(Gamespot) – Reports have been circulating since the beginning of June that on-demand TV show streaming service Hulu would be the latest multimedia addition to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Today, Hulu made it official. Along with formally unveiling its $10 premium service, the company confirmed that Hulu would be available through Sony’s and Microsoft’s console.

Hulu Plus is expected to debut on gaming consoles with the PlayStation 3. Though officially bearing a “coming soon” release window, a promotional video for Hulu Plus indicates that the service will be available on Sony’s console in July. For Sony’s part, the publisher would only verify the “coming soon” window. Xbox 360 gamers are expected to gain access to Hulu in early 2011. iPhone and iPad users who subscribe to Hulu Plus gain access to the service today.

Hulu did not indicate whether the free version of its on-demand content would be offered to console owners, and the company had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

As previously indicated, Hulu Plus is not a replacement for the TV show streaming content already available through Web browsers. Subscribers will gain access to full seasons of TV shows currently available through the service, instead of just the five most current episodes. Hulu Plus will also let subscribers access a range of TV shows, including The X-Files, Arrested Development, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Saturday Night Live.

Hulu is currently offering subscription plans to its premium service in limited quantities, and interested parties can apply for an invitation through the company’s Web site.

Demos, Betas and Game Testing; OH MY!

Before games come out, gamers like to test out a game so they can know if they are going to make their $60 purchase a worthy or not worthy choice. Back before this generation of gaming, we used to go to game stores to pick up demo discs but now we down load betas or demos directly to our consoles hard-drive.

DICE earlier this month announced a public PC beta for Battlefield: Bad Company 2, but what about the console gamers? Unconfirmed, Game.Co.UK has created a rumor that there will be a demo coming out on February 4th for Xbox Live and Playstation Network. While the game’s original release date was December 31st 2009, the release month is March 2010.

Can this Cinematic Game become Greater than 'Indigo Prophecy'?

Back in 2005, one of the most cinematic games of all-time was released to the Playstation 2, Xbox and PC. This game was Indigo Prophecy, but now the question lairs in possibly legacy:  can this cinematic game attain the mass audience that Indigo Prophecy was unable to achieve on a single platform?

Aimed for an European audience, Heavy Rain will continue the story of the Origami Killer but instead of continue previous character’s stories, Quantic Dream has brought the Origami Killer to new victims. Just announced today via VG247.com, the demo will be released February 11st exclusively to the Playstation Network. While the game is released just two weeks later, this will be perfect timing to give gamers a proper teaser to the title. The game has already recieved a 9/10 review, and a sequel is doubtful.

Quantic Dreams will be relaunching their website a few days before the title is released to the masses. With this being the second title in the ‘Origami Killer’ universe, I have my doubts this will be the last game that you’ll see this infamous and mysterious villian. Until Heavy Rain is released, you can always get your fingers ready by going through the original title.

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Polar Panic : Busy Gamer Rating 5

First Glance:
Cartoon-y, winter-y, arcade style puzzler. Kind of like trying to solve a puzzle while playing Pac Man.

The Short Story:
Polar Panic has you playing as a polar bear, trying to navigate through a world filled with ice block puzzles and the goons of an evil corporation on a quest to save your bear-napped family. Choose from Story Mode, Puzzle Mode, or Survivor Mode (which can be single or multi player)- whichever way you go, its going to involve sliding and smashing blocks of ice, smashing blocks of snow, and with the exception of puzzles mode, smashing goons. FYI- Those trappers might look kinda like Santa, but they’re only jolly after they bash your skull in.

The Score:
The phrase “it is what it is??? comes to mind… Polar Panic is an arcade-style game, so it should be judged as such. But its not an arcade game so phenomenal that it would tempt hardcore gamers to get caught up in it. It fails to transcend its’ genre. That said, its not an absolutely awful game. I won’t pretend that I didn’t start to enjoy watching the swell of blood as I smashed an enemy with a block of ice.. but I didn’t start to enjoy the game until about an hour in. Up until then, the negative aspects of the game were more apparent to me. I give Polar Panic a Busy Gamer score of 5, with the caveat that you probably won’t want to play it for more than an hour a day anyway.

Body of Review:
I get excited about a game when I hear someone say “I usually don’t play (game genre here), but I really loved (game name here). Now I admit, I am not a huge fan of arcade games aside from those that trigger my nostalgia, and I tend to view puzzles more as an obstacle I have to get across to get to the next part of my game than the fun of the game. But I went at Polar Panic with an open mind, hoping I would find myself surprised at how addictive it was. It fell a bit short. When I brought in a second player (one who is more fond of puzzles than I) to help me test the multi player, his most memorable quote was actually, “Well, looks like that’s about it. Can we stop playing now????

Click to see more articles by Rika Stead

So what was so unremarkable about the game? The controls largely consist of directionals and XXX..X..X…XXXXXXXXX… and the game itself is overly repetitive. The level of difficulty also seems arbitrary- some levels are so easy you think you’re playing a game for toddlers, but they may be preceded by a level that is so frustrating it really is “mind-numbing???, to quote the game’s own copy. The story is extremely childlike but not in an endearing way, and is more of an encumbrance to the game than anything. In puzzle mode, every puzzle you solve unlocks- surprise- another puzzle, which isn’t problematic in and of itself, but they could have thrown in some different sorts of rewards or different ways to unlock the rest of the puzzles to make it a bit more interesting. In story mode, the save system is such that one small mistake can set you back to repeat quite a bit of game play, and if you quit before you beat every level in the chapter, you have to start back at the chapter’s beginning. Which wouldn’t be so bad if the game weren’t already repetitive. Also, it seems as if the darts fired by the hunters behave a bit inconsistently, sometimes killing you when you think they are too far out and sometimes letting you escape by a very narrow margin.

