LUXURY

With the ?Diablo 3? release date drawing near, Blizzard plans to launch an animated short called ?Diablo 3: Wrath? that will detail the game?s backstory. The company released a behind-the-scenes video on May 3rd to give fans insight as to what the video short will entail.

Samsung has raised the stakes for the iPhone 5 through the release of its ultra-sleek and fast Galaxy S3 phone, which was launched in London on Thursday.

The latest issues of Xbox Magazine and PSM3 put a real-life face to the characters of some of the most widely-received games in the industry. The magazines list the casts and crews for nine games that players would like to see translated to film.

French fashion house Hermès successfully won a fake Birkin bag lawsuit on Tuesday

Edvard Munch's masterpiece The Scream, one of the world's most recognizable works of art, sold for $120 million at Sotheby's on Wednesday, setting a new record as the most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction.

It's not a bird, it's not a plane, it's not Superman. It's Yves Rossy, a.k.a. Jetman.

In early March Ubisoft revealed that the next ?Assassin?s Creed? game will take place in New York and Boston during the American Revolution. With a brand new Native American/British protagonist, frontier-based maps, and possible historical cameos, fans have a lot to look forward to with this Oct. 30th release. But artwork posted by Ubisoft takes fans back in time to sneak a peek at the original concepts behind the widely-renowned series.

The upcoming sequel to Treyarch?s ?Call of Duty: Black Ops? has just been officially revealed on May 1st, confirming details about the game?s title, location, and other gameplay details. But for any fan of the first-person shooter franchise, one of the most anticipated features will be the new zombie mode.

Now approaching three months after ?Mass Effect 3? was officially released, it seems concerns about the less-than-satisfying ending have begun to quiet down. Fans have made their opinion known to developer BioWare through various movements, such as the delivery of over 400 cupcakes to the office located in Edmonton, Alberta.

The spring art sales got off to a solid start at Christie's on Tuesday, with works by Cezanne and Matisse each selling for $19 million (11 million pounds) as the auction house moved $117 million worth of Impressionist and modern art.

French shoe designer Christian Louboutin, famed for his glossy red-soled shoes, defended his decision to go to court with fashion label Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) and its parent company PPR to protect his trademark look on Monday.

?Diablo 3? will be introducing a real-money auction house, enabling gamers to buy and sell virtual items using their choice of virtual or real-life funds. ArsTechina reported that Blizzard plans to stick a 15 percent transaction fee on these purchases.

?League of Legends,? the widely popular real-time strategy game released in 2009, will be concluding its second season of competitive play on October 13st. Publisher Riot Games revealed that players will have off for a $3 million prize pool, which is the largest prize in eSports history.

?Little Big Planet? has added a new dimension to the platforming genre, integrating mods and costumes into gameplay along with oddball maps and characters. It now seems that the adorable little Sackboy will be making its way to the racetrack as well, with the debut of ?LittleBigPlanet Karting, set to debut in October 2012 according to its Amazon.com listing.

On May 1st fans were thrilled when Activision finally announced its sequel to 2010?s ?Black Ops,? and now a day later details about the campaign are beginning to emerge. Recently ?Black Ops 2? has been the worst kept secret among the gaming community, with numerous leaks leaving fans expectant and excited rather than surprised.

A Mirror Diamond necklace bearing five Mughal empire pendant diamonds with emerald drops has been offered for private sale at a price of $20 million, auction house Bonham's said on Monday.

At an investor briefing in Tokyo at the end of April, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said the company will be taking a different approach when creating games for the Wii U. Nintendo seeks to target the traditional hard-core audience rather than casual gamers, and Iwata said that the upcoming console will break new boundaries.

?PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale,? a brawl-out fighting game that will feature iconic characters from PlayStation?s history of titles, was announced last week and will launch during this holiday season. Of course, fans are wondering if this will compare to Nintendo?s widely successful ?Super Smash Bros.? series, which has seen various releases ranging from Nintendo 64 to the most recent Wii Console.

Now it?s official: Activision?s ?Call of Duty: Black Ops 2? is slated for a release date of Nov. 13 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC gamers. The sequel game?s UK website just went live on May 1 before the official reveal, confirming that ?Black Ops 2? will launch this holiday season.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's old Volkswagen wasn't worth the 130,000 euros ($172,100) bogus online bidders kited it to earlier this month, but the first woman chancellor's 1990 Golf finally went to the highest bidder on Monday for 10,165 euros.

Edvard Munch's The Scream could become the most expensive painting ever sold at auction on Wednesday if predictions that the work could fetch up to $150 million are to be believed.

Nobel prize-winning Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk realizes a long-nurtured dream on Saturday with the opening of an actual Museum of Innocence - a collection of relics of a half-century of ordinary life - as depicted in his 2008 novel of the same name.

Mint juleps are synonymous with the Kentucky Derby -- the first leg in horse racing's Triple Crown that gets underway Saturday at 5 p.m. EST on NBC.

One of four paintings stolen at gunpoint from a Swiss museum four years ago in a stunning art heist has been returned to Zurich, the city's senior public prosecutor said on Friday, meaning all the paintings have now been recovered.

Nintendo revolutionized the gaming industry with its Wii console, which was the first commercial gaming device to incorporate motion-censored controls heavily into gaming. However, strong price cuts made to the Wii and the 3DS hand held video game device have lead the company to post its first annual loss in more than three decades, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The final line-up for the London 2012 festival was announced on Thursday, with around 12,000 events happening across Britain in a major cultural celebration organized to coincide with the summer Olympic Games.

Known for his long and passionate personal life as well as his prodigious output, Pablo Picasso has proved to be the most bankable of artists over the past 20 years.

French spirits group Remy Cointreau expects full-year core profit growth of at least 15-18 percent, thanks to booming demand for premium cognac in Asia and notably China.

Samsung’s flagship smartphone will soon be unveiled to the masses, and as the May 3rd date approaches more indications and details have been leaked. The company’s new “UNPACKED” app, which went live on April 23rd, has officially confirmed that the phone will be called the Galaxy S3 and will accompany the launch event.