KontrolFreek Blog

Brace yourself for mass quantities of ellipses.

Today… is the day… we find out something… about Sony… and possibly… the next PlayStation console.

Nobody knows for sure what to expect, but we have high hopes that today is the day that finally ushers in the next generation of consoles!

Beginning at 6pm EST tonight, Sony will host an audience of international journalists in New York City to reveal whatever is behind this page.

Be one of the first to know and watch the event live right here. Just bookmark this page and come back later tonight at 6pm EST.

A big hint surfaced yesterday on PlayStation’s official YouTube channel pointing at February 20^th 2013 as the possible announcement date for the much anticipated PS4.

The YouTube video, titled “#PlayStation2013” is a short, 45-second trailer showing the traditional PlayStation hieroglyphics and then ending with the date “February 20^th 2013.” The video description also has a link to a dedicated webpage that shows the same date with a time of 6pm EST.

One thing is clear—there will be a meeting hosted by Sony in about 3-weeks. Of course, the meeting could be for something else entirely, but all indicators point to this being the official PlayStation 4 reveal.

Will an Xbox 720 announcement follow? Or will Microsoft call an audible and beat Sony to the punch?

It’s going to be an exciting year!

I’ve always been fundamentally opposed to taking myself too seriously. It’s a trait that is as much of a curse as it is a “quality.” Those who don’t know me very well think I’m a pretty fun and quirky guy. Those that do know me wonder when I’m ever going to grow up (give it up, mom. It’s not happening).

The new indie movie, Noobz suffers from the same syndrome as I do, as it never takes itself too seriously either. It straddles the line between hilarious and insulting sometimes—perhaps depending on your level of involvement in competitive gaming.

For someone who’s merely a casual observer of the eSports scene, you’ll likely laugh without ever questioning the authenticity. But, if you’re someone who’s really serious about eSports and deeply sincere to the culture, you may think that the parody hits too close to home and/or doesn’t capture the sport appropriately. Either way, you’re offended.

A good friend of mine absolutely despises The Big Bang Theory. He despises it not because of the dry humor of one Sheldon Cooper, but because he’s insulted by the stereotyping of the group of which he’s a part of in real life—the nerds, geeks and freaks. I think the show is great regardless, but I can understand where he’s coming from.

Noobz is kind of like that. From a distance it can bring you a little closer to eSports as you laugh at the characters and at the gaming culture. Right up close, it could burn you if you let it. But, if you know how to laugh at yourself and at the culture you’re a part of, you’ll see that the movie isn’t poking fun at your expense; it’s just having a good time while allowing you to laugh right along with it.

Is the movie a spot-on representation of our hobby? No, it wasn’t meant to be. It’s a parody. And there’s some great material there that we as gamers can all relate to. You just need to lighten up and enjoy the ride.

Noobz hits select theaters January 25th and will be available on DVD January 29th. 

Whenever I have the opportunity to write about Star Trek I take it.

So, here I am again talking about a game that probably isn’t on most people’s radar for 2013. For some reason people are excited about the movie but don’t seem to be very interested in the video game… I don’t care. I want to talk about Star Trek.

With that said, I don’t really have much new to say besides the fact that the release date has finally been announced. The date is April 23, 2013 (or stardate -309693.15068493143 if that’s how you roll).

eSports organization Quantic Gaming has officially disbanded as of this morning. A goodbye message was released earlier today via quanticgaming.com stating, “What a short, strange trip it’s been. Looking back, it is hard to believe just how far we’ve come in such a short time. Starting in early 2011 with humble beginnings, Quantic quickly took a foothold with our multiple MLG Championship titles in Call of Duty: Black Ops followed by our entry into StarCraft II and the subsequent acquisition of Kim “SaSe” Hammar. Since then it’s been one crazy rollercoaster ride from our short-lived partnership with Incredible Miracle, to NaNiwa's astounding GSL Code S runs. So many wonderful memories.”

The post goes on to say “In spite of making great strides along the way, we were ultimately unable to realize the growth in revenue needed to justify the continuance of our great pursuit. We are extremely sad to announce that we are ceasing operations as a team, calling a close to a great era for Quantic as a company and as a brand. Quantic may enter eSports again in the future, but not likely as a team that fields competitive players.”

This is obviously sad news for North American eSports in general and to all of those directly affected by the shut down. As a former sponsor of the organization we’d like to wish everyone at Quantic good luck and we hope you all find success at your next spawn point.

Quantic forever!

Juicy details regarding Bungie’s secret project, Destiny have been leaked and then confirmed by the studio once made famous by Halo.

