November
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Nintendo sold 196,000 NES Classic Editions in November
The NES Classic Edition has become a tough gift to find during this holiday season. Cheers to those who've already located one (or two), but according to industry tracker NPD, Nintendo sold 196,000 pieces of nostalgia-bait to US customers between its launch and the end of November. Compare that to Media-Create's numbers, which showed Japanese sales of the Classic Mini Famicom surpassed 261k units in just one week. Clearly, the demand is there, but the question is if Nintendo will be able to make enough of the systems available before the holiday rush is over. (If it follows this up with an SNES Classic Edition, we'll probably be lining up all over again.)
JINS' fatigue-tracking smart glasses hit Japan next month
Okay, so you've been able to order JINS' non-smart (dumb?), app-customizable glasses for awhile if you live in Japan. That much is pretty well established. But the eyewear outfit's recently announced that its line of Meme smart glasses will be available in the company's home-region stores starting next month on November 5th. Maybe they'll eventually make their way stateside considering JINS' store in San Francisco. How much is that doggy in the window? According to our Japanese Engadget colleagues, ¥19,000 or about $160. We tried them out at CES this year and came away pretty impressed, especially with the purported 16-hour battery life.
Xbox One November update detailed, 'rolling out' now
Xbox One's November update has begun "rolling out," according to a recent post from Major Nelson. As was previously announced, this update will allow users to customize the background image for each account's dashboard on their console. Profiles can also be updated with locations and bios, as well as up to six game clips or achievements that users would most like to show the world. Speaking of showing the world gaming-related feats, game clips can now be sent to a linked Twitter account, which is listed under the console's share options once it's tied to your Xbox profile. Regarding marketplace tweaks, this update moves all of the store page's navigation options to the left side of the screen. Changes to the highlighted games section meant to make browsing each category easier are also present. SmartGlass users should notice that Apps have been given their own section in the store, and that Games With Gold and Deals With Gold content can be browsed separately. As for TV options, those living in the US, Canada and UK should see a Trending tab in OneGuide, which lists the 20 shows that are most popular with the general Xbox audience. Those in the US can browse similar popularity data based on Twitter, as well as browse tweets related to specific shows via the MiniGuide. You can spot these additions in action by watching Major Nelson's video tour that's waiting for you after the break, or you can scrounge through the bulletpoint list to learn about the update's more minor additions.
TUAW Year in Review: November 2012
Welcome to TUAW's Year in Review. Month by month, we're running down the top stories of 2012, all day long on New Year's Day. Apple shows "father of iOS 6 Maps" the door A tweet from Bloomberg News a few minutes ago says Apple has fired its "Maps manager" in the aftermath of the iOS 6 Maps controversy. Gizmodo points to executive Richard Williamson as the unlucky... IBM: iPad owned 88% of Black Friday online shopping from tablets At the iPhone 5 launch event in September 2012, Apple CEO Tim Cook pointed out an interesting statistic about the tablet market: the iPad owns a disproportionate share of web browsing traffic from... iTunes 11 now available in Software Update It's finally happened! iTunes 11 just dropped into Software Update, so if you want to grab it open up the Mac App Store and click that Updates tab. The 198 MB file brings a totally redesigned... NY Times: App gold rush leaves many struggling developers The New York Times appears to have finally caught on to the big secret that many independent developers have known for a while -- the days of grabbing a pot of gold by writing an iOS app are over.... President Obama meets with Tim Cook, others President Barack Obama spoke with prominent business leaders over the weekend to discuss his plan to avert the financial crisis that is looming early next year. According to Reuters, the list of... Also: Snow Leopard still used on more than a quarter of all Macs Why Lightning is extra awesome Charge your iPhone while you cook with the BioLite CampStove Apple sells three million iPad minis, 4th generation iPads in three days Amtrak for iPhone adds Passbook support iPad mini launch day roundup AT&T announces cloud-based storage, 5 GB free for iOS users Apple's Bob Mansfield: influenced to stay by Scott Forstall's departure? Mansfield may