Eidos WWII strategy game gaining Mustang add-on for $2 today, $10 four-map Carrier Battles pack due July 23 on 360, PC.

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Battlestations: Pacific won the battle against critics when it debuted on the Xbox 360 and PC in May. And while it has yet to be seen whether the second installment in Eidos' WWII strategy franchise will fare equally as well against US consumers' pocketbooks, the publisher today announced a volley of add-on packs slated for deployment in July.

The first downloadable add-on, titled the Mustang Pack, is now available on Microsoft's platforms for 160 points ($2). The DLC includes six new units, including the P-51 Mustang bomber escort and the US Navy's Alaska Class warship for the Allies and the Super Yamato Class battleship for the Imperial Japanese Navy. The pack also includes 18 new pieces of nose art, which can be used both in the single- and multiplayer modes.

On July 23, Eidos will deploy the Carrier Battles Map Pack for 800 Microsoft points ($10). The pack includes four new maps that can be played in all five of Battlestations: Pacific's multiplayer modes. The maps play out on four distinctive battlegrounds in the Pacific theater: Midway, the Philippine Islands, Leyte Gulf, and the Aleutian Islands.

For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Battlestations: Pacific.

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Industry outsider Joshua Caulfield will oversee game-dev association and will assume new leadership responsibilities.

Joshua Caulfield used to have a job fairly unrelated to the video game market, as an executive at an association that represents machine tool distributors. His connection with the game industry was low-key: In his spare time, Caulfield played World of Warcraft with his friends as a shadow priest. However, his involvement in the gaming world has increased dramatically, now that Caulfield has been named the executive director of the world's largest non-profit game developer organization.

Joshua Caulfield, newly named executive director of the International Game Developers Association

Today, the International Game Developers Association revealed that Caulfield would be its new executive director, filling a seat that was vacated on March 31 by Jason Della Rocca. IGDA Chairman Bob Bates said that naming a game industry outsider was part of a move to change the role of the executive director position in order to better serve the association.

"The decision to hire someone from outside the games industry was not taken lightly, but when the board examined the challenges we face, we realized our key volunteers already have a wealth of industry knowledge, and what we needed was an experienced association professional to help us manage the organization to better serve the needs of our SIGs, chapters, and members worldwide," Bates said. “While the executive director role has traditionally been an outward-facing one, in the future, the chair will take on the spokesperson role to enable the executive director to focus on the critical tasks of running the association.“

Caulfield will preside over an association that has seen significant growth during Della Rocca's tenure. In Della Rocca's nine years as executive director, the IGDA amassed over 70 chapters worldwide, saw its membership rise from 500 to 15,000, and created the Studio Affiliation program, which allows developers from over 120 development houses to collaborate. Caulfield may have quite a job on his hands, if Della Rocca's scathing apology letter is an accurate account of the position's difficulty.

Previously, Caulfield was the executive vice president of the American Machine Tool Distributors' Association, the chief marketing officer for tech supply group Tech River, and the director of marketing at the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers' Institute.

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While Midway's financial troubles have been well-documented, it seems like the company is on the verge of rescue, thanks to a $33 million buyout from Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment. While that's probable good news for some in the company, the future of Midway sports titles is not as bright. Two of Midway's internal studios, Midway Newcastle and Midway San Diego, were not included in the sale and it's the latter that was responsible for the company's entry into the wrestling genre, TNA iMPACT!. According to Kotaku, while the Blitz license is part of the WB deal, Midway's arcade basketball series NBA Ballers and the TNA license are not. As pointed out in a recent Joystiq post, studios not named in the Warner Bros. deal have 60 days to find a buyer before they're shuttered.

While the value of the Blitz brand is understandable, the future of the Ballers and TNA licenses are not so clear. Of the two, the Ballers series is clearly the lesser value--the last game in the series was poorly received by critics and fans alike and furthermore, the NBA license deal with Midway has apparently expired. To me, however, the larger problem is the genre itself. With EA Sports abandoning its NBA Street series (for now, at least), it seems that arcade hoops games have fallen out of fashion, making the likelihood of another Ballers game in the near future a slim one.

