Sammy Studios Inc. today announced the addition of Clinton Keith. Clinton comes to the company from Rockstar San Diego, the developer formerly known as Angel Studios, Inc., where he served as director/lead programmer. He joins Sammy Studios as lead tools programmer, working with teams currently creating the company’s first internally-developed video games in North America.

PlayGATE is contacting all former players to let them hear some great news- they have released a major update with new features, gameplay and vehicles AND starting Friday, December 13th you can come back and play for free! At approximately 1700 ET on Friday, December 13th, they will reactivate all accounts which were closed between June 6th 2001 and December 10th, 2002 for access to the game and forums. This does not apply to banned or special promotional accounts. On or before January 11th, 2003 you'll need to update your billing information in order to continue playing. We already have the latest patch available so read more for details and links where to grab it ...

French police raided Vivendi Universal's headquarters and other unspecified premises Thursday as part of a financial-accounts investigation, judicial and police sources said Thursday. The raid, by financial-division police, is part of a probe into potential irregularities in Vivendi's accounts when under the leadership of former chairman and chief executive Jean-Marie Messier, the sources said. A spokesman for the French media company has confirmed a search was being performed at Vivendi's headquarters and was related to the accounts investigation.

The action moves into high gear with the release of Activision, Inc.'s Rally Fusion: Race of Champions. Based on the Michelin Race of Champions, which is held annually in the Canary Islands, the game lets players take on the top racers from the world of motorsport with the ultimate goal of becoming the "Champion of Champions." Developed by Climax, Rally Fusion: Race of Champions for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system and Xbox video game system from Microsoft has been rated "E" (Everyone) by the ESRB and has a suggested retail price of $49.99.

MindComet, the industry leading new media solutions provider, today announced that it has designed and developed an online game in support of the Nextel/National Hockey League All-Star Challenge. The Nextel/NHL All-Star Challenge is a national shootout competition, taking place in 11 NHL team markets and through a national sweepstakes (U.S. residents only) over a three-month period. The competition will culminate at the 2003 NHL All-Star Weekend presented by Nextel in Sunrise, Fla., where one fan will have the opportunity to shoot against Tampa Bay Lightning star goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin for $250,000.

NVIDIA the worldwide leader in visual processing solutions, today announced a series of new corporate initiatives that will extend the Company's leadership position in the Linux market and ensure that NVIDIA graphics and multimedia processors continue to be the highest performing in the industry. As part of the Company's ongoing commitment to the Linux community, NVIDIA today revealed details of a technical support program for end users and professional customers; a new software driver package that includes performance enhancements and new features for NVIDIA's advanced graphics features, including NVIDIA's CineFX architecture delivered by NVIDIA's Unified Driver Architecture (UDA); and support for the latest PC technologies, including AGP 8X and OpenGL 1.4.

When Codemasters launches the PC edition of TOCA Race Driver early next year, players will see the circuit and cars ahead and to the sides thanks to its use of Matrox Surround Gaming, which enables the gameplay to be viewed across three linked monitors... Check out two photos of a sort of serving suggestion for how this would work and four triple-screen shots.

"Spyro 2: Season of Flame" tells the story of Spyro's return to the Dragon Realms where he is surprised to discover that a mysterious enemy has stolen the Fireflies, the source of all dragon firepower, including Spyro's. Now it is up to everyone's favorite purple dragon to save the Fireflies before it is too late! Does the purple little monster score or get scorched? Read more and find out!

Samurai Jack is a bold adventure show on Cartoon Network. In the distant past, an evil shape-shifting wizard named Aku brought destruction upon the land. As the citizens’ last hope, a young Jack is sent away to train in the various combat and philosophical arts to become a samurai warrior. When Samurai Jack returns to find the people of his town oppressed, his mother gives him his father’s magic sword. To free the people, Jack goes in search of Aku. A few new sword yielding screens for you to enjoy!

Fans who create game modifications (mods) based upon characters and elements in titles by LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC can now post their works on the Internet at LucasFiles. The new site, created by Lucas Fan Network (LFN), an independent collection of web sites dedicated to LucasArts and its games, is an exclusive and sanctioned online location offering a variety of mods inspired by LucasArts titles. The LucasFiles database also hosts unique fan produced content, levels, and an array of other media.

Sierra's Alex Rodberg has been spotted posting information about a new Tribes game at tribalwar.com forum. (thanks Blues). Here is the scoop:

I don't think any game can ever be T1 again. Even if we were to recreate T1 in painstaking detail, it wouldn't be as popular as before. Most of you are already past the learning curve, and what made it addictive was moving up that curve.

