Students interested in pursuing a career in the games industry should head on over to the Ballarat Get into Games (GiG) event on May 17-18.

Hosted at the Mining Exchange in Ballarat, the expo is open to the public, and consists of two days of demonstrations, playable games, competitions, and presentations from industry professionals.

Ballarat GiG will open on Friday, May 17, with an open day aimed at students who are interested in a technology-sector career. Teachers are encouraged to bring their students along. Admission is free.

Day two centres on the theme “Welcome to the World of Apps”. Attendees will have the opportunity to spend time with developers, learn about the process behind developing apps, participate in skill-based competitions, and play games on the Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Some of this year’s speakers include:
- Tony Reed (CEO, Game Developer Association of Australia)
- Matt Hall (KlickTock Games)
- Developer team Many Monkeys
- Ballarat University and TAFE representatives.

More details, including a full program schedule and registration for schools, can be found at the Ballarat GiG website.

Electronic Arts Australia has revealed that Battlefield 4 will be making an appearance at EB Expo this year. The announcement, which was made on Twitter, invites attendees to “experience Battlefield 4” at this year’s event.

No additional details were divulged as to what this would entail.

The game, which uses the next iteration of DICE's Frostbite engine, was announced with a 17-minute gameplay video at GDC 2013. The game is due to be released later this year, but so far only Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions have been confirmed.

Battlefield 4 will use the updated Frostbite engine.

EB Expo 2013 will take place over three days from October 4-6, and will once again take place at the Sydney Showgrounds. Hosted by Aussie retailer EB Games, several exhibitors have confirmed their presence at the expo.

The EB Expo is an event dedicated to gaming and geek culture, and will be open to the general public who purchase tickets. For the rundown on all the action that happened at last year's event, check out GameSpot AU's full coverage on our EB Expo 2012 hub.

Aussie retailer EB Games has revealed details for its EB Expo 2013.

The event will take place over three days from October 4-6, and will once again be hosted at the Sydney Showgrounds.

Tickets will go on sale from 10am, April 23 at all EB Games stores, on the EB Expo website, and Ticketek. General admission ticket pricing remains the same as last year ($40), with a newly introduced discounted multiplayer pass for groups of four attending the Friday and Saturday evening sessions ($129).

The ultimate gamer pass has also returned, at a new price of $699.

EB Expo 2013 will be hosted in Sydney.

EB Games has confirmed the first wave of exhibitors: Sony, Microsoft, Activision, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros will be returning. The following events have also been confirmed for the expo:

• Good Game live show
• Video game parade
• Video game comedy show, hosted by John Robertson
• EB Action Stadium fireworks show

An EB Expo 2013 mobile app with updated information in the lead up to the event will be available to download from April 23.

The EB Expo is an event dedicated to gaming and geek culture, and will be open to the general public who purchase tickets. For the rundown on all the action that happened at last year's event, check out GameSpot AU's full coverage on our EB Expo 2012 hub.

On February 4 this year, Jackson “Casua1ty” Gray, one of the head organisers behind the Sydney Gamers League, passed away suddenly.

The Sydney Gamers League (SGL) is one of the largest and longest-running LAN events in the Australian gaming scene. Its last event, hosted in February 2012, saw 500 gamers gather together with their PCs to take part in more than 24 hours of gaming alongside the 48-hour Sydney Game Jam.

Jackson became well known within the LAN community, and helped grow SGL from a local LAN party to an event that saw gamers travel from across Australia and New Zealand to attend. His friend Alex “dippa” Walker has written an open letter as a tribute.

Dear Jackson Gray,

I know you will never get to read this letter. I'm writing it anyway, because there are things that I never got to say to you, things that you deserved to hear and things that others should know.

We first met in 2008 when I was running tournaments for the World Cyber Games national finals in Australia. There had been a call out for volunteers and you put your hand up, as you always did.

Anything that needed doing, you were happy to do. You were a gamer that wanted to help other gamers.

Jackson "Casua1ty" Gray.

Anyone that saw the direction the Sydney Gamers League took under your leadership with the equally wonderful Chris Hailes--who misses you terribly--saw that for themselves.

I know what going to LANs is like. You rock up, play in a competition if you are so inclined, have a poke around, talk to your friends, and go home. Sometimes you’d have fun. That was always the case when you were running the show.

It will be hard going to other events and not being able to randomly play Mario Kart on the N64, abuse my mates over table tennis, or stand in a line with a hundred other people for a hard-drive tossing competition.

At SGL, that was all possible. I don’t know why it wasn't a bigger thing before. Maybe others did it first, but it almost became the central characteristic of SGL. I liked going because I knew I could have fun. I thought that was no longer a certainty at LANs.

You never discriminated among gamers, a trait that’s all too common. Look at the divide between console and PC. RTS and FPS. MOBA and, well, anything else. It’s like everybody has to compete against each other, all the time. But you were always happy to extend a hand of friendship, offer advice, or move boxes if necessary.

It didn’t always work out, and I think that’s one of the reasons I was so fond of you. You made mistakes, as we all do, but I don’t know many other people who copped quite as much flak. Some of those mistakes were large, but you never shied away from your responsibility. You took it on the chin, moved on and continued doing your best.

There are so few people willing to do that. In eSports, gaming, the world. Nobody likes being embarrassed, but you never saw it as anything other than an opportunity.

