Santa Monica, CA – May 7, 2009 – Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) is set to once again revolutionize how consumers interact with music by releasing three new titles this fall – DJ Hero™, Guitar Hero® 5 and Band Hero™ – that will redefine the company’s popular music gaming platform. The slate will transform the way consumers enjoy and engage with music by offering the largest variety of music genres, innovative technologies and new social entertainment experiences for existing fans and millions of new consumers who previously have not joined Guitar Hero’s global community of fans.

· The company’s groundbreaking DJ Hero expands Guitar Hero’s signature social gaming to all-new consumers with the addition of diverse music genres including hip-hop, R&B, Motown, electronica and dance. Introducing an all-new innovative turntable controller, DJ Hero transforms players into DJs who rule the club scene by creating original mixes of popular songs and music from the world’s most exciting artists and DJs.

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Upcoming Karaoke Video Game Celebrates Top Pop Favorites

BURBANK, Calif. – (May 7, 2009) – Disney Interactive Studios today announced that Disney Sing It: Pop Hits, the third game in the video-based karaoke video game franchise, will be released this fall. Disney Sing It: Pop Hits features 30 master recordings and popular music videos from fan favorites, including Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, Colbie Caillat, Demi Lovato, Hannah Montana, Jesse McCartney, Coldplay and One Republic. This instantly recognizable mix of Radio Disney and platinum-status talent allows players of all ages to connect with current artists right in their own living rooms.

“Great music, chart-topping artists and immersive gameplay are the key components in making this franchise popular with tweens and families around the world,” said Craig Relyea, senior vice president of global marketing, Disney Interactive Studios. “In addition to an exciting new collection of songs, the fun factor has been raised with new multiplayer elements that will bring hours of enjoyment to music fans of all ages.”

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Followers of the upcoming horror title Silent Hill: Shattered Memories have nothing to fear when it comes to a toned down game just because the Wii is the lead SKU. Konami’s Tomm Hulett, lead producer of the game, is assuring fans that Shattered Memories will be a real, scary title. In fact, he says that the game “will twist your mind and creep you out just like any other good Silent Hill game would.”

“We know there is a large contingent of hardcore and lapsed gamers on Wii who are clamoring for ‘real’ titles. Silent Hill is real in every sense of the word. This is not a gameplay spinoff, it is a real Silent Hill title. These are real gameplay advances, not cheap control gimmicks. It’s not a port. The rating is still pending, but rest assured it will be scary. At no point did we come to a crossroads and decide ‘well let’s just do it this way because it’s on Wii.’ It will twist your mind and creep you out just like any other good Silent Hill game would, and all the choices we made were to serve good gameplay or a compelling story – never a misguided notion of ‘Wii is for young’ns.’

“[Nintendo will continue to go after] Gaming Population Expansion [by] putting smiles on many people’s faces by offering brand new entertainment that anyone can enjoy, regardless of age, gender or gaming experience. [Nintendo hoping the DS will be] a machine that enriches its owner’s daily life. Nintendo’s strategy is to accelerate current sales momentum from ‘must-have for every family’ to ‘must-have for everyone.’ [The DS is supposed to be a] must-have for everyone [the Wii is planned to be] a machine that puts smiles on surrounding people’s face’ [while encouraging communication among family members in the living room and offering enjoyment of their] new life with Wii. In the challenging and competitive gaming industry, which consistently requires new and innovative products, Nintendo will strive to expand its business and increase revenue and profit by capitalizing on being the only hardware platform producer with powerful in-house software development teams.”

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Based on the upcoming feature film which itself is inspired by one of the most beloved characters of all time, Astro Boy: The Video Game will allow players to become Astro Boy, a young boy robot with incredible powers who takes to the streets and skies on an epic adventure to save Metro City from the clutches of the evil President Stone and his robot army.

Based on the upcoming feature film which itself is inspired by one of the most beloved characters of all time, Astro Boy: The Video Game will allow players to become Astro Boy, a young boy robot with incredible powers. Astro Boy: The Video Game is slated to ship worldwide this fall to coincide with the North American and international release of the movie in October 2009 from Summit Entertainment.

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When E3 rolls by this year, you can expect a ton of information to be shared. But until then, here’s a small piece of information about the game. In Nintendo’s 2009 fiscal year results, it is stated that “The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks…will appeal to a wider age group of people, and will launch in the later half of the year”. So, the game is still on track for 2009 and it looks as though it is taking a similar approach to Phantom Hourglass.

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May 6, 2009
For Immediate Release

Deep Silver and Apogee Software are not affected by the situation at 3D Realms. Development on the Duke Nukem Trilogy is continuing as planned.

Source: GamesPress

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Talking Parrot (DS) – 6/6/6/6
Bleach 6 (PSP) – 8/8/7/7
Wii WE 2009 (Wii) – 9/9/9/9

More scores will be added as they appear…