In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.
This episode, we discuss…
Fist of the North Star
(Live Action Movie)
The live-action Fist of the North Star movie is like the little anime adaptation that could. It thinks it can. It thinks it can. It thinks it can.
But does it?
“The Business” and I revisit this straight-to-video action flick from the 1990s to test its mettle in 200X. Gary Daniels proves that he’s a tough boy, but does he have a heart of madness?
Julia burns calories by how much she is unimpressed by Shin.
Omi Gibson once again graces this column, this time as the titular character from the PlayStation classic, Um Jammer Lammy. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about the character, as I suck so utterly at rhythm games. ;__;
Enjoy some group shots below; putting Josie and the Pussycats to shame.
My previous post with a similar video was arguably staged, which I realized as soon as I saw the boyfriend’s bogus reaction. All the same, the video made a point that was worth revisiting.
The video above may be genuine, if at least more believable. Again, I judge this by the boyfriend’s reaction, which in this case does not look scripted. The sudden cut of the camera suggests a real couple fight took place shortly after. But then, his request that she fetch him a drink is a bit cliché. And why would he post her video on his websites?
This is a cool sketch comedy recreation of Street Fighter Alpha 2. Whomever directed it must have been a genuine Street Fighter fan, given the level of detail applied. There’s no way that any TV show in America would clear the sweet use of pyrotechnics, especially the ones used in the Chun Li Vs. Bison fight. Also notice Sodom’s Engrish intro.
My personal favorite special effect was Sakura throwing a pie in the face of the superimposed fanboy. The effect of Sakura’s fireball can easily be done using a fog machine, an Airzooka, and a stage light.
I was doing some online window shopping with a craving for FLCL. I enjoyed watching the show when it was on Cartoon Network, but never got around to buying the series on DVD. This is mostly due to the series being split into three $30 volumes, with two episodes per volume. Surely by now the box set will be available at a discounted price, as with most other anime.
Alas, no. FLCL‘s been out of print for a few years now; its box set (new or used) selling for upward to $150. Maybe I should have bought it when I had the chance… And a few extra copies to profit from later!
After some research, I’ve learned that the company that holds the FLCL distribution license in the USA has pulled out of American distribution. This leaves the possibility of future releases of FLCL in limbo.
So here’s my plea: Could someone please get on that? It’s perfectly obvious that the previous print runs of FLCL were insufficient in meeting demand since there is a large enough market willing to throw down a C-note or more to get a hold of one of the remaining copies. FLCL is a valuable property and would be well worth some other distributor’s effort to acquire its license.
The key, of course, is that once an American distributor possesses its license, they mustn’t sell the complete series set for more than $20. $60-75 for a 6-episode series ain’t gonna fly. But selling a highly acclaimed product for $15-20 a piece and it will sell through the roof.
If this can’t be sorted out, it only encourages anime piracy. Publishers can’t honestly cry foul on piracy for costing them DVD sales when they refuse to produce DVDs to sell.
I make similar arguments for downloading old video games. I’ll illustrate using Red Earth (aka Warzard) as an example:
Me: Hey, Capcom… I want to legitimately play Red Earth. Let me buy an arcade cabinet from you. I could buy a used one, but you might still moan about not making money from that.
Capcom: We can’t. We don’t make them anymore.
Me: Fair enough… Well, how about you produce a port of the game that I can play on a modern console? I would gladly pay the standard retail price for it. Or a cheaper, download-only version will do. I know a large community that would join me.
Capcom: Nah, we’d rather not bother with the expense of producing it. Sorry.
Me: Okay, now who is really keeping you from selling this game? Me or you?
I always discourage piracy of existing products. I like for people to profit from a good product with the hopes they invest that toward more good products in the future. But if a company refuses to sell a product then I call abusing previous releases to be fair game.
Otherwise it would be like your neighbor charging you with theft for pulling an old bicycle out of their dumpster. He wasn’t doing anything with it (in fact he pretty much abandoned it!), so you’d might as well use it. But if he wants to sell the bike and you ride off with it, then it’s stealing and preventing a sale.
Back in September, I blogged about my initial hunches about the Entertainment Consumers Association, and then again with a follow-up.
At the time, I’d attempted to sign up for my own membership under the promotion of one free year, care of a coupon code provided in a Game Informer article. Because of some technical issues with their website, I was unable to successfully set up a membership account. I’d made a mental note to re-apply some time later, but never got around to it.
