In case you’re wondering why this happened… it can all be explained by Barney:

A new YouTube video called “Naked Girls Get Interrupted” features fairly-safe-for-work black bars strategically placed over the bodies of four female models and one guy named Music Steve, who apparently smells like teen spirit. The song titles that flash over the black bars appear on the list of confirmed tracks for the upcoming Guitar Hero 5, out Sept. 1.

Quoth the Rock Band site: “Use our tools to author playable tracks. Upload and submit your tracks for review by the Rock Band Creators community. Approved tracks become available in the Rock Band Store and on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, and you get a cut of every purchase.” So far the creation process sounds a touch complicated, but it’s such a good step in the right direction — a lack of creativity was always the one element of Rock Band (and Guitar Hero) that didn’t quite jive with the whole musician theme.

Steven Spielberg was on hand to introduce a prototype camera Monday that can be used as a controller for the Xbox 360. Codenamed “Project Natal,” the camera can track a player’s full body movement while responding to commands, directions and a shift of emotion in voice without the need for a controller.

The announcement was made at Microsoft’s flashy Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference at University of Southern California’s Galen Center.

Microsoft also debuted 10 exclusive new games and the ability to access social networking sites Facebook and Twitter as well as streaming music service Last.fm on the Xbox Live service. The popular social networking sites Facebook and Twitter will be fully integrated into Xbox Live beginning this fall.

There were several announcements about the Xbox 360’s video capabilities including increased functionality with the online Netflix service, 1080p high-definition video downloads, live TV in the United Kingdom and the ability to watch movies online with friends.

Microsoft also debuted 10 exclusive new games. Among them: the open-world action sequel “Crackdown 2,” New Orleans-set zombie-killer “Left 4 Dead 2,” third-person shooter “Splinter Cell Conviction,” sleek racer “Forza Motorsport 3″ and the psychological thriller “Alan Wake.”

A leaked video showing a redesigned PSP with a sliding screen and no UMD optical drive appears to confirm months of speculation in the video games community, reports Reuters.

Named the PSP Go, the new machine is smaller than the current PSP and conceals its control buttons with a sliding panel. It sports a 3.8″ screen, 16 GB of on-board memory, and Bluetooth connectivity, and is substantially lighter than the current model.

But perhaps the biggest change is the removal of the PSP’s much-criticized UMD optical drive, which added bulk to the system and reduced battery life. Instead of buying games on disk from stores, PSP Go owners will download them straight to the machine’s internal memory, in a manner very similar to the iPhone’s App Store.

Although there’s no confirmation from Sony that the video is genuine, it’s pretty much certain. It’s apparently footage from an upcoming episode of Qore, a Sony-endorsed video magazine that’s published on the official Playstation web site. If it’s not real, it’s the best-produced fake we’ve ever seen.

For current PSP owners, the new machine seems like a tough sell. Although Sony’s addressed many of the issues with the current platform, if you already own PSP games on disk there’s apparently no way to play them on the Go.

Expect to see the new machine showing up in stores this fall, but we haven’t seen the last of the old-style model: Sony apparently plans to keep both machines on sale.

Confirming weeks of speculation, Microsoft has officially announced the Zune HD. The specs — a 3.3 inch OLED touchscreen, the ability to output in HD, an HD Radio receiver, a full-screen web browser and built-in Wi-Fi — are pretty impressive, but perhaps the most exciting tidbit is that the Zune marketplace will be fully integrated into Xbox and Xbox Live as a replacement for the current Live video service.
Zune

That’s a huge step for Microsoft, who until now have oddly kept the Zune and Xbox brands on opposite side of the room. With one move, they’ll be exposing the Zune to about 17 million customers who are already using a piece of Microsoft hardware. Moreover, those 17 million are also gamers, and the Zune HD’s combination of touchscreen capability, Wi-Fi access and robust marketplace seems the perfect recipe for a move into the handheld gaming space.

Microsoft seems to feel the same way. In an interview with Develop, Chris Stephenson, GM of consumer marketing for the TV, Video and Music Business at Microsoft, all but confirmed that gaming is definitely on the agenda.

“Gaming is a big opportunity for us,” he said. “We’re not announcing the specifics around our gaming plans for Zune HD right now, but it is definitely an area that we have done some work in…there is clearly a great opportunity for us to be a major player in that market.”

The Zune could certainly use a boost. Sales of the system have waned in recent months, and as Apple’s iPhone/iPod Touch continues to gain traction as a legit all-in-one entertainment device, the Zune has been looking more and more like a somewhat stale, expendable piece of hardware.

To counter that, Microsoft will be including the system in its presentation at next week’s E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, noting that “attendees will see firsthand how Zune integrates into Xbox LIVE to create a game-changing entertainment experience.” Is a sizzle trailer of some Zune HD games asking too much? We’ll find out soon enough.

The Nintendo Wii has positioned itself as the gaming console for everybody. As it turns out, that includes the Queen of England. Well, sort of. It’s not like Her Royal Highness went down to Wal-Mart and bought one with her summer job savings. Rather, she was given a special version by gaming company THQ.
The Royal Wii

Wii are definitely amused.

What makes the Queen’s “Royal Wii” different? It’s gold-plated, sucka! None of that lame white plastic for Buckingham Palace — the Queen needs her bling! Gaming blog Joystiq reports that the gaming company is hopeful that the PR stunt “will amuse Queen Elizabeth.”

Meanwhile, Geek.com writes that the gift is actually meant to build awareness for the upcoming game, Big Family Games. An ulterior motive? What?!? As the geeks put it, “for a game that is meant to include the whole family from kids to grandparents what better family to send it to than The Royal Family in England.”

According to Game Revolution, Big Family Games is a collection of mini-games, including “golf, tennis, ladder golf, lawn darts, horseshoes, bocce,” and more. So far, search interest is rather scant. However, should the Queen declare her love for the gift, expect the title to get a right honorable boost in the Buzz. Silly as that sounds, it’s not out of the realm of possibility — according to insiders, she was “addicted” to playing Prince William’s Wii last Christmas. Now she’ll have one of her own.