pixietricks Announces Album, Mailing List

From OCR:

“Hey guys. I have a bit of exciting news to announce. First and foremost, my first original album is currently underway! That’s right – one album, one me, and… an indeterminate number of songs. ^_~ When will be the release, you ask? I’m shooting for this coming spring, 2008. A realistic goal, I believe, but I’ll hold off on the specifics until things are closer to completion.”
“Now, if you are a particularly zealous fan – or even a mildly curious person – then you’re in luck! I have finally set up an official mailing list, which will allow me to send out the occasional update with samples of my current work, release dates, and other tasty tidbits. If you’re at all interested, don’t hesitate to join! Just head over to the “Contact” page on my website, enter in your email address, and check off the “Join my Mailing List” option before submitting.”

You can sign up for the mailing list here.

The Simpsons Competition

Have you ever loved those pinks donuts so much? Simpsons has always
been one of the top shows in America, I salute the Simpsons for the
unrivaled humor and creative plotlines. This show has been around for
around 18 years (had a short in 1987 and developed into a real show 3
seasons later). Personally, I would have to say my favorite character
is probably the same as everyone else – Homer. With his lack of
intellect, and inability to lead a family or even hold onto a job – he
makes every man not only able to point and laugh, but makes us feel
that there is a lower man out there.

Anyways – this competition is as follows – All submissions are to be in
this coming Sunday (August 5th). You can remix any song from this
series (there are 53, I have the entire archive, not hard to find imo)
and of course I recommend the theme song. All submissions will be sent
to me and I’ll assign a few people to listen and judge (we’ll combine
the scores at the end).

Let me know if you plan on either participating with a remix or if you are interested in judging.

More here

Nerdcore Undercover

Maybe a bit late, like over half a month or something, but IMO still worth posting. A couple of months in the making, now finally released is a Nerdcore Compilation project called “Nerdcore Undercover” by Z from Hipster, please!

Featured on the album are people like YTCracker, myf, Goondocks and Shael Riley with covers from popular artists interpreted in the typical known nerdcore style by the participating artists. The album is free of charge, available in mp3 format and bundled with an awesome comic style cover to wrap up this project.

I’d say check it out over at Hipster, please!
…and enjoy some nice nerdcore tunes.

FF7 Project Release Date Announced

From zircon’s mailing list:

[FF7 PROJECT RELEASE DATE]
I’ve decided, after intensive research, to set the Final Fantasy 7 ReMix
Project release date as September 7, 2007 – a little later than I had
initially planned, but it seems to more accurately reflect when the game
first came out in North America. We’re wrapping up the last of the
tracks and getting the website together now. Keep your eyes peeled for it!”

This information is also available in the project thread on OCR.

MAGFest 6 Details Announced

Details for MAGFest 6 have been announced. It will once again be the first weekend of January, from the 3rd through the 6th, in a new location at the Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, VA.

The discounted hotel rate from previous years continues, at $99/night this year, but reservations are not open yet. An announcement will be made once the room block is open. In addition to being accessible by any major highway on the east coast, the hotel offers a shuttle from DCA.

While too soon to confirm a guest list, many of previous year’s attendees are likely to return, as well as retaining the familiar format of games, music, and fun.

OCR Panel, Meetups at Otakon 2007

OverClocked ReMix is having another panel at Otakon this year, this time a whopping two hours long. The panel, titled “OverClocked ReMix: Game Music Evolved”, takes place from 10 A.M. to Noon on Friday, July 20. Afterwards, there will be a meetup at the fountain at the Inner Harbor, around 12:30 P.M.

Additionally, there will be another meetup at the same location on Saturday, July 21, at noon. More panel and meetup information is available at the thread on OCReMix.

PS3 Price Cut, 360 Policy Change, Wii Still Winning – Update 2

Is $100 enough for Sony?Sony first denied, then confirmed a planned $100 price cut for the PS3 after retailers leaked the information. The price cut is part of a plan by Sony to boost the console’s poor sales, after strategies based on exclusive software failed to differentiate the console enough to spur sales. The announcement comes alongside plans for an 80GB model to be sold at the old price point of $600, and a yet-unannounced UK price cut, where the console currently sells for £425 (over $800 US).
Microsoft has their own plans to please customers, announcing a grandfathered upgrade to the warranty, giving full repair coverage for three years from date of purchase for the “three red lights” failure, at a cost of about $1.1 billion US. Since the console has yet to hit its second birthday, the three-year plan covers every console sold to date, and MS will be issuing refunds to those who have already paid for repairs.

Meanwhile, the Wii’s strategy of a low price point and unique features have kept it on top of the console war. Wii sales are continuing to grow and are outpacing supply in Japan, outselling the PS3 by a factor of six, where the console was “only” selling four times as many units three months ago. The robust sales of the latest Nintendo console are probably the reason for their relative silence in relation to Sony and Microsoft, but we’ll probably see a lot of action in the next few weeks as E3 rolls into town.

Sources:
TimesOnline
The Inquirer (UK)

PS3 Update

It seems the PS3 price cut is just a ploy to make room for a cheaper-to-produce model to come back at the original $599 price point. A lot of interviews and confusion later, and the unfolding story is that the 80GB model is cheaper to produce for Sony since, rather than having hardware support for PS2 games, it will rely on software emulation like the European models. So in the end Sony’s taking less of a loss on each of the new units, by taking more of a loss on each of the old ones. Confused yet?

Source: salon.com