Hasbro's toys combine in IDW's Revolution

A generation grew up playing with Action Man, Rom, G.I. Joe, Micronauts, M.A.S.K. and Transformers toys. Now IDW combines Hasbro's beloved toy and animated properties into a comic book universe beginning this September.

Here's the official IDW press release:

IDW Publishing has unveiled its most ambitious comic book publishing venture in its history revolving around its fan-favorite titles based on Hasbro properties.

The “Revolution” event marks the birth of a comic book crossover that will be comprised of not only the TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE properties, but also all-new properties MICRONAUTS, ROM, and ACTION MAN, as well as the launch of a long-awaited M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand series.

This is not a reboot—rather, the Revolution series takes many of the building blocks of what has come before from IDW and builds on them anew, bringing all these elements together in an epic event that results in an all-new status quo for all involved. Everything fans have enjoyed up to this point remains intact as part of this ongoing continuity. The ramifications of Revolution will extend well beyond the event, as all of these iconic characters will henceforth exist in the same universe, altering the scope of IDW editorial in all the Hasbro series from this moment onward.

Revolution, the bi-weekly five-issue event series that launches this initiative, will be co-written by Cullen Bunn (MICRONAUTS) and John Barber (TRANSFORMERS) with art by Fico Ossio (MICRONAUTS). The event kicks off with a world-shaking threat that brings all opposing factions together in a storyline that just might see the destruction of the universe before it can truly begin!

“The Revolution series builds out of a detail that was introduced in IDW’s first-ever issue of TRANSFORMERS in 2005,” said IDW’s Chief Creative Officer, Chris Ryall. “So to finally be able to build upon the various story elements we’ve seeded over the years, and which come into play in a big way starting with July’s ROM #1 even before the launch of Revolution, is a blast. We’ve been working toward a full-fledged universe for some time and it’s great fun to be able to finally bring it to vivid life, especially since it allows us to give the world new titles like the very-requested M.A.S.K., as well as some exciting new books still to be announced.”

“We’ve done plenty of crossovers in the past,” said Michael Kelly, Head of Global Publishing at Hasbro, “but nothing near this scope or scale. Our heroes, whether they are from Earth or from distant reaches of the galaxy, all have one thing in common: their powers and abilities are based primarily on technology. We have been able to use this fact to build a natural and believable link between all of these disparate characters. The result is a complex and dynamic world where all manner of conflicts and team-ups can and will exist. If you are a fan of Hasbro’s brands, your time is now.”

Are you excited for IDW's crossover? Let me know in the comments below.

Stop The Cavalry

Where has the year gone? Wasn't it only yesterday that I posted this?

Read on for the first part of my Review of the Year. And the prizes go to:

*E-Commerce - aStore by Amazon. Amazon's new aStore format has impressed me (as has your willingness to purchase from the links) and I hope that this store concept is developed further. An urgent request to Amazon's Associates team - please add RSS as soon as practicable. Runners up: ReviewMe and PayPerPost.

*Web - MySpace. Now that the dust is settling around RSS, I'm hard-pressed to recommend any significant web-based product this year! That's my tenuous excuse out of the way. Social networking websites (and bookmarking) are all the rage, and it would be churlish to ignore their profound dominance. Runners up: RSS and Facebook.

*Buzz Word - Wi-Fi. Wires are so passé. No logo, no go. Runners up: RSS and VoiP.

*Application - Adobe Photoshop CS3 Beta. Why? Well, the all-new UI has to be seen to be believed and the significant speed gains can't be ignored (even on my ageing LCD iMac G4). Runners up: Firefox 2 and iTunes 7.

*Gadget (formerly Console) - Wii. It's garnered acreages of coverage both here and elsewhere. Nintendo has delivered a revolution with Wii and the only flies in the ointment are product availability and the replacement remote strap fiasco. Both will be addressed in the New Year. Runners up: Nintendo DS Lite and iPod Shuffle.

