Paradox Interactive Launches New Corporate Website
Redesigned Website Marks First Step of a Larger Online Strategy for Paradox Interactive
Paradox Interactive today officially unveiled its new corporate website at www.paradoxplaza.comThe new website, catered to the loyal Paradox fan community, puts the games in focus, making it easier for people to find the latest information on their favorite Paradox titles. With a new overview page, users can easily browse games by release date or name.
Each game info page serves as a one-stop information hub, where users can find links to email newsletters and online forums, as well as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube pages related to that specific game.
“This is just the first step of a larger online strategy that involves more interaction with our gamers, a variety of social media, and tighter partnerships with our distribution partners,” says Susana Meza Graham, VP Publishing of Paradox Interactive. "Incorporating the best element of our former site; our amazing fan community, with a new fresh design that is full of new content will help us continue to deliver the content gamers want." In addition, the new site allows users to follow the latest Twitter updates from the official Paradox channel, @PdxInteractive,
Furthermore, Paradox players now have access to increased customer support, easily being able to find technical information on a title, as well as submit any game issues. The new website, based on the cutting-edge Drupal content management system, has been developed by Paradox Interactive together with Christian Sabe Design and SearchFactory.View the new look of the Paradox Interactive website at http://www.paradoxplaza.com
About Paradox Interactive Since 1999, Paradox Interactive has been a leading global developer and publisher of PC-based strategy games. World-renowned for its strategy catalog, the company holds a particularly strong presence in the United States and Europe. Its steadily-growing portfolio includes originally developed titles such as the critically acclaimed Europa Universalis and the Hearts of Iron franchises, as well as publishing titles such as the Elven Legacy series, Mount&Blade and Majesty 2. Paradox stands poised to make an explosive entry onto consoles during 2010 with the release of Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West. For more information, please visit www.paradoxplaza.comand follow @pdxinteractiveon Twitter.
SEGA® Europe Ltd today announced an exciting three year partnership with Alton Towers Resort, the most popular theme park in the UK. The deal, which gives SEGA the exclusive videogame rights at the resort, also marks the first time a videogame character has been given their own ‘Ride and Stay’ experience at the popular UK attraction.
The sponsorship will encompass the launch of a Sonic The Hedgehog branded rollercoaster and Sonic The Hedgehog themed room at the Alton Towers Hotel. The Sonic hotel room allows guests to live, sleep and even play the latest games from the Sonic franchise in a room dedicated to the famous Sonic videogame universe. The rollercoaster, entitled Sonic Spinball, and the Sonic hotel room will open to the public on 13th February 2010.
“We are delighted to be working with Merlin Entertainments and Alton Towers Resort” commented Amanda Farr, SEGA Europe UK Marketing Director. “Partnering Sonic with one of the UK’s most popular destinations for a family day out is a fantastic opportunity for people to engage, and have fun, with the Sonic brand. I’ll certainly be there at the launch of the rollercoaster to have my turn!”
Morwenna Angove, Sales and Marketing Director at the Alton Towers Resort, said: “It’s a great joint venture between the Alton Towers Resort and SEGA. The affiliation of both brands will add to the great family offering at the Resort for kids seeking fabulous family fun and adrenalin addicted adults”.
Sonic The Hedgehog has starred in a number of videogames since his first appearance on the SEGA Mega Drive back in 1991, his next videogame outing will be Sonic and SEGA All-stars Racing, launching Feb 26th 2010.
Mamba Games are excited to announce that they have formed a partnership with the UK's leading DVD distribution company Lace Group (DVD and game publishing, sales and distribution business) to create a multi global video games publishing company. The new company, trading as Lace Mamba Global (LMG), will combine all areas of expertise including acquisition, product development, in-house development, UK and global sales/distribution, marketing and PR. All global sales will be handled in-house along with games acquisitions and marketing. The adventure brand Odyssia will fall under the LMG umbrella and the group will continue to drive forward and bring high level and highly anticipated adventure games to the market.
Lace Mamba Group head office will be based in Brighton East Sussex with already established offices in London, LA and Paris.
The formation of the new company signals the ambition of the new group to accelerate the move into the next generation market with development already in progress on the Xbox360 console and discussions with various development houses in progress for Playstation 3. Jason Codd Commercial Director of Europe explains more:
"The formation of Lace Mamba Global is a massive step for Mamba Games and we are delighted that this will give us the next step needed to move into next generation and become a real player. Lace Group are the largest DVD distributor in the UK and they have masses of experience and a terrific team, this merger can only be positive and we have been impressed by the visions they have for the video games market. Bringing together the 2 teams to create a large organization will allow us to fulfil our ambitions and we are already planning our PS3 and X360 development strategy for 2011. We will still be independent and look to work with studios of all sizes but of course with the financial investment, we now have substantial budgets to work with and we will be carefully selecting the products that we feel will work in our schedule".
The two companies bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table.
Mamba Games was set up by Robert Neilson in 2008 and since then the team and the catalogue has grown substantially. However as reliable and cost effective production, sales and distribution is key for any company and more so for an independent publisher in the current climate Mamba have now joined forces with Lace.
