Author: The_Mariner

This past Friday we asked the question: Are conventions dead? Hiro laid out the published cause of one convention company ending their run, which took up a whole 30 seconds. The rest of the segment was taken up with discussing people’s experience with conventions. And just to add to the stories, my last Con was in 2019, and I only went cause my bro had a table. Didn’t get to see any celebs.

But why are conventions dying, if at all. Hiro cited an article that has since been paywalled, but the key point was that they are a casualty of the Dark Times, the COVID era. People stopped going, and since the next years’ Con is funded from the one before, the money eventually dried up. Hiro also claims that since the “Virtual Con” thing happened–again, because of COVID–people stopped attending because they could see it remotely, and often without paying.

I have a couple of other theories, and I’ll share them here.

Bidenomics are still biting us in the @$$!

The economy may be turning around, but it’s doing it slowly. The Democratic party did everything they could to take the bottom out of the dollar. People, therefore, are focusing on just feeding their families over going on vacation, or shelling out hundreds of dollars to go to conventions.

This is also partly why we’re seeing less Gen-Z gamers than Gen-X or Millennial gamers. Which was another topic we discussed on Friday. Gen-Z in particular is having a hard time finding work, earning enough to get by, and raging at the system the previous generations put them in to.

I have a Gen-Z co-worker, and she backs up most of what I mentioned above.

But I think it’s more than that…

Nerd IPs are Dead.

#RIPStarWars. #RIPStarTrek. #RIPDoctorWho. #RIPDC. #RIPMarvel. #RIPLotR. #RIPPixar. #RIP[insert favorite IP from the past 50 years here].

Conventions are like a graveyard of the most beloved and money making IPs. No one wants to go dance on their graves, so they’re just staying home. While this is just a theory, I think it’s valid. Here’s another…

Lack of true celebrity appearances. Those are huge draws, as they’re the only way nerds like us can meet and talk to our favorite actors/actresses from the shows we love or loved as kids. But as the ones we love die off–name any Star Trek vet who’s dies in the past 5 years, for example–there are only a few to replace them, and few who know who the OG science fiction celebs still living actually are.

Does anyone want to go to a Con to see Anson Mount (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds)? Or Morfydd Clark (The Rings of Power)? I know I don’t, because I don’t care about them the way I did about Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), or Jeri Ryan (also Star Trek, who I did see live in person at a Con), or Avery Brooks (again, Star Trek)–Star Trek is one of the reasons Conventions are a thing, by the way.

Point is, name a Sci Fi show from the 90s and 2000s and there are still celebrity appearances from those shows. Once they’re gone, the conventions will lose their biggest reason for people attendance. Then the money will dry up faster than a modern day Marvel movie box office run.

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Other Topics Discussed This Live…

• Wednesday Netflix Review (spoiler free)
• The End of an Era: Dial-Up is Dead
• Gen-Z Just Stopped Buying Games
• Gamers Are Willing to Verify ID to Dodge Campers? (yeah right)
• Disney’s Gone Twisted: Twisted Wonderland Anime announced

Whelp, here we are, on the edge of finally getting rid of Alex Kurtzman running Star Trek. He’s not going quietly, though, but rather taking the franchise for a final post-burial romp around the horrifically ‘modern’ Prime Timeline.

Update: Alex Kurtzman is not officially out. The rumor mill is a-grinding, and I jumped to a conclusion. His contract does run out in 2026, so we still have a bit to go.

If anyone saw my rant about Star Trek: Starfleet Academy on Friday but didn’t know what I was talking about, here you go:

I was content to step off my soap-box and continue without further acknowledgement that this travesty was going to take place…

Then I saw this:

To which I said silently, “F.”

I had hopes that the upcoming Skydance/Paramount merger would put Star Trek on the shelf for awhile and leave it sit while the stench of Kurtzman slowly fades away. I guess that was an unrealistic expectation. I still say that’s what needs to happen, as Star Trek is a damaged brand, and “time heals all wounds.”

