MMO Updates

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• Teenage killer confesses crime in World of Warcraft chat, sentenced to life in prison
• Latest EVE dev video talks ship balance and features coming this winter
• WRUP: Let's do the crafting edition
• The Daily Grind: Are we witnessing the bursting of a gaming bubble?
• Prime Battle for Dominus plans website relaunch, new title
• The MMO Report: The beard is gone edition
• Betawatch: October 29-November 4, 2011
• Overhaul to skills coming to Star Trek Online
• Storyboard: The reflection lies
• Agent progression revealed for Star Wars: The Old Republic
• The Old Republic pre-order head start 'up to five days' [Updated]
• Darkfall announces reactivation weekend
• Zynga reports record revenue in last quarter
• WindSlayer 2 enters open beta testing
• DUST 514 dev blog introduces Mobile Command Centers
• SWTOR's Georg Zoeller salutes the Trooper class
• MMObility: Ten terrific titles for this nifty new netbook
• LEGO Universe shutting down January 2012
• The Firing Line: Tribes impressions and a visit to Hi-Rez
• Recruit for Ryzom, win fabulous prizes!

Teenage killer confesses crime in World of Warcraft chat, sentenced to life in prison Posted: 05 Nov 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Culture, Legal, Miscellaneous Two teenage boys who raped and murdered a fellow classmate in Victoria, British Columbia recently received a sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole for 10 years. They weren't very smart about covering it up, however, as one of the killers confessed his crime to a guildmate in World of Warcraft chat. He did so because he assumed that those chat logs were less likely to be saved. Kruse Wellwood and Cameron Moffat spent time planning the assault beforehand, and Wellwood even mentioned his desire to do the crime to a guild friend in WoW. Following the 2010 crime, Wellwood logged back in World of Warcraft to talk about the murder to his online girlfriend in Halifax, sending her links of the news reports as proof of his story. Amazingly, his girlfriend mildly chided him to "just don't do it again." The in-game chat logs were part of the mountain of evidence collected by the police. The pair pleaded not guilty to the crime. Teenage killer confesses crime in World of Warcraft chat, sentenced to life in prison originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: MSNBC

Latest EVE dev video talks ship balance and features coming this winter Posted: 05 Nov 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Dev Diaries, Sandbox Several weeks ago, EVE Online developer CCP Games restructured its company and announced a new laser focus on in-space features for EVE Online. Since then we've seen an absolute deluge of news updates and devblogs on features due for release in the winter expansion. In the first two of CCP's new In Development video series, CCP Guard explored the art department and showed off the new nebula effects, EVE's sharpened shadows and the new tier 3 battlecruisers. In the latest In Development video, Guard talks to the EVE feature teams about the absolutely massive list of balance changes and features coming with the winter expansion. CCP Soundwave admits that developers have "probably done more rebalancing in the past month than we have in the past two years," before rattling off an impressive list of changes and new features. Skip past the cut for a brief summary of the changes and to watch the video in HD. Continue reading Latest EVE dev video talks ship balance and features coming this winter Latest EVE dev video talks ship balance and features coming this winter originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

