Rottenmann, Austria, 14th of December 2004: JoWooD Productions continues its successful cooperation with the German developer Piranha Bytes by publishing one of the most spectacular titles of the coming year: Gothic III, the third part of the legendary RPG saga. "Being listed in all major 'most wanted' charts across Europe, Gothic III is the top title of the coming year. To publish a game with such popularity, potential and quality, is a great chance for us to push a world-wide known brand even further" ,comments Andreas Tobler, CEO of JoWooD Productions Software AG. JoWooD Productions takes this chance and will try to break RPG selling records of the past!

"Our main efforts are to increase quality, atmosphere and fascination in Gothic III, to deliver an unbeatable RPG experience to all the Gothic fans out there. But even with all the improvements and innovations, we continue to build upon the unique concept of the Gothic titles", promises Mike Hoge, developer Piranha Bytes.

In 2002, JoWooD Productions managed to establish Gothic II as known brand in the RPG world. Gothic II dominated the sales charts with weeks at the top and is one of the best-selling titles ever created in German territories. The success is also proven by dozens of awards like "Best RPG 2002", "Best of E3 Show", "Best of Games Convention" and incredible ratings worldwide.

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• ALFA Antiterror
  GamersInfo's ALFA Antiterror Q&A converses with Masha Petrova of MiST land - South about their upcoming special ops shooter: "Every soldier in the game has an assigned position (assaulter, sniper and grenadier). The player will then grow in rank and be rewarded depending on their participation in the operations. After each mission is completed, we get command points, which can be used both for training our subordinates and improving their skills or awarding anybody new ranks. Players must remember that the ranks, awards and training abilities are limited and contingent on the way in which the player passed the mission."
• Twilight War
  The Twilight War Q&A on FileFront talks with Kingsley Montgomery, lead designer on Smiling Gator's upcoming Source-engine MMORPG/FPS: "Because we are doing a physics-based world with an FPS combat system and vehicles, we thought we needed a good cutting-edge client engine that was robust and had a lot of tools to help us get to creating content sooner rather than later."
• Mourning
  The Mourning Q&A on FileFront is a chat with Dan Antonescu, lead designer on Limitless Horizon's upcoming MMORPG: "Well, quite frankly we are not trying to make just another MMO game, but we’re aiming very high with this title. It's design is based on a lot of things which are pretty different from what you see on todays [sic] market or even in upcoming MMO games: full PvP, a complete skill based system, bloodlines, instances of permadeath, territorial system with laws and so on."
• Vanguard
  A new Three Question Thursday on Vanguard.Okratas.com asks five questions of Brad McQuaid about gaming and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.
• Postal 2
  There's a Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend Q&A on Gamehelper chatting with Vince Desi about the upcoming expansion to their edgy first-person shooter: "We're less interested in technology than we are in gameplay. Keep in mind that this is an add-on to Postal 2, not a completely new revision of the Engine, so don't expect normal mapping or any of that sort of self-masturbatory technophilia. Doom 3 proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that nice lighting effects don't equal fun."
• Elder Scrolls IV
  HomeLAN Fed's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Q&A talks with producer Ashley Cheng about Bethesda Softworks' upcoming RPG sequel: "The challenge lies in reinventing our marquee franchise in a new way with each successive generation of technology. With each Elder Scrolls, we take a look at our previous titles, think about what things we want to tweak, decide what new things we want to try, listen to feedback from our fans, and look at future technology and what we think we’ll be able to do."
• Hearts of Iron 2
  The Hearts of Iron II Q&A on FZ.se chats with Joakim Bergqwist of Paradox about their World War II strategy sequel: "I think that things like the mission system, where air and sea combat can be done with more automatic control which releases you from the painstaking task of having to poke in every single little province. Same thing goes for the convoy AI and the leadership AI, all very important things which makes a big difference. For example, if I construct a submarine for the USA, I will get a leader which is Sea Wolf, which will have the correct rank for that nation. If I was to construct four at a time then he would not be Rear Admiral but Vice Admiral immediately, the AI will automatically pick the correct one which is a great relief, not having to poke in every single little detail."
• Year in Review
  HomeLAN Fed's Games In 2004-2005 Q&A with Tim Gerritsen continues their year-end series by talking with the head human at Human Head Studios.

• Battlefield 2 on Yahoo! Games Domain.
• Pariah on GameSpot and IGN.
• Shot Online on Multiplayer Online Games Directory.

• Battlefield 2 on Boomtown (the cover art) and ToTheGame.
• Dark and Light on RPG Vault.

