In wake of GeForce GTX 650 Ti launch, NVIDIA posted the latest WHQL-signed version of its GeForce software suite, version 306.97 WHQL. Recommended for Windows 8, the driver adds support for the newly-launched GPU, and is said to go well with Borderlands 2, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, and World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. New performance and stability improvements are said to cover a variety of games. 3D Vision profiles were added or improved for a large number of games.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 306.97 WHQL (International) for Windows 8/7/Vista 64-bit | Windows 8/7/Vista 32-bit

CrossFire users can now get their hands on a new pack of Catalyst Application Profiles, courtesy of AMD of course. This fresh release is called 12.9 CAP 1 and brings the following updates:

- World of Warcraft - Mist of Pandaria (DX11, DX9): Fixes texture flickering observed when enabling high graphics settings with CrossFire enabled
- World of Warcraft - Mist of Pandaria (DX9): Resolve corruption when enabling Anti-Aliasing through the Catalyst Control Center (Anti-Aliasing should be enabled through the applications settings)
- World of Warcraft - (DX9): Resolves performance issues observed with the 64-bit variant of the client
- Tribes Ascend: Improves CrossFire performanceen running in CrossFire mode
- F1 2012: Improves CrossFire performance, resolves texture flickering in reflections

The 12.9 CAP 1 can be downloaded from this page.

SteelSeries, the leading global manufacturer of professional gaming peripherals, today announced the SteelSeries World of Warcraft Wireless Mouse, co-designed with Blizzard Entertainment. Evoking some of the most iconic images from Blizzard's massively multiplayer online role-playing game, the new Wireless Mouse brings players an ergonomic, 11-button layout, with illumination and pulsation options that help immerse players in the game. The SteelSeries Engine software guides players through an easy, in-game integration set-up with drag and drop functionality of World of Warcraft commands, full button remapping, macro creation and the ability to save an unlimited number of game profiles.

"We brought to market the first MMO gaming mouse more than three years ago with Blizzard, and since that product launch, we've been working to improve and perfect what the MMO community has wanted and asked for - from the size and button shape to the hardware and wireless functionality. The World of Warcraft Wireless Mouse not only answers players requests, but we're confident that it will impress players by arming them with state of the art hardware features and an exceptional user experience," said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO.

From the launch day server meltdown to the way everyone you know seems to be playing, it's pretty clear that Diablo III is quite popular. But just how popular? Blizzard announced today that it sold 3.5 million copies within the first 24 hours, which supposedly makes it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. On top of those 3.5 million copies were another 1.2 million doled out free to World of Warcraft Annual Pass subscribers. After a week, Blizzard says, Diablo III was up to 6.3 million players--not including South Korean game rooms, where it's estimated to have a 39% share. "We're definitely thrilled that so many people around the world were excited to pick up their copy of Diablo III and jump in the moment it went live," CEO Mike Morhaime said in the announcement.

"We also regret that our preparations were not enough to ensure everyone had a seamless experience when they did so. I want to reaffirm our commitment to make sure the millions of Diablo III players out there have a great experience with the game moving forward, and I also want to thank them for their ongoing support." As well as rolling out sneaky little balance updates, Blizzard is investigating reports of nasty hacks, and preparing to launch the real-money auction house on May 29.

ShackNews is reporting Activision Blizzard is being sued by Worlds Inc., for violating a patent on virtual worlds. The firm claims that games like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft violate its patent, and are requesting "fair compensation." The patent covers a "system and method for enabling users to interact in a virtual space," reports Games Industry International. That may sound broad, but the company did manage to get an undisclosed settlement out of NCSoft for City of Heroes in 2010. "Technologies created by Worlds have helped the businesses of virtual worlds gaming and the sale of virtual goods to grow into a multi-billion dollar industry," said Worlds CEO Thom Kidrin. "While we are pleased to see that the gaming industry and its rapidly growing customer base have enthusiastically embraced our patented technologies, we deserve fair compensation for their use." No response yet from Activision Blizzard.

