Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, November 08, 2007 6:00 PM
Here's what happened today in videogames and technology and pop culture.
- Sony decreed recent net.rumors of high failure rates among 40GB PlayStation 3s are not true.
- Open-world RPG Two Worlds is available now, in demo form, on the Xbox Live downloader machine.
- Valve released some Orange Box mod tools.
- A new Halo 3 collectible action figure is out.
- Heroes producer apologizes because his show isn't good.
- TiVo has a couple of announcements today.
- Along with the UK release of the iPhone, Apple will drop the 1.1.2 firmware update on the masses.
- Internet nerds argued so hard on the AVS Forum, the site's owners were forced to shut down the thread about Blu-Ray Vs. HD-DVD.
- Dude, you're getting a bad job.
- Looking for a new phone to listen to your Hollaback Girl ringback tones with? Verizon has two new ones for you.
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Tags: Daily Wrap-Up
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, November 08, 2007 4:44 PM
Check out the teaser for the world's largest arcade cabinet.
Don't miss a detailed look at the gigantic doo-wacky and a visit from the Guinness Book of World's Records on Attack of the Show!: Friday, November 9th at 7PM, ET.
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Tags: G4, G4 Web Exclusive, Videogames
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, November 08, 2007 4:42 PM
We promised you Attack of the Show's Olivia Munn in "The Lesbionic Woman," and here it is.
Click it! Over and over!
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Tags: G4, Girls, Videogames
Posted by Guest Writer - Thursday, November 08, 2007 4:21 PM
 Do you want to have Thanksgiving with Ozzy Osbourne and his unique and charming family of rockers and/or rollers?
'Course you do. But you've probably thought eating a holiday meal with metal's maddest family man could only happen in some dream world or in the magical realms of your imagination. But it can happen in real life. We promise.
Website solow.com is giving away a trip for you and three of your friends where they'll fly you to LA for a homecooked dinner with Ozzy and Sharon! They'll pimp you out while you're there with some walking around money and a great hotel room, and they'll shuttle you down to San Diego to see Ozzy live in concert with Rob Zombie.
How do I enter to win, you're asking? Here's how: Start by heading over to get yourself registered. Then start playing the "lowest unique bid" sweepstakes game where your job is to figure out a number that no one else has guessed AND that's lower than everyone else. You get three entries for free. After that, you'll have the chance to keep on playing and each entry costs just $0.99 - charged directly to your cell phone! Surely this is the best thing ever!
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Tags: Music
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Thursday, November 08, 2007 4:15 PM
The Writers Guild is on strike, but they're not going to stop people who want to work on animated television from working on their project. Where, originally, the Guild was going to suspend people who went to work on animated projects, they have softened their stance, since it looks like it's going to be a really long one, and decided to let writers go.
This means that your favorite animated shows will continue to create during the strike, and, really, who could fail to be happy about that?
Reuters.com: Writers seen turning to animation if strike long
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Tags: TV
Posted by stephen pryze - Thursday, November 08, 2007 4:11 PM
Set for an early 2008 release, Nanostray 2 looks to improve on the best Nintendo DS vertical shooter.
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Tags: Game Previews, Nintendo DS, Videogames, Videos
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Thursday, November 08, 2007 3:30 PM
 Another casualty of the writers' strike, 24 will most likely not air at all this season, according to reports. The official word from Fox is that they will not air the show until they can air the entirety of it continually, which means that, since there are only seven episodes completed, it's unlikely there will be a show at any point this year.
It's very sad to see these shows dropping off one by one as the strike continues. However, you can plan on there being more announcements like this one in the upcoming weeks, as it looks like this particular conflict will last a good, long time.
AOL News: No '24' This Season Thanks to Strike
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Tags: TV
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, November 08, 2007 3:10 PM
Nintendo will finally launched the check Mii Out Channel on November 11th. The channel is a forum for people to show off the Miis they have created, as well as vote on other users creations.
George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications, said. "It's yet another way that we're building fun, interactive communities of Wii owners without charging them extra for the privilege."
In the Posting Plaza, users can submit, exchange or just browse Miis posted by others in their region or worldwide. The channel offers the ability to look at a random selection of 1,000 Miis or to see just the current or all-time favorites. Players have a variety of ways to search for specific Miis, including by the name of its creator or by a number specific to each Mii. Once users have found that "special Mii," they can even tag their favorites or import them to their own Wii systems.
According to Nintendo:
The contest section of the Check Mii Out Channel challenges users to submit Mii creations to represent a specific person, character or theme. These could include historical figures (Abraham Lincoln or Vincent Van Gogh), fictional characters (the Tooth Fairy or the New Year's Baby) or descriptive themes ("the biggest bully ever" or "the overbearing boss"). Users can then vote on Miis submitted by others to determine the Mii that best fits the challenge. Each contest will generally last two weeks: one for creating and submitting Miis, and the second week for people to vote on the results.
