Mommy, Where Do Dead Pixels Come From?

Just laughed my ass off when I read this web comic and wanted to share it with you.

as seen on Dueling Analogs

AOM - June

Sesame Street Fighter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My head just exploded! Made by a most deviantartist who goes by the moniker, gavacho13. You can find more of his work here. Shoryuken!

"The Tester" Plays It Safe

After subjecting myself to 3+ hours of reality TV, Sony has a new QA Tester and his name is Cyrus, or more specifically, Will Powers. As an experiment in whether or not consoles could be a device for exclusive television programming, was Sony’s new PS3 exclusive reality TV program a success? From my perspective… no, but in the long-term, should Sony choose to revisit this model for delivering entertainment to the PSN, then it may be a yes.

Sony Press Event @ GDC 2010

I am at a loss, but if you have not watched this or heard, Sony has unveiled the Playstation Move. The official title for their new motion control hardware. Frankly, the names are kind of lame (sub-controller...really?) and the games look like Wii HD...sigh. The tech is there and I still believe that there is alot of potential in the device, especially for augmented reality. Though the launch looks like it may be a little underwhelming. I will keep my fingers crossed and please take a look at this video, care of G4tv.com.

PS3 Games - E3 2010 - LittleBigPlanet

Marketing 101: "Tatsunoko VS. Capcom" Commercial

I absolutely love the new American "Tatsunoko VS. Capcom" commercial. It is marketing like this that I feel does service, to not necessarily always showing gameplay footage. Whereas some past Capcom commercials felt uninspired (like the Resident Evil 5 campaign) for not showing gameplay footage, this on the other hand substitutes a "Robot Chicken" - esque live action segment. Which so perfect because they know exactly what kind of TV the major demographic for a game such as this would appeal. While doing a good job of capturing the kind of high energy, wackness the Capcom "Versus" series are known for. I had some time to play the Japanese arcade release while at Arcade UFO in Austin and that is exactly what consumers should expect if the pick up this Wii exclusive.

The fighting engine is reminiscent to past installments and the graphics look quite good on the Wii. It is rare for the Wii to be launch such a fantastic fighting franchise exclusively. Along with the usual banner ads, magazine prints, and commercial; Capcom has partnered with Madcatz to make an exclusive fight stick for the Wii as well. Essentially it is a re-skinned version of the stick developed for Street Fighter 4 and should feed the need for most of the "hardcore" wanting an arcade feel. Although, many would note the lack of the stick containing any authentic "Sanwa" parts. The picture was courtesy of 1up.com. I hope that the efforts being made by Capcom are enough to succeed, as the sales of this game may influence the future of a new Capcom Versus property. In a recent interview with Kotaku (here), Tatsunoko vs. Capcom producer Ryota Niitsuma was quoted as saying:

"If sales are really good (for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars) then you can see an announcement within this year,"

Hopefully, this will lead to a new Versus titled being developed in their 2.5D engine which was used for Street Fighter 4. Please bring me a Darkstalkers Versus title or even Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. And if you are at all unfamiliar with the Versus franchise, please consider getting your hands on some of the following games below.

Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000

Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter

Marvel vs. Capcom

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes

X-Men vs. Street Fighter

You can also pickup a copy of  Tatsunoko VS. Capcom on 01/26/10

Marketing 101: Sin to Win

9 Circles of Hell and the Campaigns behind them

It's November 9th and another Circle of Hell has opened over at Electronic Arts. Since the anouncement of new IP Dante's Inferno, EA has been all over the industry building hype through some ridiculous marketing stunts. I will not debate the responsibilities of using a profound piece of literature, to build the narrative for an action game. Let's just look at how these marketing stunts are being executed and whether or not it has had an affect on the audience. I believe their original campaign is developed around the 7 deadly sins, but the 9 circles are the levels in the game. Either way, most of the circles are the same are similiar to the sins committed, so we will just apply the camapaign stunts across the circles. The game also has a "normal" marketing campaign as well, and if after this you are interested, you can go to EA's site for more information here.

Limbo - During this year's E3, Electronic Arts staged a fake Christian protest against the game, complete with signs that read "EA = Electronic Anti-Christ." The idea of religious protest against a video game is sure to make headlines, even if this isn't the first time. Lest we for the Hindus community's outrage over “Hanuman: Boy Warrior” a PS2 game. The protest eventually spurred actual Christian activists to denounce the silly stunt. The funny thing is, becuase the initial impression was the demonstration was real, EA was able to get twice as much converage for one activity, since every post was followed up with a clarification. Well played EA.


