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Despite the HQ2 debacle, Amazon will add office space in Manhattan
Early this year, Amazon pulled the plug on plans to build an "HQ2" in Queens after a number of local leaders and activists pushed back against the $3 billion in tax breaks and incentives it would receive. Now the online retail giant has confirmed plans to lease 335,000 square feet of office space in Manhattan, according to the Wall Street Journal. The new NYC expansion will be located in the Hudson Yards neighborhood with more than 1,500 employees. It's a much smaller footprint than what Amazon had proposed for HQ2 -- which shifted to other locations in Virginia and Tennessee -- but it comes with no tax breaks or incentives, and no nationwide contest to lure the company's business. US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in response to the news "Won't you look at that: Amazon is coming to NYC anyway - *without* requiring the public to finance shady deals, helipad handouts for Jeff Bezos, & corporate giveaways."
Netflix and Twentieth Century Fox ink deal to bring additional Instant content to Latin America, Brazil
Twentieth Century Fox and Netflix have announced a partnership that will bring additional television and movie content to avid streamers living in Latin America and Brazil later this year. Beginning on July 15th, TV mainstays -- including 24, Prison Break, Bones and Glee -- will be available via the movie rental company's Instant service in the aforementioned geographies. What's more, Twentieth Century's classic films division will add several movie titles, including cult-classics like Office Space and Wall Street, to the streaming menu. If you currently reside in Latin America or Brazil and are itching to know more, mosey on past the break and have a look at the full press release.
Kickstarter begins the new year with a Glitch
If this is the direction Kickstarter wants to take its future project line-up -- video-game-inspired and of creative, high-quality production -- we're on board. Kickstarter's official first Project of the Day of 2012 is Glitch, a fledgling webseries about a 20-something video-game tester who begins seeing 8-bit glitches in his real, otherwise completely average, life. Imagine it as a mix between Office Space and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. If that doesn't convince you to donate to the Glitch cause, the above trailer might. If that doesn't sell you, the prizes you earn by helping fund the project might. If those don't sway you, you're probably suffering a brain hemorrhage in your "potentially really entertaining webseries" lobe, and you should get to the hospital immediately.
Breakfast Topic: Is WoW worth it when it's a full-time job?
My friend Airaden and I were discussing our various stages of WoW life over the weekend as we leveled our <It Came from the Blog> toons (he's a prot pally, I'm a resto druid; we went from 41 to 45 in a few hours). We've both been through the thick and thin of the game -- everything from a top 150 guild to being super casual, from hardcore raiding to arena PvP. Been there? We've done that. One of the things we realized is that we couldn't go back to running a high-end progression raiding guild. There was a time where we were both putting in upward of 40 hours a week between guild management and the four days/five hours a night of raiding. At the time, it seemed to just be what we had to do in order to accomplish our goals and enjoy the game the way we wanted to enjoy it ... but of course that changed when the game's core raiding systems became conductive to 10-man raiding in Wrath. And now looking back at it, we ask ourselves, was that time in WoW really worth a full-time job? Arguably at this point in our lives, it's not really worth it. Both of us have wonderful girlfriends (we did at the time too), and we're both happy with our careers. Could we go back and play the game like we did, putting in forty hours a week? Probably not. So that's the question I'm posing for today's Breakfast Topic. Is playing in the World of Warcraft worth it when it's a 40-hour-a-week gig? Wax philosophical here, community.
APB now being produced by over 250 people
The guys from Realtime Worlds have been too busy firing their 'gats into the air and driving around in circles to notice that they were still hiring during the recession where UK unemployment has soared.The developers of All Points Bulletin are now the proud employers of over 250 people, and they're still hiring for over 40 more positions. To compensate for all of their new crew members, the developers has just recently purchased another 8,000 square feet of offices to add to their already sizable 26,000 square foot establishment.So way to go Realtime Worlds. Show the economy that you're willing to mess with it all you want. If you ask us, we think you should drive your cars over it a few more itmes -- it needs to learn a valuable lesson.
Today's 9-to-5 video: Portal: A day in the Life of a Turret
Did you hear the one about the two Portal security guns? Smooth Few Films, creator of The Leet World, takes boring office banter to Portal's timecard workers -- the security turrets. Through this video, we witness ordinary events in these drones' day, all tied together with Portal in-jokes. It's like Office Space recast with robot guns as the leads.The video probably rates NSFW for language at most jobs. (School teacher: yes. Lobster fisherman: no.) With the stress that these workers endure, we can forgive them for swearing. See the video after the break.
