Tagged: gaming

Wizards of the Coast’s Leeds on the State of the Field

Wizards of the Coast’s Leeds on the State of the Field

  • News
  • November 13, 2008

ICv2 spoke with Wizards of the Coast CEO Greg Leeds in the wake of the sudden closing of WizKids.

“The state of the economy is impacting every business right now; however I remain optimistic that our industry can grow and prosper in both the short term and long term,” Leeds said.  “The inevitable changes forced by hard times will leave the remaining companies and brands stronger and better able to serve the gaming community with great product and service at a reasonable price. Gaming is an activity that can have tremendous entertainment value relative to the cost.”

He indicated that retailers are reporting that diehard gamers are giving up other luxuries but maintaining their commitment to favorite games. As a result, their recent efforts to emphasize both Magic: The Gathering ands Dungeons & Dragons comes at a good time.

“We have an array of initiatives and product releases that will get current gamers more involved with our core brands as well as bring new people in.  Particularly in tough economic times, customers will gravitate towards established brands that they trust and have proven play value — a "flight to quality." Then the critical mass effect occurs — more players means more interest by others in playing…and so on.

 “We have plans to enhance every aspect of how we take Magic: The Gathering and Dungeon & Dragons to market.  Our games, as usual, are getting better and better.  The new Pre-Release program is driving incremental revenue to our store base.  We are reaching out to schools and libraries to recruit new players who will go back to stores for product.  Our advertising and promotion programs are driving a new level of cool.  The “Here I Rule” campaign for Magic has just kicked off and early feedback is great.  Our digital initiatives are starting to bite.  D&D Insider has successfully launched with thousands of subscribers and Magic Online has gone through a user interface face-lift.”

VIZ Adds Two New Series for Xbox Viewing

VIZ Adds Two New Series for Xbox Viewing

  • News
  • November 13, 2008

As the Xbox transforms itself into an entertainment portal, more and more companies are developing material to be played on the platform in addition to video games.  The latest to announce product is VIZ Media, saying their animated action series Bleach and Death Note (both Uncut and English dubbed) are now available.

Fans will now have the ability to watch these episodes on a Download-To-Own (DTO) basis through Xbox LIVE for 160 Microsoft Points per episode.

Bleach offers episodes 1-41 dubbed in English with more to be added, and Death Note features the full 37-episode series dubbed in English. The two series join Naruto Uncut, which has been offered on Xbox LIVE since November 2007 and currently features episodes 1-52 dubbed in English as well as episodes 1–24 subbed (with English subtitles), with more to be added.

“The anime genre enjoys a huge following among millions of avid Xbox 360 owners and the addition of the Bleach and Death Note series to the Xbox LIVE library will be a big attraction,” Scott Nocas, group product manager for Xbox LIVE, said in a release.

Xbox LIVE provides viewers with easy access to hundreds of full-length TV shows for Download-To-Own and the latest feature films for Download-To-Rent. Xbox 360 is also the first gaming console to offer Standard and High Definition TV shows and movies via digital distribution. Xbox LIVE currently includes a worldwide social entertainment network reaching more than 14 million members and offering 24/7 online access to gaming, movies, music, TV shows and more.

“We are very excited to team with Xbox LIVE to feature episodes of Bleach and Death Note,” says Ken Sasaki, Vice President, Strategy & Business Development, VIZ Media. “The combination of the hottest television and movie programming, video gaming and social networking interaction makes Xbox LIVE a compelling platform to present these smash hit animated dramas. As the convergence of digital technology presents an innovative new way to access and download a wide array of content, we look forward to fans across the United States turning to Xbox LIVE for the latest in online animated programming from VIZ Media.”
 

WizKids shuts down

  • News
  • November 10, 2008

In another sign of the looming comics recession, ICv2 reports that Topps is shutting down WizKids, its core hobby gaming business, and temporarily discontinuing the WizKids product lines.

 

Topps CEO Scott Silverstein commented, “This was an extremely difficult decision. But in light of the current economic conditions, we feel it is necessary to align our gaming initiatives more closely with Topps current sports and entertainment offerings which are already being developed within our New York office.”  WizKids is based in Seattle, Washington. In its statement announcing the closing of WizKids, Topps also indicated that it was pursuing “strategic alternatives so that viable brands and properties, including HeroClix, can continue without any noticeable disruption.”

 

Founded by FASA veteran Jordan Weisman in 2000, WizKids launched the first successful collectible miniatures game, Mage Knight, and also produced the first constructible strategy game, Pirates of the Spanish Main, in 2004.  In addition to the successful comic book-based HeroClix CMGs, WizKids also released the Star Wars Pocket Model Game in 2007. WizKids was purchased by Topps in 2003, and Topps itself was picked up by Michael Eisner’s Tornante Company and Dearborn Partners in 2007.

Webcomics You Should Be Reading: Ctrl-Alt-Del

Webcomics You Should Be Reading: Ctrl-Alt-Del

  • Uncategorized
  • October 16, 2008

Years ago, I was at a comic convention where Jimmy Palmiotti told a story about the most vocal fan he ever encountered: A fellow who apparently was constantly sending letters and posting to message boards about how he read the latest thing Palmiotti had done and it sucked, sucked, sucked. At first he was annoyed, but then Palmiotti realized, hey, this guy buys and pores over everything I ever write or draw. This guy is my biggest fan. So he sent him a Christmas card that year.

