Regardless of how you feel about her, Lady Gaga is certainly a pop culture sensation. Fans across the globe are going ga-ga for her newest music video “Telephone” featuring Beyonce, which just hit the web. This week, they’ll be able to rock out to some of her previous hits, including “Bad Romance” and “Poker Face,” which are coming to the Rock Band store.

What’s even more exciting, and hilarious, is that Eric Cartman’s cover version of “Poker Face” is also slated for Rock Band release. The song was first heard on a South Park episode where Cartman would rather play Rock Band than save whales being slaughtered by Japanese terrorists. The cover has been the subject of many a YouTube video, including some remixes with Lady Gaga’s original version, and the version sung/spoken by the amazing Christopher Walken.

Not sure how much fun the original Lady Gaga songs will be to play on Rock Band, but the Cartman version is sure to be a favorite. The Lady Gaga Track Pack and the rest of the new songs available for Rock Band will be released March 16th for Xbox 360 and Wii, and March 18th for the PS3. Here’s the full list of songs.

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Move over, Wii. You’re no longer the only motion-controlled gaming system in town. While Playstation 3’s Sixaxis controller had some motion-sensing capabilities, it wasn’t much to write home about. But yesterday, at Sony’s GDC press conference, the company officially revealed their new motion-controller, simply called “The Move.”

Looking curiously similar to the Wii-mote, the Move will feature True 3D rotation, buttons similar to the regular Sixaxis, and an analog trigger. The Move also has rechargeable batteries, and plugs into the same USB port as the Sixaxis.  The device seems to have two controllers, like the Wii-mote and nunchuck combination seen on the Wii.

The difference is that the Move’s two devices are connected wirelessly. The Move is said to be far more sensitive and responsive than its predecessor, because it uses the Playstation Eye to detect movement as opposed to a sensor bar like the Wii.

Games like LittleBigPlanet and EyeToy were demoed with the Move, and third party publishers like Square Enix, Konami, EA, Ubi, Disney, Sega, WBI, Crave, and Activision are all behind this new technology. It also looks like the Playstation 3 will start getting ports of games originally slated for the Wii, the first one being The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest.

The Move will be released on its own, bundled with the Playstation Eye, and in a Playstation 3 bundle. No idea how much the controller will cost on its own, but bundled with the Eye it’ll set you back about $99. You’ll be able to get your hands on the Move this fall.

Macs are great, except for when you want to play video games on them. Instead, OSX users rejoice whenever new and exciting titles are announced for the platform, and today is no exception. Kotaku has officially confirmed that along with the Steam software, Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series are coming to Mac.

“As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality Internet clients,” said Gabe Newell, President of Valve. “The Mac is a great platform for entertainment services.”

This announcement has been rumored for awhile, as Mac-specific graphics were discovered in the beta files for the new Steam service last month. Valve dropped some serious hints later, with the release of some images of Valve games integrated with some familiar Mac themes.

Even more exciting is the new feature Steam Play, which will allow anyone who purchases a game on Steam for PC to download and play it for Mac, and vice versa, with no extra charge. Valve also hopes to release titles for Mac on the same day as the PC versions. The first simultaneous release for PC and Mac on Steam will be Portal 2, which was announced earlier this month.

The guys at Square Enix have a big month coming up with the release of the long-awaited Final Fantasy XIII next week and announcements that three new add-ons are in the works for Final Fantasy XI. But also on the horizon is the beginning of beta testing for Final Fantasy XIV, their newest MMO.

According to 1Up.com, the first wave of beta invites for Final Fantasy XIV will be going out beginning March 11th to those who applied back in December. The beta will expand over time for those who aren’t initially invited. The beta will only be available on PC, at first, but the game is slated for release later this year so you won’t have to wait long to get your hands on the game for PS3.

Final Fantasy XIV takes place in the land of Eorzea, whose nations have banded together after constant war to stem the threat of the Garlean Empire. When the threat subsided, the resulting peace left many soldiers  without a job. As one of these soldiers, players will form guilds, becoming adventurers.

The game will be hitting the gaming shelves for PC and the PS3 this winter, and keep it here for more details as we get closer to it’s release.

We’re back this month with Cortney’s TV Digest, everything you need to know about the latest and greatest shows on the tube. This month we’ve got some interesting new shows to tell you about from a bunch of your favorite networks, as well as the resurrection of one show we worried we’d never see again.

Parenthood – NBC

Based on the 1989 film of the same name, this new show is produced by movie and tv genius Ron Howard. The show follows the parenting experience of the Bravemen family: single mom Sarah (Lauren Graham), her brother Adam (Peter Krause) and wife Christina (Monica Potter) whose son is diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, and their headstrong father (Craig T. Nelson). Parenthood premiers March 2nd at 10 PM on NBC.

Southland – TNT

Back in 2009, NBC premiered their new, gritty cop drama, Southland. The show centered around Los Angeles and the members of the LAPD, including The OC’s Ben Mackenzie as rookie Officer Ben Sherman. Shortly before the beginning of its second season, NBC suddenly canceled Southland. It was doubtful whether we’d ever see the six episodes scheduled to air, but TNT swooped in and bought them, effectively saving the show from certain doom. The previous season began airing in January and season 2 starts on March 2nd.

