Last week we had a slew of Blu-ray releases that catered to most family members. This week we have another diverse batch of movies: Nicolas Cage action and adventure flicks, comedy films the likes of Blades of Glory and Anger Management, documentaries from Questar about nature and wildlife, and the critically-acclaimed Hugo Weaving-Natalie Portman starrer, V for Vendetta. For a complete list of Blu-ray releases for this week, head on over to the full article.

When Paramount Pictures announced its intent to increase its presence in the video gaming industry, we sort of guessed that this will happen: Paramount is now expanding its interactive department to directly involve itself in the games that the studio will produce or co-produce with other gaming developers. More details in the full article.

Movie firm Paramount clued in its interest in the games after expressing its excitement over the progress of the video game sector. Paramount Digital's Alex Carloss, currently the division's general manager of worldwide distribution, stated that we're bound to see more of Paramount in games. In-game ads, perhaps? Find out more at the full story.

The European PlayStation Store has come up with its January 24 update. Up for grabs are some classic titles for the PSone, as well as the online-exclusive multiplayer shooter Syphon Filter: Combat Ops for the PlayStation Portable.

For the other titles in today's update, check out the full article after the jump!

With 2007 coming to a close in a few more days, Midway is all set for next year's upcoming releases. But not without some changes to their marketing stance. in a recent interview, Midway CEO David Zucker his game launch strategy for 2008 as "fewer, bigger, better." Find out what he meant via the full article.

Everybody knows Paramount Pictures has joined the HD DVD camp, but why is it that Sony's PR info sheet still lists Paramount Pictures as one of the studios backing Blu-ray? According to Sony, Paramount will come back. Details in the full article!

Movie director Michael Bay, known for the recent successes of The Transformers and Bad Boys II, has been very vocal when it comes to the on-going format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray. 

His latest "theory" about this is nothing short of controversial. According to him, Microsoft is not really for the HD DVD format. Bay reasoned the current format war is nothing but a diversion to create confusion among consumers. More on this after the jump!

The game adaptation of the upcoming Beowulf movie will take the authenticity route like many other movie to game conversions. Ubisoft Entertainment has announced that Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins, Emmy Award winner Ray Winstone, Brendan Gleeson, and Sebastien Roche will be featured in voice and likeness in Ubisoft's Beowulf (Sony PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows PC, Microsoft Xbox 360).

To extend the story two dozen decades further than the movie's plot, Anthony Hopkins (Red Dragon, Amistad) will take on the role of King Hrothgar, while Ray Winstone (Cold Mountain, King Arthur) will embody the player as Beowulf. The role of Wiglaf will be taken up by Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter, 28 Days Later), and the character of Wulfgar (Christian) shall be Sebastien Roche's undertaking.

The Beowulf video game is currently under development by Ubisoft's Tiwak Studios in cooperation with Shangri-La Entertainment and Paramount Pictures, and this news would appear to herald the near-completion of the game development process. Beowulf's release will coincide with the premiere of Academy Award winner Robert Zemeckis' render of the tales of a legendary Viking hero, soon to be released on November 2007.

Buy: [ Beowulf (Xbox 360) ]
Buy: [ Beowulf (PC) ]
Buy: [ Beowulf (PlayStation 3) ]
Buy: [ Beowulf (PSP) ]

It's hard not to be excited about this holiday season when great games are about to hit the shelves. We kid not when we say just looking at Ubisoft's line-up of upcoming titles will give any gamer a field day pondering which one to spend money on. If Assassin's Creed (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) and Haze can't get you riled up, others will.

Ubisoft didn't include solid dates in the list sent through the press wire, but most are coming before 2007 ends. Here are the games:

• Assassin's Creed: One of the most anticipated video games of the year will be coming to the Xbox 360 and the PS3 in November, while the PC version will be out in early 2008.
• Beowulf: Based on Paramount Pictures' and Shangri-La Entertainment's Beowulf, the upcoming feature film from Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis, Beowulf will be released in November on Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PS3 and PSP.
• Blazing Angels 2 Secret Missions of WWII: Currently available on the Xbox 360, experience World War II on the PS3 this coming holiday. Play as an elite pilot in the follow-up to the successful Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII.
• Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway: Previously expected to be released for holiday 2007, it will be released on next-generation platforms and the PC in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 to 2008. Brothers in Arms Road to Hill 30 for the Nintendo Wii will be released in December.
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Hard Evidence: For the first time, CSI fans will be able to play CSI on the Xbox 360 and on the Wii this holiday.
• Haze: Free Radical Design teams up with Ubisoft to deliver the mind-altering, technologically superior game Haze, exclusively for the Sony PS3 this holiday.
• Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East: Enjoy the dramatic evolution and conclusion of the Heroes V experience this holiday on PC.
• Nitrobike: Navigate rocket-propelled motorcycles in this arcade-style game exclusively for the Wii.
• Naruto: Rise of a Ninja: In a game exclusively developed for Xbox 360 from the ground up, players will be able to experience becoming a shinobi as the game starts from the series' beginning. The game is given an October release date.
  
• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2: The bunnies are back and are crazier than ever in this new game specially developed for the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS this holiday.

Casual gamers aren't left behind, thanks to Ubisoft's massive library. Chessmaster series fans might want to look at Chessmaster: The Art of Learning (DS) and Chessmaster: Grandmaster Edition (PC). Cranium Kabooki is a party game on the Nintendo Wii with fun minigames like jamming, drawing, and acting. Imagine games are set to capture the ladies with Fashion Designer, Master Chef, and Animal Doctor on the Nintendo DS.

Another line of games from Ubisoft is My Coach which has titles like My French Coach, My Spanish Coach, and My Word Coach that appear on Nintendo platforms to expand our vocabulary. There's also Petz that comes in all flavors of pet training for the DS, PS2, PC, and Wii.

The Blu-ray Disc Association U.S. has released an official statement in response to the move made by Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks Animations to join the rival HD-DVD camp a few days ago.

Andy Parsons, the Blu-ray Disc Association's US president said that the announcement made by the two giant entertainment firms was untimely, considering the momentum enjoyed by their format.

"Blu-ray title sales continue to outpace HD-DVD sales by nearly a 2 to 1 margin, and major retailers have expressed a strong preference for Blu-ray," comments Parsons.

The Blu-ray Association chief adds, "Moreover, the price delta between HD DVD and Blu-ray players has been greatly reduced in the past few months," and he pointed out that this is a trend that's bound to go on until issues regarding the cost of Blu-ray technology disappear.

"Under these circumstances, we can only imagine what could have enticed Paramount to walk away from a format that is clearly selling significantly more software than the HD DVD format," concludes Parsons.