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Noobz (2012) - Easter Eggs
Rory Joscelyne • Feb 01, 2024
VGMP: Thank you for riding DeezRefs.
Noobz is an attempt to create an edgy comedy akin to Adam Sandler in his prime. Sadly it lacks the comedic timing, the writing and the production values to pull off such a feat. In the screenshot above you can see the pathetic attempt to add sex appeal to a movie by hastily taking a pair of scissors to the poor actress' tanktop. It's not even a clean line!
Released for a limited blu-ray run in Germany (of all places), Noobz still somehow manages to pack in references from (and sponsorship by) the following video game (and video game related) companies;
- CBS Interactive
- Microsoft Corporation
- Epic Games Inc
- Triforce Sales LLC
- Apple Inc
- GAEMS
- CompuExpert
- Game Informer
- Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc
- Play N Trade
- Majesco Entertainment Company
- Square Enix
- Penny Arcade
- Lucasfilm Ltd
- Digital Interactive Systems Corp.
- Konami
- Midway
- Mortal Kombat
- Warner Bros Entertainment Inc
- Final Fantasy
- Tomb Raider
Let's go through all the references shown visually in Noobz!
XBOX 360 Console and Controllers
Because of the Microsoft and Epic Games connections, this film is almost stacked with Xbox hardware and peripherals. From the off we are given a little demo of the gamer guy posture. We are also shown multiple variations of Xbox 360, including the 2006 Emergence Day special edition for Gears of War, Gears of War replacement fascias (only possible on the original 360 designs) and even a few shots of the later Xbox 360 Slim models.
There are also several closeups of controllers in various colours, which also seem to include thumbstick covers - possibly given by one of the many sponsors.
GEARS OF WAR
Another benefit of Microsoft and Epic Games sponsorship is the heavy inclusion of Gears of War. This series is referenced everywhere throughout the movie.
There are wall posters across the film, the CogTag Medallion is used as a magnet on a wall-calendar. Large scale standees adorn the backgrounds of game stores and the tournament venue. We see characters in Gears of War T-Shirts, Beanie Hats, Laptop/Gaming Cases - even a wallet in a store.
There's also someone holding a sealed copy of the Platinum Hits version of the game.
OG XBOX, WII and FORZA
One of the main characters works in a gaming store (a surprisingly popular location in these kinds of movies), which includes a large scale Forza standee, and several shelves of used original Xbox, Gamecube and Nintendo Wii titles. Visible games include;
- Ben 10 (Wii)
- Sega GT 2002 (Xbox)
- Rollercoaster Tycoon (Xbox)
- Simpsons Hit and Run (Xbox - Platinum Hits)
- unknown poker game (Xbox)
- unknown driving game (Xbox)
- Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Xbox)
- Bruce Lee - Quest of the Dragon (Xbox)
- Onechanbara (Wii) [FILM ADAPTATIONS EXIST]
- Playground (Wii)
- MX Unleashed (Xbox)
- Tony Hawk's Underground 2 (Xbox)
- unknown Wii game (Wii)
- 4x4 Evo 2 (Xbox)
- Metal Slug 4 (Xbox)
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance (Xbox)
- The Warriors (Xbox)
- Fantastic 4 (Xbox)
BLOODRAYNE 2
Bloodrayne 2's poster makes several appearances throughout the film, but it is very difficult to grab cleanly in one full screengrab. This was one of the closest I could get, even though it is out of focus here.
Bloodrayne has 3 feature film adaptations - keep an eye on VGMP for our coverage on them.
FINAL FANTASY
The Final Fantasy series sees several blink-and-you'll-miss-it references throughout the film. A couple of Game Guides are on display in the video store, as well as a couple of hard-to-see posters throughout the movie.
There are several Final Fantasy adaptations we've covered on VGMP, with even more to come.
WAKFU
Wakfu is an MMORPG series released on Microsoft platforms, but it seems a niche choice compared to the other prominent series on display here. Wakfu also has two animated series based on it, keep an eye out for when VGMP get round to covering them.
You can also just see part of the Bloodrayne 2 poster, Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3 and what appears to be a Halo Legend poster - we covered Halo Legend on VGMP back in 2022.
MORTAL KOMBAT, FINAL FANTASY, TOMB RAIDER
In one of the main character's rooms, we can see two Mortal Kombat standees (Kitana and Sonya, in fact the Sonya one was slightly visible in the game store too), a poster with a red haired girl which appears to be a Final Fantasy poster, and another poster for the reboot of the Tomb Raider series.
Also, there are Halo Reach character models on his desk.
MASTER CHIEF'S HELMET
In one shot of the gaming store, we can see Master Chief's helmet atop a display cabinet. This helmet was part of a limited edition collector's edition of Halo 3, and the helmet houses space for 3 or 4 Halo games inside.
FORZA MOTORSPORT 2
The irate customer returning a "broken game", is returning a copy of Forza 2. This would suggest the standee from earlier is for the original title, as the artwork doesn't match this case and booklet design.
ARMAGREGGON'S TATTOO
This may be a reach, but above you can see the back of a character who calls himself Armagreggon - we quote him all the time on VGMP (and is basically the only gift the film has to offer). He is an original 80's Frogger champion, however he has this very interesting tramp-stamp tattoo. This doesn't seem to resemble anything Frogger related (which is a shame) but it's hard to tell if it's referencing any other arcade game. Any ideas?
GEARS OF WAR COSPLAY
There's a lot of larger scale Gears of War merch around the movie.
When the main characters arrive at the competition, there is a Carmine cosplay outside in the carpark, as well as inside the venue for some cutaway shots.
There's also a head bust of a Locust by the entrance elevator to the venue.
Full scale Lancer gun models are also visible in a few shots, including a golden Lancer behind the show's host in one shot.
There's also a large Gears of War cheque for the winning team, and a larger-than-life scale Marcus Phoenix kneeling sculpture at the tournmament.
HALO REACH
Halo Reach is not only shown by figurines on someone's desk (see earlier) but it also makes an appearance with this insane promotional wall featuring the main Halo Reach characters.
ARCADE CABINETS
Four arcade cabinets are seen at the gaming tournament. Unfortunately it seems like this was the place where money was scrimped, even with an Arcade machine hiring company and Konami both named in the credits.
- To the furthest left is Missile Command, an official looking cabinet but the game never plays, always showing an Out of Order sign on the machine.
- Next to it is Frogger, which sadly appears to be a custom/unofficial cabinet. No decals on the sides, the main banner looks fake - considering it's the main retro arcade cabinet of the movie it would have been nice to see a real cabinet.
- Galaga stands beside it, and from certain angles we can see it is working. Unfortunately it is given no screen time, so is essentially just a prop.
- Finally there's Centipede to the furthest right, however we barely get to see it and the screen is never shown on-screen.
FROGGER PROPS AND VFX
There is one screen transition that uses an oversized Frogger sprite. There is also a tournament scoreboard that uses the same image as the sprite to represent the players in the tournament.
And that's everything I caught in Noobz!
What do you think of these? Did you spot these when you watched the movie? Are you a fan of the movie? Join our Discord on the link below and let us know!
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