More layoffs are on the way. Downsizing is limited to Meta, Google, and Amazon as Electronic Arts is now looking to cut costs and office space.
We found out via CNBC that EA recently filed a restructuring strategy with the SEC. It would see a reduction of both the company’s workforce and office footprint. The direction EA wants to strive towards was outlined in a Form 8-K filing. The restructuring plan, known more ominously as “The Plan,” includes the following:
“The Plan includes actions driven by portfolio rationalization, including intellectual property impairment charges and headcount reductions impacting approximately 6% of the Company’s workforce, in addition to office space reductions.”
EA expects the required changes and layoffs to be completed by September 30th, 2023. The Plan will cost Electronic Arts between $170M to $200M due to contract cancellations, employee severance payouts, and “intellectual property impairment.”
Andrew Wilson, the Electronic Arts CEO, updated employees via the company’s blog that “We are moving away from projects that do not contribute to our strategy, reviewing our real estate footprint, and restructuring some of our teams.” Whether this means EA is canceling games currently in development or shutting down servers for existing titles is not known.
I’m concerned that Titanfall 2’s servers could be next. It’s one of the few multiplayer games I still play regularly. Unfortunately, this also makes me wonder if EA will attend 2023’s E3 after so many other companies opted out of the event.
Before the announcement of The Plan, EA had shuttered servers for several older titles. Noypigeeks compared the list below:
Google Stadia versions of FIFA 21, FIFA 22, and FIFA 23
Google Stadia versions of Madden 21 and Madden 2022
The saga of the Batmobile shop that an overzealous sheriff raided has finally ended. An independent report has found that the San Mateo County Sheriff’s office may have overstepped its bounds when investigating a civil matter regarding a single unfinished Batmobile replica from Fiberglass Freaks.
This all stemmed because his Batmobile replica was put on hold due to some payments being missed. This put Anagnostou’s car at the back of the production line. Although he eventually made more payments, this did not bump him back to the front, which, I’m guessing, was too inconvenient for the wealthy realtor.
Investigative reporter, Dan Noyes of San Francisco’s ABC affiliate, has been covering the story since it broke last year. When an independent investigation into the actions of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s office was finally made available, Noyes noticed the county’s attorney was not being entirely honest with the public.
During the Board of Supervisors meeting, when the county’s supervisor, David Canepa, was asked what went wrong with the whole ordeal, he said, “I guess I’m not trying to be cagey. But it’s not eminently clear to me that anything went wrong per see.” Except a lot did go wrong.
Noyes poured through the nearly 50-page report and found the following:
“The sheriff took Anagnostou’s call because he is acquainted with him; Anagnostou is a local businessperson and a friend of the sheriff’s brother.”
The sheriff referred the case to the head of his Vehicle Theft Task Force, even though “this case did not fall within (its) mission.”
The head of the task force spent 6 months investigating, and then took a crew of four department personnel to raid the Batmobile garage in Indiana.
The report appears to point to the entire ordeal that targeted Fiberglass Freaks in Logansport, Indiana. The company’s owner Mark Racop was done as a favor for Sam Anagnostou by former Sheriff Carlos Bolanos.
Remember, Mr. Anagnostou had already tried to take Mr. Racop to court in a civil case in California, which was thrown out because it would have fallen under the jurisdiction of an Indiana court. Thus, Anagnostou decided to take another route. Unfortunately, one included bypassing the proper venue and putting Racop through one hell of an ordeal.
It is unknown if former Sheriff Carlos Bolanos will face any repercussions based on the investigation’s findings. But, in the end, we know that San Mateo County wasted $10,000 to send a team of officers to Indiana for a needless raid, and another $55K was spent on the report.
I spoke to Mark Racop last August before the criminal case against him was dropped. Unfortunately, he now has PTSD and claims that this misuse of public funds and resources has cost his business over $350K. When I talked to him over the phone, it was apparent that he had been run into the ground. He, however, said he would persevere, and he has.