WRUP: Let's do the crafting edition Posted: 05 Nov 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Massively Meta, Miscellaneous See, it works like this. You have a bunch of copper, so you decide to start crafting something that needs copper, so you take up blacksmithing. But then you find out that a blacksmith will also need wood, so you take up carpentry. Once you've made a bunch of wood, you find out that you can use that wood in a bunch of leatherworking recipes. And so before you know it you're some demented super-crafter trying to craft everything out of everything. Also, Samuel. In other news, it's time for this week's installment of WRUP, in which the Massively staff members discuss what they'll be up to for the weekend and whether or not they stay subscribed to a game to support it after we're no longer playing it. Click on past the break for our weekend plans, and let us know what you'll be up to down in the comments! Continue reading WRUP: Let's do the crafting edition WRUP: Let's do the crafting edition originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Are we witnessing the bursting of a gaming bubble? Posted: 05 Nov 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Economy, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Opinion The last few weeks have cast a dark shadow over the MMO gaming industry. At a time when MMOs release seemingly every other day and big blockbusters are just over the horizon, MMO companies are canceling titles, shelving games, cutting back, changing models, and laying off staff. CCP Games dropped employees and slowed its development pace; NCsoft and GamersFirst followed suit, though with assurances that their games would proceed as usual. In the last few days alone, we saw Gameforge let go both developers and titles, TurnOut halt development on Earth Eternal, and both LEGO Universe and Troy Online announce impending shutdowns. What do you think? Are we dealing with a "gaming bubble" on the verge of bursting? Did MMOs become too popular too fast, such that the industry is now bloated and unsustainable? Is a culling of the MMO herd a necessary evil to improve the overall quality of MMOs? Or is this flurry of layoffs and closures merely a coincidence, a temporary downsizing due to end soon? 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! The Daily Grind: Are we witnessing the bursting of a gaming bubble? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Prime Battle for Dominus plans website relaunch, new title Posted: 04 Nov 2011 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, PvP Prime Battle for Dominus may be a mouthful to say, but after this weekend it will be no more. No, not because of the 2012 apocalypse or that it's entering the witness protection program, but because it's getting a new name. You're silly, stop assuming the worst! In a brief tweet to the game's followers, the devs posted the following: "The guilds page on our site is down until Monday, when we relaunch our website. Not changing the game, just changing the name." Considering that the official forums now say "Welcome to Prime Online!" we have a pretty good guess as to what that new name might be. That's right: World of PrimeCraft. [Thanks Johannes for the tip!] Prime Battle for Dominus plans website relaunch, new title originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Prime twitter

The MMO Report: The beard is gone edition Posted: 04 Nov 2011 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Interviews, Previews, Endgame, RIFT, The MMO Report, Dungeons An unashamedly beardless Casey Schreiner* bookends a special (albeit late) edition of The MMO Report this week, and it's all about RIFT's colossal 1.6 update. The Report features RIFT Producer Adam Gershowitz, who declares that RIFT is now well-known for being "the MMO that updates the most" while discussing November's impending From the Embers patch, RIFT's sixth major update and its largest to date. Gershowitz explains that the update inserts a massive new zone-playground for endgamers, the Ember Isle, complete with the new Rise of the Phoenix raid instance, the Caduceus Rise dungeon, the instant adventure "looking for quests" tool, and RIFT's first recurring holiday event, Fae Yule. (*Casey's de-bearding was, he claims, "for the greater good," and by the greater good, he means in the service of a swanky Petyr Baelish Halloween costume. How cool is that?) Hit the jump for the special edition MMO Report! Continue reading The MMO Report: The beard is gone edition The MMO Report: The beard is gone edition originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: The MMO Report

Betawatch: October 29-November 4, 2011 Posted: 04 Nov 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Massively Meta, Betawatch, Miscellaneous Welcome to Betawatch, Massively's weekly report on the state of MMO betas. In each installment, we'll report everything from the latest open betas, closed betas and even alphas in one convenient place. Plus, we'll make sure to include as much info on each game's current status, including projected release dates (if known) and links to the sign-up forms to get yourself into that beta you've been seeking. We're saying goodbye to Earth Eternal this week, but unfortunately not because the game has launched. In a this-might-be-all-we-ever-get announcement this week, the developers informed players that the project is on hold and the game's development team has been reassigned to other projects. On a happier note, Castlot joins our open beta list, as does WindSlayer 2. Follow along after the jump for the latest Betawatch list. Continue reading Betawatch: October 29-November 4, 2011 Betawatch: October 29-November 4, 2011 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Overhaul to skills coming to Star Trek Online Posted: 04 Nov 2011 05:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play The core of progression in Star Trek Online has always been the game's sprawling skill system, but it's also proved to be something of a weakness. Not only were several of the skills difficult to understand at a glance (Astrometrics offers benefits not instantly apparent, for instance), but the higher-tier skills were often prohibitively expensive in terms of skill points. That's why in addition to all of the other changes going live with the game's free-to-play conversion, the development team is working on a major skill overhaul so that players can know what each skill does and so that everything feels worthwhile. A list of the new skills and their effects are included with the newest installment of the Path to F2P blog, with the changes allowing players to more easily switch between ship types and weapon types without feeling unduly penalized. In addition, skills are now clearly separated into buffs to click abilities or passive benefits, rather than having them tied together in several cases. It's a wide-sweeping set of revisions but hopefully one that will help make the system more transparent for all players. Overhaul to skills coming to Star Trek Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Path to F2P #18

