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Borders' Kobo eReader available for pre-order, ships June 17th
Looking for a no-frills alternative to the Kindle or Nook? For $150, you'll probably find it in the Kobo eReader -- now available for purchase at Borders, and shipping June 17th. We went hands-on with Kobo in March and rather enjoyed the barebones aesthetic; though an early review cited long load times, we thought the 6-inch E Ink slate got the basics just about right. That's just us, though -- if you get it for Father's Day as Borders clearly suggests, we're not sure your picky old man will agree.
Pre-order iPad now, wait until April 12th for delivery
Consider this a friendly public service announcement care of our friends at TUAW. Those who coveted the iPad and pre-ordered anytime before today can still apparently expect a delivery by the original April 3rd launch date. Anyone that orders a WiFi model today, however, can expect to wait a little over a week, April 12th, to get an Apple tablet of his or her own, while the 3G-equipped units are guesstimated for late April. Have patience -- on the bright side, that gives more time to see apps that justify your larger-screen iPhone purchase.
City of Heroes: Going Rogue takes a look underground
There are four months to go before the release of the second City of Heroes expansion, but the development team has been doing a lot of work to keep Going Rogue on everyone's mind. The announcement of Issue 17 certainly did quite a bit in that direction, as did the early release of Dual Pistols for prepurchasing customers. Now we've been given the first major update to the site since the biography of Tyrant, and it's a meaty one. Information and screenshots have been posted for both Calvin Scott, the leader of the Resistance, and the tunnel-dwelling nightmares known as Ghouls. Calvin Scott's biography may be of interest to many players because it gives us something that the community had wondered about -- a heroic Mastermind, leading the Resistance troops against Praetoria's fascist regime. Ghouls, on the other hand, are at once more straightforward and more unsettling, crazed undead that lurk beneath Praetoria and threaten to devour anyone who strays into their territory. The black-and-white world of City of Heroes is getting many more shades of gray in the upcoming expansion, and both of these lore tidbits hint at just how blurred the lines will get come July.
Plastic Logic QUE proReader pre-orders halted?
We're not going to engage in too much wild speculation on this piece of information, but there are certainly a few raised eyebrows in Engadget-land right now. Apparently Plastic Logic is no longer offering pre-orders of its QUE proReader, as a tipster of ours discovered while trying to push through his order of the $799.99, 8GB / 3G version of the large-screen device. According to the order page "Pre-orders are sold out. QUE will be available online and in select Barnes & Noble stores this summer." This of course comes on the heels of news that the company would be further delaying the ship date from mid-April to summer related to "fine-tuning" and "enhancing the overall product experience." So our minds aren't exactly at ease, as we're trying to understand why a company wouldn't just caveat pre-orders by letting people know there's been a run on supply -- though it's possible that Plastic Logic is doing separate batches for mail order and in-store, and just needs to pace themselves. We've reached out to the company for comment, and we'll let you know as soon as we hear back. [Thanks, Clive]
Checking in from Samana Bay, Dominican Republic, aboard the M/S Regatta
It seems that a lot of Apple-related events happen while I'm on cruise ships. Back in 1998, for example, I was aboard a cruise ship when I read the headline that Apple had decided to drop the Newton MessagePad. Before we went on this trip, I knew that Apple would start taking iPad pre-orders and reservations on March 12, so I expected that I'd just be able to pull up the Apple website early in the morning, pop in my reservation, and then go on with my vacation. Little did I know that it was going to take me until 4 PM local time (3 PM ET) on March 12th to get my reservation into the system. Just before I went to sleep the evening of March 11th, I saw a post here on TUAW that outlined when the Apple Online Store would open for pre-orders and reservations. Doing a quick time calculation in my head, I determined that I'd be able to pop in at 9:30 AM local time and make my order... no, wait a second. At 8:30 AM, I was going to be taking a ship's tender over to shore. Dang.
iPad orders start at 8:30AM tomorrow morning
We knew iPad pre-orders were starting tomorrow, but now we know exactly when all you lovable crazies have to stumble out of bed and transmit your credit card numbers to Steve's brain: 8:30AM ET, or 5:30AM on the West Coast. We generally recommend a bed shaker alarm clock, but hey, let's not pretend we haven't all turned a few long nights into tomorrow with our old friends Jackie D and Mistakes. See you on the other side, chochachos.
The Daily Grind: Taking part in the doubled experience for City of Heroes?
