Today’s Poll: The Next Spider-Man

Now that Tobey Maguire is out of Spider-Man 4 and the franchise is apparently headed for a reboot, let’s think about the perfect actor to play the spectacular amazing Spider-Man. Sony’s Columbia Pictures plans to focus on Spidey’s teen years, so the actor should be young and awkward. A lot of people have been throwing Zac Efron’s name around, but he’s too handsome. While I don’t know how athletic he is (all the cool stuff is done in CG anyway), I’m a big Michael Cera fan. He’d bring out the science nerd side of Peter Parker in a way that Maguire never could.

Who’s your choice for Spidey? Let me know in the poll (please)!

[poll id=”19″]

Coffee Talk #63: Third-Party Controllers and You

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, Mark McGwire finally admitting his use of steroids, Mark McGwire in complete denial that steroids helped him hit home runs, or “Iron” Mike Tyson guest hosting Monday Night Raw, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

At CES 2010, Razer announced that it was getting into the console game with its Onza Professional Gaming Controller for Xbox 360. (I still use an amateur controller to maintain my eligibility for the Olympics.) I was greatly excited that Razer was entering this market because, let’s face it, most third-party peripherals suck.

I almost always stick to first-party controllers. Sure, they cost more, but in most cases they’re much better than third-party offerings. The only exceptions I’ve made were Mad Catz’s Nintendo 64 pad and Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV pad. I don’t even use the latter for Street Fighter IV, but rather its d-pad, which is way better than the garbage on the 360’s stock controller. Anyway, that’s two third-party products in decades of gaming.

Most third-party controller vendors attempt to give gamers a cheaper alternative. For my money, most of the offerings aren’t worth it. Razer is a different beast altogether. The company has been making some of the best and most precise gaming mice for years — super high-quality stuff. I expect the Onza to be a top-notch product. I wish more companies would take this approach, rather than the cheapie route.

I wanted to get your take on third-party controllers for consoles. Have you been happy with any of them? Do you prefer the features and savings they (generally) offer? Or do you stick with first-party gear all the way?

Nintendo Serves Up Lame Response to Greenpeace Report

After being ranked the least environmentally friendly consumer electronics company by Greenpeace, Nintendo offered up some pretty lame excuses to defend its position. The most hilarious was this little tidbit:

The Wii console is notably the most energy efficient of its generation, and we have improved the design of some of our latest products, such as the Nintendo DSi, to minimize their energy consumption when in use.

So let me get this straight — Nintendo should be lauded for being environmentally friendly by having weaker consoles than the competition? That’s rich. While I think it’s foolish to judge the quality of the Wii or the DS solely based on processing power, it’s even more foolish to claim that their relatively underpowered capabilities are a form of environmentalism. Ha!

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Square Enix Announces Final Fantasy XIII Bus Tour

Square Enix has announced that it will be kicking off a Final Fantasy XIII bus tour in San Francisco on (when else) the 13th of January. The company’s press release stated:

The bus is scheduled to make numerous stops in the San Francisco and Bay areas through January 16, loaded with a never-before-seen demo area of the North American version of Final Fantasy XIII. Locations will be revealed and updated through the Twitter site @PlayFFXIII (http://twitter.com/PlayFFXIII), so start following today!

If you’re luck enough to be in the Bay when it kicks off, please let me know if you get a chance to check it out! The whole thing makes me think of the excellent song “Lights” by Journey: “I want to be back, in my city by the Bay.”

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EA and Random House Team Up for Dante’s Inferno TPB

Electronic Arts has announced that it will be teaming up with Random House for a special trade-paperback of Dante’s Inferno in order to promote the videogame of the same name. (Hit the full story for a picture of the cover!) Today’s press release stated:

Electronic Arts and Del Rey Books, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group announced that a trade-paperback edition of the classic poem Inferno, part one of The Divine Comedy, will be distributed to booksellers nationwide on January 19, 2010. This special edition of the canonized poem commemorates the launch of the highly-anticipated Dante’s Inferno video game from Visceral Games. The new edition features an introduction written by Dante’s Inferno Executive Producer, Jonathan Knight, who offers insight into the process of adapting the dark masterpiece into the interactive medium. The book also features a 16-page, full-color art insert showcasing the evolution of characters and environments from the classic poem to the video game.

