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Microsoft details its plan to become ‘water positive’ by 2030
Microsoft plans to replenish more water than it uses by 2030.
Sony pledges to be 30 percent 'greener' by 2020
Like the epic vomiting session after a long evening in Las Vegas, climate change is inevitably coming for us all. Sony has decided to show off its greener side by pledging to shrink both its carbon footprint and the amount of power that its devices guzzle. The company has launched a "Green Management 2020" project that aims to make its products 30 percent more efficient by the end of the decade. At the same time, executives are committing to a target of having no impact upon the environment at all by 2050.
Perfect Ten: What Titan's death means for the industry and you
Blizzard's fans are in mourning this weekend and its competition is no doubt rejoicing after the World of Warcraft developer finally cancelled its seven-years-in-the-making Titan MMO. Word on the street is that Titan was a little too similar to what Bungie came up with in Destiny, although all the studio itself will say is that it ultimately wasn't fun. So Titan joins Starcraft Ghost and Warcraft Adventures in the Blizzard graveyard. It's a loss for those who were hoping to see what Blizz could do outside of World of Warcraft in the MMO space. But what does this cancellation mean for Blizzard, the industry, and us as MMO gamers? I have a few thoughts, although I'll pre-empt them by predicting that your life will most likely go on just the same it did before this momentous announcement.
Blizzard removes Titan from careers page
Here are the facts: There is a career page for Blizzard Entertainment. The mysterious project known as Titan used to have job listings there. Now there is no mention of Titan on this page. Here is another fact: The man up there represented the beginning of Blizzard's cinematics department. This picture has nothing to do with Titan, but it amused us to include it. What does this mean for the project? There are many possibilities: Blizzard is abandoning it, Blizzard has enough people working on it already, or Blizzard is regrouping on it. Considering that the studio said back in May that it was scrapping its development on Titan to start over, we think that the latter could be quite likely.
Rumor: Blizzard's Titan has fallen, won't be getting up until 2016 [Updated]
Are you looking forward to Titan? It's a bit odd, since the game hasn't had so much as a screenshot released yet, but we can understand it. If that's the case, though, we've got some bad news for you, as the project is rumored to have been completely restarted. According to an unnamed GamesBeat source, the project has had 70 people taken off its previously 100-strong workforce, with the title's release delayed until at least 2016 as a result. Those who have followed Blizzard Entertainment for a while will remember that the last project restarted more than once was the ill-fated Starcraft: Ghost, which doesn't bode well for the future of Titan. With World of Warcraft's subscription numbers in decline, it's possible that the company is moving in a different direction. No official statements have been issued regarding the development of Titan or any expected release window for the game. [Update: ZAM reports that Blizzard has responded to that site's queries with the following statement: "We've always had a highly iterative development process, and the unannounced MMO is no exception. We've come to a point where we need to make some large design and technology changes to the game. We're using this opportunity to shift some of our resources to assist with other projects while the core team adapts our technology and tools to accommodate these new changes. Note that we haven't announced any dates for the MMO."]
Sharp further cuts bonuses and salaries to stay above water, save $180 million
Sharp is already in full-on belt-tightening mode, and it's not just cutting jobs to keep its staffing costs in line with shrinking finances. The sinking tech giant is doubling the size of executives' salary cuts to 10 percent for a year-long period, all the while slashing planned 2013 bonuses to half of what they were in June. Sadly, everyday workers will have to take some of the same medicine. They're facing similar bonus cuts and will have to take a 7 percent drop in salary for the same year. Between these steps and cuts to extras like travel allowances, Sharp hopes to save ¥14 billion in the current fiscal year, or about $180 million -- a small amount next to the $2 billion in credit the company just recently obtained, but also a sign of just how much penny-pinching is involved in keeping the corporate ship afloat. Let's hope the sacrifice pays off.
iPhone price cuts hitting Radio Shack, Target tomorrow?
