Darth Marsden
10-23-2005, 04:22 PM
Well, I got green rep'd for the last one, so I'm doing it again in the hope I'll get more :p Seriously, people seemed to like it, and I certainly enjoyed doing it, so he we go again. If you could actually chat about what I report on, that'd be great, but there's no pressure or anything.;)
Anyway, there's been some more reviews for the Doom movie and, as expected, they're much more positive. In other Video-Game to Movie news, Skip Woods (Swordfish, Thursday) has reportedly been signed to direct Hitman, which starts Vin Deisel in the title role. The film was picked up from producers Chuck Gordon (Die Hard, The Girl Next Door) and Adrian Askarieh (Spy Hunter, Herobear and the Kid), and Fox is reportedly hoping to turn Hitman into a studio franchise. Diesel himself will actually serve as the adaptation's executive producer, while Daniel Alter takes the role of a first-time producer. Details about the game's relationship to the videogame continuity haven't been released, but this is one adaptation that, like Halo, is moving along rapidly.
There's been more developments in the Jack Thompson case, but I doubt you really wanna hear about it here. Wait, what's that? You do? Well then, I'll just quote straight from several different stories from 1-Up.Com, and one from GamesIndustry.biz. Try to guess what's from where, and have fun...
Florida attorney and anti-videogame campaigner Jack Thompson has come under fire from America's National Institute on Media and the Family for claiming to have the support of the group in his regular open letters. The decision of the group to distance itself from the attorney and his headline-grabbing tactics comes despite the fact that like Thompson, the institute is a vocal critic of games such as Manhunt and 25 to Life for their violent content. The institute's founder, Dr David Walsh, wrote an open letter to Thompson, a copy of which was obtained by US website Game Politics. The letter was also sent to the likes of senator Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates and Doug Lowenstein of the ESA - the same Doug Lowenstein whom Thompson has previously compared to Hitler.
Mike "Gabe" Krahulik from Penny-Arcade called Thompson to chat about the charity that Penny-Arcade runs, called Child's Play, that has brought in about half a million dollars last year. Thompson apparently yelled at him. To be fair to Thompson, I'm sure Gabe was not innocent of a little cheeky nose-rubbing. The proposed game has now been made (http://hellfish.gtajunkies.com/Story.html) (twice (http://oghc.blogspot.com/), actually), but Thompson, not surprisingly perhaps, has not paid up. So Penny-Arcade were happy to donate $10,000 in his name to the ESA Foundation.
This morning GamePolitics broke the news that Florida lawyer Jack Thompson is asking Seattle police to arrest the employees of Penny-Arcade for harrassing him. According to GamePolitics, Thompson's letter faxed to the Cheif of Police in Seattle reads in part: Click here to read PennyArcade.Com's scan of the letter and the check the sent in Jack's name (http://www.penny-arcade.com/news.php?date=2005-10-18)
Robert Khoo, who was on his way down to ESA's Nite to Unite benefit dinner, said he talked to Thompson that morning on the phone but the lawyer got flustered and hung up quickly. "As far as comment from us," Robert added, "we think it's funny that we tried to make the best of what was this whole Jack Thompson Proposal debacle, and his response to us is to try and have us arrested."
Gabe adds, "Some people have suggested that it might be time to start ignoring the guy and honestly that's what we had decided to do. However, that was before he tried to have us arrested. Jack is not scary, if you speak to him for even a couple minutes you realize that. What's scary is that people in the mainstream media listen to him. I don't think we can just ignore him anymore." Indeed a lot of people have urged this course of action. The ESA refuses to legitimize Thompson - they have a policy of not commenting on anything that Thompson says or does. But Gabe is right - so long as mainstream press pick up on him and believe him, we should say something. Something reasonable, of course - because honestly, Thompson is not far from digging his own grave. A few more stunts like this and he'll have destroyed his credibility entirely.
The Florida Bar Association has recieved complaints that may prompt them to review Thompson's file and license to practice law, according to Ars Technica. Apparently enough fans of Penny-Arcade called, emailed, and faxed the FBA to register their disapproval of Thompson's tactics following the Penny-Arcade incident. According to one caller who posted on the Penny-Arcade forums, the woman who answered the phone sighed deeply at the name 'Jack Thompson' and said "Dear Lord, what has that man done? That's all we'[ve heard today all day long!" Another poster wrote in to say that he was told the staff of the office were holding an emergency meeting to handle the situation. The FBA office could not be reached for commentary at press time. Still not convinced Square-Enix's CG film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is worth a look? Maybe an award will shake you off the fence. Gamers have already expressed surprising acceptance of the film as an action piece, but film buffs haven't had much incentive to check it out. As of this weekend, though, it's an award-winner! At the Sitges film festival in Spain, Advent Children was awarded the Honorary Maria prize for its contribution to the festival. The film was in such demand that while it had been slotted for a single run, the committee screened it once more, reportedly a rare exception in this show. "You could say that this film was not only one of the highlights of the festival, but that without FFVII: AC the festival might have been a total failure," said one of the festival representatives.
