Category: Games

The Emmy Award-winning PBS series INDEPENDENT LENS has launched the second annual "film festival at your fingertips." Animation, comedy, drama and documentary provide an eclectic mix of stories and storytelling. The eleven Audience Award contenders can be viewed and downloaded at: www.pbs.org/independentlens/onlineshortsfestival/.

Capcom officially announced development of STREET FIGHTER IV, the next iteration of the genre-establishing fighting game series. This marks the first new entry announced in nearly eight years, following the acclaimed STREET FIGHTER III THIRD STRIKE.

Few details have been released about the new game, outside of a preview trailer that was released in October on the official website, StreetFighterWorld.com.

Exodus Film Group announced a videogame deal with Interactive Game Group (I2G) and Legacy Interactive for a multi-platform game based on Exodus' CG-animated feature film IGOR. The game will be distributed on Nintendo DS and Wii, PC and wireless. Legacy Interactive will publish the IGOR game in North America and I2G is financing and coordinating the project on a worldwide basis. IGOR is a Weinstein Co. presentation being distributed in U.S. theaters by MGM on Oct. 24, 2008. The Weinstein Co. is handling international sales for the film.

Nokia, THQ Wireless, Lucasfilm and LucasArts revealed that STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED is coming to N-Gage, Nokia's next generation mobile gaming platform in 2008.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED casts players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" and promises to unveil new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy. The game's expansive story is set during the largely unexplored era between STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH and STAR WARS: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE.

Activision Inc. and Vivendi today announced that they have signed a definitive agreement to combine Vivendi Games -- which includes Blizzard Ent, creators of WORLD OF WARCRAFT -- with Activision, creating the world's largest pure-play online and console game publisher. The new company, Activision Blizzard, is expected to have approximately $3.8 billion in pro forma combined calendar 2007 revenues and the highest operating margins of any major third-party videogame publisher.

MTV Networks announced plans to make every clip from every episode of SOUTH PARK available for free online next year, reports THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. The move comes on the heels of the Viacom company's success with streaming THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART. Back in August, Comedy Central signed an unprecedented deal with SOUTH PARK creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to share revenue on SOUTH PARK episodes across the Web, mobile phones and videogames.

Netflix Inc. and NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution announced an agreement through which current episodes of the network's top-rated prime-time series HEROES can be watched online by Netflix subscribers the day after their network airings.

The deal follows NBC Universal's announcement that G4 and Mojo will be the off-network cable homes for HEROES and makes Netflix the exclusive SVOD outlet for the series and the third arm of the studio's syndication deal.

Super-Ego Games announced that it has tapped renowned New York City comedians to write and voice its recently announced game RAT RACE, the first-ever episodic console game, coming to the PlayStation Network this winter. The company has enlisted comedic talent from the NYC stand-up comedy circuit and from popular shows including SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS and more. Comedian Victor Varnado leads the group as head writer and voice director at Super-Ego Games.