Lace Group, headed by Adam Lacey has a fully established production and sales team based in the UK that work closely alongside their sales partner Sony DADC so that Lace are able to ensure a smooth process from delivery of assets through to retail.
With every aspect now in house LMG are focused at establishing themselves as a serious competitor in the games market- globally.
Adam Lacey of Lace International explains why he thinks the formula will work, "we are independent, focused and very experienced in the market place. Mamba brings a huge amount of ambition and expertise to the table with an established network of global customers and sales and distribution agreements in place. We intend to really shake up the games market and become a very creative and dynamic force in the games business over the coming months and years".
The first progression for the group will be the launch of the LMG and Odyssia download site allowing consumers to download the catalogue of LMG and other publishers products as well as the exciting Q1 schedule including "Making History II: War of the World and the dtp Entertainment adventure catalogue including "Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island, Black Mirror 2 and the highly anticipated Jane Jensen game "Gray Matter”.
LMG have also started in-house development on 2 adventure products to be announced shortly on Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii and also an announcement on the first Xbox360 product is due in the next few weeks.
Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that Them Crooked Vultures are premiering on Rock Band beginning next week with “New Fang,” the single from the band’s self-titled debut album. The song will be added to the Rock Band Music Store and LEGO Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation® 3 computer entertainment system and Wii™.
“Them Crooked Vultures are keenly aware of the different ways in which modern music fans digest new music and are therefore especially happy to be able to offer the first single from their self-titled debut up as a downloadable Rock Band game track on the same day the album goes on sale,” stated Them Crooked Vultures.
The debut self-titled album from Them Crooked Vultures, comprised of Dave Grohl, Joshua Homme and John Paul Jones, will be released Nov. 17 in the United States, the same day and date that “New Fang” will be available for Rock Band download on the Xbox 360. The band released the single as a free download for fans Nov. 3 and has been streaming their full album on their website, www.themcrookedvultures.com, since Nov. 9. The band is touring the United States in November, and their December tour of the United Kingdom sold out in just 12 minutes.
Them Crooked Vultures’ “New Fang” will be available Nov. 17 for the Xbox 360, Nov. 24 for the Wii and Dec. 3 for the PlayStation 3 in both the Rock Band Music Store and LEGO Rock Band Music Store.
Price: £.99 UK (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track (200 Wii Points™) per track
** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change. **
Website Links: For more information, please visit:
- Free* WiiWare game demos now available for a limited time only! -
Since it launched in May last year, WiiWare has become the source for Wii owners around the world to try some of the most creative ideas from both top developers and independent studios.
From today and for a limited period* you will be able to try some of the best examples for free* thanks to the new Download demo service.
By connecting your Wii to the Internet you can access the Wii Shop Channel which is continually updated with exciting and refreshing games.
Downloaded games can be saved to Wii’s internal memory or SD card and added to the console’s Wii Menu or SD Card Menu allowing them to be easily accessed at any time.Visit the WiiWare section of the Wii Shop Channel to try demos of top titles in a variety of genres FREE of charge.
The following demos are currently available for you to try:
FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a Darklord (SQUARE ENIX): Try out six exciting levels!The acclaimed developers of Square Enix require no introduction to videogame fans the world over, so it comes as no surprise that their WiiWare-exclusive games in the legendary FINAL FANTASY series quickly captivated a large audience. This strategy game puts you in the fashionable shoes of a Darklord’s daughter as you protect the Dark Crystal at the top of your tower.
BIT.TRIP BEAT (Gaijin Games): Sample the first level of this title!Gaijin Games’ first WiiWare title is full to the brim with fresh gameplay ideas. The crazy mix of 80s aesthetics and modern game design quickly turned into a popular series of Wii Remote-fuelled retro rhythm action. Anyone up for a hardcore challenge or simply a slice of something daringly and deliciously different, would be wise indeed to try their hand at BIT.TRIP BEAT.
NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits (Over The Top Games): Enjoy the full first level of the game!Take a trip to ancient Greece where the simple basics of running and jumping through lovingly crafted environments are infused with the fresh gameplay possibilities offered only by the Wii Remote. First-time developer studio Over The Top Games has created an enchanting adventure that takes players on an unforgettable journey in search of a friend in need. How do I download a demo?Getting your hands on a WiiWare demo is as easy as downloading a WiiWare title.
At the start of this service, all demos are directly available from the main entry point of the Wii Shop Channel, the recommendation page.
Alternatively you simply need to visit the WiiWare section of the Wii Shop Channel and select “Search by Genre”.
Next you choose the “Demo” genre to get a list of all demos currently available. Every demo can be downloaded to your Wii console or to an SD Card free of charge, so feel free to try as many as you like!
Just pick the title of your choice, select “Download” and you will be playing before you know it!
Make sure you keep checking the Wii Shop Channel and www.wiiware.co.uk for all the latest WiiWare news and releases. - END -*The free WiiWare demos will be available to download from 16th November 2009 to 31st Janurary 2010.* Broadband line rental costs applyFor further information, please contact the Nintendo Press Office on:
About NintendoThe worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and Nintendo DSi™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.2 billion video games and more than 535 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Grossostheim, Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in Europe.