Video Games Used As Shorthand In New Movie Trailers

@Daz_Genetic: Well if they could perfectly map out the calendar from before and untill then...with no calculators or anything...why is predicting the cycle of events on earth such a big leap? May seem like mumbo jumbo now, but 100 years ago computers and television sounded like bullshit to guys like you too.

@BxB402: So you think the Egyptians being ahead of their time in mechanical engineering sense equals the Mayans being able to see into the future?

Daz_Genetic

@Daz_Genetic: You must not know much about ancient civilizations, man. Some of them were WAY ahead of their time while primitive at the same time. How would you explain current architects still being completly stumped how the pyramids were managed...and other amazing things old civs did? Sure they may have seemed primitive to us in many ways, but they also knew a lot more than any of us about other things. Skeptics are funny.

@Everyone: Though I agree with the general consensus among sane persons being that nothing will happen, I do consider the fact that the political state of the world seems rather fragile at the moment. many things can happen from here on to 2012, for example Iran arming itself with nuclear weaponry, some far-right political faction taking power somewhere in Europe, NKorea attacking the south... any number of things that could potentialy lead to an atomic war. in that regard, something might happen, but it wouldn't be in any way related to some obscure pre-columbian prediction, rather just an ironical date.

with that said, this very much looks to become a text book example of a "self-fulfilling prophecy".

laencythe

@BxB402: And yet, the fact that you believe that some ancient civilization could see into the future at all, is no less crazy than the people with their pants down yelling THE END IS NIGH.

Daz_Genetic

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: Whatever it is, I'm just glad it's happening in my life time. Personally I hope it's that Singularity that Vernor Vinge's been going on about...

But then again, this type of thing always has a habit of anti-climaxing right in your face. Don't believe the hype, is an appropriate statement to make when it comes to 3000 year old prophecies, I guess.

kiddoblivion

@hanulbada: If anything does happen then i think we will be the ones to make it happen. I think it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy where everyone is so worried about a disaster in 2012 that someone does something that causes the disaster, that would have otherwise been avoided if people weren't so worried about there being a disaster.

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: My guess is nothing will freakin' happen. I mean seriously, they're making a too big of a deal of the Aztec Calender thinking. THEY'RE AN ANCIENT EXTINCT CIVILIZATION. Damn, my 2009 calender is ending soon and I didn't buy a new one, maybe the world is going to end soon. Maybe the civilization just didn't add on to it because they're busy being... lost?

hanulbada

@andrewwyatt: In short. It's a modding and hacking wonderland.

hanulbada

@StanleyKoteks: oh mY GOD ! MINE ALSO !

DELICIOUS DINOSAURS !

@Samson Li: Vintage 2009!

ZombiePuppy

@RedStar - Workers of The World Unite: Hell yea, dance flick ftw.

Jellopnik

@thecrisisfromthesky: They haven't invented water hot enough to wash off the feeling of filth...

*shudders*

KenseiKitsune

@twizm: or maybe he's a super awesome father and loaded that old CFW capable PSP with a bunch of great roms and emulators.

I work in an electronics store, and we still get people asking for GBA chargers.

"Note that the year is supposedly 2012 and this kid is not playing a PSPGo, suggesting a disaster of an altogether different kind."

That was my immediate reaction when I first saw this trailer, lol

I'm such a nerd, :X

Sourside21

vince vaughn played san andrean in that movie with jennifer aniston. he was portrayed as neglecting his girlfriend

optimusp

@UncleMark: My guess is that film creators are trying to appeal to this generation's batch of shitty parents. (They can appreciate the realism implied by seeing a once good kid corrupted by his portable gaming device)

@(Zombie) Goldwings: You only need to be proven wrong once...

Kagechiyo

Silly rabbit, didn't you know that 2012 is the year of the PSP?

Kagechiyo

@KidFlik:

A fallacious argument, as anyone old enough to remember Surf Ninjas, is likely old enough to know that brain damage may remove said memory.

