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Enter to win a Creative World of Warcraft wireless headset
Creative has announced their brand new World of Warcraft wireless headset, and you lot are the lucky ones -- they've set up a deal with us to give away one of these headsets every single week up until the actual release in November. So here's your first chance -- leave a comment on this post before next Wednesday, September 23, 2009, and we'll be picking one lucky commenter to win the best-looking WoW-related headgear since Warlocks rode single file.The contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec), and everyone who enters must be 13 or older. To enter, leave a comment on this post before Wednesday, September 23rd at midnight eastern, and please be sure to use a real email that you check often to enter, so we can contact the winners when we choose them. You may enter only once, and each winner will get a Creative World of Warcraft Wireless Gaming Headset, with a retail value of $150. Please note: winners will not receive the headset until it is released later this year. Click here to read the official contest rules.Good luck to everybody, and make sure to come back next week -- we'll be giving one of these headsets away every single week all the way up until their release later this year, so you'll have even more chances to win coming up.
NCsoft aims for Aion to be second only to WoW in US
NCsoft has big plans for their fantasy MMO Aion in the west, and they're hoping to emulate their Asian success in the North American market. Kris Graft reports for Gamasutra that Aion generated 40.6 billion won (USD 32.7 million) in Q2 2008, which he notes is a strong start. In an earnings call, NCsoft CFO Jaeho Lee said, "I believe the performance of Aion in the US and European markets will be very successful. ... We are guessing that Aion will be -- could be -- the second [most] successful MMO in the US market next to World of Warcraft." Bold optimism, to be sure. What really caught our attention, though, was that Graft pointed out a mention of the now dead-and-buried Tabula Rasa during that earnings call, another title NCsoft once had high hopes for in western markets. In answer to a question about how many boxes of Aion will ship as opposed to Tabula Rasa, Gamasutra quotes Lee as having said, "It's very unfortunate to hear the name of Tabula Rasa at this conference call... and we all want to forget and erase that memory from our performance."
CCP staff offered the option of being paid foreign currency during economic crisis
During our troubled economic times, one sometimes forgets that currency is in a constant state of fluctuation. When times get really harsh, the value of the currency can wildly go back and forth between numbers, creating a sense of unease as people don't know what their currency is worth.CCP Games, however, took up a new approach to paying their employees when the Icelandic Krona was volatile earlier this year -- paying their employees in foreign currency.Employees were offered the option to accept paychecks in foreign currency, if they so wished, to provide employees with a stable income from a stable currency rather than receiving checks with the Krona. The move was easy on CCP's part, as the company is located in China, Iceland, and the United States and makes most of their revenue in foreign currency anyway.
How to get an iPhone 3G S tomorrow in US, UK, and Canada
Scene from last year's iPhone 3G launch in NYC Didja hear the news? There's a new iPhone coming out tomorrow! Okay, snark aside, we know there's still a good number of you who want to brave the weather and grab yourself a brand spanking new 3G S, but for whatever reason didn't pre-order ahead of time. Not to worry, we're here to help!United StatesIf you pre-ordered the phone in-store from AT&T, you can pick it up tomorrow at 7:00AM from that same retail outlet. Everyone else will have to wait until the normal business hours, and from there it's first come, first serve. If you're wanting to head to an Apple store, be sure to set your alarms for the right time: each one is opening at 7:00AM local time. Apple's online site has a field to let you complete pre-authorization ahead of time, but that won't guarantee you availability so still plan on waiting outside before sunrise. You can also try your luck at Best Buy and Walmart, which should be receiving some stock for each store. As for online pre-orders from either AT&T or Apple, well, just go with whatever the shipping date currently says.United KingdomO2 customers can get their 3G S starting at 8:02AM -- yes, that's the official time, and not a minute sooner, we suspect -- from O2, Apple, and Carphone Warehouse stores. Prices vary based on a variety of 18 and 24 month plans, as well as Pay & Go plans.CanadaUnsurprisingly, Rogers and subsidiary Fido will be handling your iPhone fix. Also, for the first time, you can also drop by an Apple retail store, which should open around 8:00AM local time. From what we can tell, the Rogers / Fido stores aren't opening early, but just to be safe, you might wanna call tonight or plan on showing up an hour before the usual time.Obviously, there's more than a few countries we're not covering here, so hit up the read link to check out Apple's official site for details by region, and feel free to share your own tips in the comments below!
