General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


Google Planning To Launch NFC Payments With Google Wallet Starting Tomorrow

Posted: 18 Sep 2011 06:52 PM PDT

Google WalletGoogle promised to release its new Google Wallet smartphone payment system before the end of the summer, and according to leaked documentation being sent around to Sprint employees, they will hit their self-imposed deadline with full 3 days to spare. According to a memo obtained by TechCrunch, Google Wallet will officially become available tomorrow, but only for Sprint customers using the NFC enabled Nexus S 4G.

The timing of the announcement lines up neatly with the start of the NFC World Congress which kicks off tomorrow in the French Riviera. Google isn't listed as attending the event, but their primary payment partner MasterCard is, and will likely to spill the remaining details during their keynote. 

Even with the launch of Google Wallet and NFC enabled devices, it's unlikely Nexus S 4G customers will find many uses for the feature just yet. Retailers don't want to invest in hardware to accept NFC because so few people have them, and so the cycle continues.  Verizon customers who are interested in hopping on the bandwagon likely won't have to wait long to join the party. NFC is expected to be included on the Nexus prime coming to the carrier sometime next month. 

leaked document

(Image Credit: TechCrunch)

HP Plans To Sell Remaining Touchpad’s To Themselves

Posted: 18 Sep 2011 06:24 PM PDT

TouchpadHP announced several weeks ago that it would receive a final batch of Touchpad's before finally ramping down operations, but with an estimated build cost of over $300 each, many wondered why they would even bother. Even if they had certain volume commitments to the fabrication companies, by the time HP boxes and ships these off to retailers, they would be even further in the hole. So why did HP do a final run of Touchpad's you ask? Looks like they plan to blow them out to employees.

HP's plans to sell of the tablets internally came via a leaked employee email, but unfortunately, didn't reveal what the PC giant would do if it had any remaining units following the employee offering. Sales to staff are expected to begin on September 28th, so if you're still hoping to get your hands on a dead end tablet, keep your eyes on hp.com over the next few weeks.

Rumor: Is Microsoft Taking Another Look At Yahoo?

Posted: 18 Sep 2011 11:43 AM PDT

YahooUnnamed sources from Business Insider are determined to keep the Microsoft / Yahoo merger rumors alive, and according to contacts close to Microsoft's MSN portal, consolidation is "definitely" in the air once again. When it comes to broad reaching content farms, MSN, Yahoo, and AOL pretty much have the market locked up at this point, and Yahoo's recent troubles have almost certainly made them a more tempting target.

According to SAI's source who asked to remain anonymous because "getting fired sucks", "Yahoo is a lot more interesting" than AOL. The recent and very public ousting of CEO Carol Bartz was an embarrassing move by the company's board, and shareholders that have seen their investments squandered over the past several years are no doubt jonesing for anything that would convince them there is light at the end of the tunnel.

As for Microsoft, winning the battle for people's homepages might not sound like a big deal for most enthusiasts, but believe it or not it could make a huge different in the war on search. "It's not every day that you watch both of your competitors blow themselves up. It's like watching a train wreck."

"The portal space is challenged. Facebook is just absorbing more and more minutes – usage. That's having an effect on portals. The time shifting toward mobile is another factor weighing on portals. The problems AOL and Yahoo have are exacerbated by management."

Intel Announces Multi-Core Has Gone Mainstream

Posted: 18 Sep 2011 10:29 AM PDT

Multi-CoreIf you're a PC hipster who loves his quad core CPU we have bad news for you, Intel has officially declared that multi-core processors have gone mainstream. The announcement was made by Intel's chief technology officer Justin Rattner, to a captive audience at their annual Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco last week.

According to Rattner the end result of so much excess computing horsepower will be that the future of computing will be accelerated. "Since 2006 Intel and the IA developer community have worked in partnership to realize the potential of multi- and many-core computing, with accelerating impact beyond high-performance computing to solving a wide range of real-world computing problems on clients and servers," Rattner said during his Day 3 keynote. "What we have demonstrated today only scratches the surface of what will be possible with many-core and extreme scale computing systems in the future." 

We can only hope that this announcement will prompt developers to take a closer look at software development in the future, and put an even greater emphasis on making them multi-core aware. 

