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War of Legends celebrates Chinese new year with prizes
Game developer Jagex is perhaps best known for its popular browser MMO RuneScape, which is still going strong after over 10 years of development. Just over a year ago, the company made a move into the MMORTS market with its free-to-play browser game War of Legends. Last month, the game celebrated its first anniversary by giving players a free birthday cake filled with items to speed up construction, resource gathering and other parts of the game. With that celebration barely over, War of Legends has launched head-first into yet another event with the Chinese New Year. As War of Legends is based heavily on ancient Chinese mythology, the Chinese New Year is a big time of year for the game. In keeping with a traditional Chinese theme, Jagex will be giving away red envelopes containing prizes to players every day for the next two weeks. Each envelope contains in-game items valued by the company at up to $20 US, and players have the opportunity to find more prizes by invading the Wildlands during the two-week celebration period. For those players who want something simpler, Jagex will also be running some limited-time daily tasks during the Chinese New Year with a variety of helpful rewards.
The Road to Mordor: My wish list for 2011
January is always a month of denial for me because it usually takes a full 30 days for the reality of a new year to settle into my skull. It can't be a new year! I just, just got used to the old one! I'm going to forget the real year when I sign my checks and then I'll be denounced as a fraud! What horrible teenage fad will be inflicted on us this year? Seriously, Ke$ha was the final straw for me. She's like all four horsemen of the apocalypse melted down and recast as a talentless banshee with an ironic dollar sign smack in the middle of her name. But that's my problem. A new year also means a virgin slate for all of our MMOs. What happened last year was so last year -- now we turn our eyes to the future. We know a little of what's upcoming for Lord of the Rings Online, but that doesn't mean we can't have wishes. You know what they say: If wishes were horses, I'd have the Steed of Night. So in honor of '11, I've come up with an 11-point wish list of what I'd love to see in LotRO this year. I fully expect Turbine to drop everything -- everything -- to get on it!
Talkcast tonight: Looking ahead to the Mac App Store
Happy 2011! With CES right around the corner, there are sure to be plenty of new product introductions, glossy gadgets and fun new tech toys -- but the biggest intro in Apple-land is the launch of the Mac App Store, coming in just a few days. We'll dive into the MAS and all the rest of the Mac news and notes on tonight's show, live at 10 PM Eastern. Here's the master page to listen or join in on the show. To participate live on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client (just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 PM ET on Sunday), the embedded Facebook app or the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (take advantage of your free cell phone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. (That's a toll call, just so you know.) If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac or your PC, you can connect via the free SJphone or X-Lite SIP clients or by using the TalkShoe client's ShoePhone tool; basic instructions are here. We'll kick things off at 10 PM ET/ 7 PM PT this evening. See you there!
Apple lovers in Japan camp out for 'Lucky Bag' sale
Retailers in Japan have a New Year shopping tradition of selling "lucky bags," which contain an assortment of items whose value typically exceeds the price you pay for the bag. To the delight of many Apple fanboys here in Tokyo, "lucky bags" are also sold at the Apple store. But at 30,000 yen (about $370), they don't come cheap. Even at that price, demand is sky-high, and only the most dedicated of Apple fans can get them. Shoppers typically start lining up the day before the lucky bags go on sale, because every year at least a couple of people hit the jackpot and get a MacBook in their bag. From those who braved the cold overnight, here's a summary of what most are saying they found in their respective bags. I haven't seen any reports of MacBooks yet: Sennheiser earphones, smart remote with mic (iPod, iPhone, iPad) Mophie Juice Pack reserve iWires 3.5mm to 3.5mm stereo plug retractable cable iPod nano OR iPod touch Griffin Slap case for iPod nano Nike+ sensor iHome speaker system for iPhone/iPod red limited edition Apple T-shirt (view at end of video) This is all according to early reports from an assortment of shoppers. Check out Guttyo Blog's picture of the bag plus contents all spread out on a table (above).
The Daily Grind: What are you looking forward to in 2011?
