Remember the end of Reservoir Dogs when everyone is suspicious of the next guy and they all shoot each other?  Remember the scene in American History X where Edward Norton caps a bunch of dudes with his nazi wrath?  Wouldn’t it be neat to see those scenes remade in Grand Theft Auto 4?  Well, it doesn’t matter what you think because it’s been done anyways.

Some people by the names of Mentok/Burnt Toastt and Ultimate Chance/chance reborn (don’t ask ’cause I don’t know) used the in-game multiplayer to record the video while overdubbing the original movie audio.  The result is akin to any other machinima, really.  That’s why there’s a word for this type of thing.  So anyways, here it is:

Update to source: We have been contacted by the original creators of the video, who explained that Joblo lifted the piece from their YouTube page, and then watermarked it as their own. Apparently Joblo’s media player isn’t the only thing that blows. To rectify the situation, we have decided to link to the original YouTube video instead.

Source:UltimateChance (via: JoBlo.com)

A stronger network and movie download capabilities? When Kazuo Hirai, head of Sony’s Video Game Division says to “expect more” from an evolving PS3 console, he means it.

Sony has officially announced that in addition to strengthening its PS3 network capabilities, they will begin a PlayStation 3 movie download service in the US this summer. The service will then expand into Japan and Europe at a later date.

Those outside the US can expect to receive more details about the expansion of service to their area sometime next month.

Source: AP

According to a pre-CES press release, Netflix is working with electronics giant LG to produce a set-top box capable of receiving rented movies over the internet. Console support for the company’s direct download service may not be far behind.

Netflix already allows subscribers to stream a selection of films to their computer screens at no extra cost. The new product would work under the same principal, except that rentals can now be watched on that old standby of the living room entertainment center — the TV. That, of course, means that a wider group of consumers would actually take advantage of the company’s video-on-demand.

The partnership with LG also means that the new unit may play both next-generation disc formats (HD-DVD and Blu-ray) in addition to streaming films.

That doesn’t necessarily imply neutrality in the war, though, as Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings has expressed interest in getting all “buddy-buddy” with other manufacturers, console-makers included. Considering that Microsoft already has the beginnings of a rental service in place on the Xbox Live Marketplace, and Sony’s had trouble getting any kind of real media distribution off the ground, the latter would seem to be a more beneficial choice.

On the other hand, Hastings is a member of Microsoft’s board and their extensive library of titles could further bolster the existing offerings. With rumors of Bill Gates making a big Xbox-related announcement at CES, we can’t help but wonder if this is in any way related.

That’s not to mention Sony’s preference for doing things “their own way” when it comes to format and distribution.

Lacking a storage device to help cache large video files, Nintendo’s Wii is likely out of the question (though Netflix’s streaming leaves no permanent copy of a film on a user’s hard drive).

We can’t do a whole lot more beyond speculating about console tie-ins at this point, but the LG device itself is set to debut in the second half of 2008.