Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced details on the PlayStation Card — a Visa credit card by Capitol One. The card earns points that can be used “for PlayStation games, accessories, and PlayStation Network content — along with other great products from Sony”. It offers some nice bonuses for gamers that frequently buy PlayStation games and Sony electronics. Here’s the rundown:
10X points on all PlayStation Network purchases
3X points on all PlayStation and Sony purchases at Sony stores and Sony.com
3X points at quick service restaurants, at movie theaters, and on your mobile phone bill
1X points on all other purchases
Any of you going to apply for the PlayStation Card?
[Updated 9:21AM PST]Flurry Analytics posted a fascinating pie chart (as fascinating as pie charts get, anyway) that illustrates the rapid growth of Android and iOS gaming, as well as the decline of Nintendo DS gaming. According to the company, Android and iOS are responsible for approximately 58 percent of U.S. portable game software revenue in 2011. This is up from 19 percent in 2009 and 34 percent in 2010. Compare this to the Nintendo DS’ 2011 software revenue, which Flurry estimates to be 36 percent of the market. This is down from 70 percent in 2009 and 57 percent in 2010.
One thing to keep in mind is that the DS is an end-of-life product and has been replaced by the 3DS. As most of you know, the console market is cyclical, so it wasn’t surprising to see DS software sales declining over the last three years. Android and iOS games are more evergreen, since they’re not tied to a specific set of hardware. Also, Flurry vice president of marketing Peter Farago made no mention of the 3DS in his blog post. I’ve reached out to the company to see if 3DS software sales were included in the overall DS figure.
Even considering the cyclical nature of consoles, the rapid growth of smartphone gaming is extremely impressive. It will be interesting to see how standalone gaming systems like the 3DS and the upcoming PlayStation Vita will perform. With smartphones and tablets becoming fantastic gaming platforms, it’s looking like the audience for specialized gaming is shrinking.
Let me know what you think of Flurry’s study on U.S. portable gaming revenue when you have a chance (please!).
Update 9:21AM PST: Flurry VP Peter Farago confirmed that the 2011 Nintendo figure includes 3DS software sales. He told me via email, “This is total Nintendo portable data, including 3DS.” Even though the 3DS stumbled out of the gate in the U.S., sales have been picking up and there are several hot games that will sell well this holiday season. In light of that, the number is even more fascinating.
I’m not sure what’s more surprising — the British government banning Dakota Fanning’s advertisement for Marc Jacobs’ Oh, Lola! perfume or that Dakota Fanning is getting kind of hot. On one hand, England is the country that gave us “Page 3 Girls”. I figured those cats would be okay with an ad featuring an attractive 17-year old star. (Plus, those guys produced Emma Watson.) On the other hand, I never would have guessed the adorable girl from I Am Sam would transform into a sexy young woman.
Check out the photo from the advertisement below and share your thoughts on the Oh, Lola! banning.
I’m so pissed at Brett Ratner. He had to idiotically use the word “faggot” in an interview, which caused a whirlwind of controversy that led to him bowing out of producing The Oscars. Now all the attention has been taken away from his sordid tales of Olivia Munn. That sucks! Just in case you haven’t heard, here’s what Ratner said about the woman a lot of you know as Bolivia Bunn:
I used to date Olivia Munn, I’ll be honest with everyone here, but when she was Lisa. She wasn’t Asian back then. She was hanging out on my set of After the Sunset. I banged her a few times, but I forgot her. Because she changed her name, I didn’t know it was the same person and so when she auditioned for me for a TV show, I forgot her. She got pissed off, and so she made up all these stories about me eating shrimp and masturbating in my trailer. And she talked about my shortcomings.
Ratner later admitted that he made the whole thing up, but I’m going to conveniently ignore that. I found it hilarious that he accused Munn of being fake, exploiting her ethnicity for career advancement, and being forgettable. That’s awesome. I’m going to choose to focus on the statement above instead of his insensitive remarks and getting heat from The Academy.
Considering that I recently attended the premiere of A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas and it’s Coffee Talk #420, I thought that it would be a good time to discuss your favorite stoner movies. Since the the groundbreaking Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the dude that cancelled his suicide attempt because Lindsay Lohan is posing in Playboy, making your action figures Tebow next to your RPad.tv magnet, or your favorite algorithm, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Considering that I recently attended the premiere of A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas and it’s Coffee Talk #420, I thought that it would be a good time to discuss your favorite stoner movies. Since the the groundbreaking Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke, the stoner genre has become a Hollywood moneymaker. Just look at movies like Dazed and Confused, Harold & Kumar, Half Baked, etc. Several characters found in Kevin Smith movies and most of the characters Seth Rogen plays owe a lot to the the stoner genre. It’s here to stay!
Out of all the stoner movies out there, what’s your favorite? Do you love the Cheech & Chong classics? Are you more of a Dazed and Confused guy? Are Jay & Silent Bob your role models? Were you floored by the 3D marijuana smoke in A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas? Kindly share your stoner movie picks in the comments section!
Today is the 20th anniversary of Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s first retirement due to contracting the HIV virus. I remember the announcement vividly. I was in high school and it was report card day. The news floored everyone — students, teachers, custodians, etc. At the time, information on HIV and AIDS was relatively scarce. While it’s wrong to lionize Magic for the lifestyle that led to him to getting HIV, he should be lauded for helping educate the world about this deadly virus.
Before Magic’s announcement, I was woefully uneducated and uninformed about HIV and AIDS. Prior to Magic, the biggest celebrity that I can recall getting AIDS was Rock Hudson, who was way before my time and didn’t resonate with me. When I was a bit younger, my favorite uncle died of AIDS, but I was too young to really process any of it. Magic made HIV real for me. This was someone I looked up to — I marveled at Magic’s ability on the court and was charmed by his persona off the court. Like many other ignorant people, I didn’t realize that HIV could infect people that weren’t homosexuals or drug addicts.
After his announcement, a lot more information on HIV and AIDS became available. People started to learn about and understand the disease. People became informed about the ways you can and can’t get it (with the exception of that idiotic statutory rapist Karl Malone). People learned how to protect themselves from HIV infection. For a lot of people, the reason why they learned facts about HIV and AIDS was Magic Johnson.
Of course I have to mention an arguably off-color joke my friend Justin Killian made several years after Magic stopped playing. I distinctly remember spitting out soda when he said, “What the hell kind of HIV is that?!? I want Magic’s HIV that changes you from a point guard to a power forward!” I suppose the point being that prior to Magic, I thought that HIV was an automatic death sentence to AIDS. Again, I was ignorant and Magic helped me learn.
As you can tell, Earvin’s announcement had a big impact on my life. How about yours? How did you react when Magic Johnson announced that he had the HIV virus? Did you learn more about AIDS and HIV because of him?
Justin Leeper and I were lucky enough to get to chat with the legendary Casper Van Dien on the set of the upcoming videogame movie Noobz. The Starship Troopers star talks about his roles (multiple) in the movie, whether he can take on Dom from Gears of War, New Jersey vs. wherever the hell Justin is from, and more. It’s a fun and loose interview with a great man. Check it out and let me know what you think (please!).
Here’s a video review of the Razer Chimaera 5.1 wireless gaming headset. Although it can be used with any console or PC, it only allows for chat on Xbox 360. It’s a high-quality product from Razer, a company that’s known some of the best mice and keyboards for gamers…
Here’s a video review of the Razer Chimaera 5.1 wireless gaming headset. Although it can be used with any console or PC, it only allows for chat on Xbox 360. It’s another high-quality product from Razer, a company that’s known some of the best mice and keyboards for gamers.
Here’s the Cliff Notes version:
Like
Super Comfortable — I wore the Chimaera for several gaming sessions of two hours or more and found it perfectly comfortable the whole time.
Great Sound — Although it’s not as impressive as headsets with multiple drivers, I really enjoyed the sound output. At the very least, it blows away TV speakers in terms of clarity and detail.
Didn’t Like
Microphone — The mic isn’t noise-cancelling, which could be a deal breaker for gamers that play in crowded living rooms, doorms, etc.
Possible Interference — I’m positive that interference won’t be an issue for most people, but if you live in a crowded apartment complex (like me) with lots of 5.8GHz devices fighting for signal then you’ll probably experience occasional dropouts. At home, I experienced a few dropouts but when I brought the Chimaera to my friend’s house in the suburbs I didn’t have any.
Kindly watch the review when you have a chance and let me know what you think! Is the Razer Chimaera 5.1 something you want this holiday season?
Actor Jason Mewes (Clerks II) and director Blake Freeman talk about their upcoming videogame movie Noobz in this excellent video. In addition to the movie, the two talk about Gears of War 3, discuss first-person vs. third-person action, send a special message to Epic Games’ Cliff Bleszinski, and go off-topic in a hilariously lewd way. The legendary Casper Van Dien also pops up in the video making it extra awesome. Warning: this interview contains lots of naughty language and dirty references.
Special thanks to Justin Leeper for conducting the interview while I cracked up behind the camera.
