Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group announced via press release today the acquisition of a majority stake in Rocksteady Studios, developer of Batman: Arkham Asylum, one of the most critically acclaimed games of 2009 and one of the better selling ones too with over three million units shipped worldwide.

“Rocksteady demonstrated its professionalism and extraordinary development abilities with Batman: Arkham Asylum,” said Kevin Tsujihara, president, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. “This arrangement is a great strategic fit and we are very pleased to solidify our relationship with this talented development team.”

“We are proud to strengthen our association with WBIE, a world class publisher that we have enjoyed working with since we began developing Batman: Arkham Asylum,” said Jamie Walker, studio director at the London based Rocksteady Studios. Sefton Hill, games director, added, “The Rocksteady team is very much looking forward to creating more great games based on widely recognized Warner Bros. brands like Batman.”

“With the successful release of Batman: Arkham Asylum, a franchise that is a key focus for Warner Bros., Rocksteady has proven that they have the expertise to create hit games with mass appeal,” said Martin Tremblay, president, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “We are currently working with Rocksteady on the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum and look forward to bringing the continuation of the franchise to fans worldwide.”

“We are delighted to be deepening our relationship with London-based Rocksteady Studios, one of the UK’s most respected games developers and 2009 recipient of the VGA’s coveted ‘studio of the year’ award,” said Josh Berger, president and managing director, Warner Bros. UK. “Rocksteady clearly has the talent, expertise and technology to make great games and we are fortunate to continue working closely with them as we further expand our games portfolio.”

So, there ya go…Hopefully the deal will lend itself to making the next Batman game even better…Of course, only time will tell. We’ll keep you posted on any new details as they emerge.

Hey everyone, DK here with today’s Member BattleCry which, as you might suspect by this week’s topic starter, has to do with an idea on how to implement Microsoft’s Natal into a true gaming experience. It comes from EBA Member TheCrisisKing and asks, “What could Superhero games be like with Natal???” Grab your favorite cape (or tights) and hit the jump to check it out…
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Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a good weekend and rockin’ Holiday! We’re kicking off this week’s Member BattleCries with a post by Axe Head Vamp who delivers a huge shout out to those developers that aren’t afraid to try new things. In a sequel-driven industry, I agree that it’s refreshing and rewarding to see new IPs emerge and succeed. Here’s our Member BattleCry of the Day:

Vamp says:

My EBC goes to the developers trying new IPs and actually putting an effort on getting a good quality game out with support and also to the gamers for supporting the new IPs such as Batman AA, Borderlands, Dragon Age. I think that by us supporting the new IPs shows them that we really appreciate new and innovative ideas and that we will support it if it’s a great game and not one of those generic shooters or the shovelware that we see at the stores.

Got something you wanna say on the matter? Just use the comments section below. Got a different topic you’d like to submit as a Member BattleCry? Then head here, Cry Havoc and let your voice be heard!

PRESS RELEASE

SPIKE TV’S “VIDEO GAME AWARDS 2009″ PLANS GLOBAL DOMINATION

7TH ANNUAL EVENT WILL BE BROADCAST IN MORE THAN 180 COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES WORLDWIDE

Two-Hour Event Premieres LIVE On Saturday, December 12 At 8:00 PM ET

Halo: Reach To Exclusively Premiere At VGAs, Plus Spectacular First Looks At
Never-Before-Seen Titles Set To Rock Gaming Consoles In 2010 And Beyond

Nominees And Categories Honoring The Best In Video Games Announced With Sony’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Topping List With Eight Nominations

Voting Begins Today At VGA.Spike.Com and GameTrailers.com

New York, NY, November 18, 2009 – Spike TV today announced the nominees and categories for the biggest world-wide event ever to celebrate the video game industry, the 2009 “Video Game Awards .” The seventh annual “VGAs” will be a global event, broadcasting in over 180 territories and countries and gathering megastars from the worlds of video games, Hollywood, music, sports and more to honor the outstanding achievements within the video game industry during the past year. The two-hour event, taking place in Los Angeles, CA, will premiere LIVE on Spike TV Saturday, December 12 at 8:00pm, ET/PT (tape delay west coast). Beginning today, fans can vote for their favorite nominees at VGA.Spike.Com and GameTrailers.com.
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Oh Eidos, how thou spoil us so.  Just a week after blessing us with the Insane Map Pack for Batman Arkham Asylum Eidos is at it again with the The Prey in the Darkness add-on that features two more maps for us to bust heads upon.

