Village Gamer

London UK – Team Hungary was announced as the winner of Bioware’s Warden’s Quest, a 24-hour gaming event where 10 teams of gamers from around the world competed for a grand prize of $12,500 for each member of the winning team. Team Canada placed a respectable third, right behind the Bioware Community Team. I was getting worried when the Canadians were lost in the Fade and it seemed they might be eliminated part way through, but they pulled together and escaped into the next challenge.

The ten teams were playing Dragon Age: Origins, one of the most anticipated games of the fall release schedule. They played for the full 24 hours, switching off team members so they could rest up and develop strategies. Dragon Age: Origins will be released to the public on November 3rd.

Montreal – The Army of Two: 40th Day team has released the second part of their Dev Series, with Eric Chartrand continuing his discussion about the Multi-Player component for the game. Details are given about matchmaking, client servers and more. Army of Two: 4oth Day is in development at EA Montreal and will be released on January 12 2010.

Vancouver – Disruptive Media Publishers (DP), a leading provider of Xbox 360 personalization content, announced the release of a new collection of avatar apparel items featuring 30 top U.S. universities. The release marks the first time users can personalize their Xbox LIVE® Avatars with officially licensed university branded apparel licensed through The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), a division of IMG Worldwide. From varsity jackets to fitted caps, hooded sweatshirts, polo shirts and shoes, hundreds of unique university branded items are now available on Xbox LIVE Avatar Marketplace.

“Xbox LIVE Avatar Marketplace has been incredibly popular with our community,” said Christina DeRosa, General Manager, Xbox LIVE. “We know Xbox LIVE members love to represent themselves and their personalities through their Avatars – in fact, people have changed their clothes nearly 150 million times! Now whether you’re a student, alumni or simply a fan, you can wear your university gear with pride, which is truly exciting.”

“Universities have been cautious with regards to the digital personalization space, but we have been impressed with the creativity and capabilities of Disruptive Publishers,” said David Kirkpatrick, Vice President of Non-Apparel Marketing, The Collegiate Licensing Company. “We are excited about Disruptive Publishers’ depth of licensed offerings as well as their plans for collegiate expansion.”

“We see this as a first step in allowing consumers a chance to personalize their avatars beyond the traditionally rooted fashion and gaming apparel often found on Marketplace,” said Otis Perrick, Disruptive Publishers Director of Business Development. “We know that Xbox 360 users are doing much more than playing games, so we’re excited to incorporate licensed real-world elements from the top brands, leagues, artists and photographers into some of the highest quality personalization content on the platform.”