Blizzard Entertainment today announced that World of Warcraft, its massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), has surpassed the 1.5 million subscriber mark.

GameStop today announced that many of its stores across its entire 1,800-plus chain will celebrate with midnight openings on March 24th, officially launching the highly-anticipated release of Sony's PlayStation Portable video game system.

THQ today announced that MX vs. ATV Unleashed has shipped for the PlayStation 2 and will be released for the Xbox on March 24. Fans can taste the dirt and smell the fumes at a suggested retail price of $39.95.

Sony Online Entertainment today announced that Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade has gone gold. Developed and published by SOE, Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade will be available exclusively for the PSP for an MSRP of $39.99 and is scheduled to ship to North American retail stores on March 22, 2005.

Fresh out in stores, Ubisoft releases the first patch for its submarine sim Silent Hunter 3. This update brings your retail game to v1.1 and addresses various graphical problems, multiplayer issues, and the usual bugs fixes and gameplay tweaks. Read more for details and download links ...

In a long interview with the Washington Post, Running with Scissors revealed that it is working on the next Postal sequel, code-named "Catharsis." The year is 2007 and the Dude has just left the town that was destroyed in the last game after accidentally finding and setting off a "weapon of mass destruction" misplaced by the U.S. government. He flees the atomic Armageddon and finds himself at a political rally for a presidential candidate in a nearby suburb. The plot unfolds as the player attempts to get random temp jobs that will cause him to cross paths with the presidential candidate, the Taliban, environmental advocacy groups and others. Except there's a twist: The next Postal will be a violent video game about nonviolence. You'll still have access to a slew of weapons, but you'll be rewarded with a better outcome if you play peacefully.

GMX Media is today announcing the street date and the unveiling of the box art for its new action packed FPS "HELLFORCES" , a blood and guts zombie killer. Licensed by Buka Entertainment, Hellforces is due for UK release on 25th March. No information on who and when will bring Hellforces to North America.

Gothic II takes you on an even greater journey of adventure and discovery. The plot continues from the cliff-hanger of the original: After the imprisoned colony members are victorious, collapsing the magical barrier, the former Prison Colony is struck by a terrible earthquake, claiming the lives of many. The majority of survivors seize this opportunity to escape with only a handful of people remaining in the derelict prison. Jowood has finally released an English demo giving you the opportunity to check the game intro and try out the first chapter. Read more for download links ...

TT Superbikes will feature on the channel around the launch along with a strong presence at this year's TT event in June. There will be several promotions including prize give-away copies of the game to Men and Motors viewers. The game will also feature the Men and Motors Suzuki superbike, which will race at this year's event. Read more for details and screens ...

Ubisoft announced today its product catalog for fiscal year 2005-2006 (ending March 31, 2006). Ubisoft management has decided to release Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Lockdown in the first half of fiscal year 2005-2006, rather than in March 2005. Read more for other new titles suchs as 187 Ride or Die, the earlier revealed And 1 sports titles, Killing Day, World War II Squadron, new titles in the Prince of Persia, Ghost Recon, Brothers in Arms, and Silent Hunter series, and not one, but two new Might & Magic products.

The acclaimed TOCA series will return with every element of motorsport for real in TOCA Race Driver 3, Codemasters announced today. Coming this winter for PS2, Xbox and PC, race drivers will be competing in a massive variety of the world's most aggressive motorsports, complete with explosive damage effects, head-to-head online multiplayer racing and a game engine rebuilt for a greater degree of simulation.

Mafia developer Illusion Softworks, also known for its Hidden & Dangerous and Vietcong titles, has signed a publishing agreement with Atari for its newest action title Enemy in Sight, which is schedule for end 2005. Read more for details and screens ...

Planetwide Games announced today that RYL: Path of the Emperor will be the first Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game to offer a $1,000,000 Grand Prize to the winner of a Player vs. Player Skill-Based Tournament.

Interactive Data Visualization (IDV) today announced that SpeedTree, its hardware independent foliage solution, has been integrated with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3. Unreal Engine licensees will now have access to SpeedTree’s advanced content creation options, enabling them to quickly and efficiently populate game environments with highly detailed trees and foliage.

Electronic Arts today announced the March launch of four new games on its Pogo.com (free) and Club Pogo (subscription) online game sites. This highly-anticipated launch will include the extremely addicting new version of Poppit!, the multi-player bingo-scratcher game of Lottso!, and two new adventurous card games, 6th Street Omaha Poker and Casino Island Blackjack.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and SEGA have just revealed that upon the launch of The Matrix Online on March 22, 2005, a specialized role-playing live events team will propel the game's storyline with prominent Matrix character action.

Combat: Task Force 121 is a full featured modern military shooter that thrusts gamers into the most elite covert unit of the United States military. Developed by Direct Action Games, founded by the creators of the best-selling SPEC OPS series, and using the Unreal Engine2, Combat: Task Force 121 features state of the art graphics, an immersive storyline and intense multiplayer action on Xbox Live and LAN over PC, all at a value price.

Back in February we reported that Rare's Conker: Live and Reloaded was delayed from its March shipdate, and new listings on EBGames and GameStop had it scheduled for June 21st. As online retailer are more wrong than they are right, it was to be taken with a grain of salt, but this time it turns out they hit the jackpot as the official website has been updated and its ambiguous TBA release date has now been changed to .... June 21st. Conker: Live and Reloaded features intense deathmatch and campaign storyline modes via Xbox Live and system link, players can compete as one of six combat specialists across multi-mission campaigns covering Old War and Future War.

Take your skills to a new level and challenge the greatest basketball icons to ever hit the court. With NBA Street Showdown, tip off against the baddest old-school legends and today’s hottest players and rise above the rim with bigger-than-life moves. Defeat the best the streets have to offer with an arsenal of dunks, passes, dribbles, and tricks. Begin your journey to become a street legend with NBA Street Showdown on PSP.

Mixing role-playing game with real-time strategy, Heroes of Annihilated Empires delivers you a new experience and unique gameplay, where you can feel yourself the Hero of a legendary epic tale. This time it's not about units, it's about armies with thousands of soldiers that entrust their fate in your hands. It's about responsibility taken by great leaders and future of entire races. Survival or extinction? It's all up to you to decide.