Amid surging Xbox sales and global business expansion, Robbie Bach, senior vice president of Microsoft and head of Microsoft’s Home and Entertainment Division, today announced a number of new executive appointments. Shane Kim, currently acting general manager of Microsoft Game Studios, has been named permanently to that position and will report to Peter Moore, corporate vice president. To create additional synergies between game content and marketing, Moore, in turn has been named head of worldwide content and marketing for Microsoft games and game products. Bach also announced that Mitchell (Mitch) Koch, corporate vice president, will lead Microsoft’s global retail sales efforts.

Hitman: Contracts delivers more action-packed and suspenseful missions, with a greater variety of ways to make the perfect hit and an increased arsenal of firearms and close-combat weapons. A new graphics engine showcases Hitman's 'work' in brutal detail and brings new locations to life. An improved control system and more gradual learning curve will ensure that the game is accessible to all aspiring hitmen. Hitman: Contracts is being developed by Io Interactive and will be available for PS2, Xbox, and PC in spring 2004.

Publisher Graphsim Entertainment and developer Slitherine announce a publishing agreement for the North American release of Spartan, a new turn-based strategy game from an award-winning developer of strategy classics. Read more for details or check the new cinematic trailer...

Players will be able to take the reins of their preferred team through European and World Championships. Over 15,000 real players are included within the game. Managers can buy and sell players, train their squads and develop match tactics - with matches portrayed in real-time through a detailed 3D engine.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. announced today that its Global Star publishing division will release Serious Sam: Next Encounter for the PlayStation2 and GameCube. Developed by Climax, the all new alien-blasting adventure will feature online play for up to eight players and two-player split screen action on the PlayStation 2, a four-player deathmatch option on the Nintendo GameCube, and two-player cooperative mode for both platforms. Read more for some new screens ..

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 :

• Far Cry - Trailer (2)
• NARC - Trailer
• Advent Rising - Trailer
• Ground Control 2: Operation Exodus - Trailer
• Unreal Championship 2 - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Tesseraction Games Inc. of Eugene, OR, producer of the hit naval action strategy game ENIGMA: THE RISING TIDE is sponsoring a PC computer war gaming conference and tournament. From 9am to 11pm March 20, 2004 at the Hilton hotel in Eugene, Oregon the local company will feature a multi-player game tournament with an array of prizes and panels on "modding" and PC game development.

The employees of Scion Studios have joined Epic Games in a move that doubles Epic's in-house development capacity. This will increase Epic's ability to develop multiple games, including those in its award-winning Unreal franchise, internally for both PC and console platforms.

"Alias" is a third-person action adventure video game that allows players to step into the role of the series’ lead character, Sydney Bristow, an agent for the CIA. Bristow must use her cunning, extensive knowledge of martial arts and array of high-tech gadgetry to accomplish dangerous missions. Read more for some new screens & 3 small trailers showing off Sydney's costumes & locations...

Stormregion, who have previously developed highly acclaimed S.W.I.N.E., made massive tanks a crucial element in this tactical combat action title set in World War II. Russian, German and Allied troops fight in three campaigns and more than 30 breath taking single player missions. Over a hundred authentic 3D vehicles are at disposal as well as a wide range of ground troops. read more to check the new screens and also check our Panzers preview posted earlier today!

The hotly-awaited, tactical multiplayer shooter, SÖLDNER – Secret Wars, will be available in the U.S. on the 4th of May and in Europe on the 27th of May”, Gerald Kossär, International Marketing Director, JoWooD Software Productions AG is pleased to announce. In order to steal the crown of this genre, the planned Open Beta, as well as the international marketing and PR campaign have made this date a strategic necessity. REad more for details, no specific date as to when this will kick off is available at the moment...

Taking the baize battles out of your living room and into the competitive online gaming arena, World Championship Snooker 2004 is the new player in Codemasters' best-selling, definitive snooker game series and will launch this summer for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. World Championship Snooker 2004 introduces an online competitive play mode on all platforms, allowing players to go head-to-head with a live opponent and play as any one of the 30 plus professional players.

'Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow' will bring back more of the single-player intrigue that made the original game a bestseller. With exciting new action scenes and a strong cinematic feel, the player will experience new and even more realistic surroundings. Building on Ubi Soft's strong commitment to online gaming, Pandora Tomorrow will the be the first stealth game ever to feature multiplayer online missions allowing several players to simultaneously share Sam Fisher's shadowy world of espionage. Read more for some new screens...

In SÖLDNER: Secret Wars the player takes command of one of these special teams. As Commander he leads the small high tech army consisting of soldiers, light armoured vehicles, helicopters and VTOLs to fulfill a wide variety of mission. The Simulation of a highly complex political system creates a dynamic campaign: each decision has direct impact on the flow of the game. Read more to check some new screens ...

Panzers takes you into the heady battles of World War II. Whether you play in towns with bullet-riddled buildings, bleak mountain landscapes or treacherous swamps - Panzers gives you real-time combat rampages in awesome 3D graphics. Experience the nerve-jangling thrill of strategic gaming - in Panzers! We got the chance to play with an early build, read more to find out how it went ...

What would James Bond do? That’s the question players will answer in every dramatic moment of James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, as the world’s greatest secret agent returns in his fifth interactive adventure under the EA GAMES brand. First, you will think like Bond, using espionage, tactical skills, and gadgets from the Q-Lab to analyze your situation. Then you will act like Bond, using his stylish physical skills, clever subterfuge, and bold personality to once again save the world.

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 :

• Judge Dredd vs. Death - Trailer
• Far Cry - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

THQ today announced that a code revealed in the Warner Bros. Pictures feature film "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed" unlocks an alternate ending in the GBA game of the same name and a mini-game in the PC version. The code, along with gameplay footage, appears on the silver screen as Scooby-Doo plays a GBA during the credits sequence.

Ubi Soft has released the single-player demo for Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. This demo features the full 'Paris-to-Nice train' mission wherre you your objective is to locate and question a man called Norman Soth. Read more for download links ...

Set in the 60s and using the Cold War as its inspiration, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater forces the player to adopt a number of new skills to survive in Snake's new jungle environment. Danger lurks everywhere as Snake explores the beautifully-realised forests, encampments and rivers, with guards patrolling key routes, dangerous animals to contend with, and the uneven terrain and noisy foliage making the silent approaches the Metal Gear hero is famed for virtually impossible. Read more for some new screens ...

KOEI is pleased to announce that Naval Ops: Commander will sail into the European harbours in June 2004. Naval Ops: Commander is set in an alternate reality where the powerful nations of Virshia have deployed an armada of "Superships" around the globe. Through Virshia's aggressive assault on the world's oceans, nations quickly fell while others still hang in the balance. In the game, players command a lone Tactical Battle Group committed to fighting the Virshian fleet.

Alpha Black Zero is a fast-paced mission based 3rd person tactical shooter with a gripping storyline to test both your fighting abilities and your intelligence. Dozens of different enemies, all possessing strong Artificial intelligence, will punish your mistakes across huge and challenging levels. We had a chance to play a press build, and were literally blown away ...

Take 2/Gathering have released the a new patch for their fantasy strategy game Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.30 and address several gameplay changes and fixes, unit balacing and plenty more. Read more for details and download links ...

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 :

• Ground Control II: Operation Exodus - Trailer
• X-Files: Resist Or Serve - Trailer
• Battlefield: Vietnam - Trailer
• Lagsters - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

NCSoft knows you all have questions about pre-orders, the how and when about getting into the beta and (yeah!) launch day. The following information answers your pre-order and beta questions and gives you an excellent timeline in regards to important dates to know - including the official launch day. Pre-order customers will be let in to the Beta in controlled groups (by the thousands) beginning March 22nd! Read more for details ...