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The Dark Knight Blu-ray sells 1.7 million in a week, shows Iron Man a magic trick
Just like it did to the one day Blu-ray sales record, The Dark Knight Blu-ray disc jumped even Warner's projections for its first week, selling 1.7 million copies worldwide, topping Iron Man's 500,000. Apparently undeterred by any claims of issues fans jumped on the release, with DVDs added it moved a total of 13.5 million on both formats. No word yet whether there's still space to chat with director Chris Nolan on the 18th, but Warner's also claiming 300,000 digital copies activated, and the number on spot on iTunes. Not enough celebratory back slapping for you? Check the press release after the break while we try to figure out what movie has a chance of breaking the #1 sales figure next.
6 Achievements for the Warsong Gulch Holiday
In the days since Echoes of Doom went live, I've spent pretty much every minute of my play time in the Battlegrounds. Alright, that's probably not too different from how I used to spend my time pre-patch, but this time it's different. Instead of playing the Battlegrounds intending to earn Honor, I would go in looking to complete Achievements geared towards my end goal. Here are six relatively easy Achievements you can pursue during this Warsong Gulch holiday while playing solo.Capture the FlagEven if you're not a Druid, you have every right to go and grab that flag. This one should be easy enough to do with a little luck and cooperation from your teammates. You know the drill -- grab that flag and bring it home.Quick CapThis one is more difficult than the previous one if you play a class with no special means to move around like Travel Form or Blink. This also requires that you travel virtually unmolested, so any attempt by the opposing team to stop you or possession of your team's flag will likely cut your attempt short. You'll just need a little perseverance here. You should probably travel through the tunnels to try and get both speed buffs and pack some Swiftness Potions for that necessary boost. Keep your fingers crossed.
Iron Man Blu-ray review roundup
Considering that Iron Man is the best selling Blu-ray Disc of all time, it makes sense that there are countless reviews of it out on the web. If you've somehow held back from picking up a copy of your own, you'll be glad to know that pretty much everyone in existence agrees that this film rocks. The most noticeable positive was the absolutely outstanding video transfer, making this flick one you'll undoubtedly pull out when trying to wow your friends with your system's capabilities. Amazingly enough, critics on the whole were even more impressed with the audio, with TweakTown going so far as to say that the soundtrack " almost single-handedly justifies the cost of a home theater." The only real knock that we could find was that blacks fell a tad flat in a few scenes, but really, that's neither here nor there. The critics have spoken, and this is a must-own title for any BD fan.Read - DailyGame Read - HighDefDiscNewsRead - Film School RejectsRead - TweakTownRead - DVDTalkRead - Monsters And CriticsRead - IGN
Iron Man's Blu-ray release manages 20 percent of DVD's market share
At this point it seems that the only one not talking about how well Iron Man sold on Blu-ray is Paramount, as Adam's Research tells Video Business that the Blu-ray version of Iron Man managed to take 20 percent of the market share away from DVD. This number confirms our estimates that Blu-ray market share has doubled since HD DVD demise. The previous record holder, I Am Legend, that was released around the time HD DVD called it quits, only managed 9 percent. We have to say that this even exceeds our expectations though, and although there is no doubt that this title fits in the Blu-demographic, it once again is some indication that the future might just be Blu after all.
Iron Man lives up to expectations, breaks all Blu-ray records
Although we'll probably have to wait another week for the official Nielsen VideoScan charts to reflect the sales of Iron Man this week on Blu-ray, director Jon Favreau was bragging on the Howard Stern Show that the sales of Iron Man had already outsold every other Blu-ray release to date. We can't say we're that surprised though, especially after reports that the load on Paramount's BD-Live servers were too much to handle -- not to mention the fact that it is/was the number two selling disc on Amazon (the DVD version is number one). Either way, it'll be interesting to see how much better Iron Man moved discs then the previous record holders like Spider Man 3, I Am Legend and Casino Royale.
Are BD-Live download times bogging down your Iron Man experience?