lead Apple away from Intel chips in Macs Time Magazine cover image shot with iPhone: interview with Ben Lowy Pixar names building after Steve Jobs To migrate or not to migrate: that is the upgrade question Reality Absorption Field: Sizing up the iPad mini TechCrunch looks at Apple's fight against the grey market in China Apple named "most innovative" company three years running A week with the iPad mini Apple and HTC settle patent disputes, sign 10-year cross-licensing deal Algoriddim's vjay for iPhone puts video mixing in the palm of your hand Origin Stories: Tekserve WSJ: Google nearly ready to submit Maps app to the App Store Thieves steal 3,600 iPad minis from JFK airport Apple Maps finally gets turn-by-turn navigation in Australia Apple.com 'start page' lives Dropbox hits 100 million users, looking for great Dropbox stories Why no Retina on the iPad mini? Money and power Text messaging declines for first time thanks in part to iMessage Apple to allow employees time off to work on special projects Black Friday sales net some good deals on iPads Apple now asking potential Genius Bar customers to reboot iPhone before making an appointment TUAW Smackdown: Google Chromebook vs. Apple iPad, MacBook Air Want a 14-megapixel iPhone? Will.i.am claims he can make it happen Barclays orders 8,500 iPads for massive corporate rollout Appsterdam's Mike Lee returns with Lemurs Chemistry: Water game for iOS iTunes 11 imminent according to German music distributor Skitch co-founder talks 2.0 changes, asks user sufferance 5 apps to help make your turkey tasty this Thanksgiving Apple's 'spaceship' campus might be delayed until 2016 Nielsen reports that iPad is most wanted this holiday season A year with iTunes Match: How would you fix it? How a kid-friendly app leaks mature content via YouTube New iMacs not delayed after all Blast from the past: Jony Ive stars in 1997 Apple video sans white backdrop JFK worker who helped steal 3600 iPad minis nabbed by FBI Multi-iPad table moves from concept to reality Securing Your Mac: A Guide for Reasonable People, Version 1.0 Tim Cook to give first TV interview on Rock Center Dec. 6 App downloads saw a surge after iPhone 5 release iPhone 5 in stock for the holidays, Nexus 4 is nowhere to be found iTunes 11 for old fogies: goin' back to the way it was Report: Eddy Cue tasked with setting Maps right Reality Absorption Field: Navigating the return of Google Maps Watch every Apple TV ad in a single YouTube playlist The Simpsons skewer iPad obsession with A Tree Grows In Springfield Apple needs to learn how the Internet works before iCloud evaporates
Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition due out November 28 (mostly)
We've heard before about Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition, that slightly upgraded remake of the original great Bioware RPG that's coming soon to the iPad. This version is being put together by Beamdog, and creative director Trent Oster has tweeted that the game will finally arrive on (or at least around) November 28 later on this month. I say "around" because Oster hedges his bets on exactly when Apple's review process will allow the game through on iOS, so it might be a few days after the 28th. But suffice it to say that we're less than a month away from playing the original Baldur's Gate on the iPad. I got to see the game in action a little while ago at PAX, and I can tell you that it is indeed Baldur's Gate running on Apple's tablet. There is new content, and there are definitely some tweaks and improvements, but for the most part, it's the game you'll remember. Some new users may be turned off a bit from the title, just because it does stick to the original's complexity, and the touch interface translated to a game that's really best driven with a mouse and keyboard can be a little confusing. But Beamdog has made the decision to stick with the original game rather than updating it for the touchscreens too much, and that means that old school Bioware fans will probably be pleased. We'll look for the game on the App Store later on this month. [via Joystiq]
Apple reportedly changing some iPad mini ship dates
Apple has been tweaking some of the reported delivery dates for its new iPad mini products, according to reports from a few people who've preordered the LTE-enabled version of the devices. Originally, Apple was reporting a ship date of November 23 for most of the day-one preorders, but that date has since been changed online to "mid-November." That most likely means that Apple is already running out of early shipments, essentially delaying delivery of the units by a few days or even more. Apple has already predicted shortages for some products, so this news isn't exactly unexpected. This is probably little consolation to folks who can't wait to get their fingers on the new iPad mini, but it's a good problem for Apple to have.
