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Games for Windows Marketplace gets competitive, relaunching Nov. 15
In November, Microsoft will reboot its Games for Windows Marketplace. In doing so, the company aims to beef up its online portal with more games -- and not just those few that align themselves with the Games for Windows Live branding -- and provide a more competitive and comprehensive retail experience. Peter Orullian, who helped develop digital distribution strategies for Xbox Live, has been tapped to effectively manage the relaunch. %Gallery-105596%
One Shots: What's old is new again
The day has come! Lord of the Rings Online is relaunching as a free-to-play title here in the States, and legions of new adventurers are setting off to follow in the footsteps of the Fellowship. For those new to the lands of Turbine's take on Middle-earth, we wish you many exciting adventurers and frothy mugs of ale at the end of the day. We can't wait to see your One Shots as you get a chance to travel through this picturesque world. One such example is today's screenshot, which was sent in to us by Bronson. He writes in to explain this image from Lord of the Rings Online: "My rune-keeper was leaving Duillond and crossing the bridge to The Shire, and I thought the scenery was pretty darn... well pretty." Are you one of the myriad players who are headed into Middle-earth? Why not snap a screenshot of your adventures for us! We love to see what everyone's up to. All you have to do to take part is to email us here at oneshots@massively.com with your image, your name, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit. Easy! %Gallery-85937%
Alganon re-release: worth all the hype?
For starters, there are two things that I will not cover in this look at the Alganon re-launch: Derek Smart: I am still not that familiar with the man. I am familiar with his games, and familiar with the snarky jokes made at his expense, but I do not feel it has any bearing on how much or how little I enjoy a product that he is involved in. His religious beliefs probably affect his life and thus his work more than most things, yet I do not care to read about them either. To put it as he does in his forum signature: "Game developers are just human beings who happen to make games for a living. If you want to hold us up to higher standards of conduct, then go ahead...but don't be surprised if we don't uphold them." "WoW clones:": If we spend any amount of time comparing user interfaces, monster types and general looks, we will be here all day. I am a fan of 30's crime novels, a genre that definitely "borrows" stylistically from itself, but I do not dismiss the use of subtle details that separate different authors from one another simply because they sometimes feel the same or are set in the same universe. Let's not compare vehicles for the content, let's discuss the actual content.
PSP Go 'relaunch' in the works?
There's not much to go on here, but according to alleged sources of Gamervision, Sony's planning a relaunch of sorts for the PSP Go. The oft-maligned portable hasn't exactly taken the world by storm -- and with its lack of an UMD drive, despite the company's continued support of the format, that arguably wasn't the point of its existence, anyway. An apparent marketing blitz is in the cards (unsurprising), and additionally there's speculation that a price drop might be coming, too. That seems a bit early given it only launched back in October, but if the company's really wanting to get aggressive and pushing units of its admittedly pretty hardware, that's a pretty good way to do so. Then again, its hands might be full adding some vigor to its other gaming machine.
Rumor: PSP Go relaunch in the works
We weren't absolutely smitten with the PSP Go when it launched last October, but according to Gamervision, Sony may be hoping for a second chance at a first impression. Citing unnamed sources, Gamervision suggests that a relaunch of the handheld is "imminent" and speculates that it will include a price drop. A price drop is definitely the place to start over (if the rumor is accurate), and some Kevin Butler spots would certainly help too. As for a new campaign slogan? We say stick with what's worked for the PS3: "It Only Does Everything*." *Y'know, the PSP-3000.
Sonic Spinball coaster coming to UK theme park
Sonic fans have to be the most hardcore fan base out there right now. Who else would have been able to survive all of the disappointments over the last decade? But don't worry -- Sega is rewarding your everlasting fandom with ... a rollercoaster ride. Rumor has it that the UK's Alton Towers is rebranding its Spinball Whizzer ride as "Sonic Spinball," and a rep from the park says that the retheme will "coincide with the relaunch of Sonic" in 2010. A 2010 relaunch of Sonic, you say? Color us interested. The teal structure of the ride is apparently being repainted a nice Sonic blue, and this isn't the first time the hedgehog has appeared in the park, either. Here's an old appearance in the park's "Toyland Tours" ride. The coaster is scheduled to be ready for running again in February, so if you happen to be in the UK, you can queue your way up for it then. [Thanks Michael!]
Face of Mankind opens the gates for open beta
If you've been on the fence about trying out Face of Mankind in its earlier iterations, now might be the perfect time to jump in and try the game out. The roleplay heavy MMOFPS is back in action as it launches into open beta and calls for new recruits to join the ranks of the game's eight factions. The game has undergone significant changes to its in-game systems since the initial release of the game back in 2006 and the subsequent closure of the game in 2007. Faction systems, penalty systems, territory control, and many more aspects of the game have been tweaked to ensure proper function and fun for the players involved. However, even with all of these changes, the publisher of the game, Duplex Systems, has stated that things are not as balanced as they wish it to be but they wish to iron out more problems with the help of players in open beta. If you're interested in the single, persistent universe game, jump on over to the website, sign up for an account, and grab yourself the client. Update: Nexeon Technologies has clarified that the game is no longer carrying the "Rebirth" subtitle, and is simply called Face of Mankind once again.