KenseiKitsune

@RedStar - Workers of The World Unite: I agree with that assessment.

I seem to recall there was a nice use of video games in The Wrestler, and this very site lauded it's praise upon it.

Squirrelbot3000

@R_Shackelford: And...what happened 26,000 years ago?
Cro-magnons were inventing the bow and arrow and cracking each other over the head with rocks. And yet, we're still here.

wox42

@Stephen Totilo:

WATUP T-DAWG.

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: The Olympics?

@LobsterJ: Was one of those PSN short film projects not centred around this topic as well?

Decklin Watson

@BxB402: Meh. The movie was incredible during the middle part involving HAL and Dave. The beginning with the cavemen and the end with the trippy wormhole and the space baby were just weird. They didn't seem to go anywhere. I'm sure there's supposed to be some sort of symbolism, but the end just seemed to be an excuse to show of some then amazing, but now underwhelming, special effects. If I ever watch it again, I'll just fast-forward to the part with HAL and then stop watching once he dies.

@andrewwyatt: Duh, it's right in the name: PSP = Portable Secret Porn

mwoody

@716: Haha, yep, that PSX game that was sorta like a Crazy Taxi/Twisted Metal hybrid. Road Trip or something?

GallowsHumor

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: Life on Earth is nearly 4 billion years old and has never been wiped out. Humans are the latest in a line of organisms designed to survive. My only prediction is that we will continue to live beyond 2012, and indeed, any date beyond that.

LobsterJ

@andrewwyatt: I still play some Portable Ops and listen to the PC Gamer Podcast on it.

@Demonbird: wtb self fulfilling prophecy

@twizm: He's hacked it and is playing some Super Nintendo ROMs.

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!:
There is a bit about this I have done a few times.
Essentially, you mean the Mayan calendars that were carved out of stone?
Boy, certainly because the calendar ends there that means so must the world!
Or, maybe the guys who carved that figured someone else would add more sometime within the next dozen centuries.

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!:
Y2K 2.0

@(Zombie) Goldwings:

if anything, its more about the sumerians, rather than the mayans..lots of documentary stuff online.. and on the history channel about 2012

wahrugene

@andrewwyatt:
GBC had some of the best games though! Pokemon G/S, Wario Land 3, Kirby's Tilt & Tumble, and Shante to name a few! If they've had the system with the same 5 games for years then I would pity them, but its all in perspective really!

Man... I want to pull out my GBC now. :D

ZaxCG2

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: ...from himself.

@Z: Meh, not even good for that, really. If not for playing or internet... what is the PSP good for? O_o

@(Zombie) Jolan: Dayum, dat sum gud Dance Flick!

@Markarian: I remember seeing kids with GBCs even way after the DS Lite came out. I pitied them. :(

@twizm: haha, maybe he is just watching porn on it.

@ShadowOdin isn't american: Did someone say Dance Flick?

@(Zombie) Jolan: Do you really think a kid holding a psp requires interpretation? vince vaughn playing guitar hero requires thought? it is reading too much into it. that psp isnt gunna be the new rosebud.

sideshowbob916

@StanleyKoteks: HOLY SHIT. Matt Groening is destined to die this December! Quick we must save him!

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: Something will happen. The Earth, Sun, and center of the Milky Way galaxy will be in perfect alignment, an event which occurs approximately every 26,000 years. The Earth will also be passing through the strongest part of the Milky Way's gravitational disc. Check NASA; check the charts. It's a fact. The Mayan priests, like just about every other advanced early civilization, were master astronomers.

What this actually means is up for debate. Analyzing the effects of the electromagnetic, gravitational, and quite literally "cosmic" forces associated with celestial alignments is quite beyond my current capability.

