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Want to sink your teeth into a vampire MMO? Massively can help!
With the recent popularity of movies like Twilight, it seems that the folks at Ohai have timed the announcement of their new vampire MMO just right. City of Eternals is a browser-based MMO set in the world of modern vampires. It is completely free-to-play and is currently in its private alpha testing stage. According to the developer, "You can choose your Vampire look and fighting style, explore a massive city with dozens of story quests, combat instances, and standalone missions. You will learn to harvest valuables and craft useful items, customize your own home, and choose your path to becoming the ultimate Vampire." If that genre appeals to you, and you'd be interested in alpha testing the game, head on over to their invite page where they have 100 invites reserved for the Massively readers. Each person who gets into this alpha will receive 100 "ohais", which are their own form of virtual currency in the game that will cost real money once the game launches.
T-Mobile sending out early November event invites for Bold 2 launch?
We're not sure whether we'll see official PR before then, but it seems that T-Mobile is quietly slipping lucky individuals invites to "executive briefing" events for the upcoming Onyx / 9700 / Bold 2 to be held early next month. Boy Genius Report so far seems to have the inside line on a November 3 date in LA followed by November 5 in the Big Apple, and like pretty much everything else BlackBerry-related, "business casual" attire is suggested. Certainly seems to match up nicely with a November 11 retail launch, doesn't it?
MAG Public Beta enrollment begins
A lucky few individuals will discover this invite for the MAG beta in their inboxes. The e-mail includes a unique code used to access a closed application form. According to the beta enrollment page, Sony "will be adding people in waves." If you don't see an invite in your inbox right now, don't worry: you may be invited later. "If you do not receive an invite for the first wave you may still be invited in a following MAG Public Beta wave."Sony has already conducted a closed beta for MAG for over a month. The expansion of the beta to the public gives us hope that maybe -- just maybe -- we'll be able to see MAG's 256-player online battles hitting the PS3 sooner rather than later.
Blizzard confirms Beta invites to opt-ins on their way
Blizzard poster Belfaire has confirmed over at the forums that the first wave of Beta keys for subscribers who have opted in have been sent out. If you opted in, you might want to check your inbox for a Beta key as Blizzard has said that the invites are random. If you're one of the lucky few, you just might be roaming the new (but not necessarily improved -- we hear there are lots of bugs, and not the Silithus kind) build of the Beta. If you didn't get a Beta key, fret not as Belfaire also mentioned succeeding waves but did not give an ETA. You can check out WoW Insider's extensive beta coverage while you wait.
How to constantly check your email for a Beta invite
If you're like me, you're constantly refreshing your email box right now waiting for a beta invite. Also if you're like me, you'll probably get bored eventually and go find some Horde to kill in a Batteground. After all, taking out your aggression on Orcs is what it's all about. But after that PvP session, you'll probably go right back to checking.There's a few key things you can do to constantly check your email and make sure you know when the beta key comes. Let's take a look at them.Press F5That's the magic refresh key. It works on all browsers, and is a throwback to the old days of computers.Press Control-R or Apple-RDoes the same thing as F5.Auto check your email every minuteMost email programs allow you to "grab" email off the server as often as every minute. This is how I have my clients setup, and it will more or less let you know as soon as you get an email.
What it will look like when you're invited to the WotLK beta
Right now there is no WotLK beta, there is no chance you'll get in the alpha if you're not already in it, and there is no email that's going to be coming to your inbox anytime soon about it. But when it comes, it's going to make you one happy gamer. This is a very important thing for people to understand, especially with the flood of fake emails lately.Blizzard will make an announcement on their forums and/or their homepage letting all of us know that WotLK beta invites are going out. The email that you'll get if you're lucky enough to get invited will be sent from an @blizzard.com address, will come through the blizzard.com servers (you can check the extended email headers in your email program to see this). The email will have tons of identifiable information in it that only points to blizzard.com or worldofwarcraft.com and nowhere else.For a reference, let's that a look at what the Burning Crusade beta email looked like that I got back in 2006
TUAW has 1000 Skitch invites to give away!
