It takes extraordinary circumstances to 
unite Hollywood filmmakers, one of rock’s most outlandish stars and a porn company. But when you’re facing off against 4chan, any ally is a good one.
4chan, for the unfamiliar, is the Internet’s most infamous message and image board. And its denizens are the online equivalent of Beetlejuice. Mutter their name and they’ll appear, but you may not like the results.
[In this analysis, Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris 
discusses the potential resurgence of ‘edutainment’ games, talking to Southpeak and examining Warner Bros’ moves into the relatively neglected category.]
There is, I will admit up front, absolutely nothing sexy about edutainment titles. Hell, even the name is dull – and sounds like it belongs in a boardroom, alongside words like ”synergy” and “paradigm”.
Core gamers won’t look at ‘em. Kids like ‘em fine until someone spills the beans about them being educational. And, since so many are targeted at toddlers and young kids (a very niche audience), they’re not exactly barnburners when it comes to a publisher’s bottom line.
Ben Feder, the CEO of the company 
behind “Grand Theft Auto,” “Bioshock” and “Red Dead Redemption” is calling it quits.
Feder has announced plans to resign his post at Take-Two Interactive Software on Jan. 1, 2011. Chairman Strauss Zelnick will assume his duties.
Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog
iMut8r is an app that blends the creative and 
creepy to great effect. It’s certainly too intense for young kids, but for older teens and adults, there’s great fun to be had in transforming yourself or a friend into a ghoul or werewolf. Figuring out the steps is easy, even without reading the tutorials and because the effects change your picture so dramatically, it’s not critical to perfectly align your photo with the template. The price is right and the pictures certainly help older users get into the Halloween or horror spirit.
The team at PopCap Games knows 
how to make ultra-addictive, truly fun games — and Chuzzle is no exception. What’s ironic about that is the similarities between this and the company’s better-known Bejeweled are numerous (both are, at their heart, match-3 games), but ultimately Chuzzle feels unique. It’s charming, engaging, and very well designed. The game slowly ramps up the difficulty, but at such a methodical pace that it never seems to get too hard. It’s a bit expensive at $2.99 (but still worthwhile); keep an eye out for a bargain, as the game is sometimes discounted.
Read more at Common Sense Media
Vudu, a staple in many internet 
connected televisions and Blu-ray players, has added a pair of new outlets to its list.
The Wal-Mart-owned streaming service will be available via Boxee starting next month. That not only means that Vudu will be included in the Boxee Box when it ships to stores, but it will also be available to anyone with a Macs or PC.
Read more on Variety’s Technotainment blog
Zenimax Media, the parent company of 
Bethesda Softworks, continues to expand its talent pool. Shinji Mikami, creator of the “Resident Evil” franchise, has joined the publisher as part of Zenimax’s acquisition of his Tango Gameworks development house.
It’s the latest in a series of big moves for the company, which in the last year has acquired Arkane Studios and id Software and picked up $150 million in venture capital investments.
Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog
The book world has 
ISBN numbers to help it track how products are doing. But in the film and television worlds, things haven’t been quite so organized.
A group of studios, cable and technology companies are looking to change that, today announcing the launch of the Entertainment Identifier Registry (EIDR) to help track movies, TV shows and other assets. Among the names behind the movement are Disney, Comcast, Universal, Warner Bros., Sony and the MPAA.
A lot of people might not know Zynga’s name, but they 
sure know its games. “Farmville,” “Mafia Wars,” and “Café World” are some of the biggest titles on Facebook – and continue to draw hundreds of millions of players per month.
That has led to massive growth at the social gaming company. And now SharePost, an exchange for shares of privately held companies, has put a valuation of $5.51 billion on Zynga. If accurate, that would make the company the second largest publisher in the video game industry – ahead of Electronic Arts and far ahead of Take-Two Interactive Software, but still less than industry leader Activision-Blizzard.
Add PBS to the networks streaming 
content directly to the iPad.
The public network launched a free app yesterday allowing users to full-length versions of some of its most popular programs, including “Nova,” “Antiques Roadshow” and “Austin City Limits”. The app also gives a one hour preview for the networ’s upcoming multi-part series “Circus”.
Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog
Chris Morris: Journalist 