CDV Software Entertainment USA has announced the planned release of The Blitzkrieg Strategy Pack. The new compilation will contain both Blitzkrieg 2 and its standalone expansion, Blitzkrieg 2: Fall of the Reich. The new value-priced collection will ship to North American retailers on June 18.

More at blitzkrieg.cdvusa.com.

Sierra Online and Korean developer JC Entertainment have brought FreeStyle Street Basketball to PC gamers in North America. The online PC offering is available now in retail stores or via digital download. In FreeStyle Street Basketball, players meet on virtual courts to challenge each other in pick-up games. Anyone can sign up to play for free at freestylestreetbasketball.com.

Gamers can also purchase a premium account via retail or digital download for $19.99. Premium players have access to unique items and all 45 levels of gameplay, and can give items to other players and purchase additional character slots.

FreeStyle Street Basketball has more than 30 million players in Asia.

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Masaya Matsuura, the development head of NanaOn-Sha, shared his thoughts on the Wii platform and confirmed plans to bring an unspecified game to the console. Matsuura created the rhythm game PaRappa the Rapper for the original PlayStation in the mid-1990s, with a sequel released on the PS2 in 2001. The game earned a large following thanks to its unique graphic style, peculiar soundtrack and wacky plot. The GamesIndustry.biz interview can be found here.

Source: The Wiire

Analysts predict high manufacturing costs and sluggish sales of the PS3 could cause Sony on Wednesday to report its biggest quarterly loss in four years. The Japanese giant could see a fourth-quarter loss of as much as $630 million during the three months ended March 31 on sales of $16.8 billion, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sony’s game division alone could post a quarterly loss of $1 billion and an annual deficit of $2 billion. Daniel Ernst of Soleil Securities Group says game division losses have been almost double that of initial estimates. However, HSBC analyst Carlos Dimas predicts that strength in pictures and electronics will offset game losses and help the company deliver annual profits of $681 million.

Sales figures put the PS3 behind Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii. A $250 price tag, motion-sensitive controller and unique games have helped the Wii soar off store shelves, while the $599 PS3 — initially hampered by manufacturing woes and limited availability — now sits on shelves with a high price tag and limited selection of games.

Later this week, research firm NPD group is expected to release monthly sales figures for the U.S. gaming industry. Analysts like Wedbush Morgan Securities’ Michael Pachter predict sales of 100,000 PS3s and 300,000 Wiis.

Figures released by NPD last month put Nintendo in first and third place, respectively, with its DS portable system and Wii. Sony’s aging PS2 took second place, with the PS3 coming in sixth. Lifetime U.S. sales of the PS3 and Wii are now at 1.2 million and 2.1 million, respectively.

The seven-year-old PS2 system — now $129 — has outsold the PS3 each month since the latter’s November 2006 debut. The PS3′s price tag remains too high a hurdle for many consumers to clear, and price cuts are one of the strongest incentives the company has to get consumers to buy. According to HSBC’s Mr. Dimas, Sony needs to cut the PS3’s price by at least 20 percent during the next year if it wants to increase PS3 uptake.

Source: Red Herring

p>Eidos has confirmed that a Wii version of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary is well into development. In a brief press statement, the publisher said the Wii Remote and Nunchuck controllers allow gamers to control Lara in new ways. More details are promised soon. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary will be released for the PS2, PC and PSP in North America beginning June 6. An announcement on the release date for Tomb Raider: Anniversary on Wii will follow.

This Wednesday, Xbox Live players will be able to team up with up to three other users for side-scrolling shooting action in Aegis Wing. Conceived by three Microsoft interns over the course of a summer, Aegis Wing will be available for free to all Xbox LIVE Silver and Gold members in North America for a limited time. Aegis Wing will be available for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, May 16, at 2:00 a.m. PDT.

Aegis Wing is a 2D side-scrolling space shooter set in the year 2105, when humanity escapes a dying Earth for the distant world Europa. When an alien race, the Araxia, threatens this new home, the Europa task force develops an experimental star fighter using stolen Araxian technology and assigns four ace pilots to test it. Up to four users can play together either locally or over Xbox LIVE to defeat waves of Araxian ships and bosses, and can combine spacecraft in two-, three- or four-ship formations to access powerful Super Weapons.

Aegis Wing was conceived by three students during a summer internship at Xbox LIVE Arcade. The students worked in tandem with Carbonated Games, creators of UNO, to bring the game to the Xbox LIVE Arcade community.

More at xbox.com.

Atari today announced that the Test Drive Collection Volume 4 downloadable car pack is available now on Xbox Live Marketplace for Test Drive Unlimited for the Xbox 360. Available for 350 points, the Test Drive Collection Volume 4 features six cars: the Dino 246 GT, Ferrari Challenge Stradale, Cadillac Cien, RUF RK Spyder, Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster and the TVR T440R. In addition, you can download the Saturn Curve for free. Once downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace, you’ll be able to buy each of the cars as normal from the relevant in-game dealerships. More at testdriveunlimited.com.

