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The end of exclusivity leading to big iPhone sales in Europe
Go figure, right? You get a relatively hot phone out onto more carriers, and just like that, sales increase. It ain't rocket science, buster. As AT&T grins happily while enjoying a death grip on Apple's cash cow here in the States, things are a lot more wide open for consumers across the pond. In both France and the UK, the iPhone has been given the all-clear to be sold on multiple carriers, and according to research from Bernstein, the "widening of the distribution has boosted Apple's value market share to 32 percent in the latest quarter from 21 percent just three months earlier." The notes also mention that Apple's increase is coming at the expense of RIM, with over 600,000 iPhone handsets being sold during Q3 2009 in France alone. The point to all this madness? Oh, not much -- just to tell Sir Jobs that he can count on quite a bit more dough should he decide to sell this elusive "iPhone" device on Verizon in the US of A.
Half-Minute Hero can't rescue Quebec
If you're looking for a UMD version of Half-Minute Hero in Quebec, stop trying. A Destructoid reader looking for the game was surprised it had skipped a release altogether in the Canadian province -- and it's all thanks to the law. "Canadian distribution is always tricky because of the bilingual law that Quebec enforces, so for titles with limited distribution we do not create a second bilingual version specifically for Canada because it's too expensive. Unfortunately, that's what happened to Half-Minute Hero," an XSEED representative stated. Thankfully, digital distribution offers a workaround. PlayStation Network appears to be exempt from Quebec's bilingual laws, so a simple visit to the PlayStation Store is all it takes to bypass the French language police.
Qooq recipe and cooking tablet launched for French speakers only
Cooking tablets and recipe readers have been pretty limited (and not very good) in the past -- but this one looks extremely promising. Called the Qooq, the 10.2-incher boasts -- in addition to a bunch of recipes, of course -- complete meal prep videos, instructions and advice on choosing ingredients, shopping lists, meal planners -- all which can be updated monthly via a subscription service. Specwise, we're looking at a glass touchscreen, Ethernet and USB ports, an SD slot, WiFi, and a built-in stand. The custom UI looks pretty attractive, but there are some drawbacks. The Qooq does not have a browser (though it's got built-in weather, digital photo viewing, and internet radio apps), and it's only available for French language speakers for now. If you do speak the language of love, you can get one of these puppies for €349 (about $513), with the subscription service running an additional €12.95a month (about $19). [Via Red Ferret]
Phat Loot Phriday: Blade of Tarasque
Been a while, I think, since we've done a dagger. Plus, this one will show off a little of my D&D lore knowledge, and I don't get to do that as much as I like. Name: Blade of Tarasque (Wowhead, Thottbot, Armory) Type: Epic Main hand Dagger Damage/Speed: 108 - 343 / 1.80 (125.1 DPS) Attributes: +48 Stamina, +65 Intellect. Used to be that Stamina on a caster item meant warlock, but I think this is just an endgame item -- any caster who needs it could use it just fine. Plus, there's a blue gem socket on it, so you can put whatever you want in there, with a socket bonus of +5 spellpower. Just because it came up on the site earlier this week, I'll use this opportunity to remind you that any gem can go in any socket -- you just won't get the socket bonus. Yes, really. %Gallery-33600%
Flyff expansion "Act V" to hit European servers
European Flyff followers of the German and French variety, you have fun to look forward to! Flyff's next expansion, Act V, is going to be adding two new dungeons and an entire new continent for you to explore! Not a bad addition at all for the low low price of free.Flyff's new continent, the lands of Harmonin, is a land of beauty at first sight. The jungles are lush, the lands are beautiful, and the monsters are... deadly? The island, in truth, is a corrupted land that conceals a curse. High level monsters lurk in the wilds, waiting to feast on tender MMO adventurer flesh.
Aion patches, denies whispers
In an attempt to shut up some of those annoying gold spammers, Aion has placed a temporary restriction on whispering in today's patch. Anyone below level 5 will find themselves unable to whisper their friends until they reach the magical level, when they can once again make use of the function. In practice, this makes whispering very much like the general channel, which is also restricted to only those characters above level 5.This is only a temporary restriction while the Aion team works out a solution to keeping the gold spammers off of their channels once and for all. However, in the meantime, looks like we're going to have to suffer a bit.Today's patch also fixed a few things for the French and German language version of the game -- mostly localization issues, along with spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Pretty basic things, and nothing to write home about. If you're interested in the breakdown, check out the patch notes on Aion's PowerWiki.
Overheating iPhone reports 'exploding' all over France, Apple responds
Reports of iPhones exploding, starting fires and killing people in cold blood have been around since the inception of the handset. They've also been relatively sporadic, seemingly short on evidence, and Apple hasn't given complaints much credence or response. So when we heard a story from France the other day about a security guard's iPhone "exploding" and sending a shard of glass into his eye (though apparently not serious enough to warrant a hospital visit), it was a little hard to believe, but with a few other stories of cracking screens due to overheating cropping up in Europe over the past couple weeks, French authorities have taken an interest in the story. Anecdotally, a teen says his phone "imploded" in Belgium and gave him a headache, a woman's phone cracked without warning, and ten or so victims in France have come forward to complain of similar problems, picking up the interest of a French consumer watchdog group. Apple is naturally not new to the concept of overheating in its battery-powered devices -- in fact, it's just entered into its first full-on iPod nano recall in Korea of the 1st-gen players after numerous reports of battery faultiness worldwide -- but with 26 million iPhones out and about, and the iPhone 3GS tending to run a bit hotter than its siblings, a systemic problem with one or all models of the handsets isn't something consumers or Apple would take lightly. Herve Novelli, France's top trade official, met with Apple France's Michel Coulomb today to discuss the problem, and so far Apple is sticking to its guns: it claims that reported incidents are in the single digits, and that all cases it's investigated fully so far have turned out to be blamed on "external force" to the screen. Herve and Michel seem to have parted on friendly terms, promising to keep in touch over the issue, and the EU's alert system for dangerous consumer products (inexplicably dubbed RAPEX) is staying in the loop as well, asking the 27 member nations to keep tabs on the situation. Novelli says it's "too early to blame anyone," and we'd have to agree, but we hope Apple keeps up the (freshly) open communication about this issue going forward. Read - French minister meets Apple exec over iPhone problems Read - Apple denies 'exploding' iPhones Read - Apple denies battery problem with exploding iPhones Read - Belgian teenager latest victim of exploding iPhone phenomenon
Star Wars: The Old Republic being localized in French and German
One of the unique aspects of Star Wars: The Old Republic is that it's being developed as a fully-voiced MMO through the efforts of hundreds of voice actors. According to BioWare, the script for SWTOR contains 40+ novels worth of content. This is impressive -- not to mention a bit frightening -- but what happens if BioWare and LucasArts want to tap the non-English speaking markets? (They do.) BioWare stated: "Today, we are revealing that BioWare and LucasArts will be localizing The Old Republic into French and German and we are launching the French and German versions of the official website." Our understanding is that the French and German releases of Star Wars: The Old Republic will be fully voiced as with the English version. If the localizations for each of these languages truly encompass everything in the English version of SWTOR, this could mark the biggest localization effort undertaken to date in the MMO industry.
Patch 3.2 confirmed for this week on the French forums?
It's entirely possible that my French is failing me (it's been a while since I studied it, and it might be getting rusty), but as far as I can make out, this blue post on the French customer support forums claims that patch 3.2 is coming "next Wednesday." This is in the course of answering a routine question about where to get patch files and so forth - a surprising place for a patch release date confirmation, but I'll take my info where I can get it. I'm not sure whether "next Wednesday" ("mercredi prochain" in the French) means August 5 (in which case the North American realms would get the patch tomorrow), or whether it means August 12 (in which case we'd get it the 11th), but I'd lean towards the former. So get your ducks in a row, faithful readers, and get ready for the Call of the Crusade. [Thanks, Slainte] Patch 3.2 will bring about a new 5, 10, and 25 man instance to WoW, and usher in a new 40-man battleground called the Isle of Conquest. WoW.com will have you covered every step of the way, from extensive PTR coverage through the official live release. Check out WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2 for all the latest!
