SouthPeak Games, in co-operation with German distribution partner Flashpoint, announced its product line-up for this year’s Leipzig Games Convention, including its first entries into the PS3 and Wii markets, as well as an increased focus on handheld formats.

EA has signed the worldwide rights to create digital games based upon an array of Hasbro's intellectual properties, including Monopoly, Scrabble, Yahtzee, Nerf, Tonka and Littlest Pet Shop, to name a few, with the first games scheduled to launch in calendar year 2008.

A new pan-European games ratings initiative has been launched to make online gaming safer and to help boost parental confidence in the online games industry. The PEGI rating system is now to be expanded to include games playable online via consoles, PCs and mobiles.

Former EA and Black Box Games industry veterans announce the newly formed independent development studio Atomic Robot Games!

AI middleware provider Kynogon, and Deadline Games, known for Total Overdose and Chili Con Carnage, announced today that Kynapse would be used as the AI solution for their next generation engine.

Valve announced that Sid Meier's Railroads! ($19.95), as well as Railroad Tycoon II and Railroad Tycoon III now available for purchase on Steam, separately or, you can purchase all three titles as a package for $29.95. Golden oldie X-COM: Terror from the Deep is now available for purchase on Steam for $4.95.

Former Electronic Arts Canada, industry veterans announced today the formation of Jet Black Games, a video game development company that will focus on developing original and licensed intellectual properties for the Nintendo DS and Wii.

Electronic Arts plans to make an equity investment in Korea-based online gaming company, Neowiz Corporation, and expand the existing co-development and publishing relationship with that company.

EA announced that starting today the music from its best-selling games, from Madden to Need for Speed, will be available for purchase from the iTunes Store, including exclusive mixes, non-album cuts and previously unavailable international tracks.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston, who also worked on Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, has joined Big Huge Games to create a to-be-announced role-playing game.

Virgin Games and Game Domain International announce the completion of the world’s first tests on A World of My Own, a 3D Virtual PC games world platform, paving the way for a lucrative new market in the $25 billion games industry.

Zoo Tycoon developers Blue Fang Games announced that award winning game designer Steve Meretzky, known for creating The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is joining its team as Senior Designer.

Gathering of independent developers IDEA Games announce the launching of its own online distribution system, Sprocket. The first titles available from launch are the first two games of ALTAR Games' sci-fi trilogy - UFO: Aftermath and UFO: Aftershock, and Black Element Software's fantasy action game Shade: Wrath of Angels.

The Grand Final of the World Cyber Games concluded after four days of intense gaming, with Team USA bringing home the gold in Project Gotham Racing 3 on the X360, but the Grand Champion title for the World Cyber Games 2006 was awarded to Team Korea, who reclaims the title after four years.

Earlier this month Vivendi finally pinned down a release date for Scarface: The World Is Yours, currently set for Oct. 3, 2006. Hollywood writer David McKenna ("Blow," "American History X") wrote the script for Radical's movie adaptation, but has mixed feelings about Hollywood's dipping into the archives for games.

Check out the following new screens from IDEA Games' Games Convention 2006 lineup:

• Armed Assault - Screens
• Rock of Pariahs - Screens
• Fish Fillets 2 - Screens
• Alpha Prime - Screens
• UFO Afterlight - Screens

United States District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly ruled yesterday that the state of Illinois must pay the video game industry $510,528.64 in attorney's fees for its unconstitutional effort to enact a law banning the sale of violent video games.

Valve has announced that they are working around the clock to get all of the pieces of Episode Two ready to show at the Leipzig Games Convention. Valve will be not only be showing off Episode Two, but also Team Fortress 2, and Portal. If you're planning on being near Leipzig, Germany in late August, you are invited to drop by their area and take a look.

1C Company unveiled today the 7 titles to be shown at the Games Convention (GC) in August, 2006. The lineup spans multiple genres including a first-person shooter, real-time strategy, third-person stealth action and role-playing games.

For the first time, motion picture and video game makers will be able to use digital cameras to accurately capture and depict full-motion, photorealistic computer-generated characters and other imagery.

San Francisco-based Pearl Research published an 80-page Games Market in Korea study, where it forecasts the games market in South Korea will exceed $2.0 billion in 2007, driven by the fast growing online and mobile games market.

Kuma Reality Games announced today Assault on Iran, Pt. 3: Payback in Iraq, a video game simulating a realistic conflict between U.S. and Iranian forces over the development of nuclear arms. The newest chapter is a direct response to “Commander Bahman,” a game being developed by the Union of Islamic Student Societies.

Valve today announced a Source Engine licensing partnership with Kuma Reality Games, creators of KumaWar. Already in development, Kuma’s Source-based projects, including a comedic action title and the next generation of KumaWar, are targeted for release on the PC later this year.

Mayor Greg Nickels and the World Cyber Games Committee (WCGC) announced today that Seattle will host the 2007 World Cyber Games Grand Final. The mayor welcomed this premier event for the interactive video game industry to Seattle during a signing ceremony today at City Hall.

A survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates reveals 35% of American parents play computer and video games, out of which 80% claim that they play video games with their children, and two-thirds (66%) feel that playing games has brought their families closer together.