This is not a drill. KOEI announced today, Naval Ops: Warship Gunner, the real-time naval action game is prepared to ship this Tuesday June 24, 2003. Consumers can still pre-order the title at gamestop.com, ebgames.com, and amazon.com. The title is available exclusively for the PlayStation2. Read more for details ...

S2 Games and iGames Publishing announce the debut of the beast horde into the current beta testing phase for Savage: The Battle for Newerth ; the much anticipated, first-ever real-time-strategy-shooter (RTSS). Participants in the beta test can now choose to fight on the side of man, equipped with technology and science, or on the side of the beast horde, armed with the forces of magic and nature. Savage: The Battle for Newerth is due to ship later this summer.

Thrustmaster announces co-development agreement with leading game publisher Empire Interactive Europe Ltd. regarding its racing wheel and light gun for Xbox and the awaited game “Starsky & Hutch” (Xbox version) which is to be released. Read more for details ...

Stake boasts a deep action combat experience, intriguing characters and superior graphics. This game represents the essential elements of a fighting game but goes beyond that with multiple power-up weapons, lots of collectable items, insane combo attacks, special tricks, secret characters, inspiring graphics, 3-D isometric camera views, exciting locations and multiple multi-player modes. Sound like it could be good!? Read more and find out if it actually IS.

ESPN Videogames today, at a press conference at the ESPN Zone, announced the signing of Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive tackle and Super Bowl champ Warren Sapp to serve as the official spokesperson and cover athlete for "ESPN NFL Football." Read more for details ...

Following the phenomenally successful European launch of its Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME and subsequent booster pak, Konami of Europe has announced that the latest booster pak – subtitled Metal Raiders – will be launched across Europe in July.. More about it below!

Formula One 2003 is the latest installment in Sony Computer Entertainments long-standing series of outstanding games, based on the FIA Formula One World Championship. Since its first release in 1996 (under the Psygnosis label), every one of the 7 Formula One releases has been the highest-selling and most successful of all Formula One based-games across the world. Read more for a fresh batch of screens and an ingame action trailer (thanks ToTheGame)!

The most talked-about game of the year took a major step towards retail availability as AGETEC, Inc. today announced that Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color for the PlayStation2 has gone gold. Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color is on schedule to ship nationwide on June 24. If you are like me, and never heard of this game, read more for details ...

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is pleased to announce the continuation of the multi-million selling Formula One series. The only game to be officially licensed by Formula One Administration Ltd, FORMULA ONE 2003 will be released in July this year. Benefiting from a brand new deal signed with Formula One Administration Ltd, the FORMULA ONE franchise will now be exclusive to SCEE and to PlayStation2 for the next four years, ensuring unparalleled accuracy and the closest experience to being an F1 driver you'll get on any platform.

Continuing its close partnership with the prestigious Prancing Horse-brand automaker and its history of unique and innovative accessories, Thrustmaster is thrilled to announce the release of the Enzo Force Feedback Racing Wheel. Bringing the power and precision of the Enzo Ferrari, Ferrari's mechanical and technological pinnacle, the Enzo Force Feedback Racing Wheel is compatible with all PlayStation 2 and PC games for maximum versatility and enjoyment.

Enter the world of urban street racing and high performance tuner cars with the latest title in the hit Need for Speed series: Need for Speed Underground. Take on today’s most popular tuner cars from Mitsubishi Motors, Subaru, Toyota and many more, building the ultimate street machine by earning cash to pay for custom body kits and a host of licensed car performance mods. But just creating a custom street racing machine will not get you to the top; it takes a certain amount of attitude and razor sharp driving skills to compete in the tough world of urban racing. Check out the new screens!

One of the most popular video game franchises ever created goes online as THQ releases "Tetris Worlds Live" exclusively for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft. Compatible with Xbox Live, Microsoft's online gaming arena, "Tetris Worlds Live" brings fans across the globe the opportunity to experience the addictive, block-dropping mayhem synonymous with the Tetris brand in online competition.

Randy Pitchford @ Gearbox Software posted up following news in his latest .plan file (were you also find all information):

Are you hardcore? Are you in the Dallas area? Play Halo PC on-line before the rest of the world! Get your name in the Halo PC credits!

We need another group of local, internal testers for Halo PC.

If you contacted us before but were not selected, please feel free to try again this time.

Also, if you were a tester with us before and want to do it again, please remind us so we can put you on a preferred list (don't lie, we'll cross reference the tester lists).

The contact e-mail address this time is: kristy@gearboxsoftware.com.

Please read all of the information below before e-mailing - we'll automatically reject inquiries that don't meet the requirements and supply the necessary information.

Space Empires: Starfury is Malfador Machination's bold new game which take players, first-person, into the Space Empires Universe... For those folks who have been looking forward to preordering, today is the day. Shrapnel Games will begin to take preorders on Space Empires: Starfury. As is usually the case, those who take advantage of preordering will receive $5.00 off the purchase price. This preorder special will be effect until July 15th... Find out more about this game below, includes new screens aswell!