After strong Q3 showing, HTC sees nearly 20 percent drop in November revenue
All was looking rosy for HTC at the end of October, when the company released yet another stellar Q3 earnings report. Since then, however, things have apparently gone downhill in a pretty drastic way, as evidenced by an unaudited revenue report for the month of November. In an announcement issued today, the manufacturer confirmed that it saw about 31 billion Taiwanese dollars ($1.03 billion) in consolidated revenue last month, down 19.6 percent from November 2010, when it raked in some 38.5 billion Taiwanese dollars (about $1.27 billion). HTC didn't offer an explanation for the drop, though an earlier Q4 earnings forecast predicted that the company's impressive streak of robust earnings reports would soon come to an end. It remains to be seen whether December treats the company more gently, but for now, you can check out the full financial breakdown at the source link, below.
RuneScape sings, gobbles, and slays its way through November
RuneFest, Halloween, and Bot Nuking Day may be over, but the RuneScape team is far from taking time off for good behavior. If anything, the devs' eyes are as big as their stomachs as they detailed plans for the game leading up to Thanksgiving. Speaking of the holiday, a turkey invasion led by the fearsome Captain Turkerton is imminent and only the players will be able to negotiate a truce before the gobblepocalypse arrives. As incentive for participating in the event, RuneScape is planning to award Thanksgiving crests and turkey pets for the diplomatically savvy. Jagex has a lot more on its plate for November, including revamping elements of the interface, overhauling the website design, and introducing the Slayer-centric Polypore Dungeon. Additionally, the November quest, "One Piercing Note," is a first for the game: a fully voice-acted experience that will incorporate singing and dancing into the story! Following Bot Nuking Day and the resulting dip in population, Jagex has consolidated several servers into new multi-country European worlds. The team is also hard at work addressing some current issues with players having problems logging in and experiencing lag. A fix is scheduled for later today.
Cedar Trail may be delayed, new Atoms gone 'til November
If you've been waiting to catch a whiff of some Cedar Trail freshness, looks like you're just gonna hold your breath a little bit longer. DigiTimes is reporting that the next-gen Atom chip has been pushed back from its anticipated September launch to November. Apparently Chipzilla is having issues with the graphics drivers and has been unable to pass Windows 7 certification. The new low-power CPUs should still be ready in time for the holiday season though, and will likely find their way into plenty of netbooks that almost nobody will buy.
Parts suppliers reportedly prep for iPhone 5, iPad 3 assembly
Digitimes is reporting that the suppliers for the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 are gearing up to provide components for the next iterations of both of those devices. That in and of itself isn't really surprising -- of course Apple is working on new iterations of all of its devices. But what is interesting about this little leak is the timing. We first heard that Apple was lining up suppliers for the iPad 2 back in November of last year, which the benefit of hindsight now tells us was just about four months before its eventual release in early March of 2011. In other words, hearing about the iPad 3 suppliers starting to turn the gears now could mean, assuming that Apple is still on the same manufacturing schedule, that we're going to see another new iPad as soon as four months from now -- sometime before this coming holiday season. Would Apple release two iPads in one year? Blogger John Gruber has already suggested that they'll do exactly that, and certainly the timing of this leaked announcement supports that idea. As usual, nothing is confirmed until we hear it from Cupertino officially. But you can at least add another log to the fire of rumors that we may see the iPad 3 before 2011 has left us behind.
