Just a quick post to link to a couple of new articles I wrote up over at Games Radar. Make sure to let 'em know you really like that new guy writing stuff up for them, and that you would check out the site a LOT more often if they could get him writing more stuff. Heh.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Death of a Trade Show??
So the rumor mill is running rampant today that the Entertainment Software Association is planning announce the cancellation of the E3 trade show as early as tomorrow (Monday). Reports are varying in their reporting, with some places saying the show will be reduced in size and moved to a new venue, while others hint at a total cancellation of the event.
I'm sure we'll find out the truth of things (and the fallout from it) over the next few days, but in the meantime, I want to get your opinions on the matter. Just how important ARE shows like E3 to the entertainment industry? Is it better to have a huge production like that, with everyone in the industry gathered under one roof? Or are smaller, more frequent company specific press junkets the way to go? Is it better to shine the spotlight brightly on the industry once a year? Or should we cast a dimmer light on our world throughout the year?
As someone covering the various industries, I can see good and bad in both ideas. On one hand, it's a lot easier to get a LOT of coverage when everything is together in a central location. Also, with the amount of media coverage garnered by shows like E3, the industry as a whole gets a lot of publicity. Plus, even if they're not necessarily in the same league as the big guns, the smaller production companies/developers/etc. can at least play ball in the same park.
On the other hand, it would be nice to see announcements, coverage, and all sorts of tidbits in the industry spread out over the course of a year. Why wait until May to show off your latest gaming revolution (or "Wii" in Nintendo's case)? It could also be easier to put together a broader coverage of the industry in the scope of that coverage. And then there's the geographic advantages. Market coverage can get a little more saturated when the coverage is spread from the West Coast to the East Coast and everywhere in between. At least as long as the media or publishers are willing to foot the travel expenses. Keep in mind that for a lot of media outlets, travel budgets are already through the roof.
So ... those are a few of MY thoughts ... what about yours?
I'm sure we'll find out the truth of things (and the fallout from it) over the next few days, but in the meantime, I want to get your opinions on the matter. Just how important ARE shows like E3 to the entertainment industry? Is it better to have a huge production like that, with everyone in the industry gathered under one roof? Or are smaller, more frequent company specific press junkets the way to go? Is it better to shine the spotlight brightly on the industry once a year? Or should we cast a dimmer light on our world throughout the year?
As someone covering the various industries, I can see good and bad in both ideas. On one hand, it's a lot easier to get a LOT of coverage when everything is together in a central location. Also, with the amount of media coverage garnered by shows like E3, the industry as a whole gets a lot of publicity. Plus, even if they're not necessarily in the same league as the big guns, the smaller production companies/developers/etc. can at least play ball in the same park.
On the other hand, it would be nice to see announcements, coverage, and all sorts of tidbits in the industry spread out over the course of a year. Why wait until May to show off your latest gaming revolution (or "Wii" in Nintendo's case)? It could also be easier to put together a broader coverage of the industry in the scope of that coverage. And then there's the geographic advantages. Market coverage can get a little more saturated when the coverage is spread from the West Coast to the East Coast and everywhere in between. At least as long as the media or publishers are willing to foot the travel expenses. Keep in mind that for a lot of media outlets, travel budgets are already through the roof.
So ... those are a few of MY thoughts ... what about yours?
Friday, July 28, 2006
Where DOES the time go??
Whew ... okay, so I've been slacking on updating the blog, but again, there's a good reason or three. So, enough with the exposition, let's get right into it:
First off, there was Comic-Con last week. I flew out there to produce some segments for Electric Playground and to cover the show for my newest freelancing home, Games Radar. Everything was crazy at the show, but definitely worthwhile. I put together a number of Comic of the Weeks segments for Electric Playground, which included interview pieces with: Paul Jenkins, Jim Palmiotti, Robert Kirkman, C.B. Cebulski, Justin Bleep, Cully Hamner, David Mack, Chris Gossett, Tim Seely, and a bunch of other fine comic folks.
Then there were some of the celebrity interviews. We got the cast of NBC's upcoming show Heroes (DEFINITELY on my "Must Watch" list this fall), Rosario Dawson, Brian Posehn, Rob Corddry, Stan Lee, Brendon Small and Loren Bouchard (creators of Home Movies), Jorge Garcia and Daniel Dae Kim from Lost, Billy West, and a whole lot more.
