TVSquad

There is nothing inherently wrong with turning a TV series into a video game spinoff. It can fill in the gaps between seasons to quell the viewers' hunger, let audiences explore characters from new perspectives and even give the more hardcore couch potatoes some much needed exercise even if they only burned 1/100ths of a calorie solely through their thumbs.

The problem is video game developers pick TV shows that should never even become a travel sized board game. Developers have given the greenlight to games based on shows like American Idol, Desperate Housewives and even ... Grey's Anatomy?!? I hope that last one was a first-person shooter.

There are far better shows that offer far more entertaining elements for a kick-ass video game. These are the shows that should be next in line for a pixelated re-treatment.

In a story that is chock full of cool, ComicMix reports that XBox Live is putting Voltron, Defender of the Universe episodes online. They have every episode from the first two seasons available to watch. The very first episode, "Space Explorers Captured" is available for free. All the others cost approximately $2 each.

Being a child of the 80's, I remember Voltron pretty well. It involved a princess in a castle on an alien world and these five robot lions (piloted by five humans) joined together to form a giant robot that beat the crap out of other giant robots (which they called ro-beasts). The best part of the show was Voltron's finishing move, the Blazing Sword. Whenever he pulled out his Blazing Sword, you knew the fight was over. Given the phallic imagery of his weapon of choice, you knew who they were marketing to.

I'm sure if I watched it today, I probably wouldn't be as impressed with the show as I was back then. For a nostalgia trip, it might be worth checking out the first episode.

From the CES, Disney-ABC has announced it will start selling shows on Microsoft's XBox gaming console via the XBox Live and XBox Live Marketplace. This includes material from two Disney Channels, three ABC Channels and material from the MGM video library.

This move is yet another step in putting a ubiquitous entertainment console in the living room. Not that this is a bad thing. Some of the content will be available in HD, despite the fact that Microsoft is not offering HD-DVD in the console. Maybe they're going Blu-ray?

According to a CNN article, Microsoft is going to partner with Nickelodeon and Warner Brothers to produce a library of family games and entertainment for XBox LIVE. This will include kid-friendly games as well as video entertainment

I have to admit that I don't own a gaming console of any kind, mostly because I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to tear myself away from it. This sort of merger of video-on-demand and games-on-demand with a gaming console would no doubt make it harder.

It looks like Sony's got some big (and possibly desperate) plans for the Playstation 3. Not only has the company slashed $100 off the price of the 60GB PS3 gaming console, but Sony is also introducing a new version with an 80GB hard drive.

So what's the extra storage for? Sony tells Newsweek's LevelUp blog that it's part of a plan to let users download and play online games -- and also to download high definition video content.

Microsoft has already been selling HD video downloads for the Xbox 360 for the better part of the year. And seeing as how Sony kind of has its own movie studio, there's no big surprise here.

Few details are available regarding the planned video download service. But given that Sony announced its PS3 price cut and new model just days before the E3 convention, it's probably a safe bet that there'll be some news before the week is out.

[via Zatz Not Funny]

If you didn't think that the creation of new programming for alternate delivery systems like the internet, cell phones, and other devices was here to stay, perhaps this announcement might turn your opinion, if only a little:

Microsoft and our friends at the New York Television Festival have struck a deal to co-sponsor a contest where contestants will create five to fifteen minute pilots suitable for the software company's Xbox Live, which allows Xbox 360 users to play online games and watch movies and TV on demand. The winner of the contest will receive $100,000 to produce six episodes, which will be made available to Xbox Live customers. Also, the pilot will be screened at the festival, which will be held from September 5-10 this year.

Animation or live-action pilots will be accepted. It will be interesting to see what will be produced for this contest, and ultimately what wins. Suffice to say, knowing the Xbox's audience, I doubt it will be something along the lines of Desperate Housewives or Ugly Betty. That is, unless those housewives or Betty are shooting down aliens or bending iron bars with their minds or something. The full press release is after the jump.

In what seems like a no-brainer idea, NBC Universal is partnering with Sierra Online on a high-def, space combat, Battlestar Galactica game. Who doesn't want to fly a Viper or a Raider? Players will be able to choose which side they fight for while taking part in both single-player, and multi-player, versions of the game.

The big news of the announcement is that the game will be available in the Xbox Live Marketplace. This is the first original Hollywood-licensed property for the still growing service. To kick off the promotion, fans can now get Battlestar gamer pics and theme packs from the Marketplace. Thankfully, for those of you that haven't jumped on the 360 bandwagon yet, the game will also be available for the PC and downloadable from SciFi.com, NBC.com, and Sierra.com. It is slated for a fall release.

Sierra will be adding sound from the series and was able to visit the set to get the look and details right. They also have secured likeness rights to talent from the show, and mention the possibility of the actors providing radio chatter for the in game play. The article also talks about the possibility of adding episodes of the show to the Xbox service.