EA today announced financial results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2004. Net revenue was slightly down, while titles such as NFSU2, NBA Live 2005, Battle For Middle Earth, and Third Age sold more than 1 million copies apiece. EA commented that they were also in the running for the MLBPA license but did not think the economics made sense, so did not fully pursue it. The ESPN license will open the door to new franchises such as Poker, Fishing and possible X-Games based titles. In regards to Ubisoft, EA says it wants to be a good shareholder and and will keep options open, which could mean acquiring additional shares (but it stressed it would not overpay), or simply selling the current stock. Most importantly, it was revealed that Battlefield 2 and MoH: Dogs of War have been delayed until Q1 2006 (April through June). Read more for the detailed financial information..

Following other successful movies based on computer games like Mortal Kombat and Double Dragon, Sony Pictures Entertainment will produce Counter-Strike: Movie. Based on the popular Counter-Strike multiplayer mod from Valve, the movie is guaranteed to be "a rollercoaster ride of thrilling action and witty banter." German director Uwe Boll (Alone in the Dark, Bloodrayne) has picked up the rights, and both Ben Affleck and Colin Farrell have expressed interested in starring in the movie (thanks Gamers.nl/bbspot.com).
UPDATE: A bit early for April Fools Day, thank god no Uwe Boll, turns out to be a joke!

Dead to Rights II marks the return of action-hero Jack Slate and his K-9 companion, Shadow. In this super-charged sequel, Jack and Shadow find themselves once again in the squalid, mean streets of Grant City, ensnared in a labyrinth of crime, corruption and betrayal. The official Dead to Rights II website shows a new release date, now pushed back until March 2005.

Groove Games today announced the official ship date for the highly touted first-person action game, Pariah. The game, being developed by First-Person Shooter (FPS) aficionados, Digital Extremes will hit retail worldwide on May 3, 2005 for the Xbox and the PC.

Dreamfall continues the story of one of the most critically acclaimed adventure games ever made, and will bring adventure gaming into a new era. Focusing on story and characters, Dreamfall features unparalleled 3D visuals, advanced character animations, stunning audio, and innovative gameplay - wrapped in a unique and magical ambience.

Last week word leaked out, through Atari's own betatest site, that a new addon for RollerCoaster Tycoon III was in the works, with a beta test coming up soon, but no specific name was revealed. Today the official name came to light through a listing on Gamestop, offering RollerCoaster Tycoon III Cape Typhoon for pre-order, with a shipdate of June 21st, 2005. While no additional details were included, there should be official news soon ...

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is an eagerly anticipated first-person horror adventure based on the award winning RPG from Chaosium that in turn is based on the writings of the acclaimed American horror author H. P. Lovecraft... Some new screens showing just how dark some of those corners are.

Fan site Seriously has the first word of an all new 3rd person shooter, in the word at independent Dutch developer CrazyFoot, using Croteam's Serious Engine. We'll have more details soon, in the meantime, read more for some screens...

Epic Games today announced the grand prize winners of the $1,000,000 NVIDIA Make Something Unreal mod-making contest. The grand prize for Best Mod is awarded to Red Orchestra, an immersive combined arms infantry and armored vehicle combat simulation set on the eastern front of World War II. The development team behind the winning entry receives $50,000 in cash and a coveted Unreal Engine commercial license worth approximately $350,000.

As was being rumored last week already, The Major League Baseball Players Association ("MLBPA") today announced that it has reached an agreement in principle to grant sweeping rights to Take 2 to develop and publish a broad portfolio of products that are expected to drive the baseball video game business to unprecedented heights.

Korea-based online games company Webzen announced today it is entering the U.S. online games market and is immediately opening a U.S. operation in Los Angeles. Webzen will be a full-scale game developer, publisher and distributor. Its first title, SUN, specifically designed for North America will be unveiled in the next few weeks...

Cold Fear is the first action-horror title to be published under the Ubisoft brand and combines the popular elements of both action and horror releases, delivering an action-packed, tension-filled gaming experience.

