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Japanese mobile game rewards players with real fish
It used to be that just getting a high score was the be all and end all of game accomplishments. More recently, amassing Achievement points became the all-consuming passion of gamers. Now even that seems passé as a new Japanese cell phone game rewards played with real, raw fish delivered right to their door.Ippon Zuri ("pole-and-line fishing" in English) lets DoCoMo users in Japan's Fukuoka area set bait, cast their lines and wait for the virtual fish to bite. When they do, a slot machine game appears and, if all three numbers match up, the fish is caught and, as Pink Tentacle describes it, "a message is then relayed to the wholesaler, who picks up the real-world equivalent from the local seafood market and delivers it, whole and raw, to the player's doorstep." Kind of reminds us of Activision's Atari 2600 badge program, except updated for the new millennium ... and with raw fish!We think this is a great idea, and can't wait for the concept to be applied across the gaming world. Win a real trophy for success at virtual sports games! Win real cash for success at virtual game shows! Win a real disembodied skull for success at a first-person shooter! Er ... scratch that last one.[Via BB Gadgets]
CoX Flashback Friday event
Want to warm up the winter evening in a thermonuclear manner? Looking for a weapon of mass destruction to send to your friends? Well look no further, because POJRadio's got your back. They're putting the Ho-Ho-Ho back in "Holy Hannah" by taking everyone to CoX's Test server and setting them free in groups of four to launch missiles. Of course, you have to face the Rogues who don't want you to succeed, run the risk of falling prey to roving bands of villainous swine, take your lives into your own hands with other PvP-minded folks, and be the first to launch the missile, but then that's what this holiday season is all about, isn't it? Let's give 'til it hurts.The event is tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. Eastern, you MUST sign up beforehand, and it's being held on Test so that any alt (who's able to reach Warburg, of course) from any server can attend. Why attend, you ask? Well, aside from the warm fuzzies you'll receive from irradiating those who have displeased you, there's an actual prize involved: John Becaro will be crafting a free sketch of the winning team. So get your Fannys over there and launch that missile! And if you can't attend -- or just want to know what's going on -- tune into POJRadio during the event to keep up with the mayhem.
Guild Wars: got $100,000?
NCsoft would like to remind you that the ArenaNet-sponsored Guild Wars $100,000 Tournament Series is still going strong. The October rankings are in, the November cycle is swiftly wrapping to a close, and the December season rules are now available for review. You'll be able to check out the schedule, the map rotation, and the upcoming prize list which includes in-game prizes such as cape trim for your guild and reward points, and physical prizes like a Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer sound card and a 160Gb iPod. So what are you waiting for? Let's get those slay bells ringing this holiday season.
24 hours of Tabula Rasa: Hour 9
Hoo brother, we are already at hour 9 of our 24 hour launch day giveaway (to celebrate the release of not only Tabula Rasa, but this here blog that yer readin'), and the prizes are starting to get interesting. Yes, this hour, we'll be giving away the best part of Tabula Rasa -- that fetching redhead that shows up in the intro movie. Well, not her exactly, but a cardboard standup of her. You too can do a little TR larping, and, well... actually, we don't want to hear about what you do with this thing. Your business, not ours. If it involves dressing up and running around the room carrying it and screaming about Logos and killing the Bane, we'd just rather stay out of it, thanks.And if you don't win the standup, you might win a poster, because we're giving away one of those, too. Just live in the US, be 18 or up (official rules be here), and put a comment on this post before 5pm EST. We'll pick two lucky winners-- one gets the girl, and one gets a poster.Good luck, as always! And if you don't like the prizes (although who wouldn't? come on, it's a life-sized standup!), sit tight, because there'll be yet another contest next hour. We would say that this new blog is the gift that keeps on giving, but it's actually more like the blog that keeps on giving... away great prizes every hour!
