Following February's opening of a European publishing branch, Bethesda Softworks owner ZeniMax Media today announced the establishment of its Asian office.

Much like the company's publishing operations in North America and Europe, ZeniMax Asia K.K. will oversee the Asian production and distribution of Bethesda titles, such as Fallout 3 (PC, PS3, X360) and Star Trek: Conquest (PS2, Wii), under the Bethesda Softworks brand.

It will also publish Japanese editions of games from other developers, including the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 versions of Rockstar's Bully and 2K Sports' Major League Baseball 2K8 on PS2, PS3, X360, and PSP.

Bethesda executive producer Todd Howard unveiled numerous details of the development of the company's upcoming title Fallout 3 (PC, PS3, X360) on the Official Xbox Magazine podcast.

Howard claims that the game itself is finished and has moved into the polish phase, but the team is adding several new elements to the game as they move forward.

"Being that we are Bethesda, everything gets a bit big, so as of last week we're over 200 endings. That's not an exaggeration," Howard said.

Small changes and additions to the ending, Howard explained, are multiplied by other factors influenced by the player's choices and decisions in the game, leading to over 200 possible ending combinations. Howard also clarified the game's... Read more

ZeniMax Media, the parent company of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3 developer Bethesda Softworks, today announced the formation of its first European office, ZeniMax Europe.

The new branch will focus primarily on publishing titles within the European market under the Bethesda Softworks brand. Previous, ZeniMax had partnered with other companies, including Ubisoft and 2K Games, to publish its titles in Europe. However, ZeniMax noted its intent to continue working "with strategic European distribution partners."

"We want to establish direct relationships with retailers and distributors throughout Europe and the UK as we bring exciting titles like Fallout 3 and Rogue Warrior to gamers worldwide," said ZeniMax CEO Robert Altman. "This is an important step for us as we look to expand our presence in markets outside of North America."

Helmed by industry Sean Brennan, ZeniMax Europe is already up and running in its London office. One of its first publishing efforts will be Bethesda's post-apocalyptic action-RPG Fallout 3, which hits North America and Europe in PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 iterations this fall.

Australian game site Gameplayer has posted a five page Fallout 3 preview, asking Bethesda's Pete Hines what we can expect from the RPG sequel.

As we enter the year of Fallout 3's intended release, Bethesda has released a new batch of concept art from the anticipated RPG sequel coming to PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The shots depict a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, various locations and characters, and numerous weapons and pieces of equipment.

Additionally, lead designer Emil Pagliarulo, known for his work on the Dark Brotherhood quest line in Bethesda Game Studios' own The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC, PS3, X360), has posted an entry to the Fallout 3 dev diary profiling the technology- worshipping Brotherhood of Steel. Pagliarulo details the Brotherhood's motives for traveling to Fallout 3's setting of Washington D.C., and sets up some of the conflict that frames the game's events.

Bethesda's Fallout 3 site has been updated with a new development diary, offering a profile of the Brotherhood of Steel.

Amidst an already busy CES, Microsoft also announced nine new titles set for Games for Windows branding, to be released in 2008.

• Alone in the Dark, Eden Studio (PC, PS3, X360)
• Bionic Commando, GRIN/Capcom (PC, PS3, X360)
• Conflict: Denied Ops, Pivotal Games (PC, PS3, X360)
• Empire: Total War, Creative Assembly (PC)
• LEGO Indiana Jones, Traveller's Tales (TBD)
• Microsoft Train Simulator 2, Microsoft Game Studios (PC)
• Sins of a Solar Empire, Ironclad Games (PC)
• Space Siege, Gas Powered Games (PC)
• Tomb Raider: Underworld, Crystal Dynamics (PC, PS3, X360)

Microsoft did not disclose whether any of these titles will support Live for Windows, cross-platform play or achievements. This newest roundup of games will join an existing roster of anticipated releases in 2008, including Gearbox Software's Borderlands (PC, PS3, X360) and Fallout 3 (PC, PS3, X360) from Bethesda Game Studios.

