“A Match Made in Halo”: A Halo-style wedding | Un matrimonio a la Halo

While you may fall in love with someone who enjoys the same thing you do and both of you decide to tie the knot, not many people may get the opportunity to have a wedding like the one Desirai Labrada and John Henry are about to have next month. How often does a couple get married: 1) at a gaming event, 2)  Halo-style,  3) with MTV recording your greatest moment in life, and 4) receiving the support of people and businesses in your community?

For a couple who met playing online, there’s nothing better than this. Read the following Full Sail press release for more info.

Aunque te enamores de alguien que disfruta lo mismo que tú y los dos deciden casarse, no mucha gente puede conseguir la oportunidad de tener un matrimonio como el que Desirai Labrada y John Henry están a punto de tener el próximo mes. ¿Con qué frecuencia logra una pareja casarse: ¿1) en un evento de juegos, 2) a la Halo, 3) con MTV presente grabando el gran momento de tu vida, y 4) recibiendo el apoyo de la gente y negocios en su comunidad?

Para una pareja que se conoció jugando en línea, no hay nada mejor que esto. Lean el siguiente comunicado de prensa para más información (en inglés).

From/De: Full Sail University [www.fullsail.edu]

Full Sail University Presents “A Match Made in Halo” Wedding Event

WINTER PARK, FL, December 19, 2008 – Full Sail University (www.fullsail.edu), an award-winning entertainment media university near Orlando, FL, presents the video game wedding event, “A Match Made in Halo.”  The wedding will take place on Saturday, January 17 at 1:00 PM at the Orlando Science Center (www.osc.org).

The couple will be married during Otronicon (www.otronicon.org), the ultimate video game experience, in front of 3,000 local guests in a fully-themed Halo wedding event.  Elements of the Halo theme include: game Master Chief serving as the officiant; bridal party attire featuring bride and groom’s Halo emblems; a string quartet to play Halo soundtrack music; a Halo-themed wedding cake; and Halo décor throughout the ceremony and reception.

The bride and groom and avid gamers, Desirai Labrada and John Henry, met while playing Halo online in December 2004 through the Xbox Live system.  In August 2005, Labrada relocated to Florida and began her studies at Full Sail University in the Digital Media Degree Program.  The couple continued their relationship while now living together in Central Florida.

“The ‘A Match Made in Halo’ wedding event will bring to life how interactive entertainment and digital media are changing the way we communicate with one another,” said Rob Catto, Program Director of Game Studies at Full Sail University.  “Today’s generation is meeting through online platforms and it is only natural for this unique way to connect and date to find its way into multi-player video games.”

MTV Multiplayer Gaming Blog will be blogging about the progression of the wedding plans and featuring 60-second videos prior to the wedding day.  MTV News will be traveling to Orlando in January to cover the wedding for a feature segment on MTV.

The couple has received numerous donations from businesses in the Central Florida area to create the Halo-themed memorable occasion.  They are the following: Apple Blossom Florist & Gifts (www.appleblossomflorist.com), providing floral décor and bouquets; Aramark (www.aramark.com), providing food and beverage catering; Atlantis 9 (www.atlantis9.com), providing videography services; Becky Lantree – Art Under Glass, providing custom pendants with bride’s Halo emblem; Clambake Partners – String Quartet, providing live Halo themed music; Copperhead Salon (www.copperheadsalon.com), providing hair services for bridal party; Good 2 Go Event Management Inc. (www.g2gevents.com), providing wedding planning services; Heather Smith – Costume Designer, providing wedding dress alterations and customization; La Bella Storia – Weddings & Events (www.labellastoria.com), providing wedding planning services; RF Photography (www.rfphotography.com), providing photography services; Sacino’s Formal Wear (www.sacino.com), providing groomsmen tuxes; Safia Pulliam – Makeup Artist, providing makeup for bridal party; Sullivan’s S&S Jewelers (www.sandsjewelers.com), providing wedding bands; and Zoet Finest Cakes (ww.zoetcakes.com), providing custom wedding cake.

