General Gaming Article

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• MtGox Files for Bankruptcy, $480 Million Lost
• Gaming Laptop Review Roundup
• Rumor: Microsoft May Offer Free Version of Windows 8.1 Bundled with Bing
• IBM's Hardware Division Could Bear the Brunt of Upcoming Job Cuts
• Server Market Sees Growth in Shipments, Decline in Revenue
• Acer Rolls Out 27-inch WQHD (2560x1440) Display for $450
• Newegg Daily Deals: Corsair 500W Power Supply, Seagate Hybrid 1TB/8GB SSHD, and More!

MtGox Files for Bankruptcy, $480 Million Lost Posted: 28 Feb 2014 03:03 PM PST 850,000 BitCoins gone BitCoin exchange website MtGox has filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan. Apologizing at a news conference at the Tokyo District Court, MtGox CEO Mark Karpeles added that the focus now is to reduce the impact saying, "The BitCoin industry is healthy and it is growing. It will continue, and reducing the impact is the most important point." Karpeles attributed blame for the site's collapse to "a weakness in our system" while it was revealed that 750,000 of users' BitCoins were lost with the website losing 100,000 of its own. Estimation of the lost crypto-currency's value is somewhere around $480 million based on the current worth of BitCoin at $563. The bankruptcy filing follows weeks after the website had halted trade of BitCoin, after claiming it had found a bug in the BitCoin software that allowed users to alter transactions. This claim was quickly refuted by BitCoin developers who said that the issue being experienced by MtGox was a pre-existing issue called transaction malleability. In the wake of the issues revolving around MtGox, the value of BitCoin has continued to decline in the month of February. Back in January, the crypto-currency was valued in the ballpark of $800 as sites, such as TigerDirect and Xidax had started to accept it as payment. Now, with the bankruptcy filing of MtGox, the value is about $548 and still dropping. Follow Sean on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Gaming Laptop Review Roundup Posted: 28 Feb 2014 12:38 PM PST Four portable gaming notebooks square off Back in the day, to get any real power in a notebook, you needed to have a massive chassis to house all the most beefy mobile components. But today, with Intel's smaller, more power-efficient Haswell processor and shrinking mobile video cards, this is no longer the case. The advent of these new parts means it's now possible to get serious performance without sacrificing portability, hence the growing number of capable gaming notebooks measuring 15 inches or less. The trouble is, with so many portable gaming options, which one do you choose? In an attempt to answer that question, we've rounded up four of the more portable gaming laptops we could find: the 15.6-inch Lenovo Y510p, the 15.6-inch Eurocom X3, the 14-inch Alienware 14, and the 13.3-inch Digital Storm Veloce. We're also throwing in the CyberPower Zeus Hercules, which features Intel's Iris Pro, to see how a gaming laptop with modern, high-end integrated graphics stacks up against the discrete-graphics competition. Which gaming notebook is for you? Read on to find out! Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p A good idea, but a flawed IdeaPad When we first reviewed the Lenovo Y500 back in our July 2013 issue, we praised it for being an amazing value. Though it wasn't a perfect gaming notebook, it did come with two GeForce GT 650Ms, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage for a modest $1,250, which was such an awesome deal that we placed the notebook atop our esteemed Best of the Best list. Fast forward a few months and Lenovo has refreshed the notebook with a new Haswell CPU as well as a pair of beefier GeForce 700-series cards. This new IdeaPad has been rechristened the Y510p, and retails for a fair amount more than its predecessor, at $1,600. The question on our minds, of course, is whether the Y510p provides the same great value. Lenovo really needs to add dedicated buttons to the trackpad. Despite its new moniker, the laptop comes with the same chassis as the Y500—a 15.2x10.2x1.4-inch brushed-aluminum enclosure adorned with a bold, red-LED-backlit keyboard that is flashy without being gaudy. It weighs in at a reasonable six pounds, 6.6 ounces—roughly the same as the smaller Alienware 14, although its carry weight is dragged down by a bulky two-pound power brick. It's worth noting that despite the Y510p's fairly thin profile for a 15.6-inch gaming laptop, we never heard its fans spinning loudly. The Y510p's 1920x1080 monitor offers a very bright and competent display for a TN panel, but it falls a bit short when compared to the IPS screens in the Alienware 14 and Digital Storm Veloce, which provide much greater viewing angles. Conversely, unlike those two smaller laptops, the Y510p provides a full-size keyboard with number pad, complete with chiclet keys that are quiet and feel good to type on. On the audio front, the Y510p uses the same JBL speakers we know and love; they have plenty of firepower and make everything sound clear. Sadly, the laptop retained the same frustrating trackpad as its predecessor, with integrated mouse buttons. Coupled with the trackpad's oversensitivity, the indistinct buttons often had us making small, accidental swipes whenever we tried clicking links. Another disappointment is that the Y500's unique, expandable drive bay, which allowed you to swap in a second GPU, fan, HDD, or optical drive, has been neutered to only allow a second, removable GPU, which is the stock configuration.  Fortunately, that configuration consists of two GeForce GT 750GB GPUs in SLI. CPU-side, our Y510p came outfitted with a Haswell-based Core i7-4702MQ processor clocked at 2.2 GHz, and 16GB of RAM. For storage, our configuration came with a 16GB mSATA caching SSD anchored by a 5,400rpm 1TB HDD. Putting these specs through our barrage of benchmarks, the Y510p produced some mixed results. Its dual–video card setup gave our MSI GT60 zero-point laptop a smack across the face with a 74 percent gain in 3DMark 11, and it even bested both the Alienware 14's and Digital Storm Veloce's GTX 765M configs by roughly 10fps across all of our game benchmarks. In the CPU-intensive benchmarks, however, the Y510p fell short. Even our ZP's Ivy Bridge part was able to trade blows with it. In terms of battery life, the Y510p got hammered, lasting only 154 minutes in our video-rundown test. It turns out that SLI setups don't support integrated graphics through Nvidia Optimus, so we had to remove the second video card—which requires shutting down, removing the battery, and ejecting the second video card—to bolster the Y510p's battery life to 195 minutes. We would be inclined to dismiss the Y510p's shortcomings if it still came at the same great price as the Y500, but it's over $300 more for not much extra performance. Luckily, multiple configurations are available, so if you want a good IdeaPad, it's probably best to customize the Y510p to fit your needs. Specifications CPU 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-4702MQ RAM 16GB DDR3/1600 Chipset Intel HM78 GPU 2x Nvidia GeForce GT 750Ms in SLI Display 15.6-inch, 1920x1080 LCD (matte) Storage 16GB mSATA SSD, 1TB hard drive (5,400rpm) Connectivity Ethernet, VGA, HDMI, 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, audio in, headphone, mic, 1MP webcam, built-in Bluetooth, 802.11n Lap / Carry 6 lbs, 6.6 oz / 8 lbs, 1.7 oz Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p $1,600 www.lenovo.com Eurocom X3  Don't judge a gaming notebook by its cover The Eurocom X3 might look familiar, as it uses a Clevo chassis that's similar to the Eurocom Scorpius we reviewed in our March 2013 issue, sharing the same dull-looking, black, boxy design. But there are some key distinctions, with the biggest difference being its smaller size. At 15x10.7x1.8-inches, the X3 features a 15.6-inch screen compared to the Scorpius's 17.3-inch screen, and weighs seven pounds, 10.4 ounces, which is about three ounces lighter than our 15.6-inch MSI GT60 zero-point laptop. It won't break your back, but you won't want to lug it in your backpack all day.     In between the trackpad's buttons is a fingerprint scanner. The X3 uses a matte TN panel for its display that features decent viewing angles but still can't compete with the Alienware 14's and Digital Storm Veloce's IPS offerings. In addition, compared to the other notebooks in this roundup, we noticed a more ruddy cast to the X3's screen, lending people a sunburned-looking appearance. Considering that our particular configuration costs $3,300, it's a shame an IPS panel, which can offer more accurate colors, wasn't included.   