Source: ps3blog.net

Carmack has discussed the advantages of the format, saying their upcoming titles Doom 4 and RAGE will most certainly be released on multiple DVDs versus one blu-ray disc. According to Camrack, here’s what’s going on with the game RAGE:

“We would love to set the thing up where it filled one Blu-ray disc versus three DVDs, which is about the right mix, but the game just…we can’t cut it into a third like that,” said Carmack.

“We can cut it into two pieces. We’ve got two large wastelands on there. We just couldn’t make an arbitrary cut.”

So, in other words, RAGE will be shipped on 2 DVDs and 1 Blu-Ray. The same can’t be said for Doom 4, which will definitely ship on 3 DVDs versus 1 Blu-Ray. Also mentioned was that, no surprise here, it’s definitely a lot easier to work on the 360 version, and it involves more “sweat equity” to develop for the PS3, but they did mention that the PS3 has more theoretical raw performance than the 360, giving id Software a little more headroom for optimal performance tweaks.

From GamesIndustry.biz.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

The Music of Blizzard: Echoes of War will be released on November 22nd and is a 2-disc album and DVD package that contains orchestral arrangements of a slew of Blizzard songs and themes from nearly one of their biggest hits.

Included on the set is music from Warcraft, World of Warcraft (including the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King expansion), Diablo, Diablo II, Diablo III, Starcraft, Starcraft II and even the canceled StarCraft: Ghost!

Performing the music on the disc is The Eminence Symphony Orchestra, who is most well known for their renditions of popular video game and anime titles over the last five years.

The Echoes of War package will feature 15 unique arrangements from Blizzard Entertainment’s catalog and includes 90 minutes of music in all, with bonus tracks arranged by special guests including the critically-acclaimed composer Kow Otani (Shadow of the Colossus). It is available in both a normal (two-CD set) and a limited edition set.

The Legendary Edition will be available only on a limited, first-print basis. In addition to the music CD, it will also include an Echoes of War DVD, featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions – held at Sydney’s FOX Studios EQ: Trackdown Scoring Stage – as well as interviews with the composers and a comprehensive 32-page commemorative tome filled with additional photos, artwork, art cards and additional information.

For much more on the package, check out Kotaku’s in-depth article and interview with the producers.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

The popcorn / horror movie Anaconda 3: Offspring — featuring everyone’s favorite Knight Rider: David Hasselhoff — has just gotten a DVD release. To promote their release Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have launched a Snakes on a Babe website.

The website spoofs the similar campy Snakes on a Plane movie theme, with a webgame that you can play online. It’s really a simple game of matching up two of the same shapes, or rather snakes, to unveil a babe. I’m sure it’ll hold your attention for a while when you take a break from all that hard work you’re doing as you read this. Oh and don’t mess up or you’ll pay the consequences, really.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

A new trailer has been unleashed on the unsuspecting masses for Resident Evil: Degeneration, the upcoming new computer generated Resident Evil feature film that reunites both Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield!

As you can see from the trailer below, the movie looks very similar to Resident Evil 2, except it reportedly takes place (at least partially) in a zombie-infected airport. But it even has the token little girl, how much you want to bet that it’s Sherry Birkin?

What’s even greater about this CG film is that Paul Mercier and Alyson Court return to reprise their voice acting roles as Leon and Claire in the movie. Paul voiced Leon in both Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4, while Alyson voiced Claire in both Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica. This will definitely lend credibility to the movie and make it that much closer to the feel of the games.

Resident Evil: Degeneration is set for release in America later this year on blu-ray and DVD disc (too bad it won’t be released in theaters here like in Japan, I’d definitely go see it!).

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Along with the Prison Break – Season 3 DVD / Blu-Ray release comes an ad for Prison Break: The Video Game. Based on the TV show, the Brash Entertainment-developed game will be released in February 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Previously actor Robert Knepper, who plays T-Bag on the show, said: “I don’t think it’s quite done, but I heard that on the wind last year that they were trying to do it. You know the whole thing with an escape, they were working on a videogame where you plot your own escape from prison.” — Via Kotaku

Source: infendo.com

Those of you that grew excited by today’s homebrew Wii DVD breakthrough might have felt that this was too good to be true. True. Before you pop in Alf: Season 2 there’s a few bugs that you might want to take note of. One major issue is audio synching with the video. When viewing some DVDs I noticed the voice, and sound effects were slightly off balance. I did not run into this problem with every movie, but nevertheless the sound issue stands. I have noticed a few minor video jitters here and there, but not enough to put you out of the movie.