“As a graduate of Full Sail, I have had the opportunity to attend Otronicon and have always enjoyed this one-of-a-kind event,” said Labrada.  “Now as a bride and a Halo fan, I cannot think of a more perfect setting to celebrate our wedding day.  John and I are greatly thankful to all involved for their generous contributions in making our Halo themed wedding dream a reality.”

Thousands Of Illegal Game Copying Devices Seized In Shop Raid

From/De: ELSPA

Equipment allowing the Nintendo DS™ handheld to play illegally copied games discovered in Cardiff raid

Friday 19th December/… A criminal raid at a shop and home premises in Cardiff has netted 1,800 infringing game copying devices and resulted in the apprehension of a man in his early 20s. The game copying devices bypass the technical protection measures of the Nintendo DS / DS Lite handheld system and enable the play of illegal Nintendo game software. The raid was carried out on the morning of December 17 by officers from the City and County of Cardiff Trading Standards Department and the South Wales Police. It resulted in the seizure of 1,800 game copying devices, which are illegal under the Trademarks and Copyright Acts.

It was later discovered that the as-yet unnamed man had imported the game copying devices through Heathrow in four consignments and was selling them through a website discovered by diligent investigators from industry trade body ELSPA (the Entertainment and Leisure Publishers Association). Action was taken following a test purchase.

Street Fighter IV: Rose is back! | ¡Rose vuelve!

EA: Restructuring plan | Plan de reestructuración

EA Releases Details on Previously Announced Reduction of Facilities and Work Force

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced further details on a restructuring plan which will include consolidating facilities and reducing the work force.

EA expects the restructuring plan will result in annual cost savings of approximately $120 million and restructuring charges of approximately $55-65 million over the next several quarters.

The plan is intended to reduce EA’s worldwide work force by approximately 10 percent or 1,000 people. The majority of these actions will be completed by March 31, 2009. This represents a four percent increase from the six percent reduction EA announced on October 30, 2008.

The restructuring also calls for consolidation or closure of at least nine studio and publishing locations. Among the facilities to be consolidated is the Black Box Studio facility in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Black Box development teams and associated game franchises will move to the nearby EA studio location in Burnaby, British Columbia.

EA is implementing a plan to narrow its product portfolio to focus on hit games with higher margin opportunities. The company remains committed to taking creative risks, investing in new games, leading the industry in the growing mobile and online businesses, and delivering high-quality games to consumers.

Crysis Wars: Frost Map – Trailer

EmpireofSports.com: MMO Prologue

From/De: EmpireofSports.com.

EMPIRE OF SPORTS: MMO PROLOGUE UNVEILED

Empire Of Sports Opens Its Doors To Sports Fans Across The Globe

Friday 19th December – Paris/… Empire of Sports is excited to announce that the first sports based MMO RPG is entering the next phase of its development: ‘Prologue’. Empire of Sports is an online universe entirely dedicated to sports-based game play, including tennis, football, skiing, bobsleigh, basketball as well as track and field.

Having kept the game playing community to a minimum during the initial private launch phase to generate feedback from the community, Empire of Sports is now ready to welcome a wider audience and thus continue to improve through to its official launch next year.

Thanks to the continued support and feedback of the Empire of Sports community, the developers have successfully evolved and improved gameplay mechanics, community tools, and group dynamics over the last few months. The business model has also been streamlined.

True to life, players must train their avatars in order to grow their skill sets and become the best in this world of sport. Players can also purchase in-game items which will facilitate strength and stamina and improve all-round performance.

The developers are keen to make further improvements in order to perfect the world’s first platform-dedicated sports MMO. The Prologue will mean gamers can now download Empire of Sports online free of charge and join over 150 nationalities already playing online and communicate their in-game experiences to help fine tune the gameplay and the business model during the final stages of development.

