valentines day
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Massively's guide to Valentine's Day festivities
Ah spring! 'Tis the time when young men and women's thoughts turn to love -- or at least scoring some nifty holiday-themed loot! This year there's quite a bit going on. Some events are old familiar ones that have stood the test of time. Others offer new twists and things to do for those who have been there, done that. If you aren't feeling the love bug biting, there's even the odd anti-Valentine's-type event, perfect for those who would rather rain destruction down on the head of anyone foolish enough to approach him with anything heart-shaped or pink. Curious as to what's going on? Check out our listing below -- and feel free to chime in if you know of a fun event others should check out! Rip out your Fallen Earth character's heart for Valentine's Day (February 11th-13th) What's better than surviving a nuclear holocaust and wandering your way across a blasted brown landscape rife with societal collapse? Why, sharing said wanderings with someone you love, of course (or at least, someone you lust after in that we've-got-to-do-this-for-the-future-of-mankind sort of way). In a novel spin on the traditional mid-February holiday, Icarus Studios is presenting Fallen Earth's Valentine's Day Massacre event, and clones everywhere can literally offer their hearts as a sign of affection (and a +3 stamina buff). Vindictus spreads the love with new update and holiday (February 1st-15th) Quirky events have quickly become one of Vindictus' staples. Right now players can participate in V-Day events for special rewards. If fishing and chocolate hunting isn't your bag, you can simply purchase a Valentine's Package at the Supply Depot for "sexy Valentine's themed Inner Armor." Cute undies, in other words. Valentine's events will end after the 15th, so players are encouraged to partake sooner rather than regret it later. Time for love in Final Fantasy XI (February 1st-15th) Valentine's Day is almost here, that special time of year when you attempt to distill the essence of a romantic relationship into chocolate form. And if you were hoping to escape from the day within Vana'diel, your efforts are rather misdirected -- Valentione's Day coincides nicely with the holiday in the real world, with just as much saccharine summation of liaisons in Final Fantasy XI.
Rock Band 3 V-Day DLC video shows us what love is all about
Today, we discovered that Harmonix is not only one of the most talented developers out there, but also one of the most romantic. The team understands love on a deeper level than we could ever hope to tap into, evidenced by the V-Day DLC pack video past the jump.
iPads don't make you attractive to the opposite sex
Sorry to burst your bubble, iPad owners, but owning and using an iPad doesn't exactly make the opposite sex swoon, at least according to Retrevo 's Gadgetology Report. The report asked consumers if they notice other people's gadgets and, if so, how they react to them, and it turns out that seeing someone use an iPad is lower on the standard "I find you attractive" scale than seeing them with a pile of books. Only 36 percent of men are attracted to a woman because of her iPad, versus 42 percent liking a woman reading a book. As for the women, 29 percent like a man with an iPad, and 30 percent prefer book readers. Seems that traditional books really won't be going anywhere, even with all the popularity of the iPad. With Valentine's Day coming up, it looks like you are going to have to try harder to impress your favorite somebody and do something other than just carry your iPad around in public. Maybe try making an edible iPhone cake, some iCupcakes or a chocolate-covered iPad instead? The possibilities are endless!
Rock Band Weekly: V-Day Pack featuring Meatloaf, Stevie Nicks, more
Hey there, lonelyheart. Need some musical accompaniment for a Valentine's Day spent in romantic anguish? This week's Rock Band 3 update has your back -- not only is it eschewing the game's usual DLC schedule, dropping the tracks this Friday so that they'll be available on Valentine's Day, but each of the songs is an absolute heartbreaker. Though, ironically, most of them feature duets, which is kind of a slap in the face to lonely-folk like yourself. Check out the tracks from Meatloaf, Bonnie Tyler, Stevie Nicks and more after the jump!
Rip out your Fallen Earth character's heart for Valentine's Day
What's better than surviving a nuclear holocaust and wandering your way across a blasted brown landscape rife with societal collapse? Why, sharing said wanderings with someone you love, of course (or at least, someone you lust after in that we've-got-to-do-this-for-the-future-of-mankind sort of way). In a novel spin on the traditional mid-February holiday, Icarus Studios is presenting Fallen Earth's Valentine's Day Massacre event, and clones everywhere can literally offer their hearts as a sign of affection (and a +3 stamina buff). The gruesome festivities include a special "My Bloody Valentine" mission which features a Heartbreaker item and a crafting recipe that will enable players to rip out, preserve, and gift their hearts to whomever they desire. The Icarus devs will be making in-game appearances throughout the day on February 14th, and the Valentine mission is repeatable. You can pick it up at various locations in all three game sectors, and you can also head to the official website for more details.