R_Shackelford

Well, by that token, everyone in the movie should also be carrying super-advanced touchscreen smartphones that don't exist yet... :|

Thanatophage

@WhatTheFrag: While it's played up A TON by the History Channel and millions of books trying to cash in, the general expert consensus (a.k.a. guys who actually know what they're talking about) is that the Mayan calendar stopped at 2012 just because that's where they got to. Not because of some apocalypse. Maybe if their civilization had gone on a couple of generations, they'd have gotten to 3012. But even when looking at the Mayans, 2012 is pretty arbitary (as much as 2011 or 2013, at least).

I'm personally looking forward to the Phantom's resurgence in 2040.

EmTeeZ

Oh good lord that halfwit is making a movie about 2012?

Why could I have already guessed it wasn't going to be "Yeah it's kinda the Mayan equivalent of our Millennial celebrations"?

@UncleMark:

If anyone is old enough to remember the movie Surf Ninjas, the kid there used his Game Gear to gain insight into the environment around him and sometimes control it.

KidFlik

Not a movie trailer, but the recent remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still used videogames to show the main kid's detachment by filling his room with Master Chief posters and statues etc.

salmonbottle

@StanleyKoteks: Oh shi- Doomed!

@twizm: False, this kids obviously just hip and is totally boycotting digital downloads.

Rinaldus

Know why I can't wait for 2012? Because I wanna be driven around a decimated Washington D.C. or New York by a number of Auto Vigilantes in pink cadillacs and Weinermobiles, all competing for my hard-earned tourist cash.

Now, who knows what the hell I'm talking about?

716

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: Oh no. My Simpsons calendar ends . . . THIS DECEMBER!!!

@RedStar - Workers of The World Unite:

Yeah.

Why does he have to be detached to enjoy a game on the road? It looks like a family trip anyway, might as well enjoy some on-the-go gaming. Perhaps the filmmakers will paint him in that light in the full movie, but I don't get that vibe from just the trailer.

@Atomsk88:

From what I know, and it is admittedly not a lot, European history being far more entertaining in my point of view, but the Mayan's calender ended on that specific rotation because, well, that's just how long that calender was going to be used for. Then they'd make another one, coinciding with - if what I read is to be believed - a momentous celebration of sorts.

Just as they had in the past.

Previously on 2012! After Chuck Norris is sent to the Phantom Zone, the battle between Captain Falcon and his clone is finally settled - without interruption.

@(Zombie) Goldwings: Oh sweet! Im creating a hype too!? I feel important now :D!
In all seriousness though, I dont believe much in what the history channel says (because I never watch it) and people with microphones. To me it just seemed oddly curious with the mayan calendar ending in 2012.I dont think I would go and and shout "holy shit you guys fire ze missiles! ALIENS ARE COMING" and scare people.
@BxB402: Now thats what Im thinking! Contact with aliens or new technology making the world more kick ass! I like being positive c:
@Trygle12 is FREE!... and waiting for Disgaea 2: Dragons? As much as I like them, I dont think it will happen :c

@Đipic: Y2K was such an idiotic paranoia.

As far as 2012, the Maya only predicted an incredible shift in the current world, presumably the creation of the new world.

Supposedly, there's going to be a massive flood that will reshape and create new land. So, it's pretty much like what the movie is showing in its trailer.

I dunno, could the ice caps melt fast enough in a little over three years?

Atomsk88

[www.telegraph.co.uk]

Mentioned this in passing on my blog, quite saddening.

@Samson Li: Or maybe it's just because actual kids rarely get the latest portables. I got my GBAs shipped from Japan at release, but three years later, I still saw tons of kids with GBCs walking around.

But it is surreal, as this kid would have been about six years old when the PSP Phat came out.

Trifecta complete:

[www.apple.com]

(00:00:48)

David Rodriguez

@(Zombie) Jolan: To bad for them since Amazon will be getting some of my money and those damn bills getting the rest of it ^_^

@jb_1987: Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.

@Handsome Al: Isn't their calendar suppose to be more accurate than what we use today?

