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While Microsoft has embraced downloadable video content in a big way with the Xbox 360, Sony has stuck with Blu-ray discs as the major video-delivery method of choice on the PS3. This looks like it might be set to change, though, as Variety is reporting that Sony is planning to bring high-definition video on demand content to the Japanese PlayStation 3, at least.
So far, the announced offerings on the service seem a little slim -- a BBC documentary and some video about car racing to promote the Dec. 13 release of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The Variety story does promise "pics and other video content from [Sony Pictures Entertainment] and other companies," but until we hear about what specific content is coming, or details of a stateside release, we remain underwhelmed.
The webisode series Street Fighter: The Later Years has been going on for quite some time, but the latest entry proves that the show's creators still have a knack for Street Fighter parody.
Whether it's Dhalsim's unorthodox fighting methods, a poorly-aged Ken failing to perform his hidden fireball move, or Chun Li and Blanka caught in a... compromising position, The Later Years still makes us laugh, even if we'll all be geezers by the time the series reaches its eventual conclusion.
It seems that Katamari Damacy continues to roll on, inspiring imitators and homages long after the original title's release. This time, it seem everyone's favorite clump of souls has rolled onto cable television, with the Cartoon Network program Chowder presenting an extended Katamari-esque sequence involving a rather large piece of bubblegum.
Chowder is the latest in a long line of original Cartoon Network animated shows, created by the mind behind Spongebob Squarepants and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. The show is about an apprentice cook named Chowder. In fact, every character is named after food. There's a girl named Panini. Panini. We think that's just awesome.
Maybe most humans have ceased caring about Mario and Sonic at the Olympics, especially since the whole "Sonic and Mario in the same game" draw has been severely overshadowed by Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Regardless, we were still curious to see how Mario and Sonic's first outing together would fare...
...and by the sound of this video review, the answer is not well. Game Trailers' video reviews are great for demonstrating the problems of a game as they're being discussed. In this case, the review might very well save us a rental; there doesn't seem to be any more to see here.
Fans of real physical spaces inspired by video game logic might enjoy this ten-minute feature on Richard "Lord British" Garriott's home. He calls it "Brittania Manor" (appropriately enough), and the house has enough trap doors and hidden rooms to earn it a feature of Home & Garden's "Secret Spaces" television program.
It's an adventurer's dream house, only made possible by the deep pockets of one of the industry's most revered designers. As much as we covet the house, we have to wonder how good the security is, since it has fallen victim to theft in the past.
Scott Gairdner posts a short, sweet video about the advantages of riding a Yoshi over a Segway. The subtle edits and great production entertain, even if the theme is less epic than other videogame riffs. Keep a close eye--and ear--on the action for Super Mario World in-jokes.
Gamevideos shows two new clips of Pain, the extreme health insurance simulation. Well, like the rest of our murder simulators, Pain only shows the id-worthy, visceral high of crashing your sim-like characters into obstacles. Pain unrealistically omits the months and years of recovery.
Anyway, the jackasses in us have been scoping this upcoming, PS3 downloadable for its visceral high and unrealistic omission of months and years of recovery. See some of the ways you'll torture your characters after the break.
If you've been watching any of the TV networks (in the States) this week catering to the male 18-49 demographic then you've probably already seen the commercial for Assassin's Creed. The game releases next week and it's time to lay on the marketing thick. We must give props to Ubisoft's marketing and the commercial's creators for sticking with almost all in-game engine scenes. We certainly appreciate when a game commercial pretty much lays out a "what you see is what you get" approach to advertising. It really doesn't hurt that Assassin's Creed is gorgeous.
Reviews are already starting to trickle in, but we'll wait until the non-exclusive reviews start getting posted to get a better feel for what the critics are actually thinking. We've seen enough awkward Assassin's Creed stuff over the last six months to stay cautious for now.
MTV's Stephen Totilo "somehow wound up with an exclusive" about new casual games based on The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy. While most of us are scratching our heads about the properties, maybe this signals a new trend for old IP; there's that Dirty Dancing game after all. Clearly, these titles aren't for us. (And by "us," we mean people who get jokes about the potential for cake and also think that those jokes are played out.)
Beanbag Studios anticipates launching at least one Lucy trivia game and one Honeymooners bowling game this year. Yes, these PC and cell phone games are being built into long-term franchises. Witness videos of each game after the break.
Squint really hard and take a couple pills of delusion and maybe, just maybe, you can see the difference between Call of Duty 4 on the Xbox 360 and PS3 in the video above. Sure, maybe the dimorphic transgressive bump-mapping is fractalized on one of the consoles -- but we're not gonna say which one.
What we can say is that the video above does show that we're finally starting to hit a better balance point between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation. This is a far cry from the Madden '08 comparison video where the differences were pretty clear even in an internet quality video. We'll take this as a good sign that we're moving away from having obvious performance differences and gamers can choose their multiplatform games based on controller preference and (if important) online experience.
MTV Games continues to publish new music titles in its $500 million spree, with the latest Harmonix development, Phase. The original Phase news reminded some of us too much of (non) game, Musika to buy. But this video clearly shows simple pattern-matching gameplay that may rock pockets better than the portable Guitar Hero.
Check out the video, and contemplate your purchase after the break.
While The Onion has already run a similar parody -- Sousaphone Hero -- Black20 throws its implausible instrument into the band with Harmonica Hero. The snappy fake commercial combines equal parts harmonica and gaming jokes for a tasty send-up slurry. Even those of us who don't know our Rock Bandfrom our Guitar Hero III were amused by the video.
Currently popular on GameTrailers, we missed Skullkid700's montage of Zelda commercials from earlier in the year. Since this sort of thing only gets better with age, we're highlighting it here. We've come a longway.
See the montage after the break. Yes, it includes the Zelda rap. You have been warned.
Take a glimpse into the easy process of creating a Wii game out of a licensed movie IP: just add gestures. Chris Cantoe follows this spoof-by-numbers approach with amusing results. Yes, this video may be a couple weeks old, but its source material -- The Goonies -- is timeless.
This fan-made, Contra trailer for a movie that has only been made in our hearts keeps us watching as closely as in a one-hit-one-death game. The jokes sometimes miss, but the moments with quick editing and game footage look great. It's made by the same guys who brought you the Punch Out movie trailer, so expect similar shenanigans.
While Microsoft has embraced downloadable video content in a big way with the Xbox 360, Sony has stuck with Blu-ray discs as the major video-delivery method of choice on the PS3. This looks like it might be set to change, though, as Variety is reporting that Sony is planning to bring high-definition video on demand content to the Japanese PlayStation 3, at least.
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