Yep, you read that right: Joust is going to be a movie. It’s unknown if egg eating and pterodactyl fighting will be involved as yet, but producers Christine Peters and Michael Cerenzie are on board. Read on for the movie that should be “Gladiator meets Mad Max.”

Newly formed Hollywood production company, CP Productions, is bringing a number of new and classic games to the big screen and comic books. In addition, the company will package its sci-fi, fantasy and horror movies with video games. Hollywood Producers Christine Peters (Area 51, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) and Michael Cerenzie (Blackout, Black Water Transit) created CP Productions to focus on the under-25 filmgoer. The first of many projects coming from the new production studio is a new imagining of Midway Games’ classic Joust arcade game.

“Joust is an arcade game that’s as old as Pac-Man and has global awareness,” said Cerenzie. “We took one element of the game and the brand itself and built a whole new world around it for the film.”

Cerenzie calls the new script by Marc Gottlieb “Gladiator meets Mad Max.” The film is set 25 years in the future and includes a Las Vegas suspended in mid-air.

“We’ve updated the game into a commercial, tent pole movie,” said Cerenzie. “Marc has done an amazing job in creating a tantalizing and filmic world based on the original game.”

“This film is the type of action-packed story that appeals to all four quadrants of the movie-going public and we are excited to be in the Midway Games business once again,” said Peters.

(Read Entire Story Here)

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Tommy Tallarico, famous video games composer and co-creator of the Video Games Live concert joined us in the studio for some video gaming fun. Check out this sample clip! You can check out the entire episode (133) of COIN-OP TV LIVE with Tommy Tallarico and other video gaming news by following this link: http://www.thestream.tv/watch.php?v=254

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Activision made its presence at the Games Convention known Wednesday with a trio of announcements – Call of Duty 4’s global release date, a preview of the international song list for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and a number of new details on its James Bond franchise.Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which takes the franchise out of its traditional World War II setting and into a modern arena of combat, will be deployed to retailers worldwide on Monday, November 5. The game has already picked up numerous awards including Best Action Game from the Game Critics Awards.

The publisher also unveiled the international track list for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The latest title in the series will include a diverse range of master tracks from the following original artists: Minus Celsius (by Backyard Babies), Hier Kommt Alex (by Die Toten Hosen), In the Belly of a Shark (by Gallows), I’m in the Band (by The Hellacopters), Avalancha (by Heroes Del Silencio), Take This Life (by In Flames), Ruby (by Kaiser Chiefs), Closer (by Lacuna Coil), Generation Rock (by Revolverheld), Mauvais Garcon (by NAAST) and Radio Song (by Superbus).

Activision also confirmed that its newest blockbuster franchise, James Bond, featuring Britain’s renowned top secret agent 007, is currently in development by studios Treyarch, Beenox and Vicarious Visions for next-gen consoles, Windows PC and hand-held platforms.

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X-Arcade™ XXL Control Panel Features

The Trackball located in the center of your Tankstick™ allows you relive a museum of arcade classics on your PC or Mac™, but since it’s recognized as a standard mouse–you can also enhance any of your favorite games that support a mouse, with no drivers or software required.

Enjoy Golden Tee Golf™, Tiger Woods PGA Tour™, Marble Madness™, Centipede™, Simpson’s Bowling™ and more with an indestructible arcade trackball ripped from a standup arcade machine! It’s like having your own personal time machine with guaranteed fun for the entire family!

Check out our growing list of customer-suggested trackball optimized games for PC/Mac™ here.

X-Arcade™ XXL Control Panel Indestructible Benefits

• Indestructible Arcade Authenticity With Lifetime Warranty
• 40 LBS Of Authentic Arcade Parts Ripped From A Real Arcade Machine
• Nifty PS/2 and USB Support
• Trackball Functions As A Standard 3 Button Mouse
• 4 Left/Right Pinball Flipper Buttons
• Compare To Building Yourself, Save Hundreds
• Performance And Quality Of Competing Control Panels Priced At $300-400
• Fully Programmable For Support On Gametap™ Service
• Play Thousands Of Your Favorite Arcade Games Of All Time
• Add-On Adapters Work On Any Game System (no console support for Trackball)
• MDF Extendor On Rear Of Panel Provides Easy Method For Installation Into Cabinet

Spec: 16.5”x37” Back height is 6.5”, front height is 4.5”

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Anime Expo 2007 in Long Beach with Cyndee San Luis hosting. Interviews with cosplayers and the game makers behind Naruto (PSP), Gundam and Final Fantasy with a special appearance by Man-Faye and more surprises!

