Archive for the 'Video Games' Category

NFL Draft Tonight, But Will There Be an NFL This Season?

By: Zack Stovall, April 28, 2011 in Celebrities, Sports, Television and Video Games. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

It looks like an NFL off-season. It feels like an NFL off-season. Sure, it even smells like an NFL off-season. But is it really an off-season if there’s no season to look forward to?

The pageantry seems to be in order. Yesterday, they released the cover of Madden 2K12, with underdog Browns RB Peyton Hillis being crowned King Cover Boy. Draft analysts have been assessing teams’ needs and those available from the collegiate ranks since before the season even ended, and now, the granddaddy of them all, the NFL Draft, showing up on prime time television on a Thursday night.

The draft traditionally began on a Saturday morning, but with the ratings as high as they’ve ever been for the NFL, the League decided to move it to a more favorable time slot, going up against NBC’s Must See TV line up, and came away with great ratings. Tonight, the draft will have an added element of drama with the uncertainty of the league headed into the ’11-’12 season.

Also, tonight is Steve Carell‘s last episode of “The Office.” Carell is stepping aside from his popular role of World’s Best Boss, Michael Scott, to focus more on film roles. It promises to be both side-splitting and tear-jerking. But which to choose? I love watching the draft but love watching “The Office” also.

I guess I could DVR one or the other. Or just get two TVs. I’m going to get two TVs.

Activision Announces End of Guitar Hero

By: Max Turnier, February 9, 2011 in News and Video Games. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

No More Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero makes for a ridiculously fun gimmick at parties and lets people rock in a different way. Sadly, makers of the hit franchise have announced they will stop making Guitar Hero citing financial decline of the music industry.

“Due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing’s Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011,” Activision said in their December 2010 financial statement.

Since Guitar Hero was released in 2005, Activision has sold around 25 million units earning roughly $2 billion at retail. Activision claims it to be the third largest game franchise behind Mario Bros. and Madden NFL.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 to Be Released November 2011

By: Max Turnier, January 21, 2011 in News, Technology and Video Games. 24 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Screen shot from "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare"

Few things excite the masses like an announcement of a new video game.

According to a report in the LA Times, a third installment in the Modern Warfare series is set to be released in November 2011. Sources are unnamed but they are cited as being people who are “in the know.”

The LA Times article says that Infinity Ward, the creator of the Call of Duty series, has teamed with developer Sledgehammer Games to help finish Modern Warfare 3 by the end of this year. Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer, with the direction of Activision, are believed to be collaborating on the single-player platform. Raven Software is believed to be working on multi-player platforms.

The relationship between Activision and Infinity Ward has been a turbulent one, to put it simply. A round of firings at Infinity Ward last March caused concern in the gaming community that they may not be able keep up with annual release schedules. However, they have proven otherwise with the release of  Call of Duty: Black Ops, which was the best selling game of 2010, though many in the gaming community consider it a disappointment. I personally think 2009′s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 outshines Black Ops with fundamentally better game play.

Looking forward, Sledgehammer seems to be a savvy group of FPS (first-person shooter) developers. Combined with the dedication of Infinity Ward, I predict they will make the November deadline complete with incessant ad campaigns and a lot of buzz about Modern Warfare 3.

North Korea is in UR Cell Phonez, Making UR Gamez

By: Sam, September 7, 2010 in Movies and Video Games. 0 Comments Tags: , , .
A screenshot from the 2007 North Korean-developed cell phone title "The Big Lebowski Bowling"

The Big Lebowski Bowling: who knew Kim Jong-il had such good taste in selecting movies to adapt to cell phone games?

It seems like hardly a week goes by without Kim Jong-il rearing his oppressive, dictatorial head. This week is no exception, as Bloomberg is reporting that Kim’s crack team of North Korean computer experts created not one, but two movie-based cell phone games for what’s now News Corp.’s Fox Mobile. According to the article, this has some people up in arms. Taking a look at the games, though, we see no reason to worry.
Continue reading ‘North Korea is in UR Cell Phonez, Making UR Gamez’

The Pac is Back!