Farewell, 2010 -- hello 2011! As many of us prepare to ring in the new year tonight, our thoughts turn to the future as they typically do at the end of the year. What will 2011 bring for you? Will it be a banner year of excellence, or a year that would best be experienced on fast-forward? I have a better idea: Let's talk about what we're looking forward to in 2011 -- in MMOs, I mean. It's promising to be an exciting year as major projects such as Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Rift come to a head, and that's only the surface of 2011's potential. So what, if anything, has you jazzed about next year? What do you wish were already here -- a new game, an expansion, a special event -- so that you could enjoy it? 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!
Year-end reflections and predictions roundup
All our prognostications, anticipations, best-of lists and year-end reflections -- in one handy place. Our favorite iPhone games of 2009 The first full year of the App Store is coming to a close, and so let's take a look back at our favorite games of 2009. Note that these aren't best-selling, most important, or even the best games... TUAW bloggers post their Apple predictions for 2010 It's the end of another calendar year, which can mean only two things. First, every blog is going to be posting lists of 2009 retrospectives, and second, there are going to be a lot of posts... Our Favorite Apps: Stuff that stayed on our phones in 2009 As the year draws to a close, we thought we'd shine a spotlight on some of the favorite apps we used this year. These are the "sticky" apps, the ones that lingered on our iPhones after we gave... Also of interest: Apple nabs four of Engadget's 10 gadgets of the decade January 1 reflections on my favorite things How early iPhone predictions fared in the face of reality Two broken promises from AT&T and Apple as 2009 comes to a close
Japan's Apple Stores continue Lucky Bag tradition
Fukubukuro, or "Mystery Bag," is a Japanese New Year's Day tradition during which merchants sell sealed bags of various items at a substantial discount, often as high as 50%. Shoppers may get some great deals on the contents of these bags - even if they don't know what exactly they're buying. Japanese Apple Stores have participated since 2005. Once again, this year, they're offering mystery bags to Japanese Apple Store customers. Stores will begin selling a limited number of Lucky Bags for the equivalent of $380US on January 2nd. But the fun doesn't end there. Each store will offer workshops on photography, video-making and presentations to kids aged eight to 12-years-old. Adults can share in the fun too, as a contest will be held to find the best New Year's greeting card created on a Mac. All contest participants will receive a small gift. If you attend, let us know. Last year, a reader received an 8 GB iPod touch, a Nike iPod sensor and armband, a Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere2 speaker set, a cool, re-useable bag (above), a commemorative T-shirt and a 2009 calendar for the approximate equivalent of $384US. Shoppers began to line up at midnight the day before in 2009, so hop to it. Those lines aren't going to get any shorter. Update: The sale has begun. Here's what one shopper received. [Via ifoAppleStore]
TUAW wishes you...
...a very happy New Year. Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/london/ / CC BY 2.0
The Daily Grind: What will you change in 2010?
We can't, sadly, warp time to go back a full year. Once we do something, for better or for worse, we're stuck with it. But we can try and learn from things that happened the last time around, and there have certainly been things to learn from 2009, which we touched on yesterday. That's where the whole tradition of resolutions for the new year comes from. And as we all know, the second-best way to force yourself to do something is to make it public. (The first is to have someone following you around with a shotgun.) So, today we ask you just before the clock ticks over: what are you going to do differently in the coming year? Was there a single event that you learned from, or were there multiple events that contributed to you wanting to make a change? It could be anything from trying to avoid getting too invested in the pre-launch hype of a game to just trying not to die quite so often when playing a melee character, but we're sure you have at least one thing you'd like to try differently in the new year. (And if you do find a way to rewind time, please, let us know.)
AAA MMO developers offer up their 2009 resolutions
So far this year we've talked about some resolutions for game developers that touch on World of Warcraft, and some player-offered resolutions for the developers of Warhammer Online. MTV Multiplayer's Tracey John one-upped both by tracking down developers from most of the AAA MMO studios to ask about their upcoming year. She spoke with some big names you've no doubt seen many times on Massively, the likes of Jeffrey Steefel, Josh Drescher, Matt Miller, and Craig Morrison. Their resolutions are great, on a number of levels. Some, such as Morrison's hopes for Age of Conan, are bold proclamations of their future plans. Others, like Miller's proclamation that City of Heroes will continue to be seen as the best super-hero MMO, reflect the ways the industry will be changing this year. Our favorite is probably Noah Ward's lookahead to EVE's 2009, a massive statement of purpose for the coming few months. He concludes, "I predict that in 2009 we will finally see the day where there are more EVE subscribers than Icelandic citizens. There will be more 'pew pew' than ever before." Read through to the article for the full resolution buffet.