[Update 2: The invite window is now closed! Thanks for participating everyone, invites should be sent out soon![Update: The plasq folks have informed us that the response to this invite offer has been absolutely amazing; well over 1000 requests. The good news? They have agreed to send invites out to every genuine request they have received so far. Cut off point is 12pm PST today. Your invite should be on its way later today or early tomorrow!]We've been talking up Skitch - a fantastic and powerful screenshot snapping and sharing app from plasq - for quite some time here on TUAW (if you want to take a peek, watch this video tour of Skitch in action). The only problem is: since its introduction at Macworld '07, it's either been in a private beta or, more recently, a tight invite-only public beta, making it hard to get your hands on a copy. Fortunately, all that finally changes today for 1000 of you - because we have a big ol' batch of invites to give away! Amidst all the time they're spending on polishing Skitch, their MySkitch picture sharing service (for the record: Skitch works with Flickr and even .Mac as well), and a new m.myskitch.com site they launched just in time for the iPhone, the kind crew at plasq were awesome enough to give us 1000 invites to give to you, our dear TUAW readers! As icing on the cake, they made the process about as easy as it can get by putting together an automated invite system: simply email [sorry, invites are now closed] from the address you want tied to your Skitch account, and you're done! Wait a little while for your sweet, sweet Skitch beta invite to arrive, and soon you can be Skitchin' and sharin' with the rest of us.Please help us make this a great experience for everyone. Companies run beta invites like this not only to help generate buzz for the product, but to ensure that they can sustain their services and provide a solid software experience for everyone. Don't send multiple emails from different addresses or re-send your request. We've never done a beta invite this way before, but the plasq crew know what they're doing and you'll receive your invite soon enough. With that said - go get Skitchin'!
Killzone 2 will be shown at invite-only pre-E3 event
Supposedly, there's this big game called Killzone 2 coming out for PS3. We haven't heard of it. But, that will change come Tuesday, July 10th. Instead of going to the Microsoft keynote, we're going to head to this invite-only Sony event, which we're assuming will feature something Killzone-related (see invite, pictured above). Only 150 people have been invited to the event, so we're hoping that we can get some intimate alone-time with a playable Killzone 2. Stay tuned for more. For a more detailed look at the invite, visit our Facebook page.
Getting to know you: The Microsoft E3 press questionnaire
One of the reasons blogs were invented was to pull away the curtain and show the reader, on some small level, what's really going on in the land of OZ. As journalists who were invited to E3 are digging their Nintendo invites out of the spam filter (yup, that's probably where it ended up), Microsoft's invitations to their briefing just arrived. No big deal, fill out the form per usual ... and then there's Step 3 of the registration. A gaggle of questions that are perfectly innocent, but just a little strange to be asked.Wondering what they are? Check them out after the break.
Nintendo files for "invitation system" patent [update 1]
[Update 1: Slightly altered the headline.]According to U.S. Patent No. 20070123353 (are there really that many patents? No. 1 must be for "fire"), Nintendo is contemplating an "invitation system for [online videogames]." A fairly standard feature of Xbox Live, this would enable Wii users to be automatically notified of any friends logged into Nintendo servers, and enable the ability to invite said player to join them in whatever wonderful fantasy land in which they currently reside.This technically may not even be for the Wii, but with rewritable firmware and a crapton of yen to replace their entire online infrastructure, hey, you never know. If you have ridiculous superstitious tendencies, please feel free to perform them ... now.
Apple sends NAB event invites, 8-core Mac Pro on fanboy wishlists
No surprises here, but Apple is hosting another invite-only media event at next month's National Association of Broadcasters Conference in Vegas, and is almost sure to unveil a new version of its Final Cut Pro editing software. Luckily, Apple's NAB unveils aren't always limited to software, so hopes are high for word on that 8-core Mac Pro that's been squeezed through the rumor mill a few times in the past months. The "Lights Camera Apple" happenings will take place on April 15th at 11am.
Buy Halo 3 Beta invitation, get Crackdown (for free!)
According to an ad in the latest issue of Gamepro, Microsoft will start selling Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta invitations for $60 beginning February 20 -- oh, and each golden ticket comes with a game called Crackdown. Fine print reads: Limited time offer -- look for specially marked boxes. [Thanks, zewone]
MacHeist registration open to TUAW readers for 24 hours
We started out with 25 MacHeist invites for you TUAW readers, but we were quickly blown away by the sheer landslide of interest (over 800 requests and still counting) in this latest Mac software event from the minds behind My Dream App. Since things simply became too difficult for us to manage, Phillip Ryu and crew cut us some slack and opened their registration doors for TUAW readers - but only for 24 hours. Coincidentally, the first MacHeist mission ends in 24 hours (11:59 PM EST Monday, November 13th), so you'd better start clicking. Just follow this link to a super-secret MacHeist registration page for your TUAW-reading eyes only (ok fine: I blogged it, so it might not be secret anymore, but it still sure is super). We're sorry we couldn't hook everyone up who originally requested an invite, but we hope this open registration makes us even.Now, go forth and complete your missions. That safe isn't going to loot itself!
