Some of my fondest memories growing up were being in the waiting room at Chuck E. Cheese’s wasting my allowance on The Simpsons Arcade.  It is one of the best, most addictive games I’ve ever played and fan or no fan of the show, it’s still great fun.  Now it’s finally coming to your home console!

Konami has confirmed new details about The Simpsons Arcade Game that is headed to Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. It’s an updated version of the classic arcade game and features four-player gameplay as well as multiple modes.

Quarters Mode: Re-creates the original arcade experience .
Survival Mode:  Challenges you to see how far you can get with only one life.
Free Play Mode: Offers unlimited continues.
The Japanese version: Will be included as unlockable bonus content.

It’s been a long road to get The Simpsons Arcade a proper release, sure there a  lot of emulators and last year’s EA release as an app was great but not the classic.  The game will be available on February 7th on PlayStation Network and will be free to PlayStation Plus subscribers. Xbox Live players will be able to play four days early – this Friday, February 3rd.

I think I speak for doughnut-eating gamers everywhere when I say: Woo Hoo!

Krusty the Clown is stuck in a rut when the television network pulls his show from the air and his talent agency drops him as a client. But when the Simpsons introduce him to seasoned agent Annie (guest voice Joan Rivers), they are surprised to learn that Annie was Krusty’s very first agent. Despite their rocky relationship, Annie is convinced to re-sign Krusty and craft his career comeback. But when Krusty’s retro comedyshow reboot is deemed a critical success, Krusty must decide to stay with his agent or side with the network executives.

The episode was written by husband and wife team Dan Castellaneta & Deb Lacusta. It’s not the first episode written by the voice of Homer, Krusty, Barney, Grampa, and others. Dan & Deb were behind episodes like “The Ziff Who Came to Dinner”, “Days of Wines & D’oh’ses”, “Gump Roast” and several others.

I had the opportunity to meet Joan Rivers after one of her shows and I asked her how she liked doing The Simpsons. I’m not sure if she had recorded yet, but she told me how exciting it was to play a character that had nothing to do with her and how much she enjoyed the show and the experience.

Joan did an interview with E! Online about appearing on The Simpsons. Check it out: HERE

Marge takes Bart and Lisa on a weekend excursion, but when an unexpected restaurant detour awakens their taste buds, fellow foodies Amuse Bruce and Fois Garth (guest voices Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim) inspire them to start their own food blog, “The Three Mouthketeers.” They score an exclusive reservation at Springfield’s premiere modern restaurant, but Marge has an unsettling dream during which Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay, and Mario Batali (guest voicing as themselves) lead her to reconsider extending the invite to Homer. Later, Marge directs Homer to a different type of cooking lab where he gets into a bind with law enforcement authorities .

Homer takes a dangerous dive into an isolated canyon on Candy Peak, but when a crashing boulder traps his arm, he channels Aron Ralston (guest voicing as himself) to save himself. In “The Diving Bell and Butterball,” the first of three hair-raising Halloween tales, a venomous spider bite leaves Homer paralyzed, but when Lisa discovers Homer’s ability to communicate through natural gases, he is able to express his love for Marge. The killer spells continue in “Dial D for Diddly,” when Ned Flanders, devout preacher by day, transforms into a cold-blooded vigilante by night. In the final terrifying tale, “In the Na’Vi,” Bart and Milhouse are assigned on a mission to access a sacred extract on a distant planet. They morph into the land’s indigenous one-eyed avatars, but when Bart finds love and an eternal mate abroad, he is caught in planet warfare.

It all starts this Sunday at 8/7c, on FOX.

If you did then you surely noticed the guest animated opening couch gag from Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfaluci.

John K. has been an outspoken critic of modern animation who in the past has lashed out at The Simpsons.  Fans will remember “The Simpsons” had a few responses to John K.  by making digs at Ren & Stimpy in the episode “Another Simpsons Clip Show” where Marge remarks “…when is the last time you heard anyone talking about Ren & Stimpy” and in the episode “The Front” where the clip of Ren & Stimpy at the awards show was a black screen with text “clip not done yet”.

John K.’s views have perhaps softened over time as he himself has admitted The Simpsons helped pave the way for his work.

What did you think of the couch gag?

I think I speak for all of us when I say: NERRRRRDDDDDD!

Check it out and tell us what you think!