After dabbling with the idea earlier this year, it seems YouTube is finally entering the online video rental market with a decent selection of movies and TV shows priced between 99 cents and $3.99. For now the Google-owned service features mostly independent and foreign films, but there are also a few Oscar contenders like Precious and The Cove and other mainstream options including 3:10 to Yuma and Saw III.
It appears Lion's Gate is a major player in YouTube's streaming service. Google doesn't seem to have deals in place with most major studios -- Paramount, Fox, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, Warner Bros, MGM -- but it's been long rumored to be courting a few these hoping they'll jump aboard. Their current partner list includes the likes of Image Entertainment, Sony-owned Crackle.com, Bollywood, and Screen Media -- among others.
Rental periods are from 24 to 72 hours and payments are processed through Google Checkout. The YouTube store (US-only) should go up against other online rental venues like Apple's iTunes and Amazon's Video On Demand.
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Steam, Direct2Drive offer massive game discounts
Steam has slashed a mighty 50% off Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Game of the Year Edition, the blockbuster shooter that gave rise to Infinity Ward's immensely popular Modern Warfare 2. If you're new to the series, now's a cheap opportunity to see what all the fuss is about.
The minimum system requirements include a 2.4GHz Pentium 4 or AMD 64 2800+, 512MB of RAM on XP or 768MB on Vista, a GeForce 6600 or Radeon 9800Pro or better, and 8GB of free storage space. In other words, the game is mellow enough that any remotely modern mid-range PC
should be fine.
Trine, a puzzle platformer by Finnish developer Frozenbyte, is also steeply discounted on Steam at the moment. The title is $5 (75% off) and has recently been updated with a new level. We'd be remiss not to mention Direct2Drive's spring sale, which has loads of greatly reduced titles.
Grand Theft Auto IV and Supreme Commander Gold are $7.50 each (75% off), Manhunt 2 is $4.95, the Guild Wars Trilogy is $19.95, the Total War Collection is $44.95, and more. Get 'em while they're hot.
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