Gran Turismo 5 is coming, and don't you forget it.  Well, the latest trailer from the game, playfully titled 'Nights', is packed into the God of War 3 retail Blu-ray disc, and is here to remind you that...well, remind you that the game is still coming, and it's still the Real Driving Simulator.  Borrowing a page from fellow driving sensation Ridge Racer, 'Nights' overlays an outrageously good techno track to the whole thing.  The result is pure GT-inspired awesome, which either makes the near-indefinite wait that much harder, or that much easier.

Gran Turismo 5 is set to burn rubber sometime this year, so better keep those PlayStation 3 console warmed up and ready!

There was a time when many felt any further adventures into the Tron universe would be an impossible thing, as the original film, while highly experimental, was a commercial failure when it opened in 1982. But flash-forward some 25 years, and in this day of hobbits, transforming robots, and the Na'vi, perhaps there's room for a little more stylized light cycle action.  In this day and age of digital acceptance, even impossible dreams seem to come true, because Tron Legacy is happening.  Flynn Lives!

Keep reading for more, including the all-new trailer from the film!

The first real, story-packed trailer for the film is here, and from the first moment you see Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) dusting off the original Tron arcade cabinet to the fuzzed-techno beat in the closer, its pretty apparent that Disney might have something special here. Its easy to imagine how a younger generation, completely unfamiliar with these images and storyline will react to the mother of all cult-classic science-fiction impossibilities. As Flynn/Clu says in the trailer, "you have no idea."

With Academy Award-winning Jeff Bridges (feels good to write that) returning as the indomitable young/old Flynn/Clu, Olivia Wilde, and soundtrack by Daft Punk, there's no doubt that this will be this year's most anticipated movie for some of you reading this, if not ever. I want to stay completely neutral and not get my hopes up, but I'll be damned if they aren't doing everything right with this one.

Tron Legacy interfaces with your mind on December 17th.  Check out the official trailer for yourselves right HERE!

With over 25 millions users in the PC market alone, Valve's popular digital-download Steam service is about to get a lot more popular. The developer has officially announced full support is on the way for Mac users, promising that both platforms "will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies" and more. Valve President Gabe Newell is touting the expansion, stating "the Mac is a great platform for entertainment services."

Keep reading for more about Valve's upcoming bite into Apple's Mac universe!

Bringing the Steam service to the Mac platform will allow Apple fans to enjoy native versions of the developer's most popular titles, including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, as well as the Half-Life series. The company has also announced that the service would become available to Mac users sometime in April, but did not announce an exact date.

Perhaps most interesting will be the implementation of Steam Play, which puts dual versions of compatible releases into the Steam Cloud and allow gamers "playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac," and hopes that future projects will take advantage of such cross-platform play.

The just-announced Portal 2 will be the first simultaneous release for both Windows and Mac versions of Steam, and is set to make its digital download debut later this year. All in all, this is great news not just for the millions of Mac users looking to get in the game, but also PC users, who will soon be welcoming a new flood of potential online friends and foes alike.

Check out the full press blurb below for more detailed information on Valve's upcoming venture into the world of Mac gaming:

March 8, 2010 - Valve announced today it will bring Steam, Valve's gaming service, and Source, Valve's gaming engine, to the Mac.  Steam and Valve's library of games including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half- Life series will be available in April.

"As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality Internet clients," said Gabe Newell, President of Valve. "The Mac is a great platform for entertainment services."

"Our Steam partners, who are delivering over a thousand games to 25 million Steam clients, are very excited about adding support for the Mac," said Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development at Valve. "Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play."

"We looked at a variety of methods to get our games onto the Mac and in the end decided to go with native versions rather than emulation," said John Cook, Director of Steam Development. "The inclusion of WebKit into Steam, and of OpenGL into Source gives us a lot of flexibility in how we move these technologies forward. We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360.

Updates for the Mac will be available simultaneously with the Windows updates. Furthermore, Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. We fully support a heterogeneous mix of servers and clients. The first Mac Steam client will be the new generation currently in beta testing on Windows."

Portal 2 will be Valve's first simultaneous release for Mac and Windows. "Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step," said Josh Weier, Portal 2 Project Lead. "We're always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac."

The newest trailer for Iron Man 2 is among us, and as one of the summer's most highly-anticipated movies, its as action-packed with as much stuff as you can get away with in mere minutes.  So what's it have?  More.  And lots of it.  More Iron Man, more War Machine, more Whiplash, and a lot more Black Widow doing her thing.  Hell, it's even got more laughs and drama, and I'm pretty sure its expecting to bring in even more cash than the original, too.

We'll see if the sequel lives up to it when Iron Man 2 explodes into theaters May 7th!

Zak Snyder, the guy who brought us films like 300 and Watchmen, is about to venture into a different kind of film….an animated one.  Well, at least a wholly animated one.  Based off some books I’ve never heard of, Legends of The Guardians looks like it might be a sleeper-hit film later this year.  The story looks to follow a family of owls who get caught up in an age-old war between good and evil, fought by armored owls.  The trailer for this film looks pretty amazing, and the uplifting song thrown in for good measure doesn’t hurt it either.

I’m sure everyone will give a hoot about Legend of the Guardians when it soars on September 24, 2010 in theaters.

Four of the main voice cast members from Sony's live-action/animated Smurfs movie have been revealed, and they don't sound as bad as I'd feared. Jonathan Winters, George Lopez, Katy Perry and Alan Cumming will voice Papa Smurf, Grouchy Smurf, Smurfette, and Gusty Smurf, respectfully.  Fans of the 80’s Smurfs series will appreciate Winters coming back to the smufs, as he voiced multiple characters on the long-running Hanna-Barbera series. 

Neil Patrick Harris has already signed on as the project's live-action character.  Whether he’ll play Johan or just some made up character remains to be seen.  I’m just hoping this film doesn’t turn out to be a total disaster, and has at least some of the magic of the series in it somewhere.  Thanks to Variety!

When Apple made their first public showing of the iPad device back in January, Steve Jobs easily helped lead a trumpet of media speculation and interest right where he wanted, effectively giving his latest creation untold levels of free advertising and gaining the public interest.  He demonstrated what many felt was the next evolution of the popular iPhone/iPod Touch experience, and with its larger display and expanded abilities, was set to challenge how people interact with computers.

But when it came to availability, Jobs spoke in vaguer terms, saying it would be released "60 days" after its unveiling, to be followed by the release of the 3G-enabled version 30 days after that.  Since then, rumors of delays have caused some to wonder if they would made that ambitious timetable, but now it seems we can put those rumors to bed, as the company has officially bookmarked the first week of April for the official launch. April 3rd, to be exact.

The iPad is coming, and keep reading for all the juicy details that help make this Apple so delicious!

Starting March 12th, those looking to pick up Apple's latest gadget can pre-order one from Apple's online store, or by visiting an Apple retail store directly. Apple's official press blurb touts the iPad's ability to immediately sych with and access thousands of existing music, video, and interactive media that's already available through iTunes, as well as full backwards-compatability with over 150,000 Apps, including those already purchased by current iPhone and iPod Touch users.

Apple is touting the device's e-book reading features, and will launch with the free iBook App, which will give iPad users access to thousands of available books to buy and read from publishers that include Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster.  Videogame fans can expect updated versions of hit iPhone OS games, including Gameloft's N.O.V.A. and EA's Need for Speed: Shift, which will include new features that take advantage of the larger display.

The pricing of the standard WiFi model will be staggered according to capacity, starting at $499 for 16 GB, $599 for 32 GB, $699 for 64 GB models. The press blurb goes on to say that the Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16 GB, $729 for 32 GB and $829 for 64 GB models. The 3G-enabled models share the ability to buy 3G wireless access from partner AT&T, with pricing set at $14.99 for 250 MB and $29.99 for unlimited access.

Is the Apple iPad the future of portable computing? Or just the future of computing, period? Certainly, their previous entries into the world of music, video, and gaming have shaken the technology trees on more than one occassion. Only time will tell if the public is willing to take another bite with this one.

Toy Story 3 is coming, and Disney/Pixar is helping build the excitement with quite possibly the most colorful poster I've ever seen. Stuffed with just about every famous (and some new) Toy Story face ever and bursting with happiness, this is the kind of poster that's designed to take away sadness and pain, and there's no way I can look at that adorable pea-pocket trio and not think of brighter days.

Brighter days like June 18th, as in when Toy Story 3 hits theaters. That's all I have, because I'm still dazed by all the colors...drool...

With Final Fantasy XIII gearing up for its North American release next week, the expected curiosity of whether the Xbox 360 version is on par with the PlayStation 3 version has reached fever pitch. The match-up has been among - if not the - dividing line between the most hardcore (i.e. hardheaded) fanboy purists searching for whatever scrap of confirmation-bias they could find, hoping to prove, once-and for all, of their console-of-choice's superiority.

The Xbox 360 has typically come out ahead in this regard, most likely due to the console being the lead development platform on most multi-console games, with PlayStation 3 versions not performing as well. But Final Fantasy XIII is that rarest of things; a blockbuster multi-console release that began life as a PlayStation 3 exclusive. Not only that, but one that many felt would prove the console's tech and choice of Blu-ray format superior to that of the Xbox 360. So you can only imagine the collected nerd-rage that followed Square-Enix's announcement the game would also be headed to Microsoft's machine, and thus began the long and often banal war of screenshot analysis and screenshot comparisons.