Valentine's Day specials coming to the App Store
Ah, Valentine's Day, when Spring is just around the corner, love is in the air, and ... iOS games are on sale for 99 cents? Apparently -- since the holiday is largely made up by gift card retailers anyway, a bunch of big iOS developers are putting their games on sale for just a buck over the weekend. If you've been waiting to pick up games by Electronic Arts or Gameloft, this coming weekend will be your chance. There are actually multiple reasons for this -- not only is it Valentine's Day, but a lot of folks are receiving their new Verizon iPhones this weekend, so there's a lot of incentive to sell some games and break into the top paid and free app charts. We can probably expect to hear about more sales as the week goes on. Some games are also updating for Valentine's Day -- both Angry Birds and Cut the Rope have updates planned or shipping already, and we'll probably see a few more of those as well. Flower Garden is also going free starting Thursday for the holiday. Just be careful -- if your Valentine catches you playing any of this new content during your date next Monday, the rest of February might be a little more lonely for you.
T-Mobile offering all phones for free on contract this weekend
T-Mobile has a reputation for offering some of the more steeply-discounted promotions among the big four US carriers, but this one takes the cake: as long as you're willing to sign on for a new contract, you can get any phone they offer for free this weekend. Billed as a Valentine's Day deal, shoppers on Friday and Saturday will be eligible to get literally any handset in the store -- including the myTouch 4G, HD7, G2, and Vibrant -- gratis, albeit with their names inked on a new two-year deal. You still might be contending with a mail-in rebate to bring the net cost down to free, but it still ain't bad -- and if you already have a line of service, you can get in on the offer by agreeing to a full upgrade. Follow the break for the press release.
Ms. Pac-Man coming soon to iPad, followed by free Valentine's update for iPhone Pac-Man
Prior to the Hallmark holiday, Valentine's Day, Namco-Bandai Games will unload an iPad version of its iOS game, Ms. Pac-Man. Sadly, we don't have any idea how much it'll cost, but the $4.99 iPhone version that's currently available on the App Store seems like a good starting point for speculation. If you like your pellet-chomping and ghost-accosting a bit more on the masculine side, Namco Bandai Games promises a free update to the iOS version of Pac-Man, which gives the game a special holiday-themed makeover. The re-skinned game is visible in our gallery below. Wakka wakka! %Gallery-115725%
Vindictus spreads the love with new update and holiday
Whether you're in the mood for hard combat or soft, silky underwear, Vindictus has you covered, strangely enough. Nexon's free-to-play title is charging through February in style, starting with a Valentine's Day event and ending with its massive Lost Artifacts update. Quirky events have quickly become one of Vindictus' staples. Right now players can participate in V-Day events for special rewards. If fishing and chocolate hunting isn't your bag, you can simply purchase a Valentine's Package at the Supply Depot for "sexy Valentine's themed Inner Armor." Cute undies, in other words. Valentine's events will end after the 15th, so players are encouraged to partake sooner rather than regret it later. On the 16th, Nexon rolls out the Lost Artifact update, which includes an increase in level cap to 60, six bonus chapters, and the Hoarfrost Depths and Hilder Forest zones. Lost Artifact also features two new modes, Hero and Gauntlet, for those seeking a more challenging dungeon experience. You can check out pictures from these events as well as the Lost Artifact trailer after the jump.