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In 1977 the Atari 2600 launched and along with it much of what we know today as the videogame industry. How did we get where we are today? We have surveyed our history and chosen one moment from each year that defines who and what we are today.

1977: This is your hardware, now and forever

The wildly popular Atari 2600 gave us today’s modern console: a general purpose CPU, dedicated graphics and sound hardware, a standard audio/video output, generic controller I/O ports, an interface for swappable media, all powered by a wall outlet. For comparison, the battery-powered Magnavox Odyssey had neither sound nor color graphics and the Fairchild Channel F had an internal speaker and hardwired controllers.

Thirty years ago Atari cultivated the image of a console sitting prominently in front of a television, surrounded by stacks of games and spare controllers and happy people holding controllers. Nintendo uses nearly identical images with fewer wires to sell its Wii.

1978: Japan short on coins, Space Invaders to blame

Shortly after Atari put its first Pong machine into Andy Capp’s Tavern, the owner called to report the machine was broken. When Al Alcorn, creator of the Pong machine, arrived to examine and remove the machine he discovered the problem: overflowing coin container.

While Pong went on to be quite popular, its original money problems faintly foreshadowed the far more extensive difficulties that Tomohiro Nishikado’s Space Invaders caused in 1978. Players put coins into Taito’s machines so rapidly that Japan quadrupled production of yen coins to deal with the shortage. More importantly for the industry as a whole, its popularity across the world brought video games out of smoky bars and arcades and into more familiar establishments like department stores and restaurants.

(link to entire story on Next Generation)

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Highlights from Taryn Southern’s (Hott4Hill) appearance on COIN-OP TV LIVE. Check out the full episode at http://www.thestream.tv/watch.php?v=251

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Take-Two has announced that Grand Theft Auto IV is being delayed until Spring of 2008 due to “additional development time required to complete the title.” Read on for further explanations that came with today’s announcement as well as links to stories related to this news. “With Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar is setting a new standard for next generation video games,” stated Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two. “Certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected, especially given the commitment for a simultaneous release on two very different platforms. We all recognize that perfecting the game is vital and I can assure everyone it will be worth the wait. We owe it to the game’s millions of fans, to our dedicated development team, and to our shareholders to make sure that Grand Theft Auto IV is a groundbreaking gaming experience that takes maximum advantage of next generation technology.”

“The new consoles are allowing us to create the Grand Theft Auto game we always dreamed about,” added Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games. “Every aspect of the game and its design has been completely transformed. The game is huge and is pushing the hardware platforms to their absolute limits. The top engineers from Sony and Microsoft are working closely with the team in Edinburgh right now, helping us to fully leverage the power of both platforms. As always, our goal is to surpass even the wildest expectations of the game’s fans, and to create the ultimate high definition video game experience.”

(Original Source)

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Activision boosted its guidance Thursday after reporting record Q1 results, with Guitar Hero II, Spider-Man 3 and Shrek the Third selling big. Hardware forecasts within.

Activision said it shipped over 8 million units of new game releases worldwide during the quarter. CEO Robert Kotick said in a statement, “Activision was the #1 third-party U.S. publisher on the console and handheld platforms.”

Net revenues were up 163 percent to $495.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, compared to $188.1 million for the same period a year ago.

Net income was $27.8 million, up from $18.3 million a year prior.

Aside from the insanely popular Guitar Hero II, licensed games Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third and Transformers: The Game drove the record quarter.

Following the results, Activision increased its fiscal year guidance to $1.87 billion in net revenues and earnings per share of 51 cents. Prior guidance was $1.8 billion in net revenue and earnings per share of 45 cents.

Activision’ Q2 guidance is $250 million in net revenues and a net loss of 4 cents per share.

Activision said in a conference call that this fiscal year will be the “largest and most profitable year in Activision history.”

Q2 will almost certainly yield big sales of Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, which launched in late July.

Kotick said that Guitar Hero II Encore: Rocks the 80s boasted “the highest first-day sell-through in Activision history.” He added that although Guitar Hero has seen multiple iterations, there is “still strong growth potential” for the franchise.

Activision also said it expects the following increases in hardware during the calendar year in North America: PS2 up 4-5 million units; PS3 up 3 million; Xbox 360 up 4-5 million; Wii up “5 million-plus”; and handhelds up 12-13 million.

Activision’s international publishing revenues grew 240 percent year over year.

(Original Source)

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