The Sims 3: Showtime is supposed to make your Sims big stars, right? Well, they might get a little extra somethin’-somethin’, thanks to EA Play’s new collaboration with Kitty Purry — I mean, Katy Perry.

The new expansion, currently slated for a March release, will be getting a collector’s edition featuring the starlet, and future content featuring Perry will also be produced.

“Today marks the start of the most integrated and exciting collaboration with any artist in the history of The Sims,” said Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music for EA. “Katy Perry has been a fan of The Sims for several years, and her Simlish recording of her hit ‘Hot and Cold’ featured in The Sims 2 series quickly became the most popular Simlish music video to date. We couldn’t be more excited to work with Katy and bring her distinctive talents, style and personality to the franchise’s global fan base. No performer could better represent the humor and fun of The Sims brand.”

“I love how you’re able to play out different stories through your Sims characters – giving them different careers and watching them succeed,” said Perry. “It’s cool to see the Sims’ stage performances in The Sims 3 Showtime decked out just like my California Dreams Tour – even my cotton candy video screens are in there! I always like to think of myself as a cartoon, and now I’m a Sim!”

The Collector’s Edition of The Sims 3: Showtime will include the expansion, the Ultimate Stage and Katy Perry-themed contend like fashions, a guitar and a Sim hairstyle. An exclusive poster will also be included.

To celebrate, EA’s released a new Sims music video — to the tune of Perry’s latest single, of course. Watch below.

Nintendo has announced that North America video game fans can purchase tickets to The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses tour. The tour dates are subject to change but have been announced through next September. It’s too bad they won’t be in San Diego during comic Con! If you don’t see your city announced, there is a chance that it will be added later. To find the latest information go to : zelda-symphony.com.

Concert dates and locations are as follows (subject to change):
Jan. 10 Dallas, TX
March 14 Vancouver, British Columbia
March 26 Seattle, WA
March 28 San Francisco, CA
April 7 Denver, CO
April 20 Phoenix, AZ
April 21 Phoenix, AZ
May 12 Atlanta, GA
May 31 Montreal, Quebec
June 22 Austin, TX
July 14 Orlando, FL
Sept. 29* Toronto, Ontario
* tickets on sale March 31

The concert will cover classic sounds from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

@Nintendo tweeted this earlier if you are considering buying tickets:
Buying tickets for the #Zelda Symphony tour? Just enter HOOKSHOT for a 15% discount! http://t.co/TVDut2kD

“We’re pretty sure that in the future, music historians will look back at BlizzCon 2011 as the unquestionable pinnacle of Foo Fighters’ long and illustrious career,” said Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters founder and frontman. “We look forward to living up to that prediction by bringing the Horde and Alliance together to rock the hell out of Anaheim next month.”

Grohl & Co. aren’t the only performers at the event — The concert will open with a performance from The Artist Formerly Known as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain, followed by Blizzard’s own in-house metal band. (Wait, Blizzard has an in-house band? Why is that ridiculous, awesome and not at all surprising?)

“There’s no better way to cap off two days of gaming entertainment than by blowing the roof off the convention center with an awesome rock concert,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Everyone attending BlizzCon and watching from home can look forward to ending the show with a bang when Foo Fighters bring the house down.”

Of course, you don’t have to be at the sold-out event to see the show — DirecTv will be broadcasting the convention as they usually do, for a price. (That price being $39.99.)

Tomorrow and Saturday, the music festival will come to your living room live in HD from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s supposedly celebrating the launch of customizable music stations as part of Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio app.

“Since we announced the Festival in July, listener demand has been unprecedented, with fans across the country clamoring for a chance to be part of the biggest live concert in radio history, a show that sold out in just ten minutes,” said John Hogan, President and CEO of Clear Channel Radio. “This partnership with Xbox 360 means that those who cannot be in Las Vegas in person will have the opportunity to experience the event as well through an HD video stream exclusively on Xbox LIVE.”

And there’s a good reason that the show sold out so quickly — take a look at the list of performers:

• Lady Gaga
• Jay-Z
• Coldplay
• Kenny Chesney
• The Black Eyed Peas
• Steven Tyler
• Alicia Keys
• Jennifer Lopez
• Carrie Underwood
• Jane’s Addiction
• Nicki Minaj
• David Guetta
• Rascal Flatts
• Bruno Mars
• Sublime with Rome
• Kelly Clarkson

There will also be special performances from Usher, Sting and Jeff Beck. So yeah, a lot of big acts all in one go. I wouldn’t go so far as to call this the biggest music festival ever, though…Coachella and Bonnaroo probably dwarf this, but don’t have as many big names.

To access the concert, just sign in to Xbox LIVE. The stream will be available for both paid and free users.

Geek Woman: I was told that you are a snowboarder, do you still enjoy the sport?

Tanya Otero: It’s my passion, and a huge source of inspiration in my life.

Have you ever gotten injured snowboarding?

Oh yes! In fact I am part bionic.

What is your favorite snowboarding video game?

Tony Hawk Shred of course…..I was just released 2010

How do feel when you are snowboarding and listening to your tunes?

Like all the insane beauty was packaged up just for me with my tunes, my mountain, my sound disc and my board. It’s one of my favorite experiences especially when you discover a new tune through Shazam and then its suddenly streaming through your own speakers, so great.

