Nintendo Everything

Glendale, CA – April 21, 2009 – Ignition Entertainment Ltd., a UTV Enterprise, a worldwide publisher and developer of videogames, in conjunction with Marvelous Entertainment and Vanillaware, today announced the September 2009 U.S. release of the much-anticipated video game, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, exclusively for the Nintendo Wii.

Developed by Vanillaware, the creative team behind the critically acclaimed game Odin Sphere, Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a unique, highly stylized action adventure that showcases a striking visual look and a colorful cast of more than 100 characters. Hailed by Kotaku as “this year’s prettiest, most enticing Wii game,” and by IGN as “the most visually stunning game I’ve ever seen on the Wii,” Muramasa: The Demon Blade features eye-popping hand-drawn 2D art that reflects the heritage and tone of its ancient Japanese storyline. Set in the little-known feudal Genroku era, players are invited to take on the role of a male ninja or female kunoichi, utilizing their prowess to traverse the perilous yet picturesque levels.

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Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, and the French developer Game Life today announced DJ Star for Nintendo DS™ for Europe and Australia. The DJ game for Nintendo’s handheld console will be released later this year.

In DJ Star, music lovers get to imitate their idols and realize their dreams of becoming heroes and heroines of the turntable. Players begin their careers as local turntable novices, and work their way up step by step as they gain experience. If they are successful, they will soon be appearing in big cities such as Paris, Berlin, Miami and London, until they can finally spin the discs live in a stadium filled with 100,000 fans.

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WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT, TT GAMES, THE LEGO GROUP, HARMONIX AND MTV GAMES ANNOUNCE LEGO® ROCK BAND®

Rhythm Based Music Game Snaps Together Best-Selling Franchises to Create Fun Family-Friendly Experience for All Ages

Burbank, Calif. – April 21 2009 – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games are joining forces with the LEGO Group, Harmonix and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), to merge two of the most popular videogame franchises with the creation of LEGO® Rock Band®. The unique family-friendly music experience is currently in development by TT Games in partnership with Harmonix, and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game, which will allow families, tweens and teens to experience a wild journey to rock stardom where they can “Build a Band and Rock the Universe”, will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™ home videogame console. LEGO Rock Band for Nintendo DS™ will be co-developed by TT Games and Harmonix in partnership with Backbone Entertainment, a Foundation 9 Entertainment studio. All versions are scheduled for 2009.

LEGO Rock Band combines the multiplayer music experience of Rock Band® with the fun, customization and humour of the LEGO videogame franchise packed with brilliant chart-topping songs and classic favourites suitable for younger audiences, including:

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Get ready for even more blox-busting action with BOOM BLOX™ Bash Party for Wii™, the sequel to the critically-acclaimed BOOM BLOX™ game for Wii. Developed by EA in collaboration with director and producer Steven Spielberg, BOOM BLOX Bash Party takes destruction to new heights, providing the ultimate social gaming experience! BOOM BLOX Bash Party will get your party started with new Versus, Co-Op and Team Play challenges – twice as many multiplayer challenges as the original BOOM BLOX.

From the depths of the sea to the far reaches of outer space, BOOM BLOX Bash Party features more than 400 completely new levels! Explore exciting new themed worlds with unique physics and dramatic visuals. Create chaos, watching puzzles and explosions unfold, while drifting under water, or floating in zero gravity!

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New York — April 21, 2009 – Playlogic Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq OTC: PLGC.OB), an independent worldwide publisher of entertainment software, is pleased to announce that Pool Hall Pro, the action-packed sports game developed by Icon Games Entertainment, is coming to Wii™ home videogame console from Nintendo, and PC May 26, 2009. Pool Hall Pro calls on players of all levels from amateurs to pool sharks to take on the world’s toughest opponents as they travel the globe mastering an array of pool and snooker games in order to earn fame and fortune.

“Pool Hall Pro brings action-packed entertainment back into casual sports games with customizable characters, exotic pool hall locations, numerous modes and countless hours of gameplay,” said Adam McGowan, Marketing Director for Playlogic. “The simple control scheme and easy-to-access modes make Pool Hall Pro a great game to pick up and play.”

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“Video games have outpaced all other media in growth charts in the last three years and the industry is one of the few that hasn’t taken much of a tumble in the recent credit-crunch. I believe a major reason for their popularity is their storytelling experience, as players of game ‘blockbusters’ like Half Life 2, Assassin’s Creed and Bioshock will tell you. Though often unfairly dismissed as toys for children, computer games are far more complex than that. Most gamers, adults and children alike, play these games because of the stories they tell. So, whilst many focus on the violence in video games, the narrative potential of these games should also be explored.”- Dr Souvik Mukherjee, a researcher and computer game narrative expert from Nottingham Trent University

This is something I have thought about and debated about for a long time. Video games as entertainment are, by popular belief, purely recreation and not much for art or story telling the way that novels or movies are often considered. What more and more people are beginning to believe, however, is that video games are a completely new outlet for both storytelling and artistic talent. Games are not always for recreation anymore; many developers are overstepping a boundary and using them to criticize modern society, or to tell a heart-wrenching story. In this respect, they are most certainly an area that needs to have some light shed upon it by writers, artists and filmmakers as a new outlet for their creative talents.

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