While we did announce the winner of the Shacknews Holiday Contest of Doom yesterday, what we didn't announce were those who took away spoils in the sweepstakes from submitting an entry. Picking one winner wasn't easy, so with the assistance of my buddy the random number generator we came up with the answers. Those results follow:

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - MoreVespeneGas (PS3), Jamiejme (PS3), Troz (PC)
• Quake Wars: Enemy Territory: Collectors Edition (PC) - Wormmeat, liqker
• Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (Wii) - kallanta, ieGod
• Bee Movie: The Game (Wii) - the stickboy, c_man_tmt
• Spiderman: Friend or Foe - helvetica (PC), bettycocker (PC), aeg1x (PSP)
• Signed Team Fortress 2 poster - itsjeff9
• Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP) - tiberius bill
• Silent Hill Origins (PSP) - nitaib
• Coded Arms: Contagion (PSP) - ohhjebus
• Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel (PSP) - MajorGun
• The Witcher (PC) - filthysock, ajax, grayscale, RomSteady, gonnabechef
• TotalGaming.net memberships with tokens for Galactic Civilizations 2 (PC) and Sins of a Solar Empire (PC) - Yoonix, WARLORD48, Reavers!, cool_canuck, rustified
• Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition - T-900 (PS3), TShandy (PC), Daggoth (PS3), Trips (PC), Hidden Key (360), Gibolas1234 (360)
• Shadowrun (360) - Redfield, exigence7
• Mass Effect (360) - Lawgiver, fuji-juice
• Prey: Collectors Edition (360) with a custom Xbox 360 faceplate and mousepad - BlackCat
• The ultimate mystery Bag of (Gaming) Crap - shortbuscaptain

Thanks to everyone who participated and to the companies that generously submitted prizes such as Activision, Konami, Valve, Microsoft, Stardock, Atari, Bethesda Softworks and 3DRealms. Stay tuned for more contests in the new year.

Games are what bring us together, and the holidays are what hopefully give us a nice end and new start to the year. Here at Shacknews, we too wish to acknowledge the festive gaiety of the season with a whole slew of prizes and a contest worthy of your time. We're asking you to recreate your favorite scene from a game and to give it a holiday theme. Interpret this directive as objectively or abstractly as you like, but humor, cleverness and skill should be the key ingredients of your entry.

We're going to give you a full week for this contest, accepting entries until December 26th at 11:59 CST, giving people that day after Christmas to submit a decent entry. Why so much time, you ask? Well I think we expect some pretty great entries since the first prize for this contest will be an Xbox 360 Elite edition game system.

Intimidated by the notion of making something? You shouldn't be, because just submitting something will enter you in our game sweepstakes. For this, we have a wide array of prizes such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat (PS3 and PC), the collectors edition of Quake Wars: Enemy Territory (PC), Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (Wii), Bee Movie: The Game (Wii), Spiderman: Friend or Foe (PC and PSP), a signed Team Fortress 2 poster, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP), Silent Hill Origins (PSP), Coded Arms: Contagion (PSP), Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel (PSP), The Witcher (PC), TotalGaming.net memberships with tokens for Galactic Civilizations 2 (PC) and Sins of a Solar Empire (PC), Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition (360, PS3), Shadowrun (360), Mass Effect (360), the collectors edition of Prey (360) with a custom Prey 360 faceplate and mousepad, a plethora of t-shirts, an ultimate mystery Bag of (gaming) Crap and more just for submitting an entry, courtesy of Activision, Konami, Valve, Microsoft, Stardock, Atari, Bethesda Software, 3DRealms and Shacknews.

When submitting, post your entry in the comments to this article and please indicate if you own a PC, Xbox 360, Wii, PS3 or PSP. If you need tools, check out Splashup or Paint.net and image hosting can be found at EasyScreens, Photobucket and ImageShack. As many submissions can be made as you like, but quality will always win out over quantity. Worldwide entries will be accepted, however only North American residents are eligible for the Xbox 360.

This week's PlayStation Store update brings a multitude of content, led by a second map pack for Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3). The pack includes the new Bracknell and Axbridge maps and costs $4.99, and both map pack one and two will be available as a bundle for $7.99.

Rhythm-game players will be happy to learn the Rock Band (PS2, PS3, X360) David Bowie Track Pack that arrived earlier this week on Xbox Live Marketplace will be coming to the PlayStation store as well for $5.49, with individual songs priced at $1.99. The Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PC, PS2, PS3, Wii, X360) Boss Battle Track Pack that arrived two weeks ago on Xbox Live will also arrive on the PlayStation Store today.

As promised, Idol Minds' physics-based character-slinging title Pain will be available for download for $9.99. And Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles (PC, PS3, X360) expansion--available earlier this year for Xbox 360 and PC owners--will be up for grabs for $29.99.

ZeniMax Online, the recently established online wing of Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media, today announced it has licensed Simutronics' HeroEngine for use in its upcoming MMO.

The HeroEngine is a 3D engine and server technology platform originally developed for use in Simutronics' MMORPG Hero's Journey. BioWare Austin licensed the engine in 2006 for use in its own MMO collaboration with LucasArts.

