Scion
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Your eco-friendly LED lights are drawing an awful lot more moths
Blue-light emitting LED bulbs have taken off with consumers because they have few downsides -- they're bright, use far less energy and last much longer than other types. In fact, the inventors just won a Nobel Prize, proving their huge benefit to consumers and society. But it now appears there's a teeny issue: flying insects. Scientists in New Zealand tested blue-light LEDs (which look white due to a phosphor coating) against regular yellow-hued sodium-vapor streetlights. The result? The LEDs attracted nearly 50 percent more insects, regardless of the brand and type used. While that could be a pain for your next porch party, there's a more serious downside. The researchers said that when used on city street lamps, the bulbs could interfere with the food chain and even draw invasive species like gypsy moths. [Image credit: swburdine/Flickr]
Path of Exile 1.0, Steam, and sweet, sweet revenge
If you're in need of a healthy dose of monster-bashing, clicky goodness, nothing is better for you than the soon-to-be-Steamed Path of Exile. I'll let that sink in. Yes, I did. Grinding Gear Games is finally taking the game out of open beta on October 23 and simultaneously releasing on the Steam network. Version 1.0 of the free-to-play action RPG will include several new improvements such as a new prestige class (awesome: wields ethereal weapons like boomerangs!), three new areas filled with sub-zones, and new PvP modes. The release also marks the conclusion of the third act in which we face off against Dominus himself. Well, himself and legions of dead, demon-y things. And, that's just the beginning.
Sony partners with Scion, makes MotorStorm RC free for PS Vita
Getting set up with Sony's latest handheld can be an incredible drain on the wallet, what with the cost of pricey, proprietary memory cards and actual games to play. Consider this then the company's way of tossing early adopters a bone, because for a limited time US-based Vita owners can download MotorStorm RC gratis on the PlayStation Store starting today. Don't send those imaginary thank you cards to the electronics giant just yet; this special promo comes courtesy of a partnership with Scion (Toyota's Gen Y offshoot) and, as such, is pre-loaded with an exclusive, playable version of its subcompact iQ. Yes, you're being pandered to, but who cares? It's free, it's fun and it'll give your thumbs and Nathan Drake a mini-break.
MotorStorm RC free for a limited time on Vita in the US (thanks Toyota!)
Everyone's favorite Toyota spinoff car line, the Scion, is hooking you up. Actually, Scion's hooking all of us North Americans up (for a limited time, at least) with free copies of MotorStorm RC on the PlayStation Vita. And while the game is also launching on the PlayStation 3 this week for the not-so-free price of $9.99, the Vita version unlocks the PS3 version (also for free). That's your reward for dropping upwards of $250 on a Vita, we suppose.As if the free game offer weren't enough, your favorite Toyota spinoff car line is also getting a North America-exclusive car (the Scion iQ). It may not be the fastest car, but it's totally free. So, uh, there's that!
Toyota Scion iQ EV plugs-in for official 2012 launch
The Scion iQ, Toyota's tiny EV car that could, got an official 2012 launch yesterday at the automaker's annual dealer meeting in Vegas. The quiet, though far from specific launch announcement frees this 65 mile-per-charge roadster from its pre-production limbo. Shown off last March at the Geneva Motor Show, the Scion iQ had been put on indefinite hold while factory production in the carmaker's disaster-stricken homeland ramped back up to speed. With all signs now set to go, the only red-light still lingering is the micro-subcompact's undisclosed MSRP. Considering the recent bankruptcy of Norwegian Think's EV offering, we're glad to see Toyota looking out for its little guy.
