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When celebrities get on board for a game, the inevitable pitfall is the dreaded interview where said celebrity awkwardly tries relating to the "gamer" crowd (trust us, we know all about it.) With DJ Hero dropping this week, celebrity sponsor Jay-Z sat down with MTV News to talk about how much of a gamer he is (hint: not so much) and his support for the cultural awareness opportunities inherent in the recently released turntable title.

"Immediately, of course, with the success of Guitar Hero, you know, [DJ Hero] piqued my interest, and then on top of that it was something from the hip-hop culture. So, anytime you can, you know, I can expand the genre and introduce it to new audiences and widen it -- you know, the reach of what hip-hop can do -- you know, I'm interested in that," Jay-Z explains in the video interview (embedded after the break).

As far as Jay-Z's gaming roots, that's another story altogether. "I was really a gamer," Jay-Z urges. "Like, ask any of the guys. Like, I used to -- Madden and all these type of games," Jay-Z awkwardly cobbles together, "I was, like, really a problem. Like, those were my things -- for awhile." Presumably, until, you know, he got all that other stuff that impresses us, right? It's okay, Mr. Z -- you don't have to impress us with your gaming prowess, too. It's not like we have the numbers of "the guys" to fact check your claims anyway.

For many gamers in their twenty-somethings, "Captain" Lou Albano is best remembered for his portrayal of Nintendo's titular mascot in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. We regret to inform you that Albano has passed away at the age of 76.

Acting on numerous tips, we were led to details on PopEater, which reports that Albano passed away at his home in Mount Vernon, NY. Family members confirmed on Monday that Albano was under hospice care for an undiscovered condition. Albano leaves behind a lasting legacy in the wrestling world and fond childhood memories of doin' the Mario for many Joystiq staff members.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Acclaimed Hollywood director and self-professed Team ICO fan, Guillermo del Toro, sees a bright future for video games, claiming that the next decade will bring about titles of an "earthshaking Citizen Kane" caliber. Basing his thoughts on the dynamics of narrative in sandbox games, del Toro states that this evolution in storytelling (he coined as "story engine" in his interview with Wired) will turn into something so powerful that it will not only give us better games, but also change Hollywood and "rewrite the rules of fiction."

While this may seem like a bold prediction difficult to live up to, del Toro assures he won't hobbit away from the responsibility of seeing it come true. "I'll be trying to make [such a game]," he told Wired. "But I won't be trying until after The Hobbit." There you have it folks, del Toro "Citizen Kane" game confirmed* for 2019. Mark it down.

*Not actually confirmed

[Via GameDaily]

David Hasselhoff, representative of talking cars and safe beaches the world over, recently told a very funny story to MTV Multiplayer. He says he's one to "play celebrity cards," and when his daughter said she wanted a Wii, he got busy. Calling up his local game store, The Hoff was told that no systems were left, but was quickly able to charm the clerk into admitting that the store had held one system back. "Hold that game. I will be over in 30 minutes," he said, eventually showing up to the store where a very shocked employee declared, "Knight Rider! Dude!"

Obviously, the store sold him the game system, and we imagine his daughter was incredibly happy that her dad used his celebrity to get it, but wouldn't it have been faster to just call up Nintendo? We heard Iwata's hooked on a feeling.

Not so long ago, Nintendo was content to advertise its biggest franchises with kids rapping awkwardly on a sofa. Since then, things have changed somewhat. In a bid to capture more and more of the expanded audience, Ninty is throwing the celebrities at us, such as those in the UK advert above (Harry Redknapp's evident confusion during the Brawl segment is something we shall always enjoy seeing).

How do you view slebs being used to endorse some of your favorite gaming products? Is it a horribly cynical marketing ploy, or simply a very cunning tactic on Nintendo's part? Also, do you know of anybody who was nudged toward a Nintendo-branded system by one of these adverts?

It looks like THQ is throwing the big bucks at the oft-delayed Deadly Creatures. At least, we assume hiring Dennis Hopper and Billy Bob Thornton for a spot of voice-acting isn't cheap, particularly considering the pair aren't short on acting gongs. Sadly, contrary to our expertly 'shopped post image, they'll be playing human characters, a missed opportunity if ever we saw one.

Hopper and Thornton's involvement is old news, but the behind-the-scenes trailer featuring Hopper lending the game some necessary gravitas is new -- head past the break to see it!

... with mixed results. But let's start with the good ones: Patrick Stewart will be back this Christmas to sell the DS and Brain Training to Brits (as he was last year), and he'll be doing it alongside Julie Walters. Hurray! The rest of Nintendo's celebrity line-up will be quite obscure to Americans, but when they produce lifestyle photography as brilliant as this, who the hell cares? They include:

• Girls Aloud. British girl pop group, and actually a pretty big name in Blighty. Most famous member is one Cheryl Cole, who seems lovely and sincere on X Factor, though isn't quite as pleasant if you meet her in a nightclub toilet.
• Fern Britton, once-cuddly, now gastric-band-wearing TV presenter, will be advertising Cooking Guide.
  
