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Amazon to deliver 'Call of Duty' at midnight on release day in 20 cities
Grabbing a physical copy of a new game on day one usually means either braving an in-store midnight event or waiting through the day for a package delivery. In the case of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Amazon has an alternative: midnight delivery straight to your door, at no extra charge. In 20 metropolitan areas (Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Miami, Minneapolis, Orange County, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle) it promises to drop the game off -- along with any snacks you might order -- within a two hour window on November 6th through its Prime Now same day delivery service.
New Nintendo eShop releases: Half-price Punch-Out!!
You can grab a Little Mac takeaway right now, because Punch-Out!! is on the Wii U eShop with a $10 price tag. Like last week's Wii re-releases, the 2009 boxer is available at 50 percent off in its first week, but be warned: After 9AM PT/12PM ET on January 29 it goes up to $20. That offer is part of Nintendo's Throwback Sale, which you can check out here along with the last week of the current Super Indie Collection Sale. Otherwise, you'll find the complete list of this week's new eShop releases by ducking and weaving below the break.
RuneScape rings in the new year with 39 manhunts
It's almost over. RuneScape's year-long celebration of its 10th anniversary is coming to a close, and Jagex has great, wonderful plans to end it with a bang. Naturally, this translates into "developer manhunt" because why not? During New Year's Eve, players are encouraged to be on alert as the clock strikes midnight 39 times in each of the time zones across the world. Every time this happens, a special moderator's in-game location will be made known through Facebook, on Twitter and in RuneScape itself. Those who can hunt down and find this mod in time will be treated to a special celebration. The first clock to strike midnight on New Year's Eve is in Tokelau on Saturday, December 31st, at 5:00 a.m. EST. RuneScape players may wish to note that not all 39 "midnights" occur on the hour (this helpful website lays out the precise order). [Source: Jagex press release]
Gremlins game would have been a squad-based shooter
Gremlins are cute on their own, but in packs, they can be more terrifying than a horde of undead headcrabs, which may explain French developer Neko Entertainment's decision to make its early-2000 PS2 Gremlins game a squad-based shooter. Unfortunately, Generation 2000 has trouble distinguishing Gizmo from a Chia Pet, which may explain why production on the game was eventually cancelled. All we have left from Neko's attempt are some screenshots and the above video of Gizmo testing out his 3D skin, as found by Siliconera. Grab a snack and settle in to watch Gizmo being rendered for the game's opening video. Wait -- what time is it there? Oh.... Maybe we should rethink that snack.
Captain's Log: Missed dev transmissions
Captain's Log, Stardate 64940.2... Hello, computer (and players)! As we have explored in past logs, the developers working on Star Trek Online are extremely transparent with the community, and this, surprising to some, is actually by design. Since Dan Stahl took over as Executive Producer a year ago come July, he made it his personal mission to make sure that fans of the game knew where the game was heading at all times and what was currently being developed. Due to the success of this open communication, Cryptic as a whole has made a shift to this philosophy for its other announced projects. New details often emerge through several different official sources: the monthly Ask Cryptic and Engineering Report as well as a plethora of interviews. While the previously listed outlets are often marketed and widely known about, there are several channels that I would like to bring to light, ones that seem to fall under the radar. As Twitter is one of the biggest social media crazes, developers are using it to get information and work-in-progress screenshots out to the public. Also, some devs seem to be sacrificing sleep, as we will often wake up to posts in the STO forums that were posted near the midnight hour of Cryptic's time zone. Many feel that the most interesting and drool-worthy information is found in these "leaks," so I would like to share some of them with you. Ensign, warp 10! You might want to grab a towel to wipe up your mouth...
Cataclysm playable at midnight PST Dec. 7, no matter how you buy it
Here's a bit of sad news for all WoW players not lucky enough to live on the west coast: Blizzard CM Bashiok has announced that the official Cataclysm start time for all North American servers will be Dec. 7 at midnight PST. This will include servers on other time zones. So, sorry eastern time people. You may be able to pick up your copies of the game at midnight EST, but you'll have to wait a few hours for the west coast to catch up before you play. The full announcement is as follows: Bashiok Wondering exactly what time you'll be able to begin playing your goblin or worgen or making your way to level 85? On all North American realms, World of Warcraft players who upgrade to Cataclysm will be able to begin experiencing the new content at 12 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (3 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) on December 7, whether they purchase the digital download through Battle.net or buy a physical retail boxed version in stores. Players will not be able to access Cataclysm expansion content prior to 12 a.m. PST, regardless of how they upgrade or what time zone they're located in. source World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it; nothing will be the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion (available Dec. 7, 2010), from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.
