Category: Musings

Capcom Releasing Multiple Titles By March 2023… None Of Them Are Mega Man

Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/05/capcom-releasing-multiple-major-new-titles-by-march-31-2023

So Capcom put out a list of “major” titles they will be releasing soon. A couple Resident Evil remakes to next gen consoles, the Capcom Fighting Collection and the other Stadium thing, another Monster Hunter, and a couple other titles whose names I forget, so if you want to check the list out, click the link above.
One name missing from that list is the ol’ Blue Bomber himself. I guess we’re going to have to wait until Inafking brings us Mighty No. 10, after all. And I don’t want to live in that reality.
Or, you know, I could go back to play the other dozen or so Mega Men I’ve got laying around… yeah, I might do that.

Ncuti Gatwa Is The 14th Doctor In Doctor Who

Source: https://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/official-ncuti-gatwa-is-the-14th-doctor-97203.htm

So they cast another Doctor for Doctor Who… and it’s the guy from Sex Education.
I’m sure that means something to someone out there somewhere.
I know nothing about this actor, which usually means no colored (no pun intended) expectations as to how well he’ll do as the Doctor.
I just hope he gets better scripts than Jodie did.
Also, how many folks are weeping that they’re not getting a second dose of David Tennant, as rumored? Or that the Doctor is still not ginger?
Anyway, best of luck to Ncuti Gatwa in his new role.

Switch Hardware Sales Surpass Wii U Software Sales… This Is News For Some Reason

Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/05/random-switch-console-sales-outstrip-the-poor-wii-us-total-software-sales

“There are more Switch consoles sold then there are Wii U games.”
The quote of a Twitter fellow who showed off sales figures of Switch consoles flying past those of Wii U software sales. And if I’m going to be honest here, is anyone really surprised by this development?
Get back to me when this system is doing Game Boy and DS numbers, then I’ll throw the ticker tape parade. Much like the one Turner threw Hulk Hogan when he signed with WCW. And then you can have Switch pin Ric Flair to win the World title, beat him again in a retirement match, and then main event Starrcade against the Booty Man.
Wait, what was I talking about?

Random Thoughts On… Star Trek Resurgence

A little late to the party… but I wanted to sit on this for a bit before sharing some thoughts…

This Star Trek: Resurgence video game that’s coming up or maybe it’s already out – I haven’t checked – but it looks vaguely interesting. And I thought it was a novel choice to make a Star Trek game and have it take place on a Starfleet vessel that isn’t the one anyone would be familiar with. It’s not an Enterprise; it’s not a Voyager; it’s random no-name Starship run by a new set of characters with their own duties and stuff to deal with. And I thought it’s a nice approach, because you can do an original Star Trek story with a new cast of characters and not have to worry about canon or anything like that. The only thing you’d have to worry about is the minutae, which shouldn’t be that difficult because usually, these Star Trek games do a fine job of conforming and respecting the lore… there are exceptions, of course, but games of this ilk, especially those who are reliant on lore – no pun intended, there – usually respect that lore.
So from what I’ve gathered, this is more of a choose-your-own-adventure game where you play a character and you are sometimes presented with a number of actions you can take in order to progress the story. THat’s my first impression from the few snippets of gameplay that I’ve see. I don’t know if there’s more to it, but that’s the impression I got is a sort of interactive move. The preview that they have… I don’t know who’s doing the Spock voice, but it’s almost – ALMOST BUT NOT QUITE – a dead ringer for Leonard Nimoy. I mean, you pay attention, it’s not quite the same voice, but it’s damn close and whoever they got did a fine job, and the rest of the cast perform rather admirably to move the scene and that sort of thing. So that’s one aspect of the game that I’m not too concerned with is the voice acting. The graphics kinda look a bit cheap and plasticky; you’d figure we’d be at a point where we’d be beyond that sort of thing with all these 4K-this and raytrace-that and all these fucking gimmicks… but I guess we need another console generation to get close that deepfake shit that people can pull off on their fucking phones or something.
But yeah, I am curious about this. And if it’s at the right price point and if the word of mouth for this thing is pretty good, then I may give it a shot, but if not… Steam sale, I guess… ‘cuz it’s probably not going to be on GOG. And you know? That would be nice.

