Press Start: Bio Haphazard

Hey gang! Press Start Adventures is still in the works, and in the meantime we've got another exciting announcement...

In case you haven't heard of them, X-Strike Studios is a totally awesome group of folks who produce videogame parody movies. They started out with River City Rumble in 2003 and now, four movies later, they're about to release their latest achievement, Resident Horror -- a hilarious spoof of survival horror games and the Resident Evil series in particular.

Back in January, X-Strike asked us if we'd be interested in producing a short survival horror spoof of our own for the Resident Horror DVD, and how could we resist!

So we're proud to announce a brand new live-action Press Start short, created exclusively for X-Strike Studios and the Resident Horror DVD, due out in June:



You can find out much more about the DVD at www.x-strikestudios.com!

Press Start Adventures!

You may have been wondering what's been going on with Press Start: Bonus Levels. As you probably know, it's been on hiatus since the movie came out in September. But behind the scenes... things have been happening. Specifically, this thing:



We're excited to announce that Press Start: Bonus Levels has taken on its second form to become Press Start Adventures, a new animated series for cell phones coming very soon.

The first 14 episodes will be retooled versions of the existing Bonus Levels toons, tightened up and featuring new music and sound. However, we've got 10 brand new episodes on the way which take place after the events of the movie - and which finally feature Zack!

Also returning to the series along with the rest of the main cast is David Humphrey, the original voice of Shadow the Hedgehog and our very own vampire king, Lord Vlad. We're incredibly excited.

Episodes will be available soon, so check your mobile carrier, but don't fret if you can't get them. We hope to ultimately make the series available to the non-cell-phone-inclined as well. And of course, we'll keep you posted here, as well as on the new Press Start Adventures website.

Press Start Reviewed in PC Gamer Magazine

If you pick up the February issue of PC Gamer and turn to page 18, you might notice a segment called "Bogus Features: The good, the bad, and the ugly of recent game-inspired DVD releases."

The bad? Doom. The ugly? Bloodrayne 2. The good? A little no-budget flick called Press Start!!


Click the image for a PDF of the review or check it out on our In the Media section.

The page has been posted with the kind permission of PC Gamer Magazine.

MAGFest Screening

Greetings! I hope you all had an excellent holiday.

I'm afraid I'm a little behind in getting the MAGFest info out, but here it finally is! We'll be screening Press Start at MAGFest on Saturday, January 5 at 3pm in the Video Room. Afterward we'll be holding a short Q&A session, so if there's anything you've been dying to know we'll be glad to tell you.

MAGFest is from January 3-6 at the Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, VA. You can visit the official website at www.magfest.org. Hope to see you there!

Lastly, keep checking back, because we've got some exciting news coming.

WOW.

You guys rock. We just can’t believe how positive the response has been to Press Start! Thank you to everyone who has ordered it, and thank you for all the kind words.

In case you’re interested, the folks over at Kotaku, Destructoid, and The 7th Level have had some extremely nice things to say about the flick as well.

Press Start on the marquee! And poster on the left.

We had our big screen premiere at The Virginia Theatre on October 3, and it was phenomenal. The turnout was great and the local news was there to cover the event. Watching Press Start on the big screen (and The Virginia’s screen is enormous!) was almost overwhelming – especially from the front row – but holy cow was it fun. Thanks to everyone who came, to The Virginia for hosting us, and to Volition for sponsoring it!

Let's all go the the lobby...

Now, a number of folks have understandably been wondering what’s to become of Press Start: Bonus Levels now that the movie is done. Well, after two years making a feature length movie and most of that time concurrently making a web cartoon series, we all need a little bit of a break. However, we have every intention of bringing it back as soon as possible (hopefully very soon), so keep checking back! We haven’t had enough of Zack, Sam, Lin-Ku, or any of the others by any means.

In even FURTHER news, Press Start will be at MAGFest, the Music and Gaming Festival, in Alexandria, Virginia coming in January! We’ll be there showing the movie and doing a Q&A panel afterward. More info to come!

Thanks again, and please keep spreading the word! We couldn’t do it without you.

Press Start on DVD! And we need your help!

Has it really been two years since this whole thing started? It’s hard to believe. But you know what’s even harder to believe? Press Start is now available on DVD!



It’s true! I’ve seen it! And we couldn’t be more excited.

But here’s the thing: We need your help! With a few exceptions, Press Start has pretty much been off the media’s radar so far, despite our best efforts and the fantastic talent involved in the project (Mortal Kombat’s Daniel & Carlos Pesina, Metal Gear Awesome’s Arin Hanson, a score by Contra 4’s Jake Kaufman, and all the other crazy folks who have been in the Bonus Levels cartoons). We would really like to change that, and that’s where you come in.

If you like what we do, we’d like to make a humble request: Please tell people about Press Start. If you could do any of the following today, it would be greatly appreciated:

1. Digg us here!
   
2. Submit the news to your favorite blog or news site.
3. Spread the word on your MySpace, Facebook, blog, website, or whatever! Just link to http://www.pressstartmovie.com
4. Tell, email, or AIM your gamer friends about Press Start!

Please spread the word, and thank you for all your support!

Also, just a reminder that the big screen premiere of Press Start will be on Wednesday, October 3 at 7:00 pm at The Virginia Theatre in Champaign, IL. The event is sponsored by Volition, Inc. – makers of Saints Row, Red Faction, and The Punisher!

Favorite Game

If you're keeping score, the Press Start DVD comes out tomorrow!! Holy cow.

In the meantime, here's us listing our favorite videogames. Just because.



And since you probably don't know who some of these people are, they are (in order): Ed Glaser (director/producer), Kevin Folliard (writer), Joshua Stafford (Zack), Al Morrison (Lin-Ku), Meagan Benz (production designer), Lauren Chambers (Sam), Daniel Pesina (Sasori), Michael Kleppin (Captain Psychodrive), and Jake Kaufman (composer).

Bubble Trouble

We've got another super-short toon for you! This one features those adorable little dragons, Bud and Dob:



The next full Bonus Levels cartoon comes out this Tuesday! We're doing it early to coincide with the release of the Press Start DVD!

Bloodshed

Peter Davis (a.k.a Count Vile) is back again with a true story of filming a fight sequence for the movie.



Also, less than a week till the September 25 DVD release date!!

World Premiere!

We've got some big news! We're thrilled to announce the world premiere of Press Start! This is your chance to see this 2-year labor of love on a big screen, so if you're anywhere near Champaign, IL you won't want to miss it. It's Wednesday, October 3 at 7:00pm at The Virginia Theatre in Champaign. Tickets are a mere $3.

What's more, the event is sponsored by Volition, Inc. – creators of such games as Saints Row, Red Faction, and The Punisher!

We'll be there selling copies of the Press Start DVD and maybe even a few T-shirts.

You can order tickets by phone at (217) 356-9063. Incidentally, The Virginia Theatre is also where Roger Ebert holds his Film Festival every year! The address is:

203 W. Park
Champaign, IL 61820

Hope to see you October 3!