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Harmonix heads honored in USA 'Character Approved' awards
USA -- the television network, not the nation -- has selected Harmonix founders Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy as the two most important "New Media" figures in its annual Character Approved Awards. According to USA's announcement of the 2010 winners, the awards are designed to "honor the real characters who are changing the face of American culture." Considering we haven't been to a social gathering in two years that didn't turn into an impromptu Rock Band party, we think Rigopulos and Egozy are deserving of the honor. Check out the pair's award page to find out more about their personal history. We didn't know Egozy is actually a classically-trained clarinetist. Where's that peripheral, guys?
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part LXVI: Acer founder predicts extinction of US PC makers within 20 years
Oh, this is as tasty as it is salacious. Acer founder and former chairman (now retired) Stan Shih has come out with the bold prediction that US computer brands are on the way out -- if they do not adjust to the new reality of a PC market focused on low cost. When asked how he foresees Acer and ASUS establishing their brand credentials in the USA when they're engaged in constant price wars, Shih resolutely stated that lowering costs and prices is the way to do it. Drawing an analogy to the fate of US television brands (pow!), Shih pointed out his belief that American vendors aren't capable (slap!) of delivering the sort of affordability that the market is set to permanently demand. As harsh as his words may be, let's not forget Acer recently jumped Dell for the number two spot in volume of global sales, so let's not ignore what may in fact be prophecy rather than mere prattle.
The origins of Turbine, as told by its founder
Have you ever wondered how some current game studios were first created? Who started them? What was their initial aim? Many of these most successful companies were founded on the success of console games in the 90s. Take Blizzard, for instance. They started out in 1991 by three guys who had just received their bachelor's degrees from UCLA the year before. Ironically, they also created one of the early Lord of the Rings ports, as well.With Turbine, the story is very similar. Jon Monsarrat, as the founder, CEO and officially Turbine's first employee, writes his narrative on the founding of the company back in 1995. Initially funded by some insurance money Jon got from a car accident, Turbine eventually evolved from the creator of Asheron's Call four years later, to the behemoth that it is today. This website is quite dated, and is listed in Turbine's official wikipedia entry, but the story is filled with some great tidbits that can only be told by the man who experienced it all, and it's certainly worth a read if you're a fan of any of Turbine's projects.[Thanks Bam!]
Hello Kitty Online Founder's Beta announced
Collector's Editions, in-game exclusives, and headstarts aren't limited to hotly-anticipated MMOs in the fantasy genre. More casual MMOs are now offering additional incentives and benefits to gamers who are devoted to their given IP. A case-in-point is Hello Kitty Online and their newly-announced Founder's offer. The Hello Kitty Online Founder's Beta will allow those selected to play the game ahead of launch while participating in special in-game events. Here's how to become a Founder in two easy steps:1. Sign up for a SanrioTown.com account.2. Using your SanrioTown account, send a BLANK email to hkofounder@hellokitty.com.That's it. Founders should have some new things to look forward to from Hello Kitty Online, according to the official site: "an improved interface, new monsters, new maps, new items, and the opening of London and Paris. The Founders' Beta will also introduce gameplay changes such as an improved skill system, pet systems and team-play oriented enhancements." If you're curious about this title, either for yourself or for one of the little people in your life, don't wait too long to become a Founder -- this stage of beta testing begins on October 8th. If you're thinking about giving it a shot, be sure to check out the full details in the Hello Kitty Online News and Update page. [Via MMORPG]
Pirates of the Caribbean Online offering pre-order incentives
Disney wants YOU to be one of the founding members of Pirates of the Caribbean Online. If you pre-order the Unlimited Access for Pirates Online, you will get a few benefits that presumably won't be available after launch: 50% off your first month Limited edition cloth map Founder title for every pirate on your account Crew Kit (unknown contents) If you are considering this, there are a few things you should know:Free play: Like most web-based MMOs, you don't have to pay to play. There will be limited free play access to the game.Subscription fees: The cost of Unlimited Access will be $9.95 a month. As a Founder, your first month will be $4.95.Tangible gifts not immediate: The cloth map and Crew Kit will be mailed to your home address "a few weeks" after the launch of the game.No specific launch date: The launch "date" for Pirates of the Caribbean Online is Fall. So they have until December 20th to honor this time frame. Founders will not have their credit cards charged until launch.They may not be ready on time: Pirates of the Caribbean Online was supposed to be released with the third movie which was out this past summer. They have come a long way since then, but I'm not sure if they are far enough along to launch this season.I would recommend trying to get into the beta and seeing if you like the gameplay. Just remember that Beta testing means lots of bugs and lag and rollbacks. Otherwise, unless you are into collectibles, you may want to wait and try the free aspects of the game before you sign up for Unlimited Access. I signed up to be a Founder, but I'm a dork who loves pirates. I'll make sure to let you know if it was worth it.
