The Nintendo World Championships are Returning!

Nintendo of America announced their plans for this year's E3, and it's a lot of the usual. They're letting us play their newly announced games (this year it's Mario Maker) at Best Buy the week of the convention, they'll be holding a digital event to announce lots of good things, the Treehouse will be live on the floor the whole time...oh, and they're bringing back the Nintendo World Championships.

Wait, what?

Wizard World Philly Report!

I set out to take part in my first Wizard World Comic Con (and my first ever comic con!) on Thursday, May 7th, the kickoff day for the show. Accompanying me was my lovely partner-in-crime, Lisa. Traffic was light from New York to Philadelphia, so Lisa and I arrived fairly quickly, in about two hours. After checking in at the hotel, I started off walking the convention show floor as soon as possible. There weren't a ton of people on the first day, which didn't surprise me much because it was a weekday. Tons of merchandise stands with everything your nerdy heart could ever desire, as long as your nerdy heart wanted Funko Pop figurines. Seriously, they were everywhere. The convention exclusive Funko figurines I noticed were Stan Lee, and the Winchester brothers from Supernatural. I ended up picking up a Roger Rabbit Funko Pop figurine for Lisa. They got me. Or, rather, they got her.

Episode 147: Celebrate Star Wars!

This week, Kevin Custer joins Mike and Jarys to break down Star Wars Celebration! We'll discuss the new Jurassic World trailer, and then go straight into what we saw at the convention, including Rogue One, a breakdown of the brand new Force Awakens trailer, whether Palpatine is pure evil or has more depth than that, and end with a spirited debate on whether Jar Jar Binks is responsible for the destruction of the Second Death Star!

Episode 147!

Jurassic World Reveals its Mega-Dinosaur in New Trailer!

This weekend has been insane for new trailers. First, The Force Awakens knocked our socks off. Then, Batman vs Superman disappointed us and Fantastic Four intrigued us. Now, Jurassic World is trying to take some of our hard earned money, and they may just succeed. Check out the new trailer for Jurassic World right after the jump.

Geekly Roundup, March 8th

We're back with a new (meaning our second ever) Geekly Roundup!

If you haven't already seen it, check out our new companion Geekly Roundup podcast!  This week, Mark, Mike, and Ben take on some of the news found in the Roundup, as well as the upcoming Marvel Netflix series, and some thoughts on how indie game development is changing the way games come to market.

This week we've got news about everything from No Man's Sky to Pitch Perfect to the recent news about Maxis Emeryville -- and yes, there's even more Wil Wheaton.  No Roundup is apparently complete without Wil Wheaton.

IAAPA Day 2: A Trip to a Wizarding World

Check out Part 1 of my Visit to the Theme Park Tradeshow Here.

The head cold is still well in effect. So I take my Dayquil with coffee and breakfast and get ready for the day.

Boss Man wanted to use his connections get us some free passes to the parks out in the area, but things don’t always work out the way we want. The passes ended up being for Sunday… travel day. So, what is a clever professional to do? Company credit card. We call Big Boss, he Okays the whole deal, and after one swipe, we’re suddenly inside Universal Studios Orlando.

Watch the Jurassic World trailer right now!

Once again, shaky low quality internet leaks get us all good content early. The folks at Universal have released the Jurassic World trailer way earlier than they originally planned:

Post by Jurassic Park.

So what do you guys think? I'm...cautiously optimistic. It looks fun, and I love the idea that the park has finally opened, but I'm worried about all the extra sci-fi elements being added. It could be awesome, or it could be overwhelming. We'll see when Jurassic World hits theaters in June.

Outside, on Crutches.

 
I'm writing this article on my phone, in my night dress and back in bed at 12:35pm. I work part time in the afternoons so that my chronic insomnia doesn't interfere. Well that and the rest of my work is from home. But the reason I'm still under the covers by midday has nothing to do with sleeping late and everything to do with seasonal agoraphobia.

Grandparents Got Game!

*When I started this article. I had the idea that I was going to make it about skills, levels and PVP ranks. Yes, some of the grandparents I talked to are PVP-ranked. But as I talked with them, I found a bigger story - a story about family bonding. I decided to share that instead. After all, toons can be re-rolled, but you can't re-roll a family member. (Unless you're playing the Sims. -Ed)

I play MMO's with my grandson, who's going to be 5 years old soon. He loves running around trashing mobs and collecting loot. He doesn't quite have the patience yet to finish a quest, but we're working on that. His parents let him play The Last of Us, (WHAT?! -Ed) and he does pretty well - except when he hits a point that he has to actually complete a task or quest in order to progress. Whenever he comes over to my house, the first thing he says to me is "Hi Grandma! I missed you! Can we play teams now?? PLEASE???" So we play some XBox games - Marvel vs. Capcom 3 usually to start, and we then eventually end up going to the computer room and playing Guild Wars 2 or Neverwinter. He wants to play Diablo 3 with me but I don't have it. Then he tries to be helpful.  "Aww. Let's go get it! I know where it lives - it stays at the store!"

J.K. Rowling Has Written a New Harry Potter Story!

In honor of the World Cup, or possibly just because she likes tantalizing us, J.K. Rowling has made her first return to the world of Harry Potter since the end of the seventh book. Die-hard Harry Potter fans have been playing with the website Pottermore for years now, solving puzzles and reading pieces of the book in a new way. Today, Rowling paid off their patience by releasing a new work of fiction, staring the grown-up, 34 year-old Harry Potter.

Motion Control wands coming to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Later this year, the fine folks at Universal Studios Orlando are expanding their Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. Now taking up a piece of both the original Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, the Diagon Alley expansion will add a Hogwarts Express to dart between both parks, a brand new ride through Gringotts Bank, and a ton of new shopping opportunities. But - it turns out, that's not all. One of the most fun experiences at the parks has always been getting chosen for a wand at Ollivanders (pictured above with some lady), and it turns out, the wands are now getting an upgrade.