Bolstering its commitment to create diverse and innovative video game content for its hardware systems, Nintendo yesterday announced it is expanding internal development resources by establishing a new research and development facility in Tokyo. The new Tokyo facility will develop unique games for Nintendo's hardware platforms, adding to the depth and breath of Nintendo's first-party game library. Additional details about the facility, including when it will open, will be announced in the coming months.

Buka Entertainment, one of the leading publishers in Russia, is pleased to announce today its line-up for this year’s “Electronic Entertainment Expo”. The line-up will include new games which will be showcased for the first time at E3 and the titles, already demonstrated at the previous E3 show.. Find out more below!

Donning yellow trousers and mounting a shiny red engine, Monte Cristo today announced the release of Fire Chief for PC in June 2003. Offering more red-hot action than you can shake a fire axe at, Fire Chief is a tactical mission-based game which offers spectacular action in realistic settings. Players take charge of a squad of specialized fire fighters and vehicles. Under pressure, they must make the right decisions and fight against numerous fires and obstacles in order to minimise collateral damage and save lives.

KOEI Ltd. today announced that it will be bringing Dynasty Warriors 4, the latest instalment of the worldwide best-selling Tactical Action series, to the European market this June. With more than one million units sold in Japan in little less than one month of release, and with the US version due in store next week, Dynasty Warriors 4 appears poised to become an instant hit in the European market as well.

Reflecting the Electronic Entertainment Expo's (E3Expo) position as the world's leading venue for interactive entertainment products, E3Expo show management today announced that the event is on track to surpass key exhibit space and registration milestones from the prior year.

CDV Software, master of the wartime strategy genre, has announced that its 3D perspective, World War II-based, real time strategy game Blitzkrieg, will be published on May 16. Blitzkrieg will test the gamer's strategic expertise to the limit. It requires finesse, precision, a command of military tactics and sound man-management techniques. Your troops, if commanded skilfully, will gain experience and fight more effectively.

Xbox, the video game system from Microsoft, today announced the early success of its European launch of Xbox Live, the first comprehensive, online game service fully dedicated to fast-action broadband gaming experiences.

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

• Sacred (Ascaron)
• SX Superstar (Acclaim)
• Broken Sword 3 (THQ)
• 
  
  Read more for download links ...

Noticed on EvilAvatar that "Terminal Reality are now looking for a Lead Artist for BloodRayne II" at gamejobs.com. This is the first "official" hint that a sequel to BloodRayne will be developed. The sequel to Terminal Reality's horror-action game of 2002 will apparently be published by Activision, not the original game's Majesco.

Set in the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe, Star Trek Elite Force II allows players to break out of the confines of ship bulkheads and spacestation corridors to explore all new locations including alien worlds and zero-g environments. New and more powerful weapons will be at the player’s disposal and branching levels offer a more varied gameplay experience. Check the official site, or read more for some screens ...

CDV's jump&run Rosso Rabbit in Trouble comes packaged a lot like Easter eggs in different colors. The free version of the game will feature a few levels for testing your rabbit-controlling skills. There will also be special Easter levels, in honor of the upcoming season, in which you will have to collect all the eggs in the level. The full version of Rosso Rabbit in Trouble will contain 17 amazing levels, and players will be able to submit their high scores to an international high score list on the website! Oh, and by the way: the levels of the game are twice as huge as those in Santa Claus in Trouble. The demo features 3 levels and one special easter level.

Even though the gaming hobby has advanced onward to first-person-shooters and sensational role-playing landscapes, gaming accomplishments on old-fashioned titles can still make an ardent player sit up and take notice. One such achievement has been recently verified: the eternally popular 1991 SNES game, "Legend of Zelda:A Link to the Past," has been finished in under 2-hours for the first time in the title's history. Read more for details ...

The latest installment in the award-winning series, Warlords IV: Heroes of Etheria is a unique blend of role playing and turn-based strategy gaming. Set in the troubled land of Etheria, old foes such as Dwarves, Elves, and Orcs have resumed their ancient hostilities and the Undead legions of Lord Bane have returned. The game centers on the actions of your Warlord, who plays a pivotal role in the success or failure of your military efforts. Read more to check some new screens ...

Starting with a single loyal supporter, a tiny secret HQ and a very small base of local support, you must build up a nationwide faction powerful enough to oust the President and rule the Republic of Novistrana. Up to 16 other factions (human or computer controlled) will be doing everything in their power to stop you and seize control for themselves. And of course, most formidable of all is the President - he’ll go to any lengths necessary to hold onto power. Read more for a batch of fresh screens ...

Publisher Strategy First and developer Stardock are pleased to announce the release of update version 1.02 for Galactic Civilizations, their hugely successful 4x space strategy game that was released on March 26th. This upgrade brings a few new features and playability enhancements as well as some AI fixes. The update can be downloaded through the ingame Stardock Central. Read more for detailed fix list ...

Meet Sergeant First Class Steve R. Hawkins, squad leader for the A-216 team. An exceptional soldier, and well respected by his men. Steve almost didn't become a soldier, read more about it here! (thanks Unrealik)

Mythic Entertainment, developer and publisher of Dark Age of Camelot, plans to release a free download-only expansion called Dark Age of Camelot: Foundations that adds player housing to the immensely popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The expansion enters closed beta testing this week and will be available for free via optional download to all subscribers in mid-June.

‘The Great Escape’ is based on the 1963 Oscar nominated film staring Steve McQueen and revolves around actual events during WW2. The game is set in a number of unique locations, from POW camps to a mountain-top castle. Game levels include a busy hospital, a chase through a moving train and escape from an active Luftwaffe airfield. The core of the game centres on the largest mass breakout ever, from the ‘escape proof’ Stalag Luft III prisoner of war camp. The game uses the powerful storyline and strong characters from the film to place the player in the heart of the action, as the POW’s resist the German war machine. It uses a combination of stealth, combat and frantic action involving multiple vehicles and an awesome motorbike based finale.

As announced and expected the ESO site mentions that the new 1.05 patch for Age of Mythology is now available through the auto updater. The patch fixes an armory tech research exploit, some localization bugs, a crash related to alt-tabbing and a fix when it comes to god power triggers. A manual patch will be released soon and we will mirror it when such becomes available (thanks Blues).