Let Me Clear My Throat...

One of the reasons why I do rants on this blog, rather than in videos, is that it allows me to speak my mind without worrying too much about offending anyone, especially someone who (wishful thinking) likes my videos. It's the perfect place for me to vent about the true evils and annoyances of this world!

For example, did you know that teenage girls have the worst tastes in entertainment? 

Their music is shit, their dramas are shit, and their sitcoms are the very definition of anti-humor. Oh sure, you might have enjoyed that crap when you were young, but that's because they were factory made to be only enjoyed by teenage idiots. It will not age well, not even if you remember it for nostalgia. When you've finally grown a pair or had your first time of the month, you'll wonder what the hell you ever saw in that shit. That's not the ramblings of an old geezer or jaded student, that's the goddamn truth.

What about sci-fi geeks are their need to cry over spilled milk? Yesterday, it was George Lucas "mutilating" his own franchises, despite the fact that Star Wars fanboys were supposedly into nonsensical bullshit, or that Indiana Jones movies aren't supposed to be realistic. The day after that, it was Sci-Fi Channel changing its name Syfy, to avoid sounding both generic and misleading, like The History Channel. 

Today, its the "actionized" trailer for he new Star Trek movie, and the controversy surrounding Scarlett Johansson playing the Major in the upcoming live-action Ghost in the Shell movie. Never mind the fact that, thanks to a little something called Dragon Ball Evolution, no one will touch that movie with a 500TB hard drive.  To them, it's the end of the world. To the rest of society, it's basement-dwelling geeks complaining about things they don't like. I know that's politically incorrect, and an insult that's been used to death, but stereotypes exist for a reason.

...And that's just what was going though my mind when I typed this up. I know it's unhealthy to think like this, but it's also just as unhealthy to keep things bottled up inside. However, it's also very hazardous to hear the opinions of others, as you might have just learned the hard way if you were offended by this post. What can I tell ya? Some things need to be said, and a blog is the best place to say it.

...Just throwing this out there, as exited as I am for the next game, I honestly think Kingdom Hearts is just making shit up now.

ELEAGUE's Biggest Challenge So Far...

Canadians can't watch TBS, which means all they'll have is the observer feed on Twitch. That's fine, Turner's new competitive gaming league is still a work in progress. Plus, thanks to its lackluster exposure on EPSN, e-sports as a whole have a LONG way to go before they secure a place on television. Honestly, a video game tournament on a mainstream sports network. What were they thinking? If anything, they should have aired that event on G4. After all, they could have used more programming like that, as opposed to half of the stuff they were airing at the time.

No, I don't blame TBS for this, because this is just another reminder of how abysmal in variety Canadian networks are that we don't have a proper broadcaster for ELEAGUE or anything game-related.

The first choice anyone would make is G4 Canada. They could use some decent programming after they parted ways with The Electric Playground, because now they're back to airing the same unrelated crap they were churning out before the CRTC laid down the law. Considering the American version was popular enough to be resurrected as the brand for Syfy Games news coverage, it's safe to say the Canadian version is just a waste of money at this point.

So why not bring ELEAGUE to another Rogers Media television property: Sportsnet 360? If SN360 can air poker tournaments and whatever drivel the WWE churns out, there's no excuse not to air something like a competitive gaming event in their downtime. The Score Television Network was known to air events like these, and they continue to cover e-sports with their e-sports app.

When it all comes down to it, e-sports doesn't have a home on television for the same reasons why adult anime can only be seen on Toonami or why music networks spend half their time airing crappy reality shows. In this modern era, niche entertainment just doesn't work. It doesn't bring in ratings and mainstreamers don't get it. Instead, its left up to the Twitch's, Crunchyroll's and Vevo's of the internet to deliver what the people want, when the people want it.

ELEAGUE hopes to change that, at least for e-sports, and we'll just have to hope for the best.

Quick Update June 2016

I'm in a really bad place right now. I have nothing to live for except living itself. Without going IRL on you, the Reycralibur Finale has not been a top priority for me as of late. Like I said, I have nothing to live for, least of all YouTube peons who don't even watch machinima. I still have plenty of Smash Bros. shorts to make, and there will always be something to rant about on this blog, so I'm not out of the game just yet.

The Call of Duty Complex

Blame anyone who complained about MuchMore's relaunch as M3 back in 2013 for me saying this but, Whoever said "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" needs to be punched in the face. And kicked in the groin. And set on fire. And die.

