Confession: I Want to See Tooth Fairy

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I want to see Tooth Fairy starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. As a wrestling fan, I feel it’s my duty to support his movie career. Supporting The Rock’s movie career will help other sports entertainers be accepted as…uh…entertainer entertainers. Plus, he’s just good in that macho-man-becomes-sensitive-guy role (see The Game Plan).

Plus, the movie has Julie Andrews! I forget that this woman is alive and still bringing it. She was brilliant in The Sound of Music. It’s amazing that she’s entertaining a whole new generation of moviegoers more than 40 years later with excellent movies like Enchanted and Shrek 2. She deserves a Nobel prize for four decades of awesomness (I think they give one out for that, no?).

So there’s my confession. Any chance any of you are interested in the movie?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Another week…another gaming weekend! I’m looking forward to curling up with my games this weekend, partially because there’s some stuff I really want to play and partially because I’m totally over this rain (come on Los Angeles!!!). I’m thrilled that Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgement was released for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. I love, Love, LOVE “tactics”-style games and I’m sure this one will captivate me.

For quickie game sessions, I know I’ll be playing Skee Ball on my (sim-less) iPhone. It’s so simple and so addictive — absolutely perfect for a cheap iPhone game. There was this one time (not at band camp) when I meant to play the game for five minutes…and ended up playing for two hours. So yeah, I kind of dig this one.

As always, I want to know what’s on your weekend playlist!

Dead or Alive Paradise Brings Big-Boob Physics to the PSP

Of course I’d come across this trailer of Dead or Alive Paradise (PlayStation Portable) on the same day that I posted an article on positive females in gaming. That’s not to say that the ladies of Dead or Alive aren’t positive. It’s just that most people look at them for their…buoyant physics. This trailer features plenty of big-boob physics on the diminutive PSP. Be careful as you’re watching it; I don’t want any of you to lose an eye.

Coffee Talk #71: Your Favorite Videogame Heroines

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 Supreme Court’s alarming decision on campaign contributions by corporations, what the Apple tablet means for gaming, or Brees vs. Favre, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

For decades, videogames have been largely enjoyed by males. While I’m thankful that more and more ladies have been enjoying games, there’s no denying that games have been a “guy thing” for a long time. Despite that — or maybe because of that? — the business has had its fair share of outstanding heroines. From Ms. Pac-Man to Samus Aran to Lara Croft, gaming is full of women that kick ass.

My favorite gaming heroine is Yuna from Final Fantasy Fantasy X. I found her to be more thoughtful and realistic than most videogame characters. Her stilted and unsure speech was absolutely charming and unique. She’s not the typical blow-you-up-with-guns character, but if you crossed her path she’d wipe you out with a summon. I loved how she gained confidence throughout the game’s tale and blossomed into a wonderful hero. Of course it helped that she starred in an excellent game (let’s ignore FFX-2 for a moment).

Today I wanted to see who your favorite videogame heroine was. Do you prefer gun-toting ladies like Joanna Dark? Or maybe the emotional powers of Princess Peach? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!

Foto Showdown Videos Set Bar for Unintentional DSi Comedy

Check out these two videos of Konami’s Foto Showdown for Nintendo DSi. The tech is pretty fun — the game lets you snap photos and transform them into characters in the game. More importantly, these videos are unintentionally hilarious. I love the sister in the vids. She should get an Oscar or an Emmy for her outstanding performance, particularly in the second clip.

I don’t understand the bully character though. He has the good sense to nail the little brother in the head with a ball, but doesn’t beat him up and steal his DSi. What kind of half-assed bullying is that?!?

Also, am I the only one that’s scared of someone snapping a picture of his schlong to use as an in-game character?

FireFox 3.6 Available Now

Mozilla has released FireFox version 3.6 for Windows. I’ve been playing around with it for about an hour and I’m very impressed with the JavaScript improvements. It’s much, much faster than the previous version, though not quite as fast as Google Chrome in my limited experience. Version 3.6 also supports a feature called Personas, which gives your browser an adaptive theme if you’re into that sort of thing. Here are the full release notes if you want all the details. I recommend giving it a whirl just for the zipper JavaScript performance.

What browser(s) do you guys and gals use, btw? On my PC, Google Chrome is my main and FireFox is my secondary.

Apple Working with EA on iPad Games?

Apple is aiming to make a big splash with its iPad tablet next week and hopes that games from Electronic Arts will help generate interest in the product. While the iPhone and iPod Touch market is one of the fastest growing segments in the gaming industry, Apple hopes that developers will flock to its upcoming tablet. EA’s games could serve as an example to other developers. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Apple is also working with videogame publisher Electronic Arts Inc. to show off the tablet’s game capabilities, according to one person familiar with the matter.

While I’m sure the iPad (or iSlate or iTablet) will be a success, I’m certain that it will only do a fraction of the numbers the iPhone has done. A lot of people need phones and love the extended multimedia capabilities the iPhone offers. The iPad, on the other hand, appears to be a pure luxury; nobody needs a multimedia tablet with Internet capabilities. With that in mind, the installed base of the iPad will be a fraction of the iPhone’s, making it less appealing to developers.

The important thing to remember is that since both products will presumably be using iPhone 4.0 software, developers can write the bulk of the code for the iPhone and (again, presumably) optimize code for the larger tablet. Theoretically, it shouldn’t add too much additional work. I’ll ping some of my developer friends and see what they think.

If Apple and its partners deliver a healthy dose of games for the iPad, will that make the device more appealing to you?

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AT&T Needs to Spend $5-Billion to Catch up to Verizon?

According to Gerard Hallaren, director of research at TownHall Investment Research, AT&T would need to drop some serious cash to get its network on the same level as Verizon’s — (using Dr. Evil voice) five-billion dollars!!! PC World has reported:

AT&T would need to spend about US $5 billion on its wireless network to catch up with the coverage offered by Verizon Wireless.

The $5 billion investment gap could expand to $7 billion because of the need for new backhaul capacity to link AT&T’s wireless network into the wired Internet, Hallaren said.

Although AT&T has been spending more money to improve its network, I wouldn’t expect Verizon-quality service any time soon — certainly not in this economy. Of course there’s always the chance that the Wireless Fairy will fly down from the heavens and improve AT&T’s network with a wave of her magic wand.

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Conan O’Brien Gets $45-Million in Severance, Free in September

The latest late-night drama is over, as NBC has settled with Conan O’Brien over The Tonight Show. The ousted host will be free to pursue other opportunities after September 1, 2010. According to E!, “His severance deal is said to be worth roughly $45 million, and will include a $33 million payout both for NBC’s breach of his contract and 12 million thanks-for-playing bucks for his most senior staff members.”

I’m happy that Conan’s staff will be getting some money. Having moved from New York to Los Angeles less than a year ago, they were always the real victims in this whole affair. Hopefully O’Brien will share some of his loot with his junior staff too, since it will tough to find work until this Fall. On a side note, I’ve always wanted one of these giant severance packages. Too bad I’ve never had a job that’s important enough to warrant one (*cough* Bernie Stolar *cough*).

Where do you think Conan O’Brien will end up? Fox? Comedy Central?

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Trauma Team Walkthrough: The Magic of Endoscopy

The latest video walkthrough of Atlus’ Trauma Team for Wii goes over the endoscopy gameplay. Find out how the Wii’s motion controls are used to perform this arcane and mysterious medicinal art. Okay, it’s not really arcane and mysterious, but most sciences seem that way to me, which is why I was fascinated by this video. Check it out!