mtv

MTV Networks has announced the forming of 345 Games, an internal division of the company that will develop titles based on original Comedy Central and Spike TV properties.

345 Games' first two titles will debut this summer, first in July with Spike TV's "Deadliest Warrior: Legends" and then in August with "Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon." Both titles will hit the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade marketplaces for $10 each.

The company has already seen success with last year's "Deadliest Warrior: The Game," a digital-only title that has amassed nearly 400,000 downloads.

345 Games hopes to tap the talent behind some of the network's most popular shows and has had the Ugly Americans creator's pen the script for the upcoming game.

It's no secret that both Comedy Central and Spike TV's demographics are heavily comprised of gamers; Spike TV has hosted the Video Game Awards for the previous eight years. … Read more

Rock music on TV has a long history, starting with "American Bandstand," which ran from 1952 to 1989, and in the 1960s shows like "Hullabaloo" and "Shindig" had the biggest bands, groups like the Beatles, James Brown, the Rolling Stones and the Who were on every week. In the 1970s "The Midnight Special" had the likes of ABBA, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Marvin Gaye, Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, The New York Dolls, and Fleetwood Mac.

"Music Television" started nearly 30 years ago, so if you'… Read more

Former MySpace, Sling Media, and MTV executive Jason Hirschhorn has been in the thick of the digital-media world for years.

He's likely had a lot of interesting experiences, not the least of which was a meeting with Steve Jobs about six years ago when Hirschhorn got to pitch the Apple CEO on a music-subscription service.

As he tweeted this morning, referring to a time when he was chief digital officer of MTV Networks: "Once pitched Steve Jobs that music [subscriptions] were future and that iTunes + MTV do it."

The response from Jobs was, "Jason, you are … Read more

Facebook announced Wednesday that it has partnered with teen idol Justin Bieber--yes, that Justin Bieber--and MTV's "The Thin Line" public awareness campaign to combat cyberbullying and other forms of digital abuse on the Web. Contributors to MTV's map of anti-abuse tactics from around the country will now be eligible to win prizes that include a "personalized voice-mail greeting from Justin Bieber."

Facebook's broader role in this does not appear to be particularly large. But attaching its name to this sort of initiative is important: Among Facebook's younger users, cyberbullying and other forms … Read more

With only a few weeks left before the holidays, we're getting picky about the guest hosts while Wilson is out of town, so show veteran Russ Frushtick makes another appearance on the show and rounds up the year in video games with his top three picks for the holiday season. He also runs down his spoiler-free review of TRON: Legacy and chews some beef with Time Warner!

Forget about WikiLeaks, the FBI is apparently downplaying an internally leaked memo that warns field agents of Barbie Video Girl that features a video camera built into her necklace.

You're supposed to use it to record video from the doll's perspective and upload it to your computer, but the FBI is worried that deviants will use the technology to exploit young children. And although there haven't been any reported incidents relating to the new doll, the FBI still has no problem spreading the idea themselves.

We've all received gift cards for the holidays that we have no interest in using, but now online gift stores like Plastic Jungle, Cardpool, and Gift Card Rescue are letting consumers sell back their unused cards and buy new ones at a discount.

The amount of money you receive for a card depends on the popularity of the store, with in-demand retailers like Wal-Mart and Target going for up to 92 percent of the value. Less popular cards only get 80-85 percent, but it's still better than looking for $100 worth of merchandise to spend at Blockbuster.

Google has a new operating system called Chrome OS that will compete with Apple Mac OS and Microsoft Windows for a spot on your computer, but one of the interesting features is Cloud Print that you can use to access your home printer from any Chrome-powered smartphone or computer .

Cloud Print is a Web service, so it's easy to share printers with family and friends from anywhere in the world, and even set up private lists to block Spam. Google hopes that all devices will eventually support Cloud-based printing, and you can take it for a test-drive today by downloading Chrome at Google.com/chrome.

Much thanks to Russ Frushtick for waking up before noon to help us out on the show, and keep an ear out for another appearance on the Back to the Future Yuletide episode that will debut while we're away for the holiday!

A new resource from MTV is encouraging youth to "post an action" online that they have taken to combat digital abuse such as cyberbullying and sexting.

The resource, called Draw Your Line, is part of MTV's "A Thin Line" campaign, which was launched in February when the network aired a documentary about sexting.

An action can be something personal such as deleting inappropriate messages or images, blocking a user from sending hurtful or harassing messages, getting help or changing passwords. Or it can be social, such as arranging a school assembly or speaking up on … Read more

I'll be the first to admit I've been less than excited about the 2010 crop of motion-controlled gaming hardware from Sony and Microsoft. Particularly in the case of the Kinect, the upcoming motion-control camera peripheral for the Xbox 360, interacting with a motorized camera presents ways of physically humiliating yourself that make the Nintendo Wii seem positively tame.

An invitation to try out Dance Central, the hopeful killer app from MTV Games and Harmonix for the Kinect's November launch, didn't encourage me. The previous session was finishing, and true to my expectation, members of the press were hopping up and down to club beats, looking ridiculous and somewhat uncoordinated. I am not a dancer, nor do I dream of being one, and I was expecting this to be a painful demo.

When we dance in front of a camera, it's like an invitation to be shy. Who's really up for this type of exhibition? I know the Kinect is watching me, and I certainly don't want to see myself onscreen. I also don't want to fail out at a dance game. Games like Dance Dance Revolution are unforgiving with misses, and you know it when you don't land on the right part of the mat.

I was surprised to discover two things: in a head-to-head dance-off, I came close to unseating the PR demonstrator who clearly had physical and experiential advantages over me. And, I actually had fun and felt encouraged. How did this happen?

I equate it to Auto-Tune for dance. … Read more

MTV, once the king of music videos, has failed to reach an agreement with music portal Vevo, for the rights to Universal Music Group's Web music videos.

Negotiations between MTV and Vevo over videos from UMG, home of such artists as U2, Amy Winehouse, and Lady Gaga, broke down Thursday, according to Vevo. What this means is that most of MTV's Internet properties will lose access to UMG's videos.

That may not be all. Vevo is the online music-video portal that launched in December and is supported by three of the top four labels, UMG, Sony Music … Read more

MTV will soon start to sell ads for music videos owned by Warner Music Group, the companies announced on Wednesday.

MTV will have exclusive rights to Warner Music's video ad inventory, Warner said in a statement. The move comes less than a year since Warner signed a similar agreement with Outrigger Media.

Rumors began circulating last week that Warner Music was shopping for a new means to sell ads. A music industry source said that Warner Music had spoken to music video portal Vevo about the possibility of that service selling Warner's ads.

Following a lengthy contract dispute … Read more