Will “GTA IV” prove the chink in “Iron Man”?
The big question on the Web going into this weekend is whether enthusiasm over “Grand Theft Auto IV,” which is expected to break the sales records set by “Halo 3,” will damage the all-important first-weekend take for the highly anticipated film “Iron Man.”
Despite criticism from MADD and other groups, “GTA IV” is receiving rave reviews and notching great sales. Our own Matt Price of Nerdage reports, via Reuters UK, that “GTA IV” broke single-day sales records in Great Britain, with sales of 609,000 copies.
“GTA IV” was released Tuesday at midnight and is expected to gross about $400 million in the first week, according to this interesting CNN.com report.
The story quotes Edward Woo, a research analyst specializing in media and interactive entertainment, as predicting: “‘Iron Man’ will still have a pretty good release, but intuitively, I think it’s got be impacted when both share a similar audience and genre.”
But the story also includes a quote from Paramount Pictures Vice Chairman Rob Moore, who told EW.com: “It’s crazy to think that young males can’t carve out two hours for ‘Iron Man.’ It’s going to be a great week to be a young guy.”
I think it’s important to point out that “GTA IV” takes 30 to 65 hours to complete, depending on skill level. Unless they took a week off from work/school or are independently wealthy, people who stood in line to buy it Tuesday at midnight already have been forced to put down the controller at least once or twice.
My take: It’s a pretty safe bet that most will find 2 1/2 hours to see “Iron Man” this weekend on the big screen, especially after the largely rave reviews. RottenTomatoes.com has “Iron Man” with a 94 percent rating and is touting it as the best-reviewed movie of the year.
Also, “Iron Man” will probably get good traffic from families who are willing to take a chance on a PG-13 rating for superhero violence, just like they did with “Transformers” and “Spider-Man.”
Some people blamed “Halo 3,” with its $170 million in first-day sales and $300 million in its first week, for the box-office bust of “The Heartbreak Kid,” according to CNN.com.
Having reviewed “The Heartbreak Kid,” I can tell you that’s just ridiculous. It may have been the first reunion of the Farrelly brothers and Ben Stiller since “There’s Something About Mary,” but “The Heartbreak Kid” just wasn’t that funny. It only got a 29 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating, so the word was definitely out that it wasn’t worth taking time away from Master Chief to see it.
Plus, with a big-screen spectacle like “Iron Man,” there’s a much greater incentive to experience it in the theater rather than waiting for DVD.
My prediction is that “Iron Man” will do just fine even with “GTA IV” roaming the streets. But we’ll have to wait for Monday to know for sure.
What do you think, BAM’s Blog readers?
-BAM
Master Chief and me
As I reported in March, my husband Patrick and older son Chris have been teaching me to play “Halo 3″ on our new XBox 360. Here’s a progress report.
Less than a month into my “Halo 3″ education (if you’ll remember, good-hearted readers, Chris decided that I could skip “Halo” and “Halo 2″ and go straight to the latest version of the game), I am pleased to report that last weekend I notched my first win against my husband on the “Slayer” mode, in which you try to kill a fellow player rather than fighting the evil aliens in the game’s storyline.
We were playing on the Guardian map, which is a fairly enclosed space with multiple levels, an elevator and two “man cannons” that shoot your character across wide distances. We had the contest set up so that the first one to get 10 kills would win, and I just got there, outscoring Patrick 10-9.
It was a heady moment.
And I have to give my hub credit, it can’t be easy to get beaten by a girl playing with a pink controller, even if she is your wife. But he took it like a real man and celebrated my victory. (Of course, keep in mind that the guys want me to keep playing. Because if I’m playing, I’m not complaining about them hogging the big TV in the den with their frivolous video games, am I?)
I’ve become a force to be reckoned with when I pick up a gravity hammer or energy sword and have scored quite a few “beat downs” during my short “Halo 3″ experience. I’m not as skilled with weapons I actually have to aim as with ones that just let me run up and slash my opponent to ribbons. I’m pretty sure that says something noteworthy about my personality.
However, I got in my first kill with the flame thrower today, incinerating my husband’s version of Master Chief as he came around a corner. Ah, good times.
