General Gaming Article

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• OEM Crapware is Still Alive and Well on Windows 8
• HP Struggles To Maintain its Hold Over PC Market: CEO Warns Investors 2013 Will Be Another Challenging Year
• Microsoft Confirms Holiday Pop-Up Stores Selling Surface RT Will Open By October 26

OEM Crapware is Still Alive and Well on Windows 8 Posted: 07 Oct 2012 08:10 PM PDT Windows 8 hardware and software doesn't officially go on sale until October 26th, but apparently The Home Shopping Network didn't get the memo. Either that or they did get the memo, but just chose to ignore it. The online portal for the popular shopping television show is offering up 5 different machines from Gateway and Acer, all of which feature Windows 8 pre-installed. The models shown are hardly remarkable, however as ZDNet's Ed Bott points out, the marketing matterials confirm what we all feared. Crapware is alive and well on Windows 8, and Microsoft seems powerless to prevent it.  According to the detailed spec's page here is what buyers of the Acer models will encounter: Microsoft Office 2010 (60-day trial)  Acer Portal Acer Games Acer Recovery Management Nero 12 Essentials Adobe Reader  Norton Internet Security Suite (60-day trial) The Gate machine has a fairly similar list: Microsoft Office 2010 (60-day trial)  CyberLink PowerDVD  Gateway MyBackup Solution  Gateway Games  Powered by WildTangent (10 demo games with 60 minutes of game play) Gateway Recovery Management Adobe Reader  Adobe Flash Norton Internet Security (60-day trial) Acer's CEO J.T. Wang warned Microsoft to "think it over" with reference to the Surface tablet, but to be clear, PC's equipped as described above are exactly why we need the Surface. Perhaps it's Mr Wang who should be "thinking it over". Consumers are sick of being bombarded by offers when they start up a shiny new PC, and it's one of the areas Apple continues to have us beat. If Microsoft continues to expand its physical store presence, along with the Signature Program, perhaps all hope is not lost. Follow Justin on Twitter

HP Struggles To Maintain its Hold Over PC Market: CEO Warns Investors 2013 Will Be Another Challenging Year Posted: 07 Oct 2012 09:27 AM PDT My favorite CEO adage by far is the tale of three envelopes. It is rumored that a new chief executive is presented with three envelopes by his predecessor. These notes of wisdom are designed to be opened in sequence in response to any serious crisis. The first letter directs the new leader to shift blame to the last CEO. The second envelope directs the CEO to re-organize and fire people. The last and final piece of advice on the third letter is to prepare three identical envelopes for the next guy. This urban legend may elicit a few snickers from the readers, but unfortunately for HP CEO Meg Whitman, it looks like she's already cracked open two of her three envelopes.  The HP CEO had lots to say when she confronted shareholders last week, and in her most reassuring tone possible, was forced to report quarterly results that would drop the stock to a nine year low. To top it off, HP announced 2013 would be another restructuring year, and it would struggle to be profitable until 2014 at the earliest. So who's to blame you ask? Well, according to Whitman: "The single biggest challenge facing Hewlett-Packard has been changes in CEOs and executive leadership, which has caused multiple inconsistent strategic choices, and frankly some significant executional miscues. This is important because as a result it is going to take longer to right this ship than any of us would like," she added.  HP is already at risk of losing its title as the world's largest PC manufacturer to Lenovo, but could it get even worse? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Follow Justin on Twitter

