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RCN picks up seven of Viacom's HD channels
RCN's hardly the first to go for Viacom's 7-pack of HD channels, but we're sure fans of Ultimate Warrior, The Hills, The Daily Show, iCarly and other programs will be glad to have them. Comedy Central, CMT, MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike, VH1 and BET go live today, with HD video on-demand offerings hitting servers July 1. RCN's claiming 100 HD VOD viewing choices, just a few thousand or so behind Comcast at this point, but we figure an upgrade is an upgrade, and at least on RCN you can watch them on a TiVo Premiere, so there's that right?
You bet the 'Madden curse' will strike again
No seriously, that's what you do on PlayBlackjack.com. For those not in the know, the Madden "curse" has afflicted every athlete featured on the cover of a Madden game. These pros get injured in some way through the course of the season, forcing them to miss a few games. When one of the two Madden 10 athletes, Troy Polamalu, suffered an injury to his left knee, many wondered if Larry Fitzgerald would follow. Well, at least one site is planning on turning that inquisitiveness into a real gambling operation.To enter the pool, players will have to successfully guess which week Fitzgerald will get injured, with 9:1 odds offered for each possible game. With quite a number of games still left to play, the odds are definitely not in your favor. However, should Fitzergald manage to dodge a bullet, all bets will be called off. "If Fitzgerald does not get struck by the curse and remains healthy all regular season the bets will be graded as no-action and all money bet will be returned to the bettor."It's certainly a morbid concept to spend money on. We wonder if Madden curse victim Michael Vick is getting in on the action ...
DISH Network adds seven new Viacom HD channels, cements HD supremacy
If you want your MTV HD you can get it, and BET HD, CMT HD, Comedy Central HD, Nickelodeon HD, Spike TV HD and VH1 HD on DISH Network. Thanks to a new deal with Viacom, all those HD feeds were announced today as available to all subscribers at no extra cost. Also included? Video on-demand and Internet streaming rights that senior VP Dave Shull had no problem claiming as a testament to DISH's "continued HD leadership" while also asserting its HD supremacy. BET HD is available on the Classic Silver 200 HD package and up, while all the rest are on the Classic Bronze 100 lineup.
AT&T's U-verse TV picking up seven Viacom networks in HD
Just days after AT&T announced that NHL Network HD would be gliding over to U-verse TV, in flies a report stating that Viacom and AT&T have linked up on a sweet new deal. Said agreement will enable seven new networks to join the U-verse TV EPG: MTV HD, VH1 HD, CMT HD, BET HD, Nickelodeon HD, Comedy Central HD and Spike HD. The deal also "renews carriage of the MTVN and BETN channels and VOD content featured on AT&T U-verse TV, and provides for carriage of new international channels, including MTV India, later this year." Now, let's wait and see if those monthly rates creep up any after the fact.
Warhammer Online director expects three million subscribers
Warhammer Online Creative Director Paul Barnett said in an interview that he's (literally) betting that WAR will achieve one million subscribers within a year and three million at its peak. Apparently there's an office betting pool at Mythic about this subject. If Barnett's right, he stands to win ... wait for it ... $26. Wow. Enjoy your large pizza, man!It's an ambitious bet. Even Barnett himself described it as "bullish." Time will tell if another word -- similar to that one but with a relocated "i" and an added "t" -- will be more appropriate. If all 1.5 million shipped retail boxes sell and there's close to 100% player retention after the first month (that last bit is very unlikely), the game will quickly be halfway to the end goal. But we know from past experience that significant attrition can be a problem.The interview is full of other cocky statements, about World of Warcraft and other topics. If you're interested, grab yourself a grain of salt and start reading!
Many Rogue changes incoming
Rogues were one of the last classes to get new talent trees for LK; in general, it seems like they've been a bit behind during the beta. However, today another blue I've never heard of, by the name of Gamnin, dropped a lot of information about what's in store for the most stabbity of classes. Here are the changes that jump out at me:General: All reagents and tools (such as Thieves' Tools and poison reagents) are being removed. Poison skill is being removed. Poisons can now be bought from vendors. Evasion, Sprint, and Vanish cooldowns reduced from 5 minutes to 3 minutes (2 minute with talents). Cloak of Shadows cooldown raised to 2 minutes (1 minute with Elusiveness). An unspecified new level 75 ability is coming, which will "add some much needed group utility." The previous level 75 ability, Dismantle, will be trainable at level 20.
Officers betting against the raid
After the 20th Supremus kill the game can get a tad boring. There's no doubt about it. Raiders know well that you have to spice things up to keep it fun. One way to do that is to have a lively bunch of people you raid with. With them things can get "interesting" at times. The fellow officers and I in my guild have decided to make things interesting by betting on the number of people that will die during Supremus.For some reason Supremus always manages to kill a few too many people. Not too many that we can't one-shot him, but enough that it makes you scratch your head. No one dies on Illidan, Council, etc... but Supremus? Run for the hills!So to keep the fight interesting someone picks a number, say nine. That number is "the line." Myself and a couple others will take under the line, and a couple others will take over. If less then nine people die, each of us gets 20g. If more than nine die the other folks get 20g each.Is betting against the raid like this a good thing?
