The Dark Knight Returns Trailer

Here’s the trailer for The Dark Knight Returns, an upcoming two-part animated movie based on Frank Miller’s critically acclaimed Batman mini-series. The first part hits on September 25, 2012 (my birthday!) and the second will be released in early 2013. Voice talent include Peter Weller as Batman, Ariel Winter as Carrie Kelley/Robin, and David Selby as Jim Gordon.

Considering that the Batman franchise is riding high off of the release of The Dark Knight Rises, DC’s animated features are generally great, and the movie is based off of one of the most revered Batman tales of all time, this should be a “can’t miss” movie for DC, right? Then again, Miller’s art style is so distinct that some people are bound to dislike an animated interpretation of it. Additionally, a ton is riding on the voice actors delivering top-notch performances of words and scenes that have been playing in comic-book fanboys’ heads since The Dark Knight Returns was released in 1986. Perhaps it’s not a sure thing that this animated film will deliver.

Kindly check out the trailer and let me know what you think. Will The Dark Knight Returns be the next great DC animated movie?

Coffee Talk #506: Have FFIII and OnLive Changed Your Opinion on Ouya?

Kickstarted-funded console-company Ouya recently announced two major partners: OnLive and Square Enix. The former announced that its streaming games service will be available for the upcoming console, while Ouya revealed that Square Enix’s Final Fantasy III will be a system launch title.  Those are two great partners to have. My question for you today is this: Have these collaborations changed your opinion of Ouya?

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, Microsoft’s shockingly good Outlook.com email service, Michael Phelps’ resemblance to Gheorge Muresan, or season-changing MLB trades made this week, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Kickstarted-funded console-company Ouya recently announced two major partners: OnLive and Square Enix. The former announced that its streaming games service will be available for the upcoming console, while Ouya revealed that Square Enix’s Final Fantasy III will be a system launch title.  Those are two great partners to have. My question for you today is this: Have these collaborations changed your opinion of Ouya?

On the plus side, OnLive brings a large number of games and several top publishers to the mix. Detractors will point to this partnership looking like a desperate and weak reaction to Sony’s recent purchase of Gaikai. Cynics will say that this is a case of a sinking company (OnLive) teaming up with one that will never make it out of the gates (Ouya).

Seeing the glass half-full, Square Enix is a marvelous partner to have. It’s possible that the relationship will lead to several classic games from Square Enix’s extensive library being available on Ouya. Seeing the glass half-empty, Final Fantasy III has been out for iOS since March 2011 and available for Android since June 2012. While the Final Fantasy name is nice to have, it’s not all that impressive that FFIII will be a launch title for an Android-based console arriving in 2013.

What do you make of Ouya’s partnerships with OnLive and Square Enix? Does having an established streaming games service and Final Fantasy III as a launch title change your opinion of Ouya?

Andrew Lloyd Webber Wii Game Coming in September

Coming in September is…an Andrew Lloyd Webber videogame?!? It’s true! Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals: Sing & Dance arrives for the Nintendo Wii on September 14, packed with songs from more than a dozen of the composer’s musicals. According to the press release, the game will feature timeless hits such as:

  • “All I Ask of You”
  • “Any Dream Will Do”
  • “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”
  • “Memory”
  • “The Phantom of the Opera”
  • “Superstar”

Featured musicals include:

  • Cats
  • Evita
  • Jesus Christ Superstar
  • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
  • The Phantom of the Opera
  • Starlight Express
  • Sunset Boulevard

The game will feature separate song and dance modes, as well as a career mode that combines both.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals: Sing & Dance is set to be published by Tubby Games and, quite sadly, is only confirmed for a UK release. I’m so jealous of British gamers right now. I love musicals.

(Green) Arrow Trailer is Totally Bad Ass!

Has Green Arrow ever looked cooler than in the trailer for Arrow, a weekly series hitting CW in October. In past comics (prior to “The New 52”), he was an ultra-liberal womanizer with an outmoded appreciation for Errol Flynn’s style. He shoots arrows in a world where guys have rings powered by alien science and people are running around at mach one. Also, his last name is Queen. It’s hard to see him as much of a threat to any self-respecting villain.

That doesn’t appear to be the case in Arrow, where he looks like a total bad-ass. The show appears to be a dark and realistic take on Green Arrow. While comparisons to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy are inevitable, I’m getting more of a Jason Bourne vibe from the video.

Check out the trailer for Arrow and let me know what you think (please!).

Signs Point to iPhone 5 Launch on September 21

You’ve seen the leaked photos and videos of the “iPhone 5” housing. More recently, iMore has reported that Apple will be holding a press conference for the next iPhone on September 12, with a launch set for September 21. The report was met with equal parts excitement and cynicism…until The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple — the unofficial arbiter of Apple rumors — legitimized it with his trademark “yep”. After that, it seemed like loads of web sites received confirmation on the dates from various unnamed sources.

It’s also interesting that iMore claimed that Apple will be unveiling the heavily-rumored iPad Mini and Dalrymple didn’t grace that part of the report with a “yep”. To be fair, he didn’t give it a “nope” either.

To recap, the next iPhone is rumored to have a four-inch screen, a 4G LTE radio, a thinner body, and a new dock connector.