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Tags: Videogames, Wii
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, November 08, 2007 2:35 PM
If we owned Bungie Studios, the creators of Halo, we'd be taking it easy about now, paying naked chicks to light our cigars with 15-dollar bills and driving around in solid platinum golf carts. That's why we'll never own a major game studio. The real owners of Bungie are hard at work this very second, making new Halo-centric games and non-Halo games for you to enjoy.
"We have Halo DLC on the way, and a new IP prototype that we are very excited about. Then we have other Halo games that are cranking along also. So the end result so far has been exactly as it should have been – we’re happy, excited, and doing our best work on a path that lets us grow."
"We want to be seen as different from the other developers that publish with Microsoft. As far as we believe it, we make better games and they are better quality in user experience across the board. Ultimately you want to be proud of anything you put the Bungie name on. We want people to know that, as soon as they put the game on and our name rolls up, the game will be awesome."
TheFeed will make you a bet that Halo 4 comes out at some point in the future.
Develop: Bungie "actively engaged" in creating new IP and Halo titles
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Tags: Halo 3, Videogames
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Thursday, November 08, 2007 2:02 PM
Sony is updating the PlayStation 3's firmware to 2.0.
Generally, an entire number higher (as opposed to a fraction) means huge, awesome changes, but this one is more like subtle, much-needed improvements, including remote access and security features that may, someday, be very important. Sadly, the wished-for toast making application has not materialized. Neither has the onboard naked lady simulator. Here's what will come with the download, though:
- Remote Start: Upgrades the Remote Play feature. Enables users to turn on a PS3 system remotely with a PSP system from a Wi-Fi hotspot. This is a great feature, allowing mobile access to your video collection.
- Customizable themes: At last. All praise Odin.
- Playlists: You can now create playlists to organize content under [Music] and [Photo].
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Tags: PlayStation 3, Videogames
Posted by Frank Meyer - Thursday, November 08, 2007 12:35 PM
 As if we don’t get enough of him in every other friggin’ format, rapper/producer Kanye West and Def Jam Records have inked a deal with Virgin Mobile USA to offer exclusive content from his album Graduation to their 4.8 million mobile subscribers.
Virgin Mobile customers will now be able to access exclusive versions of tracks from Graduation, as well four live versions of hits from his two earlier albums.
The agreement echos Virgin deals with hiphoppers Paul Wall and Snoop Dogg through the mobile provider’s “First Dibs” ringtone program.
For more information click here.
XXLmag.com: Kanye West Inks Ringtone Deal with Virgin Mobile USA
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Tags: Internets Culture, Music
Posted by Frank Meyer - Thursday, November 08, 2007 12:08 PM
 You know what is gonna be the coolest Christmas gift this year for your little music lovin’ tyke?
Nope, not Rock ‘n’ Roll Barbie.
Nope, not the new Hannah Montana piece of crap whatever it is.
Why, it’s the Ghostface Doll!
Yes, standing 9-inches tall, draped in a luxurious red-velvet robe, armed with bling in the form of an eagle wristband and a giant medallion made of 14-karat gold, a Ghostdini robe, Yankees cap, spouts catchphrases and comes "enclosed in a box that has remnants of fine Louis XIII cognac."
All this for the low, low price of… $499.99 plus shipping!?!?!?
WTF!?!? That’s roughly $56 an inch!
I wouldn’t even pay that for a Rakim doll, dude! And he’s GOD!
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Tags: Music, Toys
Posted by Frank Meyer - Thursday, November 08, 2007 11:43 AM
 A recent ICM survey says that most companies do not stop employees from downloading music off the Internet, despite the risks posed to work computers.
Two-thirds of IT managers polled said they do not block employees from grabbing music off the ‘Net, even though they named it as the biggest perceived threat to their business. In fact, they acknowledged that music files and other security threats could spread viruses that may lead to fraud or damage corporate computer networks, but do it anyways.
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Tags: Internets Culture
Posted by Frank Meyer - Thursday, November 08, 2007 11:33 AM
 Presumably to steer fans away from the upcoming Rock Band (out on Nov. 20), Activision is releasing some rockin’ Guitar Hero III track packs for Xbox Live.
Red Octane Velvet Revolver and Foo Fighters track packs will go for 500 points ($6.25). The Foos include "The Pretender" from the new album Echoes Silence Patience & Grace, "All My Life" and "This Is A Call," while the Velvet Revolver one features "She Builds Quick Machines," "Slither" and "Messages." |
