Friday 5: Most Anticipated Blu-rays

Because there are not enough "Top X" lists on the internet, we are proud to introduce the Friday Five!  Every Friday we will list the top 5 of whatever we feel like for that week.  Suggestions are always welcome and feel free to leave what you want us to list in the comments below.

This week, for our first 5, we count down the 5 most anticipated Blu-Ray releases of this fall.  These can be any movie or tv series, new or old, that we cannot wait to see in glorious HD!  ...and away we go!

5. Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Vol. 1

Who doesnt love Looney Toons?  Weird people, thats who.  This collection brings together 50 episodes of the beloved animated show on 2 discs with the 3rd disc apparently containing over 5 hours of special features.

4. Scarface Limited Edition

This 1983 film is based off of a 1932 film based off of a novel based off the rise of gangster Al Capone (got all that?).  This classic stars Al Pacino as Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee who gets caught up in the Miami drug scene and apparently likes introducing his "little friends" to everyone he meets.  Also, if you have money to burn, you can pick up the totally necessary humidor box set, with a list price of only $999.99!

3. Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Say what you will about the prequels, but the original Star Wars movies are still one of the most beloved sci-fi films of all time, and are long overdue on Blu-ray.  With that being said, the reason I listed the complete saga here is that even I have to admit that some moments from the prequels (the giant battles in space being the best example) will probably look awesome in HD.  No amount of restoration and reformatting can save us from the terrible writing and acting, though.

2. Game of Thrones: Season 1

As stated in the above picture (the Blu-ray cover art has yet to be released), winter is coming, and the realm  is on the brink of war.  The adaptation of the first novel in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire stars Sean Bean as Boromir Eddard Stark, lord of Winterfell, and follows dozens of characters and multiple storylines as the "Game of Thrones", where you either win, or die.

1. The Lion King

One of my favorite films of all time, if not my #1, has to be the Lion King, so you can imagine my excitement when I heard it was coming to Blu-ray.  If I recall, my reaction was something along these lines. Seriously, this is releasing in October and I have had my copy pre-ordered since March.  Any Disney fan, or for that matter anybody that grew up in the 90s owes it to themselves to pick this one up when it comes out.  You can also pick up the other two films in the trilogy (Lion King 1 1/2 and Lion King 2: Simba's Pride) in this actually pretty cool looking 8 Disc Box Set, but if you ask me the other two films don't exist, so I will just be picking up the original.

So there you have it, the top 5 Blu-ray releases of the fall.  Have an idea for a Friday 5 countdown?  Hit us up in the comments or shoot us an email at plugandplayblog@gmail.com

Android Reaches 130 Million Worldwide Sales, Google One Step Closer to World Domination

Sure. They may look innocent now.

Google has just announced that Android devices have sold over 130 million units globally. Not only that, but they have also reported that over 550,000 of those magical devices (wait, that's Apple's tagline) are activated daily.

While they may still be behind Apple's reported 200 million iOS powered products, these are still impressive numbers for both Android and Google. Even if Apple is still ahead overall, recent reports state that Android phones make up 40% of the market, while iPhones are only at 15%. Feats like this show that Google is showing no signs of resting on their laurels, which may be to some people's chagrin.

Some of the many Google services.

The number one most visited site according to Alexa and most used search engine has made a huge effort to expand into different markets over the last half decade or so. With new innovations such as Gmail, Chrome, Android, and the most recent addition, Google +, its clear that Google wants to get its grubby hands on as many different areas as possible. They've also proven that after they launch a service that doesn't catch on (i.e. Google Video), they will simply buyout the current leader in that market (in this case, Youtube). While it's hard to blame them for trying to expand their services into as many places as possible, some may feel that this Google monopoly (I'm sure the board game version is coming soon) is a sign towards world domination of marketplaces. Personally, I think its a bit too early to tell, and we'll have to wait and see how all of these products turn out in the next few years.

Are you in support of a world powered by Google, or do you think they should be nicked in the butt before their power grows to unstoppable levels? If you think the latter, then do you also find it ironic that you are commenting on a blog powered by Google?

The "Online Pass". A Sword to the Throat of Used Games?

John Riccitiello, CEO of EA, likes getting paid.  A lot.

The buying and selling of used games has been around almost as long as games themselves.  For as long as games have been sold, they have been sold back to the retailer.  It makes sense, you finish a game or find it isn't for you and sell it back to a game store for a (really really small) fraction of what you bought it for so they can re-sell it as used for slightly less than a new copy.  You got to play the game, and the retailer essentially gets to sell it one and a half times.  Simple, everybody wins.  Everybody, that is, except for the publisher of the game.  They only get their money once.  And they dont like that.

How do publishers combat people buying their games without paying them directly?  With more and more games focusing on online content, whether it be for multiplayer or just DLC, a new strategy has emerged.  It is commonly referred to as a "network pass" or an "online pass" and is a one-use code that comes with new copies of games that gives the player access to all of the online of a specific title (barring an downloadable content that had a separate fee to begin with).  Once the code is used, any other player (such as one that bought the title used) that wishes to access the online features of a game will have to pay a fee, usually around $10, to get their own code.  EA was the first to implement this system, beginning  many of its EA Sports titles and later expanding to include many of its major franchises, included last fall's Need for Speed Hot Pursuit.  The system is catching on with other publishers, though, with both Sony and Ubisoft announcing they will include a similar system with many of their upcoming titles.

The PSN Pass section of the Resistance 3 box that caused an uproar among many gamers.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the system.  If I want to wait a little while after a game comes out and buy it used, I expect to get the full experience.  People can not even play games borrowed from friends online without buying a pass.  In my opinion, though, the most absurd part of this system is that because more times than not ALL online features are blocked before the code is put in, sometimes a player will have to pay a fee just in order to be able to buy content.

What do you think?  Do you think it is fair that publishers want the money for the games they sell and that their should be an advantage to buying a game new?  Or are you a fan of used games and hate the system?  Sound off in the comments!