SEGA of America, Inc. announced today that "SEGA Sports NHL 2K3" will be online for the Xbox. Expanding upon the company's online roster of games for the new next-generation consoles, "SEGA Sports NHL 2K3" marks the ninth online game that SEGA will deliver this year allowing gamers to play online head-to-head against friends (or foes!) across the country. With the most experience in online console gaming, SEGA will deliver more online console games than any other company in 2002. Additionally, SEGA is the first and only company to deliver online content to all three of the new consoles including PlayStation2, the Xbox and GameCube.

Strategy First announced today that they have begun accepting people for the closed beta of their 3D Real Time Tactical game, Nexagon: The Pit. "At the turn of the fourth millennium, a brave decision is made regarding the treatment of prisoners, one that will supply our galaxy with an extraordinary new form of entertainment…a chance to fight for freedom in the most compelling tournament of all time…the NEXAGON!" Sounds cool, doesn’t it? Find out for yourself by joining the beta. Follow this link and Good Luck! (Only a selected few will make the cut so act NOW!)

The world's favorite plumber has returned with a bang! During its first 10 days of availability, Super Mario Sunshine for Nintendo GameCube is already a smash hit, selling through more than 350,000 games. This is a total not achieved by any competitor, including Xbox's popular Halo or Playstation 2's Grand Theft Auto 3 until a month or more on store shelves.

Fans of the mega smash hit Cossacks and its add-on Cossacks – The Art of War are in for a treat this October, when CDV releases its greatest expansion pack to date: Cossacks – Back to War. Best of all, gamers will not need an original copy of the game as Back to War will either run as a standalone title, or integrate itself into players’ current Cossacks configuration. Read more below for Features and NEW Screens!

Joacim Jacobsson Senior Programmer @ GRIN Inc. tossed up some information on the official Bandits forum about the release of a public 'Bandits: Phoenix Rising' demo. Here is the clip:

Well, the demo is going trough some testing at GameSpy right now to check that arcade intergration is done properly (witch it of course is...). So the demo should be zipping around out there on the net by friday boys and girls (girls? did someone say girls?). "It will be ready by friday!"

Update: I just noticed this posting from Joacim Jacobsson.. I think you will be happy to know that I have just finished building the BANDITS: Poenix Rising GOLD MASTER..

EA and DICE have just released the new Battlefield 1942 v1.1 demo which fixes a number of issues including the 60hz bug and support for All-Seeing-Eye amongst other things. If you run a BF1942 server, here is the 1.1 release of the dedicated server files. This is a full new version, not a patch. Read more for details and links where to grab it ..

With one of the most outstanding games of 2002, Ubi Soft is ready to lead the stealth action genre – one of the major categories of video games. Straight from Ubi Soft’s development studio in Montreal, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell adds a new award to its long list after being named Overall Best Game of ECTS 2002 - Europe’s premier trade show for interactive entertainment, before all console products.

Gigex has just put up access to downloads of a demo for Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom, BreakAway and Impressions Games' now-gold isometric strategy/building game set in China. According to Gigex, "The demo includes six tutorial missions set in the ancient Xia dynasty in medieval China, three single-player scenarios set in the Shang dynasty, and one multiplayer mission." The demo is a 130 MB download (Thanks Blues).

Got Game Entertainment today announced an agreement with PAN Vision for North American publishing rights to "Adam Blaster: Atomic Enforcer," a third person, real-time 3D action/adventure for the PC. The title is expected to ship in November 2002.

Crash is a fast-paced, furious and fun step into the world of classic cars and their subsequent destruction. Climb into a Hot Rod, Muscle Car or Performance Car and rip it apart at the expense of your opponents. No engine tweaking, tyre balancing or pit stops, just glorious mayhem in the cars of your dreams. Get out there and smash them to pieces.

Duke Nukem, videogame’s leading man, is blasting and stomping his way on to the Game Boy Advance. Alien scientists have taken control of the top-secret Area 51 military base, and are plotting to overthrow Earth! The fate of the world depends on Duke’s ability to end their deadly mission. Armed with alien-busting weapons, his kick-butt attitude, and using the alien's own transporters, Duke takes the battle to four unique locations around the world. Oh, and he rescues a few babes along the way. Hail to the king, baby!

