pixar
Latest
Toy Story 3 Hybrid Premium Edition contains PS3 game and original movie
If your concern for the well-being of mother nature has already led you to purchase a hybrid automobile, you might want to think of incorporating your environmentalist considerations into other aspects of your shopping habits. For instance, if you were thinking about picking up Avalanche's video game adaptation of Toy Story 3, perhaps you'd be interested in the title's "Hybrid Premium Edition," which includes the game and the original Toy Story film on a single Blu-ray disc for $64.99. A recent PlayStation.Blog post announced that the bundle will be released to retailers this week, so keep an eye out for it at your local brick and mortar in the coming days. In the meantime just think about all the endangered species you're preserving by placing the two products into one container.
World of Cars takes off with a full tank of gas
It's not every day that you're invited to make an anthropomorphized vehicle that you're expected to both race and comfort its feelings. Leave it to Disney Pixar, then, to make the first move in that department, which is why they've launched World of Cars for the hot-rodding set. Based on the 2006 hit animated film, World of Cars invites drivers of all ages to create their own personable car and go head-to-head with friends and strangers. There are even cameos from the movie, as Cheech Marin and Jennifer Lewis return to reprise their roles in the game. Players can explore the open world, upgrade their cars, and enter races for fame and money as they like. Right now, World of Cars is free-to-play with optional microtransactions and subscriptions, and features a full set of parental controls so your mommy or daddy can tell you when you need to stop playing and go into work. Or school. It's okay, we won't tell anyone you're actually having fun with cartoon cars if you won't tell on us too.
Hands-on: Toy Story 3: The Video Game (PS3)
Disney Interactive Studios has been making a lot of noise about refining and improving its approach to licensed games, and while Toy Story 3: The Video Game is still meant for the younger members of Pixar's vast following, it's the best evidence yet that Disney is serious about trying to use licenses right. I got to play the game at a recent pre-E3 event, and it was a solid, kid-friendly experience, with bright and beautiful graphics surrounding intuitive racing and platforming mechanics. With innovative features like a very dynamic difficulty system and lots and lots of collectibles and game modes, Disney's Avalanche Studios has created something here that you, as someone who enjoys fine game design, can actually be proud to have your kids play. %Gallery-93421%
The Incredibles powering their way into LittleBigPlanet
How adorable is this? Just when you thought you might be done Sackboying around, they find a way to suck you right back in. This time it's a Disney/Pixar inspired Incredibles costume and level packs coming on April 8th. According to the PlayStation blog, "This huge pack features NINE costumes: all of The Incredibles family (including a "Retro" Mr. Incredible sporting his classic blue costume), their allies Frozone and Edna Mode, and their arch nemesis, Syndrome." You'll be able to purchase individual costumes as well, and download the Incredibles Level Kit that includes locations from the movie, and all the materials used to make it. Pixar may not have given us a sequel to The Incredibles yet, but now you can make your own. We can't wait to see what Syndrome looks like. Is Disney going to move their entire universe into LBP some day? Pirates of the Caribbean vs. The Incredibles, here we come. Dibs on Dash. [Thanks, Conor]
Toy Story 3, Brunswick Pro Bowling added to PlayStation Move lineup
Sony has added two titles to the PlayStation Move's launch lineup that we haven't seen before. Not only will you be able to get your Move on in Slider, Sports Champions and all of the other announced launch titles, but we can now add Disney-Pixar's Toy Story 3 and Brunswick Pro Bowling into the mix as well. Toy Story 3 is of course a tie-in to the movie, and Brunswick is in there because you can't have a motion controller in 2010 without a bowling game attached. No seriously, you can't. Which is weird, because the future of gaming sure does look a lot like the 2007 of gaming. Only with better graphics. [Via PSLS]
Yes, there's a Toy Story 3: The Game for that console
Did you expect any less? Did you expect that there would be a movie called Toy Story 3 and that there wouldn't be an Avalanche Software-developed tie-in game available on Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, DS and PSP? Oh, yeah, there's an iPhone/iPod Touch app too that should arrive with the others on June 15. For all our macho posturing, we're actually intrigued by a touted "Toy Box" mode which is supposed to be an "open-world, sandbox style of play." What does Disney mean by that? Well, according to the release, it's "designed to replicate the universal experience of playing with toys as a kid" and "brings cowboys, space rangers, dinosaurs, and little green aliens together to create adventures only possible in a child's imagination. Kids, families and fans will dive into Andy's toy box with creativity driving their own stories and adventures." ... Guys, if you haven't designed that part yet, just say so. It's OK, you've got plenty of time.
