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This year's Electronic Entertainment Expo showcases a number of trends taking place within the video game industry Some of the most exciting developments coming out of this year's show include new action-adventure games, a collection of titles aimed at girls, programs that take advantage of Intel's MMX chip and new 3-D video cards, as well as host of new titles for next generation game platforms such as PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Saturn, and the growing number of Internet components being added to games.
"The hot thing on the PC side of the business will be 3-D accelerator cards, and we have a big buzz around Internet gaming and how that's getting better and better," said Eric Johnson, vp of marketing for Activison.
For the PC, about 50 real-time action strategy games are being introduced at E3, Johnson said.
Activision weighed in with two real-time, action strategy titles, Dark Rain and Net Storm.
Activision's partnership with id Software is spawning 3-D accelerator Quake II and Hexen II.
A popular subgenre of combat gaming is giant robots fighting it out on some distant planet, and Activision is introducing Heavy Gear a sequel to Mech Warrior.
"We're kind of the kings of the giant robot games," Johnson said.
Latching on to the boom in sales of software for the nextgeneration consoles, Activison is also working on a number of titles for the PlayStation.
Activision also is unveiling its first two DVD-ROM titles, Spycraft: The Great Game and Muppet Treasure Island. Video and audio sequences in both titles have been reprogrammed to take advantage of the format's superior video and sound capabilities.
Johnson predicts that actionstrategy games, combat simulations and real-time shooting games will be among the most popular genres for hard-core gamers.
MGM Interactive will make a strong statement during the first quarter of 1998 when it ships Rollerball for the PC and PlayStation. Based on the classic 1975 United Artist's science fiction film "Rollerball," the interactive titles combine the team strategies of hockey and football with kick-boxing and demolition derby racing.
MGM is also taking advantage of 3D texture mapping in its WarGames and Machine Hunter titles.
All of MGM Interactive's new titles will be available in PlayStation version, said Ronald Frankel, executive vp and general...