Melbourne, Aus & New York, New York - Independent developers and amateur game designers will finally get their chance to shine at the annual Mod of the Year Awards this Dec. 1 through Jan. 30, 2008.

The MOTY 2007 Awards are a showcase of the best independently remastered video games, or "modifications," made within the past year. Each of the 4,000 entries in Mod DB's extensive database are voted upon by site staff and community members to determine which mods are worthy of the title "Mod of the Year."

Mod DB is seeking submissions of modified games and independent creations made within the past year to be considered for the competition. All entries must be submitted by Dec. 1 to be eligible. Prizes will be provided by The Art Institute, the US Navy, Alienware with more sponsors to follow.

For more information, please visit Mod of the Year 2007.

Melbourne, Aus - After 8 months of development Mod DB v4 is released, a change which represents the culmination of 6 years working with and understanding how to best serve the needs of the growing game development industry. Mod DB v4 was built from the ground up to empower game developers to do what they do best (develop games), by giving the community control over the content with a series of new features (blogs, groups, friends, bookmarking) which have quickly become key information communicators on the internet today. Members will be encouraged to blog and share their development knowledge, private and public groups can be created enabling development teams to share assets, news and files among the groups members. Like Wikipedia all content is open, members can add engines, games, mods and addons to the site. Multimedia content can be added and embeded (if a picture is worth a thousand words, members can now share a million by posting a video). Interlinking and relationships can be established between content enabling a level of game development detail never before seen.

Melbourne, Aus - After 6 years working with the mod and indie game development industry, a new chapter began in Mod DB's history today with the launch of Gamecore. Gamecore (aka Mod DB v4) is currently open only to existing members as we rollout and trial numerous changes that reflect the direction the web and the game development scene is moving in. For gamers, the core front-end changes include live video embedding, a web2.0 ajax interface, social network features friends, groups, events and blogs. For game developers, the core front-end changes include tools, wikipedia like tutorials, console support and the ability to interlink content and drill down right to the engine used to power the game.

The beta will run for two months, during which time feedback and issues reported by members will be addressed before the new site goes-live in October. The climate appears to be perfect for the Mod DB to usher in a new age of game development & entertainment.

Melbourne, Aus & New York, New York - Myspace, YouTube, Facebook, blogs, podcasts & mash ups are shining examples of the consumer as content creator. This formula has afforded these communities & platforms with unprecedented growth. In short, all have embraced consumers & placed them at the top of the entertainment food chain. They empower people to create & showcase their creative expressions to the world & have created online shortcuts to recognition & fame.

The game industry has been experiencing the very same trend through the modification of video game content by amateur developers. The resulting products are known to gamers as mods. & the Mod DB is about to "turn up the volume" through the 5th Annual Mod of the Year Awards which runs from Nov 15th 2006 to Jan 31st 2007. "Visitors will enjoy a greatly enhanced program this year with even more free downloads, interactive features, video showcases, prizes, visionary sponsors and a winning formula that remains constant... the outcome is decided by the gamers through online voting." stated Kevin Carney, CEO, Game Marketing Solutions.

In an interview, Mod DB founder Scott Reismanis defined the site's efforts by stating that "The Mod DB provides a forum for amateur developers to express themselves, connect with others that share their passion and create game mods that offer new characters, challenges, landscapes and totally new experiences for the public to download for free. The aim of the game mod teams is to enhance and extend the enjoyment of successful game titles with Mod DB distributing the resulting mods."

This year major international organizations & companies including: US Navy, Alienware™, KIPA (Korean IT Industry Promotion Agency), The Art Institute Online™ & Gearbox Software™ are recognizing the incredible potential of this movement & sponsoring the 5th Annual "Mod of the Year Awards". The climate appears to be perfect for the Mod DB to usher in a new age of game development & entertainment.

Melbourne, VIC - DesuraNET today announced the acquisition of the DB Network, a ring of websites that push the envelope on video game customization & user created content.

"This acquisition aligns with our vision of creating a network that empowers its users to take control of their own entertainment experiences," DesuraNET founder Scott Reismanis said.

The DB Network features ModDB.com, a web site dedicated to seeking out original game concepts & uniting them with independant developers, and the newly formed AddonDB.com, which allows users to customize the video games they play.

"The Mod DB together with Addon DB represent a premiere online community," Reismanis said "that unites developers, players, and their ideas, creating a unique forum for the people shaping the games we play."

Reismanis emerged onto the internet scene in early 2002, after he created and ran a small game modification site called ModRealm. After this site folded, Reismanis designed the Desura internet platform to run his new website, Mod DB, which has grown from a niche site to a community of over 130,000 registered members with 2 million unique visitors a month.

Melbourne, VIC - Mod DB founder & creator of the Desura web engine Scott Reismanis announced the formation of DesuraNET today, a company dedicated to the creation of unique media online.

"Consumer generated content will continue to revolutionize the definition of entertainment" Reismanis said, "and DesuraNET will be at the forefront of this trend, empowering its community to create the content it desires."

Consumer desire for creative self expression through entertainment has become incredibly popular. The recent emergence of sites which thrive on community generated content, such as Flickr, Youtube, Myspace, Digg & Wikipedia are only a few examples of consumers controlling their personal entertainment experience.

"We aim to be the leading source of community driven entertainment online," Reismanis said.