If sequels were guaranteed money in the bank, there wouldn't be so damn many flops, and all those direct to video Disney sequels would be busy getting theatrical releases to pull in the guaranteed hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Toy Story sequel was a huge success and that brand is one of the most loved in the new 3D animation genre. I think that Disney is in some peril, but in the case of Toy Story 3 they have little to lose. It will make money. Lots of money. The studio recognition is not nearly as big as i think you are alluding. If Toy Story 3 presented by Disney is on the poster. People are going to go and see it.
As far as the direct to video stuff. Those thing do make money. They get made for rock bottom prices and they sell very well. Disney knows that they are total schlock and that is why they are not brought to the theatres. They reserve the theatrical release for the stuff they at least think is decent.
I think your analysis is apt. Except for one point. If the movie stinks, meaning it is a critical mess, it will still make hundreds of millions of dollars on name recognition alone. This simple fact, means that the Disney studio will endure. Children don't read reveiws. They just want to see the cartoons. Look at the stupid Shark's Tale movie. (I know it wasn't Disney but bear with me). It was panned by critics but earned $200M at the domestic box office. This is all without the clout of the Toy Story name. The reason for Toy Story 3 coming out is that it will make heaps of dough. Plain and simple. Regardless if it has any innovation, inspiration or creativity. Let's pray that an original movie coming out of Disney's 3D studio will have these qualities. If they have a 3d debacle on the scale of Treasure Planet, they are well and truly fucked.
Will Disney be getting back into 2D animation again? After the debacle with Treasure Planet it seems to me that they have decided to forgo the idea of continuing the 2D flms. If they are going to focus their efforts on 3D it does make sense to sever ties with Pixar. If their future is in 3D then they need to increase their in-house experience in this realm. It seems a shame to stop the 2D stuff, but kids obviously prefer the 3D stuff. Disney is not about making art, and they know it, they are an entertainment company that churns out the stuff that sells. I don't think the Toy Story 3 will be any less of a hit without Pixar. I, for one, do not understand why Pixar is given such a vaunted status. The origibal Toy Story was something new and they deserved praise, but ever since they have just been re-jigging the formula.
I won't buy it. Simply because of the way VU acted. I felt it was shameful. There are a lot of good games out there right now. I won't miss HL2. And besides, I may get my thesis finished too.
There has been a hell of of a lot of coverage about EA and their 'crunch time' work ethics. I wonder why this is such a big story all of a sudden. Is it just that it has finally starting to become known outside of the (relatively) closed community of IT development? I'm not a software guy, so I have no first hand knowledge about the issue however, I remember hearing about major crunch-time pushes from way back when Apple was a big player. Didn't Jobs demand that people stay at the office for 40-50 hours consecutively for the development of Lisa and Mac?
It seems to me that now the industry is making so much cash that pehaps there is an expectation for some tension to be slackened. With the release of GTA:SA, Doom3, Half-Life2 and Halo2 there has been a very widespread understanding of just how big the gaming industry (and by corollary, the software industry at large) has become. An industry of such size with such resources should not be able to treat its core employees in such a fashion. All big business has hit this stumbling block at some point. Manufacturing had to deal with unionisation. The entertainment industry has suvived the creation of the Guilds (which are just unions). Anyone who is a hockey fan knows that there are unions in pro sports. So why are there no unions for programmers? Is it because they move from company to company? I don't think so, actors and directors, for example, work on different projects for different studios and have protection from exploitation.
So what is up with this? Why is it that thousands of intelligent and motivated professionals are allowing themselves to be exploited and treated so poorly?
I have not played the game, so I ask this. Is the character generator very generic or are there specific character models available?
The discussions on this game to date have never been entirely clear on this. I ask because, it seems to me, that if the character generator is generic and players choose to model their avatar after Superman or the Hulk then that can hardly be the fault of the game maker. If they are premade charcter types that borrow heavily from Marvel or DC property then this is a whole different kettle of fish.
Is it just me or does this seem like a real shabby way to earn a living. I mean really, a company whose business plan is solely litigation?!? How do these guys look in a mirror.
LEGO is a great toy except it costs a friggin' mint these days. The old style stuff that was all blocks and some smaller specialty pieces is the best. The stuff today is too specific for many different projects. So I guess I am recommending LEGO from 15 years ago.
When I was kid I had Mecano, which was like Lego, except it used little nuts and bolts and pieces of thin sheet metal. I could make a car with it. It was really cool. Is that still available?
If they'll let Gates have some alone time with the guy in the interrogation room. Big Bill and some of his goons can kneecap him and make sure he understands just how much trouble he's in...
Everything I've seen as preview to KOTOR2 makes me impatient. It looks really good. I found KOTOR to be an excellent game. It wasn't overy challenging but it was crazy fun to play. If KOTOR2 fixes some of the small tedious aspects of the first and is able to have a cool story loke the first, we ought to be in for a good game.
I don't understand why so many SW games get made that are just such low quality. Battlefront was a big disappointment for me. Such promise and it fell flat. Lucas arts needs to understand that the world of SW is just not enough to carry the game. There has to be something else. KOTOR had the world of SW and a really cool story. Jedi Knight II (a good game) was a real fun hack and slash adventure. Battlefront was just mindless. There was so much promise and delivered nothing. Seriously, why include XWings if the boards are going to be that small. I was turning every 4 seconds.
I second that. I eagerly await KOTOR II but I'd also like a SW RPG that runs in the time of the movies. KOTOR was just super fun to play, not overly challenging but well worth the cash.
Hear, hear. Wikipedia is about the most hyperlinking that I could stomach. It is useful in that specific application, but the notion of the Semeantic Web is silly. For crying out loud, people on/. don't RTFA, let alone verify all definitions of the words in the summary.
AOL was marketed as an ISP for non technical people. This justified that added expense. Most families these days have at least one member who know at least a little bit about computing and sees that AOL is not needed. Its cheaper to get access from someone else and add the features you want. I suppose its because the internet has been around long enough for the general public (say 10 years of real viable public access?) so that either the adults have taken an interest or they have kids who know a great deal about it all. Seriously, AOL is just not worth the added expense. This new racket about including free anti-virus and spyware blocking is not going to change anything. Breaking into four main organisation is not the answer either. What they need to do is set their prices competitively and get some innovative content.
No, tripling the bandwidth has nothing to do with enhanced range. If anything the range will decrease. You need more power or better antenna directivity to get better range.
When they say the UWB is 5 years out, I call that low level FUD. It's very nearly ready for prime time. Certainly for applications like PAN and such. This is going to compete directly with Bluetooth. The bigger and juicier UWB apps like thru-wall imaging radars are still a few years off. Personally I'm looking forward to UWB. If it all goes to plan my next DVD player will connect to my new TV wirelessly eliminating the need for all household cables. Except extention cords. But given time, we'll get rid of those too. Incidentally the holdup on many UWB apps is the integrated antenna. Its proving very hard to build small antennas with the bandwidth required.
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If sequels were guaranteed money in the bank, there wouldn't be so damn many flops, and all those direct to video Disney sequels would be busy getting theatrical releases to pull in the guaranteed hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Toy Story sequel was a huge success and that brand is one of the most loved in the new 3D animation genre. I think that Disney is in some peril, but in the case of Toy Story 3 they have little to lose. It will make money. Lots of money. The studio recognition is not nearly as big as i think you are alluding. If Toy Story 3 presented by Disney is on the poster. People are going to go and see it.
As far as the direct to video stuff. Those thing do make money. They get made for rock bottom prices and they sell very well. Disney knows that they are total schlock and that is why they are not brought to the theatres. They reserve the theatrical release for the stuff they at least think is decent.
I think your analysis is apt. Except for one point. If the movie stinks, meaning it is a critical mess, it will still make hundreds of millions of dollars on name recognition alone. This simple fact, means that the Disney studio will endure. Children don't read reveiws. They just want to see the cartoons. Look at the stupid Shark's Tale movie. (I know it wasn't Disney but bear with me). It was panned by critics but earned $200M at the domestic box office. This is all without the clout of the Toy Story name. The reason for Toy Story 3 coming out is that it will make heaps of dough. Plain and simple. Regardless if it has any innovation, inspiration or creativity. Let's pray that an original movie coming out of Disney's 3D studio will have these qualities. If they have a 3d debacle on the scale of Treasure Planet, they are well and truly fucked.
Will Disney be getting back into 2D animation again? After the debacle with Treasure Planet it seems to me that they have decided to forgo the idea of continuing the 2D flms. If they are going to focus their efforts on 3D it does make sense to sever ties with Pixar. If their future is in 3D then they need to increase their in-house experience in this realm. It seems a shame to stop the 2D stuff, but kids obviously prefer the 3D stuff. Disney is not about making art, and they know it, they are an entertainment company that churns out the stuff that sells. I don't think the Toy Story 3 will be any less of a hit without Pixar. I, for one, do not understand why Pixar is given such a vaunted status. The origibal Toy Story was something new and they deserved praise, but ever since they have just been re-jigging the formula.
I won't buy it. Simply because of the way VU acted. I felt it was shameful. There are a lot of good games out there right now. I won't miss HL2. And besides, I may get my thesis finished too.
There has been a hell of of a lot of coverage about EA and their 'crunch time' work ethics. I wonder why this is such a big story all of a sudden. Is it just that it has finally starting to become known outside of the (relatively) closed community of IT development? I'm not a software guy, so I have no first hand knowledge about the issue however, I remember hearing about major crunch-time pushes from way back when Apple was a big player. Didn't Jobs demand that people stay at the office for 40-50 hours consecutively for the development of Lisa and Mac?
It seems to me that now the industry is making so much cash that pehaps there is an expectation for some tension to be slackened. With the release of GTA:SA, Doom3, Half-Life2 and Halo2 there has been a very widespread understanding of just how big the gaming industry (and by corollary, the software industry at large) has become. An industry of such size with such resources should not be able to treat its core employees in such a fashion. All big business has hit this stumbling block at some point. Manufacturing had to deal with unionisation. The entertainment industry has suvived the creation of the Guilds (which are just unions). Anyone who is a hockey fan knows that there are unions in pro sports. So why are there no unions for programmers? Is it because they move from company to company? I don't think so, actors and directors, for example, work on different projects for different studios and have protection from exploitation.
So what is up with this? Why is it that thousands of intelligent and motivated professionals are allowing themselves to be exploited and treated so poorly?
Cool, Thanks. Question answered.
I have not played the game, so I ask this. Is the character generator very generic or are there specific character models available?
The discussions on this game to date have never been entirely clear on this. I ask because, it seems to me, that if the character generator is generic and players choose to model their avatar after Superman or the Hulk then that can hardly be the fault of the game maker. If they are premade charcter types that borrow heavily from Marvel or DC property then this is a whole different kettle of fish.
So gamers, I ask of you, which is it?
How dare they come up with an innovative business model that directly competes with established companies. This isn't a free market here.
Don't get me wrong though, ads in P2P networks are a huge pain in the ass.
Is it just me or does this seem like a real shabby way to earn a living. I mean really, a company whose business plan is solely litigation?!? How do these guys look in a mirror.
COOOOOL...
Thanks man!
Do you think that the people getting dumped will also receive CDs offering 3 months free dial-up with AOL? I'd be pissed.
LEGO is a great toy except it costs a friggin' mint these days. The old style stuff that was all blocks and some smaller specialty pieces is the best. The stuff today is too specific for many different projects. So I guess I am recommending LEGO from 15 years ago.
When I was kid I had Mecano, which was like Lego, except it used little nuts and bolts and pieces of thin sheet metal. I could make a car with it. It was really cool. Is that still available?
Well said.
If they'll let Gates have some alone time with the guy in the interrogation room. Big Bill and some of his goons can kneecap him and make sure he understands just how much trouble he's in...
Resistance is FUTILE. You will be assimilated.
KOTOR2 uses the same rules and KOTOR1. Which is a d20 style combat game.
Try KOTOR. You can be a real bad dude in that.
Everything I've seen as preview to KOTOR2 makes me impatient. It looks really good. I found KOTOR to be an excellent game. It wasn't overy challenging but it was crazy fun to play. If KOTOR2 fixes some of the small tedious aspects of the first and is able to have a cool story loke the first, we ought to be in for a good game.
I don't understand why so many SW games get made that are just such low quality. Battlefront was a big disappointment for me. Such promise and it fell flat. Lucas arts needs to understand that the world of SW is just not enough to carry the game. There has to be something else. KOTOR had the world of SW and a really cool story. Jedi Knight II (a good game) was a real fun hack and slash adventure. Battlefront was just mindless. There was so much promise and delivered nothing. Seriously, why include XWings if the boards are going to be that small. I was turning every 4 seconds.
I second that. I eagerly await KOTOR II but I'd also like a SW RPG that runs in the time of the movies. KOTOR was just super fun to play, not overly challenging but well worth the cash.
Hear, hear. Wikipedia is about the most hyperlinking that I could stomach. It is useful in that specific application, but the notion of the Semeantic Web is silly. For crying out loud, people on /. don't RTFA, let alone verify all definitions of the words in the summary.
Nope. It doesn't count. Since there were torrents of the thing available within the hour of release. You just don't need AOL.
AOL was marketed as an ISP for non technical people. This justified that added expense. Most families these days have at least one member who know at least a little bit about computing and sees that AOL is not needed. Its cheaper to get access from someone else and add the features you want. I suppose its because the internet has been around long enough for the general public (say 10 years of real viable public access?) so that either the adults have taken an interest or they have kids who know a great deal about it all. Seriously, AOL is just not worth the added expense. This new racket about including free anti-virus and spyware blocking is not going to change anything. Breaking into four main organisation is not the answer either. What they need to do is set their prices competitively and get some innovative content.
No, tripling the bandwidth has nothing to do with enhanced range. If anything the range will decrease. You need more power or better antenna directivity to get better range.
When they say the UWB is 5 years out, I call that low level FUD. It's very nearly ready for prime time. Certainly for applications like PAN and such. This is going to compete directly with Bluetooth. The bigger and juicier UWB apps like thru-wall imaging radars are still a few years off. Personally I'm looking forward to UWB. If it all goes to plan my next DVD player will connect to my new TV wirelessly eliminating the need for all household cables. Except extention cords. But given time, we'll get rid of those too. Incidentally the holdup on many UWB apps is the integrated antenna. Its proving very hard to build small antennas with the bandwidth required.
Man, /.'ed already. Anybody manage to grab the text? Please?