Let the speculation begin! It may not be a sign of an iPhone refresh, but we've received multiple tips today about an imminent price drop for Apple's flagship smartphone. According to a pair of trusty tipsters, Radio Shack is prepping to cut the cost of AT&T's 16GB iPhone 4 to $169.99, with a two-year contract, from $199.99. The 32GB version will likewise take a $30 plunge at the Shack, ringing in at $269.99, and the price of the 8GB 3GS will drop to $19.99. Phone Arena is likewise reporting on Target slicing up the old Apple price tag, but lists varying numbers based on carrier. If all this talk turns out to be true, those prices should be ripe for the picking starting tomorrow. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Xbox 360 250GB Kinect bundle dropping to $299.99 ahead of E3? (update)
The image above is not a mockup. What you're looking at is a screen grab from the Video Game section of Target's online storefront proudly touting "free shipping" on a $299.99 Xbox 360 250GB console with Kinect bundle. Unfortunately, your pulse-quickened click will be met with the existing $399.99 price tag at checkout. So what's going on here? Are retailers gearing up for price drops on the 250GB Kinect bundle ahead of E3 or did Target's arts and charts department just make a mistake? E3 Expo kicks off June 7th, so it won't be long until we find out either way. Update: Target says the items was "mispriced" and has updated it with the $399.99 price tag. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Warhammer Online tweaking their weapon prices
The problem with testing things in any MMO is that so much is contingent upon who decides to log in to the test servers and how much they're willing to play. Ultimately, for all we hate untested dungeons or mechanics or whatever, the only real test for them is to have them go live. Warhammer Online hasn't had too many problems with their most recent patch, but the exact pricing of the newly-introduced RvR weapons has been a bit of a sticky widget. So they've done the most responsible thing possible: they've gone ahead and tweaked the pricing right away. Low-Renown weapons are the most affected by the price cut, but every weapon has been given a nice drop in cost to make the more accessible. The full announcement goes into some detail about the philosophy behind it, no doubt part of the effort at increased transparency from the development team. Best of all, there's no delay in the changes -- they've already gone live and can be enjoyed by all players. So if you feared the long march in Warhammer Online for a decent weapon from RvR and for RvR, you've had a lucky day indeed.
Age of Conan's incredible shrinking breasts
Age of Conan's developer, Funcom, recently went on an accidental mass breast reduction spree within the MMORPG. The company writes on its forum (registration required) that a slip in the code from an earlier patch caused the "morph values" for character models to become altered. Apparently, the only body part -- at least, the only part anyone's complaining about -- to become amended were player's breasts.The company posted that it is working to fix the error and informs players, "Your breasts should be back to normal soon." Thankfully, Age of Conan's mammary incident didn't have some reverse effect on men's pectorals.[Via Kotaku, 1UP]
Alcatel goes green, reduces packaging
It seems mobile operators and now their handset suppliers are starting to take the environment into consideration -- three by our reckoning, and in only a couple months -- by doing favors for ol' mother nature. Alcatel, working in conjunction with Carbon Footprint has tweaked the packaging of its new device line and made it three times smaller. This is of course environmentally pleasant from an energy consumed perspective, reduced shipping costs, and in shrinking the piles on the desks at Engadget Mobile. Packaging is useful for shipping, but if you're picking up your mobile at a corporate store, the handset, a CD, and whatever cables are required really is enough. Thank you Alcatel, from the very bottoms of our hearts -- now if only somebody would work on the impossible-to-open-without-a-saw shrink packaging.[Via textually.org]
Best Buy whips out mad dealz
Seriously. Best Buy is having a small-yet-appreciated discount on a few of the Wii launch titles. The following reductions should have already taken place: Red Steel - $29.99 (formerly $49.99) Super Swing Golf - $29.99 (formerly $49.99) Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz - $39.99 (formerly $49.99) Perhaps not the finest of titles, but the significant price-cuts to RS and SMB might convince gamers who were on the fence to take the financial plunge. Any of you guys out there going to finally pick one of these titles up? Can we come to your house and play with you (we work for cookies and the occasional mixed drink here)?[via GoNintendo]
