As streaming and downloading options continue to expand, this is a first for the popular console. The film’s creators cite the growing cost of theatrical distribution as a motivator for the unusual release strategy.

“Theatrical distribution, nowadays, costs on average about £2 million per movie for marketing, prints and advertising…For a film like Pulp, that doesn’t have bankable stars with a track record, it’s a challenge for any distributor to take that gamble,” says director Adam Hamdy.

Here’s your official summary:

Thunder Racers, Infinite Finity, Rat Warriors. Junk Comics’ titles have been referred to as ‘the worst printed material since Mein Kampf’. Tony Leary, the nice-guy owner of Junk Comics, is gearing up for one last roll of the dice. His new superhero title, The Sodomizer, launches at the British International Comic Show, and nothing will stop Tony from making it a success. Nothing except a gang of Geordie criminals who are using a comic company to launder their dirty money. Tony is drafted by the police to identify the culprits and bring them to justice. Aided by his trusty geek sidekicks, Rick and Keith, Tony must defy the odds if he is to become a real life hero.

Pulp is available today, March 4th, for 1120 Microsoft points or 1420 Microsoft points if you want to splurge and watch it in HD.

You can expect more films like this – Microsoft says that they will be distributing more films via the Xbox console in the future.

[BBC via The Verge]

When the campaign ended in August 2012, a tentative release date of March 2013 was set. Though six months seems like very little time to develop a new game console, the Ouya’s developers seem to have followed through on their promise.

Ouya today announced that Ouya consoles will begin shipping to those who backed the Kickstarter campaign on March 28. Production of the consoles is already progressing and will ramp up throughout the next month. As the company announced earlier this month, gamers who didn’t have a chance to back the Kickstarter campaign can expect to see the console hit retail store shelves sometime in June.

Though the launch lineup of games for the Ouya may be sparse, the company used the launch date announcement to reveal several titles that will be coming to the console. In particular, an exclusive projects for the Ouya is being created by Quantum Conundrum developer Airtight Games, and Papo & Yo developer Minority Media will release an “adventure puzzler” for the console this fall.

In addition to the games, Ouya also announced that Thatgamecompany co-founder Kellee Santiago has joined Ouya as head of developer relations. Thatgamecompany is best known for developing Flower and Journey, which ended up on many game-of-the-year lists for 2012.

So what’s Nintendo to do now that it appears to have a console flop on its hands? It could release exclusive games, of course, and the company did announce an exciting lineup at the end of January, but that doesn’t solve the problem in the near-term. There’s simply no compelling reason (other than maybe LEGO City Undercover) to buy a Wii U until titles such as the Yoshi Yarn game, Bayonetta 2, and the mysterious “X” are out.

In the meantime, it appears that Nintendo will be leaning on its consoles that have actually sold well. More specifically, Nintendo today announced that the redesigned Wii Mini will be released in the U.K. on March 22. The red, top-loading console was released in Canada last holiday season.

Despite the slim design of the box, the Wii Mini comes with a huge drawback: it has no Wi-Fi, and no other way to connect to the internet. That means no Virtual Console and no online Mario Kart. The Wii Mini is only for consumers who are fine with local multiplayer only, or who are only looking to catch up on the Wii’s singe-player experiences, such as Mario and Zelda titles or Xenoblade Chronicles.

In conjunction with the console announcement, Nintendo has also announced that it is adding new games to its Nintendo Selects titles. Mario Party 8, Wii Sports Resort, Mario Power Tennis, and Super Paper Mario will be available at the Nintendo Selects price when the Wii Mini launches.

Can’t spare two hours to listen to game developers talk about how great things will be in the future? We’ve got you covered with quick run-downs of the PlayStation 4 hardware, the new DualShock 4 controller, and all the next-gen games that were announced for the console during the event.

If you don’t even have time to read the highlights and watch the trailers, you can check out the satirical 3-minute abridged version of the presentation created by VideoGamerTV. It’s surprisingly accurate for how funny it manages to be.

The controller, named the “DualShock 4″ resembles Sony’s previous generation controllers, but with some significant twists. For one, the middle section of the controller has been stretched and now features a touchpad similar to those found on the back of the PlayStation Vita. Sony didn’t comment or mention what the touchpad will be used for, but developers are sure to come up with some creative uses for it.

Another difference is the “share” button located to the left of the touchpad and the “options” button to the right of it. The options button simply takes the place of the old “Start” and “Select” buttons, but the share button will unlock some powerful new sharing features built into the PS4. Pressing the button allows gamers to broadcast their play session – even gameplay that has already taken place. The PlayStation 4 will keep a buffer of gameplay that can be shared or streamed to websites such as Ustream. The button can also enable the sharing of in-game items between gamers or upload images and video to Facebook.

The back of the DualShock 4 features a glowing six-axis sensor that enables motion control, and the L2 and R2 triggers have been changed from past DualShock designs. Sony stated that the analog sticks on the controller have also been redesigned for “better precision plus improved surface materials…for more delicate manipulation.”

