expects to finalize the transaction in the coming weeks.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars pits the armies of Earth against the invading alien Strogg in the ultimate online strategic shooter. Featuring strategic team play, persistent character promotions, day and nighttime combat missions, and the universe's most powerful weapons and vehicles.

Atari today announced that Alone in the Dark will launch for PS3 simultaneously with the versions for the Xbox 360 and PC, delivering an edge-of-the-seat survival experience facilitated by state-of-the-art real-time physics and unparalleled environmental interaction within a meticulously detailed, open game world.

Check out the following new screens from Microsoft's E3 2006 lineup:

• Shadowrun (X360/PC) - Screens & Trailer
• Gears of War (X360) - Screens
• Fable 2 (X360/PC) - Trailer
• Alan Wake (X360/PC) - Screens & Trailer
• Mass Effect (X360) - Screens
• Crackdown (X360) - Screens & Trailer
• Ninety-Nine Nights (X360) - Screens
• Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs - Features & Screens
• Viva Piñata (X360) - Features & Screens
• Flight Simulator X - Features & Screens
• Forza Motorsport 2 (X360) - Features & Screens
  

Dark and Light publisher Farlan Entertainment said today it has rescheduled the game’s official release for May 30th, 2006. Dark and Light will be available for download four days earlier, on May 26th, 2006, at 1pm UTC.

SEGA today announced the long-anticipated return of Golden Axe, a fan favorite since its original release in 1989. Developed exclusively for the PS3 and the Xbox 360, Golden Axe marks the first project from the recent acquisition of San Francisco-based studio, Secret Level.

Funcom signed a development and marketing agreement with Microsoft to optimize the forthcoming Online Action RPG Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures for the Windows Vista operating system. Microsoft will showcase ‘Age of Conan’ as a title that takes full advantage of new gaming functionality in Windows Vista.

Viva Media and 10Tacle Studios announce an official publishing partnership for GTR 2 in the North America. GTR 2, the official simulation of the FIA GT championship, features more than 140 high detailed cars and 34 different track-layouts in a hyper realistic racing world with breathtaking real-world-like effects.

Another day, another batch of game trailers was released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for:

• Sensible Soccer [PS2/Xbox/PC] - E3 2006 Trailer
• Fable 2 [X360/PC] - Trailer
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - E3 2006 Sony Trailer
• Darkstar One - E3 2006 Trailer
• Heroes of Annihilated Empires - E3 2006 Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Atari continues to explore new worlds with the upcoming action-adventure game Arthur and the Minimoys. Directly inspired by world famous film director and writer Luc Besson's upcoming animated film of the same name, the Arthur and the Minimoys game will follow the film's storyline and feature eye-popping graphics and technical innovations.

Microsoft announced a new cross-platform gaming service that integrates games played on cell phones, Xbox 360 consoles and the upcoming Windows Vista operating system.

Check out the following new screens from NCSoft's E3 2006 lineup:

• Tabula Rasa
• Soccer Fury
• Guild Wars: Factions
• Exteel
• Dungeon Runners
• Aion

Medieval II: Total War, the 4th installment of the franchise, takes strategy genre to a whole new level with the most epic and cinematic 3D battles ever seen on PC.

As was already revealed in our Microsoft briefing coverage, Microsoft Game Studios confirmed it will publish Remedy's psychological action thriller Alan Wake, exclusively for Windows Vista and the Xbox 360.