Have a safe and fun Memorial Day from WoW.com
It's Memorial Day in the United States, a time when we celebrate the memories of our fallen soldiers by visiting memorials, breaking out the BBQ grill, and jumping into all of the swimming pools opening for the summer around the country.There's a lot of interesting things that have happened the past few days here at WoW.com. Our new site is in full swing, and you can read about all the changes we've done.One of the major additions to the site is the WoW.com profiles, which bring the famed social networking features right into WoW via our custom add-on. Check out what some of our users are already doing: Yamara34 just started up a brand new guild over on Proudmoore, and Mogri got lucky on the fishing daily.A few major details about patch 3.2 were released on Friday, along with some clarification points by the blues. There is no indication when patch 3.2 will hit the PTR, but we're on the lookout for it. With a new 5-man dungeon, and a new 10/25-man raid, it will be sure to make a splash.In addition to the new dungeons, patch 3.2 will nerf Jewelcrafting a bit. This is an unwelcome change for many players, and it has all the JCers up in arms.We hope that everyone has a great time celebrating Memorial Day, and make sure you do it safely. For those of you not in the US, have a great Monday anyway! Welcome to the new WoW.com! Check out WoW.com's site documentation for information on the new profiles and add-on. Be sure to let us know if you experience any problems during our beta test. And don't forget to check out all the latest World of Warcraft news!
Nokia N97 NAM launching June 2nd?
The Nokia Blog's got it on good authority that the Finnish phone maker's giving its North America distributors the heads up to expect the N97 to arrive on June 2nd for $699, although that price might end up lower. We've been hearing an expected June launch for some time, so it's definitely not out of the question. This does, however, serve as both an exciting and somewhat painful reminder that, should a couple other rumors pan out, June's gonna be a busy month for smartphones. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Study: Software piracy on the rise, but so are sales
The Business Software Alliance recently conducted a study into piracy, and found that it may be a bigger problem than any of us could have thought, Reuters reports. The study showed that PC piracy accounted for 41 percent of total PC software installed in 2008, a 3 percent rise from 2007 figures. However, as piracy expands, so do sales, as PC software raked in $88 billion in 2008, a whopping 14 percent increase.Even though the US only has a 20 percent piracy rate (which is the lowest in the world), Robert Holleyman, president and CEO of the BSA, says that figure is a lot worse considering we buy more software than any other country. But, as bad as the figures are, some countries are actually seeing a decline in illegal software.Throughout two of the biggest regions for piracy (Russia and China), figures show a decline over previous years. In Russia, piracy dropped 5 points down to 68 percent in 2008, whereas in China the decline has been more gradual, dropping from figures of 90 percent in 2004 to 80 percent in 2008. Other countries remain at a 90 percent or higher piracy rate, however, including Georgia, Bangladesh, Armenia, Zimbabwe, Sri Landa, Azerbaijan and Moldova.So, remember kids: Don't copy that floppy!
Nokia throws up "pre-order soon" logo on US N97, drives the kids crazy
Thanks to the always revealing FCC, we knew good and well Nokia's painfully expensive N97 had Carolina (and probably the other states, to be fair) on its mind, but now we know the moment of truth is drawing near. As of right now, Nokia's US website has a teaser block informing us Yanks that we'll be able to pre-order this here smartphone "soon." Hitting the link only directs us the European legalese that we've digested before, but surely it'll lead to something meaningful in due time. Patience... it's a virtue.[Via phoneArena]
Nintendo moves 435,000 DSi handhelds during first week in US
We already heard that the Big N managed to lighten its DSi inventory by 300,000 during the handheld's first full weekend in America, and apparently another 135,000 procrastinators swooped in to grab one as the week finished up. Potentially more amazing, however, is the overall impact of Nintendo in the month of March. Last month, Nintendo systems accounted for just south of 60 percent (58.4 percent, if you must know) of all video game hardware sold in America. And yeah, that's even despite a shocking 17 percent drop in Wii sales during the same 30 day window. Have we mentioned lately that things seem to be going quite well in the Mushroom Kingdom? 'Cause they definitely do.[Via Joystiq]
Samsung 12.1-inch NC20 with VIA Nano power ready for Stateside purchase
A friendly tipster has pointed us over to NewEgg where Samsung's much loved NC20 is ready for purchase and presumably delivery. Mind you, this isn't just another Atom-based netbook. This 12.1-incher is one of the first to ship Stateside with a Via Nano processor of any type, the 1.3GHz U2250 in this case. You're also looking at Via Chrome9 integrated graphics, 160GB 5400rpm disk, 1GB of DDR2 memory, and 6-cell Li-ion battery. $550 is the pre-tax price for clicking all the way through to purchase where we suspect you'll be treated to a ship date. One thing's for certain; it'll be later than March 6th.[Thanks, angelwolf71885]
LG X110 finally reaching US soil before July
Ever get the feeling LG's netbook sector has something against the US? The X110 has been out in Europe since September, and the X120 is scheduled to be joining it later this month. But across the pond? Zilch -- until now, at any rate. President of Mobile Communications Skott Ahn told Forbes that the X110 will be landing here with Uncle Sam's approval sometime before July for a cool $400 unsubsidized. With so much competition, however, isn't that a bit pricey? Since the company's yet to go through the official channels with this information, it could be subject to change. Either way, it looks like we'll find out soon enough.
