Marginalia 1.5.11:

• Apparently Ubisoft has finally decided to (sorta) stop being a bunch of dumb douchebags. The French software giant inspired a chorus of WTFs from gamers around the world when it announced in January that all of its PC titles would feature online DRM integration. Online DRM basically means that users have to be logged in to the Internet for the whole time they're playing a Ubisoft game. In practice, this means that if you lose your connection to the Ubisoft servers for even a second while playing a single-player game like, say, Assassin's Creed 2, you'll be dropped like a bad habit. That's a scary thought for those of us with crappy internet connections or, um, anyone who plays a Ubisoft game, apparently. It seems the company's finally loosening their sphincter, though, as they've removed the online DRM requirement from a few of their games, including the aforementioned Creed and Splinter Cell: Conviction. It's not clear, though, which of the publisher's titles still retain the connection requirement or whether future titles will include it. Nice to see some common sense, even if it follows massive, headache-inducing stubbornness. (Via Joystiq.)

• Facebook is worth $50 billion. Let that number sink in for just a second. As the Economist points out, that means that this seven year old company that has just 2,000 employees is worth as much as fucking Boeing, a company that has been around for nearly a century and employs 160,000 people. To put it in perspective, Google is worth four times either of those companies, with its publicly-traded stock valuing the company at around $200 billion. Google employs nearly 20,000 employees, but that's a drop in the bucket compared to Boeing's massive workforce. The Economist (and some erstwhile investors) are worried that the company is overvalued, and I think there's something to that. Most of Facebook's revenue comes from those ads on the side of the page, most of which seem completely irrelevant or just silly. Facebook's making its billions off of asking me if I want to meet Christian singles? I can't imagine people actually clicking on the things, but I guess I'm just not tuned in to consumer habits, since telemarketing apparently actually works sometimes. Perhaps Facebook really is worth that much, though. Yet another indication that gigantic, profitable companies don't necessarily employ that many people. (Via Daily Intel.)

• This last bit isn't really news, and, yep, it's Kanye-related. But it's so wonderful, I doubt you'll mind. I guess even the titans of popera have a sense of humor. Who knew? (Via Gawker.tv.)

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Marginalia 9.8.10: Margilliamalia

• Production on Terry Gilliam's long-suffering Don Quixote adaptation has apparently collapsed...again. The first incarnation of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote began production in September of 2000, but came to a screeching halt - or, uh, several fairly bellowing halts - after star Jean Rochefort fell seriously ill, the production crew couldn't record any of the sound because of a nearby NATO target practice site, and a series of flash floods and hailstorms destroyed a sizable amount of equipment and physically altered the look of Bardenas Reales, where the film was being shot. Fortunately for those of us who know that the account of a failed film production is often more interesting than the end product, documentary filmmakers Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe were on hand to film the whole sordid ordeal. The resulting film (2002's Lost in La Mancha) sits at a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.

• In 2008, Gilliam managed to get the rights to the film back from the insurance company who had basically repossessed the script (following a $15 million insurance claim) and had even secured Robert Duvall and Ewan McGregor to star in the thing. But Variety is reporting that this new version of the film is apparently back in development hell following the "collapse" of financing a month and a half ago. In all seriousness, can't somebody cut this guy a fucking break? To my knowledge, the guy has never made a film that didn't involve casting, writing, financing, or studio problems. Most of our readers are probably aware of the problems that plagued the production of last year's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, but those looking for a tragicomic tour through a troubled genius's resume should take a trip over to Dreams, a Terry Gilliam fanzine/clearinghouse for collective frustration.

• But the most frustrating thing about this story might be that the end product (should it ever surface) probably won't even be all that great. Brazil is an undisputed classic, but the rest of Gilliam's films rarely rise above the "interesting, but problematic" tag. And even that film isn't without its issues. The biggest problem with Parnassus, for example, was not that its star died halfway through production. Rather, Doctor Parnassus was merely "good" because of its half-baked characters and limp storytelling. The rest of his filmography mostly suffers from the same issues, but the majesty and inventiveness of Terry Gilliam's vision are enough to keep me coming back. Consequently, I'll probably see whatever poorly-conceived, lazily-plotted beauty Gilliam comes out with next. As long as it has Tom Waits in it (via The A.V. Club).