Win the PG Dev Kit tournie, make your own video game at PAX
We told you it'd be fabulous. Pink Godzilla has exclusively revealed to Joystiq the grand prize for their Pink Godzilla Dev Kit tournament at PAX 2007, and boy is it a doozy. Not only will the winner receive $200 spending money for the Pink Godzilla booth, but the winner also gets to design his or her own video game, to be developed with the help of the Pink Godzilla team, and featured on the Pink Godzilla web site.In addition to receiving credit as game designer for the project, the winner will also have their game featured as a title card in an upcoming expansion set for the Pink Godzilla Dev Kit card game. Registration for the tournament will be limited, so Pink Godzilla urges players to sign up as soon as PAX begins on August 24th. More details about both the tournament and the prizes after the break.
WoW Insider BlizzCon-tests update
So here's what my BlizzCon Bingo card looks like so far. All I need is to see someone play Zul'Aman, and I'm done. I found it kind of funny that most of the stuff wasn't very hard to come by-- Mohr didn't need a lot of prodding to do his Walken impression this evening, and instead of a Leroy Jenkins impersonator, we got the real thing (Ben Schulz, who really was Leeroy Jenkins, walked out on stage during the Sound-a-Like contest). And even if I don't catch Zul'Aman, tomorrow night I'll definitely see L70ETC play, so my BlizzCon Bingo is all but won.And speaking of winning, I still have my prize-- no one came up to me on the floor and asked for it, so I still have a prize to give away. I believe we have a few prizes left, so let's do our find-a-blogger contest again tomorrow-- if you find a WoW Insider blogger on the BlizzCon exhibit floor before anyone else, and ask about the contest, we'll give you a prize. A ton of stuff has happened at BlizzCon already, but we have a whole other day left-- see you on day 2!
Reminder: WoW Insider meetup tonight!
If you're in Anaheim for BlizzCon this evening, don't forget: Our first official WoW Insider meetup is tonight at 8PM!We'll be meeting up at the Lost Bar at 1150 W. Magic Way in Anaheim, just minutes away from the Convention Center. We'll be having all kinds of good times, including a trivia contest, some fabulous door prizes, and most likely the imbibing of drinks all night long. All of the WoW Insider staff at BlizzCon will be there, so come by, say hi, and have a good time on the eve of Blizzard's big event! See you there!
WoW Insider interviews WSVG President Matthew Ringel
This Sunday afternoon, July 29th, the WSVG is coming to network television. Starting at noon, CBS is showing an hourlong special of WSVG events, including their recent tournament in Louisville, as well as other events in this, their second season, leading up to the December finals in Sweden.WoW Insider got to chat with WSVG President and Commissioner Matthew Ringel about how he's trying to turn videogames into a spectator sport, what the real standard for Arena combat is, and how you can explain a fight between six people with different specs and different classes to an audience who's never seen this game before. No easy task, to be sure. The entire exclusive interview starts right after the jump.
CGS 2v2 Arena information
There were some people out there who thought that since WoW wasn't an FPS or RTS, that it didn't really belong in the world of competitive gaming. Heck, a friend of mine used to like to say that it wouldn't work unless you were "trying to judge one elf dancing on a mailbox compared to another." (This friend, I should add, is anti-WoW) That's why I'm glad to see the Arena competitions becoming more and more prevalent as time goes on. As Drysc recently announced on the forums, World of Warcraft is set to appear in this year's Championship Gaming Series. Players will have a chance to land a spot in the draft at BlizzCon. And for those who thumb their noses at gaming as a possible job -- the winners stand to make between $30k and $100k when you figure in the base salary, bonuses for winning, and prize money. (I just hope it includes good medical, because I sense some carpal tunnel in the mix too. :D )Check out Drysc's full announcement from the forums behind the jump...
