2008
Latest
Vodafone's Windows Mobile roadmap revealed, delights aplenty
Wow, just when we thought Vodafone might not have any more secrets, a couple more were dragged out of the bag. Seems BoyGenius' presentation extraordinaire wasn't complete without laying out exactly what can be expected this year on the Windows Mobile front. As you can see there are a couple new tasty morsels such as a HSDPA tablet with GPS and WiFi -- could be HTC Shift -- an unknown HSDPA slider with GPS and WiFi as well as the previously mentioned Palm Drucker, HP Oak, HP Silver, and Palm Wanda. Big year ahead for Vodafone on the business user front, and we're stoked to catch these things as they start to land, so see ya in Q2 2008 friends.
WoW Insider Weekly
We're five days into the new year-- feel different yet? Here's your weekly look at our features from the past week. Many of them took a look at WoW in 2007, so here's one last chance to see the year that was before we move on to the year that will be.Sunday Morning Funnies: What's cooking?The best of the week in WoW comics.All the World's a Stage: The past, present, and future of roleplayingDavid takes a look back and forward at RPing.Officers' Quarters: When your mate is a memberDealing with relationships in a guild setting.Encrypted Text: A stealthy year in reviewThe year in Rogues and roguery.WoW Insider Show Episode 18: New Year's resolutionsOur weekly podcast covers all the news that fits in an hour of audio.Two Bosses Enter: Kel'Thuzad vs. ArchimondeShadow and ice-- tell us who would win.The Light and How to Swing It: Your Epic mount quest-- for the Horde!Getting the pally pony, Hordeside.Shifting Perspectives: New Druid leveling 6-10The most fun levels you've ever played as a Druid-- at least until you hit 20.Raid Rx: Healing assignmentsAssignments for trash? If Marcie says so, it must be true.Guildwatch: Too much holiday cheerA little less cheer, a little more drama, thanks.Tales from the Lion's Pride Inn: The SentinelByron might not be as concerned as he should be.Blood Pact: Looking back at locksThe year of the nerf?World of WarCrafts: HealthstoneHow to make your own Healthstone soap! Clean and magical.Totem Talk: PersonallyEver stand over a main tank and scream "WHY!?!!?" into the sky? This column is for you.Blood Sport: Arena nostalgiaIt's wild to me that when this year started, Arenas didn't even exist, and now they're a huge part of the game.Gamers on the Street: This year, I resolve...We speak directly with some of you to find out what's in store for 2008.WoW, Casually: Darkmoon Faire profiteering, and Arathi Basin revisitedHow to take advantage of that traveling faire, and how to run AB.The Care and Feeding of Warriors: This is the year that wasWarriors in 2007: both roistering and boistering.Insider Trader: A year in the making (err, crafting)Lisa looks back at the year in making stuff.Phat Loot Phriday: Dory's EmbraceWas it really named after Kaplan's girlfriend? We may never know.
The Daily Grind: The MMOs of the new year
In case you haven't noticed -- perhaps you're just reviving from extended new years' festivities -- we've reached 2008! We've got a lot to look forward for MMOs in the new year with Wrath of the Lich King (or at least World of Warcraft fans hope so), Pirates of the Burning Sea, Age of Conan, Guild Wars 2, Huxley, Mythos, Warhammer Online, The Agency... and quite a few more. So today I'm wondering -- which game are you most looking forward to in the new year? What have you already pre-ordered and can't wait to play?
