- On Wednesday I was able to check out the Licensing Fair courtesy of the fine folks at Warner Bros (actually, primarily one really nice guy who works there…. once again Thomas, thanks!). I try to attend them whenever they roll around town, and it’s usually fun since you get to see and hear about assorted movies, tv shows, and other stuff before most folks know about them (the place is for companies to court manufacturers of toys, beach towels, and other assorted crap to make even more money off their properties).
Beforehand, I made a small list of stuff that I had to check out on, and on that end, I went away slightly disappointed. There was absolutely nothing on the new Transformers live action flick, the re-release of the animated film later this Christmas, or the re-release of the original toys (I’m so glad I never forked over a fortune for the Japanese reissue of Soundwave a few years back). But the Hasbro rep in charge of the Transformers license turned out to be a fellow ex-ZiffDavis person, so we got to chat about those days for a bit, which was neat. Also neat was the huge Optimus Prime statue on-hand (to bad I have a feeling the movie Optimus ain’t gonna look anything like him)…
Also stopped by New Line Cinema to find out anything related to Golden Compass, and again no info, but also again, a pretty cool display…
Aside from film and television studios, you also have a few game companies, including Sega. Their booth was run by a whole army of Japanese folks, all of whom were wearing shiny, blue tinsel wigs; I know just a little bit about the corporate culture of Japan, but I think its safe to say, especially from the look on their faces, that they were all the folks that had somehow fucked up at the main office. I really wish I took a picture, especially when they opened up a big card board box and took out a Sonic the Hedgehog full body suit, and they looked at each other with a “Ummm…. well, I’m not wearing that” expression.
There were also a few games, primarily pint-sized arcade games that are aimed at little kids in Japan, and from what I hear are pretty popular as well. One involved real life bugs duking it out amongst each other, with vague Pokemon-ish elements, which apparently is a monster hit for Sega in its homeland, another seemed to be the same exact thing but with except dinosaurs, and a third was purely for girls and involve dressing up virtual dolls. Each had slide card functionality (to customize and carry your character around I guess) and they all had identical control interfaces: every game uses just three buttons for paper-rock-scissors gameplay.
Plus they had a Xbox 360 running the next-gen Sonic game, being played by the only American with the booth (since he was also wearing the blue tinsel wig). I wanted to get my hands on it, but for some reason, the guy wouldn’t let anyone else give it a shot. After about fifteen minutes of watching some pretty impressive visuals, along with some not-so hot spastic cameras and cheap deaths (maybe thats why no one else was getting a chance to play?) I moved on, since I knew I’d probably get a chance to try it out the next day…
Nintendo also had a booth, with the Wii on display (though it wasn’t operational, but it sure looked purdy). They had some Nintendogs cell phone trinket which I grabbed for MK. Speaking of which, the real disappointing thing about this year’s show is that there wasn’t nearly as much freebies as in years past. There used to be a point where at least the big companies tried drowning you with all sorts of shit, back when the economy was much stronger for everyone; back in 2000, Warner Bros gave away free chocolate frogs, as part of their big Harry Potter push, and I sold each (which was no bigger than the size of a fifty cent slab) for $30, each. Those where the dot com days…
But if there was one definite highlight, it was the group that was representing a whole slew of Japanese properties, the more avant guard, not exactly mainstream stuff. One of their clients was STUDIO4C, the folks behind one of the best films I saw last year at the previous NYC Asian Film Fest (and which I know Robin loves it to death as well), Mindgame. Here’s a look at some of the stuff they had on display…
Aside from getting the chance to take a look at their future projects, I even got to speak with the studio’s director Yujiro Funato. He was really nice, and he told me all about the upcoming Genius Party and TEKKONKINKREET, both of which looks absolutely amazing. I asked about the possibility of Mindgame getting a domestic release, but there’s doesn’t seem to be anything in the works at the moment, though they’re working hard towards it (I guess that’s part of the reason why he and everyone else were so friendly… they were just happy to talk to someone who’s seen and enjoyed the movie). Plus there’s always something sublimely awesome about exchanging business cards with Japanese people (its so proper and formal, plus they always have wonderful cards), and like with Miyamoto, I once again didn’t have enough to go around (which I believe is sometimes viewed as something rude), which I was so pissed about.
Also worth nothing is one of the other things their PR firm was pimping: Namennayo. It’s just pictures of cats dressed up in people clothing, looking all cute, which I guess is nothing new, but their threads are pretty stylin’ (and they smoke alot, and we all know that smoking is cool).