World of Warcraft allowed a "partial relaunch" in China
While World of Warcraft China remains in turmoil, the government has loosened their grip on the game slightly, allowing former account holders to jump back into Azeroth once more.The Chinese government has given NetEase, the new operator of World of Warcraft, the ok to re-open the servers on July 30th. This relaunch is being labeled as a "testing phase," however, as no new accounts will be allowed until the government completes their review of the game. NetEase is also barred from changing the cost of the subscriptions during this phase to ensure a smooth transition from the former operator, The9.
Systemax relaunches Circuit City's website, this time with feeling
After shelling out some $6.5 million, you had to know that Systemax planned on doing something with Circuit City's trademarks and internet domain names. As of today, CircuitCity.com is back and better than ever, carrying on the legacy of a name that became synonymous with overpriced consumer electronics for nearly six decades. Of course, this doesn't mean that any Circuit City retail stores will be re-opening, but at least the brand is living on in the world wide web. The wonders of the internet: I Can Has Cheezburger?, Twitter and the continuation of an icon that would otherwise be six feet underground.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
GameTap relaunch delayed, new games put on hold
PC gamers awaiting the multitude of changes coming to GameTap have been asked to wait a little longer. The official GameTap blog has announced that the relaunch, set to happen this week, has been put on hold because the "internal migration" is taking longer than expected. No new relaunch date has been set.Not only will gamers have to wait for the relaunch but for new games as well. Scheduled releases for this week have been shelved due to the relaunch delay, including the latest episode of American McGee's Grimm. However, the sandbox action game Just Cause will be available for free-to-play access for an additional week -- it was originally scheduled to be removed from the downsized list on March 26.[Via BigDownload]
Ryzom devs describe plans, promise free play through October
Ryzom (or the game formerly known as The Saga of Ryzom), came back to life a little over a month ago. Rumors of its death had apparently been greatly exaggerated. Now the development team has published a document detailing its plans for the immediate future.The first item on the agenda is "to get profitable." Good plan! Money will surely be helpful. The second item: "To get all our new Developer Teams up to date with the Ryzom code," a task that is apparently quite difficult because there are millions of lines of code to get used to. Finally, the team is putting together a development schedule for adding new missions, content, and features to the game.Our first impressions of the re-launched game were positive. It's a bit laid-back compared to other titles. We're glad to see that some clear goals are being set for the game's future, but of course until the dev team manages "to get profitable," that future will remain uncertain. If you want to give it a try, though, the devs say it will remain free at least through the end of October.
The rebirth of Ryzom
After the recent onslaught of bad news coming from the MMO industry, with layoffs, cutbacks and closures, it's uplifting to finally hear some good news on the return of an MMO. Nevrax's Ryzom has pulled itself up through the ashes and announced its return to the MMO playing field. For the past few weeks, they've re-launched the website and re-opened the servers to all former Ryzom subscribers with completely free VIP access. Now they've decided to open this VIP access to anyone who had an active account, including free trials. However, Ryzom is still closed to new accounts at this time, but they plan to reopen the account activation pages shortly.If you're not familiar with Ryzom and its history, now is a great time to do some research before the new account activation begins. Keep your eyes glued to Massively for all the latest information on when new accounts are allowed and the game is completely re-opened.
The reasons why you need to play Myst Online: Uru Live
Shorah, readers! Kehnehn rahm b'yihm shehm!Myst Online: Uru Live seems to be one game that not only continually gets the proverbial shaft, but also knows how to come back from the dead better than the Scourge of the Eastern Plaguelands. Ubisoft canned it, Cyan Worlds brought it back via a shard system in "Until Uru", GameTap brought it back officially, GameTap canned it after one season, and now Cyan Worlds is once again attempting to put life back into their only online Myst game thanks to the extremely active and vocal community.Mike Fahey over at Kotaku might think Uru should die already, but this blogger is currently squealing in glee in his computer chair. In an attempt to pass the glee on to you, loyal readers of Massively.com, I've compiled not only what Myst Online: Uru Live is all about, but why you should turn your attention to this massive online adventure game.
Official website teases the return of Ryzom
The Saga of Ryzom met an untimely end in February. Its players were scattered around the MMO universe -- a diaspora of Ryzomites without a country to call home. History has shown us that not all MMO deaths are final, though, and Ryzom might be coming back.The official website relaunched with the message "Ryzom will be back soon!" hastily typed in three languages (English, German, and French) over a screenshot from the game. Researching the site's domain reveals that the last known owner was Nevrax -- the original creator of Ryzom. Thing is, Nevrax no longer exists. It's likely that the whois data hasn't been updated yet.A couple months ago, we reported that an organization called Spiderweb International Unlimited had placed a bit for the Ryzom property, and that fans of the game were trying to raise enough money to outbid them so the source code could be released to the public. We haven't seen any news since then, so we're not sure what ended up happening, but we'll let you know as soon as new info comes up.[Via WarCry]
N-Gage platform nearing relaunch; pre-release available on Nokia N81
They've certainly been taking their time with it, but Nokia is finally just about ready to re-launch the N-Gage gaming platform for mobile phones... kinda. This week, a pre-release version of the service will become available to owners of the Nokia N81 phone, along with at least one game title available for download.The revamped N-Gage service offers a consistent platform for mobile gaming, with features like profiles, friends lists, achievements, play history, and others seemingly "appropriated" from Microsoft's Xbox Live service.Nokia has not been more specific as to when the pre-release service will launch for the N81. The full service is also expected to start sometime this month, but Nokia has also not been more specific with this time-frame either.
