Oxide’s Nitrous Engine to Support AMD’s Mantle

– New 64-bit, cross-platform 3D engine harnesses the power of Mantle in kicking off next generation of strategy games –

TIMONIUM, MD – November 4, 2013 – Oxide Games announced today that its recently revealed 3D engine, Nitrous, supports AMD’s Mantle technology. Nitrous, designed specifically for the hardware now common in PCs as well as the Sony PlayStation® 4™ and Microsoft’s Xbox® One™, is capable of simulating and rendering large-scale, complex scenes thanks to its 64-bit architecture and fully concurrent multi-core processing. Those visuals are even better on Mantle-enabled hardware like AMD’s Radeon™ R9, R7, and HD 7000 Series graphics cards.

“Mantle solves a problem PC developers have struggled with for years,” said Oxide co-founder Tim Kipp. “We’re closer to the graphics hardware than ever before, which lets us see dramatic increases in performance on Mantle-enabled systems. At the same time, the low cost of including Mantle support doesn’t prevent us from developing Nitrous for all modern graphics hardware, which makes it attractive to us as businesspeople.”

What makes Nitrous unique is its Simultaneous Work and Rendering Model (SWARM). Specifically, the engine renders calls automatically from whatever CPU core is most available. This allows for a vastly larger number of high-fidelity 3D objects to be rendered to the screen at the same time.

“We’re proud to be working with talented developers like Oxide. They were one of the many developers that have asked for what Mantle provides, and we’re happy to make their wishes come true.” said Ritche Corpus, Director of ISV Gaming and Alliances at AMD. “Our goal with Mantle is to give engine creators and game designers the tools they need to push the envelope of PC gaming, and Nitrous does exactly that.”

For more information about Mantle, please visit http://bit.ly/1ePJr0e.

For more information about Oxide and the Nitrous engine, please go to www.oxidegames.com.

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About Oxide Games
Oxide Games is an independent digital entertainment studio focused on delivering revolutionary leaps in PC and console gaming. Its first product, the Nitrous engine, will provide industry-leading visuals on both PCs and consoles. Oxide will be announcing its game projects at a later date. Oxide Games is based in Timonium, Maryland. Learn more at www.oxidegames.com.

FANS FLOCK TO RECORD-BREAKING RUNEFEST 3 CELEBRATION

RUNESCAPE’S ANNUAL FESTIVITIES LOOK BACK ON SUCCESSFUL YEAR AS DIE-HARD PLAYERS GET EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW OF PLANS FOR 2014

Monday 4^th November 2013, Cambridge, UK – Jagex Games Studio, makers of the multi-award winning online adventure game, RuneScape, held its third RuneFest fan convention in London on Saturday. Hundreds of passionate RuneScape players flocked in person to London, joined virtually by hundreds of thousands of players online to celebrate another great year for RuneScape, which amongst other updates also saw the launch of RuneScape 3 and the dawn of the 6^th Age.

As with previous years, RuneFest 3 provided the RuneScape team with the opportunity to meet with fans and discuss plans for the coming year, support players as they took part in ideas workshops for future content, and unveil an exclusive sneak peak of what’s planned for RuneScape in 2014 – which included:

• The Invention Skill, which is a partner to the recently launched Divination skill and represents a technological leap forward within the game.  This skill will allow players create their own gear and “soul weapons” which can be levelled up to increase their power as players progress through the game.
• The RuneScape Community App, which will allow players to chat and access the Grand Exchange, RuneScape’s trading system, through their mobile devices.
• A preview of the 2^nd World Event which has been confirmed to involve the two gods Armadyl and Bandos, who will be travelling across the world map trying to gain followers and influence.  Players will also be able to opt into innovative open world PVP.
• Upgraded matchmaking which will allow players to easily find other player who are interested in playing specific social content, allowing them put together teams easily without interrupting their gameplay.
• Players were shown a glimpse of two new quests – The 200^th quest which will focus on the Elves and a new Master quest featuring the return of Zaros.
•  “The Church of YOU” – Over the past decade players have been central to all RuneScape content and are the world guardians, now they can start to amass their own followers to worship their in-game achievements.

The event also saw all attendees participate in setting a new Guinness World Record for the world’s longest Christmas cracker pulling chain.

“RuneFest 3 has been yet another massive celebration for all things RuneScape, and we’re delighted that so many of our community were able to share in the experience, either online or at the event itself,” said Jagex CEO, Mark Gerhard. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for the team and I to celebrate our biggest fans, namely our players. We always look forward to having the opportunity to socialise with the community, have a good laugh, celebrate their achievements and find out first-hand what they love or dislike about the game, which in turn helps shape our thinking around future updates. I’m delighted that this year’s event added yet another Guinness World Record to our collection and really looking forward to next year!”

“RuneScape’s fan base and passionate community has always been one of the game’s enduring and great strengths, and RuneFest has again delivered a fantastic opportunity for us to engage with the most ardent of players,” said Phil Mansell, Executive Producer for RuneScape. “As we come to the end of a hugely important year for RuneScape with the launch of RuneScape 3 we were thrilled to share what’s ahead in 2014 with players.”

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KONAMI and Kojima Productions Define the Relationship Between METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES and METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN

EL SEGUNDO, CA   November 4, 2013 – Konami Digital Entertainment Inc. has released details for METAL GEAR SOLID V, the two-game experience comprised of METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES and METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN.

METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES will launch Spring 2014 as a prologue to the events leading into METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN. This prologue brings all of the hallmarks of the renowned franchise in a concentrated story mode that guides players into the new gameplay mechanics against the backdrop of the expansive METAL GEAR SOLID universe.

METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES features new advances made possible by Kojima Productions’ FOX Engine, such as radical new game design, day and night cycles, and weather conditions that will all dynamically affect gameplay. The missions are designed to ease players into the new control and gameplay advances that will be an integral part of METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN.

The METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES storyline follows the series’ hero, Big Boss, as he infiltrates a remote Cuban prison camp on a rescue mission, all while trying to remain undetected. Explosive plot lines develop quickly as he finds himself on behind enemy lines with little options for help.

METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN will pick up where METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES leaves off and will plunge players into a new breed of open-world stealth action, featuring deep story arcs and dynamic gameplay as expected of a canon chapter in the METAL GEAR SOLID series. Both titles will be released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, highlighting the groundbreaking capabilities the FOX Engine brings to current and next generation consoles.

“The advanced capabilities of the FOX Engine are allowing me to express the story of METAL GEAR SOLID in a new way,” explained Hideo Kojima, Creator of the METAL GEAR SOLID series, and head of Kojima Productions. “There will be a significant difference in what METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN brings to the series, so we want to ease players into the new open world environment and its potential, allowing them to fully benefit from all that the new game offers. As such, METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES has been designed to introduce key elements, while setting up the events of METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN.”

METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES will be released in Spring 2014 on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One systems. The game will be available in retail stores nationwide on current generation systems for the MSRP of $29.99 or via download for $19.99. For PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the game can be downloaded for $29.99 suggested retail price.

For more information and all new assets, please visit: www.konami.com/download

About Konami Group

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and manufacturer of electronic entertainment properties. Konami’s titles include the popular franchises METAL GEAR SOLID, Silent Hill, DanceDanceRevolution and Castlevania, among other top sellers. The latest information about Konami can be found on the Web at www.konami.com. KONAMI CORPORATION is a publicly traded company based in Tokyo, Japan with subsidiaries, Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. in Windsor, UK. KONAMI CORPORATION is traded in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KNM. Details of the products published by Konami can be found at http://www.konami.com.

“PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

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