Behind the Curtain: Take a look back
Brace yourself for the obligatory 'New Year' post. I'd resolve to lose weight, tone up and be kinder to my fellow man, but I'd be lying. Not because I'm weak and won't follow through on them, but because I don't need to. I'm practically perfect in every way. Except not really. I'm lying. I also hate Mary Poppins with a cold, implacable hatred. But that's neither here nor there. It's been a year of ups and downs in the MMO world. We've seen World of Warcraft go from strength to strength with an expansion pack which knocked the socks off of Burning Crusade. Say what you will about Blizzard, but it's always good to see a company that's willing and able to learn not only from its past mistakes, but its past successes. We've seen the long-awaitied launch of Warhammer Online, but we've also seen some downers, with Tabula Rasa going down the tubes, and Fury falling over. Although, not as many people were upset about Fury, given that it was terrible from start to finish.
The Daily Grind: Happy new year!
Another twelve months have gone by, the earth has revolved around the sun once more, and a brand new year stretches out before us. And while the rest of the world may be thinking up new year's resolutions of a more practical nature, this is Massively and you can't expect a conversation with us not to involve MMOs. So what are your MMO resolutions for 2009? Planning on playing less? Playing more? Diversifying your MMO portfolio? Leveling an alt of each class? For our part, we plan on playing as much of as many games as possible -- or to the extent we can get away with telling our significant others, friends, family, and household pets that, though it may look like we're killing giant lizards, we're actually working. Have any resolutions for 2009 you'd like to share?
The Daily Grind: Looking towards 2009
This year's joyous non-denominational festive season (to borrow a phrase from our own Tateru) has come to a close -- and there's probably more than one unfortunate reader out there who has trudged into the office today. (To those readers, we offer our greatest sympathies. At least the greatest sympathies we're capable of offering while grinding the rest of the way to level 80.) But as 2008 winds down towards the new year, we have a question to pose you, whether you find yourself at home, at work, or anywhere in between: with this year mostly behind us, what are you looking forward to in the future? We have an array of exciting games on the horizon: SWTOR, DCUO, and STO just to name a few of the easily acronymized options. Are you looking forward to any juicy new releases in the next year or is your new year's wish something that's not on our radar?
All the World's a Stage: The passing of the Beast
All the World's a Stage isn't just a column for loony and creative geeks, playing with roles every Sunday evening.The Lunar Festival has been with us for a few days now, and I can tell you as one living in China, the real life version of this holiday, the Chinese Spring Festival, is quite the treat. Everyone seems to walk around charged with a special happiness, traveling all around the country, glad to be reunited with family after spending months away. Shops are closed, streets have more people walking than driving, and nights ring loud with the sound of fireworks bursting from all around you.The WoW version is a pale imitation, to be honest, but it does manage to capture a portion of the Spring Festival's spirit. While setting off fireworks is not the awesomest eye-candy, it's not that bad; also, traveling all over the world to visit the Elder ghosts scattered all around Azeroth is charming in its own way. The main thing that's missing, however, is a real understanding of what the holiday is all about.Few Westerners realize that the annual attack of the monster "Nian" (on which the story of WoW's Omen is based) forms the mythological backstory for the Spring Festival -- sort of an equivalent of the Nativity story of Christmas. The Chinese words for "Celebrate the New Year," Guo Nian, could also be literally translated as "The passing of the Beast." If we look at the symbolism behind this Chinese myth, it can give the Lunar Festival new meaning for our characters in Azeroth as well.