Battlefield 3 Team Releases an Xbox Gameplay Trailer Along With PC Comparison

Posted: 18 Sep 2011 10:01 AM PDT

Battlefield 3DICE has been pretty vocal about its support for the PC as a platform, and has proudly shown off code for its Windows version of Battlefield 3 whenever possible. This PC centric approach has led many to question why the console version is such a secret, and just how much visual definition will be sacrificed for users without proper PC gaming hardware. If you count yourself among the curious, wonder no longer my friends. DICE has not only released footage of the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield 3, but they were kind enough to post snippets of gameplay that was revealed recently in a PC trailer.

After taking a look at both videos side by side I was actually somewhat surprised. The PC version looks better, no contest, but it wasn't as dramatic as I had expected. When you consider that Sandy Bridge integrated graphics are quickly approaching the processing power of an Xbox 360 GPU, I wasn't expecting much from 6 year old console hardware. It's also worth noting however that the cloak of the night might be hiding more visual blemishes that would be more obvious in daytime missions, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Of course graphics are only one side of the story. With support for larger multiplayer matches, dedicated servers, and the inevitable mod's that are sure to follow, the PC version is the one we would recommend for anyone interested in picking this one up. 

What were your impressions of the 360 footage vs. the PC?

Xbox 360 Version

Xbox

PC Version

PC

MMO News

MMO News


MMOHut Weekly Recap #52 September 18 – Tribes, Bloodline Champions, & More

Posted: 18 Sep 2011 01:44 PM PDT

MMO Weekly News #52 – Tribes: Asend, Rusty Hearts, & More

Weekly MMO News summary for the week ended September 18 (Sept 12 – Sept 18). A quick look and discussion for every major announcement and update during the week! This week we discussed updates from the following games: Tribes: Ascend, Bloodline Champions, Cross fire, Hellgate, Allods Online, 4Story, World of Battleships, Rusty Hearts, and Kultan. You can view all the individual news articles mention over at the MMOHut.com News section.

League of Legends Gameplay Video #6?!

Posted: 18 Sep 2011 01:34 PM PDT

To Learn More About the Game, Check out our League of Legends Page.

League of Legends is a 3D multiplayer online battle arena MMO published by Riot Games. Gameplay wise it is remarkably similar to Warcraft III’s enormously popular custom game ‘Defense of the Ancients (DotA)’ as well as S2 Game’s Heroes of Newerth. Other free to play MOBA style games include Realm of the Titans, Avalon Heroes and Rise of Immortals. The video above is a short normal game played by me as “Singed”. I’ll try to post some ranked games in the future too. To learn more about League of Legends check out the official MMOHut League of Legends page, which includes a detailed review, tons of screenshots, and additional videos.

MMO Updates

MMO Updates


The Anvil of Crom: Playing through Dead Man's Hand

Posted: 18 Sep 2011 10:00 AM PDT

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The Anvil of Crom - Guide to Dead Man's Hand
A few weeks ago I teamed with Funcom to bring you an exclusive preview of the Dead Man's Hand solo instance featured in Age of Conan's new Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack. Over the past couple of days I finally managed to spend a bit of time playing through it, and for the most part it's been a lot of fun.

I say "for the most part" because I did experience a couple of gnat-bite annoyances in terms of acquiring the proper quests and completing a couple of the boss fights. Overall, though, it's definitely an instance worth checking out (though I'm not sure I'll be adding it to my daily rotation like I did with the Breach and Forgotten City dungeons).

Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Playing through Dead Man's Hand

MassivelyThe Anvil of Crom: Playing through Dead Man's Hand originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Global Chat: September 12-18, 2011

Posted: 18 Sep 2011 09:00 AM PDT

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Star Trek Online image
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat!

This week our readers had some things to say about both sides of the gaming fence: the development side and the player side. Follow along after the jump to see what we talked about and contribute your own thoughts!

Continue reading Global Chat: September 12-18, 2011

MassivelyGlobal Chat: September 12-18, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP reveals World of Darkness details to bloodthirsty fans

Posted: 18 Sep 2011 08:00 AM PDT

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Vampire the Masquerade
Details about CCP's World of Darkness are popping out of White Wolf's The Grand Masquerade in New Orleans this weekend, and they're definitely worth draining for every last sweet drop of... information. While the game is still in pre-production -- and as such, nothing is set in stone -- the devs weren't hesitant to dish out a lot of the ideas and features that they hope will make this the best vampire MMO to date.

It's CCP's desire to emulate LARPing (live-action roleplaying) as much as possible with World of Darkness, with plenty of metaplots running inside the game and without. Players will begin as a mortal human who can make the choice to become a kindred (vampire) or stay mortal for the duration of their characters' lives. There's a very real danger that characters might experience "final death" -- permadeath -- if they take too many risks. If you get in over your head, you can retreat to your character's Haven for safety.