Gamasutra is reporting that analyst Mike Wallace now predicts that there will be 1.5 million Xbox 360s at launch, instead of the 2.5 he had earlier predicted. He's saying that on launch day in North America 350,000 to 400,000 consoles will be sold, building to between 800,000 and 1 million units available by the end of the year. 400,000 to 500,000 will be shipped to Europe with "no significant second wave" of shipments; Japan will also get only one shipment of about 100,000 to 200,000 on its launch day, December 10. Wallace added, "Hardware launches are always tough and usually come in below initial expectations." He estimates that Microsoft is losing $65 to $90 on every Xbox 360 sold, although he didn't specify whether the numbers were for the core pack or the premium pack. According to Wallace, about 2 million games for Xbox 360 will also be sold in North America by the end of the year. Wallace apparently didn't read - or is choosing to ignore - Joystiq's theory that rumors of the shortages are just a way for Microsoft to game the launch. Hmm.
Also X-Box 360 related is the news that you can spend some hands-on time with Microsoft's machine at one of the hundreds of kiosks currently finding their way into Wal-Marts, EB Games and other stores across the country. The easiest way to locate the nearest kiosk would be to pick up the phone and just ask, but thanks to crafty Internet folk over at HardForum, there's an even lazier way to go about it through a Google-like service called Frapper. By clicking here (http://www.risingconcepts.com/frapper/xbox360kiosks), you'll bring up a map that people have started tagging with the locations of XBox 360 kiosks from California to Florida. These are just the first waves of kiosks that retailers will receive, though. If one doesn't show up in your town this week, don't worry; Microsoft probably has you covered sometime between now and November 22nd.
Still on the 360 (last one, honest), Microsoft announced the introduction of an XBox 360 controller for Windows PC in retail stores. "This controller is a great example of one of the many areas where the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms complement each other," said J Allard, chief XNA officer, in a statement released today. "The Xbox 360 Controller for Windows is an important step in making it easier for consumers to enjoy gaming on both platforms." The device will include a driver for PCs running Windows XP; the wired controller that comes with 360s will also work on the same machines by downloading and installing the driver, available from the Microsoft website. The controller features a nine-foot-long cable that will plug into a USB port. The suggested retail price for it is 39.99 USD, which is about £30, methinks.
Finally - Sony is about to release another varient of the PS2 - this time they're calling it a Satin Silver edition - that doesn't actually play certain games. Gauntlet Dark Legacy, Racing Battle C1, F1 2001, F1 2002, Hitman: Contracts, and the Tekken 3 portion of Tekken 5 are all reported to have visual/audio problems, although they're not unplayable, except for a couple of frozen screens. If you can overlook the glitches, the system is released in Japan along with a matching controller and memory card, on November the 23rd.
So yeah, not an awful lot happening this week really. :D
Anyway, there's been some more reviews for the Doom movie and, as expected, they're much more positive. In other Video-Game to Movie news, Skip Woods (Swordfish, Thursday) has reportedly been signed to direct Hitman, which starts Vin Deisel in the title role. The film was picked up from producers Chuck Gordon (Die Hard, The Girl Next Door) and Adrian Askarieh (Spy Hunter, Herobear and the Kid), and Fox is reportedly hoping to turn Hitman into a studio franchise. Diesel himself will actually serve as the adaptation's executive producer, while Daniel Alter takes the role of a first-time producer. Details about the game's relationship to the videogame continuity haven't been released, but this is one adaptation that, like Halo, is moving along rapidly.
There's been more developments in the Jack Thompson case, but I doubt you really wanna hear about it here. Wait, what's that? You do? Well then, I'll just quote straight from several different stories from 1-Up.Com, and one from GamesIndustry.biz. Try to guess what's from where, and have fun...
Florida attorney and anti-videogame campaigner Jack Thompson has come under fire from America's National Institute on Media and the Family for claiming to have the support of the group in his regular open letters. The decision of the group to distance itself from the attorney and his headline-grabbing tactics comes despite the fact that like Thompson, the institute is a vocal critic of games such as Manhunt and 25 to Life for their violent content. The institute's founder, Dr David Walsh, wrote an open letter to Thompson, a copy of which was obtained by US website Game Politics. The letter was also sent to the likes of senator Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates and Doug Lowenstein of the ESA - the same Doug Lowenstein whom Thompson has previously compared to Hitler.
Mike "Gabe" Krahulik from Penny-Arcade called Thompson to chat about the charity that Penny-Arcade runs, called Child's Play, that has brought in about half a million dollars last year. Thompson apparently yelled at him. To be fair to Thompson, I'm sure Gabe was not innocent of a little cheeky nose-rubbing. The proposed game has now been made (http://hellfish.gtajunkies.com/Story.html) (twice (http://oghc.blogspot.com/), actually), but Thompson, not surprisingly perhaps, has not paid up. So Penny-Arcade were happy to donate $10,000 in his name to the ESA Foundation.