For progress to be made, some things (especially MuchMore) NEED to be broken. Not only will they be fixed, they will be better than before. Change is a good thing, and yet, having too much of a good thing is a bad thing. So? Get rid of what makes it horrible, not what makes it great. Problem solved! That's evolution. That's change. That's the way life works.

Don't agree? Then allow me to retort: CALL OF DUTY!

Let's be honest. The main entries developed by Treyarch and, especially, Sledgehammer Games' own Advanced Warfare were better than any of the games churned out by Infinity Ward in recent years. Treyarch in particular deserve recognition for building upon what made Modern Warfare so great by adding new features and tweaking the core gameplay just a bit. Obviously, it wasn't enough, but at least it was better than Infinity Ward's "If it ain't broke..." approach.

Compare Black Ops II's Strikeforce missions, branching paths, and "Pick 10" multiplayer, to Modern Warfare 3's linear campaign and reshuffled killstreaks. ...OK, so all those changes weren't perfect, but the only thing rehashed about Black Ops 2 was the graphics. Treyarch had the right idea. For Call of Duty to stay relevant, it needs to evolve and continue evolving.

Why else do you think that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (and by extension, Modern Warfare 2, depending on who you asked) is still regarded as the franchise's high point? Compared to what came before it, it was very different. It changed the shooter game and opened a Pandora's box of imitators. Now the franchise itself has become an imitator, and its shift to sci-fi does little to hide the obvious.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Whoever said that needs to be shot. At least when MTV ditched music television, they still remained a pop culture icon to this day. If it wasn't for Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto V would still be played from a top-down perspective. People who say "If it ain't broke...", can go fuck themselves.

...Though, in retrospective, MuchMore should have never became M3. Not when music videos are still the only programs worth watching on that channel.

Netflix Went Worldwide WAY Too Soon

Once upon a time, if you put something out there on the internet, the whole world could see it. Then, one day, someone decided that entertainment companies can put something out there, but only their native country can see it. The rest of the world was like: "Wow, what a jackass!"

That last bit also happens to be the reaction from Canadians who aren't satisfied with just watching House of Cards and Bojack Horseman. That last bit is the reaction Canadians had to Netflix's border-hopping crack down. Hungry for the full catalog of titles available in the U.S? Too bad. If you try to use a VPN or unblocking service to cross the border, Netflix will deport your ass faster than you can say Bordertown.

When your streaming service is now available worldwide, the first thing you want to do is make sure your content isn't available worldwide too. That's the message Netflix is sending to Canadians. It's true that Netflix does want to have a worldwide-viewable catalog, hence the shrinking movie lineup (which could also be chalked up to them spending more money on original programming), but actions speak louder than words, and Netflix's actions as of late have said otherwise.

Since Canadians can't rely on unblockers, now they're prepared to just pirate everything Netflix offers the United States that they can't get up north. After all, it's not stealing when you take something for free that you aren't allowed to pay money for in the first place. That's the biggest problem with geographically-restricted subscription services: people who were willing to pay money for something are now "stealing" that very something because the owners, apparently, don't want their money.

Now flip it in reverse! Netflix Canada has given us new episodes of Scandal before the Americans can stream them, exclusive series like From Dusk 'ill Dawn & Shadowhunters, plus exclusive streaming rights to the new Star Wars movie. Surely someone in another part of the world is looking at us with envy. As awesome as these bonuses are (and they are FREAKING SWEET!), it would be even better if we ALL were able to enjoy them. If we could all enjoy From Dusk 'till Dawn and Star Wars, without having to use an unblocker, it would truly feel like Netflix is available worldwide. If we still lived in a world where "if you put something out there on the internet, the whole world could see it", that's would be the reality.

Instead, everyone wants to have their cake and eat it too and, once again, the customer has the short end of the stick. If Netflix truly wants to have a worldwide catalog of shows, then they need to stop making these region-specific deals. The same goes to all businesses: the only way to slow down piracy is to make your goods accessible to the customer. The pirates are winning because they provide a better service. When your business avoids anti-consumer practices, like geo-blocking, piracy becomes an afterthought.

Then we'll all live happily ever after.

