There is something magical about Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Outside of anime conventions I almost never see anime movies in theaters. Usually theyпІп‚Б„ўre airing on an odd weekday night which would require me to take time off from work. Or the premiers skip the Philadelphia region altogether. (Who cares about Southeastern Pennsylvania when New York City is only two hours away???) Fortunately for me, Aniplex USA had ambitious plans for Madoka Magica. The two compilation movies would be shown in select theaters across North America starting in October and ending in mid-January. When I discovered the first two movies were playing at a local theater just outside of Philadelphia during the first weekend in December I immediately made my plans.I originally wanted to see the first airing of the double-feature at on December 1. A week before the premier I discovered the Saturday night tickets were sold out. Determined to see the movies I ordered tickets for the Sunday afternoon show. When the big day arrived I left work early and piled into a car with three other friends. After a quick lunch we drove 40 minutes down to Lansdowne, the small town where the theater was actually located. When we got to Cinema 16:9 we discovered it was quite small. The largest room only held about 65 people. We ended up getting seats in the middle of the room which turned out to be a big mistake thanks to not being able to see the filmsпІп‚Б„ў subtitles. From my seat I had to uncomfortably crane my neck so I could understand what was going on. To further complicate the situation both movies were about two hours long. I spent four uncomfortable hours trying my best to follow Madoka's plot.Despite my discomfort I still had a pleasant experience. It was my first time at an official double-feature. When the first movie ended we were able to take a brief 15 minute break. I used the time to talk to my friends and other moviegoers. During the break the staff of Cinema 16:9 began to pass out posters to the fans who had been among the first 30 people to reserve movie tickets. With that done, the second movie began to play and I resumed my uncomfortable position. When the movie ended the audience broke out into applause. After watching the credits roll my friends and I returned to the car. On the way home we began to argue about the bittersweet ending of the movies and some of the various concepts of Madoka's universe. All and all, it was a fantastic Sunday outing. The Madoka Magica movies are actually a compilation of footage from all 12 episodes of the TV series. The seriesпІп‚Б„ў titular character, Madoka Kaname is an ordinary eight grader. One day she comes across a small injured white cat-like creature named Kyubey after he telepathically begs her for help. He is being pursued by MadokaпІп‚Б„ўs classmate, a recent transfer student named Homura Akemi. Before Homura can further injure Kyubey she is stopped by Sayaka Miki, our titular heroineпІп‚Б„ўs best friend. The two manage to get to safety with the injured white creature in tow. In exchange for their help Kyubey
Although we generally donпІп‚Б„ўt cover the Consumer Electronics Show there are occasional reveals that intrigue us enough to write an article or two. The fact that CES takes place in January shouldnпІп‚Б„ўt come as a surprise. The show serves as sort of a vanguard for whatпІп‚Б„ўs to come in the tech world. 2013 is a year already filled with big anticipations and expectations in the gaming industry. Sony and Microsoft are expected to reveal their next generation of consoles, the Wii U is out, the 3DS has lots of momentum behind it and the crowd funded Kickstarter projects (Ouya, new games, etc.) should start rolling out to consumers by yearпІп‚Б„ўs end. Given the atmosphere, the big gaming reveals from CES fit right into the high expectations 2013 has generated. Even if you donпІп‚Б„ўt plan to buy any new gaming hardware it is still an exciting time to follow the industry.Nvidia Goes on the Offensive with Project Shield:The biggest reveal at CES was NvidiaпІп‚Б„ўs Project Shield, a new handheld gaming console. No one ever thought Nvidia would create gaming hardware beyond their series of graphics cards and console GPUs. The fact they managed to keep Project Shield under wraps for seven years is a testament to the companyпІп‚Б„ўs ability to control leaks. The handheld itself can best be described as a tablet forcibly