Let's not forget the video games ... Nintendo, Sony, Activision, Konami, Blizzard, Square-Enix, THQ, Warner Bros. Interactive, Vivendi-Universal, Capcom, and 2K Games were just a few of the companies showing off their wares at the show. I saw the latest from Justice League Heroes, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Naruto, The Darkness, Castlevania, Lost Planet, Spyro, and too many other games to list out. It was nuts ...
Oh, and lets not forget the events. There was a Naruto preview party, a Sony Online Block Party, and (one of the biggest events), the Marvel/Hasbro party. Again, just a crazy and chaotic adventure, all of which I'm barely scratching the surface of. There are stories of interesting rumors, chance meetings, production gaffes, and other sordid tales.
So, that obviously kept me busy ... but what else has been going on? Well, in case you missed the update, right after I "officially" started as Managing Editor at the new mag from the guys behind Play, things went into a holding pattern again and I couldn't get started. Long and short of it (and trust me, the long is REALLY long), I'm back at the freelancing grindstone for the time being. I'm actually not complaining though. I've managed to pull a lot of things together and should be getting a LOT more exposure as a result.
First off, I've started writing with the guys at Games Radar. I like the way things are put together there, and I'm hoping to be doing some semi-regular freelance work for them. Also, I've worked out a deal with the guys at All Games to help contribute to the news portion of their programming AND to be a somewhat of a regular on the radio show discussing the comic book industry, as well as the crossover projects between comics, video games, and even film. I'll be sure to let all of you know exactly when I start, but this is something to definitely look forward to.
Moving on, I've been expanding some of my work beyond the scope of writing and journalism. Some of this inculdes me getting involved more in the general entertainment industry. No, don't worry ... I haven't got any sort of acting bug. What I AM doing is trying to work with people within the entertainment industry to help "nudge" things in particular directions and work with some really talented people in the film industry. Yep, David's going multimedia ...
Anyway, so that's just the start of what's happening now. I have no idea where it'll all lead, but I'll be sure to keep everyone here posted.
Later,
David
First off, there was Comic-Con last week. I flew out there to produce some segments for Electric Playground and to cover the show for my newest freelancing home, Games Radar. Everything was crazy at the show, but definitely worthwhile. I put together a number of Comic of the Weeks segments for Electric Playground, which included interview pieces with: Paul Jenkins, Jim Palmiotti, Robert Kirkman, C.B. Cebulski, Justin Bleep, Cully Hamner, David Mack, Chris Gossett, Tim Seely, and a bunch of other fine comic folks.
Then there were some of the celebrity interviews. We got the cast of NBC's upcoming show Heroes (DEFINITELY on my "Must Watch" list this fall), Rosario Dawson, Brian Posehn, Rob Corddry, Stan Lee, Brendon Small and Loren Bouchard (creators of Home Movies), Jorge Garcia and Daniel Dae Kim from Lost, Billy West, and a whole lot more.
Let's not forget the video games ... Nintendo, Sony, Activision, Konami, Blizzard, Square-Enix, THQ, Warner Bros. Interactive, Vivendi-Universal, Capcom, and 2K Games were just a few of the companies showing off their wares at the show. I saw the latest from Justice League Heroes, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Naruto, The Darkness, Castlevania, Lost Planet, Spyro, and too many other games to list out. It was nuts ...
Oh, and lets not forget the events. There was a Naruto preview party, a Sony Online Block Party, and (one of the biggest events), the Marvel/Hasbro party. Again, just a crazy and chaotic adventure, all of which I'm barely scratching the surface of. There are stories of interesting rumors, chance meetings, production gaffes, and other sordid tales.
So, that obviously kept me busy ... but what else has been going on? Well, in case you missed the update, right after I "officially" started as Managing Editor at the new mag from the guys behind Play, things went into a holding pattern again and I couldn't get started. Long and short of it (and trust me, the long is REALLY long), I'm back at the freelancing grindstone for the time being. I'm actually not complaining though. I've managed to pull a lot of things together and should be getting a LOT more exposure as a result.
First off, I've started writing with the guys at Games Radar. I like the way things are put together there, and I'm hoping to be doing some semi-regular freelance work for them. Also, I've worked out a deal with the guys at All Games to help contribute to the news portion of their programming AND to be a somewhat of a regular on the radio show discussing the comic book industry, as well as the crossover projects between comics, video games, and even film. I'll be sure to let all of you know exactly when I start, but this is something to definitely look forward to.
Moving on, I've been expanding some of my work beyond the scope of writing and journalism. Some of this inculdes me getting involved more in the general entertainment industry. No, don't worry ... I haven't got any sort of acting bug. What I AM doing is trying to work with people within the entertainment industry to help "nudge" things in particular directions and work with some really talented people in the film industry. Yep, David's going multimedia ...
Anyway, so that's just the start of what's happening now. I have no idea where it'll all lead, but I'll be sure to keep everyone here posted.
Later,
David
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Independence weekend
Well, I've sufficiently recovered enough from the past few days to update everything Post-4th. Here goes:
Heroes was a great show. Better than I was expecting (at least for me). I spent a some time helping out Randy Green (artist on Witchblade, Tomb Raider, Emma Frost, etc.), and most of my time working the floor, catching up with a few old friends and meeting up with a lot of new ones.
On Saturday, Randy and I joined up with Ed McGuiness, Sanford Greene, Dexter Vines, and a few other folks at the Fox and Hound in Charlotte. Ed and I swapped video game tales, including some WoW war stories. Sanford and Dex shared some Dragon Con horror stories, and fun was had by all.
I also talked to Brandon Peterson and Mark Brooks about picking up some digital coloring techniques. For those of you that have followed the original blog at FanBased Media, you've seen my basic BASIC coloring skills. And if you haven't seen my coloring, a simple example is none other than my Avatar here.
The cliff notes for the rest of the show include setting up at least ten of the twenty five plus Comic of the Week segments to be filmed at San Diego. Meeting up w/ Joe Quesada for a quick Marvel rundown, bullshitting around w/ Paul Jenkins, talking to C.B. Cebulski about games, comics, and entertainment media working together, and other basic schmoozing and networking.
Getting back from the show meant getting ready to the 4th of July ... which ended up being a bit of a bust. The weather where I'm at has been miserable to say the least. Flash flood warnings, heavy wind ... hell, the other day my dad saw a tornado touch down in front of his car while he was at a stoplight. To quote hime, "I turned left and hauled ass. Didn't stop til I hit the house." So, no fireworks of any kind here ... though it did give me an opportunity to try and catch up on some writing work.
Anyway, that's the gist of the past few days for me ... what about all of you?
Heroes was a great show. Better than I was expecting (at least for me). I spent a some time helping out Randy Green (artist on Witchblade, Tomb Raider, Emma Frost, etc.), and most of my time working the floor, catching up with a few old friends and meeting up with a lot of new ones.
On Saturday, Randy and I joined up with Ed McGuiness, Sanford Greene, Dexter Vines, and a few other folks at the Fox and Hound in Charlotte. Ed and I swapped video game tales, including some WoW war stories. Sanford and Dex shared some Dragon Con horror stories, and fun was had by all.
I also talked to Brandon Peterson and Mark Brooks about picking up some digital coloring techniques. For those of you that have followed the original blog at FanBased Media, you've seen my basic BASIC coloring skills. And if you haven't seen my coloring, a simple example is none other than my Avatar here.
The cliff notes for the rest of the show include setting up at least ten of the twenty five plus Comic of the Week segments to be filmed at San Diego. Meeting up w/ Joe Quesada for a quick Marvel rundown, bullshitting around w/ Paul Jenkins, talking to C.B. Cebulski about games, comics, and entertainment media working together, and other basic schmoozing and networking.
Getting back from the show meant getting ready to the 4th of July ... which ended up being a bit of a bust. The weather where I'm at has been miserable to say the least. Flash flood warnings, heavy wind ... hell, the other day my dad saw a tornado touch down in front of his car while he was at a stoplight. To quote hime, "I turned left and hauled ass. Didn't stop til I hit the house." So, no fireworks of any kind here ... though it did give me an opportunity to try and catch up on some writing work.
Anyway, that's the gist of the past few days for me ... what about all of you?
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