Boxed Up Briefs

Former ATVI Publishing prez to helm EA Casual

Electronic Arts has announced that former Activision Publishing president Kathy Vrabek has signed on as president of newly-formed EA Casual Entertainment. Interestingly, the division's jurisdiction appears to extend not just into the mobile and budget PC and console space, but into high-end development as well. Among the titles cited in this week's announcement are the mobile version of EA Tiburon's Madden NFL 08 and the Wii version of EA UK's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Unlike many major publishers, EA appears to consider player time investment more of a qualification for "casual" status than development budget or platform. "All over the world, consumers are playing games that don't require hours of intense concentration," said Vrabeck. "The common denominator is casual fun." No indication was given as to the identity of other EA Casual Entertainment games in the works.

Stormregion enveloped by warm embrace of 10tacle

Hungarian developer Stormregion, creator of historical warfare-themed strategy games Codename: Panzers and Rush for Berlin, has been acquired by Germany-based independent developer and publisher 10tacle Studios. 10tacle will gain full ownership of Stormregion's game assets as well as the company's GEPARD development technology, which is planned for use by other studios producing 10tacle-published games. Stormregion plans to release its upcoming sequel Codename Panzers: Cold War later this year.

Tenchu Z demo en route to XBL

K2 and FromSoftware's Tenchu Z (X360) has gone gold and will hit North American retail shelves on June 12. In an attempt to sneak the ninja-themed title into gamers' hearts prior to its release, publisher Microsoft will be making a playable demo available through the Xbox Live Marketplace tomorrow.

God of War PSP demo to arrive this September

When Ready at Dawn Studios' PSP action sequel God of War: Chains of Olympus was officially unveiled this April, gamers were able to sign up to receive a demo UMD by mail, though no release date was given. In an email sent yesterday to members of the PlayStation Underground, publisher Sony Computer Entertainment America revealed that the demo will be making its way through the bowels of the United States Postal Service this September.

"Hi, I'm Ru Weerasuriya, the game director for God of War: Chains of Olympus," said God of War: Chains of Olympus game director Ru Weerasuriya in the email. Check out our full interview with Weerasuriya and God of War II director Cory Barlog for more on the game.