monopoly
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Intel offices raided in Germany
As part of their investigation into the company's alleged abuse of its market position at the expense of rival AMD, EU competition regulators have raided chip giant Intel's offices in Munich, Germany, along with those of Metro AG-owned Media Markt and other unnamed PC retailers. The European Commission has been keeping a close eye on Intel since last summer, when the company was formally accused of offering rebates and making payoffs to customers and retailers in exchange for preferential treatment -- charges that Intel has repeatedly, although somewhat obtusely, denied. It's not clear at this point what material, if anything, was confiscated in these latest raids, which come exactly a month prior to a closed hearing the megacorp faces on this matter in Brussels.[Via BBC]
EA to bring Hasbro to your DS
For those of you who find themselves enjoying board games, but would like considerable less board in there, know that EA has announced that several Hasbro properties will be turned into games by the publishing powerhouse. No longer will your games of Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit be confined to the Monday night get-together at your neighbor's house, as you'll soon be able to enjoy these games without your "friends."The titles currently in the works are: Littlest Pet Shop (DS, Wii, PC) - fall NERF "N-Strike" (Wii, DS) - fall Looking over the rest of the list for titles releasing on mobile phones and to EA's online POGO portal, we're wondering why the DS is getting the shaft. Monopoly, Yahtzee and Scrabble are all releasing on mobile phones and via POGO, but where's the DS love? All we get are these two games? We hope this changes ...[Via Joystiq]
EA announces intial batch of Hasbro games, G.I. Joe sadly absent
Electronic Arts has sewn up the rights to deliver games based on numerous Hasbro properties, though before you get too excited in hopes that you'll soon be revisiting your past and playing games based on G.I. Joe, we should note that of this "initial slate" of brands singled out by the companies not one packs a 'kung fu grip.' EA calls these games "new ways for families to build relationships through digital entertainment," which of course means we'll be seeing at least some of these games crop up on the Wii. In fact, the first titles from the deal confirmed for both the Wii and DS include games based on Littlest Pet Shop and NERF "N-Strike," both of which are being put together by EA's Salt Lake Studio. Last year EA inked a deal with Hasbro for rights to make games based on the seemingly innocent but often cutthroat board game Monopoly, and players will be able to edge their way out of (and into) virtual bankruptcy come March for mobile phones and later in the fall over EA's casual POGO portal for the PC. Other brands in the works as part of this new deal include Scrabble, Operation, and Trivial Pursuit, meaning that in the not to distant future we could be once again partying like it's Christmas 1980.
Microsoft's antitrust activities to be monitored for another two years
Sure, most of the Microsoft antitrust action is going down in Europe nowadays, but Uncle Sam's lingering judgment against Redmond is still kicking around -- Judge Colleen Kollar Kotelly (remember her?) just issued a ruling extending the consent decree against Microsoft for another two years. The judge said that the company has been extremely cooperative with the government thus far, but that "the extreme and unforeseen delay" in acquiring technical documentation from Bill and the boys requires that monitoring continue. That pretty much leaves things at the status quo, although we're not exactly holding our breath for anything to change once the consent judgment actually does expire.
Apple hit with antitrust lawsuit
Information Week is reporting that Apple has been accused of monopolizing the online music industry in an antitrust lawsuit. Specifically, the suit states that Apple has placed "...unneeded and unjustifiable technological restrictions on its most popular products in an effort to restrict consumer choice, and to restrain what little remains of its competition in the digital music markets."Here we go again with "restricting consumer choice." First of all, no one is being forced to use iTunes or an iPod. But, what if you want to use iTunes with a player other than an iPod? Or, what if you want to use an iPod but not the iTunes Store?Mac users can choose from a number of players that work with iTunes, including the Nomad Jukebox, SonicBLUE Rio and Nakamichi SoundSpace 2. It's true that music purchased from iTunes will not play on these devices (unless it's from the growing library of DRM-free songs), but Mp3 files and unprotected AAC files will.For iPod users looking beyond the iTunes Store, there's the Amazon Mp3 Store. In some ways, in fact, the Amazon Store is more appealing than iTunes: all of their tracks are DRM-free and many are cheaper. Of course these aren't perfect solutions. To get the most out of iTunes and an iPod, one must use them in conjunction. However, this suit feels like sour grapes: punishing Apple for their success. There's a difference between dominating a market and preventing others from succeeding. So far, no one has created a more successful alternative and that's not Apple's fault.Thanks, Dave.
