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QuakeCon 2014 first-round registration opens March 5
Bethesda announced that it will begin selling QuakeCon 2014 passes next week, revealing a number of premium packages for early-bird buyers looking to secure event access and bring-your-own-computer (BYOC) seating. On March 5, attendees can purchase a $175 QuakeCon 2014 bundle that includes reserved-access seating for all panels, events, and presentations, along with a bonus t-shirt, lanyard, and signed print. A $150 package that includes two t-shirts, a headset, and other goodies goes on sale March 19. Additional premium packages will be available for purchase on April 2 and April 16. All packages are limited in quantity but optional, as general admission is free. QuakeCon 2014 will take place at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas, between July 17 and July 20. [Image: Bethesda]
GDC 2014 opens registration
November's been a really quiet month, hasn't it? Just nothing going on at all ... no notable releases still coming this month, nope. It's a good thing everyone has so much free time though, because potential attendees can now register for Game Developers Conference 2014. This year's event will run March 17 - 21 at San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center. You'll pay $1,475 if you buy an All Access Pass before January 31, which is a decent discount from the on-site price of $2,100. If you're a student aged 18 or older, you may be eligible for the Friday-only, $75 Student Expo Pass. Passes for individual "tracks" of the event, such as the Audio Track or Business, Marketing & Management Track, are also available to be purchased separately. If you're on the fence, the chart on the registration page breaks down what each pass will grant access to. The GDC Summits will precede the main event, offering two days of lectures and panels focusing on specific parts of the gaming industry. Summits are dedicated to topics like localization or narration, but the press release notes that they all will teach through the "experiences and best practices of industry leaders."
Three-day passes to PAX East 2014 sell out in minutes
Three-day passes for PAX East 2014 went on sale yesterday, and if you haven't secured one yet, it's already too late. Less than an hour after registration opened for the upcoming Penny Arcade-sponsored event, the group's initial allocation of three-day passes sold out completely. The Penny Arcade Expo and its spinoff events have grown in popularity over the last several years, leading to near-instant registration sell-outs. Three-day passes for this year's PAX Prime also sold out less than an hour after becoming available in April. As of this writing, passes for PAX East's Friday and Sunday showings are still available for purchase. Hotel reservations are available here. PAX East will take place in Boston from April 11 through 13, 2014.
PAX East 2014 registration opens tomorrow
Hey, friends, what are you doing April 11, 2014 through April 13, 2014? If you're planning on attending PAX East 2014 in Boston during that time, you may want to get your mouse-clicking fingers ready for the event's registration, which is slated to open tomorrow. The official PAX East site says that hopeful attendees should check the site as soon as 12:00pm ET tomorrow to be there the exact moment registration opens up. Planning in advance is certainly more important for those looking to stay in Boston for the whole event; the official PAX Twitter account notes that the three-day passes sold out in one day last year.
Disney registers some Star Wars Attack Squadron domains
Disney's LucasFilm recently registered two dozen domains related to an as-yet-unannounced project called Star Wars Attack Squadron. Among the domains registered are StarWarsAttackSquadrons.com, AttackSquadrons.com and the ever-elusive StarWarsSquad.us. It's unknown if Star Wars Attack Squadron will wind up being a game, film or both, but Fusible points out that Electronic Arts also registered AttackSquadron.com and AttackSquadron.net domains recently. Unless EA is squatting on these domains and plans to sell them to Disney, it's hard to imagine it's not involved in the project, given that EA obtained an exclusive license to make Star Wars games in May.
Take-Two registers '2K Golf Links' domains
EA's Tiger Woods series may have some competition. It would appear Take-Two is preparing to tee off with a golf series of its own, Internet sleuth supererogatory discovered. A pair of Take-Two domain registrations for "Links2KGolf.com" and "2KGolfLinks.com" were recently made through a third-party company called Network Solutions. Now Take-Two could be making a brand-new series or the publisher may have acquired the rights to the Links series from Microsoft – supererogatory thinks it's the latter. We've followed up with Take-Two and Microsoft for clarification and will update this post accordingly.
Department of Commerce renews VeriSign control of .com registry, demands price freeze
In many ways, VeriSign has been one of the internet's true arbiters. It's ICANN's official registry operator for .com domains, which lets it determine how (and how much) we pay to get a particularly coveted address. As we're learning, the US Department of Commerce is only comfortable with that state of affairs to a certain point. It just approved a deal renewal that will let VeriSign watch over .com between December 1st this year and November 30th, 2018, but it's requiring that the company drop a previous right to hike registration prices as many as four times, at up to 7 percent, over the length of the term. The current $7.85 price will last unless VeriSign either faces exceptional circumstances or can prove that the market is healthy enough to lift the ceiling. We're sure the business isn't happy when the DOC move dictates how much money it can make, but compulsive domain hunters will enjoy the extra dollars in their pockets.