The Batmobiles take quite a few years to complete because of the customized parts and the supply line issues plaguing the automotive and construction industry since 2020. In addition, Racop told me that fiberglass was one of the most challenging things to get ahold of since the U.S. Government took priority regarding that material.
Lackadaisy premiered their pilot film today on YouTube, three years after their very successful Kickstarter campaign ended in 2020. The 27-minute traditionally animated movie is rated PG-13 due to the drinking and the violence, but without the swearing.
Lackadaisy began as a webcomic in 2006 by Tracy J. Butler, who became inspired after researching the history of her century-old Saint Louis home and of her love of jazz music and the 1920s aesthetics. Her love of animation also inspired her, having grown up with Disney animated films, Looney Tunes and Don Bluth animations. When she first created Lackadaisy, she was imagining it as an animated film. She had dreams of having her story to someday become animated in a way that would resemble similar animation styles and music quality that she had grown up with. With her background as a game developer, graphic designer, and illustrator, Tracy was well aware of how complicated and expensive this dream would be.
Before going forward with a Kickstarter campaign, creator Tracy Butler and director Fable Siegel approached several studios with the concept of an adult animated series that follows booze drinking anthropomorphic cats as they indulged in crime during the 1920’s Missouri era. However, according to producers, studios thought the project would be too risky to finance, even if it did sound like an interesting idea. Hollywood studios in general have this idea that when it comes to adult animation, only the sitcom format appeal to adults.
After the failed attempts at pitching to several networks, Tracy and Fable decided to turn to the fans. They launched the Lackadaisy: The Animated Short Film Kickstarter campaign on March 16th 2020 to a fund a proof-of-concept short animated film. If this was successful, it would show the studios that adults are interested in far more than just sitcom-type of animated content. The campaign had reached it’s $85,000 goal 6 hours after it launched. At the end of the Kickstarter on April 17th, it had reached up to $330,256 with 5,957 supporters.
The animated Short was originally planned for a 2021 release, but then the world went through a shut down, so most of the production and creation was done remotely from around the world.
The style of animation was specifically chosen to resemble a slightly rough animation style seen in classic animated films created before animation creation was replaced with something called CAPS, which is an early computer-based program that was developed by Pixar. Up until the 1980s, Xerography was the method of choice. This technique involves transferring pencil line art directly to animation cells that creates a textured appearance. You can see this inking and photocopying type of animation having been used in film’s such as Disney’s 101 Dalmations (1961) and Don Bluth’s The Secret of NIMH (1982).
You can watch this video here to see what it was like to animate this Short from someone who worked on the animation project:
Because of the choice to create the animated Short independently, Lackadaisy had more control over the art, animation, music, and voice cast. Every decision was made for a reason that they felt made a difference in the quality that they were looking for in a story that is beloved by fans around the world.
When Lackadaisy premiered at 2 pm EST today on March 29th, the highest live-view count it had was around 12 thousand. Since it finished airing it’s premiere on YouTube, it has remained trending on Twitter at #4 as of this publishing several hours later.
The movie description is: It’s 1927 and the Prohibition is the law of the land. For Rocky, Freckle, and Ivy, the night shift are never dull.
There is an extra scene after the credits, so look out for that!
Watch the 27-minute short film here:
Eight software programs were used to create this animation. Which includes Toon Boom Harmony, Clip Studio Ex, Storyboard Pro, Blender, and a few Adobe programs, among other software programs.
Cast credits include Belsheber Rusape as Freckle, Michael Kovach as Rocky, Lisa Reimold as Ivy, and Benni Latham as Serafine, Malcolm Ray as Nicodeme, J.J. and Carnival Barker, SungWon Cho (also known as ProZD) as Mordecai, Valentine Stokes as Zib, Ashe Wagner as Mitzi, Bradley Garett as Wick, Jason Marnocha as Viktor and Asa Sweet, and Walter Tomas Viola as Horatio.