And who knows…maybe Star Wreck: Starbleet Academia Season 2 will get cancelled somewhere along the production line and we’ll all be saved from “90210 in Space.” I can still hope, right?

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Other Topics Discussed This Live…

• HIRO AND THE MARINER REVIEW FANTASTIC FOUR
• HAPPY GILMORE 2 HAS BIGGEST NETFLIX OPENING
• SUPERMAN’S JAMES GUNN LOSING TO MAN OF STEEL’S ZACK SNYDER
• POLL SAYS COD FANS PREFER BATTLEFIELD
• MLB GOES TO NASCAR
• DOES ANYONE REMEMBER SMALL SOLDIERS?

Gonna do a little something different with this article, hope that’s alright. There were too many good topics on the live last week, and I couldn’t choose. Below are my comments on a few…as I have things to say.

NINTENDO’S WAR ON PIRACY (SHOCKED!)

Nintendo, I know you were there first on the whole “We will defend our IP to the Nth degree!” but please don’t take up Disney’s attitude toward their fans. You have a BRAND to defend, sure, but you have to make sure consumers WANT your brand. As of right now, I have NO interest in purchasing any more of your consoles. K, thanks, bye.

JAMES GUNN’S SUPERGIRL IS A BURNT OUT HAS BEEN

Ol’ James is past his prime and should give it up. He’s like RTD returning to Doctor Who, completely missing the point. The reason people gravitate toward Supergirl, and will care not one bit about Supertrash, are beyond your comprehension. Please get over your ego and hand over the new DCU to people who care/understand/know how to write the characters.

NICE TRY, HUNTER, YOU’RE JUST NOT ZELDA

EGO SMAAAASHHED!!!! Next!

DEMON HUNTER ON NETFLIX WAS EPIC!

I think I shall watch this, too. Who’s review do you want to hear, The Mariner’s or Chieftains? Vote in the comments!

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Other Topics Discussed This Live…

• GUILD WARS 2 IS STILL AROUND? WITH A NEW EXPANSION?
• KRAFTON REMOVED THE OG DEVS OF SUBNAUTICA, AND THEY’RE PISSED,
• POST THE AI FAILS! XBOX CAN’T GET IT RIGHT, NINTENDO CAN’T KEEP IT OUT!

First off, apologies to all who tuned in to the Live last Friday. Something happened with either Streamlabs, or Chieftain’s computer, and we were forced to end the stream early…before we got to cover everything we wanted to cover.

What typically happens with these articles is Hiro or myself chimes in after the fact on the topic we felt have the most weight, or gravitas, or community interest. We’ll do that here…a bit.

To review, these were the topics up for discussion:

• GAMEFREAK MAKES POKEMON SUCK ON PURPOSE
• AARON GOODWIN CASE UPDATE
• THE KING IS BACK: KING OF THE HILL REVIVAL
• OLIVER ANTHONY DIVORCE: SCORNED WOMEN
• XBOX ANNOUNCES NEW CONSOLE COMES IN 2027
• PLAYSTATION STUDIO HEAD REVEALS WHY CONCORD FAILED: THAT WAS A LIE
• JAMES GUNN SHIT TALKS MARVEL, THEN CLARIFIES, THEN CLARIFIES AGAIN

We managed to cover the first four (video link below).

There was meant to be discussion about whether the next XBox console was going to be a “ripoff” of the Nintendo Switch, Steamdeck, or other handheld consoles. Chieftain had a rant ready to go. Hiro had a whole counter argument. Soda was going to be there talking to his mom while leaving the mic on. Too bad we never got to see it.

We also wanted to pillory the Playstation Studio head for deflecting from what actually caused Concord’s failure. And everyone in the Laggin’ Out Legion knows what that was (cough, DEI, cough).

