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Criterion Blu-ray Discs begin to ship out
For movie buffs who've been waiting on pins and needles to see their Criterion Blu-ray Disc order status switch from "wait longer, fool" to "shipped," we've got some excellent news. We're beginning to hear individual reports that BDs from Criterion (at least ones that were pre-ordered a few months back) are beginning to ship, and while the company has yet to replace the "Pre-order" badges with "Buy" labels on its website, we suspect that will take place in the near future. Have any of you readers received your discs yet? If not, keep a close eye on that mailbox.[Thanks, Christopher and Harold]
Hey Hollywood, how about some Blu-ray Disc price cuts?
Remember when high-def discs had to be priced competitively, else the other format would gladly undercut it? Yeah, those were the days. Now that BD is parading around as the lone high-def physical format, the only real competitors are digital downloads, DVDs and internet piracy. All of which are very real threats, by the way. A recent writeup over at The Dallas Morning News brings up an excellent point -- now that Blu-ray player prices are at a reasonable level, when can we expect movies to follow suit? Oh sure, we understand that programming in all that interactivity that eight people care about costs a lot of dough, but seriously, you can't just let admission be next-to-free and then make the rides unattainable. Back in July, we heard that Warner was looking to lower the (pricing) bar this holiday season, but since then, everyone else has been mute. It's about time someone spoke up, no?[Image courtesy of GamerNode]
Mark Jacobs on changes to WAR's open RvR
Mythic Entertainment's Mark Jacobs posted a Warhammer Online dev blog today, titled "Open RvR Update" which maps out the future of open realm-vs-realm in the game. Jacobs writes that the coming months will bring some changes and additions to WAR: An RvR Influence system. "This system is designed to reward our oRvR players with lots of new stuff that you can only get through oRvR," he says. Increased visibility of open RvR, made possible through numerous improvements such as improved maps and travel systems, second bind points, a campaign HUD, and tier-wide messaging about the status of battlefield objectives and keeps. Greater incentives for oRvR participation, namely through keep quests, 'Daily Event Quests,' and chained RvR missions. Better rewards for guilds that take and control keeps, and a system of keep upgrades. Allowing characters to gain oRvR "Fame", linked to the Tome of Knowledge and thus rewards, titles, and experience that come with oRvR success. Jacobs cautions though, "Please keep in mind that these changes/systems apply to oRvR only and not to scenarios. This is not all we are working on but these do reflect the majority of oRvR additions that we are currently working on/planning for the next few months." Jacobs hopes that open RvR enhancements will inject more risk and challenge into this aspect of the game, and ultimately more rewards. Check out his dev blog where he outlines the changes to open RvR and let us know, do you think Mythic is headed in the right direction with this system revamp? Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
VUDU offering select HD / HDX titles for $4.99 purchase on Black Friday
Trust us, we too have been looking for a good reason to simply stay put this Black Friday rather than venturing out in an attempt to save $8.43 and contract at least six airborne diseases. Finally, we've found our reason. VUDU has announced on its forums that this Friday, it will sell (read: not just a 24-hour rental) four HDX titles, six HD flicks and a slew of SD movies for $4.99 each. We imagine the motive here is twofold: for starters, it'll generate buzz and probably lead to a few impulse buys; secondly, it could be a litmus test to the real popularity of its minty fresh HDX format. Hit the read link for the admittedly short list, and feel free to register in order to beg for a larger selection prior to Friday.[Thanks, Rob]
Issues with the realm first achievements
Apparently there have been some mistakes made in the realm-first achievements being given out. You've probably seen these (Blizzard apparently broadcasts them across the realms) -- when someone hits level 80 or finishes a profession first, they attain a feat of strength achievement. They don't get the original titles, but they do get credit for getting their first.But on a few realms, Blizzard ended up giving some of the awards to multiple players, resulting in the ingame mail you see above. We're not sure if it's because they all hit within a certain time period, or whether Blizzard's servers weren't working correctly, but as you can see, they say the issue is fixed for now. If you did rush to be the first on a server, you can be satisfied that you're the only one.Thanks, Penny!
D-BOX deal brings Motion Code rumblings to Universal Blu-ray Discs
We'll be completely honest -- we had every idea that D-BOX would just fade away into the sunset just a few short months after we initially heard about it. Au Contraire! In just the past week, we've seen the outfit -- which is responsible for a rumbling Motion Code technology that enables you to "feel" the motions of the movie you're watching -- venture into the wide world of gaming and now into Universal's heart. Starting with the December 23-bound Death Race, D-BOX Motion Code will be available on select Universal Studios Home Entertainment Blu-ray Discs, and if we were still placing bets, we'd now say this is probably just the first of many big studio licensing agreements to come.
Guild Wars update revamps achievement titles
Before there was the Lorebook in Lord of the Rings Online, there were titles in Guild Wars. Before there was the Tome of Knowledge in Warhammer Online, there were titles in Guild Wars. Before there were Achievements in World of Warcraft, there were titles in Guild Wars. This title system has been in place for a few years now, and has been steadily growing to incorporate achievement recognition for many of the game's favorite activities. In yesterday's game update though, the entire title system got a revamp.One of the biggest problems many players saw with some of the more difficult titles is it felt like pure grind. To remedy that, ArenaNet has adjusted the difficulty of a few higher-end titles, and changed the way titles affected things like Favor of the Gods, Vanquishing bonuses, etc. Check out the complete patch notes at the developer wiki page for more information.
Starz broadens offerings by landing multitude of licensing deals
Aside from producing its own original series, Starz Entertainment is also looking to outsiders to broaden its content offerings. In a recent announcement, the channel discloses that it has just closed a multitude of deals that will net it a "bevy of first run and library titles from Summit, Lionsgate, Hallmark, IFC, the Samuel Goldwyn Co., First Look and Fremantle." Better still, that material can be distributed via a variety of methods including all 16 of its linear channels, Starz HD, Starz On Demand and Starz Play (its broadband video download service). Eager to know what titles these deals will bring? Try 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, By Dawn's Early Light, Call of the Wild, Bye Bye Birdie, Hound of the Baskervilles and Rear Window -- and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Breakfast topic: Boast your titles
A lot of WoW folks seem to be collectors: Pets, Mounts, even hats. Collecting titles is the next big thing. It's kind of fun to display some hard earned achievement proudly to other players. Rágnaros of Duskwood asked in general chat. He's interested in knowing which titles are most popular and most rare. It also adds some flavor to the game. Several responders reported having five or six titles.I'm not much of a title hunter. A friend of mine was running UBRS for the Jenkins title so I was happy to come along. It was relatively easy to get with a handful of 70s and was fun to get. My job was to sprint about and aggro as many dragons as I could, then I dropped a Hurricane to join in quick AOE attack which easily killed at least fifty of them instantly.
Fox bringing Sideways, Donnie Darko to Blu-ray in February
Man, February's gearing up to put a hurtin' on your wallet. Alongside long-awaited titles like Passion of the Christ and Napoleon Dynamite, Fox Home Entertainment is scheduled to drop another duo that should move quite a few units. The cult classic Donnie Darko will finally get the Blu-ray treatment it deserves on 2/10, while the niche comedy Sideways arrives on Blu a week earlier. Details are all but non-existent outside of that, but you can expect MSRPs of $34.95 and $29.99, respectively.Read - Donnie DarkoRead - Sideways
Blu-ray hits a milestone: 1,000 titles on the format
While most everyone's busy drooling at the thought of checking out HD Netflix streams on November 19th, Blu-ray is peeking its head out for a share of the limelight, too. Hollywood Reporter has it that Blu-ray Disc has hit a rather large milestone today: the all-important 1,000 mark. As of now, over 1,000 high-definition movies have BD written all over it, with 841 on the market currently and 185 scheduled for release. The latest big time announcement for the format is Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment's 70th anniversary platinum edition of Pinocchio, which just notched a March 10, 2009 release date. Huzzah!
Insider Trader: Crafting achievements pre-Wrath
Times are changing. Where previously you could merely craft epic swords and new-fangled flying machines, you can now craft success. Achievement points, the latest addictive means of displaying your awesomeness, are all the rage, and can be crafted up in a jiffy. Well, maybe two jiffies.As a level 70, there is one achievement you almost certainly have, and that is "Professional Master." This is awarded once you train the highest rank of any given profession, and serves as a little pat on the back for a job well done. Ready to go further? Get ready to maximize your fishing, cooking and first aid skills!
Certificates and medals coming to EVE Online
Most players who've been drawn to EVE Online enjoy the game for its complexity. For such gamers, complexity in a title can be a strength, not a drawback. However, you know what they say about having too much a good thing... Newer players especially find aspects of the game daunting to learn, particularly in terms of skills and skill training plans. This complexity surrounding skills, while not a big deal to veteran players, can be hard to grasp for newer players. Enter "certificates" -- EVE's simplified and (visually) ranked groups of skills that should help rookie players better understand what they should focus on to achieve particular goals. If the feature does what the developers hope, certificates will remedy a problem newer players face -- "an inability to clearly see where a particular skill fits into the greater scheme of things, what it enables, how to get there and where to go next," CCP Greyscale writes in his latest dev blog "Certificates: Planning the Future."
Planning for the Hallow's End title
A lot of folks found the article on planning for the Brewmaster title helpful, so we thought we'd put one together for the upcoming Hallow's End holiday as well. Getting all of the sub-Achievements for the Hallowed Be Thy Name Achievement will reward the title "The Hallowed," but frankly I think this one is going to be a little tougher than the Brewfest one. As with Brewfest, part of the Achievement is going to depend on getting very lucky with a drop, but it's also going to depend on getting lucky with a few other things.This, however, is going to be the first holiday after patch 3.02 hits with the Achievement system firmly in place, so you'll be able to track Achievements ingame for the first time (by the way, "Y" is the default hotkey for pulling up your Achievement screen). Even if you're not interested in the Achievement, you have another reason to participate, at least for the Headless Horseman kills: we're pretty sure his loot table's been updated and expanded, and you'll have a chance at a permanent mount drop (his horse, not the temporary broomsticks from last year).But if you want to be (Your Name Here) The Hallowed?
Poll: Which Blu-ray studio is your favorite?
You've already seen how Sound & Vision graded the biggest Blu-ray studios, but now we're interested in getting your take. Now that you've had a number of months to check out each studio on a level playing field (read: everyone on team Blu), which studio(s) have impressed you the most? Feel free to include pros / cons from image quality, soundtrack fidelity, extras, BonusView / BD-Live support, etc. Let us know which of the Blu-ray studios has made you smile the most in 2008, and make sure you voice your opinion on which one(s) could stand to improve. %Poll-20775%
Sony Pictures Blu-ray Club gives points for buying its BD-Live titles
Similar to Walt Disney Studios' Disney Movie Rewards Live program -- which will launch alongside Sleeping Beauty on October 7th -- Sony Pictures is crafting its very own rewards program. The Sony Pictures Blu-ray Club will supposedly encourage purchases of BD-Live-enabled titles by giving owners "points" that they can redeem toward "sweepstakes entries and other added values featured in the existing Sony Rewards program." Obviously, it costs nothing to actually join the loyalty program, and while we can't help but announce this news with our heads pointed decidedly downward, at least Sony gives users the ability to register each new disc via their Blu-ray player should they choose. Launch date? October 7th, with Sandler's You Don't Mess With the Zohan driving the sure to be widespread momentum.[Via VideoBusiness]
Fox gets with the program, reduces MSRP on some Blu-ray Discs
No matter what your current stance on Blu-ray is, one thing everyone can agree on is that the prices for discs have to come down. If you'll give Hollywood the benefit of the doubt for even a second, you can't blame them for starting disc prices high, in attempt to figure out what the market will bare. Luckily it didn't take long before the market leader woke up and realized that $40 for an older catalog title was just too much, as Warner lowered the initial price on many of its older titles to about $20. For whatever reason Fox has been the last to follow suit and if the more recent releases are any indication, even Fox is getting with the program now. The real win for consumers though, is that not only is the retail price of many older titles now $20, but the street price is coming in around $13. If this is any indication of the future of Blu, it combined with players that rival the price of upconverters, could easily carve out a solid market for Blu-ray in the future.Read - Blu-ray Stats News LogRead - Format War Central
Elton John's The Red Piano goes Blu in October
As more and more music releases head to Blu-ray, we've got one more coming to stores next month. Elton John's The Red Piano collection will hit stores on October 28th and will include a single Blu-ray Disc and two audio-only CDs. The discs will include 14 song performances from the Red Piano show and a documentary about the making of The Red Piano show. Fans can check it shortly for $29.99 (MSRP).
Ask a Beta Tester: Baron Rivendare, heirloom items, and more
Remember a little while ago on Ask a Beta Tester, someone asked if Jaina Proudmoore has any role in Wrath? And I said no, she has no new story involvement? Well, a recent beta patch made a fool out of me. She has a role, it's epic, and no she doesn't make out with Arthas you horrible, horrible people.And with that out of the way, let's get on with the questions. Shadgalaul asked...What about the whole dual-spec situation? Was this implemented, or did it just fade out and get scrapped? This hasn't been implemented yet, and nobody is sure whether it's on hold or been scrapped. It seems like instead of giving dual specs, they're trying to make one spec be able to hold its own. For example, tanks are getting higher DPS so they can go off and do their quests without wanting to hang themselves. It's not a perfect solution and there are still a few balance issues, but I bet that if they shelved the dual spec thing, this is what they tried instead.We may still see dual specs in the future, but we haven't so far.
Realm first level 80 titles removed
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/First_to_level_80_titles_removed_from_WotLK'; The Feats of Strength for realm-firsts have been raising some controversy for a little while now. Briefly, the worry is that it only rewards people who are willing and able to either play 24 hours a day from when Wrath is released to when they reach their goal, or share their account with friends and play in shifts. Either way, it's not really a measure of skill or accomplishment so much as a measure of who's got a lot of uninterrupted time on their hands. There is additional worry that playing for 24+ hours straight is just not healthy, and Blizzard probably doesn't want people rushing through the content either. So it is with some pleasure that I report that the titles for the feats of strength for realm-first level 80 with each class, for first 80 on each realm, and for first to 450 in the various professions are being removed. The title for realm-first Northrend Vanguard (achieve exalted with various factions) is also getting removed. Note that the Feats of Strength themselves are still in – the game still keeps track of who got to 80 first, and will tell you if it's you – but there's no longer a title to show off for other players. This is an interesting compromise; the feat is still noted, but there's much less incentive to do it now. Finally, Tigole notes that the realm-first boss kills will still give titles, which is as it should be in my book. Given raid lockouts, you couldn't raid 24/7 even if you wanted to, so this is more of an indication of skill. One interesting alternative, for those who still want titles like this to be in the game, is presented on Blessing of Kings. Basically, the suggestion is that the titles should be given to those who take the least time /played to get from 70 to 80. This would mean you'd have to optimize your playing in a different way, and it would also mean you could lose the title if someone outdoes you in the future, which I see as a plus (though some here at WoW Insider vigorously disagree with me). Edit: on second thought, I agree that this is probably not a great idea. Hopefully they'll come up with some kind of very long questline for each class or something.