Microsoft doesn't think Sony can stick to single PS3 SKU
Since Microsoft apparently didn't suffer enough indignity with the whole J Allard-in-dreads happenings -- we were sure our caption contest sealed the deal -- another Xbox exec has gone on record making predictions on Sony hardware, unfortunately without similarly high stakes. Xbox director of technical strategy Andre Vrignaud is betting a steak dinner with the staff of Level Up that Sony's going to hit the market with a $399 PS3 SKU by Black Friday 2007. His thinking is that Sony won't want to stick with a $599 80GB PS3 as its sole offering, and therefore will drop the 80 gigger to $499 and supplement it with a stripped down $399 40GB PS3 that skips out on WiFi, a memory card reader and backward compatibility. Of course, Sony's not talking much about SKUs ever since its total PR disaster on the 60GB price cut during E3, but that doesn't necessarily mean the company is ready to take a page out of Microsoft's book and go all PS3 "Core" on us.[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
N'Gai Croal vs. MS attack dog in PS3 bet
N'Gai Croal from Newsweek done gone and did it again, he baited another Microsoft guy into a bet ... a gamble they'll probably lose. The new wager is between Croal and Xbox attack dog Andrew "Ozymandias" Vrignaud. The battle lines are that Ozy says there'll be a 40GB $399 version of the PS3 once the "clearance sale" is over. Croal says that once the 60GBs are gone in the next couple months, the 80GB version will drop down to the $499 mark. Sadly, Croal's dreads are not up for grabs this time, it is merely a very expensive steak dinner -- lame! We want the hair of Croal to hang from someone's mantel one day.Previously Croal won a bet against former Xbox poster boy J Allard regarding sales of the PSP. Allard eventually owned up to his side and had the picture you see at right taken. One day we'll get Croal in a wager he's sure to lose -- more importantly, we'll get his pretty dreads too.[Thanks Copa]
Microsoft makes bet: Sony will unveil $399 PS3 this year
It wasn't too long ago when a Microsoft executive was trash-talking Sony. Nay, going so far as to make a bet against their rival gaming manufacturer. Case in point: J. Allard made predicted that Sony's PSP would downright flop. He was wrong, and to honor a bet with Newsweek's N'Gai Croal, he donned dreads and updated his Microsoft company profile page, admitting "N'Gai had it right," and that the PSP was not a failure.Looks like Microsoft is up to the same antics again. This time, Xbox director of technical strategy and attack blogger Andre "Ozymandias" Vrignaud, is the one to take a bet with N'Gai. He states that "My prediction is that you're going to see the creation of a new, low-end SKU this holiday. It'll likely remove integrated WiFi, memory card reader, and most controversially, all backward compatibility. (Remember, there's still some back-compat hardware in even the new "software only" back compat SKUs; removing the remaining CPU is a significant cost savings.) You'll see a new WiFi dongle made available. And finally, this low-end SKU will likely come with a smaller 40 GB hard drive. The low-end price will be set at $399, with the higher-end 80 GB SKU dropping to $499."An interesting concept, to say the least. Ozymandias expects it to arrive by Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year in the US. N'Gai accepted Microsoft's bet ... only this time, the loser will have to buy a steak dinner instead of alter their hair styles (which will simply not be as fun to write about).[Thanks, Copa!]
Bill seeks to legalize video game betting
A new bill to be proposed by Florida Rep. Robert Wexler (D) would seek to exempt "games of skill" from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). While the obvious goal is to protect poker from the UIGEA, the bill would presumably allow for the establishment of online betting networks for most video games. While casinos in Second Life (featuring games of chance, like slots, roulette, etc.) would remain illegal, theoretically, a company could establish a site that took round by round bets on Halo 3 matches, inviting leet slayers to put they monies where they mouths at.Of course, the UIGEA was established in part to quell the enormous debt that online poker players have amassed, so don't expect this bill to float on by Congress. Still, just imagine the hustler-like subculture that would grow from out of the basements of red-eyed gaming junkies if the bill did pass. Sorta terrifying. Sorta tempting.[Thanks, dark54555]
Breakfast Topic: Gambling with prospecting?
The other day I got a message in-game from Sigrdrifa. He mentioned that he had been spending the day spamming the trade channel offering his services prospecting ore. In his advertisement he stated that he could virtually guarantee a blue gem from each stack of Adamantite ore. Some players mentioned that this could never be a guarantee and so in a way he was gambling with other people's ore. Now, I'm not exactly sure if we could call this a game of three ore monty, after all he is saying that on average he receives a blue gem with every stack of ore. But it brings up an interesting idea. If there are possibilities of failure with prospecting, can you ask for tips for such a service? And if there is a gamble, could there by extension be a bet on such a risk? I don't know if this sort of thing is frowned upon by the devs or not, but I would definitely be curious to see how a betting system would work within the game. Not with actual money, but rather with virtual gold. Is prospecting more gambling than not? And if there are assumed risks in the game we deal with, would you ever consider betting on them?
