Nothing this weekend.
By citizenkane 6 Comments
I'm starting my drive over to New Orleans tomorrow morning, so I won't be able to play video games this weekend.
I am done with exams!
By citizenkane 10 Comments
w00t! Too bad I only have 2 1/2 weeks until fall semester and work starts. Oh well, at least work will give me the money I need to buy all the awesome games that are releasing this fall. Gears of War 2 Limited Edition w/ Golden Lancer FTW!
"The Dark Knight" rules box office again, nears $400 million mark
By citizenkane 13 Comments
'Dark Knight' No. 1 again, nears $400 million mark
Los Angeles, California (AP) -- Even an army of undead could not dislodge Batman from his box-office perch.
The Dark Knight has soared to a $394.9 million haul in just 17 days, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Warner Bros. release should sail past the $400 million mark by Monday or Tuesday, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner.
That would be on the film's 18th or 18th day of release, another record for The Dark Knight, which has an all-time high opening weekend of $158.4 million. The previous $400 million record-holder was Shrek 2, which hit that mark in 43 days.
"It's a film that is just rewriting the record books every day and redefining our notions of what a blockbuster can be," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
The Dark Knight will top $500 million, predicted Fellman, who would not speculate on whether it could approach the all-time domestic revenue record of Titanic at $600.8 million.
Even if it edged that mark, The Dark Knight would lag behind Titanic in terms of actual tickets sold. Admission prices are up more than 50 percent since Titanic came out in 1997, according to Media By Numbers. The Dark Knight would have to take in about $900 million to match the number of tickets that Titanic sold.
In terms of revenue alone, however, The Dark Knight will pass the original Star Wars, which is No. 2 behind Titanic with $461 million, and such hits as Shrek 2 ($436.5 million), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ($434.9 million) and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace ($431.1 million).
Early anticipation over Heath Ledger's diabolical performance as Batman foe the Joker built to a frenxy in the months after the actor's death from an accidental overdose in January.
A huge opening weekend was guaranteed, but the movie has sustained its audience from stellar reviews and audience buzz.
"The movie has grown in terms of its base audience from primarily what was conceived as a young male movie to a movie for everybody, from 8 to 80," Fellman said. "They're going to see it because of the reviews, they're going to see it because of the word of mouth. They're going just to see what it's all about, and they all like it."
The Dark Knight also has taken in $202.5 million overseas, opening in six more markets in August, among them Japan, France, and Russia.
Universal's third Mummy flick sends Brendan Fraser's adventurer and his wife, played this time by Maria Bello, to China, where they battle a resurrected ancient ruler, played by Jet Li, and his undead minions.
Though it put up strong numbers, the new installment had the smallest opening of the three movies. The Mummy debuted with $43.4 million in 1999 and The Mummy Returns did $68.1 million in 2001.
Along with it's $42.5 million domestic haul, the new Mummy tale pulled in $59.5 million in 28 countries overseas.
The Dark Knight almost certainly took away some business from The Mummy, since both movies competed for the same action crowds.
"It looked like we could do somewhere between $45 and $50 million, but no one could have foreseen the juggernaut The Dark Knight has become," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal.
Disney's Swing Vote, about a presidential election that hinges on the lone ballot of an over-the-hill slacker played by Kevin Costner, opened weakly with $6.3 million, coming in at No. 6.
Estimate ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
Source: CNN
Box Office Top 10
- The Dark Knight - $43.8 million
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - $42.5 million
- Step Brothers - $16.3 million
- Mamma Mia! - $13.1 million
- Journey to the Center of the Earth - $6.9 million
- Swing Vote - $6.3 million
- Hancock - $5.2 million
- WALL-E - $4.7 million
- X-Files: I Want to Believe - $3.4
- Space Chimps - $2.8 million
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
A few things...
By citizenkane 9 Comments
Achievements/Badges/Emblems
Whatever you want to call them, they can be a cool way for users to get more involved with Giant Bomb is aspects other than the Wiki.
Banner
It would bring some more color and give the users a chance to show of their creativity/personality some more.
Gamercards
For each of a user's XBL, PSN, and/or Wii gamertags. There can be just a list of their gamertags, but, like putting in a blog banner, gamercards would bring some more color to the Profile page.