Tretton: PS3 will be "difficult to cost reduce"
An interview with Sony Computer Entertainment America chief Jack Tretton in the latest issue of Game Informer revealed some troubling news for consumers waiting for a lower-priced PlayStation 3. When asked point blank whether price drops for the PS3 will be "as soon or as drastic as they were for the PlayStation 2," Tretton responded with a curt, "No."For reference, the PS2 was reduced from $299 to $199 in the United States on May 14, 2002, 565 days after the Oct. 20, 2000 release date. Using this data and Tretton's above answer, we can expect that the PS3 won't come down in price until at least June 4, 2008.The reason for the shallower pricing curve? According to Tretton, the increased investment in R & D and hardware makes the system "a lot more difficult to cost reduce" than the PS2. "There's a heck of a lot more under the hood and it costs us more money to make it," Tretton told Game Informer. Despite this, Tretton doesn't seem to think the system's price will hurt its position in the marketplace. "I think the consumers that get their hands on a PlayStation 3 clearly see the value and not only want to buy one for $599, in some instances they're willing to pay ridiculous prices to buy one on eBay," Tretton said. (Oh really?)Well, Joystiq readers are pretty big video game consumers, last time we checked. Do you think the PS3 can remain competitive at its current price until mid-2008? If you don't have the system yet, will you be willing to wait that long for a lower price? How much would you be willing to pay for Sony's power-packed system?
Xbox 360 price cut vs. cost reduction
The San Jose Mercury News has posted an interview with Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division (a title alone that speaks volumes about the structural problems at MS), that has some interesting tidbits in it. Most notable is when Bach says, "Right now we are thinking about how to cost reduce the Xbox 360. That seems to be the first order of business."It has been rumored for some time now that the Xbox 360 would see a price cut around the holidays, but now that Black Friday and the PlayStation 3 launch have come and gone, you can kiss that one goodbye. What Bach is talking about here is that Microsoft wants to drop the production cost of the 360, in an effort to make it profitable. There's a big difference between cost-reducing and price-cutting. When a manufacturer costs reduces, they're making it cheaper for them to produce something, usually by switching to different vendors or using cheaper materials. Microsoft promised that they would cost-reduce the Xbox 360 every year, which they've already done this year. The console was rumored to cost Microsoft between $525 and $715 for each unit produced, vs. the current production price of around $329, giving MS a chance to make a small profit on each premium system sold. As they find more cost-reduction options over the next year, that gap should widen. The only time we'll see a price drop on the console itself is either when the PS3 drops theirs, or when the Xbox 720 II Virtual Gameulator comes out. Of course, you can always take Micro Center's deal and get $100 off, your choice.Microsoft has repeatedly said that the Xbox division won't turn a profit until 2008, although Bach dances around that with statements like, "Xbox is on the trajectory we thought it would be on. We feel very good about that." There's a difference between a good feeling and black ink, though. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft not only plans to compete with Sony not only in numbers of consoles sold, but where the profits are coming from.If Microsoft really wants to make a profit, they might think about buying stock in companies that sell red pens if they keep releasing things like the Zune.
Aperture 1.1 released with improvements, price drop, $200 coupon for early adopters
When was the last time you heard of a .1 upgrade to an application putting $200 in your pocket? It looks like pushing the Aperture update back to April did some good after all: This morning, Apple released Aperture 1.1 with a host of upgrades and new features, the most notable being Universal Binary status, RAW image rendering speed boosts and new fine tuning controls, as well as a price reduction to $299 and - get this - a $200 coupon for Aperture 1.0 'early adopters,' redeemable at the online Apple Store (make your claim here).General performance has dramatically increased on both PPC and Intel-based Macs, with Apple's press release boasting that "common repetitive workflow tasks such as Lift and Stamp and searching are processed up to 4x faster on a MacBook Pro (2.16 GHz) than on a PowerBook(R) G4."The Aperture 1.1 upgrade is available for existing customers now through Software Update, and fresh $299 copies are also available now through the Apple Store.