Lust – At Comic Con this year, Electronic Arts was running a contest that promises " dinner and a sinful night with two hot girls, a limo service, paparazzi and a chest full of booty " as a reward for snagging multiple pictures with any booth babes, committing "acts of lust." First off, booth babes probably have a hard enough time just being an entire convention filled with nerds, objects of affection. Now, you are basically antagonizing these gamers to go out and get a booth babe, from any company, not exclusively EA, to take a demeaning picture. Obviously this could not end well. Not only did some "winners" refuse their prize to make a point, but essentially EA is alienating their fan base. For it being one of the easiest sin's to campaign over, it seemed like EA had really messed this one up for all intents an purpose.


Gluttony – What better way to say your sorry than with cake. Of course, EA didn't want to waste another opportunity to market Dante's, so instead of a normal cake, EA went with an arm cake.
Gamespot was the lucky media outlet to receive it and from an epic cake point of view, this one is spot on. Though it didn't get as much coverage across the various media outlets, in the basic application to the game it seems pretty accurate. Sadly, execution was lacking.

Greed – EA then sent out checks for $200 to various journalists and media outlets which read; “By cashing this check you succumb to avarice by hoarding filthy lucre but by not cashing it, you waste it, and thereby surrender to prodigality.” Some chose to destroy the check (Brian Crecente @Kotaku) or donate it to charity (Chris Grant @Joystiq), but either way it got Dante’s Inferno back into headlines. Cheapy D of CAG.com actually calculated the value of doing something like this. Here, he looked at the cost of advertising on Kotaku, as compared to pulling a stunt like this:
“Kotaku charges an $8 CPM (cost per 1,000 banner impressions) for their standard advertising banners. Their news post about this PR stunt will likely surpass 40,000 views.  Look Into To err on the safe side, let's say the total cost of the check and fancy box is $300. Since Crecente burned the check, EA basically spent the equivalent of a $2.50 CPM for a front page news post on Kotaku.” Now, that’s a pretty good deal when you’re trying to utilize the advertising budget effectively.

Anger (Wrath) - A 17 pound package crate appeared on the doorstep of numerous journalists. Once the twine was removed from the outside, a series of moody overtones began playing, which were quickly silenced by the horrific noise of Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up blaring from inside the box. The catch, the box was basically sealed shut, with no way to turn it off! It would not stop until you cracked open the crate and disconnected that power source. Nothing like the sweet melodies of Rick Astley to bring out the anger in someone.

With Heresy opening to the public, I wonder what EA has planned next? Will we get a video montage of the "Buddy" Jesus holding a Popes Gone Wild video, or is the Catholic Church planning on releasing a new line of Dante's Inferno propylatics? Let us not forget that there are still the cirlces of Violence,
Fraud, and Treachery; left to inspire the audience to pay attention to EA's new franchise. It will stay on my radar until its release, if only for the LOLs. 

*Note: All photos were found using Google Image Search

Look at this Pic!

Thought it was pretty cool. Mad props to Kei Acedera for her creativity.

Pic can be found online @ https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7C56kZJk7ashU1OzLG9o9crFbDLMvg8YFFjLySYhlVfB4WExS08-1PHO9L-Dqb_gdMAAbAz8Ap7kzakHoelaVC2dieuDfGpfx8xw-M95J6aHh4yljFn_GJvW0uT5ylagkPXOBmY_GnkFl/s400/cute-street-fighter-kei-acedera.jpg

My TV is Dead....

Funeral arrangements are being made, not sure if I am going to bury it under a pile of shit in the garage or drive out to the desert and blow it up. But to be realistic, I should of thought about WTF I'd do when my 57" Projector TV dies. Certainly not the easiest thing to dispose of. There will be some liquidation sales this weekend, guess its time for that pretty flat panel I have been dreaming of! I will comeback with pictures of the new baby soon enough.

all images provided by google image search

STREET FIGHTER IV VIDEO APP

Ever wonder what you would look like in Street Fighter 4? Now you don't have to wonder, thanks to Capcom, you can find out yourself just by uploading a picture. Enjoy this short clip of me kicking Crimson Viper's ASS!

And you can do it yourself at this website http://www.streetfighter.com/myfistyourface/