These details come from IGN via a leaked document from an advertising agency. Here is the largest chunk of story detail taken from the IGN piece:

According to the document, “Our story begins seven hundred years from now in the Last City on Earth, in a Solar System littered with the ruins of man’s Golden Age. A massive, mysterious alien ship hangs overhead like a second Moon. No one knows where it came from or what it’s here for, but only that it’s our protector. Meanwhile, strange, alien monsters creep in from the edge of the universe, determined to take Earth and the Last City. We are young ‘knights’ tasked with defending the remains of humanity, discovering the source of these monsters and – eventually – overcoming it.” Elsewhere in the document, the massive alien ship is referred to as “the Traveler.”

The document also describes Destiny as “fun and accessible to all,” and “social at its core.” Also, a quote from Bungie co-founder Jason Jones says, “Destiny is designed for your inner seven year old. We want to make it feel like a mythic adventure.” Maybe this is hinting at the studio’s intent of making Destiny a F2P or MMO?

Either way, Bungie addressed the leak over at bungie.net by posting the above image and stating “Go ahead. Take a peek. It’s alright. We weren't quite ready, but we will be soon, and we can’t wait to finally show you what we've really been up to. Stick around, we haven’t even started yet.”

Well played, Bungie. Well played.

Call of Duty is second to none when it comes to limited edition bundles, and for Black Ops 2 they’re making no exception.

This year the Hardened and Prestige Editions are both back, the later being dubbed the Care Package which includes a freaking radio controlled drone. There’s also some other stuff. Awesome!

Mark my words: we will secure a bunch of these bad boys and give them away to you just because we’re cool like that. We may even throw in our new FPS Freek Havoc (which should be in the Care Package anyway) as an added bonus. So, be sure to follow us on Twitter and/or Facebook for that.

CARE PACKAGE (Xbox 360/PS3) SRP $179.99:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Remote Controlled MQ-27 Dragonfire Drone - Command cutting-edge technology, exclusively for this once-in-a-lifetime combat collection.
• Nuketown Zombies Bonus Map - Battle hordes of Zombies in this beloved 1960s nuclear neighborhood.
• Nuketown 2025 Bonus Map - Relive the close quarters chaos of this classic fan-favorite map re-imagined in a 1960s visionary depiction of the "model home of the future."
• Collectible 2-Sided SteelBook - Limited edition game case featuring exclusive artwork.
• (2) Challenge Coins - Limited edition challenge coins that serve as your key to exclusive digital content.
• Weapon Camo - Rank-up in style with an exclusive multiplayer weapon skin.
• (2) Player Card Backgrounds - Liven up any killcam with two exclusive player card backgrounds, inspired by Nuketown 2025 and Zombies.
• Official Call of Duty: Black Ops II Soundtrack - A digital copy of composer Jack Wall's epic in-game score with Theme by Trent Reznor.
• Xbox LIVE CLAW Avatar Prop - An exclusive avatar prop, deployable to a dashboard near you.
• Xbox LIVE Zombies Avatar Costume - Show off your pride with an avatar costume built exclusively for fans of the Call of Duty undead.
• (PlayStation 3 versions include a dynamic multiplayer theme of the Turbine map as well as a dynamic Zombies theme that shows off Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies)

HARDENED EDITION (Xbox 360/PS3) SRP $79.99:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops II
• Nuketown Zombies Bonus Map - Battle hordes of Zombies in this beloved 1960s nuclear neighborhood.
• Nuketown 2025 Bonus Map - Relive the close quarters chaos of this classic fan-favorite map re-imagined in a 1960s visionary depiction of the "model home of the future."
• Collectible 2-Sided SteelBook - Limited edition game case featuring exclusive artwork.
• (2) Challenge Coins - Limited edition challenge coins that serve as your key to exclusive digital content.
• Weapon Camo - Rank-up in style with an exclusive multiplayer weapon skin.
• (2) Player Card Backgrounds - Liven up any killcam with two exclusive player card backgrounds, inspired by Nuketown 2025 and Zombies.
• Official Call of Duty: Black Ops II Soundtrack - A digital copy of composer Jack Wall's epic in-game score with Theme by Trent Reznor.
• Xbox LIVE CLAW Avatar Prop - An exclusive avatar prop, deployable to a dashboard near you.
• Xbox LIVE Zombies Avatar Costume - Show off your pride with an avatar costume built exclusively for fans of the Call of Duty undead.
• (PlayStation 3 versions include a dynamic multiplayer theme of the Turbine map as well as a dynamic Zombies theme that shows off Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 launches for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 November 13, 2012.