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A Gran Turismo movie will arrive in 2023
Neill Blomkamp of 'District 9' fame is directing the film, which is based on a true story.
‘Uncharted’ movie trailer plays Nathan Drake's greatest hits
That cargo plane sequence looks mighty familiar.
'Uncharted' movie delayed to March 5th, 2021
So much for the Uncharted movie having a reasonably firm release date. Sony's Columbia Pictures has delayed the release of the game-inspired swashbuckler from its earlier December 18th, 2020 slot to March 5th, 2021. There wasn't a specific explanation, but it came just weeks after the project lost director Travis Knight. It would've been no mean feat to find his replacement and complete the whole movie within less than a year. The March timing suggests that it won't be a huge blockbuster, but it's at least not destined for the January/February slot frequently reserved for movies with low expectations.
Columbia Pictures flicks restored to Netflix Instant Watch
We all remember the terrible tale of NXE-eve, when Superbad, Karate Kid and more went from fully available to not-on-Xbox and in some cases eventually disappeared entirely. Fear not, as whatever the licensing issue was, it appears to have been amicably resolved, sending Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and many of the rest flowing though a series of tubes near you.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Queue the applause: Columbia Pictures films return to Netflix 360
Were you feeling super bad that Super Bad got yoinked from your Netflix Instant Queue mere hours after the launch of the NXE? Well, turn that frown upside-down, because it appears that the entirety of Columbia Pictures' streaming movie catalog is once again available to Xbox 360 owners.Most of the catalog became accessible to Netflix 360 at the end of November, but site 360sync reports that everything is back as of today -- yes, even Super Bad. Of course, given the evidently squirrely nature of Netflix licensing, they could be gone again at a moment's notice. So, to ensure minimum trauma, "Watch Now" for real.[Via X3F]
Sony's Netflix library (mostly) available on NXE
About a week after they abruptly removed their entire Netflix library from streaming to the 360, Sony's Columbia Pictures has decided to allow NXE Netflix streaming of most of their content. Thank goodness, because most Netflix subscribing fanboys already had pitchforks in hand and their retaliatory plan of action laid out. We can confirm that almost all of the Columbia Pictures Netflix content can now be streamed to the 360, but a few movies (including Superbad) are still being blocked. Hopefully the remaining content's licensing deals will get dealt with and all streaming media will be available in the next week or so. Fingers crossed.[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in]
Columbia Pictures movies (mostly) available again for NXE Netflix streaming
One week after their abrupt disappearance from the service caused quite a stir, many of the Columbia Pictures films that were unavailable for streaming via the New Xbox Experience's Netflix client are now back. We've confirmed that almost everything, from Ghostbusters to The Karate Kid in your Netflix Instant Queue can now be streamed to the 360.There are still some that aren't available (Superbad stands out) but this could be due to another aspect of the "availability" issue briefly explained last week on the Netflix blog. At least we know it's not a Sony conspiracy.[Thanks, Alex]
Columbia Pictures flicks -- mostly -- back on for Xbox 360 Netflix streaming
We never got a satisfactory answer for why they disappeared in the first place, but it seems the majority of the Columbia Pictures' movies on Netflix Instant Watch lists suddenly switched to "not available on Xbox 360" are once again open for streaming to all devices. The Karate Kid series, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day and others now stream to Microsoft's box, however Columbia Pictures movies tagged with the "available through Starz Play" logo -- including Bad Boys and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story -- are still out. Hopefully the remaining relevant parties are contacted soon, as Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett have work to do, but this is a great start.[Thanks, Hunter!]
Xbox 360's lack of Sony Pictures films streaming on Netflix "unrelated" to competition
You probably recall that two days ago, when the new Xbox Experience launched, sadly, about 300 Sony Pictures films were unavailable for Netflix Watch Instantly on NXE, thus quashing your hopes of streaming The Karate Kid series. At the time, it seemed possible that missing titles were due to the fact that Xbox 360 manufacturer Microsoft and Sony are direct competitors. Well, according to a Sony spokesperson, the problem isn't specific to the Xbox, nor is their beef competition-related in any way. Sony also says it is in talks with the several "relevant parties" to work out these vague licensing issues, though there was no word on when the issue would be resolved. We really do hope it's soon because we're dying to see how everything turns out with the Cobra Kai.[Via Joystiq]
Sony Pictures: Netflix issues 'not specific to Xbox'
That's right, Xbox 360 owners. Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, Sony Pictures has insisted that its collection of films hasn't been yanked from the Netflix streaming list just to spite you and your whirring, off-white system. "This issue is not specific to Xbox or any other individual platform," said a Sony Pictures spokesperson. As reflected in Netflix's comments on the sans-Sony situation, it's all just a matter of licensing. "Sony Pictures is currently in discussions with the relevant parties to resolve certain licensing matters related to the distribution of its motion pictures. Given the ongoing nature of these discussions, we don't think it is appropriate to comment further at this time."Sorry, conspiracy theorists. It seems a big film company actually does want you to watch its wares, regardless of your platform of choice. Well, as long as it's not a telephone. Get real!