Tim Buckley, creator of Ctrl-Alt-Del, must have a really impressive Christmas card list. (Just look at the comments on this review for an example.)

Ctrl-Alt-Del follows the misadventures of Ethan, whose hobbies include gaming, slacking, completely misinterpreting normal human interactions, flashes of engineering brilliance, and forming gaming-related cults. The vibe is sitcom-esque—imagine Friends if everyone played video games, Chandler was a robot built out of an Xbox, Ross had a pet penguin, and Phoebe was the main character. (It really plays better than it sounds. Kinda like Friends, actually.)

Buckley also produces an online animated series which can be downloaded via subscription, or purchased on DVD. There are three compilation books available at the CAD Store along with shirts, magnets and posters. And Buckley has organized an annual massive LAN party called Digital Overload in Providence, RI.

Notable moments:

From the very beginning, CAD set itself apart from the pack, though this distinction eventually disappeared.  
Ethan invented the gaming holiday, Winter-Een-Mas. The holiday later became a tradition. 
Ethan also established a gaming religion.
Early storyline breaks feature Chef Brian, a humanoid acid trip who cooks.
The recent “serious” storyline.

Drama: Low moving towards moderate. Early strips are disconnected and included some cartoon-style violence. Recent strips have seen several more serious plot arcs and dramatic situations, broken up by non-continuity video game parody strips.

Humor: Appeals to the 18-25 male demographic. Heavy in the video game jokes and geeky sitcom-style plans that cause hilarity to ensue.

Continuity: Moderate to high. Plot arcs will run for several weeks, and be broken up by stand-alone bits. The earliest comics stand alone the best, and set the stage for the running gags and character arcs in the later ones.

Art: Buckley has been criticized for his characters looking similar, though that’s a criticism of his style; you’d never have a problem telling them apart. Panels tend to be a bit static

Archive: Six years of four-panel comics (1000+ strips) plus several months of daily black-and-white “sillies”.

Updates: The main comic updates Monday-Wednesday-Friday. Sillies update daily. Buckley is excellent about keeping his update schedule.

Risk/Reward: Buckley’s recent increase in continuity is a very acquired taste for the audience—if you like it, then it’s easy to get into the “I must keep reading so I know what happens next!” trap. If you don’t, then you can obviously pick up and drop the comic at your leisure. Though the lives of the characters can and will obviously go on for some time, Buckley is very good about wrapping up individual plotlines and creating points where the story stops for a while. It’s fairly safe to assume that if he decided to abandon the comic, there’d be a passable ending.

 

Liquid Comics Rises from Virgin’s Ashes

Liquid Comics Rises from Virgin’s Ashes

  • News
  • September 24, 2008

In a press release today, Virgin Comics annnounces it has been transformed into Liquid Comics:

"Liquid Comics has completed the management buyout of Virgin Comics led by the founding management team of Gotham Chopra, Sharad Devarajan and Suresh Seetharaman. Liquid Comics will continue to develop innovative digital, film, animation, and gaming projects for its original character, stories and other properties.

"Commenting on the change, Sharad Devarajan said, ‘Virgin Group has been a fantastic partner with whom to work and together we have established a strong foundation of great character properties and media partnerships. We remain fully committed to continuing our mission to provide a home for innovative creators and storytellers across the world.’

Virgin Group senior vice president of corporate development Dan Porter added, ‘The management team has a track record of great relationships with artists and media partners. Under this new ownership structure, the company is well positioned for future growth in the rapidly changing global comic space. As Virgin Group focuses on its core activities in North America, we wish them well in building their exciting business’

Founded in 2005, Virgin Comics is a character entertainment company that has forged partnerships with Warner Brothers, New Regency, Sony Online Entertainment, Sci Fi Channel, Studio 18, UTV and others. Under the new Liquid Comics name, the management team plans to proceed with a number of the projects previously announced as Virgin Comics and will make announcements shortly regarding those projects and the restructured launch dates."

At present, the website merely has a digital version of one of their titles and their press release.

Over at the comics blog of the Los Angeles Times, Geoff Boucher wrote, "I exchanged e-mails this morning with Gotham Chopra (who is the son of author Deepak) and he told me about some other things coming up that I will be able to share with you soon. Essentially, though, my sense is that he, publisher Sharad Devarajan and their team have lost the corporate backing of Branson’s sprawling Virgin empire (which is grappling with the grim financial realities of the day) but that they were in comic-book  business before they had Branson as a partner and they will solider now without the British conglomerate."

By relocating operations to Los Angeles, they can more closely follow the film development of properties already optioned while regrouping.

Kotaku: “Where Are Our Comic Book Games?”

  • News
  • August 28, 2008

For hardcore videogame fans, Kotaku is like an online CNN. They almost always get the news first. And they cover everything. From Halo 3 to weird Japanese titles that will never be released elsewhere. That obssessiveness has made them one of the top gaming websites.