Tour de France 2009: The Official Game pedals onto Xbox Live
Forget about watching the seemingly infinite amount of stages roll by as Lance Armstrong attempts to win his eighth yellow jersey in the world's most famous bicycle race. Do it yourself! And by yourself we mean using nothing more than your fingers and thumbs when Tour de France 2009: The Official Game comes to Xbox Live today for 800 ($10) . Who needs all that real legwork anyhow?Cyanide Studios, the brains behind the recent Blood Bowl and the popular-in-some-other-country Cycling Manager series must have been quietly working on this in their spare time, because it caught all of us off-guard, including Xbox Live's Major Nelson. But why not release this game just before the actual Tour de France, instead of smack dab in the middle of it? We may never know. You can play two players locally, and race up to four simultaneously on Xbox Live using one of the official teams in the current race. We just wish they would have included a drug testing minigame or something -- you know, to add some realism. Catch all the pedal-pumping power in the preview trailer right here.
Runes of Magic opens closed beta for French and Spanish users
Runas de Magica y el pollo es muy delicioso para la cena! Ok, so our Spanish is a little rusty, we're missing some accent marks, and we probably just said that Runes of Magic tastes good with chicken, but what we mean to say is that the closed beta for Runes of Magic in Spain and France has begun.Now anyone from those two countries, or anyone who wants to have their client in French or Spanish, can enjoy Runes of Magic in those languages. With the closed beta comes the launch of the French and Spanish Runes of Magic websites as well, so feel free to scurry on over and register.The final date for launch for these two countries hasn't been confirmed yet, but the game will be shipping out with The Elven Prophecy, giving their launches a timeframe of either launching with the new expansion or shortly thereafter.
Canal+ live & on-demand TV comes to French Xbox 360s
The U.S. has Netflix, the UK has Sky TV and now France is getting Canal+ added to the Xbox 360, in a similar deal to the one bringing live and on-demand Sky TV in England, the French will be free to party up and watch more than 3,000 movies and TV shows, catch-up TV, French Ligue 1 soccer games, and headbutt flopping, filthy-mouthed Italians in the chest. No word if sports hooliganism will be supported in this iteration, but judging from the screens the avatar support should also mirror its UK counterpart. This is likely not the end of tie-ups between the two either, with the partnership planned to eventually encompass other Canal Plus & Microsoft products. Check out one additional pic of the updated dashboard after the break.[Via Reuters]
Spintronics magic appears again, aims to vastly accelerate data storage and retrieval
As the list of "awesome things that won't ever happen" grows ever longer, we've got a brilliant team of French physicists who have seemingly concocted a method for storing and retrieving data on hard discs that's around 100,000 times faster than usual. Yes, 100,000x. The trick is based around spintronics, an almost mythical procedure that involves the use of lasers, magnetic sensors and mutant abilities to shuffle data around at a dizzying rate. This particular method, however, improves upon the comparatively sluggish attempts of the past, as it uses photons that "modify the state of the electrons' magnetization on the storage surface." In layman's terms, this all means that the HDD you buy in 2098 will probably operate significantly faster than the one you picked up during Circuit City's going-out-of-business sale. Got it? Good.
Blizzard EU introduces cross-language battlegroups
Now you can yell at people for not fighting at the flag in all kinds of different languages: Blizzard's EU staff have announced that they're breaking out the first cross-language battlegroups. Actually, that's not quite true -- players who speak different languages will only be playing as opponents (so the Horde you're fighting may speak a different language, but your allies will still understand you). But it is good news for some EU players who've been suffering long queue times. The English language battlegroup Nightfall will be combining with the Spanish language Crueldad (to form Cruelty/Crueldad), and the French battlegroup Némésis will be battling Germans in Hinterhalt to make up Embuscade/Hinterhalt.Arena ladders on all of the realms will be combining as well (but of course even there, opponents will still be from different languages, so you'll never have to worry about crossing translation lines). The change is in effect right now -- have any of you been playing on Cruelty or Embuscade and seen faster queues yet?
