20th anniversary
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Blue Origin has been trying to get the hell off this planet for 20 years now
Blue Origin has built three New Shepards to date. (The crew capsule was unharmed; the rocket stage, not so much.) It comes in two variants: a 270-foot-tall two-stage rocket and a 313-foot-tall three-stage rocket.
Choose between a house or the first ever 20th Anniversary Edition PS4
Sony caused quite a stir with the unveiling of the 20th Anniversary Edition PlayStation 4, and gamers fell over themselves to get their hands on one of 12,300 pieces of gaming nostalgia. Those online sales and promotional '80s stores have now closed, but the company isn't finished yet. It's just put up the most collectable PlayStation 4 of all for auction and is now taking bids for the first 20th Anniversary Edition PS4 ever made -- the one that carries the coveted 00001/12300 plate.
Duke Nukem 2 on its way to iOS
Duke Nukem 3D is already available to play on the App Store now, and just in time for the sequel's 20th anniversary, Duke Nukem 2 is coming to the App Store soon. Interceptor Entertainment (the folks behind the recent Rise of the Triad reboot announcement) has teamed up with 3D Realms to bring the second, side-scrolling Duke Nukem to iOS, as you can see in the reveal trailer, up now. They're working on a version that will contain all of the original's 32 levels, plus some new artwork and music, as well as touchscreen support (of course), and leaderboards. Interceptor says the game is due out on iOS in April for a price of US$1.99. We'll look for it then.
Twenty years after the birth of SMS, its creator consents to a text-only interview
Finnish engineer Matti Makkonen famously dreamed up the idea for the SMS (Short Message Service) in a Copenhagen pizza shop in 1984, and the first message ("Happy Christmas") was sent to a Vodafone UK cellphone from a PC on December 3, 1992. Since then, an estimated 8 trillion texts have been sent, and now the normally recalcitrant pioneer has given the BBC a rare interview (appropriately via text message), where he discussed "txtspk,' keypads vs. touchscreens, and the next big tech development. While described as the father of SMS, Makkonen is still reluctant to take sole credit, saying it was "the result of a joint effort to collect ideas and write a specification." On top of that, he never felt the idea was patentable and therefore never saw a penny from the invention, despite its present day pervasiveness. As for textspeak, the engineer refrains from creating abbreviated messages himself, saying "my passion is to write correct language (Finnish), using all 160 characters." He's happy to do this using a modern touchscreen phone, although he couldn't resist using the interview to pay a charmingly backhanded compliment, saying they're "slow enough (that I can) think and sometimes even edit what I write." [Image credit: Nokia]
Wolfenstein 3D celebrates 20 years of machine guns and flag-obscured passages with free web version
To commemorate the big two-oh years since its release, Bethesda has offered up the full Wolfenstein 3D experience to play for free in your web browser. Not only that, you'll also be able to play the id original on iOS devices gratis (at least for today) and creator John Carmack has decided to offer us a director's commentary on the game's development while shooting his way through a few levels. Watch, nod and reminisce right after the break, then hit up the source to play for yourself.
A day in the life of a QA analyst
Blizzard has been celebrating its 20-year anniversary with loads of fun features looking behind the scenes at the company, including a look at a day in the life of John Shin, a QA analyst for World of Warcraft. His account of just a normal day around the office was written during the Cataclysm development cycle. Read about Shin's adventures in the Blizzard gym, meetings with production specialists, and epic tales of squashing bugs and taking names. If you've ever wanted to know what goes on behind the scenes, especially during the ramp-up to releasing a finished title, check out John Shin's story. One of my favorite aspects of the story is that you get a real feel for how the culture at Blizzard wants games to be a vital part of the work environment. You're making video games for a living, after all. You've got to stock the office and encourage game play in all aspects of the job so that you're always thinking about what is fun and what works. John's story highlights Blizzard's goal of creating fun games within a fun atmosphere.
Microsoft Research celebrates 20 years of crazy innovation
Microsoft Research was founded way back in 1991 as a way of turning cutting edge concepts into products. Over the years, the division has been behind some of the most exciting ideas that have come out of Redmond, from fluffy mice to HIV / AIDS research. The department is celebrating its 20th anniversary by highlighting some of its favorite projects over the next four weeks, so we're beating it to the punch with some of picks. Check out our list below.
Bungie gives out blue flaming helmets in Halo: Reach
You know, when we think about heads on fire, we don't think about Bungie's illustrious flaming helmets in Halo. It's because we could never have one; we're not Bungie employees. Now we all can enjoy the loss of tactical advantage that only comes from having a head on fire! Bungie's giving the flaming helmets in Halo: Reach (plus a special name plate) to anyone who registers on Bungie.net or through the recently released iOS app -- you have until "the close of Bungie Day" on July 7 to get yours. Oh, and if you're wondering about Bungie Aerospace, keep wondering: Bungie's still not talking. Hit the jump for a PSA video produced by Bungie if you're looking for some more animated coverage.
CCP and White Wolf celebrating Vampire's 20th anniversary with new rulebook, fan gala
Vampire: The Masquerade is gearing up to celebrate its 20th birthday (20 years!?), and while two decades may be a drop in the proverbial bucket to your average vampire, it's quite a chunk of time for mere mortals. White Wolf (which MMO aficionados probably know as a subsidiary of CCP) is celebrating the milestone with a limited-run anniversary edition of the RPG's core rulebook. The tome is available via pre-order and will set you back a hefty $99.99. The book's release will coincide with The Grand Masquerade 2011, a fan event scheduled for September 15th to 18th in New Orleans that will feature, among other things, "the next look at the future of the World of Darkness MMO."
