The perma-frown on the Angry Birds' faces might finally turn upside down. Bloomberg reports, citing "two people with knowledge of the discussions," that Finnish creator Rovio could be valued at $1.2 billion if talks to receive extra funding go through. The creator of arguably the most popular mobile game, um, ever is in investment talks with a company in the entertainment business. That most vague of statements leaves the possibilities up to ... a couple hundred companies, but industry analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities has narrowed it down to a select few.
Of course, Zynga could be the big spender, especially considering recent rumors. But Pachter goes on to make educated guesses including EA, News Corp. and Disney. "I can see how Disney would take 'Angry Birds' and turn them into a theme-park ride and a movie," Pachter told Bloomberg. "Zynga could take 'Angry Birds' and make it into 'FarmVille.'"
We're going to just ignore that blanket statement regarding FarmVille. As for EA, though, we doubt it's in any position to invest right now considering it just spent an effective $1.3 billion alone on Bejeweled creator PopCap. But Pachter makes a whole lot of sense with his Disney guess, especially since Rovio has made its goals for the Angry Birds franchise crystal clear. And don't forget, Disney has been in the games biz for quite some time before even Facebook games with Playdom.
(A sidenote: Can I just say how surprised I am that Rovio is being valued at just $1.2 billion? When's the last time you mentioned the damned game and someone hadn't heard of it? Sure, Zynga is worth at least $11.5 billion thanks to virtual goods, but I've yet to hear of a FarmVille movie.)
On top of being found on every device out there (even Facebook someday), Rovio works diligently on turning Angry Birds into an internationally-recognized icon much like--dare I say--Mickey Mouse. And Old Big Ears has grown a bit ragged over the years, no? As with all rumors, this is all wild, but educated, speculation. Now all we can do is wait for Rovio to announce a "Steamboat Angry Birds" update somewhere down the line.
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn angry birds. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn angry birds. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Thứ Ba, 10 tháng 1, 2012
Thứ Sáu, 6 tháng 1, 2012
Quote of the Moment: 'Zynga can't just throw FarmVille onto mobile'
Angry Birds Facebook
You can't take an experience that works in one environment and one ecosystem and force-feed it onto another. It's like Zynga. They can't just take Farmville and throw it on mobile and see what sticks. The titles that have been successful for them on mobile are the ones they've built from the ground up for the platform.
Peter Vesterbacka of Rovio said this in an interview with Inside Social Games regarding Angry Birds' big move to Facebook. The (filthy rich) Angry Birds' "Mighty Eagle" also revealed that the Facebook version has been in the works for an entire year. This goes to show how seriously the company is taking the move in comparison to most studios who crank out Facebook games in a fraction of that time. However, the prime reason behind Rovio's extended development for Angry Birds Facebook is adapting the same experience to a different platform. One can imagine this is a challenge from either end of the spectrum.
[Image Credit: Game N Train]
What do you think of Rovio's strategic approach to Facebook? Will they be successful on the platform?
You can't take an experience that works in one environment and one ecosystem and force-feed it onto another. It's like Zynga. They can't just take Farmville and throw it on mobile and see what sticks. The titles that have been successful for them on mobile are the ones they've built from the ground up for the platform.
Peter Vesterbacka of Rovio said this in an interview with Inside Social Games regarding Angry Birds' big move to Facebook. The (filthy rich) Angry Birds' "Mighty Eagle" also revealed that the Facebook version has been in the works for an entire year. This goes to show how seriously the company is taking the move in comparison to most studios who crank out Facebook games in a fraction of that time. However, the prime reason behind Rovio's extended development for Angry Birds Facebook is adapting the same experience to a different platform. One can imagine this is a challenge from either end of the spectrum.
[Image Credit: Game N Train]
What do you think of Rovio's strategic approach to Facebook? Will they be successful on the platform?
