Okay, first things first.  As the first of several planned releases, who's picking up Avatar this month?  It'll obviously sell like gangbusters on gangbusters, despite the up-front proposal of excluded special features and in-the-works extended sequences.  So long as the picture and audio quality on the Blu-ray is as high as they're saying, then I think I'm down.

By contrast (and if several reviews have been any indication), I think it wise to hold off on the highly anticipated release of The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy on Blu-ray.  Aside from being the theatrical cuts only, picture quality has been said to be rather dubious, especially on Fellowship of the Ring.  At best, a rental will be in order.

Despite a regrettable third act, I thought Minority Report was an enjoyable film.  I'm hoping for a good BR release.  Remember Disney's 1986 animated The Great Mouse Detective?  With Vincent freaken Price as the awesome Professor Ratigen?  They're finally releasing a remastered version on DVD this month, titled "Mystery in the Mist Edition."  I'm seriously looking forward to it.
 
Games, it'll just be Super Street Fighter IV.  Assuming the port quality is as across-the-board similar as the first SFIV, I'll likely pick up the PS3 version only this time around.  Looking forward to trying out the new characters, especially Ibuki, Juri, and Dee Jay.

Soundtracks, Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker Original Soundtrack.  Maybe the HEAVENS DIVIDE / Love's Deterrent Power CD single as well.  Also, I'm really curious to know what that SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV Character Sound Collection [Single Cut] bonus CD turns out to be.  A collection of the new character themes specifically?  Any new stage themes too, I wonder?

I want DoDonPachi DaiOuJou Black Label EXTRA & Ketsui EXTRA Soundtrack.

What a huge month for VGM releases!  Here are my planned purchases, in no particular order..

Sekaiju no MeiQ³ *seikai no raihousya* ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
METAL GEAR SOLID PEACE WALKER ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
R10 IMAGE SOUNDTRACK
Perfect Selection Dracula ~New Classic 2~
Sonic the Hedgehog Mega Drive Music Collections BOX
Piano Collections FINAL FANTASY XII
NEO CONTRA ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
Hitoshi Sakimoto & Masaharu Iwata CLASSIC WORKS Collection
CREID2 Chrono Series & Millennial Fair
Might Morphin' Power Rangers Super Famicom OST & Rock Arrange
In Pursuit ~FINAL FANTASY TACTICS Orchestra Album~
Super Mario RPG Original Sound Version (April 2010 reprint)
Perfect Selection Dracula Battle III

Wow, this is a rare month where I'm not expecting to go out of my way to buy anything.  I definitely won't be buying Avatar this month when I know there will be the double dip down the road.  Plus I won't be picking up LoTR unless it's the extended editions.

Let's see here...

Games:

Super Street Fighter IV (maybe)
Nier (maybe)

Music:

- Sekaiju no MeiQ III Original Soundtrack (yay for more Koshiro!)
- Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker Original Soundtrack (via a birthday gift, plus can't wait to see what the composers have in store)
- DoDonPachi DaiOuJou Black Label EXTRA & Ketsui EXTRA Soundtrack (preordered and paid for!!! Loving the new arrangements I've heard on Youtube, etc.)
- Nier Gestalt and Replicant Original Soundtrack (Keiichi Okabe, woot! The music is really superb so far too!)
- R10 Image Soundtrack (I liked Rockman 9 Arrange and can't wait to see what's in store for this one)
-Trash Panic at the Disco - OST + AST for Trash Panic in the style of retro club music

A pox on thee.  A pox on thee and this day.

I hear its only character themes according to questions answered by Capcom during a Q&A. It's a shame too, with five (or is it four) new stage themes...I hope it sees a full OST release...

It was April 2 in Japan when I read this... that will serve as my excuse for being totally duped.  the_miker you are an evil evil person.

Man if only.

He got me too, but I wish there were some non-joke releases I was looking forward to as much, VGM-wise. Oh well.

I'll take my Super Street Fighter 4 this month. I love the hype-train for this...haven't really felt that since Marvel 2's impending release way back when. I was sure I'd be excited for Makoto/Adon, but Juri is the surprise character I'll be interested in playing now.

Detective is on my short list of "personal favorite Disney flicks that don't usually show up on others' favorites lists," so I'm definitely interested in that. To Ratigan, the world's greatest rat.

Gamewise, I might look into Monster Hunter Tri. I picked up Freedom Unite awhile back, but haven't quite gotten the hang of it. Hopefully it'll be easier to get into so that I can improve in the PSP entry. Besides that, there's SSF4 (woo Third Strike characters!), Flip's Twisted World (I'll try anything that lets me mess with gravity), Trials & Tribulations Wii (which really I only want to see because they'll release Rise From the Ashes - the most replayable case in the series - at the same time), the HD No More Heroes remake (I've ordered the PS3 version, hope it'll be fun) and the MM10 DLC (Megaman Killers!).
It's definitely a leaner month than March or May, but thank goodness for that.

Also looking forward to the MM10 image album. I'm guessing stylistically, it'll be more like Inti's Zero/ZX remasters, and that could be wonderful.

Well played, miker.  After a few excited VGMdb searches, I feel like a total blockhead.

Quick note for would-be purchasers of the Dojo Edition of SSF4 - Capcom's sold out of the PS3 version on their site (which is the only place to get it, at least until eBay scalpers emerge).