On the plus side, we didn't have any issues with the full-size keyboard, which, like the Lenovo Y510p's, was quiet, easy to type on, and includes a numpad. Unfortunately, also like the Y510p, we weren't super enamored with the trackpad. Although it's light years better than the Scorpius's trackpad before it, you'll definitely want to tweak the sensitivity settings. The trackpad also supports two-finger scrolling, though it often couldn't tell if we were trying to scroll down a page or pinching to zoom. Another gripe we have is that the speakers are a little underwhelming. While it comes with a built-in subwoofer underneath the chassis, the X3 doesn't have the greatest volume firepower and can easily get drowned out in a noisy room.  So far, the X3 probably sounds like it's not worth its high asking price, but it's redeemed by what it has going on under the hood. This bad boy is equipped with a Core i7-4930MX Extreme Edition chip clocked at 3GHz with a Turbo Boost of 3.9GHz, 16GB of RAM, and Nvidia's new, leading laptop GPU, the GeForce GTX 780M. All in all, it's got enough juice to make Tim the Toolman howl. Our only real complaint with the specs concerns the SSD. The included 128GB storage isn't necessarily small, but for the price, we'd expect a 256GB drive. Even the much more affordable Alienware 14 in this roundup includes one.   That quibble aside, the X3 managed to slaughter every gaming laptop in this roundup. As a matter of fact, Eurocom's laptop won in every single performance benchmark by significant margins, be it in the CPU-intensive applications or, more punishingly, games. Its only performance shortcoming came in the battery test, where it lasted a mere 167 minutes, shy even of our Ivy Bridge zero-point system's score. Unfortunately, with great power comes great battery loss.  When you take into consideration that the X3 costs twice as much as both the Lenovo Y510p and the Digital Storm Veloce, it should come as no surprise that Eurocom's notebook mops the floor with them all. It's only disappointing that it has to make some compromises along the way. Specifications CPU 3GHz Intel Core i7-4930MX RAM 16GB DDR3/1600 Chipset Intel HM78 GPU Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M Display 15.6-inch, 1920x1080 LCD (matte) Storage 128GB SSD, 1TB hard drive (7,200rpm) Connectivity Ethernet, HDMI, 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, S/PDIF, headphone, mic, line-in, 2MP webcam, built-in Bluetooth, 802.11n, DisplayPort 1.2, Mini Display 1.2, 1x eSATA, FireWire-400 Lap / Carry 7 lbs, 10.4 oz / 9 lbs, 13.4 oz Eurocom X3 $3,300, www.eurocom.com Click the next page to read about the Alienware 14 and Digital Storm Veloce. Alienware 14 Beauty has a price With computing becoming more mobile every day, system builders like Alienware are eager to cram a lot of gaming performance into portable packages. Simply branded as the Alienware 14 in reference to the size of the screen, this new laptop sets out to replace the company's long-running M14x line. While Alienware could have rested on its laurels, this is much more than a simple refresh. The bezel around this 14-inch screen is pretty sizable, but it doesn't stand out when you're using it. For one, the 14 looks much bulkier than its predecessor, to the point where one wonders about its portability. While it actually weighs slightly less than the M14x, it still doesn't feel like the kind of laptop you could throw in your bag and lug around town, unless you know a good chiropractor. That said, the build quality feels very solid. The matte-black chassis and its silver aluminum top might not stop a speeding bullet, but it should handle getting knocked around a little. The illuminated touchpad is also pretty sweet. You don't realize how handy the boundary detection is until you try using it in the dark. But those aren't the only LED lights on the notebook. The Alienware 14 also features a backlit keyboard, glowing logos, and sundry beams of light strewn around the chassis. All of these are controlled with the company's AlienFX utility, which allows you to use presets or customize the colors to your heart's content. Speaking of visual details, the IPS screen also delivers excellent viewing angles. The matte screen takes care of glare without looking grainy or sparkly. In terms of GPU, the Alienware 14's Nvidia GTX 765M is nothing to sneeze at. In our tests, using the system's pre-installed 326.33 beta drivers, we averaged over 30fps in Tomb Raider at 1080p with everything enabled except TressFX. BioShock Infinite nearly hit that mark as well, maxed out at 1080p. While playing Borderlands 2, we saw a reliable 45–60fps, with ambient occlusion disabled. The 765M has 2GB of RAM and its internal design is closest to the desktop GTX 650 Ti. This laptop should have no problem sustaining playable frame rates and high image quality in the latest games. It also exhausts heat out the back, which helps mask fan noise. In terms of ports, the 14 puts almost all of its connectors on the left-hand side; the right side gets Ethernet, a spare USB 3.0 port, the Blu-ray slot loader, and a media card slot. The $1,900 price tag for this unit doesn't provide the greatest value, however. For a mid-tier configuration that's roughly $500 less, you can trade the Blu-ray unit for a DVD burner, 802.11ac for 802.11n, 16GB of system RAM for 8GB (still plenty for games), and opt for the caching SSD. Unfortunately, there's no dual-GPU option, or anything beefier than a 765M. Alienware reserves such luxuries for its 17- and 18-inch models. Meanwhile, the Lenovo unit we tested this month comes with dual 750Ms and easily beats the 14 in every game, while costing about $300 less (albeit with its own set of compromises). Another gripe we have is that we had to reboot the computer whenever we wanted to switch between integrated and discrete graphics. Specifications CPU 2.4GHz Intel Core i7-4700MQ RAM 16GB DDR3/1600 Chipset Intel HM87 GPU Nvidia GTX 765M Display 14-inch, 1920x1080 IPS display (matte) Storage 256GB mSATA SSD, 750GB 5,400rpm HDD Optical Drive Slot-loading dual-layer Blu-ray reader Connectivity HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, 3x USB 3.0, audio in, microphone, headset, 2MP webcam, built-in Bluetooth, Broadcom Wireless-AC 2x2, Gigabit Ethernet, 7-in-1 media card reader Lap / Carry 6 lbs, 6.4 oz/ 7 lbs, 13.6 oz Alienware 14 $1,900 www.alienware.com Digital Storm Veloce The eye of this storm could be calmer Since mankind descended from the trees, we have struggled to combine the portability of a laptop with the performance demands of PC gaming. Sacrifices are inevitable. The Veloce crams an Nvidia GTX 765M into a notebook with a small 13.3-inch screen, which not too long ago would have qualified it for netbook dimensions. How does it manage? Not entirely well. If the Veloce looks familiar, it's because it uses the Clevo W230ST chassis. But let's start with the basics. The Veloce has Intel's shiny new Haswell mobile CPU, which is purported to bring much-improved battery life over Ivy Bridge–based systems. It also gets an IPS panel, so you don't have to fiddle with your eye level when you open the thing up. The keyboard is backlit with a gentle white glow, and the keys have a little spacing to prevent mis-types. Under the hood, you get a respectable 8GB of system RAM, a 128GB mSATA drive, and a 750GB 5,400rpm drive. Its 765M averaged a little under 30fps in Tomb Raider, at 1080p with everything but TressFX enabled. We found that during our experiential play test, turning off tessellation and depth-of-field roughly doubled performance, without much of a hit to image quality. The Veloce's exterior doesn't fare so well. Specifically, the keyboard area flexes a little as you type, especially in the middle. Right above the keyboard is an embedded plastic strip that wasn't quite flush against the surface. It's minor, but enough to mar our overall impression. The rubberized lid also smudges easily. The ergonomics are also kind of disappointing, at least considering the $1,600 price tag. Almost all the external connectors are on the right-hand side, which is where right-handed people will be using their mouse. The left-hand side has only a headphone jack, mic jack, and a single USB 2.0 port. Meanwhile, USB 3.0, HDMI, VGA, and the AC power input