Thứ Ba, 3 tháng 1, 2012
'Twas a very merry Angry Birds Christmas, with 6.5 million downloads
You could also say that a lot of folks scored some sweet gadgets this holiday season. Finnish game maker Rovio told AllThingsD that its ubiquitous Angry Birds game had been downloaded 6.5 million times on Christmas Day. (The website points out that this is nearly the estimated amount of smartphones activated over the holiday.) Yup, Angry Birds is still cool.
"We're really excited to have such a massive number of new people get acquainted with Angry Birds over the holidays--we have exciting new releases lined up for 2012, and can't wait to introduce them to the public," Rovio's Ville Heijari told AllThingsD. The 6.5 million mark combines all paid and free downloads of the three Angry Birds games, and across all platforms, we imagine.
According to AllThingsD, this more than triples Angry Birds' downloads for Christmas 2010. Surely, that's helped by an extra Angry Birds release, but we bet there are a number of reasons why the game's downloads skyrocketed this Christmas. Between air time on several commercials, their visages on every damned t-shirt in Hot Topic and appearances at major cultural events, Angry Birds exposure hit a fever pitch in 2011.
We're also wiling to bet that this is far from the end for the irate avian creatures. More, unique Angry Birds games are reportedly in the works for 2012, and we're still a ways off from that feature film. So, don't expect these furious, flightless (sort of) foul to go away anytime soon.
[Via VentureBeat]
Are you surprised at all by the amount of Angry Birds downloads on Christmas Day? What mobile games did you download on Christmas Day?
"We're really excited to have such a massive number of new people get acquainted with Angry Birds over the holidays--we have exciting new releases lined up for 2012, and can't wait to introduce them to the public," Rovio's Ville Heijari told AllThingsD. The 6.5 million mark combines all paid and free downloads of the three Angry Birds games, and across all platforms, we imagine.
According to AllThingsD, this more than triples Angry Birds' downloads for Christmas 2010. Surely, that's helped by an extra Angry Birds release, but we bet there are a number of reasons why the game's downloads skyrocketed this Christmas. Between air time on several commercials, their visages on every damned t-shirt in Hot Topic and appearances at major cultural events, Angry Birds exposure hit a fever pitch in 2011.
We're also wiling to bet that this is far from the end for the irate avian creatures. More, unique Angry Birds games are reportedly in the works for 2012, and we're still a ways off from that feature film. So, don't expect these furious, flightless (sort of) foul to go away anytime soon.
[Via VentureBeat]
Are you surprised at all by the amount of Angry Birds downloads on Christmas Day? What mobile games did you download on Christmas Day?
Thứ Hai, 26 tháng 12, 2011
Angry Birds flutters to the web with Google Chrome
The Angry Birds are officially everywhere (you can't escape), as it was announced today at Google's I/O Conference that the bird-slinging game is coming to the web through Google Chrome. No, these aren't extra details on Angry Birds coming to Facebook, Rovio, the game's creator, has brought a new version of the game to Chrome OS and the Chrome web browser through the Chrome Web Store.
After navigating all that Chrome, users will enjoy soaring through new levels with amusing nods to Chrome in surrounding flowers and wildlife. Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka made the announcement, and said, "Now we'll make those flights more bearable," showing off the offline mode of the game (game data is stored locally). According to Vesterbacka, this edition of Angry Birds runs on OpenGL web development technology. Come to think of it, this could be the same way Rovio is bringing its hit game to Facebook, though we'll soon enough.
The Angry Birds Online is available right now on the Chrome Web Store, so give it a fling.
[Source and Image Credit: Search Engine Land]
Have you downloaded the game using Chrome yet? Do you think the Facebook version of Angry Birds will run the same way?
After navigating all that Chrome, users will enjoy soaring through new levels with amusing nods to Chrome in surrounding flowers and wildlife. Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka made the announcement, and said, "Now we'll make those flights more bearable," showing off the offline mode of the game (game data is stored locally). According to Vesterbacka, this edition of Angry Birds runs on OpenGL web development technology. Come to think of it, this could be the same way Rovio is bringing its hit game to Facebook, though we'll soon enough.
The Angry Birds Online is available right now on the Chrome Web Store, so give it a fling.