Storyboard: The reflection lies Posted: 04 Nov 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Roleplaying, Storyboard, Miscellaneous When I was younger, I got very excited at the thought that therapists would ask people to roleplay. In my mind, this was a great idea. After all, if Joe and Jane go to see a marriage counselor, they could walk out of the session realizing that each of them always has the other's back, especially when facing down an ancient red dragon as a cleric and a fighter. Plus, it's something for the couple to do together. It wasn't until I was older that I found out that the roleplaying under discussion was something different. At least, it's theoretically different. I've talked many times about how roleplaying is many things to many different people, but one of the big potential pitfalls comes when you're roleplaying with people you know because some people play characters that are still, fundamentally, part of the player. And if you're plaing alongside someone whose characters are more personal than yours, it can cause some very odd disconnects that you might not even recognize until after the fact. Continue reading Storyboard: The reflection lies Storyboard: The reflection lies originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Agent progression revealed for Star Wars: The Old Republic Posted: 04 Nov 2011 04:45 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Previews, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic It's been a day for news about Star Wars: The Old Republic as we move still closer to release. The latest character progression video has been unveiled for the Agent, showing both the differences in equipment and abilities players can expect as they level up as one of the subtle hands of the Sith Empire's will. As players grow in power, they can either take the route of the stealthy and aggressive Operative or the resourceful ranged Sniper. On the Operative route, armors tend toward hooded attire as the character employs a variety of blades, bombs, and short-range blaster attacks to keep enemies pinned. Snipers, meanwhile, are sleekly armored ranged dispensers of death, with their abilities culminating in a large-scale orbital strike to take out inconvenient enemies. If you're itching to play an Agent, you'd be well-served to take a look at the full trailer to see all that the class is capable of doing in the name of the Empire. Continue reading Agent progression revealed for Star Wars: The Old Republic Agent progression revealed for Star Wars: The Old Republic originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Agent progression video

The Old Republic pre-order head start 'up to five days' [Updated] Posted: 04 Nov 2011 04:25 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Launches, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic As The Old Republic's release date draws ever closer, fans are starting to dig into the nitty-gritty of what they can expect from the game's launch. Well, one intrepid investigator over on the official forums has dug up this nugget from the official pre-order page: CUSTOMERS WHO PRE-ORDER STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY THE GAME BEFORE THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH. EARLY GAME ACCESS IS THE PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE THE OFFICIAL GAME LAUNCH WHEN PRE-ORDER CUSTOMERS MAY ACCESS THE GAME. EARLY GAME ACCESS MAY BE UP TO 5 DAYS. THE LENGTH OF YOUR EARLY GAME ACCESS DEPENDS ON THE DATE AND ORDER IN WHICH YOU REDEEMED YOUR PRE-ORDER CODE AT THE CODE REDEMPTION CENTER. SEE PRE-ORDER FAQ FOR MORE DETAILS. So there you have it, folks. You can expect anywhere up to a five-day headstart with your pre-order. Of course, we expect we'll have confirmation on the matter from BioWare soon enough. [Updated: The official site has updated to confirm the speculation, and we've tucked the full text behind the break. BioWare has also issued an official FAQ and chart to outline which pre-order benefits come with each edition.] Continue reading The Old Republic pre-order head start 'up to five days' [Updated] The Old Republic pre-order head start 'up to five days' [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Early Game Access Details Revealed Via: Darth Hater

