Rockstar has just released a trailer to the Original Short Film made from Red Dead Redemption, which airs this Saturday, the 29th of May, on FOX.

Also, be sure to check out Rockstar's latest Asked & Answered post, as it answers some questions about the issues some players are having with the game - this included connection problems, bugs, glitches and code redeeming issues. A question also answered was related to whether the Original Short Film was a prequel to the actual game, here's what Rockstar had to say about that:

“What exactly is this John Hillcoat short film of Red Dead? is it a prequel?” – received via Mouthoff

No. A Short Film Made From Red Dead Redemption is not a prequel – instead, director John Hillcoat was given free reign to use the world of Red Dead Redemption as his own personal film studio, manipulating characters, animals, sound and weather to create his own personal vision of the first chapter of Marston's story – his quest to capture Bill Williamson. By capturing gameplay footage and editing cutscenes, Hillcoat and editor Barry Alexander Brown were able to create a unique short film that deals with one specific slice of the game's story. (Confession - there are about two or three lines of dialogue we re-recorded for the piece, and a couple where we had to remove bad language. Otherwise it is 100% from the game.)

If you're in the US, check your local listings to find out when the Short Film will air for you. Those outside the States, we should have more information on how you guys will be able to watch it online soon.

If you've purchased yourself a copy of Red Dead Redemption's spectacular Original Soundtrack and enjoyed all the tracks like us, or even just enjoyed the atmosphere and feeling of the music in-game, then perhaps you'd like to hear about how it was made. The traditional music duo Bill Elm and Woody Jackson comprised the score for the game, and without a doubt hit just the right beats throughout, adding to the mood of the game in the most crucial way possible: sound and music.

Guardian.co.uk caught up with the duo to discuss the making of the soundtrack, and I definitely recommend reading it. The history behind the equipment used in the creation of the score is one of the most intriguing aspects:

But then Jackson is apparently an obsessive collector of esoteric and vintage recording equipment, spending many an evening on eBay tracking down rarities. The Red Dead score, and the subsequent album (which comes free with the Limited Edition of the game, and is also available on various digital download sites) were recorded and mixed at his own studio in LA, which was built in 1931, making it the oldest privately owned studio in the city. "The mixing board belonged to this guy Wally Heider," explains Jackson. "Basically every rock record from the late sixties to the early seventies was recorded on it, everything from T-Rex and Grateful Dead, to Herbie Hancock."

Think that's amazing, you'll never guess how they came up with the drum beat prominent in the North.

Check out the entire interview at guardian.co.uk - Redemption songs: the making of the Red Dead Redemption soundtrack.

According to MCVUK today, the UK supermarket chain ASDA, who has been boycotting Red Dead Redemption since before its launch, has lifted the boycott. Confirming to MCV that their dispute with Take-Two has been resolved, the game will start appearing on ASDA shelves from May 29th. Although we discussed the rumor of the dispute being based around pricing, neither ASDA or Take-Two have clarified what the dispute was truly about, so the reasoning for the boycott is still unknown.

Furthermore, MCV contacted Rockstar following the boycott lifting to inquire about when UK gamers can expect the supply shortages to be resolved. Rockstar Games' UK General Manager, Neil Stephen, says:

“We have seen very strong demand for Red Dead Redemption at launch which did impact on availability for gamers in some locations unfortunately and we’re sorry if that has been the case,"

"We have been working hard with all our partners to get more stock into stores to meet the ongoing demand as quickly as possible and we believe the situation should be resolved by this weekend, so we’d like to thank everyone involved for their part in this.”

So expect the shortages to be resolved by this weekend UK readers. Looks like the game has done better in the UK than it was originally expected to, which is great news for Rockstar and fans alike.

Double thanks to MCVUK: Asda and Take Two resolve dispute | Rockstar 'working hard' to maintain RDR supply

A free, denoted as "lite", version of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the iPhone and iPod touch has quietly appeared in the iTunes App Store. It seems to have been released several weeks back, but we've only just discovered it ourselves. The lite version allows you to play the first three missions from the full game, and is around 100 megabytes smaller than the full version download wise.

Five new screenshots have been placed with it in the App Store as well, you can find them below:

Download for Free: US | UK | AU

Red Dead Redemption is currently Blockbuster Canada's number 1 most rented video game title, on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, for the period ending May 23rd.