So what do you think of this indie animated film? Would you like to see more of this? Do you agree with Hollywood studios in their perception of what adults prefer to see in the type of animated format, that being sitcoms? We would love to hear your thoughts so feel free to share them!
Sentai Filmworks acquired the North American licensing rights to the magical girl reboot anime ‘Tokyo Mew Mew New’ when the series first debuted in 2022 from Japanese animation studios Yumeta Company and Graphinica. Sentai streamed the first season to HiDive and it has been announced they will also release the second season.
“Ichigo and her friends are back and ready to save the world again,” HiDive said on their website. “… starting on April 4, 2023 when we stream TOKYO MEW MEW NEW Season 2!”
The series is based on a manga created by Reiko Yoshida and is directed by Takahiro Natori and written by Yuka Yamada. Satoshi Ishino is designing the characters while Yasuharu Takanashi is composing the music.
“Ichigo Momomiya has just entered high school, and on her to-do list is to experience a high school romance. She finds the perfect candidate in Masaya Aoyama, an animal-loving kendo player concerned about the environment. After receiving some tickets to a museum exhibit featuring Red Data Animals, she manages to get a date with him.
Said date is unfortunately cut short by an earthquake, an emergency evacuation, being merged with the DNA of the Iriomote Mountain Cat, and a rat monster attacking her and Masaya. After a quick save from Mint Aizawa, alias Mew Mint, Ichigo awakens her powers as a Mew Mew. And so begins her role in a battle to save the planet from alien invasion.”
The ‘Tokyo Mew Mew’ manga was written by Reiko Yoshida, illustrated by Mia Ikumi, and by Kodansha from 2000 to 2003. The manga received two spin-offs including ‘Tokyo Mew Mew à la Mode’ by Mia Ikumi and ‘Tokyo Mew Mew Olé’ by Madoka Seizuki.
The series was previously adapted by the Japanese production company Pierrot. Their version ran from 2002 to 2003 before being canceled after 52 episodes.
The adult animated series ‘Royal Crackers’ is making a comeback. Adult Swim has renewed the series for a second season. Most of the first season’s cast and crew are returning to the show, which follows a family fighting for power in a business making crackers.
“Leading into the premiere of Adult Swim’s newest animated comedy “Royal Crackers” this Sunday, Adult Swim announced today that it has ordered a second season of the series. The new half-hour comedy created by and starring Jason Ruiz follows the Hornsby family as they vie for control of their once-successful cracker company,” Adult Swim said in a statement.
“We’re all super grateful Adult Swim gave us the chance to tell more stories about our characters,” said Jason Ruiz. “And if you can’t wait to see what happens in season two, then buckle your seatbelts for season one.”
The team released a teaser for the upcoming releases:
Family businesses are fragile. Three new Royal Crackers episodes coming April 2 pic.twitter.com/lKzKd5v2eK
The cast includes Andrew Santino (“Dave”), Jessica St. Clair (“Veep,” “American Housewife,” “The Deep Dive” podcast), David Gborie (“Exploding Kittens,” “All Fantasy Everything” podcast), Maile Flanagan (“Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks,” “Naruto,” “Not Dead Yet”) and Fred Tatasciore (“Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal”).
Warner Bros. Discovery describes the synopsis as follows,
“Royal Crackers was once the king of snacks, but the empire is crumbling. When the family patriarch, tyrannical company founder Theodore Hornsby Sr. ends up in a “super coma,” the rest of the Hornsbys will take their lack of talent and business acumen and try to make Royal Crackers the success it once was. To highlight the series launch, Adult Swim constructed a billboard that’s as unusual and unstable as the Hornsby family’s company.”
The first three episodes will debut on Adult Swim on Sunday, April 2, and the following day on HBO Max.
The time of E3 may be coming to an end. After a rough couple of years of canceled and neutered Electronic Entertainment Expos, 2023’s event is quickly becoming irrelevant.
