Video Game Merger

Blizzard Entertainment an iconic figure of great PC (personal computer) games announced today that Activision will be bought by parent company Vivendi games to form Activision Blizzard. So what does this all mean?

Well first let me provide you little background on the two companies. Blizzard is known for 4 out of the 5 all time selling PC games. They are also the creator and owner of the largest world wide subscription based MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.) World of Warcraft supports 9.3 million subscribers currently. The have such hits has Warcraft I, II, III and Starcraft and Diablo(Blizzard Entertainment,2007. )

Activision is a console based development company. They focus on making games for systems such has XBOX, Wii and Playstation. Activision being console based will allow for less overlapping between the two companies. Activision is the creator of such hits has Call of Duty Series, Guitar Hero, and Tony Hawk (Blizzard Entertainment,2007. )

This merger will bring two power house game companies under one roof. This will provide both companies a broader finical umbrella to further continue to provide the iconic games they are known for. This could allow for the expansion of Activision brands into Asian markets something Blizzard a western company has done very successfully.

Video games are a huge part of popular culture and becoming the entertainment of choice. We used to see video game developers going to movie studios for rights to make games based off movies; today we are seeing the flip side of this. This merger will allow these two large myth weavers to provide more and better iconic games.

I’m personal excited to see how this change both companies. It seems that both companies are not going to change much. They are supposed to continue to run under their own management (Kohler, 2007.) Will this hinder their creative process? I think it will not because Blizzard has been owned by Vivendi for awhile now and the quality of games has been what we come to know and expect from Blizzard’s work. Only time will tell.

References

Blizzard Entertainment. (2007). Vivendi and Activision to create Activision Blizzard – world’s largest, most profitable pure-play video game publisher. Retrieved December 3, 2007, from http://www.blizzard.com/press/071202.shtml 

Kohler, C. (2007, December 2). Merger brings Guitar Hero, Warcraft under one roof. Retrieved December 3, 2007, from http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/12/merger-brings-g.html 

Dog gets threats

The 12 million dollar dog is getting death threats. To catch those of you who are not up to speed on the 12 million dollar pouch I’ll provide a little background.

Leona Helmsley was known as the Queen of Mean after statement about, only the little people paying taxes (Washingtonpost.com, 2007.) Her and her husband owned hotels and had made quite the mound of money doing it. She recently passed away. In her passing she left 12 million dollars for the care and upkeep of her dog. This was played out has an outrage in the media because two of her four grandchildren got nothing (Washingtonpost.com, 2007.)

The dog with the large trust fund is named Trouble. Trouble seems to have found some trouble with the 12 million. Death threats and kidnapping letters have begun to filter in (CBS Interactive, Inc, 2007.) This seems to come about because of the out rage toward this women and leaving a mere dog 12 million.

After reading an article the Queen of Mean is trying to get a revamped image to protect the dog. In the article it begins to list numerous millions she has given away to charity. It explains that the 12 million for Trouble will go for his upkeep and whatever is left at his passing goes into a charitable trust (CBS Interactive, Inc, 2007.)

It seems has if the dog has hired a PR rep for the master. Trouble looks to be trying to shed the hated image of its once alive owner in order to protect itself. I assume the outrage will come when the dog dies and everyone knows how much of the 12 million is gone. Either there will be a lot of money left or people will began to wonder how a dog spent all those millions. If there is quite bit of money gone from that 12 million maybe Helmsley’s 3 million for steam cleaning and power washing her final resting place wont be enough has people become more outraged. The little people might buy some spray paint with their tax returns.

"ESRB" M to AO

My topic for this week came to me after reading a blog on 1up.com. The title of the blog was Manhunt 2 and the ESRB. I had already done one weekly report on Manhunt 2 and the media coverage. This one is more in focus with the ESRB folding to pressure of media.

I watched a video that showed the original with its M rating and the original Manhunt 2 with its AO rating and then the revised. I was shamed to say that the two originals look graphically the same. Yet because of the pressure the first game received the sequel was slapped with AO rating. The revised version for an M rating looks like it could give me a seizure with the flashing lights.

This has disheartened me to see a form of art and expression being overly judged due to outside pressure. Dan Hsu the editor of EGM a gaming magazine had this to say “But it's an absolute shame that this censorship had to happen just to get Manhunt 2 to the original rating that its predecessor had! The series didn't get more violent; the standards have changed. This inconsistency is particularly disturbing because it's only happening in the gaming industry.”

