Realizing that not every PC gamer would be able to flush down $829 for the sake of a top-of-the-line GPU like the GeForce 8800 Ultra, NVIDIA has now offered a more cost-conscious graphics solution in the form of their new GeForce 7200 GS.

A NVIDIA press release says the card will soon find its way into PCs built by leading system manufacturers, but for gamers currently gaming without a GPU, the GeForce 7200 GS can be purchased at a retail price of “under $50″.
 

“Windows Vista, which benefits greatly from additional 3D performance, is gaining market share and mainstream applications such as Microsoft Maps, Google Picasso and iTunes are also starting to take advantage of 3D graphics,” notes NVIDIA’s desktop GPU general manager Ujesh Desai. “By making a small investment in graphics performance, customers buying Vista PCs can go from an underwhelming experience to one that delivers exceptional performance and features.”
 

The release also indicates that this new card provides support for Microsoft DirectX 9.0, Shader Model 3.0, and high dynamic-range (HDR) lighting. However, the company did not specify how well these new 7200 GS cards will integrate with DirectX 10.

It is being rumored that a brand new installment to the widely acclaimed StarCraft series will not only be announced later this month, but that it will also have a gameplay engine very similar to World of Warcraft.

Over the weekend, CVG reported that “well placed US sources” have confirmed that the game, currently being referred to as Starcraft MMO, will be one of the highlights at the Worldwide Invitational event South Korea, which has long been the hub for the sci-fi RTS genre.
Vivendi Games, head of distribution for both the Warcraft and StarCraft franchises, is very excited about the announcement but remians tight-lipped about the finer details until the actual press conference.  Understandable. 

Commodore Gaming is saying that demand for its recently launched super high-spec PCs is “reaching epic proportions,” which has prompted the company to make its lower-spec models - the G and GS models - available earlier than planned. 

They’re selling now, as a metter of fact. Specifications of the G and GS models can be found at Commodore’s website.

Originally, the G and GS models weren’t to be sold through the online store and would only be available through Commodore Gaming’s retail outlets, which are shortly to open in the UK, Germany, France, and the Benelux.

Currently, the online store is only open to residents of the UK and Ireland, but Commodore Gaming plans to open it up to the rest of Europe this month.

“It’s incredible to see such demand for our gaming PCs in this first week, and as such we are offering a wider selection for our online customers to choose from. By including the Commodore G and GS models in the online store, we are now catering for all customers from entry level to extreme level,” said Commodore CEO Bala Keilman.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, the highly anticipated MMORPG, has been delayed.  Originally scheduled to reach the U.S. and Europe later this year, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will instead touch down some time during the first quarter of 2008.

“Since our acquisition by EA, we have been afforded many wonderful development opportunities and we plan to take full advantage of everything that is available. This includes taking several additional months to make the best MMORPG possible,” Jacobs said in a Warhammer Online newsletter, later revealing how the development team has gone back and reworked certain parts of the game too after reviewing work more or less completed.  He described the results of this revisit as “nothing short of spectacular.”

“By extending our development time, we’ll be able to do these in-depth reviews several times prior to launch to ensure all areas of WAR benefit from the experience of ongoing development,” he added.

Jacobs closed the newsletter with the following: “This change to our ship date is probably not the news you were hoping to hear. In the end, we’ll be able to reward your patience with a truly next-generation MMORPG that will make GW proud, all of us at EA thrilled and most importantly, you, the players, as happy as a Black Orc in battle. We only get one chance at a successful launch, and we plan to catapult this one over the walls of Altdorf.”

According to a new report from the New York Times, PC games may be in for a jolt this year, if recent sales figures are taken into account.

According to NPD Group data, U.S. sales of PC games earned $203 million within the first two months of 2007, up 48% from the $136.8 million generated during the first two months of 2006NPD analyst, Anita Frazier, pointed out that these figures only account for in-store retail sales and therefore do not include revenues from online subscription fees. But still…

However, much of the success of January and February in the PC market, however, can be attributed to the astronomical sales records of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. The Blizzard expansion set managed to effortlessly sell 3.5 million copies within the first month of its launch in mid-January.

The Times article explains that Microsoft’s recent efforts to streamline PC gaming with the introduction of Windows Vista and online services like Games for Windows - Live may do its part in influencing a PC gaming renaissance.

And contrary to previous generations in which consoles emulated PCs, it seems like PCs are doing more to emulate consoles. With Games for Windows - Live’s integration with Xbox Live, PC gaming will soon implement features previously assumed to be console-exclusive, such as achievement points and leaderboards. Further still, with the aid of a $20 USB adapter, gamers will be able to hook up their Xbox 360 controllers to their PCs.
Some observers have predicted the imminent fall of PC gaming at the hands of more sophisticated consoles, but the unrivaled success of the MMORPG and FPS genres continues to prove them wrong. According to other observers, such as Michael Arzt of the American office of International Cyber Marketing, PC gaming will never go away: “The thing about the economics of the PC,” he states, is that “everybody needs a computer.” Good point.