Something great in the mail: red DS Lite
As a promotion for the new year, Japan Post gave away a bunch of awesome prizes. Of special interest to us: the exclusive Japan Post red DS Lite, which entrants had 250,000-to-1 odds of winning. Of course, some of the winners are choosing to make a quick yen from their winnings (we assume most of the winners already own at least one DS anyway), so Yahoo Auctions, Japan's auction site of choice, is getting loaded up with the winning postcards. They have yet to filter out to eBay, but look forward to that soon.All we ever got from our post office is, like, mail. [Thanks, supa_s!]
Pokemon Center cash registers ring in the new year
Japanese Pokémon Center stores are celebrating the new year with exclusive merchandise. Or, rather, celebrated, because we have a feeling the hordes of people have already grabbed up all of the stuff. People lined up to get their hands on the New Year Pika Pika Bag, a tote bag with some adorable Pikachu, Pachirisu, and Piplup art on it. Of course the bag is stuffed with exclusive Pokéstuff: plush toys, stationery, candy, and a photo album.How did you celebrate 2008? It probably wasn't waiting in line to spend 30 bucks on toys. What, were you spending time with friends and family? Sucker. What kind of tote bag did you get from that?
Adventurers beware, mysterious rodents in FFXI
Hopefully you all like rodents, because if you happen to log into Final Fantasy XI anytime before January 14th you'll be greeted to the mysterious rodent-like beastman of Vana'diel. Said beasties could be "divine disciples" or "unsavory swindlers" and the only way to find out seems to be to brave the wide world. Ending their announcement with a wish of good fortune, the team behind FFXI don't seem to have the desire to divulge any more information beyond that. Seems pretty cryptic to us, but when you're basing your entire new years concept on the Chinese zodiac I suppose that it calls for a little exotic flavor.I'd like to think that these rodents are kind creatures sent to give us all cooking advice, but I suppose not all of them are going to be friendly. Would it be too much to hope for a Master Splinter-type of rodent to train players? It might not be, considering that the year of the rat is just around the corner anyhow. Our only word of advice is to bring along a big chunk of cheese with a nice, strong aroma. [Via Ten Ton Hammer]
Celebrating the new year with a GM
A guildmate drew my attention to this interesting video of the New Year celebrations outside of Ironforge on the US Proudmoore server. Apparently, a GM appeared as a fire-spewing gnome and had some fun with the players gathered to see the fireworks. Check out the video above to get a complete look at his antics.
New Year's resolutions: Mac style
Now that it's 2008, time to write down those New Year's resolutions; and why not use your Mac to make sure you stick to them this year! Here's a list of apps that will help you manage your resolutions, and hopefully keep them too: Anxiety (donationware; get organized with to-do management) Cha-Ching ($40, demo available; personal money manager) Wallet ($14.95, demo available; keep those secrets, well, secret) Writeroom ($24.95, demo available; get more writing done with less distractions) Weight Tracker (freeware; keep track of your weight loss) Pzizz ($29.95, demo available; allows you to get better sleep or "energize" you during the day) Awaken ($12.95, demo available; you'll never be late for work again with this clock) YummySoup! (shareware, $20; store recipes and share them, so you can start eating better) Gyminee (iPhone web app; keep track of exercises, watch exercise videos, and keep up with calories) No Smoking (freeware, Dashboard widget; keep track of how many days you've been without smoking) Be sure to tell us your favorite resolution-keeping Mac apps in the comments. Here's to 2008!
Share your '08 resolutions with X3F
Well fanboys, it's a new year, and with a new year come new year's resolutions (and game of the year awards). As people begin a brand new year, they attempt to start with a clean slate, get a fresh start. Some people try to quit smoking or find a way to better themselves. Considering our readers are all gamers, we thought maybe some people out there might like to share their gaming resolutions. Don't scoff, as there are plenty of worthy resolutions to be made. For example, resolving to not spend as much money on games, or perhaps resolving to try a new genre. As for us, our new year's resolution is ... 1080p (ba dum bum, ch!). But seriously folks, it probably is time for us to stop buying retro Xbox Live Arcade games in the middle of the night. A note to the wise, they are never as good as you remember them.So, how about you? Got any resolutions to share?
