A Look at Comics & Graphic Novel Chart Toppers:
2005-2006
The rankings on the Book Standard's Comics & Graphic Novels
Chart fluctuate week after week: At any given moment manga
publishers could release the latest volume of a popular
series that grabs the No. 1 spot, only to be replaced
shortly by a competing brand or the next volume in the same
series. Also, movies based on superheroes could bump
existing graphic novels that have been in stores for years
to the top. One thing is consistent, however: TokyoPop and
VIZ dominate, the majority of their titles reaching No. 1.
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First Fullmetal Alchemist TCG World Championship
Announced
The first annual Fullmetal Alchemist TCG World Championship
concluded Sunday, Aug. 13, at Gen Con So Cal, with Chad
Storm of Columbus, Ind., defeating fellow Indianan Greg
Durant for the grand prize.
For his efforts, Storm received a complete set of every FMA
TCG card ever produced, an FMA TCG World Championship
backpack, an FMA TCG World Championship polo shirt, a
trophy, a 30 GB iPod, a $50 iTunes gift certificate, a $100
Best Buy gift certificate, an Xbox 360, two playsets of The
Elric Brothers, The Only Family They've Got promo card
(marked as "World Champion"), and he qualifies for the 2007
FMA TCG World Championship.
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Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam
Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, an innovative new chapter in the
series set to hit the Wii and Nintendo DS later this year.
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Star Wars to come to PSP and Nintendo DS
Ubisoft is launching Star Wars: Lethal Alliance for Sony PSP
and Nintendo DS.
The game takes place in between Episode III: Revenge of the
Sith, and Episode IV: A New Hope.
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Rumor: Voice Recognition For Nintendo Wii
The latest "rumors on the internet" revolve around advanced
voice recognition for Wii. Speech recognition is always a
tricky thing to master, and if true, the program "Hear Say
Today" will have an uphill battle.
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Nintendo DS Browser Hands-on
The Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable have been in a
heated battle even before their debuts in late 2004, and one
of the biggest guns of the PSP front is its enormous
versatility - it seems like every other day Sony gives its
system a new feature. One of the earliest abilities given to
the PSP system post-launch was the ability to surf the web
if you're within a Wi-Fi signal - not a very gaming-oriented
function, but it's still a cool checkmark for Sony to place
on its handheld.
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Nintendo Wii's online service to be free of charge
Nintendo has made yet another move to separate its upcoming
Wii console from the mainstream players of the Xbox 360 and
Playstation 3. It plans to offer the Wii online service free
of charge, a big difference from the current Xbox Live
system of nickel and diming gamers for every little game or
add-on they get for their system.
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Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Invades Europe
Prepare to become one with your Pokémon, European style, as
Nintendo have announced the release of the Pokémon Mystery
Dungeon series in Europe in November.
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Nintendo Wii Podcast
The Nintendo Wii Podcast unveils 6 new video game titles
including new versions and sequals to current hits from EA
Games.
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China bans foreign-made cartoons
D'oh! China has banished Homer Simpson, Pokémon and Mickey
Mouse from prime time.
Beginning Sept. 1, regulators have barred foreign cartoons
from TV from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in an effort to protect
China's struggling animation studios, news reports said
Sunday.
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Pokemon Day: The Serious Documentary
David Segal and his Olde English comedy troupe hit New York
City's Bryant Park to film a skit and accidently happened
upon Pokemon Day. They did what any rational person would:
They made fun of it.
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Pokemon Worlds results!
By: Otaku
There is an official "mini-site"
here that shows the results of Pokemon Worlds.
Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics (PSP)
Thanks to a collaboration between Kuju and Wizards of the
Coast, D&D Tactics will utilize the equivalent of 13 rule
books crammed onto one UMD. According to the dev team, the
title will have a more faithful adherence to the 3.5 version
of D&D than any game on any game system up to this point.
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Bounty Hunters Debut At Gen Con
Wizards of the Coast debuted several miniatures from the
upcoming Star Wars Miniatures expansion set this past
weekend at Gen Con. The Lingster was on hand at Gen Con
checking out all the gaming news he could find, including
the folowing gallery of new minis that were on display.
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Is Dreamblade the hot new thing?
Pieces for the science-fiction game Dreamblade are assembled
Wednesday before the start of this weekend's Gen Con in
Indianapolis.
The company responsible for marketing successes like
Dungeons & Dragons and Magic The Gathering is betting its
newest game will develop the same cultlike following.
To make sure Dreamblade -- a science-fiction board game that
lacks a memory chip, control panel or any other electronic
feature -- hits it big with players, Wizards of the Coast
Inc. is backing its release with a half-million dollar
tournament circuit.
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DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® FAN FILM CONTEST DEADLINE:
SEPTEMBER 1
August 16, 2006 (Renton, Wash.) - Budding filmmakers and
D&D® fans still have a chance to enter the first-ever D&D
Fan Film Contest. Devotees of the game have been exploring
extraordinary worlds, encountering mystical adversaries, and
developing incredible characters for more than 30 years. Now
the boundless creativity and imaginations of its players are
being called to an adventure very few have experienced
before - creating their very own film! So gamers, set down
your d20 and fire up your video camera - it's time to show
the world your unique perspective on the D&D experience! But
hurry, the deadline is nigh - all entries must be received
by September 1, 2006.
Contestants in the D&D Fan Film Contest are vying for more
than just the thrill of letting their geek flag fly. One
grand prize-winner will take home a new computer, video
editing software, video camera, and a Dungeons & Dragons
"Year of Dragons" gift pack which includes, the
limited-edition Colossal Red Dragon and D&D Chess Set. In
addition, three finalists will receive round-trip flights to
Los Angeles, along with hotel accommodations, to attend the
final awards ceremony.
Here's how to enter:
- Visit www.dndfanfilmfest.com, and follow the instructions
to review the Official Contest Rules & Guidelines, complete
and submit an entry form and upload your film
- The finished film must not exceed five minutes and must be
submitted on MPEG (.mpg), QuickTime (.mov), Windows Video (.wmv),
or AVI (.avi) file format
- Deadline for submissions is September 1, 2006
All eligible films will be posted at www.gamevideos.com, on
or about September 15, 2006, and fans nationwide will be
able to vote for their favorites until September 30, 2006.
The top 10 eligible films, as chosen by the fans, will
advance to the final judging, where a panel of celebrity
fans and members of the independent film community, as well
as game developers, will determine the final three. These
entries will be judged by the following criteria:
entertainment value (50 percent), originality (25 percent)
and adherence to D&D genre (25 percent). The final three
films will be screened in Los Angeles at the Worldwide
Dungeons & Dragons Game Day, where the grand-prizewinner
will be announced.
"D&D fans are a passionate and creative bunch, so we're
anticipating a fantastic response," said Liz Schuh, Brand
Director for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast. "As
diverse as our fans are today, we expect the submissions to
run the gamut from tongue-in-cheek comedies, to perhaps even
documentaries," Schuh continued.
Since its first release in 1974, the fantasy roleplaying
game Dungeons & Dragons has taken millions of players on
imaginary adventures of epic scale. Today, the game is
universally regarded as the original game that created the
roleplaying game category, and the inspiration for
generations of game designers. Now in its third edition, D&D
is enjoyed by millions of players worldwide, while countless
more remember it with fond nostalgia.