Darkfall announces reactivation weekend Posted: 04 Nov 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Darkfall, Events, in-game, News items, Sandbox Are you a Darkfall fan who just never got around to giving the game a shot? Or maybe you're a former player who's been waiting for the right time to make a return. Well, the Darkfall team has an opportunity for you. In two weeks, Aventurine will be hosting a free reactivation weekend. All previous accounts will be reactivated for a weekend full of accelerated skilling and shiny loot. So mark that one down on your calendars, Darkfall fans, and go give the game another whirl. Darkfall announces reactivation weekend originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Darkfall blog

Zynga reports record revenue in last quarter Posted: 04 Nov 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Economy, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous A recent SEC filing from Zynga, creator of the social gaming epidemic known as FarmVille, revealed that the company is reporting a record quarterly revenue of over 306 million USD, though -- bizarrely enough -- profits are almost 54 percent lower than they were this time last year. Revenue isn't the only thing that's on the rise, either. The company reports 152 million unique monthly players, compared to the 151 million the company reported in June. The average number of daily players, however, dropped from 59 million to 54 million. At any rate, the company seems to be going strong, with new titles such as the recently announced (supposed MMO) CastleVille just on the horizon. Zynga reports record revenue in last quarter originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Gamasutra

WindSlayer 2 enters open beta testing Posted: 04 Nov 2011 02:30 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Events, in-game, News items, Free-to-play We've had a number of dev diaries from the WindSlayer 2 team in the past month, covering everything from melee classes to ranged combat to the game's economy. Now you can try it all out for yourself. The game has just entered open beta, and to celebrate the occasion, the devs are holding a number of events through which players can rake in all kinds of nifty loot. If you want to get the full details on what these events entail and to sign up for the game's open beta test, head on over to WindSlayer 2's official site. [Source: Ignited Games press release] WindSlayer 2 enters open beta testing originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

DUST 514 dev blog introduces Mobile Command Centers Posted: 04 Nov 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, News items, Consoles, MMOFPS, DUST 514 DUST 514 commanders, your attention please. The latest blog post from CCP Remnant over on the official PlayStation blog provides some insight into the massive Mobile Command Center ship, from which the team's commander gathers intel, issues orders, and orchestrates the battle. Of course, due to the MCC's pivotal role on the battlefield, ground troops would do well to ensure its protection. As the blog mentions, the destruction of a team's MCC is no small feat, but success in the endeavor can often mean assured victory. For the full details on the game's Mobile Command Centers, head on over to the official blog. DUST 514 dev blog introduces Mobile Command Centers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: PlayStation official blog

SWTOR's Georg Zoeller salutes the Trooper class Posted: 04 Nov 2011 01:30 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Interviews, Star Wars: The Old Republic He won't play favorites between the choice of builds, but BioWare's Georg Zoeller is remarkably open otherwise when it comes to talking about Star Wars: The Old Republic's Trooper in action. In an interview on RepublicTrooper.com, Zoeller fields a number of questions about the Trooper's capabilities in combat, especially in regard to how a ranged class can function as a tank. After struggling with these unique problems, BioWare tuned the Vanguard (the Trooper's advanced tanking spec) to be a mid-ranged tank with visual effects to show when the class was warding off melee attacks. "Statistically, their tanking ability is based more upon absorption and shielding and less about avoidance, making them the slightly more predictable tanks (Medics love that)," he wrote. "Finally, they are visually very different when in action, as most of their abilities are themed around technical attacks " Zoeller said that all-Trooper guilds are entirely possible, given the flexibility of the advanced class roles, as Troopers cover the gamut of the Holy Trinity. He sees Trooper healers as being extremely desirable: "Commandos are the only medic class capable of increasing their target's mitigation and receptivity to heals. They are also the only Advanced Class that features a 'smart heal,' an auto-response heal that triggers on the target when they take damage." SWTOR's Georg Zoeller salutes the Trooper class originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: RepublicTrooper.com