Sony blocks entire Netflix movie library from streaming to the Xbox 360 [update]
Update: Sony has released an official response, click here to learn more.In an attempt to foil Microsoft's plans of a flawless NXE Netflix launch, Columbia Pictures (a studio that's owned by Sony) has made sure that its entire Netflix movie catalog is blocked from streaming to the Xbox 360. How rude! According to Joystiq (and confirmed by MTV Multiplayer) Netflix has pulled all Columbia Pictures content from the Xbox 360 instant view library due to "licensing problems." But, wouldn't you know, all the blocked content can still be viewed online and through all other Netflix enabled TV devices except for the 360. Netflix hopes to license all the currently blocked content to the Xbox 360 in the near future. Now, that just isn't very nice of you Sony, haven't you been taught to share?
Sony Pictures celebrates NXE eve by...blocking Xbox 360 Netflix movie streaming
Just hours before the Xbox 360's newest dashboard update hits tomorrow morning (10:00 a.m. GMT), our friends at Joystiq noticed the list of movies available for Netflix Watch Instantly streaming has suddenly dropped. The culprit? Sony Pictures Home Entertainment subsidiary Columbia Pictures, flicking previously available titles like Superbad, Bad Boys, and We Own the Night over to "Not available on Xbox" status (curiously, SPHE movies are still available to all.) Word from the official Netflix blog cites "the ebb and flow" of what is available on license at any given time, causing a few hundred titles to be "temporarily" unavailable on the console, while still open for streaming for other devices, with an eye towards licensing them for the Xbox 360 soon. There's no way to know what movies won't work until adding them to your queue, so when you find your Karate Kid trilogy watching time suddenly wide open for more Gears of War 2 or Left 4 Dead action, just remember you have Sony to thank.[Via Joystiq & Multiplayer]
NXE Netflix streaming loses Sony's Columbia Pictures movies [update 2]
[Original headline: "NXE Netflix streaming queues suddenly gimped"] var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Xbox_360_Netflix_streaming_loses_Sony_s_Columbia_Pictures'; Our Netflix streaming queues just got considerably shorter on the eve of the NXE launch. Acting on a tip, we popped into our Netflix account and sure enough, our "Instant Queue" had a new "Notes" column with an oft-repeated, red (nobody likes red!) notice: "Not available on Xbox." Logging onto Xbox Live (with an NXE account) confirmed that these titles were no longer available for streaming on Xbox 360.We've reached out to Microsoft for a full explanation -- so keep your fingers crossed that this is just a launch period mishap (like someone flipped the wrong switch ... or something). We're betting on licensing issues, though, which could further cripple the service. Currently, there's no way to tell if a title is excluded from Xbox streaming until it's added to the Queue (reminder: this can only be done from a separate computer). We're not much for statistics, but we can tell you that 13 of 110 items in our Instant Queue are now unavailable, all of which are feature films. The blackout seems to have hit a range of flicks, from: Superbad to Bad Boys; Drunken Master to the entire Karate Kid trilogy (that's right -- the entire trilogy! We don't count that Next Karate Kid noise). We'll update when we learn more.Update: We've found a common thread! All of the affected titles from our Queue are distributed by Columbia Pictures. Columbia Pictures, of course, is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Microsoft rival Sony. Case closed?Oddly enough, Sony Picture Entertainment movies (listed here) are still Xbox-enabled.Update 2: It appears that the sudden yoinking of Columbia Pictures films from NXE Instant Queue access is a licensing issue with Sony after all. MTV Multiplayer pinged us with word that, on the rental service's official blog, Netflix corp. communications VP Steve Swasey writes: "As watching instantly becomes a more prominent part of the Netflix service, our goal is to have all of our streaming content licensed for all of our partner devices. We're doing well in this area, but it will take some time before we fully achieve that goal. Today, titles regularly come in and out of license and there is a natural ebb and flow to what we have on license at any given point in time. In the case of Xbox 360, a few hundred titles are temporarily unavailable to be streamed via the Xbox game console. Those titles are still available to be watched on subscribers' computers and on TVs via other partner devices, and we hope they'll be licensed for Xbox 360 shortly."[Thanks, Mark]
Zootfly scares up Ghostbusters details
Yesterday we caught a glimpse of some seriously impressive footage of what looked to be a modern day revival of the Ghostbusters franchise. Peeling back a layer of the mystery found European developer Zootfly at the helm, as well as more questions to be asked. The most prominent of which being, "Just what the heck did we see?"In-game footage of an early version of the game, running on an Xbox 360 apparently. Updating their website this morning, Zootfly not only expressed their excitement over the response from their new found fan base, but also dropped a few lines concerning Ghostbusters. The bad news? The game is currently on hold as they negotiate with the owners of the Ghostbusters IP, Columbia Pictures, who just so happens to be sister company of Sony Pictures. The good news is that regardless of how that battle turns out, we may be seeing the game anyways in the form of TimeO -- a homage to Ghostbusters as opposed to the real deal itself. Less appealing to the mainstream, but quite interesting nonetheless. Should Zootfly be granted use of the Ghostbusters license, what say we eBay some Ecto Cooler to celebrate?
