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Turbine expands with West Coast office
Need more proof that Turbine is becoming a behemoth game studio? They've just announced the opening of their newest West Coast studio in Redwood City, CA. This studio is not a relocation from their Massachusetts office, but an expanded studio to bring new titles to market and expand into other platforms.To head this new studio, Turbine has hired some industry giants, such as Dave Bervik as Creative Director, Jeff Lind as Engineering Director and Matt McKnight as Studio Director. Take a look at the complete press release after the jump to learn more about Turbine's plans with this new studio, as well as a working history for each of these industry vets.
Poll: Which Blu-ray studio is your favorite?
You've already seen how Sound & Vision graded the biggest Blu-ray studios, but now we're interested in getting your take. Now that you've had a number of months to check out each studio on a level playing field (read: everyone on team Blu), which studio(s) have impressed you the most? Feel free to include pros / cons from image quality, soundtrack fidelity, extras, BonusView / BD-Live support, etc. Let us know which of the Blu-ray studios has made you smile the most in 2008, and make sure you voice your opinion on which one(s) could stand to improve. %Poll-20775%
Quantum of Solace Blu-ray ship date out ahead of theatrical release
Not that this curious scenario hasn't happened before with 007 films, but a full month and change before Daniel Craig wows audiences again as James Bond, we already know when said film will be waiting for us on store shelves. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Spain has reportedly confirmed that the DVD and Blu-ray release of Quantum of Solace will happen in March of 2009, though an exact date has yet to be chosen. Oh, and there's all those other Bond BDs hitting in just over a week -- fun, fun![Via MI6]
Explore the halls and amenities of Blizzard HQ
Blizzcon is this weekend, and journalists and bloggers the world over are descending upon California to report on everything from Diablo 3 classes to -- you guessed it -- World of Warcraft. MTV's Multiplayer blog counts itself a member of that gaming press Horde, and in addition to your usual Blizzcon coverage, it visited Blizzard's headquarters and took lots of photos.The HQ has a museum, a movie theater, a gymnasium, and a bunch of other amenities, and they're all documented in Multiplayer's gallery. The walls are covered in Warcraft and Starcraft artwork -- basically, it's just as awesome as you would expect it to be. Hit the source link to browse the gallery to your fanboy/fangirl heart's content. One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
DreamWorks and Paramount make breakup official, hands out tissues
And to think, most of you probably had no idea that these two were even having issues. After Paramount's parent company, Viacom Inc., acquired DreamWorks in 2006 for $1.6 billion, things were never exactly pleasant. Now, the two have finally hammered out a deal that will enable them to part ways and retain "joint custody," if you will, of around 40 movie projects. Where do things go from here? Spielberg and his team of executives are out to form an "independent studio backed by one of India's biggest conglomerates, Reliance ADA Group, which plans to invest $550 million for a 50% stake." Under the settlement, Spielberg's new firm (which will still go by DreamWorks) will take the lead on upwards of 20 film projects currently owned by Paramount. As with most divorces, this one too is filled with complexities -- if you're into that, tap the read link for all the minutiae.[Image courtesy of Kinoweb]
Blu-ray studios get graded, Sony Pictures comes out on top
Kudos, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment -- you've apparently been doing quite well in the Blu-ray department this year. The folks over at Sound & Vision recently took a hard look at a number of BD-releasing studios this year in order to give 'em all the grade they deserve. As for criteria? Critics looked at the "technical prowess of the audio and video presentations, the adoption or avoidance of available Blu-ray exclusive technologies (BD-Live, etc.) and the breadth and diversity of their releases as well as their reaction to the unique challenges of the latest evolution of the BD market." Interested to see how the rest of the competition fared? Give the read link a look for all the dirt.