I know some of you are irked by Visceral’s…unique take on Dante Alighieiri’s work, but if the game gets kids to The Divine Comedy then that’s totally cool. That said, it is kind of weird that a classic will come with 16 pages of pictures. *shrug*

Simon Cowell Confirms That He’s Leaving American Idol

As I mentioned last month, Simon Cowell’s brother revealed that the smarmiest judge on America Idol will be leaving the show after this season. That news has be confirmed by Simon himself. People has reported:

At the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif., American Idol judge Simon Cowell announced that he is leaving the show to focus on a new talent search, The X Factor.

“The X Factor will launch in 2011,” Cowell told reporters Monday. “Because of that, this will be my last season on American Idol.”

The shows won’t be in direct competition, as American Idol is slated to run in the first half of the year and The X Factor in the second. Cowell also revealed that he’s anxious to work with Paul Abdul, who was recently replaced on AI, once again:

“I adore Paula. Whatever happens, I will be working with her in some capacity. Because I miss her.”

Even though the shows will not be on at the same time, I’m pretty sure I’m dropping Idol for X Factor.

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Nintendo Confirms Pokewalker for Heart Gold and Soul Silver

Nintendo of America has confirmed that the Pokewalker accessory will be bundled with copies of the upcoming Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver for Nintendo DS. The game is slated for a March 14, 2010 release. And no, the Pokewalker isn’t a walking device for your 70-year old charmander. Here’s some official info on the accessory:

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions, players can wirelessly transfer any one of their Pokémon from one of the two games to the Pokéwalker and walk them through virtual routes as the player walks around in real life. By walking, players earn Watts, which are used within the Pokéwalker to encounter and catch wild Pokémon or search for hidden items, and can be transferred into Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions to unlock new routes. There are even special versions of certain Pokémon that can only be found within routes on the Pokéwalker, giving players added incentive to keep their Pokémon with them wherever they go. The Pokémon in the Pokéwalker will gain experience points as the player walks, and can even go up one level when they are transferred back into the game. Players also can wirelessly connect two Pokéwalkers to trade items.

My March is so screwed. Between this, Final Fantasy XIII, and Dragon Age: Awakenings…I might have to skip this year’s Game Developer’s Conference. Perhaps one of you can take over the site for me when the ides of March hits. Ha!

This Week’s Videogame Releases

It’s still a light week in the videogame-release department, but there are a few titles of interest that you might want to keep an eye on. EA brings back its brothers of destruction in Army of Two: The 40th Day. That is, by far, the biggest release of the week. Outside of that, there’s an interesting DS RPG and a game for fans of winter sports…and that’s about it. As always, let me know if you’re picking up any of this week’s video releases.

PlayStation 3
Army of 2: The 40th Day — I’m pretty sure Kane and The Undertaker would wreck these guys.
Vancouver 2010: Offivial Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games — I totally forgot that the Olympics are happening this year. I guess I pay more attention to the summer games than the winter games.

Xbox 360
Army of 2: The 40th Day
Vancouver 2010: Offivial Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games

Nintendo Wii
Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces
Walk it Out — Base on the hit song by The Beatles…oh wait, it’s not.

PlayStation Portable
Army of 2: The 40th Day

Nintendo DS
Daniel X — A interactive retelling of one of the most powerful civil rights leaders in America. Okay, I totally made that up.
Sands of Destruction

Coffee Talk #62: The Videogame Movie of Your Dreams

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, those amazing Cardinals, Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium, or your favorite CES 2010 gadget, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Videogame movies…so many of them are embarrassing. Whether you’re talking about Uwe Boll’s numerous offenses, Raul Julia going out with a psycho crusher in Street Fighter, or Dead or Alive sucking despite having some truly beautiful women running around half-naked for 90 minutes, movies based on videogames haven’t been the best.

Some gamers don’t see the point. Games are a form of interactive storytelling, so why do they need a linear and traditional way to tell a story? Doesn’t that take away the uniqueness of the medium? I’m all for videogame movies, just like I support videogame books, comics, lunch boxes, etc. If it helps expand the world of a game I enjoy and expand the business in general, that’s a good thing. Unfortunately, the execution if often…off.

Today I wanted to ask you about the videogame movie that’s playing in your head. What gaming franchise to you want to see on the big screen? Do you have any actors or actresses you want to attach to your dream project? Kindly channel your inner director and tell me all about the videogame movie you want (please)!