By: Sam, June 21, 2010 in Television and Video Games. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .
A rendering of what the world Pac-Man might look like in real life

Finally! A Pac-Man TV show for my generation!

Riding high off of his star turn on the Google homepage a few weeks back, Pac-Man is certainly making the most of his return to prominence. As we noted in our post commemorating his 30th birthday, Pac-Man was the star of an ABC cartoon series in the early 1980′s. Like a lot of people who were big in the 80′s, Pac-Man looks to be getting another chance.

That’s right, Variety reported last week that Pac-Man (an 80′s fad) is poised to reappear on the small screen in 3D (a current fad). Even better than this awesome collision of ridiculous fads is the plot: Pac-Man is a high school student unaware of his awesome powers, which he must use to save the world, with the help of his ghost friends Pinky, Inky, Blinky and Clyde.

Yes, you read that correctly. Somehow the ghosts, who you might remember from their relentless attempts to kill Pac-Man, are now his friends. Former Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad, who’s pitching the project, is quoted as saying “As a filmmaker, it’s a unique opportunity to get to know the characters you play. … We don’t know what happened to Pac-Man’s parents. He’s the only yellow one in Pac-Land; what does that mean? Is it a social statement? We’ll find out.”

We sure hope we will, because we’re fairly certain that no one under the age of about 30 has any interest in Pac-Man’s backstory or his relationship with his “friends” the ghosts, to say nothing of his parents or the discrimination he’s surely suffered as “the only yellow one in Pac-Land.” Sorry, Avi, we’re not drinking your Kool-Aid this time. We remember all too well what happened to Q*bert.

Who’s Dumb Enough To Announce A New Product Today?

By: Sam, June 7, 2010 in News, Television and Video Games. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .
A Spanish-language Apple Press Release

PR people: unless your press release looks a lot like this one, it's unlikely to attract much attention today.

It’s not a huge secret, that later today, at precisely 10am pacific time (12pm central!) Apple CEO Steve Jobs will take to the stage at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference and announce, at the very least, a new iPhone (see our super-accurate predictions here and check back tomorrow for our scorecard). To say this announcement will dominate the tech/gadget news cycle is an understatement. If there are any surprises-and given we’re talking about Apple here, there likely will be-you can expect to see coverage all over more mainstream outlets like CNN and The New York Times. So, given that all of this information has been around for at least a few months, if you were thinking about announcing some kind of consumer electronic or mobile phone product or service, you’d probably try to steer clear of today. Well, you’d think that, but in a few cases, you’d be wrong. Though the numbers are few, we’ve been watching the press release wires and are pleased to present the following products and/or services that have the misfortune of launching/being announced on the same day as a new iPhone:

SANYO Ultra Short-Focus 3D Ready Projectors
First up today are the fine folks at SANYO (yes, they insist on writing it in all caps), who are unveiling not one, but two new projectors. These projectors are exciting for two reasons; first, they’re “ultra short-focus,” meaning they can project 80-inch images onto a screen from just over a foot away; second, they’re ready to accept 3D inputs, meaning they’re perfect for that big Avatar screening you’re planning on having whenever it’s actually available in 3D. Pricing info and availability aren’t available yet, so don’t hold your breath. If you want a projector and want one now, check out our impressive array of projector reviews and information. If you’re dying for more info on the projectors mentioned above, you should hit up the SANYO web site.

Verizon Wireless V CAST for Android Phones
For a while now, Verizon has offered a $10 per month streaming TV service called V CAST (yes, they insist on writing it in all caps too), which features a bunch of on-demand programs from the likes of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox as well as cable stalwarts like ESPN, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. The service also features live sporting events from the NHL. As of today the service is available to Verizon subscribers with Android phones. Though we understand why Verizon needs to roll this out now (V CAST will include Univision’s live streams of  2010 World Cup games, which start on June 11), couldn’t they have done this last week, or even Thursday the 10th? Announcing this now practically ensures no one will hear about it.

