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Ad critic: Superman made by super people
Ad critic returns with this ad for (the now delayed) Superman Returns: The Videogame, featured prematurely in the June 2006 issue of Game Informer (click on the thumbnail for a high-res scan). It doesn't look like much at first glance; however, upon closer inspection, you'll notice those three rather substantial chunks of (gulp) text. After busting out your reading glasses you realize that EA -- the giant game maker whose employees make a famously Faustian arrangement: their soul (and/or free time) for the chance to make video games -- is running ads talking up their developers!As MTV News reminds us, this isn't the first time EA has highlighted developers in an ad. In 1983, one of the then-upstart Electronic Arts' earliest ads posed a handful of game designers alongside the question, "Can a Computer Make You Cry?" EA Vice President of Advertising Shawn Conly told MTV, "In some ways, that was a partial inspiration for where we're taking this right now."Indeed, the Superman ad isn't alone! Additional ads will include NFL Head Coach, Madden 07, and NCAA Football 07 (as seen in the July issue of EGM). All the titles are made by EA's Tiburon Studios ("a quirk of scheduling," says Conly) but now your average mag-reading gamer can know that also. Right there, in the upper right hand corner, the ads read, "Creative Close-Up: EA Tiburon Studio Orlando, FL."What say you, ad critics? Is EA's ad a super-success or a krypyonite-klunker? Sure, we might care about developers, but does your average, non-Joystiq reading gamer? Is it too text-heavy? What, if anything, would you like to see them change? Is this another sign that EA has turned over a new leaf?See also: Ad Critic: Auto Assault, Ad Critic: Oblivion , Ad Critic: Tomb Raider, Ad Critic: Hitman.
Screens for the Man of Steel
The shaky, disease-ridden addicts over at XboxAddict have posted some new screens of Superman Returns. This could turn out to be a great game, but thus far the screenshots have not thrilled me. They lack zing. No verve at all. Hopefully, my fears are completely unfounded and this will be the best Superman since the arcade game, but I'm not holding my super breath.
Lenovo releases the Superman i750, Phone of Steel
Much to our surprise, it looks like China will beat out US carriers on bringing a co-branded Superman phone to coincide with the upcoming release of Superman Returns. Lenovo is rolling out a special edition of its i750 candybar to mark the occasion, bundling the phone with a cornucopia of forgettable Superman-themed trinkets. Unfortunately, there's really nothing super about the phone itself -- just your average tri-band GSM piece with 220 x 176 display, 1.3 megapixel camera, and MiniSD slot, though the TV out is a bonus. If you happen to be in mainland China, you can pick up your own piece of Superman history starting the end of June for 1500 Yuan, which rings up just shy of $190 USD.[Via Mobilewhack]
Xbox 360 feeling "Super" with new Live freebies
Unlike me, if you've been looking forward to this new Superman movie (June 28), then your nerdy prayers have been answered ... but only if you own an Xbox 360 and a broadband connection. Starting today, free Superman Returns content is available on Xbox Live Marketplace. So, what's free you ask? Well, I'm glad you did. Warner Bros. is offering two HD trailers, four commercials (oooh, I get to watch commercials for free!!) and probably cooler than both of those, five video journals by director Bryan Singer from the set of the upcoming summer film. Knowing me, I'll probably just download that content just so I can watch some cool HD effects.
Free Superman Returns clip via iTunes Music Store
James Young wrote in to tell us about an exclusive premiere scene of 'Superman Returns' that is available on the iTunes Music Store. Now, I love a free clip as much as the next guy but that's not why James emailed us. He noticed that the clip is categorized as a 'Movie.'Does this lend credence to the idea that movies are next up on the iTunes Music Store? Well, it is a stretch but odder things have happened.
Superman In Azeroth?
