Mega64

Mega64
Genre Comedy
Sketch comedy
Created by Rocco Botte
Derrick Acosta
Shawn Chatfield
Starring Rocco Botte
Derrick Acosta
Shawn Chatfield
Garrett Hunter
Eric Baudour
Opening theme "Sequence Erase" (instrumental version) by The Aquabats featuring Parry Gripp
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 17 + several ads and videos
Production
Producer(s) Rocco Botte
Richard Kyanka
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) TD Philostrate Productions
Release
Original network Public Access, DVD, YouTube
Original release November 18, 2004 (2004-11-18) – present
External links
Website

Mega64 is a series of comedy skits centered on video games created by Rocco Botte, Derrick Acosta, and Shawn Chatfield. Originally conceived to be a public-access television show, the original five episodes produced were later released on DVD as Mega64: Version 1 in 2004.

Since then, two further DVDs have been released (in 2006 and 2010 respectively) titled Version 2 and Version 3, with six episodes apiece. In addition to these, another two DVDs have been released, comprising sketches and commercials the production crew has created for various gaming companies and websites, including Ubisoft and IGN. Special editions of both Version 1 and Version 2 were released in 2008 and 2011 respectively.

In addition to video production, the Mega64 team host their own podcast, and are responsible for the Gamedays event at Disneyland, a now annual event started in 2010. The event serves as both a meet and greet for the crew and fans and as a popular event to explore the secrets of Disneyland, of which the Mega64 team are renowned fans.

Variety magazine named Mega64 as one of its "10 Comics to Watch for 2015".[1]

Plot Synopsis

In the not too distant future, a sinister scientist named Dr. Poque (Botte) creates the most powerful video game console ever assembled. Known as the 'Mega64', this device has the power to download classic and contemporary video games into the user's brain, causing them to take on a whole new reality.[2]

While Rocko and Derek are hooked to the Mega64, the viewer sees them acting as characters in the corresponding game, interacting with ordinary people in San Diego. Another character, named Sean, is initially hired by Dr. Poque as Rocko and Derek's "e-mail delivery man" but also starts taking part in the Mega64 experiments. Two additional characters are later introduced: a puppet named Marcus (voiced by Chatfield), who is presumably working for Poque; and Horatio (Acosta), Poque's eccentric Mexican roommate.

History

Version 1 DVD case

The series was originally produced to air on public-access television; however, the original five episodes did not get broadcast. Later, creator Rocco Botte pitched the show to G4 but was rejected, though G4 presenter Tommy Tallarico encouraged Botte to publish the material online. Eventually, the show staff released all episodes produced so far on DVD, published through Awful Video, the publishing arm of Something Awful. The Mega64 official site provides links to order the DVD, along with several free sample video clips.

The show's website includes several exclusive videos such as "Agent Smith Goes to Washington", which primarily spoofs The Matrix films and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, with a subtle homage to the game Paperboy, and others.

The show has also been referenced in video gaming magazines Electronic Gaming Monthly and Nintendo Power. The Luigi's Mansion skit was also featured on a DVD included with issue 147 of the Official Nintendo Magazine.

Mega64: Version 2, the show's second season, was released on DVD on July 20, 2006. Mega64 Time! was released on DVD on July 26, 2007. This is a two-disc set of every video game commercial made by the Mega64 crew until that point and another disc of random skits.

Mega64: Version 3 was originally meant to be released in 2008, but at their PAX 2008 panel, the team stated Version 3 would most likely not be finished until early 2009. By March 2010, all six episodes of Version 3 had been officially completed. Mega64: Version 3 went on sale May 28, 2010, and began shipping on June 8.[3] The cover artwork is reminiscent of the PeopleMover and Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction posters from Disneyland, and features the tagline, "Adventures Thru Digital Space," while the back cover parodies Walt Disney's Disneyland opening day speech.

On 20 November 2010, Mega64: Night Time! was announced, a follow-up to their Mega64 Time! DVD, which, similar to the earlier release, contains all ads and numerous random skits produced since the first DVD was released.[4]

According to Mega64.com, British Sky Broadcasting would be airing the first season of Mega64 on one of their channels during their gaming programming blocks. However, in Mega64's Podcast: Episode 77, it was revealed Sky would not be airing Mega64, due to a misunderstanding between the two companies. In said podcast it was explained that British Sky Broadcasting had come under new management, and that Mega64's episodes being aired had been "lost in the shuffle". After contacting the company for the reasoning behind this, Sky representatives replied to Mega64 saying they "had asked too much money", however the Mega64 crew claims they did not ask for any amount of money.[5]

The Mega64 cast and crew members are included in the game Super Scribblenauts as playable characters.[6][7]

Rocco Botte was involved with the DVD release of the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers series. He was given a Special Thanks credit.