SOE Live tickets go on sale
It may no longer be Fan Faire in name, but SOE's annual fan festival still has the same spirit and focus. The newly branded SOE Live has opened up registrations for this fall's convention, and the studio is offering discounted prices if tickets are purchased now. SOE Live will take place from October 18th through the 21st at Bally's Casino in Las Vegas. The all-access pass for the event is $139, but if you register before August 1st, you can secure a discounted price of $119. Day passes will go for $39 if you're interested in just attending for a day, and evening passes, which allow access to just late-night activities, are $99 a pop. The studio welcomes families, as children ages 12 and below can get in for free. The festival has a full schedule, including dev panels, tournaments, giveaways, and parties. Players can shell out an additional $50 to have Sunday brunch with the devs or $40 for a laser tag event.
ICANN shows the full generic TLD application list, Google's bidding splurge
ICANN told us that June 13th was the golden day that we'd get to see all of the initial applications for generic top-level domains (gTLDs), and the full list has surfaced on cue. The early roster shows a lot of competition for certain domains -- we're seeing a baker's dozen in companies trying for .app alone. Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and other companies are understandably trying to protect their brand names, but we're just now seeing the full extent of Google's gTLD madness: we're counting 101 instances in which the search firm has tentatively pulled the $185,000 trigger. ICANN still has to settle on which bidders get the domains they want, though, and there's no certainty that Google will fulfill its dreams. When even the cherished .lol domain has a challenger, you know the competition is getting fierce.
Google springs for .lol, .youtube domains, we wonder if it's going TLD .crazy
Google just can't wait until ICANN reveals custom domain name bids in mid-June to say what it's trying to buy -- and it's clear that Mountain View went on a shopping spree. Some of the top-level domains in the land grab are ones you'd expect safeguarding Google's prized possessions, such as .google, .youtube and .docs. Others make us fear for the future of Internet memes. Google claims that it's bidding for TLDs such as .lol to explore their "interesting and creative potential,' but we have a hunch it's just taking the addition of LOL to the dictionary a little too seriously. The company does assuage our fears with a promise to prevent TLD abuse. If we ever see omgwtf.lol become a reality, though, we'll know Google has gone off the .deepend.
ICANN stops taking custom domain names at 7PM ET, details the TLD explosion June 13th
ICANN anticipated that we'd see the first fruits of its open season on top-level domains (TLDs) roughly a year after the hunt began; sure enough, it's winding down applications tonight. If you have the $185,000 plus $25,000 per year to make a domain your own, you've got until midnight GMT (7PM ET) to get that custom spin on the web. Don't think that you'll get the rubber stamp right away, though. ICANN plans to detail the requests on June 13th and consider any objections over similarity or multiple bids for the same name. If all goes smoothly, the first generic TLDs will be active within nine months, while those who face a fight could be waiting roughly one to two years. We're just hoping someone had the courtesy to pick up .gadget for us -- not that ICANN's worried about a gap in registrations after taking $352 million in fees and over 2,000 applications so far.
PAX Prime registration site officially open, registration opens next week [updated]
It's been almost a month since you attended PAX East, so you're probably ready to start preparing for this August's PAX Prime out in Seattle, no? The folks over at the official PAX website are hoping so, as the registration site officially opened today. What's that, you already had it bookmarked? Well look at you!Anyway, registration itself hasn't opened just yet, but the site promises it's on the way "soon." By last year at this time, said registrations had already opened, so we expect "soon" to really be "any day now." We've reached out to Penny Arcade for more specific info.Update: Penny Arcade's Robert Khoo says that registration "should reopen next week" after some technical hiccups earlier today.
Iran swapping internet for intranet in August (update)
There's dealing with internet comments, and then there's this. According to a statement from Reza Taghipour, the Iranian minister for Information and Communications Technology, Iran will be shutting off access to the world wide in around five months, as it flips the switch on a nationwide "intranet" that'll act like one of the more strict corporate firewalls you may have come in contact with. The reason? It's looking to provide its citizens access to "a clean internet," which is loosely translated into "an internet sans freedom." Instead of providing access to Google, Gmail and Hotmail, users will have to register for an Iran Mail ID -- which "mandates authentic information pertaining to a person's identity, including national ID, address and full name." Evidently, it's all to prevent access to the internet that exists today -- one that "promotes crime, disunity, unhealthy moral content, and atheism" in Taghipour's mind. Crazily enough, he's right about all of that, but it's a small price to pay for access to things like this, no?Update: Turns out, the original report here was a bit -- shall we say -- sensationalized. According to a breaking update from AFP, Iran has "denied online reports that it plans to cut access to the internet in August and replace it with a national intranet." In truth, Iran does have a plan to implement a "national information network," which is being billed as a "totally closed system that would function like a sort of intranet for the Islamic republic." To date, there's no clarity on whether the aforesaid network will exist alongside the internet or in place of it.
'Halo Infinity' domains registered by Microsoft brand manager
It appears Microsoft has registered a handful of domains containing the phrase "Halo Infinity" and "Halo Infinity Multiplayer," leading us to believe that Microsoft is planning to reveal a new line of anti-aging skin-care products in the near future.The names are registered through domain manager MarkMonitor, who handles a few of Microsoft's other franchises, including Microsoft.com, Fusible reports. MarkMonitor grabbed most "dot" iterations of "Halo Infinity Multiplayer," including .net and .org, but Haloinfinity.com is already in use as a Japanese site to help people cope with baldness, Google Translate reveals. MarkMonitor also registered spartanops.org and morethanjustamap.com this week, Fusible finds."Infinity" is a map exclusive to the PC version of Halo: Combat Evolved. So far Microsoft hasn't made any announcements about the potential map or its SPF 72 moisturizing cream.