IGN discovered that two more big names in gaming have decided that E3 isn’t worth their time. SEGA and Tencent are out. This comes after Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, and Ubisoft decided to bow out of this year’s E3.
So, who is going to be left on the showroom floor? EA? According to various knowledgeable individuals interviewed by IGN, there may be no reason for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) to allow E3 to continue. A quick glance at ESA’s website shows very little info about the upcoming event.
E3 is scheduled for June 11th-16th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Unfortunately, the event’s official schedule page remains empty, with just over two months left. Considering the expense and planning the average person and journalists need to consider in order to attend, the lack of information isn’t helpful. In addition, ticket prices for the Digital Showcases, In-Person Showcases, and In-Person Demos have not yet been released.
E3’s troubles are nothing new, but this year it feels like all of the errors and missteps are finally taking a toll. E3 was canceled in 2020 for obvious reasons. The following year, video game fans were treated to a strictly virtual affair. Then last year saw both live and broadcast events scrapped entirely. Are three years of misfortune enough to bring the long-running expo to an end?
There may still be hope. Even if a skeleton crew of publishers and hardware developers show up, it may give them the breathing room to better engage with the attendees. Covering a convention or expo is always challenging for journos. When there’s too much going on, we have to get thrifty with our time, and this could mean great games or novel ideas don’t get the press they deserve.
If a considerable number of negative reviews weren’t enough to dissuade you from buying something on Amazon, a new feature may. An exclusive story from The Information revealed that the massive online retailer finally, after 28 years in operation, added a much-needed warning label on products with above-average return rates.
If a product is being returned frequently, the warning tag above will show up just below the product’s bullet point features summarization. However, it is not clear how many returns will trigger the warning to pop up on a product’s page. Will Amazon filter if customers return a product because it’s defective or doesn’t match the description?
Returns cost Amazon a lot of money, especially since shipping back to the warehouse is free for the customer. Considering Amazon is now cutting 9,000 employees, eliminating unnecessary customer returns could mean fewer employees will lose their job when the next round of layoffs happen.
A report from CNBC in 2022 stated that 16.6% of merchandise sales were returned in 2021. Sadly, Amazon does not make the critical numbers public. However, in ’21, the company did post over $100B in first-quarter revenue. So, it would be reasonable to estimate that returns cost Amazon millions of dollars annually.
I’ve long wondered if Amazon dedicates enough staff to monitoring the junk that gets sold on the retailer’s site. Until the past two years, I rarely returned anything to Amazon. However, we’re seeing more and more sellers using misleading images or descriptions on product pages. One such questionable product we reviewed was the Indiana Jones Grail Diary replica.
Over the past year, I have contacted Amazon multiple times regarding blatant rip-off products or unlicensed knock-offs. Not once did the company get back to me. Some more egregious listings would use images of official products, but customer-uploaded pictures showed that what was being sold were cheap imitations. Some of these products could be potentially dangerous (i.e., questionable PC power supplies).
Have you purchased anything from Amazon that turned out to be a knockoff? Let us know below.
We have a lot going on at Clownfish Studios that you don’t see.
One of the things we’re doing this year is to start pushing into becoming a “real” publisher, and we’ve got at least three pre-order/crowdfunding campaigns coming at you. I’m hoping that we’ll be able to keep a quarterly schedule in the future.
Crimson Rhen Vol. 1 is off to the printers and is a fantastic book that we’re very, very proud of. Check out the final cover below!
So what’s next after Crimson Rhen?
Clownfish TV: The Comic Book?! (April 2023)
In the next few weeks, we’ll be launching a campaign for Jiunn Wong’s comic collection Previously on Clownfish TV. Jiunn was drawing super cute fan comics based on some of the banter in our videos, and we liked them so much that we wanted to pay him to produce a weekly webcomic for us. Something, something pandemic, and we decided instead to offer the collection on copious amounts of dead trees!