*Video Game - The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (Wii). Hyrule rendered in lush panoramic 16:9. Runners up: Rayman Raving Rabbids (Wii) and Killzone Liberation (PSP).

Stay tuned for Best Album, DVD, Movie, Television series and much more.

Wii Shop

With the imminent release of Nintendo's Wii, I'm launching a store dedicated to a console revolution:

Wii Shop UK

Wii Shop USA

Buy hardware, software and accessories under one roof and be assured of excellent order fulfilment (provided by Amazon).

Get your Wii-orders in early!

WiiPod

Online speculation is rife regarding rumors that Apple's next generation iPod may include the capacity to play classic Nintendo games? This is based on several suppositions, not least Apple's appointment of a game developer last year and Nintendo's adoption of Apple aesthetics.

If so, this would most likely be part of a co-branded offering including the licensing of iTunes for Nintendo's Wii and, perhaps, DS! Is it that farfetched?

Wii Want

Nintendo has announced that its next generation console (code-name Revolution) is officially known as Wii. The company explains:

"While the code-name 'Revolution' expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer. Wii will break down that wall that separates video game players from everybody else."

"Wii will put people more in touch with their games … and each other. But you’re probably asking: What does the name mean? Wii sounds like 'we,' which emphasizes this console is for everyone."

"Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii. Wii has a distinctive 'ii' spelling that symbolizes both the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play."

"And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd. So that’s Wii. But now Nintendo needs you. Because, it’s really not about you or me. It’s about Wii."

In addition, Nintendo hit on a number of Wii-related points. Nintendo stated that "A number of Wi-Fi-enabled launch titles are in development that will employ Nintendo's newly announced wireless gaming service, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection."

Also mentioned was an SD memory card expansion bay that will allow users to complement the 512 megabytes of internal flash memory.

The company also touted Wii's two-format disc drive. "Instead of a tray, a single, innovative, self-loading media bay will play both 12-centimeter optical discs used for the new system as well as Nintendo GameCube discs. Owners will have the option of equipping a small, self-contained attachment to play movies and other DVD content."

At first I scoffed at Nintendo's nomenclature! However, who would have thought that TiVo and iPod would become part of our consumer lexicon? And controversy sales.

Wii, like the original iMac, will be available in an assortment of candy colors. To paraphrase Steve Jobs. Wii is gaming for the rest of us. Nintendo may have struck marketing gold by mining Apple Computer's rich lifestyle brand ethos.

Hooray for "Hollywood"

IGN’s sources revealed that the Revolution will operate on an extension of the Flipper and Gekko architectures that powered the GameCube. The “Broadway” CPU (as supplied by IBM) has been clocked at 729MHz; in comparison, the Xbox 360’s CPU runs at 3.2 GHz, whilst even the original Xbox had a CPU that clocked in at 733 MHz.

The “Hollywood” GPU in the Revolution (a component developed and provided by ATI) runs at 243 MHz - the GameCube’s GPU ran at 162 MHz. “The ‘Hollywood’”, said one developer to IGN, “is a large-scale integrated chip that includes the GPU, DSP, I/O bridge and 3MBs of texture memory.” The Revolution will also boast 88MBs of system RAM. In direct comparison, the PS3 and the Xbox 3 boast 512 MBs of RAM.

Remember hardware specs do not maketh the game! My money is on Revolution in terms of pushing the gaming 'interface' forward. Think Macintosh.

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

As gifts are unwrapped and Mac Users await the irony of Intel Inside (I'll be ordering a Mac mini during MWSF 2006). News reaches these shores that Nintendo Revolution gamers can expect Sega's 16-bit classics on the next generation console! What this means for software emulation remains unclear. Incidentally, MacMAME maybe updated next week. If it heralds the long awaited new front-end, I'll post a review. Who knows, Brad Oliver may release it as a Universal binary.



