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YouTube extends movie rental service to the UK
YouTube -- no longer the favorite repository for cats playing pianos -- has launched its movie rental service for folks across the pond. Previously available in North America only, web denizens in Ol' Blighty will now have access to brand new flicks for 24-hours at $3.99 a pop. Looks like all Mountain View needs now is Hulu to fully control the play-shifted portal.
New RIFT Ascend-a-Friend commercial offers players strong incentives
Do you play RIFT? Are you familiar with the Ascend-a-Friend promotion? Of course you are; it's not uncommon for MMOs to offer rewards for recruiting new players after all, and RIFT's program's main advantage is that it's lucky enough to have a clever rhyming scheme. But perhaps you're not convinced that you should be worried about the ascension of your friends or lack thereof. Trion Worlds is taking a big step toward rectifying this with its latest commercial. What's in the commercial? Well, we'd rather not say. But you can trust us when we say that it's a short watch that should prove quite convincing -- not only in displaying the rewards you get for recruiting your friends, but in convincing you of the inherent desirability of these rewards. So jump on past the cut to watch the commercial, and you may very well want to watch it even if you're not currently playing RIFT. [Thanks to Joemamma for the tip!]
The Daily Grind: How do you feel about zoomorphs?
A recent ArcheAge video and our subsequent coverage of it brought to light a curious phenomenon. Many viewers of XL Games' latest teaser were struck by the potential awesomeness of the company's new sandpark title, but just as many took the time to express their displeasure with the game's feline bipeds. Zoomorphic characters are nothing new in the MMO space, of course, as cat- and dog-like humanoids show up in everything from Aion (above) to EverQuest II to Final Fantasy XIV and many other titles. Furry-fandom extends beyond gaming, too, and Know Your Meme traces the phenomenon at least as far back as Aesop's Fables. For this edition of The Daily Grind, we'd like to get your take on zoomorphic characters and the people who feel strongly about them one way or the other. Do you like playing animal-themed characters? Why or why not? 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!
Free for All: Is a subscription the new sign of trouble?
I hate to continually harp on the payment model as a source for material, but let's be honest: How a player pays for a game does affect how and whether he will play. Heck, it's obvious through my comments and emails that some people will literally avoid the coolest-looking game they have ever seen if it has a cash shop tacked on or it is using a free-to-play business model. Oddly enough -- and this is an honest observation -- I rarely hear a free-to-play fan say that he will avoid a game just because of its payment model. Perhaps the long hair and free-loving ways of the free-to-player helps to keep his mind open to payment models from all walks of life? Damn frippies. Another common conversational theme that shows up almost every time we have this discussion is that free-to-play has done something wrong. Some seem to think that the free-to-play "movement" is equal to Walmart moving into their hometown, bringing lower-quality products and slower customer service with it. Of course, those same people might not admit to visiting Walmart for all of their needs and grabbing some batteries and chapstick from the impulse-buy section. It is often said that free-to-play is reserved for games that were in trouble, as if it were some sort of last-minute life preserver. Even in this scenario of free-to-play as the hero, the term becomes twisted into a shady businessman, swooping in on the elderly section of town after a tornado. Now, I've covered the possible racial and xenophobic connections to this hate for games and payment models from "Asia," and I would rather not rehash it now. I'm beginning to think the real explanation might be much simpler. Click past the cut and let's discuss.
One Shots: Look at my horse, my horse is amazing
Yes, I realize right now that a good chunk of you are probably cursing me for getting that (mildly NSFW) song stuck in your head. However, when you have a good look at today's RIFT screenshot sent in to us by Bill J., I suspect you'll agree that this is actually a pretty cool horse. Mind you, it also looks like attempting to lick it would likely slice your tongue to bits, so I'm definitely not suggesting anyone try doing that. Bill writes in to tell us a bit more about this screenshot: "[During the RIFT beta] I played a Rogue/Assassin and spent some time going around solo at level 42, closing minor rifts for goodies. The mount is a level 40 mechanical horse that was awesome!" If you've got a mount you think is similarly awesome and you'd like to show it off, snap a screenshot of you and your mount in a picturesque locale and email 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 in the picture. It could be the next fabulous screenshot we feature here on Massively! %Gallery-112285%
Free for All: Three trends that need to go away in 2011
You know what? I hate geek memes. Heck, I hate the word meme. I generally will not support any term or phrase that was made popular in the last 10 years and mainly through the use of the internet. If it was made popular in programming circles in the early days of BBS (whatever that means) or if it was lovingly crafted during the great internet bubble of the '90s, I will avoid its use. Most of the time, I do not want to use someone else's words to support my own. You will never see the following sentence coming out of my virtual mouth: "Oh, hai! >.< All your base are belong to pedo bear! O.o Angry writer is angry!" The worst of the worst has got to be "die in a fire." Yes, I know you are a geek. I get it -- you are using a term that, I am sure, qualifies you as a socially awkward individual, as someone who simply must say the most inappropriate thing at the most inappropriate times (such as during a developer chat with developers who had almost lost their lives to recent wildfires -- I am not kidding). But I will not wear that badge of geek cred. Until now. These practices that I am about to list to you after the cut can, you know, die in a fire.
