If you enjoyed the last Nordic Game conference and are looking forward to this year's event, we've got some news for you. Quite a number of big name speakers will be sharing their thoughts at the Business and Production part of the program. To find out who will at the event, head on over to the full article.

No one has ever doubted the massive impact the World of Warcraft expansion The Burning Crusade had on the gaming market.

In terms of financial gain, Vivendi SA is a video game developer; formerly known as Vivendi Universal">Vivendi's Games Division has announced that the company had an EBITA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, and Amortization) of 119 Million Euros for the first six months of 2007. This places them up by a whopping 91.9% from the previous year.

The company has attributed this gain to the very successful launch of WoW: The Burning Crusade and their increased subscription base of 9 million players worldwide.

The numbers they posted are also said to be affected by a non-recurring release due to Blizzard's profit sharing and talent retention plan as well as the other Sierra releases throughout the year.

A very good showing from the company. It makes one wonder on how much of an impact Wrath of the Lich King will make on Vivendi's earnings when it comes out.

The industry-focused leg of the Games Convention at GCDC 2007 will take place">Leipzig is expected to break its previous record of 650 attendees, after Leipziger Messe GmbH announced through press wire that the registered attendee tally for the 2007 event has hit 850 attendees. The Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC) will take place on August 20-22, just before the consumer and retailer exhibition.

 

Hailing from 35 countries all over the globe - 60 percent from the North American and UK regions - participants have the opportunity to witness the delivery of more than 80 event keynotes from over 120 speakers. And representatives from their respective industry segments - namely handheld, mobile, console, PC, Mac, and online markets - will expound on visions, themes and issues relevant to the industry's times.

Although much of the planned discussions will be focused on the industry side, there will also be discussions on how society and political bodies can properly recognize the gaming industry, and the significance of associations representing the game industry to the outside world.

And in another note, Leipziger Messe has particularly named Tim Schafer of Double Fine Production (Grim Fandango, Psychonauts) to deliver his keynote speech entitled "Games and Creativity," adapted for the new age of game development. If memory serves us right, Schafer and his studio has been secretly at work on a game project under Vivendi's revived Sierra Entertainment label.

It was claimed to be titled "Brutal Legend", but that has been under question for some time since it was retracted. But if former Leipzig revelations are were groundbreaking, then you may count that fellow blogger Schafer will spill more details on his ambitious "labor of love."

The 2007 Games Convention Developers Conference opening remarks will be delivered by none other than the Chairman of the European Games Development Forum (EGDF), Fred Hasson. More GC and GCDC news coming your way, before the Leipzig-filled week begins next Monday.

The team-up between Sierra Online and Korean game developer JC Entertainment has finally borne fruit. FreeStyle Street Basketball has finally started making its way to virtual courts across North America and is now available in retail stores or via digital download.

FreeStyle Street Basketball is a fast-paced MMO basketball game where players meet on virtual courts to challenge each other in a dynamic pick-up game environment featuring cool tunes, fashions and gravity defying basketball moves. Gamers can play 1-on-1, 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 street basketball online against people from around the country.

It's essentially free to play, but gamers can also purchase a premium account via retail or digital download for US$ 19.99 to get access to unique items and other goodies.

Sierra Entertainment's Freestyle Street is currently making some waves in the MMORPG market. With customizable avatars and killer moves that'll leave your defenders in a knot, how can any sports aficionado not fall for the game?

Of course, any baller with some street cred knows that "it ain't the same without some rhymes." The song they chose for this vid is very apt "Go Hard or Go Home" by Lloyd Banks. The footage they got of the game is really cool with some dunks, fadeaway shots, and blocks that would really make defenders look like fools. After watching that video, it made us want to just lace up our sneaks and hit the courts hard even if we can only dream of pulling off most of the moves the avatars do in the game.

This game is already out now, so if you like "b-ball" you should check it. Here's the video, enjoy.

Vivendi SA is a video game developer; formerly known as Vivendi Universal">Vivendi Games is known throughout the world for its four main divisions: Blizzard, Sierra, Sierra Online, and Vivendi Games Mobile. They have pointed out Blizzard's World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade as the main reason for the company's increased revenue.

Vivendi has posted a whopping 117% revenue increase from last year because of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion. The company has also given word regarding their first quarter profits which has been pegged at € 771 million, a substantial gain of 22.8% from their last posting. It only goes to follow that the net income of the media conglomerate has also risen by 32% to € 932 million.

The company has given an official statement in its annual report regarding their increase in revenue saying that "the strong increase is primarily driven by the successful January release of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade." Vivendi definitely has a lot to be happy about but how long will this boom last?

Yep, straight from Aussie Kotakuite Luke from...well, Kotaku, it seems that the Asia-Pacific version of E3 was a bust. Aside from enthusiastic PC and LAN gamers who attended the show, Luke summed up the lackluster turn-out, stating, "The venue was too big, the crowds too small and the number, and relevance, of games on-show was rubbish."