Chris Cao spreads the love for the next DCUO update
DC Universe Online has become the fastest-selling game for Sony Online Entertainment. Playstation 3 and PC players alike enjoy diving deep into the world of DC comics. Developers of this highly successful MMO promised monthly content, and they are delivering in spades -- or should we say hearts? This month's update from SOE promises to be full of hearts, love, and cats. What? Cats? Yes, cats. In addition to adopting the usual MMO February/Valentine's Day theme, DCUO is featuring everyone's purrfect cat burglar: Catwoman. Game Director Chris Cao spoke with us yesterday about the new content coming out later this month. He was not shy about answering our questions about the update or about the issues players are having with the game. So follow us after the break as we visit SOE's secret Batcave to talk to Chris Cao about the past, present, and future love of DC Universe Online. %Gallery-115488%
Fallen Earth serves up a Valentine's Day celebration wasteland-style
People always say that Valentine's Day is just an excuse to sell chocolates and greeting cards, but in Fallen Earth it goes beyond just that. No, the post-apocalyptic game remembers that the core of the holiday should involve giving your heart to someone you love. And since you're not going to be purchasing a heart-shaped box of candy and you've got plenty of spare clones left, you might as well make "giving your heart" a bit more literal, yes? Valentine's Day will see a new mission dubbed "My Bloody Valentine" added to the game for one day only. Successfully completing said mission will give characters a chance to craft their sweethearts a blood-pumping organ complete with a nice +3 Stamina boost. (Although it's not precisely "crafting" when you rip it out of your chest.) So if you're in Fallen Earth during the holiday, let your significant other know the lengths you'll go for a romantic gift.
Soundfreaq's SFQ-01R Sound Platform goes red and black for Valentine's Day
Remember that SFQ-01 Bluetooth audio system you were swooning over late last year? If you twiddled your thumbs on buying one, here's a shot at redemption: Soundfreaq has just pushed out a limited edition red and black version just in time for Valentine's Day, and outside of the color change, everything else remains the same. It's up for pre-order now at Amazon for a penny under $200, and trust us, your significant other will love it. Even if said SO is... you.
Time for love in Final Fantasy XI
Valentine's Day is almost here, that special time of year when you attempt to distill the essence of a romantic relationship into chocolate form. And if you were hoping to escape from the day within Vana'diel, your efforts are rather misdirected -- Valentione's Day coincides nicely with the holiday in the real world, with just as much saccharine summation of liaisons in Final Fantasy XI. This year's celebration will run from February 1st until the 15th, giving players plenty of time to show their in-game companions how much they care (enough to try and get a special even reward, at least). As with previous holidays, the event announcement is accompanied with a piece of in-game fiction, something that reminds us all of an important truism -- never make your healer angry. Final Fantasy XI fans should take a look at the full piece, as it's worth a chuckle or two. No definite information on what the rewards will be is included, but it's a fair bet that the event will be similar to that of years past. So if you still aren't rocking a heart-shaped wand, it's time to get up to speed -- although you might want to lay off the chocolates a little, since there's another lesson about that in the fictional accompaniment...
IBM's Watson supercomputer will play Jeopardy! on these dates
What are February 14th, 15th, and 16th? We've known it was going to happen for a while, but now we know when to set our DVRs. A rack of servers -- soaked with natural-language processing, armed with a battalion of esoteric pop culture knowledge, and "represented by a round avatar" -- will face off against Jeopardy! millionaires Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter (both profiled in video after the break) for three days starting on Valentine's Day 2011. We're also hearing that Watson will sign autographs after it's done decimating its opponents. It will then donate all its winnings to charity and spend the rest of its natural life dodging paparazzi on an undisclosed beach in the South Pacific. [Photo from Ben Sisto's flickr]
Reminder: Love is in the Air ends tonight
Love is in the Air ends just before midnight server time tonight. Which means that today is your last day to get your Love Fool title and to try for the naughty, naughty Big Love Rocket Mount. This is also your last chance to: Go take a ride on a love boat in Stormwind City or The Undercity. Have a drunken fling with Jeremiah Payson. Gorge yourself on chocolates. Get yourself a Lovely Black Dress. Share a chocolate treat at a romantic picnic with a friend. Warning: sometimes events end a little bit before the time in the calendar, so don't wait until the very last minute to get everything you want done. Please see our Guide to Love is in the Air for all of the activities to do before the holiday ends.