Are you guys and dolls psyched for the iPhone press conference? Do you think the iPad Mini will be part of the show? Also, black or white?!?

Source

Tokova Tiger Shark: Meet Soulja Boy’s Android Tablet

Say hello to the Tokova Tiger Shark Soulja Boy Edition, a Google Android tablet that bears the American hip-hop artists name. After thinking about it for several hours, I’m still not sure what to make of the fact that we live in a world where a Soulja Boy-branded Android tablet exists. Part of me thinks it’s cool to see more celebrity-branded consumer-electronics (Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Lovers camera was cool!). Part of me is afraid to see something like…I don’t know…a Toby Keith-branded mobile phone.

Here are the Soulja-specs for this $399.99 tablet:

  • Display: 7” Display 1024X600 IPS Resolution
  • Size: 7.5 x 5 x 0.4
  • Weight: 12 ounces
  • OS: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
  • Hardware & Processing: 1.2 GHz 1G DDR2
  • Battery: 4500mAh/3.7V Li-polymer
  • Battery Life: Up to 8HRS.
  • Storage: 64 Internal Storage Supports 32 SD
  • Camera: Front-Facing Camera Rear-Facing 2 Mega Pixel
  • Smart Phone Connectivity: GSM 850/900/1800/1900/ UMST/2100
  • WCDMA Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n
  • USB: Micro USB port HDMI Port Bluetooth® DC Port
  • Multimedia: Stereo Speakers Stereo Microphones
  • Video Output: H.264, DIVX, XVID, RM, RMVB, MKV, WMV, MOV
  • MP4, MPEG,DIVX, XVID
  • MPEG, MPG, FLV. HD 1080P
  • FM Radio Tuner (NO INTERNET REQUIRED)
  • Web Browsing: Adobe Flash® 10.3 HTML 5

Branding aside, it’s kind of pricey for a seven-inch tablet. You might as well get a Nexus 7 and have a talented artist write Soulja Boy on the back of it. You’d either be lauded for your originality or someone will make a diss track about you and your poser tablet. Either way, you’ll still have better tech at a cheaper price.

What do you tink of the Tokova Tiger Shark Soulja Boy Edition? Are there any celebrity-technology pairings that you long to see?

Source via TechCrunch

Katamari Damacy Featured in NY MoMA Exhibit

Namco Bandai has announced that Keita Takahashi’s Katamari Damacy will be featured in the NY Museum of Modern Art. The exhibit is called Century of the Child: Growing by Design and it will be on display from July 29, 2012 through November 5, 2012. Here’s an excerpt from the press release:

“NAMCO BANDAI Games’ KATAMARI DAMACY has touched countless people, from children to adults, and is truly a modern video game classic,” said Carlson Choi, Vice President of Marketing, NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “The inclusion of KATAMARI DAMACY in this ground breaking exhibit is a testament to the creative designs embodied in NAMCO BANDAI’s games and shows the importance of video games in peoples’ lives in addition to being a validation of video games as a modern form of interactive art.”

Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900-2000, is the New York MoMA’s ambitious survey of 20th century design for children. The exhibit is the first large-scale overview of the modernist preoccupation with children and childhood as a paradigm for progressive design thinking. The exhibition brings together areas underrepresented in design history and often considered separately, including school architecture, clothing, playgrounds, children’s hospitals and safety equipment, nurseries, furniture, and books. KATAMARI DAMACY will be featured within a section of the exhibition that concentrates on toys and game design.

This is awesome news for Namco Bandai. I love that a videogame is being featured in a MoMA exhibit. However, I was a bit disappointed that Takahashi wasn’t mentioned in the press release at all. It’s fantastic that the game is being celebrated, but its designer should be as well.

This Week’s Videogame Releases

It’s a brilliant week to be an RPG fan! Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance brings Sora and the gang to the Nintendo 3DS. Fans of fantasy RPGs will want to keep an eye on Risen 2: Dark Waters. If old-school JRPGs are your thing then you’ll want to pick up Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time for PlayStation Portable. Lots of RPG excitement on a variety of platforms!

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Facebook vs. Twitter: Which Social Network is More Powerful?

Facebook and Twitter can be immensely powerful tools, but which one is the more powerful social network in your mind? As a marketing tool, Facebook has the edge. Its media-rich features allow people to market goods, services, and brands in shockingly effective ways. It’s just easier to grab attention with images and videos than it is with 140 characters.

Socially, Twitter had the edge. Thanks to its brevity and speed (and Facebook’s woefully sluggish mobile apps), Twitter reaches millions of people quickly. Celebrities tend to interact more with fans on Twitter than on Facebook. The social network revealed that the U.S. was on the verge of nabbing Osama Bin Laden way before President Obama confirmed his death. Many protesters in the 2011 Egyptian revolution used Twitter to give the world first-hand accounts of what was happening in Tahrir Square. (To be fair, they used Facebook too, but again, those sluggish mobile apps….) Twitter has become a powerful tool for citizen journalism and making people more aware of global events.

I don’t want to discount the marketing power of Facebook. It helps billions of dollars (and other currencies) around the world exchange hand. That’s just huge. That said, there’s just something purer and more romantic about reporting world events in 140 characters or less through Twitter.

How about you? Which social network is more powerful in your opinion? Please vote in today’s poll and expand on your choice in the comments section (please!).

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