197w ago - There has been a lot of talk about video games making their silver screen appearances, however, the latest videogame-based movie Halo has officially been put 'on hold' according to Microsoft.

To those who may be looking forward to the movie, 'on hold' would definitely be better than 'canned' right? The Halo movie has long been talked about, and yet pertinent details about the movie have yet to be revealed.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Kotaku (linked above), to quote:

"We're glad there's still a lot of enthusiasm in the entertainment industry surrounding the idea of a Halo movie.

That said, the Halo feature film remains on hold as we focus on projects like Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach."

200w ago - SCEE Content Manager Nina Scherer has announced news of the latest SingStar update today, as follows:

It's time for the SingStore update and without further ado, let me introduce you to this week's brand new tracks.

SingStar must-haves this week include 'Smooth Operator' by Sade, Gloria Estefan's 'Dr. Beat' and Roy Orbison with 'I Drove All Night'. For all fans of the hottest tunes of the moment there's Kasabian's recent single 'Fire' plus some great tracks by Coldplay, The Hold Steady and P!nk.

We've recently had some reports from the community about 'Charmless Man' by Blur being slightly out-of-synch. I'm glad to say that this has been fixed so if you have previously downloaded this track, please delete it from your hard drive and re-download it from the store anytime after Thursday and everything should be 'nanana' again.

Also, for those of you eagerly awaiting the release of SingStar Queen, we're happy to announce that the release date for the standalone disc has been pushed up and SingStar Queen will now be available for purchase on August 4.

228w ago - 2008 may become known as the year of digital rights management, thanks in no small part to EA's bringing the issue front and center with Spore and the ensuing backlash.

The Federal Trade Commission is planning on holding a town hall meeting devoted to the subject of DRM on March 25.

The official page describes the meeting and its aim. "Digital rights management (DRM) refers to technologies typically used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, and copyright holders to attempt to control how consumers access and use media and entertainment content," the FTC explains.

"Among other issues, the workshop will address the need to improve disclosures to consumers about DRM limitations."

The agenda includes demonstrations of DRM-related technology, panel discussions about how these technologies affect consumers, legal issues surrounding DRM, and discussions on the potential need for government involvement to protect consumers.

You can get involved, as well. "The Commission invites interested parties to submit requests to be panelists and to recommend other topics for discussion. The requests should be submitted electronically to drmtownhall@ftc.gov by January 30, 2009.

The Commission...

233w ago - There can be no doubt that sales of the Xbox 360 in the US have remained strong over the last 12 months, surprising many who had claimed that 2008 would be the year of the PlayStation. With the holiday season fast approaching sales can only go one way - up.

Back in late 2007, Microsoft was heading into the festive season having wrapped up Halo 3 and Gears of War - both huge system sellers that helped the Redmond giant put it's stamp on the year as having the most consumer £/$'s spent on its platform.

But many questioned whether Microsoft could continue its dominance through 2008 - with only a few anticipated titles on it's schedules for the year ahead such as Fable II and Too Human (lol?).

Tell that to those crazy folks below though - This was spotted during Black Friday sales in the US as bargain hunters stalked Xbox 360 Arcade units. Only in America...





It's still too early to call the festive sales numbers, but looking back over the year and some footage from a recent Black Friday sale in the US show's the appetite for cheap HD gaming is still as rampant as ever.

NPD numbers for the year Oct '07 to Oct '08 tell a pretty...