Len Wiseman To Direct “Total Recall”

Len Wiseman is in final negotiations to direct Columbia Pictures’ Total Recall. The film will be a new, contemporized adaptation of Total Recall, which was based on the story, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. Kurt Wimmer is writing the screenplay. Neal H. Moritz will produce through his Original Film banner.

Commenting on the announcement, Tolmach said, “Len has an incredible love of the genre and a great gift for action. He’ll bring a contemporary feel to the film while taking care with everything we love about Philip K. Dick’s original story.”

Moritz said, “I have been trying for years to work with Len and fortunately we finally found a great project that he loves as much as we do. Len is terrifically talented and we know he is the right director to re-imagine Total Recall for a new generation of fans.”

Wiseman added, “I’ve always been fascinated with Philip K. Dick’s short story, and I’m excited at that prospect of diving even deeper into the type of world it evokes and the questions it asks. I love that the most crucial mystery our character is trying to solve is the one of his own soul.”

Toby Jaffe will oversee production on behalf of Original Film. Tolmach and Sam Dickerman are overseeing the project on behalf of the studio. Columbia Pictures secured the rights to Total Recall from Miramax. Wiseman is represented by ICM and attorney Howard Abramson.

Interview with Adam Sessler

Adam and I talk about Sony’s strength’s, weaknesses, and 3D TV.

If you watch G4 then you know who Adam Sessler is. Whether it’s during X-Play, E3 Coverage, or Comic-Con, his witty, entertaining, and extremely articulate comments on gaming and the industry are a staple at G4TV. What you might not know is that besides being the Co-Host of X-Play, he is also Editor in Chief Games of Content. I had a chance to chat with him before Comic-Con, and wanted to get his honest, candid thought’s on Sony.

Sony has made some strides with console redesign, and a great ad campaign. Despite that, they are still in a fight with Microsoft. What are something’s you think Sony is doing well?

The one thing that Sony is clearly doing well is titles that are unique to the PS3, which are almost all coming out of Sony development studios or at least partnerships that are exclusive with Sony. I would have to say that if you’re looking at, sort of what’s happening on the Microsoft side with that and what’s happening on the Sony side, I think there is a lot more experimentation and innovation and a greater sense of breadth to those titles on Sony’s side. One of the things I have seen a lot from Microsoft is they have very strong franchises: Halo, Gears, Fable. But there is that point, where, where else can you go with them? What are you going to do to invigorate your base?

And I think obviously with the success of Uncharted 2, The Last Guardian is coming around the corner, Little Big Planet 2, it does star to look, that, they really have that great roster. I think the real issue is that it took so long for Sony to get to that point, that they are in this, real sort of dangerous game of catch-up. I don’t necessarily see Microsoft slowing down to the point where they can sort of close that gap, but I think in terms of Sony trying to reinvigorate just the brand of PlayStation I think there software line up is doing a fine job of showing a greater sense of refinement and breadth in I think their software line up.

Conversely Sony has also made some decisions, that, at times, caused people to scratch their heads. What are some areas that you think they are failing in?

Sony at the beginning of this console generation was coming off the PS2 which was wildly successful. It was the dominant console of that generation. I would have to say that there was a sense of entitlement to that position in this generation and I think it allowed them to make decisions that were really kind of devastating.

I think the big one has to got to be the price point for the PS3; they really misread the appetite of the market to have a gaming console at that level. They were also investing too much in to Blu-ray and when they tried to, sell this machine, bolt on the Blu-ray and on the Cell processor, the games kinda of got lost. And they were not being able to speak the proper language to the audience that they really had quite loyal to them through the PS2. Obviously, there was that horrific, press conference. Not the one where they showed the not completely real Killzone trailer, but the following one, where they suddenly pulled the Sixaxis out of nowhere, they’re doing that with Warhawk, Genji, I mean, really they were asking you spend $600 and they could not reproduce one true killer app at the launch of the console.

I think they still needed to go for another year of really getting beat up before they realized that they should not have that level of entitlement. Then suddenly you started to see the good software. But once again, in the video game industry when your dealing with these consoles, losing that year…

Really, if you look at the PS2, one of the best advantages the PS2 had was it had a year on both the GameCube and the original XBOX. They as a result lost that year to the XBOX360 and then they lost yet another year by not making a good case to the consumer as to why they should be buying the console. Now they seem to be more on track. Even at this E3 you get a small sense of scatterbrained messaging, but at the same time they do have the goods to back it up. I worry about pushing to heavily on 3D. Obviously Sony corporate has 3D televisions they want to sell at the end of the year, but they need to sort of keep their eyes on that core element of which is very very good game developer’s that are within the Sony family.

