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Rumor: Second 'Sega Pluto' found at a garage sale
So apparently people can just find rare, never-released consoles at garage sales now. That's how the second (and purported final) "Sega Pluto" was found, retrieved at a garage sale for a dollar "five or six years" ago by YouTube user kidvid666.Above, he explains that he didn't know it was a "Sega Pluto" until the first "Sega Pluto" surfaced online last week. His "Sega Pluto" has a damaged disc door, explaining why he has to weigh it down to play games in the video above. Beyond that, it boots up fine and appears to be in working order.The "Sega Pluto" was a prototype Sega Saturn with a NetLink modem built into the chassis. The NetLink modem was eventually released on its own as an add-on peripheral, unlocking web browsing through the console and online matches in Saturn Bomberman, Virtual On, Sega Rally, Duke Nukem 3D and Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition.
Portalarium announces Ultimate Collector: Garage Sale as first title
Richard Garriott's recent startup, Portalarium, had many people wondering what would be the first thing to come out of this mad scientist's new studio. Well, wonder no more. Now we know that Portalarium's first title will be a Facebook game known as Ultimate Collector: Garage Sale, which focuses on -- you guessed it -- collecting things that you buy at garage sales. We couldn't make this up if we tried. Players can create an avatar and customize their houses, and then go shopping at estate sales, garage sales, pawn shops, and so forth in order to complete collections of items. These item collections can then be displayed in your house as a trophy of sorts, or you can sell them to make a quick buck. We'll just have to wait and see how this bizarre project shapes up in the coming months.
Blizzard auctioning off retired WoW servers for charity
What do you do when you upgrade your MMO's servers and end up with a bunch of hardware you don't need any longer? If you said, "Hold the world's geekiest garage sale," then you're absolutely right. Recently Blizzard upgraded its fleet of World of Warcraft servers and has decided that instead of mothballing the old ones, it will auction them off and donate the proceeds to a worthy charity. The auctions will be handled by eBay, as any interested parties can place a bid on the actual server shard that hundreds of thousands of players used for years. Each of the auctioned server blades is a self-contained unit and will have the World of Warcraft logo emblazoned across it, with a plaque attached detailing the server's usage dates and the signatures of the development team. Bidding will begin on October 17th and proceed through November 14th as Blizzard auctions the dozens of HP p-Class server blades off in groups, and the winnings will be given to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which helps combat pediatric cancer and other diseases that affect young kids. If the thought of owning a piece of MMO history appeals to you -- or if you're looking for an interesting Christmas present for that WoW friend of yours -- then check out the auction dates on eBay.
The Game Archaeologist and the Quest for Camelot: A talk with Mark Jacobs
Life is full of serendipitous moments. For example, the other day I found the Holy Grail at a garage sale while looking through a box of half-broken Transformers. Who would have thought? If only the Knights Templar took a few Saturdays off from their epic quest to do a bit of bargain shopping. Consider also that this month we've been reminiscing about Dark Age of Camelot in this column -- looking at the history, the devs, and the players -- and then, out of nowhere (well, technically Virginia) one of the key figures of this title returned from a year-long sabbatical. Mark Jacobs, who was let go from EA last June, recently popped back up on his personal blog to talk about everything under the sun. Hey -- isn't DAoC under the sun? Why yes, yes it is. So I threw on my hiking boots, strapped a machete to my thigh, hired a Sherpa, and then composed a quick message to see if Mr. Jacobs would be willing to be interviewed by the eccentric media. He agreed, as long as we stuck to the topic at hand and didn't veer into his plans for world domination. Whoops... I've said too much. Hit the jump before I get into hot water. My Sherpa hates hot water.