Machinima Update: April 26, 2016

I should have stuck to short videos, it was a lot more enjoyable making those than a full length, ongoing, machinima series. With Super Smash Bros for Wii U being the new thing, and my channel sorely lacking in original machinima, I intend to make as many movies and shorts as I want. But right now, I need closure. As I'm typing this, I'm about to edit the opening scene from the final Reycralibur movie. Yes, Reycralibur: The Movie. In other words, Reycralibur: Legend of the Miracle Beam, the SSB64 machinima series that I've been working on for over six years, is finished.

I'm not doing this because I want people to watch, not even to showcase the possibilities of SSB64 machinima. Since the beginning, I've been doing this for the same reason every machinimator takes up this hobby in the first place: for his or her enjoyment. But in the case of this long-running saga which I've grown disillusioned with, I'm doing this for closure. I'm lazy, I procrastinate, and I usually give up something before I finish it. Anyone can make a comedy video, but to do a whole machinima series takes hard work, dedication, and commitment.

Also, originality, but that never stopped certain machinimists from making the same fanfic over and over again. I mean, we get it: Peach and Zelda are only good for getting captured by Bowser and Ganondorf and being rescued by Mario and Link; Snake, Samus and Team Star Fox are the authority; and everyone else is either cannon fodder or henchmen. Cue the anime opening.

Time and time again, I've seen so many newcomers in the same boat as I am in. They announce their new series. they hold an audition, they make the flashy animesque credit sequences..., and then they just quit before they even get to the second episode. How am I gonna stand out, in an era where machinima as a whole plays second fiddle to AMVs and a multi-channel network that doesn't even give a crap about the thing its named after, if I can't even finish what I started?

Given my poor track record for setting goals and meeting deadlines, I won't bother with a release date. In fact, I'm gonna go ahead and jinx myself by saying Reycralibur Final will not be released before the next installment of the Smasherz finale, or the next episode of Brawl Universe or Fates Hand, but on my pride as a machinimator, I will get this done!

In the meantime, you can just keep enjoying the shorts. That's all I'm really good for nowadays.

iHeartRadio, iHateBellMedia

I'm having mixed feelings about Bell Media's decision to (once again) rename the Much Music Video Awards to the iHeartRadio MMVAs. First of all, what is iHeartRadio, other than a bunch of TV specials I've seen on broadcast networks? In short, it's an app that let's you listen to radio stations, owned by parent company Clear Channel. It has gained more traction than Spotify and Pandora ever did in their early years. Most importantly, it's doing exactly to the MMVAs what Kanye West did to the Pan AM games last year: stealing the spotlight away from Canada, its artists, and their venues.

In reality, Bell Media is bringing iHeartRadio to Canada and shilling it out like a kid who got his first rare trading card. At launch, iHR Canada will allow users to steam all of Bell Media's radio stations. It will also allow Bell Media to slap the iHeartRadio name onto any music-related event to build brand awareness and generally make it sound more special to them. Case in point: the CHUM FM Fanfest is now the iHeartRadio Fest. Though, in fairness, the iHeartRadio FanFest would be an even more appealing name.

But slapping the name onto the Much Music Video Awards will most certainly not "elevate the MMVAs internationally". Instead, it cheapens an iconic Toronto event by making it play second fiddle to an American product no one has heard of, nor cared about, until now. It also shows the further lack in confidence Bell Media has in MuchMusic as a music brand, as opposed to a network for Comedy Central originals and late-night talk shows. With the likes of Revolt and Fuse/FM signaling the proper return of music television to American airwaves, its very jarring that the only thing Canada's largest music-based network has going for it, aside from Much Digital Studios, is an award show named after an American website.

On the other hand, its nice to see an American brand brought north and not turned into a cheap cash grab, just like so many Canadian specialty channels (*cough*FXX*cough*). Being Canada's largest (and most corrupt) radio broadcaster, and with Virgin Radio and CHUM already on-air in the states, it makes sense for Bell to be iHeartRadio's Canadian ambassador. Finally, am I really going to shed a tear for an event that's clearly become skewed towards pop music fangirls? Seriously, how do you have a "Fave Artist" category when, for the last six years, the same artists were nominated and the winner is always Justin Bieber? That is bullshit to the ninth degree!

So what's next for Bell Media and iHeartRadio? Will Virgin Radio and M3 change their names too? Does anyone even care about iHeartRadio now that we have Spotify? One thing's for sure: the MMVAs aren't dead, but they might as well be.