Thankfully these problems aren’t plaguing every DVD viewing, but like all free stuff there will be bugs. Hopefully we can see these resolved.

Source: infendo.com

Engadget reports:

A team of Wii coders have given the console what Nintendo could not: DVD playback. By installing a small, hidden channel on a system, this package blesses the console with a libdi file (DVD access library), and allows you to watch your favorite videos with the MPlayer application, an open source media player. The install file will run on modded and unmodded systems, and the software is also capable of playing media from SD cards.

Are ye not entertained!!??

Source: videogamesblogger.com

At San Diego Comic Con 2008, Capcom and Sony Pictures Entertainment revealed a new trailer for the “coming soon” all-CGI animated movie Resident Evil: Degeneration. It will be in Japanese theathers this fall and coming to DVD and Blu-ray in North America later in 2008.

The “Umbrella Incident” that took place in Raccoon City ended with a missile attack ordered by the government intended to wipe out the deadly zombie virus. Following this catastrophe, the Umbrella Corporation’s stock plummeted. This serious blow to the business giant resulted in its complete dissolution. Seven years later, at an airport somewhere in the United States, on an ordinary autumn afternoon, a zombie is unleashed. Now, in an airport beginning to fill with the undead, the horrific disaster is about to repeat itself… Claire Redfield, now a member of an NGO supporting victims of bioterrorism and medical disasters, happens to be in the airport while Leon S. Kennedy comes to the site on a mission to take care of the incident.

Fans will notice the movie uses music from the games, and that Paul Mercier and Alyson Court reprise their roles as Leon and Claire, respectively. Watch the new Resident Evil: Degeneration Comic-Con 08 trailer.

Via IGN

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Dead Space: Downfall is the name of an all-new animated film based on the upcoming survival horror game, Dead Space, from EA that’s coming Halloween 2008.

There was already a Dead Space Comic-released, and now this insanely awesome looking animated film will further compliment and expand on EA’s new universe. It will feature “crucial backstory” according to the trailer and claims to “redefine animated horror”.

Check out the trailer for Dead Space: Downfall and judge for yourself. The movie will hit DVD and blu-ray on October 28th.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Are you tired of mandatory hard drive installs on PlayStation 3 and wanna what the deal is? Well blame Blu-ray and DVD according to a new article on the issue from MTV’s Multiplayerblog.

Capcom took a public lashing in February when Devil May Cry 4 was released on PS3 with a mandatory 20-minute installation not necessary on the Xbox 360 version. Since then, Capcom VP of business development and strategic planning Christian Svennsson told said his company didn’t realize the issue would “blow up.” He says the company will take the response into account for future releases.

According to the article, publishers do not want to talk about why some PS3 games require instals, while others don’t. The PS3 version of Lost Planet requires an install, as does Lost: Via Domus and Hot Shots Golf 5: Out of Bounds from Sony. But Dark Sector and many other PS3 releases don’t.

Apparently the issue arises from differences in the reading techniques of DVD and Blu-ray. By nature, the outer and inner parts of a disc move at different speeds while a disc is spinning, regardless of format (CD, DVD, Blu-ray, HD-DVD, etc.). While DVD drives can read data at those differing speeds, Blu-ray reads at one speed. Combine that with the extremely large size of Blu-ray discs, and simply dumping existing DVD data onto a Blu-ray disc will inevitably result in longer load times. Installations are a way around this issue.

Because when a publisher asks you to install a game on the PS3, it’s because they’re moving some of the disc data to an area of your console that has much faster read access: the hard drive. You get vastly reduced loading times, but have to sit through an installation.

But there are other ways of doing things, as is evidenced by Dark Sector, Call of Duty 4, Burnout Paradise and others, which are all multi-platform titles without installs. Based on conversations with several developers, catering to Blu-ray is hardly impossible, but requires work. Some developers copy their game’s data on the disc multiple times, giving the drive more areas to seek the same exact data from. Others spent time optimizing streaming techniques.

Bethesda Softworks executive producer Todd Howard recently publicly confirmed the duplicated data technique as a strategy on his company’s Fallout 3. “Small things like this can make a huge difference over the course of a game,” he told PlayStation: The Official Magazine.

Some games, like Unreal Tournament III, make the process optional. Epic Games recommends doing it, but if you want to save space, they won’t stop you. In my weeks playing “UT3,” the reduced loading was worth the trouble. The seconds saved between firefights adds up over hundreds of matches.