List Tools
I would like to see more tools available when constructing lists, such as putting games in a particular list in alphabetical order(or whatever way they want to) and arranging the order in which the lists are shown in a user's profile.
I'm sure I might come up with a few more thoughts on this matter, but these are 2 cents right now.
The wiki submission queue is still ridiculous long.
By citizenkane 15 Comments
We'll get through it one of these days.....
Giant Bomb: Week 1
By citizenkane 9 Comments
Well, it has finally passed. The first week of what we have anticipated all summer has come to a close. So much as happened that I had trouble keeping my head on straight. There is so much to talk about. Where do I begin?
Wiki/Images
Arguably the most anticipated feature of Giant Bomb, and boy did the user reaction back it up. Since the minute the proverbial doors opened, tens of thousands of wiki and image submissions have been piling in from people wanted to write about their favorite games. This has probably made me the most proud of the community. It has shown the everybody wants to be a part and help create the most informative and extensive video game database on the internet. Thanks to all of you guys, we are well on our way towards that goal. While the queue is still miles long, we love every minute of it and we hope you keep on sending in those submissions. Every console and game matters!
Forums
Ah, the citadel of the community. We all expected the chaotic nature of the forums when Giant Bomb first launched. It happens to every website when they first open and Giant Bomb's community did not disappoint. Like the lawless Old West, people wrote any and all kinds of threads, most of the time in the wrong forum. As bad as those certain individuals were, I was pleasant surprised by how organized and cooperative the community was as a whole. Even during the first day when I was the only moderator on the entire site and didn't posses my necessary tools yet to combat the chaotic nature of the website's grand opening, the vast majority of people detested the anarchic band of spammers and formed a sense of self-order throughout the community. I sincerely applaud you guys for doing this.
Staff
What can I say about these guys? Jeff, Ryan, Bran, Vinny and the Whiskey Media team(Dave and all!) have made such a tremendous and phenomenal website for video game enthusiasts. Everything about Giant Bomb is magnificent. From the wiki to the forums to the profile creations(blogs, list, etc.), everything is so smooth and incredibly user friendly. The design is easy on the eyes and well organized. I hate to use hyperboles, but this website is really extraordinary.
Looking back on last week, there have been so many exciting moments and I have been thrilled in helping create the organization structure of the community and Giant Bomb as a whole. As awesome as last week was, the best days of Giant Bomb are still ahead of it. Working with staff and the community, one can easily see that Giant Bomb's potential is through the roof and beyond the skies and heavens. To all Giant Bombers, keep on sending your editorial work and help make Giant Bomb the best website and community on the internet!
So I lost my USB drive last week.
By citizenkane 23 Comments
It's bad enough that I have to pay for a new one, but all my user reviews were on there and not backed up onto my external hard drive. Yeah, so I'm kind of angry at myself for leaving it in the school library. Oh well, time to get started on them again.....
Open: Giant Bomb, Execute: Launch
By citizenkane 8 Comments
Well, the day has finally arrived. The day most of the community has been feverishly anticipating for months: the launch of the Giant Bomb site. Well, we are still technically in Beta, but whatever. Fans imagined what it would be like, how all the mysterious features would work, and how the community will bond together through forums. Now that the first full day of Giant Bomb is coming to a close, it has been hard to put down in one sentence a description of today. So, I will go with my first thought that came to my mind: absolutely freaking amazing.
Everything has been better than I imagined they would be. The database system is unbelievable. It really is just too awesome. Everything is seamlessly interconnected and the adding/editing system of the database is a breeze to work with. The community is also incredible. Profile pages are great and sending friends PMs and wall posts are simple and easy. Creating Lists are very enjoyable and run very smoothly. Now the forums, that's where most of the action is. I have always had great faith in the community that was going to form Giant Bomb. While there have been a few mishaps today(what website doesn't on launch day?), my feeling stays the same and stronger than ever. It has been great meeting friends from the blog and seeing new faces around. We have a great group of people around here who just love to just relax and talk about video games. Who doesn't want that?
Since it is getting late here and I have class early tomorrow, I must bid Giant Bomb adieu for until tomorrow. To all friends and strangers, I hope that you are having a tremendous of a time on the site as I am and I hope you continue to have such enjoyment . Make Giant Bomb the best that it can be!
Pinnacle achievement of western civilization?
By citizenkane 12 Comments
Only time will tell.
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