General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article


Thousands of Hurt Locker P2P Lawsuit’s Dropped

Posted: 02 Oct 2011 01:31 PM PDT

Hurt LockerThe Hurt Locker is known in BitTorrent circles as more than just an Oscar winning blockbuster, but also the poster child for movie industry lawsuits. The maker of the film, Voltage Pictures, has been working alongside the U.S. Copyright Group to pursue over 24,583 IP address across almost a dozen ISP's. Up until recently the lawsuit has only been expanding, but now suddenly the folks over at TorrentFreak are reporting that all but 2,300 of the defendants are being dropped from the case.

A list of IP addresses being spared the wrath of the U.S. Copyright Group has been posted publically for all too see, but we suspect that after looking at how much work it was to track down the identities of that many individuals, they simply decided to hunker down and concentrate on a select few. 

The exact reasons for the change of course remains little more than speculation however, and we also still don't know how many of the defendants decided to settle out of court. It's also worth noting that the dropped cases are being done so without prejudice, so it's still possible for them to change their minds yet again. 

Playbook Price Cut, $300 Made Permanent — Too Little Too Late?

Posted: 02 Oct 2011 12:48 PM PDT

PlaybookLast weekend we noticed that RIM was experimenting with a $200 price cut in Canada, however, with the unveiling of the Amazon Fire the company has decided to not just move its discount across the border, but make it permanent. The 16GB entry level playbook now starts at only $299 for Wi-Fi only, and goes up by $100 increments when moving up to the 32GB, and 64GB configurations. 

Few will argue that the price cuts weren't necessary, but it makes us wonder, will it be enough? Without a rich content ecosystem its unlikely RIM will ever hit Amazon's $199 price point, especially when you consider it is estimated that the build cost of the Fire which is very similar to the Playbook, costs about $210 to build. To add to the pain, since Research in Motion doesn't sell direct to consumers, they need to charge slightly more so that the retailers get enough of a cut to make it worth stocking.

The only saving grace for the Playbook at this point is that the Kindle Fire, for now at least, is US only. That still gives RIM an opportunity to make a dent internationally with the Playbook and its QNX operating system, but will the price cut be enough? Let us know what you think in the comments below. 

Nokia Shedding 3,500 Jobs

Posted: 02 Oct 2011 12:33 PM PDT

NokiaNokia has bet its future on Windows Phone 7, but before CEO Steven Elop has a chance to prove that he isn't just jumping from one burning platform to the next, he still has several challenges to overcome. Chief among them is a massive workforce that up until now, the company has maintained despite quarter after quarter of market share losses. Analysts knew Nokia couldn't keep it up forever, and were not surprised to hear that the company is announcing over 3,500 layoff's that will target manufacturing, location and commerce, as well as administrative staff.

The changes are painful, yet necessary, and will turn Nokia into a "more dynamic, nimble and efficient challenger," CEO Stephen Elop said in a statement. In addition to the layoff's Nokia also announce it would be closing its factory in Cluj, Romania by the end of the year, likely as a result of productivity gains in its Asian facilities. Going forward, the company plans to concentrate its development efforts in Berlin, Boston and Chicago, while closing operations in Bonn, Germany, and Malvern USA.

Nobody likes to hear about job cuts, but Nokia likely had little choice in the wake of extremely light demand for its existing Symbian-based smartphones. It's possible Nokia might be able to ramp up a bit once they get going with Windows Phone 7, but without the need to develop its own OS, they can likely run indefinitely with less in-house engineering.

Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire Estimated To Cost Around $209.63 To Build

Posted: 02 Oct 2011 11:36 AM PDT

Kindle FireAmazon's Kindle Fire could easily be considered one of the worst kept secrets in the tech industry. Almost every detail was known about the device prior to the announcement in New York last week except one, the price. Analysts were expecting it to land somewhere in the $200-$300 range, but were almost universally stunned when CEO Jeff Bazos announced they would be coming in at the low end of that estimate. At just $199 how much money is Amazon making per device? Well, according to iSuppli, they are actually losing about $10 per tablet.

The $10 loss per unit is based on an estimated build cost of $209.63, however that number alone doesn't tell the whole picture. The Kindle Fire represents a bit of a Trojan horse to households who already routinely buy goods and content from Amazon. Content purchased is locked into the Amazon ecosystem, and even the Fire itself comes bundled with Prime, a service designed around the notion of free shipping for physical goods.

If a Kindle Fire owner spends even slightly more on Amazon.com over the course of the year on physical items as a result of buying the Fire, Amazon wins big time. 

