These are shots fresh off the E3 2011 show floor of a new Forza Motorsport 4 branded steering wheels for the Xbox 360 by Fanatec. Stay tuned for more info,  pics, and video of the wheel in action.

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This is a video I shot yesterday morning at the Xbox E3 2011 Press Conference. This preview is just a tip of the iceberg for the flood of Forza Motorsport 4 info that is going to be rolling in.  Here are a few hints that the video drops: Kinect functionality with head tracking, 80+ OEMs, community car clubs, community rivals, 16 player racing, monthly expansions, world tour mode, and Top Gear content (Top Gear test track anyone?).  Stay tuned for a short video of game play footage and keep checking back for more Forza 4 info from the E3 show floor.

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We just got back from the epic Xbox E3 2011 press conference and we have a few Forza Motorsport 4 goodies for you today!  We will start off with 9 awesome new screen shots featuring drool worthy exotic cars that are bound to eat up all of our Microsoft points!  We have a few more treats coming up including gameplay video, and the new E3 2011 trailer.  But for now enjoy the new screenshots!

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It has been announced that a Transformers themed MMORPG (Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game) called “Transformers Universe” is coming to PC’s soon and the game will make its official debut at BotCon this weekend and again at the E3 Expo this week.  While I don’t know too much about the game yet I do know that you will be able to choose sides (Autobot or Decepticon) and create your own bot to do battle online with.  I have been invited to a special launch event for the game so I will try to get more information about it for you and report back!.

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Press Release:

JAGEX GAMES STUDIO ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF TRANSFORMERS MMO AT BOTCON 2011

OFFICIAL TRANSFORMERS FAN CONVENTION ATTENDEES WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DESIGN THEIR OWN TRANSFORMERS CHARACTER, MEET THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM, AND PRE-REGISTER FOR BETA

FANS’ WAIT FOR THE NAME AND EARLY DETAILS OF THE UPCOMING MMO IS OVER

CAMBRIDGE, UK – JUNE 1, 2011 – Jagex Games Studio, one of the largest independent games developers and publishers in the world, today announced the much anticipated name; TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE for the upcoming MMO based on the iconic TRANSFORMERS brand from Hasbro, Inc. as well as plans to attend TRANSFORMERS BotCon 2011, the official TRANSFORMERS fan convention, to unveil their vision for the browser based MMO for the Western World markets.

Visitors to BotCon will be the first to see the graphical style and direction for the game and be able to see firsthand how the Jagex development team is working with Hasbro to create the look and feel of it through live concept art and animation demonstrations at the Jagex booth.

The Jagex booth will offer fans a chance to meet and engage with members of the development team, and watch exclusive video footage of how a TRANSFORMERS character is developed in-game.

Those visiting the booth will also have the unique opportunity to design their own TRANSFORMERS character from in-game assets and take away a printed copy of their AUTOBOT or DECEPTICON creation. The ability to design and customise your own TRANSFORMERS character will be a key feature in the game and fans will be getting a first taste of what they can look forward to from this new MMO.

Jagex will also be welcoming the TRANSFORMERS community to contribute their thoughts and opinions about AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS in the video area of the booth, where the first battle for supremacy will begin. Who will come out on top?  

Mark Gerhard, CEO at Jagex Games Studio, commented: “BotCon is the world’s premier destination for TRANSFORMERS enthusiasts and, with so many loyal fans gathered together in one place, it’s the natural event to unveil the very first details of TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE. It will be great to meet the TRANSFORMERS fans in person and we are especially excited about offering them the chance to design their own TRANSFORMERS character, which will be a key feature of the game when it launches next year.”

Mark Blecher, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Gaming and Media at Hasbro, commented: “The unveiling of some of the first details of TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE from Jagex at BotCon, where Hasbro celebrates all elements of our hugely popular TRANSFORMERS brand, is an extremely exciting prospect for both Hasbro and the dedicated fanbase attending. We are delighted to welcome Jagex to the show and are sure that what the fans will able to see, participate in and take away from their experience at the Jagex booth will make them as excited about the upcoming MMO as we at Hasbro are.”

TRANSFORMERS BotCon runs from the 3^rd – 5^th June at the Pasadena Convention Centre, California. The Jagex booth can be found in the Main Conference Hall.

To register interest in TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE, fans can now visit: www.transformersuniverse.com

- Ends –

About TRANSFORMERS

The TRANSFORMERS brand has delivered “MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE” action to legions of fans around the world for more than 25 years.  As one of the hottest global entertainment properties, TRANSFORMERS captures excitement through action figure play, movies, television, digital gaming, comics, and more.    

About Hasbro

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company’s world class brand portfolio.  From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, video games and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its customers through the strategic leveraging of well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY.  The Hub, Hasbro’s multi-platform joint venture with Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) launched on October 10, 2010. The online home of The Hub is www.hubworld.com. The Hub logo and name are trademarks of Hub Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved. 

Come see how we inspire play through our brands at http://www.hasbro.com. © 2010 Hasbro, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

About Jagex Games Studio

Jagex Games Studio is a multi-award winning games developer based in Cambridge, England. Jagex specialises in the development of high quality browser-based games and is the largest independent games developer and publisher in the UK.