make it awfully crowded on the other side of the table, unless you're primarily using the touchpad. But since the Veloce is billed as a gaming laptop, that scenario doesn't seem likely. Also, the fans frequently cranked up for 10–20 seconds when the system was idle or minimally loaded. It's distracting if you're just trying to watch a YouTube video or write an email. The system also uses the left-hand side to exhaust heat, unlike the Alienware 14 which pushes heat through the back; this means the fan noise can get pretty grating. One of the fans also rattled occasionally, sounding like a mechanical hard drive moving data around. While the Veloce is definitely the thinnest and lightest notebook in this roundup, it may have too much power for its own good. Unfortunately, this meant the battery wasn't able to last that much longer than the zero-point MSI GT60, even with the more power-efficient CPU. If you don't mind a heavier laptop, the Alienware 14 can be configured with mostly the same specs for not too much more while yielding better durability and less noise. Specifications CPU 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-4800MQ RAM 8GB DDR3/1600 Chipset Intel HM87 GPU Nvidia GTX 765M Display 13.3-inch, 1920x1080 IPS display (semi-gloss) Storage 128GB mSATA SSD, 750GB 5,400rpm HDD Optical Drive Not included Connectivity HDMI, VGA, 3x USB 3.0, USB 2.0, audio in, microphone, 2MP webcam, built-in Bluetooth, Intel Wireless-AC 7260, Gigabit Ethernet, 6-in-1 media card reader Lap / Carry 4 lbs, 4.4 oz/ 5 lbs, 12.8 oz Digital Storm Veloce $1,600 www.digitalstormonline.com Click the next page to see how the laptop equipped with Intel's Iris Pro graphics compared and to read our overall conclusion. Good but Not Great If only we could take the best parts of all these rigs and roll them into one We wish we could declare a clear winner in this roundup—one that offers the complete package of performance and portability, but unfortunately, each notebook has different strengths and weaknesses, and none comes out as being particularly impressive. Sure, the Eurocom X3 mopped the floor with the others in the performance benchmarks, but it's also the most expensive laptop by a long shot, offers weak battery life, is the heaviest, and features an unimpressive TN panel. On the flipside, the Lenovo Y510p is much more affordable and bests both the Alienware 14 and Veloce in the graphics department with its SLI setup. But it has a relatively lackluster CPU, a frustrating trackpad, and also goes the less-than-desirable TN route. While the highly portable Veloce is equally affordable to the Y510p despite an upgrade to an IPS panel and offers impressive performance for its size, its build quality feels cheap and its fans are annoyingly loud. Then there's the Alienware 14, which has the best battery life out of the bunch, offers the slickest aesthetics, but is on the pricey side and its overall performance is a bit lacking. These are all respectable products, but it looks like the gaming laptop mountain doesn't have a king just yet. Gaming Laptops Compared   MSI GT60 (zero point) Lenovo Y510p Eurocom X3 Alienware 14 Digital Storm Veloce Stitch.Efx 2.0 (sec) 1,092 1,118 856 962 981 ProShow Producer 5 (sec) 1,786 1,769 1,509 1,629 1,576 x264 HD 5.0 (fps) 12 9.7 14.9 13.5 12.8 STALKER: CoP (fps) 32.8 40.8 89.1 40.7 39.3 3DMark 11 Perf 2,979 5,194 7,967 4,170 4,319 Tomb Raider (fps) N/A 45.3 69.8 32.6 32.6 Hitman: Absolution (fps) N/A 24.3 35.6 14.3 14.9 BioShock Infinite (fps) N/A 39.7 58.6 28.1 29.2 Battery (min) 187 154 167 234 195 Best scores are bolded. Our zero-point notebook is an MSI GT60 with a 2.3GHz Intel Core i7-3610QM, 12GB DDR3/1600, two 500GB Seagate 7,200rpm hard drives, a GeForce GTX 670M, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. STALKER CoP tested at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, Tessellation, and contact hardening. N/A denotes that benchmarks were not run on the zero point. Redefining 'Good Enough' Graphics Intel's Iris Pro integrated graphics steps it up We've long used the analogy that if Intel is Lucy and integrated graphics is the gaming-capable football, we're all Charlie Brown. Yup, that bald-headed kid who just keeps thinking that every time Intel says its integrated graphics are capable of playing games, we believe it and throw our back out trying to kick that football to the moon. Well, listen up, blockhead: Lucy is in front of you once again, dangling that pigskin, and this time, she's really serious that she'll let you kick it. To find out if that football will stay in place or be snatched away again, we took CyberPower's new Zeus Hercules—a $1,300, 14-inch portable equipped with an Intel Core i7-4750HQ and its highest-end Iris Pro 5200 graphics with embedded DRAM—and benched it against an Ivy Bridge graphics–equipped HP Spectre Ultrabook, as well as an older Acer Timeline M3 Ultrabook. The Timeline M3 has an aged 32nm Sandy Bridge CPU but it also has an Nvidia GeForce GT 640M discrete card on board. The results? First off, the Intel HD4000 graphics in the HP Spectre are not even in the running. We'll remind you that when Ivy Bridge came out, ol' Lucy touted its graphics as being substantially improved. Um, yeah. Against the GeForce GT 640M, the Iris Pro 5200 proved surprisingly comparable in most of our tests. When it was introduced, Nvidia said the GeForce GT 640M was capable of playing Battlefield 3 at Ultra—quite a feat in 2012 (of course, playing at Ultra meant settling for less than 30fps). Still, that Intel's Iris Pro 5200 integrated graphics can offer performance close to or better than that discrete part is finally proof that Intel won't always pull that football out from under our feet. Of course, looked at another way, the GeForce GT 640M is a pretty old GPU at this point. We believe current midrange discrete graphics would easily step away from Iris Pro 5200. However, Iris Pro 5200 is actually capable of playing a lot of games at 1366x766 resolution with very satisfactory frame rates. In addition to our benchmarks, we played Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and Minecraft with no complaints. Moving up to Battlefield 3, we had to turn down the settings a few notches, but the playability was far better than we've ever before experienced with integrated graphics. One other performance metric we looked at was OpenCL computing. Since the Iris Pro 5200 features that massive 128MB of L4 cache we've been chattering about since Haswell launched (Intel, give us a socketed version, please), we wanted to see if the top-end IGP has it where it counts in compute. It does. It destroyed the Spectre's HD4000 graphics in the OpenCL benchmarks we ran and came pretty close to the GeForce GT 640M in the OpenCL 1.1.3 benchmark. In LuxMark 2.0, it crushed both the HD4000 and the discrete part. There are two things to take away from this: The first is that the high-end discrete GPU has absolutely nothing to fear from Iris Pro 5200—we didn't even bother to compare it to the gaming notebooks in this roundup because it would be embarrassing for integrated graphics. They're that much faster in gaming. The second is that for a lot of people who just want a "normal" notebook, the Iris Pro 5200 is good enough, and a hell of a lot better than anything that has come before. Let's just say the next time Lucy approaches us with that football, we may not be so cynical. Benchmarks   CyberPower Zeus Hercules Acer Timeline M3 HP Spectre GPU Intel Iris Pro 5200 Nvidia GeForce GT 640M Intel HD4000 CPU Core i7-4750HQ Core i7-2637 Core i7-3517U 3DMark 11 Extreme Overall X637 X607 X210 3DMark 11 Extreme Graphics 568 544 188 3DMark 11 Performance Overall P2,054 P1,840 P611 3DMark 11 Performance Graphics 1,811 1,750 532 3DMark New Firestrike Overall 1,310 1,213 512 3DMark New Firestrike Graphics 1,310 1,297 544 3DMark New Cloudgate Overall 9,513 5,248 3,302 3DMark New Cloudgate Graphics 11,585 9,044 4,344 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme Overall 52,958 55,600 30,406 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme Graphics 60,474 84,990 35,192 Unigine 4.0 13x6 (fps) 22.3 24.9 7.7 STALKER: CoP Day (fps) 56.3 67.8 21.7 STALKER: CoP Night (fps) 63.2 70.1 19 STALKER: CoP Rain (fps) 70.1 74.1 22.4 STALKER: CoP Sun Shafts (fps) 43.8 44.8 13.7 OpenCL 1.1.3 Physics: SPH Fluid Simulation 1,434 1,515 525 OpenCL 1.1.3 Vision: Optical Flow 1,389 1,649 302 LuxMark 2.0 Sala (score) 462 101 67 LuxMark 2.0 Room (score) 325 47 33 Best scores are bolded.

