demos
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SWTOR flashpoints playable at Comic-Con [Updated]
Several weeks ago we told you about BioWare's plans to stage a public demo of its Star Wars The Old Republic MMORPG across the street from this month's San Diego Comic Con. Today, MMORPG.com has picked up on the news from the official forums, pointing out that the demos will feature the game's first two flashpoints. Interested players will get to work their way through the Black Talon and Esseles instances beginning Thursday, July 21st at 7:00 p.m. Pacific and running through Saturday, July 23rd. The sessions will last approximately one hour and are open to the general public. You'll want to get there early, though, as spots are limited and interest in BioWare's sci-fi opus is ramping up in anticipation of a possible 2011 release. [Update: Apparently, this isn't open to the public. There's a lottery to get in. Good luck with that!]
Nintendo showing off prototype Wii U demos at E3 this week
Nintendo just announced the Wii U on stage at its E3 press conference, and while the new controller is interesting, we're all wondering just how powerful this "HD" console is. Game Informer's seen the demos shown off on stage in person, and apparently it's about as nice as you'd imagine: Not quite as high quality as the other HD consoles, but definitely better than the standard Wii. Nintendo doesn't have actual games to show yet, but there are a few interactive demos running. Chase Mii has Mario characters running around a maze and uses the Wii U controller's screen to track other players in the game. Battle Mii uses traditional Wii controllers as well as the Wii U controller, and GI says controls are a little tighter and quicker than the traditional Wii can handle (though the gyroscope in the new, presumably still a work in progress, controller is still a little awkward). Finally, Shield Pose has you moving the Wii controller around to try and block called shots coming in from a pirate ship, and is supposed to be fun in a sort of follow-the-leader way. We'll look for all three demos on the show floor this week, so stay tuned for our own impressions on just what the Wii U can and can't do so far. There's not a lot of information available yet (the Wii U is due sometime in 2012, and there's no price listed at all), but already it looks like the Wii U will definitely shake up console gaming. Update: The Guardian also got to play with the Wii U, and says the console will be HD via HDMI, and have internal Flash memory, along with SD and USB solutions for adding more. The system will be backwards-compatible with the Wii (which we heard at the press event), and play both discs and downloadable software.
Dance Central and You Don't Know Jack demos on Xbox Marketplace
Body and mind. Mind and body. For all the Dance Central haters who've never actually played the game, the Xbox Marketplace has a demo available now to test out the hit title. Your body will thank you ... or cause you to retch from the exercise of a three minute dance routine. As for your mind, beware the barbs of You Don't Know Jack emcee Cookie Masterson. The crazy quiz show also has a demo available today. And remember: Never give up, never surrender until the Jack Attack is over.
The Daily Grind: What are you hoping to hear at PAX East?
We're just barely out of GDC coverage, but this week kicks off another big convention for the gaming community. PAX has become an event on both coasts, and this year's PAX East promises to be a notable event for all in attendance within the gaming community. With Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic both promising new playable content, it might seem like the newer games will steal the show, but older games such as City of Heroes and Lord of the Rings Online are on deck with new content and new announcements for fans. Of course, we've got some of our staff on-hand to cover all of the news coming out of Boston this weekend, but the real question is what you're hoping to hear. Do you want to see more of the new Guild Wars 2 demo? Hoping to hear more on Turbine's free-to-play games? Or are you hoping for something unexpected to emerge from the convention, perhaps even (gasp) non-MMO news? 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!
