I predict the highly anticipated 4th installment of the Indiana Jones movies is going take this Summer’s Box Office

So a couple of folks from the Totally Rad Show forums, RonnieMarie and k4ng, and I decided to run a Summer movie wager of our own — in going with the fellahs from the Totally Rad Show. The rules are simple. You rank 10 summer movies and 3 dark horse picks in order of Summer box office sales. At the end of the Summer we tally our points, and the person with the most points prevails.

We still, however, haven’t decided the details on the wager. Any suggestions?

Here is the scoring system:

Movies placed in the correct position get 7 points.
Movies placed +/- 1 position within the top five get 5 points.
Movies placed +/- 1 position within 6-10 get 3 points.
Movies placed +/- 2 positions get 2 points.
Movies placed +/- 1 position gets 1 point.
Dark horses that place within the top 5 get 2 points.
Dark horses that place within 6-10 get 1 point.

And finally, here’s my list. It’s gonna rock yo socks:
1. Indiana Jones
2. Dark Knight
3. Iron Man
4. Wall-E
5. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
6. Pineapple Express
7. Speed Racer
8. Kung Fu Panda
9. Don’t Mess With Zohan
10. The Happening

Dark Horse Picks:

• Incredible Hulk
• Sex in the City
• Step Brothers

Wang Chung

To have fun — preferably tonight or during the evening. The saying originated from an ’80s rock band called “Wang Chung” whos hit single “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” had a lyric “Everybody have fun tonight! Everybody Wang Chung tonight.”

Everybody wang chung tonight!
We wanged. We chunged. Now let’s go home.

Ricockulous

Something that transcends the realm of ridiculous that it becomes ricockulous.

Your face is so ugly that it’s ricockulous.

It’s on like the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan.

A way of expressing commencement. Azerbaijan was, indeed, a former Soviet satellite state, and it’s incorporation into the saying is nothing more than a way of rhyming with “it’s on.” It is much like its cousin “It’s on like Donkey Kong.”

Oh dude! I’m totally on for chicken wings tonight. It’s on. It’s on like the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan.

Frak / Feck

An expletive substitute for the word fuck. Frak is one of the expletives used on the science fiction show Battlestar Galactica.

Oh yea well frak you! Go feck youself!

“I see,” said the blind man to the deaf boy.

A way of expressing affirmation or realization to the degree greater than that of a normal “I see.”

Wait. So Bruce Willis is really a ghost!? “I see,” said the blind man to the deaf boy.

There is a certain appeal to a game that allows you to grab your opponent’s nutsack as a subduing maneuver — a legitimate military maneuver, I’m sure — or place a naughty skin mag on the ground to distract enemies — again, I’m sure, another valid chapter found in the Soldier’s Handbook of Tactics. The appeal is more comical than anything else. But as I’ve seen with the Snake Eater’s competitive online mode, there is only so much nut grabin’, skin mag, auto-aimin’, close quarters disorientation I can take; it gets old real quick. So you can just imagine my expectations as I try out Konami’s latest beta fray into an online Metal Gear.

As with any beta, I generally make an effort to put on my beta hat, the hat that offers me a certain forgiving perspective. But let me tell you. Konami sure didn’t make it easy with a week long of slow registration and server access as well as a week long delay due to “extraordinary levels of traffic from all around the globe.” Oh those crazy Japanese and their sushi and slow, often times backwards, acceptance of online gaming. Despite it all, I did manage to get a good amount of time with the beta.

First things first as they say. The beta features two playable maps; character customization; customizable skills; the usual game modes such as deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture points etc. A very solid offering — or as my Math geek friend likes to say, “Permutations of fun!” — considering it is just a beta.

The gameplay, on the other hand, is a bit of a mixed bag. The game does a decent job of trying to promote teamwork by allowing players to share or link information; such as position, damage, and even deaths; with other players in close proximity; however, as with most online shooters, everyone is more interested in personal stats to even care to take advantage of what teamwork has to offer.

Some of the things, such as aiming, that made Snake Eater’s online mode so bad is now vastly improved by allowing the player to opt-in for an over the shoulder manual aiming mode; though auto-aiming is still an option in the game and, yes, it still makes the game a rather run-while-gun chaotic mess of players.

At times the gameplay looks like a firefight with teams trying to get the flank on the other, but then you’re reminded what happens when you get to get into close range; the game becomes a disorienting bullet and CQC death dance with players frantically trying to have control mastery over their characters.

I’ll be honest. All I’m looking for from this beta is something to hold me over till next Tuesday when Grand Theft Auto 4 hits. Even though it is just a beta with most likey a fraction of what the final game has to offer, I believe I’ve experienced enough of the base gameplay to be confident this is something I’m not too excited about.