I blame the ESRB for not showing a stable rating system. If one version got an M rating should not the same game just new story line get a M rating also not AO. This is when we need to begin to watch has a consumer. When outside groups like the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood begin to affect the process to which the ratings are given (Crecente, B, 2007.) If we allow people to influence game content through the ESRB soon all we will have will be fluffy children games. Video games are more than mere child play thing. I hope to see the ESRB held responsible for there lack of fortitude from the gaming community.

Rituals

Question A.

Rituals as I understand them are acts committed out of traditions or from religion. Rituals tend to show some form of symbolism in the act it self. For example when people are baptized to wash away their sins this begins a fresh start.

Question B.

The two biggest rituals observed in society I would say are the wedding and the funeral. Wedding have many symbols in them the vows and the unity candle to name a few. The wedding dress that is white to show the purity of the women about to be married. However, in some areas of the world this is even take bit further. In Sri Lanka they use a white cloth on the wedding night. If the cloth becomes stained with blood on the consummation then it is hung out the window and another wedding celebration is begun. Funerals are the other major ritual we have. The dark colors worn during a funeral express the dark emotions that come with death. Depending on a persons faith the funeral can be short or very long and windy. I personally have gone to one Catholic funeral and there was lot of praying, holy water sprinkling, and kneeling.

Question C.

Well in my family we do something for Thanksgiving and Christmas. My grandmother had Christmas dinner at her house and my great grandmother had Thanksgiving at her house. Then when it was my mother and grandmother left, my mother would do Christmas and grandmother would do Thanksgiving. This year my grandmother is unable to do Thanksgiving. My mother is doing Thanksgiving and my sister will be doing Christmas. I’m sure when my little niece is older and my mother is unable to do Thanksgiving that it will change again. It has been this way for long time my grandmother told me. The mothers would do Thanksgiving in our family and the daughters would do Christmas. To me this type of ritual that our family observes, this is going to be a change though ever since I was a kid I remember eating at my grandmothers and now it has changed.

Question D.

Ritual that seems prevalent today would be our regard for Sundays. Lot of people still goes to church on Sunday everyone knows that. That is not what I’m talking about though. Sundays tend to be when few generations of a family will sit down to a dinner. I think this is something that could be considered a ritual. I have one friend or every Sunday his family has a big dinner. I know my family tends to have family dinners on Sunday not Saturdays.

Question E.

Since the birth of my niece I have been thinking about things that we can do every year that she can look forward too. I’m still unsure what this could or will be. My wife and I both want it to be something special. For example when I was younger my whole family would go camping every weekend. Uncles would be there and my grandparents. So maybe that is something I would like to bring back the family camping. My sister and I had lots of fun swimming and playing around in the woods. Maybe this is family ritual that can be reborn.

Icons

Three Icons I would pick are Master Chief from Halo, Gimli son of Glion and Thrall war chief of the Horde. I will first start off by telling you that I’m huge nerd. Master Chief is principle hero in the Halo video game series. Humanity most genetically advanced soldier. This game has been taking the video game world by storm. It was first introduced on the Xbox and was used to push the Xbox release. This game soon propelled it self to a sequel in Halo 2 and now another installment Halo 3 on the Xbox 360. Master Chief has become a icon of Bungie the game developer who makes Halo. Master Chief and Halo have become a flag ship title for the Xbox gaming platforms. Gimli Son of Glion is one of heroes from the epic master piece of J.R.R Tolkien. In which heroes set out to save the middle earth from dark lord Sarun. Gimli is a key figure throughout the story and representative of the race of dwarves in this task. He is bold and strong and brave. He surpasses racial boundaries to make a new friend and is all around good fellow. Lastly is Thrall the shaman war chief of the Horde from the Warcraft universe. A popular video game from Blizzard that is found on the PC. Thrall has overcome a demonic imprisonment of the orcish race to over come a brutal past and to forge a brighter future for the Horde. He has led his people away from evil into a more centered life style.

Why did I pick these three? I would assume it goes back to being a nerd. I love the Halo games. I have sat out at 12 midnight waiting for the release of Halo 2 and 3 with other avid gamers. I’m a huge fan of Lord of the Rings more so book than movie. I’m very fond of dwarves. I like there down to earth nature and hard work attitudes. Sometimes I can be just as stubborn has a dwarf. Thrall I would say I picked because I’m a fan of the Horde. He is the leader. I play World of Warcraft with 9 million other people. I play for the horde faction. Has they say in WoW, For the War Chief.

Pencils Down

Pencils down. That is the slogan for Hollywood writers right now. The strike has begun. This strike comes after 20 years of blissful working. The last industry wide strike was 1988(Cieply, M, 2007.) The strike began Monday morning with writers and actors picketing.

Why strike? Well it seems in a world where technology is ever changing and at lighting speeds the payments are not. The writers are seeking increased revenues in new areas such as DVD and internet sales. Writers believe that if the studio is making fistfuls of cash selling season three of the Office that they should get some of the pie as well.