Reaching the heights you did never changed the way you went about it. It’s easy to be a pariah as a volunteer. It’s much easier to let that go when people are coming to you for help, asking for advice and all the other trappings associated with being part of the “in” crowd. But that was never you.

I never got to tell you this, but meeting you helped me remember the kind of person I was and want to be. I've come across more shady personalities than I would have ever expected; maybe the internet just means we meet a lot more people than we used to. But being enveloped in a world of darkness leaves a mark, and it’s only once you meet someone so honest, incorruptible, and decent that you realise the changes within yourself.

I was able to see those changes because of you; I became a happier person because of you. Thank you Jackson, my friend.

Eight Australian gamers have secured their place in the Call of Duty: Black Ops II Championship tournament. Pitted against the best teams from all over the world, Team Immunity and Mindfreak eSports will be making their way to Hollywood, California, to represent Australia on the international stage.

Team Immunity is one of the two teams representing Australia.

"It's a great feeling to take out the Call of Duty title in Australia, and we can't wait to go to Hollywood and play for the big bucks against the world's best," Team Immunity captain Albert Nassif said after the team had secured their spot in the tournament.

The Aussie qualifier was played in Sydney on March 15, hosted by the Australian Cyber League (ACL). The top two teams will go on to the Call of Duty Championship taking place from April 5-7 at the Hollywood Palladium Theatre.

Activision has partnered with Xbox, and eSports organisations Major League Gaming (MLG) and the Electronic Sports League (ESL) for the event, which will see 32 of the world's best teams compete head-to-head in Call of Duty: Black Ops II for the 360 during a live-streamed competition. The winners will claim their share of a $1 million dollar prize pool.

To witness all the action that went down at the Aussie qualifier, tune in to the live stream replay.

The Sydney qualifiers for the FIFA ULTIMATE TEAM ASIA ALLSTARS Tournament took place on March 5 at the GameSpot AU offices. Don't worry if you weren't able to make it on the night, you can watch the twitch replay here and witness all the FIFA 13 action for yourself!

The winner of the Sydney qualifiers scored themselves a trip to Singapore, where they will be representing Australia in the finals for a shot at $10,000! Check out our photo gallery of the night!

Adam "HumptyDumpy" Kharman claimed first place. Congratulations!

For more FIFA 13 tournament action, be sure to keep an eye on the FIFA ULTIMATE TEAM ASIA ALLSTARS Tournament page!

AU Shippin’ Out February 18-24: Crysis 3
What games hit Aussie shelves this week? Crytek’s futuristic sci-fi shooter Crysis 3 was released for the 360, PS3 and PC. The game has been described by Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli as one of the most technically competent titles ever released on current-generation consoles, using almost every ounce of power from existing platforms. For more details on games released this week, check out the full article.

Wii U-exclusive Lego City: Undercover Australian release confirmed
Nintendo Australia has unveiled an official release date for the latest entry into the Lego City series of games, Lego City: Undercover. The open-world action-adventure game sees protagonist Chase McCain embark on a hunt for criminals in his role as an undercover cop. The title will feature gameplay on the Wii U Gamepad controller. For more information including release date and game features, read the full post.

Limited edition Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate bundles coming to Wii U and 3DS
Action role playing game Monster Hunter 3 is receiving limited edition treatment for the Wii U and 3DS in the form of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. The game is exclusive to Nintendo and is included in bundles with the Wii U or 3DS. For more details read the article.

PlayStation 4 listed for A$899 at EB Games Australia
Sony unveiled the PlayStation 4 console on February 20 at its PlayStation event in New York. While Sony has yet to announce an official price for the console, Australian retailer EB games has listed the PS4 on its website, available for preorder at a placeholder price of A$899. To get the full rundown on the listing, check out the article.

Fans of the Lego universe will be please to hear that Nintendo Australia has announced an official release date for the latest entry in the Lego City series, Lego City: Undercover. Exclusive to the Wii U, the game will be available in Australia on March 28 this year.

The name's McCain. Chase McCain.

The open-world action-adventure game centres on protagonist Chase McCain, an undercover cop on the hunt for criminals. The character will be able to don different costumes to gain varying special abilities and assist in the hunt for antagonist Rex Fury.

Lego City: Undercover will also feature gameplay on the Wii U Gamepad controller, including scanning surroundings for clues, and serving as a GPS map when driving in the city. Nintendo Australia has confirmed a prequel to the game, titled Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins will be available for the Nintendo 3DS later this year.

Activision has partnered with Xbox and eSports organisations Major League Gaming (MLG) and the Electronic Sports League (ESL) to present the Call of Duty Championship. The event, which will take place in Hollywood, and be based on Call of Duty: Black Ops II, will offer a prize pool of $1 million.

Will your team represent Australia?

The competition will see 32 of the world’s best teams compete head-to-head in Call of Duty: Black Ops II for the 360 during a live-streamed event.

Players who are interested in participating must register on the website for a free Call of Duty Elite account. Australian and New Zealand teams can enter the local qualifier, which is being hosted by the Australian Cyber League (ACL) on March 2-3. The series of online matches will then progress to a live final hosted in Sydney on March 15. The top two teams will go through to the Call of Duty Championship in North America, taking place from April 5-7.

Sixteen team spots will be up for grabs across Asia, Australia, and Brazil, with the remaining places made up of the top eight squads from North America’s MLG Winter Championship and the best eight teams from ESL's European Finals. For more details, check out the ACL website.