With the release of the highly anticipated Little Big Planet scheduled to come out this year, the buzzterm that seems to be making its rounds all over industry vernacular is the term user generated content — the idea that end users are given tools and capabilities to generate content for games. With the growing popularity of the term, some have even jokingly stated that developers and producers are itchin’ to put us to work — for free no less.

Despite it’s recent entrenchment into what the cool kids say these days, the idea of user generated content isn’t actually new. In the earliest days of gaming, end user creativity wasn’t under the guise of today’s buzzterm; instead it was in the form of mods and level editors for popular games such as Quake and Lode Runner. Today the idea of user generated content has become a bit more flashy, whether it be making your own custom paint job in Forza Mortorsport 2 or creating your own level in Halo 3’s Forge System. The one thing, however, that spans decades of end user creativity is that most games only allow for a single user to take up the figurative hammer and chisel.

If user generated content is the future, as some have claimed, then the next logical evolution of the concept is to allow multiple users to work on creative content; make the user generated process of content creation a collaborative one. Give users built-in tools such as versioning control, concurrent access, and multiuser editing.

The benefits of a collaborative experience are not that far removed from playing co-operatively in a video game. It has the same effect of working together to reach a goal. In the creation process, multiple users — or perhaps a better term would be team — share the experience of working together to create content that themselves or the community at large would enjoy.

Aside from the obvious benefits of working in a team, the most important benefit to developers and end user creators would be to foster ambition. With a group of people, ideas and projects could go beyond the scope of an idea from a single person. Let’s consider for a moment that I, along with my fictional friends Alice and Bob, want to create a very ambitious level in our favorite game. I could be placed in charge of design; Alice could be in charge of balancing, and Bob could be in charge of aesthetics. In the end we release our level with careful and considerable time given to each aspect of the level. The amount of time and energy for a single person to exert on an ambitious level would be considerably larger than a team of individuals. Ambition serves not only the community who enjoys the content but the publishers who try to sell the games.

Of course there is certain personally created content that I don’t want my friends involved in such as my personal avatar. But for things such as levels, cars, model skins, clan armor and insignias etc., it makes perfect sense to give a team of users the ability to show their creative side. As much as I’m excited now to see the amazing things that users in games like Halo 3 can create, I’d be much more excited to see what a collective group of creative individuals can do.

Online patrons and gamers alike will not disagree that signing into Facebook and signing into Xbox Live or Playstation Network (PSN) are almost entirely different experiences, considering both are online networks designed to connect people — albeit Facebook is via the web and PSN and Xbox Live are through video games. On Facebook, amidst the sometimes superfluous verbose list of updates in the News Feed — including which of my friends befriended who, that John just finished eating a sandwich or that my friend just clicked his left mouse button — are updates that tug on my competitive heart strings as a gamer. I can see which of my punk friends beat my high score in Facebook Tetris; or I can follow my friend’s progress in the Facebook game Fight Club and feverishly try to catch up. It’s quite verbose indeed and conveniently presented to you upon entry. Conversely, when comparing my Facebook experience to that of my Xbox Live or PSN experience, it’s quite obvious there is a difference in the level of visible information relative to my network of friends.

This particular realization was clear to me when I signed into both Xbox Live and PSN to curiously see who trumped my high scores in Geometry Wars Evolved and Super Stardust HD respectively. In both cases, the information I was looking for was something I had to actively seek out. It dawned to me that both Xbox Live and PSN could certainly use a news feed feature like that of Facebook to help better guide my experience. It also amazes me that Sony and Microsoft aren’t already doing so considering the competitive nature of video games and especially considering the amount of visible information that can be already found on Xbox Live.

Humor me for a second and consider a sample news feed that I have created that is Xbox Live and PSN independent:

• PotatoHead beat A-Trane’s Super Stardust HD score with a score of 12,567,124!
• CrazyLikeCatfish earned 365 achievement points yesterday
• NJShadow unlocked the Sonic trophy in Sega Superstars Tennis
• PotatoHead is now on Stage 6 in Devil May Cry

A news feed such as the one I’ve presented isn’t designed to overwhelm a player with erroneous information; instead it gives online users added value by by shaping their gaming experience in a social context. There is the added benefit of fostering competition as well as creating the sense of inclusion with friends and people you know — a benefit I’m sure the creators of Facebook were gunning for in their network. Users now have upfront information that can shape their social gaming experience as soon as they log in, saving the user time from actively seeking out the information and even bringing attention to information unbeknownst to the user hadn’t he/she looked. Maybe a user will want to reclaim their top score. Perhaps players will want to keep pace with their friends in a particular game. Much like I’m interested in including myself in the groups my friends have joined on Facebook, a similar experience might arise in which a user is curious to check out a particular game all their friends have been playing for the past week. As long as news feed contains pertinent information that is interesting to players, a news feed can certainly foster a social gaming experience.