With the promise of game demonstration booths, the 2007 GO3 Expo was a little underhanded to deliver, without giants like Sony and Nintendo to showcase their line-up of games for their consoles at Perth, Australia. Microsoft, as an official sponsor, did make an appearance at the show. According to Luke, the only booth worthy of note was Sierra Entertainment's World in Conflict that allowed gamers to try out the yet-to-be-released game.

While the conference period from Friday to Saturday, with Metal Gear Solid's Hideo Kojima as a guest speaker, was anything but a disappointment, the latter part of the event, which happened at the extremely roomy showroom floor, wasn't something to boast about either. In fact, with booths displaying already released games, there was nothing really left for gamers to go for.

Of course, with the cos-play competition, the LAN gaming event and the showcase of Australia's ESWC 2007 team, it wasn't such a disappointment. Well, at least not to PC fans for the most part, that is...  Click on the "Read" link below to get more picture coverage of the 2007 GO3 Expo, courtesy of Kotaku and Luke.

After purchasing Sierra and off-shoot Sierra Online, Vivendi SA is a video game developer; formerly known as Vivendi Universal">Vivendi (formerly Vivendi Universal) has kept the classic brand name that popped out superior titles like Caesar, Kings Quest, Police Quest, and Space Quest (among others) under the Vivendi Games' shadow. But now Vivendi CEO Bruce Hack told MCV that they're bringing up the name once again.

Vivendi is now gearing their four labels to target their own market and consumer block. Blizzard Entertainment is now in charge of satisfying the MMO slice of the gaming pie, while Sierra Online is being restructured for delivering quality casual games. Vivendi Mobile is shuffling their cards for the mobile game market and Sierra is now looking up to address the needs of console and PC gamers worldwide.

And while Sierra is well-known in the PC gaming segment, the name is about to get ramped up in the next few years with exceptional quality titles, including titles that were originally released under the Sierra brand. World in Conflict and TimeShift are two highly anticipated games that will be coming out this year sporting Sierra's seal of quality.

"The revival of the Sierra brand comes from product. Over time as our products become better and establish themselves as perennial franchises, the name Sierra will be given a stronger life. As we move forward, our products get stronger and as they are established as franchises the name Sierra will be strengthened," Hack concluded.

Need a refreshing break from all the war-and-combat-loaded MMOGs you've been playing lately? Would you like to just sit back and chill with something that's more laid-back and fun? Fret not you weary MMO-playing souls, because JC Entertainment is right there with ya. No idea what we're talking about? We're talking streetballin' action, baby!

And with Freestyle Street Basketball all geared up for release a few days from now, Sierra's online sports game for the PC is just about ready to hit the streets and unleash some phat hoop-shooting action. And the fact that the game is being developed by folks from MMO-land itself (Korea, for those not in the know), we can pretty much rest assured that Freestyle Street Basketball will have the essential MMORPG elements that you're looking for.

Featuring RPG elements such as experience points and equipment upgrades all in cel-shaded environments with an urban hiphop feel to 'em, streetballers can look forward to having Freestyle Street Basketball in the coming months. Now sit back, chill, and bask in all the cell-shaded glory from these screenies via WorthPlaying.

   

Speaking of looking forwards to Freestyle Street Basketball, we've been getting completely different release dates from everywhere. IGN says March 15, but Gamespot says May 15, and Amazon's got it up for April 24. One or two of them's got to be tossing bricks at the hoop, that's all we can suspect. Can anyone help us here?

Sierra Online recently announced that they've drafted some of the hottest hip-hop artists to provide phat sounds to their upcoming JC Entertainment-developed basketball sim game for the PC, FreeStyle Street Basketball.

Some of these artists include Young Hot Rod, Sha Money XL, and G-Unit's Lloyd Banks, who has been tasked to create the official theme song for the game and whose debut album has sold more than three million copies. Lloyd Banks says,

I jumped at the chance to create an exclusive song for FreeStyle Street Basketball, especially since hip-hop has always been relevant in the street basketball culture. I'm always playing video games so to have the opportunity to record the theme song for a game is crazy.

Good thing we didn't have to bleep any of the words there, huh? Harhar. So anyway, just in case you've never heard of the game, it's an MMO game that allows players to go on 1-on-1, 2-on-2, or 3-on-3 street basketball battles and currently has more than 30 million players in Asia.

When asked about the reasons behind the selection of the game's soundtrack artists, Sierra Online President Ed Zobrist said, "G-Unit artists embody the spirit of street basketball so Lloyd Banks, Young Hot Rod, and Sha Money XL are a perfect fit for FreeStyle Street Basketball.We are excited to combine great artists with great gameplay." Interested parties can now download the Game Client for FreeStyle Street Basketball by hitting the read link below.