Chinese electronics company sues Blizzard over fonts
An electronics company in Beijing has sued Blizzard, claiming that they allegedly used five copyrighted fonts in World of Warcraft. Founder Electronics wants 100 million yuan for the alleged infringement, which is apparently the largest amount ever asked for by a Chinese company in a copyright case (Founder claims the loss cost them 1 billion yuan). The case is sitting in front of the Beijing High People's Court, and the9, which is the Chinese company that runs WoW there, is considering their options.I'm assuming that means the9's Chinese version of WoW, which would mean the fonts themselves are for Chinese characters, so there's probably no fonts that English-speaking users would recognize ingame. However, Founder is apparently known for creating some of the most popular fonts in China, so the odds that someone at the9 used one of them (or at the very least one that looked like one of them) are probably pretty good (the picture on this post is from a Founder event, not a Blizzard event, so the obvious use of the Founder font there doesn't count). Of course it's up to the High Court to decide whether the infringement actually took place or not-- no word on how long the judgment will take.
Dell announces cheap desktop for China
While it's never going to compete on price with the ultra-cheap, homegrown $203 desktop we saw late last year, Dell's new 2,600 yuan ($335) entry into the Chinese PC market certainly has a chance to make a few waves in a country where the average machine costs almost twice that. Reports thus far are pretty light on the specs (unnamed Intel CPU, up to 512MB of RAM and 80GB of storage, XP Home Edition), but obviously the real story here is not some five-year-old tech but the fact that Dell is making aggressive moves against entrenched players Lenovo and Founder, with the former manufacturer claiming over a third of the market at present. Still, Dell is already number three in China, and assuming that consumers have forgotten about that CPU switcheroo mini-scandal from last summer, it looks like the battle will be heating up once again to see which company can be the first to offer its hardware completely free.Read - ReutersRead - BBC
Rare founding bros bounce, vets fill in
Four years after their studio was acquired by Microsoft, Rare co-founders Chris and Tim Stamper are calling it quits. Microsoft has denied speculation that the brothers' departure is due to poor sales of Viva Piñata or the string of generally disappointing titles since the $377 million buyout. Exactly where the Stampers will land next has yet to be disclosed.Rare veterans Mark Betteridge and Gregg Mayles will take over as studio director and creative director.
AMD hooks up with Founder, China's No. 2 PC maker
It may not have quite the headline-grabbing attention of AMD's deal with Dell, but the chipmaker's just-finalized partnership with Founder, China's number two PC maker, could well be just as important in the grander scheme of things. The deal will see AMD processors powering Founder desktop PCs as soon as next month, with servers and laptops to follow soon after -- which should go some way towards bridging the gap with Intel, who currently enjoy a dominant lead in the Chinese market. According to Reuters, Intel controls some three quarters of the market there, although AMD has been growing fast, going from just 5% three years ago to 18% today. For its part, Founder accounts for 12% of the Chinese PC market -- well behind Lenovo's one-third share -- although at the rate the market as a whole is growing, 12% ain't nothing to sneeze at.
"I Hate You, E3," declares Escapist writer
Okay, so maybe not hate completely.The eye-catching title of an essay from the latest installment of The Escapist puts the emphasis on the negative aspect of the love-hate relationship many industry vets have with E3, but there's surprisingly a lot of love for the trade show here, even if you don't subscribe to the hardened "I hate E3 because I love it" theory of convention devotion.While the Joystiq staff hasn't been to quite as many E3s as the founder of the International Game Journalists Association (IGJA), we can certainly empathize with the world-weariness that might accumulate after years of weeklong death- press-marches and working in overcrowded, sensory-overloaded spaces. We just hope our love of the game(s) will stay with us as it has for Mr. Thomas, whether we're watching from home or working the show floor in person in post-apocalyptic L.A. The parties will be sure to be awesome.See also: Joystiq at E3 2006 mega-site The Escapist's big E3 issue this week, with references within to Joystiq's Paris Hilton story and some E3 party pics orig. from Joystiq The Game of Journalism -- the IGJA's official web site
