Wizards of the Coast today announced it would make available PayPal as a new payment option for Magic Online, its multiplayer online collectable digital objects game experience. The new payment option will be available as of today.

Aspyr Media today confirmed that its epic role-playing game Gothic III will land on North American store shelves this fall. The announcement comes on the heels of news from worldwide publisher JoWooD that the title will be available in its territories in September.

Nintendo announced that Metroid Prime Hunters launches across Europe on 5th May 2006. A mighty race, now extinct, has left behind relics of their once-powerful warrior culture. Now bounty hunters from across the galaxy are racing against each other to lay claim to these relics to harness their power for themselves.

On 26th May 2006 appearances are going to be deceptive, as Super Princess Peach fires her way into Europe exclusively on NDS. A classic 2D platform game, Super Princess Peach, features vividly colorful worlds and enemies reminiscent of those seen in the Super Mario Bros. series.

Rusty Axe Games has released an advertising-supported version of Battle Castles, making its price drop more than 50%. Battle Castles offers a unique blend of strategy, white-knuckle adrenaline-pumping arcade action, and retro gaming with state of the art polish.

Major League Baseball 2K6 includes innovative features such as a new movement system and realistic player collisions on the infield and outfield. New broadcast elements include flashback replays, and a unique player morale system will unfold the drama like never before in a baseball video game.

While the existence of a sequel is not any secret, the newest GameInformer issue has the first screens and information on the much-anticipated God of War sequel. A specific release date has not been confirmed, but God of War II: Divine Retribution is currently expected at the end of the year. Once the new issue hits magazine stands, an official announcement should follow shortly ...

Valve lastest Steam Update has a few details on what to expect in the near future. Valve intends to implement The Friends system soon, allowing you to see when friends are online, and playing games, as well as chat with them. Valve is also planning on going back to some of the older Counter-Strike: Source maps and giving them an High Dynamic Range pass, starting with de_dust. Next week Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 will be released and playable on Steam, which is already available for preload.

Act of War: High Treason introduces new features and content to enhance and extend the overall experience. High Treason will expand into naval warfare with over a dozen different vessels, such as AEGIS cruisers, frigates, aircraft carriers and submarines. Less scripting, better AI and camera handling.

In an interview with Xbox365.com, Bethesda's PR guru Pete Hines revealed that it currently has 3 teams working on various projects. One team will be utilized to support the imminent TES IV: Oblivion launch with patches, updates and expasions, while another team is actively working on FallOut3, but most importantly, the third team has already started developing, albeit most likely VERY early stages, on The Elder Scrioll V. Of course no details to its content or platforms were revealed.

Heart of Empire: Rome leads the player through 14 huge missions as they actually build & control ancient Rome in glorious real-time 3D. From simple beginnings, they must quickly build housing for their growing population; start to meet their increasing desires for food, goods and entertainment.

Guild Wars: Factions offers players an incredible gameplay experience with many new choices, including new regions, professions, skills, missions, and monsters, along with expanded options for both Coop and PvP play, and enhanced features for guilds. Guild Wars Factions will be available in stores worldwide 28th April 2006.

An update on the official Battle for Middle-earth II Web site reveals that EA is working on two new patches. One imminent patch in the next few days will address some synch issues, multiplayer crashes and a few other glitches, while another is scheduled in the next 3-4 weeks and will include balance changes, fixes for a few exploits, a change to the way game results and stats are reported for the ladders, some improvements to the game, and other goodies. We will, of course, have those patches available on our file server network when they are released.

Stoked Rider featuring Tommy Brunner' is an unique action-freesports game for PC, the first freeride snowboarding game inspired by Alaska's impressive peaks, presented in a unique 3D cel-shaded graphical style.

VoodooPC today announced it has expanded its notebook line with the introduction of the Voodoo ENVY Heavyweight u:909 Notebook. Measuring 17.5” x 12.5” x 1.75” and weighing in at 16 pounds, the Voodoo ENVY Heavyweight u:909 Notebook is powered by the AMD Turion 64 processor.

Square Enix is working on a new expansion pack for its MMORPG Final Fantasy XI, which will introduce new maps, monsters, and several new classes such as the much-anticipated Blue Mage. Read more for some new screens ...

According to CNET, Democrats Joseph Lieberman, Hillary Clinton, and Dick Durbin persuaded a Senate committee to approve a sweeping study of the "impact of electronic media use" to be organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. The bill, called CAMRA, would provide funding to investigate the cognitive, physical and socio-behavioral impact of electronic media on child and adolescent development.

Act of War: High Treason is an expansion pack for the near-future, geopolitical techno-thriller RTS, Act of War: Direct Action, loaded with new features, including modern-day naval combat and mercenaries. As promised, Atari has released a demo featuring 3 single-player missions, one multiplayer-enabled map, as well as 3 skirmish maps, vs. AI.

At the CeBit in Germany Microsoft finally lifted the veil off its latest secret project dubbed 'Origami.' Initially rumors were that the device was going to compete with other handheld gaming devices, eventually pegged as a mini xbox, but in the end it turns out to be an ultracompact computer (UMPC) running WinXP with a touchscreen and wireless connectivity.

Turbine announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with SAKURA Internet Inc. to localize Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach for the Japanese market. SAKURA also will market, distribute, and operate the game in that territory, which is scheduled for somewhere in 2006.

In Battlefield 2: Euro Force, the European Army joins the Battlefield with seven new weapons and four new vehicles, the European Army will be sent into battle against MEC and Chinese forces on three brand new maps. The BF 2 Euro Force Booster Pack will be available for download on Wednesday March 15th.

NCsoft announced today its latest partnership with a new company in Austin. Spacetime Studios, composed of a core team with previous roles on successful franchises such as Privateer, Wing Commander and Star Wars Galaxies, will publish its next, yet unannounced, game under the NCsoft brand.

A new nefarious threat emerges as Capcom today announced the release of Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, a new epic action game for the PS2, focusing on the destiny of a new hero whose courage and fortitude must withstand the adversaries that wait.

Daxter, the wily ottsel from Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter franchise, has convinced Sony to ship his first solo project, Daxter for the PSP a week early, moving the release date to March 14, 2006. Excited to show fans his heroic side, Daxter is eager to prove he is no longer just a sidekick.

Earlier today, Take 2 released its quarterly financial results, and in a nutshell, it ain't good. Net sales dropped almost 50% from $502M to 265M, while results went from a $55M income to a $29M loss. There were no changes in release dates, but the conference call revealed that due to "consolidation," Take 2's internal dev studio PopTop (Rollercoaster Tycoon, Tropico) has merged into the recently acquired Firaxis. Whether this means PopTop shut down, or both studios are working under the same umbrella wasn't explained. We tried to reach 2K's PR reps, but none were available for comment. Also noteworthy is that there won't be another GTA title until 2007, and 2K Sports is gearing up for its NHL, MLB, and NBA 2K7 lineup, including a new boxing title.