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Sega confirms 'Shenmue 3' trademark is fake
Are you a fan of the Shenmue series that would love to play a new installment in the series? Well, run to your room, dig out your Dreamcast (or Xbox) and replay the existing installments at an obnoxious volume, because Sega has stopped by to deliver the news that no one wants to hear. A recent trademark listing for a "Shenmue 3" was fake and not at all affiliated with Sega, the publisher told Eurogamer. The representative stated that Sega is "looking into the origins of this application," but in the mean time, the listing filed with the Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market has already disappeared. As if people on the Internet enjoy the dismay of others, rumors of HD ports of the first two Shenmue games for XBLA and PSN popped up last year as well. We're starting to wonder if Shenmue fans can even react to news like this anymore, or if the years of disappointment have left them completely stoic.
Rose Colored Gaming craftsman claims ownership of Luigi 2DS
Anyone getting their hopes up for the rumored Luigi 2DS might want to mail their heartbreak directly to Matt (also known as wiggy) of Rose Colored Gaming. In a video interview with Second Opinion Games' Wes De, Matt explained how he modified a standard blue 2DS into a Luigified version of the handheld, complete with a Luigi-shaped indentation on the back of the device. Matt explained that he sent pictures of the device to "quite a few people" and assumes they made their way to blogs from there. The hardware has yet to be posted to RCG, but Matt laughed that he "would have sent them some better pictures" had he known it would gain traction as a rumored impending version of the 2DS. Matt said he's "beyond flattered" by the excitement his mod has generated, but also that he hopes no one hates him for it not being official hardware. You hear that, internet? No pitchforking! Given Nintendo's fondness for releasing special editions of hardware, however, future special 2DS bundles aren't out of the question. [Thanks, Wes!]
Firefly Universe Online continuation alleged to be a hoax [Updated]
Did you think that the promise of Firefly Universe Online coming to life seemed a bit too good to be true? Or at least a bit unlikely? Because as it turns out, cynicism might have been the right attitude to take for this particular bit of news. According to Kotaku, the entire announcement that the game had the go-ahead to proceed may have been nothing more than a hoax and we still won't see this particular version of the Firefly MMO project come to fruition, although not for the reason that many people expected. As Kotaku argues, the hoax was perpetuated by The Yes Men, a strongly anticonsumerist group that apparently thought the best platform for this particular parody was a relatively obscure science fiction show. At this point it's not clear exactly what statement the group was attempting to make, although some sort of spoof on Kickstarter seems the most likely target. Either way, hopes for a Firefly MMO remain unrealized -- and at this point if such a game ever does get approved, we won't believe it's real until it's on the shelf. [Update: As fans of the franchise point out, FUO representatives have updated their Facebook page with what they allege is a screenshot of the game and an explanation for The Yes Men's involvement. What do you think? Is it a hoax or is it legit?]
Funcom debunks The Secret World launch date rumor
Could we finally have a specific launch date for The Secret World? Yes, but more accurately, no. While hopeful fans clung to possible news that Funcom had confirmed an April 24th launch date, the studio has issued a statement saying that this was "an internal production date" that was mentioned at a recent press event, and doesn't necessarily reflect the actual release date for the title: Funcom has become aware of postings in various media stating that commercial launch of the online game The Secret World has been set to 24 April 2012. This date was communicated at a press event in the Funcom offices in Oslo today -- as an internal production date. Funcom has previously announced the launch month for the game to be April 2012 and wants to stress that there is currently no change or update on the expected time for commercial launch of The Secret World. The company will announce the release date at a later stage through a stock notice and a formal press release when the date has been set. The studio recently wrapped up a week dedicated to the Illuminati faction and revealed one of the game's spooky settings, Blue Mountain.
Intel refutes Apple exclusivity for Thunderbolt I/O, LaCie and Promise detail first Thunderbolt peripherals
We can think of a pretty good reason why Apple might have a head-start when it comes to Thunderbolt-capable machines, but Apple doesn't actually have a timed exclusive on the technology, at least according to Intel PR. The company told us that while it's currently targeting an early 2012 launch for Thunderbolt with other OEMs -- whereas the new MacBook Pro has Thunderbolt right now -- there's nothing stopping other manufacturers from launching machines with the 10Gbps interconnect a good bit earlier if they so desire. In related news, the first Thunderbolt peripherals have just been formally announced -- the Promise Pegasus RAID array we saw spitting out 800MB / sec video streams, and the LaCie Little Big Disk. The former will come in four-bay and six-bay variants, topping out at 12TB of magnetic storage when it arrives in Q2, and the latter will boast a pair of Intel 510 Series SSDs -- which, by the way, have yet to be formally announced -- in RAID 0 for 500GB of storage in total. PR after the break. %Gallery-117530%
Rumorong: Test Drive Unlimited servers not going offline next year
Reports have been floating around the 'net that Atari would be shutting off the servers for the first Test Drive: Unlimited game as early as January of 2011, presumably to make way for the open world racing game's sequel. But Atari tells Joystiq that the rumors are blatantly untrue -- "they are not dropping the servers at all," a representative told us this afternoon. The rep said that it's possible that French developer Eden Games may be moving the servers in some way, but anything like that would make no difference for players of the game at all. So keep on driving, Test Drivers -- your virtual O'ahu isn't going anywhere.
The blue Zune does not exist
Photoshop job gone awry? Bad lighting? Dual-shot malfunction? Act of God? Whatever the reason may be, we can tell you one thing: there's no such thing as a blue Zune. If you spent any time on Engadget yesterday, you probably noticed the above photo of a rumored new color, but reports from a Target representative seem to confirm that it's nothing but a trick of the eye / light / Photoshop filter / They Live-esque alien meddling. Please resume your regular activities.
Nokia N97 debunked; fanboys in mourning
Sorry folks, it was too good to be true. With a spec sheet that read like something straight out of our wildest dreams -- 20GB hard drive, 3.2 megapixel cam, 3-inch high res display, FM radio, and an alleged 24+ hours of continuous music playback -- we wanted to believe that the Nokia N97 was real. Alas, it turns out that a member of Nokia's developer forums dreamed up the superphone; the rest, as they say, is history. Hey, at least we still have the N95 to look forward to, right?[Thanks, Tyler]
