Coffee Talk #379: Mixed Race Spider-Man and You

In case you didn’t know, the Ultimate Marvel Universe version of Peter Park is dead (for now) and a young hero has stepped up to take his place. His name is Miles Morales and he’s multiracial. People are…

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, whether Randy Moss is really retiring, CM Punk using his old and awesome Ring of Honor music, or naughty dreams about Margaret Hoover, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Man, this is even better than Superman renouncing his American citizenship! I’m talking about the new Ultimate Spider-Man of course. In case you didn’t know, the Ultimate Marvel Universe version of Peter Park is dead (for now) and a young hero has stepped up to take his place. His name is Miles Morales and he’s multiracial. People are freaking out over a Spider-Man that’s half African-American and half Latino-American (check out this comments section). They’re angry and disturbed. Never mind that most of them haven’t read the comic book yet.

The “anger” over Miles Morales is seriously some of the stupidest sh*t I’ve read in the last decade. People are accusing Marvel and writer Brian Michael Bendis of being liberal tools. Some are saying that this is a pathetic example of being politically correct in 2011. Some even think that Miles Morales is a result of Barack Obama’s presidency. Again, keep in mind that I was reading all of these garbage reactions yesterday and the comic book revealing Morales’ race wasn’t available yet.

I really have no problem with this whatsoever. First of all, it’s fiction. Secondly, this isn’t Peter Parker. It’s an entirely new character in a series that’s known for modernizing the Spider-Man universe. I seriously don’t understand why Miles Morales’ race is even an issue.

Of course I want to hear your thoughts on all of this. Do you have an issue with Miles Morales Spider-Man? Or do you think he’s fine? Will people freak out over Laurence Fishburne playing Perry White in the Superman reboot? Please share your feelings (like a Care Bear) and don’t judge others with different opinions (also like a Care Bear)!

Today’s Poll: Will You Buy an EA Sports Season Ticket?

EA Sports has launched a new “Season Ticket” program for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. This $25 annual subscription program gives sports fans early access to some goodies and exclusive access to others. Franchises covered in the program include Madden NFL Football, NHL Hockey, FIFA Soccer, Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf, and NCAA Football. Here’s what you’ll get with EA Sports Season Ticket.

  • Early Full-Game Digital Access: Three days before a game’s scheduled release, fans will be able to download and play the full version of all five participating titles on Xbox 360 and PS3. The digitally downloaded game will time out when the game is available at retail and consumers have the option to purchase the same full game on disc at retail. EA Sports Season Ticket subscribers can transfer all achievements earned during the three-day download period to the purchased disc, resulting in an early edge over the competition.
  • Discounted Downloadable Content: Subscribers will get a 20-percent discount on all available downloadable content for participating EA Sports titles. Downloadable content, which enhances and refreshes the core game experience, includes such items as Ultimate Team packs, accelerator packs and gear upgrades.
  • Free Premium Web Content: Premium web content extends the game experience beyond the console to a web browser. All participating titles will feature premium web content that will be free to EA Sports Season Ticket members beginning with the premium Creation Center packs for FIFA Soccer 12. These packs provide a deeper set of customization tools and abilities within Creation Center to build your own teams and tournaments, and will be available to the consumer until the membership to the program has expired.
  • Membership Recognition: Subscribers are easily identifiable with an exclusive membership recognition badge displayed both in-game and on their EASPORTS.com profile.

If you’re into most of the games covered by Season Ticket then this sounds like a great deal. If you’re only into one or two of the games listed then not so much. If you’re not into sports games then why are you even reading this article?!?

Are any of you down to buy an EA Sports Season Ticket? Please vote in today’s poll and let me know what you think of the program in the comments section!

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Sony Acquires Sucker Punch (inFamous, Sly Cooper)

Sony Computer Entertainment has announced that it has acquired Sucker Punch Productions, developer of the inFamous and Sly Cooper games. Sucker Punch will now be part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS). In today’s press release, SCE WWS president Shuhei Yoshida said:

The addition of Sucker Punch to SCE WWS reiterates our dedication to developing world class gaming experiences that can only be found on the PlayStation platform. With one of the strongest exclusive software lineups in the PS3’s history, combined with the diverse, innovate content in the works for PlayStation Vita, consumers have a lot to be excited about this year.

This is a prudent move for Sony in light of one its other longtime exclusive development partners, Insomniac Games, developing for Xbox 360. Sucker Punch has a strong track record, but probably cost less to acquire than Insomniac or Naughty Dog would have. The acquisition locks in one of Sony’s top developers and, more importantly, keeps it away from the competition.

I’m thrilled for Sucker Punch and I hope a lot of the people in the company will be a bit richer when the acquisition is finalized. I’ve been playing the company’s games since 1999’s Rocket: Robot on Wheels and I’m a huge fan of the Sly Cooper games. The guys and gals at Sucker Punch deserve this reward.

How do you feel about Sony’s acquisition of Sucker Punch? Do you think that it’s money well spent? Are you afraid of the studio changing now that it has new people to answer to?

Apple iCloud Premium Pricing Revealed

When Apple first announced its iCloud serivce, it revealed that users will get 5GB of cloud storage for free. Boy Genius Report has discovered the cost for “premium” iCloud tiers as revealed in the developer beta program. In the immortal words of Tone Loc, it goes a little something like this:

Users can sign up for an additional 10GB of storage (15GB total) for $20 per year, 20GB of additional storage for $40 per year, or 50GB of added storage for $100 per year.