Toy Story 3 and the Mac
One of the things I missed in the news last week due to being so busy at Macworld (along with most of the Olympics, though we did get to watch the opening ceremony at a post-show dinner) was the brand new Toy Story 3 trailer -- Pixar's latest movie has Buzz and Woody in a third adventure, and while I won't spoil the details, it does appear that Apple plays a big part in the movie. Macenstein has a quick breakdown of all of the places that Macs appear in the new trailer, with cameos by both Safari and iTunes, and director Lee Unkrich actually tweeted a picture of his editing session for the movie on a MacBook Pro (in Avid Media Composer) at 36,000 feet! Of course, Steve Jobs was the owner and CEO of Pixar for twenty years, and he now is the largest individual Disney shareholder with a seat on the company's board of directors. Pixar always produces excellent films -- Toy Story was the studio's first big feature as a studio, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with the franchise after moving on to more mature pictures like Finding Nemo and Up. As always, when the movie comes out on June 18th, we'll have to keep an eye out for nods in Apple's direction.
Game and film artists come together for 'beautifulgrim' charity auction
Mythic Entertainment's Mike "Daarken" Lim and Dreamworks' Leif Jeffers aren't the type of gentlemen to sit around idly while a friend is in need. When Lim's girlfriend (Cat) was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year at the age of 25, the two quickly hatched a plan to help her wade through the sea of medical bills that a bilateral mastectomy and 16 weeks of chemotherapy can quickly accrue. That plan quickly turned into an art auction named "beautifulgrim." Artists from all over the game and film industries have contributed to the project -- from Blizzard and Rockstar on the gaming side to Pixar and Disney on the film side, to name only a few. Lim is hoping to hold the auction "sometime next Spring" in either San Francisco or New York City, though plans are still a bit up in the air. " We are still in the process of looking for a venue, so the date and location of the opening reception is still unknown," Lim told us. He also encouraged people to check out some of the already submitted works on the project's Facebook page. Any money earned in the auction beyond what Cat requires will be given to "a breast cancer related charity to be determined by the artists in the coming weeks." Though you only have one day left to tell Lim if you'd like to contribute, final art for the show isn't due until February 1. We wish them the best of luck. %Gallery-80292%
Pixar talks about what it took to upgrade Toy Story to 3D
And some people didn't know it is possible to make an old movie look good in HD, and here Pixar is going back and making 15 year old movies 3D. Evidently Pixar has always thought about how its movies would look in 3D and decided to go back and make it happen with the first two Toy Story movies. The timing is due to the fact that Toy Story 3 is right around the corner, but while fans wait to see it, they can go to the theater and relive the first two like never before. What's interesting is that the original data took about 4 months to convert just to make it compatible with Pixar's current technology, and after that was done, it took another 6 months to convert each movie to 3D. The other interesting nuget is about how the distance between the two cameras help determine how "3D" an image will look -- an interesting read even if you're not interested in 3D.[Via TVSnob.com]
UFC 2009 and Red Faction: Guerrilla bolster THQ profits
Dropping knowledge about its Q2 earnings for this year, THQ has revealed that UFC 2009 Undisputed and Red Faction: Guerrilla have both become multi-million dollar franchises for the publisher. With these two, along with a game based on the recent Pixar film Up, THQ enjoyed three of the top ten best-sellers for the month of June. UFC 2009 Undisputed wrestled the competition to the ground throughout May and June, shipping a combined 2.9 million units worldwide. Red Faction: Guerrilla also fared well, shipping a combined one million units across the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms. Not only did THQ dominate the US in June, but the publisher enjoyed the top spot in the UK June charts with everyone's favorite testicle-punching simulator, UFC 2009.
Up director discusses Blu-ray extras with Cinematical
If you hit the theaters for Disney / Pixar's Up this weekend, you're probably more than ready to watch at home, and our friends at Cinematical recently talked to director Pete Docter about what to expect on the Blu-ray release. Beyond just commentary, there's also a documentary on their South American mountain research trip and Cine Explore powered look at all the artwork and animation tests behind the making of the flick. Considering how many of you consider other Pixar Blu-ray discs reference quality, there's little doubt this will be another great to add to the collection, check out the rest of the interview at the read link.