In addition to brand new comics content, we’ll be pairing this campaign up with some brand new Clownfish TV merch, including new pin designs. Stay tuned!
Shadowbinders Returns! (Early Summer 2023)
For the first time in nearly a decade, the steampunk webcomic returns with brand new material! Shadowbinders Collection Vol. 3 will collect the final two chapters of the webcomic version of the series in addition to the brand-new Chapter 13. And then it’s all brand new material from here on out! Making the jump to print from a webcomic (and working with a production team) will finally allow us to make Belatyr look the way it always did in our minds!
Crimson Rhen Part 2! (Fall 2023)
The second part of Crimson Rhen’s origin story, Crimson Rhen and the Mystery of the Traverse, will crowdfund this Fall. Once again, Jose Garcia will be lending his considerable talent to help wrap up Crimson Rhen’s very first adventure and and answer the many questions posed by a mysterious mansion known as The Traverse!
2024 and Beyond…
We’re still formulating our plan for 2024 and beyond. But we’re tentatively hoping to launch our own tabletop RPG system, Adventure Engine! You can sign up for news as it becomes available at http://adventureengine.net.
We’re also hoping to be able to produce at least one Shadowbinders volume annually. Rhen and Mia have a long way to go yet! We’ve barely gotten into the meat of the story yet, and we’re excited to finally be able to continue the adventures in Belatyr.
And we haven’t even mentioned some other worlds and stories we’ve been sitting on for years. We literally have a decade of adventures waiting to be told. And with your continued support, I think we can do this!
If a certain nursery rhyme goes through your head when you hear the name Jeff The Land Shark, you would be incorrect. Jeff is back with a new series along with Hulk, the Avengers, The Thing, Iron Man, and several other heroes are arriving in the new pull list from Marvel Comics.
“Jeff the Land Shark stars in his own fin-tastic comic in this week’s Marvel Comics,” they said on their website. “Since his very first appearance, Jeff the Land Shark has flooded our hearts like an adorable tidal wave! Now the ingenious, extraordinary, and unbearably innocent Jeff embarks on his own adventures across the Marvel Universe in IT’S JEFF (2023) #1 by Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru! You thought it was safe doing laundry or going for a leisurely swim in the pool…but no activity can protect against Jeff’s cuteness! Collecting the hit Infinity Comics series from the Marvel Unlimited app, this one-shot features a brand-new cover and tail…we mean tale!”
They revealed the new pull list as follows:
New Comics
AVENGERS: BEYOND (2023) #1
BETSY BRADDOCK: CAPTAIN BRITAIN (2023) #2
CLOBBERIN’ TIME (2023) #1
DAREDEVIL (2022) #9
DEADPOOL (2022) #5
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2022) #4
IT’S JEFF 1 (2023) #1
PLANET HULK: WORLDBREAKER (2022) #5
SABRETOOTH & THE EXILES (2022) #5
STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI – JABBA’S PALACE 1 (2023) #1
STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC (2022) #7
STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC – THE BLADE (2022) #4
STRANGE ACADEMY: FINALS (2022) #5
THOR (2020) #32
VENOM: LETHAL PROTECTOR II (2023) #1
X-MEN: UNFORGIVEN 1 (2022) #1
New Collections
AVENGERS EPIC COLLECTION: ACTS OF VENGEANCE TPB
CARNAGE EPIC COLLECTION: WEB OF CARNAGE TPB
DAMAGE CONTROL: NEW EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK TPB
DAREDEVIL EPIC COLLECTION: WATCH OUT FOR BULLSEYE TPB
MOON KNIGHT: BLACK, WHITE & BLOOD TREASURY EDITION TPB
MOON KNIGHT: MARC SPECTOR OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC COWAN COVER
NOVA: RICHARD RIDER OMNIBUS HC JOHN BUSCEMA COVER
THUNDERBOLTS: BACK ON TARGET TPB
TRIALS OF X VOL. 7 TPB
Marvel Unlimited
ALIEN #4
AVENGERS FOREVER #12
BLACK PANTHER #12
DARK WEB: MS. MARVEL #1 [DWB]
GOLD GOBLIN #2 [DWB]
MARY JANE & BLACK CAT #1 [DWB]
NAMOR THE SUB-MARINER: CONQUERED SHORES #3
SABRETOOTH & THE EXILES #2
SPIDER-MAN: THE LOST HUNT #2
STRANGE #9
WAKANDA #3
WOLVERINE #28
X-MEN ANNUAL #1
All of these titles will be available for print or digital editions on March 29, 2023.