Ten Ton drops the Hammer on 2008
Almost all gaming sites this time of year weigh in with their predictions for what the new year will bring, but I particularly like what TenTonHammer has seen in their crystal ball. Plus, I just like saying "Ten Ton drops the Hammer." It's fun. Try it.A few of their eight predictions hit close to home with me. In particular, their first prophecy regarding Jumpgate Evolution. I was a huge fan of NetDevil's now defunct MMO, Auto Assault. Not because their shop is only an hour north of me here in Colorado, or that I seemingly enjoy virtually everything NCsoft puts out, but because it was as close to a Mad Max movie as there was. I'm a post apocalyptic junkie. Sadly... it went the way of the Cuban Missile Crisis and died enigmatically. So I can't wait to see how they update their cult sci-fi game, and... well, see how it jumps out of the gate! Oy. Next up, they forecast that Cryptic Studios will at long last release some information about Marvel Universe Online. If I was a gambler I might bet against this, but stranger things have happened. As an obsessed City of Heroes player (and confirmed alt-aholic), my love of the game grew from my passion for comic books. In particular, Marvel comic books. I want to see what the creators of my favorite spandex covered game can do with yet another spandex covered game that's different from the first one, and how are they going to get me to play that one just as much as this one. Confused? So is Britney, but she's doing fine. Sort of.Anyway, be sure to check out Hammer's other prognostications and let us know what you think 2008 holds for this oh so massive industry!
Our 2008 Tabula Rasa wish list: it's sci-fi-tastic!
The past year was a big one for Tabula Rasa and all who call it a virtual home. While most players only had a scant two months to enjoy the worlds that Richard Garriott and company created, the news came thick, and the time was exceedingly well spent. And Massively has been there from the beginning. From the end of beta event to the 24 hours of Tabula Rasa contests, from our visit to the NCsoft office to Richard Garriott's lecture at George Washington University, we've been all over Tabula Rasa like white on rice, and we plan to keep it that way.Having said that, we have a few things we're looking forward to from the Destination Games crew for the year 2008, from the more mundane to the potentially fantastic. As much as we enjoy blasting the Bane in the game's current state, if we had our way, this wish list would be on the public test realm tomorrow.
WRUP: A new year of gaming edition
We've said goodbye to a year with games. We're now heralding in a new year with our own unique gaming resolutions. It's quite the time to be alive, if we may say so. And, as we look forward to a new year of gaming with Nintendo's handheld, we wonder how we'll occupy our first weekend with some quality titles. There really isn't anything new for us this week, so we'll be checking our stack for something to play. How about you, fine reader? Is the wide-eyed optimism we have for the new year a feeling you share? Do you look forward to getting your game on this weekend?
Predictions for the format war in 2008
Considering that we've already asked you for general tech predictions in 2008, as well as taken the time to peer into your mind about the most anticipated HD innovations, it seems only fair to dedicate a prediction post to the still-raging format war. Of course, if you listen to the analysts, you'll find an incredibly varied selection of responses, but we suppose that follows logic -- you know, considering that we're all really in the dark here. Nevertheless, we figure there's no better way to kick off 2008 (and CES) than to toss out a few outlandish (and we mean outlandish) guesses as to where the format war will be this time next year (if it's still around by then, that is). 1) Warner will indeed go Blu-ray only at CES, sending the HD DVD camp into horrific fits of panic. 2) Warner will throw us all a curveball, confess its unending love for HD DVD and bid adieu to Blu.3) Combo players will experience an unexpected and completely welcome drop in prices, both formats maintain their edge.4) DVD forms a militia, overthrows both high-definition formats.5) Blu-ray finally undercuts HD DVD in the hardware price department, red withers away.6) Online 1080p movie rentals become the norm, sales of both formats sink.7) HD DVD woos a major BD studio (or two), steals away Blu market share.8) A major television manufacturer begins mass marketing sets with either HD DVD / Blu-ray drives within, the excluded format loses ground.9) Blu-ray figureheads offer Toshiba a grotesquely large sum of money to bow out, BDA celebrates for weeks.10) Despite incessant rambling from fanboys the world over, sales remain fairly steady throughout 2008 -- we find ourselves in this very spot as 2009 commences.That's it for our surmising, now let's hear what you all think. You know the drill, drop in your wildest speculation below -- but don't be afraid to mix in a little intelligence, okay?[Thanks for the idea, Tom!]
