EA shipped The Sims 2 Open for Business to retailers around the globe today. The Sims 2 Open for Business allows players to access a whole new type of gameplay that takes Sims out of their homes, and allows them to flourish at their dream business.

EA announced today that The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II has shipped to retailers nationwide and will be in stores on March 2, 2006. This real-time strategy game offers the chance to experience Middle-earth in a way you have never seen.

CDV has released the first patch for Metropolis' SkiSpringen Winter 2006, bringing your German retail game to v1.18 and fixing localization issues and SSE problems.

Sierra has shipped SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate, the first expansion pack for SWAT 4, to retail stores this week for the PC.

INgrooves today announced it has licensed 28 hip-hop and electronic songs from its catalogue to Capcom for Final Fight: Streetwise and will produce and digitally publish the game soundtrack. Final Fight: Streetwise calls for players to use their street smarts and powerful fighting skills to survive the back alleys of Metro City.

Chibi-Robo is a gift to a little girl whose father wants her to have the best birthday ever. Chibi-Robo isn't just a toy, though. He's a household helper whose sole task is to bring happiness to his family. Chibi is only 3 inches tall, but he's capable of some impressive feats. Chibi-Robo!: Plug Into Adventure sweeps its way across Europe on the 26th May 2006.

Far Cry Instincts Predator includes two games in one – all new Far Cry Instincts Predator content, as well as the original Far Cry Instincts.

Battlefront announced today that Hubert Cater's grand strategy title Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg is now available for pre-order. Combining the ease of play, accessibility and addictive gameplay of the original, Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg adds tons of new features including many player submitted suggestions.

This third person action/RPG is set in the post-apocalyptic environment full of menacing mysteries and unfriendly inhabitants. Explore the new world using your heavy truck, your ultimate shelter, armor and a means to earn your living. The upgrades of your heavy truck will pave the road to your victories in truck battles.

Paramount is proud to reissue The Godfather DVD collection on March 21 with an exclusive bonus disc featuring 22 minutes of footage chronicling the making of EA's The Godfather The Game videogame for a limited time.

A mighty race, now extinct, has left behind relics of their once-powerful warrior culture. Now bounty hunters from across the galaxy are racing against each other to lay claim to these relics to harness their power for themselves.

Tales of Legendia will offer fantastic 3D graphics, dynamic battle scenes and an emotionally-charged storyline. Additionally, Tales of Legendia features a unique cast of characters designed by Kazuto Nakazawa, the Japanese artist acclaimed for his amazing animation sequences in Kill Bill: Vol. 1.

An article on the Japanese Sankei website has a quote from an unnamed Sony spokesperson that possible problems with the mass production of the Blu-ray drive could delay the PS3 launch. "The highest quality picture is vital to the PS3. There is a possibility of delay if delivery of parts is delayed." If that delay occurs, the new launch would happen in October, to take advantage of the holiday season. Delay rumors have been rampant since Wall Street stock-brokerage firm Merrill Lynch speculated the new console wouldn't launch before the end of the year.

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

• Timeshift [Xbox/X360/PC] - Reverse Time Trailer
• Darkfall - Trailer
• Generation of Chaos [PSP] - Trailer #2
• Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends - Trailer #3
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

People who have picked up their RF Online retail copy may have noticed that the manual has an ad for a yet-unannounced Codemasters game, Hasbro's Micro Machines V4. After a four-year hiatus and a move from Atari back to its original publisher, Micro Machines V4 promises to bring its own hilarious brand of mini multiplayer madness. Codemasters informed TVG that an official announcement, with more details, is due at the end of the week.

Originally released back in the '80s, Hudson Soft's Bomberman has been a classic ever since, with only minor changes made to the formula in subsequent iterations. Now Hudson is going to throw it all overboard and breathe new life into the franchise by bringing it to the Xbox 360, with multiplayer support and even a first-person view mode.

UberSoldier is a high-tech first-person 3D shooter, which takes place in an alternate universe where the fascist Germany won WW II. CDV will release a one-mission singleplayer demo (420mb), replacing the current Russian demo, on Wednesday at 9AM PST (6PM Euro time), which we will have available on our fileserver as soon as it's released. In the demo, you need to rescue a resistance leader being held by undead German fascists. Four of the weapons from the final are available, the STG 44 Machine Gun, MP40 Machine Pistol, Luger Pistol, and Panzerschreck bazooka.

Entitled 'The Stetchkov Syndicate', the expansion pack brings a host of new levels, weapons and enhancements to the highly rated SWAT 4. Vivendi has released the SDK for the expansion pack allowing the mod community to make its own content.

Join the famous CSI team in Las Vegas and investigate five all-new cases using the latest forensic science. Work along side Grissom, Katherine, and the entire cast as you utilize the latest crime-solving equipment.

Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers builds upon the ground-breaking, genre-blending game play of the original, integrating an all new robust multiplayer system, player-controlled coalition forces, mechanized units and enhanced character abilities and advanced enemy A.I.

SCEA's God of War and Shadow of the Colossus lead the list of nominated games for the 6th annual Game Developers Choice Awards, receiving six and five nominations, respectively. Guitar Hero, Project Gotham Racing 3 and Psychonauts follow close behind with three nods.

In Birth of America you control one of the major contenders in French & Indian Wars, and the War of the American Independence, trying to achieve military and political victory. This mini patch fixes some NVidia crashes, tutorial bugs, as few scenarios fixes and other tweaks.

P.O.D. band members will challenge lucky fans in the latest Xbox Live Game with Fame session. Fans that are interested in the chance to challenge P.O.D. in Tony Hawk's American Wasteland on Friday, March 3 must fill out an entry form by 6:00 p.m. ET on March 2 to enter to play the band.

The San Fransisco Chronicle reports that Sony is selling off its mall/movie complex Metreon in downtown SF. The 300,000-square-foot Metreon building is being acquired by Shopping mall developer the Westfield Group and real estate company Forest City Enterprises for an undisclosed sum, although industry analyst estimate it is worth around 70million dollar. The Metreon never really took off the way Sony wanted, and in light of reviewing its corporate strategy it decided to focus more on electronics, entertainment and games.

Microsoft today announced the lineup for the Windows Vista operating system, scheduled for release later this year. Vista will bring clarity to accomplishing everyday tasks, instantly let you find what you want, enjoy the latest in entertainment, improved safety of personal information, stay connected at home or on the go, and help ensure PCs are up-to-date, more secure and running smoothly.