OnLive brings to Google TV users instant on-demand gameplay from a rapidly growing library of the latest high-performance console-class titles, as well exclusive social features such as worldwide massive spectating and Brag Clip® videos with full group voice and text chat. The OnLive Viewer, enabling OnLive social features, is available immediately on all Google TV devices currently in the market and is compatible with standard Google TV remote controls as well as the OnLive Wireless Controller and standard USB game controllers. Full OnLive gameplay is coming soon to all current and future Google TV devices, including TVs, Blu-ray players and Media Streamers, making Google TV the first integrated TV platform with console-class gameplay capability, and bringing OnLive capability to most major TV manufacturers.

OnLive instant on-demand gameplay of about 200 console-quality titles, including top-tier recent releases, such as Saint’s Row: The Third and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, is being demonstrated on the VIZIO VAP430 Stream Player with OnLive’s Wireless Controller in Las Vegas during the CES show this week. Simultaneously, OnLive is demonstrating soon-to-be-released full OnLive gameplay capability on current Google TV devices. Over 50 game publishers, including virtually every top console publisher, is supporting the OnLive game platform.

The OnLive Game Service is currently available on TVs, via Google TV or the OnLive MicroConsole, PCs, Mac®, tablets and smartphones, and soon will be available on Blu-ray players, media streamers and set-top boxes. The just-announced OnLive Desktop service, delivering a seamless, full-featured, media-rich PC desktop with full collaboration capability, is based on the same patented OnLive instant-action cloud computing technology, and will also be available on Google TV as well as all of the above platforms, enabling business presentations, sharing of family of videos and photos, as well as other media-rich PC applications.

“OnLive integration into Google TV is a huge leap forward for videogames,” said Steve Perlman, OnLive Founder and CEO. “Consumers have come to expect instant gratification with music, movies and video. Now, with OnLive, players in the US and soon in the UK can just as easily stream the highest-quality games to their Google TV devices for play instantly on demand, without discs or downloads.

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Wii owners in the UK and Ireland can now stream their favourite films and TV programmes onto their TV via their Wii, after Netflix announced its service expansion into the UK. Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), is available from 9^th January for a low monthly subscription of £5.99.

With more than 20 million streaming members in 47 countries and territories, Netflix has revolutionized entertainment by providing seamless and unlimited access to tens of thousands of hours of Hollywood and international feature films, full seasons of new and classic TV series, global documentaries, independent cinema and an incredible range of kids programming in a specially designed area of the service called “Just for Kids.” Thanks to a recent partnership announcement, fans can also watch the BBC Worldwide back catalogue via Netflix on their Wii.

To access the Netflix on your Wii, simply visit the Wii Shop Channel. Then select the “Wii Channels” from the main menu and choose “Netflix Instant Streaming for Wii.” If you then select “Free 0 Wii Points”, you will begin the download.  Once Netflix Instant Streaming for Wii has finished downloading, it will appear on the Wii menu and you can view on your TV.

Dawn Paine, Marketing Director and Assistant General Manager at Nintendo UK, said: “Netflix has been a partner of Nintendo of America for many years now and we are delighted to be able to extend the service to our fans from UK and Ireland. I for one look forward to be able to view my favourite TV shows and films via my Wii.”

“We’re thrilled that Netflix is now available on Wii in the UK and Ireland coinciding with our launch,” said Bill Holmes, vice president of business development at Netflix. “The Wii has been among the most popular devices used by Netflix members to enjoy unlimited TV shows and movies streaming over the Internet from Netflix on their TVs. We expect the Wii will be one of the most used devices to enjoy Netflix in the UK and Ireland and are delighted to offer this additional value to Wii users.”

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Today, Microsoft Corp. announced plans to roll out the next generation of TV entertainment on Xbox LIVE, the online entertainment service for Xbox 360. Nearly 40 world-leading TV and entertainment providers, including Bravo, Comcast, HBO GO, Verizon FiOS and Syfy in the U.S.; BBC in the U.K., Telefónica in Spain; Rogers On Demand in Canada; Televisa in Mexico; ZDF in Germany; and MediaSet in Italy, will begin rolling out entertainment services to the console this Christmas, in more than 20 countries.

“Today’s announcement is a major step toward realising our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy,” said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “Combining the world’s leading TV and entertainment providers with the power of Kinect for Xbox 360* and the intelligence of Bing voice search will make TV and entertainment more personal, social and effortless.”

“We are continually evolving the television experience to bring Xfinity TV subscribers more personalised ways to search, find and watch the content they love,” said Sam Schwartz, president of Comcast Converged Products. “Our recently launched next-generation Xfinity TV platform is enabling us to bring Xfinity On Demand to a gaming console for the first time, and Kinect’s voice and gesture controls will offer our customers an innovative way to discover and enjoy Xfinity On Demand’s huge library of top shows and movies.”

