Pokemon TCG City Championships 2011-2012: Huntley, IL

Here's another interview from another Chicago-area city championship:

Pokemon TCG City Championships 2011-2012: Streamwood, IL

Here's an interview from a recent Chicago-area city championship:

Interview: Alex Nackman (Pokemon the Movie White Ending Song "Follow Your Star" Co-Writer/Performer)

Here's an interview with Alex Nackman, co-writer of "Follow Your Star", the ending song from the Pokemon Victini movies:

Review: Pokemon the movie White-Victini and Zekrom

Here's a review of last weekend's Pokemon the Movie White-Victini and Zekrom:

By the Numbers: Victini and Zekrom’s Theatrical Distribution

For those who weren’t aware, one of the 14th Pokémon movies, Pokémon the Movie: White-Victini and Zekrom, is being given a limited theatrical distribution on December 3rd and 4th. You can read a list of the currently announced locations here.

For those of you who love statistics, I thought I’d break down the numbers and give you some interesting facts (accurate as of 11/19/2011):

-347 locations are currently listed, covering 39 states.
-The largest state without any theatres on the list is Utah, with 2.7 million people.
-The smallest state with a location on the list is Wyoming (which is also the smallest state in the country).
-The state with the highest number of listings relative to its population is Hawaii, which has one location for about every 194,000 people. If the entire country were covered at this rate, there would be over 1500 screens showing the movie.
-Out of all states with one or more venues, the one with the highest population-to-theatre ratio is Wisconsin (primarily by virtue of being the largest state with only one announced location). If the entire country were covered at this rate (approximately 5.7 million to one), there would be a mere 54 screens.

For you nitpickers out there, here are several problems with the current list:

-One entry for Colorado (Highlands Ranch) is mixed in with the locations for California.
-There are two vertical dividing lines between “MI” (Michigan) and “MN” (Minnesota) in the header. However, the only states that start with an “M” not currently listed are Maine (“ME”) and Montana (“MT”), neither falling between the two alphabetically.
-Although Minnesota comes before Missouri alphabetically, the one location in Minnesota is listed after Missouri’s locations.
-Despite having a location listed, Wisconsin does not appear in the list of states at the top of the page.

Sources:

List of theatres
List of state populations (itself derived from 2010 census data)

Pokémon The Movie: White – Victini and Zekrom Distribution Analysis

Here are some of my thoughts on the upcoming 14th Pokemon movie theatrical distribution:



Cinedigm Theatre List
AMC Listing

Pokemon TCG Noble Victories Prerelease: Rockford, IL

Here's an interview from a recent Pokemon TCG Prerelease:

Pokemon TCG Fall Battle Roads 2011: Rockford, IL-Emboar/Tangrowth

Here's an interview from a recent Pokemon TCG Battle Road:

Pokémon Movies-A History of Limited Release

There seems to have been a lot of confusion regarding the recent announcement that one of the Pokémon movies released earlier this year in Japan would be headed to US theaters in a limited release covering “more than 300” screens. While it might seem unusual, this is not the first time a Pokémon movie has been shown in on a limited number of screens.

Contrary to what some may believe, the theatrical distribution of Pokémon movies in the US did not end with Pokémon 3: The Movie in 2001. After a long delay (the gap between the first, second, and third movies was eight or nine months), it was finally revealed that the fourth movie, now called Pokémon 4Ever, would be making its way to theaters in October of 2002. What wasn’t initially known, however, was that the movie would initially be shown only on about 250 screens in select markets as part of a limited distribution.

Truth be told, 250 is actually a lot better than what most limited release movies ever get. Many of them never expand beyond New York and Los Angeles. Even the acclaimed The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters never made it out of the fifties. According to the 2000 census data (and my memory of which markets were included), these 250 screens were enough to cover about 40% of the US population.

As for how the movie did, when Pokémon 4Ever was released, it grossed a little over $700,000 in its opening weekend (which works out to a little less than $2,900 a screen). After a few weeks, the film transitioned from the larger markets down to the smaller ones. Pokémon Heroes would follow a similar pattern in 2003.

Since then, there have been various theatrical exhibitions of Pokémon movies, typically as part of a special event. Most recently, Zoroark: Master of Illusions, the thirteenth movie, was shown at the Pokémon Black and White Mall tour earlier this year. Still, no movie has been shown commercially on anything approaching the scale of this upcoming release in over eight years.