Online gaming networks have to stop treating its networks like the old ancient arcades of the past. Xbox Live or PSN shouldn’t be venues for hosting separate virtual arcade cabinets with each cabinet responsible for certain types of information. Instead integrate and aggregate the wealth of information that is already available across all games and the entire gaming experience. In doing so gamers will be compelled to experience gaming in a more social and connected context.

[Update 5.4.08] Recently, I’ve been made aware, through an EA acquisition story on Game | Life, of a new social gaming network in closed beta called Rapture that has implemented a feeds feature across multiple games. Props to them! I hope, through EA’s acquisition, it will lead to support for a growing library of games.

Here is a quick primer for those of you who are unfamiliar with Microsoft points. Xbox Live Marketplace allows consumers to purchase movies, TV episodes, and downloadable content for video games. The currency in this virtual marketplace is Microsoft Points which can be purchased in batches. At first glance it doesn’t seem like a problem; virtual money for a virtual marketplace right? You don’t know how annoying it can be when purchasing something with a price that isn’t exactly aligned with the set purchasable pre-paid amount batches. If I wanted to purchase, let’s say, a picture pack for 50 Microsoft Points, I’d be force to purchase, assuming my virtual wallet is empty, the lowest batch amount which is 500 points; I can’t just purchase 50 Microsoft points. What’s even more annoying is the conversion rate of points to USD. As alluded to by Garnett in the interview, it’s not exactly “apples to apples” as 80 Microsoft Points equals 1 USD. If something were to be priced at $6.25, then a logical listing on the marketplace service should be something like 625 Microsoft Points. Unfortunately it’s not; Instead it’s listed as 500 Microsoft Points. It’s quite confusing, and some say it’s even a bit misleading.

In the interview, Aaron went on to defend the points system by giving some fairly convincing arguments. He states some of the major reasons why Microsoft uses a point system for their digital marketplace:

It’s mainly due to credit card transaction fees. What we didn’t want to do is burden the consumer with that cost. [It's so the consumer is] able buy in buckets and be able to do micro transactions … And the second reason is we’re enabling people to buy these cards at retail who don’t have credit cards.

What Aaron said does make a bit of sense from a business stand point. But why is it that Sony, a company that is also in the digital marketplace space, can price its products on the Playstation Network with real world currency and even offer similar pre-paid cards via Playstation Network Cards? I suppose, if I had to guess, Sony is more interested in the ease of use and understandability in its system from the start of the user’s first experience. I supose it’s also due to the fact that Sony isn’t micro-transactioning me for gamer pics, themes, and jersey’s for Madden.

If you ask me, using a real world currency system legitimizes the idea of a digital marketplace even further — and not just a digital marketplace either, any marketplace for that fact. Aaron is onboard with the idea of digital distribution when he stated that “digital distribution is the future.” If digital marketplaces are indeed destined to become more prevalent, are consumers in the future going to have to deal with all these different point systems for each marketplace? They shouldn’t. Why? It’s the same reason why we don’t have Wal-Mart dollars, Costco Bucks, or any separate currency for any other store for that matter. It’s the same reason why whether I go to Amazon or iTunes to purchase music that I pay with dollars. We created a standard to make it easier. Why shouldn’t it apply to marketplaces in the digital space?

One point of view that Aaron statted in the interview that really raised my brow is how he felt the points system has the added benefit of having a consistent price all around the world. He goes on to say, “There are some benefits to messaging someone anywhere around the world that reads about Poker Smash [being priced at] 400 points. They all know what that means.” As gamers and consumers, do we really want our video game purchasing to be homoginized? Is it really that beneficial? I don’t excitingly call my fictional cousin in Japan because both of our games are consistently priced. In fact, almost every consumer in the world already understands that things are going to be priced differently in different regions due to simple nature of economics. For example, I know the cost of living in Hawaii is generally expensive because many of its goods are imported. To me, by consistently pricing products, it seems more like a facade that hides its true local monetary price and value.

Of course what Garnett failed to bring up, and what Aaron failed to discuss, is the point system is a bit psychological in nature — though the psychology of the system is irregardless to the inconveniences. Some believe that after the initial purchase of Microsoft Points, consumers, gamers in particular who are all too familiar with the concept of points, are more inclined to spend their points. Because they are, in a sense, just points right?

I invite people to actually listen to the segment on EGM Live. It really adds some perspective. But from what I’ve written is clear that I have a certain disdain for the Microsoft Points system. It’s not just Microsoft too; I speak about similar points system as with Nintendo and it’s Wii Points sytem. People and companies alike, please just ditch the points system!

This Friday I will lock myself in my home and find that comfortable “ass divot” on my sofa and take in light created from polarized liquid crystals. Actually it’s nothing really special; it’s like any other Friday night. However, this Friday night I’ll be more anxious than usual as, after a very long hiatus, Battlestar Galactica returns to TV for its fourth and final season. Frak yeah.

Though there is something disconcerting to me. It’s not the show’s season premiere or anything of that sort; it’s the ass divot that concerns me. It has created an imbalance in my couch. Nobody — in my circle of friends at least — is willing to let this wonderful show make an impression upon them and equally make a companion ass impression upon my couch. Getting my friends to watch Battlestar Galactica has been one of those impenetrable barriers. I’ve since given up, but I have a few theories as to why my friends show no interest.

First, Battlestar Galactica has a couple things working against it, mainly its name and genre. The mere mention of the title, Battlestar Galactica, and its Sci-Fi genre gives off a certain stigma. I believe my friends in their mind associate Battlestar Galactica with the likes of Star Trek — a show, in retrospect, that seems a little silly and geeky to today’s standards. Maybe it’s because of the word star in its title; I don’t know. I do, however, know and have become familiar with the reaction I get when I invite my friends to watch. They give me this look like I’m asking them to willingly get infected with AIDS.

Battlestar Galactica is NOT Star Trek

Do not fret. You won’t get AIDS. You won’t turn into an anti-social trekkie from watching an episode. Battlestar Galactica is not Star Trek; it’s far from it. In fact, Battlestar Galactica has some of the most intelligent writing and directing I have seen in years. I invite people to find a show that tackles issues and concepts such as: survival, political intrigue, abortion, suicide, monotheism, polytheism. Not to mention, Battlestar Galactica has spaceships that go pew pew and broom!

Second, Battlestar Galactica requires a significant investment, a time and mental investment. Battlestar Galactica is essentially a continuous story; it isn’t procedural in a sense such as shows like Scrubs or My Name Is Earl. The show has a beginning and eventual end. It does require knowing the intricacies of the relationships between the characters and the over arching back story. With my friends increasing limited time, I believe my friends are looking for that quick instant entertainment that doesn’t require a lot of thought — something like watching the Jabbawockeez on Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew.

Regardless of my rant, I am one who is heavily invested in the show, and I can’t wait for Friday to come. Again I invite my friends to watch. Help me bring balance to my couch. Create an ass divot.

Did you ever wonder why the majority of scrolling Matrix code has Japanese Katakana characters in it? Well I’ll tell you why. It’s because the Japanese are crazy sons a bitches when it comes to robotics and artificial intelligence. Not only do I believe Japan has a secret army of Mobile Suit Gundams, but I believe that one day Japan will create a self aware robot — one with a seemingly mundane purpose and task such as helping humans pour tea in the morning. Instead of convenience, these “harmless” robots coming out of Japan are a precursor to an eventual robot rebellion. God help us all.

Case in point: Geekologie has a post that describes the latest crazy robot from Japan. This robot is designed to babysit children while their parents go shopping. Sure it’s convenient. But what people don’t know is the ulterior motive of these robots. Deep within their silicon brains they are processing; they are studying us and what better subject, no less, than our children… We’re doomed.

Still not convinced? Here is another robot straight from the labs of the Japanese electronics manufacturer, Sanyo:

One of the most labor-intensive nursing home tasks is bathing frail residents. For this job, Sanyo Electric has introduced what is essentially a robot bathtub.

Do not let the bathtub premise fool you. I believe it’s a prototype for something else — something, perhaps, more useful to the robots than giving elderly people baths. Could it be a prototype designed to harvest human bio-energy!?

Again I’d like to reiterate we’re all doomed; Japan will lead us to the eventual future of an enslaved human race. The only thing that can save us now from our eventual Cylon oppressors is the Battlestar Galactica. Though, if Japan could make a robot with the same features curves as the Cylon Humanoid models, I wouldn’t mind being “oppressed.”

So I know this guy … he recently downloaded the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates rom and conveniently loaded it into to his M3 adapter. Well unbeknownst to him, Square Enix had placed anti-piracy measures into the game that would reset the game and periodically display a screen that said, “Thank you for playing!!” This is more a less a polite suggestive “F*ck you pirates!” straight from Square Enix.