How do you see 3D gaming evolving in the long-term? Do you see it being viable or being somewhat of a niche market?

I think it’s wholly contingent on the sale of 3D televisions. I think everyone is really holding their breath.

The whole reason we have 3D gaming right now is because of these 3D televisions, and if the televisions don’t sell, 3D gaming is going to go away. I honestly cannot decide if people are going to…it’s a bad economic climate to try and convince people who may have only in the past few years picked up a flat screen television to pick up another. At the same time, there are early adopters who just can’t turn down some sort of new technology. And if there are enough of them out there that are willing to spend the money then I think you will see a slow progression in to more 3D.

I guess, having looked at the 3D games, I am less resistant to the concept of 3D gaming than I was initially. I have always been concerned that the 3D would take such precedence that you’re going to see the game design and gameplay actually suffer because it’s only important to have the 3D. Killzone 3, it was neat with that jetpack to get the vertigo effect, but I don’t know where you go from there. And I think, unfortunately as with motion control, your putting something in the hands of developers that they themselves, have not, sort of been wanting. Their desire is to be creative, and express something and do something inside of a video game. So it is, I think, still putting the carriage a little in front of the horse. I think every so often we will see one or two games and we’ll say “Wow, that was really cool”, but it does concern me that there is this sense of ubiquity that somehow all games need to be 3D in the future. I’m kind of crossing my fingers that people aren’t going to buy 3D’s so it becomes a moot point.

With our E3 coverage, following twitter feeds and stuff like that, wow, did 3D resonant very low with our audience. If 3D is going to catch on, it’s going to catch on with a more marginal group of technophiles who want the new thing. I don’t think there are core gamers who really think that something is going to happen with their gaming.

PSN+. People are split down the middle on this. Do you think Sony is doing enough to make it a viable competitor to XBOX Live?

No. That was one of the more dissatisfying parts of the Sony press conference this year.

I think that people were, because of XBOX Live, finally ready to go “Hey, I will spend a little money if I can have the level of reliability on my online service that I am getting out of Microsoft”. And the whole idea that your going to spend money just to that you can download in the background…they don’t seem to get it.

I don’t know if that’s because your talking about a far more multnational company between the US, Europe and Japan. They really need to just jettison what they have. Maybe they will do that with the next console, but that’s going to be pretty far down the line. With XBOX Live you pay for the service, but you get something that is quite reliable for the most part. I think also, when the strange thing happened with the clock inside of the PS3, while that wasn’t the PlayStation Network’s fault, it just unfortunately put another blemish on it.

There is no reason why they should not have a service that is on par with XBOX Live. That is where some real investment needs to be because multiplayer is such a big element in games. It really means a lot to game publishers because it does reduce the resale of certain game’s if it has multiplayer in it.

The PlayStation Portable has some great titles, Birth by Sleep is on the horizon, but it’s 6 years into the PSP’s lifecycle. Do you think it’s time for Sony to do a larger scale refresh?

Yeah. And I agree with you, there are some really fun games you can get on it. That handheld market is soooo different than the console market. Nintendo has it so wrapped up. I am not saying there is anything, ostensibly wrong with the PSP, although I would really like a second analog stick due to the types of games that are on it.

But I have to question the rationale of having another PSP when Nintendo, especially with the 3DS is going to so dominate that market that are you just throwing good money after bad?  And as we just said, when the PlayStation Network could use such a revitalization, is it better to invest there than in what really seems to be a losing race with Nintendo.

Cloud computing and downloadable content are on the rise. You also have apps like Hulu, MLB.TV and Netflix. Where do you see the PS3 evolving to over it’s lifecycle? Where should it go?

That’s a really interesting question…

With all of those services out there…it’s almost like keeping up with the Jones es’. There seems to be this expectation that we finally are moving our consoles in to something closer to a set top box. Back in the old days when I was at TechTV, that was supposed to be the end all be all and it just never seemed to happen. It finally seems to be happening with the consoles and it seems to be happening in a way that is not distracting from what is supposed to be the core purpose of buying the console which is for the video games.

I think that as consumers expect to have these services they should be on it. It’s funny, I don’t use stuff like that, I’m a little bit old school (laughs). But I don’t know if trying to create something new and different is really going to distinguish the PS3 from those types of services that are on the XBOX. I know that Microsoft announced their deal with ESPN and I just can’t tell if that is going to make a difference. Is someone going to buy the 360 for ESPN service and they have been holding out from buying anything because that hasn’t been made available to them? I think any aspect like that needs to happen in the next generation of consoles, and right now we are just getting the consumer adjusted to the idea that are multiple uses for your gaming console other than just playing video games.