What’s Different?

Unlike in 2002, Pokémon the Movie: White-Victini and Zekrom is being distributed via digital cinema, which has a lower cost versus distributing on film. Additionally, the movie is being shown on two days only, December 3rd and 4th. The smaller viewing window could lead to more packed theaters, but the fact that this is a limited-time event could also end up leaving more people out, with the exact number depending on the geographic distribution of the locations.

Sources:

Cinedigm press release

Cinedigm movie minisite

Pokémon 4Ever box office statistics

Pokémon Heroes box office statistics

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters box office statistics

2000 US Census data (Excel)

Wikipedia article on digital cinema

Pokemon TCG for Game Boy-Part 30

After a long wait, I've uploaded another episode of the Pokemon TCG for Game Boy:

Geek.Kon 2011-Site Tour

Here's a tour of the Geek.Kon 2011 site:

Geek.Kon 2011: Pokemon Black & White VG Tournament

Here's an interview with the top finishers from last weekend's Geek.Kon 2011 Pokemon Black & White video game tournament:

Pokemon TCG Emerging Powers Prerelease: Madison, WI

Here's an interview from a recent Pokemon TCG Prerelease:

OC ReMix Artist Interview: Pokémon Red: 'Out of the Palace'

Here's an interview regarding a Pokemon OC ReMix that was posted earlier this year:

(Video removed at request of artist)

Geek.Kon 2011 Preview

Here's a preview of the upcoming Geek.Kon 2011 near Madison, WI:



You can check out their web site here.

Here's another musician interview:

Three New Videos

Here are two more videos from Worlds 2011:





And one from a recent OC Remix musician interview:

Two new Pokemon World Championships 2011 interviews

Here's two interviews from last weekend's Pokemon World Championships:

Pokemon World Championships 2011: Opening Ceremony

Here's the opening ceremony of this year's Pokemon World Championships:

Pokemon TCG/VG World Championships 2011: Site Tour

Here's a tour of the Worlds 2011 tournament site:

Three more Pokemon US Nationals 2011 videos

First, the masters video game finals:





And some photos:

Pokemon US Nationals 2011 Megaupdate

Here are five videos from Pokemon US Nationals 2011:

Fanfiction: MythBusters-Pokemon Special-Part 1 + Bonus MythRap Parody

MythBusters: Pokémon Special

Note: The outcomes in this fanfic are entirely hypothetical and have in no way been tested by me, nor do I encourage anyone to test them.

(Unless you actually are the MythBusters)

Adam: Attention viewers-do not try anything you are about to see at home.

Jamie: We’re what you call experts.

Announcer: On this bust-‘em-all episode of MythBusters-Can a bird ground a hot-air balloon-and survive to fly again?

(Reaction shot of Jamie)

Jamie: Looks like buster’s blasting off again.

Announcer: Meanwhile, Kari, Grant, and Tory test a shocking myth: Can a sudden jolt of electricity destroy a bicycle in seconds?

(Reaction shot of Kari)

Kari: My bike’s barbequed!

Announcer (Continued): Who are the MythBusters? Adam Savage.

Adam: There are a lot of unknowns here.

Announcer: And Jamie Hyneman.

Jamie: Through this electrode.

Announcer: Between them over thirty years of special effects experience. Joining them-Kari Byron.

Kari: You just totally jinxed us!

Announcer: Tory Belleci.

Tory: I see injuries in my future.

Announcer: And Grant Imahara.

Grant: My kettle corn empire!

Announcer: They don’t just tell the myths-they put them to the test!

Super: Balloon Bird Strike

(Adam and Jamie are in the shop in a typical myth-explaining setup)

Jamie: So what’s our myth?

Adam: Well, it involves hot air balloons.

Jamie: Go on.

Adam: Well, the myth is that a bird, flying at top speed, can fly through a balloon, tearing a hole and causing it to float back down to Earth.

Jamie: Is that it?

Adam: Actually, no-it goes even further. Apparently, not only does the bird make a hole through both sides of the balloon, but it also comes out on the other end relatively unharmed and can still fly back to its owner.

Jamie: Sounds like we’ll need to bring back the chicken gun.

Adam: Yes, but there are some other variables we need to consider.

Jamie: Like what?

Adam: Well, our research indicates that this has been done with varying sizes of birds flying at various speeds. I think we should start out by figuring out how much force and mass it takes to break through two layers of hot-air balloon material.