MMObility: Ten terrific titles for this nifty new netbook Posted: 04 Nov 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Opinion, Ultima Online, Free-to-play, Browser, Mobile, Hands-on, Casual, MMORTS, Mabinogi, Kids, Wizard101, Sandbox I mentioned this new gaming toy of mine last week, and it finally arrived. I immediately loved how it felt and weighed. Sure, there are lighter netbooks, but many of them feel more fragile. This Inspiron Duo has a rubberized edging to it, and the flip-screen feels snappy but firm. I was happy right away. It's a higher-quality netbook with a decent-quality tablet included. After I tweaked it and purged it of bloatware, I had to get some games going on it, and not just casual Facebook games but real MMOs. I spent a few days going through my list of titles to see which ones would work on the netbook and how many will work well with the touchscreen. I wanted games that would give a normal netbook fits but not lag excessively. Note that my netbook's screen is 1366x768, while the cheapest ones out there are normally 1024x600. Adjustments might need to be made there. I came up only with 10 games for now, but expect more in the future. Click past the cut to see the list! Continue reading MMObility: Ten terrific titles for this nifty new netbook MMObility: Ten terrific titles for this nifty new netbook originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

LEGO Universe shutting down January 2012 Posted: 04 Nov 2011 12:30 PM PDT Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Free-to-play, LEGO Universe, Kids, Family Playtime's over, people -- time to pack up your LEGO bricks and move on. The word's come down from the LEGO Group that LEGO Universe is closing its doors on January 31st, 2012 due to a lack of paying customers. While the game has been free-to-play for a while, apparently not enough players were interested in dishing out cash to keep the MMO operational. The news was posted just moments ago on the official forums along with a more in-depth FAQ: Hello Adventurer, today we are very sad to announce that LEGO Universe will be closing on January 31, 2012. This was a very difficult decision to make, but unfortunately LEGO Universe has not been able to attract the number of members needed to keep the game open. We are thankful to have had the opportunity to share this adventure wiith an amazing community of players. We hope you will continue to enjoy LEGO Universe for the last few months. As a thank you, if you are a paying subscriber on December 31, 2011, we will provide you the full game for the final month for free. Again, we want to thank the fantastic community of players who made LEGO Universe such a vibrant, fun and creative experience. Sincerely, The LEGO Universe Team Unfortunately, this closure means that the associated studios, including one in Colorado and one in Denmark, will be shuttered and 115 employees will be affected. LEGO Universe launched in October 2010 and converted to a free-to-play model this past August. We've included the official press release behind the break. Continue reading LEGO Universe shutting down January 2012 LEGO Universe shutting down January 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: LEGO.com Messageboards, Shutdown FAQ

The Firing Line: Tribes impressions and a visit to Hi-Rez Posted: 04 Nov 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Business models, Classes, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, MMOFPS, Massively Hands-on, The Firing Line What's up folks, and welcome to The Firing Line. We've been branching out our coverage lately, first with MMO-specific columns and then with Not So Massively and MOBAs. Now we're doing something similar with online shooters. This genre is positively huge, and while there's a lot of room for debate in terms of what constitutes an MMO shooter, there's also no denying that all of the games hovering around the periphery of that designation are a lot of fun. So what will we be talking about in The Firing Line? Well, this is the part where I rub my hands together in anticipation! Naturally we'll spend a lot of time with the genre's big guns (sorry, I had to use that at least once), so I'll be playing huge amounts of PlanetSide 2, DUST 514, Firefall, Global Agenda, and the semi-obscure free-to-play titles crowding the market -- all in an effort to bring you the very best news and views from the world of pew pew. Continue reading The Firing Line: Tribes impressions and a visit to Hi-Rez The Firing Line: Tribes impressions and a visit to Hi-Rez originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Recruit for Ryzom, win fabulous prizes! Posted: 04 Nov 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Ryzom, Free-to-play Ryzom is undergoing a recruitment drive at the moment, and the team is looking to the players for help. A spiffy contest has been posted on the official site to see which players can rope in the most new warm bodies for the cause. Each player is tasked with recruiting friends and family members via a unique link that will count toward their tally during the month of November. After November 30th, the Ryzom team will see which players have netted the biggest catch and will dole out rewards accordingly. The first place winner gets a choice of tempting prizes: either an original concept art drawing or an Nvidia GeForce GTX 480 graphics card. Second place can choose from the drawing or a lifetime subscription to the game, and third through sixth place winners will receive a three-month subscription. Ryzom is currently free-to-play with an optional subscription package. Recruit for Ryzom, win fabulous prizes! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Ryzom forums