Rumor: Microsoft May Offer Free Version of Windows 8.1 Bundled with Bing Posted: 28 Feb 2014 09:38 AM PST Would you upgraded to Windows 8.1 if Microsoft gave the OS away for free? There are some interesting things happening in Microsoft's world right now. The company has a new CEO in Satya Nadella, co-founder Bill Gates figures to devote more time as Nadella settles into his new role, and there's an update to Windows 8.1 on the horizon. Depending on what impact that update has on Windows 8.1, some big changes could be in store, including a free version of Windows 8.1 with Bing. Here's the scoop. We've already heard rumors of Microsoft lowering its Windows 8.1 licensing fee by 75 percent to OEMs who install the OS on machines that retail for less than $250. Microsoft employed a similar strategy in the netbook era, though the Redmond outfit may be even more determined to move more copies of Windows 8.1 this time around since it's only sold 200 million licenses to date. Compared to Windows 7, that isn't all that impressive. Now we're hearing chatter that Microsoft may offer a free version of Windows 8.1 called "Windows 8.1 with Bing." There are two separate reports, one from The Verge and one over at ZDNet. According to the former, Windows 8.1 with Bing would be offered as a free or low-cost upgrade for Windows 7 users, with Microsoft's goal being to increase its userbase. Alternately, the Bing-powered version of Windows 8.1 could end up the hands of OEMs in place of discounted licenses. Both sites report there are likely to be some minor changes associated with the freebie SKU, though what exactly they changes would entail isn't yet known. Image Credit: wzor.net Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