Update on the TUAW MacHeist invites
By now, the overwhelming numbers of you who signed up for a MacHeist invite have noticed you haven't received them yet. To be entirely honest, we weren't expecting over 800 replies, as our original bounty from the good folk behind MacHeist (and MyDreamApp) was 25 invites, which was promptly raised to 250 and then even 400. Due to the landslide of interest from you in joining the fun, it's taking us more time to figure out how to harvest everything we need to get an invite out to you all. Rest assured, we're working on a solution now, and we'll post it ASAP. Stay tuned.
MacHeist has begun, TUAW has 250 invites to give away
MacHeist, the next software marketing brainchild of Phill Ryu (you might know him from such events as My Dream App), has begun. As you'll remember, it's an invite-only event (though you can try signing up to snag your own), and I have just received the first mission. Due to its top secret nature, my life - or at least my membership - would be in danger if I disclosed any details, but I can tell you that it looks to be an interesting ride so far, filled with unique adventure and great deals on software.What I can offer you instead of details, however, is an invite to join in on the fun. TUAW has managed to snag 50 250 invites so far, and we'll give them to the first commenters on this post who clearly state that they want one. All we need is a name and a legitimate email address, but DO NOT post your address in the comment itself; simply use your intended address in the comment's email field, and we'll get you the invite accordingly (this way you still snag an invite, while the email spam bots don't buddy up with your inbox). Only one invite per commenter, please, and we should be able to send all your invites out by tomorrow morning. Let the MacHeist begin![Update: Comments are pouring in, and while I haven't had time to go through them all just yet, I noticed others who have invites to give away had a good idea that I wanted to highlight: if you'd like to give away your own invites, or if you're interested in someone else's invites, please state that clearly in your comments. In other words: to those posting their own invite giveaways - please give readers some alternate form of contact for you, so we don't end up double bouncing invites to the same person. Also, to readers - if you're going after someone else's invites (after all, we only have 50 for now), please contact them outside of our comment thread so we can keep everything nice and clean. Thanks everyone!][Update 2: We now have a total of 250 invites to give away! Keep those invite requests coming, and please be patient for them as it's going to take us a little longer to get everything sent out to everyone. We originally said all invites will be sent out by tomorrow morning, but give us until tomorrow afternoon or so to handle the extra leg work.]
360 dashboard update to be ready by morning
The long awaited 360 dashboard update is finally coming, arriving by invite for most Stateside gamers sometime early tomorrow morning.The update will actually begin to go out by 2:00 AM PT, but, according to Major Nelson, it "can take up to four hours for a user to be prompted to receive this update," so the invitation to download the small-in-size (but large-in-scope) update could arrive as late as 6:00 AM PT.Patient gamers can look forward to 125 new features for their cream-colored Xboxes, including the ability to queue multiple Marketplace downloads, keep your place in DVDs, and even fast-forward to just the choicest parts of videos (like the one featuring the titular Tomb Raider above). Plan your evening and/or morning accordingly, folks.See also: A video tour of the Xbox Live Spring update 360 BC update "in the next few weeks" [Thanks to everyone who sent this in; also via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
YAASEH, or: Yet Another Apple Special Event Hoax
Apparently someone doesn't know how to enter our Create a Feb. 22 Apple Invite contest, as yet another Apple special event hoax launched this morning and was promptly debunked. This time around, the event involved Steve and Bono at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco, March 1st, and the invitation included the slogan "Together we can fight it." Speculation immediately predicted a red iPod to coincide with Bono's fight against AIDS and other diseases in Africa.iLounge was the first site I saw reporting that Apple had confirmed the event a hoax. However, a lot of Apple-related sites had already reported on the news and speculation of the event. Once confirmation broke that the event was a hoax, some sites, like MacNN, promptly removed their original reports in favor of a new article covering the situation as a known fake.TUAW wants to take this opportunity to let readers know that when we're wrong - we're wrong. We'll update the original post with new information and thank whoever helped us keep our facts straight. So sit tight, re-freeze the credit cards and move along. There's no Apple Special Event to see here (yet). In the meantime though, why not take a shot at our fake Apple Invite contest? While we don't have a red iPod for the winner, we do have an Apple logo stainless travel mug with your name on it.