Episodes

The artwork for Mega64: Version 3.

Version 1 (first season)

  1. Life Inside a Console
  2. I Feel Asleep
  3. Poque
  4. The Gangs Returned to Class and Became Honor Students
  5. Eyes of Skull Has a Secret

Version 2 (second season)

  1. This Story is Happy End
  2. Ode to Sue
  3. And Suddenly, Ezra Didn't Feel So Alone Anymore
  4. What the Hell Happened to Mega64?
  5. Summer Semester
  6. Stranger

Version 3 (third season)

  1. Frankie
  2. Bigger Boat
  3. The Wizard 2
  4. Mega64! (Musical episode)
  5. Project Woosh
  6. Delaware

Promotional skits

The crew of Mega64 on stage at the Game Developers Choice Awards, March 2010.
From left to right: Chatfield, Acosta, and Botte.

Ubisoft

For Ubisoft, the Mega64 team has produced skits featuring Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Cold Fear, 187 Ride or Die, Myst V: End of Ages, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, all of which have been available for download on their respective websites.

Skits featuring Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter are available for download not only on the game's official website, but also via Xbox Live to Microsoft's Xbox 360, in full high-definition and Dolby 5.1 Surround, both firsts for Mega64. Both videos are now available, listed as "GRAW: Cross-Com 1" and "GRAW: Cross-Com 2".

Game Developers Conference

The Mega64 group have created several promotional skits for the Game Developers Conference, including advertisements for the conference and its Independent Games Festival, as well as comedic skits played during the conference's Game Developers Choice Awards. In 2008, the team released a series of advertisements for IGF, entitled "Intro", "I am Independent", and "Independent Inspirations". In 2010, they released another series of advertisements, this time advertising all of GDC as a whole; these skits are entitled "GDC 2010 (HOT NEW COMMERCIAL)(D0PE)", "GDC 2010 COMMERCIAL #2 (STRIKTLY 4 THE NERDZ!!!!!!!!!!!!)", and "GDC 2010 COMMERCIAL #3 (SERIOUS ARTISTS ONLY) GAMES ARE ART".

For the conference's Game Developers Choice Awards, the group regularly create comedic skits focusing on award recipients, which are premiered during the award ceremony. These include satirical accounts of Lifetime Achievement Award winners' careers, such as those of Ken Kutaragi in "Kutaragi's Way" and Hironobu Sakaguchi in "Sakaguchi's Final Fantasy".

Konami

In 2011, the Mega64 crew supplied a skit to Konami's E3 show, debuting the "transfarring" system in their upcoming Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. The system, which enables saved game data transfer between the Playstation 3 and the PlayStation Portable, was presented as a solution to the problem of continuing game progress 'on the go', with Botte shown traversing public areas with a large, moving television and home console setup. The skit also revealed that the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and the Zone of the Enders HD Collection would be released on the Xbox 360, in addition to the Playstation 3.

On May 31/June 1 of 2012, Mega64 supplied a skit to Konami's Pre-E3 show as promotional material for their upcoming title Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. The skit had the game's protagonist Raiden seeking jobs at an unemployment office after being fired due to an implied terrible economy, before eventually settling for Cybernetic Private Military Contractor, with Jehuty also trying to find a job in the last minutes of the skit.[8][9]

For Konami's Pre-E3 show in 2013, the group supplied a skit advertising the game Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. The skit featured Botte performing a satirical take on the game's protagonist, Dracula.[10]

Other promotional work

The group have also done promotional videos for the 2006 and 2007 Spike Video Game Awards that have aired on Spike TV.

The Mega64 team produced the music video for the Freezepop song "Brainpower".[11]

In 2009, the group produced four commercials for GameTap, which aired on Adult Swim.[12]

Mega64 also produces faux commercials that appear in The Aquabats! Super Show! on The Hub.

Nintendo enlisted Mega64 to produce promotional skits to reveal the company's E3 plans for 2014[13][14] and 2015.[15]

In 2015, the Mega64 team created a promotional skit featuring Koji "IGA" Igarashi for his upcoming game and Kickstarter crowdfunding project, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. The skit is entitled "WORLD'S GREATEST VAMPIRE HUNTER".