Breakfast Topic: Primetime WoW
First the Toyota ad, then Judge Judy and How I Met Your Mother. Lately, WoW has been appearing all over the place. It's been popular before, of course (we've seen the Office Space commercial, and of course the South Park episode), but World of Warcraft has been popping up all over pop culture lately, and I've been wondering: it's been showing up in primetime, but has World of Warcraft hit its prime?It's been the top online roleplaying game for quite a while now, and The Burning Crusade was actually released as the biggest PC game sequel ever. But as popular as videogames are, they're still a niche market in the terms of popular culture. Every gamer may know what Warcraft is, but that doesn't mean your parents or grandparents do (unless they play, but that's another Breakfast Topic).Until now. Is World of Warcraft finally breaking out of the gamer barrier and moving into the mainstream? There are more WoW players in America than farmers, and while I was kind of joking about seeing realm outage news on the local TV station, maybe it really will happen-- the game's already appeared on the sitcoms before the news. Are all these mentions just a coincidence, or has WoW finally hit its mainstream tipping point?
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup, now with a case of the Mondays
Mondayitis, or Blue Monday, or "having a case of the Mondays" is a phrase for describing the mundaneness of returning from a work-free weekend to an 8-hour shift. Wikipedia credits the term with the film Office Space, but we're pretty sure the phrase (and certainly the feeling) originates from a much earlier time.The webcomic wrapup is celebrating Mondayitis, having missed its Saturday date due to personal reasons. The results will subsequently be determined on Thursday. Here our are picks for the week's best game-related webcomics; be sure to vote for your favorite! Menial chores It's a fanboy season No. 1 High Score !!! GDC v.300 The Other Foot Pipe Nightmares Crack-a-lackin' Down Movin' On Up Hello, Dan Forden Free polls from Pollhost.com
Today's hottest game video: Christie's pole dance from DOA Xtreme 2
Since the number one and two slots for today's hottest game video are occupied by the World of Warcraft/Office Space commercial, we're dropping down to number three which is -- the PlayStation Portable being used as a remote for the PlayStation 3. However, the video is so extremely craptastic and out of focus (really, people ... learn where your macro focus button is before we all go blind or think we have glaucoma) that we're going to jump down to the number four spot. Don't get us wrong, we love the PSP as a PS3 remote, but that video drives us mental.So that makes today's hottest game video (by our fuzzy math skills) Christie's pole dance from DOA Xtreme 2. Apparently you have to hit the jackpot on her slot machine nine times to activate this video, so play at your own risk. The song sounds like something out of the intro to a James Bond movie, and features more jiggle than someone learning to use the Wii-mote for the first time.Check the video out after the jump, enjoy, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
World of Warcraft on the tee-vee
As I am the proud owner of a TiVo, I have a tendency to fast forward through all commercial interruptions. However, this scene from the movie Office Space caught my eye -- after all, it's not a new movie by any means, so what could it be advertising? Imagine my surprise when I went back to watch it and found it to be a World of Warcraft commercial!
World of Warcraft adds new spell: TPS reports
A new World of Warcraft commercial started airing on Monday, and it features everyone's favorite anti-cubicle movie, Office Space. It seems that Peter is too busy to talk to Lumbergh, because he's currently pwning in WoW. I think they really missed the boat here, because they should have featured Milton playing the game. Plus that would let them do a South Park-esque tie-in where the Red Stapler becomes a new weapon in the game. Either that or burning down the building as a pretty sweet paladin spell.Ah, yeah. Mmmkay?
Konica Minolta's coffee-making "bizhub of the future"
There's really not a whole lot the workplace can offer (or that corporate will allow) to make us want to roll into the office day after day, but Konica Minolta's "bizhub of the future" just might change all that. Besides being the typical "prone to jamming" mega printer that has become a staple of workplaces everywhere, it touts an integrated screen, DVD player, built-in speakers, and even an espresso machine to keep our eyelids peeled. Of course, you can also scan, copy, and fax while you're sipping sucking down that caffeinated goodness, but we don't envision much work getting done with Mike Judge's Office Space rolling on the LCD. Currently, the machine is simply a prototype waiting for production, but if the Michael Scott's of the world all band together, surely we can make the mundane work week seem a bit less humdrum.[Via Pocket-Lint]
