LEGO Indiana Jones Demo

Though the new Indiana Jones movie won't be arriving in theatres for another couple of days, fans who have been looking to try their hand at the new LEGO Indiana Jone: The Original Adventures don't have to wait any longer. Microsoft and Lucasarts announced that they are debuting an exclusive playable demo of the Games for Windows version of LEGO Indiana Jones on the official Games for Windows website (www.gamesforwindows.com). This demo is the only way you can experience the game, on any platform, before the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this Thursday. The game itself is only scheduled to release on June 3 ^rd .

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures is the latest installment in the LEGO gaming franchise, the next will be LEGO Batman , and it includes more than 60 playable characters and dozens of memorable Indiana Jones scenes. LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures will be available for Games for Windows PC and Nintendo DS for $29.99 USD and CAD, for Playstation 2 and PSP for $39.99 USD and CAD and for Wii, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 for $49.99 USD and CAD, and is rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and up.

SCE Worldwide Studios gets a new president

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) announced the appointment of Shuhei Yoshida, Senior Vice President of the U.S. Studios for Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS), as President of SCE WWS last week, effective May 16 ^th . Yoshida, who joined SCEI in 1993, was one of the initial members who helped in the establishment of the Playstation business. In April of 1996, he was appointed Producer of the Product Development Department, and joined Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) as Vice President of Product Development in April 2000, where he took part in the production of a large number of Sony's best selling franchise titles. Yoshida was made Senior Vice President of the U.S. Studios for SCE WWS in February 2007.

“ SCE WWS has been developing global hit titles, sharing resources and know-how within SCE Group since its foundation, and we will reinforce our software business by further enhancing coordination among the studios under a new leader,” said Kazuo Hirai, President and Group CEO for SCEI. “Under the leadership of Yoshida, who has proven track record in managing creative talent, SCE WWS will accelerate the software development for the Playstation 3 and PSP platforms and vigorously expand the gaming market.”

Yoshida takes over the responsibilities for this position from Hirai, who took them on in addition to his own responsibilities as President and Group CEO for SCEI after Phil Harrison left the company in February.

Hasbro's Family Game Night coming to consoles

The Casual Entertainment Label of Electronic Arts announced last week that it is currently developing a video game version of Habro's Family Game Night, a promotion that was originally designed to both promote family togetherness and Hasbro board games. The new game, called Hasbro Family Game Night , will feature six games, including Battleship, Yahtzee, Boggle, Connect Four, Sorry! and the all new Sorry! Sliders.

Hasbro Family Game Night will essentially be a digital version of the classic Hasbro board games and a mix of new takes on those games, including Connect Four Power Chips, Boggle Portal Cubes, Reverse Yatzhee and Battleship Barrage. Players can deck out their very own distinctive digital game room in HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT by choosing a setting and adding earned trophies, cool furniture and decorations all themed to their favorite games.

“ Hasbro Family Game Night is designed to bring family and friends of all ages together in the digital living room for an evening of ‘anything goes’ fun,” said Mark Blecher, General Manager of Digital Media and Gaming at Hasbro. “Hasbro has been providing families with the best in game play for decades, and now they can enjoy some of our most beloved brands with an all-new digital twist.” Hasbro Family Game Night is currently scheduled to release for Wii and Playstation 2 this fall.

SingStar releases for PS3

SCEA announced the North American release of SingStar for Playstation 3 today. Developed by SCE WWS London Studio, brings the franchise to a whole new level, with hundreds of downloadable songs and videos across multiple genres, and the ability for players to build and customize party playlists and build a community of user-created performances.

The franchise's Playstation 3 debut comes with 30 singles and videos from popular artists like The Killers, U2, Smashing Pumpkinds, Outkast, R.E.M., Radiohead and more. In addition to the tracks available on the disc, SingStar for Playstation 3 gives players access to hundreds of downloadable songs featuring the real artists and videos, via the Playstation 3 online SingStore (yes, it's really called that). Individual tracks are available for purchase at $1.49 USD or CAD a piece, and there are currently over 200 songs available for download now. Sony says it plans to add approximately 25 to 50 new songs each month.

SingStar for Playstation 3 also brings social networking and user-generated content to the franchise, through the use of the Playstation Eye camera. Players can use My SingStar Online to share their personal SingStar performances with the game's worldwide online community in video, audio or photo form. Players in the community can also view and rate other player's content, and even check out the community's top performers through the game's new feature of weekly highest-rated videos. The service has already proven popular, thanks to the game's European release this past holiday season, which attracted 140,000 registered users. With the users from My SingStar Online and visitors to www.singstargame.com sharing a combined 20,000 videos of their performances, and the total number of views of those videos having hit over 2.5 million views, this service is likely to prove even more popular as the game starts selling here.

“ The worldwide success of SingStar continues to spread across North America due in large part to its casual-friendly, social gameplay,” said Jeff Reese, director of software marketing for SCEA. “PS3 has allowed us to evolve the SingStar experience, growing f beyond simply expanding the library with new tracks. Adding new next-generation eatures such as the SingStore and My SingStar Online, SingStar PS3 is the complete party package with an ever-growing downloadable catalog, global community-driven content and innovative, social networking features.”

Aside from the highest-rated video feature, other enhancements to the game were added to the game today via a free downloadable patch for North America. Now available are enhanced harmony duets, separate Battle mode difficulty selection, lag calibration for different TV types and PSP Remote Play. Singstar for Playstation 3 is available on its own for $39.99 USD and CAD or in a bundle with two high quality USB microphones for $59.99 USD and CAD, and is rated T for Teen. If you already own one of the PS2 versions of SingStar you can use those microphones with this version.