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General gaming

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• Saving the System: Where Failed Consoles Went Wrong Instead of Right
• Weekend Deals: Tropico, Batman, and Dead Space 2
• Watch Super Mario 3D Land Live
• The Madden Curse? Peyton Hillis Could Miss His Third Game in a Row
• Original Zelda Game in Development for 3DS
• Winter of RPGs Brings Chrono Cross, FFV, and FFVI to PSN
• PSN Purchases Can Now Only be Used on Two Systems
• Ten New Things in Skyward Sword, and Three Interesting Variants on the Old
• Playing Modern Warfare 3 Early Actually Can Get You Banned

Saving the System: Where Failed Consoles Went Wrong Instead of Right Posted: 04 Nov 2011 05:53 PM PDT Feature Share it: Tweet Saving the System: Where Failed Consoles Went Wrong Instead of Right Thanks to the power of hindsight, find out what could have rescued doomed hardware from retail death. By: Todd Ciolek November 4, 2011 Consoles only get one chance in the game industry, and that chance isn't always a good one. Theirs is a crowded playing field where third place is last place and there's no mercy for the unsuccessful. It's tempting to wonder just how some failed systems could've done better, especially in the turbulent 1990s. What follows is a look at just how three consoles might have survived if they'd been marketed, funded, and supported better. To keep this little exercise from descending into an embarrassing stretch of game-system fan fiction, we're not going to change the systems themselves and redesign them into things they never were. Instead, we'll consider how they could've fared with different approaches in the North American market -- and then we'll remind everyone of the depressing reality that took hold.

Weekend Deals: Tropico, Batman, and Dead Space 2 Posted: 04 Nov 2011 04:23 PM PDT After all of the big Halloween sales last week, things aren't nearly as exciting this week. Amazon is offering L.A. Noire on 360 for $19.99 (the PS3 version is $29.99) and a PC download of Battlefield 3 for $50.99. It's also got the PC versions of a handful of recent Need for Speed games on sale, including last year's very fun Hot Pursuit for $10. The Tropico series -- including Tropico 4 -- is on sale at several places. Tropico 4 came out at the end of August and its $40 price has been slashed to $26.77 at GamersGate and $26.79 at Steam.

Watch Super Mario 3D Land Live Posted: 04 Nov 2011 02:19 PM PDT Update: Thanks for watching! Don't worry if you didn't catch it live. We'll have an archived version of the broadcast embedded in this page as soon as we can. We're going to play Super Mario 3D Land live today from 4:00 PM PST until approximately when our camera man passes out from exhaustion. Come back to this page to check it out. Even if you miss our livestream, we'll have a recorded version up for you to enjoy. Watch live video from 1UP Live on TwitchTV/JustinTV on Justin.tv

The Madden Curse? Peyton Hillis Could Miss His Third Game in a Row Posted: 04 Nov 2011 12:44 PM PDT Peyton Hillis was a surprise choice for the cover of Madden NFL 12, yet that's who the fans voted for over the likes of Aaron Rodgers, the controversial Michael Vick, Chris Johnson, and Seattle's 12th man. Each year it seems like the so-called Madden Curse negatively affects that year's cover star time and again in a variety of ways. Peyton Hillis appears to be no exception. Hillis, who is a running back for the Cleveland Browns, has missed the team's past two games and had not practiced since last week. During practice today, he reportedly re-injured his hamstring, prompting him to slam both the ball and his helmet to the ground.