Blizzard Entertainment has reportedly laid off about 600 employees, about 10 percent of which are positions related to game development. It's reported that the people working on World of Warcraft are not affected. The company says that the decision came after a review of business needs. The company's game development and publishing schedules as a result of these job cuts, are not affected, the company says. It's still looking to hire game developers in some positions.

The world-renowned motherboard and video card manufacturer MSI has officially announced the all-new AMD Llano series motherboard - A75A-G55 today. In addition to continuing the motherboard advantages of the first model A75MA-G55 and scoring P1646 points for 3DMark 11's built-in display performance record, it also displayed MSI's superb R&D strength, crossing the OC Genie II technology onto the AMD Llano platform. There are no complicated settings, and it only requires one button (step) and one second to easily boost the system's overall performance by 110%.

It is the simplest and easiest overclocking tool whether it's for beginners or advanced computer enthusiasts. In addition, different from the AMD Dual Graphics technology used by other manufacturers, the MSI A75A-G55 motherboard can even work with MSI's video card overclocking software, Afterburner, to increase performance. The overall 3D operation performance can be increased to a maximum of 390%, again showing the outstanding features and multiplied effects of MSI's motherboard and video cards.

SteelSeries, a leading manufacturer of professional gaming peripherals and creator of the MMO Gaming Mice based on Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, today announced their latest custom product for World of Warcraft players. The SteelSeries World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse Legendary Edition is a finely crafted weapon of precision balancing style and function. This sleeker, more compact option shares the enhanced features of the previous World of Warcraft mice including in-game integration and superior illumination and software functionality.

"We've established an incredible partnership with Blizzard Entertainment and the amazing World of Warcraft community. We've taken all the excellent suggestions and feedback we've received, merged it with the latest gaming technology, and come up with a truly unique lineup of MMO Mice for World of Warcraft players." said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO. "The new Legendary Edition allows us to meet the needs of gamers looking for a smaller, less complex gaming mouse that delivers the same impressive functionality found in the original and Cataclysm versions."

AMD was a little too early in May with its monthly Catalyst driver release, with the Catalyst 11.5 WHQL reaching the web as early as 9th May (typically monthly Catalyst updates are released after the 24th). On the same date, AMD also released its first hotfix update for the Catalyst 11.5, the 11.5a Hotfix Update, which packed a number of game-specific performance improvements. Today, the company released its second such update for the month, with Catalyst 11.5b Hotfix.

The update is rushed in to fix a number of issues found with the recently-released game, Brink. It also fixes a number of non-gaming application issues, particularly related to media decoding. In the process, the driver also brings with it a number of game-specific performance improvements, games including Civilization 5, Dead Rising 2, Fallout 3, Mafia 2, NBA 2010, ShenGuiChuanQi, Starcraft 2, Warcraft III, World of Warcraft, and Dirt 3.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 11.5b Hotfix Update.

A complete list of changes follows:

Today, SteelSeries, the leading manufacturer of professional gaming peripherals and creator of the original World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse, announces a new MMO gaming mouse co-developed with Blizzard Entertainment. With a unique exterior that evokes the armored plating of Deathwing the Destroyer, the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse delivers superior ergonomics and an intuitive button layout with advanced software functionality.

"Since the release of the original World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse in 2008, we've received feedback from thousands of World of Warcraft players, both Horde and Alliance, on how they've customized their World of Warcraft mice and what they would like us to do next," said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO. "For two years, our R&D team worked hard with Blizzard Entertainment to incorporate the great feedback and to enhance the mouse technology and game integration. The new Cataclysm mouse is the result of that collaboration: it provides a wide range of customization options and delivers a more comfortable, intuitive, and ultimately better experience."

Today, as the leading manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories as well as product partner to some of the world's most successful game publishers, SteelSeries announced the new SteelSeries Shift gaming keyboard. Named for the ability to alter its appearance and functionality through interchangeable keysets, the SteelSeries Shift brings gamers advanced customization capabilities that improve the way they approach, experience, and master their game.

