Clint Eastwood is bringing the Dirty Harry franchise to video games and will lend his voice and likeness to reprise his internationally famous role of Inspector Harry Callahan. Additionally, Eastwood will consult on key creative aspects of the game design.

"The newly proposed violent video game legislation in California smacks of me-too politics in a vain effort for local politicians to garner some perceived moral high ground when clearly there is none to be had. Assemblyman Yee knows well that the IEMA member companies have just recently implemented nation-wide carding policies in an effort to inhibit the sale of M-rated games to minors, rendering redundant pieces of legislation wholly unnecessary and a frivolous and irresponsible waste of taxpayer resources. The bottom line on this matter is that retailers have made the public commitment to partner with parents, and quite frankly you simply cannot legislate sound parenting. We again welcome responsible parties interested in making a tangible difference on the issue to work with us, rather than pursue a legislative course proven unconstitutional time and again."

Ubisoft announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with DIC Entertainment, a leading children's entertainment company, to create videogames based on the new Trollz. The new Trollz are a stylish group of teen friends that grow up in a spectacular world of gnomes, ogres, dragons and magic. The exclusive, worldwide agreement includes interactive games based on the tween entertainment and lifestyle property for all existing game formats.

Computer and video game software sales set a new record in 2004, reaching $7.3 billion, according to final data compiled by the NPD Group. Halo 2, one of the best-selling titles of 2004, took in more revenue in its first day of sales than any movie has ever taken in its opening day. In addition, Nintendo sold over 1 million units of its new handheld game system, Nintendo DS, in North America by the end of 2004, a mark that took Apple's iPod 19 months to achieve.

According to The NPD Group Annual 2004 U.S. retail sales of video games, which includes portable and console hardware, software and accessories, saw sales of over $9.9 billion -- a decline of less than one percent when compared to $10 billion in Annual 2003. However, while dollar sales were down slightly, total industry unit sales were up 4 percent over the same period last year.

Reuters is reporting that U.S. video game sales rose 8 percent in 2004, despite a drop in sales in December due to widespread hardware (PS2/Xbox) shortages, analysts said on Friday. The Xbox outsold the PS2 slightly in the month, analysts said, but both consoles sold fewer units than they did in December 2003

Winners in 24 categories were announced tonight during the telecast of Spike TV "Video Game Awards 2004." Rockstar Games' "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" was the big winner of the second annual awards, taking home four "Vector Monkey" trophies. Read more for details and all award winners...

Multiple Video Game Awards 2004 nominee (Need for Speed: Underground 2), actress, covergirl and host Brooke Burke will telecast LIVE from the red carpet at Spike TV Video Game Awards 2004 pre-show festivities on Tuesday, December 14 (8:30 – 9:00 PM, ET). The pre-show immediately precedes the LIVE presentation of Spike TV’s Video Game Awards 2004 hosted by Snoop Dogg from 9:00-11:00 PM, ET.

Cutting through the ambiguity of the current industry-run ratings, Current Attractions has begun an objective and quantitative reporting on the Profanity, Sex, and Violence in today's hottest video game releases. With Current Attractions use of the proprietary PSVratings technology, parents will know exactly what to expect before they purchase video games containing potentially objectionable material for their children.

Spike TV today announced the categories, nominees and several performances scheduled for the 2nd annual Video Game Awards. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Halo 2 and Half-Life 2 top this year's nominees list with five nominations each.

Hip hop impresario and avid gamer Snoop Dogg brings the party to Spike TV as host of its second annual Video Game Awards to be telecast LIVE on Tuesday, December 14 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET) from Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, CA.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has signed an agreement with Digimask Ltd, the company behind the games technology that enables you to create real-life 3-D heads, that will literally change the face of video gaming forever. This summer use your Eye-Toy camera to stick yer ugly mug onto PS2 cameras. Read more for details ..

Who says video games are a waste of time? Certainly not those who will be competing for thousands of dollars in this year's V Games (www.thevgames.com), sponsored by Ziff Davis Media Group and EB Games. From March to October of 2004, 30 cities will host qualifying rounds of the 2004 V Games, the first ever live-action, console and PC based video game tournament. An estimated 30,000 people will compete in eight top video games nation-wide.