Ask Massively: Future psychics edition
In honor of this week's big news at the time of this writing, we here at Ask Massively have decided to reveal to our readers that we are not just repositories of information both useful and esoteric -- we are also future psychics. As proof of our powers, we have decided to explain to the world exactly what will happen when Cataclysm launches, starting with the fact that it will sell approximately fourteen hojillion copies within five minutes, thus breaking sales records previously set by the exact same game. Two days out from release, an uberguild will have cleared every ounce of available content and will be asking why Blizzard is dragging its heels on the next raid. Three days out will mark the Running of the Wolves, as the Alliance areas are swarmed with worgen of every conceivable hue. Four days out, we'll be in full-on meme status for at least one boss. But for today, we have questions about Warhammer 40,000 and Transformers, but we can always use more. Mail your questions along to ask@massively.com or just leave them in the comments!
Keanu Reeves gets a URL shortener in his honor, can stop being sad and get back to being excellent
Remember the day that this photo showed up and Keanu Reeves, famous actor and musician (and the star of one of our all-time favorites, Johnny Mnemonic) changed the internet forever by becoming a very clever meme? Well, something else good has come out of it: a URL shortener, kea.nu. Created by Shane Snow, the money earned from the temporary ads served on the shortened URLs goes to cancer research, and we can continue to keep this meme at the forefront of our minds as we move into the fall. One of our favorite products of the "Sad Keanu Reeves" phenomena is below, and for the record: we're pretty sure the guy was just enjoying his sandwich.
Healer survey contains a wealth of information about healing
If you've ever wanted a close-up look at the game's healing zeitgeist, Miss Medicina has it -- she recently started up a survey/meme of healers around the WoW blogosphere, and the answers are now in and posted on her site. They make for some interesting weekend reading, especially if you're interested in healing and what healers think of it. I'm sure there's lots of conclusions that could be drawn out of this (I'll let you all come up with some in the comments as well), but just reading through them on my own, it seems like there's a few threads between them. The majority of healing seems to be done in 10-mans, which probably isn't too surprising, given that's where most of the endgame players are right now as well. There's no clear winner on class or spec (all four healing classes are represented pretty evenly, though I didn't really crunch the numbers), though there are quite a few priests, and of those, things seem to be split between holy and disc. In terms of a favorite spell, there's almost no crossover at all -- people are all over the place, from Beacon to Penance to Circle of Healing. To hear these guys tell it, healers have all kinds of fun spells to play with. In terms of a weakness to healing, two main answers appear: mana regeneration (always an issue with mana-heavy classes like healers) and mobility. Shamans and druids have problems with big burst healing, and paladins say they need more group healing strength, but almost everyone mentions either mana or movement. There's a lot more to look through, too, in terms of how healers evaluate their performance and addon recommendations from everyone. As a look inside the healer "scene," there is a ton of information in there about what healers are up to out on the realms.
Leeroy-related extras on recent DVD releases
Recently two different movies have included their own versions of the world famous Leeroy Jenkins video in their DVD extras. Year One is the first -- the video, which you can watch after the link below, isn't a perfect reproduction, but it is funny to see Vinnie Jones and the other actors (including McLovin as Leeroy) try to wrap all of the WoW jargon and nonsense jokes from the original into their idea of a scene that makes sense. There's another Leeroy Jenkins related extra on the Monsters vs. Aliens DVD -- this one's just a set of storyboards, but it does feature the voice cast, including Kiefer Sutherland and Seth Rogen, doing their own little version of the scene. It's not quite as faithful as the Year One version, but it does feature Rogen doing the Leeroy yell, and that's worth watching by itself. You can watch that video after the break as well. Both are worth a chuckle -- it's wild to see a meme like Leeroy sneak out into mainstream media.