Jamie: Sound good to me.

Announcer: So that’s the myth.

(An animated sequence begins. Adam and Jamie are standing with Adam holding a dog and Jamie with a bird on his shoulder. Suddenly, Kari, Grant, and Tory appear and grab Adam’s dog and hop into a hot-air balloon shaped like Grant’s head)

Announcer: If a team of ner-do-wells kidnapped your prized pet and try to make a getaway in a hot-air balloon, you can send your trained bird-no, we didn’t make this up-to tear a hole in the balloon and send it back down.

(Jamie’s bird flies through the balloon, punching a hole and causing the balloon to fall)

Announcer: Amazingly, even after this kamikaze attack, the bird emerges on the other side safe enough to fly back to its owner.

(Jamie’s bird flies back, and Adam catches the dog as it falls)

Announcer: So while Adam and Jamie take care of things up above, Kari, Tory, and Grant are getting ready to hit the trail.

Super: Fried Bicycle

(Tory, Grant, and Kari are standing around about to explain a myth)

Grant: So, what’s the deal with this one?

Kari: Apparently, if you zap a bike with electricity from an animal equal to a bolt of lightning, you can actually destroy the bike, twisting the metal and rendering it unusable in a matter of seconds.

Tory (in disbelief): A bolt of lightning? What kind of animal can do that?

Kari: Apparently, some type of electric rodent.

Grant: Somehow I doubt we’ll be able to get one of those. Sounds like a good myth, though, so why don’t we start with the amount of current a real animal can put out, and if that’s not enough, we’ll turn up the voltage.

Tory: As long as I don’t have to be on the bike, that sounds great to me!

Cut to scene of Adam and Jamie

Adam: Jamie, we’ve done tons of myths on this show.

Jamie: Hundreds.

Adam: Well, the network is making a music video and they need us to pick out one hundred fifty.

Jamie: That’s an oddly specific number.

Adam: I know, and kinda familiar.

MythRap
Parody of PokéRap by James Willams/Babi Floyd
With new lyrics by Steven “Yoshi” Reich

We put them to the test,
Yes every one,
You know we won’t rest
Yeah we’re not done

Bumpy Road, Phone Books, Jailbreak, Turkey
Nitrogen, Antacid, Baghdad-Battery
Drafting, Alcatraz, Jawbreaker, Taxi
Sodium, Convertible, Dental Floss, Gravity

Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all-Mythbusters

We like to blow stuff up,
Set them on fire
We’ll get to the truth
No matter what’s required!

Scuba tank, Polygraph, Bottle Rocket, Syrup
Coconut, Old Dog, Firewalk, Quicksand
Flat Tire, Franklin, Pole-Vault, Aerosol
Dumpster, Pykrete, Wasabi, Parasol

Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all- Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters

Zig-Zag, Prime Rib, Reverse, Butter
Octopus, Resonance, Magnetron, Parachute
Plywood, Fingerprint, Horseback-Arrow
Duct Tape, Eel, Hwacha in Slo-mo

Gotta Bust ‘em all, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Pow!)
Gotta Bust ‘em all, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Bam!)
Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters (Wow!)

Tornado, Air Bag, Sawdust, Laptop
Tailgate, Dynamite, Night Vision, Radio
Hoffa, Friction, Hurricane, Vacuum
Seven-fold, Tortilla, Bus Jump, Sonic Boom!

At least one hundred and fifty, or more to see,
To be a MythBusters fanboy is my destiny!

Exploding Pants, Piano, Tablecloth, Blow Dart
Avalanche, Lights On, Cabin Fever, Catapult
Blue Ice, MRI, Moon Walk, Awning
Costume, Tenderize, Thermite, Yawning

Woo! We’re at the halfway point! What are you doing?
Hey, what’s this? (Crash)
Break time’s over-here we go!

Hamster Ball, Helium, 10%, Red Herring
Mind Control, Seesaw, Cinnamon, Penny
Cheese Cannon, Hammer, Needle, Microchip
Match Heads, Diamonds, Subwoofer, Cycle Flip

Gotta Bust ’em all, Gotta Bust ’em all (Whoa!)
Gotta Bust ’em all, Gotta Bust ’em all (Wham!)