• Microsoft may charge extra for security software. Get your jaw off the floor.
• Nvidia's NV47 was a figment of your imagination on TechSpot.
• Intel expands core concept for chips.
• Abit under investigation.
• Slashdot | New Spoofing Vulnerability in IE.
• TechConnect Magazine now offers an ATI Optimized 64bit V0.1 Beta Driver. Use at your own risk.
• US music firms sue 'web pirates'.
• Ebay May Be Afoul of Scalping Law in N.J..
• Worker Sacked for Selling Queen's Xmas Pud on EBay.

• Take-Two helps Microsoft get out of sports game.
• Cheating in San Andreas.
• Rockstar hint at imminent GTA for PSP.
• First Look: Project Melfes.

• Curmudgeon Gamer's Gaming of Gaffes 2004.

• Armies of Exigo on EuroGamer.
• Atlantis Evolution on Game Over and Game Chronicles.
• Axis & Allies on Gaming Age.
• Bad Mojo Redux on Adventure Gamers.
• Codename: Panzers on Computer Games Romania.
• DOOM 3 on Video Game News.
• EverQuest II on RPG Vault, GamePro, and Multiplayer Online Games Directory.
• EverQuest II vs. World of Warcraft on Game Industry.
• Need for Speed Underground 2 on FileFront.
• Nexus - the Jupiter Incident on Boomtown.net.
• Pacific Fighters on FiringSquad.
• Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring on Fragland.net.
• Sid Meier's Pirates on Gracelessland.
• Space Interceptor: Project Freedom on Warcry.
• World of Warcraft on GamePro.

• 1A-Cooling SET-5Z280V1 Water Cooling Kit on MADSHRIMPS.
• A4Tech NB-30 Wireless Battery Free Mouse on ASE Labs.
• Asus Extreme N6600GT Solo and SLI Mode Video Card on AMDZone.
• Chaintech GeForce 6600 GT AGP Video Card on Legion Hardware.
• Cooler Master Aquagate Liquid Cooling System on OCTools.
• Corsair Flash Voyager Flash Memory Drive on Overclocker Cafe.
• Digital Concepts CompactFlash Card Reader on Mikhailtech.
• Gigabyte GeForce 6200 Video Card on Legion Hardware.
• Gigabyte GV-NX66T128D GeForce 6600GT Video Card on PCStats.
• HC Technology DH-720G 5.1 Surround Sound Headphones on ExtremeMhz.
• Jetart Xcool NP3000 Portable Notebook Cooler on Adrian's Rojak Pot.
• JVC Everio GZ-MC200 Digital Camcorder on I4U News.
• Logisys Janus Gaming Case & 500W All Acrylic PSU on SystemCooling.
• Logitech QuickCam Orbit Webcam on The Tech Zone.
• Matrix Orbital MX232 Front Panel on ViperLair.
• NEC SpectraView 1980 - 19" TFT Monitor on TrustedReviews.
• NVIDIA GeForce 6200 with TurboCache Video Card on PC Perspective.
• Opti-UPS SM-B120A-RM 1100VA Rack Mount UPS on bigbruin.com.
• Pioneer DVR-A08XLA 16x DVD±RW on CDRLabs.
• Samsung SyncMaster 710N-2 LCD Monitor on Bytesector.
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 NCQ Hard Drive on The Tech Report.
• Sony VAIO VGN-A260 Laptop on Designtechnica.
• SunbeamTech Crystal Quad LED Fan on TechTastic.
• SunbeamTech Samurai Case on MADSHRIMPS.
• Thermalright XP-90 Heatsink on EXTREME Overclocking.
• X-Connect 500W ATX Titanium w/Blue UV PSU on CaseModGod.
• X-ray Technology Mouse Pads on OverClock Intelligence Agency.

• A Talent for War has news of a second homebrew Hardwar patch. This thread has details on the patch, and this thread has the read me...
• Game Dispute May Have Sparked Murder...
• Power to the (Developer) People...
• Half Life 2 dominates game awards...
• Activision ups third-quarter guidance...

Businessman 1: Did you see Andy Rooney back there?
Businessman 2: No! That was him?
Businessman 1: Yeah, back there.
Businessman 2 (looking back): He doesn't look so great, huh?
Blue: Hey, lets see how we look when we're his age!
Businessman 1: Heh. If we make it that long.
Businessman 2: You know he goes to every Giants game at the stadium.
Businessman 1: No wonder he doesn't look so great!

R.I.P.: Ginger. No one you know... just a sad dog story.