"With the introduction of the SteelSeries Shift, we're able to bring another unique and powerful gaming tool to consumers, said SteelSeries CEO, Bruce Hawver. "The Shift greatly expands the functionality and concept of the original Zboard, which joined our product line in 2008 as a result of our acquisition of Ideazon, with new SteelSeries features that will provide gamers with a keyboard experience that can be customized for all types of games. As we bring the SteelSeries Shift to market, we are continuing to work with the best developers and publishers in the games industry to offer player's unique layouts and functionalities that will enhance their entire gaming experience."

AMD released the latest version of the ATI Catalyst software suite. Version 10.9 WHQL comes rather early for this time of the month, when normally it's out towards the end or last week. ATI Catalyst installs drivers and system software for ATI Radeon graphics processors (HD 2000 series and above), AMD chipset integrated graphics, and other ATI multimedia products. Although Catalyst 10.9 does not mention any notable feature changes, it does offer some game-specific performance improvements across the board, as well as CrossFireX profiles that make the graphics driver take advantage of CrossFireX specific to games. Notable improvements include up to 20% in STALKER: Call of Pripyat Benchmark on Radeon HD 5800 series, and up to 6% on The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, when running Radeon HD 5970 single or CrossFireX. A usual load of bug fixes goes with this version.

DOWNLOAD: ATI Catalyst 10.9 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit, Windows 7/Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit

A complete list of changes follows.

Creative Labs, Inc. today announced the Sound Blaster World of Warcraft Wireless Headset is now available at AAFES, Amazon.com, Apple.com, BestBuy.com, Blizzard.com, Creative.com, Dell.com, Frys.com, Newegg.com and Tiger Direct for $159.99. "As the leading innovator in precision audio for PC gaming we were well positioned to develop a headset that could live up to the high standards set forth by Blizzard Entertainment games," said Steve Erickson, VP and GM for audio and video at Creative. "The Sound Blaster World of Warcraft Wireless Headset is a result of this, providing an unprecedented combination of wireless technology, THX TruStudio PC technology for enriched audio performance and a unique design that stands out from anything else available to gamers."

NVIDIA today released version 197.13 of its GeForce system software. The suite includes drivers for all NVIDIA GeForce GPUs and IGPs since GeForce 6 series, NVIDIA ION platform, as well as system software for NVIDIA PhysX, NVIDIA 3D Vision technology, and drivers for the on-chip HDMI audio which the latest GeForce GPUs are shipping with. The WHQL-signed driver includes PhysX 9.10.0129 system software, updated HDMI audio driver to version 1.0.9.1, application-specific performance increments for several games, notably the following:

• Up to 13% performance increase in Crysis: Warhead with a single GPU, up to 30% performance increase in Crysis: Warhead with SLI technology
• Up to 13% performance increase in H.A.W.X with single GPU, up to 15% performance increase in H.A.W.X with SLI technology
• Up to 30% performance increase in Left 4 Dead with single GPU, up to 28% performance increase in Left 4 Dead with SLI technology

SLI profiles are added for the following applications: Assassin Creed II, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Command and Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight, Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City, Mass Effect 2, Napoleon: Total War, and Zombie Driver. SLI support is improved for: Metro 2033, Supreme Commander 2, Unigine, and World of Warcraft
- Ambient Occlusion support for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Need for Speed: Shift, Resident Evil 5, RUSE, and Street Fighter IV. Anti Aliasing can now be overridden for Mass Effect 2. As always, a number of new and existing bugs were fixed. For more information, refer to the Release Notes documents for Windows 7/Vista, Windows XP.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 197.13 WHQL

ASUS today launched a new co-op campaign with NVIDIA, which features a promotion in association with Blizzard Entertainment to include a 14-day trial for Blizzard's popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft, along with a collectible door hanger, with select ENGT200 Series graphics cards.