I’m continuing to play primarily on the versus mode against Patrick and Chris as I build my skills and comfort level with the game. However, I have teamed with Chris on parts of the gameplay campaign that he and Patrick started together.
My husband and I also have started a campaign of our own, so I’m now becoming familiar with brutes, jackals and hunters. They’re creepy and mean, but fun to kill – not that different from the alien scum I used to take on in “Doom” in my college days.
Patrick also helped me find this Easter egg on one of the early levels of our campaign. It’s from the popular Web series “Red vs. Blue,” which I think is hilarious. The guys who voice those characters play a pair of bickering Marines, and apparently, the characters change depending on the skill level you’re playing.
On the easy and normal levels of “Halo 3,” it’s Tucker and Doc arguing. (And before you ask, yes, I’m still playing with the training wheels on.)
According to this YouTube clip, it’s Grif and Simmons bickering on heroic mode, while Church and Caboose have one of their wacky exchanges on legendary.
Just goes to show that you can still have a sense of humor, even when the brutes get you down. Or when the guys who are supposed to love you blast you with a rocket launcher, the punks.
-BAM
Previewing “Speed Racer” game gets motor running
I stumbled into my house about midnight Friday night/Saturday morning after a long, late flight home from southern California, where I attended the “Speed Racer” film junket.
The movie screened for print press Thursday night in Los Angeles, but most of the activities took place Friday at Long Beach Convention Center, the hub of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. In addition to interviewing the cast, we got to watch some of the race cars doing their practice runs.
My high school and college exploits zipping down the backroads near Lindsay and Stillwater in my ’68 Mustang Fastback notwithstanding, I’ve never really watched or participated in auto racing. I envisioned a big stadium with a huge track inside it, but the Toyota Grand Prix actually involved shutting down streets in Long Beach, erecting bleachers and barriers, and watching race cars scream down the streets between the convention center and California Pizza Kitchen. It was noisy and fast and not a little surreal.
Along with viewing the practice racing and the “lifestyle expo” (basically lots of booths with cars and car-related stuff), we got a chance to play with the new toys from “Speed Racer.”
Because of studio regulations, I can’t tell you what I thought of the movie until it opens May 9, but I can tell you that the toys are pretty cool. Hot Wheels has developed a couple of slick new roller coaster-esque tracks inspired by the movie to go along with the new diecast versions of the Mach 5 and the film’s other sleek speedsters.
But the best of the toys is definitely the new “Speed Racer” game for the Nintendo Wii. I got to spend about five minutes playing up against a Ninetendo rep. It was my first time playing the Wii, and I had an absolute blast. I generally don’t play racing games because using a traditional controller just feels awkward and not very gratifying. But the Wii-mote feels very natural – you can also use the steering wheel peripheral – and much easier to control.
Like the movie, the game’s racing action is fast, colorful and aggressive. While keeping the Mach 5 (or other racer) speeding along the narrow, twisty track, you also try to knock other cars out of the way. You can do all sorts of jumps and spins to help you win the race.
Here’s a look at the game’s trailer:
I had so much fun with it, I’m actually thinking of buying a Wii so I can play it. Go, BAM, go!
-BAM
Technology for the masses
From the “Outlook 2008: Lifestyles & Quality of Life” special section from Sunday’s The Oklahoman.
Technology prices eventually hit level masses can afford
These days, home entertainment typically involves a high-definition television, sleek DVD player, a video game system or two and a sound system with iPod hookup.With advances in electronics, the days of the bulky, faux wood-encased analog TV, clunky VCR and chunky portable CD player are fading.
While all this technology doesn’t come cheap, experts say consumers can find a range of prices on most items and the payoffs are greater than with past products.
‘It’s a time thing’
Russell Kim, president and owner of Audio Dimensions, said home theater costs can start at about $5,000 for a 42-inch HD TV, DVD player and basic surround sound system and reach “up to literally hundreds of thousands of dollars for the real aficionados” who want dedicated theater rooms simulating the cinema experience.
People desiring the visual punch of high-def DVDs will have to shell out extra bucks for a Blu-ray player.
“Leading-edge (technology) tends to cater to more of the early adopters and people who are more affluent, so therefore, those who are willing to take the risk of something new,” said Kim, a member of the Home Theater Specialists of America trade group.
