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God of War III demo on District 9 Blu-ray Dec. 29

Sony's game and movie divisions agree on cross-promotion that will put E3 demo of upcoming fantasy game on same disc as onetime Halo director's sci-fi film.

Until today, gamers had only a few ways to play God of War III before its March 2010 launch: Get access to a game expo where it was on the show floor or pick up the God of War collection on November 17. The collection bundles HD versions of the first two critically acclaimed games with a demo of the upcoming PlayStation 3 sequel.

Now, Sony Computer Entertainment has struck a deal with its corporate sibling Sony Pictures Entertainment to bring the God of War III demo to movie fans. When it goes on sale on December 29, the Blu-ray edition of the summer sci-fi hit District 9 will include the demo--which is the same E3 demo included in the God of War Collection--amongst its bevy of extras. Those pack-ins will also include an interactive map of the South African metropolis of Johannesburg, where the film is set.

Not even District 9's defenses can contain Kratos.

Not even District 9's defenses can contain Kratos.

The inclusion of the God of War III demo appears to be an astute move by Sony, since District 9 was of particular interest to gamers. Besides its cutting-edge special effects, the film drew attention because its freshman director, Neill Blomkamp, had been slated to helm the Halo film. However, following the big-screen game adaptation's collapse in 2006, its executive producer, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, helped Blomkamp get financing for District 9.

The District 9/God of War III deal is the latest game-movie Blu-ray crossover. In 2007, the PS3 edition of Stranglehold included its film inspiration, the 1992 Hong Kong action epic Hard Boiled, on the same disc. In July, the PS3 edition of Watchmen: The End is Nigh Complete Experience included the Blu-ray edition of the Warner Bros. film Watchmen, based on the comic book of the same name. Sony has also said it is planning a line of game/movie Blu-ray discs that would include both film-based games and their big-screen inspirations--or vice versa.

92 Comments

  • XUnknown406

    Posted Dec 22, 2009 5:47 pm GMT

    Does Anybody Got a God Of War III Beta Key i'll trade u a Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta Key For a God Of War III Beta Key? psn: Unknown406 Note: send me the code first & then i'll test the code to see if it works & if it does i'll send you a message over the psn with the Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta Key =)

  • PumpkinBoogie

    Posted Oct 31, 2009 10:24 am GMT

    Well, I think I'd still probably go w/ the re-leased GOW blu-ray bundle w/ the demo 1) b/c that will obviously come out before the movie and 2) I'm not really interested in the movie. Logically, I'm going to go w/ the item that I at least know I'll use (play) rather than a movie that I'll let sit around b/c I didn't want it to begin w/.

  • PumpkinBoogie

    Posted Oct 31, 2009 10:18 am GMT

    @necronaux,

    Yeah, I think you might have misread that...I believe the re-release of both GOW I & II, on blu-ray, I believe is what's gonna have the demo on it that for 40 bucks. The movie will probably only cost around 20 bucks give or take.

  • mythoras

    Posted Oct 31, 2009 3:31 am GMT

    yes i got a code yesterday aswell, very nice demo

  • davidamos

    Posted Oct 31, 2009 2:43 am GMT

    i got an email with the code to get my god of war 3 demo, and i didn't preorder anything. weird. did anyone else get a similar email?

  • xXpainXx123

    Posted Oct 30, 2009 11:48 pm GMT

    cant wait,this game feels like its gonna take 4ever to come out, well at least MW2 is close.

  • vf21x

    Posted Oct 30, 2009 12:32 pm GMT

    @necronaux
    Stop being so ignorant. The movie will cost around $20.00, not $40.00!!! The demo is thrown in for free.

  • necronaux

    Posted Oct 30, 2009 10:12 am GMT

    Sure. Pay $40 for a (playable?) demo of GoW III. Sure you get the D-9 movie, but really, $40 just to play a demo?

  • Menelick

    Posted Oct 30, 2009 12:33 am GMT

    god of war 3?here we go again with another "continuous" game release franchise from Sony,even though Kretos rocks.

  • PandaTrueno86

    Posted Oct 30, 2009 12:19 am GMT

    Now that's what we call "Good marketing".

  • xxsuperbananaxx

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 7:57 pm GMT

    @xblane

    I bet they won't spin for long. The next generation of consoles will probably be download only. Sure they might still have disk drives for older games and older media (DVDs, and probably Blu-ray too) but I see the future of gaming with systems that you download entire games to the HDD. The Xbox already allows this with their "games on demand". Take a look at the PSP Go too. It's one of the very first gaming devices that is download only, and I can only see the consoles going in the same direction. The entire gaming industry is going to change dramatically over the next few years if this is the case how will stores like Game Stop or Game Crazy stay in business. And if this is the future of gaming; will there be a way for us to backup our digital downloaded games onto disc, or can we somehow trade older games for new ones? Technically if we buy something, we own it so we should be able to re-sell it right? Another thing to think about is what if a friend just wants to borrow a game, it's hard to do when you have nothing physical to lend them and when services like Xbox live or the PlayStation Network down't allow you to use media on more than one console. I read an article in Game Informer magazine that said when we download media we actually don't own it we're just leasing it, which is why we're not allowed to download games, movies, etc. to more than one system. This is all just speculation though, plus I'm just blabbing...who knows what the future holds, but these are things to think about. I think there's more at www.theECA.com (Entertainment Consumers Association) they talk about our rights as consumers as far as digital media goes. It's interesting stuff.

  • xblane

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 4:33 pm GMT

    I know this is going to be a very unpopular comment, but, it is interesting. It is a little scary that Sony generate the media, distribute it and produce the hardware to play it on and significant input into the format, ie BluRay.

    It seems they have alot of power in directing the industry for their own benefit (as you'd expect all compaines to do). I ask a question, why does our media have to spin?