Note: You'll notice that this week's Marginalia focused on just one story. I thought posting a rambling, overlong piece was something of a tribute to Gilliam's problematic legacy. Plus, I just couldn't get everything into one bullet point.

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Let's just pretend nothing else happened this week.

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Marginalia 9.3.10: Sam & Max & Tycho & Jon Hamm & Gum from Stereos

• NBC just got the rights to stream Jimmy Fallon's stupendous Glee-aping Emmy opener. If you're one of the apparently ten people who haven't seen it - I, shamefully, was one of them until a few minutes ago - do yourself a favor and watch the shit out of it. The clip, which features Fallon, the cast of Glee, Tina Fey, Jon Hamm, and Community's Joel McHale belting out a Glee-ed out version of "Born to Run," is absolutely divine. But unhappily for NBC, it took the network a full four days to get their act together and start streaming the thing officially. The network probably would have been happy to scoop up a few of the 1 million views the thing's gotten on YouTube since it was posted unofficially on Sunday evening, but they failed to secure streaming rights for the song until Thursday evening. If you ask me, it's pretty indicative of NBC's flabbergasting inability to keep up with the times. Another bad sign? It revolves around a show that's not even on the network. Ouch. At least they could have included Ron Swanson in the chorus. (Via Vulture)

• Telltale Games revealed the identity of that mysterious mashup game they released a teaser trailer for last week. It's called Poker Night at the Inventory, and it's - what else - a poker game featuring "Team Fortress 2's Heavy, Penny Arcade's Tycho, Homestar Runner's Strong Bad, and Sam & Max's Max." I assume it'll have more going on that just poker, though, since it's from the studio comprising castoffs from LucasArts (Grim Fandango, the Monkey Island series). Now the copious amount of time I spent playing various Smash Bros. iterations attests to my (guilty) love for video games featuring characters from other video games, but I'm on unfamiliar ground when it comes to video games featuring members of the video game press as playable characters. It's somewhat akin to one of those gaudy charity singles including, um, Robert Christgau or, I dunno, Kurt Loder. Or Sway? That guy from MTV with the dreadlocks and the stupid hat? Do people care about Sway? Regardless, it's odd to see an art form and its critics playing together. But, then again, Penny Arcade has always sat on the border between art and criticism, what with the fact that it's a comic and not just a series of crappily-written articles. I'd include snarky hyperlinks to the various crappy game websites/magazines out there, but I didn't have enough space to link every gaming website on the internet. (Via Joystiq...who of course don't count)

• Wanna feel completely inadequate about your ability to keep up with the musical zeitgeist? Check out Stereogum's list of the "40 Best New Bands of 2010" and see how many you recognize. I got 11, only about half of which I've actually heard. Among those choice 11, ceo, Best Coast, Active Child, and Perfume Genius are the ones I'd recommend to my friends and neighbors (and feel cool for doing so). Sprawling indie soft-rock project - yup, that's a thing - Gayngs is also included on the list, but I can't abide the one song I've heard by them. Soft rock sucks ass no matter how cool it dresses. Listen to this instead. (Via Rollo & Grady)

PS - I reserve the right to post a new song by Kanye West, who has pledged to release one new song every Friday until the release of his new album. The material he's already put out is stupendous...except for maybe this. Continue...