Apple asks Toyota to remove jailbreak store advertising
Well, that was quick. No sooner than word got out about Toyota's advertising on the unofficial ModMyi jailbreak store for iOS, Apple has reportedly stepped in and asked Toyota to back down. Apparently the advertising company responsible for the theme and buy called up to remove it and said that Apple had contacted Toyota directly, resulting in Toyota deciding against the promotion to "maintain their good relationship with Apple." Kyle Matthews, the founder of ModMyi, notes that the deal has been in progress for a while and actually went up about a month ago, so it appears that only now, as the deal has gotten some press, did Apple show any concern about it. This adds an interesting wrinkle to the already strange relationship between Apple and its unofficial software stores. Apple has generally been forgiving of most jailbreakers, though in the past, it has come up with some harsher rhetoric. It appears, though this may come as no surprise, that money is the issue. As soon as a larger corporation like Toyota becomes ready to support jailbreakers, that's when Apple starts throwing its weight around. It's hard to think anyone else as big as Toyota will touch an ad buy like this now -- there's always a chance that another company will go for the sale in spite of Apple's concerns, but the jailbreak audience doesn't seem big enough to really attract another significant client. We'll have to see what happens -- Apple may have killed this trend just as quickly as it started. [via MacStories]
Toyota puts up theme, ads on ModMyi jailbreak repository
This is kind of a weird story, but definitely an interesting one. Word is going around that Toyota, of all brands, might be advertising on the ModMyi repository. Supposedly there's an official Scion interface theme on sale in the jailbreak store, and there are ads for the car manufacturer running throughout. That's fascinating -- traditionally, the jailbreak scene has been extremely independent, sitting as it does in a relatively gray legal area, but Toyota is a serious client to have when it comes to advertising. In fact, it's exactly the kind of client that Apple would like for its iAd program, which has been suffering a bit lately. Of course, it's probably way cheaper to put up some ads on ModMyi and even create a free theme than it would be to buy into iAds, but that's still ad revenue on an Apple device that the company isn't getting, so we can't see why it would be happy about that one. If this is a trend that continues to grow, it could have a serious effect on jailbreak or unofficial app marketplaces. Note that the original reporting on this story said that it was the Cydia store that was getting the sponsorship, which Cydia founder Jay Freeman pointed out was incorrect.
Toyota to show off iQ EV prototype, put it into production next year
Toyota has been showing off an electric vehicle concept based on its iQ ultra-compact for a couple of years now, but it looks like it's finally worked up enough confidence to actually put it into production. The first step down that road will occur at the Geneva Motor Show next month, where Toyota will show off a "near-production" prototype of its iQ EV (not necessarily the actual name), which is apparently much like its FT-EV concept, but with an improved lithium-ion battery pack that promises a range of 105 kilometers (or 65 miles) on a single charge. Assuming all goes as planned, the car will then be put into production following some additional testing later this year, and Toyota will reportedly begin leasing it to consumers at some point in 2012 -- Europe seems to be first in line for the car, but it will apparently be headed to North America as well.
Win a new car playing Atlantica Online
NDOORS Interactive has issued a press release announcing the launch of a "Mega-Event" for Atlantica Online, offering a variety of prizes, not the least of which is a car -- the Scion tC 2010. Apart from being a Mega-Event, the contest also has a specific name: "Unlock Your Way to Atlantica". Players get a key for each hour spent in-game, and the keys are then used at this webpage to unlock in-game items and chances to be in the raffle for real-world prizes. These include:• 1 – Grand Prize: 2010 Scion tC sports coupe• 5 – Alienware 750i*• 5 – BFG Tech GeForce GTX 295• 5 – Playstation 3 80GB• 5 – XBOX 360 Pro• 5 – Acer H233H bmid 23" LCD Monitor• 5 – Nintendo DSi SystemsReading the fine print reveals a few other caveats to winning any of these. Players must be at least level 20 in order to win the out-of-game prizes, and level 50 to win the car. Turning in a key will also provide a 200% experience boost, which should help those trying to hit the minimum level requirements for their swag. Once 2,000,000 keys have been entered the contest will be over and someone will drive away in a Scion (contestants from overseas will have to accept cash instead. It looks like the other prizes are still fair game for international players).
Scion car prototypes to be drivable in There
Toyota-owned car manufacturer Scion has enjoyed a fruitful partnership with virtual world There. The company operates a virtual nightclub shaped like existing Scion car models. According to virtual worlds blog Worlds in Motion, the company has now decided it likes this kind of marketing so much that it is introducing three concept cars -- the Hako Coupe, the FUSE, and t2b -- into the game as drivable player vehicles. There has always placed a fair amount of emphasis on vehicles, so this seems to fit.At GDC earlier this year, we performed in-depth analysis of Scion's There campaign (and hosted some images depicting its plans) and came to the conclusion that it was pretty novel. At the time, we reported that There users had spent a total of 1,915 hours in Club Scion. Since then, that number has risen to 3,000. Whatever your feelings on in-game advertising are, it seems be working in this case.
The Social Gaming Summit: Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds
Friday the 13th: An inauspicious day for the superstitious crowd, but a great day for attendees of the Social Gaming Summit, held in San Francisco. The day saw a schedule full of great panels, populated by some of the industry's finest movers and shakers, among them representatives from Gaia Online, Nexon, Three Rings, and Gamasutra, among others too numerous to list here.A particular highlight of the conference for this blogger was the panel entitled "Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds", which provided a lively discussion on what it means to create a virtual social space, how to monetize free-to-play content, and what exactly is a casual MMO? Trying to divide attention between listening raptly and taking notes is difficult; here is the result, along with the panelists, after the jump.