• Ronan Keating, one-fifth of Irish boyband Boyzone. Incidentally, in the process of writing this post, we discovered Boyzone were reforming. Ugh. Anyway, Ronan will be promoting Big Brain Academy.
  
• Jamie and Louise Redknapp, slightly thick but good-looking soccer pundit and his former pop star wife. Will join forces with their extended family to push Mario Kart Wii, Wii Sports, and Super Smash Bros.: Brawl. That's a lot of responsibility on the Redknapps' shoulders! We hope they're up to it.
  

And going by Nintendo's current record in the UK, they'll probably do really well. Best of luck to all of them.

When we took on this job, we never quite expected to be commenting on a picture of country music star Keith Urban skiing, but we'll do our best. So that's Keith Urban skiing, and this is Celebrity Sports Showdown, the latest Wii project in EA Sports' "Freestyle" sub-brand. If your breakfast just reappeared in your mouth, know this: you're not alone.

The aim of this minigame smorgasbord is thus: take control of one of fifteen big-headed "celebrities," and pit them against one another in events including (amongst others) Wild Water Canoeing, Smash Badminton, Arena Dodgeball, Slalom Showdown, Hurdle Derby, and Curling. The celebrities come from the sphere of music and sport, and include leathery-skinned lump-wiggler Fergie, Reggie Bush, Avril Lavigne, Sugar Ray Leonard, and others not sufficiently famous enough to make this sentence.

There's a full list past the break, though most are fairly C-list to a UK resident such as yours truly -- will there be a localized version with Keith Chegwin? Fingers and toes crossed! Or not.

The latest episode of Glitch in the System makes it horribly obvious that the "celebrities" attending Gamespot's E3 bash had no idea who was hosting the party. That street probably goes both ways because, straight up, we had to Google almost every single one of the "celebrities" that we saw in the video. Check out the cringe-inducing footage o the red carpet interviews after the break.

PS: Thanks again to the 300+ people who attended -- or used astral projection to attend in spirit -- our Joystiq E3 meet-up. Watching something like this makes us appreciate you all even more.

If you recognize the above pictured pair as reality TV stars (and not just goobers at a Halloween party), then you should stop reading this post right now and just go read US Magazine or something. If you don't recognize them, we'll explain that Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, stars of MTV's The Hills, let slip recently that they're collaborating with EA on a video game version of their, like, totally drama-filled lives.

Not many details were spilled on what Pratt called the "top-secret" game, but he did mention to US Magazine that the game would let players work against the popular pair if they want to. "You can even torture me," Pratt said in a quote sure to excite reality-TV-haters everywhere.

Pratt expects the game to come out in two versions -- "the adult version and the one for minors" -- around Christmas 2009. And really, if you can't trust reality TV stars for your video game release dates, who can you trust?

While some of you might recognize the gap-toothed gentleman pictured above as actor Keith David, from such films as "The Thing" or "Requiem for a Dream", we'd wager that more of you know his voice -- David is arguably the most prolific celebrity-turned-video game voice actor on the planet, picking up roles in Fallout, Saints Row, Planescape: Torment, Mass Effect, and, of course, providing the guttural dialogue for the Arbiter in Halo 2 and Halo 3. Though his on-screen career isn't booming, David has found a comfortable niche in the video game voice acting market.

According to a recent Reuters article, he's not the only celebrity to slip through the cracks of big screen Hollywood, only to find solace and celebrity in video games. Terrence 'T.C.' Carson, whose career dried up after his role in the moderately successful sitcom "Living Single", has voiced a number of video game characters -- including everyone's favorite brooding Spartan, Kratos. Michael Ironside of Top Gun and Starship Troopers fame provides the voice of Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher.

These kinds of jobs are quickly gaining popularity in Hollywood, says Reuters, as voice work provides a much steadier paycheck than that of on-screen roles. We see it as a win-win situation -- down on their luck actors with distinct voices can find a nice amount of celebrity in the gaming realm, and as a result, we don't have to suffer through another era of wretched, Tenchu-esque voice acting. God bless you, Keith David.

We'd like to be envious of Angelina Jolie's vast wealth and movie star looks, but heck, we just can't muster up the hate -- not when she has the nous to buy games like Ghost Squad.

Alas, not everybody appreciates Ms. Jolie's discerning taste in Wii Zapper titles. Brad Pitt's own sister, for example, was less than pleased that her children received a copy of the T-rated game from the actress for Christmas, and apparently sent it back with a slightly indignant note, explaining to Auntie that "We don't promote violence in our home."

This apparently trivial celebrity tale probably raises lots of important questions concerning violent video game content and the role of parents. But we have our own questions -- vital questions -- that need answers. Questions such as: Did Jolie get the game cheap? Does she have her own dolphin-shaped Zapper? And if so ... does she read us?! Hai Angelina!

[Via Game Politics]