Kinect and GameStop team up for midnight launch madness
If you can't make it to the Times Square launch of the Microsoft Kinect this Wednesday evening, perhaps your local GameStop will be offering a similarly scintillating launch experience? This morning, the nation's largest game retailer announced plans for "more than 2,000" GameStops to re-open at 10PM (local time) on November 3 for "launch-night activities," as well as sale of the device at the strike of midnight. A list of participating locations can be found here. Furthermore, GameStop plans on hosting a "Kinect demo day" this coming Saturday (Nov. 6) at 330 outlets, in case you're still not convinced (participating locations found here). Nothing quite says "sold!" like demoing touchy motion technology in a crowded retail store!
GameStop holding midnight launch events for PlayStation Move
Announcing a nationwide midnight launch approximately seven hours before midnight? It may seem bizarre, but GameStop did just that, informing us that 440 GameStop stores across the country will be reopening at 10:00 p.m. (local time) to allow customers to purchase a PlayStation Move at 12:01 a.m. Unfortunately, in announcing these plans so late, it seems GameStop didn't have time to come up with a creative name for the proceedings. Or perhaps the company just wasn't able to secure the rights to "Night Moves" by Bob Seger? Just imagine Kevin Butler, vice president of acoustic covers, performing a rendition on the ukelele in front of a GameStop. It's syngergistic gold!
Wrath of the Lich King: Midnight approaches!
Wrath of the Lich King is nearly upon us and WoW Insider is waiting in line with the rest of you. If you're not braving a midnight launch yourself, you can live vicariously through our pictures of the crowds, updated as often as we can get internet connectivity. Have pictures of your own launch event? Toss 'em our way by mailing aroundazeroth AT wowinsider DOT com and we'll add them to the mix!%Gallery-36715%
Rumor: Activision Blizzard paying mall costs for Gamestop midnight launches
When Gamestop first started taking pre-orders for Wrath of the Lich King, they told their customers that they would be open at midnight for the launch. About a month ago, however, the Gamestop stores in malls had to cancel their midnight launches. When I asked my local mall Gamestop employee while taking the mini-gamer trick or treating, I was told that the malls were charging too much to keep the doors open and that all Gamestop mall stores were canceling midnight launches. I informed my friends who had pre-ordered and they went to cancel their pre-orders only to be told that Activision was paying the mall costs and the midnight launches were back on schedule. When I called to confirm, I was told the same information but that the employee would not be quoted.So I called Gamestop Corporate. The marketing department refused to comment saying that they would not release information about a publisher covering any costs for Gamestop. He was very irritated, to put it mildly.
WotLK launch events announced -- meet other fans, get your copy signed, etc
Blizzard has announced midnight November 13th store opening events for World of Warcraft's Wrath of the Lich King expansion in 13 cities across three continents -- Los Angeles (by way of Anaheim), New York, San Francisco, Austin, Paris, London, Berlin, Madrid, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Mexico City, Taipei, and Seoul.If you're close to one of those cities, chances are you can pick up a copy of WotLK and mingle with developers or executives -- at least in the U.S. cities. Blizz has also promised that extra Collector's Editions will be available at those locations, cause you know folks who go to these sorts of events are diehard and will settle for only the best!No word on whether or not Arthas plans to make a dark, icy appearance, but if he does, we're betting on Stockholm for the location.
Crossbeam Studios cancelling entertainment
Even when it was called the Revolution, Crossbeam Studios decided to get their hands dirty and promote some big titles. The original three were Thorn, Midnight and Orb, and everyone was totally getting into the vibe of these promising projects.Unfortunately, all those titles seem to be heading to the big recycle bin in the sky. The studio isn't going out of business; they are changing direction towards the PC and the early Wii projects simply aren't a priority, despite the fan following. A giant Falafelkid article on Crossbeam delves deep into the studio and its staff, which is a must-read for anyone interested in the core machinations of a smaller development team.The games haven't been scrapped forever and ever, but you can stop thinking about saving up for any imminent pre-orders. Check out Cubed3's coverage and discussion with Greg Szemiot from Crossbeam, as well as the original dissection feature.[Via Cubed3]
Samuraiko reveals CoX Issue 12 video
Acclaimed City of Heroes fan video maker Michelle, otherwise known as Samuraiko, has released her second Issue 12: Midnight Hour video, timed to coincide with the issue's launch to the live servers yesterday. Unlike the first (completely speculative) piece, this one contains plenty of footage from the actual issue, including material from Cimerora, the Midnighter Club and the Imperious Task Force.Warning: there are some very brief potential spoilers in this video. Blink and you'll miss them, but don't say you weren' t warned!Samuraiko's highly regarded in the CoX community as one of the best fan video makers out there, with standards comparable to those set by the official CoX videos. She's produced her own trailers and promotional films for CoX since Issue 11, including a documentary of Manticore and Sister Psyche's chaotic wedding. In her latest offering she also does a little voice acting, giving the reaction that most of us give when we step on to Cimerora' s shores for the first time.'Midnight's Secrets' is available in high quality format on the Samuraiko Productions web site. The YouTube version follows after the break.
CoX Issue 12: Midnight Hour goes live!
