To make up for my time away from the site, I’m giving away a bunch of stuff I acquired during the show. The first Comic Con 2011 giveaway is for Ghost Recon Future Soldier VIP beta keys. My sexy friend from Red Storm gave me a bunch of them and now you can have one! All you have to do is leave a comment saying why you want one. Comments will (probably) not be judged. Whether you’re a Ghost Recon superfan or you simply want your pet monkey to have a cool dog tag, I will send you a beta key (while supplies last).
Please note that this giveaway is only open to people with a United States mailing address.
I had a great time at Comic Con 2011. It was lots of fun freelancing for secret company. It’s always enjoyable watching fellow geeks celebrate geek culture. There was lots of celebrity watching to do. And…
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 rolling camera bag of your dreams, Amir Khan’s drubbing of Zab Judah, or the passing of Amy Winehouse, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
I had a great time at Comic Con 2011. It was lots of fun freelancing for secret company. It’s always enjoyable watching fellow geeks celebrate geek culture. There was lots of celebrity watching to do. And it was awesome hanging out with new and old friends from the videogame business. Unfortunately, my hotel was far away from the convention and it would have been difficult lugging my laptop around, so I didn’t get a chance to “hang out” with y’all. I missed you! Now onto some random thoughts on Comic Con 2011.
– The videogame panels I attended were fantastic. I loved watching hundreds — sometimes thousands — of fans cheer for games and game creators. Unlike DICE, GDC, and E3, Comic Con is open to the public. Watching “real people” mark out over seeing Altair in the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations trailer or geeking out over seeing Cliff Bleszinski was a treat for me. I’m hardly one of those “jaded videogame journalists”, but it was still refreshing, invigorating, and charming watching fans be fans.
– All that said, some of the Q&A sessions were painful. Some people asked moronic questions. Some people didn’t listen to the moderator’s instructions for the Q&A portion of the panel. Some people asked questions as if they were stoned, saying…one…word…every…five…seconds. Yeah, I realize that some people get nervous speaking in public and others are so excited to meet game creators, but there were times when I wanted to bash my head in with my monopod during Q&A.
– The kids loved the new footage from the upcoming Beavis & Butthead. I am so completely down for this. It will crack me up and transport me to a simpler time. Remind me to tell you about the “Summer of Beavis” some time.
– The buzz on comic-book movies was similar to the thoughts here. Most of the people I chatted with were amped for The Dark Knight Rises. Opinions were split on The Avengers trailer. The Spider-Man reboot received a ton of flak. Most of it was because a lot of people feel that it’s too soon for a reboot, but part of it was because some fans hate the new costume.
– During the Star Wars: Kinect panel, most of my friends in the videogame business had the same reaction: “Crap! Now I have to buy another Xbox 360.” It’s completely awesome and the noises it makes are giggle inducing. The Gears of War 3 limited edition looks cool, but isn’t nearly as charming as the R2D2 Xbox 360.
– A lot of my friends were dogging on the DC Universe reboot. I’m mostly looking forward to it. The biggest bummer for me is that Red Robin will not have his own book. I suppose the manly answer would have been being upset that Wonder Woman will no longer be showing off her legs in every panel.
– My party highlight was actually between parties. After Ignition’s fine shindig for El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, I bumped into a bunch of pals from Future. Among them was the super sexy, super fun, and super cool Annette Cardwell. I drunkenly latched onto her for 11 minutes. Sorry Annette! (bsukenyan, I saw Carolyn too! It’s always great to see her…especially when there’s drinking involved.)
– My only party faux pas (that I remember) was spitting up a bunch of my Jack & Coke when a PR lady asked me, “Are you still dating Zoe Flower?” A text message to Canada was sent immediately after the incident.
– During the Street Fighter X Tekken panel, the kid behind me said, “LOL,” “GG,” and “IDK.” I wanted to slap him. After thinking about it for a few minutes, I wanted to slap his mother for letting her son speak in such an idiotic manner. Kids these days….
Apple has released Mac OS X Lion today, arguably the most drastic change to the operating system in years. A lot of the features point to Mac OS and iOS converging in the future, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Have any of you downloaded it yet? If so, I’d love to hear your initial thoughts. Please share!
Deepak Chopra is going to talk about Batman at Comic Con 2011. How awesome is that?!? I suddenly find myself scheduled to attend Comic Con…and I couldn’t be happier! This year’s show looks awesome…
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, Kona Mountain Coffee’s peaberry dark roast, Samsung finally confirming the Galaxy S II for an August release in America, or Shaq kicking off his NBA TV career by dissing Chris Bosh, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Deepak Chopra is going to talk about Batman at Comic Con 2011. How awesome is that?!? I suddenly find myself scheduled to attend Comic Con…and I couldn’t be happier! This year’s show looks awesome. Check out the amazing panel content slated for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Whether it’s the latest videogames, comic books, movies, or TV shows, Comic Con has it covered.