And it seems we have a winner, according to one of the internet's most notorious and most thorough analystic firms.  Check out who 'won' the battle for compression champ after the jump!

The Digital Foundry (by way of Eurogamer) goes into what can only be described as near-orgasmic detail about what they perceive are vital differences between the two, at least in their visual differences and performance. They put the Xbox 360's multi-disc version through the ringers, splicing open every byte of calculable data, and counting every line of resolution they could find.

Their verdict? The Xbox 360 version is "adequate but a touch disappointing", although they do cede it regularly bests the PlayStation 3 version with superior frame-rates throughout. They put the blame on shoddy encoding techniques, the result of what they feel are significant down-scaling of the original PlayStation 3's higher-quality video textures and definition.

What's troubling, however, in that three pages of analysis and several video comparisons between the two versions, no mention is made anywhere of how these supposed infractions impact actual gameplay, other than to say that it's "fundamentally the same." Their recommendation of the PlayStation 3 version as "superior" seems to be based solely on the slight resolution and color saturation afforded by uncompressed visuals. This wouldn't be such a problem if, all other things being equal, the recommendation was meant to offer the cleanest and most appropriate experience for multi-console fans.

The thinking here is that the linear structure and simplistic design of the game lends itself to being a multi-platform release, and one that easily makes the transition from one Blu-ray disc to several DVDs. But their report is riddled with harsh language, even claiming the Xbox 360 version was "roughly manhandled and bludgeoned" from its original PlayStation 3 origins, even opening a comparison video with the line "ugliness ensues." Saying "the encoding solution Square has employed collapses horribly" is apparently their major basis for recommending owners of both consoles chooses the Sony version.

But they've also been kind enough to include several video examples, with side-by-side comparisons of both versions demonstrating various in-game and CG movie sequences. Try as I might, these eyes of mine failed to find any major discrepancy between the two, at least in any substantial way that normal human beings would object to. They looked indistinguishable, and while it may not be completely fair to judge either version's visual merits based on encoded video, it certainly appears that anyone looking to pick up Final Fantasy XIII, on either console, is going to experience pretty much the same exact thing.

I'm glad that places like The Digital Foundry exist, and I'm equally glad they do whatever it is they do. I just hope that I never, ever think about games the way they do.  Check out their full report, including those interesting comparison videos, for yourselves right HERE!

While the majority of the online gaming community has been somewhat indifferent to Apple's iPad (with some higher-ups outright dismissive), others have been taking notes and watching Steve Jobs latest digital salvo with interest.With the promise to help combine several digital concepts into one tablet-style computing device, Apple's latest"i" branded product has many industry analysts rethinking the future of a unified platform. Sony among them.

New Sony portable machines?  Potential iPad Killer?  All this and more, after the jump!

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the company is already hard at work on a new portable device, one that would blend features of netbook computers, e-readers, and the PlayStation Portable (PSP) gaming console. The report also mentions a new smart phone from Swedish cellphone partner Ericsson, one that is "capable of downloading and playing PlayStation games," citing people familiar with the project.

The yet-unnamed multi-functional device would compete with Apple's iPad, infers the report, and is intended for release sometime this year.  That Sony would look to parallel the success of Apple in the portable market is nothing new, as several attempts to introduce their own line of MP3 players (most significantly, a rebranded Walkman) have had little effect on the iPod's massive marketshare.

A major factor in Apple's success has been uniformity among their project line, with the one constant being the use of the iTunes service to deliver content to various iPod, iPhone, and (soon) iPad family of devices. One key to that may be the launch of Qriocity (rymes with curiosity), a digital download service that would let users download music, movies, television shows, and even videogames across a variety of friendly platforms.  No word yet if the new device(s) will make use of this network for digitital distribution, or even Sony's current PlayStation Network (PSN) service.

While they may put on their happy face in public, there's little doubt that Apple's wildly successful entry into the videogame industry with the iPhone OS (which includes both iPhone and iPod Touch platforms) has come at the expense of traditional market leaders, chief among them industry leaders Nintendo and Sony. While Nintendo has quietly acknowledged Apple's arrival, Sony has taken on the more traditional role of rival by positioning their latest PSP revision, the PSPgo, against a surging iPhone, with a new emphasis on download-only software and the introduction of PSP-Minis (mini-games designed for PSP play).

