holiday 2010
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App Store freeze has ended
Most of the country still has lots of winter to go through, but one thing has already thawed: the Apple App Store. Every year, Apple freezes changes on iOS apps during the holiday, in part to give the team that does updates a little break, and because sales tend to be quite volatile as people unwrap iPhones, iPod touches and (this year for the first time) iPads on Christmas. But today marks the un-freezing of the store, so top paid and free charts will go back to changing at the whims of App Store shoppers, and app developers are free to submit updates and change app prices and descriptions again for the first time since last Thursday. So far, not much has changed. We'll probably see a few of those holiday sales end this week, though EA still hasn't ended its big sale (as of this writing, anyway -- the rumor was that as soon as it could, the company would jack up its prices on popular apps, but that hasn't happened yet). It's possible that some games have done so well at their 99 cent sale prices that they'll just stay there, and/or the developers will find other ways to make them a little more profitable. And I don't think we'll see any big new apps this week (most developers probably made sure to get their apps out before the holiday rush), but you never know -- with so many people making apps for iOS, there's usually always something ready to go.
The Daily Grind: What are your MMO resolutions for 2011?
Urrgh. I ate too much. I'm not just talking about turkey, dressing, and mashed potatoes either, as I also had a difficult time pushing back from the entertainment buffet table this past holiday season. Whether it was MMORPGs, single-player PC titles, or console favorites, the gaming smorgasbord was one of the more noteworthy in recent memory. Typically, end of the year overindulgence gives rise to resolutions (which may or may not fall by the wayside) for the new year, and today's Daily Grind is all about your gaming-centric pledges for 2011. Specifically, what are they? Are you going to play less? More? Do you need to scale back on your MMOs in order to catch up on the single-player titles you've missed? Inquiring Massively minds want to know. 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!
Facebook for iOS, Tapulous see big iOS downloads over the holiday
As expected, we're starting to see huge download numbers for iOS from over the weekend. As people unwrapped their new iOS devices, they also took to the App Store to pick up new games and apps as soon as they could. Facebook for iOS saw a gigantic jump in users -- as you can see in the chart above, the app saw an increase of a million users just over the holiday weekend, and it has gone up by almost 5 million users since Thanksgiving. That's pretty phenomenal, even considering that we knew the App Store would be busy. We probably haven't seen the last of the record numbers, either -- Tapulous says that its new Tap Tap Revenge 4 app saw twice the downloads this year that the last version did last Christmas. The peak downloads for that app (which is number one on the free App Store chart during the current freeze) reached 45,000 per hour over the weekend, which is just huge. I have a feeling that a lot of devs saw some really high sales and download numbers over the Christmas holiday. We'll keep an eye out for more as the next week goes on. [via DF]
So, what'd you get?
Let's just call it what it is: the best Christmas ever. Why? Well, for starters, it's December 25th. Secondly, it's a Saturday in much of the world. How often does that happen? The technology outfits 'round the globe have managed to deliver a rather insane stack of wares to consider this year -- from terrifically desirable goods to rubbish that we wouldn't wish on our worst enemy's enemies -- and now it's our turn to pry into your business and find out what Santa Claus dumped (or didn't dump) under your tree overnight. Hit us up with your scores in comments below, and be sure to cast your vote as to whether or not the kid on the right is feigning excitement over his newfound laptop. Oh, the kid in the video just past the break -- that's probably useful information. When you're done, check out what people got jazzed about in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Direct2Drive offers last minute shopping deals
Still stressing over what to get the gamer on your Christmas shopping list? Never fear, as IGN's Direct2Drive digital download service has come to the rescue with a few last minute holiday deals. While the sale (which lasts until 10:00 a.m. PST on December 27th) covers games from all genres, there are a couple of particularly noteworthy MMORPG steals. All SOE titles (excluding DC Universe Online) are 50% off -- including all of EverQuest II's expansions. You can also take advantage of the Choose Your Savings promotion through the end of the year by spending preset amounts and using the associated promo codes when placing your order: spend $49.95, save 25% with code BAHHUMBUG spend $29.95, save 15% with code SCROOGED spend $19.95, save 10% with code GRINCH
Holiday Buyer's Guide: PlayStation Network
Did someone get a PSN gift card for the holidays? What are you going to buy? Whether you've got a PS3 or PSP, $20 or $50 card, or whether you're a Trophy hunter or a "Move" buff, you've got plenty of options in the PlayStation Store. Here are our recommendations for the best of 2010! To begin, click one of the links below to jump to a category or simply head on past the break to peruse the guide form top to bottom. PS3 Best Friend | Hipster | Move Buff Retrobutionist | Trophy Hunter PSP New Essentials Valkyria Chronicles 2 Major Minis | PlayStation Plus
Choose My Adventure: Christmas in Agon
Oy. Well, if I had to do it over again, I'd have scheduled this whole Choose My Adventure thing in such a way as to avoid the December holiday rush. Last week was rather hectic from an out-of-game perspective, and this week is shaping up to be even more so. That's not to say there wasn't any time for Darkfall, though, and I did manage around 20 hours of in-game activity for the week. As a testament to the title's staying power, there simply wasn't as much time as I'd have liked. The fifth week of my Agonian ramble-on was filled with low-level PvP, a bit of questing and crafting, and more exploration than you can shake a candy cane at. Join me after the cut for a recap of the week that was. %Gallery-111744%
Today's Steam Holiday Sale includes 'Lara Croft' for $5 or less
Steam's ridiculous Holiday Sale continues, offering more painfully cheap PC games. Today's standout deal is Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light for just $5.10 -- as if that wasn't enough of a deal, if you happen to own any Tomb Raider game through Steam, it's just $3.60! More deals after the break.