Marginalia 8.27.10: North Korea, Zombies, and Icy Bitches

• North Korea has a Twitter under the name Uriminzokkiri, meaning "on our own as a nation." This is week-old news, but it's so damn crazy that I just had to mention it. It's worth noting, however, that in the week since the story broke, some have begun questioning the legitimacy of the social media accounts - there's a Facebook page and a YouTube channel, too - that the country has allegedly opened. Specifically, people are wondering whether the Supreme Leader would open a Facebook account that lists its interests as "Korean reunification" (good) and "lactose-free milk" (odd, but not necessarily out of character for Mr. -Il) and posts links to shark videos. Oh yeah, and men. The original Uriminzokkiri account said it liked men. Facebook has since deleted two accounts claiming to be opened by the North Korean government, one of which was allegedly the official state account. Maybe this is an indication that the Pyongyang is finally ready to open up to the world. Or maybe they're just as insane (Great Comrade Kim Jong Il started his revolutionary leadership of Music and Dance) and delusional as they've always been. But now they're on the internet.

• Looks like the new X-Men movie might be better than anyone was expecting. I know at least one Charge-Shot!!! blogger (Boivin) who rolls his eyes at the mere mention of Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class, but some recent casting announcements might be enough to warm even Mr. Boivin's icy, racist heart. I was personally stoked to hear that the initial roster included both James McAvoy (as Charles Xavier) and Michael Fassbender (as Magneto), but the addition of Oliver Platt (who'll be playing the heretofore unknown "Man in Black") and Rose Byrne (assuming the role of Moira MacTaggart) got me even more excited. But the announcement that January Jones will be playing the role of Emma Frost is just too good to be true. Yeah, her character's been a bit of a showblocker lately, but that ain't January's fault! She's still the iciest bitch on TV, and now she's going to play the iciest bitch in the Marvel universe. Brilliant.

• AMC released the trailer for its forthcoming, Frank Darabont-helmed The Walking Dead series (adapted from the absurdly great comic books by Robert Kirkman) to the general public on Wednesday. I'll just tell you that it's premiering on Halloween night and hint that Halloween parties are stupid and you'll probably just end up hooking up with someone dressed as Snooki. And then I'll let the trailer speak for me.

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Marginalia 8.12.10: Kanye, Cathy, and PBR

• Kanye's got a new track out and, daaaaaaaaaaamn, is it fire. "See Me Now" is a throwback to the silky pop-soul of The College Dropout and features hook(s) from Imma-Let-You-Finish-But-Beyoncé Knowles and Gap Band frontman Charlie Wilson (not that one). It also features some of Kanye's choicest punchlines from his trip around the internet ("I might walk in Nobu with no shoes/He just walked in Nobu like it was Whole foods!") and an airy, effortless charm that Kanye hasn't displayed since Graduation. I see the track as the "Izzo" to "Power"'s "Takeover"; while the latter is evidence that a rapper backed into a corner turns out some ferocious, brilliant stuff, the former shows that Kanye's tribulations haven't robbed him of his sense of humor. If anything, I think Imma-gate injected some much-needed perspective into the music of a brilliant artist who had grown (defensively) solipsistic. Now if we could just do something about that new title (via We All Want Something to Shout For).

• The Society Pages filed a story about how Pabst is capitalizing on the success of Pabst Blue Ribbon by sponsoring events that hipsters frequent rather than putting their money into traditional advertising. All kosher, right? Not so fast; apparently, PBR, the official beer of Joe Six-Pack, isn't even headquartered in the working class bastion of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It's actually headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Woodridge, which I know personally to be dull as vanilla because it's five minutes from my house. Even worse, PBR has farmed production of their actual beer out to Miller, effectively rendering them a private label for the much bigger brewery. The weirdest part of the story is that Pabst distributes a premium brand beer for the Chinese market which retails for just over $40 a bottle. The lesson? Nothing's safe from the imperialism of American corporate culture. Let an alternative product lay fallow for long enough, and eventually it'll be planted by some craven marketing assholes. Or maybe the real lesson is that hipsters should stop looking for solace in contrarianism (via Sociological Images).

• Striking a defiant blow against the idea that the problems of whiny middle-aged women are anything other than insufferable, cartoonist Cathy Guisewite has decided to bring the seemingly immortal comic strip, Cathy, to an end in October of this year. Striking a defiant blow in favor of the same idea, however, Eat Pray Love is opening (to withering reviews!) nationwide this weekend. And to our one female reader, I'm not shitting on feminine ennui specifically. American Beauty can eat it, too. Ennui's something you should grow out of by the time you hit thirty. Or after you bang a hot housewife (via Vulture).
  

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Marginalia 7.7.10: Mad Men, Wonderful Women, and Pilgrimed Scotts

Apparently HBO loves America enough to give Entourage the fourth of July off. Here's some news instead of Jordasch's normal rant.

• Apparently Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce has a new employee. I'll give you a hint: it's not a fat, pipe-smoking hipster.

• Starz has axed cult favorite Party Down from its original programming lineup. Apparently the widely-adored sitcom just couldn't stand up to the likes of 300: The Series and Introduction to Sociology Weekly.

• M.I.A.'s new album, /\/\/\Y/\, is streaming on her MySpace. Let's hope it doesn't suck as spectacularly as "Born Free" and "XXXO."

• Apparently Conor Oberst hates Arizona enough that he's putting one of his old bands back together. I'll give you another hint: it's not the one anybody cares about.

• The biggest feminist icon since Rosie the Riveter is getting a new costume. Pro: Wonder Woman doesn't look like a stripper anymore. Con: Uh, she also doesn't look like Wonder Woman anymore.

• Either Warner Bros. lost $167 million on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix or a major studio is trying to screw somebody out of residuals. I'll let you decide which one you think is more likely.

• Last but not least, the Scott Pilgrim movie has a new poster. And the worldwide geek drooling continues...
  

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Marginalia 10.8.09: Randy Pitchford Edition

Gamasutra: Stephen Dinehart asks us to define "indie." I would give it a shot, but I'm too busy listening to Grizzly Bear.

Gamasutra: Fumito Ueda gets it.  He just does.

Destructoid: Can easy Achievements drive game sales?  Randy Pitchford thinks so.

Destructoid: The ever-befuddling Michael Patcher thinks the PS3 is winning the console wars. I wonder what he thinks of other things, like global warming, wearing white past Labor Day, or the term "videogame analyst?"

Destructoid: Randy Pitchford thinks Valve is exploiting Steam; he even goes so far as to call the darling developer "bad for the industry." Them's fighting words.

Gamepolitics: One study says that Tetris is good for the brain, as if there was any doubt!

CNN: The Wii Fit Balance Board, despite being made by the Japanese, is helping red-blooded ‘Mericans catch them damn terrorists.

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Marginalia 10.7.09

Kotaku: The Christian Science Monitor is wincing over the recent revelation Modern Warfare 2's devastation of Washington, D.C.; they're just bitter they're not in print, anymore.

Destructoid: A Microsoft exec says the Natal will be priced "like anything else." He should be more specific. "Anything else" encapsulates everything from hot dogs to Bose headphones to cocaine. I hope it's not as expensive as Bose headphones.

Gamasutra: Go figure, people decided to invest in the immensely successful PopCap. Maybe Bejeweled can get us out of this recession.

GI.biz: At least one retailer is pretty sure the PSP Go, once full of promise and hope for the future, will fail miserably.

Joystiq: U2 sez Me2! to the prospect of being in a plastic guitar game. Everyone who said that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith was the biggest pile of shit ever had best be ready to revise their opinion.

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Marginalia: 10.6.09

Game Informer: Warren Spector’s going to bring Epic Mickey to the Wii.  This is no Kingdom Hearts, it looks like.

Gamasutra:  Christian Nutt sits down with Phil Spencer of Microsoft.  Maybe he can explain the purpose of Natal.

Gamespot:  Here’s some business genius: make game that borrows heavily from war movies, make game successful, then make war movie based on game.

PR Newswire:  Sony’s doing some kind of promotional, play-Uncharted 2-in-a-movie-theater thing.  That’s a lot of seats to watch one person play Indiana Jones: the Game.