Unfortunately, the same thing might just be happening in the wrestling genre as well. Last year's TNA iMPACT! was a decent debut, with a good roster of talent and gameplay that cast a pretty unfavorable light on the relatively ancient SmackDown! Vs. Raw engine. And if iMPACT's sales didn't impress (according to NPD, iMPACT! sold just under 300K copies on all platforms; by contrast, SmackDown! Vs Raw 2009 managed the same number on the Xbox 360 alone), at the very least, the game introduced some much-needed competition to the genre.

Of course that was last year, and things have changed significantly since then. THQ has turned down the hype on the SmackDown vs. Raw series (we've yet to see anything significant on SmackDown! vs Raw 2010), instead focusing its sports marketing muscle on the newly introduced UFC Undisputed series. With THQ looking to gear up for a prolonged and fascinating fight with EA Sports' recently announced MMA game, and the ever-present licensing disputes between THQ, the WWE, and Jakks Pacific, it's understandable that the company wants to focus its energy on its hottest property and move the wrestling game into the background.

None of this is particularly good news for Midway San Diego which is reportedly still working on a follow-up to TNA iMPACT!. It's conceivable that someone could pick up the studio but, for now, it seems today's lean times--both for the studio and for wrestling games in general--will be tomorrow's lean times as well.

Get the full article at GameSpot

While Midway's financial troubles have been well-documented, it seems like the company is on the verge of rescue, thanks to a $33 million buyout from Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment. While that's probable good news for some in the company, the future of Midway sports titles is not as bright. Two of Midway's internal studios, Midway Newcastle and Midway San Diego, were not included in the sale and it's the latter that was responsible for the company's entry into the wrestling genre, TNA iMPACT!. According to Kotaku, while the Blitz license is part of the WB deal, Midway's arcade basketball series NBA Ballers and the TNA license are not. As pointed out in a recent Joystiq post, studios not named in the Warner Bros. deal have 60 days to find a buyer before they're shuttered.

While the value of the Blitz brand is understandable, the future of the Ballers and TNA licenses are not so clear. Of the two, the Ballers series is clearly the lesser value--the last game in the series was poorly received by critics and fans alike and furthermore, the NBA license deal with Midway has apparently expired. To me, however, the larger problem is the genre itself. With EA Sports abandoning its NBA Street series (for now, at least), it seems that arcade hoops games have fallen out of fashion, making the likelihood of another Ballers game in the near future a slim one.

Unfortunately, the same thing might just be happening in the wrestling genre as well. Last year's TNA iMPACT! was a decent debut, with a good roster of talent and gameplay that cast a pretty unfavorable light on the relatively ancient SmackDown! Vs. Raw engine. And if iMPACT's sales didn't impress (according to NPD, iMPACT! sold just under 300K copies on all platforms; by contrast, SmackDown! Vs Raw 2009 managed the same number on the Xbox 360 alone), at the very least, the game introduced some much-needed competition to the genre.

Of course that was last year, and things have changed significantly since then. THQ has turned down the hype on the SmackDown vs. Raw series (we've yet to see anything significant on SmackDown! vs Raw 2010), instead focusing its sports marketing muscle on the newly introduced UFC Undisputed series. With THQ looking to gear up for a prolonged and fascinating fight with EA Sports' recently announced MMA game, and the ever-present licensing disputes between THQ, the WWE, and Jakks Pacific, it's understandable that the company wants to focus its energy on its hottest property and move the wrestling game into the background.

None of this is particularly good news for Midway San Diego which is reportedly still working on a follow-up to TNA iMPACT!. It's conceivable that someone could pick up the studio but, for now, it seems today's lean times--both for the studio and for wrestling games in general--will be tomorrow's lean times as well.

Get the full article at GameSpot

Publisher goes Super Saiyan, grabs five-year exclusive license for games based on license across all major consoles and handhelds.

In fiscal 2008, the Dragon Ball franchise accounted for roughly half of Atari's sales. Beginning next year, that percentage will drop to zero.

Want more DBZ? Namco Bandai has you covered until 2015.

Namco Bandai Games America today announced that it has obtained the exclusive North American rights to publish Dragon Ball games on all major consoles and handhelds, starting in January 2010. The deal--struck with rights-holders Toei Animation and FUNimation--will run for a five-year term.

