Fragile Bits Interactive and On Deck Interactive (ODI), and video game publisher Gathering of Developers, announced that gamers can get a sneak peek of the scifi/action adventure game The Ward in a new cinematic trailer. and on Gathering of Developers' Gathering of Goodness demo CD (register for this here). Two versions of the trailer are available, a 13mb version (320x 150 resolution 16bit, 22khz audio), and a 3.5mb file (160x75 resolution, 16bit, 11khz audio). The action packed space adventure PC game will ship to stores on January 16th and will be available for a suggested retail price of $19.99.
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There will be a live IRC chat with Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky and Jason Anderson of Troika Games on Saturday, January 6th at 7PM Eastern Time. The three will answer questions about Arcanum Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura, their forthcoming RPG title due this Spring, being published by Sierra Studios. The chat can be accessed via IRC on the server irc.gamesnet.net in channel #Arcanum. There is a Java client available for those who do not want to access the chat via IRC.
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Gathering of Developers today announced the launch of Club Gathering, the company's free membership program (available only in North America) featuring gaming news and give-a-ways. Gamers become members by simply signing up at www.godgames.com. Memberships include "Gathering of Goodness" compact discs, free jam-packed demo CDs with exclusive sneak preview content on upcoming games, as well as direct email updates on Gathering's games. Gamers who sign-up in January will also receive a free 2001 Gathering of Goodness calendar which highlights facts and figures of upcoming games and Gathering's beautiful "schoolgirls." The demo CDs will be mailed out every two months. The first 700 MB CD will contain the latest demos of Gathering's games, including those from Serious Sam, Oni, Rune, 4x4 EVO, and Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2. Exclusive sneak preview content from FLY! II, Tropico, Shadowbane, Stronghold and three yet-to-be announced games will also be featured, as well as behind-the-scenes video and exclusive shots from the making of the 2001 Gathering of Goodness calendar. The CDs will also include spotlight presentations on independent artists from the music and film industries, plus exclusive feature material.
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Microsoft has announced details for their upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) keynote webcast and Xbox chat, taking place this Saturday, January 6, 2001. Portions of Bill Gate's keynote address will be webcast via the official Xbox Web site. During and following the keynote address, key members of the Xbox development team will participate in an online chat, hosted by one of Xbox's independently-run fan sites, MSXbox. To view the webcast, gamers are encouraged to visit Xbox.com at approximately 915am PST, click the link for the webcast, and sit back and enjoy the show! To watch the webcast, users will need the latest version of Windows Media Player.

MSXbox.com will host an open chat from 8am to 9am PST. In conjunction with the webcast, J Allard, General Manager of the Xbox platform and head of its Third Party Relations team, will take the keyboard at 9am PST. To participate in the chat, log on to MSXbox.com, click on the Chat link located on the left side of the page, and click "Load chat client." Participants will be prompted to enter a nickname for use during the chat. This will be a moderated event.
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The following announcement comes from Innerloop Studios after the rumors started that there would be a Project IGI 2.

" ... The attention this game has received has surprised everyone here at Innerloop, and we are thrilled about it all. The feedback we have been getting has been very useful to us, and will be given a lot of thought when we now will start to build our next products. Like we all know, the internet can be a dangerous thing, as information and rumors can fly about at lightning speed. Bits of information and misinformation regarding the development of this game, as well as what we are going to do next, has floated onto the internet. I write you now to rectify some of the damage and speculations this can continue to cause if the record is not set straight.

The posting seemingly made by an Eidos-representative is indeed a hoax. We have not made any decisions within our company as to what kind of product we will go on to do. We have a long history with Eidos, and are continuing to discuss further business with them as well as our other business partners. So far, this has not included discussing a potential sequel to Project IGI."
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