GDC 2011: Funcom talks The Secret World's PvE, PvP, and ARG
Many of you are no doubt as anxious as we are to get your hands on Funcom's new The Secret World MMORPG (with a new website!). The skill-based end-of-the-world riff has been shrouded in a good bit of mystery for a good long while, but we've finally managed to snag a few minutes of face time with the title. This year's GDC marked the first opportunity for anyone outside of Funcom's alpha team to lay eyes on the game, and we've got some pretty juicy details to pass on. Join us after the cut for the new trailer as well as a recap of Funcom's presentation, which was spearheaded by Ragnar Tornquist and featured designers Martin Bruusgaard and Joel Bylos. Discussion topics include PvP, PvE missions, and character progression.%Gallery-118804%
NintendoWare Weekly: Spin Master, WiiWare demos, Tetris Party Live
After the last few years, we don't know how to react to the kind of wealth on the Wii and DSi Shops today. It's too much to process all at once. WiiWare demos are back, offering a chance to check out Bit.Trip Fate, ThruSpace, And Yet It Moves and Jett Rocket with no financial outlay. There's a new Tetris game on DSiWare. There's even a Virtual Console game! How is this possible?%Gallery-107999%
Nintendo tries WiiWare demos again in North America Nov. 22
In case our review of Bit. Trip Fate didn't give you a clear enough idea about the game, you'll be able to try it yourself at no cost on November 22. That's when Nintendo of America brings back last year's WiiWare demo program. Next Monday, in addition to Fate, you'll be able to download demos for ThruSpace, Jett Rocket, and And Yet It Moves. Like the new demo program in Europe, these demos will only be available for a limited time, and will be rotated out regularly. That means that you should download every demo that you see, just in case you decide you want to try it out later. Or is that just us?
WiiWare demos return this week in Europe
One of the most frustrating things about the WiiWare service -- other than The Incredible Maze -- is that there aren't playable demos. Even more frustrating is that Nintendo did offer a series of demos last year, but made it a limited-time initiative for no good reason, going so far as to remove the few demos that were available. Nintendo of Europe announced that the demo program is returning this Friday, November 5. Encouragingly, it's referred to as an "ongoing" demo program, suggesting that the whole thing won't disappear in a month. However, the individual demos will be rotated out regularly, which is back to being a bit frustrating. The latest demos will be listed here after the program starts up. The first set of demos includes Furry Legends, Jett Rocket, ThruSpace, and Zombie Panic in Wonderland. We're checking with Nintendo of America about the prospect of a similar program here.
App Store for Mac highlights two major App Store flaws
The idea of a Mac App Store is great... from a certain point of view. As it currently exists, the App Store has several problems and limitations which could be fairly easily removed. 1. Demos/Trial Periods/Returns: I'm not going to state unequivocally that Apple will have demos in the Mac App Store, but I will state unequivocally that Apple should have demos in the Mac App Store. As noted earlier, the Mac App Store guidelines state "Apps that are 'beta', 'demo', 'trial', or 'test' versions will be rejected." That's the same as the iOS App Store guidelines. That should change. Demos aren't just for small developers. Apple has offered demos for their apps, including iWork and Aperture. Adobe and Microsoft have as well. They give users a chance to try out an application without having to commit to it. This concept is almost as old as computers themselves. Apple could address this very simply, without forcing users to understand 'demo' or 'trial' versions. All they need to do is say, "You have X days to change your mind after you download an app." Maybe it's two days, maybe seven, but some clearly defined window of opportunity. Most people are going to buy and go on. Some who buy and don't like it will delete it. The App Store will know what apps you have installed. If you delete it before the return window closes, Apple simply doesn't charge your credit card. That saves the developers from losing 30% of the cost of their app on a return, and Apple already purchases some length of time before processing them. Amazon lets users return Kindle content for 7 days after purchase (hat tip to Patrick Burleson for that one!), and Android has as similar return window. Don't tell me Apple can't do the same thing. 2. Upgrade pricing: Right now, developers have no way of giving free or discounted upgrades to existing customers. This has been a problem that Apple was going to need to address even without a Mac App Store. Sure you may be willing to spend $40 on OmniFocus for iPad, but are you going to be equally willing to spend $40 for version 2? The folks at Iconfactory were skewered over a $5 upgrade for Twitterrific, can you imagine what OmniGroup is going to face when their apps come up for upgrade? Again, this is a simple fix: Developers should be able to set two prices: one for those who have bought a previous version, and another for those who haven't. Apple knows your purchase history, and should simply display the appropriate price in the App Store. It's not rocket science. Apple doesn't do upgrade pricing for its consumer apps. If you go to buy iWork or iLife, you're paying the same price regardless of whether you've been an iLife user since the beginning or whether you're just picking it up. Logic Express, Aperture, Final Cut Express, and Final Cut Studio all have upgrade pricing. These are both problems which existed yesterday before there was a Mac App Store, but the existence of a Mac App Store just makes these two problems all the more obvious. Both could be easily fixed, but it's entirely up to Apple to fix them. Doing so will benefit not just Mac users, but iOS users too.