@ShadowOdin isn't american: And then they'll release a countdown clock.

@(Zombie) Goldwings: I believe Nostradamus predicted that society would live on into the 9000's.

Atomsk88

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: Something WILL happen in 2012, just like how something will happen in 2013, 2014, 2015... I just hope the History Channel does not mislead people with all its "facts" and "speculation". :(

@(Zombie) Jolan: How do i interpret somewhat?

@(Zombie) Goldwings: Maybe they they did the same Nintedo did but a bunch calender fanboy were complaining about better graphics on the stone and no multiplayer(since only a few could read it)gimmicky control of the stones and shorter months in the calendar.

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: Actually they will sit down and decide what will happen in 2012, but as all meetings go, things gets delayed, a report is not on time, or they need their nappy-time so it will get delayed 6 months.

@(Zombie) Goldwings: Because the next generation calender is too hard to develop??

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: I'm kind of hoping something actually does, as there is no chance of me paying off my school bills when im released into the world

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: Duke Nukem Forever is released.
The Wii gets an Awesome game.
Virtual Reality is possible but expensive.
Cloning of Humans will begin to be feasible.
Mayans rise up from their resting places, clear all this **** up and conspiracy theorists will be dealt one more crushing blow to their abysmally low self-esteem.

Also...

Dragons.

Delicious Dragons.

@twizm: I laughed my ass off when I read this.

@jb_1987: The kid does look pretty evil in that picture, it's probably the PSP's fault.

@Masterpain22: My robo butler never listens to me either. :(

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: The only prophecy to accurately predict the end of the world will be a self-fulfilling one. If any chaos actually breaks out on this date it will be caused by the paranoid, irrational, superstitious who fool themselves into thinking there is anything special about this date.

Hey Vince, the screen is thataway!

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: I listen to a lot of coast to coast and the general intelligent consensus is that 2012 will be a time of great change...not specifically everything going down the shitter. Could be anything from unified world government, to contact with aliens to a new huge technology that unites people(better energy sources, replacement of fossil fuels)No one knows just what it could be. I belive something big is coming...but i'm not gonna run around with my pants down yelling THE END IS NIGH quite yet.

@RyderJ: I remember hearing somewhere that the mayans predicted the end of the world every 40 years or so...

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: And this ladies and gentlemen is how you hype up something. Forget sex, because fear is the new sex. Idiotic people who can't think for themselves and believing anyone with a mic in their face (who is almost always old and of an Asian descent) are one of the only ones shouting "it's the end of the world." You know what, I'll tell you the truth. I'm a bit paranoid/scared too, but I won't blindly believe any of this BS because the Mayans (no offence) didn't get anything else right either.

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: Probably FFXIII for the PAL region ^_^

@Luigi87: Funny how true that is... PSP is not for playing... it's for internet when you have no laptop...

You just KNOW he's got a CFW loaded up in that shit.

@WhatTheFrag: Yeah that kinda kills the whole 2001: A Space Odyssey thing. 8 years after the movies timeline and we still don't have AI that can match a retarded cockroach(fact, look it up)let alone a HAL. Still a good movie tho.

I never realized how strong this connection between kids playing PSP and detachment was in movies. Kids playing DS are usually cheerful, social, etc whereas those holding a PSP are usually rebels of some sort. I guess it's a kids with DS/ adolescents with PSP sort of thing.

@an not so happy skyline: You can call me that if you must.

@an not so happy skyline: So if you call him T, can I call him Mr. T?

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!:

PS3 price drop.

fierce

@(Zombie) Jolan: Fuck yeah Dance Flick

Thats why the son is detached because his dad hasn't gotten him a PSPGo and its 2012.

Kadugen

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: Actually, the Mayan calendar only ends in 2012 because they didn't feel like going any further when they were making it. Those good for nothing lazy Mayans.

RyderJ

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: Stuff will happen. The world won't end.