A Note On Kayfabe Commentaries’ Best Of KC Vault Youtube Page

Source: https://www.youtube.com/c/KCVault

Our regularly scheduled program has been postponed to tomorrow afternoon due to last minute editorial changes. Sorry.
In lieu of that, I do want to plug one thing and it’s not my thing; I have nothing to do with it nor am I associated with this in any way, but Kayfabe Commentaries has a Youtube channel called BEST OF THE KC VAULT, where they will upload some of their DVD releases from their catalogue for a limited time sampling that people can watch for free and if they want to check out the rest of their stuff, they can subscribe to the Kayfabe Commentary streaming vault, which I think has their entire library of shoot interviews. I’ve sampled some of their stuff in the past; some folks will put up clips on Youtube, I know I was gifted a couple of the Guest Booker shows converted to MP3 format, which made for a great podcast listen for those long trips.
But I only found out about the channel a short while ago and folks, there is not a product of the shoot variety that I could recommend more than the Kayfabe Commentary stuff. Sean Oliver, the man behind that machine, comes across as animated, personable, and also smart. The kind of host who makes the whole thing feel like a conversation between old friends, even thought it’s not really the case, save for some repeat guests. The Cornette stuff on there is pure fucking gold, the YouShoot with Dixie Carter and Scott Halll were a highlight, and they had the Kevin Nash Guest Booker – Guest Booker being a thing where a booker would be given an alternate scenario – in this case, what if Hall and Nash stayed with WWF in 96 – and how would they book that? And Guest Booker was always fascinating to me because you got to see the minds of wrestling at work, brainstorming this alternate scenario while also giving insights into their booking philosophies as well as some tales from behind the scenes.
I always dug Sean Oliver’s stuff, I somewhat regret not picking up a DVD or two along the way when they were available; most of my exposure to his work was on Youtube; via clips uploaded by unofficial sources, we shall call them. I did buy the audio versions of his two wrestling books; KAYFABE and the BUSINESS OF KAYFABE. Both great reads, great listens too; Sean did a good job with the audio books and they helped me out during a time when I needed the help. I’m glad that there’s a way to sample his stuff and also an easy way to access this stuff with his streaming service, which I might make a point to one of these days subscribe to.
But yeah, BEST OF THE KC VAULT, if you want a cycling sampler of the DVDs he’s produced over the years, I’ve provided a link above and I would highly recommend it. And if you dig it, join the streaming service he has up, send him a couple bucks, and check out stuff that isn’t just variations of one dude asking how big Batista’s dick is… because I know that’s all some people know him as and god knows he’d rather forget that… but he’s making as an author of fiction, so at least he’s keeping busy these days.
Anyway, that was my poor attempt at a plug.