The entire game will take place at night and on one server, and CCP is definitely aiming it toward the hardcore set. Nudity, gore, and insanity effects are all par for the course.

If players push outside of the acceptable boundaries too often, they'll lose "humanity" points and could become flagged for constant attack by other players and NPCs. Play your cards right and you may become the prince of the city. The game will change over time with dynamic events, and CCP promises that there will be real consequences for player decisions.

Look for our World of Darkness interview with CCP coming later this week.

[Thanks Pilgrim for the tip!]

MassivelyCCP reveals World of Darkness details to bloodthirsty fans originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What was your worst mistype?

Posted: 18 Sep 2011 06:00 AM PDT

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/yell: raiding cole need tank and healer pst
It happens. Sometimes it's a typo. Sometimes you forget what chat channel you're in. And sometimes you really meant to hit the button for a reply, but you wound up announcing intensely personal details into the guild chat channel, which is followed by the awkward pause that inevitably ends only when one of your guildmates asks whether you're seeing a doctor about that rash.

Of course, sometimes it's not merely a matter of laughter or a bit of personal shame. Sometimes you're having a serious discussion about guild officers, one you weren't quite ready to broadcast. Or dropping a word or two changes the entire meaning of what you said, so that your guild is left wondering why you just said someone is a complete idiot because you left out the "not." And sometimes it's just plain gibberish.

Given enough time in MMOs, you're going to acquire quite a history of typos and incorrectly sent messages. So what was your worst mistype? Was it a case that incited some terrible drama, or was it just the sort of thing for which people still mock you due to the severe shame?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: What was your worst mistype? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A visual tour through LotRO's Dunland

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 04:00 PM PDT

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Lord of the Rings Online
Excited for Lord of the Rings Online: Rise of Isengard's release, which is just a little over a week away? Us too, and you know how it is when you're jazzed about the future -- you want to devour every piece of info about it you can find.

That's why the good folks at A Casual Stroll to Mordor (now with 45% more Lembas bread) have decided to treat us to a stunning seven-and-a-half minute visual tour through the expansion's Dunland region. Set to classical music, the tour gives you a good idea of some of the varied and detailed locales we'll be encountering when Isengard goes live on September 27th.

So kick up your feet and hit the jump for a relaxing preview of the next evolution of the LotRO journey!

Continue reading A visual tour through LotRO's Dunland

MassivelyA visual tour through LotRO's Dunland originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: Can you talk? Speak to me!

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 02:00 PM PDT

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DDO image
We've got two more days left of One Shots starting zone week, and today's image comes from Dungeons and Dragons Online. Massively reader Gilli says:
It's hard to focus on it because Jeets won't stop yelling at you, but the starting area of Dungeons and Dragons Online has a stark beauty, complete with a dragon circling overhead.
We're approaching the end of starting zone week, but we've still got room one more shot. Show us a screenshot of your favorite starting zone -- add your name and a little bit about the image, send it in to oneshots@massively.com, and we'll feature it in this week's One Shots!

If you want to get a jump on next week, we'll be taking to the skies. One Shots will be all about aerial shots, whether they're taken from atop a high-flying mount or on the ground while you're viewing the action in the air. Send your image in and we'll show it off next week.

MassivelyOne Shots: Can you talk? Speak to me! originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log: Throwing out the barriers

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 12:00 PM PDT

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The Mog Log header image by A. Fienemann
If you're starting Final Fantasy XI fresh right now, you'll have the most fun if you have absolutely no idea how much stuff you have to do -- not just because it's intimidating, although that's certainly an element, but because it's a huge pile of things that you can't do by yourself in any meaningful fashion. You have to rely on charity or making friendships based solely on your charming personality because you've got pretty much nothing else to offer when you start off, and no one at level 85 really wants to go farming for subjob items yet again (to say nothing of gysahl greens).