[Source and Image Credit: Search Engine Land]
Have you downloaded the game using Chrome yet? Do you think the Facebook version of Angry Birds will run the same way?
Thứ Bảy, 22 tháng 10, 2011
The Internet's Top 5 JRPG Gripes
Following on from a post I made a few weeks ago defending the turn based element of JRPGs and why I feel they should never die ( http://dontteasetheoctopus.... I started to read articles pertaining mainly to the downfall of JRPGs and why they are losing favour in the West. Many writers and forum contributors have hypothesised over why and how they need to be fixed and how pretty much every other genre in gaming, particularly WRPGs, have left the JRPG floundering in their wake for a last gasp phoenix down, in an attempt to prevent them from being totally wiped out by the BioBethehemoth.
There are stats and commentary to back these claims up. PSM3 posted an article on Gamesradar back in March ( http://www.gamesradar.com/p... which told us that the Japanese software market has slumped a staggering 40% from 537 billion yen (£4 billion) to 326 billion yen (£2.5 billion) between 1997 and 2009. Whether this slump is solely down to one genre of Japanese games or the growth of the gaming market in other areas of the world is debatable. I lean towards the latter personally.
At one point the Japanese gaming market represented 50% of the global gaming market and enjoyed what many observers describe as a 'Golden Age' during the PS1 era. The thing is, Japanese developers, particularly JRPG developers, have for the most part, only ever made games they thought Japanese people would enjoy, a notion backed up by Hirokazu Hamamura, president of Enterbrain, the publisher of Famitsu, in a recent interview with Mark Cieslak of the BBC ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/...
"The Japanese don't like shooting and war games very much. They prefer playing in fantasy worlds and battling with swords. I think there is very little interest in fighting with guns and this sort of combat game."
Catering to the Western market has only recently become a major concern for Japanese publishers as gamers and critics alike round on the JRPG genre with accusations of 'Galapagosization', and undoubtedly, some of them haven't gone about making their Western move in the best way. Square Enix being a case in point. Acquiring Eidos was hypothetically, a masterstroke as they inherited two of the most recognisable brands in the Western gaming market in Tomb Raider and Hitman. Combining Square Enix's expertise in the cinematic and emotionally attached gaming experience with Eidos' successful IPs , on paper, was a fantastic match which would allow the Japanese publisher to gain a foothold in the Western gaming market. Mixing JRPGs and Western developers together though is a tricky balancing act.
Front Mission Evolved, a treasured Squaresoft licence from back in the day was handed over to Double Helix Games for development, why? Double Helix are an amalgamation of Shiny Entertainment and The Collective, Inc. who between them are responsible for some of my favourite games: Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Xbox, Earthworm Jim on SNES and MDK. However, were they well placed to take a traditional JRPG IP like Front Mission and er...evolve it? Well, despite good intentions and some nice ideas the reviewers would say no...( http://www.metacritic.com/g...
GRIN were also left out in the cold, allegedly, from this hybridisation of the lauded Square Enix IP and the Western development studio. They were rumoured to be working on a Final Fantasy XII spinoff called Fortress, as reported by Kotaku ( http://kotaku.com/5341365/g... and numerous other reputable sources shortly after GRIN went out of business in 2009. Again, allegedly, I must stress this because to my knowledge this speculation is nothing more than internet fodder and CV snooping, they were expecting a large sum of money for the development of this title but that it was taken back in house due to Square Enix issues with the quality. Why a Final Fantasy licence was given to anyone outside of the core SE development studio is anyone's guess, especially since it's one of the most successful Japanese titles in the West anyway.
Sufficed to say, it doens't make any sense to me as a fan of Japanese games, to have a Western studio develop titles which fall into that category of IP and it doens't ring true for the fans either, this is gripe #1. Look at the backlash Ninja Theory received ( http://www.escapistmagazine... when it came to light they would be developing the new Devil May Cry game. Great studio, one of the few that could probably pull this off but the fans remain extremely sceptical. This is one of the internet's few JRPG gripes I can get on board with, I wouldn't want Square Enix developing Mass Effect 3 and I wouldn't want BioWare developing FFXV. Fans of JRPGs and WRPGs appreciate the differences and enjoy each for their respective strengths. There's absolutely no need to mix them up.
