• NEWS: Electronic Arts has signed a multi-year deal with Disney, securing the rights to develop and publish ‘core’ Star Wars video games. The deal allows EA to develop titles ‘spanning all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres’, while Disney retains the rights to mobile, social, tablet and online games. EA Labels President Frank Gibeau said: ‘Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans. DICE and Visceral will produce new games, joining the BioWare team which continues to develop for the Star Wars franchise. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay.’ The new projects will be powered by Frostbite 3, and EA is also calling on fans for suggestions. ‘We have lots of ideas, but we want to hear from you. Tell us what kind of games you want to play. Send us your suggestions and tag @EA_DICE @VisceralGames @BioWare and #starwarsnextgen.’
• NEWS: While forgoing the traditional E3 conference, Nintendo has announced a smaller E3 press showcase to be held at its booth on June 11. The event will be hosted by Shigeru Miyamoto and Reggie Fils-Aime and open to the press.
• NEWS: Bethesda has tweeted a teaser image of an upcoming game announcement. Gamespot has also posted two screenshots.
• NEWS: Lucid Games, the studio formed by former Bizarre Creations staff, has teased an announcement for mid-May. The studio is rumoured to developing a racing title for the new Xbox console.
• VIDEO: Ubisoft has released a trailer for Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. The game is released on May 22 for Xbox LIVE, PSN and PC.  

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• NEWS: An allegedly leaked internal Microsoft memo says that the next Xbox console will not require an always-on internet connection, reports Arstechnica. The memo reportedly reads: ‘There are a number of scenarios that our users expect to work without an Internet connection, and those should “just work” regardless of their current connection status. Those include, but are not limited to: playing a Blu-ray disc, watching live TV, and yes playing a single player game’.
• NEWS: EA has announced the Sims 4 will be arriving on PC and Mac in late 2014. The publisher stated that single-player may be played offline.
• NEWS: Sony says it has ‘intriguing game announcements planned’ for this week.
• NEWS: According to a classification listed by the OFLC, a game based on the upcoming movie Pacific Rim is in the works.
• VIDEO: Sony has posted a new trailer for The Last of Us.

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