E3 Movie Cache Highlights Microsoft's Apprentice Spoof

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E3 Movie Cache Highlights Microsoft's Apprentice Spoof

Posted by simoniker on Thursday June 3, 2004 @04:51PM from the lost-in-the-rush dept.

Thanks to Kikizo for its newly posted mammoth collection of freely downloadable E3 Expo-related game videos, recapping (if a little late) games and press events from "this year's massive Los Angeles event." Especially notable is Xbox press conference spoof 'The Novice' (58mb WMV) [there's a much better-quality 8MB WMV version at TeamXbox], which 1UP.com described at the time as "a send-up of reality show The Apprentice... portraying [J.] Allard, fellow vice president Peter Moore, and chief Xbox officer Robbie Bach trying to curry favor [regarding online gaming] with the real-life Donald Trump." Somewhat lost in the E3 rush, the spoof is worth re-visiting, not least for the ending, where the losing Sony team (with "actors portraying Sony vice-president Ken Kutaragi, SCEA head Kaz Hirai and SCEA vice president Andrew House") collectively get fired, at which point "none other than Bill Gates himself ducks under them and steals the cab before they can get in."

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Preemptive anti-slashdoting by Teancom · 2004-06-03 16:57 · Score: 3, Interesting

Looks like the movie hosted on teambox won't allow anything referred from slashdot in. Just copy the url into a term and use wget (like a real man ;-).
Mirror by Pfhor · 2004-06-03 16:59 · Score: 4, Informative

teamxbox has a smart, slashdot referer block.
For those too lazy to copy and paste, here:
http://www.students.bucknell.edu/cbarker/the_novic e.wmv
1. Re:Mirror by Oncogene · 2004-06-03 17:08 · Score: 1
  
  I love how you refer to it as "smart", and immediately follow it up with a link for people to get around it, thus Slashdotting the site anyway. Them's the breaks. ;)
  
  --
  
  - - - - - - -
  "All hail the glory of the Hypnotoad."
2. Re:Mirror by Pfhor · 2004-06-03 17:11 · Score: 1
  
  Actually...
  
  You are slashdoting my school webserver, not theirs, and my school doesn't have a bandwidth transfer cap, so I could care less (besides, I don't live on campus).
  
  The older server on a slower line mirrored tons of images and video of 9/11 for slashdot (done by another student), so im sure this one can handle something in the "games" section of slashdot.
3. Re:Mirror by simoniker · 2004-06-03 17:11 · Score: 1
  
  Managed to find the specific TeamXbox page the movie is hosted on, so things should behave now.
4. Re:Mirror by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-04 01:38 · Score: 0
  
  I could care less
  
  Really? By how much less?
What's E3 good for? by BortQ · 2004-06-03 17:08 · Score: 4, Funny

For me to poop on!!!!
Yeah, alright. The _real_ hardcore game companies are the ones that don't have any money to go to E3. Like me for example. See my sig for details.

--

A Multiplayer Strategy Game for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
1. Re:What's E3 good for? by Pfhor · 2004-06-03 17:13 · Score: 1
  
  Dude, lux was awesome, but it was kinda confusing, so I ended up playing iConquer instead (its instant map downloads feature is wicked sweet if you haven't looked at it).
  
  But yeah, nice app. Too bad my risk addiction didn't last longer than a week, or I would have purchased it (actually, i had to stop it cause i would have failed courses).
2. Re:What's E3 good for? by gl4ss · 2004-06-03 19:59 · Score: 1
  
  Most of the smaller developer houses that do go there do it for getting financing anyways.
  
  .
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
3. Re:What's E3 good for? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-04 00:20 · Score: 0
  
  I found Lux right in the middle a gigantic Risk addiction. And since my old copies of Risk for Windows 95 didn't work on XP, and my brother was a lazy asshole, I played Lux on my Mac, ran VNC server so my brother (lying in bed on Windows laptop with wifi) would take his turns through VNC.
  
  Dude, windows version, windows version, windows version. For the multiplayer at least.
yeah.... by Datasage · 2004-06-03 20:03 · Score: 1

They are challenged to come up with a mmorpg game. Playstation is the only one that already has a mmorpg game while xbox's was just canceled.

--
In America we are imprisoned by our fear of them.
1. Re:yeah.... by Recoil_42 · 2004-06-04 00:34 · Score: 1
  
  No, they are challenged to come up with an Online Service, the prize to the winner is the licensing rights to a Trump MMORPG. Watch the fucking movie.
  
  Stupid playstation troll...
  
  --
  
  Newsie, Moderator, www.tauniverse.com
2. Re:yeah.... by Pluvius · 2004-06-04 00:42 · Score: 1
  
  That was his point. Why would Trump go with MS over Sony when Sony is the one with a successful MMORPG already on its system?
  
  Rob
3. Re:yeah.... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-04 06:51 · Score: 0
  
  Sony had as much to do with creating Everquest as Microsoft did with creating Halo. Coicidentally, I don't see Sony canceling their unimpressive Killzone (aka "Halo Killer").
The Novice? by Associate · 2004-06-03 20:21 · Score: 1

I'da called it Teh N00b! and instead of getting fired they'd get pwnd!
I swear, the Dell Interns was a much better idea.

--
Someone hates these cans.
Did they really just spoil the ending? by catmaker · 2004-06-03 20:48 · Score: 2, Insightful

Way to go guys! Might not be the best idea to branch out into movie reviews though.

"Not least for the ending, where we find out that Tyler Durden has in fact been the narrator's imaginary friend all along."

--
status is failure. status is failure
1. Re:Did they really just spoil the ending? by Dizzle · 2004-06-03 20:52 · Score: 1
  
  I haven't seen that movie you insensitive clod!
  
  --
  -Dizzle
  "I most likely AM so interested in myself."
2. Re:Did they really just spoil the ending? by Associate · 2004-06-03 21:05 · Score: 1
  
  Don't worry. You find out he's Luke's father early on.
  
  --
  Someone hates these cans.
Amusing, but... by biodeo · 2004-06-03 21:41 · Score: 1

Anyone know how much money MS is lossing on this network and on the Xbox in general? On top of that, how popular is online console gaming? MS claimed almost 1 million, but that doesnt acually sound like much when you consider how many PS2 have sold and that alot of those probably arent active users. Heh, not to mention how many people play CS alone.

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I'll stop being cynical when the world allows
1. Re:Amusing, but... by SoVeryWrong · 2004-06-04 00:39 · Score: 1
  
  I consider that one of the problems with the PS2s numbers, there is no way to tell how many players are active and how many bought the device and never used it or haven't used it in a long while. Whereas with Live people will usually, you know, stop paying for a service if they don't use it anymore, bringing about more accurate numbers in terms of how many are active.
  
  As far as how much Microsoft is losing, who cares? If there is a loss (I'm not sure one way or the other), they seem to be able to deal with it. It doesn't seem to effect gamers in any way.
  
  *shrug*
2. Re:Amusing, but... by PS2+INFORMANT · 2004-06-04 12:19 · Score: 1
  
  Oh trust me their are losses. And for those who wan't most support for their platform of choice MS losses hurt these individuals because they mean less games and less support from top name publishers, and a dimmer future for the X-Box. About the Donald Trump video. This is an example of what I really didn't like about E3 this year, both MS and Sony seemed to cater more to celebrities and gimicks then to the people who made them what they are today. The gamers.... Also funny is how they would show Donald Trump firing the most successful people in console gaming today, a group representing a company that is so far ahead of everyone else in terms of user-base, and amount of content its nearly insurmountable. Perhaps this is why Donald Trump is stuck using gameshow winners to run companies for him. Ofcourse it was all a low blow joke by a second best company but it is still annoying none the less. They could have spent that money they used (both MS and Sony) for hiring celebrities to endorse products on entertaining the gamers.
A Donald Trump MMORPG? by Pluvius · 2004-06-04 00:34 · Score: 1

I'd play it!

On another note, what does Peter ask that guy who wants to play "Ninja Gaiden, Halo 2, Final Fantasy stuff" online? It sounded like "How about [Japanese name]?" and got a big laugh from the audience.

"The whole online thing has been a complete and total disaster"--well, except for that little thing called "Final Fantasy XI," anyway.

Rob (NFL Fever? Give me a break!)
1. Re:A Donald Trump MMORPG? by Funk_dat69 · 2004-06-04 04:19 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  He says "How about a chu-chu rocket pack-in"
  
  It's a japanese puzzle game with space mice trying to avoid space kitties. Sounds wack, but it's pretty fun.
  Linky
  
  --
  FUNK!
easier by That's+Unpossible! · 2004-06-04 01:06 · Score: 1

Just copy the url into your browser and hit enter.

--
Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
Maybe Microsoft by falcon5768 · 2004-06-04 05:00 · Score: 2, Informative

would do better NOT to be making these movies every event and actually focus spending their money on something important...
Like games and xBox live perhaps?

--
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
1. Re:Maybe Microsoft by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-04 07:17 · Score: 0
  
  would do better NOT to be making these movies every event and actually focus spending their money on something important... Like games and xBox live perhaps?
  What are you trolling about now? At this point in the console's lifecycle, the Xbox has been churning out more great titles than the PS2 and Gamecube combined.
2. Re:Maybe Microsoft by ruprechtjones · 2004-06-04 15:35 · Score: 1
  
  "would do better NOT to be making these movies every event..."
  
  shhhhhh, then I'd be out of a job! How else can I afford my PS2 and all these games?
  
  --
  Kip Hawley is an idiot.
ARRRGGGGG!!!! by GreyyGuy · 2004-06-04 07:51 · Score: 1

I can't believe Slahsdot "Lone Gunmened" the ending of something AGAIN!
Quality is subjective, I guess... by TechnoPops · 2004-06-04 11:58 · Score: 1

there's a much better-quality 8MB WMV version at TeamXbox

Actually, I preferred the first one, which had a higher resolution, and wasn't kind of washed out. But I guess that's just me.

(Don't mind me. Just poking fun at the unobvious attempt at sarcasm. :P)

--
"Each time you smile, it'll only last awhile. Life may be scary, but it's only temporary."
I know I should be made at this but... by AzraelKans · 2004-06-04 12:09 · Score: 1

I know Im supossed to feel enraged over an offensive and straight agressive (plus factually incorrect ) piece like that but That film is so sad and utterly geeky that I can help to laugh my ass off at it.

Seriously Bill Gates robbing the cab from the ps2 guys, the ps2 guys sleeping off at the hotel room, oh and the face of the pressident when they fire him oh that was precious!. This is the equivalent of Bart Simpson mocking his principal with a crude school parody video, everyone knows is wrong but no one can help to laugh. if you havent watch the video yet you should even if you have a ps2 you will probably get a few laughs too.

Btw: since when some dude eating pizza in a park, a guy with a huge afro and some brain condition and a girl that obviously hasnt played anything in her life and cant stop yapping are considered a good focus group? ok now I have an idea why things are that way they are at xbox live. (I suspected something like that actually)

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Go ahead MOD my day!
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