“But it’s a time thing. Technology has a way of getting down to the masses sooner than later.”
When Sony introduced the Walkman cassette player in 1979, it carried a $200 price tag. It wasn’t until the company reduced the price and size of the Walkman II in 1981 that it caught on in the U.S., according to the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture.
In comparison, the first iPod cost $400 when it debuted in 2001. The price has remained relatively static, but Apple has built in more features and capacity, said Steve Koenig, senior analyst for the Consumer Electronics Association. While the original iPod offered five gigabytes of storage for $400, today’s iPod classic holds 160 gigs, includes a color video screen and costs $350.
More for the money
When it comes to the increasingly popular video game market, manufacturers also are making their consoles do more so that people get more for their entertainment dollar.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii all have Internet capabilities, said Adam Sessler, host and managing editor of “X-Play,” the longest-running TV show on video games, which runs on the G4 cable network.
Along with improved graphics, sound and gameplay, these consoles are comparable in price to older systems but provide more features.
People can use the Xbox 360, which runs about $350, to download HD movies, while the PS3, which costs about $399, plays Blu-ray discs.
“Right now, everything hovering around $400 is pretty typical early on in the life cycle of a console. You’re going to start to see the prices reduce significantly probably within the next year and then definitely in the years following that,” Sessler said.
Consumers have options
Consumers should keep in mind the costs of games as well as peripherals such as Nintendo’s motion-sensing Wii remotes.
Whatever their taste in music, movies or video games, Koenig said competition among manufacturers and service providers will help consumers find the right home entertainment choices for them.
-BAM
Pick a screen, any screen
From the “Outlook 2008: Lifestyles & Quality of Life” special section in Sunday’s The Oklahoman.
Free time
Blurring the lines between the screens
Tech-savvy see no distinction between watching films on TV, a computer or an iPod.
Shortly after Brad Hendrix buys a new DVD, the disc goes into storage.
“I may that evening when I buy a DVD … I may just stick it in the DVD player. But sometime that week, it’s going to get ripped, and it’s going to be on file. And I’m going to put away the DVD in the attic and never see it again,” Hendrix said.
Once he converts a movie to a computer file, the Norman resident just picks a screen where he wants to watch it, whether a television set at home or his laptop or iPod on the go.
“More and more people my generation and below, there isn’t a difference: screen to screen to screen more and more,” the 26-year-old said.
“My personal opinion is that we’re coming toward the phasing out of optical drives such as CD players, DVD players, Blu-ray.”
For the information technology professional, those devices are virtually obsolete. While Hendrix does most of his movie viewing on his laptop – “I’ve even got a remote for my laptop. It’s that level of nerdiness,” he said with a laugh – he uses the same computer files to watch films on a television set.
At home, he connects the television in his bedroom to his laptop, giving him instant access to his movie collection.
When he chooses to watch something on the living room television, he either hooks up his iPod or uses a media extender such as his Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360 – using a network connection – to play a movie file on the larger television screen.
“It’s becoming to where it’s more of a monitor anyway.
“Everybody will have their own big screen, but instead of having a computer in their own room or having a computer to take with them, you’re looking at more the unification of the two,” he said.
Where do you watch?
Hendrix may be a self- described “uber-nerd,” but he isn’t the only one who believes that the line between computer and television screens will become increasingly blurred.
Steve Koenig, senior analyst with the Consumer Electronics Association, predicts that the definition of the computer screen is going to change.
“I don’t think that the current definition is really going to apply in the near-term future as we know it today. Any screen in the house virtually could be a computer screen if you’re framing that definition in the type of content that it accesses,” he said.
Russell Kim, president/owner of Audio Dimensions, thinks that for now, televisions will stay the focus of the living room – and the home entertainment center – for most people.
“It’s important to point out that everything that’s in the consumer electronics world, including TVs, is in fact a computer. Now, the only difference is that it’s not an open platform, meaning it cannot accept new software like a personal PC can,” he said.
“The word ‘computer’ is getting fuzzy.”
Kim said that Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard have tried twice to introduce PC-driven media centers and failed, mostly because the customers preferred simpler interfaces, especially using a remote control rather than a mouse to control their entertainment systems.
