The ATI/AMD Cyber X Gaming Championships is coming to CES. The festival has lined up some major sponsors and there will be $600,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs over the course of the qualification tournaments and the championships. Highlights of the event include the $100,000 prize for the first place Counter-Strike team.

Midway Games announced today that Super Duper Sumos, the highly rated cartoon series from the DIC Kid's Network and the number one kids import from the UK, shipped today for the Game Boy Advance... Rockstar Games announced today that the Grand Theft Auto Double Pack for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system has shipped to retail stores throughout North America. The PlayStation 2 Double Pack will be in stores in Europe on October 24, 2003. The Grand Theft Auto Double Pack consists of the best-selling titles Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City...

Gusto Games is a new and enthusiastic start up development studio based in Warwickshire, will be moving this weekend to new premises in Oxfordshire. Their new address will be Gusto Games, Bloxham Mill, Barford, Bloxham, Banbury, OX15 4FF.

Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) and inXile entertainment today announced a North America distribution deal, commencing with inXile's first game in 2004 (known as "The Bard's Tale" outside of the U.S., final name in the U.S. pending trademark proceedings). Under terms of the contract, VU Games will distribute inXile's new original computer role-playing game (RPG) on multiple console platforms and the PC.

Handmark, publisher of software for Palm OS and Windows Mobile platforms for handheld devices, has signed a content publishing agreement with Sprint to provide games that can be downloaded wirelessly through PCS Vision to PCS Vision Smart Devices such as the new PCS Smart Device Treo 600 by Handspring. Currently eleven titles from Handmark will be available for purchase including Monopoly, Scrabble, Warfare Incorporated, Yahtzee, Battleship, MobileDB, and others. Titles will cost between $9.99 and $29.99 and once purchased will simply be added to the customer's PCS invoice.

Activision announced today that the company will be an exclusive sponsor of the 2003 Gravity Games and that NBC will use Activision's proprietary Tony Hawk's Underground game engine technology to illustrate the street and vert athlete performances during the October 12, October 19 and October 26 Gravity Games broadcasts.

ESPN Videogames today announced details of the ESPN Videogames Online Leagues for PlayStation 2 gamers who eagerly await the company's sports game lineup for the 2003-04 season. ESPN Videogames Online Leagues invite ESPN NFL Football, ESPN NBA Basketball, and ESPN College Hoops players to create and manage their own leagues with other sports gamers across the country. The leagues are now accessible at the ESPN Videgames' website by clicking on the 'PS2 Online Gaming' link. This feature can be accessed through any PC with an Internet connection.

After yesterdays news about Interplay sueing Vivendi, this is not really a surprise. Interplay Entertainment Corp. announced today it has terminated its distribution agreement with Vivendi Universal Games.

Game Live Events today announced their “2003 Fall College Tour.” Building on the overwhelming success of their 13-campus Spring Tour, attended by over 20,000 college gamers, the 17-stop Fall College tour begins on Friday, September 12th in New York, NY at Cornell University and runs through Monday, October 20th at the University of Southern California.

Sony Online Entertainment announced today that EverQuest: Lost Dungeons of Norrath, a new expansion for the incredibly popular PC MMORPG, EverQuest, is available on retail shelves today. THQ and Buena Vista a publishing label of Buena Vista Games today announced that Power Rangers Ninja Storm for Game Boy Advance and PC has shipped to retail.

Sony Online Entertainment Inc. today announced development agreements with Lodestone Games LLC and SolWorks to create original gaming content to be published by SOE. Lodestone and SolWorks will be creating two independent, as-yet unannounced games; further product information will be revealed at a later date.

Whiptail showing off Gangland, multiplayer Postal 2, Postal Classic & Uncut, Blade and Sword and RC Cars... For its debut appearance at ECTS, game publisher Whiptail Interactive will be calling on the heavy mob for first looks at its new game Gangland, due to launch in November this year. Developed by Danish gaming experts MediaMobsters, Gangland combines the best elements of real-time strategy, role-play and simulation games to deliver a menacingly fresh PC gaming experience. Launched in time for Christmas, Gangland is set to be a massive hit...