Water Heater, Moss, Elevator, Boom Lift
Bumper, Rain Run, CD (Mythbusters!)
China Shop, Elephant, Goats, Custard
Banana, Ski Lift, Watch out, Buster!

At least one hundred and fifty, or more to see,
To be a MythBusters junkie is my destiny!

Coffin Punch, Hair Spray, Swingset, Cold Feet
Lava Lamp, Cork Bat, Concrete, Ultralight
Right Turn, Tesla, Laminar
Spider, Hindenburg, Stethoscope, Spy Car

Whoa! Catch your breath, man!
We’ve got more myths!
It’s downhill from here-
Just a few more to go!
We’re gettin’ testy,
So listen real good!

Car Cling, Hovercraft, Brown Note, Waterslide
AC, Extinguisher, Soda Pop, Candy
Salami, Rowboat, Fishing Line, Trombone
Regolith, Popcorn, Moose (Don’t try at home!)

Gotta Bust ‘em all, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Zap!)
Gotta Bust ‘em all, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Ow!)
Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters (Yeah-ee-ee)

Potassium, Jackhammer
Car Fall, Tennis Ball, Pressure Sensor
Soda Cup, Crossbow,
Magnets, Rockets, Time to blow! (Explosion)

Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Oooo-Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters)
Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all (Oooo-Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters)
Bust ‘em, Bust ‘em, Gotta Bust ‘em all - Gotta Bust ‘em all-MythBusters!

Pokemon VGC Regional: Newark, NJ

Here's an interview from a recent Pokemon VGC regional competition:

Pokedex 3D Review

Here's a video where I discuss Pokedex 3D, as well as some other 3DS-related topics:

Spring Battle Roads/Blu-Ray Review

Here's a couple of recent interviews:

Pokemon TCG Black and White Prerelease-Madison, WI

Here's another Pokemon Black and White Prerelease interview:



In addition, I'm giving away a (nearly) free Pokemon Blu-Ray:

Pokemon Black and White Prerelease: Rockford, IL + Get a Free* Pokemon Blu-Ray

Here's a video from a recent Pokemon TCG prerelease:



Also, some of you may know that there is a Pokemon Blu-Ray coming out later this month:

Best Buy
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Wal-Mart

You'll probably want to order this online-it doesn't look like it's going to be stocked in stores very much, if at all.

I'm looking to do an audio review of this, and I'm looking for someone to comment back and forth with. If you meet the following criteria, you may be able to get a free* copy out of it:

-Must be at least 13 years old (18 would be preferable).
-Must have a Blu-Ray player capable of playing discs from region A (I don't know if the disc will be region locked, but it should definitely play in region A players).
-Must have access to a phone or Skype.

If you're interested, go ahead and e-mail me at the usual PokePress e-mail address (hint: It's in the video above).

*Cost of ordering the disc will be reimbursed after the interview is conducted.

Pokemon TCG Midwest Regionals 2011: Senior Division Winner + April Fools Insight

Here's another interview from the Pokemon TCG Midwest Regional 2011:



Additionally, I wanted to share insight into the fictional "Pokemon DJ Hero" game. I'll let you in a good story about one of them:

Rika Matsumoto/Megumi Toyoguchi vs. The Nylons-Kiss 2009 Goodbye

Combination of: High Touch! 2009 and Kiss Him Goodbye

Back in late 2008, right around the time I got the original High Touch! single, I also picked up the 12" (vinyl) remix EP of Kiss Him Goodbye (I've been a Nylons fan for quite some time, and given that they were quite big here in Madison, it's not much of a surprise this turned up here). As some of you probably know, the chorus of Kiss Him Goodbye, much like High Touch!, contains the phrase "Hey, Hey, Hey". The combination was obvious.

Pokemon TCG Midwest Regionals 2011: Magnezone

Here's an interview from last Saturday's regional TCG event:

Cancelled Pokémon DJ Hero Game Revealed

An unnamed source from FreeStyleGames recently revealed to PokéPress/PIRN that they had been working on a Pokémon DJ Hero game for the Nintendo 3DS. The game, originally scheduled to be released in 2012, was cancelled after Activision, the publisher of the Hero series of music games, laid off its music division earlier this year.

“After seeing our 3DS demo at E3 in 2010, Nintendo approached Activision about producing a Pokémon DJ Hero game for the system,” the source stated. “With the upcoming release of Black and White, they were very eager to capitalize on the wave of nostalgia that the new generation of games would bring.”