Microsoft Confirms Holiday Pop-Up Stores Selling Surface RT Will Open By October 26 Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:45 AM PDT Microsoft tends to trickle out important details at a snail's pace, including minor tidbits such as when and where holiday shoppers will be able to pick up the company's new flagship consumer product. Microsoft made it abundantly clear during its Surface press conference that only Microsoft stores would carry the device, and since so few of these locations exist, pop-up stores would help pick up the slack. The location of these temporary stores has been known for a few months now, however, only now do we finally have confirmation on the dates.  According to WinSuperSite.com all locations will be stocked and ready to go by October 26th 2012, which conveniently, is also the release date for both the Surface RT, and Windows 8. It's not clear at this point if the company plans to sell anything other than the Surface at the pop-up locations, however I would be shocked if you couldn't pick up boxed versions of Windows 8 as well.  Below is a current list of all the pop-up locations we know about. To find your nearest location hit up Microsoft's store location page.     • Aventura Mall – Aventura, Fla. • Beachwood Place – Beachwood, Ohio • Cherry Creek Shopping Center – Denver, Co. • Dadeland Mall  – Miami, Fla. • Eaton Centre – Toronto, Ontario • Fashion Mall at Keystone – Indianapolis, Ind. • Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas, Nev. • Glendale Galleria – Glendale, Calif. • Mall at Green Hills – Nashville, Tenn. • Mall in Columbia – Columbia, Md. • Metropolis at Metrotown – Burnaby, B.C. • Montgomery Mall – Bethesda, Md. • Natick Collection – Natick, Mass. • North Star Mall – San Antonio, Texas • Oakridge Centre – Vancouver, B.C. • Penn Square Mall – Oklahoma City, Okla. • Perimeter Mall – Atlanta, Ga. • Roosevelt Field Mall – Garden, City, N.Y. • Ross Park Mall – Pittsburgh, Pa. • Saint Louis Galleria – St. Louis, Mo. • San Francisco Centre – San Francisco, Calif. • South Shore Plaza – Braintree, Mass. • Southpark Mall – Charlotte, N.C. • Stonebriar Centre Mall – Frisco, Texas • Streets at Southpoint – Durham, N.C. • Time Warner Center – The Shops at Columbus Circle – New York, N.Y. • Washington Square– Portland, Ore. • West Edmonton Mall – Edmonton, Alberta • Westfarms Mall – West Hartford, Conn. • Westfield Garden State Plaza – Paramus, N.J. • Woodland Hills Mall – Tulsa, Okla. • Woodlands Mall – Woodlands, Texas

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MMO and SEO News from Gameforumer.com

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• InnoGames-Headquarters Hosts Kartuga Alpha Challenge
• Preview: Hitman Absolution
• World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria – First Look
• This was the thing that our Team Played this Sunday
• Rift: Storm Legion trebles the size of the game, fills it with colossal beasts
• Queen’s Blade Online – Mobile games in development
• Review: Sonic Adventure 2

InnoGames-Headquarters Hosts Kartuga Alpha Challenge Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:33 AM PDT InnoGames-Headquarters Hosts Kartuga Alpha Challenge Players invited to sneak peek of upcoming game with battles and prizes Hamburg, October 4, 2012. InnoGames unveils the 3D pirate browser game - Kartuga - for the first time, to a small selection of players, on November 24. The Kartuga Alpha, organized by the game's developer will take place in Hamburg, at the [...]

Preview: Hitman Absolution Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:31 AM PDT My favorite thing about previews isn't that I can check out games before release. No. That comes a close second. What really gets me going is trolling the PR supervising such events. With every publisher trying to be like a doting mother to their games, touting them to be unique and special like snow flakes, [...]

World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria – First Look Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:27 AM PDT World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria – First Look The newest installment of World of Warcraft has arrived and Galarn the Titan shows us what the update is all about. Mists of Pandaria raised the existing level cap from level 85 to 90. It introduced a new character class, the Monk, along with a new playable race, [...]

This was the thing that our Team Played this Sunday Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:23 AM PDT As expected, many of our writers are spending this weekend wandering about Pandora in search for good loot. Two of them are also busy working on their respective reviews so tune into Gameforumer next week for both our F1 2012 and Dead or Alive 5 reviews. So without further aideau, here's what kept us busy [...]

Rift: Storm Legion trebles the size of the game, fills it with colossal beasts Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:17 AM PDT Storm Legion trebles the size of Rift's already-huge MMORPG world. Senior designer William Cook flashes up the game's map for me, showing the play area of the original Rift. The two new continents the studio are adding are each as big as the original game. More space is always nice, but the reason that they [...]

Queen’s Blade Online – Mobile games in development Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:14 AM PDT According to various Korean mobile gaming reports, MMO developer Liveplex is currently preparing 2 mobile games based on its MMORPG, Queen's Blade Online. These 2 mobile games will consist elements such as turn-based RPG and a strategic simulation game. Both are expected to be released in Korea later this year as part of a planned [...]