This is not the first indication that Atari's tenure with the license was coming to an end. Last month, Namco Bandai announced that it would be publishing a trio of games based on the Dragon Ball series this fall. The first, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, will see release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, while Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo will be available exclusively for the Wii, and Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans will head to the DS. At the time, neither Atari nor Namco Bandai answered GameSpot's questions about publishing rights to the series.

Even before that news, there had been friction between Atari and the Dragon Ball rights holders. FUNimation and Atari fought briefly over the Dragon Ball game license in October 2007, with Atari resolving the issue by extending its licensing agreement for the franchise through January 2010.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Publisher goes Super Saiyan, grabs five-year exclusive license for games based on license across all major consoles and handhelds.

In fiscal 2008, the Dragon Ball franchise accounted for roughly half of Atari's sales. Beginning next year, that percentage will drop to zero.

Want more DBZ? Namco Bandai has you covered until 2015.

Namco Bandai Games America today announced that it has obtained the exclusive North American rights to publish Dragon Ball games on all major consoles and handhelds, starting in January 2010. The deal--struck with rights-holders Toei Animation and FUNimation--will run for a five-year term.

This is not the first indication that Atari's tenure with the license was coming to an end. Last month, Namco Bandai announced that it would be publishing a trio of games based on the Dragon Ball series this fall. The first, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast, will see release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, while Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo will be available exclusively for the Wii, and Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans will head to the DS. At the time, neither Atari nor Namco Bandai answered GameSpot's questions about publishing rights to the series.

Even before that news, there had been friction between Atari and the Dragon Ball rights holders. FUNimation and Atari fought briefly over the Dragon Ball game license in October 2007, with Atari resolving the issue by extending its licensing agreement for the franchise through January 2010.

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

Hollywood may be slowing down in anticipation of the three-day Fourth of July weekend, but its citizens have still been tweeting hard today in the Twitter-Wood feed. Arnold Schwarzenegger in particular has been keeping his TwitterBerry application close in the face of California’s unresolved budget problems. In fact, today he met a rather enthusiastic fan that he will tell you about in perhaps one too many details.

America’s Independence Day means parties galore, and the faces of Twitter-Wood have been busy making plans. Emmy Rossum received a preemptive tweet-vite for an Evite from Jessica Simpson (along with a generous compliment), and Russell Brand today pondered aloud and uncensored what he will wear to P. Diddy’s infamous white party affair. Check out all of this and some grumbles from New Orleans on the set of “Father of Invention” below in the Twitter-Wood report for July 2, 2009.

@Schwarzenegger Fresno protests have good lines. Esp. the guy asking me 2 sign Terminator 2 & budget. But saying he loved me in Red Sonja - below the belt.
-Arnold Schwarzenegger, Actor (”Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” “Total Recall”)

@rustyrockets Going to @iamdiddy’s “White Party” on the 4th. Costume? Ice cream man garb? Ghost? Klan outfit? I am opposed to racism and death so- JESUS.
-Russell Brand, Actor (”Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Get Him to the Greek”)

Birthday Evite pt 1: @JessicaSimpson @emmyrossum can’t wait to see your costume on the 10th! birthday evite coming soon you are always the best dressed!!!
-Jessica Simpson, Actress/Musician (”The Dukes of Hazzard,” “Employee of the Month”)

Birthday Evite pt 2: @emmyrossum Awesome! Excited to hear the theme! RT @JessicaSimpson @emmyrossum can’t wait to see ur costume on the 10th! u are always the best dressed!!
-Emmy Rossum, Actress (”Dragonball Evolution,” “The Phantom of the Opera”)

“Father of Invention” pt 1: @DanaBrunetti Trying to shoot a playground scene. It is so hot that kids in the background can’t slide down the slide!
-Dana Brunetti, Producer (”Fanboys,” “Casino Jack”)

“Father of Invention” pt 2: @DanaBrunetti WTF is with the trains in New Orleans blowing their horns non-stop? Sound on todays scenes is going to be shit.

@james_gunn Hollywood already seems to have shut down for the 4th. It’s hard to get work done.
-James Gunn, Director/Writer (”Slither”)

Don’t forget to follow @MTVMoviesBlog on Twitter for all the latest updates from the world of movies.

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