Today at 6.00 AM CDT, earlier than many players were expecting, the live servers for City of Heroes went down to be patched with the latest Issue: number 12, Midnight Hour. According to lead developer Matt Miller, the testing process has been 'surprisingly smooth' and the live rollout is bang on schedule. Full patch notes are now available including some significant changes to trial accounts, which should stymie RMT considerably.CoX players can now enjoy all the new features, including long awaited Villain Epic Archetypes, the new Midnighter Club content, the beautiful Ancient Mediterranean zone of Cimerora, the vast number of new power combinations available through Powerset Proliferation, and of course the numerous Quality of Life improvements. These last have been so well received that some players have likened the experience to playing a whole new game.
Joystiq live-ish at the U. of Illinois SSBB midnight launch
What started with around five people milling around an Urbana-Champaign, IL Gamestop at 6 p.m. became a throng of about 200 clamoring for the midnight launch of Nintendo's newest fighting extravaganza. But don't take our word for it -- check out our video report from the scene last night.
Wal-Mart goes extra mile in Halo 3 launch madness
Wal-Mart has opened a special page designed just for the Halo 3 launch. It appears Wal-Mart will be open for a midnight launch (those that aren't already 24-hour stores) with a designated Halo 3 checkout lane and dog tags. The website also allows you to send emails to your friends telling them the specific Wal-Mart to rendezvous at. And also, despite how evil Wal-Mart is, we believe them when they say there'll be plenty of copies in stock. Although we prefer the sexy cool points of walking into a 7-Eleven at 12:01 to just get a copy of Halo 3 and a Slurpee, we can't help but think something will go wrong; however, wandering into a Wal-Mart at 12:01 seems like a guaranteed win -- even if we must mix with the plebeian. Following yesterday's announcement of festivities by Microsoft for the Halo 3 launch, we wouldn't be surprised if a couple more mega-corps announced special Halo 3 launches. BTW, if McDonalds announces that their midnight drive-thrus will be open and selling Halo 3 -- they win.[Via X3F, Randomn3ss]
Leaked UK retail list raises questions
Nanostray 2 ... on Wii? Orb, Thorn and Midnight all coming this year? When they leak retail information sheets in the UK, they do it right. Wii UK got their hands on a retail list (origin and destination unknown) with few concrete dates and a lot of unexpected, and even unknown games, as well as a few old favorites we're always happy to hear about. Hit the jump for the full list, but keep in mind that these are UK titles and games ... and since there's not much source information, you might want to keep a few grains of salt handy. But it's okay to get a little excited. We won't tell anyone.
Darkness renamed Midnight [update 1]
Accordingly to all reputable sources, the game-formerly-known-as-Darkness is, at the very least, still a year off from release. The survival-horror project, one of Crossbeam Studio's trifecta of titles (Orb, Thorn, and Darkness), had to be renamed due to copyright conflicts with The Darkness, a title by 2k Games. Thus, Crossbeam Studios has announced an official name change of Darkness to Midnight. Still awesome. Name changes are fine and dandy, but someone needs to let Sega know that Wildfire is still way cooler than Secret Rings.[Update 1: Silly us ... we confused Sadness with Darkness. Fixed.]
European midnight launch events
And the Europe-themed news keeps on coming. The Blizzard Europe team will be having some events of their own to celebrate the expansion, with copies to sell and developers signing. Locations are as follows: UK: HMV 150 Oxford Street London W1D 1DJ Phone: 020 7631 3423 Doors open: 11:00PM, January 15 FRANCE: FNAC 74 Ave des Champs ElyséesParis 8e Phone: 0153 53 64 64 Doors open: 0:00 - 04:00, January 16 GERMANY: Media Markt 10627 Berlin-Charlottenburg Krumme Straße 48 Phone: 030 31992 0 On sale: 0:00, January 16 SWEDEN: EB Games Gallerian Hamngatan 37 Stockholm Phone: 08 411 21 51 Doors open: 0:00, January 16 WHEN: Monday, January 15/Tuesday January 16, 2007 | On Sale at 0:00 As much as I won't be going to California for the US events, the extent to which I won't be going to Europe is even greater. What about you guys? Any of these convenient for you?[via Kotaku]
Beta Beat: Cha-Ching! 0.4
Midnight Apps has just released a major update to it's stupid-easy personal book-keeping software, Cha-Ching!. Version 0.4 brings a total interface overhaul, new features such as the ability to have a negative starting balance (for those starving art students such as yours-truly), associating files with transactions, as well as numerous bug fixes which fix Auto-complete and Autofill functionality. Many might consider Cha-Ching! a pretty simple application, but for many people, simplicity is king. I don't need to be able to track taxes and all that stuff. I just want to know how many days I'll be eating ramen this month, and Cha-Ching! does just that, without all the cruft of other more complex apps. Cha-Ching is available for $24.95, which is pricey, but is certainly worth it for an app that finally does something well the first time, and looks damn good doing it.