Don't get too excited about the App Store's Try Before You Buy
As Steve mentioned earlier this morning, 9to5Mac spotted a new section in the App Store called Try Before You Buy. Don't get too excited about the idea of demos finally coming to the App Store, however. As of right now, this is only an index of "Lite" or free versions of apps. If you were hoping to try OmniFocus for iPad without shelling out $40, you're out of luck. What you'll find are about 100 apps that developers purposefully made because the App Store doesn't have demo versions. This oversight has been my biggest complaint about the App Store since it opened, and I consider it a big reason for the low pricing on most iOS apps. Almost every piece of Mac software lets you download it and try it before you buy it. Some are feature limited, but most are time-limited, which means that you are given full access to the app for a limited amount of time. If you download it and love it, you can buy it. But if you download it and hate it, you can simply delete it.
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Sin & Punishment tips
The Nintendo Channel doesn't have much for us this week. There is a new episode of Nintendo Week and some Sin & Punishment: Star Successor tips, but you've seen the latter already. Head past the break for the list of this week's content.
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Super Mario Galaxy 2 tips
Having trouble getting those stars from the Cosmic Cove Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2? Then you'll want to boot up your Wii and check out the latest episode of Nintendo Week on the Nintendo Channel. There are even a few tips on how to make Mario a more stylish skater, if you like to kick shell and look good while doing it. Head past the break for the full list of this week's content.
HTML5: seriously, it's not just for video
In a way, HTML5 has been reduced to a buzzword. You hear a lot of noise about how great it is for video, and how the web standard is an alternative to Flash content, but you don't see a whole lot of examples of that. We thought we'd take a moment and round up some of the cooler, more exciting instances of HTML5 online -- sites and experiments that go way beyond just playing someone's home movies. We're talking 8-bit gaming, some really crazy video effects, and a handful of incredibly interesting ways designers are maximizing the potential of the everyone's favorite new toy. Check out the links below, and prepare to readjust your expectations of HTML5. Note: Your best experiences for the links below will be in Chrome or Safari. You can get some of this working in Firefox, but as Chris Ziegler just remarked, "It's mega slow." These will absolutely blow your mind. Mr.doob's Chrome experiments -- Ball Pool and Google Gravity. Here's a roundup of experiments from Ben Joffe, including a rudimentary 3D shooter, a 3D functions plotter, and an HTML5 color picker. Some of my personal favorites, KesieV's Akihabara game room. The Legend of Sadness is where it's at. Exploding, real-time video. WPilot -- a multiplayer shooter. Like Asteroids meets Quake. A giant, color-cycling canvas. Weirdly addictive to play with. 3D molecules. 'Nuff said. Mega Man intro. In HTML5. If you guys have suggestions or examples you'd like to show off, let us know in comments!
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Super Mario Galaxy 2 TV spots
Look -- the above TV spots for Super Mario Galaxy 2 are really slick and all, but now we've got one thing on our mind: pancakes. Now that we know there's a stack of flapjacks out there with its own gravitational pull, we just can't wait to dig in. Thankfully, we won't have to wait too long to satiate our need for edible planetary bodies. For the rest of this week's Nintendo Channel content, head past the break.
