'The Hurt Locker' Wins Oscars, Even With An Xbox Out Of Time

"The Hurt Locker" staged an upset last night and grabbed six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Directing honors. It may have scored another upset with video game historians, though. The "Gears of War" series, which will lend some guest stars to "Lost Planet 2," made an cameo in Kathryn Bigelow's awards night juggernaut; the only problem is that the film takes place in 2004. The Xbox 360 became commercially available in 2005, and the first "Gears of War" showed up in 2006.

The 360 and "Gears of War" weren't the only abnormalities, however, as Kotaku, EW.com and Brian Williams point out. YouTube's retrofitting, Humvee models and T-shirt choices also showed up out of place at times.

To a non-gamer, the fact that Brian Geraghty's character was playing an unreleased game on an unreleased system probably didn't resonate, and I personally didn't think it impacted the heart of the film to a significant extent. "Super Mario Bros. 3" appeared ahead of its time in "The Wizard" in 1989, and I don't think it has hurt anyone's appreciation for the film in retrospect. I'll grant critics that "The Hurt Locker" was a much different breed of film than "The Wizard," but weaponry and battle tactics off of Owen Eldridge's TV screen deserve more criticism.

What do you think about 360 and "Gears of War" appearances in the "The Hurt Locker"? Did they take you out of the moment? Do you think it deserved Best Picture? Share your opinions in the comment section below.

Tags gears of war, the hurt locker