So, there’s been some hubbub around Electronic Arts over the last few days, as the company ramps up for the release of its third quarter earnings on February 1st. Yesterday, EA’s stock closed at $17.54 per share, which, in context, meant that the gaming goliath’s stock was down 30 percent since hitting its 52-week high in early November. This drop was mostly due to the collective shock relating to the news concerning its recently released title, Star Wars: The Old Republic, which now has a ridiculous price tag attached to it — as Wall Street is estimating the cost to be between $150 and $200 million. → Read More
You can’t always count on the wisdom of crowds. But this particular project turned out not merely good, but amazing. Star Wars Uncut is a project by filmmaker Casey Pugh (and edited by Aaron Valdez and Michael Pugh), in which Star Wars: A New Hope was divided into 15-second segments, each of which was replicated by fans in whatever way they chose. Connect the new segments and voila! Crowdsourced magic.
Watch the video inside. → Read More
In case you missed the news, Star Wars launched on Blu-ray this week. Lucas & Co. never miss an opportunity to soil their brand and so, along with turning to annoying in-game advertising, recently wrapped the handrails of several Tokyo subway cars. So, you know, passengers can have imaginary lightsaber battles with stationary props. AWESOME! Japan gets all the fun stuff. → Read More
Andrew Ainsworth, the creator of the original Storm Trooper gear in Star Wars, won an infringement case against Lucasfilm allowing him to make and sell his $3,000 helmets without suffering the sting of litigation. Ainsworth made the original armor in 1976 and now sells it on his site, SDSProps.com. → Read More
And I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations. And this is my counterpart R2D2. We’ve clearly been pimped out by Master George again. It was probably R2′s fault. That malfunctioning little twirp. I told him not to sell out and let us be turned into cheap gaming accessories, but he’s faulty, malfunctioning. Kept babbling on about his mission. We seem to be made to suffer. It’s our lot in life. → Read More
It’s been a while since we’ve posted any interesting Kinect hacks. They were coming fast and furious for a while, but this is the first I’ve seen in a while that really makes me happy. Robotics students at Stanford put this “JediBot” together from an articulating arm and a Kinect (and of course a little robotics know-how). The Kinect tracks the location of both “lightsabers” and has the robot make an attack or defending move based on their positions. → Read More
A group of Star Wars fans in New York were organizing a marathon of all six movies at their local bar, but have canceled the event after receiving a cease and desist letter from Lucasfilm. The letter apparently declared the marathon in violation of copyright, and said they’d forbidden public screenings. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’ll be giving Lucasfilm any of my money for a while. Think about it, Lucasfilm. Everything you have is because of people like these guys, who were just trying to put together a love-fest for your golden-egg-laying goose. This kind of thing doesn’t go over well. [via TechDirt] → Read More
Mod of the year? Is there such of a thing? If so, this one wins by the trailer alone. Star Wars Mod: Galactic Warfare turns Call of Duty: Modern Warfare into a legitimate Star Wars FPS. Download it here and say goodbye to summer. → Read More
Second Sega Toys Homestar Planetarium news item in a row: following the version that’s good for travel from yesterday, maker Sega Toys took the wraps off a Star Wars model at the Tokyo Toy Show. It’s a fully functional planetarium, just in the shape of R2-D2, and it shows the location of the Death Star. → Read More
If you’re a fan of Spock, Orko, Sulu, and all the rest of those great Star Wars characters, you may want to get out a few thousand dollars when the acetate crawls from the original movies come back on the market because they’re clearly going cheap. For example, at a relatively unpublicized auction someone picked up the original Empire Strikes Back crawl for a mere $40,000, which, knowing the depravity of the average sci-fi fan, is wildly low. → Read More
If you’re a robot otaku who happens to be a Star Wars otaku, too, then this video is for you. Japanese robot maker Yaskawa recently showcased its Motoman 7-axis robo arms at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Shanghai (which ends this Friday). → Read More
May the 5th be with you! Yeah, I’m a day late on this one but it’s still worth your time. In fact, it’s totally more watchable than the real prequels. → Read More
It is May 4th aka Force Day. On this day we must celebrate the cultural phenomenon that is Star Wars. How better to do that than by picking one item from a huge list of Star Wars stuff and having it sent to your home. Your mission, then, is to choose one item and I will pick one winner at random and that winner will receive the item he or she chose. The result? He or she will, as Han Solo once said, “live long and prosper.” → Read More
Happy May The 4th Be With You, fellow nerds! Mimoco is outing a new Star Wars-themed flash drive on this special day. (it also happens to be my birthday) The new Tie Fighter Pilot might be one of the best yet in this sweet line of flash drives. His helmet pulls off, reveling both the USB connector but the man behind the mask. As usual, the drives come preloaded with various desktop wallpapers, icons, and screensavers. Join the Empire and kill the rebal scum for only $22.99. Fun enlistment video after the jump. → Read More
Just a little Star Wars to start your week right. Lucasfilm’s (technically their Animation sub-company, which makes the Clone Wars cartoon) planned offices in Singapore are quite clearly an homage to the Jawa’s mobile homes in A New Hope. Hey, it’s an efficient design. I don’t think it’ll roll around, though. [via Nerd Approved and Blastr] → Read More
The Blu-ray edition of Star Wars: The Complete Saga now has a release date: September 16 of this year. Amazon lists the collection for $90, so start saving your pennies. → Read More
The Family Guy adaptation of Star Wars is perhaps Seth MacFarlane’s greatest contribution to humanity — and the Blu-ray release is on sale at Amazon for only $20. Seriously, can you think of a better way to spend $20? The Star Wars Space Slug Oven Mitt, you say. Okay, well played. Besides that must-have kitchen accessory the Blu-ray set is a great way to spend a twenty spot. → Read More
Take offensive action! It’s a trap! Oh never mind. The right people aren’t listening. Star Wars is going 3D and short of a glorious asteroid crashing into Earth, there’s not a damn thing we can do about it. The plan is to release one film a year in 3D starting with Episode One on February 10, 2012. This chronological order will retell the story in proper timeline order while at the same time giving Lucas a potential escape pod just in case the 3D fad dies before it’s time to release A New Hope in the gimmick that is 3D. Please let the Mayans be right. → Read More
Conceptually, this AT-AT made of old computer parts is amazing. It’s well-detailed, includes real battle scarring, and it looks like it could stand in for one of the AT-ATs in the second Star Wars movie, The Wrath of Kahn. Practically, however, I worry that this $450 model – available now on Etsy in a limited edition of 1 – is really a make or break situation for a collector. Do you buy this and accept that you will no longer see a member of the opposite sex in the nude? Or do you let it go, secure in the knowledge that one day your offspring will drive their own AT-ATs through the snow fields of Klingon, at least on the holodeck. → Read More