For the first time in ages, this was going to be a month where I picked up some VGM releases.

Until I read your replies to the miker's post. I'm so out of touch (and gullible) with VGM that I totally bought it.

I have little idea what's out this month but, today, I spent a lot of money on a Vespa LXV50. Dirty thieving gypsy (possibly) bastards stole my scooter last month so I decided to treat myself to one they'll probably want to steal even more.

Sorry to hear about the theft.  Yeah, I always have my bike locked down at all times.  I've got both a disc and u-lock, but I stopped short at having any sort of kill switches installed.  It's still something I'm considering.

Yeah, I stocked up on locks this time, including an alarmed disc lock. I'm hoping that it will just look like more trouble than it's worth. That said, my last bike wasn't worth a hell of a lot and they still took the effort to cut through a fairly heavy duty chain. I guess if they want it, they'll take it.

What kind of bike have you got? You may have said when we discussed bikes a few years ago (afterI failed my motorbike test) but I have an atrocious memory.

Still rockin' my '07 Suzuki SV650.  I've been looking at Honda's 2010 class of bikes lately.  I was able to test drive the NT700V, which is a really comfortable, solid ride.  If I were to get another bike, serious consideration would be given to this one.

I don't think I'd ever invest in a cruiser, but damned if the new Shadow Phantom doesn't look sexy as hell.  The CBR1000RR also looks badass, but even though they've slimmed down the chassis frame and overall build from previous years, it still looks a bit too heavy for my tastes.

That SV650 is a really nice bike. And some serious power. I couldn't quite keep up on my little 50cc Vespa (like Michael in The Lost Boys, I guess).

Super Street Fighter IV PS3

this is what i'll get for sure, dunno about anything else yet.

and curse you miker! i fell for the fake konami stuff.....today.

I picked up a copy of Robin Williams' Weapons of Self-destruction on DVD; kind of dissapointing, it can't compare to 2002's Live on Broadway which is a modern-day classic to me and most of my friends.

Now if I could only stop watching Christopher Titus' Norman Rockwell Is Bleeding.

If you're still planning on picking it up, Sonic, Ultimate Disney weighs in on their review.  The most important part is obviously the upgrade to the video and audio.  The audio track appears to remain unchanged from the '02 release, but the video seems to see quite a bit of improvement:

"The colors are darker and richer; tans become copper, salmons are a more solid red. Character lines are bolder. There is much less of the grainy look that marked the 2002 DVD.  The difference in picture quality isn't extreme, even viewing on a decent-sized 16:9 HDTV, but the new presentation does narrowly improve upon the previous one."

Nothing that hasn't been released before. Just catching up on my two last VGM items.

Street Fighter II -G.S.M. Capcom 4-

Batsugun OST

The other three are to supplement my new hobby.

As of next week, I won't be owning anymore scorpions.

So I'm getting these 3 tarantulas instead. As spiderlings ranging from 1/4" to 1".

East African Horned Baboon (Ceratogyrus darlingi)

Costa Rican Tiger Rump (Cyclosternum fasciatum)

Brazillian Salmon Pink Birdeater (Lasiodora parahybana)

All 3 are reputed to grow very fast and to be quite hardy. I cannot wait as they are beauties.

Heh, you should KNOW better than to start a thread on prank day like April 1st! ;D

If it's any consolation, I had a double take when I read that, too...

...

Otherwise,

I might actually spring on NieR Gestalt & Replicant (OST)...even if I delay the purchase until, like, December, or so...same would go for the FFXIII OST and FFCC Crystal Bearers...which I haven't picked up yet, either; those, and Bayonetta

I don't spring for a whole lot of OSTs for games I don't play, but Gestalt's going to be a rare instance...

I've almost got my debts cleared up, which means that I can start spending money again. My little brother, fully aware of what happened to my beloved DS Lite, gave me his model when he upgraded to the DSi, along with a brand new copy of Pokemon HeartGold, which I've been enjoying immensely. I missed out on the original Gold/Silver/Crystal games, so this is a nice thing for me. I was so grateful that I gave him a few gems from my personal collection, including Metroid Prime Trilogy. For a 14 year old, my brother is amazingly cool.

I picked up Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition for the 360, but have yet to dive into it yet. For the asking price, I think what you get is fantastic. An all-new chapter, character costumes, a whole bunch of in-game goodies and more. It's sure to spruce up the lackluster experience provided by the original, or at least I'm hoping. After that, we'll see. I still want to buy Bioshock 2.

An early heads-up for anyone planning on picking up Avatar next Thursday.  Target will be carrying the BR/DVD combo set for $19.99 in-store, which is certainly the cheapest I've seen it being sold thus far.

Oh, f--- me. So instead of just printing the RE5 disc with added features, or including a second disc with the shit I thought I was buying, instead I'm given a voucher for the added content to download at my convenience. This annoys me because I do not have Xbox Live, nor do I plan to get it. Now I gotta go buy an extra game, one that has one of those "1 free month of Xbox Live!" deals and use that. I realize I'm probably in the minority compared to the amount of users who bought this game and have Xbox Live handily available, but it's still annoying as f---. Way to go, Capcom. You just shit the bed so hard you disintegrated the sheets.

EDIT: Hold up, back of the box says it includes a download token for all the amenities they advertised. My fault for not fully reading before purchasing. Still kind of a downer, though.