A little over three months ago Blizzard announced today that its subscription-based MMORPG World of Warcraft had reached more 4 million paying customers worldwide and today it has reached another milestone, 5 million and counting.

With shipments of 64-bit machines expected to make their way into the homes of the nation's gamers this holiday season, global provider of security software for enterprises and consumers ESET issued a warning today that most of the machines being shipped could be vulnerable to significant threats without appropriate protection.

Faithful to the tradition of parody that runs throughout the Asterix stories, Atari's latest Asterix offering is an explosive video game crammed with surprising encounters that parody the greatest icons of the video game world and is awash with wry references to many of the great moments that have marked over 25 years of video game history.

Another day, another batch of game trailers was released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• Rogue Galaxy [PS2] - Trailer #3
• Blue Dragon [X360] - Festa CAM Trailer
• Lost Odyssey [X360] - Festa CAM Trailer
• Front Mission 5: Scars of War [PS2] - Trailer
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Fantasy Earth: Ring of Domination is Square Enix's latest MMORPG which will try to combine RTS, RPG and Action, allowing you to forge alliances, build fortresses and citadels and duke it out with your allies against huge armies. Originally announced in 2004, Fantasy Earth has recently entered its beta phase and is scheduled for released in Japan on February 23.

Prince of Persia Revelation, developed by Pipeworks, builds on last year's console success, Prince of Persia Warrior Within, and features original content such as additional puzzles, new maps and redesigned levels.

Another day, another batch of game trailers was released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle - Trailer
• War World - Trailer
• Fight Night Round 3 [X360] - Trailer #2
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Galactic Civilizations II takes place in the distant future, when mankind has become a space-faring civilization and must contend with other extraterrestrial powers for domination of the galaxy. The sequel is a true evolution for the series, with rethought fundamentals and exciting new changes.

Oblivion is a single-player game that takes place in Tamriel's capital province, Cyrodiil. You are given the task of finding the hidden heir to a throne that sits empty, the previous emperor having been killed by an unknown assassin. The official Oblivion website has been updated with information on the magic system in Oblivion.

2K Games has released a new patch for Croteam's Serious Sam II. This update brings your retail game to v2.066 and adds dedicated server support, the usual bug and crash fixes, multiplayer enhancements, gfx tweaks and plenty more. Read more for download links ...

Totally Games announced today plans to expand its Marin County, California studio with the announcement of a new game project signed with SEGA of America. The technically ambitious and imaginative project will recruit new staff – a move that reaffirms Totally Games' continuing commitment to be a world-class development studio.

In Ape Escape 3 players can create their own 15 second mini-films, complete with subtitles, using characters from the video game. The process, otherwise known as "machinima," is quickly catching on as a new way to convey artistic expression. Director/producers of the monkey-film shorts can post their creations online for the whole world to see.

Generation of Chaos, developed by Idea Factory, is one of the more popular RPG series in Japan, and now for the first time the series will appear in North America. Featuring all the essentials that made its predecessor one of the most addictive strategy RPG titles for the PS2, GOC jumps onto the PSP with evolutionary game play.

Another day, another batch of game trailers was released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• Driver Parallel Lines [PS2/Xbox/PC] - Trailer
• Black [PS2/Xbox] - Trailer #4
• Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy - Trailer (2)
• Painkiller: Hell Wars [Xbox] - Trailerpack #2
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Prairie Games announced that its open-source "Massively Single Player" RPG Minions of Mirth is now available. There will be 15 character careers from 3 character archetypes, multiclass characters with primary, secondary, and tertiary class, 8 playable character races, 16 incredible zones to explore, hundreds of spells and PLENTY more.

Soul of the Ultimate Nation brings the deep storyline of a single player adventure/RPG game together with the fast and furious multiplayer combat of a 3D action game. Incorporating console-style game play into a classic MMORPG, SUN features action-packed intensity, spectacular graphics and stylish battles in an epic medieval tale set in a rich world of emperors, armies, magicians and monsters.

Although there are still a number of critical selling days left in the quarter, which ends Dec. 31, 2005, Activision today announced that it expects net revenues and earnings for the third and fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2006 to be lower than the outlook previously provided by the company on November 2, 2005.

Another day, another batch of game trailers was released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• Brothers In Arms - History Channel Promo
• War on Terror - Trailer #2
• Rugby 06 [PS2/Xbox/PC] - Trailer
• Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII [PS2] - Trailer
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Is it just me or is there something wrong with Midway these days. After it closed down Stainless Steel only a few weeks ago, it seems they have shut down yet another, recently acquired, development studio. Midway Australia, formerly know as Ratbag, was bought by Midway earlier this year, and rumors has it that it has closed down. What is to come of the several titles that were in development is not know at this point and Midway has not yet replied to our inquiries.

UPDATESeems Midway also closed its San Diego studio, responsible for the just released Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows

Activision has released a new patch for Creative Assembly's 3D RTS Rome: Total War, as well as its Barbarian Invasion expansion pack. This update brings your original RTW retail game to v1.5, expansion to v1.6, and adds several improvements & bug fixes to the campaign, and battle mode. Both the patches are valid for

PureSim Baseball 2005 Gold Edition is the ultimate baseball fan’s toy, with support for both casual and hardcore baseball fans and the ability to play out any season in baseball history. Matrix Games has released a new patch bringing your retail game to v1.20 and improves simulation speed, AI contract negotiations, the roster management AI, and nine minor bug fixes were implemented.

Developer High Moon Studios today announced that it has been named among IT Week Magazine's "Top 50 Technology Innovators of 2005." Chosen by IT Week editors, the list recognizes companies that have made significant contributions to technological innovation over the past year.

Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) and other members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), representing more than $110 billion in assets, today outlined recommended guidelines for U.S. retailers to keep 'Mature'-rated video games out of the hands of youths.

Another day, another batch of game trailers was released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• The Chronicles of Spellborn - Trailer #2
• MVP 06 NCAA Baseball [PS2/Xbox] - Trailer #4
• T72: Balkans on Fire! - Trailer #4
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

The export contract price for a Korean online game has just passed the $10 million mark. Webzen today announced that it has signed an export contract for its much-anticipated massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) Soul of the Ultimate Nation with China's premier game publisher The 9.