Another thing that seems to piss gamers off about JRPGs are their 'cliched' storylines, gripe #2. The reluctant hero is apparently all of a sudden an alien concept to some people who presumably have grown up watching Terminator 2 on repeat to be deluded into thinking that all heroes love what they do. In many JRPG cases, you're a reluctant hero, thrown into the fray by circumstances outside of your control. A giantbomb.com blog post bemoaned this at length earlier this year ( http://www.giantbomb.com/pr... I think the thing people forget, all too often, is that this isn't a narrative device limited only to JRPGs. A reluctant hero is part and parcel of the monomyth and common to all kinds of narrative from various cultures all over the world since, well, forever.
Amnesia has become a dirty word in the JRPG despite the fact that Fallout: New Vegas uses it as a plot device as does Shadowrun from Australian developers, Beam Software for the SNES way back in 1993.
The hero's family being killed at an early age or the hero being the last of his kind for some reason in some JRPGs never happens in WRPGs because they're so cutting edge and fresh. *cough* Baldur's Gate *cough* Divinity 2.
Waking up one morning to discover you've come of age all of a sudden and were special for some reason with a duty to save the world never happened in Neverwinter Nights, or Dragon Age, or Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or countless other WRPGs of the same ilk did it? Actually it did so I get frustrated when I hear that JRPG storylines are cliched. Most game storylines are cliched to some extent, so sorry internet, but you're going to have to come up with a better reason for hating JRPG storylines. Here's a tip: they're too melodramatic. I'll give you that one.
So what else, ah yes, gripe #3: 'uh, how cum i can juz wlk in2 sum1s house and steal dere stuff an no1 says nuffin dats juz dumb. jprgs suck lolz lolz lolz lolz. wrpgs ftw.' I'm not going to dwell on the looting point too much because it's so ludicrous but FALLOUT! ELDER SCROLLS! NEVERWINTER! BALDUR'S GATE! ETC ETC ETC ETC to INFINITY! Not only will you nick people's stuff but you will become encumbered with some of the most pointless loot EVER seen in videogames! I loved all the above games, loved them, but would frequently have to clear my inventory of cups, plates, goblets and other pointless things that I had found in chests or people's houses.
Gripe #4 is a pretty obvious one and probably the only one I'm going to categorically agree with. Random battles. They're tired, they're annoying and dozens of JRPGs have shown us a better way of doing things by having the enemies on the map for you to engage and avoid at your leisure. Some would argue that without random battles, players won't be ready to engage some challenges further down the line as they won't be levelled up enough but I think games like Demon's Souls have shown us that gamers learn through dying. It's fairly obvious that if something wipes you easily, you'll need to go and level up before trying again.
There are stats and commentary to back these claims up. PSM3 posted an article on Gamesradar back in March ( http://www.gamesradar.com/p... which told us that the Japanese software market has slumped a staggering 40% from 537 billion yen (£4 billion) to 326 billion yen (£2.5 billion) between 1997 and 2009. Whether this slump is solely down to one genre of Japanese games or the growth of the gaming market in other areas of the world is debatable. I lean towards the latter personally.
At one point the Japanese gaming market represented 50% of the global gaming market and enjoyed what many observers describe as a 'Golden Age' during the PS1 era. The thing is, Japanese developers, particularly JRPG developers, have for the most part, only ever made games they thought Japanese people would enjoy, a notion backed up by Hirokazu Hamamura, president of Enterbrain, the publisher of Famitsu, in a recent interview with Mark Cieslak of the BBC ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/...
"The Japanese don't like shooting and war games very much. They prefer playing in fantasy worlds and battling with swords. I think there is very little interest in fighting with guns and this sort of combat game."
