All posts by Kenneth Medford

Cinema Sit-Down

Will Smith Coming Back for Independence Day 2?

Direct from Independence Day 2 director, Roland Emmerich, Will Smith is back in talks to reprise his role as Captain Steven Hiller. According to Digital Spy’s interview with the White House Down director, Emmerich  said, “I sometimes say no, Will Smith will not be in it because he didn’t want to do it at first. Now we have a meeting planned, we want to talk about it again. Anything can happen.”

With Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum already confirmed for the sequel, Smith would be the the piece de resistance for full on blockbuster marketability. As awesome as it is to even have the chance to get the gang back together so to speak, I have to call into question why the sudden change of heart. I am a huge Will Smith fan and stand as one of the minority that enjoyed After Earth; however, it did nowhere near the numbers it was expected to ($60,522,097 total gross after 80 days with a $130 million budget ). For that matter, White House Down was not exactly a box office smash either ($72,834,443 total gross after 67 days with a $150 million budget). Could this just be a way for both Emmerich and Smith to get a quick turn around from a beloved IP (intellectual property)? Whatever the reason, no one will mind as long as they do not drop the ball.

It is required cheapest cialis professional that the patients also follow the right dosage instructions if not for which adverse effects could consist of urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Why Kamagra 100mg? Some of the benefiting process involves:1) Safe: In major, users cialis generic pills look to complete the transaction. Adult drivers ed courses may also be used to describe other problems that interfere with sexual intercourse and he only last for less than two minutes then he is required to recommended immediate treatment so as to cut the case discount viagra canada of future damaging issues on the penile system and muscles. shop cialis They can help prescribe medications that can help with the issue. ~the Ace of Spades

Source: DigitalSpy.com

Games and Software

Xbox One Launch Date Revealed

November 22, 2005 brought the Xbox 360 into the gaming world. Banking on this being their lucky day, Microsoft will release the Xbox One November 22, 2013 in 13 different markets (Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK and the US). Unfortunately for everyone else, they will have to wait until sometime in 2014.

According to Xbox360achievements.org, Yusuf Mehdi, VP of Marketing for Microsoft, also confirmed there will be a 10% increase in CPU performance. He was quoted as saying,”… in the spirit of continuing to bring new value and excitement to Xbox, I am also please to confirm that the development team has increased the CPU from 1.6GHZ to 1.75GHZ, roughly a 10% increase in CPU performance. This is on top of the 6% increase we previously announced for the GPU performance. What does this mean to you the gamer? It means that the Xbox One will have that much more power for developers to make their games and entertainment really shine.”

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~the Ace of Spades

Source: xbox360achievements.org

Games and Software, Tech World

PS4 Virtual Reality Headset to be Showcased at TGS

It is generally accepted the next major evolution of gaming is virtual reality (i.e. Gamer but without the whole criminal avatar situation). Unfortunately, when some veteran gamers hear the word “virtual” they may have horrid memories of the Nintendo Virtual Boy rush to mind. I apologize for even reminding you of the horrible invention. Sony has plans to bring us the future in 2013 with a custom built PS4 VR headset, which will be shown at TGS (Tokyo Game Show).

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According to Computerandvideogames.com (CVG), Sony originally planned on revealing the headset at Gamescom (8/21-8/25), but plans fell through at the last minute. The time seems right heading into TGS 2013 (9/18-9/22) and we will be able to hear more concrete details about just how the headset will be utilized and marketed.

For those that do not know, there is another VR headset hitting the market as well and it has quite a bit of industry support. The Oculus Rift will be in direct competition with Sony’s headset. Oddly enough, there were/are rumors that there was to be a merger of technology at one point, so only the future will truly tell where the majority of the market share will go at the end of the day.

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For those worried this addition will increase the price of the system, fear not. Like the PlayStation Eye, the VR headset will be sold separately to keep the cost of the system as low as possible.

Also, R&D has already begun to develop titles that will utilize the new technology as soon as possible. CVG received word that Evolution Studios is working to create a revolutionary cockpit view using the headset. To that end, President of Sony Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, suggested that further R&D was underway: “Y’know, we’re Sony, so we have lots of different things and different ideas in R&D.” He went on to say, “When it comes to researching things, we are doing a lot of things that we can’t talk about.”

As a cynic, I find it difficult to believe this is going to be the game changer it has the potential to be. Consumers these days are very weary of adopting new technology and if early sales numbers do not ring to developers, we may see this fall to the wayside quickly. The PlayStation Eye had grand potential, but a lack of support from third party developers and little to no promotion led to less than stellar sales. Assuming Drive Club can utilize this tech effectively, it would definitely be a positive step towards this being more than just a gimmick, but only time will tell.