Speaking of clothing (and again I really wish I took a picture), I found out that there’s going to be SNK related clothing hitting stores later this year, including a totally hot Metal Slug shirt that was on-hand, and get this, its going to be sold at Hot Topic. Truly weird…
- Later in the evening was movie night. I didn’t go to the previous week’s, since Farel was in town, and of course, that was when Jeff decided to start playing Ernie Kovacs clips. But at least I’m getting the chance to see his classic, and legitimately ground-breaking, work once again; for those who don’t know who Ernie Kovacs is (which is a real shame… the guy was a legitimate genius, and anyone who’s the least bit interested in television and cinema needs to see his work), here’s a good place to start I guess.
The main feature was the Andromeda Strain, which is about an alien virus that kills humans by clotting their blood instantly, and a group of scientists’ efforts to identify a cure. The film is super science heavy, yet it never gets boring or hard to follow, and its overall pretty damn suspenseful, even scary at times. Its also a reminder that filmmakers and film audiences in the United States used to be be more intelligent and patient.
- Yesterday two game publishers came to town to show off their winter catalogue. First up was Buena Vista games, and I was really looking forward to checking out Lumines for the PS2, plus its sequel for the PSP, and Every Extend Extra. But since I was on-hand representing Nickelodeon Magazine, it was only Disney games for me. They were what you might expect for games based on cartoons, aimed at the 5-10 age group….
Next was Sega, which I was obviously looking forward to. Mainly to see Jennie Sue, which I hadn’t spoken to in a while. But there was Sonic the Hedgehog; first was the next-gen Sonic, this time running on the PS3 and I finally got the chance to give it a shot (I asked the guy demoing it if I had seen him the day prior wearing a blue tinsel wig, and it was indeed the same guy).
Basically, this new Sonic game, which they’re just calling Sonic the Hedgehog, felt just like Sonic Adventure 1. In the sense that it really blew me away, visually, just like the first time I played Adventure 1, I was so amazed by the graphics of the Dreamcast. The graphics were simply drop-dead beautiful. As for how it played, it felt most like Adventure 2, primarily the controls and camera… which may be not such hot news for some. And like what I had seen the previous day, the camera at times were all over the place, plus along with at times very loose controls, meant that both the demo person and myself died many times when we accidentally fell down a pit (though that is apparently being addressed). I was happy to hear that most of Sonic’s menagerie of mascots were axed for this game (though I will admit that I didn’t mind Tails at all), but Shadow does make a return (even certain Sega folks don’t want to talk about it), along with a third hedgehog, Silver, who is from the future and has a “mysterious” connection to Sonic. One which my editor Carmen guessed in about 5 seconds, much to the chagrin of the demo guy, which we all thought was pretty funny (though anyone who’s remotely familiar with Terminator can see it a mile away).
I also really liked it when the guy asked as I first took the controller “So, are you familiar with Sonic?”, with Dave’s response of a chuckle and “That’s like asking if he knows how to breathe.” Anyway, Silver has the ability to move stuff via telekinesis to fight enemies and to navigate the terrain. Its nowhere as deep as in Half Life 2, but its still rather neat nonetheless.
But the next game, Sonic Rivals for the PSP, was what truly blew me away. And I for one cannot believe why people haven’t been talking about it since E3, which is when it made its debut, but was basically ignored for the PS3/Xbox 360 game, along with the Wii title (which sadly, was not present yesterday). Rivals is basically what every single Sonic diehard has been screaming for the past ten years or so: the basic gameplay and looks of the Genesis Sonics, but in 2.5D. More or less. I didn’t play this one, but just watched Dave, and I think my jaw was on the floor for the most part, simply because it was just so nice to finally see the Sonic 1 Green Hills translated into three dimensions, but with the same gameplay (the actions moves all over the place, but the camera moves along with it, so you’re always seen from the side, just like the original games). There is one additional element: now there’s a racing component (Sega’s always trying to make Sonic into a pure racing game), where you have to reach the end before another character, but all the normal platform elements, meaning defeating bad robots and bosses, are still there. Previously, I had quietly written off the PSP entirely, and made up my mind that I would probably never get one, and sell off the games that I already have. That has now changed.
Plus they also announced Sonic 1 for the GBA to celebrate Sonic’s 15th anniversary. It supposed to have both the original Genesis game plus a special mode with the spindash (just like in Sonic Jam and Mega Collection). Hopefully it’ll be a better translation than the one in the Genesis three pack for the GBA that came out a few years ago (which also included crappy translations of Ecco and Golden Axe). Speaking of, I really hope the Genesis emulator in the Wii will be up to snuff, since thus far, the ones on the Saturn, Dreamcast, PS2, GameCube, and Xbox have not been perfect, despite all the horsepower they have compared to the original hardware (at the very least, sound is always off). Plus it’ll be $19.91. Get it?