What are your favorite headphones or ear buds at Aerial7?

Actually I like the sound disc. Partially because I am a big fan of headwear, any season and also because you can still hear if need be to the outside world or like with snowboarding for example I like to hear the sound of the board slashing down the mountain.

Do you have anything to offer women who can’t get earbuds in their too tiny ears?

Our new Neo earbud which will be out this summer is smaller in size but carries the same punch as normal size earbuds. They come with a double dome ear tip that fits better in smaller ears plus is comfy for long term use. Aside from a great new product called the Neo, the sound disc is amazing which is a slotted hat or beanie that houses sound discs the Phoenix which is a light weight, compact over ear headphone with a 44mm driver such great sound for the size. Also our Tank, DJ headphone is unisex offering a variety of styles from DJ Loli’s studded headphone to a special Hello Kitty collaboration.

Is there a good sounding product for iPads?

All of our headphones work with apple products and we actually took the liberty of adding a mic to ALL of our headphones as well since we know how much Apple lovers use skype.

What types of products do you offer?

We offer earbuds, over the ear headphones and sound disk beanies

What inspirations do you use in the product designs?

All of our product is designed by our creative team who draws inspiration from music, action sports and fashion!

Are there new products that you can tell us about?

We have new colors coming out in some of our existing lines plus our new NEO ear bud. Then we also have a few new products that will come out late summer/fall timeframe!

Will Aerial7 be getting more into apparel?

We will certainly continue to develop the sound disc offering which does involve apparel on some level however the main focus is quality sounding electronics that last, are comfortable and functional for all the things we like to do.

Building the playlist is probably my most favorite part. You are given the option to search the turntable.fm database for songs or upload your own songs. The latter is great for any artists or people who like to make their own remixes or mashups and want to share them with others. Now the fun part comes when you begin to DJ for either a room of your friends or a random room. As you play songs, people can click a gauge on the bottom and choose if a song is “Lame” or “Awesome.” If the gauge gets too low, your song is automatically skipped. However the more “Awesome” clicks you get, you accumulate DJ points which unlock more avatars for you to choose from. And should you really like a song, turntable.fm gives you links to add it to your own turntable queue, find it on last.fm, iTunes or Spotify.

So yes this has helped me to distract myself during the work day, as well as share music with friends. I’ve formed several random rooms that I invite other friends to and we usually just have a general chat going for a couple of hours or even most of the work day. Plus we get to listen to one heck of a random setlist of songs ranging from nerdy to relaxing to metal. I’ve also found myself just going to one of the larger rooms to listen in to some techno or other music that is good for me to zone out on while staring at excel sheets.

Now how do I get involved in this? Well so long as someone you know on Facebook is already in, you can get involved! All you need to do is follow any turntable.fm links they post on Facebook or Twitter and you can login with Facebook to join in the fun. I have to say that when I first started I had no idea what this was, but after I joined I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Pyramind is responsible for the hefty task of reproducing the original score. They chose several notable groups to help them, including the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra and Chanticleer, a men’s vocal ensemble.

“It was a huge undertaking to transcribe, orchestrate, and produce every note from the original game soundtrack files,” said Paul Lipson, Pyramind Studios COO/Audio Director. “Our team approached every aspect of the music with an immense amount of skill and care, keeping the core Halo sound while updating the production to today’s highest standards.”

Microsoft Studios Audio Director Kristofor Mellroth said, “This wasn’t just a simple remaster, it was a completely new orchestration and recording using renowned talent and top live players. We are striving to create the ultimate love letter to Halo fans.”

Valve has released the second volume of Portal 2‘s soundtrack, and this one, just like the last, is completely free.

This volume adds another 18 tracks, most of which you’d probably hear in the middle section of the game. Along with that, 14 ringtones are up for grabs for either Android or iPhone mobile devices.

Among the tracklisting, you find songs like “Bring Your Daughter to Work Day” and “PotatOS’ Lament.” And if you’ve ever wanted the orange and blue portal sounds for a message alert…well, you got it. I’d never noticed there were different sounds for each, but there you are.

So far, I’ve found that using these soundtracks for driving and working provide the best results. Maybe you won’t sit around and digest it like a good Mozart, but more power to you if you do.

Download the new set of tracks here.

Nintendo will be peddling their 3D wares at each stop on the tour by offering interactive demo areas that allow concertgoers to play with the 3DS by taking pictures, creating a new Mii and taking some games for a test drive, including The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Super Monkey Ball 3D, Ridge Racer 3D and more.

Nintendo will also be offering oversized AR cards as well as AR temporary tattoos that will allow you to play with those features in brand-new ways. (I wonder if there’ll ever be any other ways to get those tats?)

And of course, all 3DS owners are encouraged to bring their handheld to take advantage of StreetPass. It’s all just a part of rocking out.

Apparently the band really needs a music video for the song, or at least that’s what it sounds like — from now until midnight on July 15, Valve is running a contest to determine the best music video for the song.

To enter, upload your version of the music video to YouTube and tag it with “PORTAL2NATIONALEXILE.” Sounds like a weird movie title.

The winner will receive a prize package containing an autographed guitar as well as a collection of Portal 2 merchandise.

For reference, here’s the song, if you haven’t heard it yet.