News Of The Day 4/18/2011

An anime classic returns, Thor gets some reviews, WalMart's ecosystem evolves, and fan-funding a video game?  Let's get to the geek news!

Geek Law:
Winklevoss twins ask for a new hearing in the Facebook case. We're sort of getting used to Facebook being involved in legal issues aren't we?

Anime and Manga:
Rurouni Kenshin is getting a new anime Another beloved property that should go over well on sheer name recognition (and my guess is this fits my theory on Backlog). Though another note – there's a constantly rumored live film, which might be more believable in an age of Live Death Note . . .

Sounds like the re-release of Sailor Moon is a lot more faithful than other interpretations. Sounds like it's aimed at established fans.

Comics:
An early reaction to the unfinished 'Thor' film gives some insights (no spoilers). Another links to a review with spoilers. Presented for your perusal. It sounds all reasonably positive to positive.

Social Media:
Wal-Mart acquires social media miner Kosmix, which is probably part of their ever-growing pseudo-Ecosystem. Really, watch Wal-Mart, they're not getting enough attention in my opinion.

Video Games:
PopCap keeps talking as that IPO looms. Sounds to me like they want to do this right and do it BIG. I'm moderately positive on their future, and am glad they're working hard on doing this right – and big. Worth sending a resume too – and worth seeing how people react.

You don't hear about it much, but the Battlestar Galactica MMO has signed up a million users. Maybe they're going long tail?

A model to emulate? Zero Point raises $125,000 via fan funding for a AAA title. Let's see how they do (and maybe throw them some money). In an age of Kickstarter and more this may be a viable – and interesting – model.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Do you think Zero Point's model is viable?

Steven Savage