Geek News Roundup for 05/24/09 - The bit of geek news before E3
Remember in a previous Geek News Roundup when I mentioned that FUNimation would be streaming the newest episodes of One Piece within an hour of the Japanese broadcast on May 30th? For the time being the deal between FUNimation and Toei Animation is effectively dead, unfortunately. A flaw was discovered on FUNimation's servers that allowed a person to access and leak the episode via bittorrent a full day before it was set to air on Japanese TV. As a result FUNimation has indefinitely suspended its plans for a One Piece simulcast, and has also removed its One Piece portals from Hulu and Joost. Additionally, the company has pulled its stream of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood from its official page, although the episodes can still be found on Hulu and Youtube.
While it can be assumed that Toei Animation most likely had a hand in One Piece's simulcast removal, FMA was probably removed for security reasons. In other words, it is doubtful at the moment that OP will be simulcasted any time soon, as having the episodes leaked before they even aired on Japanese TV was a disaster for FUNimation. At the same time FMA's removal could be simply related to security upgrades. FUNimation isn't completely faultless, as its security was effectively non-existent. However, there is no doubt that due to the actions of one impatient person anime simulcasts may have taken a step backward. The ramifications beyond having the OP simulcast suspended (or canceled) will become eventually become clear.
In other (less aggravating) animation news, Disney Pixar's Up is out, and NPR has an extensive interview with the film's director and co-writer, Pete Docter. The interview reveals much of the creative process at Disney Pixar, and why such films appeal to both children and adults. In short, it is a must listen for any animation buff. Unsurprisingly, the movie is doing quite well at the box office.
While animation fans are focusing on Disney Pixar's newest work, gamers are gearing up for E3 which starts tomorrow. While Sony may be on the minds of many gamers (PSP Go anyone?), Microsoft has quite a few announcements planned. The software giant confirmed the existence of the Zune HD and the supplanting of the Xbox Live video marketplace with the Zune marketplace. Also, EGM rose from its grave when Steve Harris, the founder of the magazine (re)acquired the publishing and printing rights from Ziff Davis. It is unclear if any of the former EGM staff will return to the magazine. And I'm certain no one doubted for a moment the new Lunar remake would find its way to North America. The only question was would Ubisoft pick up the title, as they did with Lunar: Dragon Song. Thankfully that awful reality will never come to pass. Xseed Games announced it has acquired the rights to translate and release Lunar: Silver Star Harmony in North America, as well as a handful of other games.
In a move that should have been made years ago, Time Warner is ready to completely separate from AOL. This may sound rude but, TW should have taken AOL behind the corporate office and put it out ofour its misery shortly after the dot-com bust. And GM has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today. If all goes as planned GM will emerge from bankruptcy as a smaller and more profitable company. As it stands today the company is anything but profitable, as its value on the stock market has fallen to about 74 cents a share. Ouch.
While it can be assumed that Toei Animation most likely had a hand in One Piece's simulcast removal, FMA was probably removed for security reasons. In other words, it is doubtful at the moment that OP will be simulcasted any time soon, as having the episodes leaked before they even aired on Japanese TV was a disaster for FUNimation. At the same time FMA's removal could be simply related to security upgrades. FUNimation isn't completely faultless, as its security was effectively non-existent. However, there is no doubt that due to the actions of one impatient person anime simulcasts may have taken a step backward. The ramifications beyond having the OP simulcast suspended (or canceled) will become eventually become clear.
In other (less aggravating) animation news, Disney Pixar's Up is out, and NPR has an extensive interview with the film's director and co-writer, Pete Docter. The interview reveals much of the creative process at Disney Pixar, and why such films appeal to both children and adults. In short, it is a must listen for any animation buff. Unsurprisingly, the movie is doing quite well at the box office.
While animation fans are focusing on Disney Pixar's newest work, gamers are gearing up for E3 which starts tomorrow. While Sony may be on the minds of many gamers (PSP Go anyone?), Microsoft has quite a few announcements planned. The software giant confirmed the existence of the Zune HD and the supplanting of the Xbox Live video marketplace with the Zune marketplace. Also, EGM rose from its grave when Steve Harris, the founder of the magazine (re)acquired the publishing and printing rights from Ziff Davis. It is unclear if any of the former EGM staff will return to the magazine. And I'm certain no one doubted for a moment the new Lunar remake would find its way to North America. The only question was would Ubisoft pick up the title, as they did with Lunar: Dragon Song. Thankfully that awful reality will never come to pass. Xseed Games announced it has acquired the rights to translate and release Lunar: Silver Star Harmony in North America, as well as a handful of other games.
In a move that should have been made years ago, Time Warner is ready to completely separate from AOL. This may sound rude but, TW should have taken AOL behind the corporate office and put it out of
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