2007 in video gaming/February

**2007**
January • February • March • April • May • June • July
August • September • October • November • December

See 2007 for other events during the year.

## Events

D.I.C.E 2007 - February 7–9, 2007.

Rockstar Games has announced that it will be using the Euphoria engine in its next-gen game titles. Euphoria is an engine based on Dynamic Motion Synthesis, which simulates 3D character animation in real time on next gen consoles and PC platforms. The engine is developed by NaturalMotion, a company based in Oxford.
[1]
#### February 27 2007 (Tuesday)

* ***Capcom Licenses Unreal Engine 3***

Following Activision's announcement of licensing the Unreal Engine 3. Capcom license Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 middleware, with the industry stalwart planning to use the graphics engine in a new unannounced project being developed in North America.
[2]

* ***Riccitiello back as EA CEO***

Former president of EA Riccitiello who left Electronic Arts in 2004 has rejoined with EA as the CEO replacing Larry Probst. Riccitiello will replace Probst as the CEO. But Probst, will remain with the company as executive chairman of the board of directors. The replacement is effective April 1, 2007.
[3]

#### February 26 2007 (Monday)

* ***Nintendo sells shares***

Nintendo executives have requested that the Japanese government sell their share of stock. The government owns 1.4% of the companies stock. There was a 2.7 percent drop in shares following the withdrawl of the governments shares.
[4]
* ***Eidos Interactive acquires Rockpool***

Eidos officials announced that the company has reached an agreement to acquire British wireless developer Rockpool Games and Rockpool’s two sister companies, Ironstone Partners and SoGoPlay. All three Rockpool companies will become part of the Eidos New Media division.
[5]
* ***PlayStation 3 First-Party software pricing for PAL***

Sony announced that 1st party deveoped software will be priced at €59.99/£39.99 ($79/$78) which is similar to those of the Wii and some last-generation titles. SCEE has made it clear that the prices stated are only for the five first party launch titles, leaving the option for third party titles and subsequent third party games to be more expensive.
[6]
#### February 25 2007 (Friday)

* ***Activision Licenses Unreal Engine 3***

Activision has announced that they have cut a deal with Epic games to use Unreal Engine 3 in the development of an unspecified action game. The Unreal Engine 3 has been licensed by several companies such as Microsoft and THQ. It has been used to develop games such as Gears of War
[7]
#### February 22 2007 (Thursday)

* ***Xbox 360 and PS2 gets price cuts in UK***

Price cuts of up to £50 ($98) have been observed for the Xbox 360 Core bundle, dropping the price from a suggested retail price of £199.99 ($390) to £149.99 ($292). Wal-Mart owned supermarket chain Asda, has also cut the price of the PlayStation 2 from £69.99 ($136) to just £50 ($98) for a limited period. These price cuts are unofficial and has not been announced by Microsoft or Sony
[8]
#### February 21 2007 (Wednesday)

* ***Wii out sales PS3 in US***

January Game Sales were up 53% in the USA. Software sales account for $549 million 53% from 2006. Sales were led by Capcom's Lost Planet for the Xbox 360, which sold 329,000 units for the month and Guitar Hero 2 for the PS2. 436,000 Wii consoles were sold during January and the first week of February and the PS3 sold 244,000 units.
[9]
#### February 20 2007 (Tuesday)

* ***Vivendi Games buys Wanako Games***

Vivendi Games have announced the acquisition of Wanako Games based in Santiago, Chile. Wanako Games will become the latest addition to publisher's Sierra Online division. Wanako Games has published Assult Heros and is working on 3D Ultra Mini Golf Adventures for the Xbox Live Arcade.
[10]

* ***Indiana Senate Passes Anti-Violent Game Bill***

Indiana Senate voted 5-2 to approve a measure which would make it unlawful to sell M- or AO-rated games to underage buyers. Violators could be fined $1,000. The bill, SB0238, was authored by Senators Vi Simpson and David C. Ford. SB0238 now proceeds to the full Senate for a vote.
[11]
#### February 19 2007 (Monday)

* ***Hands-On Demo of CryENGINE 2***

Crytek have announced that the first ever public presentation of their custom CryENGINE 2 at the Game Developers Confrence this year. A presentartion of the engines features and capabilities will be available both to the public and developers interested in licensing the technology and tools for their own use.
[12]
#### February 16 2007 (Friday)