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Peggle Nights available Nov 19 on PSN!

Blockbuster Franchise Delivers Compelling Gameplay and Non-Stop Multiplayer Action

(Press Release) – PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of broadly appealing video games, today announced it is expanding its blockbuster Peggle™ franchise with Peggle and the Peggle™ Nights add-on for the PlayStation®Network as well as the Peggle Nights content pack for Xbox LIVE® Arcade (XBLA). A cult fan favorite among hardcore gamers and casual players alike, Peggle and the Peggle Nights add-on pack, published by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), can be purchased beginning November 19 from the PlayStation®Store for US $9.99 and US $4.99, respectively. The Peggle Nights content pack for XBLA will be available for download November 18 for 400 Microsoft points (US $5.00).

Since its introduction in February 2007, the Peggle series, inspired by the classic gameplay of pinball and pachinko, has been downloaded more than 60 million times for PC/Web and has garnered more than a dozen awards from leading industry critics. After launching on XBLA earlier this year, Peggle again received top accolades, becoming an instant best-seller with the addition of its wildly popular, multiplayer Peg Party mode.

“Peggle has become a cult gaming phenomenon, blowing away our original expectations for the game,??? stated Ed Allard, vice president of strategic development at PopCap. “With these latest game installments, we’re delivering even more features that appeal to diehard enthusiasts with hours of great gameplay, competitive multiplayer experiences and community elements that the PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE communities should really enjoy.???

Peggle and Peggle Nights Add-On Pack for PlayStation Network
The PlayStation Network edition of Peggle brings all the compelling gameplay action of the original PC version, including 55 levels of ball-bouncing madness, 10 unlockable Peggle Masters, Quick Play mode, Duel mode, and 75 Challenge mode levels. For non-stop competitive action, players can choose from two multiplayer options: two-player Duel mode, or Peg Party mode, where up to four players can compete against one another simultaneously.

Peggle Nights, the award-winning follow up to Peggle, transports players into the ‘dream worlds’ of each of the Peggle Masters. With five beautifully rendered and themed levels for each character’s secret dreams and aspirations, Peggle Nights also introduces Marina, an eleventh Peggle Master. The Peggle Nights add-on* for PlayStation Network allows players to enjoy all the levels and challenges in the original PC version of the game and more: 60 levels of Peggle Nights content in the exclusive multiplayer modes; Peggle Nights Adventure mode, including the Nights story; 60 Peggle Nights Challenges; the trophy room; adventure statistics; and three new PlayStation Network trophies.

Additionally, the PlayStation Network versions of Peggle and Peggle Nights offer Remote Play capability and XMB™ support, allowing gamers to stream their own music during gameplay as well as view and play Peggle and Peggle Nights on the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) go system. Players can also take advantage of YouTube integration to upload and share replay videos of their best and wildest shots and scores.

Peggle Nights Content Pack for Xbox LIVE
Peggle Nights is also being offered as premium downloadable content for Peggle on XBLA*, the phenomenally popular game hit launched on Xbox LIVE Arcade last spring. Peggle Nights features all the great gameplay of the original PC version and more, including new Peggle Master, Marina, as well as the ability to battle friends and foes, and compare Peggle prowess in the four-player Peg Party and two-player Duel modes. The game also features 60 Peggle Nights levels for multiplayer over Xbox LIVE and all single player/local modes; the Peggle Nights Adventure mode, including the Nights story; 60 Peggle Nights Challenges; the trophy room; adventure statistics; and three new Xbox achievements.

The Peggle family of games is available across numerous platforms, including PC, Mac, Web, video iPod, iPod® Touch, iPhone™, 650 models of mobile feature phones and smartphones, Nintendo DS, the PlayStation Network, and Xbox LIVE Arcade.

PS3 game pubs now pay extra DL fees

(MTV Multiplayer) – Until October 1 2008, video game publishers who wanted to offer downloadable content on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 didn’t have to worry about getting a bill from Microsoft and Sony.

The million-plus downloads that a popular demo or map pack might receive could delight gamers, but rack up some expensive bandwidth costs. No problem: the publishers, who already pay a licensing fee to get their games on the two big platforms, could count on the platform holders — Microsoft and Sony — to pay the cost of piping that digital content to gamers.

That situation changed with the PS3 on October 1 of last year, when Sony implemented a 16 cents per Gigabyte fee to publishers for paid and free downloadable content, according to publishing sources familiar with Sony’s policy.

Game publishers are not happy about it.

MTV Multiplayer has verified that a letter sent to publishers last fall detailed the policy. It applies a 16-cent charge to every Gigabyte of content downloaded from the PS3’s PSN online store. For free content, like demos, those charges apply only during the first 60 days of the content’s release. For paid content, like map packs, the charges rack up in perpetuity, or until that content is removed from the PlayStation 3’s online store.

This “PlayStation Network Bandwidth??? fee has been unpopular with game companies, according to at least three publishing and development sources who spoke to MTV Multiplayer about the policy on the condition of anonymity so as not to get their companies on Sony’s bad side.

“It definitely makes us think about how we view the distribution of content related to our games when it is free for us to do it on the web, on Xbox Live, or any other way — including broadcast — than on Sony’s platform,??? one publishing source said. “It’s a new thing we have to budget. It’s not cool. It sucks.???
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