Looking forward, we must rely on our (and your) ability to discern what was fun and what wasn't about all the Tribes games (and even other games) and end up with a finished product that is both new and familiar at the same time.

I'm confident in the team we have assembled for this daunting task. I can't wait to introduce you to them so we can get fans involved in the process as early as possible. When? When we make the official announcement, sometime next year.

Electronic Arts Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Larry Probst said the video game maker could gain market share in the personal computer segment next year if new versions of its popular "Sim City" games continue to draw in players. The latest entry in the build-a-virtual-world series is "Sim City 4," and an online version that allows for Internet play is scheduled to be released next week. These two, along with "Command & Conquer: Generals," should drive market share gains, Probst said Wednesday at the UBS Warburg 30th Annual Media Week Conference. He added that the company should maintain its mid-20% market share on Playstation 2 and a mid- to high-teens share on Microsoft Corp.'s XBox and Nintendo's GameCube.

Offering gamers an online introduction to the game regarded by many as "the next generation Super Punch Out," Majesco today announced the launch of the official website of their over-the-top boxing title, Black & Bruised.

BioWare Corp. today announced the release of Witch Wake Part One: The Fields of Battle, the first of an upcoming series of new story-based game modules for the award-winning Dungeons & Dragons computer role-playing game Neverwinter Nights. Read more for details and links where to grab the mod.

Christian Antkow, Level Desiger @ id Software updated his .plan file with following announcement today:

We're looking to contract a sound designer to work on weapon sounds, impact sounds, monster sounds, world ambience, machinery, etc for our upcoming game, DOOM 3. Basically, you will be responsible for creating a lot of sounds that will be used in the game.

Find out more below!

Encore today announced that its Game Boy Advance version of Marvel's Daredevil has gone gold. The game is anticipated on store shelves in conjunction with the February 2003 premiere of the highly anticipated New Regency/ 20th Century Fox/Marvel Studios Daredevil movie starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. The "E" rated game -- which incorporates many elements of the feature film including its characters, costumes, and Hell's Kitchen, New York setting -- will retail for approximately $30.

Simon & Schuster Interactive announced today additional details of its next installment in the Outlaw series of sports games that is being developed by New Jersey-based Hypnotix Inc. "Outlaw Volleyball: Spike or Die" (shipping: June 2003; Rated: "RP" by the ESRB) for Xbox, will feature 10 courts, 16 characters, and will be the first volleyball game on Xbox Live. Check out the asselicious screens ..

Got Game Entertainment today announced that the massively multiplayer "DarkSpace" has shipped and is in retail stores now. The action-packed massively multiplayer strategy game set in space, puts players in command of a massive starship.

Wild Earth, which will be officially announced next month, is a departure from the sci-fi reputation of the studio. Wild Earth is set deep in Africa on the plains of the Serengeti, where the player takes the role of a photo-journalist on assignment for a fictional news magazine by the same name. Amazingly lifelike animation and immersive environments will make it a winner for all ages.

Playboy Enterprises today announced a global licensing deal with ARUSH Entertainment in conjunction with Groove Games to create, market and distribute a set of interactive simulation video games. The first Playboy- branded game, which will be playable on multiple platforms including PC, Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox consoles, is targeted to be in stores in 2004.

Wanadoo has signed an agreement with Nevrax, a developer of massively multiplayer online role playing games, covering the publication and operation of the new "Ryzom" game, beginning in late 2003. Building on the success of "Dark Age of Camelot," launched in January 2002, Wanadoo is gearing up to offer a new massively multiplayer online role playing game called "Ryzom." "Ryzom" is a third-generation 3D game that features a highly original poetic universe designed for the general public. Online gaming aficionados will discover innovative game mechanisms, along with sumptuous graphics.

Tecmo announced today that Controversial King Dennis Rodman has signed on to play the voice of Zack in the newest chapter of the million-selling "Dead or Alive" Series, "Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball." The first-ever "Sports Fantasy Simulation" video game featuring Zack and all the sexy fighting girls from "Dead or Alive 3" is coming to Xbox video game this January.

Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome is currently under development by Swedish-based Digital Illusions and is scheduled to be released in 2003 under the EA GAMES brand. The multiplayer-focused expansion pack will give players more of what they have grown accustomed to with the original BattleField 1942 title, including more maps, more vehicles, and more fighting forces.. Check out latest fact sheet below!

Revolt Games, developer of the forthcoming space simulator Homeplanet has registered the name 3MapGames as a trademark. From now on the spacesim Homeplanet, the futuristic first person shooter Neuro and all other games from this team will also be released under the new name.