* ***Halo 3 beta***

Bungie Studios has released an online FAQ offering insight into the upcoming Halo 3 beta test for the Xbox 360. Bungie and Microsoft previously announced that the initial shipment of Crackdown, shipping February 20 for the Xbox 360, will include an invite to the multiplayer beta. The beta is expected to begin this spring. No firm release date is available for Halo 3, with most analysts assuming a late 2007 launch.
[13]
#### February 15 2007 (Thursday)

* ***GameTap launches Myst Online: Uru Live***

Myst Online is a MMO that is recently released by GameTap. It is available for download to PC for GameTap subscribers and will cost $9.99 a month. The game feature puzzles and social concepts of a traditional massively multiplayer online game. It will be available for mac users in the spring
[14]
#### February 14 2007 (Wednesday)

* ***Wii Votes Channel launch***

Nintendo have announced the launch of a channel called Everybody Votes Channel. The chanel is free of charge on the Wii and can be downloaded from the online shop. The channel will feature forum style questioning, polls, and the use Mii avatars. World wide polls will be updated twice a month.
[15]
#### February 13 2007 (Tuesday)

* ***Quake wars goes to next gen***

iD software announced that the next Quake game, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars will be released for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Activision will be producing the PS3 version.
[16]

* ***Mississippi Video Game Bill is Dead on Arrival***

Senator Gray Tollison of Missippi introduced a bill to the Senate which fine retailers who sold M-rated games to minors $100. The bill was sent to a commitee and failed to gain approval.
[17]
#### February 12 2007 (Monday)

* ***Virgin plans game download service***

Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has announced plans to launch a new games download service for the PC. This service will allow users to download PC games on demand. The service is to be run by subsidiary Virgin Games. The system claims to have fast download speeds, greater security and improved ease of use for the customer.
[18]
* ***Gamestop Splits stock***

Gamestop announces that they will divied their stocks to attract more investors. Stock dividend will be payable on February 20. The company will have about 152 million shares of common stock outstanding after the split.
[19]
#### February 11 2007 (Sunday)

* ***Gamestop gets tough on M rated Sales***

Today GameStop has issued a new, no-nonsense policy to managers and sales associates. If retailers sell an M rated game to an individual under 17, they will be fired and terminated, with extreme prejudice. A video report by Washington, D.C.’s ABC-7 revealed that Gamestop sold games Rated M to people under the age of 17.
[20]

* ***A game that helps with Divorces***

Earthquake in Zipland created by family counsoler Chaya Harash is the first game to help children cope with divorce issues. In the game the child plays as a moose and goes through several quest where he deals with divorce issues indirectly. The game is developed by Zipland Interactive and released in December 26, 2006.
[21]
#### February 9 2007 (Friday)

* ***Ubisoft opens animation studio in Canada***

Officials from Ubisoft's office in Canada announced that they are planning to open a studio in Qubec. The studio will be based on the production of CGI films. Ubisoft predicts that by 2013, the new CGI studio should count 500 specialists, according to Ubisoft. They are planning to spend $21.5 million over the next five years on the studio.
[22]
* ***Metal Gear Movie planned***

Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment has confirmed plans of making a live action Metal Gear movie. The movie will be based on the plot of Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation.
[23]
* ***Guitar Hero coming to Wii and DS***

Activision announced that Guitar Hero will be comming to the Wii and Nintendo DS. Spiderman, Shrek, and Transformers games are planned for the year 2008. But Activision said that Guitar hero will be expected by between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008 and is being developed by Neversoft.
[24]
#### February 8 2007 (Thursday)

* ***EA closes Japan Studio***

After opening for three years EA's Japanese studio will be shortly closing. The studio only has produced one game which was Theme park DS. Two titles are still in development by the company Sim City DS, and Dragon Zakura DS. EA says the reason for closing the studio was it would be consolidating its Japanese development team.
[25]
#### February 7 2007 (Wednesday)

* ***Unreal Tournament Improves Visual Acuity***

A Research study at the University of Rochester shows that playing action video games like Unreal Tournament has improved an individuals visual acuity by about 20%. The students were first givin a test which measured how well they could discern the orientation of a "T" within a crowd of other distracting symbols. They were then divided into two groups one to play UT and one to play tetris. The groups were then given the test again after a month and the group playing UT had improvements in finding the T, while the group playing tetris remained the same
[26]
* ***Vice City Stories bounded for PS2***

Rockstar games has announced that their PSP hit Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories will be released for the PS2. The PS2 Vice City Stories is set to ship in just a month, arriving in North America on March 6 and in Europe on March 9. No prices has been set yet
[27]
#### February 6 2007 (Tuesday)

