Round-Up: Pac-Man 25th Giveaway, Pocket Dogs, BF2 Patch

Today's round-up includes news of Namco's 25th anniversary Pac-Man arcade machine giveaway, O~3's Nintendogs-styled title for Game Boy Advance, and the latest patch for EA's Battlefield 2, as well as today's product news and Gamasutra job postings. - Namco and Verizon Wireless are partnering to celebrate Pac-Man's 25th anniversary in the U.S. by hosting a giveaway of limited edition Pac-Man arcade machines. By downloading one of the several Namco titles available for Verizon phones, including Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Mania, and Galaga, players will automatically be entered to win one of eighty special arcade cabinets that contain Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Galaga. "Fans of the arcade games are often surprised to find the mobile versions are almost identical to playing the originals in the arcade, and now millions of Verizon Wireless customers can play them on the go," said Namco VP of sales and marketing Scott Rubin. - O~3 Entertainment, North American publisher of Alien Hominid, has announced Pocket Dogs for Game Boy Advance. Similar in some ways to Nintendo's own Nintendogs, the game is a virtual pet simulator featuring several breeds of dogs, including Pugs, Chihuahuas, and Shih Tzus. Pocket Dogs also features the official license of the Hana Deka Club, a popular dog-theme line of merchandise in Japan. "I defy anyone to play with these dogs for one minute and not be totally charmed. They're just too darn cute," said O~3 president Chris Jelinek. - The version 1.03 patch for DICE/EA's popular PC multiplayer title Battlefield 2, a game that has seen some notable bug-related issues since its release earlier this year, has finally been released. In addition to a number of minor user interface and gameplay tweaks have been made in the patch, including new criteria for advancing in rank, the patch adds the new Wake Island map for players to select when starting a game. However, player comments indicate that some of the more serious bugs -- such as incorrect name identification colors -- still continue to pose a problem. - Also updated today: product news including Civilization IV's use of the Gamebryo game engine, Punch Entertainment's licensing of the Tira Jump mobile porting suite, and the latest Gamasutra job postings, which include freshly advertised positions from Blue Tongue Entertainment Limited, Buzz Monkey Software, CMP Game Group, Gameloft, Midway Games, Nihilistic Software, Rainbow Studios, Rockstar San Diego, Surreal Software, The Collective, and THQ Studio Australia.