Catering to the Western market has only recently become a major concern for Japanese publishers as gamers and critics alike round on the JRPG genre with accusations of 'Galapagosization', and undoubtedly, some of them haven't gone about making their Western move in the best way. Square Enix being a case in point. Acquiring Eidos was hypothetically, a masterstroke as they inherited two of the most recognisable brands in the Western gaming market in Tomb Raider and Hitman. Combining Square Enix's expertise in the cinematic and emotionally attached gaming experience with Eidos' successful IPs , on paper, was a fantastic match which would allow the Japanese publisher to gain a foothold in the Western gaming market. Mixing JRPGs and Western developers together though is a tricky balancing act.
Front Mission Evolved, a treasured Squaresoft licence from back in the day was handed over to Double Helix Games for development, why? Double Helix are an amalgamation of Shiny Entertainment and The Collective, Inc. who between them are responsible for some of my favourite games: Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Xbox, Earthworm Jim on SNES and MDK. However, were they well placed to take a traditional JRPG IP like Front Mission and er...evolve it? Well, despite good intentions and some nice ideas the reviewers would say no...( http://www.metacritic.com/g...
GRIN were also left out in the cold, allegedly, from this hybridisation of the lauded Square Enix IP and the Western development studio. They were rumoured to be working on a Final Fantasy XII spinoff called Fortress, as reported by Kotaku ( http://kotaku.com/5341365/g... and numerous other reputable sources shortly after GRIN went out of business in 2009. Again, allegedly, I must stress this because to my knowledge this speculation is nothing more than internet fodder and CV snooping, they were expecting a large sum of money for the development of this title but that it was taken back in house due to Square Enix issues with the quality. Why a Final Fantasy licence was given to anyone outside of the core SE development studio is anyone's guess, especially since it's one of the most successful Japanese titles in the West anyway.
Sufficed to say, it doens't make any sense to me as a fan of Japanese games, to have a Western studio develop titles which fall into that category of IP and it doens't ring true for the fans either, this is gripe #1. Look at the backlash Ninja Theory received ( http://www.escapistmagazine... when it came to light they would be developing the new Devil May Cry game. Great studio, one of the few that could probably pull this off but the fans remain extremely sceptical. This is one of the internet's few JRPG gripes I can get on board with, I wouldn't want Square Enix developing Mass Effect 3 and I wouldn't want BioWare developing FFXV. Fans of JRPGs and WRPGs appreciate the differences and enjoy each for their respective strengths. There's absolutely no need to mix them up.
Another thing that seems to piss gamers off about JRPGs are their 'cliched' storylines, gripe #2. The reluctant hero is apparently all of a sudden an alien concept to some people who presumably have grown up watching Terminator 2 on repeat to be deluded into thinking that all heroes love what they do. In many JRPG cases, you're a reluctant hero, thrown into the fray by circumstances outside of your control. A giantbomb.com blog post bemoaned this at length earlier this year ( http://www.giantbomb.com/pr... I think the thing people forget, all too often, is that this isn't a narrative device limited only to JRPGs. A reluctant hero is part and parcel of the monomyth and common to all kinds of narrative from various cultures all over the world since, well, forever.
Amnesia has become a dirty word in the JRPG despite the fact that Fallout: New Vegas uses it as a plot device as does Shadowrun from Australian developers, Beam Software for the SNES way back in 1993.
The hero's family being killed at an early age or the hero being the last of his kind for some reason in some JRPGs never happens in WRPGs because they're so cutting edge and fresh. *cough* Baldur's Gate *cough* Divinity 2.
Waking up one morning to discover you've come of age all of a sudden and were special for some reason with a duty to save the world never happened in Neverwinter Nights, or Dragon Age, or Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or countless other WRPGs of the same ilk did it? Actually it did so I get frustrated when I hear that JRPG storylines are cliched. Most game storylines are cliched to some extent, so sorry internet, but you're going to have to come up with a better reason for hating JRPG storylines. Here's a tip: they're too melodramatic. I'll give you that one.