Contrary to my earlier post. There was no DS for me today. Play weren't able to send a replacement prior to the weekend festivities. However, Lego lightsabres basked in the neon glow of a fiber optic tree.

Captain N: The Game Master

The title of this post, and its intrinsic camp value, refers to the live action/animated series, which ran for three seasons and was broadcast on ITV between 1989 - 1992. If memory serves correctly the show was a vehicle to blatantly promote the latest Nintendo video game releases and included appearances from popular properties Link (Zelda) and Simon Belmont (Castlevania).

In the '80s you could start your day by waking up in your Nintendo-themed sheets, wash your hair with Super Mario shampoo, eat Mario & Zelda cereal, and go to school with your Nintendo backpack. How times have changed. Did someone say Harry Potter?

Last Thursday I unpacked a shiny new platinum and black limited edition Nintendo GameCube. You know, the livery emotes sophistication and it's fun to posit whether or not Big "N" should have adopted this color scheme at the console's launch in 2002?

Aside from the glaring omission of a 251 Slot Memory Card from the bundle. I'm delighted to be reunited with Mario, Pikmin and Zelda franchises once again. This time for keeps. Viva la Revolution!

Discovered Galaxy FM. Anyone with a passion for Dance/R&B should listen (digital receiver required). The first song played was Opposites Attract (Paula Abdul featuring MC Skat Cat). The College memories.

Back to the future without an Atari Paddle

Crumbs Chris Cringle! Autumn is in the air and holiday consumables are creeping into stores near you! Here's a fine product that may not see release until November 2006. Nintendo's Revolution console.



The Revolution's remote controller - Nunchuk - may ordain a seismic change in the gaming interface experience tantamount to the advent of Macintosh and mouse (1984). I sincerely hope that Apple's industrial design team is earning royalties from both Nintendo and Microsoft for all this gorgeous imitation 'ice' kit.

Opera 8.x is now free and its file transfer and security capabilities are worth your while! With Safari, Firefox and Opera available at no cost to consumers, I can't see any justification for buying and/or using OmniWeb!

Odeo and FeedBurner are now offering widgets du jour. Grab 'em while they're still hot and delicious.

The promised Lost S1 DVD review is behind schedule - I've only reached disc 3 (and watched all the extras). The show deserved the Emmy for best drama. Evangeline Lilly and Maggie Grace are too cute for words. But, real world problems take precedence. In the meantime here's a music CD recommendation. You could do worse than buy a copy of Pussycat Dolls - PCD. Don't expect an album that surpasses Destiny Child's The Writing's On The Wall (1999).

Back to the new .mac goodies.

How The Leopard Got His Spots

With Intel inside of course! To perpetuate my ordained role of Devil's Advocate, I'm excited by the news and will now wait until next year before upgrading (could be as soon as January 2006).



This really makes sense, just think about it. IBM has failed to deliver G5 chips that break the 3GHz barrier and don't think that the proprietary custom chips, produced for PS3, Xbox 360 and Revolution, will power a Mac Mini before the legal contracts end. Once the dust settles the specifics of the Apple/Intel strategic alliance will become clear as the first bespoke hardware emerges.

A decade ago Mac Users were braced for the transition from 68K to PowerPC. If you think we've had it bad, just speak to Amiga owners! I'm off to download Xcode 2.1 and start compiling PowerPC and Intel universal binaries. 'Rosetta' is the pathway from one paradigm to the next.

[As a footnote. How long can CodeWarrior survive with Xcode snapping at its heels?]

Reflections on a Revolution

Nintendo's next generation console purports to be backwards compatible with NES, SNES, N64 and GC via software and hardware emulation and a paid download service. Is Apple going to license iTunes to Nintendo and Sony given that both companies mention Apple in forward-looking statements? There's no reason why Apple's signature software couldn't be ported to a console platform. Looking at Nintendo's glass-like black box leads me to conclude that the case design is subject to revision. Stored in a vertical position, Revolution is supported by packaging (silver-white base)!