Well you know what Square Enix? The problem has been recently solved by the collective resolve of faceless hackers on the Interwebs with a patch. So how about next time you fine folks at Square Enix take some time to say, “Thank you for not paying!!” At least that’s what the guy I know suggested…

Usually when I head over to my local Gamestop these days, I see a bargain bin full of UMD movies at discount prices set up conveniently and pervasively to impede my path to the register. It’s really quite a somber sight; it’s like a product graveyard with assorted UMD movies just screaming to be rescued from the grasp of Hades. It reminds me of those stuffed animals that are stuck in claw games waiting for the off chance that maybe, just maybe, a sucker will be suckered into playing to win and take one home. Well like the sucker that I am, I rummage with my hand claw through the piles of endless copies of Kill Bill Vol 1 and Spiderman 2. Granted after the initial shock of decent movies for cheap discount prices, rationality begins to set in again. Is the PSP really the kind of experience I want when watching a movie? When will I ever want to watch this movie on the go? Should I just grab the DVD and watch it on my HDTV? At least when I put the UMD back into the pile I can feel good about myself because I know, for a brief moment, the UMD movie got to experience what it is like being held by human hands.

Is there hope left for this waning format? Tech and gaming blogs suggest that the UMD format for movies is on its last leg of existence. But when I made that initial investment in a Playstation Portable back in ‘05 I had a lot of hope for UMD movies, and I still do.

Price Point and Positioning
Currently I can go on Amazon and purchase National Treasure on DVD full of the normal special features: commentary, trailers etc. I can also purchase, for the same $14.99 price, the UMD version — a version that does not contain any special features at all. So other than the portability factor of the UMD version, I see no other comparable competitive advantage. If you ask me, the portability of UMD movies does not warrant a similar price especially since the UMD version is a bit lacking.

I believe the “sweet spot” price point, so to speak, would be in the $4.99 to $7.99 range. It is at this price range that I believe UMD movies can re-position itself as an impulse buy for consumers who lets say are at the airport, not particularly interested in special features, and just looking for a movie for their 3 hour plane ride. Let’s face it. Due to the technical limitations of the optical medium, I don’t believe movies on the UMD format can compete with high definition Blu-Ray movies nor do I think Sony wants its own technologies competing with each other; rather the two formats should serve different market segments. UMD movies with a rental-like price point could serve consumers who are perhaps not interested in special features and just want a simple movie watching experience while the more traditional DVD and Blu-Ray movies can serve consumers looking for a more complete — with high definition, surround sound, and special features in all — movie watching experience.

Stand Alone Set-top Player or Playstation 3 Attachment
With the release of the new slimmer Playstation Portable and component cables, Sony finally conceded to the seemingly arcane and obscure concept — to Sony at least — that consumers might want to watch their purchased UMD movies on a television set. It’s a step in the right direction. But I believe that PSP needs even more avenues for watching movies not just on the go but also in a more traditional home viewing experience.

The cross functionality between the Playstation Portable and Playstation 3 is without a doubt getting more robust with every iteration of Sony’s firmware releases — whether it be remote play or downloadable games. Why not add even more connectivity between the PSP and PS3 by allowing UMD movies to be played on a television set via a PSP connected to a PS3? This would give consumers options. Not only can consumers watch UMD movies on the go, but they have the option to connect it to the PS3 for a simple viewing experience — not to mention the added portability and convienence of having a very capable UMD movie set-top-like player and the option to experience Blu-Ray movies if the consumer so chooses to.

I must admit buying a PSP just solely to for the benefit of viewing UMD movies might be an expensive investment to the average consumer. It also suggest consumers who purchase a PSP are looking for a gaming and mobile media player experience. This is where the fabled and rumored stand alone set-top player would come into play. I see a stand alone set-top player as a very viable way of opening a growing library of UMD movies to consumers who are perhaps not interested in a PSP. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this indeed happened. But there is also another alternative taken straight for the playbook of Microsoft: Sony should create a UMD movie player PS3 attachment. Again this would give consumers options and a relatively cheap — though I’m speculating — add-on player.

I did, however, conveniently leave a facet out which is the selection of movies themselves. It goes without saying that Sony should seriously court studios to release movies on its format. But that aside, I believe if you couple the fact that the UMD format for movies can position itself as a cheaper alternative to DVDs and Blu-Ray movies with many avenues, including mobile viewing, to watch them then the UMD format for movies seriously has breath left in it –enough to make Sony some serious cash.