Review: Sonic Adventure 2 Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:12 AM PDT I have some pretty vivid memories of spending entire days playing Sonic Adventure 2 on both the Dreamcast and GameCube. I can clearly remember rollin’ around at the speed of sound. I had places to go. I followed my rainbow. That was, however, back in 2001. Certain aspects of this high-definition re-release simply aren’t as [...]

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Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

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• InnoGames-Headquarters Hosts Kartuga Alpha Challenge
• Preview: Hitman Absolution
• World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria – First Look
• This was the thing that our Team Played this Sunday
• Rift: Storm Legion trebles the size of the game, fills it with colossal beasts
• Queen’s Blade Online – Mobile games in development
• Review: Sonic Adventure 2

InnoGames-Headquarters Hosts Kartuga Alpha Challenge Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:33 AM PDT InnoGames-Headquarters Hosts Kartuga Alpha Challenge Players invited to sneak peek of upcoming game with battles and prizes Hamburg, October 4, 2012. InnoGames unveils the 3D pirate browser game - Kartuga - for the first time, to a small selection of players, on November 24. The Kartuga Alpha, organized by the game's developer will take place in Hamburg, at the [...]

Preview: Hitman Absolution Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:31 AM PDT My favorite thing about previews isn't that I can check out games before release. No. That comes a close second. What really gets me going is trolling the PR supervising such events. With every publisher trying to be like a doting mother to their games, touting them to be unique and special like snow flakes, [...]

World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria – First Look Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:27 AM PDT World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria – First Look The newest installment of World of Warcraft has arrived and Galarn the Titan shows us what the update is all about. Mists of Pandaria raised the existing level cap from level 85 to 90. It introduced a new character class, the Monk, along with a new playable race, [...]

This was the thing that our Team Played this Sunday Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:23 AM PDT As expected, many of our writers are spending this weekend wandering about Pandora in search for good loot. Two of them are also busy working on their respective reviews so tune into Gameforumer next week for both our F1 2012 and Dead or Alive 5 reviews. So without further aideau, here's what kept us busy [...]

Rift: Storm Legion trebles the size of the game, fills it with colossal beasts Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:17 AM PDT Storm Legion trebles the size of Rift's already-huge MMORPG world. Senior designer William Cook flashes up the game's map for me, showing the play area of the original Rift. The two new continents the studio are adding are each as big as the original game. More space is always nice, but the reason that they [...]

Queen’s Blade Online – Mobile games in development Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:14 AM PDT According to various Korean mobile gaming reports, MMO developer Liveplex is currently preparing 2 mobile games based on its MMORPG, Queen's Blade Online. These 2 mobile games will consist elements such as turn-based RPG and a strategic simulation game. Both are expected to be released in Korea later this year as part of a planned [...]

Review: Sonic Adventure 2 Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:12 AM PDT I have some pretty vivid memories of spending entire days playing Sonic Adventure 2 on both the Dreamcast and GameCube. I can clearly remember rollin’ around at the speed of sound. I had places to go. I followed my rainbow. That was, however, back in 2001. Certain aspects of this high-definition re-release simply aren’t as [...]

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Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

MMO Updates

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• EB Games Expo 2012: The people have a voice!
• One Shots: Beautiful balloon
• The Daily Grind: Do you eat while you play?
• EB Games Expo 2012: Hello from Sydney!
• The Tattered Notebook: Seven highlights from SOE Fan Faire history
• The Mog Log: Reacting to FFXIV's relaunch information
• RIFT reveals the Tactician, master of flamethrowers
• The Game Archaeologist: The curious case of Lost Colony

EB Games Expo 2012: The people have a voice! Posted: 07 Oct 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Galleries, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage You may be thinking to yourself, "I saw yesterday's EB Games Expo highlights video, but I want to hear from the people in that wacky Sydney crowd!" Consider your wishes granted: Massively Multimedia Contributor David Desi (that's Psykopig to you livestream junkies) today submits his next video from this weekend's convention down under, and it's loaded with all the man-on-the-street interviews you can handle. What do Aussies want to see when they come to a con? Just how confused are attendees about the races in Guild Wars 2? Can Sydney cosplayers pull off a Mario accent? It's all there along with the Pig's usual dose of crazy humor. Check out the video just after the break, and stay tuned for the final video later today -- a full interview with some of the people responsible for Guild Wars 2! Gallery: EB Games Expo Sydney 2012 Continue reading EB Games Expo 2012: The people have a voice! EB Games Expo 2012: The people have a voice! originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