So it was with great pleasure, that I read Luke Plunkett’s “Screw Comic Book Movies, Where Are Our Comic Book Games?” feature and see it become one of the most popular stories on the site. He argues that the gaming industry is ignoring a gold mine of great concepts and visuals for licensed games. Ignoring the heavily franchised superheroes, he cites Hard Boiled, Planetary, and The Goon among others. And made some nifty looking imaginary box art.

Since Kotaku is heavily read by both fans and the industry, I’m hoping his cry for more comic based games yields some results.

I would like to point out that he forgot to mention The Darkness, which basically falls under the type of game he’s talking about. It got good reviews and was a solid, if not runaway, seller. And there was a game released based on Bone. Which didn’t fare as well.

And if I could throw my 2-cents in, I think Mark Waid and Barry Kitson’s Empire would make a wickedly deep Japanese style RPG. Or ComicMix’s own Hammer of the Gods. ComicMixers, give us your suggestions in the comments.

 

Exorcising the Comic Shop Stigma

  • News
  • July 10, 2008

George Munoz is a new comic shop owner, having just purchased Windy City Comics in Northlake, Ill., and he’s gotten a little local press for wanting to combat the Android’s Dungeon stereotype.

For anyone who hasn’t seen The Simpsons, that’s the comic shop owned by the Comic Book Guy, the obese, stinky, rude resident nerd on the show.

From the article in the Franklin Park Herald-Journal:

As such, he wants to change some of what he describes as stereotypes in comic book stores.

"Many have this weird funky smell, the owner is a jerk and won’t even let you look at the books," Munoz said. "I want to convert this to a different style of comic store."

His ideas include bringing in comic book creators for signings, selling original comic art, showing comic based movies in the store, adding gaming and perhaps a small cafe.

"I want to bring in people who wouldn’t normally come into a comic book store," Munoz said.

Now, a lot of those ideas aren’t the most novel, but I’m curious what other comic book buyers think about their shops. How inviting are they, especially to non-traditional comic book readers?

And, alternately, for retailers, what are you doing to entice new readers?

R.I.P. Erick Wujcik, Game Designer

R.I.P. Erick Wujcik, Game Designer

  • News
  • June 10, 2008

Sad news from Kevin Siembieda at Palladium Books:

Beloved role-playing game designer, Erick Wujcik, passed away Saturday evening, June 7, 2008. He died from complications related to pancreatic and liver cancer. Kathryn Kozora, his sweetheart of more than 30 years, and other loved ones were at his side.

Erick was diagnosed with cancer in late November, 2007 and given 6-8 weeks to live. True to Erick’s indomitable spirit and zest for life, he proved the doctors wrong by lasting more than six months. Most of that time was spent with friends and loved ones.

Erick Wujcik’s accomplishments are many.

To the role-playing game community, Erick is best known for his many RPG games and contributions to Palladium Books®, including The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles® RPG, several TMNT® sourcebooks, After the Bomb® RPG and sourcebooks for it, Ninjas & Superspies™, Mystic China™, Rifts® China One and Two, Revised RECON®, Wolfen Empire™ and many others. He is also famous for Amber® Diceless, the first truly “diceless” role-playing game, published under Erick’s own label, Phage Press. Erick also published Amberzine® and founded Ambercon™, a series of conventions celebrating gaming, friendship and the world of Amber, hosted at numerous locations around the world.

(more…)

Bungie cutting the cord?

Bungie cutting the cord?

  • News
  • October 4, 2007

On the heels of the phenomenal success of Halo 3, the rumors are flying fast and furious in the gaming world that Bungie Studios is about to separate from Microsoft.

The buzz apparently started with a gamer on 8Bit Joystick, citing the old standby, "A friend of mine who has someone close to them that works at Bungie…" and claiming Microsoft would retain the Halo property and let Bungie once more produce independent projects, listing among the proofs a search of the company’s global address book and Microsoft’s controlling nature.  The rumor was then more or less contradicted at XYHD.TV, without the author getting around to flat-out denying it.  Now it’s being spoken of on larger sites like Game Informer and CNet as if it may be a done deal, even though everyone’s still quite careful to use the "r" word.

Tantalizing food for thought includes "For an unstated, but significant amount of money, Bungie shareholders bought the studio name back from Microsoft" and "Microsoft was supposed to release the press release today [10/1] but if they wait till 10/6 the impact won’t affect the quarterly results."  So I guess we all need to stay tuned until Friday to see whether this rumor becomes fact!

WW-CHICAGO: The Big Game!

WW-CHICAGO: The Big Game!

The Big ComicMix Broadcast winds up Wizard World Chicago with a roll of the dice and an in-depth look at the many sides of the new gaming product previewed here at the show – from the new 24 game based on the TV show to a peek at the 40th Annual GenCon starting up ion just a few days. And did you know there is a red hot new pro wrestling organization that is on TV and toy shelves but isn’t spelled W-W-E? Then it’s a a quick shot from the Planet of the Apes guy from the day when he used to travel with a different bunch.

Roll The eight sided dice, kiss the wizard and PRESS THE BUTTON!

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