If you've ever played City of Heroes before, you most likely got the e-mail enticing you to take part in the game's ongoing doubled experience weekend, during which all inactive accounts get a brief chance to return to active duty. And with the game's second expansion on the way, there are plenty of people taking just that opportunity to spring back into the game. Veteran players, by the same token, have something to be enthusiastic about -- with the preorders for said expansion being open, they can get their hands on the highly-anticipated Dual Pistols powerset and speed past the low-level areas in record time. The short version is that if you still have an interest in City of Heroes, now is a prime time to be giving it some of your gaming hours. So what about you? Are you a lapsed subscriber lured back in by the promise of a trial to see what's changed and improved? Or are you a longtime player interested in seeing the new powers in action? And as a special bonus question, are there other games you would like to see run a similar double-rate and reactivation weekend?
Alganon decides to wait a month
Are you excited about Alganon? Excited enough, perhaps, that you might have chosen to take a couple days off from work in anticipation of its scheduled launch on October 31st? If so, we've got some kind of bad news for you. It's not coming out then after all. As a matter of fact, it isn't going to release until December 1st, according to community manager Tork at the official site. What's the reason for the delay? The official post is shy of concrete reasons, but it mentions that the decision was reached in order to test on a larger scale as well as refine the game further. It also mentions that they're looking forward to running more contests and improving their visibility -- both excellent aims. Community response has been surprisingly positive and moderate, which might be a good sign in advance. If you are one of the people who pre-ordered, however, the announcement isn't just bad news -- everyone who pre-ordered the game by October 31st will get a free month in compensation. Actually playing Alganon will have to wait for a little while, but an extra month certainly helps take the edge off.
T-Mobile myTouch 3G preorders now shipping, arriving, being touched
If you've preordered one o' them fancy new myTouch 3Gs, check your mailbox, front porch, back door, administrative assistant, or dirty, thieving neighbor -- because it might be there. T-Mobile said that preorders would be shipping at the tail end of July, and sure enough, some folks are starting to get lucky; plebes without preorders will still need to wait until August 5, though, so, you know, either sit there and drool or shout nasty remarks about how you'd rather have a Hero in the meanwhile. [Thanks, sun]
Nokia N97 NAM preorders shipping in both colors
We've received confirmation from Nokia that preorders of the beastly N97 have now started shipping to American customers in both available colors, black and white. That puts the white model a couple days behind the black, true -- but any way you slice it, this still beats the online store's old estimate of July by a mile, so we can't complain too hard. Anyone out there already (creepily) strategically positioned on their porch in preparation for the FedEx dude's arrival later today?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Nokia Spain taking N97 pre-orders next week, deliveries in June
Our dear colleagues over at Engadget Spanish have learned that the cream of the Nseries crop -- the N97 -- will be available for pre-order on Nokia Spain's site starting next Monday, May 4. Of course, there's a world of difference between a pre-order and actually having a device sitting in your paws, and it sounds like retail units will be delivered at some point in June. We'll take two, Nokia Spain -- giftwrapped and overnighted to the States, please. Thanks!
Europe goes preorder mad for Killzone 2
Europe has done it again. Killzone 2 has gone platinum in the region three weeks before it has even been released. UK newspaper The Guardian broke the news in an interview with SCEE president David Reeves; 1.1 million copies of Killzone 2 have already been preordered in Europe. Judging from the review scores, it's easy to see why. We certainly had very favorable things to say about the game in our review. You don't have long to wait before you can try it out yourself. The demo will be out on the PSN store later today. With three weeks left to the game's release, that number is sure to increase, especially when Sony launches its £2m advertising campaign later this month.
T-Mobile's G1 presales aren't "even close" to 1.5M
A source close to the situation has chimed in to tell us that T-Mobile's G1 presales -- while very strong, and seemingly making the carrier and HTC very happy campers -- are nowhere near the 1.5 million figure being randomly spouted off by Motley Fool. We don't have an exact figure, but to put things in perspective, it took 74 days of real, actual sales for Apple to hit a million iPhones -- which like the G1 numbers here, counted the US market alone. Real question is, what percentage of the presales have been for that crazy brown model, eh?
Wrath CE sold out at Gamestop, Amazon
Gamestop employees got a memo yesterday that preorders of the Wrath of the Lich King Collector's Edition may have reached their limit, and we've just called and confirmed that -- the Collector's Edition is sold out already at Gamestop. Looks like Amazon also has also taken down their preorders, instead offering a signup to be notified "when this item becomes available." The thing has only been on sale for two days, and already it seems many retails have run out of their listed units -- in fact, Gamestop told their employees that they may not even have been able to fulfill all the orders taken so far.Of course, we're still talking preorders here -- just because they got reserved doesn't mean that they'll all be sold, so there's still a chance that you could get one at release (Gamestop, we believe, will hold reserves for 24-48 hours after release, and then sell them first-come, first-serve). And there's a chance that Blizzard could put a larger order in (since the game hasn't gone gold yet, the sets aren't even manufactured yet), which would mean more preorders would be available.But on the other hand, Blizzard has always wanted the Collector's Editions to be limited, and the guys at Gamestop assured us that there were still plenty of regular copies to reserve. It's hard to believe the CE could be completely sold out in just two days, two months ahead of the actual release, but it's clear that Wrath is going to be one of Blizzard's biggest releases ever.Update: And now, for some reason, it looks like preorders are back up. Either Blizzard decided to make more or Gamestop figured out how they could sell more, so if you want to get one, better order it quick.
