Valve Software founder sees big gaming future for Apple

Steve Jobs never had a lot of interest in the video game world, but that didn’t stop Apple from accidentally becoming one of the most influential companies in the industry.

Now, the founder of Valve Software, makers of the acclaimed “Half-Life” series and Steam digital distribution system, says he believes Apple could make Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo’s consoles irrelevant at some point in the future.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Felicia Day launches next Webisodic tour de force

Few, if any, in the Hollywood community have embraced the Web as passionately as Felicia Day.

Now, with the fifth season of her comedic web-series “The Guild” in her pocket, Day has weighed anchor on a new project, a six-part Web series tying in with Electronic Arts hit video game franchise “Dragon Age” – and it looks like she may have another hit on her hands.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Hungarian police bust pirate ring

Four months after Warner Bros. announced that it would delay the release of its films in Hungary due to rampant piracy in that country, officials have raided a substantial piracy operation.

Police have confiscated a number of computers and allegedly pirated content that belonged to the CiNEDUB ring. Included among the haul was a 70 TB hard drive housing 5,000 movies, 4,000 songs, 6,000 games and computer software.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

UFC pay-per-view headed to Xbox

Just days after announcing a slew of alliances with cable channels and services, Microsoft is adding Ultimate Fighting Championship events to its growing roster of non-gaming programming.

Starting Dec. 1, Xbox 360 users will be able to order pay-per-view events as well as access a library of live and on-demand content. The first pay-per-view will be the company’s UFC 140 event on Dec. 10.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

The Steve Jobs commercial you never saw

With so many achievements to his credit, Steve Jobs impact on the advertising industry is often forgotten.

The fact is that with Jobs influence, the modern Super Bowl commercial might never have happened. The “1984” spot that is so well known was conceived by Chiat/Day and directed by Ridley Scott, but it was the Macintosh that was the inspiration.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Entertainment, tech luminaries react to Steve Jobs’ death

The death of Apple co-founder and tech visionary Steve Jobs was something we all suspected was coming, but still were shocked to hear had occurred. His impact on the entertainment and tech industries is something that will be measured for years to come.

As news of his passing spread Wednesday night, impressions and condolences came flowing from all corners of the entertainment and technology worlds. Here is a collection of some of those tributes:

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Microsoft considers bid for Yahoo

Microsoft, which tried unsuccessfully to acquire Yahoo in 2008, is thinking about making another run at the company. This time, though, a merger of the two companies could impact the entertainment landscape.

To be clear: There’s no offer at this point and there’s apparently a lot of internal debate about whether to make one at Microsoft headquarters these days. And, technically, Yahoo hasn’t announced it’s for sale – though it has been talking quietly with potential bidders.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Apple’s iPhone 4S announcement: All you need to know

Those of you hoping to hear news about the iPhone 5 may have been a bit disappointed by today’s Apple press event, but the iPhone 4S seems to have plenty of solid improvements on the way.

The new phones will be available for pre-order on Oct. 7 and will launch Oct. 14. Pricing will range from $199 for a 16GB version to $399 for a 64GB version.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Top-selling Wii games show Nintendo’s dominance

While the Wii was a runaway success for Nintendo, the biggest criticism about the system was the lack of big third-party games. Now a new compilation of the console’s top-selling software is dramatically underscoring that complaint.

Of the top 20 selling games for the Wii, 13 were made by Nintendo. Among third-party publishers, Ubisoft was the big winner, thanks largely to its music games – “Just Dance” and “Michael Jackson: Experience”.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Mortal Kombat: The long journey back to theaters

When “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” hit theaters in 1997, it did something that parents groups and senators had failed to do: Brought the franchise to its knees.

The film was so horrendously bad that it made 1995’s “Mortal Kombat,” which only the most die-hard fans of the series truly embraced, look downright artistic. Production on a third sequel, sub-named “Devastation,” was shelved and New Line Cinema never looked back.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog