Yesterday, Best Buy CMO Barry Judge announced a new endeavor for entertainment retail giant Best Buy via his blog:

As we continue to explore new ways to make our customers happy, Best Buy is moving into the used games market. This week, several of our Dallas and Austin stores will test a kiosk-based model that allows customers to insert their used games into a kiosk that will scan it for functionality, and immediately issue a voucher that is instantly redeemable for a Best Buy gift card. It’s a pretty slick system and one of the few trade-in programs to provide instant gratification; you get the gift card on the spot and can redeem it on anything in the store – not just another game. We’ll also be testing the sale of used games in those stores, and some of the kiosks will even rent games and movies. We’re excited about this test, especially because we know how deeply passionate our customers and our employees are about gaming, movies and entertainment overall. And the trade-in and used value propositions will give those passionate customers even more choice and value at Best Buy.

Used games? Uh oh, GameStop… could your current reign as the trade-in kings finally be coming to a well-deserving end? Suffice to say, they’re not worried. In a statement to the Star Telegram, the company had this to say:

GameStop understands that trading in used games and consoles is a highly-assisted activity. We are very confident in our business model that allows our expert associates to help consumers trade in product, a fact not addressed with a self-serve process.”

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Don’t ask me why, but after seeing the trailer for the movie adaptation of Hitman, I had high hopes for the film. The trailer was slick and shiny and because I was just a mild fan of the game, I wasn’t emotionally invested enough in the franchise to be worried about a botched adaptation. Besides, the movie had guns, violence, and an attractive Russian girl in a red dress (similar to the Resident Evil movies which I so very shamefully love). How could they screw it up?

Well, they did. The movie sucked. Big time. Yes, the movie had all of the things listed above, but somehow it was all so boring. Much like the other game-to-movie endeavors like Doom, Max Payne, and any of the steaming piles of excrement that Uwe Boll likes to shovel on us, Hollywood can’t figure out video game adaptations.

Now 20th Century Fox is ready to try again with “Hitman 2.” The studio has confirmed with movie news website, IESB, that a young new writer by the name of Kyle Ward will be attempting to do a better job than the original writer, Skip Woods (AKA the guy who penned the atrocious 2001 John Travolta flick, “Swordfish”). To be completely honest with you, I have no hope for this film at all. Mr. Ward has nothing noteworthy under his belt and his next project is another game-to-movie adaptation based on Kane & Lynch. Jesus…

As you can tell by my confessed love of the Resident Evil movies, I don’t expect much from a video game adaptation. To prove this even further, I saw DOA: Dead or Ailve in the theaters twice. All I ask is for a good time. Hey, who knows? Maybe Hitman 2 will be great! It certainly could be, it just seems like Hollywood has a hard time making a video game movie that’s fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Are there any video game movies that you enjoy? How about Silent Hill or Mortal Kombat? You must admit, those movies were pretty cool. Or not. Let me know in the comments!

God damn, do I hate that kid.

In an interview with Shia LaBeouf shows the gaming community how ignorant he is:

LaBeouf: I don’t mess with the Wii, to be honest with you. It’s kind of an amateur console. I’m not into the Wii thing.”

LaBeouf: This is how in a simple way you can find out if it’s a gamer you want to play with. Ask them if they have a Wii. If they say yes, get the f*** out of there.”

LaBeouf: Who wants to play the Wii version of LEGO Star Wars. I’d rather eat glass.”

LaBeouf:I know every theme song to every Super Mario game you can ever think of and I’ll sing them to myself. I’ll be in the shower and I’m not singing Bryan McKnight or Neil Diamond, I’m singing Mario Bros. songs: dee..dee.dee.dee.dee…deet. I swear to God, man. It’s weird. I have this special place in the lexicon of my information that is specifically game. I don’t think I’m alone in that. I think there’s a whole generation of dudes just like me.

LaBeouf: Oh man, last night I spent all night playing The Godfather II game. It’s solid. I like that game because I like Godfather. I really like the map.”

Hey Shia, f*** you. Please don’t talk about things that you don’t understand. Enjoying Civ IV doesn’t make you a gamer. Nintendo may have their casual audience, but what about No More Heroes, Mad World, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, not to mention a virtual console packed with some of the greatest releases in video game history?

Here’s one for you: Want to find a simple way to see if a person is a gamer that you’d want to play with? Ask them if they like The Godfather II game.

Now we’re Even Steven

FINALLY! Someone is actually stepping up and making some sense!

If you don’t recall, on our blog last week I decided to address the ludicrous petition against Valve, stating that the consistently amazing video game developer was ripping gamers off by making a sequel to one of the greatest games of last year, Left 4 Dead. Read all about it here. Besides us, I haven’t heard anyone publicly defend Valve so when I saw that Adam Sessler posted an entire rant about it on his “Sessler’s Soapbox” podcase, I was thrilled. Thanks for speaking out for one of video games most exciting developers, Adam!

Check it out here!

Were you a subscriber to Electronic Gaming Monthly when the magazine tanked in January? Well, it looks like you’ll finally be receiving a replacement for the late, great gaming magazine.

Maxim Magazine.
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When I heard the news today about a press release in Japan announcing that the next game in the King of Fighters series would be an MMO, I was all like, “Huh?”

When that screen above showed up on the internet earlier today I was all like, “Oh…”

When I was skimming though GameTrailers.com and found the debut trailer posted below I was all like, “OH SNAP!”

Then I was all like, “Eh.”
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As a lifelong gamer, quite a few of my childhood memories happen to be tied to video games. Memories of rallying with friends trying to figure out how get through a level, or the rush I would get from sneaking into the living room in the middle of the night to play Super Mario Bros 3. There’s just something magical about going back to a game you haven’t played in years and getting hit with that wave of nostalgia.
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Just imagine: You’re a kid playing Super Mario Bros. 3 back in 1990 and you’ve made it all the way to World 7, that god-forsaken Pipe World. Piranha Plants are nipping at your feet. There’s hammers being chucked at your head. Chomp Chains are trying to bite you in half. Madness at every turn. BUT! Instead of toughing it out like a real 4 year-old gamer (or using a whistle, duh), you turn the game on “auto-pilot” and let the Nintendo play itself.
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1up.com posted a video demoing the new skateboard peripheral for Activision’s next installment in the Tony Hawk series Tony Hawk: Ride. While this most certainly offers a fresh way to play, is it enough to breathe new life into this stale series? (more…)

It’s been 11 days since the launch of the “1 vs 100″ beta and I must say, I really enjoy it. After the forth or fifth show it did begin to feel a bit stale, but I think any trivia game would feel that way when you’re playing it for two hours everyday. If Microsoft really pushes this Primetime Channel and actually figures out a way to add variety to their interactive programs, they might be on their way to the primetime revolution they speak about.

Just imagine: instead of your family getting together every night to watch some horrific reality show about people with 20 children or some guy with a bus full of whores, you all play a nice, fun game of trivia. Though if your family is anything like mine (or most American families), we’d taunt, curse, and scream at each other until someone punches someone in the face. Then someone always gets stabbed and rushed to the emergency room where we kiss and make up until we come home and cry and drink ourselves to sleep. The vicious cycle never ends…

But let’s be positive just for once!

What do you think about the beta and more importantly, what do you think about The Primetime Channel? Does Microsoft have the power to change how the American family finds entertainment at night? Or are you nervous that they might be taking away your only escape from the harsh realities of the real world? DISCUSS!