Guitar Hero World Tour: Upcoming tracks | Próximas canciones

Travis Barker, Rascal Flatts and Oasis Songs Among New Downloadable Guitar Hero^® World Tour Tracks in January

Travis Barker Encore Performance Showcases Diverse Music Genres

Country Superstars Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley and Brooks & Dunn Make Guitar Hero^® Debuts

British Multi-Platinum Selling Rockers Oasis Bring Full 2008 Album ‘Dig Out Your Soul’

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec 19, 2008 – Building upon the extensive variety of chart-topping hits that span multiple genres of music available to Guitar Hero fans, Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) will release over 20 party-rocking anthems as downloadable content for Guitar Hero^® World Tour throughout January 2009.

Before fans ring in the New Year, additional downloadable content for Guitar Hero World Tour from hard rock bands Hinder, Nickelback and Rev Theory, will be available on December 23rd. Hinder’s first single “Use Me,” from their recently released album Take It to the Limit, is joined by Nickelback’s “Because of You” and Rev Theory’s “Light it Up.”

Further diversifying the catalogue of songs available for download for Guitar Hero World Tour is the debut of the Country Rock Track Pack featuring Rascal Flatts “Me and My Gang,” plus GRAMMY^® Award winning artists Brad Paisley’s “Ticks” and Brooks & Dunn’s “Hillbilly Deluxe.” Country music fans can rock out starting on January 8th.

World-renowned drummer Travis Barker, whose likeness appears in Guitar Hero World Tour, is returning to the Guitar Hero stage on January 15th for an encore with a three-song Track Pack illustrating his talents across various styles of music. Two of the tracks, “What’s My Age Again” and “Lycanthrope,” are from his work as part of blink-182 and +44 respectively. Completing the Track Pack is his solo-project remixing Flo Rida’s smash-hit “Low.”

Following multiple stops around the world and further expanding the Guitar Hero global music library, Guitar Hero World Tour makes a trip down under on January 22nd with three of the biggest Australian bands of all-time. Silverchair makes their debut appearance in the Guitar Hero franchise with their 1995 hit “Tomorrow.” Rounding out the Track Pack is the GRAMMY Award winning Wolfmother with “Dimension” and The Vines with their hit “Outtathaway!”

After making a successful splash into Guitar Hero World Tour downloadable content with three singles off their critically acclaimed Dig Out Your Soul album, gamers will have the opportunity to shred, drum and wail away to the full album from beloved, multi-platinum UK rock band, Oasis, in its entirety on January 29th. Joining “Bag it Up,” “Waiting for the Rapture” and “The Shock of the Lightning” are “The Turning,” “I’m Outta Time,” “(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady,” “Falling Down,” “To Be Where There’s Life,” “Ain’t Got Nothin,” “The Nature of Reality” and “Soldier On.”

The Oasis Album will be available on Xbox LIVE^® Marketplace for the Xbox 360^® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 1520 Microsoft Points and on the PlayStation^®Store for the PLAYSTATION^®3 computer entertainment system for $18.99. The Track Packs will be released for Xbox 360 for 440 Microsoft Points and PLAYSTATION 3 system for $5.49. The songs on the Oasis Album and in each Track Pack will be released as downloadable singles for Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, PLAYSTATION 3 system for $1.99 and Wii^TM for 200 Wii Points.

Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero’s signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless controllers with new revolutionary online* and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands,” which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online. The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar controller, drum kit controller and a wired microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock ‘n’ roll anthems. Music creators are also able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunes(SM) where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations.

Guitar Hero World Tour is now available for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, the Wii home video game system from Nintendo and the PlayStation^®2 computer entertainment system. The game is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB. For more information on Guitar Hero World Tour, please visit worldtour.guitarhero.com/.

PlayStation Resistance 2 Online Tournament Coming Soon

From/De: SCEA

PlayStation Resistance 2 Online Tournament Coming Soon

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) together with Major League Gaming’s leading online tournament site, GameBattles, will offer fans of the premier, PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) exclusive first person shooter, Resistance 2™, a chance to battle it out for cash prizes and the ultimate bragging rights in the first ever Resistance 2™ Online Ladder/Tournament.  The battle against the Chimera begins on December 22, 2008, with competition culminating on March 31, 2009.