Paramount was more than adamant that absolutely nothing was wrong with its Iron Man discs, but in what's easily one of Blu-ray's biggest releases of the year, folks are still having issues. The bulk of the problems seem to hover around clogged up pipes from everyone downloading BD-Live material at the same time. Users are reporting a handful of issues ranging from the film hanging on a "blue chest loading screen" (affectionately dubbed the Blue Ring of Death) to a muffled TrueHD soundtrack. Some PS3 owners have suggested that manually telling it to bypass the whole BD-Live download circumvents the hangs, but it seems that other players aren't having such luck. So, how has your Iron Man experience been? Do these folks have legitimate beefs, or are these fools just whining for nothin'?[Thanks, Mark]
Dell pre-loading Iron Man, world asks "Why?"
While in the throes of customizing your dream machine over at Dell, weighing CPU cost vs. memory cost, would you click on a $19 option called "Iron Man movie with bonus content?" We sure wouldn't, but now you can, part of what the Director of Dell's Global Consumer Group is calling the company's "slow immersion into content as a major piece of the puzzle in terms of what consumers want from a PC." Right. The (surely DRM-riddled) film is available on any Inspiron, Studio, or XPS laptop or desktop, playable on that machine itself or through your choice of Windows Media Extender. Iron Man is the only film on offer now, but meaty palms are likely being pressed as you read this to drive other partnerships and more choices. This could let the company hook customers before even shipping their hardware, a potential advantage for what looks to be a looming content battle with Apple.[Thanks, SebS]
Blu-ray releases on September 30th 2008
We are finally getting our first Summer blockbuster in time for the holiday season, after some rumors of delays, as Iron Man is set to hit the shelves tomorrow. This is the first title to be released in some time that is expected to once again raise the Blu-ray bar and be the best selling titles to date. But this isn't the only news this week, for starters Discovery has its latest title, When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions, which we expect to sell well, but nowhere near what Planet Earth did. Universal has a decent slate as it has a few catchup titles HD DVD and DVD fans have been enjoying for some time like Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Halloween is very obviously right around the corner as all the horror flicks are being released in droves this week, like the famous Dawn of the Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Another catalog we look forward to enjoying for the first time all over again is The Sixth Sense. Noticeably absent from the list this week is two Olympic titles like the Opening Ceremonies and a Michael Phelps special, that are only available on DVD. Looking forward, next week is the first time Disney is going into the vault and releasing a classic on Blu-ray with Sleeping Beauty, and there are a bunch more horror movies on the schedule as well. Iron Man (Paramount) When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions (Discovery) The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Universal) Knocked Up (Universal) Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) Can't Hardly Wait (Sony) Daredevil (Fox) The Sixth Sense (Disney) Dawn of the Dead (Universal) Halloween Starter Pack (Land of the Dead / Dawn of the Dead / The Thing) (Universal) Land of the Dead (Universal) Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Dark Sky) The Thing (Universal)
Looks like the Blu-ray release of Iron Man may be postponed
Bad news Blu-ray fans -- it appears Paramount hasn't gotten past all its production problems and it just might affect the Blu-ray release of Iron Man. Easily one of the biggest movies of the year, Iron Man was expected to really move some volume on Blu when it was set to release this Tuesday on September 30th, but after some rumors that review copies weren't working in some players, it was expected that Paramount would issue a full recall. At this point the studio is doing everything it can to deliver enough replacement discs to retailers, but if it doesn't happen in time, then we'll all have to wait another week until October 7th to take in the latest sci-fi action flick.Update: Paramount rang to say that the release is still on track for a September 30th release. Phew!
Iron Man contest winner announced!
After weeks of hand-wringing, we've finally settled on a winner of our contest for LG's uber-limited $1,500 Iron Man edition Shine! We asked you to send in pictures of the busted-up pieces of garbage you call "phones," and holy cow, did we get some doozies.Without further adieu, our winner, Mark H., comes to us from Novato, California. Here's his story:"I need a new phone as you can see. I have had this Nokia phone since 2001. I'm in the military service and my friends make fun of my old phone and now they're really on me since my phone was run over by a car and I use electrical tape to keep the faceplate together. I don't get paid enough by the service to buy a nice new phone."Congratulations, Mark! Even if this relic were in perfect condition, it'd still be time for an upgrade. Let's try to keep this one a little less scuffed, because that solid gold battery cover definitely does not live up to the "Iron Man" name. Follow the break for some honorable mentions -- you guys made it really hard to choose!
