WHATS NEW IN GAMING NEWS

Brad Pitt to play leading role in Red Dead Redemption movie?


By Eddie Makuch on 27 August 2010




Hollywood sources say prolific heartthrob actor will play John Marston in film based on Rockstar Games' popular Western.


See the resemblance? (Credit: GameSpot)




Source: Hollywood news site ShowbizSpy.

What we heard: in November 2009 Brad Pitt's production companies Reliance Big Entertainment and Plan B Entertainment bought the rights to the forthcoming Dark Void film, but that may not be the only movie project tied to the storied actor.

Sources told the Hollywood news outlet ShowbizSpy that Brad Pitt is the "hot favourite" to star in an upcoming film based on the events of Rockstar Games' critically lauded and commercially successful Western, Red Dead Redemption. The sources say the Fight Club and Meet Joe Black star will play the game's troubled protagonist, John Marston.

“This is an exciting project with a great character at the centre of it,” a source told the website. “The idea is to make this in the style of an epic Western movie but with a few modern touches. Brad is perfect for the role and he is being given first refusal.”

Unfortunately, the report did not include the names of possible supporting cast members, a projected release date for the film or any other details on the project.

The official story: a Rockstar Games representative told GameSpot that "We do not comment on rumour or speculation."

Bogus or not bogus?: today's rumour is the first mention of a Red Dead Redemption film. While fans may be excited about the prospect of a film based on the game, if the project is real, it's likely only in the very early planning stages.

Further, Pitt is one of Hollywood's biggest stars, and he is likely offered "first refusal" — the ability to be the first actor to say no to a project — frequently. If the project is indeed real, Pitt may pass on the project, leaving the Marston role open to another actor



id's Todd Hollenshead: 3D gaming will probably have to wait



by Mike Schramm (2 hours ago)11

So there we were at the wedding last weekend -- our cousin Video Gaming and his fiancée 3D were all set to tie the knot, when Uncle Todd stood up at the rehearsal dinner table and said what most of us were thinking. "Maybe we're getting to the point," he said loudly while spilling a little champagne, "where the people who have been pushing 3D, or are pushing 3D now, have figured out a way to make it cool and not so nerdy that nobody wants to do it." The rest of the room gasped, gaming looked really confused, and 3D ran out the back door, her eyes filling with tears.

Hollenshead had a point, though -- it's been a really quick romance, and while gaming's certainly attracted to 3D (who wouldn't be -- Avatar made her look super hot), the couple's definitely been pushed together by the two families. But maybe Uncle Todd was right when he said that the relationship "has to be more pervasive and more widely adopted before it makes sense for videogame development companies to invest."

We talked it over with Video Gaming, and he agreed that maybe they should take it a little slower -- spend some more development time together, sell a few more solid titles and then we'd talk about an actual marriage. 3D was kind of bummed out by the whole thing, but everyone agreed that as much it would cost to lose the deposit on the reception hall, the cost of going through with a troubled marriage would be even worse. As Uncle Todd put it, "the TVs are f***ing expensive. Is there enough content to justify?"


Sources: Kinect beta kits going out, dashboard update live for participants (with pics!)



by Randy Nelson (8 hours ago)67
That email purportedly sent out by Microsoft a couple weeks back inviting its recipients into a Kinect beta program? Yeah -- it was legit. Joystiq has received corroborating evidence confirming the program, including pictures of the promised Kinect-enabled dashboard update running on a participant's retail console. In them, you can clearly see the flatter presentation, new mini-guide and revamped Avatar editor -- complete with a re-proportioned Avatar.

Our tipsters clearly didn't read the included guidelines, pictured in the gallery bellow. Apart from the laundry list of methods via which participants aren't supposed to talk about the program, there's confirmation that Kinect hardware is indeed part of the beta, "is being packed" and will presumably be on its way to testers soon. These same sources report that the beta support site mentions Kinect Adventures, Kinect Sports and Kinect Joy Ride as titles they can expect to receive for testing purposes.

We'll have more on the program as its participants continue to refuse acknowledgment of Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Gallery: Kinect beta dashboard (8.26.10)

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Redesigned Xbox Avatar appears ready to Kinect with you



by James Ransom-Wiley (9 hours ago)79


You know how sometimes people go "away" for the summer, and then when they come back they look ... totally different? Well, Major Nelson's Xbox Live Avatar didn't go anywhere but has seemingly undergone one such full body makeover -- as evidenced by the above comparison between the bobble-headed likeness (via Xbox Avatar Life) we had come to associate with the Xbox Live director of programming and Major Nelson. It would appear that Major's Avatar and perhaps other "VIP" Avatars are the (beta) test subjects in a forthcoming effort to transform the currently cartoonish Avatars into -- to put it candidly -- virtual figures that would look a lot less goofy in a motion-controlled sports game.

Recently, Rare senior programmer Nick Burton told OXM UK that Xbox Live Avatars would be proportionally redesigned to better connect the physical movements of kinect|project-natal Kinect players to their on-screen Avatars. Presumably, this "Avatar 2.0" update would occur in time for Kinect's November 4 launch and possibly as part of the expected, annual fall update of the Xbox 360 UI. The new trimmer Avatars are visible in Rare's Kinect Sports screenshots below.

Gallery: Kinect Sports

[Thanks, Vanessa and Anthony]

I read about that kinect stuff earlier today, apparently he was perma-banned about 20 min after that story was posted, and who knows what else. But the 2nd picture used to have his name in the top right corner, it wasn't covered up.