IBM's Hardware Division Could Bear the Brunt of Upcoming Job Cuts Posted: 28 Feb 2014 09:06 AM PST Big Blue is making some changes IBM knows the business areas it wants to focus on going forward. The company also knows that job cuts are inevitable as it attempts to "rebalance its workforce" to the fit the direction it's headed, though exactly how many employees will be receiving pink slips hasn't yet been determined, at least not officially. Unofficially, IBM may reduce the number of workers in its Systems and Technology group by up to 25 percent. Otherwise known as the hardware division, IBM's Systems and Technology arm builds the company's servers. The 25 percent figure was thrown around by a "source familiar with the plans," according to CNET. A spokesman for IBM also talked with CNET, though he didn't get into specifics about the layoffs. "As reported in our recent earnings briefing, IBM continues to rebalance its workforce to meet the changing requirements of its clients, and to pioneer new, high value segments of the IT industry," IBM spokesman Doug Shelton said. "To that end, IBM is positioning itself to lead in areas such as cloud, analytics and cognitive computing, and investing in these priority areas." There are more than 400,000 employees around the world who currently work at IBM. In addition, Big Blue isn't afraid to spend money, such as committing $1 billion to its Watson unit and $1.2 billion to expand its Cloud offerings. At the same time, IBM recently offloaded its x86 server business to Lenovo for $2.3 billion, so it wouldn't be a big surprise if the company's Systems and Technology group saw the most layoffs. Image Credit: Flickr (Daniel Voyager) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Server Market Sees Growth in Shipments, Decline in Revenue Posted: 28 Feb 2014 08:30 AM PST Getting a grip on the server sector Things are looking up in the server market, and at the same time, they're looking down as well. Say what? According to market research firm Gartner, worldwide server shipments grew 3.2 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2013, though overall revenue dipped 6.6 percent compared to the same quarter in 2012. Likewise, server shipments for all of 2013 rose 2.1 percent while revenue declined 4.5 percent. Jeffrey Hewitt, who serves as Gartner's VP of Research, noted there was continued growth in web-scale IT deployments, but that the enterprise sector was relatively constrained. "In terms of hardware platform types, mainframe and RISC/Itanium Unix platform market performance kept overall revenue growth in check," Hewitt added. Hewlett-Packard sits atop the server leaderboard. The company generated $3.8 billion in server-related revenue in Q4 2013, giving the firm a 28.1 percent state of the global market. IBM was a close second with $3.6 billion and a 26.5 percent stake, however those represents declines from $5.1 billion and 34.9 percent in Q4 2012. Other than HP, only Cisco showed growth for the quarter, though it's share of the market is just 4.7 percent. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Acer Rolls Out 27-inch WQHD (2560x1440) Display for $450 Posted: 28 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST Big screen display isn't lacking for connectivity Acer is closing out the month of February by offering up its K272HUL, a 27-inch monitor with an ultra-sharp WQHD (2560x1440) resolution in a 16:9 aspect ratio. An ergonomic frame props up the large screen display with 5 to 25 degrees of tilt action. You can also mount the monitor to your wall and have it sit relatively flat (the monitor measures 2 inches deep by 17.4 inches wide by 10.5 inches high). The K272HUL supports Picture-in-Picture (PiP) using both DisplayPort and either HDMI (there are two of these) or DVI simultaneously. In addition, it boasts wide viewing angles of up to 178 degrees horizontally and vertically, which makes it easy to collaborate with others. Other features found on Acer's 27-inch monitor include a 100,000,000:1 maximum contrast ratio, 6ms response time, dual built-in speakers, and Acer's "ComfyView" technology, which is supposed to reflect less ambient light for more vivid colors, reduced glare, and more comfortable viewing. You should be able to find the K272HUL online today for $450 MSRP. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Newegg Daily Deals: Corsair 500W Power Supply, Seagate Hybrid 1TB/8GB SSHD, and More! Posted: 28 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST Top Deal: If money were no object, we'd all fill our virtual shopping carts with 100-core processors clocked at 60GHz, 10TB of DDR8-99000MHz RAM, 200PB of quantum storage, and 18 graphics cards in super duper SLI, which we'd power using a 10-megawatt PSU that requires a direct connection to the power company. Then reality sets in, not to mention the budget, and we end up building respectable rigs with high bang-for-buck factors. That being the case, take the 10-megawatt PSU out of your shopping cart and check out today's top deal for a Corsair CX500M 500W Modular Power Supply for $45 with free shipping (normally $65; additional $20 mail-in-rebate). Though the price is low, the quality is high -- this is an 80 Plus Bronze certified model that's both SLI and Crossfire Ready. Other Deals: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory for $75 with free shipping Seagate Hybrid Drive 1TB MLC/8GB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5-inch Desktop SSHD for $97 with free shipping MSI A88XM-E45 AMD A88X HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard for $73 with free shipping and Free Battlefield 4 game w/ purchase XFX Double D FX-787A-CDFC Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 Video Card for $200 (normally $230; additional $30 Mail-in rebate)