wedded to an Xbox controller with a concave face. As , Project Shield is like a blast from the early 2000s in terms of design and aesthetics. The more you look at the handheld the more it looks like a childпІп‚Б„ўs toy, i.e. something not meant to be taken seriously. The lack of a beautiful and streamlined form factor may cause many gamers to take a pass on the Shield, which is a shame because it packs plenty of power.To get things started the device is powered by Android, sports a Tegra 4 processor, is capable of displaying games in HD (720p) and can play PC games via streaming. The specs alone easily run circles around Nintendo and SonyпІп‚Б„ўs dedicated handheld systems. With that in mind, the handheld gaming market is so fragmented that a powerful, feature-rich system may not be enough to move systems off of shelves. Unless Nvidia straddles the sweet spot between price, system availability, sales expectations and a healthy lineup of games the system is doomed to fail. Project Shield was revealed more than two weeks ago but it already has promise. CEO Jen-Hsun Huang revealed Nvidia is already targeting more of a niche audience. The company isnпІп‚Б„ўt aiming for a huge slice of the gaming community such as Nintendo or Apple would, instead theyпІп‚Б„ўre focusing on hardcore Android and PC gamers. They want this device to be another gadget in the home alongside oneпІп‚Б„ўs smartphone, tablet and gaming PC. This handheld wonпІп‚Б„ўt directly complete with the next generation of consoles either. That alone could mean Nvidia has set goals for a reasonable number of units to manufacture and could effectively target potential consumers. Huang also noted in Project Shield would be пІп‚яљpriced like an Android device.пІп‚яњ Some how I donпІп‚Б„ўt see it costing any less than $350. As long as there arenпІп‚Б„ўt any weird proprietary hurdles to jump such as needing expensive memory cards and a dearth of software it could do all right. In the end the success of Project Shield will depend on two major factorsпІп‚БЂ«the cost and if gamers decide the handheld is the console-like experience theyпІп‚Б„ўve dreamed of.SteamпІп‚Б„ўs Many Boxes to Bind Them All:Remember when Valve CEO Gabe Newell began to drop hints about a upcoming Steam Box? The machine would support Linux because of NewellпІп‚Б„ўs absolute hatred of Windows 8, it would be small, affordable to compared to gaming rigs, support controllers and use SteamпІп‚Б„ўs Big Picture Mode. Xi3 and Valve revealed the Piston at CES and the little PC seemed to fit the description. Unfortunately, the Piston isnпІп‚Б„ўt the long rumored Steam Box. Nevertheless, it is still an intriguing piece of technology.Xi3 is a relatively new company which had been in the works for nearly a decade. The company is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and unveiled its first consumer product in 2010. Xi3 has gained notoriety for its extremely small PCs which pack a lot of power and consume very little energy. The motherboards are divided into three separate pieces allowing the user to easily upgrade sections of each machine versus replacing the entire board. This alone dramatically increases the longevity of Xi3пІп‚Б„ўs PCs. Considering ValveпІп‚Б„ўs goals of competing with console manufacturers Xi3 seems like a perfect match. The Valve Piston (itпІп‚Б„ўs just a code name for now) manages to pack a 3.2GHZ AMD quad-core processor, a , 8GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage on a solid state drive into a case that can be easily carried in the palm of oneпІп‚Б„ўs hand. As a cool bonus the Piston can also support resolutions up to 4096x2160 and can be simultaneously used on up to three displays. The machine obviously supports ValveпІп‚Б„ўs Big Picture Mode and has access to a huge library of Steam games. That alone is enough to give any console manufacturer reason to pause. Despite the impressive facts the Piston has one major flaw. The ideal gaming configuration is far from being affordable to console gamers, a major necessity for competing directly with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. The PC will cost up to $1000, it is unclear if Linux will be the operating system Valve ultimately chooses for it and even the name and final design are uncertain. (The Piston is actually based on .) Furthermore, Valve has indicated interest in creating a variety of Steam Boxes, possibly adding other PC manufacturers to the mix. The Piston can be considered the very start of ValveпІп‚Б„ўs major push into the living room. The Piston is tempting but at its current price point I canпІп‚Б„ўt see much of an appeal beyond PC gamers and tech enthusiasts. When the price of the next Steam Box is around $500 or less then software giant will be in a good position to seriously compete.Razer is Giving Tablets the Gaming Edge:The Razer Edge was revealed at last yearпІп‚Б„ўs CES as Project Fiona. This year the gaming tablet is a step closer to being available for purchase. At a price ranging from $1000 to $1650 the Razer Edge isnпІп‚Б„ўt cheap. Fortunately, RazerпІп‚Б„ўs tablet is more than just a run-of-the-mill media consumption device. It is a gaming PC, a home console, a laptop and a tablet wrapped up into one slick, portable little package. The tablet mode is a no-brainer as it is stated to be one of the best performing Windows 8 tablets to date. With an attachable keyboard and mouse the Edge becomes a laptop and allows a user to make full use of Windows 8. As a gaming PC it has Steam support and runs newly released games right out of the box without any graphical tweaking. Dishonored was used as a demonstration on what the Edge was capable of and the video was impressive. The final mode is the home console and thanks to a special docking station the tablet can be connected to any HDTV. The dock also has three additional USB 3.0 ports allowing up to four people to play with controllers. The set-up works with SteamпІп‚Б„ўs Big Picture Mode and should be a bonus to gamers who enjoy playing PC games on the couch.The very best version of the Edge, the Pro ranges from $1299 for a 128GB model to $1449 for a 256GB model. Those versions include a dual-core Intel i7 processor, a Nvidia GeForce GT 640 M GPU, 8GB of RAM, a USB 3.0 port and an HD front-facing camera. The cheapest version costs $999 and only has an Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage space. Thanks to the Razer Edge's step price I canпІп‚Б„ўt see the device having appeal beyond hardcore PC enthusiasts who donпІп‚Б„ўt mind dropping this kind of cash on gaming laptops. It certainly has its appeal as an all-in-one solution and portable console. The very best experience to be had would be with the add-on peripheral attachments which easily drive the price closer to the $1600+ range. The Edge certainly isnпІп‚Б„ўt poised to take the place of console gaming but it could shake up the high-end tablet and gaming laptop world.The rise of tablet gaming, Steam on the go and Android canпІп‚Б„ўt be stated enough. Even if the next generation of console gaming wasnпІп‚Б„ўt right around the corner there are still lots of tempting options for tech junkies. 2013 is going to be a great year in terms of innovation for the video game industry.Bonus: Anime Viewing/Gaming ProgressI havenпІп‚Б„ўt mentioned what IпІп‚Б„ўve been playing or watching for a while. On the anime front IпІп‚Б„ўm still continuing the fun with Psycho-Pass. For the new season IпІп‚Б„ўve recently gotten into -- pictured on the left. I tried a few other series but nothing else has caught my eye. The winter season just isn't that impressive and the spring looks more promising. Digging into my streaming backlog IпІп‚Б„ўve finally reached a major milestone by making it to the end of Bleach. IпІп‚Б„ўm currently looking for a suitable shonen replacement. Perhaps I'll give or Fairy Tail a try.On the gaming front I received a 3DS XL for Christmas. Unlike Geoff, I didnпІп‚Б„ўt buy any games with my system beyond the pre-installed Mario Kart 7пІп‚БЂ«a game I didnпІп‚Б„ўt care for. Instead, I put Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable on hold and decided to finish Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. I was pretty disappointed with Shadow Dragon but I still had a degree of fun. The upcoming Fire Emblem: Awakening, Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan and Shin Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers 3DS games will definitely keep me busy for the first half of this year. I also got back into Xenoblade Chronicles and is begging for my attention. I doubt IпІп‚Б„ўll finish any of these games besides Fire Emblem: Awakening and Persona 3 Portable in 2013. Ah, the life of an entertainment junkie.
A fantastic and disturbing blend of geek culture and journalism.
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