Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Most of the of Japanese children that had a seizure while watching a Pokemon episode in 1997 have not had another one, unless they already had epilepsy.
From The New York Daily News, "The TV show sent at least 685 Japanese viewers, mostly children, to emergency rooms with symptoms ranging from nausea and hyperventilation to convulsions. They were apparently made sick by a scene with extremely rapid flashes of red and blue."
"To find out whether the incident had any lasting effects, Dr. Akihisa Okumura and colleagues in Nagoya sent questionnaires to doctors who had treated 103 'Pokemon' patients in the prefecture, or state, of Aichi. They got back results for 91 patients. Twenty-five had had at least one more convulsion in the five years since the PokemonӔ episode. They were divided almost evenly between those diagnosed with epilepsy and those who werent. However, electroencephalograms revealed that 10 of the 13 who had not been diagnosed with epilepsy did, in fact, have the disease."
Posted by
Al on 07/21 at 07:35 PM
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Monday, July 19, 2004
Master Chief goes Hollywood and makes his big screen debut before some of this summer's blockbuster movies.
Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie Studios today announced a movie-style promotional campaign for the launch of the most anticipated game this year, Halo 2. Beginning today and continuing through August, a Halo 2 theatrical trailer will be shown in more than 1500 Loews Cineplex Entertainment movie screens in the U.S. before many of the hottest films of the summer; including Spider-Man 2, The Village, King Arthur, I Robot, Catwoman and Alien vs. Predator.
The trailer sets the stage for Master Chief's arrival on Earth to stop Covenant forces from destroying all mankind. Halo 2 lands on store shelves on November 9; but gamers can reserve their copy now, as a special limited edition copy of Halo 2 is currently available for pre-order at most retailers.
The cinematic Halo 2 trailer was created by The Ant Farm, the Hollywood company renowned for their work on trailers for blockbuster films such as The Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man 2, Shrek, Kill Bill and the Harry Potter series.
Pushing the Xbox hardware to its very limits, Halo 2 will expand on everything that made the original game great, plus add a wealth of technological and gameplay advances. Significantly improved graphics, enhanced artificial intelligence (AI), an advanced real-time lighting engine and destructible interactive environments are just a small part of Halo 2's evolution of design and technology.
Every improvement in Halo 2 is designed to take gameplay to a new level - and in the end, to tell a more compelling story.
Utilizing Xbox Live to redefine online play, Halo 2 delivers superior online multiplayer capabilities. Whether playing with a clan on a new multiplayer map, boarding a friend's Warthog, watching a game replay or checking player stats, Halo 2 will bring the social experience to a higher level via Xbox Live.
Posted by
on 07/19 at 10:59 PM
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Friday, July 16, 2004
Franchise transitions from pen and paper RPG origin to video games, and now to the big screen.
From IGN, " New Line Cinema has optioned the movie rights to the forthcoming pen-and-paper role-playing game Vampire: The Requiem, by White Wolf Publishing. IGNers may be familiar with the Vampire: The Masquerade series of games which are based on Vampire: The Requiem's traditional role-playing predecessor."
"According to industry mag Variety, producer Adam Fields (Donnie Darko, Ravenous) has set up the property at New Line, where they're eyeing it as a potential franchise."
Posted by
Al on 07/16 at 10:30 AM
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SIRIUS today announced a partnership with record-breaking skateboard champion Tony Hawk. Hawk will become the first host on SIRIUS Faction, the innovative music channel created by SIRIUS especially for action sports enthusiasts.
Tony Hawk's Demolition Radio will broadcast from a custom-designed SIRIUS studio at Hawk's new practice facility in California. Hawk will deliver his personal slant on the action sports lifestyle that he is largely responsible for bringing to the public consciousness. The show will launch Tuesday, July 20 at 6:00pm ET and will be uncensored and commercial-free. According to Forbes Magazine, Tony Hawk's brand generated $300 million in retail sales in 2003. The Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video games have become one of the most successful game series in the world. Hawk also enjoyed success with his 32-city US Boom Boom HuckJam action sports tour, which has successfully played to sold-out arenas for the past two years.
"I am very excited about doing a show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio," said Hawk. "Music has always been a huge part of what I do, and now I can share my influences and experiences with the world. It will also fit in perfectly with SIRIUS Faction's diverse format. Expect to hear interviews with interesting guests and a wide range of music from my world."
Scott Greenstein, President of Entertainment and Sports at SIRIUS, commented, "Tony is the world's most visible action sport athlete and he's perfectly suited to become Faction's first on-air host. Tony Hawk's Demolition Radio is yet another example of the cutting-edge programming available only on SIRIUS."
Over the next few months, SIRIUS will roll out additional star athletes who are slated to have their own shows on Faction.
Tony Hawk's Demolition Radio is available with every SIRIUS subscription at no extra charge. SIRIUS radios for the car and home are available at Radio Shack, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Circuit City and other electronics retailers around the country. To learn more, listen to SIRIUS live or find a SIRIUS retailer in your area, click on http://www.sirius.com.
Posted by
Al on 07/16 at 10:23 AM
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Friday, July 09, 2004
If Spy Hunter is delayed, he may opt to star in another game-based movie.
From Ferrago, "In an interview with The Rock (the improbably named Dwayne Johnson in the real world) featured in Empire, the former-wrestling hard man has revealed that if shooting on Spy Hunter is delayed over Christmas because of bad weather in Prague and Amsterdam, then he may well star in Universal's Doom movie. Of course, Mr Johnson certainly has the look and quite possibly the attitude, but whether a Doom movie based around The Rock could ever do the landmark series justice on the big-screen remains to be very much seen."
Posted by
Al on 07/09 at 11:23 AM
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