Enough review, time to get to what I want to talk about: namely James Gunn can’t be clear about anything…hence the title of this article. I’ll put this right here.

The long and short of it is that ol’ Jimmy doesn’t know how to make his points clear. He goes along with an interviewer from Rolling Stone who blames the failure of the M-She-U on “too much stuff.” Blaming Disney for the current failures of Marvel Studios by demanding a certain amount of content be made over the years to put out in theaters…but mostly the D-plus streaming service.

Let me be clear, before I go into how Jimmy wasn’t. Too much stuff is not the problem. One can never have too much of a good thing. The M-She-U was NOT a good thing. THAT’S why it failed.

Jimmy’s claim was, to paraphrase: Marvel was in an untenable situation, and that’s why the MCU died.

After Hiatt claimed that putting out so much content was a corporate mandate, Gunn concurred, “That wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. And it killed them.”

But responding to backlash, he decided to clarify that the MCU was not, in fact dead, but in recovery from being exhausted and stretched to the limit.

“To be clear – & as IS clear in the context of the interview- I didn’t say ‘it killed them’ like they’re over but they were screwed by the situation they had no control over.

“They’re on the other side of that now, which is good. The sacrifice-everything-for-streaming craze killed many good things by forcing a demand for ‘content’ that couldn’t possibly be met, putting movies on TV before they had a proper theatrical run & much more. The insanity has died down & balanced out everywhere. Thank God.”

Then he had to clarify, yet again, because someone can’t understand subtext.

To be fair, high demand does tend toward a decrease in quality. But that’s not enough to explain the absolute detritus we’ve seen from the MCU. DEI and wokeness, on the other hand, with self-insert girl-bosses getting a Her-o’s journey, does.

Is that easy enough to understand? Or do I need to clarify?

To be honest, I’m trying to stay away from watching anything regarding Fallout Season 2. Yes, I’m going to watch it–but I don’t want to have my opinion colored by anything. Therefore, I’m trying to ignore the hype and avoid any commentary.

I’ll share my opinion regarding season 1, though: It definitely looked like Fallout, definitely felt like Fallout. But some aspects of it were definitely not Fallout.

Maximus is my prime example. Was he supposed to be dumb, but lovable? Lucy sure thought so. Was he supposed to be the epitome of the Brotherhood of Steel? Heck, no. There was no part of the BoS that was accurately represented in Season 1…except their religious zealotry…and the T-45 Power Armor.

Hopefully there will be redemption for the supposed heresy to Fallout Lore that was “The Fall of Shady Sands.” My lovely mod, Mojo, did a hard nope when she heard about that.

Also, there better be a very good presentation/explanation of what happened at New Vegas because, from what we saw in the end credits of Season 1, it had been severely ravaged. If the writers/producers do that wrong, there’s a high risk that Fallout fans will not stick around for a Season 3.

But what’s your opinion? Please comment down below and share this around.

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Topics Discussed This Live…

OTHER LIVE TOPICS:

• ACTIVISION IS GETTING OUT OF POCKET!
• FALLOUT IS BACK FOR ROUND 2! (ROUND 3 IS ALREADY APPROVED)
• 3 GAMES THAT LOOK LIKE CYBERPUNK!
• HIDEO KOJIMA IS ON THAT GONJA AGAIN
• SQUAREENIX ANNOUNCES ITS 3 YEAR ATTEMPT TO SAVE THEIR OWN @$$
• HBO RENAMES MAX BACK TO HBO MAX (DID ANYBODY NOTICE THE ORIGINAL NAME CHANGE?)

Following in Hiro’s footsteps from last week, I’m going to try to summarize last Friday’s Live podcast. Let’s see how well I was paying attention…

It was brought to the staff’s attention that there’s a Youtuber out there trying to keep games from getting shut down. Sadly, we didn’t have a lot of specifics, so it was a lot of casting about for how, or which games, was he trying to save. We thought, based on the current environment, that it was an effort to keep game devs from shutting down servers of beloved games that could only be played while hosted on a server. Many points were made: from how that it isn’t viable for the companies to pay for servers; why games shouldn’t be online play dependent; even how games can be patched to allow the single-player portion to be playable without internet connection.