Quite impressive given the number of other popular titles in the list as well. Well done Rockstar!

Source: Lethbridge Herald

Until today, nothing much has been known about the Red Dead Redemption TV Special which was revealed in April, and later delayed earlier this month. Rockstar revealed this morning that the special is actually an Original Short Film made using Redemption as a "virtual studio":

The 30 minute short film, created and directed by John Hillcoat (the director of The Proposition and The Road), chronicles a slice-in-time of protagonist John Marston as he tracks down his former fellow outlaw and friend, Bill Williamson.  Along the way, Marston encounters many of Red Dead Redemption's eclectic cast of dreamers, misfits and liars.

Using the world of Red Dead Redemption as a virtual film studio and created entirely with in-game assets and technology, Hillcoat re-imagines Marston’s pursuit of justice and salvation. 

Also interesting to point out is the fact that it will be available online for those of us not in the US to see. When and where it will be available online hasn't yet been revealed, but Rockstar has commented that information regarding its online availability will be released soon.

Be sure to tune in, sounds like it will be a very interesting experience!

Newswire: An Original Short Film Made from Red Dead Redemption Airing on FOX this Saturday Night

Red Dead Redemption has certainly been a hit in the UK, not only has it been topping the charts in its first week, its become the 11th biggest video game launch in UK history. Sadly, it only just missed out on making it into the top 10. Regardless, looking at the top-ten list, remove the various and continuous sports genre games which are released on a yearly cycle, and RDR would easily come in at 6th place:

1. Modern Warfare 2
2. GTA IV
3. FIFA 10
4. GTA: San Andreas
5. Call Of Duty: World At War
6. FIFA 09
7. Halo 3
8. GTA: Vice City
9. Pro Evolution Soccer 6
10. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
11. Red Dead Redemption

It has taken the number 1 position atop the UK Charts, beating out a lot of heavy competition:

Sources: CVG and Examiner.com

Red Dead Redemption's spectacular Original Soundtrack is now available on all major digital music stores - including Amazon, Zune, iTunes and eMusic.

As Rockstar describes it:

Composed by critically acclaimed composers Bill Elm and Woody Jackson,  Red Dead’s lush and dynamic score captures the haunting sound of the dying American West and Mexico at the turn of the century.

Filled with sweeping strings, martial timpani, and piercing horns, this music was performed on authentic instruments of the period, and evolves as you pass through each of the game’s three huge territories. Produced by David Holmes, the soundtrack album brings the sounds of the game in a compelling stand-alone album format with 15 instrumental tracks as well as 4 exclusive tracks from contemporary artists Jamie Lidell, Jose Gonzalez, Ashtar Command and William Elliot Whitmore.

If you're a little strapped for cash, at least do yourself a favour and purchase "Far Away" by Jose Gonzalez, it does not disappoint!

Purchase from:

Amazon.com
Zune Marketplace
iTunes US
iTunes UK
iTunes AU
eMusic

By now many have probably heard of the Red Dead Redemption PlayStation 3 shortages that have been well-publicized over the web since the UK launch on Friday. Whilst this is definitely sad for those who are or have had issues finding a copy, there is a good side to the drama. Firstly, it proves undoubtedly that the game is preforming well, it's has been more popular than many could have imagined; and secondly, despite this shortage, the game is well on the road to becoming the biggest-selling launch of 2010 in the UK.

Now think about this for a second: the game has a notable shortage of PlayStation 3 copies available, yet still it is beating out other popular 2010 launches such as Heavy Rain and Final Fantasy XIII. That is pretty darn impressive when you consider it. While we are still awaiting data on the sales in the UK, entertainment retailer HMV expects that the game sold as much as 300,000 copies on Friday and Saturday.

Many are calling it the "ultimate open-world game", and from the comments I've seen scattered throughout the web, people seem to not only be enjoying the game, but praising it for its "rare" gameplay style that seems just too addictive. So addictive in-fact, I found it hard myself to put the game on pause in order to post this article.

Is Red Dead Redemption a ground-breaking hit? I think it goes without saying that it is.

Congrats Rockstar, you've once again not failed to amaze, impress and entertain.