That narrows it down to about 75% of the company's product line, meaning it could be related to Epic Games' Unreal Engine, the Unreal franchise or the Unreal Tournament franchise. Or it could be a new Unreal product altogether. Or Epic Games is screwing with us. What we're relatively certain it's not is a proper Unreal Engine 4, as Epic prez Mike Capps said that next-gen engine is still years away at this year's Tokyo Game Show.

So. Which is it? Best guesses in the comments!

Thanks to Jos for the heads up.

The study's results imply that video games draw on physiological mechanisms in ways similar to warfare, where testosterone-fueled aggression provides a strong advantage. Researchers had tried studying it on subjects in sports, but the natural production of testosterone by physical exertion clouded the results of the study.

In this one, researchers pitted 14 three-player teams against one another in Unreal Tournament 2004's Onslaught - a capture-the-flag mode - and laid a $45 bounty for winning team players vs. $15 for losers. To make sure they knew what they were doing, they let the teams practice for a week.

Afterward, they found that winning teams' testosterone levels spiked immediately after the tournament, especially in those who contributed most to the win. When team members played one another, in death matches with similar cash incentives, the best performing males typically produced less testosterone than those they defeated.

"In a serious out-group competition you can kill all your rivals and you're better for it," said David Geary, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Missouri. But when competing against others in order establish a social hierarchy, annihilation doesn't make sense. "You can't alienate your in-group partners, because you need them," he said.

Gamers Are More Aggressive to Strangers [New Scientist]

One important note about this video:

Made in the Unreal engine. It's also part of OneSharedVision, a machinima community effort to help make videos in honor of Child's Play.

That's nice!

(Thanks, Zachariah)

Taking place on October 25th at the Rocket on Holloway Road, the tournament will consist of Wii Tennis, Tekken, Unreal Tournament, Kuri Kuri Mix and Mario Kart competitions. Five individual winners will be named, with one overall winner being crowned Champion.

The event is free and supporters and spectators of either sex are welcome.

grl gmr tournament[ThinkMakePlay]

Full press release after the jump

13 October 2008: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Grl Gmr Tournament

Calling all female gamers! This is an opportunity to take part in the first Grl Gmr Tournament in London as part of London Games Festival Fringe.

On Saturday 25 October London Metropolitan University will be holding a tournament open to all female gamers. This action-packed celebration of prowess in the virtual arena will kick-start the annual London Games Fringe (http://www.londongamesfringe.com/) , a week-long festival where you can enjoy all that is great about games and interactive entertainment.

The 'Grl Gmr Tournament' (Girl Gamers Tournament), which will take place over half-term, was conceived and organised by staff from the BSc Computer Games and BA Game Studies, in conjunction with Gamelab London
(http://www.gamelablondon.com) .

The contestants taking part in the Tournament will battle it out by playing five different and challenging games: Wii Tennis; Tekken; Unreal Tournament; Kuri Kuri Mix and Mario Kart.

Five winners will be named, but only one Champion will be crowned – prizes and goodies awarded around 6pm. If you think you stand a chance then register online at: http://www.thinkmakeplay.co.uk/grlgmr There is limited capacity, so please book your place now.

Fiona French from the Faculty of Computing said: ‘We would like to see more girls and women applying for our courses; this is an opportunity to promote London Metropolitan University as a vibrant and welcoming environment for young women.’

Spectators and supporters, friends and family of any age and gender are welcome to come along to the event. The day will be jammed-packed with activities. Upstairs at the University’s Students Union complex, the Rocket, on Holloway Road, DS:London will be attempting to break the world record for simultaneous DSLite playing from 4pm onwards; in the evening there will also be a Playfire Games Pub Quiz.

Next door in the Graduate Centre, there will be an Information Event where you can find out more about all the courses available at London Met, including several which focus on games and the game industry, such as the BSc Computer Games and BA (Joint) Game Studies.

-Ends-

The seven titles we owe it to: Doom, Quake, Tribes, Battlezone, Unreal Tournament, Counterstrike and Battlefield.

If nothing else, at least the past two or three years of FPSes, multi- and single-player, have combined to give us standardized controls, which makes picking up a new title infinitely easier to play — especially when it comes to free looking. It's now pretty much left stick = movement, right stick = head, with no fruity switching of camera angles or other unnecessary twists. Also, Y or triangle is use, B or circle is jump, etc. If you think that's a minor gamer assist, ask yourself the last time you used two different copiers or fax machines with the same set of commands.

Ed also argues that single-player FPSes are constantly delivering great new titles, but multiplayers have been "the same old for quite a few years now." I just can't see it that way. Maybe structurally they are the same, but characters, missions, game story, that's what gets me into an FPS now. True, a new gameplay innovation that's widely adopted will beat the best written game for sales, but I ask you, what else could a multiplayer FPS be doing right now?

How 7 Games Created the Modern Team Multiplayer FPS

The full release is below, with guest quotes from Gabe Newell and Jay Wilbur.

EPIC GAMES NOW ON STEAM

Award-Winning Library Available Via Leading Online Platform for PC Games

March 17, 2008 - Epic Games, Inc. and Valve, two of the PC industry's leading technology and content development studios, have inked an agreement to bring Epic's award-winning titles to Steam, a leading platform for PC games and digital content with over 15 million accounts around the world.

The Epic hits now available on Steam include Epic's debut classic, Unreal Gold, as well as Unreal II: The Awakening and the Unreal Tournament series of games, including the recently released Unreal Tournament 3, which has shipped over one million copies to date.

All of Epic's titles available on Steam are offered in the Unreal Deal Pack, an incredible value for just $59.95. And, to celebrate the launch, all of Epic's games on Steam are available for 10% off their regular price.

"Epic is a leading developer of game engine technology and has produced some of my favorite games of all time," said Gabe Newell, president of Valve. "It's an honor to be working with them and offering their current and classic titles to the millions of Steam gamers around the world."

"Steam is a revolutionary technology that opens up an entirely new way to put our games into the hands of millions of PC gamers around the world," said Jay Wilbur, vice president of Epic. "Valve has changed the face of digital distribution for game developers, publishers and consumers, and we are thrilled to be a part of the Steam community."

For more information or to purchase Epic's games via Steam, please visit www.steamgames.com

About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, North Carolina and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its Unreal series, recently shipping Unreal Tournament 3 for PC and PlayStation 3. Epic's breakthrough game, Gears of War, sold over 4.5 million copies and was awarded overall Game of the Year for 2006 by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Game Developers Choice Awards, GameSpot, GamePro and many others. Epic is also responsible for the Unreal Engine, which is the underlying technology for a wide range of games including the Game Critics Awards' Best Console Game and Spike TV's 2007 RPG of the Year Mass Effect by BioWare and the 2007 BAFTA Best Game and Spike TV Game of the Year BioShock by 2K Games. Epic's Unreal Engine 3 is the current holder, and three-time consecutive winner, of Game Developer magazine's Front Line award for Best Game Engine. Epic was also recognized as 2006 Studio of the Year by Spike TV, 2006 Developer of the Year by Official Xbox Magazine and 2007 Large Company of the Year by the North Carolina Technology Association. Additional information about Epic can be obtained through the Epic Games Web site at www.epicgames.com.

About Steam
The leading online platform for PC games and digital entertainment, Steam delivers new releases and online services to over 15 million PC users around the world. For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com

Epic, Epic Games, Unreal, Unreal Tournament and Gears of War are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Nothing has changed at this point...we're working toward a November release.

Ahh. Phew. We were worried there for a second. Wait, wait! Stop talking! Noooo!

We don't know the specific release date yet and I think it is always prudent to remind our fans that we value quality over release date. They've come to expect that from UT and we don't want them to think we're handling UT3 any differently.

No date for Xbox 360 version [gameindustry]

We do not know exactly when the game will be completed. All we've said is that we're hoping for a November release but as you know we value getting it right over getting it right now so there's no guarantee of that.

Truthfully, Epic may be better not releasing the game in November. Sure an 08 launch would cost them the holiday season, but there is plenty of competition on the store shelves in the coming months. But we hope not, because all that slower paced Halo 3 multiplayer will get us craving some crack-on-speed UT3 gameplay.

Forum [via aeropause]

Also, if you understand Japanese, the remixed version is a hoot as well.

But, in addition to teasing us with a PlayStation Network or Xbox Live Arcade port of Jazz Jackrabbit, Mr. B touches on what's next on his personal to-do list: making a Michael Mann inspired title.

I've been working in sci-fi worlds for so long with Unreal being so fantastic and Gears being still fantastic but a little bit more tangible. I want to do something completely tangible that feels like New York or LA - that would be very exciting.

That would be very exciting! Almost as exciting as finally getting that Grail t-shirt endorsement he's probably gunning for. Michael McWhertor

Interview: Mr. Gears of War fields our onslaught [CVG]

Epic also expects to rake in the dough when they ship Gears of War, the Xbox 360 shooter that's so rich with eye-candy we might all have to go the eye dentist. Because we'll get eye cavities. Sorry, I don't know what that even means.

Gaming's biggest least-known company [CNN/Money]

New Unreal Tournament 2007 Screens [Gamespot]
Midway Gears Up For 06, Rock Slums With Spy Hunter [Kotaku]

Alice over at Wonderland loves video game renderings of real world (and movie set) locations. She's posted pictures of two fantastic movie set recreations that you can play Unreal Tournament in. The Silence of the Lambs map looks like it might be a little limiting. But the Reservoir Dogs set, complete with chair, would be a ton of fun to run around blasting people in.

Mapping Reality [Wonderland]

UnrealArt is a wonderful project that uses the somewhat random meanderings of bots in a massive death match game of Unreal Tournament to create art. Each image is made up of thousands, if not millions of dots. Each dot represents the location of one of the two dozen bots in a given second or the death of a bot. An image is created after about 30 minutes of automated gameplay. Pretty amazing stuff.

UnrealArt [Pixel Sumo]