The strike will effect not only those involved but anyone who subscribes to cable or satellite television. If writers are not working it is only matter of time before material for television shows run out. If the strike goes on for months the only thing on could be reruns. Here we are the paying customers for certain shows and programs and we could be left with nothing new to watch. Let’s face it we only watch ten or so of the 150 channels we get.

It seems that most shows have stopped production all ready. So now not only are we the viewer being affected but, the guy who changes light bulbs on an hourly wage too. Think about all the people behind the scenes that it takes to make a show work. The people who are good with hammers and screwdrivers are the people going to be hurt by this strike.

I think Arnold Schwarzenegger said it best "I think that's the sad story, because the studio executives are not going to suffer, the union leaders are not going to suffer, the writers that are striking, they are not going to suffer. Those are all people that have money," when speaking about the behind the scenes workers (CBS News, 2007.) For the people involved on both sides with the type of money they make it seems to me, they are crying over spilled milk

Reference

CBS News. (2007, November 10). Pressure mounts to restart writers talks. Retrieved November 12, 2007, from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/10/ap/entertainment/

                        main3483158.shtml?source=search_story 

Cieply, M. (2007, November 2). Writers say strike to start monday. Retrieved November 12, 2007, from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/business/media/02cnd-hollywood.html 

Video Games rated M for Mature, O my

For my topic I choose Manhunt 2 controversy. It is violent video game that just recently hit the market. The game has been rated M for mature. This means that no one under age of 17 should buy or play the game. Yet however with just about every game Rock Star games do there is a spot in the news.

I think lot of the controversy spawns from people trying to define the rest of society based on their morale values. If they think it is wrong, then it should be banned and everyone else should think it’s wrong. Another factor I think that contributes to this controversy is lazy parents. One of the prime arguments against these types of games is children. This over looks the fact that just like certain movies these violent video games are not rated for children. This means parents might have to do some parenting. They might need to take active role in what they allow their children to do and take interest in it, to better understand that form of media. However, in society where the television is raising a good portion of children good parenting is few and far between.

I know from my personal experience has video gamer has a child my mother took an interest. I remember I got her to buy me Doom. It was a game rated M for Mature. I was around 12 or 11. I had the game for all of a half hour when I got home. The reason was because she was active parent. She was watching the game and knew it was not for children of my age bracket. She then educated herself on the rating system.

On the flip to good parenting when I worked at Blockbuster a lady and her son brought up Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I could tell the kid was only around age of ten. I explained to the lady what this game entailed which has a very appropriate M rating. Her response to me was something to the effect it keeps him in front of the television and out of my hair.

So from personal view I think this kind of controversy is pointless. If more parents would take active role in parenting, then children would not be able to be used has front runner for fight against violent video games. If people would stop pushing their personal beliefs onto everyone else and respect the right to choose, it also would not be an issue. So I say make the next Manhunt 3 even bloodier. I know my niece wont be allowed to play it but, I can if I so indulge.

CBS News. (2007, October 29). Child advocates upset over "Manhunt 2". Retrieved November 5, 2007, from  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/29/ap/hightech/main3428139.shtml?source=search_story 

Popular culture is everywhere we look. From what we eat to what we do for fun. Popular culture for me is my daily life. Popular culture is that cheeseburger from McDonald's when I’m in a hurry. Popular culture is that television show I watch with ten million other Americans. Another example is when I go some where that does not have internet it just feels like I’m missing out. Another good way of thinking of popular culture today is to look in a person’s pocket. What would you find there cell phone, ipod, and countless other electronic devices.

Knowing what popular culture is and understanding it, is very important. Knowing how people think and the things they are likely to take interest in are helpful in business. They can help you target an audience during prime time television. Most important accept of popular culture is the window it provides into society. This can help a business to market themselves according to the taste of the people. Popular culture provides a platform to interacting and understanding people.

As of right now I’m simple full time student. Being a full time student and not current member of the work force limits popular culture in my business life. I can see it being important in my future. I see it being helpful from the stand point of being able to better understand people. Understanding their points of view and what might influence their thinking. I’m seeking to be a tax accountant one day so really I’m looking forward to interacting with numbers more than people.

Popular culture has spawned artifacts that show personality of society. EBay an internet company is one of these artifacts. Whether one is a buyer or a seller more likely than not they have visited eBay. eBay it self has spawned a whole new type of business and added to the sales of local small time businesses. This has allowed larger portion of Americans to take the yard sale global. On eBay a person can find anything from old toys to new cars. I think this has made eBay an artifact of popular culture.