It’s easy to mock poor publishing release schedules but if we are honest we’d say that it’s actually heartening to see anything that keeps a video game front and center long after it was released, especially in an age where even triple A titles have the shelf life of custard during a black out.  Lets be honest; it’s not hard to be excited about an Alan Wake book – a game about a writer, touted for its strong narrative.  The novel will either satiate readers desperate for answers and hungry for more Alan Wake goodness or; like to far too many video game novelizations, prove to be a redundant  disappointment.

According to Borders, the book will be available to buy on the 4th of October 2011.   Look out for our review coming up on the Incomplete Gamer.  The book’s US and European release was a little more timely – and has been available for some time.  Check the usual suspects, Amazon (US & UK), or the Book Depository.  If you want to shop closer to home, Borders have the US veresion in stock  is available now online n

Alan Wake by Rick Burroughs

ISBN: 9780765366474

Here at the Incomplete Gamer, we love our basketball as much as our video gaming.  If we’re not actually hitting the hardwood for real, we’re either watching a game or playing a virtual one.  With Game One of the NBA finals just hours away, you would be right to imagine that we’re actually counting down the minutes.  Following today’s official announcement, that Basketball legend, Michael Jordan will grace the cover of Take Two’s Basketball game NBA2K11, and play a role in developing the title, we’re now also counting the days until the game’s release in the Us on October 5.   Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports, confirmed the news to CNBC.com.

[UPDATED] Firstly an apology.  You’ve just read a cheap and possibly misleading post title but at least I’ve got your attention.  Quite possibly the Incomplete Gamer has also been flagged by the Federal authorities, been noticed by the Gun Owners of America, and been listed on the Guns and Ammo links page.  What can I say.  We need the traffic.

Nor should this post technically be listed as a Fed-Ex Alert.  Not unless we get in our time machine and travel back to 1997; November to be precise, for the launch of the Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AF. The lens is in-coming, however, in the sense that we’ve ordered a new copy of the said lens and with a bit of luck the parcel might even arrive tomorrow.

Why are we buying a lens originally launched 11 years ago, and perhaps more importantly why are we blogging about it?

We’re a big fan of Pentax, and not just because that’s  the DSLR system we’ve invested in, although if we were honest (and we are) we’d readily admit (and we hereby do) that generally speaking the more one buys and invests in a product the more one is likely to sing it’s praises.  It’s simple really.  It must be really good – why else the continued financial commitment.  Either that or I’m a dummy.

We also love the commitment Pentax made to supporting its legacy glass.  I won’t bore you with the details; you can read about it here; suffice to say, no other camera maker comes close to supporting its range of lenses across it’s new range of Digital SLR’s.  We live in a world of built in obsolescence.  In all industry, not just photography, such commitment is the  exception, not the norm and should be applauded. Plus, the Incomplete Gamer boasts a proud Scottish heritage.   All those great quality 70’s manual lenses on Ebay just can’t be ignored.

Back to the Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AF. This is the fast prime lens every Pentax owner should have in their camera bag, and more usefully, attached to their camera.

It’s not really universally loved and acclaimed, but that’s only because Pentax are yet to step up their inter planetary marketing campaigns.   Amazon can give you a fair idea of just how popular the lens is, while the respected folks at Digital Photography Review, who reviewed the lens in November last year, can give you the technical low-down.

For the price and performance, for the bang for your buck, no other lens in the Pentax range comes close, and that’s not just our Scottish heritage speaking.

Speaking of price, the lens will set you back A$450 at your local camera store but shopbot should be able to help you shave one hundred dollars off that price .  We’ll let you know where we ordered our lens once we confirm its safe arrival.

[UPDATE] The Pentax SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 AF arrived at Pyxis HQ this morning.  A big shout out to the crew at DigiDirect.  Not just the cheapest price we could find from an Australian distributor, but lightening fast delivery as well.  We don’t make a habit of openly endorsing companies or products, but today we’ll make our first exception. In the past we’ve fed our lens buying addiction with purchases from the US Camera Retailer, B&H Photo, but with the Australian dollar taking a dive, it no longer makes any sense, unless you are buying a number of items.  Thanks to DigiDirect, we can still avoid the price gouging and ordering delays that we face from the Australian bricks and mortar camera stores.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Tivo is readying to launch in Oz with a keenly-priced subscription deal. How keenly priced? How does free sound? Sure, there’s no such thing as a free HD PVR, and the price of the recorder is likely to be a little higher than it might have been, had the Tivo/Channel Seven/Unwired consortium been able to sign you up to an on-going monthly subscription to access the Electronic Program Guide.

Now, the epg is the life blood of the Tivo (and any other DVR for that matter). Without it, it’s only slightly more useful than a doorstop. Sure, you’ll have great picture quality, but you’ll be managing your recordings as effectively as your old VCR could manage, which is to say not at all. The epg was something any Tivo buyer would have had to pony up for no matter how reluctantly. Without it, the whole purchase would be a little pointless. Yet it was always going to be a hard sell. Sure Foxtel charge an on-going subscription, but you do however get additional programming above and beyond the offerings of the free to air broadcasters.

The Tivo Service (US$12.95 is the current monthly going rate for US customers) would have bought you little more intitially than the epg and a fully functional dvr (there are additional web based services rumoured to be in the pipeline). As good as Tivo is (disclosure: I’m one of the converted and long serving Series 1 users) for many Australian customers, and the Australian Tivo consortium, that may have been a barrier impossible to overcome.

The news, (still unconfirmed by Tivo Australia) is the first real sign in months that the Tivo launch is still on target for July. As one cynic on the DBA forums duly notes, the Australian Tivo website hasn’t seen much activity since the end of last year. True enough; certainly nothing to indicate that such a large and exciting release is now only weeks away.

The Incomplete Gamer glass is always half full. We’re calling this quiet spell, ‘the calm before the storm’. As for the SMH report? We already know that Tivo is an excellent bit of kit. All it needs to succeed is keen pricing and smart marketing. For now at least, it looks like the Aussie mob responsible for the launch have added another winning piece to the puzzle.