What’s your opinion? Do you have follow-up news? Be sure to comment below.

Next up Hiro brought us news that surprised no one: Ubisoft spying on gamers…shocker. Ubisoft or Google, who’s the greater menace? Next!

Chieftain brought to the discussion the question of whether mobile gamers are “real” gamers. I’ll let the reader watch the discussion and contribute their comments below; let me just say that the hosts pretty much came to consensus.

Following this, we talked about a news article discussing how the Netflix CEO made the bold claim that his company is ‘saving Hollywood.’ by not releasing films to theater. Pfft, yeah right. We all know Hollywood is dying–for numerous reasons we’ve belabored in the past–and only Hollywood is to blame. This guy’s attitude is a perfect example. Anyway, the hosts went on to a discussion that about why theaters are dying as a side effect of streaming services.

Do you agree? Want to belabor the points? Comment below, if you please?

And now to the coup de grace…the cherry on the top…the icing on the cake.

I’m so confused…

Who’s the protagonist here? The humans? You only see them once. The Predator? You mean that person made up to look like a Klingon from Star Trek: The Next Generation? Don’t get me started. But it really does look like we’re getting a different take on the Predator, which could be interesting. Maybe it’s is a cast-off or cast-away. Maybe it’s a juvenile? Is it the first ‘she’ Predator? Well, it is the age of the girl-boss in Hollywood. Maybe that’s why it looks so different from the classic Predator–see examples A and B, below. It’ll be interesting to see if they explain it.

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Topics Discussed This Live…

• YOUTUBER FIGHTS TO SAVE GAMES
• HIRO’S HARD DRIVE: UBISOFT SPYING ON GAMERS
• CHIEFTAIN’S CAMPER’S CORNER: ARE MOBILE GAME PLAYERS GAMERS?
• NETFLIX ‘SAVING’ HOLLYWOOD?
• MARINER’S SIEGE: ALIEN VS PREDATOR

As the resident Whovian on staff, it falls to me to do damage control regarding the Doctor Who topic from last Friday. I promise, that’s all the salt I’m throwing.

In all honesty, this is very cool. Someone found a practical and worthy use for A.I. Doctor Who is the first and longest running science fiction television series in history. It started in 1963 and ran until 1996, when it took nearly a decade break before returning in 2005. There have been 13 Doctors (by my reconning), 1 War Doctor, and dozens of companions spanning 60 plus years of this British television series. It is beyond being a cultural icon, it’s British history.

The lost episodes of Doctor Who are not lost to time (if you’ll pardon the pun), but lost to short-sightedness. In a crime against history, 97 episodes from the 60s and 70s were purged by the BBC. Now, as reported by FandomPulse, “a 71-year-old music producer and lifelong Doctor Who enthusiast, has spent over $130,000 of his own money to recreate 97 lost episodes using AI technology.”

As an extra bit of wholesomeness, Ian Levine is a cancer survivor, stroke survivor, and confined to a wheelchair.

So far, he’s spent roughly $91,000 of his own savings to finance this project. And it’s a real shame that very few people will get see it. BBC protects their IPs like Disney and Nintendo, with lawyers and plenty of them. Maybe one day…

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Other Topics Discussed on This Live…

• GODZILLA GETS A RAISE
• BLUE ORIGIN FLIGHT
• LAGGIN’ OUT MINUTE: DOLLY NOTICES KID
• BLACK POWER RANGER NON-TROVERSY
• CHIEFTAIN ADHD CORNER: PORNSTAR OR WRESTLER?
• GAMER PRICE HIKES (NINTENDO/PS PLUS): GOOD OR BAD?
• LOONY TUNES PLAYS KETCHUP