According to various online sources the big announcement Konami is planning on January 27th (the same day Konami is having its Gamers Day press event) could be the unveiling of a new Calstlevania title for the PS2. According to rumors the February issue of Play Magazine will have world exclusive coverage on Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, which seems to be given extra credibility by speculations on the IGN forums (tthanks Demonews). We will know more in a few days time when we come back from Konami's press event. UPDATE : The first screens from the Play preview have been brought online.

Xbox today announced European release dates for two Xbox exclusive titles from Tecmo. The first to hit European shelves is Project Zero 2, available from 4th February. The second title is the latest offering from Team Ninja's popular Japanese fighting series, Dead or Alive Ultimate, which will be available from 18th February.

A number of additional accounts and CD keys have been tied to the use of a hack or cheat program while playing Warcraft III on Battle.net. In keeping with their aggressive stance against cheating, Blizzard has permanently closed 12,000 Warcraft III accounts. 6,000 of the Warcraft III CD keys used with the now-closed accounts have been banned from ladder play for one month, and 1,000 more have been banned from ladder play permanently. Repeat offenders risk having their CD keys disabled, which will result in the permanent removal of their copies of Warcraft III from Battle.net.

Myelin Media today announced "Stacked with Daniel Negreanu," a Texas Hold 'em poker game that captures the look, excitement and drama of the phenomenon that has captivated America.

UEFA Champions League will offer soccer fans the opportunity to guide their chosen club from qualification anxiety through to big night glory, adding an element of the unexpected allowing lower league teams into the glamour world of European football. EA has released a playable demo allowing you to play as Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich (thanks Blues). Read more for download links ...

Back in November, Vivendi's community liaison Guy Welch revealed that a new v1.2 update patch for Irrationals multiplayer shooter Tribes: Vengeance was being tested, and would be released in December 2004. Meanwhile, it's more than a month later, and still no T:V patch. Today, Welch has responded to the community giving a rather cryptic reason as to why, "The patch has been delayed from our initial December release date due to an outstanding agreement between two third parties. They need to come to terms before we can proceed." Speculation has it that there is an argument between Punkbuster and Irrational Games.

Area 51 is set in the U.S. government's most top-secret and secure facility located in the Nevada desert. Players take on the role of Lt. Nick Cross, a hazardous biological waste specialist sent to investigate. Read more for details, and a few screens..

A few days ago Ubisoft announced that it was working on a plan to defend itself against what it considers "a hostile takeover" from Electronic Arts. Today French financial newspaper La Tribune may have revealed more on the matter as it ran an article in which it claims that Ubisoft is having positive talks with Take Two and Activision to form a front against EA. Ubisoft President Yves Guillemot is also quoted as saying that he is working with the shareholders to ensure they act in the best interest of the company and stay on the same page as the Guillemot family.

1C Company and KDLab revealed today that they are working on an addon for last year's innovative RTS Perimeter. Scheduled for release in Russia Q1 2005, Perimeter: Emperor's Testament will feature all new & updated graphics, tons of new units and structures, a new soundtrack by the St. Petersburg Orchestra, and a total of 25 new missions. Until we get more details, enjoy the first 20 screens ...

Ubisoft and Sony Online Entertainment today announce that an EverQuest II character creation tool is available for players who want to introduce to the world of EverQuest II. This tool is free and can be downloaded from the official Everquest 2 website. The tool sizes 365 Mo and the languages available are English, French and German. Players will be able to create and save their own hero. Please note that a full version of EverQuest II (sold separately) is required to use the character.

Area 51 takes the player through eight massive levels within a clandestine government complex. Combining intense combat, exploration, adventure, discovery, and puzzle solving, the game blends graphic violence with science fiction. Further confirming earlier speculations, the official Area 51 website now has a "PC CD ROM" logo added to the list of platforms (hover over the blank space next to Xbox logo at the bottom right of the page), indictating that Midway's shooter is indeed coming to the PC.

Valve's SteamPowered website has been updated with details regarding yet another update for its Source SDK which adds SDK bot sample code, source files for HL2 SP maps, interface plugin to add bots to mods, bspzip tool, and fixed resource leak. Restart Steam to get the latest update. The HL2: DM level design contest is over, the winners maps will be included in the HL2: Deathmatch release, as well as two new weapons (Slam and Stunstick). Later this week there will be an update to the Half-Life SDK this week which most notably will include source files for six Half-Life 2 maps.