Viacom's digital entertainment unit, Simon & Schuster Interactive and Sumthing Else Musicworks announced today that the soundtrack for the highly anticipated Xbox game "Outlaw Volleyball" will be shipping in early July 2003. Executive Produced by music veteran Nile Rodgers (Madonna "Like A Virgin," Duran Duran "The Reflex," and many others), the soundtrack will feature fresh, new artists such as Diffuser, Off By One, and Warrior (Shipping: July 8).

Last November Shrapnel Games and ProSimCo released Captain Patrick Proctor's company-level ultra-realistic wargame, ATF: Armored Task Force. The game was met with a bevy of accolades but the good Captain wasn't content to rest on his laurels. He and his crew have been steadily working to make the best even better, and to that end fans (both old and yet to be made) of ATF should hunker down for the barrage of gaming greatness that's about to head their way... Read more for all details & download links..

Prepare to blast into the heart of galactic evil as Activision, Inc.’s Star Trek Elite Force II has gone gold and is headed to retail. Set in the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe, players take command as head of the elite Hazard Team in this heart-pounding first person action game. Gamers will arm themselves with an impressive array of advanced weaponry as they hack, battle and vaporize a relentless onslaught of enemies including hordes of nightmarish creatures, new never-before-seen alien species and familiar franchise staples such as the Borg and Romulans. Developed by Ritual Entertainment, Star Trek Elite Force II and carries a 16+ PEGI rating and a suggested retail price of £39.99. The title is scheduled for release later this month.

Nokia Corp. is aiming its N-Gage gaming console at a different and potentially larger market than that of the likes of Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s GameBoy, the head of the Finnish company's entertainment and media arm said Wednesday.

"GameBoy is for 10-year-olds. If you're 20 or 25 years old, it's probably not a good idea to draw a GameBoy out of your pocket on a Friday night in a public space," Ilkka Raiskinen said.

Raiskinen said this older audience, targeted by Nokia's hand-held game-and- cellphone-in-one, presents a "bigger opportunity."

Evil Avatar dug up some Half-Life 2 news from Seattle Bizjournals, were product manager David Hufford from Microsoft Xbox group says "As of now, Half-Life 2 is not going to be on the Xbox... Here is a small clip:

Raisys, who owns Microsoft stock, expressed disappointment that the combat game Halo 2, the sequel to one of Microsoft's few exclusive smash hits, won't be available for the holiday season. Halo 2 isn't expected to be available until March 2004.

In addition, Hufford acknowledged that another anticipated combat game sequel, Half-Life 2, made by Seattle game developer Valve Software, won't be available for the Xbox as had been previously announced.

"As of now, Half-Life 2 is not going to be on the Xbox," he said. "Valve is sending us mixed messages on that."

CDV created a special info brochure about No Man´s Land for their guests at the E3, and it was very successful. This is why they now offering this brochure for download. It's a zipped PDF file about 7MB in size. Find out anything and everything about No Man´s Land. You'll find in-depth information about the multiplayer features as well as descriptions of the key characters. Everything is finely portrayed in this brochure. Get it here...

Another part of the PlayStation 3 jigsaw puzzle slotted into place today, as Sony announced a partnership with Elpida Memory to supply the Rambus-based memory technology for the console. Japanese firm Elpida is a subsidiary of NEC and Hitachi, and specialises (as the name suggests) in various RAM technologies. The chips it will be supply for Sony are based on the Rambus Yellowstone technology.

THQ today announced that it will publish LEGO Interactive titles for the Game Boy Advance worldwide. THQ will be developing and publishing titles based on the LEGO universe, including Drome Racers and Bionicle. Drome Racers, the first title under the multi-title exclusive publishing agreement, is scheduled to ship later this month.

Activision has released two new movies from Ritual and Activision's upcoming first person shooter Star Trek: Elite Force II. One shows the game's intro movie while the other features multiplayer gameplay (thanks HomeLan). Read more for download links ...

Tri Synergy and Ascaron Entertainment announced that Port Royale, the empire-building, real-time strategy PC game, which allows players to become traders, buccaneers or pirates, has shipped in the U.S. Port Royale introduces gaming fans to the excitement of the lifestyles and civilizations of the 16th and 17th century, and immerses gamers in the historical rivalries and fragile relationships commonly held between yesteryear’s village commoners.

Three high profile veterans of the computer games industry are joining forces at Real Time Worlds, the Scottish based games development studio. David Jones, creator of Lemmings and the infamous Grand Theft Auto franchises has joined forces with Ian Hetherington, former Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and founder of Psygnosis, and Tony Harman the former Director of Development and Acquisition at Nintendo of America. The three industry veterans have united to back Jones' latest original concepts and technologies. They are planning to utilise their unique distribution experience to maximize the revenue potential for Real Time Worlds products now in development.