WildTangent Announces Orb the Industry's First PC Game Console for Enthusiast Gamers is a press release in which we learn that not only is WildTangent the fastest growing online game property in the world, but they are releasing a new game console called "Orb" in April, which is actually your PC with their software providing a console-style interface that will apparently allow console games to be played on PCs. Here's word:

Game Developer Conference - WildTangent, Inc., the fastest growing online game property in the world, today announced The WildTangent Orb(TM), the industry's first application to transform the PC into a console for enthusiast gamers. The company also announced that Sierra Online, a division of Vivendi Games, THQ and other leading game publishers will release their AAA titles for the WildTangent Orb when it launches on www.wildtangent.com in April. To support the launch of Orb, Sprint will be the first advertiser to sponsor free premium game play to millions of enthusiast gamers.

The WildTangent Orb will feature the same full-screen user interface and game pad-enabled experience that other leading game consoles offer. Additionally, it will leverage the superior hardware performance and connectivity of the PC, the world's most popular and pervasive online gaming platform.

"The WildTangent Orb turns any modern PC into a full-featured game console more powerful than any next generation game console including the Microsoft XBOX 360, Sony PS3 or Nintendo Wii," said Alex St. John, CEO of WildTangent. "Now enthusiast gamers can download and play popular console games they love on the most ubiquitous gaming device available today: the PC."

St. John today encouraged the nearly 20,000 attendees at the annual Game Developer Conference in San Francisco to follow the lead of THQ and Sierra Online into online game distribution of their AAA console titles.

"Enthusiast gamers are spending a tremendous amount of time playing games on their PCs," said Michael Pachter, managing director of research at Wedbush Morgan Securities. "While traditional consoles will continue to have their place for the foreseeable future, the market has become highly fragmented and modern PCs have the media capabilities and market share to represent the largest contiguous enthusiast gaming audience console publishers can reach."

Starting in April, 12 million WildTangent gamers will be offered a free upgrade to the WildTangent Orb game console, when it will be released publicly for the first time on www.wildtangent.com. In the second half of 2008, WildTangent Orb will come pre-installed on every major-brand consumer PC in the U.S., including HP, Gateway and Toshiba.

"Sierra Online is continuously looking for opportunities to offer its popular and award-winning titles to game enthusiasts in the format they prefer to play them," said Ed Zobrist, president of Sierra Online. "Those who enjoyed playing our AAA tiles on console, as well as PC gamers will be eager to get their hands on some of our most desirable console titles on the PC."

The WildTangent Orb will launch with popular AAA titles from Sierra Online including 3D Ultra(TM) Mini Golf, Assault Heroes(TM), Battlestar Gallactica(TM) and Switchball(TM) as well as popular PC titles from Sierra Entertainment. THQ titles will include Juiced(TM) 2 Hot Import Nights(TM), Company of Heroes®, Company of Heroes® Opposing Fronts(TM), Red Faction®, Red Faction® II, Full Spectrum Warrior®, MX vs. ATV Unleashed(TM), Full Spectrum Warrior Ten Hammers®, Titan Quest(TM), Warhammer® 40,000 Dawn of War Gold and Warhammer® 40,000 Dawn of War Dark Crusade(TM). Also included in Orb will be more than 55 enthusiast titles from THQs Valusoft.

"THQ is committed to making its games available to gamers in the most convenient ways possible including online distribution," said Adrienne Lauer, national sales director of Market Development in the Americas, THQ. "We are excited to make our games available for the WildTangent Orb and offer our AAA games to enthusiast gamers online."

Game developers and publishers interested in making their enthusiast titles available for the April launch of the WildTangent enthusiast game console should e-mail enthusiast@wildtangent.com.