Bungie celebrates 20 years with promise of Bungie Aerospace reveal, free iOS app
It's hard to believe that the house that built Halo has been around for nearly 20 years, and only kicked off the past decade of Halo games halfway through its lifespan, but that's the case. The now-independent developer is celebrating the big two zero this year, and in typical Bungie fashion the studio will be offering a variety of special items to its fans, starting with an already released (and free) iOS app. For those of you who without an iOS device, a whole mess of other things will be going down between June 23 and July 7 -- "Bungie Day" -- such as special additions to the Bungie store. And more importantly to us, the still mysterious "Bungie Aerospace" will be explained "in explicit detail. You can also win some totally serious actual steaks if you beat the Bungie dudes in Halo: Reach "by 20 kills or more" on July 7 -- a difficult feat for sure, but one worthy of earning the title "Steaktacular." The team will be in Reach multiplayer for all 24 hours of that day. [Thanks, Tyler C]
Sonic Adventure and sequel get 20th anniversary soundtracks
The soundtracks to the Dreamcast's Sonic Adventure games are being re-released in Japan to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first game's arrival back in 1991. The track listing isn't the full version of the soundtrack, evidently, but the first disc will have the classics, including the "It Doesn't Matter" theme as well as "Open Your Heart." The Sonic Adventure CD is due out on May 18, with Sonic Adventure 2 following on June 22. CDJapan will be selling both for about $27, and Amazon Japan also has preorders available. Ah, the memories -- we can almost feel that giant killer whale smashing up the pier behind us.
Jeff Green penning Blizzard 20th anniversary book
We've been filling zerg-shaped balloons all year in preparation for Blizzard Entertainment's 20th anniversary in 2011. Former EA.com editor-in-chief (and former EIC of Games for Windows magazine) Jeff Green, however, has been writing a book for the company. Announced via his personal blog this past weekend, Green says he's been "contracted to write a book for Blizzard on their upcoming 20th Anniversary." While our faith in Mr. Green is unshakable, we can't help but wonder if the book will see 15 years of rewrites before being released. It is, after all, a Blizzard product. We kid, we kid!
TidBITS celebrates 20 years of online publishing excellence
Although the Apple blogging community is fairly tight-knit, we usually don't go out of our way to laud our competitors. This week, however, we're making an exception. Back in 1990, Adam and Tonya Engst jump-started the online publishing world with TidBITS. Initially, TidBITS was distributed as a HyperCard stack filled with Mac news, reviews, and opinion articles. Later it became a text-based publication, then moved to the Web. Adam was responsible for getting many Mac users connected to the Internet in the early days through his classic book The Internet Starter Kit for Mac, which provided step-by-step instructions in how to connect to the 'net in the days before Wi-Fi and broadband. Many of the writers at TidBITS are well-known names in the digital world, and TidBITS has also spawned its own publishing house: Take Control Books. This week marks the 20th anniversary of TidBITS, and (fitting for a digital publication) issue 1,024 -- that's 2 to the 10th power for those of you who don't play with numbers. From all of us at TUAW to all of you at TidBITS, congratulations!
CEDIA 2009: Super 3D Special Platinum Series Edition
This year for its 20th Anniversary CEDIA shifts from Denver to Atlanta, and we're already on the ground ready to let you know what this show is bringing to the consumer electronics world. Think info on new televisions, receivers, speakers, high end custom install equipment and everything in between is something you'd be interested in? Keep an eye on Engadget HD, though we had to nix the live podcast this week, we'll be bringing booth tours, hands ons as well as live coverage of Microsoft's press conference Wednesday night and any other surprising updates we find out about. Let us know in the comments if you've got a particular point of interest, some time in the next four days we'll be able to swing by and get your questions answered.
Nintendo's Game Boy turns 20
In case you hadn't heard, Nintendo's trend-setting handheld, the Game Boy, just had its 20th birthday -- and that's no small thing for a game console. We won't bore you with stories from our childhood about wasted time and missed opportunities spent chasing the dragon that was Tetris, but we will entertain the hell out of you with this vintage ad touting the system's launch from way back in the totally excellent year of 1989. We know what you're thinking: does the robot create the kid or just warp him there? And if he does create him, does that mean he's some kind of metallic god? And does that mean that the kid kills god? And... why is the robot dancing? Hey -- now you're playing with power.
20th Anniversary Mac unboxing video kind of makes us wish product had never existed
There aren't many ways to hop in the time machine and enjoy old-school hardware the way it was meant to be enjoyed, and that's what makes virgin unboxings of vintage equipment so very special. If even for just a few moments, it's an opportunity to pretend that you're in a bygone era where computers, portables, and miscellaneous gizmos held a mystique that has long since been replaced by the monotony of modern ubiquity. We want to emphasize that "just for a few moments" part, a phrase clearly lost on the proud recipient of a new-in-box 20th Anniversary Macintosh -- an aberration in the Apple family tree that cost a staggering $7,500 back in 1997, so we imagine there weren't many tycoons sitting around with enough cash, tech savvy, and collector mentality to buy one and leave it sitting untouched in its cardboard for ten-plus years. Despite the rarity and coolness of this gentleman's find, we found ourselves screaming "just get to the [obscene] unboxing already," "Batman & Robin is the movie you're trying to think of, now can we please continue for the love of all that's good and holy," and "are you ever going to turn it on, or should I just go ahead and gouge my eyes out now?" by the time the 23-minute marathon had reached its anticlimactic conclusion. Word to the wise: if you're going to take your life into your hands and click through to the movie, do yourself a favor and fast-forward liberally. Meanwhile, we're cool going another 20 years without seeing one of these things.