Live video from your iPhone using Ustream

Mere hours remain until Sony is expected to unveil its next-generation video game console at a major event in New York. The excitement is building while the rumors and leaks surrounding the console have filled gamers’ imaginations this past week. Sony itself has even added to the hype with a series of retrospective videos on past consoles and games that have been posted to the event’s web page.

This evening the speculation will end and Sony will either usher in a new era of video games or disappoint millions of gamers across the world. The company is obviously confident, as the presentation will be streaming live online. Sony clearly wants the entire world to be watching.

The presentation will be streaming in several different locations. The event website will, of course, host the stream, as will the latest PlayStation Blog post about the event. The PlayStation Facebook page will also have a stream available, and PlayStation 3 owners can watch the presentation live on their consoles through the PlayStation Home app or through the “What’s New” section of the PS3 Media Bar.

The presentation begins at 6 pm EST / 3 pm PST / 11 pm GMT, which is also 10 am in Sydney and 8 am in Tokyo on February 21, for those gamers on the other side of the world.

Don’t be late. Console announcements don’t come often.

The rumored hardware architecture of Sony’s new PlayStation and Microsoft’s new Xbox makes it unlikely the new consoles will be backwards compatible. The Wall Street Journal, however, is reporting that Sony’s new console may provide backwards compatibility by streaming games through the cloud.

Citing “people familiar with [Sony's] plans,” the Journal states that the next PlayStation console will offer PlayStation 3 games and stream them to users online.

This rumor seems credible because Sony last year purchased cloud gaming company Gaikai for $380 million. At the time, Andrew House, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, said that the company would use Gaikai to “deliver a world-class cloud-streaming service that allows users to instantly enjoy a broad array of content ranging from immersive core games with rich graphics to casual content anytime, anywhere on a variety of internet-connected devices.”

If the rumor is true and the next PlayStation console does include streaming games, the challenge for Sony will be keeping server and bandwidth costs down. Just last year, Gaikai competitor OnLive had to re-form its company and lay off half of its staff as a measure to stave off bankruptcy.

The Wii U Virtual console will also feature cloud saves for games and the ability to play Virtual Console games on the GamePad. A selection of NES and SNES games will be available at launch, but GameBoy Advance titles will also be added in the future.

Unfortunately, Wii owners will not be able to transfer their existing Virtual Console games to the Wii U. However, games owned on the Wii Virtual Console will be available for special pricing through the Wii U. Re-buying a game already purchased on Wii will cost $1 for NES titles, and $1.50 for SNES titles. Normal pricing on the Wii U will be the same as on the Wii.

To promote the Virtual Console on the Wii U, Nintendo is going to be offering trial purchases for specific for 30 cents. Starting this month, a new trial game will be available for 30 days. After 30 days, games purchased at the trial price can be players can be re-bought at the reduced price. The first game to be released is Balloon Fight, but F-Zero, Punch Out, Kirby’s Adventure, Super Metroid, a Yoshi game, and a Donkey Kong game will be coming later, in that order.

The DualShock design has been a mainstay of PlayStation gaming since the original Sony console. The first DualShock controller debuted in the fall of 1997 and the basic design has endured through all three PlayStation consoles though some refinements and “Sixaxis” motion controls have been added through the years. Many gamers admire Sony for its “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” philosophy toward controller design while Nintendo continued to experiment wildly with its designs for the Nintendo 64, Gamecube, and Wii controllers.

The CVG report also claims experiments with new controllers at Sony have included biometric sensors and a Wii U-like touch screen. Given all of the touch sensitivity on Sony’s PlayStation Vita console, it wouldn’t be a surprise to at lease see touch controls on the back of a next-gen Sony controller.

The report also boldly claims that gamers will not have to wait until E3 to get a glimpse of the PlayStation 4. Sony’s next-gen console is now rumored to be revealed in just weeks instead of months. A big announcement and a good showing for the console (and a reasonable price) would certainly put pressure on Microsoft, which is currently counting down to its next-gen console announcement at E3 in June.

R2 Studios, fully named id8 Group R2 Studios, was founded by Blake Krikorian, the co-inventor of the Slingbox. The company is reportedly working on solutions for integrating media and home automation technology. The company holds some patents related to its goals, and the Journal reports that Microsoft has also purchased the patents.

A previous report in mid-December 2012 held that Google and Apple were also interested in R2 Studios and its technology. Judging by Google’s failed Nexus Q, Microsoft’s Smartglass, and Apple’s still-rumored HDTV, technology companies are searching desperately for a way to move into consumers’ living rooms and beyond.

By acquiring such a company for its Xbox division, Microsoft is demonstrating more than ever that it expects its next-generation Xbox console to be at the center of an integrated living room (or home) multimedia experience. Just this week Xbox evangelist Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb posted a countdown to Microsoft’s big E3 conference announcement. It’s expected that the next Xbox console will be unveiled at that time, which would fit with rumors that suggest the console will be released in time for the 2013 holiday season.