Live and On-Demand TV, Movies, Games, Sports, Music and More

Xbox 360 brings all your entertainment, friends and family together in one place. Now, easily switch from playing your favorite game with a friend out of state or even across the world to watching your favourite TV show with your family members on the same couch, all through Xbox LIVE. Ready to mix things up? Effortlessly switch from games to music to live TV and more, simply by telling your Xbox what you want to experience.

“Microsoft and Verizon share a common vision to transform the ways people enjoy and interact with the entertainment they want — what Verizon calls the borderless lifestyle,” said Eric Bruno, vice president of consumer and mass business product management for Verizon. “FiOS TV on the Xbox 360 is an excellent example of how we’re working with market leaders to erase old technology borders to expand the FiOS TV experience and taking advantage of unique new features including voice- and gesture-control of live TV entertainment via Kinect.

This holiday, Verizon will bring a selection of popular live TV channels to Xbox 360 and will be a leader in delivering live, multichannel streaming HD TV, integrated with Kinect, via the Xbox.”

Xbox 360 is the first console to offer access to the world’s greatest TV properties, including BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 and LOVEFiLM in the U.K.; Antena 3, RTVE and Telefónica in Spain; Televisa in Mexico; and Bravo, Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand service, Crackle, EPIX, Syfy, TMZ, “The Today Show,” UFC, Verizon FiOS and HBO GO in the United States.

“We have been thrilled with the success of HBO GO. Our ongoing goal is to deliver HBO’s acclaimed programming to our subscribers wherever and whenever they want it, and this relationship with Microsoft is another huge step in accomplishing just that,” said Bernadette Aulestia, senior vice president, Domestic Network Distribution & Marketing, HBO. “HBO GO on Xbox is also a marriage of two pre-eminent brands — both with a reputation for delivering the highest quality of entertainment.”

These new TV and video providers announced today join our existing lineup of great TV and video entertainment partners already on Xbox 360 — AT&T, Netflix and Hulu+ in the U.S., TELUS in Canada, BSkyB in the U.K., Canal+ in France, Vodafone Portugal, VimpelCom in Russia, and FOXTEL in Australia.

“Nearly a year ago, AT&T U-verse became the first TV provider in the U.S. to launch live TV on Xbox 360. Now we look forward to working with Microsoft to deliver even more innovative features that will allow U-verse TV customers to use voice and gesture controls to manage their TV experience,” said Jeff Weber, vice president of video services, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “Through our Microsoft partnership, AT&T U-verse TV has been a leader in delivering a multi-screen and interactive TV experience that offers customers more personalisation, more control and more integration across devices, all on the industry’s only 100 percent IPTV platform.”

Sports aren’t just a game on Xbox 360. With live and on-demand content from ESPN in the U.S., UFC in the U.S. and Canada, GolTV in Spain and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment/Real Sports in Canada, Xbox 360 completely changes how sports fans experience and interact with their favourite pastimes. The all-new ESPN on Xbox LIVE features thousands of live events and video highlights with enhanced personalisation features, split-screen viewing and an updated interface content guide that makes it easy for fans to find the highlights from the teams and sports they care most about. UFC on Xbox LIVE gives fans access to live pre-event videos, a catalog of on-demand video, an Interactive Fight Card and pay-per-view events in stunning HD all together in one place. The energy of the Octagon is coming right into the living room.

In addition to adding the world’s largest TV providers and the best names in sports, the biggest names in Web video, news and music are also coming to Xbox 360, including AlloCiné, Dailymotion, iHeartRadio, MSN with MSNBC.com, “The Today Show,” TMZ, VEVO and YouTube. Whether catching up on the Web’s latest viral videos, watching breaking news, sports and weather, listening to your favorite music, or sitting down to enjoy your favorite games, movies or TV shows — no other entertainment device brings it all together in one place like Xbox 360.

Xbox Entertainment — Personal, Effortless, Social

With Kinect for Xbox 360, there are no remotes, no buttons, no worries. Consumers will prefer to experience entertainment on Xbox 360 because it allows them to easily search and discover content across multiple entertainment providers within Xbox LIVE and interact and enjoy that content in extraordinary new ways. Gone are the days of managing a handful of remote controls, trying to remember what movies are available from what service, and hunting back and forth across television inputs. Using voice search with Bing on Xbox, easily look across a variety of branded services and play the programming you want without ever raising a finger. Having trouble finding last night’s episode of “The Office”? It’s now only a voice command away. Just say “Xbox, Bing, ‘The Office,’ ” and Xbox finds it.

Not only is entertainment effortless on Xbox 360, it is more social and personal. Everything in Xbox has been designed to share with friends. Share recommendations, and show the Xbox LIVE community what games you’re playing, movies you’re watching and music you’re listening to, as well as invite them to join in — even post your game achievements and info about your favorite movies directly to your Facebook wall from Xbox LIVE.