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Marginalia 10.5.09

Giantbomb: This Family Feud game is hilariously clunky and busted, but it looks like a whole lot of stupid fun.

Kotaku: Nintendo lifts the curtain on its new "kind mode," the computer-assisted Super Guide that will help casual players navigate the tougher levels of New Super Mario Bros.  So if this patent came true...does that mean we'll be seeing that blow-up peripheral?

Gamasutra: Why Scribblenauts is even better when toddlers help you solve the puzzles.

Destructoid: Valve will spend $25 million advertising Left 4 Dead 2. That's more than double the previous game's ad budget.

Gamasutra: Halo: ODST manages to crack the Japanese top ten. At number nine, it's a far cry from Pokemon Heart Gold and Pokemon Soul Silver, which occupy spots two and three, respectively.

Joystiq: Apparently universally scathing reviews of your new gaming platform make it hard to sell at list price.

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Marginalia: 10.2.09

Gamasutra:  How can you make a movie about a game whose main mechanic empowers people to create whatever the hell they want?  Just ask EA and Twentieth Century Fox.  Coming soon to a theater near you: Spore 3: Revenge of the Penis Monsters.

1UP:  Indie brawler/FPS Zeno Clash comes to XBLA courtesy of Atlus.

Gamespot:  Wiis are bricking?  Is the sky also falling?  Is it 2012?

Game Informer:  Some behind-the-scenes notes re: Arkham Asylum.  Lots of numbers and cool tech specs.

Kotaku:  Don’t expect Phoenix Wright to enter the Wii courtroom any time soon.  The devs are committed to the DS.

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Marginalia 10.1.09

You can now attempt to weasel your way into the Star Wars: The Old Republic beta.  Just try not to use a purple lightsaber.  We can't all be Sammy L.

Gamespot:  Apparently, the hip new thing is suing EA for using your likeness in a videogame.  Everybody's doing it.

Gametrailers.com: Get fuzzy with Once Upon a Pixel's version of Bioshock.

Destructoid: Conspicuously tasetful consumerism: Okami slip-ons, by Vans.

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Marginalia 9.30.09

NY Times: Mr. Schiesel enjoyed Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, but he also saw it's potential to tap into the social/political themes that its source material - The Marvel Civil War - handled so well. Too bad it's just a videogame.

Gamasutra: Storm clouds are gathering, and I want to play games on them. OnLive has ramped up its fund development.

Destructoid: Monster's new energy drink, "Assault": Modern Warfare 2, meet crass commercialism. This may be worse than the time Halo 3 teamed up with Mountain Dew to make Gamer Fuel.

Destructoid: Visceral Games is gearing up to enter production on Dead Space 2. Godspeed, gentlemen.

Joystiq: COME ON! COME ON! COME ON! COME ON! COME ON! COME ON!

GreenPixels: An opinion piece that asks "Is game addition real?" answers the question with a resounding shrug, but is interesting nonetheless. Continue...

Marginalia: 9.29.09

Joystiq: Crazy things a-happening in the Xbox Marketplace! First, the first installment of Fable II, the retail game that is now an episodic game, is being offered for free. I am going to say it preemptively: that's where they get you.

Joystiq: And the promised Left 4 Dead (1) downloadable content is more expensive than Valve said it would be. LET'S ALL POINTLESSLY BOYCOTT IT YOU GUYS.

Destructoid: Crytek is going to make Crysis happen. In real life. Cloaking and all. In the UK. I'm with DToid's Aziz on this one: um, what?

Destructoid: Calling Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy a fan-made movie belies the shocking quality of this 70-minute film. Fan or no, you really need to check this out.

Gamasutra: Another in-depth piece, this time on the nigh-impossible task of making commentators in sports games not sound lobotomized.

Joystiq:  A MechWarrior movie?  Sure!  Why not?

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Marginalia 9.28.09

Joystiq: Capcom’s Keiji Inafune declares the Japanese game industry dead. Someone better tell this guy.