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MMO Updates

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• Norrathian Notebook: EverQuest Next Round Table roundup, fourth edition
• Meander through Wander's new GDC teaser trailer
• The Stream Team: A grand finale in Guild Wars 2
• Georgeson reveals monetization plans for EQN Landmark
• Tamriel Infinium: Building the best DPS class in The Elder Scrolls Online
• SOE All Access changes pushed back two weeks
• Guild Wars 2 reveals China strategy
• The Daily Grind: Do you play the MMO lockbox game?
• The Stream Team: Finally fighting Flappy in The Secret World
• The Summoner's Guidebook: Staying positive in League of Legends
• European Commission examining 'free' games with in-app purchasing
• ProSiebenSat.1 acquires Aeria Games Europe
• EverQuest Next Landmark shows the awesomeness of the grappling hook
• CCP Games reveals big plans for EVE Fanfest 2014
• The Stream Team: Crafting and gathering in FFXIV
• Field Journal: A strong CoHmmunity
• RIFT willing to ban players for toxic forum behavior
• Perfect Ten: The journey from announcement to launch
• A look at MMOs from the marketing perspective

Norrathian Notebook: EverQuest Next Round Table roundup, fourth edition Posted: 28 Feb 2014 08:30 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, New Titles, Free-to-Play, Community Q&A, EverQuest Next, Sandbox, Player-Generated Content, Norrathian Notebook Thanks to the early launch of EverQuest Next Landmark's alpha, players have been deep in the world of voxel-mining, crafting, and building to their hearts' content. Armed with with that hands-on knowledge, players are able to offer insights and suggestions about the development of that game. But that doesn't mean that those who aren't physically in the alpha (and have access to post in those forums) don't have valuable opinions about the direction of both Landmark and EverQuest Next, and the devs want to hear from everyone! That's where the EQN Round Tables come in. And the Norrathian Notebook Round Table roundups are here to help you keep track of them all. The three previous round ups corralled 23 questions, dev opinions, and video responses. This fourth edition (not to be dismissed like certain other fourth editions) contains eight more. Do you care about specialty servers, in-game weather, or crafting? Are you burning with a desire to tell the devs exactly how you feel about other players affecting your gameplay? Then there are polls and discussions that you'll want to take part in if you haven't already. One round table even focuses on improving the new player experience. And we've got them all rounded up right here for you. Continue reading Norrathian Notebook: EverQuest Next Round Table roundup, fourth edition Norrathian Notebook: EverQuest Next Round Table roundup, fourth edition originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Meander through Wander's new GDC teaser trailer Posted: 28 Feb 2014 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Trailers, Video, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, PvE, Sandbox Where most games only offer some percentage of activity options besides combat (from basically nonexistent on up), Wander eschews combat completely in favor of exploration and collaborative gameplay. Can't imagine how a game like that actually looks? Well you're in luck! The devs have released a teaser trailer that takes a short stroll through a lush part of the land. Of course, it's not quite the same experience as when players will be able to don Oculus Rift goggles, but it still offers a glimpse of the world that's built using CryEngine's FreeSDK. See the clip for yourself below, and be on the lookout for an extended version expected to release at GDC 2014 in a few weeks. [Thanks to Rachel for the tip!] Continue reading Meander through Wander's new GDC teaser trailer Meander through Wander's new GDC teaser trailer originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Wander teaser trailer

The Stream Team: A grand finale in Guild Wars 2 Posted: 28 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, PvE, Guild Wars 2, Livestream, The Stream Team, MMORPG, Buy-to-Play Richie has been performing livestreams in Tyria for over two years now, so it's fitting that his final show for Massively would be in Guild Wars 2. He's chosen to do an alt-leveling stream and viewers are encouraged to guest onto the Blackgate server in the Fields of Ruin zone to join his exploits. It all happens live at 10:00 a.m. EST. Game: Guild Wars 2 Host: Richie "Bog Otter" Procopio Date: Friday, February 28th, 2014 Time: 10:00 a.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: A grand finale in Guild Wars 2 The Stream Team: A grand finale in Guild Wars 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Georgeson reveals monetization plans for EQN Landmark Posted: 28 Feb 2014 06:45 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business Models, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Sandbox With free-to-play titles, you have to wonder how exactly the game will stay afloat monetarily. EverQuest Next Landmark's Director of Development, Dave Georgeson, took the guesswork out of figuring out what will be available for sale by revealing the five phases of the upcoming sandbox's proposed business strategy. Players are already familiar with the first phase going on now, Founders Packs, and are expecting the advent of Player Studio, which is slated for early closed beta. The two phases in between, however, might be the most controversial; they involve selling character outfits, resources, and shortcut methods for features. Anticipating player concern, Georgeson explained that the current resource progression in alpha is not planned for the game proper; items will soon only need handfuls of resources to make tools. For feature shortcuts, he gives the example of paying upkeep, renting market stalls, or gaining the effects of a potion without physically crafting the potion first. The final phase at the end of closed beta will involve a large chunk of "bigger-ticket items like cosmetic pets, sound/music packs for your claims, name/gender changes, extra claim flags, and more." As with all announcements, the devs want to hear your feedback so the plan can be adapted accordingly. (Note: Any and all purchased items are considered inventory and will never be wiped in alpha or beta.) Georgeson reveals monetization plans for EQN Landmark originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: EQN Landmark business plan

Tamriel Infinium: Building the best DPS class in The Elder Scrolls Online Posted: 28 Feb 2014 06:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, New Titles, PvE, Opinion, Guides, The Elder Scrolls Online, MMORPG, Tamriel Infinium ​ Commenters and gamers around the internet have wondered aloud whether it's really true that any class can play any role in the Elder Scrolls Online. Developers have said that with a simple weapon swap, we can instantly change the group dynamic. Being a hard-nosed MMOer, I admit I thought that was a stretch. We've seen the pseudo-roleswaps in Guild Wars 2, but based on the videos that I've seen of both GW2 and ESO, the latter defines the roles even more stringently. If you're a tank in ESO, you will take the brunt of the damage and you will keep aggro off other players. As a healer, you'll find your job will be to keep others' health points from reaching zero. And DPS will be required to drop enemy health points to zero as fast as possible. That's the reality. So is it actually possible for any class to play any role, as the developers claim? I might enjoy talking about builds and what works for different playstyles, but math is far from fun for me. Fortunately, I have friends for whom theorycrafting is their calling. I wrestled down Calls1gn, a top-tier raider formerly of Memories of Xendor. I sat him in front of a skill calculator for ESO and made him create some amazing, yet viable, builds in some obscure classes to prove once and for all whether the class system is as flexible as ZeniMax claims. Continue reading Tamriel Infinium: Building the best DPS class in The Elder Scrolls Online Tamriel Infinium: Building the best DPS class in The Elder Scrolls Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

SOE All Access changes pushed back two weeks Posted: 28 Feb 2014 06:00 AM PST Filed under: EverQuest, EverQuest II, PlanetSide, Business Models, Free-to-Play, DC Universe Online, EverQuest Next, Miscellaneous, PlanetSide 2, Subscription The big changes to SOE's All Access plan will be held back two weeks while the studio finishes work on it, moving it from the beginning to the middle of April. "Looking like new membership plans will go live around 4/16 instead of 4/2," SOE President John Smedley wrote on Twitter yesterday. "Lots of stuff to finish." The new All Access pass will give players premium access to all of SOE's MMOs, a discount in the store, and a monthly stipend of Station Cash for a flat fee of $14.99 a month. [Thanks to BabaGraPL for the tip!] SOE All Access changes pushed back two weeks originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: John Smedley Twitter