Tanita works out the Ironman segmental body composition monitor
Getting the low-down on your body fat percentages can involve a scale, calipers, calculator, spreadsheet, and lots of math. Enter the Tanita Ironman Segmental and Full Body Composition monitor. This torture device comes with retractable hand-grip electrodes that measure each body quadrant's water, muscle mass, bone mass, BMR, visceral fat, metabolic age, and physique rating. Engadget Fitness Club (EFC) public service note: keep in mind that electrodes of this sort can be a bit inaccurate based on your water weight. Most fitness experts consider calipers to be the most accurate way to get body composition data even though they're a bear to use. That said, this could be a great long-term monitoring tool if the $299 price tag doesn't scare you off and Wii Fit just isn't doing it for you.[Via ChipChick]
Newell says Wrath will save PC gamers (as if they needed it)
Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve (bringer of Half-Life 2), says that the PC gaming industry is waiting excitedly for the release of Wrath of the Lich King to rescue its market.But, even though I breathlessly await Wrath, I beg to differ with Mr. Newell's comments. I don't think PC gaming is anywhere close to leaving the building, as some so-called experts in the field would have us believe. (Call me cynical, but I'm guessing a lot of those experts came from console manufacturers or optimistic mobile gaming companies.) The trouble with making these kinds of predictions is that there are currently no completely accurate ways of tracking the success of a game except to take press releases on faith. And in that case, you might as well believe the fox's promise to guard the hen-house. (Did you hear clucking? I thought I heard clucking.) Another problem with estimating market share for various games is that you're comparing Mana to Rage: each company can define "sales" and "subscribers" any way they please, making it nearly impossible to come up with clean comparisons of market share.Blizzard makes approximately $120 million dollars a month. Compare that to Iron Man's opening weekend gross of $109 million. Blizzard beats that number every month, not just with one summer blockbuster per year. Also consider that most PC retailers have devoted entire sections of their hardware floors to gaming PCs. This devotion goes all the way up to the hardware manufacturers themselves. When I worked at Toshiba, we had a product manager whose sole job was to create and improve gaming laptops. (Oh, how I envied that guy!) Yes, Blizzard's release of the Wrath expansion will juice the market, but it's more like an injection of steroids, not administration of last rites.
No GTA IV effect on Iron Man opening
Talk of Grand Theft Auto IV possibly hurting Iron Man's opening was clearly wrong. According to Variety, the movie made $104.2 million during its opening weekend, proving Paramount's Rob Moore right when he said that young males can carve out two hours to see Iron Man.Variety did explore GTA IV's impact on the home video market recently, which showed no major releases targeted at the young male demo for the week. Probably the best comparison would be to see how the Iron Man video game did in sales when NPD comes out next month, and we know we're going out on a limb on this one, but we're pretty sure GTA IV won that battle.
Engadget Mobile, LG, and Stark Industries want you to have a $1,500 Iron Man phone
If ever there were an LG Shine to live up to its lofty name, this would definitely be it. We'd like to introduce you to the Iron Man phone -- presented here by our boy Robert Downey, Jr. -- based on the Shine slider as sold by AT&T. Unlike the garden-variety Shine, the Iron Man edition trades up to a deep red case with gold plated highlights and a solid 18K gold battery cover to commemorate the launch of the film in style. That's plenty enough element 79 to give this thing some serious heft. We're not bragging, though -- we want you to have it.The phone is valued at a princely $1,500; twenty are being given away by LG directly -- we've got the twenty first. How do you pry it out of our hands? Easy: we want to see just how nasty, disgusting, and close to complete breakdown your current face candy is. Send us a pic and tell us a little bit about your poor, dilapidated phone and the long journey it's taken to its current state of disrepair. We'll pick the saddest entry and let you retire that terrible thing for something just a little flashier.One word of advice though: don't bother breaking your phone or taking a photo of your dad's Dynatac or something, that's not what we're looking for.Check out the gallery to see shots of the very Iron Man phone that could be yours, and don't forget to enter. Good luck!The rules (yeah, there are always rules) Send us your original photo. If we find your picture elsewhere on the internet, you will so be disqualified. Don't test us here, we've seen every picture of every phone. Ever. Email submissions to contests [at] engadget [dawt] com with the subject "I am Iron Man!" And for the love of our inbox, please keep your images 1MB or under, ok? You may only enter this contest once. If you enter this contest more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad. Entries must be in by 11:59PM EDT, Sunday, May 18th. After that, give us some time to sort through the entries and pick out the best (or worst, depending on how you look at it). %Gallery-22129%
"Is that a $1500 Iron Man cellphone in your pocket, or are you just happy to see Engadget Mobile?"
