Budding game designers everywhere prepare to create the most advanced stories and fantastic new game worlds ever! Agetec announces that RPG Maker 3, the latest in the Designer Series, will ship to North American retailers on September 6, 2005.

Atari and Frontier Developments announced the betatest for the upcoming RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Wild! expansion. You must already own RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 to participate. Sign-ups are now available, so dont delay! The beta test will start the first week of September.

In Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 3, players will embody Captain Scott Mitchell as he commands the Ghosts and Special Forces allies equipped with the IWS in the quest to save the president of the United States, recover stolen nuclear codes and eliminate a vicious band of renegade soldiers hell-bent on unleashing catastrophe.

SSX On Tour features all-new player customization that gives you the chance to join The Tour. SSX On Tour is packed with all-new highly detailed tracks, new stylish player customization options, new monster tricks, and multiplayer options.

Playlogic and DC Studios today announced the signing of a worldwide publishing agreement for State of Emergency 2 on PS2, planned for release in the Q4 2005. State of Emergency 2 takes place 10 years after the original and has Spanky, Bull and MacNeill again up against the Corporation. This time, they not only have access to guns but also - for the first time - helicopters, speedboats, Tanks and APCs and new team members.

VU Games today announced development of Sierra Entertainment's Caesar IV, scheduled for release in 2006. Caesar IV takes the city-building genre into the 21st century, with new gameplay and features, and a cutting edge 3D graphics engine developed specifically for the title.

The countdown has begun to the release of '24: The Game' on PS2. Set to become the biggest action adventure game of the year, '24: The Game' lets gamers take control and live a 'brand new day' in the life of Jack Bauer and the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU). In this first dev diary SCEE Cambridge's Mark tells us what is it like to work with Hollywood celebrities.

Rush for Berlin is a tactical real time strategy game, set on the European battlefields of World War II, during 1944-45. The player's goal; to capture the German capital, as either the British/US/French alliance or the Red army of the Soviet Union.

Emergent Game Technologies and NDL have merged.  The combined company, Emergent Game Technologies, will deliver the most comprehensive and innovative tools and technologies that game developers need to create better games on time and on budget. 

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault features a deeper single-player experience, a brand new fifth race – The Imperial Guard – and even more intense Dawn of War action. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault is based on the world of Warhammer 40,000 - the dark, futuristic, fantasy universe from Games Workshop.

2K Sports today announced details regarding the professional poker player lineup and world class poker venues found in the World Poker Tour video game, based on the highly-popular television series of the same name. This combination of world-class venues coupled with real pros, brings players authenticity and realism that can only be found in World Poker Tour.

Gamers will delve into a more mature, consistent fantasy universe that will appeal to fans of all fantasy genres. Heroes of Might & Magic V will benefit from the features and characteristics that established the success of the initial saga while offering a wealth of innovations such as a highly immersive scenario, a variety of appealing factions, modern 3D graphics, a revolutionary tactical combat system, and a story-based campaign mode.

Announced earlier this year, DOFUS is a Tactical MMORPG which means players evolve in a real time universe, but when they fight against monsters or against other players, action is turn-based, with specific number of actions each turn. ANKAMA Studio announced today that DOFUS will launch September 1, 2005.

Koch Media and Monte Cristo announced their partnership to release World Forces: War on Terror on PC under the Deep Silver brand. World Forces: War on Terror is a tactical, arcade style RTS, which is set in the very near future, utilizing the modern weaponry of tomorrow.

Mixing role-playing game with real-time strategy, Heroes of Annihilated Empires delivers you a new experience and unique gameplay, where you can feel yourself the Hero of a legendary epic tale. This time it's not about units, it's about armies with thousands of soldiers that entrust their fate in your hands.

dtp will publish the WWII Stealth Shooter Sabotage. Developed by the German team Replay Studios, Sabotage features Résistance fighter and MI6 agent Violette Summer (based on the real historic Violette Szabo), who has to infiltrate German military camps in France, Poland and Germany during the war and sabotate them, kill high Nazi officers, rescue civilian hostages or solve other missions. The game will be out in the German speaking countries in fall 2006.

Check out the following new screens from Jowood's 2005 Leipzig Game Convention lineup:

• Gothic 3 - Screens
• Ski Racing 2006 - Screens
• Spellforce 2 - Screens & Trailer

Another day, another batch of game trailers were released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• STACKED with Daniel Negreanu - Maniacs Trailer
• NHL 06 - Faces Trailer
• Pro Evolution Soccer 5 - GC 2005 Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

The acclaimed TOCA series will return with every element of motorsport for real in TOCA Race Driver 3. Race drivers will be competing in a massive variety of the world's most aggressive motorsports, complete with explosive damage effects, head-to-head online multiplayer racing and a game engine rebuilt for a greater degree of simulation.

Konami today announced that Suikoden Tactics for the PS 2 will be available in November 2005. Suikoden Tactics is set before, during and after the events of Suikoden IV and the game follows the adventures of a young new hero, Kyril as he uncovers the dark secrets behind the magical Rune Cannons.

Bethesda announced today that actress Lynda Carter will lend her voice talents to the award-winning videogame, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Developed for both the Xbox 360 and PC platforms, Oblivion is one of the year's most highly-anticipated games and sequel to the best-selling role playing game of 2002, Morrowind.

Groove Games today announced its agreement with Universal Studios to publish a video game based on the recent horror film, George A. Romero's Land of the Dead. Developed by Brainbox Games and using the Unreal Engine, the FPS title will feature zombies, frightening effects, and key environments seen in the film. The game is slated for an October 2005 release.

Dutch publisher Lighthouse Interactive today announced that they have signed a deal to publish Vertex4's upcoming RTS PC game, SunAge. The deal will see Lighthouse publishing the title throughout all territories within Europe as well as Russia.

Activision has inked award-winning film and television composer Graeme Revell to score the soundtracks for Call of Duty 2 (X360/PC) and Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (NGC/PS2/Xbox). Revell's credits include films such as Sin City, Chronicles of Riddick, The Insider and The Saint.

Today at the German Games Convention, Microsoft revealed that consumers can get their hands on the Xbox 360 for as little as $299.99 starting this holiday season. The $299 version will come with a wired controller but will not have the 20-gigabyte hard-disc drive, wireless controller, headset, Ethernet cable and wireless television remote control included in the $399 version.