One Shots: Beautiful balloon Posted: 07 Oct 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: World of Warcraft, Galleries, Screenshots, Guild Wars 2, Massively Meta, One Shots, TERA, Miscellaneous Massively logically selects for readers who aren't necessarily playing World of Warcraft -- if you were, you'd probably be reading our sister site WoW Insider, not this column. But I am still a WoW fan, as is this week's One Shots submitter, William. He sent in a freshly snapped pic from Mists of Pandaria with this note: This screenshot is a little bit of a spoiler, so I won't actually say much about what's in it, but needless to say, this is one of my favourite scenes from the Pandaren starting area. The art design is fantastic in Blizzard's new expansion! Also, panda in a balloon! William's color image is tucked after the break along with a few more of your One Shots-worthy images. Continue reading One Shots: Beautiful balloon One Shots: Beautiful balloon originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Do you eat while you play? Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous MMOs are time-consuming in a way that few other games are. The oldest games often asked people to sit and camp monsters for hours on end, the sort of thing that required a long vigil and continued attention. Those days are largely gone, but even in games supporting more bite-sized chunks of content, there's still a strong incentive for long leveling sessions and chain-running dungeons. Considering that you're likely in a game that's overflowing with food items, either from crafting or as background ambiance, it's understandable why you might want to get a bite to eat. And if you're just going to go back to playing after you're done eating, why wait? Sometimes you really can't eat at your desk (or wherever you play), and sometimes you don't want to. But as a rule, do you eat while you play your game of choice? Or do you step away from the game to have a snack? 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 eat while you play? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EB Games Expo 2012: Hello from Sydney! Posted: 06 Oct 2012 07:00 PM PDT Filed under: Video, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Previews, Massively Meta, Humor, Massively Event Coverage, Miscellaneous This weekend, Massively's resident Aussie and livestreamer extraordinaire David Desi -- aka Psykopig -- was on the ground at the EB Games Expo in Sydney, Australia, marking the first time we've ever sent anyone to an Australian gaming con. It was jam-packed with goodness -- so much goodness that he had to make a video highlighting the weekend's adventures! You'll see some dancing, some silly faces, a whole bunch of cosplay... and maybe even a few surprises! Ever seen Deadpool and Darth Vader battle through dance? What about a flock (I think it's a flock?) of Pikachu jumping out from behind a host? If you are quick enough, you might even glimpse a wild Psykopig appearing and having a dance himself. Check out our convention overview video behind the break, and stay tuned for more videos and even a Guild Wars 2 interview later this weekend! Continue reading EB Games Expo 2012: Hello from Sydney! EB Games Expo 2012: Hello from Sydney! originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Tattered Notebook: Seven highlights from SOE Fan Faire history Posted: 06 Oct 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: EverQuest, EverQuest II, Opinion, Free Realms, Legends of Norrath, DC Universe Online, The Tattered Notebook, EverQuest Next, PlanetSide 2 There's just a couple of weeks left until this year's SOE Live, and players are all preparing for what should be a very busy convention with lots of game news. But for some of us, it's hard to get used to not calling it Fan Faire. The gathering has had a long past spanning more than a decade and more than a few memorable moments (some of them not fit to print!). What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas, and as fans get ready to once again descend upon Bally's, it's worth looking back at highlights from past Fan Faires. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll revisit a few of those memorable moments. Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Seven highlights from SOE Fan Faire history The Tattered Notebook: Seven highlights from SOE Fan Faire history originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Mog Log: Reacting to FFXIV's relaunch information Posted: 06 Oct 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Previews, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log Not so long ago I was getting upset at a lack of hard information on Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch. (All right, I was getting upset at a lack of hard information on stuff to make people currently long gone care about the game, but that was tied into a lack of hard information.) Over the last two weeks, we've received a lot of hard information on the relaunch. Well played, Naoki Yoshida. Well played. Metacommentary aside, we've actually gotten some useful bits, chiefly in the form of a fully translated Letter from the Producer LIVE and an update on what's happening with items and money when the relaunch happens. There's a lot of information to hit there, so I'm just going to take it piece by piece and cover what I see as the highlights. I wouldn't say that this information really fixes some of the communication concerns I've had, but it certainly mollifies me for the moment. Continue reading The Mog Log: Reacting to FFXIV's relaunch information The Mog Log: Reacting to FFXIV's relaunch information originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