Guild Wars 2 reveals China strategy Posted: 28 Feb 2014 05:30 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business Models, Guild Wars 2, Buy-to-Play As Guild Wars 2 prepares to make inroads to its first Asian country, ArenaNet announced some of its plans for how it will handle the game in China. The Chinese version of Guild Wars 2 will retain the buy-to-play model that the game currently employs in the West, which is a departure from the typical business models in the region. So what about the rapid pace of its content releases and the progression of the living story? The Eastern and Western versions of the game will not exist independently in this regard, but will be synced up so that both get the same updates. There will be a few changes to the tutorial for Chinese players, however. Guild Wars 2 will be published in the region by KongZhong and is planning to go into closed beta testing on March 11th. [Source: ArenaNet press release] Guild Wars 2 reveals China strategy originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Do you play the MMO lockbox game? Posted: 28 Feb 2014 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Business Models, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous, Buy-to-Play The infamous marketing phenomenon known as the lockbox has been the subject of much disdain since F2P took over the MMO market because lockboxes are perceived by players to be an annoying lottery mechanic, but they don't seem to be going away. Studios like Cryptic have gone on record as saying they're incredibly profitable, and that means lots of players do buy them (or the keys to open them, as the case may be). Or do they? The top-supplied item on the Guild Wars 2 auction house is the locked Black Lion Chest. As of this screencap last week, almost 7,000,000 lockboxes are sitting on the market unbought, waiting for someone with a purchased or looted key to come along and crack them open. Add to that number the 50 or so sitting idle in my bank! That's a lot of dropped lockboxes that failed to entice someone to whip out his wallet and pay for a key. Are you among the resistant players, or do you play the MMO lockbox game? 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: Do you play the MMO lockbox game? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Feb 2014 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Stream Team: Finally fighting Flappy in The Secret World Posted: 27 Feb 2014 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Horror, Real-Life, Video, Events (In-Game), The Secret World, Livestream, Dungeons, The Stream Team, Buy-to-Play For months the nefarious flying nemesis of The Whispering Tide has been flinging Filth at everyone during The Secret World. Now that players finally have a chance exact some sweet revenge, Massively's MJ is front and center on that firing line! She's taking advantage of every opportunity to fight the four-winged Flappy (and consequently soak up the sliver and fragment rewards) and is inviting you along on TSW's first-ever instanced 40-man raid. Join us live at 8:00 p.m. for your chance to flip Flappy the bird. Game: The Secret World Host: MJ Guthrie Date: Thursday, February 27th, 2014 Time: 8:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Finally fighting Flappy in The Secret World The Stream Team: Finally fighting Flappy in The Secret World originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Summoner's Guidebook: Staying positive in League of Legends Posted: 27 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-Play, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook This is the last issue of the Summoner's Guidebook for the time being. I hate to leave, but unfortunately things are out of everyone's hands. So before I go, I will give you my final lesson: the way to be the best League of Legends players you can be. I played my first game of Hexakill last week, and it was terrible. I was jungle Shyvana, and we had a duo top plus otherwise standard lanes. All of my lanes lost. Our Ryze went 0 and 6 against the enemy Syndra. The enemy Riven had something like 11 kills in the midgame with over 26 by the end. I was the only one not behind; our bottom lane was losing, but not terribly. We won that game. Some of that victory comes from the enemy screwing up. I will fully admit that if the enemy had played properly in the midgame, we would have lost. However, even with the enemy's mistakes, we were tens of thousands of gold and several towers behind. How is a comeback like that even possible? Here's how: Stay positive and always look for the silver lining. Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: Staying positive in League of Legends The Summoner's Guidebook: Staying positive in League of Legends originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

European Commission examining 'free' games with in-app purchasing Posted: 27 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Business Models, Economy, MMO Industry, News Items The European Union's executive body is meeting with game developers in an effort to improve consumer protections, according to GamesIndustry.biz. The European Commission feels that "consumers and in particular children need better protection against unexpected costs from in-app purchases." The Consumer Protection Corporation and EC member states have condemned various forms of misleading advertising in games, along with direct purchasing appeals like "buy now!" or "upgrade now!" "The use of the word 'free' (or similar unequivocal terms) as such, and without any appropriate qualifications, should only be allowed for games which are indeed free in their entirety, or in other words which contain no possibility of making in-app purchases, not even on an optional basis," the European Commission says. European Commission examining 'free' games with in-app purchasing originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: GamesIndustry.biz

ProSiebenSat.1 acquires Aeria Games Europe Posted: 27 Feb 2014 02:00 PM PST Filed under: MMO Industry, News Items, Miscellaneous The European gaming publisher ProSiebenSat.1 just got bigger. Pending approval by the responsible cartel authorities, PSS1 has acquired online and mobile games publisher Aeria Games Europe. The deal doubles the publisher's portfolio (upping it from 19 to 39 games) and almost triples its games community (rising from 27 to 77 million gamers). ProSiebenSat.1 will combine the games operations in Berlin and take on the name SevenGames. Dr. Christian Wegner, a member of PSS1's Executive Board, explained, "The acquisition of Aeria Games Europe allows us full access to new markets and target groups, making us one of the top three publishers in Europe in one fell swoop, and takes us a big step forward in mobile gaming, the sector's largest growth driver. The transaction is fully in line with our strategy of strengthening our portfolio of digital assets by making bolt-on acquisitions." [Source: ProSiebenSat.1 press release] ProSiebenSat.1 acquires Aeria Games Europe originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EverQuest Next Landmark shows the awesomeness of the grappling hook Posted: 27 Feb 2014 01:30 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Video, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Sandbox Do you remember Bionic Commando from way back when (or its remake)? It was a decent run-and-gun platformer that was most notable for the main character's grappling hook arm. If swinging through the air instead of running like a chump appeals to you, then you'll definitely want to check out EverQuest Next Landmark's grappling hook. A new video from SOE shows this unusual (at least for MMOs but not for Batman) method of rapid transporation. The grappling hook can launch out to snag surfaces a good distance away (or straight up) and pull the user to them. It's part of the EverQuest Next focus on increased movement options, and it is something you have to see in action. Check out the video after the break and let us know: Should all MMOs put in grappling hooks? I think we know the answer to that. Continue reading EverQuest Next Landmark shows the awesomeness of the grappling hook EverQuest Next Landmark shows the awesomeness of the grappling hook originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