Monopoly Here and Now released at Macgamestore
I never even realized such a thing existed, but apparently Hasbro (which now owns the Monopoly brand) had released a computer version of the famous real estate game, completely updated for 2007-- as in, there are Hybrid cars and RAZRs in the game (yeah, yeah, I'll get to that in a second), and luxury tax now costs you $150,000, instead of the quaint old $75. And it's now been released for the Mac-- you can pick it up for $20 over at Macgamestore, or grab the demo for free at Macgamefiles.Gamespot users thought the PC version was pretty all right, so if you like the game a lot but don't always have the real opponents around to sit through the whole thing with you, this might be right up your alley.But of course, what I'd like to see, in either virtual or realspace, is an actual Apple-branded edition of Monopoly-- the Newton and Lisa can be Mediterranean and Baltimore, and Park Place and Boardwalk get to be the iPhone and the iPod touch. You can have little Jobs and Woz figurines to move around the board (the shoe stays-- love the shoe), although I'm not sure what the railroads would be-- Apple keynotes at Mac conferences? Get on that, Hasbro![via IMG]
States want court oversight of Microsoft for another five years
Even with its highly visible attempts to clean up its image, "embrace" open standards and play "nice" with the Linux kids, Microsoft is still in the dog house as far as a California-led coalition of states is concerned. They want to extend court oversight of Microsoft, which is currently set to expire this November, for another five years, to make sure the software giant continues to comply with the anti-trust settlement reached back in 2002. Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia are all in on the action, no word yet on how it'll all play out.
Is Apple the new Microsoft?
So claimeth Mike Elgan of Computerworld in his article on PC World: "It's Official: Apple is the New Microsoft." Well, I'm certainly glad that is settled! On to the iPhone news... Wait a moment, on what grounds does Mike base his comparison? I'll break down the points and test their coherence.Mike's first assertion is a familiar one: the iPod + iTunes ecosystem is the worst kind of monopoly, where you must use iTunes with an iPod. He says, "Not fair, you might say. Any hardware device that syncs data with a PC as part of its core functionality has software to facilitate that syncing. True enough. But operating systems have browsers as part of core functionality, too. Doesn't Mac OS X come with Safari? Doesn't the iPhone?"First of all, his argument is akin to saying ATI has a monopoly because you have to install drivers to make their video cards work. Secondly, his parallel to browsers is nonsensical. What does a browser, a completely different app unwed to any external hardware device, have to do with iTunes or an iPod? I'm not really smart enough to tell which logical fallacy this is, but I know BS when I smell it. Buy CD's, they don't come from the iTunes Store.Moving on to his one-line critique of iTunes: "ITunes is the slowest, clunkiest, most nonintuitive application on my system. But I need it because I love my iPods." iTunes is clunky and unintuitive, huh? Ever try SonicStage? PC World even called IE 6 one of the worst products ever. Of course, MMC plug-ins are models of intuitive design. Let's move on, shall we?
EA and Hasbro start casual relationship
Atari got lucky by jumping on Jenga when they did! As part of their new casual games initiative, EA has partnered with Hasbro to create games "based upon a huge array of Hasbro's intellectual properties, including Monopoly, Scrabble, Yahtzee, Nerf, Tonka and Littlest Pet Shop, to name a few."We desperately want to make fun of the idea of Hasbro toys on Wii, but we've already got Nerf stuff, and board games actually seem to work out nicely on Xbox Live. Maybe more board games would be a good idea! The big deal for us would be online play, and we hope EA realizes that. Littlest Pet Shop may not need to make the transition to video games, however. We can do without that one. We got a little creeped out just looking at those droopy-eyed characters.[Via Joystiq]
EA gets monopoly on Monopoly
Electronic Arts knows a thing or two about having a "monopoly," now they own the rights to it. A partnership between EA and Hasbro gives both companies the rights to dabble in each other's pool. EA gains "exclusive worldwide rights" to create games based on Hasbro products like Monopoly, Scrabble, Nerf, Yahtzee and basically anything else you probably remember from childhood. Hasbro will be able to make toys based on EA properties -- darn, we might actually pay for Spore mix and match figures if they make them. The deal runs until the end of 2013, with an option for another four years.The partnership is part of the newly formed EA Casual Entertainment strategy. A whole division of EA fully focused on bringing high-end casual games to the mass market. This partnership may be a good thing for EA. Actually, they're the perfect company to handle putting games that haven't changed in a half-century on consoles, they've practically been doing the same thing with the Madden franchise for years.