Amazon just sent out a bunch of emails about Cataclysm's release date
Approximately 37 million of you, in a row, tipped us off tonight about an email from Amazon. This email told people that Cataclysm's release date was Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010, and that those who pre-ordered from Amazon would get it soon after between Nov. 26 and Nov. 29 (due to shipping and the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday). Amazon is not a reliable source for release dates. They are often wrong. But it is "odd" that they're saying something now, so close the date. We've previously heard a rumor that Nov. 2 might be another release date, and we know that Cataclysm is on track for a 2010 release, barring something nuts. Until Blizzard announces the date itself, we don't know exactly when Cataclysm will be released. So until then, just grab a towel and don't panic. And let me just make it real clear: WoW Insider is not claiming Nov. 23 is Cataclysm's release date. We're just reporting on what has happened with Amazon emails.
Knights in the Nightmare arriving on Nov. 9, bringing Yggdra Union along
Atlus has good news and bad news for players looking forward to Knights in the Nightmare, the upcoming strategy RPG-slash-bullet hell shooter getting ported to the PSP. We'll give you the bad news first, since that's usually the way to go: The game isn't coming out on October 19 as planned. Instead, you'll have to wait a few more weeks, as the release date has been moved back to November 9. We know, that probably ruins your pre-Halloween plans, but wait for the good news. The good news is that Atlus is including a digital copy of Yggdra Union with the purchase of "each and every launch copy" of Knights in the Nightmare. You may not know all about the Dept. Heaven series, so keep in mind that these are the two episodes of the series continuing where Riviera: The Promised Land started out, all produced by Sting Entertainment. In essence, you'll get two obscure Japanese genre mashups for the price of just one. Aren't you glad we told you the bad news first?
(i)Pawn is an iPhone game with screen-reactive pieces
This is one of the cooler things I've seen done with the iPhone's capacitive touchscreen. (i)Pawn is a game of sorts that works with a series of little figures on tokens that actually interact with the touchscreen itself. Most of the time, you need actual flesh to interact with the iPhone's screen, but these figures are also capacitive, so the app running on the device not only knows when and where you've placed these figures down but also which figures are touching, and so on. Unfortunately, it's all in French, so I'm not completely sure what the "game" is. It appears to be a relationship game that has something to do with various personalities passing messages and interacting. And it could just be a demo of some kind, with a video running underneath those figures rather than actually interacting with the pieces themselves. But it's not hard to think of other applications of a system like this (D&D on a touchscreen, anyone?), and a bigger screen like the iPad would come in handy, too. (i)Pawn is scheduled to be for sale in November of this year, so we'll keep an eye out for it and try to find out more about what it is and exactly how it works. Meanwhile, you can watch the videos of the figures in action and dream of all the various ways to use accessories like this. [via TDW]
2011 Chevy Volt pinned with a November 1st official production kickoff date?
Christmas isn't coming early, but at least you're getting a heads up. GM car dealers got their annual model guide, and what has our interests piqued here is the listing for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt, the plug-in hybrid electric car that seems to make our heart race in equal proportions to our wallets crying. According to the chart, the company will be accepting orders starting in September, with the official production date (or "Job 1 date" in automotive lingo) starting November 1st. There's a bit of a discrepancy, however, as the dealers won't know their final allocation until two weeks after the startup time -- notice how it's typically done weeks before with the other models -- but hey, maybe time paradoxes is just another bullet point on its list of features. It's about time Doc's DeLorean had some competition.
Dragon Age: Origins coming to Mac as a digital download December 21st
Gamepro's got the news that Electronic Arts is fast-tracking Dragon Age: Origins for release on the Mac -- they're now saying that it'll be out as a download as soon as next week, on December 21st. I've been playing the game on PC (it came out for both PC and consoles in November), and it is excellent -- an instant Bioware classic, and definitely the best roleplaying game of the year, especially if you enjoy good Baldur's Gate-style epic. Of course, you can pick up the PC version right now and play it in Boot Camp, but given that we've been needling developers to hurry up with their Mac versions, we have to give EA credit for this one. A month late is much better than, say, a few years late. We'll also point out that this version will use Transgaming's Cider wrapper technology for the port, and they don't exactly have the best track record for quality Mac releases. But again, an A for effort on the release date. If you want to play it natively on the Mac, you'll be able to buy the game in either standard or deluxe versions, with the deluxe including extra bonus content and the "Warden's Keep" downloadable content pack (both versions come with the "Stone Prisoner" pack already, and the content packs open up more quests and items in the game itself). December 21st is the listed date: look for a link on their website then.