Sony Pictures Blu-ray Club gives points for buying its BD-Live titles
Similar to Walt Disney Studios' Disney Movie Rewards Live program -- which will launch alongside Sleeping Beauty on October 7th -- Sony Pictures is crafting its very own rewards program. The Sony Pictures Blu-ray Club will supposedly encourage purchases of BD-Live-enabled titles by giving owners "points" that they can redeem toward "sweepstakes entries and other added values featured in the existing Sony Rewards program." Obviously, it costs nothing to actually join the loyalty program, and while we can't help but announce this news with our heads pointed decidedly downward, at least Sony gives users the ability to register each new disc via their Blu-ray player should they choose. Launch date? October 7th, with Sandler's You Don't Mess With the Zohan driving the sure to be widespread momentum.[Via VideoBusiness]
Fox gets with the program, reduces MSRP on some Blu-ray Discs
No matter what your current stance on Blu-ray is, one thing everyone can agree on is that the prices for discs have to come down. If you'll give Hollywood the benefit of the doubt for even a second, you can't blame them for starting disc prices high, in attempt to figure out what the market will bare. Luckily it didn't take long before the market leader woke up and realized that $40 for an older catalog title was just too much, as Warner lowered the initial price on many of its older titles to about $20. For whatever reason Fox has been the last to follow suit and if the more recent releases are any indication, even Fox is getting with the program now. The real win for consumers though, is that not only is the retail price of many older titles now $20, but the street price is coming in around $13. If this is any indication of the future of Blu, it combined with players that rival the price of upconverters, could easily carve out a solid market for Blu-ray in the future.Read - Blu-ray Stats News LogRead - Format War Central
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]
DISH Network lands agreement to offer Sony Pictures material on-demand
Good news for DISH Network VOD fans -- you'll soon be seeing a few more options in the programming guide. Announced this week, the satcaster has inked a deal with Sony Pictures Television that will enable it to host the studio's films and other programming content on its video-on-demand platform (DISH On Demand) as well as its pay-per-view services. Best of all, the agreement covers SD and HD content, and if we're reading this correctly, it sounds as if some future films will be made available day-and-date with the DVD release.
Dell rolls out Studio Desktop, Studio Slim
It looks like those thrown off by Dell's curvy Studio Hybrid desktop now have some more familiar boxy options to consider, as the company has just rounded out its Studio line with its new Studio Desktop (MT) and Studio Slim (ST) models. From the looks of it, the two boast many of the same specs, including your choice of Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad processors, up to 8GB of RAM, integrated 7.1 audio, optional Blu-ray drives, and optional discrete ATI graphics if the usual integrated fare isn't enough for you. The big advantage of the Studio Desktop, as you might have guessed, is greater expandability, including an extra 5.25-inch drive bay and a beefier 350W power supply (compared to just 250W on the Studio Slim). Prices start at $549 for each and both are available to order right now.[Via DesktopReview.com, thanks Mark]
JVC launches three Vrit professional HD LCD monitors
We'll go ahead and warn you: these aren't your mother's LCDs. Over in Amsterdam, JVC took the wraps off of three pricey new LCD HD monitors aimed at the professionals in the room, all of which include 10-Bit 4:4:4 video processing and computer automated calibration capability of black level, white level, color temperature and gamma. The 17-inch DT-V17L3DU, 20-inch DT-V20L3DU and 24-inch DT-V24L3DU make up the Vérité family, and the largest of the bunch even includes a native 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. Other atypical features include a rugged all-in-one metal frame construction, two HD / SD SDI inputs, a built-in waveform monitor with over-level indication and ultra-low latency circuitry (less than one second) for lip sync accuracy and an anti-diffusion panel surface for "exceptionally high resolution, contrast and color." It's a shame these will set you back $3,000, $3,495 and $4,695 in order of mention, but like we said, they're for the pros.
Dell Studio XPS 13 and 16 leak out, due in November?
We sort of figured Dell's Studio branding would come to the XPS line sooner or later -- the family resemblance between the Studio laptops and the XPS m1330 and m1530 is hard to ignore, after all -- and it looks like we don't have much longer to wait, if you believe these slides discovered by Jayson in the NotebookReview forums. The Studio XPS 13 and 16, due in November, will be Intel Centrino 2-based machines with hybrid SLI support, slot-loading Blu-ray drives, edge-to-edge glass displays with optional LED backlighting, backlit keyboards, and WiMAX and UWB support. We're digging the funky woodgrain on the Studio XPS 16, but it'll be interesting to see how much these cost if and when they hit -- the Studio line was supposed to sit in between the Inspiron and XPS lines, so we're hoping these'll also come in below the current XPS price tags. Check the other four slides, including the Studio XPS 13, after the break.[Thanks, L. Rawlins]
Paramount to offer $10 rebate for select Blu-ray Disc upgrades
Who knows, maybe this holiday season will be a decent time to stock up on Blu-ray Discs. Exactly one month after hearing that Warner would be lowering the BD price bar this winter on a slew of its titles, in comes word that Paramount Home Video is preparing a promotion of its own. Reportedly, the studio will be offering movie collectors a $10 rebate when they upgrade select DreamWorks and Paramount DVDs to Blu-ray Discs. Blu-ray copies of Transformers, The Godfather, Old School, Stardust, Sweeney Todd and Zodiac will be eligible for the rebate, with the purchase having to be made by December 31st, 2009. For all the fine print (there's not too much), the read link has you covered.[Via CDFreaks]
The Daily Grind: Name your MMO dream team
Almost every big MMO these days is a marriage between an established intellectual property -- such as The Lord of the Rings, or Conan -- and a proven development studio like Mythic or Cryptic. It seems like every setting is getting MMO-ized, from Star Trek to the DC Comics universe. But there are lots of worlds left to explore.That's why we're asking you today what world you want to explore, and who you want to make it. In other words, which franchise and which developer would you like to see come together?Battlestar Galactica and Funcom? Lost and SOE? No idea is too crazy. After all, it's likely none of them will become reality anyway!Please keep in mind that Hello Kitty Online has already been done! Sorry to steal your thunder, folks!
Dell Studio 17 quickly hacked to run OSx86
Usually it's "only a matter of time" before some new-fangled laptop destined for a Windows kind of life up and gets OSx86 installed on it, but for the Dell Studio, that matter of time was extremely short. Witness a Studio 17 running Leopard out of the box, save for a few minor problems like lack of full video support, sound, WiFi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet. Still, it's pretty encouraging to see the system working at all with such little time and effort put into it. Kind of makes you wish we lived in a super-magical fantasy world where you could run whatever OS you wanted on your laptop, doesn't it?Update: We had to pull the read link here due to the "Engadget Effect" -- sorry Ken!
Dell Studio Hybrid gets reviewed, does alright
Now that Dell's Studio Hybrid has gone on sale for the adoring public, you're probably trying to talk yourself into buying one. Not so fast, buckaroo. According to a review just posted by PC Magazine, this mini PC is probably only right for a certain sect of folks. On the upside, the unit arrives practically devoid of bloatware, which is astonishing and wonderful in its own right. Still, the Penryn T8100 CPU jammed within wasn't a top performer, so those looking for lighting fast performance will likely be disappointed. Furthermore, the lack of expansion options and weak integrated graphics were also frowned upon, but we wouldn't expect anything different given the design. In the end, critics deemed it a great buy for style-conscience consumers, but it couldn't help but mention that there "are more-powerful and more-expandable choices out there if you're less concerned about design."
Showtime lands 7-year content deal with The Weinstein Company
A hot, hot summer isn't keeping The Weinstein Company from staying busy, as just weeks after announcing its intentions to finally join the herd and go Blu-ray exclusive comes word that it has inked a long-term deal with Showtime Networks. The two have entered into an "exclusive seven-year film distribution arrangement" which will be effective with Weinstein's 2009 release schedule. Showtime viewers can expect to see Nine, Inglorious Bastards and other highly acclaimed pictures from the outfit, and for those interested, you may be stoked to find that the output deal "also includes releases from Dimension Films." So, is this enough incentive to keep this premium around?
Warner set to lower Blu-ray Disc prices for the holidays
Not that it's really any surprise, but one particular studio is taking a stand and looking to lower Blu-ray Disc prices. In an effort that's far too late (but quite welcome) by our estimations, Warner Home Video will reportedly be launching an initiative in Q4 2008 that will "essentially enable retailers to order participating catalog titles for around $11." For the consumer, this means you can look forward to seeing older titles like The Fugitive, Enter the Dragon, Clockwork Orange, The Shining, The Aviator, Road Warrior and Swordfish with price tags much lower than the traditional $20 to $25. Newer releases won't be promoted quite as heavily, but prices on those are still expected to be lower than what we've been seeing. Now, if all the other firms would follow suit (and BD player manufacturers would get those sub-$200 decks on shelves), we'd be all set.
Dell Studio 17 and Studio 15 review roundup
It's not every day we get to glimpse a brand new experience from Dell, and while Studio might just be near-XPS laptops in everyman clothing, that certainly seems to be a good thing. The laptops appear to combine the power of XPS and the prices of Inspiron, with some new perks like HDMI out and slot-loading drives to keep things fresh. The laptops tend a little thicker than their XPS counterparts, and the fact that these are hitting just before Centrino 2 might be cause to hesitate, but otherwise we're getting the feel from these reviews that the Studio line just might be the consumer lineup to beat if you can dig the design quirks and a little bit of bulk. Read - NotebookReview, Studio 17 ("Hard pressed to find a better 17-inch notebook in the same price range") Read - CNET Reviews, Studio 15 (7.3 / 10, "We'd be tempted to save up a few extra dollars for a thinner, lighter XPS.") Read - PC Mag, Studio 15 (4.5 / 5, Editor's Choice, "Retaining many of the XPS's qualities while selling it for Inspiron prices.") Read - Laptop Mag, Studio 17 (3.5 / 5, "For $1,599, you'll get plenty of multimedia muscle.")