Random Thoughts On The Motion Picture Director's Edition 4K Remaster Refurbished Edition On The Paramount Plus Thing.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released in 1979 in a relatively unfinished state, owing to the fact that a lot of special effects fell short of what director Robert Wise intended at the time. So a couple decades later, he had the opportunity to finish the film as he intended, which gave us the Director’s Edition, which featured some additional footage as well as a reworked sound mix and some additional visual effects created from CGI. The Director’s Edition of the Motion Picture is often considered the definitive version of that first Star Trek film, but was done entirely in standard definition and without any regard for potentially migrating this over to a higher resolution; hence why all these years we had the Blu-Rays releases featuring the original theatrical release, which I had not seen until that Blu-Ray release, because up until the point, all home video versions of The Motion Picture – barring the Director’s Edition in 2001 – was based on an extended TV cut that aired on ABC and featured additional footage; some of which eventually made it to the Director’s Cut.
And so after a couple more decades, which seems to be the appropriately timed interval for such endeavors, the team who developed the Director’s Edition got back together and this time, they had access to all the original film elements pulled from the Paramount Archives, they redid the opticals and CG effects to make them more consistent, and the end result, once again, is the most definitive take on The Motion Picture given the utmost care. Everything looks sharp, the new elements look better than they did before, it’s a much cleaner looking film, and quite frankly, if director Robert Wise was still around today – he passed away in 2005 – but if he were around to see this, I think he’d be pleased that the film he originally envisioned had finally come to fruition in the best possible way. Like, if you want the best version of The Motion Picture, this is it. And I’ve always preferred this cut over the original or the TV edit. The TV edit was the one I grew up on and there’re some cuts there I’d prefer over what ended up getting used, but this one feels like a nice balance and more refined.
Now make no mistake; at the end of the day, it’s still Star Trek: The Motion Picture and you either call it one of the greatest sci-fi epics ever made or one of the slowest. And as a movie, I think I like it more now than I did back in the day. Yes, the pacing can be glacial at times. Yes, the acting as a whole feels somewhat artificial and lifeless. There’s no joy to be had with this film and the few attempts at light humor feels contrived. But what this movie does is take you on a journey and is a visual feast. We get Klingons, we see their ship, their new bumpy heads, their weird hair that thankfully they ditched for Star Trek III and gave them the wigs instead. Get to see Vulcan, Earth, that starbase they’d recycle the model countless times and you realize all this time they had the thing hanging upside down. That two-minute overture with the Enterprise beauty shots that is either adored or ridiculed. And the latter half is nothing but weird visual effects, strange alien constructs… never before has a giant flying space dildo tickle the imagination as much as V’Ger did in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
See, the key word is picture; you look at the pictures and the visuals. That’s the selling point. The wonders of space. Jumping from the TV show to this… anyway, whether you like the movie or not and The Motion Picture has its moments, and this new Director’s Edition is the best version of the film you could watch.
And who knows? Maybe Shatner will get his wish and he can redo Star Trek V because that’s also a movie which could benefit from a Director’s Edition and honestly, I don’t know that’s never happened. Sure, it wasn’t the best film, it has flaws, but it’s the closest to feeling like part of the television show. There’s a central theme that is evaluated. There’s character moments. The ideas are there. The execution was lacking and it amazes me that there was never a desire on Paramount’s part to redo the film with new visuals. And honestly, I’d like to see that happen. In an age where we just got a brand-new version of Rocky IV that is a similar but different film from what we got back in ’86, the fact that we’ve yet to get some traction on a reworked Star Trek V confounds me. And… well, we’ll see in that regard.

That Diablo Thing For Phones… Also For PCs

Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/11/07/diablo-immortals-reveal-was-an-unnecessary-mess

Does anyone remember that one event where a bunch of Blizzard blokes tried to push a Diablo game for phones as the next big thing and reacted to the fierce negative reaction by asking “Do You Not Have Phones?!”
Well, fret not, boys and girls. Diablo Immortal will be coming to PCs.
You know, in case you don’t have a phone.
I am not a Diablo player. I may have played the first game ages ago, but that’s about the extent of my exposure to the series. I do recall watching a video of the event in question showcasing the highlights (or lowlights, if you prefer) of the reveal. I almost feel sorry for the devs who have to try and sell this mobile game to this audience comprising mostly PC Master Race hardcore types, who were having none of it. On the other hand, you’re basically shooting yourselves in the foot when you have an audience on hand expecting an announcement on the next major entry in their beloved franchise… and the best you could come up with is a mobile phone game that nobody in that room wanted to play.
That said, the fact that Immortal is getting a PC port despite claims to the contrary should feel like vindication for that PC Master Race, who are no doubt treating this like a victory. I, on the other hand, will anticipate the reactions to said PC release, because this is either going to be vindication for the snafu or if this is vengeance on Blizzard’s part by giving their core audience a shoddy PC port of a phone game. That, kids, is where the real fireworks are bound to happen.
Either way, it’s going to be an interesting ride until release day.

Man Sues Apple For Not Including Charger With Phone And Wins

Source: https://www.insider.com/iphone-charger-apple-pay-brazilian-man-1000-not-including-adapter-2022-4?amp

Apple got rid of their phone charger to save money, Brazilian man sues Apple and gets a thousand dollars or whatever the Brazilian equivalent is. Good for that man. Rechargeable electronic products not including charging implements as part of their package is a bullshit practice. Saving the environment? My ass. Saving your money? That’s the ticket.
Is this move going to hurt Apple in the long run? Of course not. A thousand bucks is peanuts to those guys. And I don’t think they’re going to start including chargers overnight; not when you have a world of morons who are more than willing to feed into their predatory business practices. Let me tell you something; nobody gives a shit about the environment when they try to justify selling two seperate boxes containing pieces that should only use one. This is a money saving move on Apple’s part. And I’m sure they make a pretty profit.
One small chink isn’t going to do anything, but what if this sets a precedence for the future? Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but the bottom line is INCLUDE A FUCKING CHARGER, YOU FUCKING CRETINS!