Unfortunately, the PSPgo was released last year to both critical and commercial disdain, and has been looked on a failure. Whether Sony's rumored platforms will break from the current PSP model of a games-only platform and embrace a multi-format future.  An internet-ready, games-playing computer 'device' would certainly be an intriguing addition to the market, particularly if it retains some compatibility with the PlayStation brand.  What that could be, like everything else about such a gadget, remains unknown at this time.

We don't ordinarily post each and every nugget of digital goodness that comes our way from every feature, but there's just something about the marketing material from the upcoming A Nightmare on Elm Street remake that seems to click, at least for the fans.  Last week's well-received trailer certainly didn't hurt, and may have helped coin a new "Freddy Favorite" quip to go along with all the darkness.  The newest (and perhaps most nenacing) poster only helps make me think that they may have accomplished what many thought impossible - a Freddy Krueger without Robert Englund.

A Nightmare on Elm Street looks to stand on its own merits come April 30th.

The first true gameplay footage from Microsoft/Bungie's upcoming Halo Reach multiplayer has touched down across the internet, and after viewing it several times for myself, it certainly does look...a lot like Halo.  In multiplayer mode.  Not a bad place to be, actually, especially when you're the next iteration of one of the most popular first-person shooters ever.  But just being 'one of' might not be enough for what used to be the Xbox 360's indomitable franchise, which has ceded much of the internet and excitement to Activision's own Call of Duty franchise over the years.  The first multiplayer bits certainly looked packed with Spartan sparring and vehicular combat, and we'll see how well things mash up when the multiplayer demo touches down May 3rd.

Halo Reach is set to storm the Xbox 360 on September 26th.  Have you reserved your copy yet?

Looks like yet another remake is heading for the big screen. Warner Bros. and Atlas Entertainment are working on a Gilligan's Island movie based off the hit 60’s series. Charles Roven and Richard Suckle will produce, with Brad Copeland (Wild Hogs, Monster Squad, and the upcoming Yogi Bear movie) writing the screenplay. Original show producer Sherwood Schwartz will exec produce along with his son Lloyd Schwartz.

The film will feature a modern day take on the series, with Roven hoping to start production as early as 2011.  No casting's been set, although Sherwood Schwartz stated last year that he wants Michael Cera playing the lead role.  I’m not sure how well a Gilligan’s Island film will work in today’s time, but here’s hoping they can do the tv series justice.  Thanks to Variety!

Better get ready for the information flood concerning Nintendo's upcoming Metroid: Other M, as the developer is looking to position their long-running franchise as one for the 'hardcore' elite to rally behind.  While we've seen new screenshots and even secured a summer release date, most have been slobbering themselves silly over any scrap of video footage, perhaps wanting to see the newly-voiced Samus Aran speak her mind.  We've heard snippets from the bounty hunter in past Super Smash Bros. games, but never full-on spoken dialog.  The latest teaser trailer helps answer some of those concerns, although with its fully-CG rendered cinematics and lack of gameplay, more closely resembles a Final Fantasy game than any previous Metroid.

We're still excited, and will look for Metroid: Other M to ball-blast its way onto retail shelves June 27th!

Sony dodged a huge bullet with the panic caused on February 28th, as the now-infamous error 8001050F helped shut down or significantly limit original PlayStation 3"phat" consoles around the world.

But it appears that the danger has passed, thanks to the hefty consoles correcting themselves when March 1st came along on the affected system's clock.  PS3 gamers are back on track and Sony is breathing a sigh of relief...but should they really?  Pretty much everyone agrees that Sony didn't handle this well, as most saw their laid-back reaction to this virtual "crisis" a bit underwhelming.  So what caused all this mess, anyway?

Keep reading for this and more!

It turns out there was a precedent for the issue, one that dates back to 2008.  The PlayStation 3 "phat" consoles share a faulty ARM Syscon CPU chip with Microsoft's Zune hardware, and was the primary cause of that product's infamous 'crash' years back.  The error was caused when the PS3's internal clock failed to take into account leap years, which meant the console was unable to sync time-stamped Trophies, or verify activation certificates.  This left many without the ability to play newer titles, access the PSN, or in many cases, use their consoles at all.

Compounding things was Sony's assertion that the problem was related to the PlayStation Network itself, although their 'wait and see' approach to fixing the problem suggests they knew otherwise.  As no firmware updates - both before and afterward - were issued on the firmware-friendly console, it does appear that Sony simply decided to let the issue run its course, knowing full well the situation was far from dire.  This is all speculation, however, as the problem itself seems entirely fixed, and once-afflicted PS3 consoles are now back up and running.  We may never know the whole story, but let's just hope such hiccups can be avoided in the future.

Thanks to Digital Foundry for the info!