Casual-games site GameNext.com debuts

Oberon Media, the casual-games company that published the Xbox Live Arcade titles AstroPop and Feeding Frenzy, has put its name behind another gaming project, GameNext.com. The site features dozens of puzzle, arcade, word, and other casual games that are downloadable, not playable in a browser. Netherlands-based holding company Spill Group, which operates similar Web sites, joined Oberon in the deal, announced today. The games on the site--available in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish--require no registration, but full versions of the games must be purchased after their trial periods run out. Earlier this month, three firms invested an undisclosed amount of money in Oberon, which the company said it would use for "future growth and acquisitions." Oberon Media is one of the companies behind similar Web portals at MSN Games, Playboy, and Pogo.