These days, a company can't live without proper marketing. No matter how brilliant are your products, without proper promotion, they won't ever go into mainstream, reaching enough gamers to make you rich. Well, every rule must have its exceptions, and it seems Activision Blizzard tries to go against the stream, by taking a strange decision...

<-180x150 Small Rectangle - left->So...what did they do? It seems that ActiBlizz won't show up at the E4, because the company decided to cancel its membership in the Entertainment Software Association!

Regarding this matter, ESA spokesman Rich Taylor said "While the Entertainment Software Association remains the preeminent voice for U.S. computer and video game publishers, we can confirm that Activision and Vivendi Games opted to discontinue their membership. The ESA remains dedicated to advancing our industry's objectives such as protecting intellectual property, preserving First Amendment rights, and fostering a beneficial environment for the entire industry. Our high level of service and value to members and the larger industry remains unchanged."

Unfortunately, no official comments are available at this time, but I am sure that, in the long run, this move won't really affect ActiBlizz. After all, Starcraft 2 is on its way, and World of Warcraft still goes on at full speed...

In the "games I didn't manage to play yet" collection, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition holds a special place. If you played it already, you know why. If you haven't, I won't tell you, because this is not about me or Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, but about the following "gold edition" of this game, entitled Lost Planet: Colonies. What about it? Screenshots!



<-125x125 Button - left->Well, Capcom released a bunch of new high resolution screenshots, but there are also some details available about this upcoming addition to the successful PC and Xbox 360 title release in early 2007.Did I say something about the new things to arrive in Lost Planet? Oh, yeah, here's what you will get, apart from the new multiplayer maps and modes: four single player modes - FPS mode, Score Attack, Off-Limit, and Time Trial.

Other than the above, I should remind you that Lost Planet: Colonies is scheduled to be released in Europe and the US on June 6 and May 27 respectively. To find out more, feel free to visit the official Lost Planet website.

I don't know about the others, but sometimes I get distracted by very simple games for a long time. One of these games, apart from Minesweeper, has always been Pinball. I am talking about the one that comes with Windows, of course, so it's no surprise that I was delighted to find out about the game reelased today by SouthPeak Games, called Dream Pinball 3D!

As you can see in the screenshot above, this title promises to be "a dazzling pinball simulator [that] combines striking 3D graphics, realistic physics and a refined control scheme." Now, the game should be available in stores across North America already, but I guess I'll have to wait for a while until it becomes available in Europe too.

Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games, said "Dream Pinball delivers a dose of nostalgia along with a great price point that makes it a must-buy for any fan of the genre."

"Great price point?" Sure, m'am, you can count me on! The recommended retail price is only $19.99, and the game is available for Windows PCs, the Nintendo DS, and the Wii. For additional details, feel free to click and surf to the Dream Pinball 3D official site.