Movie Trailer: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

This looks pretty good. I hope having so many villains doesn't harm the story but I guess we'll see come May.

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Sony Announces Playstation Vita TV

Today, Sony announced that it will be launching the Playstation Vita TV later this year in Japan.

The Playstation Vita TV will essentially be a set top box that will be able to stream movies and tv shows, but will add gaming to the formula.  With the use of a PS3 Dual Shock controller, you can play PS Vita, PS One and PSP games.  You are limited to the games that are available in the PSN store.  Still, at over 1300 games, that's a huge library to start playing with at launch of the device.

In addition, with the PS Vita TV, you will be able to stream PS4 games to another room if the living room tv is occupied.  This will save you having to unhook the system every time the parents or the roommate wants to take over the living room television.

The price in Japan comes out to about $100 USD, which is very competitive with the Apple TV unit. The device does not come with a PS3 controller, so if you don't already have one, you would need to factor that price into it.  

There has been no announcement of US release date at time of publishing.

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Microsoft Changes Tune - Reverses Internet Requirement and Used Game Restrictions

Microsoft has officially confirmed the news that they are no longer restricting used games and have eliminated the 24 Hour internet check in requirement.

In a posting on the Xbox Wire Don Mattrick, President, Interactive Entertainment Business states:

Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback. I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One. 

You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you. Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world.

Read the entire statement HERE.

Good move, Microsoft.  This might just heat up the next gen console wars and ease the pain of Sony's immediate domination.

That and Kingdom Hearts 3 is coming to XB1 also...

Decisions decisions.

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Paul Giamatti to Play The Rhino in Amazing Spiderman Sequel?

Awesome picture from spiderguile.deviantart.com

In Superhero Movie news, THR has an exclusive that Paul Giamatti is in talks to play Rhino in the upcoming Amazing Spiderman Sequel. Previously it was confirmed that Jamie Foxx will be playing the villain known as Electro, along with  ShaileneWoodley as Mary Jane Watson and Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborne. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone will be reprising their roles as Spiderman and Gwen Stacey.

Cast is getting pretty big. How do you feel about the casting choices?

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Is Valve making a Steam based console?

Is this inconspicuous picture uploaded to Twitter by chatty Valve employee Greg Coomer a prototype for a console that runs Valve's Steam game service and all it's games? For those not in the know Valve (maker of such games as Half-Life, Portal and Team Fortress) runs a digital video game portal for PC and Mac called Steam, essentially iTunes for PC games. It's vastly popular and most modern games for the PC or with PC/Mac ports release through Steam.

What Valve is doing here is leveraging their customer base to essentially enter the video game console market up against Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. This could potentially be big, here is the story.

Back on October 22nd of last year Mr. Coomer tweeted a link to an article with Valve CEO Gabe Newell talking about a possible Valve console in the future with the comment, "What I'm working on." Then fast forward to November 2nd when he tweets the picture you see above lamenting the build difficulty of the tiny PC and mentioning it runs Portal 2 (a Valve game) "FAST".

Fast forward to this week when The Verge reported that Valve was actively making a console dubbing it the "SteamBox" and even mentioning basic specs for the unit. "We're told that the basic specs of the Steam Box include a Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GPU." If we go back and check out Greg Coomer's tweets about the PC he made... check, check and double check, he mentions all three are in his build.

Either way on this one, take it with a grain of salt. But we could be seeing a new entrant in the console race soon, seeing as Valve has been potentially working on this product for many years now.

[UPDATE:] Another wrinkle in the grand story here has appeared. Apparently, in November of 2009 Valve filed a patent which has recently been retrieved from the belly of the US Patent Office. The patent in question, which reads, "one or more main control input interfaces on the game controller consists of generalized sockets...a variety of modular input interfaces can be plugged into these sockets". This mumbo jumbo can be read by normal people as the ability to swap different types of controllers as they see fit possibly putting an end to the thumbstick controller vs. mouse and keyboard, basically play your SteamBox how you want to. (Maybe even with Xbox and PlayStation controllers?)

