Welcome to Jango's Jargon - Volume 2!
In this corner, wearing the trademark plaid shirt, extra
deep pocketed pants, and gray beard, Uncle George!
In the other corner we have.. well.. the 99% of the worlds
Star Wars fans that think "Hyperspace" is a joke.
Yep. This weeks topic is the new StarWars.com
feature, "Hyperspace". Basically,
"Hyperspace" is an online service offered by
StarWars.com which offers subscribers the a poodoo load of
features for a $19.99 annual fee. Fair or unfair? You
decide. Read on, fanboy.
Heres what you'll get! Episode III Set Diary, for those who
like to read. Episode III Webcam, for the Star Voyeur in
you, Deleted scenes, a "photoreceptor" for
"rare photos" that will be leaked after the first
week of availability anyway, Classic Bantha Tracks, a Star
Wars themed e-mail address, live online chats w/ celebrities
that claim they are someone important, and best of all.. NO
POP UPS!
So,exactly who in the blue milk did they poll for this new
service? His daughters who just "decided" they
wanna buy "*N Sync"? Have we as fans and
collectors not lined his pockets enough with every action
figure, coffee mug, and pair of socks that he "offically
licenses"? Granted, $19.99 ain't a whole lot of money,
but the basic principle here is that stuff like this should
be free, regardless of it's scarcity or rarity. The Lucas
dynasty makes meellions upon MEELLIONS of dollars from us
through films, marketing, royalties, etc. Don't we, as fans
who make this happen, deserve something more than an
"official" website which really serves no other
purpose than providing a searchable database and a fan store
that has the same crap as this time last year?
Now, for a fair and balanced assessment of
"Hyperspace".
The cons of this service are pretty obvious. Thats enough
un-incentive for me. 300 Jango items, George. THREE HUNDRED!
How 'bout you do something for ME! I digress.
I suppose in theory, the perks are just as obvious. They've
set up a "discounted" rate for fan club members
and I believe "Insider" subscribers, which is like
1/2 price. Not bad. You'll get a lot of exclusive content,
free stuff, and the crown jewel of freebies.. NO POP- UPS!
If you ask me, shell out the scratch, enjoy it, but this
stuff will be leak quicker than Rick McCallum can say
"Yes, George!"
So, what do we do? Fight the power and wait and see if this
stuff does make it outside of it's intended, paying
audience? Or, do we just cough up a $20 and gets to clickin'?
This projects fate will ultimately be decided by you, the
fans. Alls I got to say is the day I sign up for
"Hyperspace" is the day that Mr. Lucas signs to
release the O.T. on DVD.
Sound fair? I thought so.
Until next week, boyos!