So what else, ah yes, gripe #3: 'uh, how cum i can juz wlk in2 sum1s house and steal dere stuff an no1 says nuffin dats juz dumb. jprgs suck lolz lolz lolz lolz. wrpgs ftw.' I'm not going to dwell on the looting point too much because it's so ludicrous but FALLOUT! ELDER SCROLLS! NEVERWINTER! BALDUR'S GATE! ETC ETC ETC ETC to INFINITY! Not only will you nick people's stuff but you will become encumbered with some of the most pointless loot EVER seen in videogames! I loved all the above games, loved them, but would frequently have to clear my inventory of cups, plates, goblets and other pointless things that I had found in chests or people's houses.
Gripe #4 is a pretty obvious one and probably the only one I'm going to categorically agree with. Random battles. They're tired, they're annoying and dozens of JRPGs have shown us a better way of doing things by having the enemies on the map for you to engage and avoid at your leisure. Some would argue that without random battles, players won't be ready to engage some challenges further down the line as they won't be levelled up enough but I think games like Demon's Souls have shown us that gamers learn through dying. It's fairly obvious that if something wipes you easily, you'll need to go and level up before trying again.
Dsnyder (User) Trainee 1 bubbles 5 in CRank Score: 21030 "" PM Add as friend Track Ignore Report 4 unfair reasons people will take your bubbles.
4.Personal grudge.
Sometimes someone will hit the bubble down button on you just because they can. You made a simple comment to them that was pure blasphemy in their eyes and now they put you closer to a bubble down in rank. How often does this happen? Hard to say but it does happen. Sometimes people dont need a reason to bubble someone down. They just need to take out their anger on someone and you just happened to be in their way at the wrong time.
3.You commented first.
No matter how objective or politically correct your post was, if it was first, it will get attacked with disagrees, which is a pretty good indicator that people are taking bubbles from you too. You see, n4g is a big congregation of gamers with many different views on gaming, and some people here are more reasonable than others. Putting up a first comment might was well be like painting a bullseye on your chest. No matter what you posted, someone will hit disagree and possibly take your bubble. Sad? Yes. Common? Sadly yes.
2.You have an opinion (that differs from the other guy).
So lets say there is a really hyped game coming out. Everyone thinks it will be great but you have your doubts and you go to post why you think this game may not be as good as its hyped up to be. All of a sudden, you are bombarded with hate comments about how wrong you are and you have been slammed with disagrees and bubble losses. On N4G, if your opinion does not match the majority, you are on the majority's shit list. Nothing you ever do will get you bubbles and you will be shunned from the comments just because they want their subjective views to be law.
1.You are not a Sony fanboy.
Look at any first comment that has to do with praising PS3. Now look at any fist comment that has to do with praising Xbox 360. You will notice that in popular news, each comment has 100 agrees to about 40 disagrees for the positive Sony comment and vice- versa for the positive 360 comment. That means that Sony fanboys make up the greatest majority of N4G and like I mentioned in #2, majority rules. If you don't like Sony, you better not get too attached to your bubbles because posting anything Sony negative, even if its just an opinion and you are not trying to troll will be the fastest and most unfair way to lose your bubbles.
Sometimes someone will hit the bubble down button on you just because they can. You made a simple comment to them that was pure blasphemy in their eyes and now they put you closer to a bubble down in rank. How often does this happen? Hard to say but it does happen. Sometimes people dont need a reason to bubble someone down. They just need to take out their anger on someone and you just happened to be in their way at the wrong time.
3.You commented first.
No matter how objective or politically correct your post was, if it was first, it will get attacked with disagrees, which is a pretty good indicator that people are taking bubbles from you too. You see, n4g is a big congregation of gamers with many different views on gaming, and some people here are more reasonable than others. Putting up a first comment might was well be like painting a bullseye on your chest. No matter what you posted, someone will hit disagree and possibly take your bubble. Sad? Yes. Common? Sadly yes.
2.You have an opinion (that differs from the other guy).
So lets say there is a really hyped game coming out. Everyone thinks it will be great but you have your doubts and you go to post why you think this game may not be as good as its hyped up to be. All of a sudden, you are bombarded with hate comments about how wrong you are and you have been slammed with disagrees and bubble losses. On N4G, if your opinion does not match the majority, you are on the majority's shit list. Nothing you ever do will get you bubbles and you will be shunned from the comments just because they want their subjective views to be law.
