Peanuts
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Apple and PBS deal bring Peanuts holiday specials to TV ad-free
It's good news, Charlie Brown.
Apple previews its 'Peanuts' series 'Snoopy in Space'
Apple isn't just using the Apollo 11 anniversary to hype up its live action shows. The tech giant has offered an early look at its Apple TV+ Peanuts cartoons with a short trailer for "Snoopy in Space." The clip underscores Snoopy's usual hijinks (much to the chagrin of Charlie Brown), but it gives you an idea of what to expect. The title will have Charlie and crew visit NASA, where Snoopy and Woodstock have been chosen for a mission.
Apple's streaming service will include new 'Peanuts' cartoons
Apple's plans for streaming animated shows won't be limited to completely new properties. The tech firm has struck a deal with DHX Media to produce original shows (including shorts and specials) based on Charles Schultz's classic Peanuts comics and cartoons. While it's not clear exactly what Apple will offer, the arrangement will include Apple-exclusive STEM shorts starring astronaut Snoopy. It's safe to say that you'll see plenty of Charlie Brown and other cast members, too.
Snoopy is your latest coding teacher
Snoopy is taking a break from lying on his doghouse and staring at the sky to help kids learn about computers and coding. As part of Computer Science Education Week (December 4-10), codeSpark Academy and the Peanuts brand are teaming up to release holiday-themed Snoopy Snow Brawl, a cute multi-player coding game that encourages kids to use problem-solving, strategy and algorithms in a snowball fight between Woodstock and his bird buddies, refereed by Snoopy.
GoComics app released for iOS, Android and Windows Phone, digitizes the Sunday funnies
If you're an avid reader of the many comic strips on Universal Uclick's GoComics website, you'll be pleased to know the company's recently released its first app for mobile devices. Optimized for tablets and smartphones running Windows Phone, Android and iOS, the company states that the free app serves as the "official home" on mobile for its syndicated comics. Notably, this includes the likes of the full Calvin & Hobbes archives, along with Universal Uclick citing it as the exclusive portal to Dilbert strips on mobile. We won't keep you any longer now that you know, so head over to the appropriate source link if you'd like to download it for yourself.
Hands-on: Snoopy Flying Ace (XBLA)
Click to barnstorm into the gallery, and watch out for The Red Baron! First of all, this is not an April Fool's joke. Remember how passionate the Joystiq team got about Torchlight last year? That's how I'm feeling about Snoopy Flying Ace. There are two reasons for this: 1) the gameplay is a direct descendant of Crimson Skies, right down to the customizable weapons on your planes, and 2) you get to shoot down Lucy Van Pelt. It's payback for all those years of her yanking the football away from Charlie Brown at the last second. Charles Schulz might be spinning in his grave over this game, but points one and two combine into joyous gameplay with the lovable Peanuts gang that you've grown up with. Joystiq showed off the trailer for this almost two years ago, but now I've finally gotten my hands on the flight stick. Which also means I got to fly around as Snoopy in the seat of his faithful Sopwith Camel -- another childhood dream fulfilled. According to Clark Stacey from developer Smart Bomb Interactive, "It is, we maintain, the most detailed and realistic World War I simulation ever created; capturing every nuance of what it was like to be a dog flying a biplane over the skies of Europe in 1917. Consideration for the Nobel Prize for Literature has been bandied around the game with growing seriousness, and we are in talks concerning a possible film adaptation starring Uma Thurman as Snoopy." That's more of an adult dream, yet to be fulfilled. Update! Ask and you shall receive, courtesy of Clark at Smart Bomb: "Of COURSE you can fly the doghouse. We have two kill streak bonuses in the game for multiplayer. Shoot down 4 planes in a row and you get the Woodstock bonus: Woodstock appears perched on the back of your plane with a pair of six-guns, shooting anyone behind you. Score 9 unanswered kills in a row, and your plane transforms into Snoopy's doghouse, with the most powerful machine gun in the game. It's pretty cool to see your avatar flying around on it." Read on to find out why you're going to pick up this XBLA title later this year. %Gallery-89568%
Peanuts + Crimson Skies = Snoopy Flying Ace
What's this? Charlie Brown's beagle, Snoopy, in a game that actually looks like fun? Snoopy Flying Ace looks a little hardcore for the Peanuts crowd, pitting Snoopy against the Germans in World War I. You play as Snoopy, the flying ace, and it doesn't look like he's just fighting the Red Baron anymore, he's taking on all comers. While it's not clear if Charlie Brown, Linus, or any of the others will be showing up, Woodstock is definitely in there.Smart Bomb Interactive is developing this title, and it's doing it a bit backwards: without a publisher. The developers secured the license for the game on their own, and they're hoping someone will want to get it on shelves once it's finished... in 2010 (!). It looks like an updated version of their own Snoopy vs. The Red Baron, which Namco Bandai published a couple of years ago, and is slated to appear on "the usual consoles" according to their press release.Since we've yet to see another Crimson Skies title, this might fill the gap until we do. Especially if there's a Lucy vs. Snoopy: No Holds Barred mode.
Epson's Peanuts laptop surfaces just in time
Really, what would the week before the new year be without a half-hour of Charlie Brown in all of its grainy glory? Right on cue, Epson has unveiled a Peanuts-themed laptop that should fit the bill if you weren't really feelin' its Hello Kitty variants. The machine checks in with a 15-inch display, a 1.73GHz Intel Celeron M430 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, an 80GB hard drive, four USB ports and a DVD combo drive. As if those partial specs weren't enough to satisfy, you can also count on a number of Snoopy themes being bundled in to clog up your system resources. 'Course, you'll be paying an absolutely insane amount for the privilege of owning one -- and just think, your $2,799.99 still can't get it here any quicker than January.[Via ChipChick]
Pocketful Memory Player - preloaded with Japanese oldies
Remember the Peanuts? No, not the Charles Schulz comic strip -- the Japanese pop duo from the 60s. If you do (and we have to confess, we don't, despite their appearance in "Godzilla vs. Mothra"), here's your chance to stock up on their classic hits and join the digital audio revolution in one fell swoop. That's the idea behind the Pocketful Memory Player, a ¥7,980 (about $70) digital audio player designed to appeal to Japanese nostalgia buffs of a certain age. The player comes preloaded with a dozen songs from the Peanuts and other groups handled by Japanese impresario Sho Watanabe. Other than that, it's a pretty basic flash audio player, with support for WMA, MP3 and expansion via SD cards. But if you're looking for a way to show Obaachan what she's missing by not owning a DAP, this may just do the trick.