NVIDIA faces barrage of civil lawsuits
Those price fixing allegations that AMD and NVIDIA were facing late last year may have vanished from the forefront of your memory, but you can rest assured that the legal teams connected to the two are still workin' overtime to clean things up. Apparently, NVIDIA has been slapped with as many as 51 civil complaints over "price fixing and anti-competitive agreements, among other things," and on its March 16th filing with the SEC, the firm states that "42 civil complaints as of March 14 were filed against it on the same allegations." Notably, the outfit did state that the "lawsuits are putative class-actions," and unsurprisingly felt that they were all lacking merit and would be fought vigorously. Tsk, Tsk.[Via Gearlog]
Open source protestor crashes Bill Gates' speech in China
We've certainly seen a variety of crashings go down on stage, but a determined protester and undeterred advocate for open source software rudely (albeit humorously) interrupted Bill Gates' speech at Peking University in Beijing, China. Gates, who was speaking on the topic of Innovation in China's future and receiving (yet another) honorary manager title, had his after-party all shook up by an off-kilter open source proponent who reportedly darted across the stage, "loudly shouted against Microsoft's monopoly," proudly displayed a sign of "Free software, open source," and was promptly "tackled by security and removed for questioning." It was suggested that the culprit may have been a member of the Linux Professional Institute, and while we're not exactly sure if Michael Dell would've shown any forgiveness, feel free click on through for a closeup of the sign and the unfortunate aftermath.[Via SeattlePI, thanks Ralf]Update: Reader Shawn W sent in a video of the proceedings! Check it out after the break.
SXSW: Games + Entertainment Brands: Five Top Trends In 2007
This panel brought together Robert Nashak, GM of Yahoo Games, Chris Charla, director of business development for Foundation 9, Charles Merrin from Real Networks, and Brian Ring, the GM of Interactive Content for Scope Seven. The purpose was to discuss the top five trends in 2007 in the realm of gaming and entertainment. When games meet entertainment brands, it's traditionally meant a game based on a movie that comes out a few weeks (or months) after the film has hit theaters. However, for the past few years games have started to be released concurrently with the films, or even before the movies come out. Hollywood studios now include video game development in the earliest stages of pre-production, and even involve game companies in the writing process.Games + Entertainment Brands also encompasses traditional board games, like Scrabble and Monopoly, being licensed for video games, and toys like Bratz and Barbie as well. We break down the top five trends that will be hitting games + entertainment brands in 2007 after the jump.
New Monopoly edition features RAZR token
Apparently, "easy target" Engadget editors aren't the only ones buying them RAZR phones from Motorola. In fact, it seems as if a fairly decent number of people have forked over the cash for aluminum ubiquity, because the diminutive flip phone has its very own token in the upcoming "Here & Now" 70th anniversary edition of Monopoly. The phone is accompanied by other branded products such as a Starbucks coffee, McDonald's French fries, a Toyota Prius hybrid, and a New Balance running shoe. Not bad company at all for a phone, but we're curious if they've opted for a plain ol' V3, V3c, V3i or perhaps even the V3m? After all, what's the point of casting yourself into the throes of capitalism if you can't even have a 1.3 megapixel camera or memory card slot while you're at it?[Via textually.org]
The old-school gamer's Monopoly board
It seems one classic video game enthusiast has taken his free time and focused his efforts to creating the ultimate Monopoly for the nostalgic gamer. The complete makeover of the entire board is there with games such as Doom and Pong taking their respective places in substitution for the classic city streets. The creator has also transformed the cards, pieces and money that come along with the game. It's a mighty fine effort and we applaud the dedication needed to make something like this happen. The only things that seem to be lacking in terms of quality to us are the cheapo looking player pieces and house and hotel pieces. Also, spelling "joystick" without a "q" is just plain wrong. Otherwise, bravo.But we've got to know one thing from Joystiq Nation: Anyone got any beef with the importance of some of the games on the board compared to their price?[Thanks, Stephen Q. Burwell]
Monopoly ditches cash, goes plastic
While Monopoly is the paragon of good 'ole fashioned board game fun, the "old fashioned" part had to go. Parker Brothers is phasing out the cash-based version's funmoney and replacing it with an "Electronic Banking" flavor that could leave Mr. Moneybags turning his pockets inside out as his stash is replaced by a magnetic strip. New kits are completely devoid of the famous multi-colored bills; instead, you'll find phoney Visa debit cards and a calculator / reader which keeps a running tabulation of your riches -- or lack thereof. A deal was struck with Visa to design the mock cards and readers, presumably after surveys showed that 70% of adults used cash less often now than they did a decade ago (no surprise there). When asked about the dramatic change, Parker said replacing cash with plastic "showed the game was moving with the times." For those anxious to get their swipe on, or if you've simply forgotten how to use bills, the new version will set you back £24.99, while the now "antiquated" cash version can be had for £12.99, but only while supplies last.
