The Simpsons made the switch to HD last Sunday and celebrated the occasion with a new opening theme. It was a long version that probably will not be seen that often. The super-fast scan was a staple of the original theme and it was updated for season 20 with more modern characters. It has almost every character, but where is Ned? And Mrs. Krabappel?

The Simpsons has been a staple in many homes for nearly 20 years and finally, finally, the show will be broadcast in glorious high definition. Season 20 debuts on February 15 which is when the switch will be flipped and we’ll see Homer and Co. in HD. Plus, the show is going to have a new main title for the first time in 20 seasons. Oh, and for the record, The Simpsons is going HD before the earlier announced South Park high-def debut. Natch. So what cartoon is next? Family Guy? King of the Hill? I vote King of the Hill.

via Switched

Here’s the Simpsons’ take on Apple – the basic premise being that the Springfield Mall gets a “Mapple” store and everyone buys MyPods, MyPhones, and MyCubes.

Everything’s pretty realistic, even down to the fine details like Steve Mobs (get it, “Jobs” but with an “M” instead?) urinating on each MyPhone before it gets shipped out and then investing the company’s profits in Microsoft, followed up by making out with Bill Gates on top of a pile of money.

Something’s wrong with YouTube, and it looks like Hulu stands to benefit. YouTube, as you’re all painfully aware, is primarily comprised of short videos of guys falling off their skateboards (embedded here), dudes playing video game songs on the piano and illegal Seinfeld clips. Those types of videos aren’t attractive to advertisers. That may explain why YouTube, which had 83 million unique hits in September, is only expected to generate $100 million for the year.

Compare that to Hulu, which primarily consists of professionally made NBC and Fox shows and clips—I just wasted quite a few minutes watching a few “popular” Simpsons clips, for example. That all of the content there is nice and legal makes it more appealing to advertisers, which explains why, even though with only 6 million hits in September, Hulu is expected to generate to $70m.

Both sites are expected to generate $180 million next year. Don’t think that’s because, overnight, Hulu increases its viewership 10-fold.

In other words, people (“analysts” and the like) are now wondering how, if ever, will Google will turn YouTube into a monetary success.

Don’t forget that Google paid $1.65 billion for the site two years ago—that’s a lot of skateboarding videos for which to sell ads.

A new Simpsons-themed ride opened at Universal Studios in Hollywood on Monday and travel site Jaunted.com seems to indicate that it’s a worthwhile stop on your list of things to do if you’re in the area. The ride itself is a motion-simulated affair “full of major lifts and falls, twists and turns and a little bit of water.” Hit the jump for a video.

Looks pretty cool. Check out Jaunted.com for more info and photos.

At Flaaay-ming Moe’s (let’s all go to Flaming Moe’s) — Hot damn, here’s a pair of Simpsons-themed energy drinks. One’s a Duff can, one’s a Flaming Moe’s can. The Duff can’s a full 12-ounces of power, while the Flaming Moe version comes in a Red Bull-esque 8.4-ounce can. Neither contains alcohol, though. Just pure jitter.

They’re available for $2.49 apiece at Xoxide.com if you’re interested.

via Nerd Approved

This official YouTube video from Electronic Arts features a commercial for the Japanese version of The Simpsons Game. It features the lovely talking head of Mr. Sparkle from the episode of The Simpsons where they go to Japan and mess everything up. The entire time during the commercial, tons of crazy stuff is going on and apparently Lisa is SUPEREME LISA in Big Super Happy Fun Fun.

Just watch it and you’ll understand. Or not.

New Simpsons Game Trailer Takes On Katamari & Other Japanese Awesomeness [TV in Japan]

“They’re supposed to be rockstars…That’s not a big Rockstar move, to be afraid of The Simpsons making fun of their game,” said Simpsons game writer Matt Warburton.

Another Simpsons game writer, Matt Selman, also said the following…

“The game begins with Bart wanting to play a game called Grand Theft Scratchy. Of course this is a parody of Grand Theft Auto. And Marge immediately takes it away from him. She tries to clean up the town and stop the game from being distributed in Springfield because Marge is against video game violence. She uses horrific violence to stop video game violence…in a video game.

That’s called irony…The people who make Grand Theft Auto, they spazzed out like little babies.

We couldn’t get our game out in time, so we’re afraid that the gamers — who are not morons — are going to get confused by an Itchy and Scratchy poster of Grand Theft Scratchy – they’re going to think that’s the same thing as Grand Theft Auto…

EA lawyers are afraid to use the name Grand Theft Scratchy in promoting the game…[Rockstar’s] games are full of satire, lame attempts at parody… basically putting the words sixty-nine in wherever they can find it…”

Wow! Selman added that he’s actually a fan of the GTA series but managed to slip in one last barb; “Their games are amazing. Trust me, I’ll be the first person in line to play Grand Theft Auto 4…in five years when it comes out.” Hay-oh!

Rockstar “Spazzed Out Like Little Babies” Says Simpsons Game Writer [GamePolitics.com] via Wired

LOL! That’s the only thing I can type, let alone say, after reading this delightful little piece envisioning a world in which AT&T ran the highways. You know, the real highways for cars, not the information super++ one. It’s really, really funny. Gems include:

• AT&T would make horn tones available for $3.99. No transfer of music from the car’s jukebox to its horn tone storage chip would be allowed.

• Driving beyond the coverage of AT&T’s highway network would incur roaming charges.

• The AT&T-approved Apple iCar would be limited to a top speed of 30 mph. Sales people in AT&T car showrooms would have no idea how the iCar operated.

• AT&T’s roads would feature fluctuating speed limits. In some cases, speed limit reductions would correspond to the traffic on the road; in others, the speed limit would just drop for no apparent reason. Posted speed limits would not correspond with actual ones.

• Many of AT&T’s roads would be made of dirt, despite tax credits AT&T received to pave its roads.

Um. We get it. You don’t like AT&T.

You know who he reminds me of? The Mark Russell parody guy from the Simpsons episode “Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington.” The deficit rag, oh yeah the deficit rag…

If AT&T Ran The Highway System… [Information Week]

Found this on a random, late-night YouTube journey. It’s eight minutes of dorked out laughs with that Simpsons touch of humor. Marge and Bart end up playing together in an MMORPG that closely resembles WoW. Good laughs.

Just as we got done telling you about the new Simpsons game due out this year, Microsoft goes and spills the beans on a new limited-edition 360 due out this summer. This banana-yellow Simpsons 360 is the coolest looking console to date. Not only does it go along with the Simpsons’ movie release, but it has minor touches that really show the detail put into the console. Like Homer’s head peering over the right side of the machine.

Excited and ready to shell out up to $500 to get one? Keep dreaming! Only 100 of these ultra rare consoles will be produced and given out as part of various upcoming contests to coincide with the Simpsons movie. The 360 itself is a 20GB pro unit with a sick yellow paint job. What would you guys do to get your hands on this collectable Simpsons Xbox 360?

It’s no lemon: MS shows yellow Simpsons Xbox 360 [Reg Hardware]

The “24″ episodes in question actually appeared on YouTube before their primetime Jan. 14 premiere on the Fox broadcast network, which spread four hour long episodes of the hit drama over two consecutive nights. Fox became aware that the episodes were on YouTube on Jan. 8, according to the subpoena.

As for the Simpsons episodes, those were all from season 7 except for a few from 1990. Rich content, indeed.

That’s the new MO, friends. Most of these guys have already started partnerships with each other so the only one left to sue is Joe Torrent and his magical remote downloading skills.

Fox seeks YouTube user’s identity [HolllywoodReporter via GoogleWatch]

The phones will be available during the film launch in July.