I would like to thank Kelly for arranging and scheduling the interview and Adam for taking the time out of his busy schedule to chat with us. If you ever wondered if he as down to earth in person as he is on TV he is.  I started off the interview by calling him Mr. Sessler and he said “No need, I am just a dood”

Firmware 3.41 Arrives for PS3

Firmware 3.41 for the PS3 is now available, and it includes a new type of recommendation system for videos and games on the PlayStation Store.

If you’re browsing through the store and looking at information on a game or video, a new option on the right hand side is available entitled “You May Like”. This is based upon data crawled from other user’s who purchased similar content.

Also, according to an analysis on the new firmware by CJPC on the PS3 News Forum, the new patch is only about 40 MB, and is an incremental update.

What’s nice about Sony now using this feature, is that instead of having updates in the range of 100-200 MB each time, they remain much smaller and only provide the new functionality needed. Given the new auto update feature in PSN+ this is less data for users to download, and could cut the update time in half.

Sony’s Colorful Carnival Themed NEX Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera Commercial

The latest Sony advertising campaign for its Digital Imaging range promotes a brand new camera concept, the α (alpha) NEX-5 and NEX-3 compact system cameras and will roll out across Europe in July. The campaign focuses on promoting the new cameras that sit within Sony’s alpha range and offer DSLR picture quality using interchangeable lens on a camera the size of a traditional compact.

The integrated campaign will run across TV and press and will have a strong presence in store throughout the summer.

The NEX-5 is the world’s smallest and lightest interchangeable lens digital camera and is also the first camera from Sony to boast 3D capabilities. Both the NEX-5 and the NEX-3 also offer HD movie recording.

Sony worked with its European agency Anomaly to create the campaign and the brief was to create a visually engaging campaign that demonstrate the creative capabilities of the NEX cameras and in particular features such as Background Defocus, Full HD video and quick response which all help the NEX-5 and NEX-3 cameras create professional quality images.

Following this brief the campaign was shot on location at a carnival created specifically for the shoot in Uruguay and was directed by Jeff Labbe. The sound was designed by Sam Spiegel and attempts to capture the excitement as the carnival gathers pace and amplify the defocus message both visually and aurally.

Giles Morrison, General Manager, Marketing Communications at Sony Europe, commented; “The launch of the NEX cameras has created a great buzz within the Digital Imaging category. The Carnival theme for the campaign gave the perfect vibrant and hectic environment to show how versatile and high quality the NEX-5 and NEX-3 cameras can be.”

Sony PlayStation Introduces ‘Logo Licensing Program’

Sony Computer Entertainment today announced the introduction of PlayStation “Logo Licensing Program,” targeted for variety of lifestyle products from apparel to everyday items as part of the Official Licensing Program.

Click on the concept pictures in this post to see a larger version of what they are aiming for – basically injecting the PS logo into the mainstream in whatever way possible. The concepts look pretty cool – I’d definitely buy that white t-shirt.

Licensees who enter into an agreement with SCE through the “Logo Licensing Program” will be able to design their product using the PlayStation logos and or the iconic marks. The program is applicable to a variety of lifestyle products such as apparel, accessories, house wares and more. Furthermore, SCE will provide “Official Licensed Product logo” to be used on product packages, proving that the products comply with the guideline and have been approved by SCE.

Details about the “Logo Licensing Program” are available on the official site. With the help of third party companies, SCE will enrich the licensed product line-up and deliver various quality lifestyle products that will make the PlayStation brand more accessible and recognizable than ever.

Check Out The Ultimate Gaming Makeover Sweepstakes

Great Clips is teaming up with EA Sports and Sony PlayStation to bring you the Ultimate Gaming Makeover this summer.

You have four days left to go to the contest entry website for a chance to win the “Ultimate Gaming Makeover.” Prizes include a 52″ HDTV, a Sony Home Theater System, PlayStation 3 systems, a suite of EA SPORTS games, PSP (PlayStation Portable) systems, an XZipit Video Game Rocker and more! Great Clips will feature EA Sports and PlayStation in more than 2,800 salon locations across the United States and Canada via in-salon signage. With 5 million customers expected to walk through the Great Clips doors during July, the word will easily spread about this exciting sweepstakes.

In addition to the chance to win the Ultimate Gaming Makeover, consumers will receive $5 off their next EA Sports game with every haircut. This price-off offer will also be highlighted on the EA Sports and PlayStation web pages – and includes free shipping of the games! We also have an exclusive code for $5 off any EA Sports game (purchased at the EA store) without having to get a haircut: jzfquimwi – expires 8/31/2010.