Cities XL gets September 3 launch date for French and German-speaking countries
We've been seeing MMO developers prepare to fill different niches in the industry with a number of science fiction, post-apocalyptic, and even horror titles in the works, to name just a few avenues that are being explored. One area that seems unique to us is the concept of a city-building MMO which is on the way with Cities XL, currently in development at Monte Cristo Multimedia. Is this game an MMO (or virtual world) as we would typically define it? Perhaps not. But it will offer persistent world gameplay as well as economic interaction between player-created cities, further enabled by social networking options, which we think may be of some interest to our readers.While we don't have release dates for the North American market yet, Monte Cristo Multimedia got word to us today about the game's European release dates. They state: "Monte Cristo is very happy to announce that Cities XL, the next generation city builder, will be released on September 3rd 2009 on PC DVD in the following countries: France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Austria, in French and German languages. A release is planned for other countries, we will announce a precise date as soon as possible."%Gallery-50213%
Rappelz to get major content update next month
When we last talked about Rappelz, the game's developers were working on an enormous localization overhaul for the Arabic market. This new version was successfully launched last month, and with that milestone under their belts, it seems that the development team has had time to work on some new content. Gala Networks Europe has issued a press release heralding a "major content update" for the French and German versions of Rappelz to be available in May.The update is called Navis Lamia, and will feature a new dungeon of the same name. Expect Scooby-Doo-esque antics as you explore a cursed missionary ship and contend with its zombie crew. One of the other major updates in the patch will be a revamping of the existing Trainee Island -- updating newbie areas is an ever-popular idea among MMO developers, and usually yields positive results. At this point, we're not sure whether the Navis Lamia patch will be exclusive to the French and German Rappelz for a period of time. The English website has made no mention of it as yet, so we might just have to sit tight for further information.
QuickArmory offers localization, boss tallying
Our friends over at QuickArmory, which is a site with a whole slew of extras for parsing and checking out Armory information, have sent along a list of updates to what they've done lately. The site itself is still pretty barebones (it focuses on getting information together fast rather than flashy graphics or layouts), but they've added new details to what you can see on a character view. In addition to the usual achievements, you can mouse over the title of each instance, and it will tell you how many times the character has killed each boss that's tracked in the game.And they've also added localization support -- next to the box where you put the character's name in, you can choose to see the site in English, German, French, Spanish, or Russian. Some of the achievements, we're told, aren't fully translated, but that's quite a feature on an "Armory lite" site.QuickArmory isn't necessarily the most robust Armory site out there, but it's still really good at getting you lots of information on one character quickly. If you do a lot of Armory searching for PuGs or just like learning about the various characters on your server, it's definitely worth a bookmark.
Numericable brings Ushuaia HD / Eurosport HD to French subscribers
We heard that Numericable was planning to deliver a few new high-def channels to its lineup late last year, and while it has definitely taken longer than locals would have liked, it's hard to complain with new HD channels in Europe -- belated or otherwise. Effective immediately, subscribers interested in watching Ushuaia HD and / or Eurosport HD can select the Premium package in order to tune in, and we're also told that SciFi HD and 13th Street HD should join the party in the near future. In related news, a multi-year agreement between the cable carrier and TF1 will give customers access to TF1 HD, so yeah, even more reason for applause.Read - Ushuaia HD additionRead - Eurosport HD additionRead - TF1 agreement
WoW Insider on How I WoW
Patrick Beja (who was on the WoW Insider Show not too long ago) and Shawn Coons host a great occasional podcast called How I WoW, which focuses on popular folks in the WoW community (they talked to our very own Turpster a while back, and have done an episode with Felicia Day as well). And apparently they've already talked to everybody else in the WoW community, because this week they made the mistake of inviting me on the show. They actually ask more about me personally than you'd ever want to know, but there's lots of great information about WoW Insider there as well, including who's really in charge around here, what we think of you great commenters, whether or not I'm really a fanboy, and things Blizzard could do better with their game.It's a long show (all of the How I WoW shows tend to be long, I think, and though I tried to keep it short, mine didn't end up being the exception), but if you're interested in me, the WoW Insider Show, or how we run the site in general, there should be something fun for you hear in there. Plus, you can hear me murder some French if you stick around long enough.The episode is up right now on their site. Thanks to Patrick and Shawn for having me on there -- hopefully you'll enjoy listening to it as much as we did making it. And stay tuned -- we'll have to have both of them on the WoW Insider Show with us soon.
Cuckoo clock loudspeaker kicks out the jams, you out of bed
And you thought The Shining cuckoo clock was terrifying -- imagine waking up to this. Designed by French artist Stephane Vigny, the loudspeaker clock does exactly what you'd expect it to. When the time comes, the doors flip open, the bottom woofer extends out and a cacophonic emission of sound is heard as you angrily wake from your slumber. We can't imagine that outstretched woofer surviving too many mornings of you waking on the wrong side of the bed.[Via MAKE]