NVIDIA Corporation, the worldwide leader in visual processing solutions, today announced the availability of the NVIDIA Detonator 40 unified drivers for the Company's award-winning suite of desktop, mobile and workstation Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). Detonator 40 delivers a robust suite of software applications designed to extend and enhance the visual computing experience and gives users more control over their environment then ever before.

NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. of DEI Racing will become the official cover athlete for the EA SPORTS franchise NASCAR Thunder 2003. Dale Jr. also contributed to the development of the game and his likeness will appear on all NASCAR Thunder 2003 packaging and merchandising.

Avault today reports that CDV Software Entertainment will release a demo of BREED at the beginning of October. The free download will contain one single-player mission and a tutorial. BREED is a science-fiction shooter with tactical elements. (Our latest screens HERE)

Shacknews today got their hands on the Project Nomads English Demo. The demo is 119 MB to download. Try out this high-flying 3D action role-playing strategy game from Radon Labs. The demo features a tutorial and the first two missions of the full game.

Divine Divinity has gone gold in the UK, and will be in a store near you on the 13th September. This EPIC RPG, has been a long time in development, but will be worth its weight in… (guess what… GOLD). Features and 4 new GOLD screens below!

Update: Divine Divinity also got a US release date set to September 27 (its GOLD worldwide)

Bandai Co. plans to develop games for Nintendo Co.'s GameCube video-game console, the first titles from Japan's largest toymaker specifically designed for the Kyoto-based company's new game machine. The software will go on sale in Japan in November, Nintendo said in a news release distributed to reporters in Osaka. Nintendo will handle distribution of the game.

Today we have some screens from the next Age in the upcoming game, Myst III: Exile for Xbox and PS2 -- the "Amateria Cavern." Each Age in Myst III: Exile was designed by a different designer, so the Ages all have a very distinctive look and feel. Amateria has a very oriental feel with extensive basalt columns, Japanese architecture, and glowing crystal formations.

The third Battle Pack is now available on Battle Realms official site. The Battle Pack includes tons of new fixes, tweaks and game balances that should help optimize your gameplay. Find out all new features and download it HERE!

Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair screens. Dragon's Lair 3D is scheduled to release from Ubi Soft on Xbox and PC this November. The game will also be available on PS2 and GameCube from Encore in November. In the meantime, enjoy the 4 new screens ...

Sierra Entertainment, Inc., a studio of the Games division of Vivendi Universal Publishing, today announced NASCAR Racing 2003 Season, the finale to its best selling franchise. Scheduled for release in February 2003, NASCAR Racing 2003 Season, developed by Massachusetts-based Papyrus Racing Games, will combine the most authentic NASCAR racing experience with new revolutionary 3D graphics that will bring to life the sights, thrills, and sounds of racing at 193 MPH.

Once again, Konami is inviting game players from around the globe to step in to the action-packed world of Metal Gear Solid 2. As of today, players can log on to the Konami JPN website and register to have their name included in the soon-to-be-released Sony PlayStation 2 version of Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. This DOG TAG Campaign allows players to become a part of the Metal Gear mythos by having their vital stats represented as an in-game soldier. Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (KCEJ) is awaiting the names of those who did not submit their names during the last DOG TAG campaign for "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" and those whose names were not picked previously.

SEGA of America, Inc. announced today that "SEGA Sports NCAACollege Football 2K3" has shipped for the Nintendo GameCube. Produced by Visual Concepts Entertainment, a SEGA development studio, and developed by Avalanche Software, "SEGA Sports NCAA College Football 2K3" delivers a host of in-depth features including a comprehensive list of bowl games, team-specific playbooks, college-style player models and a Legacy Mode that lets users recruit blue-chip prospects, develop talent and build their program into a national powerhouse. SEGA Sports' college gridiron franchise features all of the trimmings fans might expect from the standard-bearer in sports video gaming.