Newsbriefs: Paperboy Goes XBLA, Kid Icarus Hits Wii VC, Casino Royale BD

Author: by Staff

[UPDATED: 3:39pm PST] Today's regularly updated newsbriefs include Paperboy being delivered to the Xbox Live Arcade, Kid Icarus making a console comeback along with other classic Nintendo franchises, and SCEE bringing free copies of Casino Royale to European PS3 buyers. - Microsoft has announced that the next game to be added to its regular Wednesday Xbox Live Arcade update will be Atari's 1984 arcade action title Paperboy. As with the majority of the Live Arcade's updated arcade ports, Paperboy will sport two-player co-op play locally or over Xbox Live, tracked high scores through Live's leaderboards, and the requisite 200 Gamerscore points. The game will be available at 9 a.m. GMT (1 a.m. PST) Wednesday the 14th for 400 Microsoft Points ($5). - Nintendo of America has announced the three latest additions to its Wii Virtual Console, this time with a trilogy of classic NES favorites. The three games include hit platformer Kirby's Adventure, the first NES iteration of its long-running franchise, early action title Ice Climber, and cult adventure Kid Icarus, one of the company's continually most requested franchises finally making a console re-appearance, though perhaps not in the form many would prefer. All of the titles are available now on the Virtual Console service, at a price point of 500 Wii Points ($5) each. - Representatives from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) have announced a new campaign to deliver a free Blu-ray movie disc to the first 500,000 purchasers of its PlayStation 3 console, due to launch in the region on March 23rd. Similar to the campaign used in the U.S., which saw copies of the Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Blu-ray disc packed in PS3 launch units, the European campaign will offer the latest James Bond movie, Casino Royale, to the first 500,000 users to register on the PlayStation Network site. Said SCEE VP of brand and consumer marketing Darren Carter, "Casino Royale not only makes the most of the features and capabilities of the Blu-ray format, but is one of the most exciting and entertaining movies to debut on Blu-ray this year." - THQ and Jakks Pacific have jointly announced a new contest in partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment, Best Buy, Global Gaming League and Microsoft. Together, the companies will be sponsoring an online video game tournament for THQ's WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 through Microsoft's Xbox Live. Starting now until February 28th, players can compete in open ladder-style play earning points for each victorious match. The 64 players with the most points will be determined on March 3rd, with the champions going on to compete in an online single elimination tournament. From there, the top two finalists will receive a trip to the 5th Annual THQ Superstar Challenge, held on March 29th in Detroit's Gem Theater, where they will determine the winner in front of a live audience. The winner and runner up of that match will receive tickets to Wrestlemania 23, with the winner additionally receiving a WWE Championship Belt, and the top 16 other players will receive WrestleMania-themed prizes. More information and tournament schedules can be found via Best Buy's gaming tournament website. - The latest updates on Gamasutra sister alt.gaming weblog GameSetWatch include a look at PC dojin title Cave Story, an opinion that online multiplayer isn't that important after all, and the release of indie game Bubble Islands for free play. - The latest updates from Gamasutra sister website Serious Games Source include the launch of a web based serious game from A.G. Edwards aimed to teach young children about financing. - The latest updates from Gamasutra sister website Game Career Guide include a controversial look at episodic content, and the announcement of an e-learning course on XNA Game Studio for hobbyists and independent learners. - Also updated today: the latest Gamasutra job postings, including openings from Blue Fang Games, BreakAway Games, Demiurge Studios, Digital Extremes, Emerging Entertainment, Midway Games, Sierra Online, Stormfront Studios, THQ, Vicious Cycle Software, and Vivendi Games Mobile.