USA #1 in broadband, time to start making bumperstickers!
Great news, Americans! Despite all the naysayers with their "evidence" otherwise -- pointing out that South Korea has more broadband connections than we do, or that in some countries speeds are better than they are here -- the United States has come out at the head of the class. And that's before the government rolls out the "broadband stimulus" bonanza. According to Leonard Waverman (the dean of the prestigious Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary), Americans are not only the most productive users of connectivity, but our government's use of IT is as good as it is anywhere. Additionally, writes Saul Hansell in the New York Times, 57 percent of people in the country now have access to broadband, 9 percent have dial-up Internet access, 9 percent log on at work or at a library but not at home, and some 25 percent don't use the Internet at all -- one of whom said, "what do you want the Internet for? It's a fad -- just like CB radio in the '70s."
September NPD: $1.27b in sales, but it's no Halo 3 launch
Under most circumstances, this month's NPD sales figures would be quite impressive, with total sales of $1.27 billion. However, last September's $1.35 billion had one looming trump card -- namely, Halo 3's launch. Year-to-date hardware sales were $497.98 million (down nine percent) and software $616.09m (down six percent). Thanks largely to the price drop (we suspect, at least), Xbox 360 had the highest increase in sales, up 78%. It took 3rd place, splitting up Nintendo's two and Sony's three consoles.For software, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed dominated with 3 of the top 10 spots, totaling 1.16 million in unit sales -- the Xbox 360 version accounted for 52% of sales, followed by PlayStation 3 at 28%. Wii Fit also had impressive figures with 518K. Here are this month's NPD hardware sales figures:- Wii: 687K 234K (51.66%)- DS: 536.8K 18.5K (3.57%)- Xbox 360: 347.2K 152K (77.87%)- PSP: 238.1K 14.9K (-5.90%)- PS3: 232.4K 47K (25.35%) - PS2: 173.5K 29.4K (20.4%)Top ten in software sales after the break.
[UPDATED] WoW Arena Tournament down to top three teams
After three straight heartbreaking losses against American team Selective Queuers, Worldwide Invitational champions Council of Mages bowed out from the tournament today leaving only three teams to battle it out for the prestigious -- and kingly -- prize of $75,000. The Korean team of Hyoga, Snowstorm, and Student, considered by many to be the best RMP in the world, was the last Asian team in the tournament. They were also the last non-WLD (Warrior, Warlock, Druid) team to be eliminated, as the top three -- Europe's Nihilum Plasma, and the United States' Selective Queuers and Fnatic Orz all predominantly ran WLD throughout the competition.Selective Queuers ran a soft counter comp to Council of Mages' RMP by swapping in Rogue for Warrior, but otherwise performed as expected as RMP do not handle WLDs (or RLDs in this case) very well. Although the matches that managed to get streamed were fine examples of professional Arena play, the dominance of WLD teams showed just how strong the comp is in the 3v3 format. Despite brilliant play from Council of Mages, they simply couldn't get over the hump of a well-played WLD team. Props must be given to Glick of Fnatic Orz, back-to-back winners of the MLG series, who played a Retribution Paladin in a double melee comp during one match against Made in Taiwan... and won. Hunters will also be pleased to know that Made in Taiwan skillfully fielded a Hunter against Fnatic Orz, splitting those matches 2-2. The remaining matches of the tournament will be played tomorrow, with the winner of the upper bracket match between Fnatic Orz and Nihilum Plasma heading straight to the Grand Finals. The loser of that matchup will face Selective Queuers in the semi-finals. With any luck, the matches will be streamed without hiccups on Blizzard's BlizzCon tournament coverage and maybe we'll see if Fnatic Orz truly is the best team in the world. [UPDATE: Nihilum Plasma beat Fnatic Orz in the upper bracket finals, sending Nihilum to await the winner of the match between Fnatic Orz and Selective Queuers in the semis. This guarantees a Finals match versus Europe and the United States. Should be exciting to watch.]