It’s simple: With your social network along for the ride, the world’s leading content providers and the magic of Kinect, entertainment experiences are better on Xbox LIVE.

Entertainment Partners on Xbox 360 (Existing and New)

• · ABC iView – Australia
• · AlloCiné – France, Germany, Spain, U.K.
• · Antena 3 – Spain
• · Astral Media’s Disney XD – Canada
• · AT&T** – U.S.
• · BBC – U.K.
• · blinkbox – U.K.
• · Bravo – U.S.
• · BSkyB** – U.K.
• · Canal+* – France, Spain
• · Channel 4 – U.K.
• · Channel 5 – U.K.
• · CinemaNow (Best Buy) – U.S.
• · Comcast – U.S.
• · Crackle – Australia, Canada, U.K., U.S.
• · Dailymotion – Available in 32 markets
• · EPIX – U.S.
• · ESPN** – U.S.
• · Facebook** – Available in all 35 Xbox LIVE markets
• · FOXTEL** – Australia
• · GolTV – Spain
• · HBO GO – U.S.
• · Hulu – Japan
• · Hulu +^**– U.S.
• · iHeartRadio (Clear Channel) – U.S.
• · Last.fm^** – U.K., U.S.
• · LOVEFiLM – Germany, U.K.
• · Manga Entertainment – U.S.
• · Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment/Real Sports – Canada
• · MediaSet – Italy
• · MSN with MSNBC.com – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, U.K.
• · MUZU.TV – France, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.K.
• · Netflix^**– Canada, U.S.
• · Rogers On Demand Online (RODO) – Canada
• · RTVE – Spain
• · SBS On Demand – Australia
• · Syfy – U.S.
• · Telefonica – Spain
• · Televisa – Mexico
• · “The Today Show” – U.S.
• · TELUS** – Canada
• · TMZ – U.S.
• · Twitter^** – Available in all 35 Xbox LIVE markets
• · UFC – Canada, U.S.
• · Verizon – U.S.
• · VEVO – Canada, U.K., U.S.
• · VimpelCom** – Russia
• · Vodafone Portugal** – Portugal
• · YouTube – Available in 22 markets
• · ZDF – Germany
• · Zune^** – Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K., U.S.

^* Xbox LIVE Gold membership and/or other subscriptions/fees required. Kinect functionality varies by feature, provider and region.

^** Denotes existing partners on Xbox LIVE available today.

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The partnership will see LOVEFiLM further develop its interactive content applications, user interfaces and service guides to be playable on many new devices across new territories ensuring the largest possible audience for future use.

The PS3 launch follows in the wake of successful deployment in March 2010 of the Sony Bravia and Blu-ray devices version, also developed by Pushbutton, which won the Best New Product of the Year at the International Business Awards.

Pushbutton is well known for its work with leading brands such as the BBC, ITV and Microsoft. Over the past four years they have developed a framework to facilitate development and expertise in the area of IPTV and connected device deployment including cable, satellite, Internet Connected TV’s, Games Consoles, Tablets and hand-held devices.

In addition to offering its 1.4 million members access to over 67,000 titles for rental, LOVEFiLM now offers thousands of films and TV shows available to ‘Watch Online’ via the LOVEFiLM Player and on connected devices including SONY BRAVIA, Samsung TVs and starting today the PS3.

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Created by Ubisoft, one of the world’s leading video game creators in 2006, the Rabbids have transcended video games, inspiring a series of viral videos on the Internet, plush toys and even award-winning ads for world-renowned brands like Renault and Coca-Cola.  For Aardman, ground-breaking creators of television and film properties such as Shaun the Sheep and Wallace and Gromit, the project represents a rare foray into applying their creative talents to a licensed property.  The animated pilot will be produced jointly by Ubisoft and Aardman.

Miles Bullough, Head of Broadcast at Aardman, says, “When the opportunity arose to work with Ubisoft on the Rabbids we leapt at it, we absolutely love the characters and can’t wait to help bring them to a television audience.”

“The not-so-subtle humor of the Rabbids has made them into icons in and beyond video games,” states Xavier Poix, Xavier Poix, Managing Director at Ubisoft’s French studios.  . “Aardman perfectly understands that humor and we are extremely excited to be working with them to bring the Rabbids to a new medium and a new audience.”

Ubisoft and Aardman’s in-house digital agency, Aardman Digital, already worked together on the Raving Rabbids brand by creating the website dedicated to the upcoming video game Raving Rabbids Travel In Time, which launches in October.