EDIT: Today is also the official 15th birthday of Sonic. No matter how stale the series has become (and things certainly do look ripe for a comeback), at least there will always be Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
- Later in the evening, I was supposed to go to some alternative reality gaming meet-together sponsored by the IGDA (that reminds me, my membership fee is well overdue), but decided to hook up with the Sega crew again for a Yakuza preview party at a swanky Japanese restaurant in Tribeca. By that point, due to the insanely high humidity in NYC (yesterday was by far the worst heat-wise in the city thus far this year), I was sweating like a pig, and I had hoped to swing home afterwork real quick to freshen up, plus grab a copy of the second Unlucky mini for Jennie, but there wasn’t enough time, so I felt rather uncomfortable (and again, sweaty). Though I didn’t feel so bad when Steve Totilo (the MTV game news guy, whom I first met during the 24 hours Parson game event) showed up, since he was practically dripping with perspiration, but that was because he had just come from Willamsburg where he was jumping up and down on a trampoline, dressed in a huge, and apparently very warm, Mario suit. So the guy had an excuse. Thankfully there was an abundance of Japanese beer to cool everyone down. Once the place was filled with game journalists (these guys were primarily from big-time publications, like Time Magazine, Maxim, and the Post), the presentation began; during the general explanation of what the Yakuza was, and how they have their hands in countless businesses in Japan, N’Gai Croal, Newsweek’s video game writer (he’s actually the general editor of technology) yelled out “Like Sammy?” which I thought was fucking hilarious, but the joke was lost on most folks in the room.
Then some clips of the various Hollywood talent recording dialogue for the game was shown, including Michael Madsen who was wearing a shirt that I own and is a real favorite of mine (I almost wore it yesterday). Next was a detailed rundown of the actual game as Jennie played. Along with the combat, they showed the main character going to a porn shop where he’s supposed to get guns, along with the witty banter that comes when you decide to show interest in renting a porn DVD instead (especially one for specifically for “cosplay freaks”). Then there was a demo of the love motel minigame, in which you get a “massage” from a Japanese girl, i.e. have sex. But since there’s no nudity, instead of acting showing the act of lovemaking, you instead get a shot of a field of sunflowers under a bright, blue sky. Always Sega with their blue, blue skies.
Didn’t stick around too long since I really wanted to get some food in me; they served really authentic Japanese cuisine, meaning that I had no idea what the hell was what, and of course, I was the only person there who didn’t know how to use chopsticks. After chatting with Steve and N’Gai for a while (here’s a fun fact: Steve is the actual creator for the Hulk Hogan reality show on VH1, Hogan Knows Best), I made my exit. I had plenty of work waiting for me at home… much of which I didn’t make a dent in, for assorted reasons.
- Which means that I’m still don’t done with my piece for GameSetWatch (sorry about that Simon). Like I said, I still need to check up on a few things. I also found out that the east coast EVO tournament, which everyone thought was supposed to happen in New York, is now going to happen in Connecticut for some stupid reason (well, I know the real reason: cost), which I was also going to cover for GSW. Bummer.
- Tonight I’m seeing two selection from the Asian Film Fest, Oh! My Zombie Mermaid (which is gonna be fucking AWESOME, I just know it) and Ski Jumping Pars: Road to Torino. Tomorrow morning is my Mac Basic workshop, which I’ve been spending all day prepping for. Unfortunately I’ll be missing the Mermaid Parade, but the weather has been such shit, I guess it’s not too big of a loss. Then its back to the Anthology Archives for Funky Forest later in the evening; Mike wants me to go to the Big Apple Con with him after I teach, to see his idol Steven Segal with him, and I’m somewhat interested just to see that interaction. Though if there’s time, I might try and go to Willamsburg to catch a bit of the BillyBurg Film Festival, if only to catch Chad Nau‘s film in its original dual screen format (it was the only film from this past year’s graduating class at SVA that I really, REALLY enjoyed, along with a live soundtrack thanks to Japanther (which Chad promises is going to be “fucking rad”). Man, there’s just too much shit going on. Sunday’s two more movies, and…. I’m sorta blanking. In fact, there was a bunch of other stuff I was going to mention, but it’s getting late, plus I got a movie to catch, so I’ll leave it at that.