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Tech: Next Gen Consoles - Xbox 720 and Playstation 4

Could it be, are we just around the corner from a new console generation? We aren't quiet ready for the Playstation 9 (above) but are we ready for the Xbox 720 or Playstation 4? Lets break this down.

Playstation 4

Reports of these things crop up all the time. According to the rumor mill (grain of salt in tow) well known first party companies like Santa Monica Studios (God of War) and Guerrilla Games (Killzone) may just be getting their hands on some form of new hardware and tech (that isn't from the current generation) for producing games that could quite possibly be launch titles for a PS4. For Sony as a company this seems like a necessity since Nintendo has already shown their cards, and Microsoft is obviously working on things as well. The question is what more can Sony do?

Sony had already shipped a console that was technologically more advanced than the rest of the generation. Do they need to create a new generation so quickly and have we seen all the PS3 can do? Sony has just started to get the price at a reasonable place and are starting to move significant unit numbers to make the money back they've lost. But the question is, are they willing to risk being last to the party again even though their console might have more breath left than the rest of the industry, will their hand be forced?

Xbox 720

Well first thing that needs to be obviously stated is that there is a LOT more information around about a Xbox 360 successor than a PS4, but again lets dive in with our salt grain. What is in a name? Well, ask Microsoft, they will tell you that the next Xbox might be called the Xbox Loop. Yeah, that might be the new console's name, and it's mainstay? Well that would be the Kinect hardware, to the tune of the Kinect 2, which will apparently be able to track your fingers, read your lips and sense the tone of your voice. Creepy right? Well anyway, the main rumor is that this stuff does exist and that Microsoft's sequel might come in two shades, a pared down box for the casual folk (a la 4GB 360) and a badder hardcore gamer model. But the focus is Kinect 2.

The verdict on the future of consoles after the break. (Click the Rawr! below.)

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Tech: Xbox turns X!

Wow, it's really hard to believe that ten years ago today a little company called Microsoft decided to launch a console. Apparently Sony and Nintendo was not enough, the Windows and Office makers just wanted to be part of the fun.

Released on November 15th, 2001, the OG Xbox was handed over by Bill Gates to the first lucky owner just after midnight at a Toys 'R' Us in New York. Starting off one of the most interesting periods in gaming history, across the board not just for this console, but throughout the industry.

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Tech: Sony buys out Sony Ericsson

Well the rumors on this little shopping spree have been circulating for a couple weeks now, and it appears the immaterial has become the material. Sony has just bought Sony Ericsson for a cool €1.05 billion.

Confused? Well not to worry, Sony didn't just buy itself creating a space-time paradox, it was actually a completely separate company. Sony way back in 2001 entered a joint venture with Ericsson buying half the company and becoming Sony Ericsson. This news simply means Sony will gain full ownership under it's brand (probably resulting in the end of the Ericsson name) to create and expand their consumer business into the smartphone market directly. Exciting news!

Click through (the Rawr below) to read the full press release.

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Movie Poster: Michael Jackson's This Is It

Here is the poster from the upcoming film that sparked a bidding war after Jackson's death.

I really don't know what this movie will comprise of outside of rehearsal footage but I am intrigued to see it. It is a great poster as well.

Michael Jackson's This Is It arrives in theaters on October 28.

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PS3 Slim Announced and Price Cut!

Gaming blogs everywhere are saying that the 80 Gig non PS2-backwards compatible PS3 systems are recieving a price cut to $299 starting today! Nice right?

Well Sony @ their Playstation Blog have announced their slim 120 Gig non PS2-backwards compatible PS3 will be available September 1st at the price of.... $299?

Really?

So, an 80 Gig PS3 for $299 or a 120 Gig slimmed down version for $299? Can you wait 13 days?

Editors note: You might also be interested to know that the PSPGO is going to be $250. So you can get a full featured Next Gen System for $50 more than a portable one. Sony is brilliant. /sarcasm. - garon

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DC Universe E3 Trailer

It would be nice to have seen more footage of a player character or character customization. SOE is a strike against it already and will probably be a handicap to the games success as people are already vowing not to play it simply because they're involved.

Thanks to Gametrailers for the video!

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