Heart of Darkness is a combat map where you take on Joker’s goons in the Arkham Pumping Station from the later part of the game. Hothouse Prey is an invisible predator map set in the Abandoned Glasshouse of the Arkham Botanical Gardens.

We can never, EVER complain about free content so more Challenge Maps are definitely welcome, especially with the quality Eidos has been bring to the table with this game.  So, light your Batsignal and dawn the cape boys and girls, more henchmen need to be hung on gargoyles!

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Swords at the ready and into the cave; its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! Welcome back everyone! After a brief hiatus, we’re back with another skirmish. This week, we run down the details on the BioShock 2 release date, check out the long awaited Fallout 3 DLC on PS3 and the accompanying Game of the Year edition, scope the leaked footage from Witcher 2, and morn the news that Left 4 Dead 2 has been banned in Australia.

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Eidos and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have very proudly today announced that Batman: Arkham Asylum has shipped in excess of 2.5 million units to retail since launch. In other words, the game is doing rather well.

With numerous ‘Game of the Month’ and ‘Editor’s Choice’ awards throughout the world and a MetaCritic score in the 90s, the game has met with critical acclaim in the media, earning a Guinness World Record for ‘Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever’. The Games for Windows LIVE version launched last week in the US and Europe and the first DLC went live last week, with additional DLC still to come.

“Batman: Arkham Asylum is one of the stand-out games this year,” said Phil Rogers, CEO of Eidos. “I’ve been following the great reviews and consumer blogs and I’m delighted that gamers everywhere love playing this game as much as we do.”

“The tremendous critical and commercial success of Batman: Arkham Asylum sets a new benchmark for superhero games,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Rocksteady Studios created an excellent game and the sales numbers demonstrate how a powerful franchise fused with high-quality production resonates with consumers.”

Yay! A superhero game that doesn’t suck! For more information, visit the official website at www.BatmanArkhamAsylum.com.

OK, by now you’ve probably heard this and that about some FREE DLC for the wildly popular (as in selling like hot-cakes) Batman: Arkham Asylum. Well, Eidos has issued an official press release to clarify the details of the FIRST bit of DLC and ensure you know what’s what. So, uh, here it is:

EIDOS INTERACTIVE AND WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCE INSANE NIGHT MAP PACK FOR BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUMT

Eidos Interactive Ltd. and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced the Insane Night Map Pack, a free downloadable map pack for the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum action adventure title. Beginning September 17th, the Insane Night Map Pack will be available from PlayStation Store, Xbox LIVE Marketplace, and Games for Windows LIVE Marketplace, and offer gamers two new Challenge Maps to hone their FreeFlow Combat skills and test their Invisible Predator prowess.

In the ‘Totally Insane’ FreeFlow Combat map, players will be tested to their fullest as scores of escaped lunatics bear down upon BATMAN as they make their escape through the asylum’s secure records facility. These fast-moving foes will challenge all but the most practiced players, with quick reactions and expert timing needed to fend off wave upon wave of insane inmates, bent on taking down the DARK KNIGHT. In the ‘Nocturnal Hunter’ Invisible Predator map, players take on a wholly different approach, practicing their predatory skills to remain in the shadows, utilizing the Arkham watchtowers and Batman’s arsenal of gadgets to gain the upper hand on The Joker’s army of goons patrolling below.

The Insane Night Map Pack will be available from September 17th for PLAYSTATION3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and the soon to be released Games for Windows LIVE edition.

So, there ya go. Enjoy the free DLC!

We’ve received details today on not only the DLC headed to Batman: Arkham Asylum next week, but a second pack the week after. According to Sony Europe’s Mike Kebby, ‘Insane Night‘ will be the first DLC to arrive on Sept 17th followed a week later by ‘Prey in the Darkness‘ on Sept 24th.

According to a post on the Eidos forums, the first pack will be available for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. There has been no official confirmation the second round of DLC will be multi-platform, but we won’t have to wait long to find out. Stay tuned and we’ll have more details for you soon.

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Folks totally digging Batman’s latest adventure (and really…who’s not…???) can look forward to extending their stay at Arkham Asylum via some recently revealed downloadable content. Best of all, the DLC will apparently be FREE! This info coming via the scrolling news ticker at the bottom of Batman: Arkham Asylum’s menu screen, which states that the new content should arrive on September 17. Now, we don’t know what the new content actually is, which means it may barely be significant, but it will be SOMETHING new to add to the mix, which is cool by most accounts.

We’ll keep you posted on DLC details as they arise.

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