~the Ace of Spades

Source: Computerandvideogames.com

Games and Software

2DS On The Way

     Outside of the Street Fighter franchise, you may find it difficult to recall any company that releases so many iterations of a single product. Keeping in step with the tradition, Nintendo will be releasing the 2DS . . . yes 2DS, October 12th alongside the launch of Pokemon X/Y. According to Kotaku’s interview with Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aime, the 2DS will have all the capabilities of the 3DS (compatible with 3DS/DS games, pictures and video can still be taken in 3D), but it simply will not have an option to render games in 3D.

     The other interesting twist on this new design is the fact that the system does not fold. The 2DS’ “slate” design means that all buttons and both screens will be exposed at all times unless placed in a carrying case which Nintendo will be conveniently selling for $12.99.

     To be realistic, most people completely ignore the 3D feature on their 3DS anyway, so this is not such a bad move for late adopters of the system or those who bypassed it because they refused to pay extra for technology they never intended to use. The only issue I see here is Mr. Fils-Aime’s statement, “This is an entry-level handheld gaming system.” At $129.99 ($40 cheaper than the 3DS and $70 cheaper than the 3DS XL and PS Vita) one would think this will be geared towards kids this holiday season, however, with the screen and buttons being exposed to every dropped, spill and other disastrous common accidents, having a system that does not fold could become an issue sooner rather than later. Not that it needs more than a Nintendo seal on it to sell, but I find it hard to really see a spike in sales for this 3DS “turbo/arcade edition.” But hey, I have been wrong before and if anyone can see to it that I am wrong again, it would be Nintendo.
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~the Ace of Spades

Otaku

The Manga Dilemma

Imagine you were told you could enjoy something for free and have newer versions of it before the people who pay for it. In the name of supporting the creators, would you actually pay for a dated product? Most would not, and that is the problem with the manga industry today.

As with music these days, there is a lot of bootlegging of manga. Essentially, a completed manga chapter will be leaked days or even weeks before it was meant to be released. In Japan, this may not be a big deal since it is the source for the material. The real issue is trying to get those chapters to the UK or America. Because of the time it takes to translate, license and distribute, Western countries are typically a month or so behind the Eastern readers. What some people have resorted to is getting the original Japanese mangas or “raws,” translating the text themselves then releasing them online for free. The turnaround from the Japanese market to the various websites who host these free scans is far faster than companies like Viz Media can keep up with.

This bootlegging process creates several issues. First and foremost, manga creators and distributors lose money, and when people lose money, they become less likely to do work. This leads to some of the less popular, but critically acclaimed, mangas getting cancelled or never making it to animation. Even more popular franchises like Naruto and Dragonball Z do not receive the same level of exposure here as they do in Japan because sales numbers cannot truly reflect the fan base. There have been groundbreaking box office sales for both franchises and their movies are shown in theaters in the East just like any other movie. Money makes the world go ‘round; however, if the Western owners of those franchise licenses do not see the opportunity for similar numbers, they will never spend the time or money to get advertisement for these films and get them into.

As fans and consumers of anime and manga, we are put in an odd situation. In order to see this genre grow and have the same level of mainstream media exposure that Japan enjoys, we would have to wait and pay for episodes and manga chapters we have already seen months ago. Honestly, it would be easier for the major Western companies to just hire the scanners who are currently translating for free. The scanners already have a following and with paychecks and official tools at their disposal, they could do better work. It comes down to the same issue we see in every form of creative media: money vs love. Those who love the mangas and animes do what they do for free and stay on top of it for the love of it. The major corporations and companies that hold the licenses here are focused on dollars and look more at how they can milk the love fans have as opposed to just giving them what they want.
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It should definitely be noted that there are those who have risen to the occasion. Companies like Crunchyroll and Yen Press are working double time to save the industry from piracy and providing an almost immediate turn around on translations for the Western world. They can be sited as helping bring a balance between not only getting the latest and greatest of anime and manga, but also finding reasonable prices for the content they provide. Crunchyroll, for instance, has a service that allows unlimited viewing of up-to-date anime releases for $6.95/month. Consumers can use anything from a laptop to a tablet or even the Playstaion 3 to enjoy Naruto Shippuden, Bleach or newer shows like Attack on Titan.

In the end, we are left with two options: play the game within the system and pay companies who are slowly bringing us content, or continue guerrilla tactics such as scanning raws and possibly tank the entire market in Western countries. With the rise of sites like Crunchyroll, we are provided with a third option as far as anime is concerned, but there is still not as strong a turnaround for manga.Though, in the grand scheme of things, this is such a minor issue, and the odds of some type of major change in how things operate is slim to none. With this knowledge, however, I hope that those who love manga and anime can make more informed decisions as to how to get more of what they love.

~the Ace of Spades