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According to various news sites across the Interwebs including Joystiq, 1Up, and Kotaku, Playstation 3 consoles across the globe have been suffering from what looks to be a global network lockdown. While it sounds like this would just affect people’s ability to do things like sign into their accounts, check their trophies, use dynamic themes or access the PlayStation Network, some users have reported that they can’t even play games.

Consoles most affected seem to be the older PS3 models, not the PS3 Slims released last year. Titles that are giving players issues, like the newly released Heavy Rain, will give users a screen stating “Registration of the trophy information could not be completed. The game will quit.” The console then reboots and returns to the main screen. This is incredibly frustrating, because even if the PSN is down, gamers should still be able to play their games offline without a problem.

Sony is aware of the PSN connection problems and is telling users to “stay tuned” for updates. But in the meantime, they advise you not to use your PS3. Hopefully, this is something that will be fixed very soon.

Regardless of the hype, good reviews, or recommendations we get on a game, sometimes we just miss out on some of the latest and greatest titles because of one thing: cold, hard cash. Videogames are expensive, and whether you rent or buy you’re still paying a pretty penny for the ones that you deem worthy enough to play.

So what if you could get a bunch of really great games you’ve wanted for dirt cheap? That’s what Microsoft’s Games on Demand for Windows is banking on for the month of March, when they’ll be discounting a different PC game every weekend. According to Kotaku, the first one will be Batman: Arkham Asylum and starting today this weekend (now confirmed via Major Nelson), the game will sell for 75% off of the $49.99 retail price on their online store.

While PC might not be your console of preference for this or any of the other titles they’ll be releasing, you can’t deny the awesome savings at a time when we all kind of need them. Be sure to check back here at The Flickcast or your Games for Windows Live account every Friday all month long for the latest.

I’m a girl who just happens to love World of Warcraft and cute stuffed animals. So when they’re combined I totally geek out. Kotaku just brought to my attention these brand-new WoW plushies, available in the Blizzard Online Store.

These cuddly critters are both modeled after the Horde and Alliance transportation mounts in the game. Not only will you receive a fuzzy new friend when you buy one of these, you’ll also get a code redeemable for a matching in-game pet, which judging by the previews on the website are just as adorable.

Players already dish out cash every month in order to play WoW in the first place, but if you’ve got a geeky girlfriend like me (I’m looking at you, boyfriend) or all the time indoors in front of the computer has made you lonely, these plushies seem well worth the $24.99. Especially since the other pets, priced at $10, don’t even come with something real and tangible to hold on those lonely nights when your guild doesn’t have enough room to bring you to a raid.

Going off to college is never easy. It’s even harder when your most beloved childhood toys get donated to a day care center, and that’s the situation Andy and his toys Woody, Buzz, and the gang are facing in the third installment to Pixar’s oldest franchise, Toy Story 3. A new trailer popped up on the Apple Trailers site today, giving us an even deeper peek at the film.

It’s more than appropriate that Andy would be going off to college, as Toy Story fans (myself included) have all grown up and left our own toys behind. But with the toys also facing big changes like making new friends and learning to use the internet, Toy Story 3 looks like it’ll please both fourth graders and college freshmen.

Directed by Lee Unkrich (Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc.) and starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, John Ratzenberger, Joan Cusack, and Wallace Shawn, Toy Story 3 flies out of the toy box and into theaters and IMAX 3D June 18th. In the meantime, you can watch the brand new trailer after the jump.

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In the first installment of TV Digest: Canceled, I talked about shows such as Moonlight, Jerico and Studio 60 that were gone too soon. This time I’ve got more shows that were canceled way before their time, and are a testament to both how amazing television can be but also how nearsighted executives can be when making the decision to cancel a show.

While these shows may no longer grace our television sets with shiny, fresh new episodes, they live on in our hearts and on our DVD shelves. These are what I consider to be the most beloved canceled TV shows of our time.

Arrested Development

Produced by brilliant filmmaker Ron Howard and starring a slew of incredible actors, Arrested Development ran for three seasons from 2003-2006. Shot in a documentary style fashion, like The Office, the show is about the wealthy but seriously crazy Bluth family after their father gets arrested and their company faces bankruptcy.

Oldest son Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) is the glue that holds everyone together while siblings Gob (Will Arnett), Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) and her husband Tobias (David Cross), and Buster (Tony Hale) do their best to make a mess of things. I really can’t say enough about how good this show was.

Other than the incredible casting, this show has some of the best writing and comedic timing I’ve ever seen on television. I have watched all three seasons multiple times and I can watch an episode now and still find something brand new to laugh about, because of how well the writers reference old jokes and spin new ones in their wake.

But the show also can have these incredibly heartfelt moments, in between the insanity, that remind us how important it is to be a family despite how much money you have in the bank. And as the economy continues its slump, this crazy family in the midst of financial turmoil is looking far less eccentric and just plain average. As this show ages it becomes more and more relevant, and it becomes clearer and clearer just how great it is.

Despite all that, as well as numerous Emmy nominations and wins, the show was canceled. Luckily we’ll see more of the Bluth family soon, in a feature length movie that begins shooting this year.

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