Mickey now Spidey’s boss: Disney buys Marvel for $4b August 31, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in Marvel, Movies.Tags: Disney, Marvel, merger
add a comment
Saw the head’s up about this on Twitter (thanks Matt!), Disney is buying Marvel today, headlines throwing around a 4 billion with a “b” price tag.
This seems to have a lot of implications primarily regarding movies…seeing as how that is where Marvel looks to be making the most money going forward. Let us not forget that Disney also owns it’s own big three network (ABC) as well, and let us also not forget that Time Warner owns DC, which puts these two mega companies even more at odds in a sense.
I also wonder if all Disney comics rights will be moved to Marvel…it seems like they must once existing contracts expire at least. Toy rights, game rights? Who knows. This is big news for sure.
Let’s see…Fantasy Flight makes the Disney Kingdom Hearts game, but UDE makes Marvel games…and Hasbro makes Marvel toys (and games), and maybe it won’t matter. Again…movies and tv shows…that’s where I can see the most movement on this. And of course the theme parks…Universal Studios can’t be super happy about this…at the very least they will be paying licensing royalties to what I have to be sure is a competitor theme park.
UPDATE: Marvel posts official Press Release
UPDATE: Deadline Hollywood Daily has some interesting reporting on this, and focuses on the fact that this was actually kept under everyone’s hats until the appropriate time today. I mean, I was able to post it here before I saw it at any of the usual outlets (icv2 etc.) and I never think of this as breaking news.
The Beatles:Rock Band -> 3 Part Harmonies = 3 Mics August 28, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in Video Games.Tags: Rock Band, The Beatles, The Beatles: Rock Band
add a comment
Rock Band as a game is perfectly suited for someone like me…I thoroughly enjoy music like most people seem to, but I have no aptitude when it comes to the playing of said music. I tried band for both years of junior high (baritone sax), and never once did I learn to read sheet music. But I love video games too, and so the convergence of said loves is the proverbial marriage made in heaven…I daresay Rock Band in it’s various forms may well be my favorite video game. Ever.
My role is often that of singer…mostly because others tend to shy away from it, and also because I know most of the words I guess. Now this is not breaking news, but if you’ve only been casually following the news about the game, you might also have missed it like I did, The Beatles: Rock Band will support three part harmonies while singing. And so as you might expect, the game supports up to three microphones…which really is just quite cool. The last time we all played the game, that comment came up the most often…”I wish there were more mics”. Now there will be.
If you haven’t already, check out the official website for the game, there are some gameplay previews and relevant gameplay info, and I’d also recommend the forums which have a more extensive selection of frequently asked questions.
WotC updates Magic Online Community August 28, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in Magic the Gathering.Tags: Community, Magic the Gathering
add a comment
I got the head’s up on Twitter last night about this, and Wizards followed up with a email Newsletter this morning…
Wizards has updated their web forum/community pages to reflect a more current web community. Still in beta, the new site offers group creation and blogging in addition to the slight revamp of their bulletin board/discussion pages. This appears to be a step in the right direction, and hopefully the groups will allow regional and local player groups to easily form up. I know I’ll be promoting this aspect to my local game shop.
You can visit the new site HERE.
Pokemon TCG Reigns Over Collectible Market per ICv2 August 27, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, CMG, HeroClix, Magic the Gathering.add a comment
ICv2 reports today on the performance of games in the market for the second quarter of 2009. Pokemon is the overall leader in the collectible category, with a first place finish in mass market sales and an eighth place finish in the hobby store channel.
Even without hard numbers, this gives us some insight into the relative strengths of the mass market versus traditional game and hobby stores…especially vis a vis Magic which is the number one hobby game, but falls to third overall. (Yu-Gi-Oh! holds the second spot across the board.) That Pokemon is near the bottom of the list at hobby but maintains first overall thanks to mass market is telling. In reality…it seems that Magic is sort of the odd man out at mass market, with all four other top games being manga/anime/japanimation based ccgs.
There also appears to be a big drop off after the first three places, as 4 and 5 in the mass market don’t make the overall top five list. Also interesting is the Epic TCG which comes in at 10th on the hobby list…a game I’m fairly certain is largely on the fringe still, based on the lack of singles being sold at GenCon. Of course, it’s also a newer game, so we will see if it has staying power.
Finally of note, HeroClix, despite being without new product for going on almost a year now, snagged the fifth spot on the hobby game list…and keep in mind Q2 means that the NECA rumors wouldn’t have hit yet. It will be interesting to see how the game rebounds once product starts rolling out again.
Web of Webhead on Twitter August 25, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in About This Blog.Tags: twitter
add a comment
Finally got my act together and got on Twitter…you can find me here… Web of Webhead on Twitter
Zendikar looking a lot like AVATAR August 25, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, Magic the Gathering, Movies.Tags: Avatar, Magic the Gathering, zendikar
add a comment
Here’s a freeze frame from the AVATAR teaser trailer:
And here’s some art from the next Magic set, Zendikar:
Pretty cool, hunh?