Visit the Raving Rabbids Travel in Time website at: www.rabbids.com

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The announcement was made by Ginx TV CEO Michiel Bakker at Edinburgh Interactive, the games industry’s cross business gathering at the Edinburgh Festival, the world’s largest arts Festival. Bakker was one of the original founders of MTV Networks Europe in 1987 and was also Chairman of Nickelodeon and Paramount Networks.

Bakker commented: “Launching our channel in the UK, the world’s second largest videogaming market, will propel Ginx to the big league. The next step for me is to accelerate the roll-out of fully localised channels in key markets around the globe.

“Video gaming is the only massively mainstream entertainment genre without a dedicated channel. My ambition here, is to do for gaming what MTV did for music. Video Gaming has broken through into mainstream entertainment, yet is thoroughly under-represented on TV. “

Ginx TV recently completed a successful fundraising round.

Mature-gaming has had its spot in the limelight with Editor, Gary Weeks appearing on XLeague TV’s talk show, Games Night.  Unfortunately, the channel has since been removed when the company was sold off.  Various channels and programmes have been formed in the past, with little success so let’s hope we get the content to keep the viewers happy this time around and Ginx TV is a keeper.

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Backbreaker will boast the most realistic player movement seen in a game of its type when it launches on 28th May for Xbox 360 and PS3 exclusively with GAME.

Following the outstanding success of Backbreaker: Tackle Alley for iPhone and iPod Touch, Oxford developer NaturalMotion has now brought the big hitting action to Xbox 360 and PS3 with Backbreaker. Utilising its famous euphoria engine, NaturalMotion is able to bring a revolutionary in-game animation system to the on field action, meaning no two tackles will ever be alike.

The Tackle Alley game for iPhone includes a link for customers to directly pre-order Backbreaker for Xbox or PS3 from GAME, marking the first time an iPhone game has facilitated pre-sales for a full console version of a video game.

“GAME are very excited about Backbreaker.” said Kathryn Hinton, Head of Third Party Buying from Game “It’s the show piece of British based NaturalMotion Games and it deserves every accolade. And we are pleased to be working with 505 Games as the exclusive retail partner We’re also delighted to be working with 505 and NaturalMotion Games to promote Backbreaker via iPhone. It’s a perfect example of how we intend to embrace new digital technology to inform and engage with our customers.”

Backbreaker offers intuitive 11-on-11 gameplay which even the greenest of American Football fans will be able to pick up with ease. A comprehensive set of tutorials will ensure beginners get the best possible start, while more experienced players will be able to increase the complexity of moves and strategies available in single player mode, local multiplayer and online.

“Backbreaker truly is a groundbreaking title that 505 Games are proud to bring to the UK market,” commented Ralph Pitt-Stanley, Commercial Director, 505 Games. “The tech demos alone have caused quite a stir when they were first released and we are pleased to add Backbreaker to the library of successful 505 Titles.”

Backbreaker will be published by 505 Games for Xbox 360 and PS3 on 28th May 2010, available exclusively in GAME stores and online.

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This was uploaded over the weekend and needs to be seen a couple of times at least.  Is anyone excited yet?

Look out for our review on this bad boy next week!

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The first stereoscopic 3D games are beginning to trickle onto the market, most notably Avatar (James Cameron’s film, developed alongside the game, was also made in 3D) and Blitz Arcade’s Invincible Tiger, published by Namco Bandai.

2010 will see an explosion in the number of stereoscopic 3D televisions in the shops – with consumer confusion one likely outcome, as there are several competing 3D TV technologies.

It is possible to make screens that provide a 3D effect without requiring glasses, although as these require each pixel to be duplicated and polarised, they will be very pricey. There will also be solutions which require the wearing of both passive and actively synched polarised glasses.

3D TVs also require ultra-high refresh rates (some even operate at 240Hz), due to them displaying one set of information for each eye.

The good thing about videogames is that once they have been encoded in 3D, they can be easily adjusted to work with all 3D display methods, so TV manufacturers – like Sony – see them as a prime means of popularising 3D TV. The PS3′s Cell chip is also known to be very well suited to streaming, encoding and decoding of video data, so a firmware update giving the PlayStation 3 native stereoscopic 3D support makes eminently good sense.

With broadcasters like Sky and the BBC checking out the technology and running pilot-schemes, 2010 is set to be the year of 3D TV.

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Microsoft has confirmed today that the sky player for xbox live will go live on October 27th.

“October 27 – that’s the date when you’ll be able to watch TV from Sky on your Xbox 360,” said Graeme Boyd, Microsoft Europe’s Xbox community manager.

Announced in May, the service will allow Xbox 360 owners to access a range of channels and programmes to view live or on-demand. Content will initially be offered in standard definition only, and won’t be recordable.

While Boyd added that channel line-up and pricing are “to come at launch”, users can expect to be able to access movies and entertainment shows, as well as documentaries and programming dedicated to kids, music, the arts and sport, including Premier League football and Test Match cricket.

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