Interactive windows dare you to catch a Scion tC RS 4.0
Oh sure, we've most certainly seen window-based advertising used to lure the untrained eye to any manner of wares, but Scion's latest iteration certainly takes interactive promoting to new heights. In order to market its limited edition tC Release Series 4.0, it partnered up with InWindow to cover a series of street-side windows with bubbles which reacted to movements made by captivated individuals walking by. Granted, the installation isn't nearly as addictive as say, trying to wrangle up every single Pokémon, but it definitely managed to hold the attention of a few geeked-out civilians. Check it out for yourself, the video's right after the jump.[Via Digg, thanks Andres]
GDC08: Building brands in virtual worlds
We've seen a lot of interesting things at the Worlds in Motion Summit which took place at GDC earlier this week, we found this post-mortum of Scion's virtual campaign in There.com fascinating. While we tune out commercials and skim over print advertisements as much as anyone, but well thought-out interactive advertisements in virtual worlds still feel novel and interesting. (Well, okay, some of them aren't.) So what made Scion's campaign stand out? Read on for an analysis.%Gallery-16584%
eBay alert: Wii-style Scion xB
We watched Comedy Central for, like, a whole weekend to try to win a Wii back in November, but to no avail. We weren't specifically trying to win this car, which was the actual grand prize, but we would have happily taken it.... and put it on eBay, which is what the actual winner of the Thanxgiveaway Wiikend has done. Now, we love the Wii, and we love to let everyone around us know it, but having a car with the logo of a popular electronic device painted on the side in giant letters is like extending an invitation to any rogue or highwayman to come on in and help themselves to our Devo CD's. At least, that was the reasoning we came up with when we were daydreaming about how awesome it would be to win that contest. We might have felt different if we had been presented with our own Wiimobile. Want to (kind of) know what it feels like to win a major award? Bidding is up to $14,100![Via Game|Life]
Toyota selling new Scions for $1 in Second Life
Toyota held simultaneous launches of two new Scion models today. One at the Chicago Auto Show, the other in Second Life. Both the redesigned Scion xB and brand-new xD are being offered for 300 Linden dollars ($1 USD) for use in the virtual world; a nominal fee toward becoming one of Toyota's virtual "trendsetter" promoters. The cars are being sold at kiosks in Toyota's 'Scion City' district of Second Life, where the automaker hopes to also sell unused real estate to young entrepreneurs. The idea is to grow Scion City into a bustling promotional "cultural" mecca.Last year, Toyota invaded Whyville, a virtual playground for tweens. Scions were peddled to under-agers, with the hope of infecting their lustful minds with the brand name; the payoff coming when the young'ns came of age. Toyota sold about 173,000 Scions in 2006 and is expected to challenge General Motors as the top global automobile seller this year.[Thanks, Matt]
PAX Omegathon prize revealed: A NEW CAR!
The Omegathon has proven to be one of the biggest events at Penny Arcade Expos past. Last year's event saw twenty contenders (dubbed Omeganuats) compete in six stages of gaming combat culminating in a final showdown of ... Combat. The prize: An enormous NES collection (this one, actually)! This year they've decided to up the ante by giving away (cue The Price is Right theme) ... A NEW CAR!And not just any old jalopy, but "a brand new 2006 Scion xB in Black Sand Pearl, featuring a game geek's dream package of a flipdown 15" widescreen monitor, Xbox 360 Premium System, 6-speaker sound system with CD/MP3 player, custom taillights and wheels with low-profile tires." Yeah, they had us at flipdown Xbox 360 also.The PA boys have also revealed this year's randomly culled Omeganauts on their site (damn, didn't make it) and unveiled the first five scheduled games: Dice Land (which opened the first two Omegathons as well) Geometry Wars (oh, hell yes) Quake II (they've had Quake and Doom) Guitar Hero (they've had DDR and Karaoke Revolution) Mario Kart DS (Mario Kart: Double Dash is gone) **TOP SECRET** (first Pong, then Combat, now ...) Alright, start your guessing engines. First person to correctly name the final challenge's secret identity gets a free Joystiq t-shirt when we get back from PAX. Hint: we wouldn't recommend guessing Pong or Combat. Just saying.
