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Mu One is an incredibly compact USB-C laptop charger
While laptops these days are getting thinner than ever, their chargers still aren't very briefcase-friendly. We've already seen a good attempt from MIT spinoff FINsix, but now we have something even more impressive from the other side of the pond. Made in Mind, a company best known for co-founder Min-Kyu Choi's foldable UK plug design, has just unveiled a super compact 45W USB-C international charger dubbed Mu One. This sweet little device supports USB Power Delivery with a maximum voltage of 20V, yet it maintains the same 14mm thickness as its 12W predecessor, thus making it the world's thinnest 45W USB charger. What's more, it's noticeably smaller and lighter than Apple's 29W USB-C MacBook adapter.
Samsung's second-tier 'MU' 4K TVs are an alternative to QLED
With prices beginning at $2,500 for the most basic model, Samsung's QLED 4K TVs are likely out of reach for a lot of people. The good news is that the company hasn't forgotten customers who can't drop that much for a TV and has released a series that includes more affordable alternatives. Samsung's MU series of smart 4K (Ultra HD) TVs have variants that are almost as cheap as Vizio's new 4K offerings. It's composed of four models that come in different sizes, with the smallest (40 inches), most basic one priced at $549.
Mu Rebirth second beta celebration starts today
Webzen wants you to know about its second beta celebration for Mu Rebirth. What is Mu Rebirth? It's an MMORPG based on the "classic gaming style" of the original Mu, albeit this time with a heaping helping of PvP. The game features 400 levels (no, really), but Webzen says that players can go from one to 400 in "just one to two hours" (again, really) in order to facilitate the game's focus on player-vs.-player battles. Webzen is also promising to deliver daily events run by GMs "recruited from all over the world." The second beta celebration runs through August 21st, after which Webzen will announce details of Mu's open beta. Oh yeah, we've also tucked a teaser trailer after the break. [Source: Webzen press release]
Webzen giving away fully geared high-level characters
Have you ever played an MMORPG and thought, wow, this would be fantastic if I could ditch the pesky progression? If so, Webzen has a promotion for you. It's called Skip the Low, Jump to High, and it kicks off today and runs through March 14th. The company is giving away free high-level characters and items in ArchLord, Soul of the Ultimate Nation, and MU Online. ArchLord players will receive level-60 characters that are fully geared, while S.U.N. fans can look forward to level-90 toons with gear and level-up boxes. Last but not least, MU players will get level-220 characters and +9 weapons and armor. But wait, there's more! MU is offering double XP during the promotion period, and S.U.N. is bringing a new server online. [Source: Webzen press release]
The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: Your journeys, part 2
This is the end, my only friend, the end. Of our elaborate plans, the end. Of everything that MOOs, the end. No safety or aggro radius, the end. Man, listening to The Doors early in the morning does not put you in a happy state of writing, let me tell you! In any case, we've extended our MUD/MU* month here on the Game Archaeologist Channel to include a few more first-hand testimonies of Massively readers' favorite text-based MMOs. As much as anything else we've talked about in this column, it's vital that we not forget the roots from which our current MMOs were born nor neglect to take the opportunity to expose a whole new generation to a graphically simpler but textually richer experience. So let's kick the tires and light the fires of nostalgia as we talk with five of the baddest MUDders you'll ever know!
The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: Your journeys, part 1
What a long, strange trip it's been back through the heyday of multi-user dungeons and the many, many spin-offs and variations thereof. We've looked at the history, talked with Richard Bartle, and promoted a few of the best titles out there -- but we're not done yet! The Game Archaeologist will not hang up his hat and call it a day well-lived until your stories are entered into the history books. Throughout this month, MUD and MU* players have deluged the inbox of the Game Archaeologist Institute for Text-Based Virtual Worlds, impressing us with hefty paragraphs of passionate experiences. These stories are so good, in fact, that we have little desire to choose between them, which is why we're going to annex the first week of May so that we can share all of them. May won't mind -- May's cool like that. So hit the jump and read the testimonies of the word warriors who were there on the front line of parser combat and grammatically correct roleplaying. These are their stories. This is your lunch break.
Webzen announces a trio of new titles
Korean publisher Webzen is preparing to blitz MMO players with a slew of new titles in 2011. First up is Archlord X: The Chronicles, a sequel of sorts to the company's popular Archlord. Set 100 years after the first game, Archlord X revolves around a feud between Orcs and Humans. Webzen plans to push the MMO into closed beta in South Korea in the first half of this year. Webzen also announced that it has several brand-new titles that the company is planning to reveal fairly soon, perhaps at G-star. These MMOs include an expansion to MU Online, MU2, and the mysteriously titled Project A. MU2 is being developed using the Unreal Engine 3 and takes place before the events of MU Online. Project A, on the other hand, is all about large-scale battles in the Middle Ages -- perhaps somewhat like Medieval: Total War. We'll be keeping an eye on Webzen as it expands its lineup in the coming months!
Review: Mü app proves that deep, real card games can thrive on the iPhone
Fans of light, mindless card games should not download Mü [$2.99]. There are plenty of thought-like time-killers in the App Store. Go play one of those. Mu, on the other hand, is a complicated (in a good way) game with a medium-high learning curve that should manage to entertain gamers for quite some time. At its core, Mü is a trick taking game like Hearts or Skat, and the physical card game version is much loved by regular card gamers because it is deep, replayable and fun. The app manages to recreate all three of these important factors in one slick package, giving old hands a way to bring the challenge along for the ride. For new players, the iPhone version is a good way to learn how to play. Read on to see if more Mü would be good for you. %Gallery-89576%
Microsoft phasing out memory units and 120GB hard drive
Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has confirmed the inevitable to Joystiq: Xbox 360 Memory Units and the 120GB hard drive are being phased out. Acknowledging what's been in the stars since February, the Xbox spokesman stated that "the channel is being drained" of the storage options. The same goes for Memory Units, which, after today's official announcement of USB support, makes the MU even less useful. This makes the $130 250GB HDD the primary option ... well, at least until this fall, if the Xbox Slim comes to pass.
Where's Webzen?
Two Hammers at MMO-centric blog gamebunny writes that Webzen is slowly making a retreat from the North American market. The Korean publisher, currently developing the much-anticipated Huxley, has cut Parfait Station and Wiki (aka Project Wiki) from its game roster on the North American site. Although Webzen has not announced cancellations of the titles, only three games remain displayed on the site: MU, Soul of the Ultimate Nation, and Huxley. Release dates are not set for SUN and Huxley. The disappearance of Parfait Station and Wiki comes on the heels of Webzen relinquishing their publishing rights to All Points Bulletin, three years after having obtained them. Real Time Worlds bought back the rights to APB in April. These changes could diminish Webzen's presence in the North American market for the foreseeable future, and their radio silence on where Huxley is in terms of release doesn't help matters. Quite a number of people seem to be excited about Huxley, particularly among the Massively team; we can only hope that Webzen is just re-prioritizing their projects and releases for North America, and that they're not going to disappear on us anytime soon.
Bigger 360 Mem Unit resurfaces, forced back down
GameStop has quietly removed the "Microsoft Xbox 360 Memory Card 512 MB" item from its website, after offering up the upgraded Memory Unit for pre-order yesterday. With news that Xbox Live Arcade titles will soon exceed the prior 50MB limit, come expectations for a new Memory Unit model -- an upgrade from 64MB to 256MB was seemingly confirmed last spring.Either GameStop was acting on a whim, or Microsoft now plans to bump the new MU up to 512MB which, according to the retailer's initial listing could be released as early as March 1 andlikely priced at $49.99. Could that date (early March) also be a clue as to when we can expect Symphony of the Night on XBLA? Don't count on it. But the throwback Castlevania is "approaching."
$40 XBL Vision camera & UNO bundle detailed by MS source along with prices & dates for other 360 accessories
Our friendly anonymous source at Microsoft has provided us with a few more details concerning the 360 accessories announced back at E3.Perhaps the most important involves the bundling of the Xbox Live Vision camera with a wired headset, the popular Live Arcade title UNO, and a month of Live Gold service for $39.99 when it releases in the States on September 19, 2006.Granted, this is still an unofficial report (based on a leak of "official" info), so understand that you're probably not gonna get much confirmation from MS until they're good and ready to give it. If you'd like information on what other peripherals are coming out "Holiday 2006" (so sometime in the 4th quarter) and at what price, read on for more.
Rumor: 360 wireless gaming receiver $20; wheel $130; headset $60; camera $40; Halo and Forza faceplates $20 [update 1]
Thanks to a reliable source from Microsoft, we've learned some important details about the new peripherals announced for the Xbox 360, including pricing and a few Halo faceplate (non)specifics. Check out the leaked info and prices below: 360 wireless gaming receiver (which enables wireless 360 controllers, headsets, and wheels on your PC): $20 Wireless racing wheel: $130 Wireless headset: $60 Xbox Live Vision Camera (with headset, one month of Live Gold, and one arcade -- presumably Xbox Live Arcade -- game): $40 New faceplates for Halo (with the Master Chief on 'em, but not Halo 3 specific) and Forza (no word on connections to the sequel): $20 each 256 MB portable memory unit (MU): no official price yet, but definitely not four times the cost of the older 64MB MU Besides acknowledging that the PC is "the biggest gaming device of all," MS appears to be setting an agressive price for its most relevant new PC accessory, the wireless gaming receiver (at least in comparison to the outrageously priced 360 wireless networking adapter). Unfortunately, no price was revealed as of yet for the USB-based HD-DVD add-on.We've speculated in our recent podcasts as to what would happen to the various 360 SKUs when price drops inevitably occur. An interesting theory bandied about by prolific Joystiq Contributor epobirs (on our earlier bump-to-256MB-MU post) was that a $20 price drop for the Core system, coupled with a $20 price drop on the 64MB MU, would finally allow folks to pick up a capable non-Premium bundle for the original $300 Core price point. (Not a bad way to undercut PS2 memory card prices, too.) We hope to get official confirmation on this info in the not-too-distant future.[Update: Sorry, had the camera price wrong in the headline; it now matches the price of the bundle listed in the body of the text below.]See also: 360's Mem Unit getting a bump to 256MB? (Comment from epobirs) Use 360 wireless peripherals with a PC Engadget & Joystiq's live coverage of Microsoft's Xbox 360 E3 event Joystiq / Engadget podcasts from Day One and Day Two of E3 2006
360's Mem Unit getting a bump to 256MB?
Apparently Microsoft didn't have time during their admittedly busy keynote to announce the new 256MB Memory Unit. Lucky for us, a Word doc on their site confirms that such a beast exists:"With four times more capacity than the original, gamers can easily store and transfer even more Xbox 360 saved games, Xbox Live profiles, full Xbox Live Arcade titles and other entertainment content downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace."It's unclear if this model will be replacing the currently shipping 64MB MU, or is simply an additional, larger, and most likely more expensive, alternative for space hungry gamers. [Thanks, Richard]Read - Xbox.com's Xbox 360 Accessories (.doc)