ASUS ENGT200 Series graphics cards are built with superior design acumen to provide the most compelling visual experience available to gamers. These ASUS limited edition graphics cards are up the ante with NVIDIA 3D Vision, making great use of GeForce GPUs. Using special glasses and 120Hz LCD displays or compatible HDTVs, NVIDIA 3D Vision tantalizes gamers with ultra-realistic graphics, vivid stereoscopic images, and immersive depth of field. Up to 400 PC games work out-of-the-box with NVIDIA's 3D Vision, including games such as Resident Evil 5, Borderlands, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Star Trek D-A-C, Dark Void, and Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.

NVIDIA's recently released GeForce 196.75 WHQL drivers are causing problems with some users reporting "intermittent low FPS", in the words of Blizzard's technical staff. It notes that the drivers have a bug in its fan-speed control that causes graphics cards to overheat when running applications such as Warcraft 3, World of Warcraft and StarCraft 2 Beta. Not only does bad fan control result in bad application performance, but can also damage the graphics accelerator. Blizzard on its part advised users to revert to older versions of the GeForce driver. Version 196.21 (older WHQL-signed driver) can be downloaded from here.

Update (3/5): NVIDIA has withdrawn the 196.75 WHQL drivers from its website. The company is working to resolve this issue.

Here's a mouse that takes macro-bound multi-button design to a whole new level. The OOMouse from WarMouse crams over 18 buttons. The last time someone got this generous with buttons, was Razer, with its Naga MMO mouse that offers up to 12 macro buttons. The OOMouse on the other hand, isn't intended to be a gaming mouse, quite the opposite, it carries the OpenOffice.org branding, and offers that many buttons to improve productivity, after of course getting used to bending your neck to look for the right button, compared to simply moving the pointer to macro buttons on screen, or using keyboard shortcuts.

"The WarMouse team have worked closely with experts from the OpenOffice.org user experience project to deliver the full benefits of the world's leading open-source office software to the fingertips of users," says John McCreesh, marketing project lead at OpenOffice.org. Using its 18 programmable mouse buttons, clickable scroll wheel, three different button modes (key, keypress, and macro), and up to 16 macros on a joystick, on the left-side of it, the OOMouse can perform 52 different actions with the touch of a button. Unintentionally, it can also help MMO gamers thanks to its 1600 dpi optical sensor. The resolution of this sensor can be adjusted between 400 and 1600 dpi.

VisionTek Products announced a technology partnership with Bigfoot Networks today in conjunction with the North American launch of the VisionTek Killer Xeno Pro Gaming Network Card. The introduction of this revolutionary gaming network card takes gaming to the next level with performance designed to enhance the online multiplayer experience. This new hardware caters to the growing online PC gaming audience and includes custom bandwidth controls to tailor the game play experience to the user's needs. When the dedicated Network Processing Unit (NPU) was born in the labs of Bigfoot Networks, VisionTek made plans to join forces for their next technology launch.

"My technology roots are grounded in the GPU, as the quintessential PC gaming hardware upgrade," said Michael Innes, COO & EVP of VisionTek Products, LLC, "It's too early to say that the NPU will overcome the GPU, but I do know it feels a lot like the advent of the PC graphics card. One thing is certain, online gaming is the dominant factor keeping the PC gaming platform alive."

Starting from July 1, 2009 to August 1, 2009 anyone in US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Africa who has purchased a GeForce 9600 GT, GeForce 9800 GT, GeForce 9800 GTX+ or GeForce GTS 250 (qualifying cards depend on region) can enter in NVIDIA's latest contest which gives two prizes. The winner of the contest will have the chance to win an all expenses paid trip to Blizzcon 2009 for him and a friend of his, valued up to $2400 USD. NVIDIA will also give the winner a free digital download of the complete World of Warcraft Classic. This download includes a full install of the complete retail version of the game with unrestricted 30-day access to character classes, cities, quests, chat, and other features from World of Warcraft Classic. The NVIDIA World of Warcraft bundle and code promotion will begin at 12:01 a.m. PST on July 1, 2009 and will end at 11:59:59 p.m. PST on August 1, 2009. For more information, please refer to the full contest details.