Cast

Additional cast

Famous guest stars

Mega64: Metal Gear Solid 4 (HD)
HOW SHENMUE WAS MEANT TO END
SAVE GAMESTOP
Warren Spector Tribute
KUTARAGI'S WAY
SAKAGUCHI'S FINAL FANTASY
Mega64: MADDEN RAP 2012 (ft. Brandon DiCamillo)
Mega64: GDC 2008 IGF Awards Intro
IF YOU'RE NOT INDIE, F**K YOU
Mega64: Metal Gear Solid 4 (HD)
Sequence Erase
Mega64: New Super Mario Bros.
Mega64: The Beatles Rock Band
HOW SHENMUE WAS MEANT TO END
KUTARAGI'S WAY
MEGA64 INFILTRATES NINTENDO
REGGIE GOES FOR THE GOLD
SAKAGUCHI'S FINAL FANTASY
WORLD'S GREATEST VAMPIRE HUNTER

Crew

Podcast

Currently available through Twitch.tv and YouTube, a podcast consisting of the Mega64 crew and various guests is released every Tuesday. The podcast premiered September 25, 2006. At first, it was only available in audio format, but since 24 December 2007, it has also been in video format. Since its launch, the video podcast has been featured as Mega64's main podcast, while the audio podcasts are audio extractions of the video counterparts. This is often referred to in the video podcast, with hosts or guests sometimes describing things that are happening for those who are listening to the audio-only version. As of 11 January 2009, the video podcast has been live streamed, first on Ustream and then on Twitch.tv.

A typical Mega64 podcast begins with an introduction by the crew followed by a theme song. The theme song was first The Aquabats' "The Lonely Horseman!". More recently, the theme song has been a random song often referring to some episode-specific joke or event, for comedic effect. The podcasts usually consist of news concerning Mega64 and discussions between the crew offering opinions on various media, such as movies, music, video games, and television.

The podcast is usually recorded at the Mega64 studio, but the Mega64 crew has also been known to record podcasts in different locations. For example, the February 12, 2008 podcast was filmed at Disneyland, with much of the discussion taking place on Disneyland attractions. Subsequent podcasts have been filmed in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Toronto, and the home of Tommy Tallarico.

Following the live streams, there are often "after shows". The crew answer calls on Skype, read e-mails they missed on the podcast, and tell stories. The e-mails are sometimes responded to by the cast insultingly, and are done so by mimicking the writer and forming puns with the questioner's name. On July 17, 2011, Mega64 started their podcast at noon PST instead of the usual time, and ended after a total of 63 hours with numerous co-hosts.

On September 26, 2011, animator Hotdiggedydemon (Max Gilardi) and Mega64 teamed up to make animated cartoons of the podcast for 6 weeks called Mega64nimation.

Mega64TV

On March 30, 2015, Mega64 launched Mega64TV, a continuous 24-hour stream of their past skits, podcast moments, unreleased material, personal channel videos, and full episodes from Version 1, Version 2 and Version 3. Mega64TV is currently being streamed on Twitch.tv, on the same channel they host their weekly podcast. Fans have been encouraged to create promotional bumpers, which are featured in between videos.

References

  1. ↑ Variety Staff. "Variety 10 Comics to Watch for 2015 - Variety". Variety. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "404 Page". sdcitybeat.com. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "FINALLY.". mega64.com. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "BLACK FRIDAY APPROACHES AS NIGHT TIME DRAWS NEAR!!". mega64.com. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "Watch The Mega64 Podcast Episodes - Tech & Gadgets Videos - Blip". Blip. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "NEW MEGA64 VIDEO ON PATV, SERVED UP WITH A SCRIBBLENAUTS ANNOUNCEMENT!!".
  7. ↑ "MEGA64 IS IN SUPER SCRIBBLENAUTS!!!!!!!".
  8. ↑ "Konami Video - KONAMI PRE-E3 SHOW 2012 - GameTrailers". GameTrailers. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  9. ↑ "EVENTS - KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT, INC.". konami.com. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Mega64 crashes Konami's pre-E3 stream with absurd Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 parody". Gamenguide. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  11. ↑ Mega64: Freezepop "Brainpower" Music Video. YouTube. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  12. ↑ Gametap Blog
  13. ↑ Play Nintendo - Announcing Nintendo @ E3 2014. YouTube. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  14. ↑ "Mega64". Twitter. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  15. ↑ "Mega64". Twitter. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "Rocco Botte". IMDb. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  17. ↑ "Derrick Acosta". IMDb. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "Shawn Chatfield". IMDb. Retrieved 15 August 2015.

External links

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