Kindle Fire Cost

MMO News

MMO News


MMOHut Weekly Recap #54 Oct 2 – League of Legends, City of Heroes, & More

Posted: 02 Oct 2011 11:26 AM PDT

MMO Weekly News #54 – League of Legends, City of Heroes, & More

Weekly MMO News summary for the week ended October 2 (Sept 26 – Oct 2). A quick look and discussion for every major announcement and update during the week! This week we discussed updates from the following games: League of Legends, Windslayer 2, Eden Eternal, The Lord of the Rings Online, War of the Immortals, Brawl Busters, Rusty Hearts, Conquer Online, MapleStory, Combat Arms, Vindictus, GhostX, City of Heroes, and Dragon Nest. The biggest news this week is definitely the piece about Sony Online Entertainment making DC Universe Online free to play. You can view all the individual news articles mention over at the MMOHut.com News section.

MMO Updates

MMO Updates


APB Reloaded cracks down on cheaters

Posted: 02 Oct 2011 10:00 AM PDT

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APB Reloaded title image
Cheating and exploiting are problems that plague all MMOs, and developers often go to great lengths to detect offenders. In a new APB Reloaded devblog, developer TechMech explains the company's latest and highly successful attempts to rid the game of cheaters. Three major hacks were targeted, and every account that had ever used the hacks was banned overnight. TechMech won't go into details about how exactly the hackers were observed, but says that a second anti-cheat patch is coming to wipe out any players who choose to continue hacking.

TechMech is considering offering a kind of amnesty to cheaters, stating that anyone who uninstalls all hacks and plays legitimately may be permitted to continue playing. Perhaps the most shocking statistic in the devblog was that almost 50% of the banned accounts were paid accounts, and some had over 1500 hours of gameplay on them. TechMech went on to estimate the revenue that the three main cheat makers had been generating as between $15,000 and $50,000 per month each, with users spending $30 per month on hacks.

MassivelyAPB Reloaded cracks down on cheaters originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Global Chat: September 26-October 2, 2011

Posted: 02 Oct 2011 08:00 AM PDT

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Some Assembly Required
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!

We're all about crafting and complaining in this week's Global Chat -- hopefully not at the same time, though. Follow along after the jump to see some of what our readers had to say this week, and pitch in on a conversation you may have missed!

Continue reading Global Chat: September 26-October 2, 2011

MassivelyGlobal Chat: September 26-October 2, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    The Daily Grind: Can you have too many options at character creation?

    Posted: 02 Oct 2011 06:00 AM PDT

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    I think I spent more time during my trial on this than playing the actual game.
    While Aion may not be your cup of tea, you certainly can't claim that the character creation in the game is lacking in features. It is possible -- easy, even -- to make a tiny, anime-esque sprite or a would-be marble statue, if you wish. Of course, to do that you have to play with several dozen sliders, hair styles, skin tones, eye spacers, and an overall breadth of options that could make some players boggle.

    All this, of course, pales next to games such as Champions Online and City of Heroes, which have even broader options. And sometimes you don't really want to fuss with the fine details of your arm length before playing the game; you just want to get in the game and start punching things. So is it possible to have too many options at character creation? Or is that like asking if you can have too much money?

    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: Can you have too many options at character creation? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      Aeria releases Eden Eternal player housing video

      Posted: 01 Oct 2011 06:00 PM PDT

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      Eden Eternal - player housing
      Eden Eternal's feature list just got a bit longer, as Aeria Games has released a new trailer showing off the game's player housing implementation. The new content is scheduled to go live sometime in early October, according to the latest Aeria press release.

      The video shows a good amount of customization, and player characters can be seen placing a variety of objects inside a spacious interior as well as rotating said objects. Everything from beds to bookshelves to wall hangings will be obtainable via the game's item shop and from various in-game quests. Finally, Aeria is allowing other players to visit your personal house, and doing so will reward both parties with "various status boosts."

      Check out the housing video after the break, and head to the official Eden Eternal website to learn more about the game.

      [Source: Aeria Games press release]

      Continue reading Aeria releases Eden Eternal player housing video

      MassivelyAeria releases Eden Eternal player housing video originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        The Mog Log: Beauty of the beastmen

        Posted: 01 Oct 2011 04:00 PM PDT

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        Mog Log header illustration by A. Fienemann
        Well, it turned out to be a very good thing that I wasn't planning on talking about Final Fantasy XIV's patch 1.19 today, since it's not quite available just yet. That includes the absolutely enormous list of updates and changes to crafting, with several items apparently being yanked out of rotation altogether. Use up the ones you have and get ready to just vendor the rest, from the looks of it. Perhaps make some lumber ahead of time. At least your inventory woes should be somewhat diminished.

        But this week's plan wasn't to talk about the patch; it was to talk about beastmen once again. Regular readers will note that I've already spoken about beastmen once before, taking a look at the often fascinating societies of non-human creatures living outside of the major cities. (I'm using "human" as a blanket term here for hume, elvaan, tarutaru, etc.) Today, I want to look at this in a bit more depth. What exactly do both Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI use the beastmen for in terms of storytelling? What makes them compelling and interesting?