The source went on to describe some of the core features of the game. “Basically, we needed to make sure this was both a genuine Hero game and a Pokémon game. One of the ways we did that was by taking locations from the games and the anime and using those as venues. For example, we were planning on recreating Wigglytuff’s Guild from the Mystery Dungeon games and the city from the fifth movie.”

In addition to familiar venues, the game was also slated to offer a wide selection of characters from the franchise as DJs. “That part was actually a lot of fun. We really liked the way some of the Pokémon would use their wings or beaks or claws to scratch the records. For Mewtwo we even had it so it wouldn’t actually touch the records-they would just move on their own and glow like they were being manipulated psychically.”

To complete the package, FreeStyleGames planned to include unlockable Pokémon that could be transferred to Black and White, similar to the Pokémon Ranger games. “One of the things we’ve always been working on with the Hero games is how to keep the player interested and playing through the entire game. This was a unique opportunity to give the player something more lasting than a new outfit or character they might not end up using.”

Finally, the source provided a list of mixes slated to appear in the game:

Aaron Carter vs. Vanilla Ice-(Have Some) Ice with the Funk
Russell Velázquez vs. Rob Base-It Takes Two 2B A Master
Joshua Tyler vs. Rick Astley-Never Gonna Give Up Pokémon-Are You?
Mai Mizuhashi/Sky Boys vs. INXS-Kick No Message
Rika Matsumoto/Megumi Toyoguchi vs. The Nylons-Kiss 2009 Goodbye
James Willams/Babi Floyd vs. MC Hammer-U Can’t Rap This
M2M vs. The Jackson 5-Don’t Want You Back
The B-52’s vs. The Backstreet Boys-The Chosen One (Larger Than Life)
Westlife vs. Super Mario Galaxy Orchestra-Eggs Without Wings
Russell Velázquez vs. The Chambers Brothers-Time to Celebi-R-A-T-E
Blessid Union of Souls vs. The Fray-My Brother Saved My Life
Mewtwo Strikes Back Orchestra vs. Santana-Tears of Victory
“Weird Al” Yankovic vs. “Weird Al” Yankovic-Angry White Boy Polkamon
David Rolfe vs. Bonnie Tyler-I Want to Hold Out for a Hero
Russell Velázquez vs. INXS-What, You Need Pokémon? World…
Mewtwo Strikes Back Orchestra vs. Paula Abdul-Coldhearted Mewtwo
Dream Street vs. Miley Cyrus-Pokémon Can’t Be Tamed, Understand?
Presidents of the United States of America vs. “Weird Al” Yankovic-Can’t Stop Ridin’ the Bus
Yvette Laboy vs. The Pussycat Dolls-Misty Hates This Part
Johto vs. Lady Gaga-Pikachu’s Bad Romance (Buneary Mix)
Emma Bunton vs. Alysha-(Dreams) Free Up Your Mind
50.Grind Feat. Pokémon Allstars-Gotta Catch `Em All (Beat Juggle)
Maddie Blaustein vs. Amy Winehouse-Nobody Don’t Like Rehab

Pokemon TCG WI States 2011: Rogue Deck

Here's an interview from yesterday's Pokemon TCG Wisconsin State Championship:

Pokemon Black and White Mall Tour-Mall of America

Here's an interview regarding the Pokemon Black and White Mall Tour event I went to last week in Minnesota:

Anime Milwaukee 2011-Site Tour

Here's a tour of last week's Anime Milwaukee 2011:

Anime Milwaukee 2011-Arts & Crafts

Here's our first video from Anime Milwaukee 2011:

Pokemon TCG Call of Legends Prerelease: Madison, WI

Here's an interview from last week's prerelease:

Anime Milwaukee 2011-Pokemon Events

Here's an interview regarding the Pokemon events at the upcoming Anime Milwaukee 2011:

Pokemon TCG Call of Legends Prerelease: Rockford, IL

Here's an interview from a recent Pokemon TCG Call of Legends Prerelease:

Pokemon Arts & Crafts-Sprite Stitching

Here's another interview from last week's Pokemon TCG City Championship in Rockford, IL:

Pokemon TCG City Championships 2010-2011-Rockford, IL

Here's an interview from a recent Pokemon TCG City Championsihp:



By the way, between interviews, I've been posting snippets from the Pokemon TCG for Game Boy. Here are two recent episodes: