summer
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"Employee only" bronze Orc and wolf statue finds its way onto eBay
Here's an eBay auction that might be worth watching: A rather spiffy looking bronze statue of an Orcish Wolf Rider. While the statue looks pretty awesome on its own, what's intriguing is the source: the seller claims that this is the statue created exclusively for Blizzard by WETA employed sculptors Eden Small and Daniel Cockersell. You may recall this article in the OC Register (Alex Ziebart reported on it for WoW Insider here), which mentions the commission of a 12 foot high version of this statue for the courtyard of their new headquarters, to be installed this summer. Certainly, the statue looks pretty good, and it has an impressive pedigree. Daniel Cockersell himself has also created some pretty good looking Warhammer sculptures, and Small and Cockersell have also worked together on official merchandise for the upcoming Prince Caspian Movie and Doctor Who, among other things. I'm not sure I'll have the money to get in on this auction, since I imagine it'll get pretty high, but I do sort of want to head down to Irvine this summer just to drool over the larger version. I'm sure it'll look pretty sweet if this smaller statue is any indication.I have to admit to being curious as to which Blizzard employee decided they'd rather have a bit of extra pocket money instead of the statue, though, or if there's another reason that this statue has appeared on eBay, and from a seller in Ireland, at that. [Thanks for the tip, Lim!]
Success reveals summer plans for Japan
Success Corp recently updated the company's summer schedule for Japan, which is full of DS games that will likely never see the light of day outside the Land of the Rising Sun. Two notable titles are based on anime licenses, specifically Yawaraka Sensha and Kuwagata Tsunami. The interesting thing about these animes is that they're Flash-based shows, which fans can watch online (here and here). According to Siliconera, these animes are rather popular in Japan, so we wouldn't be surprised to see these games pop up in the software charts come July.The rest of Success's summer line up consists of games we're not familiar with, which are called Windy Windom, Escape Johnny, and Tactical Guild (which is possibly Tactical Guide). While those of us outside Japan may not be getting any of these games, at least we have our own Success titles to look forward to.[Via Siliconera]
The DS Life: Summer's last throes
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.If there's anything that closes summer, it's the clement passing of August, the noblest of the middle months. Families have their last barbecues, Jerry Lewis interrupts our channel surfing to remind us about muscular dystrophy, and custodians pull blue, creased tarpaulin over neighborhood pools. Labor Day rewards us with an extended weekend, and then just like that, summer is over.
DS Daily: Let's chat
No, really, let's talk about whatever you want. It's Sunday, and for those of us in the U.S., it's a holiday weekend, so it's a good time to relax and discuss ... whatever. Like online petitions, for instance -- we get a lot of those. Do you guys believe they can ever do any good? We don't have to be serious, either. Doing much gaming this weekend, or spending the time outside? Anyone else getting tired of the heat and feel the urge to just stay in side and raise that brain age? Or, if you're in the mood to make requests, let us know what we're not talking about enough.
Toys R Us summer toys list contains up to one video game
Toys R Us has put out their list of the top 24 hottest toys for this summer, and, surprisingly, there is only one video game on the list-- and even that one's kind of a non-game, according to some people's definitions. Nintendo's brain-teasin' hit Brain Age represents the entirety of our hobby in Toys R Us's summer marketing campaign, despite being a game about math problems, and despite being over a year old. Technically, they also advertise the Leapster, but ... don't worry about the Leapster..Are we seeing early signs of a Japan-style Brain Age phenomenon? Should we start hoarding DS Lites? [Via Game|Life]
Phantom Hourglass due for June, saves summer
Last year's middle months were starved for high-profile releases -- publishers held back the big guns for the holiday season, and the Nintendo DS relied on Big Brain Academy and third-party GBA games to fill out its summer schedule. The latest issue of Japanese magazine Famitsu reveals that this year could be different with the early release of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on June 23rd.After seeing that the only Phantom Hourglass previews available at GDC were of the game's multiplayer mode, we didn't think that Nintendo would have Link's new adventure ready until Christmas. The announced date is for Japan, of course, but we don't expect a significant delay for its North American arrival. The series has always experienced more success in the US, sales-wise. June 23rd happens to fall on a Saturday, which is unusual when you consider that outside of Dragon Quest and hardware debuts, most games in Japan are brought out on Thursdays. Could a Zelda-themed DS Lite also be in the works? We've got our fingers crossed!
Something for the darts fans
If you love darts in Clubhouse Games, or even -- gasp -- in the real world, then the idea of a DS darts game may pique your interest. Sega has just announced Touch Darts, which is set for a summer release. The game features a career mode (how much story do we need here?) and the only other thing it needs: multiplayer. Beyond that, all we could possibly hope for is a special mode dedicated to hitting not the dartboards, but those freaky caricatures. That's probably not going to happen, though.
Weekend HD DVD/Blu-ray Reviews
It's the start of a nice 'ol lazy weekend and with the heatwave sweeping the country, you might want to stay inside. There isn't anything better then a big-budget summer blockbuster to kill cabin fever but with high-def discs costing a bit more then normal DVDs, it just makes financial sense to read some reviews first. So, we have compiled a review list of the best summer blockbuster flicks currently available on HD DVD or Blu-ray.HD DVD Summer Blockbusters Apollo 13 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Serenity The Bourne Supremacy The Dukes of Hazzard Blu-ray Summer Blockbusters Stealth RoboCop xXx
UK gaming events this summer
This summer is shaping up to be great one, at least in terms of the number of UK gaming trade shows and conferences coming up soon. The great gaming fiasco of 2004 resulted in both of the major gaming trade shows in the UK (Game Stars Live and ECTS) being canceled when they decided to take place at exactly the same time, so it's great to finally see that the industry has picked itself up.Click continue to see a round-up of some future gaming events within the United Kingdom. Joystiq's UK contingent (consisting of Jennie and I) hopes to be able to attend as many of these events as possible so if you're also planning on attending make sure to leave us a comment. If we've missed a show or conference, let us know and I'll add your tip to the table.
Entourage 720p trailer on Xbox Live Marketplace; Season 3 HD?
One of the laments of my summer drought post was that one of my favorite programs, Entourage on HBO-HD, would not be in high definition since it hasn't for the first two seasons. However today they have posted up a 720p trailer on Xbox Live Marketplace (along with a theme and gamer pics) proudly touting itself as a Hi-Def trailer, so it seems likely that we will get 1080i display of the adventures of Vince & friends. Summer HDTV watching is definitely looking up now.
What's on HDTV this summer?
If you follow our daily HDTV Listings (or just watch television, whatever works), you know that most network programs are coming to their seasonal end. This leaves us to the summer doldrums of reality shows, repeats and made for TV movies. That said, what are you planning to watch this summer? Unfortunately, your choices may be very limited.
Vodafone Japan announces summer lineup
New Softbank property Vodafone K.K. has announced four new 3G handsets -- along with the 2G Toshiba V304T "simplephone" -- that will be released this summer in Japan, including Sharp's 905SH clamshell with a 2 megapixel camera and One Seg digital TV reception. Also seen before was Voda's version of Nokia's N71, dubbed the 804NK, which sports those same multimedia and smartphone features along with obvious addition of bilingual menus. Like the three models mentioned previously, the Toshiba 705T and Sharp 705SH SLIMIA also sport clamshell designs, with the Tosh featuring external music controls and the Sharp (pictured) rocking dual cameras. Additionally, a sixth model, Sharp's 2G V403SH (also a flip phone), was announced as getting a summer makeover, and will now come in your choice of cloth beige or cloth blue.
Exclusive: Academics Advocate Staying Indoors Playing WoW All Summer
Aren't your teachers & authority figures supposed to encourage their wards to go out & live life; stop & smell the roses? Well, this article from the USC college paper, the Gamecock (shut up, Beavis), takes a more refreshing approach, listing a whole slew of online summer activities guaranteed to keep you indoors, pasty-white, and out of shape.Will high-schools & Universities offer extra-curricular gaming activities pretty soon? Will my kids be able to earn extra credit for playing MMO's? Man, I wish I wish school was like that in my day...