1.You are not a Sony fanboy.
Look at any first comment that has to do with praising PS3. Now look at any fist comment that has to do with praising Xbox 360. You will notice that in popular news, each comment has 100 agrees to about 40 disagrees for the positive Sony comment and vice- versa for the positive 360 comment. That means that Sony fanboys make up the greatest majority of N4G and like I mentioned in #2, majority rules. If you don't like Sony, you better not get too attached to your bubbles because posting anything Sony negative, even if its just an opinion and you are not trying to troll will be the fastest and most unfair way to lose your bubbles.
Thứ Năm, 20 tháng 10, 2011
Why I can't play Warhawk anymore
For most of the loyal PS3 fan base, Warhawk is a staple, and most of us own it. Not to say for everyone, but certainly every once in a while we like to hop on for a few matches, perhaps you haven't reached the highest rank yet, or there's a trophy that's been eluding you.
Whatever the case my be, we are all drawn back to this title for one reason or another every now and then. This is my issue: I, even after a few years am still pretty good at the game, and I often average the top 3 in any given match. Apparently this is a problem, however.
Lately, it seems that when I join a match and do exceptionally well, say I have 95 points in a collection match whereas the next highest score in the game is 20. So I'm doing pretty darn good. I'm in the back of a jeep with two cores, the drivers making his way towards the base. I take out to warhaks with the mounted gun and score. I pick up three cores and with my machine gun take out two warhawks and then pull out my flamethrower and toast a tank. That's just one example of many. Needless to say more, I was probably perplexing those on the other team as to why they couldn't seem to beat me.
Now, not to brag, cause I'm not the best, I can't fly for crap, so I stick to the ground and I have my games where I'm absolutely killing it. So I'm living it up when all of a sudden the screen goes black. I think, did the match just end? I could have sworn there was much more time. Wait, no, It didn't end, I was banned from the server... again.
This happens way to often, and only when I'm doing exceptionally well. I only play on official, and dedicated ranked servers, and my connection is powerful to say the least. So what's the deal? Are payers reporting me because I'm doing so well that they believe I'm in some way modding? This isn't the case.
I'd like to be able to play Warhawk every day, but unfortunately, this issue ruins the entire game for me. Who wants to spend 20 minutes, playing that well, only to get kicked right before the end and lose all your xp from the match? Perhaps the system in place that allows innocent users such as myself to get banned for no good reason needs to be refined.
Unfortunately with the last update to the game more than a year ago and Starhawk supposedly around the corner, I don't think my wish will be met. Let it be known that no matter how good someone was doing in Warhawk, or how mad they made me, I never reported anyone. It's a fair game, but it seems that with a lot of younger kids on the servers nowadays, the Warhawk community is a little less mature than it used to be. Honestly, where has the respect gone for your fellow gamer?
Whatever the case my be, we are all drawn back to this title for one reason or another every now and then. This is my issue: I, even after a few years am still pretty good at the game, and I often average the top 3 in any given match. Apparently this is a problem, however.
Lately, it seems that when I join a match and do exceptionally well, say I have 95 points in a collection match whereas the next highest score in the game is 20. So I'm doing pretty darn good. I'm in the back of a jeep with two cores, the drivers making his way towards the base. I take out to warhaks with the mounted gun and score. I pick up three cores and with my machine gun take out two warhawks and then pull out my flamethrower and toast a tank. That's just one example of many. Needless to say more, I was probably perplexing those on the other team as to why they couldn't seem to beat me.
Now, not to brag, cause I'm not the best, I can't fly for crap, so I stick to the ground and I have my games where I'm absolutely killing it. So I'm living it up when all of a sudden the screen goes black. I think, did the match just end? I could have sworn there was much more time. Wait, no, It didn't end, I was banned from the server... again.
This happens way to often, and only when I'm doing exceptionally well. I only play on official, and dedicated ranked servers, and my connection is powerful to say the least. So what's the deal? Are payers reporting me because I'm doing so well that they believe I'm in some way modding? This isn't the case.