Holiday Buyer's Guide: App Store Games
From the conceptually insane Solipskier to the "you're clearly insane if you don't like this" Cut the Rope, 2010 saw the release of oodles of excellent and wildly divergent iOS games for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. These are our favorites. To begin, click one of the links below to jump to a category or simply head on past the break to peruse the guide form top to bottom. The Game For Everyone | For the Hardcore Console Quality | Look At This | New-School Old School One Minute, Man | Where'd the Time Go?
New Year's XBLM sale discounts multiple items, offers daily deals
Microsoft has launched its "Countdown to New Year's" promotion today on Xbox Live, which will see numerous pieces of Marketplace content discounted in the days leading up to the ball drop. The deals are highlighted by several XBLA games on sale now through December 31, including Super Meat Boy, Carcassonne, Comic Jumper, Castle Crashers and Risk Factions; all of which are 33–50 percent off. Daily deals are also on offer, beginning with today's deal: Red Dead Redemption DLC. Both the "Liars & Cheats" and the "Legends & Killers" packs are available for 400 Microsoft Points ($5) each, half their usual price. Meanwhile, "Undead Nightmare" and the "Undead Nightmare Collection" (which bundles together all three aforementioned add-ons) are 25 percent off at 600 ($7.50) and 1200 points ($15), respectively. And tomorrow, December 22, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will be available for half-off at 600 points ($7.50). Additionally, Microsoft has listed clues to the rest of this year's daily deals on the Xbox Live Dashboard. We've compiled the clues, along with our best guesses, after the break. Be sure to check it out before you start spending your holiday points! Finally, buying discounted items, watching Netflix movies or playing Halo: Reach and Fable 3 multiplayer during this 11-day promotion will automatically enter players into a sweepstakes to win a massive prize package, featuring a 50-inch HDTV.
Community Detective Issue #15: 2010's best (and worst) case files
Hi kids, it's your friendly neighborhood Community Detective and I'm back with the final issue of 2010. Next year looks to be an exciting and somewhat scary time for MMORPG communities and customer service. Not only are we staring down the barrel of four new hugely anticipated AAA titles (RIFT, TERA, Guild Wars 2, and The Old Republic), but there are also quite a few existing games that I've yet to visit in an official capacity, as well as a couple that have undergone drastic changes and merit another review (the F2P conversion in Lord of the Rings Online and sweeping server merges in Aion and EverQuest II, for example). Prior to moving forward, however, it's always fun to take a look back (particularly at this time of year). Join me after the cut for a year-end recap of 2010's most memorable case studies.
Super Meat Boy for $3.75 and much more in Steam's Holiday Sale
If you've been looking for the perfect gift for your PC-gaming friends, then look no further: You'll need that money you were going to spend on them to buy stuff for yourself in this year's 14-day Steam Holiday Sale. As it does all the time, the digital retailer has discounted a bunch of games, though these deals are uncommonly good. Most notable among today's "Daily Deals" is Super Meat Boy for $3.75, a price so good you should consider it now even if you're waiting for the Mac version (thanks to Steam Play, when you buy the PC version, you'll get the Mac one when it's released); Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for just $6.79 -- just in time for the Vietnam expansion; and the Oddworld Oddboxx for $12.49. There's also a one-day "Holiday Bonus" each day of the sale, which run until January 2, contingent upon ownership of another game. Today, you get an extra 10 percent off Portal if you have Half-Life 2 in your Steam Library. Steam is also offering crazy discounts on publisher packs -- like every Valve game for $50 and every Square Enix/Eidos game on the service, including Batman: Arkham Asylum, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Just Causes 1 and 2, and Front Mission Evolved, for $74.99. These publisher packs will be on sale through January 2.