What Comic Con 2011 content or information are you looking forward to? Are you jazzed for the Halo Universe panel? Psyched for more information on The Avengers, Batman, and Spider-Man movies? Looking forward to George R.R. Martin talking about Game of Thrones season two and what’s next in A Song of Ice and Fire? Let me know what you’re into and I’ll try to dig up more 411 for you while I’m at the show. Please keep in mind that I’m attending a show for another publication (I’ll tell you later) and have to serve them first.
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 Women’s World Cup finals, NBA players signing with European teams, or Jennifer Lopez divorcing Marc Anthony, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Game ratings are a hot-button topic and I’m not really sure why. I think the ESRB does an outstanding job rating games — much better and more consistent than how the MPAA handles movies. However, that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about today. Do you think about game ratings before you’ve purchased a game or after you’ve played it?
There are several times when I’ve watched a PG-13 movie and thought, “This would have been way better as an R-rated movie.” Have you ever felt that way about a game? Are there any games you played where you wished the publisher and/or developer pushed the envelope more? Are there any T-rated games that you wish were M-rated? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter!
This weekend I’m playing a thrilling single-player game called Unpacking. I’ve been back on the mainland for two days and my luggage is still mostly full. This needs to be remedied (mostly for clean underwear purposes). Also, I started reading George R.R. Martin’s A Dance with Dragons last night. Packing and reading will take up the bulk of my weekend, aside from my mandatory Civilization: Revolution iPad breaks.
Here’s a simple poll for you today. I’d love to know which war-gaming franchise you prefer, Electronic Arts’ Battlefield or Activision’s Call of Duty. They’re both hugely popular franchises with lots of fans and plenty of detractors. Kindly vote in today’s poll and share your feelings about these games in the comments section.
“The first one’s free!” said the friendly drug dealer. That’s how they get you hooked, you see. MMO publishers use a similar model, but Blizzard is taking it to a new level with World of Warcraft Starter Edition. Traditionally, MMOs have come with a trial measured in days — usually 14 to 30. Blizzard is now letting prospective customers play World of Warcraft for free up to level 20. Here’s a clip from the press email I received:
We’ve removed the previous 10- and 14-day trial time restrictions, and players who are interested in trying out World of Warcraft can now play the base game for free up to a maximum character level of 20, including draenei and blood elf characters — all they need is a Battle.net account and an Internet connection. To mark the occasion, we’ve also given the trial a new name: World of Warcraft Starter Edition. Players who had previously signed up for 10- or 14-day trials will be able to hop back into the Starter Edition right where they left off.
Already one of the most popular and successful MMOs in the business, World of Warcraft should attract legions of new players with this new model. It’s bold. It’s aggressive. It probably has other MMO publishers crying and/or banging their heads on brick walls.
What do you think of the new WoW model? Are you willing to give it a shot now that the free-to-play time is more generous?
Anyone playing anything patriotic for Fourth of July weekend? After battling comment system issues, I’m looking forward to getting back into Dungeon Siege III. Some hacking, slashing, and looting is just what the doctor ordered. And really, what’s more American than looting and violence?!? Oh wait, that’s more of a Canadian thing, as Vancouver Canucks fans recently showed. Ha! After that, I need to figure out what portable devices and games I’m going to bring to Hawaii. Wheels up on Monday!
Activision has released details on its upcoming Call of Duty XP 2011 expo , which takes place on September 2 and 3, 2011 in Los Angeles, CA. It looks like a massive event that will keep rabid Call of Duty fans happy. It’s not all fun and games though. Activision was quick to point out that 100 percent of ticket sales benefit its Call of Duty Endowment charity, which helps soldiers with job placement and training after they’ve served the United States. That’s awesome!
As for the event itself, here are some details from the press release:
Total Call of Duty immersion is coming to a secure 12-acre compound in the urban confines of Los Angeles on Labor Day weekend, where more than 6,000 fans will be the first to witness the world premiere of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer. Attendees will be among the first to have the opportunity to get hands-on time with multiplayer and the new Spec Ops survival co-op mode. Also on display for the first time will be the full feature functionality of Call of Duty® Elite, the innovative new online service, built from the ground-up to support Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Supporting this epic reveal is a series of real-world Call of Duty action-experiences and gaming competitions as well as an unprecedented $1 million Call of Duty tournament by Activision and the event’s lead sponsor, Xbox 360. Through Activision’s network of global partners, fans will have the opportunity to qualify for the tournament prior to the event by showcasing their skills in Call of Duty®: Black Ops multiplayer through regional promotions and competitions. For those unable to qualify in advance, there will be select, on-site/at-large qualifications, further expanding the opportunity to compete for cash prizes among some of the best Call of Duty players in the world. For anyone that can’t be on hand, but still wants to keep an eye on the action, fans from around the world can link up for a connected experience by watching a constant stream of high-production value videos that will be available through television and the web, as well as a constant stream of photos and status updates from the event via social media outlets, including Facebook and Twitter.
Be sure to check the official Call of Duty XP site for more details and ticket announcements. It sounds like an awesome event and I can’t wait to go. How about you guys and gals? Any of you thinking of making the trek to Los Angeles for an awesome Call of Duty show?