@devfiz:

no, i doubt video games had any affect on the little black talking like some dumb ass gangsta wannabe.

jb_1987

inaccurate in, 2012 all kids shoot heroine for fun instead of playing video games.

chang187

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: well one thing will definitely happen in 2012 - if you and me and the rest of the people reading this stay alive we'd be 2 years and a few months older.

Also 2012 is being seriously hyped up by the history channel - there's some article that the history channel's trying to rake up viewership and hits by blowing whatever the Mayans were afraid of out of proportion.

Though if you do believe in 2012 - just look at what happened to the Unitologists did after they found the second marker. 2012 will just be our first marker :P.

Something will happen in 2012. Just not the end of the world. Throughout history we've gotten predictions of the end of the world, but so far all of them were wrong. Don't worry folks, 2012 will come, nothing happens, everyone (even those that believed it) will laugh at all those that believed it and we will all go on with our merry little lives. That is until some other secret tribe from back then will have a prediction of when the end of the world is.
Honestly, I think the Mayans just didn't feel like making a next generation calender (hardy har, har, bleh).

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: I was expecting something to happen in the year 2000 and there was nothing. I also imagined that at least by now I would be driving a flying car or telling my robo butler to do my laundry and still nothing. So many false ideas of the future :(

Masterpain22

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!: Ooh, I believe lots of things will happen in 2012.

As well as 2011 and 2013!

TheWP

@(Zombie) Jolan:

I fucking love dance flick.

RedStar - Workers of The World Unite

Funny that when I saw the trailer for 2012 a while back the PSP was the first thing I noticed and was like hmm when you see these movies in 2012 you'd be like uhm that was so 2008-2009.
Atleast we're 8 years ahead of Hal and 3 years ahead since Unicron consumed a lot of the transformers universe.
Still 27 years left to have a male-pimp lab run by women in nurse uniforms as seen in Fedde le Grande's Put Your Hands up For Detroit.

@Advent Chaos has evolved into Trygle12!:

i figure if anything happens in 2012, its caused by us and not by any sort of ridiculous theories

Wonder if the background sound for the games is 'pew pew pew' like in most movies or tv scenes.

As for the kid playing with a regular psp, well, maybe he likes going retro.

Masterpain22

@UncleMark: Yeah, ever see Inside Man? The little black kid is playing some GTA clone on his PSP, talking all gangster, as if the videogames were corruptig his mind.

devfiz

Damn T (I'm gonna call you T from now on), if you're right about this..

Sony is fucked.

And then you have Uwe Boll's films which just rip scenes from tha game itself and tackily paste them in ala House of the Dead. I feel so dirty for watching that film... eww

@RedStar - Workers of The World Unite: Well actually most good movies require you to think and interpret somewhat. But you know, maybe its not your thing. Enjoy Dance Flick and its inevitable sequels.

Very rarely are kids playing handheld game systems portrayed in a positive light.

You'll notice 2012 is coming out in 2009 so they can make some money, you know, just in case. (I would have waited til December of '12)

Show of hands, who really believes something will happen in 2012?
*raises hand* I dont think the world might end, but something HUGE will.

"Note that the year is supposedly 2012 and this kid is not playing a PSPGo, suggesting a disaster of an altogether different kind."

Amazing and true

When I saw the 2012 commercial in theatres, I turned to my friend and said, "That is so fake... No one plays a PSP."

(Note: I've owned a PSP since 2005, and am aware of its upcoming great line-up =P)

@Samson Li: the original psp i mean

Samson Li

its not the kids fault he has a regular psp. john cusack is just a cheap father

haha never thought of the PSPGo in 2012. maybe its cheaper then?

Samson Li

Talk about reading into something way too much.

RedStar - Workers of The World Unite

Ahhh, whatever works.

devfiz

@Sneakers_v2: Lol. I was saying the same thing..That's baby Shawn Spenser..Where's baby Gus?

Psych is so stupid..But I love it anyway..