What will happen to Second Life in 2008?
I generally speaking suck at predictions, but there are some for Second Life that it will be interesting to see what comes through. I'm going to divide them into the technical, the social, competition and the external "big users" categories, basically because that is how they occurred to me.This is obviously going to be quite long, so read on under the fold.
Next Gen compiles best of 2008: GTAIV on top
Next Generation has put together its own list of the best upcoming games of 2008, a popular thing to do at this time of year. Their list has an interesting twist though: estimated sales numbers. Each game is given a three month sales projection derived by taking sales of previous entries in a franchise (or similar games in the case of new franchises) and tacking on expected sales increases for 2008. Most titles are nestled somewhere in the 300,000 - 900,000 sales range. Undoubtedly though, the one game predicted to blow the competition away is none other than Grand Theft Auto IV, projected to sell between 3.5 and 4 million copies. The only titles close to this number are Fable 2 which could go as high as 1.3 million and Fallout 3 and Halo Wars, both of which could break 1 million. Granted, these are all merely predictions, but we'd say it's a pretty safe bet that Grand Theft Auto IV will be the game to beat in 2008.[Via Evil Avatar]
Ron Paul wins WoW's presidential naming race
With Iowa's first in the nation presidential nominating caucuses coming tomorrow, and New Hampshire's primaries following early next week, pundits and observers across the nation are closely watching the polls and prediction markets for early word on who might win. But these pundits might be ignoring a potentially important leading indicator of political opinion. We're talking, of course, about World of Warcraft character names.As pointed out by blogger Andrew Sullivan, a full 48 realms in the popular online game have a player-characters named after Republican candidate Ron Paul (player names must be unique to a realm). The WoW naming support for Paul isn't that surprising given the recent in-game rally held in his honor in Whisperwind's IronForge. Paul runs well ahead of his closest competitor, Democrat Barack Obama, who shares a name with 36 WoW characters. No other candidate breaks the ten-character mark in a search of World of Warcraft info. resource The Armory.While naming a WoW character after your favorite politician seems a great way to show your support, it's not always possible. For one, names longer than twelve characters are not allowed, meaning supporters of Hillary Clinton or Bill Richardson couldn't use their full names for a WoW character. Even shortened names don't always work -- in our tests, characters named HillClinton, HClinton and just plain old Clinton were deemed "unavailable." This likely means the Clinton name has run afoul of Blizzard's terms of use clause against using character names that belong "to a popular culture figure, celebrity, or media personality." (This is also probably why there are no characters named BillClinton or GeorgeWBush. There are 29 GeorgeW's though).While tracking WoW's presidential naming race is fun and all, it probably has very little actual value in predicting nationwide voting preferences. After all, there are 71 characters named Trogdor, and no one really expects him to burninate across the 2008 elections.Read on for a complete list of WoW's presidential candidate name counts, as of press time.(Thanks to WowInsider's Elizabeth Harper for help with this story)
Tell us your most anticipated games of 2008
Alright, New Year's Day hangovers are (mostly) taken care of now, so it's time for 2008 to officially begin. We've already dispensed with our best games of 2007. Now it's time to look forward. We are speaking, of course, of the most anticipated games of 2008. It's hard to imagine that 2007 could be trumped, but we're more than willing to be proven wrong. This year promises some serious gaming goodness from the likes of Ninja Gaiden II, Halo Wars, Condemned 2, the next Banjo-Kazooie, Alan Wake, Grand Theft Auto IV, Silent Hill V, and a host of others. And let's not forget the unofficial releases like the next installment of Gears of War.The truth is, there are so many games headed our way, we're bound to forget some. We're going to need some help keeping up with them all. So, our question to you: what games are you looking forward to the most in 2008? Let your opinions be known in the comments below. And don't forget, if you find some tasty info about a game your looking forward to, send it to our tips line. Happy 2008 everyone, let's make it a good year.
