Round-Up: Oz PS2 Anniversary, THQ Gets Conan, Halo in 720p

Today's wrap-up has information on a special 10th anniversary pack for the PlayStation 2 in Australia, THQ's acquisition of the rights to Conan, and news on Halo 2's enhanced nature for the Xbox 360, as well as today's latest job postings. - Sony of Australia will be releasing a 10th Anniversary PlayStation 2 bundle to mark the occasion of 10 years since the original PlayStation's Australian launch in 1995. The PS2 Hot Pack will include the revised "slimline" system, copies of Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal and Gran Turismo 3, two controllers, and an 8MB memory card for $299.95 in Australian dollars. Since its debut in Australia, the PS2 has sold 1.8 million units, while the original PSone managed 2.5 million in its lifetime. "It's been a great journey, back in 1995 we launched the original PlayStation with a team of just seven and today we have sold over 4.3 million consoles to Australians," said SCE Australia managing director Michael Ephraim. - THQ has acquired the rights to create video games based on Robert Howard's Conan universe, in a deal with Paradox Entertainment and Conan Properties, the controllers of the license. The agreement gives THQ the non-exclusive right to develop games for current- and next-generation systems, as well as handhelds and PC. Funcom had recently acquired rights to a separate online title based on Conan. "Combining the epic adventures and stunning environments found throughout the Conan Universe with next-gen video game technology will add a whole new chapter to Conan's rich history," said THQ VP of licensing Germaine Gioia. - Bungie announced that both the original Halo as well as Halo 2 will surprise owners of HD-enabled sets when run on the upcoming Xbox 360 platform: the games will run in 720 progressive widescreen resolution, with full scene anti-aliasing. The added benefit is likely to be the result of the way the Xbox 360 handles backward compatibility through software rather than hardware; Microsoft has not confirmed the possibility that other games may also benefit from enhanced visuals when run on the 360, but Bungie will release more information about the new widescreen modes on Friday. - Also updated today: the latest Gamasutra job postings, including positions from Datascope Recruitment, Game Trust, Gameloft, Gas Powered Games, Headgate Studios, Point Of View, and Webzen.