        Continue reading The Mog Log: Beauty of the beastmen

        MassivelyThe Mog Log: Beauty of the beastmen originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          So long and thanks for all the pics: One Shots favorites

          Posted: 01 Oct 2011 02:00 PM PDT

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          We bid a final farewell to One Shots yesterday, but we couldn't let almost four years and 1,500 reader-submitted screenshots go without a little nod to some of our favorites.

          First up, of course, is the first-ever One Shots entry. Liz Harper had this to say about the image:
          I wanted to start our daily screenshot feature on Massively off with something, well, massive. A memorable, recognizable, and important scene from MMO history... and while you may all argue with me about what makes this particular shot important, it was the first thing that came to mind. Here we see a group of City of Heroes players gathering at City Hall in Atlas Park to "salute the memory and inspiration that is Christopher Reeve on the 2nd anniversary of his death." It's rare to see an in-game event that brings players together for a cause other than slaying dragons and similar.
          Ready for more? Follow along after the jump for more of the best of One Shots!

          Continue reading So long and thanks for all the pics: One Shots favorites

          MassivelySo long and thanks for all the pics: One Shots favorites originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            The Tattered Notebook: What if live servers go free-to-play?

            Posted: 01 Oct 2011 12:00 PM PDT

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            EQII gold chest
            For the past few weeks of The Tattered Notebook, I've explored EverQuest II's Extended server, Freeport, to see what gameplay is like on the other side of the wall that separates it from its subscription-based cousins. This week, I'm going to look at the scenario that all EQII players consider: making all servers free-to-play. It's a very complicated issue, and there are excellent arguments on both sides, but there are a few factors that tend to tip the scales.

            I don't have nearly enough space in this column to touch on every issue involving a free-to-play transition, so I'm going to focus on a few of the most important ones and give my thoughts on what would need to happen if EQII did indeed go free-to-play on all servers.

            Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: What if live servers go free-to-play?

            MassivelyThe Tattered Notebook: What if live servers go free-to-play? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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              MMO impressions from Eurogamer Expo 2011

              Posted: 01 Oct 2011 11:00 AM PDT

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              Eurogamer Expo
              Some of the industry's biggest names were at Eurogamer Expo last week, including BioWare, NCsoft and Trion Worlds. I was on the floor at the expo to get some hands-on experience with several upcoming MMOs and countless singleplayer games. Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic stole the show, with hands-on gameplay sessions and in-depth developer talks. BioWare also made the bold move of announcing SWTOR's official release date during its talk at the convention. In addition to promoting the heck out of RIFT, Trion showed off upcoming MMORTS End of Nations with a hands-on demo and encouraged attendees to sign up to the End of Nations newsletter.

              RIFT and World of Tanks were both playable on the show floor for the entire weekend, but nothing new was being shown. Hack-and-slash adventure RPG Dark Souls and the beautifully zen Journey both demonstrated incredibly innovative multiplayer aspects that I'll likely cover in my weekly Not So Massively column, but neither falls neatly into the MMO box. OnLive had a spectacular showing at the expo, giving away free home consoles to every attendee and demonstrating the system's surprisingly lag-free gameplay on the floor. We discovered that although there are no MMOs in OnLive's current lineup, this isn't due to technical infeasibility, so we may yet see MMOs launched on the service.

              Skip past the cut for my in-depth hands-on impressions of Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic and End of Nations from Eurogamer Expo 2011.

              Continue reading MMO impressions from Eurogamer Expo 2011

              MassivelyMMO impressions from Eurogamer Expo 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Oct 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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                MMOGaming News

                MMOGaming News


                Soul Master: Beginning Town and NPCs Introduction

                Posted:

                Soul Master: Beginning Town and NPCs Introduction


                Arario has recently published some info about the home of the Harmony race and storyline NPCs in its upcoming action MMORPG Soul Master. Let's take a close look.

                As Age of Wulin(CN) Near Beta, Chief Designer Gives Video Lessons

                Posted:

                As Age of Wulin(CN) Near Beta, Chief Designer Gives Video Lessons


                Good news for Chinese players! China-based Snail Game has confirmed that the beta test of Age of Wulin(CN) will be officially kicked off on Oct. 8. According to Snail Game, the test will be carried out in several cities of China and requires activation code, so any player would be lucky to experience this long-anticipated martial arts MMO in advance.

                Some Thoughts on DC Universe Online's Shift to F2P

                Posted:

                Some Thoughts on DC Universe Online's Shift to F2P


                Recently, Sony Online Entertainment has announced that DC Universe Online (DCUO), which was released at the beginning of the year, will be changed into a F2P game. In an exclusive interview, Executive Producer Lorin Jameson explained a lot why they chose to do that, but the main reason is that DCUO has few users, so it will adopt the free-to-play model.

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