EverQuest II: Extended Now Allows You To Play For Free

Sony Online Entertainment has added a new subscription option to Everquest II which allows anyone in the world to play the game for free. Officially called Everquest II: Extended, it has Extended Membership Plans which allow players to choose from four tiers of options for their desired gameplay experience. It is currently in Alpha testing (available to all current players) while the open Beta will occur on or around August 17, 2010.

Those of you who have never had the chance to experience Everquest II, which has had a stable community for more than half a decade, can now check out the game. And it’s not just a ho-hum free experience – it’s actually quite a good offering. As a Bronze (free) member, you’ll have access to the Everquest II: The Shadow Odyssey (base game, five expansion packs and three adventure packs), four playable races, eight playable classes, and a maximum level of 80 (maximum is 90 for paid members). Two player character slots are included and you can go all the way to adept in spell tiers (paid members can read expert and full spell tiers). Unfortunately, you will not be able to access legendary and fabled weapons on the Bronze membership.

It’s important to note that EverQuest II Extended is a completely separate gameplay service from the EverQuest II live subscription service. The server lists are not shared, it has completely separate forums, and if you don’t want to be around the community that plays in the free adventure service, then there is no reason for that to ever occur. However, if you want to go try out Extended, feel free to do so. Active EQII live players can create a new account on EQII Extended for free or copy over a version of an existing EQII live character for $35.

There are other limitations to the game, which you can see here in this chart, along with the other subscription plans (click to enlarge):

EverQuest II (EQ2), based upon the popular game EverQuest, is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and started in early November of 2004. It features graphics and gameplay vastly updated from its predecessor and has had multiple expansions and subscription options. Within EverQuest II, each player creates a character to interact in the 3-D fictional world of Norrath. Within the game, the character can adventure (complete quests, explore the world, kill monsters and gain treasures and experience) and socialize with other players. The game also has a ‘tradeskill’ system that allows players to create items for in-game use.

Many people around the world have become familiar with these types of games as they have become increasingly popular since the debut of Everquest, the game that many consider to be the true catalyst to popularizing MMORPG games in the USA. However, to play these games you must pay a subscription fee, which is usually around $15 a month. Multiply the average subscription fee by millions of users and suddenly you see that MMORPG games can pull in big revenue, but ever since World of Warcraft hit the scene it has been tough for other companies to be as successful as they were before. World of Warcraft is the most successful MMORPG ever, and touted subscription numbers above 10 million in recent times. WoW has stolen a lot of the spot light from Everquest, which was at one time the major player in the MMO world at the turn of the century.

A recent trend in MMORPG games that have subscriptions is the addition of a free play option – a formula that has proven successful in competiting with World of Warcraft and other games that require paid subscriptions. Economic difficulties are still plaguing many people and players have been shifting interest to games that can offer rich, interactive online experiences for less. Plus, the game companies can offer incentives, or upgrades, to characters in teh game that they can purchase with real money which can eventually cover costs. Plus, someone who plays long enough for free will most likely convert to a higher level subscription, which Sony has tempting with that one-time purchase Silver upgrade.

More information can be found within this FAQ from SOE about Everquest II: Extended.

DC Universe Online Launches Epic Trailer

The future is bleak for the DC Universe…unless you can save it.

Comic-Con 2010 gave us a lot of information on games, movies and comics and a surprise interview (which we will be covering in the next few days).

Among the things released from the biggest comic show on earth, is an epic, cinematic trailer from Sony Online Entertainment that gives the back story of  just how important your role in the DC Universe is.

If you plan on playing this game ask yourself this question — Who Do You Trust?

This trailer is easily better than most of the movies I have seen this year, makes November seem that much further away, and reaffirms my hatred for Black Adam (although he does get a +1 for using  his lightning summon as a weapon).

So what do you think, good, great, overdone? Sound off as usual in the comments.

The Social Network Movie Coming Soon

Sony Pictures (Columbia) is steadily increasing publicity for The Social Network, which is based on Ben Mezrich’s Book: The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal. The more I see about this I feel that the movie will be most likely known amongst society as “The Facebook Movie.” The film features an ensemble cast which consists of Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Brenda Song, Rashida Jones, Max Minghella, Rooney Mara, Malese Jow, and Joseph Mazzello. The Social Network is set to debut on November 1st, 2010.

The plot summary for the The Social Network is as follows:

On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history… but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications.