EU hits Microsoft with $357 million fine
Even though we've resigned ourselves to the fact that Windows Vista isn't coming out until it's good and ready, EU regulators aren't as forgiving as us when it comes to Microsoft playing the delay game, and have hit the software giant with a $357 million fine based on that 2004 anti-competition ruling. What's more, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has decided to slap the company with a three million euro-per-day fine starting on July 31st if the document disclosure stipulation of the original decision -- which requires Microsoft to make the Windows source code more accessible to rivals provide technical information to makers of competing server software -- has not been fulfilled. Redmond, for its part, claims that it has been fully cooperating with regulators; general counsel Brad Smith argues that the commission's original demand was too vague, and therefore the issue is not one of compliance but clarity. In the end, Microsoft can complain all day and night about unfair rulings and unclear requirements, but if it wants to continue having unfettered access to the lucrative European market, it seems the company has little choice but to toe the line on this one.
Qualcomm competitors cry foul in Korea
We all know that Qualcomm likes to play up its market dominance everywhere possible -- and we also know they've taken some heat for it in Europe -- so it comes as little surprise to us that would-be CDMA competitors in the South Korean market are raising a fit. Texas Instruments and Broadcom have appealed to South Korea's Fair Trade Commission, alleging unfair practices by Qualcomm in bundling its CDMA chipsets with application processors. Presumably, the argument is that manufacturers should be allowed to mix and match chipsets without taking a hit on cost and without losing their relationships with suppliers, and since Qualcomm lays claim to portions of virtually every wireless standard -- not just IS-95 and CDMA2000 proper -- the implications of this are fairly far-reaching. Qualcomm's Korean offices have been raided by investigators in the past on similar allegations so we're not terribly confident this tussle will change their attitude, but we can dare to dream.
In Nintendo Monopoly, Mario is Boardwalk
This one is for all the Nintendorks out there. When you're not playing Nintendo's video games, you're probably doing one of three things: cosplaying as famous Nintendo characters, quilting yourself a blanket featuring your favorite Nintendo characters, or wondering why those same Nintendo characters don't permeate every other facet of your life. Courtesy of Rich Uncle Pennybags and the good folks at USAopoly comes Monopoly: Nintendo Collector's Edition. Yup, we're talking about an actual physical copy of Monopoly, not a video game version. The promotional shots they sent us don't show off the board very well (although we can tell that Mario is Boardwalk, natch), but they do show off all the little pewter figurines. They are: Mario's hat, Koopa shell, NES controller, Donkey Kong barrel, Link's boots (of the iron variety we assume), and Link's shield (of the Hylian variety). Alright, we love Zelda as much as the next cosplaying Link fan, but two Zelda tokens and not a single Metroid one? Samus ain't gonna be happy. Expect to find it in stores in July for an suggested retail price of $35.95. That's like one DS game, right? Plenty o' pics after the break.
Daring Fireball on "The iPod Juggernaut"
John Gruber has published a glaringly well-written piece that dissects the iPod's unstoppable success, why things are going so well and why analysts should simply remove the term "iPod-killer" from their vocabulary. While it might be a bit lengthier than your typical "iPods are great, Dell sucks" blog post, it is a wholly educational and darn solid argument worth every word. So head on over to Daring Fireball (click the Read link below) to find out why Apple can't make the same mistakes they made in the 80's, how Apple is out-innovating everyone despite their monopoly, and to hear an actually compelling case for why the iPod's competitors should just close shop - especially since one already has.