Dungeon Siege 3
Apparently those in the know knew this was in the works, but today Square Enix and Obsidian Entertainment announced they were working on Dungeon Siege 3 under the supervision of Gas Powered Games, the original developer. While this doesn’t quite overlap as directly with Apple news as the stuff above might, recent Apple product announcements (like the iPad) have focused extensively on the games and gaming possibilites of new devices, and games are clearly something Apple hopes to dominate, so we’re betting they’ll be a very large amount of gaming press coverage today for whatever Steve Jobs decides to show off. This large amount of coverage though, of course means that other gaming news, like a new Dungeon Siege, falls through the cracks.

In conclusion, PR people of the world, make a note of whenever Apple’s holding any kind of announcement. Then make sure that you don’t announce anything on that day if you can possibly avoid it. In the meantime feel free to tell us how to do our jobs in the comments. It’s only fair.

Sega Action Chair! Lost Gaming Treasure or Something Else Entirely?

By: Sam, May 28, 2010 in Video Games. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .
A rare Sega Action Chair, in good condition, which was recently listed on eBay.

Imagine all the great times you could have alone in your basement, sitting on this chair...On second thought, don't.

These days it’s not uncommon for rare games or pieces of gaming hardware to fetch high prices on eBay. Most of the time, these are NES or Atari 2600 games, and usually, there’s a good deal of info out there on a given game, despite its rarity. A recently-launched eBay auction for a Sega Action Chair breaks all these rules. First, it’s a piece of hardware, and not just some kind of rare, special edition console, but a gigantic chair that’s also a controller. Secondly, it’s for the Sega Genesis, a full generation past the NES. Third, and perhaps most interestingly, these are so rare there’s very little info about them. Not even a Wikipedia page! That said, the concept is pretty simple. It’s a chair works as a Sega controller’s D-pad, with buttons in the handles. Leaning forward is “up,” back is “down,” etc. Is this fun? Who knows? Actual fun hasn’t really been an issue in past auctions of classic games, but considering the size of this monster and the absence of an Internet legend surrounding it, it’s not surprising that no one has put in a bid yet. At a $300 opening bid (and a $500 buy-it-now price) it would seem a bargain, but the fact that the winner will need to pick it up in Pennsylvania or arrange for transport themselves probably doesn’t help.

Despite the overall lack of info on these babies (Prior to all the chatter that’s emerged in light of this auction, what little info there was on the Sega Action Chair was found on message boards, many of them in French.), our Google powers have led us to that fountain of wisdom that is old-computers.com, where they’ve got a nice publicity photo and description, as well as a page of the French instructions, both of which make the Action Chair look frighteningly like that metal-framed futon you bought at Wal-Mart in college. Yes, this one. Though it seems from the auction description that the Action Chair is at least much better made and perhaps even more comfortable, it certainly doesn’t look any more fun to assemble, and it doesn’t fold down into a “bed.” Even so, it does come already assembled, so we’re recommending it to any college-bound hipsters in the vicinity of central east Pennsylvania. We challenge you to find a better piece of furniture for playing recommended classic games like After Burner II, Space Harrier II, Super Thunder Blade, Hang-On, Road Rash, and Super Monaco GP. For a real retro action though, try playing NBA Jam or Mortal Kombat on it.

Happy 30th, Pac-Man

By: Sam, May 21, 2010 in Video Games. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .
One of football player Adam "Pacman" Jones' mugshots juxtaposed with popular video game character Pac-Man

One makes it rain, one chases ghosts. Both are called Pacman, but only one is 30 today.

30 years ago today, a little game called Pac-Man debuted in Japanese arcades, and although it wasn’t a huge hit there (Space Invaders was all the rage in Japan), when it came to America later that year it became the legendary game that we know and love today (Space Invaders was played out in the US). In honor of Tōru Iwatani‘s simple but elegant design, which has kept legions pumping quarters into machines for three decades now and inspired the nickname of a talented-but-flawed football player, Google has outdone themselves again by replacing their homepage logo with a playable version of Pac-Man. (The “I’m feeling lucky” button has even been replaced with an “insert coin” button that starts the game.)