Destructoid: PR for Dante's Inferno is getting creepy.

Destructoid: No pre-release demo for Modern Warfare 2. None necessary.

Gamasutra: A piece on Batman: Arkham Asylum’s use of surprise.

Gamasutra: Bioware sez that Mass Effect 2 is a better game than the original thanks to fan feedback. (Something snarky about texture pop-in goes here, lol.)

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Marginalia: 9.25.09

Gamasutra:  If you own a Wii and have been hemming-and-hawing about the cost of the Wii Motion Plus peripheral, check this out.  Nintendo’s bundling Wii Sports Resort and TWO of the upgrade dongles for just $59.99.  Looks like Nintendo has a heart, after all.

Giantbomb:  The only way I could be more excited about The Last Guardian is if I actually owned a PS3.  Ah well.  I’ll have to settle for adorable new trailers and interviews with Ueda.

GamesIndustry.biz:  Epic says they’ve made significant progress on Unreal Engine 4 but will keep it under wraps until the next console generation.

Kotaku:  Sony’s pulled the plug on a program to give UMD owners PSPgo-friendly digital copies of their worthless cartridges.  Something like it may show up in the future.  But for now, Sony’s content to piss people off.

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Marginalia 9.24.09

IndieGames.com: Local favorite Dyson will see a formal PC release on Oct. 20.  They're also holding a naming contest - apparently name-dropping a theoretical physicist isn't going to move units.

Destructoid: Something useful comes out of TGS: Splinter Cell: Conviction gets a release date.

Destructoid: Resident Evil 5 might be getting motion controls for its PS3 iteration. While this worked well for Resident Evil 4, I'm not sure anything can save this one.

Destructoid: Assassin's Creed 2 gets pushed back for the PC until 2010. PC says it's okay; it has other things to do, anyway. Like Mark's party. Man, Mark's party is going to be so cool.

Joystiq: Coming soon, enjoy the lifelessness and sterility of Playstation Home on your PSP! Thanks, Sony!

Gamasutra: Some plane game called F.A.S.T. moves 400,000 units on the iPhone. Don’t look up what F.A.S.T. stands for. You will only be disappointed.

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Marginalia 9.23.2009

Gamasutra: Did you know it's against the law in Germany for videogames to include Nazi paraphenalia? If that's the case, why even bother selling Wolfenstein in Germany, much less having to recall it?

Industry Gamers: The Sony motion controller may surface as early as next March. This according to a memo someone found at Sega of America.

Engadget: Sources point to a Friday announcement for the Wii price drop.

Joystiq: A recent Xbox update is apparently laying the groundwork for Facebook and Twitter and all that stuff. The question is, how many of the devices in my apartment need to be able to connect to Facebook and Twitter?

Destructoid: Ever find yourself saying "This boss battle is fun, but it really needs more dessicated breasts?" Then Dante's Inferno is for you!

Destructoid: More tidbits from the Sega leak: PS2 and Dreamcast games coming to PS3; Alpha Protocol blows. Snap, son.

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Marginalia: 9.22.09

Gamasutra:  People really, really like Batman.

GameSpot: Square-Enix CEO Yoichi Wada believes that Nintendo will update the Wii in two years or so, in an attempt to compete with Natal.  Why do people even bother saying stuff like this?

Joystiq: Microsoft plans to release an 802.11n wireless adapter for the 360.  Expected price tag: your first-born son.

Gamespy: Someone somehow convinced the NY Board of Education that a game design-based curriculum called Quest to Learn would benefit sixth graders. 

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Marginalia 9.21.2009

Gamasutra: A Blizzard dev uses fancy words to defend their endless development cycle.

Kotaku: Games can actually help with aggression? So says this monk.

Destructoid: Infinity Ward says they can make games that don't have "Call," "of" or "Duty" in the title. My question: should they?

Joystiq: Halo Legends is an anime based on the titular franchise. Yes, I know - I, too, threw up in my mouth. But check out the first five minutes. Ain't bad. Continue...