WoW TCG: Interview with Ben Drago, Manager of Organized Play
When I came upon Ben Drago at the Darkmoon Faire in Chicago, he was yelling like Ragnaros. He was facing off against three WoW TCG players-- one was playing a Paladin, the second a Mage, and the last a Hunter. It was a Molten Core raiding event, and Drago was more than giving the guys a run for their money. The Paladin dropped quick (the player complained that Drago's Shazzrah "wouldn't let me heal!"), and while the mage and hunter held their own for a while, Drago eventually crushed them all with Rag's firey might.He handed out a few booster packs as prizes anyway, and then sat down to talk with me about the WoW TCG that he promotes all over the country and the world, what player reaction has been like, and Upper Deck's event plans for Blizzcon and beyond.
Pogo Island's redeemable qualities
Pogo Island isn't a particularly terrible game; there just hasn't been much we've heard about it worth discussing. Electronic Arts developed the puzzle collection as a handheld supplement to its popular casual gaming site, Pogo. Marked at full price though, it's hard to justify buying a title that's essentially a round up of the five most popular games EA already offers for free online.Even with that in mind, Pogo Island isn't completely without merit. As GameSetWatch pointed out to us, playing the game earns you tokens which can later be uploaded to your Pogo account online. Trading in any tokens you acquire from either Pogo.com or Pogo Island buys you a ticket for the site's daily prize drawings (Up to $1000!).Why don't more DS titles have connectivity like this? Wouldn't it be great if you could exchange all those Star coins you collected in New Super Mario Bros. for a free copy of the Super Mario Bros. 3 DVD? Or if discounts were offered at an online pet shop when Nintendogs notices that you've been taking good care of your puppy? Features like this won't automatically turn a mediocre game into a great one, but it's an easy way to add to its worth.
Joyswag Photochop: Lost Planet, found entries - Day One
Joystiqers, our hats are off to you. You have been heeding the call in spades. It's only the first day of the Lost Planet Photochop contest, and already we've had a ton of terrific entries. For those of you who haven't entered yet, these should get your creative juices flowing. Check out today's two winners: the first one is from Manu and features the oh so lovely Kate from Lost gracing the cover. We've received a ton of Lost TV show entries, but this one takes the cake so far. Keep 'em coming though, and have a look at the second winner and a recap of the contest details after the jump.
X360F Pumpkin Carving Contest Winners
When it comes to the Xbox 360 community, not all fanboys are created equal -- and neither are all pumpkins. We received around 20 entries in our carving contest and all of them (except for the odd photoshop fake) were better than the average jack-o-lantern. Richard and I would like to thank all the contestants for making this a competitive contest that proved Xbox 360 fanboys have Halloween spirit and artistic talent to spare. And special thanks to our prize sponsor RockMeTV.com for providing a copy of Gears of War to give away.Without further ado, please view the official results of our 1st Annual Xbox 360 Pumpkin Carving Contest after the jump
WoW Moviewatch: The Darkmoon Faire trailer from E3
This is the first part of a series of press release videos from E3; this one spotlighting the events at the Darkmoon Faire. It probably doesn't contain anything that most of us haven't seen, but it's a nice little video, in any case...although it could really use one of those carnival barkers yelling "Sunday, SUNday, SUNDAY!". Enjoy...
Broomfield, CO Apple Store opening this weekend, too
I think it's safe to declare today as "Apple Store News Day." First Toronto's on the map, then Zürich and now a store I've been waiting for: Flatiron Crossing Mall in Broomfield, CO. I just received the email from Apple about the grand opening, the prizes, the glitz and glamor... The store's grand opening is happening this weekend, May 6th at 10:00 am. T-shirts will be given to the first 1000 (geeks) through the door, and that "Digital Lifestyle Collection" sweepstakes is going on as well. The prizes are the same as the ones in the Toronto store that Dave mentioned: an iMac, an iPod nano, a Canon digital camera, a Sony Handycam CCD-TRV138, and an HP inkjet printer.I'm going to try and make the opening myself, but I'll need to recruit a fellow Mac geek with a car. If you make it to the opening, send us a link with some pics or a report. Enjoy!