Mythic publishes Warhammer Online pre-order FAQ
Mythic has created the beginnings of a FAQ intended to help would-be-customers sort out all the details about pre-ordering Warhammer Online. Info included in the FAQ: how to pre-order in Canada, who to poke to get pre-order codes when you place your order through an online store, and details and definitions on the beta testing phases, among other things.Mythic promises that the FAQ will be updated with new information in the future, but doesn't say what kind of information it'll be.The FAQ has some helpful information if you have those specific questions, of course. If you want a more in-depth and badass guide to pre-ordering WAR, though, check out our WAR collector's edition pre-order guide. Which retailer distributes codes in the most helpful way? Which one gives you the best extra goodies? It's all there!
Forum Post of the Day: Wrath release dates
We're all anxiously anticipating the announcement of a release date for Warth of the Lich King. Many of us speculate that the game will be released in November of this year. Many players have sent us tips about various retailers and their release dates. Lubu of EU-Burning Blade shared an email from the vendor with which he placed a preorder of the game: Dear sir Thank you for the following order placed with GAME. As you may already be aware, the release date for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack has changed to Oct 2008. Changes to release dates are relatively common in the videogames industry and are unfortunately beyond our control. Don't worry, your order is still live and will be despatched prior to its release date via your chosen method of delivery.
Funcom unveils the size of Age of Conan's preorder horde
Tomorrow's the day the gates of Hyboria open to all and sundry, and in anticipation Funcom has revealed just how many people are going to be entering the Age of Conan this week. The massive Collector's Edition, which we've discussed several times here on the site, has completely sold out. They even did a second run for the thing, and it still sold out. According to Funcom 111,000 copies of that box are now slated for sale. The regular edition, which still offers the possibility for some decent extras, has also completely sold out in some market areas. The company estimates that "it will be unable to fulfill all pre-orders in some markets due to current server limitations." Some 700,000 copies of the game have been shipped to retailers to meet tomorrow's demand. The Conan developer also estimates that this these are the largest pre-order numbers for an MMO ever - even surpassing the original World of Warcraft's launch figures. They also note that (despite hopes to the contrary), the DX10 version of the game won't be available until August. They still need more time to patch and polish that aspect of the engine. If their numbers are accurate, Age of Conan could represent the first true runaway success since WoW's launch four years ago. If Conan cracks the million-subscriber mark - which seems at least feasible - it will be a big wakeup call for the industry. All we can do now is sit back and watch the show.
Worldwide PSP releases for the week of Dec. 30
We're not sure how often this has happened, but it seems that no games will be releasing on the PSP across all three major regions.NA Games No new releases EU Games No new releases Asia Games No new releases Chances are, it's probably not that big a deal for most of you since you're all very busy with all the great games you received for Christmas. But if you're a bit disappointed, rest assured that next week the PSP is definitely getting new games.
Japan preorders 300,000 Wii Fit, printing of money to surely follow
As we type, the world's crazy time differences mean that Wii Fit has been available in Japan for, ooh, a few hours at least. How will it fare? We don't know for sure, and as our closest friend isn't a De Lorean-owning, wavy-haired scientist, the best we can offer is a guess. That said, the 300,000 preorders reportedly taken by Japanese retailers prior to the game's release tell us that Nintendo has probably just conjured up another mass appeal mega-hit. If all of those preorders are honored, that would also make Wii Fit a bigger opening week success than a certain other title, but we won't dwell on that, as it's proven a touchy subject recently. Check back with us next week for the full lowdown on precisely how many Japanese people are precariously poised on their Balance Boards. [Via The Tanooki]
Gods & Heroes slain, refunds announced
As we say goodbye to our dreams of being inducted into the Greek pantheon, the developers of Gods & Heroes are kind enough to let us know where we can get our money back on our pre-orders. As it turns out, simply return with your receipt to the retailer where you bought the pre-order, and you will get a full refund. Well duh, actually. In their final announcement to the gaming community, the devs let us know it was a tough decision to kill the immortal game once and for all: The Perpetual team is faced with a unique challenge of simultaneously developing both Gods & Heroes and Star Trek Online in addition to growing our Online Game Platform business. After assessing all of Perpetual's opportunities, we have made the decision to put the development of Gods & Heroes on indefinite hold. Well, I for one am sad to see the project go, but it's also nice to see a company that knows when they bit off more than they can chew.