“Though it may be one professional’s opinion, I think that right now I would say that PC is not taking over the living room. It’s still relegated to the study for the foreseeable future, like as in the next, say, three to five years, which in our industry is a millennium,” said Kim, a member of the Home Theater Specialists of America trade group.
Staying wired
But Koenig said consumer research is starting to show that people want to browse the Internet, instant message and even send e-mail from their home televisions.
It is part of a “mega-trend” of people wanting to stay constantly connected and able to continually access their content.
For Hendrix, that means carrying a 160-gig iPod that holds all his music, many of his movies and every episode of “Battlestar Galactica.” It means skipping the DVDs when possible and downloading movies from iTunes.
Though he doesn’t expect computers and televisions to become completely integrated overnight, it means seeing progress in that direction.
-BAM
Caution: Student shooter
After months of my husband Patrick, teenage son Chris and I saving allowances, Christmas money, spare change and other sundry cash, we saved up enough to purchase an Xbox 360. It was part of a big lesson for Chris in the value of saving money and delaying gratification.
At some point during this process, I agreed to learn to play “Halo.” After all, it was reasoned, if I was helping to save up for the 360, I should learn to play one of the new games on it. Since the guys insisted that “Halo 3″ be the first game for the new system, I would need to learn to play “Halo.”
So, we finally bought the shiny new console, and for Easter, Chris received an additional controller and copy of the long-awaited “Halo 3.”
After Patrick and Chris played out the story for a couple of hours, it was time for my “Halo” lesson to begin. Since we only had two controllers (more are on order), and one belonged to Chris, he was put in charge of my education.
Instead of starting back at the original “Halo,” as I expected and which still looks much cooler on 360, the little punk opted to plunge me into “Halo 3.” Basically, I had no idea what was going on except that my character was Master Chief and that under ordinary circumstances (read: not me playing), I kick major alien tail.
Having watched four seasons of “Red vs. Blue,” I recognized the Warthog and energy sword, but I kept expecting Tucker to show up and say “Bow-chicka-bow-bow.”
Keep in mind that the last first-person shooter I played with any regularity was “Doom” on my PC back in college. With the Xbox, I’ve mostly played fighting games and a few sports contests. (I am a killer “Gladius” warrior.)
Fortunately, Chris was smart enough to not put me immediately into story mode, instead picking the versus mode that allows just the two of us to fight without a bunch of grunts and brutes to muddy the waters. Though those alien scumbags might have been more forgiving than my merciless offspring, who seemed to relish blasting me, sniping me, running me down with the Mongoose and jumping fatally onto my head while I was trying to learn to, say, walk forward, pick up a new weapon or turn into a tunnel.
Tired of his heartless antics and apparent inability to grasp the concept of scaling it back a bit for the rookie, I booted Chris to the bench and let the hub have a shot. Having coached me through gameplay before, he was more understanding and willing to give me a chance to get my wits about me. He at least had the courtesy to wait a moment before gunning me down when I asked for a reminder of what button to hit to swap weapons.
My one advantage at playing the game was my sharp eyes, so I was good at spotting all sorts of new weapons. Both Chris and Patrick would cruelly wait until I found something new, encourage me to try it out, and then kill me so they could snatch it.
After a couple of hours on Saturday, I was able to get the hang of moving and shooting and even got in a sweet kill by blasting Chris at long distance with a missile pod. It’s little moments like blasting your son’s character’s head off that make gaming great family time.
Chris and I also tried out the forge concept this afternoon, creating a level in which we were invincible and had access to every weapon. (We could also custom-color our armor, and considering my level of “Halo” intelligence, I went with Caboose blue armor.) We cruised along pretty happily, my confidence increasing, until Chris discovered that he could kill me with back attacks. The carnage once again ensued.
Maybe one of these days, I’ll learn to cover my back before he puts the gravity hammer through it. Until then, he better watch it if I ever get him roped into a round of “Gladius.” My undead summoner has a death head’s staff and we’re not afraid to use it.
-BAM
Monday Catchy Quote
A catchy quote from a movie, television show or other source to brighten the beginning of your week:
Church: I didn’t want to mess with the timeline.
Caboose: Time… line? Time isn’t made of lines! It is made of circles. That is why clocks are round.
- Click here to learn the source.
-BAM