What do you think of Apple’s iCloud pricing tiers? Are you going to up your storage? Or are you going to stick with the free 5GB plan?

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Final Fantasy Tactics Hits iOS on Thursday!!!

Square Enix Europe has announced that Final Fantasy Tactics will be available for iPhone and iPod Touch on August 4, 2011. This strategy-RPG is one of the most anticipated “hardcore” games for Apple iOS. The original PlayStation version is my favorite game of all time, so I’m more than a little excited for this release.

That said, I’m probably going to wait for the iPad optimized version, which will be out later this month. Ah hell, I’m probably going to buy them both because I’m such a big FFT mark. As some of you know, I’ve sunk hundreds of hours into the iPhone and iPad versions of Civilization Revolution, but I’m pretty sure Final Fantasy Tactics will become my primary airplane game. I can’t wait!!!

Any of you planning to pick up FFT for your iPhone or iPod Touch?

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Game Arts Director Takeshi Miyaji (Grandia) Dead at 45

Sad news hit early this morning from Japan when G-Mode announced that company founder Takeshi Miyaji passed away at age 45. Old-school gamers will remember Miyaji from his days at Game Arts, where he worked on the Silpheed, Gun Griffon, and Grandia games.

As a huge JRPG fan, I’m sad that a talented game creator that dazzled me for dozens of hours passed away at such a young age. I’m going to dig for my Grandia games and pop them in to remember Miyaji-san. If you enjoyed any of his games, please take some time out of your day to remember him.

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Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan Launching Resistance Pro

The word on the street is that Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan will be announcing a new indie-wrestling promotion at Chicago Comic Con. According to AV Club, Corgan will be the creative director of the upcoming Resistance Pro wrestling promotion. Corgan is a lifelong wrestling fan that has appeared at numerous ECW and WWE events.

In my head Resistance Pro sounds awesome. I envision the wrestlers using Smashing Pumpkins tracks as entrance music and being escorted to the ring by the numerous hot bass players that have performed with Corgan over the years. Of course that’s probably not going to happen, but I’ll keep dreaming about it.

Resistance Pro is slated to ring its first bell this fall. It will be based in the Mid-West and hopefully use some of the excellent talent from local Ring of Honor shows.

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PlayStation Vita Coming October 28?!?

Everyone knows that the PlayStation Vita will launch some time in 2011, but Sony hasn’t announced a specific launch date. If Blockbuster UK is to believed, the Vita will launch on October 28, 2011. One of IGN’s readers nabbed a Blockbuster advertisement listing a precise release date.

If the PlayStation Vita does launch in late October, are you going to pick one up? It’s sleek, powerful, and comes at an attractive price of $249. I’m in for two (not really)!

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Nintendo Execs Remind Me That RIM Execs Suck

You have to hand it to Nintendo’s executive team. They step up to their responsibilities and accept blame like men. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently addressed shareholders about the company’s decision to slash the price of its Nintendo 3DS handheld system. He acknowledged the failure, accepted the blame, and said that he would slash his salary in half. He also noted that other executives would be hit with a 20- to 30-percent salary cut.

Iwata’s actions are very Japanese and very Eastern. By Western standards, it seems unusual. A high-ranking executive admitting fault?!? That’s crazy (think Brian Fellow)!!! The whole thing reminded me of another company that has made several mistakes, but continually refuses to acknowledge them in a meaningful way. I’m talking about Research in Motion (RIM), makers of the once-dominant BlackBerry smartphones.

Once upon a time, RIM was the dominant name in smartphones. It offered — and still offers — some of the best emailing and security options on a mobile phone. However, the smartphone landscape has drastically changed thanks to the iPhone. Whether it’s for work or play, many users prefer Apple iOS and Google Android over BlackBerry for their superior multimedia capabilities. Web browsing, watching movies, listening to music, playing games, and performing big-screen work is simply better on Android or iOS than on BlackBerry OS.

RIM’s executive team has failed to quickly adapt to the dramatic changes in the smartphone space. It still offers phones with great call quality and excellent keyboards. It still offers superior email and security. Unfortunately, that’s not enough these days. The company has pinned its future on QNX, but has been comically slow to implement modern QNX features into BlackBerry OS. RIM claimed that it would make a big splash with the BlackBerry PlayBook. Instead it released a half-baked product that’s a joke compared to the Apple iPad.

Despite its glacial pace of evolution and numerous failures, RIM’s execs haven’t admitted failure the way that Iwata has. Part of the problem is that nobody is sure which CEO to blame. Another part of the problem is that having two CEOs is a galactically stupid idea. It’s also a cultural thing. RIM is a Western company with a Western culture. I don’t expect RIM CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie to publicly cut off their pinkies (metaphorically) the way that Iwata did. That said, they probably should. The 3DS launch was arguably Nintendo’s biggest mistake in the last decade, yet Iwata immediately stepped up and accepted responsibility. RIM has been flailing around for years and nobody is stepping up.

Ultimately I see one company that has made a mistake and will most likely succeed again, partially because of its executives. I also see another company that has made mistakes and will most likely never be as successful as it once was, partially because of its executives. I found the contrast amusing and wanted to share it with all of you. I’d also love to hear your thoughts on Nintendo and RIM. What do you make of their executives’ behavior? What kind of success will each company have in the future? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!