This morning GamePolitics broke the news that Florida lawyer Jack Thompson is asking Seattle police to arrest the employees of Penny-Arcade for harrassing him. According to GamePolitics, Thompson's letter faxed to the Cheif of Police in Seattle reads in part: Click here to read PennyArcade.Com's scan of the letter and the check the sent in Jack's name (http://www.penny-arcade.com/news.php?date=2005-10-18)
Robert Khoo, who was on his way down to ESA's Nite to Unite benefit dinner, said he talked to Thompson that morning on the phone but the lawyer got flustered and hung up quickly. "As far as comment from us," Robert added, "we think it's funny that we tried to make the best of what was this whole Jack Thompson Proposal debacle, and his response to us is to try and have us arrested."
Gabe adds, "Some people have suggested that it might be time to start ignoring the guy and honestly that's what we had decided to do. However, that was before he tried to have us arrested. Jack is not scary, if you speak to him for even a couple minutes you realize that. What's scary is that people in the mainstream media listen to him. I don't think we can just ignore him anymore." Indeed a lot of people have urged this course of action. The ESA refuses to legitimize Thompson - they have a policy of not commenting on anything that Thompson says or does. But Gabe is right - so long as mainstream press pick up on him and believe him, we should say something. Something reasonable, of course - because honestly, Thompson is not far from digging his own grave. A few more stunts like this and he'll have destroyed his credibility entirely.
The Florida Bar Association has recieved complaints that may prompt them to review Thompson's file and license to practice law, according to Ars Technica. Apparently enough fans of Penny-Arcade called, emailed, and faxed the FBA to register their disapproval of Thompson's tactics following the Penny-Arcade incident. According to one caller who posted on the Penny-Arcade forums, the woman who answered the phone sighed deeply at the name 'Jack Thompson' and said "Dear Lord, what has that man done? That's all we'[ve heard today all day long!" Another poster wrote in to say that he was told the staff of the office were holding an emergency meeting to handle the situation. The FBA office could not be reached for commentary at press time. Still not convinced Square-Enix's CG film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is worth a look? Maybe an award will shake you off the fence. Gamers have already expressed surprising acceptance of the film as an action piece, but film buffs haven't had much incentive to check it out. As of this weekend, though, it's an award-winner! At the Sitges film festival in Spain, Advent Children was awarded the Honorary Maria prize for its contribution to the festival. The film was in such demand that while it had been slotted for a single run, the committee screened it once more, reportedly a rare exception in this show. "You could say that this film was not only one of the highlights of the festival, but that without FFVII: AC the festival might have been a total failure," said one of the festival representatives.
Gamasutra is reporting that analyst Mike Wallace now predicts that there will be 1.5 million Xbox 360s at launch, instead of the 2.5 he had earlier predicted. He's saying that on launch day in North America 350,000 to 400,000 consoles will be sold, building to between 800,000 and 1 million units available by the end of the year. 400,000 to 500,000 will be shipped to Europe with "no significant second wave" of shipments; Japan will also get only one shipment of about 100,000 to 200,000 on its launch day, December 10. Wallace added, "Hardware launches are always tough and usually come in below initial expectations." He estimates that Microsoft is losing $65 to $90 on every Xbox 360 sold, although he didn't specify whether the numbers were for the core pack or the premium pack. According to Wallace, about 2 million games for Xbox 360 will also be sold in North America by the end of the year. Wallace apparently didn't read - or is choosing to ignore - Joystiq's theory that rumors of the shortages are just a way for Microsoft to game the launch. Hmm.
Also X-Box 360 related is the news that you can spend some hands-on time with Microsoft's machine at one of the hundreds of kiosks currently finding their way into Wal-Marts, EB Games and other stores across the country. The easiest way to locate the nearest kiosk would be to pick up the phone and just ask, but thanks to crafty Internet folk over at HardForum, there's an even lazier way to go about it through a Google-like service called Frapper. By clicking here (http://www.risingconcepts.com/frapper/xbox360kiosks), you'll bring up a map that people have started tagging with the locations of XBox 360 kiosks from California to Florida. These are just the first waves of kiosks that retailers will receive, though. If one doesn't show up in your town this week, don't worry; Microsoft probably has you covered sometime between now and November 22nd.
Still on the 360 (last one, honest), Microsoft announced the introduction of an XBox 360 controller for Windows PC in retail stores. "This controller is a great example of one of the many areas where the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms complement each other," said J Allard, chief XNA officer, in a statement released today. "The Xbox 360 Controller for Windows is an important step in making it easier for consumers to enjoy gaming on both platforms." The device will include a driver for PCs running Windows XP; the wired controller that comes with 360s will also work on the same machines by downloading and installing the driver, available from the Microsoft website. The controller features a nine-foot-long cable that will plug into a USB port. The suggested retail price for it is 39.99 USD, which is about £30, methinks.
Finally - Sony is about to release another varient of the PS2 - this time they're calling it a Satin Silver edition - that doesn't actually play certain games. Gauntlet Dark Legacy, Racing Battle C1, F1 2001, F1 2002, Hitman: Contracts, and the Tekken 3 portion of Tekken 5 are all reported to have visual/audio problems, although they're not unplayable, except for a couple of frozen screens. If you can overlook the glitches, the system is released in Japan along with a matching controller and memory card, on November the 23rd.
So yeah, not an awful lot happening this week really. :D