Yes, that's right, one lucky Engadget Mobile reader is going to walk away with a gorgeous, ultra-limited LG Shine worth more than the combined value of, like, every phone we've ever had. How exactly does one get in on this action? Head on over to Mobile for the scoop!
Iron Man case mod shows lots of dedication, is still ugly
Let's go ahead and get this out of the way: we can't deny that the Iron Man Mark I case mod took some serious work (and skill). That being the case, it'd take a pretty hardcore fan of the character (or the new flick, we guess) to love this one with reckless abandon. Reportedly, the whole shebang was built in just three weeks, and while we're still waiting for the full work log, feel free to hit the read link for an array of angles.
So, this is Iron Man on PSP
Movie games are a dime a dozen. For some reason, people don't think Iron Man will be different. While we'd like to be optimistic, let's remember that this is still a movie game. It would be great if it surprised us and was actually ... well, good. Catch more of IGN's videos of the PSP version of Iron Man here.
Go behind-the-scenes with Secret Level's Iron Man
This video goes behind-the-scenes with San Francisco developer, Secret Level -- the dev studio working on PS3 and 360 versions of Iron Man. The crew talks about the challenges and techniques involved with making the game, but also focus on how they harnessed Iron Man's flying abilities. Not only that, but the video also displays tasty in-game footage and concept art.So far, we like what we've seen of the game. We need to pat Secret Level on the back. The flight gameplay looks glorious, as does the environments when flying. We hope it will remain this way once we play the game for ourselves.
Hands-on with LG's Iron Man handset, it's Superhero approved
Movie tie-ins are usually a pretty tiring lot, with garrish colors, sparkly add-ons, and outrageous campaigns being par for the course. Not so -- well almost -- for LG's Shine as Iron Man handset, this thing is so exclusive, it apparently won't ever hit the retail channels, and at about $2k a pop, nobody will miss it. Of course, there isn't much new here, it's a typical LG Shine with a dab of 18k Gold -- and by dab we mean, the battery cover is solid, solid gold -- and a fetching maroon color that nicely coordinates with Iron Man's fab suit. Follow the link for a pile more pics of the handset and a few of Iron Man, too.%Gallery-19703%
Joystiq impressions: Iron Man (Xbox 360)
Of course Iron Man is yet another movie cash-in, a title that will sit on the shelf and call to you as you march out the cinema with glitzy, superhero shenanigans still fresh in your memory. But aside from all that, wanting to play as the eponymous, metal-clad cad is a desire that doesn't just come from the foul wells of corporate synergy and marketing. Nigh indestructible and capable of dishing out destruction from the palm of his hand, it's no challenge to see the appeal in controlling Iron Man -- a literal can of whoop-ass. It does come as a major concern then, when his in-game movements display more than a little clumsiness. It's not entirely Iron Man's fault -- he's a flying tank that performs best when it maintains momentum and moves in a straight line -- but the 3rd-person action shown to us by a Sega representative seemed hampered by the controls and camera. While there's a great sense of speed and freedom conveyed by soaring across a desert, it's only when Iron Man cools his jets and starts punching things that issues arise.%Gallery-19567%