The Anvil of Crom: Greatest Hits Vol. 2010
Oh no! It's the end of a calendar year! It's that arbitrary point in space and time at which bloggers, journalists, and basically anyone who makes a living via the written word foists off a bunch of top 10 (or five, or other random number) lists on his loyal readers. Sadly folks, I'm no different, and though I'll gladly poke fun at the tradition, I'll also engage in it this week here at The Anvil of Crom. Looking back, it's been quite an eventful year, both for Age of Conan and for Massively's coverage of the game. From the Rise of the Godslayer expansion to the various nerfs, buffs, rants, and interviews, 2010 has been one for the Hyborian history books. Turn the page for eight reasons why.
One Shots: Bad Santa
While Santa is a familiar and welcome sight to many, not every Santa you meet is out to spread joy and give out presents to good boys and girls. Take, for example, this evil Santa who shows up in Runes of Magic -- he's more bent on beatdowns than merrymaking. So, hey -- if you've had about enough of ho-ho-holiday stuff, then you can head for this MMO and hunt down some bad Santas for yourself! Darkorchid writes in to explain: "The best part about the Snowflake Festival in Runes of Magic is that you get to kill Santa! He's pretty easy, too. Must be due to all of those cookies and glasses of milk." There are only a handful of days left to send in your holiday shots. So if you'd like to share a festive image, send it in to us here at oneshots@massively.com. Be sure to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for sending it in. %Gallery-85937%
Holiday Buyer's Guide: Nintendo Points for WiiWare, DSiWare & Virtual Console
Chances are, someone you know has or will receive a Wii or DSi this holiday season -- many people you know, if the November sales are any indication. Or perhaps you know someone who has owned one of these systems for a while but hasn't messed around with its downloadable games yet. In either case, 2010 has been a great year to introduce someone to WiiWare or DSiWare, with lots of interesting games and apps released just this year. Somehow, Virtual Console's been decent too, despite the fact that releases have slowed down to a trickle. To begin, click one of the links below to jump to a category or simply head on past the break to peruse the guide form top to bottom. Wii: Retro-esque Gamer | Authentic Retro Gamer Art Aficionado | The Independent | Person Who Would Enjoy Muscle March DSi: All DSi Band | Busy Gamer | The Eccentric | Longterm Portable Gamer
Massively's ho-ho-holiday MMO roundup for 2010
It's that time of year again -- when snow falls in lands that normally don't even see weather effects! When you're supposed to love your fellow elf, human, dwarf -- or at least maim them in the nicest, most brotherly way possible. As one would expect with a plethora of MMOs out on the market, there are gobsmackingly huge numbers of events to take advantage of. Being the festive holiday folks we are (well, OK, some of us anyway), we've gathered up a listing of some of the many things going on. So if you're curious about just what holiday merriment can be found out there, grab some egg nog (alcohol optional), click past the break, and dive into our festive roundup of holiday events. Also, be sure to keep an eye on Massively as Rubi continues giving great gifts to gamers galore in our 12 Days of Giveaways event!
Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: Digital cameras
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today's bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. A new digital camera is a solid go-to gadget present for almost anyone on your list, since everyone loves taking and sharing photos. But pairing the right camera to the right person at the right price can be challenging -- with thousands of camera choices spanning every shape, size, and price tag, picking the right camera can be overwhelming. You're in luck, though -- we've looked through all of 2010's holiday camera offerings and narrowed things down for you. Read on!
Holiday Buyer's Guide: Xbox Live Marketplace
Are you buried under a glut of gifted Microsoft Points (MSP) this holiday? Need some advice on how to spend them? This handy Xbox Marketplace guide is here to help, as we highlight the very best of 2010's Xbox Live Arcade games and DLC add-ons for your favorite titles. To begin, click one of the links below to jump to a category or simply head on past the break to peruse the guide form top to bottom. Action | Adventure & RPG | Family & Board Games Hardcore | Limbo | Puzzle & Strategy | Retro | DLC
Christmas lights programmed into 'Snowball Blaster' video game
Well, it's official: Ric Turner is an insane person. We didn't think he'd be able to top last year's interactive, luminous masterpiece, but his latest Christmas lights-based game, Snowball Blaster, is the coolest thing ever. (Though, you'd probably disagree if you were Ric Turner's neighbor.)
12 Days of Joyswag: Enslaved Collector's Edition resin statue and game
To celebrate the holidays, we're kicking off twelve straight days of giveaways from now through Christmas day. And while we say it's to celebrate, really ... we're simply getting rid of some of the larger packages around the ol' office. Which gets us to our first prize: A limited edition (look, only 250 made!) resin statue for Ninja Theory's under-appreciated Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Since you can't put statues into game systems (not easily, at least), we're coupling it with a copy of the game on the winner's platform of choice (PS3 or Xbox 360) and some additional merch. %Gallery-110574%