China wants microbloggers to register with the government, hand over real identity
Thought that Facebook's and Google+'s requirements that you use your real name were draconian? Just be thankful you're not a weibo addict in China. The government is planning to expand a program that demands users register their real names and disclose their identity. Wang Chen, China's top internet regulation official, said the eventual goal would be to get all 250 million microbloggers registered, starting first with any new users signing up. The obvious privacy and free speech issues that could arise from such a move shouldn't need to be explained -- especially considering the country's track record of censorship and politically motivated arrests. Sadly, unlike SOPA, putting an end to this troubling law isn't as simple as putting up a black banner or emailing your congressman.
Perfect World announces successful War of the Immortals closed beta launch
Perfect World? More like OMG-How-Can-They-Release-A-New-MMO-Every-Month World, amirite? Regardless, Perfect World Entertainment has announced that its action MMO War of the Immortals has successfully entered closed beta status, and the team wants you to play. I imagine PWE wants you to play all of its games -- like Rusty Hearts, Battle of the Immortals, Jade Dynasty, Forsaken World... oh! And then it bought Cryptic, so there's Star Trek Online and Champions Online -- but right now we're focusing on War of the Immortals. Yes. So if you want to jump in and try the game yourself, head on over to the registration page to sign up. Everyone who logs in to the game from now until November 13 at 11:59 p.m. PST will be entered into a drawing for their chance to win a prize pack consisting of Logitech gaming gear and a limited edition War of the Immortals mousepad valued at $210. Also, be sure to head past the cut below for PWE's CBT launch trailer.
Dota 2 beta registration now open
Valve has posted information about "The International" Dota 2 tournament going on at Gamescom this week, but a bunch of news about lucky Gamescom attendees playing the game isn't nearly as exciting as, you know, playing the game yourself. Along with the tourney schedule, Valve has opened up beta registration to the public for Dota 2. To sign up, all you need to do is head over to the Dota 2 page, sign into Steam and then click "Get on the List" to join. Unfortunately, there's no information about just when the beta will be happening or even how players will be chosen to participate, but since there will likely be a lot of people watching the livestream from Gamescom this week, Valve is likely just grabbing names and Steam accounts of interested parties while it can. Here's hoping you get in and play – but not before we do.
Registration opens for PAX Prime
PAX East 2011 was more than a month ago, more than enough time for the event to have faded into memory even if you were lucky enough to attend. But that's only one part of the PAX conventions, with PAX Prime on deck for August 26th through the 28th. Registration for the Seattle convention has just opened to everyone, allowing gamers of all ages a chance to gather for news and events in the northwest. As per previous events, attendees can register for all three days at a discount rate or for an individual day pass. (Also per previous events, Saturday is likely to be the most active day of the weekend.) It's worth noting that PAX Prime is a very popular convention, so if you're planning on making the trek, registering sooner rather than later is probably a good idea. And going is probably a good idea, if you're able, as the convention traditionally holds a number of demos, events, announcements, and of course, free-range Massively staffers.
APB Reloaded beta gets over 100K registrations
GamersFirst says that more than 100,000 people have registered to play in the APB Reloaded beta, the reboot of the ill-fated Realtime Worlds MMO crime shooter from last year. That's not bad at all -- at its height, APB was hosting 130,000 registered users, and that was after its release and the press that came along with it. Of course, those 130K weren't able to keep the game or the studio afloat, but with nearly as many players eager for the beta as played the original game, it looks like there's some solid interest in the title returning. Of course, GamersFirst's version of the game will be free-to-play, and those games tend to out-populate their paid competition by leaps and bounds. Reloaded Productions, which is running the game for GamersFirst, says the beta registrations "far exceed the number of people [we] actually expected or even needed for the first Closed Beta," but says that only about half of the registrations will actually get into the beta, which will start at the end of this month.
Registration opens for Global Agenda's anniversary tournament
Are you a bad enough dude to take on all comers in a Global Agenda tournament? Do you want to have a totally sweet Tyrannosaurus on your head? The two are entirely linked -- the registration for the game's anniversary 4v4 tournament has just begun, and the prize for the winning team will be a new piece of flair in the style of the aforementioned dinosaur head. It's going to be a rough road to the top, but there's incentive to take part in the tourney even if you don't think you'll quite rock the top spot. Every team member who participates through the Group stage of the tournament will receive a Trike flair, and the top four teams in the event will all receive three Cyber Punk dyes as a consolation prize. Obviously you'll need a team of four people to take part, so now's the perfect time to round up three of your Global Agenda buddies and go for the gold. Or for the hat shaped like a multi-ton killing machine with possible tendencies toward scavenging, which is a bit more exciting than a gold medal anyway.