N-Gage relaunch pushed back to December
Those of you clamoring for the glorious return of Nokia's N-Gage brand (both of you) will have to wait a little longer to enjoy the unified-cell-phone-gaming-platform goodness. Originally planned for a September launch, Nokia later announced a worldwide November launch for the platform, and now a Reuters story reveals the launch has been pushed back to December. "Software testing is taking a bit more time than what we had expected," Nokia spokesperson Kari Tuutti told the news agency. "We are talking about a couple of weeks."While the N-Gage name has become a bit of a joke in gaming circles, the new focus on standardized games that can play on a variety of handsets has some potential. Here's hoping Nokia manages to make us care about cell phone gaming again for the first time when this thing finally sees the light of day.
Napster relaunches, shifts focus from hardware to web
According to news out today, Napster is attempting a fevered slide back into the game with a relaunch of its music-download service, featuring a heavier emphasis on web-based streaming capabilities. The new "4.0" platform the company is touting boasts improved compatibility, as playlists and content and be accessed from any computer, without the use of additional software -- though if you want to get that music onto a player, you're still stuck with Napster's proprietary application and list of compatible players. In addition to the accessibility revamp, the company says it has further plans to embrace DRM-free music in 2008, which makes sense, as the portal's music has heretofore been unplayable on Apple's products -- which have the largest market share. Can that rascally cat pick up the pieces? Only time will tell.[Thanks, Jon]
Quickly relaunch an app with Quicksilver
That's it, Quicksilver is officially The Handiest Utility Ever. This great tip from Lifehacker explains how you can use Quicksilver to quickly relaunch an application that has - *ahem*- unexpectedly frozen. Simply call up Quicksilver, find the target application, tab over to the action pane, type "relaunch," hit return and blammo! The errant app gets a kick in the seat. Thanks, Quicksilver!
Relaunch 1.1
You have a ton of applications open, and Software Update starts bouncing in the Dock. You need to restart your Mac, but you're right in the middle of something! Wouldn't it be great if there was a small utility that would automatically take a snapshot of all your running applications and launch them when you log in?Relaunch is just such an app. It lives in the menubar and quietly keeps track of what applications you have open. When your Mac reboots (for whatever reason) you can have Relaunch all the apps you had open and you can keep on truckin'. You can also initiate a relaunch without rebooting, in case you have a set of apps that you always launch together.Relaunch costs $5, and there is a demo available.
Microsoft to launch Xbox 360 Core in Japan [update 1]
Having already launched the Xbox 360 twice in Japan, it would seem that Microsoft's efforts to woo gamers in the East are due to take a turn for the desperate and slightly non-sensical. Reuters Canada reports that the Redmond giant plans to release a "simpler version" of the console on November 2nd, one stripped of a hard drive and equipped with a lower price (a drop of 10,000 yen, or $86). Savvy gamers will immediately recognize this as the Xbox 360 Core system and promptly recoil in horror. We can only imagine the marketing meeting that spawned this strategy:"Sir, I don't know if you've heard, but we aren't doing too well in Japan.""Japan?""It's a country. It's where Mario, the Italian plumber comes from.""Of course. Why aren't we selling millions over there?""My analysis of the situation reveals one of two reasons, sir. Number one. We haven't been giving the Japanese gamers the genres or the popular franchises they want. We have no Final Fantasy, no Dragon Quest and no Metal Gear Solid.""........."".............""Bwahahahaha!""Hahaha!""But seriously, I figure it's just because they hate freedom so much.""Well then, we should stick to our guns and give them freedom. Lots of it. Let's send them choice and our cheaper Xbox 360.""But sir, that didn't even sell well in the countries that do like the Xbox 360. The normal version did much better. Oh, I see.""That's right. The good Xbox 360 sells well here and the crappy one sells poorly. The good Xbox 360 sells badly in Japan, so therefore ...""The crappy one should be a huge hit! Amazing!"Cracking the Japanese market isn't an amazing or an impossible feat, but assaulting it with the squeaky toy hammer that is a $255 (29,800 yen), feature deprived console is unlikely to be terribly effective. Consider that since its original launch in Japan, the Xbox 360 has sold 158,654 units -- about as much as the DS Lite sells in a week.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.][Update: IGN notes that the system includes Ninety Nine Nights and Project Gotham Racing 3. Does that make up for the 16,275 yen (roughly $130) value of a seperate hard drive and headset? Thanks, A Master Ninja.]
