Sammy Studios, Inc. today announced that it has completed a management buyout from parent company Sammy Corporation of Tokyo, Japan. The private investment group led by John Rowe, president and chief operating officer of Sammy Studios, purchased all shares of the company as well as the rights to original video game properties being developed at the studio, including the upcoming console title Darkwatch.

Stronghold 2 will bring the the castle-sim and siege-warfare RTS series to life in glorious 3D. Stronghold 2 will also offer players a "castle-life" campaign, enhanced multiplayer capability and a new, innovative and exciting single player campaign that will be revealed in the months ahead. Check out these new screens ...

PopCap Games today announced the release of the PopCap Games Framework, the in-house development toolset used to create smash-hit titles such as "Bejeweled," "Bookworm," "Zuma," and other wildly popular casual computer games. The PopCap Games Framework is offered under an open source license and can be used free of charge by any developer for commercial or non-commercial use.

EA Europe today announced plans to co-publish Dead to Rights II, scheduled for release on the PS2, Xbox and on PC in summer 2005. Dead to Rights II marks the return of action-hero Jack Slate and his K-9 companion, Shadow. In this super-charged sequel, Jack and Shadow find themselves once again in the squalid, mean streets of Grant City, ensnared in a labyrinth of crime, corruption and betrayal.

SCAR, a brand new racing simulation licensed by Alfa Romeo, and developed by racing sim specialists, Milestone, creators of the Superbike series and Racing Evoluzione. SCAR, Squadra Corse Alfa Romeo, is a stunning racing simulation which combines both realistic car physics, and vibrant graphics together with classic Role Playing Game elements to become the first 'CARPG' ever developed.

Yes, today is the day to answer the call to save Earth and all of humankind in the tournament we've all been waiting for. Gamers have two weeks from today, 7th March, to register in what is the first stage of the Halo 2 Championship, hosted on the Xbox Live service. Registration closes on 20th March when eight winners will battle to win the title of UK Halo 2 Champion and, ultimately, the chance to take part in the Xbox Live Halo 2 Worldwide Finals in April.

Developer MAUS Software and publisher Strategy First are happy to announce the signing of the flight combat title Battle of Europe scheduled to fly into stores this spring. Read more for details ...

Epiphany Games is a new Australian game company that is currently working on a MMORPG game for the PC. They are now inviting Xbox gamers from around the world to participate in a survey to determine the viability of bringing a MMORPG to the next-generation of consoles, especially for the Xbox. For the month of March Epiphany Games has teamed up with AussieXbox homepage, Australia's very own Xbox community website to bring the survey to Xbox gamers across the world to try and get as much feedback as possible to determine the financial viability of an Xbox MMORPG.

Today at the Game Developers Conference, Microsoft Corp. announced new XNA software that will enable enhanced collaboration between content creators, programmers, management and quality-assurance staff members to speed the game production process. Based on the Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team System, the latest innovation of the company's flagship development platform, XNA Studio is an integrated, team-based development environment tailored for game production.

The latest Settlers game takes the franchise and pushes it to the next level with fully animated 3D technology and enhanced gameplay features,. The game will take the player to a medieval setting, to re-conquer the kingdom currently under the domination of an evil tyrant. While Heritage of Kings is not released yet in English territories, Blue Byte is already working on a "The Fog Realm" addon with new maps, new heroes, and editor.

Get ready to race at blazing speeds and experience adrenaline-filled, anti-gravity racing action. Wipeout Pure provides intense, hovercraft racing action as players choose from five different speed classes and race relentlessly around 16 futuristic, anti-gravity racing tracks.

Intense, free-roaming, off-road racing takes on a whole new meaning as gamers will be able to blaze their own trail, anytime, anywhere with ATV Offroad Fury Blazin' Trails for the PSP.

Battlestations: Midway is a new tactical multi-player game focusing on the naval and aerial battles of World War II leading up to one of the greatest naval victories of all time, the Battle of Midway, which saw the highly outnumbered US Naval and Air forces take on the might of the most powerful naval force in modern history: the Imperial Japanese Navy.

GMX Media are announcing the release of five new PC games for March 2005.. If you're into exploring new worlds, fighting realistic military battles, embarking on mysterious adventures or taking to the skies in some of the greatest flying machines know to man – then read on!

You are cast as irreverent mystic detective John Constantine and must embark on an investigation in a world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles. Caught up in a series of catastrophic events, it is imperative that you seek out and destroy pure evil - before peace on Earth is destroyed forever.

Only a few more weeks to go and Sony's PSP handheld will be released in North America. SCEA revealed the full list of titles that will be available on March 24, when it goes on sale. Read more for details ...

Machinima is animated film making utilizing real-time Virtual 3D Environments. This style of art uses pre-rendered graphic engines to streamline the production process. Machinima can be divided into two sub-genres based off of the methodology of production, scripting and puppeteering. In this week's editorial we look at how it all started...

Featuring 128 club teams, 86 international teams, nine international classic teams from the past, nine classic club teams from the past, seven league all-star teams, six international super teams and eight different stadiums, World Tour Soccer for the PSP provides gamers with the ultimate soccer experience.

This spring, 989 Sports will introduce the first, real, basketball simulation ever created for handheld entertainment system. NBA for the PSP will provide gamers with all the fast-breaks, precision passing, and above the rim action that fans have come to expect from their sport.

'Welcome to the Show.' This spring, baseball fans will be able to play America’s pastime anytime, anywhere with MLB for the PSP. Read more for details and screens ...

This spring, gamers can take their hockey game on the road and play anytime, anywhere with Gretzky NHL for the PSP handheld entertainment system. Officially licensed by the NHL and NHLPA, Gretzky NHL for the PSP features fast-paced skating, precision passing, bone-jarring checks and players that convey the power and emotion of their sport.

Featuring NBA legends, today's top stars, and original characters from past editions, NBA Street Vol 3 reaches new heights by making over-the-top, larger-than-life moves even bigger in this action-packed, arcade-style game. Customize your baller, build courts from the ground up, throw one down in an all-new dunk contest and go online to put your reputation to the test.

Atari has updated the official Driv3r website stating that while the PC edition is due out in stores March 18th, there is also a Driv3r demo "coming soon." Driv3r is an action-packed driving adventure game that stays true to its roots, incorporating the cinematic gameplay and gritty street crime of its predecessors with ground-breaking graphics and three mammoth, wide-open city environments: Miami, Florida; Nice, France; and Istanbul, Turkey. Of course we will have it available on our fileserver network when it's released.

After more than a year of development, countless fixes, one new game mode, five public betas, hundreds of tweaks and several new features, Unknown Worlds has finally released the final version of Natural Selection 3.0. Read more for details and download links for the Windows client and dedicated server files ...