  • LosDaddie

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 12:30 pm GMT

    Cool indeed.

  • breakitapart

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 12:08 pm GMT

    Isn't this 4 days too late for people to shell out money for a new release? Perhaps that is why the bundle?

  • KBFTodd

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 12:00 pm GMT

    Sold...

  • flammable_zeus

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 9:45 am GMT

    Even more reason to pick up District 9 on blu-ray, which I was planning to do anyway.

  • LIME43

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 6:51 am GMT

    No smithy, u buy that movie and WATCH IT U SON OF A MONKEY!!!! But i know what u mean, gow3 is gonna rock all my clothes off and make me pregnant

  • SolidSmith1608

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 5:48 am GMT

    well...now im gonna get it and not even watch the film.

  • Beastcake

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 4:36 am GMT

    District 9 was an amazing movie. I would pick this up either way.

  • shani_boy101

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 4:15 am GMT

    interesting offer, but the GoW collection is more enticing.

  • tiggerboy

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 4:15 am GMT

    If they did a Halo movie like they did District 9, it would be a Blockbuster for sure! Can't wait for both this movie and GoW III!

  • xbox360mslover posted Oct 29, 2009 4:12 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    xbox360mslover

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 4:12 am GMT (hide)

    district 9 is one of my fav. movies this year ........ but i will not buy becoz of god of war 3 .......... it is biggest letdown

  • groundgamer

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 4:05 am GMT

    Cool!

  • 5abdoul

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 3:48 am GMT

    Nope,m still wiv the collection

  • Petercairns

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 3:06 am GMT

    Random...??

  • Jawehawk-DK

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 2:55 am GMT

    AWESOME

  • Simple_malk

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 2:30 am GMT

    What an odd combination. D-9 and GoW has nothing in common except for the fans that like both. Well either way I was planning on buying this so bonus I guess.

  • SosdanRhuzine

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 1:20 am GMT

    District 9 has been the best movie I have seen this year and giving us GOW3 demo is even better.

  • dynam3

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 1:07 am GMT

    good move there!

  • VicKillFace

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 12:52 am GMT

    I have a feeling this may be the beginning of a trend...oh well I'm all for demos on movies

  • solidine

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 12:20 am GMT

    I actually really enjoyed that movie, but hate GoW. I wasn't planning on buying this until I wanted to see it again, which probably won't be for a while, but I guess I can give the demo to someone who gives a f***.

  • psiu_sammy

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 11:54 pm GMT

    @toysoldier34

    It's the same demo

  • hot_shot_9

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 11:26 pm GMT

    Hmm, its either this or the collection now.

    Ill go with the collection.

  • alrector81

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 10:34 pm GMT

    I was planning on buying this movie on Day 1 anyways, this is just icing on the cake! Such a unique movie, and I'm sure GoW3 is going to be great too. No reason not to buy this!

  • Toysoldier34

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 10:22 pm GMT

    district 9 is epic. but is it the same demo from the gow 1&2 pack and distict 9? or is it two different ones?

  • perkins

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 9:33 pm GMT

    Great movie and very original I think this will create a boost in sales for sure. Cant wait!

  • ebonyflame

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 9:31 pm GMT

    Deal all they want, I doubt putting that game demo on that mvoie disk is gonna help them move copies of that movie. It was a great theater experience but I think dvd sales are dead in the water. Just my opinion and yes I have seen the movie. I thought it was interesting. And the only way I will return to that universe is via a sequel that finishes the story.

  • jimbo7up

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 9:22 pm GMT

    Am I the only person tired of them referencing Blomkamp by the "once Halo director" tag? District 9 was badass and powerful, just start calling him Blomkamp "director of District 9." I think he's earned his credit.

  • akiwak

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 9:10 pm GMT

    Sweeeeeeeeet...

  • JRD1912 posted Oct 28, 2009 8:36 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    JRD1912

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 8:36 pm GMT (hide)

    The movie was pretty bland, and shallow to say the least imo. i guess I dont know anythign about District 6 and wow, didnt see anything on the first page when I tried to google it, which im guessing is pretty screwed up. That aside. The movie still sucked. It gave much more face time with the humans, who while bad, could have been 10x worse. The Aliens came off almost just as bad, or barbaric. Which was prob supposed to be a comment on their surroundings and the way they were treated, but was just glossed over to the point/given no empthy where it felt like they chose to live that way. The movie was hugely shallow crap, esp for the social commentary it was supposed to be about.

  • akuma_od3

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 8:16 pm GMT

    kytomasi: The movie obviously sucked for you because you have no knowledge of South African history. I take it you don't know what District 6 is?

  • bubnux

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 8:14 pm GMT

    I was gonna buy this bluray anyways, sweeeeet deal.

  • izmickey

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 8:12 pm GMT

    pretty smart way to sell district 9 on blu-ray. To be honest...i think ill be picking one up as well. Great movie btw.

  • nooblet69

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 8:08 pm GMT

    I actually liked district 9 but I won't be buying the blu-ray. I preordered the gow collector's edition and hope they still include it with that.

  • kytomasi posted Oct 28, 2009 7:59 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    kytomasi

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 7:59 pm GMT (hide)

    District 9 sucked lol it'll be funny to rent the movie just to play the demo.

  • Brokendemise

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 7:55 pm GMT

    One of the best combinations ever.

  • spawnassasin

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 7:45 pm GMT

    sweet all the more reason for me to get D-9

  • monson21502 posted Oct 28, 2009 7:42 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    monson21502

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 7:42 pm GMT (hide)

    just came out of a sony pr room. they said put a really short demo in a really bad movie and it will sell like crazy.

  • thrasher510

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 7:41 pm GMT

    i liked district 9 and i like god of war so ill probably pick this up.

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