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Robots could replace 5 million jobs by 2020, report claims
It's no secret that robots are replacing humans in factories, and both the retail and service industries are set to take a hit, too. Just how bad will things get? Well, the World Economic Forum says its research indicates that over 5 million jobs will be lost to automation by 2020. The WEF claims white-collar workers -- administrative and office jobs -- are at the highest risk of being replaced.
The Mog Log: Speculating on Final Fantasy XIV's Heavensward
We've got patch 2.5 around the corner, but Final Fantasy XIV's first expansion isn't all that far away either. And that, of course, brings with it no end of speculation about what players will find because so little is certain right now. What previews we've had have been vague by design, just enough to set our minds aflame with possibility without nailing down exactly what we'll find when we start venturing northward. Lucky for me, I love speculating. There are several ideas I've already seen regarding what we're getting in Heavensward, some of which are so far out of left field that I tend to think it's a pipe dream of the speculator and some of which seem to be logical predictions about the future of Final Fantasy XIV. So here's a bit of talk about those before we start hearing tons of expansion news and it's all proven transparently true or false. (Midway through the week, maybe.)
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's big fanfest reveals
Christmas came early for the forward-looking Final Fantasy XIV player this year. I know some people are upset at the fact that there were more revelations in the Japanese fan festival than in the ones in Vegas or London, but the timing is different. (I'd also point out that the expansion was announced in Las Vegas.) We've gone from having only a dim view of what's coming to having a pretty clear picture of what awaits through the next few month. One of the things that awaits is, of course, endless yelling about Machinist. Because boy. So let's start unpacking the stuff we learned from Tokyo. I say "start" because there is no way to get everything in one column, certainly not with deadlines and other considerations to take center stage. It's going to be a few months, but there's a lot to chew on just about 2.5, even if we ignore all of the expansion stuff, which I have no intention of doing.
Final Fantasy XIV introduces two new jobs and new races for Heavensward
The last Final Fantasy XIV fan festival of the year is going on now in Japan, and the event's keynote speech has already contained big revelations for the game's first expansion, Heavensward. Players can look forward to the first new race for the game, the Au Ra, a race of dragon-esque people from Othard. It's been established that heretofore masked NPC Yugiri belongs to this race, and she will be revealing her face in patch 2.5. Fans were also treated to preview footage of the Dark Knight in-game as well as two new jobs, the Machinist and the Astrologian. Astrologians are a new style of healer, drawing cards from decks to aid party members while debilitating enemies. Machinists are ranged DPS with a single large handgun and a style of play based on laying down turrets and paying attention to positioning. The keynote also contained information on the next multi-part raid and the Collector's Edition for the game, currently scheduled for release in spring of 2015.
Final Fantasy XIV unveils Dark Knight and more at London Fanfest
The second of three Final Fantasy XIV fan festivals is taking place now in London, and once again there's no shortage of information about the game's first expansion. While the Las Vegas gathering hinted at the new jobs, the first one was officially revealed today: Dark Knight, a new tank wielding a two-handed sword without any base class involved. No word on how the omission of a class will affect the leveling structure, but it was mentioned that the job will focus on dodging and parrying to reduce damage. The keynote speech also included revealing more about the game's flying mounts, which will allow free exploration of the Heavensward areas with no need for take-off or landing. Black chocobos and single-player airships were confirmed, with a grand total of six mounts currently in development. Two beast tribes were also linked, a birdlike race called the Vanu Vanu worshipping the primal Bismarck, and the insectoid Gnath who worship Ravana. There was also a hint that the next job to be revealed will be gun-focused. More news is likely to emerge as the fanfest continues.
The Mog Log: Final Fantasy XIV's post-fanfest shakedown
So Final Fantasy XIV players like yours truly have a mouthful of fanfest information to chew on. How did it all shake down, in the final assessment? Well, I'm not going to lie: My aim was mixed at best. A minority of demo stations covering content I hadn't anticipated, patch 2.4 a week after my prediction, and mentions of 2.5 in brief. But we did get gear details and an expansion announcement. I'd call it a mix and a wash, at the end of the day. You tried, gold star, etc. But enough about what I did and didn't get right; there's plenty more to talk about from the various panels, the Live Letter, and other revelations. So let's start in on it, kicking off with the elephant in the room that I've already been hearing about for the entirety of the past day for obvious reasons. Yes, it's a cash shop.
Final Fantasy XIV announces its first expansion, Heavensward
The Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival is currently underway in Las Vegas, and the keynote speech brought with it the big announcement many people were waiting for: The game's first expansions has been announced for spring 2015. Heavensward will focus on the city-state of Ishgard, as seen in the trailer embedded just past the break. Gamer Escape's liveblog of the keynote notes that the expansion will feature a level cap increase to level 60, new jobs, a new race (albeit with an as-yet-unconfirmed identity), new primals, and new high-end content. More information will be available at the London fanfest taking place next week. For now, players will just have to speculate a bit on what the future holds. (The smart money, of course, is on dragons. Lots and lots of dragons. It's kind of an Ishgardian thing.) [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
WildStar's Stephan Frost calls it quits
In a new WildStar Nexus Report livestream, Design Producer Stephan Frost stunned listeners by announcing that he would be leaving Carbine Studios. "It really pains me to say this, but this will be my last show and my last week at Carbine," he said on the show. "I'm off to a new adventure; I got an offer that I couldn't turn down and so I'm going to take it. This is super-hard for me. This is one of my proudest achievements. A lot of my heart and soul is in this game." Frost assured fans that it had nothing to do with the game and the community, and he promised that he would still be playing WildStar even after his departure.
WildStar's Jeremy Gaffney steps down as president of Carbine Studios
Jeremy Gaffney, President of Carbine Studios, has announced via the WildStar forums that he will be stepping down from his current role as president of the studio. He's staying on in a consulting and advisory role, but he'll no longer be steering the operation. Why the change? According to Gaffney's post, part of it is a result of both losing several family members to cancer last year and having to receive treatment for skin cancer himself. He's recovering without incident, but he put off the treatment for nine months to keep working through launch. Meanwhile, he also wants to allow the studio's creative team to keep working on improving the game rather than simply listening to his creative vision, something which is more easily accomplished if he steps away from an active role. Gaffney concludes his letter by thanking the fans as well as the studio for making a game that he's proud to have been a part of. [Thanks to Pete for the tip!]
We're hiring writers in NYC!
If you hadn't noticed, things are changing around here. No, we haven't figured out how to clone reporters (we're just really good at Photoshop), but we do have a new vision and we're looking for a few good folks to help us see it through. If you're an experienced writer with a deep interest in technology (and a good sense of humor) living in New York City, check out the details after the break.
Final Fantasy XI's August update is live
At long last, players in Final Fantasy XI won't need to use macros to handle gear-swapping; the game's August update adds an equipment set manager to let you swap sets easily and painlessly. Oh, and it adds new Seekers of Adoulin missions as well as a variety of other content, so that's nice. But really, no equipment-swapping macros any more -- that alone should change people's lives. The update also adds Alluvion Skirmishes, new alter egos, and new NPCs to direct players toward quests, tutorials, and maps. Players will also benefit from a variety of job balance improvements and new ways to spend job points, not to mention the addition of new items as both craftable items and battle rewards. Whether you've been playing the game for a long time or just started jumping into it recently, there's plenty to enjoy within the update, and it can be downloaded now.
Microsoft cuts 18,000 jobs as part of its largest layoff ever
Microsoft today announced that it's cutting 18,000 jobs, the biggest round of layoffs in its history, as part of ongoing restructuring efforts. In a release, the company says that Nokia's Devices and Services business, which it acquired for $5 billion last year, will be most affected, with 12,500 "professional and factory positions" expected to go by the end of the year. In an email to employees, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explains that the company's new strategy is designed to make it "more agile" moving forward, allowing teams to work more freely.
The Mog Log: Future classes and jobs for Final Fantasy XIV?
A long time ago, I speculated a bit on what classes and jobs we might see added to Final Fantasy XIV. And I do mean a long time ago in internet terms; this was back before we knew that Arcanist and Summoner were going to be linked, for example. A lot of new information has come to light between then and now, the sort of stuff that requires a whole new round of speculation. Some of that speculation is, of course, completely out there. Some of it isn't. And some of it is out there in a way that would be totally cool and would attract a whole lot of interest. So let's take a look at some potential jobs, classes, and whatnot to see where they might fit into the game... or even whether they'll fit into the game. There's probably no space for Celebrant, sadly.
LFM: Massively seeks a new columnist and freelancers
Yes folks, it's that time again: the time when Massively hops into the hiring channel and says, "Looking for more!" We're looking to hire fresh meat a new staff member and a set of freelancers for the site: a new multipurpose columnist and West Coast freelancers. Here's the skinny on us: Massively is Joystiq's geeky MMO cousin. We're owned by AOL; we're all paid, remote contractors; and we uphold a strict set of ethical standards you won't find among our rivals. We focus on high-quality writing with fair sourcing and a mix of news and features. We employ actual copyediting and editorial oversight, so you won't see trainwreck English in every headline. In short, we are the MMO site the other sites use as an RSS feed. These positions would be an awesome chance to break into paid gaming journalism if you happen to have just the right blend of availability, excellent writing skills, and passion for the MMO genre. If that describes you, then read on and apply!
Toshiba to cut 3,000 jobs and outsource production to stem TV losses
It's not as if Toshiba's TV division has been totally silent recently, but it apparently hasn't been making enough noise to justify the continued employment of its full, 6,000-strong workforce. Although it's not quite ready to give up, the Japanese manufacturer is scaling back its TV operation heavily: losing half of its staff globally and closing two of its three TV factories in favor of more outsourced production. The cuts are intended help Toshiba meet its target of $101 million in cost savings and the company hopes its TV division will return to profitability this year -- but as you'd expect, at a much smaller scale than it once had.
Ask Engadget: best job search tools?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Hildy, who's looking for a new job and doesn't just want to trawl the back page of the local newspaper. If you're looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "I'm on the hunt for a job, but I was wondering if there's a site or service that people think is better than the rest? Is there perhaps a service, like Kayak, that pulls together all of that data from various sites and aggregates it all together? The other thing I want to know is if there's a program that would track applications at their various stages and offer reminders rather than just using a spreadsheet? Any ideas and help would be fantastic, thank you!" So, what do you all think? Have any of you managed to avoid a pink slip with job search website or app that you'd like to recommend? Did you pay for a month's free LinkedIn premium and you'd never turn back? Let us know in the comments below.
Storyboard: You've got to make a living
Your character does something to stay alive. No, I'm not talking about fighting off demons or flesh-eating wolves or whatever else you blunder into on a regular basis. I mean that your character either needs to construct shelter, gather food, and produce clothes himself, or he has to pay someone to do it. Yes, most games probably allow for the possibility that those wolves contain enough meat, articles of clothing, and end tables to provide all of the above. That would be a separation of mechanics and story. It's much more fun than watching most of your characters die of infections caused by mild scrapes against rusty metal. As a roleplayer, you need to think about what your character does for a living, not just because it gives you an explanation for what's going on when you aren't playing (although that certainly helps) but because what we do informs a lot of who we are as people. It's always better to show than tell, and nothing shows quite as nicely as character occupations done right.
The Daily Grind: What game would you play for a job?
Today we're going to offer a thought experiment, of sorts. Pick a game that's currently operating, any game. Now imagine that it's your job to play this game five days out of the week, eight hours a day, with occasional time in the middle for lunch. What game would you pick? Keep in mind that this isn't about working as a tester, but still working a job. You would be told what you need to do for eight hours along with daily responsibilities, and it would be up to you to accomplish those goals. Not that those goals would necessarily be logical or even possible within your shift, but that's not the point here. Hardcore raiders from back in the days of World of Warcraft's original launch will likely remember being in a similar situation, but you don't need to have that environment. Maybe you're just playing economics in EVE Online full-time, or perhaps your job is crafting in Final Fantasy XIV. So what game would you play for a job? 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!
Massively seeks a new Guild Wars 2 columnist
Yes folks, it's that time again: the time when Massively hops into the hiring channel and says, "Looking for more!" We're looking to hire fresh meat a new staff member for the site, a Guild Wars 2 columnist to keep up the quality of our GW2 coverage as produced by past experts Lis Cardy and Rubi Bayer and our interim Flameseeker Chronicles video guru Richie Procopio. Here's the skinny on us: Massively is Joystiq's geeky MMO cousin. We're owned by AOL; we're all paid, remote contractors; and we uphold a strict set of ethical standards you won't find among our rivals. We focus on high-quality writing with fair sourcing and a mix of news and features. We employ actual copyediting and editorial oversight, so you won't see trainwreck English in every headline. In short, we are the MMO site the other sites use as an RSS feed. This position would be an awesome chance to break into paid gaming journalism if you happen to have just the right blend of Guild Wars 2 experience, availability, excellent writing skills, and passion for the MMO genre. If that describes you, then read on and apply!
Do you live in San Francisco? Do you want to write for Engadget?
Oh sure, you love gadgets -- but do you have the chops to write about them? We'd love to know if you think you do, because we're looking to actually pay people to do this stuff. Professional writing experience, particularly in our industry, is greatly preferred. That said, what we really care about is that you can write skillfully about gadgets with wit, concision, authority and blinding speed, even if you haven't cut your teeth in the tech sector just yet. Oh, and being obsessed with Engadget is good, too. We're looking for a freelance editor in the San Francisco area. Want to apply? Read on!
