The following post was submitted to DMW by Keenan Reilly, a 23-year old game developer at Electronic Arts.

As a 23-year-old video game developer at EA, I often find myself taking technology for granted. I’m like a parent watching a child grow. It is at such a constant rate of change that it isn’t really noticeable from day to day. If I’m the parent, then the consumer is comparable to a distant relative who only sees the child during the holidays, which creates an inevitable shock factor when finally seeing the child after some time. With Apple opening up the iPhone to third party game developers, the public is now getting a glimpse at what I have been observing for quite some time; mobile phones are the future of gaming.

Redwood City, CA - In what's believed to be an industry first, Redwood City-based game developer and publisher Electronic Arts (EA) said that it has teamed with The Weather Channel to offer real-time weather conditions and updates in its newly released NCAA Football 08 game. The latest version of the popular college football game will use information from The Weather Channel Interactive (TWCI) -- transmitted through the Internet -- to reflect accurate, real-time weather conditions at NCAA stadiums.

Moscow - Video game developer and publisher Electronic Arts on Thursday announced the establishment of new operations in Russia

ION Media Networks, Inc. today announced that Helen C. Karas has been named Senior Vice President of Network Sales. In this position, which will be based in New York, Ms. Karas will play a role in helping the company achieve its revenue growth initiatives by working closely with ION Television’s advertising clients.

http://www.ionmedia.tv

Cambridge, Mass. - Video game developer Harmonix, creator of the "Guitar Hero" franchise and a unit of MTV Networks, on Tuesday announced that Fender Musical Instruments, the electric guitar and amplifier maker, will have its instruments exclusively featured in the upcoming Harmonix title, "Rock Band." In addition, Roland Corp. and BOSS have entered into agreements to have their brands featured within "Rock Band." The game is slated for release for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 system in the fall.

San Mateo, Calif. - Former Electronic Arts developers Bart Besseling and Scott Orr -- also the founder of mobile games firm Sorrent -- on Thursday announced the launch of their new game publishing company, D2C Games. Funded by Rubicon Venture Partners and 755 Capital Partners, the San Mateo, Calif.-based company plans to sell games, as well as episodic digital comic books, direct to consumers. Upcoming releases include "Chalkboard Sports" and "Strange Cases," a multi-format collaboration with comic book writer Steve Niles set to launch as an episodic game in 2008.

Redwood City, Calif. - Electronic Arts announced that it has acquired San Francisco-based SingShot Media, developer of an online karaoke community.

Los Angeles - Electronic Arts on Wednesday released two new puzzle games compatible with Apple's iPod media players, which will be available for purchase through the iTunes Store for $4.99 each. "EA Sudoku" and "Royal Solitaire" were launched today, joining existing EA games for iPod that include "Tetris," "EA Mini Golf" and "EA Mahjong."