Sony’s PS2 turns 10
 
It was exactly one decade ago today that Sony launched the PlayStation 2 in Japan. The PS2 went on to dominate the gaming scene selling more than 140 million units worldwide, and it continues to sell well, even in the age of the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. If the PS2's birthday put you in a reminiscent mood (oh how we loved God of War, Gran Turismo 4, Destroy all Humans!), you can check out Sony’s cool 15th Anniversary page (albeit in Japanese) celebrating a decade and a half of PlayStation gaming magic since the launch of the first PlayStation.
 
New Tomb Raider game minus the Tomb Raider name
 
Crystal Dynamics, the gaming developers owned by Square Enix, yesterday announced the next Tomb Raider game. The game’s developers have followed a new direction by dropping the Tomb Raider name and going with the title, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. “This is a really exciting project for Crystal Dynamics, we have created something completely new and very different to what people might be expecting,” explains Darrell Gallagher, general manager of Crystal Dynamics. “Lara Croft is such an iconic character in video games, with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light we have created what we believe is a truly original digital experience.” The game will be released later in the year as a digital download. 
 
In related news, the BBC reported that a new road in Derby in the UK is to be named after video game heroin Lara Croft, following a public vote in which over 27 000 citizens took part. Derby was also the home of Core Design, the original creators of the Tomb Raider series. A clear majority of 89% voted to name the new curvy road after the equally curvy game character.
 
BioShock 2 passes three million mark
 
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. has announced that its first major release of 2010, BioShock 2, has sold over three million copies globally thus far, whilst Grand Theft Auto IV has passed the 15 million mark since coming out in 2008. These announcements were made during the release of Take Two’s first quarter fiscal 2010 financial results.
 
According to IGN, Take Two’s CEO Ben Feder announced new DLC for Borderlands. “We’ll continue to support the title with more add-on content, and our approach to digital content for Borderlands gives us a road map for other titles going forward,” Feder stated. 
 
Vanquish details revealed
 
Games publisher Sega and developer PlatinumGames announced details on Wednesday of their upcoming sci-fi shooter VANQUISH. The game is going to be released in 2010 for both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. “VANQUISH is a game where we’ve tried to inject the extreme pace of an action game into a shooter. The gameplay and staging are all put together around the keyword ‘intensity’. I think it’s very rare to come across a game where shooting loads of robots is so much fun,” said Shinji Mikami, game director of VANQUISH.  
 
NES game sold for big bucks
 
A lucky gamer from Kansas (vals2girlz) is $41 300 (over R309 000) richer, after selling his immaculate copy of the very rare Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game, Stadium Events, on eBay last Friday.

EVOKE starts

EVOKE, an online social-networking game taking aim at Africa's social problems launched on Wednesday. In an interview with TechSmart, the game's director, alternate reality game developer Jane McGonigal, said: "Our vision is that today’s creative problem-solvers in Africa will represent the leading-edge of problem-solving in the future."