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GameNews.com.au
:: a resource for the Australian game industry :: Since 25 March 2003
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Gamenews Weekly monitors the pulse of the Australian video game industry, helping to keep you up to date with the news that matters.

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FORWARDTRACK: Current

KEY: U = Up, D = Down
(#) = Weeks In, N = New, R = Reentry

Top Ten Game Rentals
Week ending 30 March 2006
Gameplay.com.au

1. Call of Duty 2 (Xbox 360) N
2. Project Gotham Racing 3 (Xbox 360) N
3. V8 Supercars 3 (Xbox) D2 (5)
4. Black (Xbox) D1 (5)
5. V8 Supercars 3 (PS2) D3 (5)
6. Black (PS2) D2 (4)
7. Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows (Xbox) U1 (2)
8. Quake 4 (Xbox 360) N
9. The Godfather (PS2) N
10. 24 The Game (PS2) D1 (2)

Top Ten Game Rentals
Week ending 23 March 2006
Gameplay.com.au

1. V8 Supercars 3 (Xbox) (4)
2. V8 Supercars 3 (PS2) (4)
3. Black (Xbox) U1 (4)
4. Black (PS2) U2 (3)
5. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) D2 (5)
6. Need For Speed: Most Wanted (PS2) D1 (16)
7. Need For Speed: Most Wanted (Xbox) (16)
8. Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows (Xbox) N
9. 24 The Game (PS2) N
10. Chronicles Of Narnia (PS2) D1 (10)

Top Ten Game Rentals
Week ending 16 March 2006
Gameplay.com.au

1. V8 Supercars 3 (Xbox) U1 (3)
2. V8 Supercars 3 (PS2) U2 (3)
3. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) D2 (4)
4. Black (Xbox) U3 (3)
5. Need For Speed: Most Wanted (PS2) D2 (15)
6. Black (PS2) U3 (2)
7. Need For Speed: Most Wanted (Xbox) D2 (15)
8. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (PS2) D2 (9)
9. Chronicles Of Narnia (PS2) D1 (9)
10. Torino 2006 (Xbox) (5)

Top Ten Game Rentals
Week ending 9 March 2006
Gameplay.com.au

1. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) U1 (3)
2. V8 Supercars 3 (Xbox) U4 (2)
3. Need For Speed: Most Wanted (PS2) D2 (14)
4. V8 Supercars 3 (PS2) U4 (2)
5. Need For Speed: Most Wanted (Xbox) D2 (14)
6. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (PS2) D1 (8)
7. Black (Xbox) U3 (2)
8. Chronicles Of Narnia (PS2) D1 (8)
9. Black (PS2) N
10. Torino 2006 (Xbox) D6 (4)

Top Ten Game Rentals
Week ending 2 March 2006
Gameplay.com.au

1. Need For Speed: Most Wanted (PS2) (13)
2. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) Up 5 (2)
3. Need For Speed: Most Wanted (Xbox) D1 (13)
4. Torino 2006 (Xbox) D1 (3)
5. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (PS2) (7)
6. V8 Supercars 3 (Xbox) N
7. Chronicles Of Narnia (PS2) D3 (7)
8. V8 Supercars 3 (PS2) N
9. Torino (PS2) D3 (3)
10. Black (Xbox) N

BACKTRACK: February 2006

Game Review Sites

US Based Review Sites
Gamespot.com
Gamerankings.com
Videogamereview.com

Australian Based Review Sites
NewGamesWeekly
Gamepower.com.au
ABC - JJJ
C-Net.com.au

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Australian Game
Developers Conference 2005

To be held 1-3 December 2005 at Federation Square, Melbourne, AUSTRALIA. See www.agdc.com.au for further information.

Game Developers Association of Australia Newsletter

Edited by Gamenews.com.au editor Tim Richards.
GDAA Newsletter.

Gamenews.com.au Q&As

MARK THEYER, of TheyerGFX - 4 Oct 2005 see Oct 2005

PETER GILES, head of AFTRS Digital Media Dept - 27 July 2005 see July 2005

TOM CRAGO, CEO of Tantalus Interactive - 17 May 2005 see June 2005

LEE LISTER , co-organiser of Pro Evolution Soccer 4 game playing league SEUCLAN - 13 May 2005 see May 2005

EVAN WALLACE and MARK BUSANI, co-owners of GAMEPLAY ONLINE PTY LTD - 28 April 2005 see April 2005

GONZALO FRASCA, Computer Game Designer, researcher at the Center for Computer Games Research at the IT University of Copenhagen, and founder of Ludology.org. - 22 March 2005 see Jan-Mar 2005

ANDREW WANG, ONGAMENET PTY LTD - 1 November 2004 see Oct-Dec_2004

CALEB SALISBURY, GAME ARTIST/DEVELOPER - 12 April 2004 see Apr-Jun_2004

ROSS MCRAE, DIMSDALE KREOZOT UNITED GAMES MANUFACTURE - 6 November 2003 See Jul-Dec

Heads Up! - Mobile Games - 25 June 03 See May-Jun

March 2006

* Xbox 360 Sells 30,421 in Four Days [31 Mar 06]
* Ohio University Making 'Teach German' Game [30 Mar 06]
* Game Developers Association of Australia Newsletter [30 Mar 06]
* Communist China - Game Accessory Exports [30 Mar 06]
* Sega and Obsidian Partnership for Next Gen RPG [30 Mar o6]
* New Krome Studio for Adelaide [27 Mar 06]
* BigWorld Adds VOIP; Launches BigWorld Mobile [27 Mar 06]
* Australian Xbox 360 Launch Articles [23 Mar 06]
* THQ Licences Unreal Engine 3 [21 Mar 06]
* New Casual Gaming Site for China [21 Mar 06]
* Foundation 9 Entertainment Launches New Site/Logo [21 Mar 06]
* Website for Codemasters' (licensed) ArchLord Game [21 Mar 06]
* THQ Buys Vigil Games; #14 [20 Mar 06]
* A Force More Powerful [20 Mar 06]
* UK Key Game Industry Players [17 Mar 06]
* Brand New Kids Brand Coming - Viva Piñata [17 Mar 06]
* PS3 Release Date: November in US, Europe, Japan [16 Mar 06]
* Nival Interactive Expansion Drive [15 Mar 06]
* Latest Codemasters Press Release Avoids Xbox [14 Mar 06]
* French Honours for Video Game Designers [14 Mar 06]
* US: Gamers Encouraged to Get Political [14 Mar 09]
* Latest Financials: Take-Two Interactive has Bad Christmas [10 Mar 06]
* London Games Festival, October [10 Mar 06]
* BAFTA Says Video Games as Important as Film and TV [10 Mar 06]
* Dissecta: "Classification: Is the Time for Talk Over?" Melbourne [9 Mar 06]
* Vivendi Forms Mobile Games Division [8 Mar 06]
* UK: THQ Acquires Juice Games [7 Mar 06]
* War World Hits European Stores [7 Mar 06]
* MX vs ATV: On the Edge Gets IGN Gong [6 Mar 06]
* Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment Picks BigWorld Technology [6 Mar 06]
* US: Religious Game Developer in Back Door Securities Listing [6 Mar 06]
* Casuality Seattle Brought Forward; 2nd Casual Games in Sept [6 Mar 06]
* UK/US CDV/Ascaron Reciprocal Agreement [6 Mar 06]
* Monash IT in Mainstream Press [6 Mar 06]
* JumpButton Magazine Open Letter on Classification [5 Mar 06]
* Xbox 360 Games Now At Stores in Australia [2 Mar 06]
* Codemasters Appoints Brand Consultant [2 Mar 06]
* New UK Developer and Publisher Games Faction [2 Mar 06]
* New Site for Payload [1 Mar 06]

Next Gen
Xbox 360 Sells 30,421 in Four Days
The Age online reports on how many Xbox 360 consoles were sold last week in this article, stating "within four days of its launch last Thursday a total of 30,421 Xbox 360 consoles were snapped up by customers along with over 60,000 games, according to the market analyst, GfK." GfK is the local subsidiary of German listed market research firm GfK Group, the firm does not cover all Xbox 360 retail outlets. [31 March 2006] [top]

Academia
Ohio University Making 'Teach German' Game
Ohio University student newspaper The Post Online has an interesting story about a game project team called Odyssey Interactive working in the "Ohio University's German Department to create a state-of-the art video game designed to teach German." "Odyssey Interactive includes undergraduate and graduate students, as well as additional staff members who specialize in 3-D art and music, said Alex Kain, president and creative director of the group. The group came up with the idea at the start of the school year and started developing the game Winter Quarter." The game is a suspense thriller "involving an American lost in Munich who accidentally gets involved with criminals. The player will have to master hearing, reading, writing and speaking the German language to escape the criminals, said Kain, an OU junior. As the game goes on, the player moves around to various German cities, including Frankfort and Berlin." For the article, click here. [30 March 2006] [top]

Industry
Game Developers Association of Australia Newsletter
The latest GDAA newsletter was issued this week, Issue 16 March 2006. The issues reports on the Australian Game Developers' Conference including the unsigned games competition, held in December last year. It is now up on the GDAA website, which also has details for subscribing to the game development industry's newsletter; click here. [30 March 2006] [top]

Accessories
Communist China - Game Accessory Exports
Singapore based foreign investment website for communist China, ChinaKnowledge.com, reports on a recently released report stating "Mainland China is expected to export more than US$250 million worth of video game accessories this year, according to a report released by Global Sources, a business-to-business media company." For the brief article, click here. [30 March 2006] [top]

Development
Sega and Obsidian Partnership for Next Gen RPG
In a deal which "signifies SEGA's continuing drive to produce high-quality Western content for current and next-generation consoles" the company says it has formed a new partnership with developer Obsidian Entertainment (Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords) of Orange County, California, for the development of an original role playing game for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, which will be a collaborative effort. Sega says it has recently announced partnerships with Secret Level, Silicon Knights, Bizarre Creations, Monolith Productions (Condemned: Criminal Origins), and Pseudo Interactive (Full Auto). For the Sega website, click here. For the Obsidian website, click here. [30 March 2006] [top]

Development
New Krome Studio for Adelaide
Brisbane based independent developer Krome Studio, creators of the TY the Tasmanian Tiger series of games, has confirmed the worst kept secret in Australian game development, that it has established an Adelaide based satellite studio. The company states "the new studio further establishes Krome Studios’ position as a world leading independent developer as the company now employs more than 180 staff members." Robert Walsh, CEO of Krome Studios, says “we are fortunate to be in a position that allows us to grow our business and staff. In order to stay globally competitive as a leading independent game developer, we felt that we needed to expand ourselves and our ability, thus the opening of the Adelaide studio.” The new Krome Adelaide studio comes as the principal developer in the city, Midway Games (formerly Ratbag), closed down following a decision by its parent company Midway Games in the US. Krome recently released TY 3 in conjunction with Activision Value Publishing, a great game that knows its core audience and delivers some real Australian flavoured 3D platform and power up action. For the studio website, click here.