Last May, Ubisoft announced that it was making a game based on the show Lost and that the game would be released in 2007 on unspecified consoles and handhelds as well as the PC. 

The publisher has been as quiet on details, but some information leaked earlier this week, courtesy of the show’s producers, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.  Speaking on their weekly Lost podcast, the two television execs answered a fan’s e-mail regarding the game’s platforms.  Lindelof confirmed that the game is headed to the Xbox 360, and Cuse stated that it will also be on the PC and PS3. The two didn’t get into details, saying only that Ubisoft Montreal showed them a “very impressive” demo of the game and that it would be “really cool,” though “not as cool as Galaga.”

Mobile game developer Gameloft has released Lost The Mobile Game, which features Jack as a playable character and a storyline created by Lost writers.

A little more than a year after announcing its collaboration with THQ on a trio of games in development, Double Fusion announced today that it had expanded its dealings with the publisher.  THQ and Double Fusion have digned a multi-title deal, allowing the in-game ad firm to place ads in - among others - its upcoming Juiced, MX vs. ATV, and Stuntman games. Double Fusion is promising “a rich array of dynamic advertising placements” in the game, with brands incorporated into the titles’ gameplay. The in-game ad firm has said it is seeking approval of its technology for every console platform, and wants to deliver ads into games of all stripes, from massively multiplayer online games to more casual offerings.

Recoil Games, which recently announced to the public but in business since January, will produce titles for next-generation consoles and PC, and products from Recoil Games will have a horror film feel written all over them.

Recoil Games will be based in Helsinki, Finland, and will be headed up by former Remedy Entertainment co-founder Samuli Syvähuoko.

Recoil will focus on “Cinegames” that have the “scope, feel, and ensemble cast of disaster movies.” Recoil games will also explore strife caused by “internal human conflict,” an area the developer considers to be overlooked in the action/adventure genre.

The company is currently working on an original intellectual property powered by in-house technology and third-party tools with potential platforms being the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. No release date has been announced for the project.

Syvähuoko previously served as managing director of Remedy, the studio that developed the Max Payne games and is currently working on the psychological thriller Alan Wake.

Independent UK developer RedBedlam Ltd  has announced “The Escalation” update for the classical MMORPG Roma Victor, which is scheduled to be released in May.

The free expansion will feature significant updates for the guild and encounter systems, a sophisticated mechanism for player elections, new settlements, and  the possibility of conquering, pillaging, and looting these player-run settlements.
The key towns and forts along Hadrian’s Wall will remain under Roman Provincial Law with all of its associated political intrigue, mercantile opportunities, state protection, and harsh penalties. 

The new settlements, however, are expected to spring up both north and south of ‘The Wall,’ and tensions are sure to rise as various player Tribes, Houses, and Cults vie for power and territory.  Other guild classes,such as Warbands, Auxilia and Legions, will surely play a pivotal combat role in the inevitable power struggles.

Many of these advanced features make use of one of RedBedlam’s latest additions to Roma Victor, the highly-anticipated particle effects system, which adds vivid and sometimes realistic blood, sweat, dust, sparks, flames, smoke and much, much more.

Kerry Fraser-Robinson, RedBedlam’s Managing Director commented, “Our historic virtual world is being shaped by its own community. We’ve provided the land, resources and political system but it’s the players that hone their skills, master their crafts and fight for their land.”

RedBedlam is planning to introduce further improvements and changes, not least of which is the re-introduction of an active in-game story arc driving events and intrigue forward in exciting new ways.

Activision has released some information regarding pre-orders for their upcoming multiplayer FPS, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars. Players can pre-order their copy at Gamestop today and on April 12 at Best Buy.
Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Limited Collector’s Edition features premium packaging with a slipcase, as well as ten collector’s cards, available only through the Limited Collector’s Edition offer. In addition to the premium packaging and collectible cards, fans will receive a bonus DVD, complete with concept art and other cool stuff for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars’ biggest fans.
In Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars, players choose to battle as one of five unique classes in either the conventionally armed GDF army or the futuristic Strogg invasion force, each outfitted with specialist weapons and combat hardware. Warring forces utilize a variety of different vehicles, deployable structures, and defense systems, including quad-bikes, tanks, and alien walkers for epic ground assaults; or helicopters and anti-gravity ships to unleash airborne attacks.

Throughout each battle, teams establish bases, deploy defense structures, artillery, radar, and advanced forward-command systems into enemy territory while constructing and demolishing obstacles to speed progress and gain a tactical advantage over the opponent. Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars delivers the ultimate team-and objective-based multiplayer experience.