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced the imminent release of the Time Attack Mode for MotorStorm, a free automatic patch for the PS3 game. In Time Attack, gamers can set their best times on each track with any available vehicle classes, and then race against ghost laps in subsequent Time Attack races. Fast times see your ghost laps automatically uploaded to the global leader boards for others to compete with. Additionally, you have the option of racing against up to seven ghosts at a time. You can also race against your own recorded ghost, take on the best runs recorded by other players (downloadable from the online leaderboards) or try to beat the expert ghosts from the developers at Evolution Studios. The Time Attack mode will be unlocked with a free key available on the PlayStation network store starting June 7.

Square Enix is bringing the next installments in the Dragon Quest franchise to North America. In 2007 and 2008, Square Enix will expand the Dragon Quest franchise with the release of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, a handheld monster collection RPG, and Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors, an action RPG for the Wii. The game utilizes the Wii’s motion sensing controls as you use the Wii remote to slash and parry your way through a land filled with Dragon Quest foes.

Activision has announced the development of the next installment in its Tony Hawk’s franchise: Proving Ground. The game allows you to define your character and story based on the choices you make, the paths you choose and the style of skating you use on proving grounds spanning from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.

Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground features a Video Editor with editing tools and visual effects for creating skate videos, and a customizable online Skate Lounge where players can skate with friends. In addition, you can skate from single player to online seamlessly, as well as utilize new gameplay mechanics such as skateable terrain altering and Bowl Carving. Proving Ground also features more Nail the Trick moves, such as Nail the Grab and Nail the Manual.

Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground is in development at Neversoft for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2 and Nintendo DS. The game is scheduled for release later this year.

Detn8 Games is bringing Ultimate Duck Hunting to the Wii. Set for release in July, Ultimate Duck Hunting is a realistic simulation featuring both shooting and retrieving. After choosing a selection of hunting gear, which includes guns and decoys, you can head for the wilderness to aim and fire at mallard, hen, black and teal ducks.

Ultimate Duck Hunting features four modes of play: Single Hunt, in which you score points by shooting a required number of ducks; Career Mode, in which you hunt over several seasons, create your own hunter and dog, and improve your dog by earning points; Multiplayer Mode, in which two players compete head-to-head on a split screen; and Training Mode, a mini-game for preparing your dog. You can hunt and retrieve ducks in six environments, including Stuttgart, Arkansas; Oacoma, South Dakota; Oak Island. Minnesota; Old Harbor, Alaska; Coldwater, Mississippi; and Halifax, Virginia.

Ultimate Duck Hunting will be available at major retailers.

Sega of America has struck an agreement with production studio Mondo Media to create video game content based on the animated series, Happy Tree Friends. Under development at Stainless Studios, Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm is scheduled for release via digital download on the PC and Xbox LIVE Arcade in the fall.

Happy Tree Friends debuted as a television series on G4 TV in the U.S. Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm is a 3D action puzzle game that allows you to control one of three characters: Flippy, the war-torn bear; Lumpy, the dim-witted blue moose; and Handy, an amputee beaver carpenter. Using resources such as concrete, ice, gasoline and nitroglycerin, your goal is to save the Happy Tree Friends from disastrous situations in mine shafts, candy factories and a museum.

More at sega.com.

Sega of America has announced the development of Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms for the PC. The inclusion of The New World campaigns expands the game to include over 75 hours of gameplay. Total War Kingdoms is slated for release in North America in August 2007.

The game features four new campaigns, including an opportunity to explore The New World. Three additional campaigns focus on Great Britain, Northern Europe and the Holy Land. Featuring 13 new playable factions and over 150 new units, Kingdoms allows you to control multiple armies on a single battlefield and lead them into combat with new hero characters such as Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, each armed with new battlefield abilities. In the new campaigns, you can use moated forts to garrison large armies or seize control of key strategic points, and explore new technology trees governed by religion and prestige.

In the Americas campaign, you can retrace the steps of Hernan Cortes in 1519 as he seeks to explore and conquer The New World, earning the support of Spain or taking control of the Aztec or Native American factions. You can also experience the clash between pagans and Christians in the Northern European Teutonic Wars, or take control of one of five factions in the Britannia campaign, when England faces war on four fronts. Kingdoms also includes a new expanded Crusades campaign in which you can fight for control of the Holy Lands, with new factions and new units (such as the Greek Flame Thrower).

Kingdoms also includes six new multiplayer scenarios and 20 new Custom Battle maps. Each of the campaigns is compatible with the new Hotseat multiplayer mode.

More at totalwar.com.

The next title in the Saints Row franchise from publisher THQ is in development at internal studio Volition. It’s scheduled to ship for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 in 2008. The game utilizes Volition’s proprietary open-world engine. More to come.

Square Enix has announced its first next generation multiplatform title: The Last Remnant. Revealed at a press conference in Tokyo, the new game is planned for release on the PS3 and Xbox 360. A simultaneous release in Japan and North America and a European release are planned. The Last Remnant is an original real-time fantasy RPG built on Unreal Engine 3. Its battle system will allow players to control up to 70 units at once. Today’s press conference featured a demonstration of the game, showing off a dynamic world and sprawling landscapes.