There’s been a rumor that someday we will see a Magic movie, after all, we already have Transformers and G.I. Joe and Clue and what not…I think AVATAR might show us what certain aspects of a Magic movie might look like…
Magic Players to face Day of Judgment in Zendikar August 21, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, Magic the Gathering, Previews.Tags: Day of Judgment, Magic, Magic the Gathering, zendikar
add a comment
Some of the biggest hype around Magic 2010 centered on the loss of core set staple “Wrath of God”. Originally appearing in Alpha, it had been in every core set since, destroying all creatures in play with no hope of regeneration for only four mana.
And as we found out today, that sort of mass destruction is on the horizon again with the forthcoming Zendikar set. A new card was previewed today as part of the “buy it by the booster box” promotion that brick and mortar stores can take advantage of. For M10 it was White power card “Honor of the Pure” (itself a new version of a classic Alpha card “Crusade”), for Zendikar it will be new White power card “Day of Judgment”.
For the same cost as the original Wrath, you get the same level of creature destruction with “Day of Judgment”, without the clause preventing Regeneration. Interestingly, this card taken into account with new “Terror” variant “Doom Blade” makes Regeneration a potential top shelf power again. Time will tell what the new environment will yield.
Fantasy Flight Games Acquires Tannhauser IP August 21, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in Hybrid Game.Tags: Tannhauser
add a comment
“But wait,” you might say, “doesn’t Fantasy Flight already make Tannhauser?”
Well yes they do, but the game was originally produced by a French company called Take On You…what Fantasy Flight has done previously is produced the English language version of the game for sale here in the states. Apparently now they have purchased the entire Intellectual Property, giving them free reign to create new expansions to the game as they see fit.
For the uninitiated, Tannhauser is a hybrid minis/board game that is best classified as “expandable”. The box set comes with everything you need for two players to play. Additionally, there have been a number of single figure expansions that have been released, as well as a follow up called Operation Novogord. The setting for the game is a time period around World War II, except that World War I never ended and mystical elements are in play for both sides. The most interesting aspect to me beyond the expandable nature would be the pathfinder map system…each spot on the map that a figure can occupy is marked with a colored circle…each circle with a matching color is in range and within line of sight for each other circle of the same color. This slightly more organic system removes a lot of the line of sight questions you find in other games. It’s also worth mentioning this games figures are gorgeous and are close in scale to HeroClix/HorroClix/HeroScape/D&D Minis/Star Wars Minis etc.
You can read the full presser HERE.
GenCon ‘09: Artist Wayne Reynolds August 21, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in CCG, Conventions, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic the Gathering, World of Warcraft.add a comment
Many ‘cons have a guest artist or two, and it always seems to add a little gravitas to the event, a reminder of the fine arts from which so many gamers imagination springs. GenCon boasts a full artist alley with rows and rows of artists displaying their wares, selling original art, prints, sketches, proofs, and of course signing cards and other gaming gear.
One artist in particular has caught my eye this past year, Wayne Reynolds.
Ajani Vengeant banner, Wizards of the Coast
Mr. Reynolds creates fantasy paintings for Magic cards and D&D materials, as well as World of Warcraft TCG cards and WoW Minis booster art. His iconic Ajani Vengeant Planeswalker art as shown above was used by Wizards on a banner promoting their “life sized” Magic games. (In the background you can see a Magic playmat large enough to play battle ball on.) I have a favorite Magic deck currently that draws extensively from the latest sets, and I realized that nearly half of the deck was illustrated by one artist, one Mr. Wayne Reynolds. I set out to procure an autograph or two from the man himself.
I haven’t pursued card signatures in some time…probably not since the mid-nineties when I first started going to conventions, so I was a little unsure of the etiquette involved. I decided to ask for both a copy of the above card AND an Ultra Pro deck box featuring the same signed. Sunday afternoon just before leaving I hunted down his booth in the alley. In front of me was another Magic fan…who appeared to have the same sort of deck as I did…and there was Mr. Reynolds signing every card for him, easily 25 -30 cards. I presented my deck box and card, which the artist gladly signed. I thanked him and we shook hands, and that was that, a very nice “shine” added to my Magic collection.
I have to imagine it is very gratifying to meet fans of your work in such circumstances, and I highly recommend the next time you attend a con, take some time to visit the artists alley. Sketches and prints can often be obtained for the cost of a single rare card, and original artwork, while costing much more, can be observed first hand.
Mr. Reynolds has a website that has both galleries and some biography information, it can be found HERE.
AVATAR Trailer is up… August 20, 2009
Posted by webofwebhead in Movies.Tags: Avatar
1 comment so far
And it is very high on WOW factor. As in…wow. Just wow.
This is James Cameron…he who made the Titanic film, the #1 box office movie of all time. This is him saying “it is time to do sci-fi, and to do it right.” I watched the French trailer (n’est pas Quicktime), but I don’t think there is any diaglogue even in it…just lots and lots of imagery. Do yourself a favor and check it out…
