EA confirmed its decision to change one of the conditions for the offer to the shareholders of Digital Illusions CE AB (DICE) and to extend the acceptance period from Dec 16th until January 20, 2005. DICE's Board of Directors recommends its shareholders to accept the offer.

Electronic Arts today announced an investment in international game developer and publisher UbiSoft Entertainment. The investment represents approximately 19.9 percent interest in the company, shares purchased as a block from Dutch investment company Talpa Beheer B.V. to be completed upon obtaining antitrust clearance from the U.S. government. Financial terms were not disclosed. It is not apparent if this is part of a hostile takeover, but if approved, this would instantly make EA the biggest shareholder of Ubisoft.

Electronic Arts today announced an agreement to acquire Criterion Software Group Ltd. from Canon Europe. With the acquisition, EA assumes Criterion's studio in Guildford, UK; two globally recognized intellectual properties, Burnout and Black; and the RenderWare middleware technology.

EA today announced a worldwide strategic partnership to develop and publish a new game franchise with developer Crytek. The agreement builds on Crytek's success with its first title, the chart-leading first-person shooter, Far Cry, and brings together the creative talent of Crytek with the publishing expertise and unrivalled reach of Electronic Arts. The highly regarded German developer will create an exciting new game franchise for the PC based on original intellectual property.

Today we have more screens for Electronic Arts' 2004 E3 lineup. Check the new screens for :

• Catwoman (NGC/PS2/Xbox/PC)
• NBA Live 2005 (All)
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2005 (GBA/NGC/PS2/Xbox/PC)
• Armies of Exigo (PC)
• Battlefield 2 (PC)
• TY the Tasmanian Tiger 2 (GBA/PS2)
• The Lord of the Rings The Third Age (GBA/NGC/PS2/Xbox)
• Def Jam Fight For New York (NGC/PS2/Xbox)
• Lord Of The Rings: The Battle For Middle-Earth (PC)
• Timesplitters Future Perfect (NGC/PS2/Xbox)
• Madden NFL 2005 (GBA/NGC/PS2/Xbox/PC)
• FIFA Football 2005 (GBA/NGC/PS2/Xbox/PC)
• Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault (PC)
• Burnout 3 (PS2/Xbox)
• Battlefield: Modern Combat (PS2)

Electronic Arts today announced its unrivalled E3 line-up of Sports, Action, Racing, Role-Playing, Fighting and Real-time Strategy games. EA's 23 E3 titles will debut next week at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). EA also will announce its support for Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation Portable (PSP) hand-held game machine, delivering four EA titles at the system's launch with 10-12 additional titles following within the year.

Electronic Arts today announced the acquisition of NuFX, a critically-acclaimed developer of basketball and other sports games. The developer and its employees will remain in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. on Thursday said it has signed a deal with comic book publisher Marvel Enterprises Inc. to develop a series of fighting games pitting newly developed EA characters against Marvel superheroes like Spider-Man.

Electronic Arts today announced the acquisition of Studio 33, a globally recognized developer of games in the racing genre. The team of roughly 30 Liverpool-based employees will join the existing team at EA Northwest in nearby Warrington. Both teams - a total of 75 employees - are scheduled to move to a new facility in Warrington shortly.

THX Ltd., the leading provider of product certification and venue design for the entertainment and consumer electronics industries, today announced the creation of a new sound and visual certification standard for videogame development environments. Electronic Arts is the first company to develop and publish THX Certified Games using these standards. EA has incorporated the THX performance standards into its mixing rooms and studios worldwide, ensuring the quality and integrity of creative content is maintained at every stage of video game development. The first THX Certified Games will be "SSX 3," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," which is based on New Line Cinema's upcoming film, and "Medal of Honor Rising Sun."

Earlier today EA unveiled their lineup for the upcoming E3 convention in LA and now we have fresh screens for most of those titles, and they keep coming in. So far we got screens for:

• Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (PS2/GBA)
• Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (PS2)
• James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (Xbox/GBA/NGC)
• Bionicle (PC/PS2)
• FIFA Football 2004 (PS2)
• Freedom: Soldiers of Liberty (PS2/PC/Xbox)
• Looney Tunes: Back In Action (PS2)
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2004 (PC/PS2/Xbox)
• Madden NFL 2004 (GBA/NGC/Xbox/PS2)
• NBA LIVE 2004 (Xbox)
• NHL 2004
• NASCAR Thunder 2004 (Xbox/PS2)
• NCAA Football 2004 (NGC/Xbx/PS2)
• NCAA March Madness 2004
• SSX 3 (NGC/Xbx/PS2)
• SimCity4 Rush Hour
• Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWI
• Need For Speed Underground(PS2)

Electronic Arts today announced its lineup of 23 new games that will be showcased next week at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). EA will present a powerful mix of sports, action, adventure and strategy games... Read more for a huge lineup!

NVIDIA Corporation today announced that it has formed a strategic relationship with Electronic Arts. The two companies will work together to produce and market next-generation 3D content under the EA GAMES and EA SPORTS brands, which include such top-selling games and franchises as Madden Football, Command & Conquer, James Bond 007, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Golf and Battlefield 1942. By supporting NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs) for desktop and notebook PCs, including the new NVIDIA GeForce FX family of GPUs, EA is able to deliver innovative and rock-solid gaming experiences to PC consumers worldwide.

Directly from the EA press event in NY, here are some more goodies for you to enjoy. We will update as the candy keeps flowing in ... So far we got:

• The Sims (PS2)
  
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (PS2)
  
• The Sims Online (PC)
  
• The Simpsons Skateboarding (PS2)
  
• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (PC)
  
• SimCity 4 (PC)
  
• Island Xtreme Stunts (PS2)

Electronic Arts® and Thrustmaster® have joined forces to bring together the best elements of software and hardware for the Sony PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, to give gamers the ultimate gaming experience.