These sentiments are not new. This is not something that I have never said before or a thought that had remained unexpressed for ages until just this moment. I've long talked about the fact that there's a huge barrier to entry for the game, one that essentially locks the game in for the people who are playing right now and no one else. But for all that talk, I can also see some very good reasons to keep those barriers in place because they're providing some useful functions -- or at the very least, they're not actively harmful.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Throwing out the barriers

MassivelyThe Mog Log: Throwing out the barriers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Tattered Notebook: Looking beyond the price points in EQ2X

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 10:00 AM PDT

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EQ2 Antonia Bayle in Qeynos
Last week, I began a little experiment in the world of EverQuest II Extended. I wanted to see whether a longtime, loyal veteran could find enjoyment on the other side of the wall that separates my live server from the free-to-play server. Almost every assessment about free-to-play servers is dominated by talk of price points, fairness, and bang for your buck. But it's not a used car; it's a virtual world, and there is a lot more to look at beyond dollars and plat. EverQuest II and EverQuest II Extended actually offer a unique look into the similarities and differences between subscription based servers and free-to-play servers because they're completely separate entities, yet they're basically the same game.

Read on for highlights of my second week in EQ2X!

Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Looking beyond the price points in EQ2X

MassivelyThe Tattered Notebook: Looking beyond the price points in EQ2X originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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General gaming

General gaming


TGS: Ys: Calceta Sea of Trees Brings a Classic That Never was to Vita

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 08:08 PM PDT

Falcom's long-running franchises have a sometimes convoluted history, but nothing in the twisted Xanadu family tree compares to the odd tale of Ys IV, the game that never was. Now, there were two games called Ys IV back in the 16-bit era -- Mask of the Sun for Super Famicom and Dawn of Ys for PC Engine -- but not only did neither one come to the U.S., neither was actually made by Ys creators Falcom. Rather, they were developed by proxy. Mask of the Sun was created by Tonkin House (who had ported Ys III to Super NES) while Hudson was behind Dawn of Ys. Falcom has stated that Dawn of Ys is the canonical game, although Mask of the Sun has its share of fans, but the fact is that there's never been a Falcom-made Ys IV.

That will change once Ys: Calceta No Jukai (Calceta Sea of Trees) arrives on Vita next year. Like Ys: The Oath in Felghana, it will be a comprehensive remake of an older entry of the series developed in-house by Falcom. Where Felghana remade Ys III, Calceta is reinventing Ys IV. However, while it's presumed to be based on Dawn of Ys, what Calceta really feels like is a sequel to last year's Ys Seven.

Footage of Cancelled Avengers Game Leaks to the Internet

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 04:47 PM PDT

Earlier today footage of a cancelled Avengers video game was leaked to the Internet. As some of you may remember, THQ cancelled its MX vs ATV and Red Faction series among other titles back in August resulting in the loss of over 200 jobs. Apparently one of these cancelled projects was a first-person superhero game that was to tie into the upcoming Avengers movie (see video footage above).

We know little else outside of this trailer that appeared on reddit. For now all we have is this trailer and the prospect of what might have been. What do you think of this footage? Could this have made a good video game? Sound off in the comments below.

MMORPG News

MMORPG News


Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising: Book Preview & Upcoming Dev Chat

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 11:13 AM PDT

The Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising site has been updated with a new preview from the upcoming book, "Blood and Laurels", based on the game developed by Heatwave Interactive.

MapleStory: Double XP & Drops This Weekend

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 11:07 AM PDT

Nexon and the MapleStory team have announced that today and Sunday (September 17-18) will feature both double experience gains and double item drops.

TERA: Production Chat Transcript Posted

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 11:04 AM PDT

The TERA development team has posted the chat transcript from a recent "production chat" held with fans. These chat events are held the third Friday of every month and are open to the public.

Rift: "Tell Us Your MMO Story"

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 10:56 AM PDT

The Rift development team is looking for your stories about MMOs, what draws you in and whether or not your characters reflect who you are in "real life".

APB: Reloaded: Close to Final Live Launch

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 10:48 AM PDT

The APB Reloaded blog has been updated with information spanning the past four weeks. Topics include the team's visit to Gamescom last month and the news that the team is getting "very close" to a final live launch of the game which is currently in open beta.

General: Story of the Week: Subscriptions Losing to RMT

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 06:19 AM PDT

This week's Story of the Week highlights a recent analysis from iHS and Screen Digest that details a dip in subscription revenue in favor of microtransactions. Does this herald the end of the monthly subscription?

General: PAX - Storybricks Brings Back the RPG

Posted: 17 Sep 2011 05:38 AM PDT

Namaste's flagship project known as "Storybricks" is dead set on bringing back the RPG to MMORPG. Carolyn Koh met up with the team's Kelly Heckman at their PAX booth for a hands-on demo with the content building tool. If you're sick of the same old, you don't want to miss this one.

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