As the momentum for the Warcraft film (I'm just taking a wild stab & guessing that it will indeed be called simply Warcraft, and not World of Warcraft...but who knows) continues to build up, an interesting bit of news came to light on Aintitcool.com yesterday. In a conversation with Brandon Routh (the new Superman, for those of you who live under a rock), the topic of the WoW film came up, prompting Routh to proclaim his love for the game, and to voice his interest in being a part of the project. The exchange in part went:Harry – ...as soon as I read the news, knowing that you were a Warcraft guy, I just had to bring it up cuz you're the title character of Legendary's biggest film to date and that's their movie.Brandon – Yeah, I know. They told me they went down and met with BLIZZARD's guys, that's pretty... that's interesting.Harry – Get your agent on it immediately.Brandon – YEAH! My manager is right here, he's perked up.I haven't seen Routh in action yet, as most of you haven't, but he's been getting rave write-ups for his performance as the Man of Steel, and his star will almost certainly be on the rise after Superman Returns is released next week. His potential involvement could bring a lot of buzz to the project, so it will be interesting to see how this develops.In any case, I'm reminded of one of the endlessly quotable lines of dialogue from William Peter Blatty's The Ninth Configuration: "Would you please tell this idiot that there is no room in any of Shakespeare's plays for Superman?"
Superman Returns director talks HD DVD extras
Bryan Singer, director of the new movie Superman Returns did an interview with The Hollywood Reporter recently and talked a lot about the special effects technology that went into the movie, plus the inclusion of blogging for fans during the moviemaking process. Despite the fact that the movie hasn't even been released in theaters yet, he's already giving details on the DVD versions. He mentions specifically Warner's In Movie Experience (IME) technology, using the interactive technology of HD DVD (and potentially Blu-ray also) to show behind the scenes looks as well as cast interviews while the movie continues playing. He sounds pretty excited, and the feeling is catching.This is good not just for HDTV owners to hear such things are coming down the pipe, this kind of exposure about the additional features for the new formats will be very key in them being accepted by mainstream consumers. Can we expect a day-and-date HD DVD/Blu-ray release for Superman Returns?[Via MovieWeb]
Alienware's Superman-themed limited-edition Area-51 systems
Not to be outdone by parent company Dell's X-men-themed XPS machine, Alienware fired up their factory on the planet Krypton to produce a limited number of their Area-51 laptops (limited to 350) and desktops (limited to 250) with artwork, themes and a mousepad from the upcoming movie Superman Returns. The desktop, which is emblazoned with an impressive mural by comic artist Tommy Lee, starts at $1,899 (without a monitor, of course) but quickly heads skyward when you add upgrades like a 3.4GHz Pentium D dual core processor, liquid cooling, 1TB of storage and the ability to turn back time by reversing the earth's rotation. The 17-inch Core Duo notebook starts at around $2,500 and is slightly less bawdy in appearance, ditching the mural for a sleek blue finish and the Superman shield in place of the usual alien head. You can keep track of how many of the individually-numbered systems are sold via Alienware's website, so we'd recommend you move faster than a speeding something-or-other should you want one.
Is Superman too gay for EA?
The LA Times wonders if the supposed gay undertones in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns will affect its appeal to the famously hetero-centric action film crowd. Of course, if the film turns out to be a little too swishy for macho 8th-graders, it might also affect sales of Superman Returns: The Video Game due June 26 from EA. I played the demo at E3 and didn't detect a "bold queer spirit," although one could argue that flying around in tight red briefs and a cape is inherently gay. Singer successfully worked a "tolerance" theme into his two X-men movies without turning them into box-office Kryptonite, so I don't think a few lingering shots of Brandon Routh's super-package are going to scare away phobic fans, especially if the movie -- and more importantly, the game -- are any good. My first impression: The sense of scale endowed by the corporate bondage queens at EA was cool, but the jaggy graphics were sadly limp for a next-gen title (no pun intended).
ASUS' "Goose" clamshell takes flight
While we're all for cellphone manufacturers giving their handsets "regular" names along with those annoying model numbers (Chocolate, RAZR, everything HTC makes), we're sure that there are still enough good words left that ASUS didn't need to resort to naming their latest cameraphone after a common waterbird. Besides its rather clunky pseudonym, "the Goose" sports a pretty attractive set of feathers features, including a two megapixel camera, music playback via the built-in MP3 player or FM radio, Bluetooth, PictBridge support, 64MB of RAM plus a microSD slot, voice recognition capabilities, and perhaps the ability to to use it as a webcam. No word on when a gaggle of these Geese will be touching down (probably just in Korea), nor for how much, but we've already moved on to wondering about that "Superman" phone that seems to be referenced in the background of this pic...[Via MobileMag]
