In preparation for The Dark Knight Rises summer movie blockbuster, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment are adding new content to the critically acclaimed bestseller Batman: Arkham City with a Game of the Year Edition.  The expanded version of the award-winning blockbuster videogame developed by Rocksteady Studios is ship in North America on May 29 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The developer talks about the game in the exclusive video below.

According to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)’s Theatrical Market Statistics Report for 2011, global box office receipts for all films released around the world reached $32.6 billion, an increase of 3% over 2010, due to ongoing growth of box office in international markets. Each international region experienced box office growth in 2011.  Chinese box office grew by 35% in 2011 alone, by far the largest growth in major markets. This report does not factor in the rising cost of tickets, especially with 3D movies like the hit Relativity film Immortals.

SAN FRANCISCO – The cloud gaming service Gaikai cut deals with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to begin the streaming of the Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons Online to players across North America directly from each game’s own website. For the first time ever, Gaikai is streaming massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) from the cloud, straight to players without the need for any download or installation.

With the might of Sony’s marketing machine behind it, yesterday’s launch of Sony’s PlayStation Vita in North America and Europe underlines the company’s hopes that this next generation portable game console can turnaround the fortunes of its loss-making Consumer Products & Services segment. However, according to Strategy Analytics, despite PlayStation Vita’s strong content line-up, creative gaming capabilities and great internet experience, the device faces enormous challenges if it is to succeed in an increasingly converging marketplace.

En Masse Entertainment is launching its fantasy massively multiplayer online (MMO) game TERA to North America on May 1, 2012. The upcoming release of TERA will be available in standard and Collector’s Editions at retail and online stores. Marking a new era in gaming, TERA sets a new standard by delivering true action combat to players who want more than the stale and repetitive gameplay that exists in today’s MMOs. The developer talks about the new game, which is powered by Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3, in this exclusive video interview below.

While the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders practiced below, four lucky winners from Minnesota were able to do something that many have only dreamed of – use North America’s largest video screen to play a videogame. In this case, it was Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games’ Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Mountain Dew brought Brandon Ervn and three of his closest friends to Dallas as part of its Mega Fan Experience. It's a marketing offshoot with Wal-Mart that's aligned with the Call of Duty Double XP program, which is currently running on MW3 bottles of Mountain Dew beverages. The four guys were able to play quad-screen multiplayer for two hours at Cowboys Stadium, the largest stadium in the world. Ervn talks about what the experience was like to have a custom armchair and Jerry Jones’ stadium all to themselves, except for those cheerleaders, in this exclusive video interview.

Gamers will have some big huge choices to make when it comes to the new Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning fantasy action role-playing game (RPG). The new game from Electronic Arts, Big Huge Games and 38 Studios will be available in three limited edition sets for dedicated Reckoning fans. All three limited editions include a custom parchment map of Amalur, a seven-piece die set, and Destiny Cards. The Collector’s Edition and Signature Edition features select items created and signed by the creative visionaries involved in Reckoning, including Spawn creator, Todd McFarlane, and internationally-celebrated game designer, Ken Rolston. Each edition is available for pre-order at limitededitions.reckoning.com in North America only for a limited time.

The gaming world has graduated its first US pro race car driver thanks to Gran Turismo 5. Sony’s GT Academy, which was created in partnership with Polyphony Digital and Nissan North America to give consumers a chance to pursue the dream to become a real race car driver through Gran Turismo 5, has proved that the simulation is just like the real world. The winner, Bryan Heitkotter, beat out over 53,000 competitors who registered for GT Academy and is now a Nissan-sponsored professional race car driver and part of a four-person team that will race the 24-hour race in Dubai in January 2012. Heitkotter's journey with GT Academy is currently being shown on the Speed Channel, PlayStation Network, and Hulu, via a reality show series that chronicles the competition and the winner's road to stardom. But you can see the driver in this exclusive video below from SEMA recount his incredible journey.

It’s over for Harry Potter. The final film’s record box office opening was shattered by Activision’s launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The new game from Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games beat out Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (now out on Blu-ray) as well as the reigning game champion, Treyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops. Modern Warfare 3 sold over 6.5 million copies in just the US and UK and generated over $400 million in its first 24 hours at retail, according to Charttrack and retail customer sell-through information.

Several of the greatest athletes in the world will appear in broadcast commercials alongside Ezio Auditore, the legendary hero in Assassin’s Creed Revelations. One of the big games of 2011, which launches November 15th, gets some mainstream sports attention. Starring in the campaign are two-time MMA champion BJ Penn, game-changing running back Adrian Peterson and one of the most dynamic professional basketball players in the world, Derrick Rose.

Electronic Arts has partnered with adidas Originals for Need for Speed The Run. Combining the cultural expertise of both brands, consumers will not only see the iconic adidas Superstar shoes in Need for Speed The Run, but they’ll also be treated with exclusive and limited editionNeed for Speed The Run adidas branded apparel which will be available at all adidas Originals stores across the United States. The Need for Speed The Run and adidas promotion will be celebrated at three of the country’s and game’s most iconic locations: Chicago, San Francisco and New York where consumers will get exclusive access to the limited edition Need for Speed The Run shoe and video game.

Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk, co-founders of BioWare, used the Eurogamer Summit in London to confirm that Star Wars: The Old Republic will launch in North America on December 20, 2011 and in Europe on December 22, 2011. Set thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader,Star Wars: The Old Republic is a massively multiplayer online game challenging players with epic quests, featuring dynamic combat across iconic worlds in the Star Wars galaxy such as Tatooine, Alderaan, Hoth and more. Each of the game’s eight primary classes will enjoy their own unique trilogy of storylines, all of which are fully voiced with a sweeping musical score. Anticipation for the award-winning MMO is at an all-time high as Star Wars: The Old Republic has broken EA pre-order records and won over 95 industry awards and accolades from game critics worldwide.