Cash prizes have been promised for top high-scores achieved during the course of the new year 2004. And the money is coming straight out of Robert Mruczek's own pocket - nearly $3,000 dollars in bounties. Mruczek, who is most well known as Twin Galaxies' Chief Referee, says: "I want to prime the pump and get players tackling old world records that have not been beat in some time. I think its good for the hobby."

Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp. today announced that total sales for the nine- week holiday period ended January 3, 2004 grew 24.4 percent to $544.4 million, up from $437.6 million for the same period a year ago. Comparable store sales increased by 2.5 percent for the nine-week period, outpacing the company's forecast. Read more for details ...

The first annual Spike TV "Video Game Awards" (VGAs), hosted by David Spade, were held last night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and revealed winners in sixteen wide-ranging video game categories. The two-hour fete will telecast on Spike TV this Thursday, December 4 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT).

The ATI/AMD Cyber X Gaming Championships is coming to CES. The festival has lined up some major sponsors and there will be $600,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs over the course of the qualification tournaments and the championships. Highlights of the event include the $100,000 prize for the first place Counter-Strike team.

Mad Catz Interactive announced today that the new, yet classically designed, fully featured RetroCON video game controller for the PlayStation2 will be available in stores the week of October 13, 2003 for suggested retail price of $24.99 U.S.

ESPN Videogames today announced details of the ESPN Videogames Online Leagues for PlayStation 2 gamers who eagerly await the company's sports game lineup for the 2003-04 season. ESPN Videogames Online Leagues invite ESPN NFL Football, ESPN NBA Basketball, and ESPN College Hoops players to create and manage their own leagues with other sports gamers across the country. The leagues are now accessible at the ESPN Videgames' website by clicking on the 'PS2 Online Gaming' link. This feature can be accessed through any PC with an Internet connection.

Electronic Arts is inviting Harry Potter fans to live out their dream of a Quidditch victory and compete in the first-ever Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup videogame tournament event. Videogame enthusiasts in the U.S. can enter the U.S. Tournament Sweepstakes at the official Quidditch World Cup website, or at any Toys R Us location. Eight lucky winners will be flown to compete in the U.S. finals, taking place at an undisclosed location in mid-November. There players will go head-to-head on the Nintendo GameCube playing the soon-to-be-released Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup videogame from Electronic Arts, which will ship under the EA GAMES brand.

Namco Hometek Inc. announced today that it has expanded its relationship with Hip Interactive Corp to license several of Namco's key video-game properties for the PC. Hip Interactive will develop and distribute PC versions of "kill.switch," "Extreme Force: Grant City Anti-Crime" (working title) and "PAC-MAN WORLD 2" in North America and Europe in 2004. As previously announced, Hip Interactive will be releasing another top Namco franchise, "Dead to Rights" for PC in North America and Europe in fall 2003.

Game Live Events today announced their “2003 Fall College Tour.” Building on the overwhelming success of their 13-campus Spring Tour, attended by over 20,000 college gamers, the 17-stop Fall College tour begins on Friday, September 12th in New York, NY at Cornell University and runs through Monday, October 20th at the University of Southern California.

Video games are no longer simply about getting the highest score or disgracing an opponent. They're also about immersing yourself in make-believe worlds you help fashion... No one understands that better than Electronic Arts Inc., the video game publisher that has evolved over two decades into an entertainment powerhouse as muscled as some of its game characters.

Nurve Networks LLC unveils what is undoubtedly the most unexpected kind of new video game system: one that users will build and program themselves.

Video games generate billions of dollars in revenue each year and game programming books occupy rows of bookstore shelf space. Video game development has made its way into college curriculums and entire game programming universities have emerged. But, video games run on advanced hardware, the design of which is a black art that few understand. For over 10 years, books by Computer Scientist and best-selling game development author Andre' LaMothe have taught generations of game developers to create today's cutting-edge video games. Now, his focus is changing from video game software to video game hardware with the unveiling of the XGameStation, a revolutionary new video game system that offers users what no PlayStation or XBOX can - knowledge.

The character made famous by Kurt Russell in "Escape From New York" is set to become a franchise in all media under the brand "The Snake Plissken Chronicles." Plissken has already been the pivotal presence in two films: the 1981 favorite and its 1996 sequel, "Escape From L.A." A series of deals by Russell, director John Carpenter and producer Debra Hill, -- who, as the company Snake World, jointly own the character rights -- has added video games, an anime movie, comic books, action figures and novelization tie-ins to the ways Plissken's story is being told (thanks HomeLan).