Overall Mac sales up 21%, desktops up 74% year over year
There's probably a number of reasons why this might have happened (and we're sure you can come up with more than we can), but nevertheless, here you go: overall Mac sales are up by 21 percent in October and November since last year at the same time, according to Gene Munster (not pictured), analyst at Piper Jaffray. Desktop Mac sales are especially huge, with the rise as high as 74%, which seems like a typo next to MacBook and MacBook Pro increases of just five percent. In fact, those gigantic desktop sales, some reason, might actually be the reason behind the recent iMac delays. At any rate, no matter why, Apple is making a boatload on Macs this quarter already. Even without the bulk of the holiday season, the desktops were already flying off the shelves in huge numbers compared to last year.
GameStop: New game sales up 15 percent in Nov. 2009
November was a good month for GameStop, as the retailer has announced sales for its new games were up 15 percent. We contacted GameStop to get some clarification on the vague 15 percent figure and VP Chris Olivera said this was compared to November 2008. It's not that tough to gather how the company upped its profits. Aside from a massive used games sale, the company also offered some sweet Black Friday console bundles and a week-long sale on new games -- all of which managed to get folks in the store, spending cash.
Free costume parts galore in Champions Online
Cryptic has revealed the free costume pieces in next week's Nemesis Confrontation update, which come in addition to two unlockable costume sets. Among the new free costume items are some exceptionally sweet capes, although we're sure many players will be filled with glee to see new weapons being added to the costume creator. While these are only cosmetic costume options, they're important to players who wield specific guns or swords. It may seem like a minor issue to some, but having an outfit that makes sense -- and looks cool at the same time -- is surprisingly important to players who revel in a game like Champions Online. You can also now put guitars on the back of your characters; something that immediately reeks of potential. We have to wonder if guitars are going to be added as visual replacements for sword based powers, enabling us to whack enemies with our musical axes. If someone at Cryptic could make that so, it would be somewhere within the vicinity of pure awesome.
Atlantica Online celebrates its one year US anniversary
It's been one whole successful year for Atlantica Online in the US, and Ndoors Interactive is ready to celebrate with special bonuses and in-game events throughout this November. The first of many celebratory specials offers players a 200% experience boost, something sure to make everybody pretty happy. Then, there's the weekend in-game events, followed by new in-game items, a special Thanksgiving event, a fan art contest and we're guessing a lot more. So, to recap: oodles of extra experience and rare new items, along with fun holiday and anniversary distractions. Oh, right and even a fan art contest for the creatively inclined types. Yep, seems like a particularly awesome month for Atlantica Online players. In fact, for more deets from Ndoors themselves, check out the official word on all the in-game events and such after the break.
Wrath expected in China in mid-November
Because of all the chaos (from switched providers to government approval) on China's version of World of Warcraft, they haven't actually had a chance to release the Wrath expansion over there yet. They were planning to bring it out ASAP, but that obviously never worked out. But we hear now, finally, that the wait is almost over. They are still going through content checks, and Netease (WoW's new provider over there) says it has some more work to do, but at this point they're aiming for a mid-November release. This doesn't mean much for us in the rest of the world -- and before you commenters mention goldsellers, know that most "Chinese goldfarmers" actually play on NA/EU servers anyway, and have been doing so even with the outage overseas. It does, however, mean that China's guilds and playerbase at large will finally have access to all of the content we've enjoyed for almost a year (the expansion was released in North America and Europe last November 13th -- remember that?), including death knights, the new Naxxramas, and all of the other Northrend content. The release should be a nice bonus for Netease as well -- they've been working hard to try and get the game up to date, and releasing the current expansion should help bring in a nice group of new customers.