NDL, a developer of 3D graphics technology for the computer and video game industry, announced today that it has issued a publishing license of its Gamebryo 3D graphics engine and toolkit to Vivendi Universal Games. The agreement, which covers all major game platforms, will allow Vivendi Universal Games' development teams to create unique and compelling interactive content for the PC and video game console systems.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has sent a goodwill message to London Games Week and has praised the creativity of the games industry in general. His message comes in a week when nearly every major company has confirmed their participation in the event, set to take place in Earls Court in four weeks time.

The Mayor says in his message: "Trade shows and conferences like London Games Week have a major role to play in developing industry, creating an environment where deals can be done and new ideas are generated.

Crave Entertainment, a publisher of videogame entertainment, announced today that three new titles: Mojo!, eJay Clubworld and Butt Ugly Martians: Zoom or Doom! for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system have shipped to retailers.

GarageGames announced today it has signed an agreement to electronically publish titles from PomPom Games. The award winning UK developer is now going to have its games, Space Tripper and Mutant Storm added to the "Garage".

Expanding its diverse portfolio of licensed entertainment properties, Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. today announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with Archangel Studios to develop video games based upon its award-winning, computer-generated comic series, The Red Star. Currently under development with Acclaim Studios Austin for the next-generation gaming systems, The Red Star takes place in a parallel fantasy universe, in which a mythic empire based on the Soviet Union sets the landscape for an epic battle of militarized sorcery and monolithic technology.

Last April, Senior U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh ruled that computer and video games had "no conveyance of ideas, expression or anything else that could possibly amount to free speech" in a St. Louis County case that sought to limit children's access to mature video games. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying a "particularized message" is not required when it comes to the First Amendment. Read more for details ...

Buena Vista Games, Inc., the global interactive entertainment arm of The Walt Disney Company, today announced its new line-up of exciting PC and video game titles designed to rivet players of all ages to their gaming devices at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Leading the portfolio is the much-awaited TRON 2.0 for PC. The game's new high-speed multiplayer light cycle racing feature is debuting on the show floor at the company's booth, number 924, South Hall.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. is mulling a bid for the videogames business of Vivendi Universal SA, which the French media conglomerate has put up for sale to reduce its borrowings. Take-Two Interactive, based in New York, would make a bid for VU Games with financial partners, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The stereotype of video games as a children's-only pursuit is as outdated as a classic Pong console. Sure, teens still play them, but the first wave of gamers that grew up playing video games in the 1970s and 80s has now reached adulthood -- and many of these avid gamers have children of their own. As a result, millions of people today are playing, buying and even learning to create new games and other interactive entertainment products.

Entertainment software developer and publisher NovaLogic, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has signed a contract to add an additional 100 mbits/sec of bandwidth to the NovaWorld Games Network, increasing the quality of the service provided to users.

Strategy First Inc., worldwide publisher and developer of PC games, announced today that it is launching a new games division, Big City Games, which will publish top quality value priced software in the North American market.

Capcom today announced the release of Clock Tower 3 for the PS2. In this chilling mystery, an ordinary girl must unlock the mystery of her heritage and stop the evil powers that have enslaved her ancestors for generations. Clock Tower 3 promises to evoke fear with unnerving visuals and an equally intense storyline. Clock Tower 3 carries an “M” rating for mature audiences from the ESRB and is now available at retailers across North America... THQ and JAKKS Pacific today announced the release of their newest World Wrestling Entertainment licensed video game, WWE Crush Hour for the PS2 and GameCube. WWE Crush Hour takes the intensity, competitiveness and brute strength of the squared circle and drops it into the world of vehicular combat. The game is now available at retail outlets nationwide. SEGA officially announced today the release of "SEGA Sports World Series Baseball 2K3" for the PS2. "SEGA Sports World Series Baseball 2K3" launches with a host of gameplay and visual enhancements, including an ESPN telecast-style presentation, Hall of Fame legends, retro uniforms and ballparks, and new player moves and animations.

Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) today announced that it has obtained the exclusive publishing rights for the world-renowned "Hunter: The Reckoning" franchise. Under terms of the agreement, VU Games has assumed worldwide publishing and distribution responsibilities to future game releases based on the multi-year content license from White Wolf Publishing Inc. The publishing rights were purchased from Interplay Entertainment Corp.