Winners Announced 1st Wickerman, 2nd Anuban, 3rd Da JAP

DigitalBattle is holding a contest for those who like to comment on our stories, it’s to celebrate 1 million visitors to the site since it started over a year and half ago. From this week on, we’ll pick the best 3 comments each week and award each one with a game. All you have to do is to continue posting relevant and constructive comments on stories. Check out this week’s prizes after the jump. READ ON »

If the above scary-looking Wii appeals to you, then you are welcome to join the Manhunt 2 sweepstakes. Rockstar is giving away a 50″ plasma screen TV and the above Wii, which looks like a regular Wii splattered with blood in keeping with the game’s violent themes.

The re-rated game is due out on October 31 on PS2, PSP and Wii.

Unreal Engine 3 has been very profitable for Epic, as it is now used for almost every good-looking game in the wild. For those wishing for it to show up on the Wii… keep on dreaming, as Mark Rein does not think there’s much “money” in the platform.

“What we’re doing is the really high-end, next-generation visuals,” he said. “We’re pushing these machines real hard. I just think that we have too many things on our plate to go back and put resources into that kind of thing.”

He doubts the profitability of the platform, simply commenting “I don’t think there’s a lot of money on making engines for the Wii.” Apparently, the Xbox 360 is where it’s at, and the PS3 is the one to look forward to in the future. “Unless you’re going to sell your engine to Nintendo, you’re going for scraps on that platform,” said Rein.

To celebrate the release of MySims in the UK, EA has commissioned four of the country’s hottest fashion designers to create a dual purpose capsule collection based on the core attributes of the game – Self Expression, Customization, Creativity, and Collectability. Below’s the whole deal:

• Giles Deacon ? Eek Wii-mote/Bag talisman ? based on Giles? signature avatar Eek will come with special My Sims elements designed to stimulate the mind or just act as good luck. RRP

The second (and announced to be the last) entry in the Penumbra series has gotten itself an official story line. The upcoming psychological horror experience, subtitled Black Plague, will focus on the adventures of Philip as he goes on a search of his dead father.

A letter from a dead man.

A secret buried beneath frozen wasteland.

A dark, sinister family mystery.

Philip’s life will never be the same again…

Trapped in a shadowy, underground complex, intrepid explorer Philip is determined to discover the truth behind his father’s disappearance.
Surrounded by enemies and assaulted by terror from all sides, Philip must collect clues and solve vexing puzzles while combating the gnawing psychological terrors that assail his mind and threaten to strip him of his sanity. Can Philip master his fear and finally uncover the truth behind a mystery that has haunted him for a lifetime? Only you can decide…

Penumbra: Black Plague is set for worldwide release during Q1 2008.

“The Zune isn’t playing Halo 3 anytime soon,” says J Allard, the bald dude who has now taken over the Zune department at Microsoft. He revealed to Reuters that games aren’t in the pipeline for the company’s media player, though considering the company’s pedigree, it should.

“I love games and maybe for someone with a 40-minute commute, it might be an interesting scenario,” he said. ”Thus far, the market really hasn’t proven out that it is a great scenario. Customer satisfaction with what has been done isn’t that high. The other challenge is with the platform. The games that you bought in your fifth generation don’t run with your sixth generation. … The rate of innovation, turnover, and variety of form factors makes it a tricky proposition.”

It appears Bizarre was only the beginning, according to this MCV report. Activision’s European chief has revealed that the company “won’t turn down the chance to acquire another key developer” or even build a new studio on its own, if the opportunity arises.

Apparently, the publisher is “always looking at opportunities,” according to Joerg Trouvain. He explained that there were two reasons for the acquisition of Bizarre, stating the need to “expand development capacity” and “to enter the racing genre which we haven’t been in before.”

It was announced today that Pirates of the Burning Sea will launch worldwide on January 22, 2008. This pirate-themed MMO allows players to choose between four factions – Pirate, English, French and Spanis – and vie for dominance of the seas. As expected, players will have to battle over ownership of the game’s numerous ports, which affect the in-game economy. Combat occurs in both ship-to-ship mortal combat, as well as long-range firing.

Those who pre-order the title will get access to a wide variety of bonus items, including a powerful in-game weapon and a parrot, along with early access to the game.

Contra will be back to kick some alien ass on November 13 when Contra 4 hits stores on the DS. It was revealed through a scan of the game’s retail one-sheet on NeoGAF.

According to the sheet, a dedicated website for the game should launch later this month. As the title implies, the game is a throwback to the days of the original Contra; it comes complete with two-player cooperative play.

EA and NBA send word that they have united to hold a second tour of NBA Europe Live, where they bring some of the world’s best basketball action to fans in Europe. The event has already begun on October 1 and features the Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves in training camps and exhibition games against top Euroleague Basketball clubs in six cities across Turkey, Italy, Spain, and the UK. The first games of this year?s tour are on October 6 in both Istanbul and Rome.

Besides the tour, EA will also hold a number of events around the launch of NBA LIVE 08, which will be available on PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360 later this month.

“NBA Europe Live is a fantastic platform for EA SPORTS and our partners at the NBA to share our passion for real and virtual basketball with fans and gamers across Europe,” said Matt Bilbey, Senior Director of International Marketing, EA SPORTS. “We?re pleased to continue to be ambassadors for NBA basketball and with the launch of NBA LIVE 08 in Europe today are excited for gamers to be able to celebrate the best basketball action on the virtual court.”