gamespot

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Beatles fan exhibits record store that only stocks The Beatles' "White Album," featuring more than 650 first pressings. Here's a preview.

- Stereotype.fm comes up with quirky statistics about music fans, like "MJ fans likely to join a cult."

- Nine new ways to sit, thanks to tech.

- Illegal music downloads took a nosedive in 2012.

- Check out Samsung/GameSpot's Unicorn Apocalypse contest for a chance to win $25k.

- Ghostbusters HQ Lego creation by Orion Pax.… Read more

Cloud gaming service OnLive has boasted since its inception of its ability to act as a game trial service that can save game developers from having to develop their own separate demos. Today, OnLive announced that functionality will sit side by side next to game reviews, through a partnership with review site GameSpot (disclosure: GameSpot is a property of CNET parent company CBS).

The idea is to let game consumers quickly get hands-on time with a game they've read about. Because OnLive hosts the game code on its remote servers, there's no demo version to download. Instead, you click the link from the game review page, which launches the OnLive application. You will also need an OnLive account to play the demo.… Read more

Last week we told you about a pending update to the Xbox 360's firmware that will allow owners to use USB flash drives as additional storage for media and game saves. Reinforcing that news today comes word of Xbox 360-branded USB sticks listed on Gamestop for preorder.

According to CNET sister site Gamespot, drives will be sold in 8GB ($40) and 16GB ($70) capacities, however their pricing raises some concern; it seems the USB flash drives will go for twice what normal ones cost.

So what's the incentive to buy an Xbox 360 USB drive? You'll get … Read more

My CNET colleague Sarju Shah over at Gamespot has put together a great rundown of Web browsers you can run inside of the latest video games. The four solutions tested include PlayXpert, Steam, Rogue, and Xfire

Why run these instead of your standard browser? Simple, these browsers have been designed to run as lean and mean as possible, and play nice with an application that's running in full-screen mode. They also feature niceties you won't find in your standard Web browser like hot keys that can make them appear or disappear in an instant, and transparency that lets … Read more

Last October we told you about a successor to the DS Lite, the Nintendo DSi. The DSi features two larger screens, two 0.3-megapixel cameras, and an SD card storage slot. In addition, the new DSi will allow users to download software and add-ons over the Internet from a specially designed DSi store.

The editors at CNET sister-site GameSpot were able to get their hands on a DSi and performed an in-depth analysis of the device as well as a physical comparison to the DS Lite. Check out some select photos from their feature in our slideshow.

While the DSi … Read more

Crispy Gamer, a video game site that has emerged from beta with 1 million unique visitors, said Monday it has raised $8.25 million from Constellation Ventures.

Crispy Gamer's executives have their sights set on attracting video game junkies. The site features the basics: news, reviews, and previews. But it boasts a unique revenue model. According to the company, it won't run any advertising from video game publishers.

Instead of going with such ads, Crispy Gamer will use its predominantly male demographic, ages 18 to 49, to attract advertisers outside the video game industry, such as tech and … Read more

As part of its Open Content Platform, CNET Networks has created a variety of HTML widgets from five of its Web properties--CNET, GameSpot, Chow, BNET, and TV.com--that anyone can stick on his or her own Web site. After completing a short registration form, publishers can get CNET technology videos (widget), GameSpot game reviews (widget), TV.com interviews and features (widget), business-oriented arcticles and videos from BNET (widget), and food-oriented features from Chow (widget).

The HTML widgets come in a variety of shapes and flavors. Some widgets, such as CNET Personal Tech, TV.com, and Gamespot, serve their content in a standard 300x550 size. BNET provides articles and videos for business managers in three sizes--160x800, 300x500, and 500x360. Most prolifically, there are two different shapes (160x800 and 300x550) of four types of widgets from the food-focused Web site Chow--recipes, stories, videos, and message boards, including localized message board widgets for New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.… Read more