Harmonix and MTV Games have teamed up with VH1 (also owned by Viacom, for the record) to create a special look at how The Beatles Rock Band was created, including footage of surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Abbey Road Studios being presented with work in progress by the Harmonix creative team.
That special, “The Making of The Beatles: Rock Band” is 30 minutes long and features interviews from Giles Martin (co-producer of The Beatles LOVE album project) and The Beatles: Rock Band music supervisor), and Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO or Harmonix Music Systems and his development team. The special also promises to reveal the origins of the game and a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the music video game. The Making of The Beatles: Rock Band will premiere Friday, November 27th on VH1 Classic at 7:30 PM ET/PT.
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Video Professor responds to Scamville article
Recently TechCrunch wrote an interesting investigative report called “Scamville: The Social Gaming Ecosystem of Hell,” which pointed out the questionable practice of allowing users to opt-in to special offers in order to earn in-game currency from titles made by social game developers like Zynga and Playfish. In that article, the author categorized the Video Professor products as particularly scam-my. The special offers would often have “fine print” or would have charges that consumers might not know about until after the transaction was complete.
Other web sites, like Business Insider, referenced that article, and cited other sources for facts, saying that Video Professor in particular was an out and out scam. Video Professor, in case you don’t know, is a series of educational CD-ROMs that claims to teach its users techniques to master certain programs like Excel, operating systems like Windows XP or online services like eBay. Certainly the offers as detailed in all of these reports are questionable, but Video Professor is feeling a bit battered and bruised.
A recent exchange of emails with its Vice President of Public Affairs, Brian Olson, pointed out one truth: the company was never given the opportunity to defend itself or to explain its products, services and business practices. In fact, the company was met with either silence or out and out hostility from most journalists. According to Olson, one nameless editor offered the following response to an inquiry on presenting the company’s side of the story:
“It’s a huge fucking scam. And you know it.”
Ouch. Considering that the use of its name (and other offers) could have ruined Playfish’s chances to be acquired by EA - a deal which was finalized earlier this week - and the fact that Zynga’s CEO indirectly mentioned these deals in a recent blog post (and a video making the rounds on YouTube), we thought it would be fair to give the company a chance to defend itself. The company at least deserves some credit for trying to address all the talk about its products being a rip-off to consumers. First a response to the allegation that its dealings with Zynga and Playfish were shady:
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Fox News vs. Modern Warfare 2
According to our friends at Game Politics and the Entertainment Software Association, Fox News will be taking on the contrived controversies of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 this morning on the Fox & Friends morning show.
The ECA, which owns and operates the Game Politics blog, received an email from FOX News at around 11 a.m. EST on Tuesday asking to speak to an “expert gamer” about the controversies surrounding the game. Here’s a quote from that email:
“I write to inquire about a possible interview tomorrow on Fox & Friends. We’re the morning show of the Fox News Channel, and are planning on doing a segment on the new Xbox game, Modern Warfare 2. We’re hoping to have a debate on the game, and would love to speak to an expert gamer on the controversies surrounding the game. The debate is for 6:50am tomorrow morning, on camera.”
The email was sent to the ECA’s Jason Andersen, director of PR. The ECA declined to take part in the discussion, because according to GP, Fox News would not offer any details on the discussion planned for the segment. We all know how their last major segment on Mass Effect with psychologist Cooper Lawrence, so sending someone in there blind seemed like a bad idea, no doubt.
The segment will run on the morning show at 6:50 a.m. EDT, according to GP.
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MLB, LucasFilm content now on PlayStation Network
MLB and LucasFilm content is now available on PlayStation Network’s video delivery service, if you care. This means that a variety of downloadable entertainment and sports content will now be available from the PlayStation Store. The first piece of content from LucasFilms will be the StarWars: The Clone Wars animated series that airs on Cartoon Network.
Meanwhile, MLB is offering the current 2009 World Series featuring the Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Yankees (in case you’ve missed any of the games so far), and also a section with classic games.
A new partnership with Image Entertainment also brings feature films like Powder Blue and Management, whole a deal with MPI Media Group brings in such classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and a deal with ContentFilm International delivers Hurly Burly and Interstate 60 to the PlayStation Store. Look for this and other new content on the PlayStation Network beginning today.
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WWE extends deadline for THQ license agreement renewal
THQ has been granted an extension by World Wrestling Entertainment for the deadline to renew the joint licensing agreement held with JAKKS Pacific. The new deadline is Dec. 31, 2009. If the agreement is renewed and extended it would be good until Dec. 31, 2014. Obviously THQ needs to continue to hold this license to make any more of its SmackDown vs. RAW video games.
THQ said in a brief statement today that the “WWE’s action provides the company with increased flexibility with respect to the renewal of the videogame license.”
No doubt the biggest hurdle for THQ is its tumultuous relationship with JAKKS Pacific, who it has taken legal action against in regards to its share of revenues from products based on the license. We watch and we wait.
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SpongeBob Truth or Square game in stores this week
THQ has released SpongeBob’s Truth or Square to all major retailers nationwide for the Wii, Nintendo DS, the Xbox 360, and PSP. In this off-the-wall action adventure game, players will take poart in some of the most humorous events from the last 10 years. The game also introduces a new and unique morphing capability that turns SpongeBob into unlikely objects like a spatula or sledgehammer. The game is slightly tied to a special episode of the show that celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the show.
In SpongeBob’s Truth or Square, players journey through memorable SpongeBob SquarePants locations to find the missing Krabby Patty formula in time for Krusty Krab’s Eleventy Seventh Anniversary. From Jellyfish Fields to downtown Bikini Bottom, players will have to run, jump, spin and hammer their way through 10 levels. Each level will take players back to a happy SpongeBob SquarePants moment, such as when SpongeBob becomes a fry cook, gets into the Salty Spittoon or meets Sandy for the first time.
Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants “Truth or Square” one-hour prime time television event premieres on Friday, Nov. 6, culminating Nickelodeon’s 10th anniversary celebration of the pop-icon and top-rated kids’ series. The event features celebrity guest stars Craig Ferguson, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, LeBron James, P!nk and Robin Williams, among others. SpongeBob’s Truth or Square was developed by Heavy Iron Studios.
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Sessler’s flip-flop on the importance of story
Not long ago Adam Sessler said that good stories were mostly reserved for movies and books, while games needed to focus on gameplay. Now, Adam has decided to moved away from the position and explains what’s made him change his tune. You can watch him do that in the latest edition of Sessler’s Soapbox on G4TV right now, or check it out below:
The games we're pulling together in this feature won't appear on any of those best-of lists and get confused looks when you mention them in conversation. Just because time has forgotten these titles, though, doesn't mean you should forget them, too.
Harmonix and MTV Games have teamed up with VH1 (also owned by Viacom, for the record) to create a special look at how The Beatles Rock Band was created, including footage of surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at Abbey Road Studios being presented with work in progress by the Harmonix creative team.
According to our friends at 
MLB and LucasFilm content is now available on PlayStation Network’s video delivery service, if you care. This means that a variety of downloadable entertainment and sports content will now be available from the PlayStation Store. The first piece of content from LucasFilms will be the StarWars: The Clone Wars animated series that airs on Cartoon Network.
THQ has released SpongeBob’s Truth or Square to all major retailers nationwide for the Wii, Nintendo DS, the Xbox 360, and PSP. In this off-the-wall action adventure game, players will take poart in some of the most humorous events from the last 10 years. The game also introduces a new and unique morphing capability that turns SpongeBob into unlikely objects like a spatula or sledgehammer. The game is slightly tied to a special episode of the show that celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the show.