US registration for Wrath beta now open
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/WoW_Wrath_of_the_Lich_King_beta_registration_opens'; US accounts are now able to access the beta registration from https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/beta-opt-in.html and opt-in for the Wrath of the Lich King beta. EU accounts saw this feature implemented a short time ago. It looks like the leak from the German Community Manager Gnorog is holding up to be true.Remember that when you opt in, you are not guaranteed a spot, and you will likely not get an email inviting you to the beta right away. Instead your name will go into a pool of players who will then be chosen for the beta. That's why they call it opting in.This is a good time to remain vigilant about email scams and other malicious programs that might try to get your user name, password, and other account information. Never share these with anyone other than official worldofwarcraft.com websites.If the beta invites do start going out soon, expect us at WoW Insider to let our friends and families know what's really important this holiday weekend: bringing everyone late breaking WotLK news, all while enjoying their finely cooked BBQ food. I'll take two burgers to go with jalapeno cheese and a Corona. %Gallery-5525% WoW Insider has the latest Wrath information for you including a list of the Death Knight spells, abilities and talents demo'd at last weekend's WWI in Paris, as well as complete write ups of all the Wrath WWI panels with analysis.
Authenticators sold out, for now
It looks like I'm not the only one keen on getting a shiny, new account authenticator. The Blizzard Store is currently marked as "Sold Out" on the product. Tyren posted on the General Discussion forum that it will be several weeks before they will be available for purchase once again. I believe that those who have placed their orders are still slated to receive them, though I have received no word on my order. I ordered mine Tuesday morning, and the order status is currently sitting as processed. If they follow the shipping schedule in the email, the devices should be sent out at some point tomorrow. I'll give a full review once my token arrives at my doorstep.
US files complaint with WTO over EU tariffs on high-tech products
Yeah, so Sony's hitting us with magically-thin OLED TVs, Microsoft is showing off Windows 7, and Google's demoing hot new Android phones, but nothing gets us going like an old-fashioned tariff agreement dispute based on the classification of certain types of goods, you know? That's just good clean fun. It's also what's going down between the US and the EU -- our charming government has just filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization, alleging that the EU is mis-classifying multifunction printers, flat-panel computer displays, and cable boxes that fall under the 1996 Information Technology Agreement in order to collect tariffs on their imports. Essentially all these products should be duty-free, but the EU says their additional functions require the ITA be re-negotiated to cover them -- LCD displays can also be used with DVD players, for example, and so qualify as "video monitors," which are taxed. Sure, it's a totally semantic fight, but that's what trade representatives live for -- we hear this one's going to be bigger than the 2006 Canadian Softwood Lumber Import showdown.[Via Physorg]
The Daily Grind: Memorial Day in MMO-land?
In the United States today it's Memorial Day, a holiday designed generally to remind the average citizen of the military's role in the union. As it's a government holiday, this means a lot of people in the states have the day off of work. There's not likely to be a ton of breaking news today as a result. Here at Massively we'll keep the MMO-newsfires burning just in case you need a break from barbecuing or relatives.It does beg the question, though: what are you doing today? Stepping AFK to have a burger or brat with loved ones? Camping, maybe, or attending a parade? Or are you celebrating the way we do every holiday, Pinky? By jumping online and touching base with friends in a massively multiplayer game? Give us a shout-out.
Pachter: Wii owned in April, despite GTA IV release
The NPD numbers aren't going to be available until later this week, but Michael Pachter is still doing his thing and tossing some predictions out there. With that Grand Theft Auto IV game releasing in April (and shattering records like crazy), many might think that Nintendo is going to have to relinquish its throne for a short while, like when that Halo 3 game released. Pachter doesn't think so, however, and called for another victory for Nintendo.600,000 units is the magic number, according to the analyst, as he says Wii will once again reign supreme when the April NPD numbers release. Considering a pretty big Wii title released during that month, we're inclined to agree with the man.
Age of Conan ratings for all territories revealed
Today FunCom received word on the ratings for Age of Conan in each territory and what to expect in each version. Of course, we already know about the US version. The rating subject has been heavily speculated about over on the official forums for a while now. So finally getting to let the Barbarian out of the barracks must have felt good for community manager Pharamond. According to Pharamond these are not design issues, but legal requirements for the ability to sell their game in each territory.[UPDATE] It looks like nipples will be optional in the US version, according to this post.
