Every geek is well versed in the total pile of Bantha poodoo visited upon us with the Star Wars Prequels. I won’t rehash the Anakin Skywalker angst-ridden, Trade Federation muddled, JAR JAR BINKS disgraceful muck we suffered through.
But now (or rather, recently) a trailer has surfaced that has cause to give us “a new hope”.
Sadly, it’s not for a Star Wars sequel or TV show, but rather a video game unveiled at E3. I know, I know; this trailer has been out for a while. But indulge me for a moment and give it a look see (following the commercial):
What did you think? Tasty, right? Imagine THAT vision and concept in an SW film. By all that is Wookie, this could have a been a movie for the ages. Sadly, George Lucas and the sycophantic enablers surrounding him chose to go with the soulless drivel (I direct the jury to this celebrated quote from Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones):
“I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything’s soft… and smooth…”
I’d just as soon kiss 200 Wookies (actually, I imagine their kisses as soft, smooth, strangely alluring in fact) than be subjected to that absolute schlock.
Perhaps Lucas loosened up the reins enough to allow the creative talent behind this game to produce really something interesting and compelling.
Apparently, Bob Sony has finally received the message. The PS3 is wayyyy too expensive.
CNet has just posted a pic apparently taken from an upcoming K-Mart ad, showing a “new low” Playstation price. (Credit: Kmart.com)
Speculation has been rife that Sony would be slashing $100 off the list price, dropping it down to $299, making it competitive with the XBox Elite and only $50 higher than the Wii.
In my opinion, this move should’ve happened at least 6 months ago. Sony seemed to be trying to do everything in its power to make their system irrelevant.
Granted, they basically had the market cornered back in the day with the PS2. In fact PS2 games still sell incredibly well today.
I wouldn’t have thought Bob Sony would be the type to rest on his laurels, but that sure seems to have been the case.
Aside from the multi-platform games, what has the PS3 offered? A Blu-Ray player? Yes, that was a genius move, but prices for mainstream Blu-Ray players have dropped considerably. By all accounts, their user interface, named “Home”, is a piece of junk. The PS3’s proprietary game library is a joke. They’ve been threatened by game companies (EA in particular) that unless they dropped their price point, they’d consider ending development of games for the system (it would appear that Sony has blinked).
Bottom line? Not only is the PS3 third on the video game totem pole, but they’re not even close enough to look up Nintendo and Microsoft’s skirts.
Gaming site Kotaku is posting this image taken from a Midwest store’s catalog:
(Credit: Kotaku)
The catalog is reportedly dated for August 30th. With this drop, it would seem to be the end of the mid-range XBox 360 Pro (the Arcade sells for $199, and having a third system nestled so closely between those price points would be foolish).
It’s a smart move. Usually the Christmas season is the time where console price drops occur. However, this bargain can serve to alienate even further the PS3 (still tipping the scales at $399).
CNet is reporting about a requested patent by Nintendo for the Wii.
What’s so strange about that? Joe Nintendo (I like to think of console companies as cigar chomping CEO’s rather than conglomerates) is of late near the forefront of innovation, so the fact that they’re looking to patent a new accessory doesn’t strike me as odd.
Until I saw the accessory…
Does or does that not look like a giant whoopie cushion with a Wii-mote plugged in? What could this possibly be used for? Mario-Fart? The Legend of Zelda’s Wind? Wii-S**t?!?!?
CNet speculates that such a device could be used for riding (horse, motorcycle) or driving games, though that doesn’t look like any kind of a driver’s seat or saddle I’d want to sit on.
In any event, Japanese companies are well known for their more offbeat product ideas and names. After all, this is the same Joe Nintendo who thought the “Nintendo Revolution” just wasn’t good enough for his new console, electing instead to go with his urination euphemism.
Speaking of waste removal, that might just be it. Joe Nintendo might just be getting ready to market an accessory designed to promote healthy bowels. I mean, look at it. I don’t know about you, but the sight of it makes me want to poop (the kid in the diagram is, after all, sitting on a “stool”). Though, judging by the design, Joe Nintendo would also be wise to buy long on some Preparation H stock.
Hurry run home and get it kiddies, it should update just by connecting to Xbox Live and voila the new Xbox Dashboard complete with all the cool announcements from E3, right? errr no.
It’s the new dashboard with the new improved Netflix integration but that’s about it.
Twitter integration, Facebook, Last.Fm? uhh no, those are coming “later this year” Boooo!
So I guess this update just lays down the framework for that stuff, and gives you the ability to watch a movie partially blocked by the silhouette of your buddies avatar… :(
Don’t get me wrong updaqtes are good, and in this case unavoidable, but I don’t like waiting for all the cool stuff that I saw at the E3 event, and most of that is still “coming soon”
“Halo” has been one of the most beloved video game franchises ever. And if you’re an XBOX 360 owner, you’re well versed in the tales of the Master Chief.
Following the release of Halo 3, talk was rife about a feature film. Initial word was that Peter Jackson wanted to produce and/or direct the adaptation. Geeks went all a-flutter. But, rumors turned out to be just that, and Jackson moved on to other things. Talk about a Halo movie cooled.
However, talk has suddenly spiked about someone else interested in the property. That somebody has sent a shock through the moviemaking community and we geeks once again have our senses heightened.
That producer is one Steven Spielberg. Word has it that he is interested in the Eric Nylund “Fall of Reach” Halo origin story.
I read “Reach” while on a Hawaiian vacation, and I must say…it’s not a bad book. There’s a lot there to work with.
Spielberg reportedly wants Neill Blomkamp to direct, on word that Blomkamp’s upcoming “District 9” movie was a thing of beauty. In fact, Blomkamp even made a Halo “proof of concept” film, a kind of teaser about the vision he might have for the film.
(Credit: Kmart.com)