Jagex has a long-standing reputation for creating the world’s best online games and for developing hugely popular, high quality, accessible, free-to-play games and for providing an unbeatable community experience for millions of players around the world. Jagex has developed and self-published over 40 online titles, including the world’s most popular free multiplayer online game, RuneScape.com

In addition to RuneScape, Jagex self-publishes games on its games portal Jagex.com, and has released a series of successful iPhone games including BounceDown, StarCannon, and Miner Disturbance. Jagex also acts as a third-party publisher for likeminded developers, publishing titles such as the Herotopia, the online virtual world for children, the real-time strategy game War of Legends, and the iPhone title Undercroft.

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E3 2011 is less than two weeks away and the virtual racing community is waiting with baited breath to learn everything there is to know about Forza Motorsport 4.  Today the first bit of info has possibly leaked out.  According to the guys at G4, depending on where you pre-order the game will determine what type of DLC car you will be gifted with.  The list goes as follows:

Amazon: Pre-order at Amazon and you will get the new Subaru WRX STi

Best Buy: Pre-order at Best Buy and you will get the new BMW 1 Series M Coupe

Game Stop: Pre-order at Game Stop and you will get the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde

Wal-Mart: Pre-order at walmart and you will get the John Cooper Works MINI Clubman

Target: Pre-order at Target to get the Honda CR-Z EX

E3 2011 is coming up in less than two weeks and I am on a mission to bring you info on all the racing games, peripherals, and other car related video game awesomness I can.  Today, I am showing you the official box art For F1 2011 (below) and our own rendering (box art above is NOT official) of the F1 2011 Nintendo 3DS box art.  F1 2011 has also received an official release date of September 20th 2011 so mark your calendars.  Just like F1 2010, F1 2011 will be released for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC.  The real newsworthy part is that Codemasters also plans to bring F1 2011 to the Nintendo 3DS and the next generation Sony handheld, the “NGP”!  So, not only can you have F1 racing on the go, you can have it on the go in 3D! FRESH!  The release dates for the handheld versions have not been announced yet but we will try to dig that out of Codemasters when I pay them a visit at E3 2011 for a hands-on demo of F1 2011 so stay tuned for that in the near future!

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Press Release:

f1 2011™, sequel to BAFTA Award-Winning FORMULA ONE™ video game, confirmed with September 20^th ship date

 The Official Game of the 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP^™ Coming to HD Consoles and PC in September with New Handheld Platforms to Follow

LOS ANGELES – F1 2011, the sequel to the fastest-selling FORMULA ONE game ever released, will race into stores across North America on September 20^th 2011, Codemasters® announced today.  F1 2011, the follow up to the BAFTA award-winning F1 2010™, is in development at Codemasters Birmingham for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC Games For Windows®.

Bespoke handheld editions of F1 2011 are also in production for Nintendo 3DS™ and Sony’s next generation portable entertainment system (NGP), each designed to take advantage of the new platforms’ unique capabilities; specific release dates for the handheld editions are to be announced.

In F1 2011 players will be challenged to ‘Be the driver, live the life, go compete’, with wide-ranging technical and gameplay advancements on and off track and vastly extended competitive and co-operative multiplayer components.  F1 2011 will feature all of the official teams, drivers and circuits from the highly anticipated 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, including the current FIA FORMULA ONE Drivers’ World Champion Sebastian Vettel.  The 2011 season also sees the debut of the 2011 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX OF INDIA at Delhi’s Jaypee International Race Circuit and the return of the iconic Nürburgring to the calendar.

In production at Codemasters Studios Birmingham, F1 2011 is being developed using the EGO Game Technology Platform, Codemasters’ proprietary tech that powered the critically acclaimed, 2 million-plus selling F1 2010™, GRID and currently driving DiRT 3. To get all the news straight from the studio and to win the chance to play F1 2011 ahead of its release, race over to www.facebook.com/formula1game or follow the team on twitter at www.twitter.com/formula1game.

In one of our first E3 2011 previews we got our hands on the first official trailer for Wrecked: Revenge Revisited, a car carnage racing game from the same people who created “Mashed” and “Micro Machines v4″. In this romp, brought to us by 505 Games, there are no licensed cars or micro managing settings. Players  just pick a car that looks cool take to the track and try to cause as much damage as possible!  Players will have access to guns, missiles, land-mines, and can even call in air strikes to smite down their opponents!  It sounds like a pretty good time to us! We will follow up with 505 Games at E3 2011 to get more info on Wrecked. Look for this game to be available on XBox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network.

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Yesterday I left you with some gaming hype about the DiRT3/Ken Block R/C car bundle that will be available next month.  Today I kick things off with a new trailer for the latest edition in the popular “Driver” franchise, Driver: San Francisco.  If you’ve never played any of the previous Driver games before you should know that it isn’t your traditional racing game.  As the name suggests this game is all about, well driving!  You play a detective who often goes undercover to take down a crime boss.  This typically involves several driving missions and car chases through out the city.  In this game “the city” in question is San Francisco.   A crime boss named Charles Jericho has escaped from prison and is looking to make San Francisco the HQ for the resurgence of his organization.  Your character, John Tanner seems to be the only man who can stop him.   If you aren’t won over yet, check out the awesome trailer below and you will likely be convinced.  I will try to get some further info on this game at the E3 Expo in June.