While we can’t quite compete with Google’s awesome tribute, we would like to offer our powers up in perhaps a more fitting tribute: linking Pac-Man to Kevin Bacon in just two steps. Check it:

Pac-Man: The Animated Series (which had a shockingly-long run of 21 episodes on ABC from 1982-1983) featured Frank Welker as the voice of Chomp Chomp.

Frank Welker voiced Spindle as well as Frog and Caterpillar in 2006′s The Ant Bully, which featured Julia Roberts as the voice of Hova.

Of course, Julia Roberts to Kevin Bacon is an easy jump, because they were both in the incredibly weird, Joel Schumacher-directed future-star-fest that was Flatliners.

Boom! Pac-Man to Kevin Bacon. Take that, Google. Also, if you haven’t seen Flatliners, what better way to celebrate Pac-Man‘s 30th than to watch it this weekend? Seriously, it’s crazy/scary/weird in that late 80′s/early 90′s rated-R thriller kind of way, and just about everyone in it would become at worst Baldwin-brother-famous. (We’re looking at you, William Baldwin!) It’s like a trippy time capsule as long as you remember to laugh about how ridiculous the whole thing is. You’re welcome.

EA Declares War on Used Games with Tiger Woods 11

By: Sam, May 12, 2010 in Sports and Video Games. 0 Comments Tags: .
Golf superstar Tiger Woods, the spokesperson for EA's flagship golf game, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11

Every time you buy a used video game, Tiger Woods cries...Yeah...We're not exactly sure why this is a problem either.

Remember when you could just buy a video game, pop it into your console and play it online? Well, those days are numbered, as Electronic Arts has announced that starting with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 (out June 8th for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and ), all EA Sports games won’t work online until you activate them with a unique code in the box. This means that if you borrow a friend’s copy or–gasp!–buy one used there will be no online play for you unless you give EA $10 (aka 800 “Microsoft Points”).

Why the sudden change on this? It’s all about stock market darling GameStop. Take a look at the charts in this article from Gamasutra, and this chart in particular. Despite the fact that GameStop, the largest video game retailer in the U.S., sells nearly twice the dollar volume of new games than it does used copies ($3.7 billion to $2.3 billion through January), they make lots more money off of the used games. In the last fiscal year GameStop made about $800 million off of new games, which seems pretty good until you learn that they made over $1.1 billion off of used games. This has to kill big game companies like EA, who make all their money the first time a game is sold but nothing after that. EA wants a piece of the action, and considering they’re on the hook for things like the servers necessary to run online games (when they’re not shutting them down), we can’t exactly blame EA for wanting to make sure everyone has given them a little dough before they play online. Still, this whole thing feels kind of sleazy, and this seems like a temporary solution at best. Although they rely on each other now, we can’t see EA and other big game publishers being best friends with GameStop too much longer when their interests are so divergent. Eventually, this could get ugly.

The Day Dallas was Perfect in Oakland

By: Sam, May 10, 2010 in Sports, Technology and Video Games. 1 Comment
Dallas Braden

Dallas Braden can pitch a perfect game, but we can't even pour a perfect martini.

Oakland Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden joined an elite club Sunday, becoming only the 19th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to hurl a perfect game. Determined to prove he can pitch more than just a hissy fit, Dallas set aside his beef with New York Yankees pretty boy Alex Rodriguez (who knew you can’t run across the pitcher’s mound?) just long enough to retire 27 Tampa Bay Rays and log the first perfect game since Mark Buehrle did it in 2009.

Alright, a year between historical events might not sound that astounding, but Braden is in good company. Other modern-era perfect game pitchers include Cy Young, Sandy Koufax and Randy Johnson.

We here at Juggle would like to congratulate Dallas on his once-in-a-lifetime achievement, but we admittedly have an easier time identifying with Wade McGilberry. He’s the 23 year-old who recently won $1 million for being the first person to pitch a perfect game in 2K Games‘s MLB 2K10. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have to start training our thumbs for MLB 2K11.