My 2008 MMO hopes and wishes
2007 was an incredible year for MMOs, with tons of updates to existing games and a benign rash of new titles as well. I'm not much for predictions, but I'll tell you what I'm hoping for in 2008, since you all asked so nicely:Blizzard to out-Diablo Mythos with their new MMO -- Let's face it, playing Mythos is ten kinds of fun, and most of that fun revolves around the type of gameplay that the original Diablo invented, and Diablo II refined. Mythos currently fills the gaping void left behind by Blizzard's continuing not to update the Diablo universe with a new game, but wouldn't you like to see it done up properly?Google to provide some real competition for Linden Lab -- Right now, Second Life is the only cat of its breed, and it's snoozing in the sun. The ability for users to create their own content is arguably SL's biggest draw, and it's fueled many careers, but the interface issues, rolling restarts, updates that fix things only to break other things, and age verification problems leave me wanting someone to learn from these mistakes and bring us something better. We know Google's working on something ... here's hoping it's a Third Life.A new genre -- So far, we've had Fantasy MMOs rule the day, with Science Fiction a close second, and a hodgepodge of other titles kind of experimenting with concepts a little bit. And pirates. But I'm looking for something new. Something that combines my love of cryptography with Cthulhu, perhaps. Or something that lets me relive my days playing cops and robbers. Whatever it is, this is the year to strike!Resolutions? Hmm. I guess I resolve to keep playing those smaller MMOs and telling you what I think of them, and trying not to be too dismissive of those I find lacking. Ooh, that's gonna be difficult -- I'm quite fond of the snark, I am. What are your New Year's MMO hopes and wishes?
Pachter states the obvious: strong sales in early '08
Oh, that Michael Pachter. Even when he's running off at the mouth, he manages to at least keep us entertained. Now he's back with some terribly obvious predictions on industry sales for the early months of 2008. Pachter's latest revelation? Due to the strong upcoming release schedule, gaming sales will continue to stretch for the heights. Now, we understand that Pachter is an expert and we are but peons here, but, really -- wasn't that a little ... predictable? In keeping with the spirit of prediction here, we have one of our own: we anticipate that the Wii and DS will continue to be snapped up whenever and wherever they appear on shelves for a few months, due to all the people who couldn't get their hands on one during the holidays.
Predicting the MMO landscape in 2008
It's that time of year again-- before 2008 starts, everyone and their brother is going to throw out some predictions about what will happen with MMOs this year. So here's a Massively roundup, and a little meta-analysis of what might happen in this Year of the Potato. Let's start with our own Zenke-- he says Wrath won't make it out in 2008, The Agency and Warhammer will hit big, and Dark Age of Camelot and Vanguard are on their way out. He's also got Tabula Rasa sticking it out for the year, and claims that a major MMO (Age of Conan?) will be delayed past 2008. Ancient Gaming Noob is next: he also says Wrath is shipping late, but goes against popular notions to say that Star Trek Online will be released to cheers from fans on all sides. He also says the biggest story of the year will be Age of Conan's "titties," and that will throw a scare into the "adult" MMO market. He also says, tongue firmly planted in cheek, that Bioware is not actually making an MMO, and the announcement of that will "only spur greater excitement and speculation as to what kind of MMO BioWare is making." Funny. Keen of Keen and Graev expects Warhammer to go gangbusters, but also says Funcom will have trouble with the nudity in AoC, causing them to patch it out. He has Wrath "bombing," but at least he thinks it'll make it out. Lots more predictions for 2008 (including our own) after the jump.
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!
Our New Year's resolutions: Wii edition
Now that the sun has set on 2007, it's time for the Wii Fanboy staff to start laying down some New Year's resolutions, such as resolving not to use tired metaphors about the sun setting on stuff. So, without further ado, here are each of the staff's personal goals for 2008 (Wii-related ones, obviously. It goes without saying that I'd like to try to stop having wine for breakfast, but some things just aren't appropriate topics of conversation here): Alisha: I resolve to populate YouTube with many short films of my forthcoming baby playing Wii. Of course, since he's not even gonna get here until February, you can probably replace "playing" with "lying there looking pissed while Mommy makes him hold a Wii remote." David: I resolve to actually keep my job and not fall into a shame spiral of bad hygiene and lone nights crying alone as I play nothing but Smash Bros. Brawl in February. Hopefully I'll find the courage to not be sucked into that vacuum. Mike: I resolve to not buy ten new games before beating the last one. That either means I'll be spending more time playing games (yikes!), or just buying less of them. The more games I get, the harder it becomes for me to finish any of them, and even a masterpiece like Super Mario Galaxy ends up sitting at a measly 61 star gets, princess saved, and no green overalls. JC: I resolve to make a deal with Mike that could solve both our problems. (Here's how it works: Mike continues to buy too many games, but sends them to me instead. I play them until he is ready to start another one. There are no flaws with this perfect plan.) Candace: I resolve to not laugh at my mom anymore when she plays Wii ... even though she looks really, really ridiculous. Chris: To not excitedly squeal like a schoolgirl the first dozen times I insert No More Heroes into my Wii. This will almost certainly end with abject failure. And to beat my cousin, who is LESS THAN HALF MY FRICKEN' AGE, at Guitar Hero III. The child has the fingers of Hendrix. Eric: In the Year 200ERIC, I will exercise with Wii Fit while wearing a Banana yellow suit and a huge pair of shades, singing out "Too Wii Fit to Quit" like it's going out of style. Was it ever in style? Hey, HAAYYYYYYY! How about you? If you haven't already filled us in on your resolutions for 2008, what are you waiting for?
Our New Year's resolutions: DS edition
Yeah, we know what you're thinking: "Each and every member of the DS Fanboy team is pretty much perfect, so why the heck would such unblemished, shining beacons of humanity require New Year's resolutions?" We thought the exact same thing, before we each took a minute to stare deeply into the recesses of our souls, and realize that even we -- WE! -- could take steps to improve ourselves. And here's how we plan to go about it: Alisha: I promise to try not to go crazy and pee myself every time Square Enix remakes a game they've remade before, but it's going to be very, very difficult, and I will probably fail. Ask me again tomorrow. David: This year, I resolve to beat Contra 4 in front of a live studio audience. I will then reap the benefits and rewards of having a studio full of people not know who I am or what I am doing look at me with faces full of confusion as I rip my shirt off in conquest and scream wildly. JC: I resolve to play one of those RTS or SRPG or TRPG games. I've always believed I wasn't smart enough to play these things, while simultaneously believing that I was smart enough to pursue advanced degrees. Candace: I resolve that I will resist my urge to download the entire catalog of Phoenix Wright songs onto my cell phone. But not really. Chris: To not see in another New Year with gaming's answer to high-class narcotics, Animal Crossing Wild World. Also, to finally wrap up Trauma Center: Under the Knife, by which time I fully expect to boast the dexterity of an actual surgeon. Eric: I resolve to never trust a big butt and a smile. That girl is poison. Poison. So now we've shared, what about you, reader? If you haven't already, tell us about your DS-related resolutions for 2008.
DS Daily: Resolutions
We're going to be sharing our resolutions with you a little bit later on this morning, but for now, we want to hear from you! Anything you're planning on changing or doing differently this year? Companies you'll attempt to avoid? Buying fewer (or more) games? Let us know!
Wii Warm Up: Resolutions
We're going to be sharing our resolutions with you a little bit later on this morning, but for now, we want to hear from you! Anything you're planning on changing or doing differently this year? Companies you'll attempt to avoid? Trying out some new peripherals? Playing more (or less) Wii with friends? Introducing some new people to gaming? Let us know what you have planned for the year!
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?