Reports are coming in that the ECA has removed a member’s ability to cancel their membership and disable automatic renewal. The ECA will continue to charge you for your annual membership fee and you are forbidden from turning it off. That is, unless you write a letter and pray it’s processed within 30 days of your next dues collection.
As explained by ECA Chapter Manager, Daniela “Gypsyfly PMS” Lao, the reason why the organization has had to implement this method of detouring members wanting to cancel is because the organization has “grown too large to handle the volume”. (Screencap below.)
My question then becomes, if you have a sufficient automated system for managing membership accounts, where is the need for manpower to handle the volume?
While researching the ECA and its related branches (GamePolitics, GameJobs, and GameCulture), I became frustrated with the frequent roadblocks in site navigation. The sites had multiple broken links or generic FAQs. It appears that in the past couple months, much has been fixed, hopefully with the enlistment of competent web developers. Though in hindsight, a blessing in disguise considering that’s what prevented my own membership.
I would be more sympathetic with the ECA if their policy were closer to this: A member signs up and pays for their first year up front. They can cancel long-term membership at any time and disable any automatic payments. Meanwhile, the current year of their membership is non-refundable and the member is entitled to all the benefits of the organization until that year expires. That sounds fair for both parties. I saw even before trying to redeem my offered free year that the cards were stacked in the ECA’s favor.
I fully support the spirit of consumer advocacy that the ECA represents. However, it’s situations like this that keep me suspicious of the organization’s motives and methods. There are non-profit groups younger than the ECA and its directors that exercise a firmer sense of organization. I look forward to reading Jason Anderson‘s press release on the subject and seeing how Ms. Gypsyfly’s role in the organization is affected.
UPDATE 12-02-2009 8:15pm EST
ECA President, Hal Halpinissued a response to the press that erupted this morning around this issue. He states that the membership cancellation issue is the result of a group of people taking advantage of an exploit related to the coupon code I mentioned above. Essentially, they patched a flaw with another flaw. They attacked the symptom instead of developing a cure.
But since Halpin mentions implementing more automation in its infrastructure, I now put him and the ECA to task. Come on, guys… We can do this. Let’s get this worked out. With all the layoffs that went down this year, I’m sure you can scratch up a few competent IT cyberninjas to set up your websites.
Above all, don’t punish the legitimate members for the actions of a few criminals. That’s what the publishers that you guys are supposed to protect consumers from are doing.
Nearly two weeks ago, Penny Arcade launched the pilot for its upcoming online reality show, dubbed “PATV“. More episodes are promised soon.
If I may brag for a moment, during these past two weeks (and who knows for how much longer) my post covering the overlooked announcement of the then-anticipated reality show has dominated Google’s search results for the key phrase “penny arcade reality show“. It’s even eclipsed Penny Arcade’s own page announcing the series’ debut. Suck it, video game journos asleep at the wheel on that one.
With that shamelessness out of the way, I’m thoroughly excited to see the reality show come to fruition! I’m a decade-long fan of Penny Arcade with Jerry Holkins as one of my top wordsmith role models. Viewing the behind-the-scenes vignettes covering the creative process behind the comic strip fills the void that their oft forgotten podcast had left open. I look forward to each episode as they’re released…as should you!
In the Method to Madness podcast, I’m joined with my good friend Kevin “The Business” Gray to discuss great anime and video games that you should be watching as well as ones you should feel ashamed you are watching.
This episode, we discuss…
A Wind Named Amnesia
A Wind Named Amnesia is also a name for some of my farts. But seriously, this movie isn’t too bad. It’s a 1960s style take on science fiction with a reflection on our primitive nature and shines a light on how we’re advancing technology beyond our ability to handle it responsibly… Most of which can be averted if we stop installing robots with the “Kill All Humans” default BIOS.
One quick correction: Did I say “Don’t Break The Ice”? Cuz I meant the game, “KerPlunk“.
My apologies for the terrible quality of the video above; it’s the best I could find on YouTube. You can find a much better trailer of A Wind Named Amnesia on Anime News Network. Strangely, they don’t allow embedding of ads for their sponsors. Maybe if they threw bloggers a bone, Central Park Media might still be around.
After some research, I’ve learned that the company that holds the FLCL distribution license in the USA has pulled out of American distribution. This leaves the possibility of future releases of FLCL in limbo.
ECA President, Hal Halpin 