Blizzard Entertainment today announced that World of Warcraft, its award-winning subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, is now played by more than 11.5 million subscribers worldwide. This new high was reached following the November 13 release of the game's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Within its first 24 hours of availability, Wrath of the Lich King sold more than 2.8 million copies, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. In addition to winning a number of editor's choice awards from major gaming publications, the expansion has now gone on to sell more than 4 million copies in its first month, setting a new record for monthly PC-game sales. Both sales records were previously held by World of Warcraft's first expansion, The Burning Crusade.

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft's second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, has sold more than 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. This eclipses the previous record of nearly 2.4 million copies sold in 24 hours, set in January 2007 by Blizzard's first World of Warcraft expansion, The Burning Crusade. Wrath of the Lich King was simultaneously released in North America, Europe, Chile, Argentina, and Russia on November 13; Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand on November 14; and South Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on November 18.

Today sees the release of Blizzard's last World of Warcraft installment, the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. This is the second expansion to date, making the MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) game by far the largest in the world. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King features a massive new continent called Northrend, the brand-new death knight Hero class, unique dungeons, an open-world PvP zone with siege vehicles and destructible buildings, and hundreds of brand-new quests. The expansion is available in both a standard and Collector's Edition. The Collector's edition includes the original game DVD, a 208-page book featuring never-before-seen images from the game, an exclusive in-game pet, a behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, a soundtrack CD with 21 songs, and an exclusive mouse pad with a map of the newly opened continent of Northrend. The game should already be available everywhere, have fun playing it.

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that the subscribership for World of Warcraft, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), now exceeds 11 million players worldwide. This milestone was reached as the beta test for Wrath of the Lich King, World of Warcraft's second expansion, nears completion. Wrath of the Lich King will launch in several regions around the world starting on November 13.

SteelSeries is a well known brand with gaming peripherals, such as input-devices, headsets, and mousing surfaces. They now have plans to release themed input-devices for World of Warcraft players, that include a highly customizable mouse and an ergonomic, limited-edition Wrath of the Lich King Zboard. The WoW mouse features as many as 15 programmable buttons that come with a button profile, that could be changed by its software to the gamer's convenience. It features over 130 predefined commands for drag-and-drop macro creation and 16 million illumination choices with 3 intensity and pulsation levels.

The Zboard comes with a themed bezel, and button caps that make predefined functions easy to perform. It connects to the system using two USB ports. This aides its anti-ghosting technology, and allows up to 7 simultaneous keystrokes and one-touch macros for raiding and PvP gameplay. The two have already been placed on pre-order on etailers, with the WoW mouse being priced at 90€ and the limited-edition Zboard at 65€.

And now some good news for over 10 million World of WarCraft online players. Blizzard Entertainment announced today that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion for its award-winning subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), will arrive in stores on November 13th in North America, Europe, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Russia, and November 14th in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. The expansion will be available in Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on November 18th. The new expansion pack takes all World of Warcraft players to the cold, forbidding continent of Northrend, where the fearsome Lich King Arthas Menethil, last seen in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, works from his secluded citadel to bring all of Azeroth under his twisted dominion. Players will battle the Lich King's undead army from the shores of Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra to the seat of his unholy power in Icecrown Glacier. In addition, players will be able to advance characters to level 80 and gain powerful new abilities while exploring several new zones and dungeons. The expansion also introduces a number of exciting new features, including an achievement system, expanded player-vs.-player combat options such as siege weapons and destructible buildings, and the game's first Hero class - the necromantic death knight. Available for Mac and Windows players, the expansion pack will come in two packages - a standard edition that costs $39.99, and a Collector's Edition priced at $69.99. The Collector's Edition includes an art book, an exclusive in-game pet, a behind-the-scenes DVD, a soundtrack CD, a mousepad featuring a map of Northrend and two starter decks for the World of Warcraft trading card game March of the Legion. Retailers in North America are currently taking pre-orders for the game, reserve your copy now online here.