Couple marries at 5th Avenue Apple Store on Valentine's Day
We've seen robberies at Apple Stores before, we've seen kids rapping and we've even seen death threats, but I don't know that I've ever heard of a wedding in an Apple Store. That's what newlyweds Ya Ting Li and Joshua Li decided to do at midnight in the Fifth Avenue Apple Store on Valentine's Day -- right there among the iMacs and Macbooks, they got their wedding officiated by a turtlenecked Steve Jobs stand-in. The rings came in on an original iPod, and the cards and decorations were Apple-themed as well (one says "I love you more than this" with a picture of an iPhone on it). Why did they choose to have their wedding in an Apple temple? The couple even met at an Apple Store. We don't know the details of that, but we'd like to think their eyes found each other over a 17" MacBook Pro. Very cute. Congrats to the happy couple -- we would hope that they got AppleCare for the marriage, but we doubt they'd need it.
TeleNav: GPS helped guys get out of the Valentine's Day doghouse
TeleNav is known for its phone-based GPS navigation products, particular the AT&T Navigator app for iPhone. The company has over 11 million subscribers to its services, so it has a lot of data to sift through to find interesting location search trends. That data showed that GPS location searches helped a lot of guys keep from getting in deep trouble with their significant others in the period surrounding Valentine's Day. Mark Burfeind of TeleNav tells us that they put together all the florist and flower-related GPS searches in their products around Valentine's Day, over 11 million users total, and "found that GPS may have come to the rescue for last minute shoppers." Among the interesting finds: During Valentine's Week (Feb. 8 – 14), searches for flowers increased more than 5.5 times over the previous, non-holiday week of Feb. 1 - 7. In fact, searches on Valentine's Day alone outnumbered searches for the entire week of Feb. 1-7. It looks like GPS may have helped some people get out of the "doghouse" following Valentine's Day. Searches for flowers by TeleNav's users the Monday following Valentine's Day were twice as high as those on an average Monday. How about you, TUAW reader? Did you use your favorite iPhone navigation app to find flowers, candy, or an available restaurant reservation for Valentine's Day? Leave us a comment and let us know if your iPhone's GPS saved the day.
The Daily Quest: Love Is in the Air
We here at WoW.com are on a Daily Quest to bring you interesting, informative and entertaining WoW-related links from around the blogosphere. Is there a story out there we ought to link or a blog we ought to follow? Just leave us a comment and you may see it here tomorrow! Are you a Fool for Love? For today TDQ is, because we're talking about the Love Is in the Air holiday events, which are live until the 20th, giving you a few more days to get involved -- if that's your thing. And if it's not, well, never fear! The Lunar Festival has already begun, so there's no shortage of things to do in Azeroth just now. Not sure where to get started? The WoW blogoshphere (is that even a word?) has you covered: WoW.com has a Love Is in the Air FAQ, a guide for casual players, a guide for all players, and an overview of the holiday bosses in Shadowfang Keep. The Fluid Druid has a Fool for Love achievement guide. Righteous Defense talks about farming Lovely Charms as a prot paladin. Phyllixia explains the excellent raid buffs to be had from doing the right dailies. Escapist Scrawl ponders what to get your in-game sweetheart for the holiday and shares a romantic Undercity moment. At Critical QQ, Euripedes is amused by the ease of gathering Lovely Charms. Check out WoWWiki's Love Is in the Air write-up. Look up the holiday's achievements on Wowhead. And in case all of the above is too virtual to catch your interest, perhaps the latest offering from J!NX may strike your fancy.
Pentax K-x DSLR goes pink for Valentine's Day, naturally
You know what the world needs? Another stereotypical pink gadget to commemorate a Hallmark holiday. Bitterness and shame aside, it looks as if Pentax has decided that too few people were using its custom color shop to craft completely pink K-x DSLRs, and in the honor of Saint Valentine, the company has decided to roll out another stock hue to sell alongside the red, white, black and navy blue versions. It'll set you back around HK$5,990 (or $770 in greenbacks), but trust us, your honey is totally worth it.
Happy Valentine's Day from the game industry!
This past week may have been filled with investor calls and press events, but that doesn't mean that some members of the game industry weren't thinking about this weekend's day of love. Over the course of the past seven days, we were either sent these cards (by email) or found them on the various official sites of said developers/publishers -- and now we've compiled them into a love-filled gallery just for you. We might suggest you print out one (on high quality paper, of course) and give it to your dearest, but hey, let's be honest -- you should probably buy an actual card. And a copy of Flower. Hitomi demands digital gifts! %Gallery-85457%