Memewatch: Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher as 'Keyboard Cat'
As if the piece on CNN weren't enough, the Internet's own "Keyboard Cat" has just been given the Sam Fisher homeless militant makeover for a recent video advertising Splinter Cell Conviction's upcoming PAX appearance. Titled, "Play him off, Keyboard Sam," the video ... well, we've embedded it after the break. We refuse to spoil the hilarity for you. Enjoy.%Gallery-64705%
EVE Online and 'the places I've been' meme
The game world of EVE Online is called New Eden, a vast setting of over 5000 mapped solar systems and more than 2000 uncharted systems that can be found through wormhole exploration. The game has an interactive 3D map of the galaxy where solar systems can be color-coded according to the filters a player chooses. Pair that with a feature of the client that keeps track of each solar system you've visited, and you've got a colorful visual representation of how much of New Eden you've seen. EVE player Kirith Kodachi created a meme of sorts where players take a star map screenshot showing where they've been in New Eden and share it with others on their sites (or Kodachi's own, Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah blog). You can check out where it started with Kirith Kodachi and follow the 'links to this post' at the bottom to see where it leads.
Overheard@GDC09: TTP = Time To Penis
During the "Spore's Wake: What Seriously Happened?" panel at GDC, we learned a fantastic new meme that we have to share with you. "Time To Penis" (or just "TTP" in the streetz) is defined as the amount of time it will take children to make something rude out of a set of tools they've been given -- typically, that object is a penis. Apparently, TTP can be measured down to the near-second. In Spore's case, TTP was actually a negative factor since "children" were making penis monsters before the Creature Creator was even officially released!Did you know? That little guy on the right is generally considered to be Spore's first penis creature. Don't stare, though -- he's shy.
Gordon Freeman receives crowbar, will defend raging Hadron
They found him! The Large Hadron Collider is now under the vigilant protection of the world's least communicative hero, Gordon Freeman. You have the folks at Reddit to thank for equipping him with an iconic weapon, originally intended as an ominous gift before the potentially apocalyptic Collider was fired up for the first time. We wish Gordon the best of luck as he trains in the fine art of bludgeoning parasitic creatures to a pulp.He has until Spring 2009 (view his progress in this photo gallery) -- that's when the Collider is expected to stop being broken.
DS Daily: The best Nintendo-inspired photo manips
Nintendo's iconic characters and systems make excellent fodder for the funniest of the funny that this series of tubes can offer. O rly, you ask? Ya rly, we reply, let us show you them. From the head of Dr. Kawashima to the DS and its inherent money-printing abilities, Nintendo is a big part of the image macro canon. Even the execs don't escape unscathed. In this world, Iwata is a pimp, Reggie will beat you down, and Miyamoto? Well, he's just the man. Did you get your ass kicked and your name taken when a bom zal droppen? Not our problem.And then there are the Pokemans -- the personal power animals (after cats) of all Photoshop users, leading them all on a spiritual journey into lolz. Your favorites: show us them.
Rapwing Lair, the best WoW-inspired song ever
We're going to side with our mates at WoW Insider and enshrine Rapwing Lair as the best World of Warcraft-inspired meme yet. Leeroy, Dives, please move aside for lyricist Shaun Connery. Rapwing Lair is an extensive "rhythmic project," as described by Connery, to detail how one defeats every single boss in Blackwing Lair while mixing disparate styles of hip hop. The song, split into two parts, can be heard via the right column on this page. It's very long, but those who play World of Warcraft (and there's around 8 million of you out there) should not miss this strangely stunning achievement.Head on over to WoW Insider for full lyrics and an explanation of the song from Connery himself.[Image origin]
Sony to get a marketing makeover
It's pretty obvious that Sony and its image in the public realm has depreciated over the past few months. They're ridiculed time and time again by many writers on the internet (Joystiq included), using old internet memes about giant enemy crabs and real time weapon switching. Behind the humor, there are some real concerns that they need to address:
