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Cyberpunk MMO Otherland launches game preview site
It was only a few months ago when we first got word of a new cyberpunk/VR-themed MMO in development. Otherland is based on the the sci-fi novels of Tad Williams, which deal heavily with the interplay of the virtual and the real. Otherland is being built on the Unreal 3 engine by Singapore-based development studio Real U, a wholly-owned subsidiary of dtp entertainment AG in Germany.The Otherland information page states the game will release in 2011 for PC, and it could potentially offer some interesting dimensions to MMO gameplay. The site states: "MMO fans can expect a fascinating gameplay experience. Based on the globally successful novels, the Otherland gameplay is distinguished by a unique narrative structure. Rather than retelling the story, players will experience their own individual stories within the Otherland universe and will encounter many of the familiar characters from the books. The game world will change dynamically around them during the course of the game."
Optus' HTC Dream spotted, photographed passionately
Low light, candles in the corner -- seriously folks, these shots are downright sultry. Optus' HTC G1, er, Dream has been spotted and photographed in some random corner of the world, and while it basically looks like every other G1 you've ever seen in this hue, we're absolutely certain that Australians in attendance are more than happy to have a look. You know where to head for the rest. [Thanks, Tom]
Dell Studio 15 with HD screen and Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics lands in Singapore
We first caught wind of an updated Dell Studio 15 when drivers for a 1555 model with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics popped up on Dell's support site, and surprise -- Dell Singapore's gone and posted specs and pricing. The 1555 gets more than just a GPU boost to a 512MB 4570, it's also scoring a new 15.6-inch WLED 1366 x 768 screen, so you can actually watch some of that high-def media at an appropriate res. The basic config nets you all the new stuff plus a 2.4GHz P8600 Core 2 Duo, 3GB of RAM and a 250GB drive for S$1,599 ($1,044), which is actually a pretty stellar deal -- let's hope this bad boy makes it Stateside, and soon. [Thanks, Karthik]
Lost & the Damned DLC OK'd for Singapore despite male nudity
Digital dong appreciators in Singapore rejoiced today as government officials have OK'd the digital distribution of the Grand Theft Auto IV 360-exclusive expansion, "The Lost & Damned." Regardless of the "controversy" surrounding the expansion's full-frontal male nudity, Ernest Khoo, Singapore's head of video games and media content at the Singapore Media Development Authority, has deemed the DLC safe enough for consumption in the country.Approaching the nudity issue head on, Mr. Khoo says, "[the scene is] non-sexual and can hence fall within the M18 rating." Expanding on the M18 rating, he explained, "only those 18-years-old and above will be buying the game and its expansion pack." Hopefully, the army of Media Development Authority workers manning individual Xbox 360s in Singapore will be checking IDs. [Via GamePolitics]
Koei doubling Singapore staff to boost game 'quantity' ... and 'quality'
Singapore is the latest kingdom to be romanced by Japanese publisher Koei. Edge reports that the company plans to ramp up headcount at its Singapore studio, potentially more than doubling the branch's current headcount of around 50 staff, with up to 60 new faces in the months ahead. The studio was first founded in 2005, and is primarily focused on online efforts, including Romance of the Three Kingdoms Online.No reason or exact time frame for the upgrade has been revealed. However, Koei co-founder Keiko Erikawa noted an interest in boosting the Singapore branch's game-making capabilities "both in quantity and in quality." Of course, with Koei set to join top-heavy rival Tecmo in bed in April, it's just as likely that Erikawa's statement is code for "jiggle" and "physics."
Nokia drags more Comes With Music handsets out for Singapore launch
Slowly but surely, Nokia's Comes With Music is checking off locales on its tour around the world. Next up is Singapore, and rather than sticking to the same selection of CwM-equipped handsets as we've seen thus far, it'll be tossing in the lower-end 5320 XpressMusic and 5220 XpressMusic alongside the 5800, N96, N95 and N79. When the service and handsets launch in "the coming weeks," it'll mark the first nation in Asia to take part in Nokia's fun little all-you-can-digest music initiative. For those keeping score, this will make Singapore the first country on the planet to have access to a CwM 5800, though there's no word on how costly any of the previously mentioned mobiles will be. Patience, friends -- it's all we can count on these days.
Nine-year old writes iPhone app, hates vegetables
We've seen plenty of remarkable kids -- the world is just bursting with them -- and Lim Ding Wen, a nine-year-old from Singapore is no exception. Like his father, Wen enjoys writing iPhone apps in his spare time. His application, called Doodle Kids, is a drawing application for children that he wrote for his two younger sisters, who enjoy drawing, and it's already been downloaded over 4,000 times (we just checked in the App Store and it does indeed appear to be quite popular) since its release on February 1st. Wen, who is fluent in six programming languages and enjoys reading books about -- you guessed it -- computer programming, is already hard at work on his next app, a game called "Invader Wars." We can't wait to see that one!
Nokia's Comes With Music goes on European tour, Asia next, Americas deemed too boring
It was just yesterday that Reuters predicted Nokia's Comes With Music service was headed for something of a pilgrimage through the wilds of Europe, and now we have the official confirmation of this "pan European" expansion. The company has secured partnerships with music licensing and publishing big-wigs in Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and Norway, and is indicating that Singapore and Australia are next on its to-do list. Alas there was no mention of other nations getting any sort of attention, meaning Nokia handsets in the New World are unlikely to come with anything but guilt for the forseeable future.
Nokia's Comes With Music service plans world tour
Nokia's all-you-can-eat Comes With Music service has been humming along quite nicely across the pond, but until now, we've been left in the dark about its plans for world domination. No more, as a recent Reuters report has it that the unlimited music service should be headed to Australia, Asia and Singapore later this quarter and Latin America / USA sometime this year. We're also told that more corners of Europe should get served in the future, though no window of time was handed out there. It should be interesting to see if any carriers jump in to subsidize these, but our gut feeling says they'll be sold for a premium unlocked at your nearest Nokia flagship.[Via UnwiredView]
Private MapleStory servers targeted for shutdown
In news that should surprise precisely nobody at all, AsiaSoft, an Eastern distributor of Nexon's MapleStory, has started targeting private MapleStory servers for shutdown. According to Asiaone Digital, it seems that one such person named Sean Lee is now under scrutiny by AsiaSoft for running a fairly popular server in Singapore. What started as a server run out of his bedroom for a handful of friends has blossomed into a server supporting 32,000 MapleStory players just a few short months later. Sure, it may not sound like much - until you realize that of the people polled for the story, half said they play on private servers. When faced with potentially as much as 50% of your userbase playing on private servers, you're talking about a very significant loss of revenue for AsiaSoft, and in turn, Nexon. That said, Sean is awaiting a formal take-down from AsiaSoft, even knowing he's currently being targeted along with several others for running illicit MapleStory servers. He stated that he's continuing to run it for the players because "If [he shuts] it down, [he] will be letting them down." Additionally, his parents allow him to run the server with full knowledge of what he's doing, so long as he agrees to take it down when AsiaSoft asks him to. Perhaps it's just us, but if we knew we were about to get a visit from men in nice suits who had legal documents that talked about things like "seeking financial damages", we'd be out of the pirated game server business quickly. Still, it's an interesting read, so be sure to check out the full story. [Via Kotaku]
Singapore welcomes WoW-playing employees
As if we need more examples of how much more widely-accepted gaming is in the East than the West, a company in Singapore has recently voiced their stance on the whole issue of denying people jobs if they play World of Warcraft. According to GMP Group, a recruiting firm in Singapore, none of their clients have turned down a potential employee for playing WoW.The company's CEO, Annie Yap, acknowledges the problematic side of gaming addiction, but cites Singaporeans as "more pragmatic in thinking and attitude" as they won't allow gaming to interfere with their job. Does this mean hope for the Western attitude toward gaming? Probably not any time soon, but as the gamer generation gets older, that possibility increases.
Singapore's StarHub launches first commercial 3G femtocell service
Generally speaking, when cable providers offer up "triple-play" packages, that third leg is a digital phone that acts as a standalone landline. Singapore's StarHub has a better idea, and it's calling it Home Zone. Hailed as the first commercial 3G femtocell service, the setup puts a MaxOnline-enabled router (free on loan) in the home "so that users can make voice and video calls and send SMS over StarHub's cable network from their mobile phones." Any 3G phone is compatible, and up to four calls can be made simultaneously on a single box. Moreover, all outgoing local voice calls, video calls and SMS are free, though the Home Zone subscription will run customers $30 per month -- unless they get in prior to the start of '09, which will give them half off for the next twelve months. Better hurry, too, as the whole shebang is only available to the first 200 customers at present time.[Via RCRWireless]
Gateway goes netbook in Singapore with the LT1001G, an Acer rebadge
Now that Acer's Aspire One is on top, there's really little shame in rebadging the popular netbook with everyone's favorite cow-themed computer brand and shipping it on over to Singapore, which is what Acer-owned Gateway has apparently done with the LT1001G. Details are slim, but specs are pretty standard, with a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB HDD. It'll retail for $688 Singapore dollars (about $458 US), and is accompanied by a few other low and high-end laptops to help mark the company's re-emergence in Singapore after splitting nearly eight years ago -- we'd say we're looking forward to seeing the netbook in the rest of the world, but we pretty much already have.[Via Netbook Era]
Toshiba's XD-E500 upscaling DVD player lands in Singapore
Toshiba's XD-E500 has already taken the US and UK (among other locales) by storm, but outside of Japan, no one in Asia has yet been able to bask in the glory of this unit's peerless upscaling technology. Until now, that is. Said deck has just made its way down to Singapore, and it's reportedly selling for S$199 (or about $133 in American greenbacks). Some may say that's a fair price to ask for something that makes vanilla DVDs look better than the director ever intended, but we're sort of dismayed that no free movie rentals are thrown in here. Spoiled, we know.
Singapore's StarHub rolls out HubStation HD DVR
High-def programming and DVRs -- they just go together, don't they? Like peanut butter and jelly. Like Romeo and Juliet. Like $150 Blu-ray players and Black Friday. And now, like StarHub and HubStation HD. Yep, the Singaporean cable provider has launched the aforementioned HD DVR for customers looking to record SD / HD content and watch later, and considering that you can't possibly watch everything on HD5, National Geographic Channel HD, Discovery HD, The History Channel HD and Sports HD at once, we suspect this will come in handy. Now, the only issue is finding the S$14.98 (US$10.02) every month to pay for it.[Via CNET]
Voom HD & Infinite Frameworks collab on HD programming
The biggest knock on Voom HD's package of channels has been a lack of original content, but a partnership with Singapore government-backed producer Infinite Frameworks should supply new programming over the next few years. Following up on a previous agreement with the Media Development Authority of Singapore, each side will contribute $10 million to producing HD sport, art, lifestyle and fashion content, with post production done in Singapore over the next five years. We were surprised the network was still hanging on three years ago, but a lot has changed since then, we'll see if they make it the entire five years.
Shiro's SQ-S PMP will go sunbathing with you
You probably don't want to be seen at the beach with most solar-powered PMPs, but Shiro's SQ-S is superior in functionality if not in appearance. It can store 16GB of APE, FLAC, MP3, OGG, WAV, or WMA files, receive and record FM radio broadcasts and play video on its itty-bitty screen. Unfortunately only its backside is adorned with solar panels -- four hours of tanning on a beach towel will get you up to 35 hours of music and 7 hours of video, but you won't be operating it while it's lying on its face. No word yet about price, availability, or a flesh-and-blood photo, but let's hope it looks as good in real life as it does in this render.[Via PMP Today]
Singaporean iPhone 3Gs drop visual voicemail, iTunes
Just how badly do you want the iPhone 3G, Singapore? Badly enough to do without two of its headline features? SingTel kicks off sales today (local time) along with a whole host of other countries, but neither visual voicemail nor the iTunes WiFi Store will make the cut. In the case of iTunes, the reason is kinda obvious: Singapore has no iTunes Store at all, and it never has. The explanation behind the mysterious absence of visual voicemail is less clear, other than carrier laziness in getting the feature implemented on its back end. The silver lining here seems to be pricing, though -- subscribers will be able to pick up the phone for diddly squat, assuming they sign up for a S$205 monthly package (about $145).[Via mocoNews]
WAR beta reaches down under
It seems that oftentimes Australia and the Oceanic region gets the shaft when it comes to MMO server allocation. Most of the time, Aussies find themselves choosing between an American or European server, with incompatible peak playing times.Today, Warhammer Online fans in the Oceanic region will be pleased to hear that their own server has not gone ignored, as the WAR Oceanic Beta has officially begun. Players in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore should check their inboxes for a beta invite which will pave the way for the simultaneous launch of Warhammer Online across North America, Europe and the Oceanic region on September 18th. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Singapore shop tricks woman into paying $1000 for PSP
Take this following story as a lesson on why you should be an educated shopper and do research before you head into a store. A 41 year old Singaporean woman went shopping for a new PSP at a Lucky Plaza shop. She met a courteous and helpful assistant who directed her to a Black PSP system. There are so many capabilities of the PSP, but he explained that with a "software upgrade," it can do much more, such as surf the Internet and play games for free. Fifteen minutes later, the clerk came back with a massive bill: $3500. "Nicole," the unfortunate victim in this scam, refused to buy a system that cost as much as a laptop. However, the clerk said that they had already paid for the "costly" licenses. She asked why other shops only charged a few hundred dollars for the system ($300 according to the original article) and the clerk claimed the licenses "were not original." After some haggling, she was able to get the cost down to $2600. Later, her brother informed her that she had essentially been robbed. She went back to the store and demanded a refund -- but she agreed to pay $1000. When complaining to the Consumers Association of Singapore, she was denied any further help because she had already agreed to pay the store.
