Nintendo's Vice President, Merchandising, John A. Sakaley III, retires at the end of this month from the position he served with distinction for more than 16 years. Sakaley, who joined Nintendo of America Inc. in 1987, pioneered the first shop-within-a-shop in-store display in the video game industry. He also created the first hands-on interactive displays allowing customers to try video games before they buy them. Since 2000, his team at Nintendo has placed more than 40,000 interactive displays at more than 15,000 retail locations.

Activision, Inc. brings its highly acclaimed True Crime: Streets of L.A. console title to the PC. The new version will take the driving, fighting and shooting action online with all-new multiplayer features, as well as new weapons and unlockable characters when gamers have their chance to take on the L.A. underworld this spring. True Crime: Streets of L.A. for the PC has not yet been rated by the ESRB. Read more for details and the first screens...

Majesco Sales Inc. today announced plans to publish Bookworm and Bejeweled, two of the Internet's most downloaded games of all time, for Nintendo Game Boy Advance. Both highly addictive puzzle titles are scheduled for release in 2004. Read more for details ...

In Beyond Divinity, Larian Studios takes what made Divine Divinity so deeply appealing, and pushes it one step further. Using an enhanced version of the original engine, the final product delivers infinite character development, unparalleled levels of interactivity, a wide variety of enemies; tons of quests and a brand new combat system. Larian released their first newsletter revealing a new contest, giving away a $400 Fantasy Chess Set, as well as an in-house beta test opportunity (if you live in Belgium that is). Read more for some new screens ...

Eventhough Burut's FPS Kreed is not available in most English speaking countries yet, they are already hard at work on a add-on titled Kreed: Battle for Savitar. The other day we had some level footage, today we have some new screens for the addon and footage for the original Kreed, showing off 10 minutes of level 1 (thanks GenGamers). Gameplay footage trailer for Kreed: Battle for Savitar is expected soon, now if we only could get our hands on the original title....

THQ Inc. and Clear Channel Entertainment's Motor Sports division today announced that supercross series' title sponsor THQ unveiled MX Unleashed as the official video game of the 2004 THQ World Supercross GP/THQ AMA Supercross Series. The game is available for demonstration at several of the series events that began with the inaugural race earlier this year and includes this weekend at Edison International Field in Anaheim, California. Currently at development in critically acclaimed Rainbow Studios, MX Unleashed will be available for the PlayStation2 and Xbox in February 2004.

R-TYPE FINAL's ships come in many colors, but today the color of choice is gold! That's right, R-TYPE FINAL, under the Fresh Games label, has gone gold today! R-Type is back for a final appearance with new features and the same exciting, revolutionary gameplay that started it all. Use the unique Force System to power-up your ship as you choose and send it into battle against the evil Bydo. With over 100 ships to choose from and an almost unlimited amount of customization options, R-Type Final is the definitive shooter on the PlayStation2, and will start shipping to stores February 3rd ...

"Midnight Nowhere" from Buka Entertainment, Tri Synergy and developed by Saturn Plus is a graphic adventure that places you in the middle of a twisted mystery where the police are nowhere close to being able to explain the slaughtered bodies that litter the streets. The epidemic of brutality has grown so large that the leaders of the city have requested the army’s help. The only thing they’ve proven good at is cordoning off the town and praying that one of theirs isn’t next. "Midnight Nowhere" will be available in late February.

BAM! Entertainment today announced that it will publish, under license from Japan-based Taito Corporation, Bujingai: The Forsaken City for the PlayStation 2. The North American release date is currently set for this May. Featuring design work from the creators of the Japanese animations "Cowboy Bebop" and "Trigun" and developed for Taito by Red Entertainment, Bujingai has received rave reviews since its release in the Asian market this past holiday. Bujingai: The Forsaken City has incorporated the best elements of Hong Kong cinema-swords, magic spells, demons, and wirework-to create a truly incredible gameplay experience. Read more for details & screens ...

Techland (developers of the recent Chrome) dropped us a note that they have launched the official Xpand Rally website, their upcoming rally racing game. This site features all the latest game news, numerous screenshots and the official game forum. Cars and Tracks sections introduce the car models and tracks from the game before the release date. Detailed game features description will be presented successively in the Features section and will be followed by additional screenshots and movies. Xpand Rally release is scheduled for Q2 2004 and will be followed by Xbox game version although precise release date is not agreed yet. Read more for some new screens ...