Gambling on games bill passes Illinois legislature
Tired of playing games for near-meaningless Gamerscore points or leaderboard rankings? If you live in Illinois, you may soon be able to play games for cold hard cash instead.The Illinois legislature recently passed HB1124, which would allow residents to place bets on "a contest of 2 or more individuals" in "an electronic video game simulating a contest requiring skill, experience, dexterity, and precision." The key clause here is "requiring skill," so traditional luck-based gambling games like blackjack or video poker are out while games "requiring speed and accuracy of response to factual questions," for instance, are in.While the law is likely intended to allow gambling on the touchscreen games often seen in bars, we can't see why it wouldn't also allow Illinoisans to legally place bets on Halo 2 matches, for instance. The bill still has to be signed into law by Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, though, so don't go placing money on your skill with headshots just yet.[Update: Law of the Game has further analysis of what is and isn't allowed under the bill. We'll take his word over ours since he actually seems to have some legal experience.][Via Gaming Today]
Caption contest: J Allard / N'Gai Croal mashup
So the story goes that Microsoft's bald J Allard and Newsweek's bedredlocked N'Gai Croal are at dinner together, and they make a bet: if the PSP sold 10m units faster than did the PS2, Allard has to dress up like N'Gai (during his next E3 keynote, which never came); if not, J gets to shave N'Gai's head. Guess who won. Not that we think of ourselves as particularly cruel, but surely we can't be expected to let this one go without a caption contest, can we?Evan: "After that unfortunate night with the Rastafarian gamers, Allard swore off marijuana forever."Ryan: "Headline: J Allard hired to manage Weird Al's White & Nerdy tour."Don: "You mean it doesn't cost an extra $100 to add WiFi to this thing?" [Snap! -Ed.]Paul: "Yeah, but does this come in Simpsons yellow?"Ross: "Behold the Zune Elite. Now with HD-UMD and minoxidil."
iPhone betting conundrum: you decide
Hapless tipster James bet his brother $150 last March that the Apple iPhone "would come out before March of 2007." He's apparently been talking the trash, especially with all the recent Macworld rumorings, but was dealt a low blow by Steve's announcement yesterday of a June availability. Now his bro wants him to pay up like the sucker he is, but James wants a second opinion. Does an announcement count for "out," or does James need to have one in his hands? Since we're still a little bleary eyed from Macworld and CES coverage, we've decided to pass the question on to you, oh insightful readers. Who owes who what for this ill-advised bet? James should pay up, it's not out yet The brother owes James, the phone was announced They should both just fork $150 over to Steve Jobs and get it over with Free polls from Pollhost.com
360 "beats down" PS3 on TV [update 1]
In yet another side-by-side comparison fight -- this time broadcast on television -- the Xbox 360 was once again crowned the winner over the PS3. The comparison loss adds yet another black mark on the PS3's, and Sony's, faltering image. A comparison like this is not something the PS3 needs right now. H3 Enterprises, a major player in the hip-hop culture world (a large market segment Sony likes to target), displayed the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Fight Night on 1080p screens at the famed Apollo theater. Played by what H3 billed as Harlem's top rappers, the Xbox 360 was claimed to be superior in every way. CNBC and BET both had cameras trained on the in-action comparison and the reaction of those there. It is one thing when gaming sites like Gamespot run side-by-side comparisons since they're only seen by fairly avid gamers; however, when television broadcasts, especially those that hit major market segments, run comparisons, they can speak volumes. A second round involving Madden 2007, NBA Live 2007 and NBA 2K7 will be broadcast on tomorrow night's next week's [update 1] SpikeTV Video Game Awards; despite the awards being a joke to gamers like us, the show does get good ratings so the PS3 cannot afford to take a hit, lest lose more momentum to the 360.
BET Networks shows added to the iTunes Store
The shows just keep being added to the iTunes Store from lots of different networks, unlike the movies. The latest network to join the iTunes family is BET Networks. Six of their shows have been added: American Gangster Beef the Series Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown DMX: Soul of a Man Comic View The Christies: Committed At the moment you can get the first episode of American Gangster for free, while the other shows follow the usual $1.99 pricing scheme ($10.99 for a season pass).
Wil Shipley offers $10,000 bet to Gates that Vista doesn't ship by January
Bill Gates recently stated that he felt Vista had an 80% chance of shipping in January. He even said he'd be glad to delay it if beta testers say so. Apparently, this latest talk of Vista getting kicked back yet again was the last straw on Wil Shipley's back, as he has offered a $10,000 bet to Bill Gates that Vista doesn't ship by January. As you can see from his post, Wil doesn't have a very large spot in his heart for Microsoft, and - discussion of whether Bill will even see this, let alone respond, aside - I think it's a riot that someone has called out the world's largest (and, unofficially: most tardy to the party) software pimp on the planet like this.By Gates' claim of 80%, Wil has 4 to 1 odds. Anyone feel like starting up a GuessVistasReleaseDate.com? Oh wait, Microsoft already did that.[via Daring Fireball]