Original Zelda Game in Development for 3DS Posted: 04 Nov 2011 11:27 AM PDT The first big release for 3DS was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. That wasn't available at launch, and for many it wasn't even noteworthy because it isn't an original title. It's taken until this month for a big-name, original Nintendo game to be released on the platform in Super Mario 3D Land. While 3DS-owning Zelda fans are left to wait for something new, Nintendo reportedly does have plans to give those fans what they want. In an interview with Portuguese website MyGames (as translated by Nintendo Everything), longtime Zelda director and producer Eiji Aonuma indicated Nintendo's desire to avoid releasing two remakes in a row.

Winter of RPGs Brings Chrono Cross, FFV, and FFVI to PSN Posted: 04 Nov 2011 10:47 AM PDT Three Square Enix RPGs have been given firm (re-)release dates on the PlayStation Network. While none of them come as a surprise thanks to ESRB leaks from earlier in the year, fans should be excited about the chance to play this selection of classic titles on PS3, PSN, and (starting next year) Vita. Square Enix is labeling these three releases as the Winter of RPGs campaign. Despite what the name would suggest, you won't have to wait for winter to officially begin to start playing any of them -- in fact, all three will be out weeks before winter even begins.

PSN Purchases Can Now Only be Used on Two Systems Posted: 04 Nov 2011 10:00 AM PDT Starting later this month, you'll have to stop sharing content with others and/or become more selective about which PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Portable systems have access to your downloadable game content. In an announcement on the PlayStation Blog today, Sony announced plans to make game content accessible on only two activated PS3 or PSP systems at any one time. Should you download the game on two systems and want to bring it to a third, you'll have to deactivate one of the first two before doing so.

Ten New Things in Skyward Sword, and Three Interesting Variants on the Old Posted: 04 Nov 2011 09:45 AM PDT With the finished version of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword in hand at 1UP Headquarters and the game's release mere weeks away, we're putting the wraps on our preview coverage of the game by taking a look at what new ideas and elements Skyward Sword actually brings to the table. I've seen plenty of sarcastic remarks about how Zelda games are ultimately just iterations on Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past, which isn't entirely untrue... but it's hardly the only series to maintain a consistent set of mechanics and rules over the years. What makes each new Zelda game interesting (or not) is how effectively it recasts familiar elements in new directions (or not). And while Skyward Sword is definitely a Zelda game, with all that entails, we've seen more than enough new features to keep us interested. It also a features a few surprising renditions of elements from previous games -- including one we expected to hate, but don't. 1. Motion controls This is a big one, isn't it? The use of Wii motion isn't completely new to the series, but the way they've been integrated here is radically different -- and better -- than the simplistic waggle of Twilight Princess. Sure, it seemed pretty novel to pretend to swing a sword five years ago, but once the newness wore off it didn't bring much to the game besides the occasional flurry of motion when tackling a big bad guy. Skyward Sword's Wii Motion Plus support is completely different, not only because of its precision but also because -- unlike Twilight Princess -- the game was built around the technology from the ground up.

Playing Modern Warfare 3 Early Actually Can Get You Banned Posted: 04 Nov 2011 09:11 AM PDT Contradicting what we learned yesterday, those who decide to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 before release on Xbox 360 apparently are risking their Xbox Live accounts. Xbox Live director of policy and enforcement Stephen Toulouse stated on Twitter yesterday that those who obtained a legitimate copy of the game -- which went on sale at certain stores ahead of its planned November 8 release -- were safe to play on Live. Since then, he has written a follow-up tweet stating Activision doesn't want people playing early and that doing so puts your account at risk.

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