While the science of robotics is still a developing science, there's no rule that says that robots must only be used for work or for practical purposes. That's probably why Disney, Pixar, and Thinkway Toys have been collaborating to bring you a new line of robot toys. That includes the Ultimate Wall-E robot, and then some. More robotic news follows after the jump.

Fresh from acquiring assets to dip themselves into the casual gaming market, "creative hub" publisher THQ will now set out to raise the curtains off their much broader lineup of games for fiscal year 2009. And aside from tending some exclusive titles for the Nintendo Wii, THQ has a couple of mainstream franchises piled up for a comeback. All these are to be demonstrated at the Game Press Event in San Francisco. Head to the full story for more info.

THQ just released details regarding its profits for the third quarter of fiscal year 2008.

Aside from money matters, however, the company's CEO also hinted at when they'll be releasing the next installments of their Saints Row and Red Faction franchises. Details await in the full article.

If you're eagerly awaiting the WALL-E film you may want to check out the upcoming video game version as well, regardless of which system you own. That's right, THQ plans to release the video game version on all major gaming platforms to promote the movie's release. How faithful will the games be to the WALL-E movie? Find out after the jump!

 

It's time for this week's Blu-ray releases once again and of course, we've got new titles to add to the growing list of Blu-ray movies and other titles. This week's list is largely dominated by wholesome titles and Blu-ray packs, plus more Best of Blu-ray. As always, there's something for everyone so we'll also get to enjoy a smattering of other titles.

So what titles are going to the stores this week? Well, we've got light and quirky mixed with action, blood, plus a biopic and a Korean film. Most of the time, action flicks and wholesome family titles (sometimes synonymous with Disney) are polar opposites but they are shoulder to shoulder in this week's titles for your Blu-ray home entertainment systems. Anyway, on to the titles.

  

If you love Disney and Pixar movies and short films (like this writer does), then you'll love what's lined up this week. They are offering cars, a cooking rat, short films, movies, and then some. Yep, Lightning McQueen, Remy, Chicken Little, and the denizens of Pixar's short films (Jack-Jack of The Incredibles included) are about to invade homes.

Funny short films, revenge, and the complete list of releases after the jump!

In what seems to be an amusing parody to the proverbial Apple god, this image was posted by user donatreides over at Flickr depicting the grave of Steve Jobs in the form of an iPod.

The picture evoked a stream of humorous comments when it was first posted and still continues to illicit much amusement. Though he has been reported with notable health problems over the past few years, this puts into perspective a lighter side of what eventually lies in store for everyone someday.

Even Steve Jobs had a thing or two to say about his life and eventual death someday in his commencement address last June:

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

What more can we say but, "Very well said Steve, now where's that new iPod scheduled for the holiday season?"

In a press release by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (WDSHE), several Disney titles will be taking a big step into next generation media formats.

One of these innovations, the studio announced, will be the transition of the timeless classic, "Sleeping Beauty", onto the Platinum Blu-ray release format. Its release on Blu-ray marks a breakthrough for the technology's acceptance onto the customer market, similar to the release of Pinocchio on VHS as well as Snow White on DVD.

It was also revealed that the action-adventure "National Treasure" will be the WDSHE's first ever BD-Live Blu-ray Disc title. BD-Live Discs add network connectivity to the list of regular functions and increases mandatory local storage capability to 1 GB.

Also, two more titles, namely Disney/Pixar's "Finding Nemo" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe", will both be released with full motion picture-in-picture bonus features.

Bob Chapek, the President of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment had this to say regarding this about the new releases:

The strides that we've made with this format are just the tip of the iceberg and we are confident that consumers will be astounded by the level of entertainment that can only be achieved by using the maximum capacity of the Blu-ray Disc format. All of these wonderful titles will appeal to the ever growing Blu-ray market and we are extremely proud to offer these in the most pristine and robust presentations ever for Disney fans around the globe.

Everyone can expect all of these to be released next year, starting with "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" in spring, "National Treasure" in summer and topping it off with Disney/Pixar's "Finding Nemo" and "Sleeping Beauty" in fall.

At the risk of dropping some rather cheesy puns (that's one), we're letting the guys in some tasty deals GameStop has in store for this week.

The retailer has announced that this week's special will consist of several discounts for the game release of the Pixar movie Ratatouille, for the Xbox 360, PSP, Wii, DS, GameCube, GBA, PlayStation 2, and Xbox gaming consoles. This week's fresh catch will entitle buyers to a US$ 10 price reduction of the game, with the promo proper expected to last until this Thursday, August 9, while supplies last.

Also included in this week's sales promo is a used (original) PlayStation 2 model, which sells for US$ 79.99. For the 360 and PSP owners, also look out for the custom paraphernalia you'll be getting when you purchase choice titles from the site. Full details are available in the read link.

Back in the industry news, "creative hub" publisher THQ announced a first quarter sales dip of approximately US$ 34 million, while reporting a significantly lowered quarter net loss of US$ 9.3 million. Despite the drop from US$ 138.8 million to US$ 104.5 million in sales of Ratatouille, Cars, and WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007, the publisher is confident about its US$ 240 million sales target for Q2 2007.

 

Achievements for the company during Q1 included a penetration of the online market in China, after THQ signed an agreement with Shanda, a local game operations firm, to deliver the long-standing PC game Company of Heroes to the blossoming PC market in the region. While details were scarce, it was hinted that the title would definitely cater to the online segment.

Brian Farrell, CEO of THQ, assured attendees at the recently concluded press conference that the current quarter performance appears to be as they expected. He remained confident that their lineup of family-friendly and casual games for the Nintendo Wii and DS will keep the company "well positioned" for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, de Blob, Stuntman: Ignition, and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007, on the other hand, have been selected as for Game Critics' Best of E3 2007 Awards, while a whispered sequel for Red Faction back in February was confirmed at the conference call. Details on the sequel have not been revealed as of press time.

Future prospects of the company appear to be cautiously optimistic, after Farrell noted a faster pace of PlayStation 3 hardware sales that seem to outweigh the platform's software sales. The company also plans to dive into in-game advertising more so this 2008, claiming to be in talks with Nickelodeon and Pixar to discuss in-game ad revenue shares.

More next-gen joy that's Ratchet and Clank-flavored coming your way with this two-hit video update of the duo's latest next-gen adventure on the PlayStation 3. High-end graphics, a clean and wholesome visual style not unlike Pixar's, and stellar voice acting - we give you the skinny on what could be one of the PS3's biggest hits from Insomniac Games yet.

The first video's the opening cinematic of the game, where we see Ratchet and Clank suffering a slight mishap while on their way to the Planetary Defense Center. The second video, titled Bot Smashing Gameplay, is just that - a minute or so of bot-smashing courtesy of an expertly-wielded wrench. If a mere lombax can do this much carnage with a wrench, what more can he do with the other weapons not yet revealed? We can only wonder.

Updates about Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction as we get them, and enjoy the videos!

The other video after the jump!