Andrew Eisen – Page 16

‘Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry’ are ESSENTIAL!!!

Published May 4, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

Another year, another Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry report released by the Entertainment Software Association, the org that represents the interests of video game publishers but not necessarily gamers. You’d think those interests would be one and the same but perhaps that’s a rant for another time.

The demographic data in the annual report is compiled from a survey of over 4000 American households conducted by market research company Ipsos MediaCT for the ESA. You can read the report and devour all of its numbery goodness at your leisure but here’s the data I found most interesting:

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I am an imperfect perfectionist

Published May 3, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

I am a perfectionist.

That doesn’t mean I’m perfect and my body of work is a testament to that fact. Of course, realizing I’m not perfect and never will be doesn’t stop me from spending a ton of extra time on little details that probably wouldn’t make a difference to anyone but me.

Let me tell you a story.

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Lonely Andrew Yaks About Video Games and Stuff

Published May 2, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

Andrew is all by his lonesome on this week’s podcast. Topics discussed include the recent Nintendo NX and Zelda news (2:45), removing content from western localizations and how it affects games like Yakuza 3(22:49), what to do about prostitutes in Grand Theft Auto games (41:02), and Sony’s continued failure at marketing the new Ghostbusters movie (1:07:35).

Women wouldn’t be interested in owning a replica of Ripley’s shoes from Aliens, would they?

Published April 28, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

In celebration of Alien Day (4/26, because the original Alien movies take place on a planetoid named LV-426), footwear and apparel company Reebok released a limited edition run of the high-top sneakers Sigourney Weaver’s character Ellen Ripley wore in the first Alien sequel (pictured left). Considering Ripley is, at least from an American perspective, the preeminent female action hero, fans were stunned to learn that her shoes were only available in men’s sizes.

What the hell, right?

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‘Uncensored’ should be a baseline expectation, not a special feature

Published April 26, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

On April 15, publisher XSEED hit up its tumblr to announce the forthcoming PC and 3DS releases of Corpse Party, a localization of the original Japanese horror adventure.

The lengthy post mostly concerns itself with assuring readers that the game is arriving in the west completely uncensored.

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The Podcast With No Name

Published April 25, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

We’re still working on a name but the first post-Super Podcast Action Committee podcast is in the bag and you can watch it over to the left. This week, EZK and I discussed the sad truth behind my love for LEGO games (7:42), the possibility of Nintendo NX news hitting early this week (30:04), whether GameStop’s publishing plans could hurt its gaming magazine’s credibility (34:45), the proposed “No Sale Promise” for digital games (50:24), and whether movie theater audiences improve the theater-going experience (1:06:01).

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Green Room Review

Published April 21, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

In the realm of performing arts, a green room is a room in which performers wait when they’re not out on stage doing their thing. When you go to a concert, piano recital, comedy showcase, burlesque review, magic show, opera – anything that features people performing on stage in front of an audience – when the talent is not on stage, they’re hanging out in a green room.

As a performing artist myself, I have been in dozens upon dozens of different green rooms in dozens upon dozens of different venues and I’m going to share with you the dirty little secret show biz doesn’t want you to know:

Green rooms aren’t green.

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Ghost in the Shell and the cost-benefit of whitewashing

Published April 21, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

Okay, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page.

Ghost in the Shell is a Japanese comic book from the late ’80s that was made into an incredibly popular animated film in 1995. Courtesy of Paramount and DreamWorks, the seminal anime classic is being made into a live-action feature staring Scarlet Johansson as Major Motoko Kusanagi. As you might be able to tell from the character’s name, Kusanagi is Japanese. And as you might be able to tell from the production still to the left, Johansson is not.

This has prompted numerous internet discussions (of varying levels of nuance and politeness) of “whitewashing,” the trend of casting white actors in non-white rolls. According to a report in Screen Crush last week, Paramount and DreamWorks had commissioned visual effects tests to determine if Johansson’s appearance could be digitally altered to look Asian.

I have some thoughts about this.

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Tracer: Subway sandwich thighs and a ridiculously deep butt crack

Published April 19, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

See the lady in the yellow pants to the left? That’s Tracer from Blizzard’s upcoming game Overwatch. According to game director Jeff Kaplan, the creative team wasn’t “entirely happy with [that] pose” so late last month, the devs at Blizzard replaced it with the one they feel “speaks more to the character of Tracer.”

You can find Tracer’s new pose below the break.

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Author: Andrew Eisen