Spot the SPOD: Mac OS X rainbow cursor shows up in Pixar's "Up"
Being the Disney-Pixar fanatics that we are, my wife and I went to see Up Saturday night (in Disney Digital 3D, of course) at our local theater. Remembering the appearance of the Mac startup sound as Wall-E's waking noise in last year's Pixar epic, and the brief shot of an Apple-themed racer in Cars, I decided to look for Apple-themed Easter eggs in the movie. By the time we were at the end of the film, I was beginning to think that there weren't going to be any love letters to Apple in Up. The credits, featuring Russell's Wilderness Explorer merit badges floating by on a typed page, began to look somewhat promising. Sure enough, I spied a stylized and stationary "Spinning Pizza of Death," the dreaded Mac OS X wait cursor, on a merit badge just about at the end of the credits. For those of you who are either Windows users or have been lucky enough to have never seen this infamous Mac icon (seen 3 times lifesize above), it's the Mac OS X equivalent of the hourglass in Windows. The SPOD (officially known as the Spinning Wait Cursor, A.K.A. the Beach Ball of Death or the Marble of Doom) appears when an application is not responding to events. If you go to see the movie (which you should; it's funny, action-filled, and great for absolutely any audience) be patient and sit through the credits. You'll be rewarded by the sight of a SPOD on the big screen (it's after the two nuclear merit badges). If you're an Up-aholic, you can also check out the Mac game or the $4.99US iPhone game (link opens iTunes).Update: Slashfilm has a photo of the SPOD (BBOD, MOD, take your pick...) merit badge in a detailed post about all of the Easter Eggs in Up.
NEC upgrades DLP projectors for higher res 3D in time for the premiere of Up
If you roll out this weekend to check out Disney Pixar's latest addition to the 3D film movement Up, you might be seeing it broadcast by one of NEC's new NC2500S-A projectors or an older model that has been upgraded, sending out 3D in 2K res courtesy of Texas Instruments' DLP chips. The kids might not notice a 33% improvement in resolution and brightness over previous generations that let it put the show on bigger screens than ever before, but we're sure you will. Word is Clearview's Ziegfeld Theatre is one of the first with the upgrade, so if you're close by, we all know how important choosing a theater carefully can be these days.
Trophies: Disney Pixar's UP
Disney/Pixar's latest animated film is now a Trophy-filled PS3 game. Have a kid play it for you ... or be daring and play it yourself. Check out the Trophies after the break. View Trophy List | Visit Trophy Portal
Demos: Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, Up
Demos for Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection and Up are now available on the marketplace. Coincidentally, the Sonic demo downloads ultra fast. However, the Up demo, which is over a gigglebyte, downloads about as slow as its protaganist can walk with that tennis ball cane. Actually, the Up demo is quite enjoyable -- in a Lego Star Wars kind of way.The Sonic demo includes trials of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Streets of Rage 3 and Space Harrier. Playing the demos reminds us that nostalgia isn't all it's cracked up to be.Update: In case it was missed, Wolverine went live last night. Thanks for the backup, B1ggrandall.[Add the Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection demo to your download queue][Add the UP Demo to your download queue ]
Can adults find fun in Free Realms?
For what it's worth I'm well aware that Free Realms isn't exactly the kind of game that appeals to an adult male -- at least not to the average sort. But with its forward thinking design and near instantaneous variety of quests and missions to participate in, SOE's newest MMO should make everyone consider giving it a shot. If you're feeling more than hesitant about that statement, then I'm here just for you.You may have heard there's kart racing in this game. That fact may or may not turn you off to playing, but know this: it's all very optional, just like real life. For instance, you may not want to put a chef's hat on and cook mystery meat surprise -- and you don't have to!You can, also. If, you know, you'd like to do that.