CCP Games reveals big plans for EVE Fanfest 2014 Posted: 27 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, News Items, Hands-On, Events (Massively's Coverage), World of Darkness, DUST 514, Sandbox, Anniversaries, Subscription The universe of EVE Online may be best known as a crazy virtual galaxy full of back-stabbing pirates and political betrayal, but for a few days each year it becomes something altogether more tangible. At the annual EVE Fanfest, hundreds of the game's most devoted fans make the long pilgrimage to the game's birthplace in Reykjavik, Iceland. In addition to the official talks and reveals on the game's future from developer CCP Games, Fanfest plays host to charity raffles, roundtable discussions with developers, and informal get-togethers for players to share their stories. Last year's 10th anniversary Fanfest was the biggest one yet, with information included on World of Darkness and DUST 514 and the official reveal of Oculus Rift-based dogfighter EVE Valkyrie. This year's attendees can look forward to the first ever live demo of EVE's yet-to-be-revealed summer expansion, hands-on experience with the next major evolution of DUST 514, and playtests of a brand-new build of the virtual reality dogfighter EVE Valkyrie. This year's Fanfest will also see a special monument dedicated to EVE Online players revealed to the world; The "Worlds Within a World" monument will be installed in Reykjavik Harbor and will be etched with the names of all active EVE subscribers on March 1st. It's also hoped that crowdfunded EVE Online documentary A Tale of Internet Spaceships will be premiered during the Fanfest weekend, and we'll reportedly hear the latest on CCP's new EVE comic book and live action TV series. The event takes place from May 1st to May 3rd, and I'll be attending this year's event on behalf of Massively to bring you in-depth first-hand coverage of all the big reveals. Stay tuned! CCP Games reveals big plans for EVE Fanfest 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: CCP Games press release

The Stream Team: Crafting and gathering in FFXIV Posted: 27 Feb 2014 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Economy, Game Mechanics, Final Fantasy XIV, Livestream, Crafting, The Stream Team After a busy day of adventuring, Final Fantasy XIV offers players a variety of activities to unwind with, including pretty robust crafting and gathering systems. You just might need to... watch your back. Why? Oh, no reason. Join Massively's Jasmine live today at 3:00 p.m. as she crafts and gathers her way through Eorzea! Game: Final Fantasy XIV Host: Jasmine Hruschak Date: Thursday, February 27st, 2014 Time: 3:00 p.m. EST Enjoy our Stream Team video below. Continue reading The Stream Team: Crafting and gathering in FFXIV The Stream Team: Crafting and gathering in FFXIV originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Field Journal: A strong CoHmmunity Posted: 27 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Culture, MMO Industry, Opinion, Sunsets, MMORPG, Field Journal Last week a package arrived for me, sent by the incomparable Beau Hindman. He had been clearing out some of his old gaming paraphernalia, and when he happened on his old City of Heroes disks, something spurred him to offer them freely to anyone in the team who wanted them. I gratefully accepted. Ever since they arrived, they've dominated my thoughts, despite some highly dramatic events in the time since, weighty and uplifting alike. It's a game that just keeps inspiring acts of generosity and kindness. I started playing CoH on the very day it went free-to-play, but it struck a chord with me nearly instantly. I soon found it had an amazing community on top of everything the developers were responsible for, and that's when I fell in love. It went from "that old game probably no one plays anymore" to "the best MMO I have ever played" to "the cancellation that broke my heart" in all too short a time. Fortunately, the example set by the incredible community and its determination to carry the torch helped to mend my coronary fractures. As much as there is to learn from all aspects of MMOs, the single most important element will always be community. I can think of no finer example to look to than CoH. Continue reading Field Journal: A strong CoHmmunity Field Journal: A strong CoHmmunity originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

RIFT willing to ban players for toxic forum behavior Posted: 27 Feb 2014 10:30 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Events (In-Game), News Items, Free-to-Play, RIFT, Subscription Official game forums have a reputation for being hopelessly toxic. It makes a certain amount of sense, too; being an utter jerk in the forums usually means that at worst you'll be banned from those forums. So RIFT is taking things up to the next level. If you choose to be persistently awful in the forums, you can eventually have your ability to play the game suspended. Readers with a long memory will note that Sony Online Entertainment has discussed similar possibilities in the past, hoping to encourage a more positive and engaging atmosphere all around. The Carnival of the Ascended is rolling back into the game and helping create a more positive atmosphere as well, giving players a plethora of minigames to enjoy. RIFT Junkies has a full guide to the event available now, walking players through the steps necessary to unlock mounts, pets, and fun cosmetic pieces. So enjoy the addition... assuming you haven't run afoul of the more aggressive behavior policies. [Thanks to Cederhill for the tip!] RIFT willing to ban players for toxic forum behavior originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Please Be Aware: New Forum Toxicity Policies, Carnival of the Ascended guide

Perfect Ten: The journey from announcement to launch Posted: 27 Feb 2014 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Launches, Opinion, Humor, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous One of the aspects that I love about MMOs is just how dang fun the build-up to launch can be. I know this period can make some people cranky (Jef) because they'd rather have Santa randomly kick in their door, toss in a bunch of unwrapped video games and Minecraft foam accessories, and refuse to stay for milk and cookies. Not me; I love the build-up, the anticipation, and the goofy fun of partaking in all of this with a like-minded community. There's something awesome about each stage of the journey from announcement to launch, even if it brings out the crazy in many of us. Now that I think about it, if MMOs didn't exist, where would the drama llamas go to bleat out their discontent? Would trolls go extinct under their mossy bridges? That sounds just awful. I don't care if liking all of this stuff makes me a big lame-o. I eat lame-os for breakfast because they're high in fiber and there's a free beta key in every box. So get ready to face the full might of my unadulterated joy in three... two... one... Continue reading Perfect Ten: The journey from announcement to launch Perfect Ten: The journey from announcement to launch originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

A look at MMOs from the marketing perspective Posted: 27 Feb 2014 09:30 AM PST Filed under: Business Models, MMO Industry, News Items, Miscellaneous Gamers don't tend to think about MMOs from a marketing perspective; that's not what we're most interested in. So it's informative to take a look at a recent piece from [a]list daily about the state of MMORPGs in terms of profits, business models, and future developments. The piece looks at the history of the genre as well as World of Warcraft's apex, considering the likely future path as well as the emerging markets not yet tapped. Unlike many such analyses, this piece sees a bright potential future for The Elder Scrolls Online, explaining that even a small percentage of Skyrim customers buying the game will make back the game's production budget. It also examines the emerging tablet and mobile market, arguing that this is the most obvious sector for substantial growth over the next few years. For a more detailed look, take a read through the full article. A look at MMOs from the marketing perspective originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Feb 2014 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: [a]list daily

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