RIFT reveals the Tactician, master of flamethrowers Posted: 06 Oct 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Game mechanics, Lore, Previews, Professions, News items, PvE, RIFT RIFT has been updated with new areas and content since launch, but the upcoming Storm Legion expansion is set to seriously kick things up a notch. As if tripling the size of the game world weren't enough, the expansion will raise the level cap and add a new technology-based soul to each of the game's core classes. The battle-mage style Harbinger soul was revealed at Gamescom 2012 in August, followed by the Tempest, and data from the test server hinted that the remaining pair might be named Defiler and Tactician. Last night Trion Worlds confirmed our suspicions by revealing the new Rogue Tactician soul to livestream viewers. The Tactician uses a magical weapon that's part flamethrower and part fire extinguisher, able to deal incredible area-effect elemental damage to enemies but actually heal allies. Players using the soul can also place small devices called Cores on the ground to provide area-effect healing, buffs, and additional damage. The flamethrower-like weapon is directionally aimed and can be channelled while the player is moving, so clever positioning is required to get the most out of this unique soul. RIFT reveals the Tactician, master of flamethrowers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Tactician reveal

The Game Archaeologist: The curious case of Lost Colony Posted: 06 Oct 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, MMO industry, Legal, The Game Archaeologist You know the story of Roanoke, right? That early American settlement that abruptly went missing with only the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree for later colonists to find? It's a big mystery that might not be much of a mystery at all, but I've always been fascinated with it and other similar tales. There's just something about an abruptly vanishing thing or people to arrest the imagination. So what about an entire MMO that one day just went "poof" and vanished into thin air? And what if it had the ironic name of Lost Colony? And what if I were so bored as to scour the internet for clues as to what happened to it? I think you're going to find out. Lost Colony came to my attention during a recent trip to Planet Wikipedia, where the natives are interesting if not always fully sourced. I was reading through an article on vaporware when this game caught my eye. An MMO I never heard of that just disappeared? I felt a Scooby Doo mystery coming on! Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: The curious case of Lost Colony The Game Archaeologist: The curious case of Lost Colony originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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MMORPG News

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• Guild Wars 2: Game On Podcast: ArenaNet's Bobby Stein
• Battle of 3 Kingdoms: October Events Announced
• Runescape: Player Events Support Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• General: SOE Plans Halloween Happenings In All Games
• Uncharted Waters Online: Second Anniversary Celebration

Guild Wars 2: Game On Podcast: ArenaNet's Bobby Stein Posted: 06 Oct 2012 04:38 PM PDT Guild Wars 2 has been going strong since launch, and this week, Som Pourfarzaneh talks with Bobby Stein, Lead Writer at ArenaNet, all about writing for GW2, dialogue, VO, storytelling, in-game text, and much more!

Battle of 3 Kingdoms: October Events Announced Posted: 04 Oct 2012 06:42 PM PDT The Battle of 3 Kingdoms team has laid out a trio of events for October. There is an in-game event, a Facebook event and a recruit-a-friend event that all yield some pretty awesome in game swag.

Runescape: Player Events Support Breast Cancer Awareness Month Posted: 04 Oct 2012 06:46 PM PDT RuneScape clans have banded together to raise awareness for breast cancer research by donning pink for the month of October. Thousands of players are sporting pink hair, clothing, armor and more. Players also participated in a walk across the Gielinor game world.

General: SOE Plans Halloween Happenings In All Games Posted: 04 Oct 2012 06:35 PM PDT Sony Online Entertainment has laid out the spooky happenings for Halloween in all of the games in its stable of MMOs. DC Universe Online, Free Realms, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures and Vanguard will all see spooky events throughout the month of October.

Uncharted Waters Online: Second Anniversary Celebration Posted: 04 Oct 2012 06:27 PM PDT The team behind Uncharted Waters Online is pleased to announced that for the next month, players will be able to celebrate the game's second anniversary with activities both in game and via social media platforms. Players logging in on Saturday, October 6th will receive a premium ticket that can be traded for one of fifteen 'covetous' prizes.

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