Formed in August, ZeniMax Online is lead by Mythic co-founder Matt Firor. Details of the company's upcoming game have yet to be announced, though Bethesda's Elder Scrolls franchise is a likely candidate for MMO adaptation. ZeniMax secured $300 million in development funding earlier this month.

The Star Trek Games website has a Star Trek Conquest Q&A posted, asking Frank Aarnot of 4JStudios about this PS2/Wii title that Bethesda is publishing.

Ailing game publisher Interplay's CEO announced plans today to restart the near-bankrupt company's internal development studios in preparation for the planned Fallout MMO. Additionally, the company has hired on former Fallout designer Jason Anderson as the creative director for a separate MMO project.

Interplay posted profits of $497,000 for the third quarter ending September 30, a 68.9% year-over-year decrease. Although Interplay has reported revenues for the entire year of $5.9 million, nearly the entirety of these funds come from selling the Fallout license to Bethesda Softworks for its reimagining of the franchise for the studio's upcoming Fallout 3 (PC, PS3, X360).

According to the publisher's financial report, it's currently working on getting funding for its Fallout MMO, which Bethesda has allowed Interplay to develop if certain conditions are met. The agreement requires Interplay to secure $30 million in funding and start work on the title within three years from this past April.

play.tm has the latest Fallout 3 preview, taking in a presentation of the game by Bethesda.

There's a new Fallout 3 Q&A on IGN, asking Bethesda's Pete Hines about the heavily anticipated role playing game sequel.

Valve's Source engine software development kit today received an update, bringing the package up to speed for Orange Box modding.

The release unlocks content and adds tools that will allow users to create maps, models, and textures for Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2.

We can only hope this update will help usher in a few more quality Team Fortress 2 maps--not to mention Portal chambers, such as Bethesda designer Daryl Brigner's unique Ren_Test2 challenge.

Following the news of an unlockable uncensored version of Rockstar's controversial Manhunt 2 for PSP, advocacy groups like the Parents Television Council and anti-media violence types like Senator Leland Yee called for the game's ESRB-issued rating to be changed from Mature back to its original Adults Only rating.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board investigated the situation and has issued a response, defending the game's M rating in light of the hacked versions of Manhunt 2. "We do not believe these modifications fully restore the product to the version that originally received an AO rating, nor is this a matter of unlocking content," the statement reads. "Our investigation indicates that the game's publisher disclosed to the ESRB all pertinent content in the authorized Mature-rated version of Manhunt 2 now available in stores, and complied with our guidelines on full disclosure of content."

The statement goes on to further distinguish between this instance and the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, Xbox) Hot Coffee mod in a number of ways. Whereas the Hot Coffee mod unlocked content Rockstar had knowingly included in the... Read more

After Bethesda-parent ZeniMax revealed it had secured $300 million to fund massively multiplayer online games," among other things, the internet was once again rife with speculation that an MMO set in the popular Elder Scrolls universe was on the way.

It was a familiar tune for some, given that ZeniMax had recently announced it was opening an MMO division and recruited former Mythic Entertainment executive producer Matt Frior to head it up.

The latest piece of evidence pointing to an online Elder Scrolls game comes from Voodoo Extreme. The site reports that ZeniMax recently acquired the domain name ElderScrollsOnline.com. It could be a simple matter of the company attempting to circumvent domain squatting, but it at least indicates that ZeniMax is thinking about such a game.

No system has been indicated for the MMO project, though a PC version... Read more

In separate announcements, both ailing publisher Atari Inc. and Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media have secured significant bundles of cash to continue operations. New York-based Atari, owned by Paris-headquartered Infogrames, received $10 million credit from Infogrames shareholder BlueBay High Yield Investments, and Providence Equity Partners bought $300 million worth of Maryland-based ZeniMax's preferred stock.

But the $10 million won't come close to solving Atari's problems, whose parent company recently announced plans for a major restructuring after Atari filed a delayed fiscal year 2007 report detailing a $69.7 million loss. The announcement from Atari described the $10 million credit as "a first step in securing financing to build inventory for the 2007 calendar holiday season and for day-to-day working capital needs," though it added that "additional financing is being sought."

ZeniMax, on the other hand, has a much brighter outlook, with the $300 million planned to "fund future growth, increase game development and publishing, facilitate acquisitions, and finance massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs)," according to the announcement.

Following the Xbox 360 printing, the PlayStation 3 version of Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV expansion Shivering Isles is now on its way according to the RPG developer. The disc will require players to own the original Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in order to play.

In addition to the expansion content, which features a purported 30 hours of gameplay, the disc will also include the Knights of the Nine downloadable content. No price has been announced, although the Xbox 360 version of the expansion retails for an MSRP of $29.99.