Watch the trailer below, and give us your thoughts in the comments section:

Phil Molyneux To Become President/COO Of Sony Electronics USA

Phil Molyneux, a 23-year veteran of Sony’s European electronics operation, has been named President and Chief Operating Officer, Sony Electronics Inc. (SEL), in San Diego, CA. At the same time, Stan Glasgow has been named to the newly created position of Senior Advisor, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group, Sony Corporation of America (SCA). Both announcements were made today by Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Sony Corporation, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sony Corporation of America. The appointments are effective September 1, 2010.

Mr. Molyneux, in his new role, will oversee the electronics business of Sony Corporation in the United States, working closely with both the Consumer, Professional and Devices and the Networked Products and Services Groups of Sony Corp. As Managing Director of Sony Central and South East Europe (SCSE) since 2007, Mr. Molyneux has overseen all business management and development for both consumer and professional products across the 20 countries that make up that region. He will relocate to SEL’s headquarters in San Diego.

In his new position, Mr. Glasgow will utilize his wide-ranging professional experience to help fuel Sony’s future revenue and profit. He will develop strategies and business plans for potential growth areas utilizing Sony’s specialized competencies, technologies and knowledge. He will also serve as Chairman of Sony Electronics Inc. Mr. Glasgow has been the President and Chief Operating Officer of SEL since March 2006, overseeing its business operations in the U.S. Before joining Sony, he spent more than 20 years in Hong Kong managing operations, as well as mergers and acquisitions, throughout Asia for both General Electric and Capetronic, a worldwide OEM display company.

“Phil’s unique combination of technical knowledge and broad management experience will tremendously benefit Sony’s electronics business in the U.S.,” said Mr. Stringer. “He was educated as an electromechanical engineer, and has effectively and expertly managed an extraordinarily diverse electronics business for Sony in a key region of Europe. He has faced enormous challenges and, through a steadfast focus on the consumer, as well as innovative and inspirational leadership, has achieved growth in both profits and market share. He knows how to lead, to win, and I am very pleased that he will bring his considerable, proven skills to SEL, and also further our mission to expand our global management team.”

“Stan has been a strong and inspired leader, especially during the past two years under nearly unprecedented global economic turbulence,” continued Mr. Stringer. “He made difficult choices that, ultimately, made Sony Electronics in the U.S. more efficient and better positioned to regain momentum. Stan’s dedication and professionalism has been a key part of the Company’s ongoing global transformation, and we are delighted that he will now apply his entrepreneurial skills to help drive new business opportunities for Sony.”

Mr. Molyneux has spent more than two decades at Sony. As Managing Director of SCSE since 2007, based in Budapest, he created a new business model for Sony’s consumer and professional products designed to engage a highly diverse consumer population and increase operational efficiency to drive business growth within this developing region. SCSE has emerged within Sony as a leading innovator of best marketing, sales and operational practices, and is a top 10 revenue contributor to the Company’s global electronics business. Mr. Molyneux’s geographic area of responsibility at SCSE grew from 14 to 20 countries.

From 1997-2007, while based in the U.K., his responsibilities had been expanded to include manufacturing, systems and related software, core technology and retail peripheral products. He led Sony’s entry into the computer peripheral retail market and played a pivotal role in Sony’s expansion into component supply for the mobile phone market.

Mr. Molyneux joined Sony in 1987 as a sales engineer to develop untapped business for the Semiconductor and Component unit in the U.K. Over the next 10 years, in both sales and marketing positions, he expanded that business across Europe, and led Sony to the No. 1 market share position in several related areas, including magnetic and optical drive technology. Before that, he was a customer support engineer for Hewlett Packard for two years.

Mr. Molyneux was awarded an apprenticeship in electromechanical engineering with the U.K. Ministry of Defense and completed his studies in 1982. He then studied computer technology at the College of Central London.

Mr. Glasgow’s 30-plus years of consumer electronics and computer experience have included oversight of total sales and marketing management, in addition to design, engineering and financial supervision of consumer electronics products in the United States and abroad.

Prior to his role as head of SEL in the U.S., Mr. Glasgow was President, Sony Electronics Consumer Sales Company, where he managed the company’s retail and online sales operations and strategy in the United States. Before that, he was Senior Vice President of Sony Electronics Information Technology Products Division. He joined Sony in 2001 as Vice President of Computer Displays.

Prior to joining Sony, Mr. Glasgow was the owner and president of Capetech Sales, which sold display products and consulting services to Asian electronics companies. He was CEO of Capetronic Computer Products Holdings Ltd., having held a variety of executive positions at the company before that appointment.

In his new role, Mr. Molyneux will report to Mr. Kiyoshi Shikano, Global Sales & Marketing Officer, Sony Corporation, and to Tokyo headquarters senior executives for non-Sales & Marketing activities. Mr. Glasgow will report to Mr. Stringer in the latter’s position as head of SCA.