TUAW 1986
Luxo Jr. gets Academy Award nominationEven though Steve Jobs is no longer with Apple, we're still interested in what he's doing. You'll remember that he bought a computer graphics company from director George Lucas last year (for a rumored $10 million), which he named "Pixar."We don't know how many units of the $135,000 Pixar Image Computer they've sold, but Pixar animator John Lasseter has put it to good use. The short film he produced, "Luxo, Jr." has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Animated Short Film category. Good luck, Pixar!Lisa gets the axeAfter several revisions and price cuts, the Lisa has been officially discontinued by Apple Computer. When it was released three years ago with an astounding price tag of $9,995 (Heck, the Tandy 600 is only $1599!) we were blown away. Not only by the cost, but by the machine itself. The mouse, the icons on the screen, that awesome trash can!Sales have declined over the past 12 months, and even a re-branding as the Macintosh XL last January didn't help. The Macintosh has been selling like hotcakes since its introduction two years ago, even though it lacks many of the Lisa's features, like protected memory, expansion slots and support for an impressive 2 megabytes of RAM.Goodbye, Lisa! We'll remember you.The AppleColor RGB Monitor is totally awesome at $499There are now several monitors available from Apple, and the granddaddy of them all is the AppleColor RGB Monitor at $499. This 12" analog monitor was designed for the Apple IIgs, and supports a resolution of 640x480 (Nice!). Those of you with a Macintosh II can also use this monitor, provided that you have the Apple High Resolution Display Video Card. The Apple Monochrome Monitor was introduced earlier this year for $129. The Macintosh Plus rocksFinally, we've got to talk about the Macintosh Plus. With a 8MHz Motorola 68000 processor and 1 megabyte of RAM (expandable to 4 megabytes), we're excited about this machine. Of course, the big news is the SCSI (or "Small Computer System Interface") peripheral bus and the new 3.5 inch double-sided 800 KB floppy drive.The SCSI port will allow for a nice collection of new ad-ons, like hard disks and tape drives. Of course, the double-sided floppies have twice the storage capacity as their predecessors while the drive itself is backwards compatible with older disks. Customers will find the software programs MacPaint and MacWrite bundled with their Macintosh Plus, which is great! You can pick up your very own for $2,599.
THQ adapting Pixar's 'Up' for every gaming platform ever
THQ, the unparalleled master of licensed gaming adaptations, is adding another notch to the ol' development belt. In a recent press release, the company announced its Heavy Iron Studios branch will be bringing Disney Pixar's upcoming animated film, Up, to a gaming console near you. That is, assuming you live near an Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, PC or Mac.It will likely be in the same vein gameplay and quality-wise as Heavy Iron's other Pixar projects, Ratatouille and Wall-E. According to the press release, the game will follow septugenarian Carl Fredricksen and his young accomplice, Russell, as they fall into all manner of wacky hijinx in the undiscovered jungles of South America. So basically, it's like Uncharted, but with less mercenary murdering. Or maybe more! We don't know. We haven't seen the movie yet.
Rumor: Deus Ex's Spector working on 'epic' Mickey Mouse project
When it comes to designing games, Warren Spector isn't known for doing a Mickey Mouse job. But the iconic Disney character may very well be the star of his Junction Point Studios' current project, confirmed in July as a "collaboration with folks from Disney Feature Animation and Pixar."According to a post on Gamasutra, "concept art and information" the site has gotten its eyes on reveal a title codenamed Epic Mickey, which is described as having "a distinctly shadowed, steampunk vibe." The game is likely the same project Spector and company have been working on since at least June 2007, and which the Deus Ex designer has said would elicit claims by hardcore gamers that he'd "sold out." In backing up its report, the site references an EGM rumor from March that suggests Junction Point's project will allow Disney to go up against "a certain pesky plumber" with "the mouse himself."If true, Spector wouldn't be the first legendary designer to work with Walt Disney's most famous creation; God of War creator David Jaffe co-designed 1994's Mickey Mania for Sony Imagesoft.
Roomba 530 Wall-E edition proves even robots are corrupted by money
It's 2008 and we've finally achieved the ultimate goal of modern robotics. No, not singularity... better: a cross-promotional marketing deal between the world's leading robots. Meet the Wall-E edition of iRobot's Roomba 530. The special edition Roomba is just like the original 530 only with the addition of that magnificent sticker for a extra ¥5,000 (about $50) premium. 400 units of the limited run vacuumbots are scheduled to go on sale in Japan for ¥,84,500 (tax inclusive) starting November 20th. Tsk tsk, what's Eve going to say?