Demo available for unofficial Star Trek adventure game
Fan project Star Trek Adventures: Year One has the unusual distinction of being doubly retro. Not only does it meticulously recreate the nearly 45-year-old Star Trek series, it's also got an uncanny resemblance to an early '90s adventure game (think Quest for Glory or, indeed, Interplay's Star Trek 25th Anniversary). The act of playing forces one to simultaneously pine for two bygone eras, the effect of which is not unlike watching Fruit Brute playing with a Teddy Ruxpin. If you're unsure whether or not you can handle that level of nostalgia, there's a demo for the game on the project's official homepage. [Via Big Download; Fidgit]
Neofonie's WePad tablet shown to German journalists, seems legit (update: now with English!)
Though "Neofonie" is the most apt name for a vaporware company we've heard since "Phantom," it's looking like that very firm's 11.6-inch WePad tablet is actually the real deal. Fed up with all the skepticism it has received of late, the German firm just held a press conference in Berlin to show off a pair of working devices and allay our fears. Netbooknews.de was on the scene, and they took a pair of high-res videos that prove the tablets do, in fact, have a working (though somewhat laggy) touchscreen, and that fancy-pants vertical UI is quite functional. Full screen YouTube videos were choppy, but they played, and the Atom N450 CPU loaded OpenOffice and flipped through browser windows without a hitch. But don't take our word for it -- watch the whole 25-minute demonstration after the break, plus a bonus video from AndroidPIT. Then, if you'd be so kind, tell us what the nice company reps are saying. Update: AndroidPIT was kind enough to dub over their entire demo in English -- hear everything after the break.
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Monster Hunter Tri developer's voice
We thought it prudent to take a break from the WarioWare D.I.Y. highlighting of the last few weeks even though there's a new video in the ongoing series this week, with Alex Neuse from Gaijiin Games. See, this week some of the developers from Capcom show off a great deal of Monster Hunter Tri, documenting some of the weaponry, multiplayer features and, of course, the monsters in the series' latest. It's an enlightening few minutes of footage, so check it out above. When you're done, head past the break for the full list of this week's Nintendo Channel content. %Gallery-86439%
This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Ron Carmel sucks goo in WarioWare D.I.Y.
This week's Nintendo Channel update features one half of 2D Boy, the indie developer responsible for the very fun World of Goo. Using WarioWare D.I.Y., he makes a neat goo-inspired mini-game. The difference between his video and Sakurai's and Sakamoto's is that Carmel makes it look way easier. Good job, Ron! Head past the break for the full list of this week's content.
Sony files patent for game demos that lose features over time
A patent dug up by Siliconera details a new system conceived by Sony for limiting the content found in game demos. "Degradable" game demos, as described in a patent filed by SCEA, would initially include either a full game or a large amount of content, but that content would gradually disappear over playtime, to unlock again once the full game is purchased. Examples in the patent document include a weapon that becomes less effective over time, and race tracks that become unavailable one at a time. Essentially, it's the DIVX rental system, but downloadable and for games. You know, DIVX, the system in which you "bought" a cheap disc that would only work for a short time unless you paid a fee to "unlock" it. That lasted less than a year because it was too popular, right?
Sony wants to patent 'feature erosion' in game demos, illustrates the idea vividly
Want more evidence of the patent degradation of modern society? Well, here's Sony with its latest idea for selling games. The feature-eroding demo concept gives the user the full game to start off with, but then grows increasingly more limited the more you play it. In racing games, that means the number of tracks you can race on gradually dwindles, whereas in classically themed smack-em-ups like God of War your sword, erm... well, it also dwindles. We're kind of on the fence about this -- on the one hand, it's hilariously insulting to the user as it perpetually nags him about what a cheapskate he is for not purchasing the entire game, and yet on the other it does at least let you taste the full breadth of the game, albeit for a limited time. However you may feel, this is still at the application stage, but given the patent office's recent track record, there's no reason why Sony should be denied the rights over this supposed innovation.