Indie games have the benefit of pushing the limits of the experiences that games can provide. They can try out new ideas and test unorthodox concepts that AAA games often avoid in favor of consistent success. This is why Steel Defier works out very well, both as something that is unique and still fun to play. And while it’s not the deepest experience that you’ll see, it definitely offers a challenge that will test you.
Set in a maximum security prison in space, Steel Defier follows a man who was imprisoned there before a massive malfunction takes place. The security system goes haywire and kills everyone else aboard, yet leaves an opening for the prisoner to escape. However, getting out of the prison will be a challenge as the entire prison is on alert and malfunctioning. If he can navigate the crazy obstacles and navigate the maze-like prison to the nearest shuttle, freedom might be within his grasp.
There are a few main things to focus on in Steel Defier, jumping and avoiding obstacles. You move around a small space to gather access cards as walls and security boxes appear to subdue you. If you’re able to collect enough access cards, you move on to the next room. Simple and to the point, with nothing complex about it. However, avoiding obstacles is a lot tougher than it seems. The more access cards you gather in each room, the tougher the obstacles get and the more of them crowd up the room. Avoiding each one that comes at you is the key to survival, even though it might look nearly impossible at times.
The rooms you enter are small but have enough space to sprint around and jump over small walls and boxes that appear. Some of the security system’s defenses can break apart or leave behind barriers to make things even more difficult, but if you’re fast enough and paying attention to your surroundings you’ll be able to avoid them. The moment you slip up and take your eye away from what’s moving is the moment you’ll fail and will have to retry the room again. Luckily, the game is forgiving enough to let you retry every room as many times as you want if you keep failing. You don’t have to worry about losing progress through the rooms you explore either.
Speaking of progress, if you go deeper into the prison you’ll be able to find upgrades that give you helpful abilities. This includes faster sprinting, quick dashes you can use mid-jump and other abilities that can help you avoid obstacles. The best part is that you don’t need to explore the entire facility and pick up every power-up in order to finish the game. As long as you reach the final rooms at the end of the prison, you’ll be able to roll the credits. After finishing, however, you’ll be able to go back and navigate through areas you skipped over to find other upgrades and take on challenges you missed out on.
This is good for anyone that doesn’t want to feel pressured into getting over challenges that they struggle with. Some might feel that takes away some of the challenges of the game, but instead, it lets you tackle the tougher parts when you’re ready to do so. Every room is still tough in its own way, especially when you have multiple defenses showing up on the screen.
Later stages will have the rooms get very crowded and block your view of what is around you, including messing with the lighting and field-of-view when a big alert happens. In situations like this, the game can feel a little cheap, especially when you can’t make out what is in front of you or nearby. If you attempt these difficult sections enough times you’ll have a grasp of where things might appear and how to avoid them, even with limited visibility.
Steel Defier is a neat concept that is fun to play. Its controls are easy to use and the end goal is very simple to understand. It might be too short for some people who will be able to run through the facility quickly enough, but for others, it’ll be a simple game to come back to over and over again. Some challenges could definitely use some tweaks to make them feel a bit fairer, but what you get in here is a solid indie game experience.
Have you gotten to play Steel Defier yet? Are you a big fan of indie games for any platform? Leave us a comment down below and tell us everything!