* ***Rockstar produces Manhunt sequel***

Rockstar games announced that they will be producing a sequel to their action game Manhunt. Manhunt 2 will be available for the PSP, PlayStation 2, and Wii. The developers will be Rockstar London studio and Rockstar Toronto. The game will be available this summer.
[28]
* ***Supreme Commander Demo out Today!***

THQ confirms that today at 9:30 a.m the Supreme Commander Demo will be available. The demo will include an early portion of the single-player campaign for the Cybran Nation, one of the game's three playable factions. It will also include a skirmish map named "Finn's Revenge," which can be played on easy, medium, and hard difficulty levels.
[29]
#### February 5 2007 (Monday)

* ***Crackdown cracks Gamefly charts***

The game Crackdown for the Xbox 360 has toped this week's rental charts from U.S. game on Gamefly. Capcom's Lost Planet for Xbox 360 was forced to settle for the second place position for the week. Third on the list was Battlestations: Midway a World War II game released by Eidos.
[30]
* ***Thompson faces Florida bar***

The Florida Bar has compiled a 40-page complaint filed with the state's Supreme Court on Jack Thompson's actions. The Bar's complaint makes five allegations against Thompson for violations of professional conduct. The court accuses Thompson of a number of misdeeds, such as repeatedly disobeying a judge's orders, violating Alabama's rules of professional conduct, and making out-of-court statements that could tamper with the court case, knowing that they would be picked up and widely reported..
[31]
#### February 2 2007 (Friday)

* ***New Red Faction Announced***

In an address to investors, CEO of THQ Brian Farrell announced that Volitile games will develop a new Red Faction. The release date is yet to be announced. He also spoke about the success of THQ's products on the Nintendo platforms the Wii and the DS.
[32]
* ***Universe at War***

Petroglyph, formerly Westwood Studios has announced the development of Universe at War: Earth Assault. This game is set in the future and will feature deformable terrain. A multiplayer mode inspired by massively multiplayer online games will allow gamers to earn achievements, rewards, and medals in a "persistent online campaign" to win supremacy.
[33]
#### February 1 2007 (Thursday)

* ***Sony Spokesman criticizes Wii***

Sony Computer Entertainment America spokesman Dave Karraker told the New York times that the Wii did not belong in the same cateory as the PS3. He also told the paper that Sony was selling out shipments of 100,000 PS3s in the US every week. He noted that PS3 systems have been easier to find on store shelves than the Wii.
[34]

* ***DDR Health Study Results***

Konami and the West Virginia Games For Health project reveals that DDR improves arterial function in overweight children. The study was done by West Virginia University and the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency who required subjects to play DDR 30 minutes per a day. Through the 24-week period researcher has found that the majority of individuals did not gain weight and had improved aretrial functions.
[35]
## Games Released

February 27

* Chili Con Carnage (PSP)
* Meteos: Disney Magic (DS)
* SSX Blur (Wii)
* Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii)
* Bullet Witch (Xbox 360)

February 26

* MLB 07: The Show
* Jade Empire: Special Edition

February 20

* NBA Street Homecourt (Xbox 360)
* Crackdown (Xbox 360)
* Supreme Commander (PC)
* Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3)
* Arena Football: Road to Glory (PS2)
* Maelstrom (PC)
* Arthur and the Invisibles (PSP)
* Trioncube (DS)

February 19

* War Front: Turning Point (PC)
* UFO: Extraterrestrials (PC)

February 14

* The Red Star (PS2)
* Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar (PC)

February 13

* Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (PSP)
* Ghost Rider (PS2/PSP)
* Test Drive Unlimited (PC)
* Great Invasions (PC)
* F-24: Stealth Fighter (DS)
* Rocky Balboa (PSP)

February 12

* Wii Play (Wii)
* The Warriors (PSP)

February 7

* War Rock (PC)

February 6

* Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia (PS2)
* Fuel (PC)
* Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 (Xbox 360)
* MVP 07 NCAA Baseball (PS2)
* The Sims Life Stories (PC)
* Capcom Puzzle World (PSP)
* CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder (PS2/PC)

February 5

* SnoCross 2: Featuring Blair Morgan (PS2)
* Final Fantasy VI Advance (GBA)
* Diddy Kong Racing DS (DS)

February 2

* Earache Extreme Metal Racing (PS2)
* Alien Shooter: Vengeance (PC)