I'd like to be able to play Warhawk every day, but unfortunately, this issue ruins the entire game for me. Who wants to spend 20 minutes, playing that well, only to get kicked right before the end and lose all your xp from the match? Perhaps the system in place that allows innocent users such as myself to get banned for no good reason needs to be refined.
Unfortunately with the last update to the game more than a year ago and Starhawk supposedly around the corner, I don't think my wish will be met. Let it be known that no matter how good someone was doing in Warhawk, or how mad they made me, I never reported anyone. It's a fair game, but it seems that with a lot of younger kids on the servers nowadays, the Warhawk community is a little less mature than it used to be. Honestly, where has the respect gone for your fellow gamer?
Angry Birds for PC
Finally, those birds that everybody likes has arrived on PC. After iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobile versions, also iPhone cases and toys, Angry Birds has finally arrived on the PC thanks to the Intel App Up store. It’ll work fine and dandy on laptops and netbooks and will cost you only $4.99 to download. Nice price for this lovely game.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
angry birds for pc
activate free angry birds for pc
angry birds FLASH SCAM
angry-birds-online scam
free angry birds games full version for window xp
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
Angry Birds is a global phenomenon in mobile gaming and the top grossing iPhone app of 2010. So if you’re not a smart-phone wielding hipster, you no longer have an excuse not to be part of this franchise.
Overall it’s pretty much an identical game play experience to the iPhone app, with some minor differences. It’s snappy, gorgeous, and it sounds amazing. On the netbook version you use a mouse or trackpad instead of touch. There is an open hand icon when the mouse is in hover state, and a closed hand icon when you are clicking or dragging. This visible clue when pulling the slingshot is a nice aid. It allows you to fine tune shots more than just observing the angle of the slingshot band.
Angry Birds for PC
Larger screen means more visibility in the game. On many levels you can see the target that can’t be seen on the iPhone. The previous shot trail is more easily seen, allowing fine tuning of your next shot. Overall the animations and physics seem to have more fluidity.
In terms of features, options, menu etc it’s pretty close to the original. On the netbook the replay level icon has been added to the game space. So you don’t need to pause first then replay. If you start off with bad shot, just click the replay icon, then you can start over. Saving a click is nice. There is a Menu button in the Pause menu that gets you back to the Start screen. There are some things not in play on the netbook version. The leader board and achievements are not available in the main menu. The Golden Eggs are there.
Angry Birds strikes an interesting balance of repetitive, simple tasks and challenging game play working for the many scenarios. So, if you liked this game on your iPhone or Android phone, you’ll sure like it on your big PC screen. If you are new player, don’t hesitate and join the fun now.
You must know and recognize the game from the Rovio, Angry Birds.
This game consists of seven birds with super abilities are different. By using slingshots, you can control the jump and the height of ill-tempered birds to tear down the building where the collection of green pork fat is shelter.
Where is a funny collection of birds swelled, turned into a grumpy group of birds which destroy the kingdom of lustful pigs these cunning thieves.
Angry Birds now not only for the iPhone, Android OS, PS3 and PSP. even Angry Birds has been available in Ovi Store for Nokia. And now Angry Birds have been available for Windows XP and Windows 7
Free Angry Birds for PC
Plenty of dodgy website owners want to rip off Google and push traffic towards their sites on the bogus promise of the free version of Angry Birds for PC. This is only a scam but in fact there exists a download free Angry Birds for PC nevertheless, you will need to move quickly to take advantage of that offer
Finland games producer Rovio Mobile has produced their very 1st version of Angry Birds Game for the Apple iPhone. This particular game was immediately caught by the iPhonesters, and Rovio understood that they will become successful. That has been fine. However, Rovio needed to get going by recoding Angry Birds Games for several programs, which become easier for small companies to get done.
Several weeks went by and finally, the Nokia and Android users could get themselves the Angry Birds Game. After that, the RovioMobile switched their attentions to the huge users of the PSP or the Play Station Portable and the PS3. That has been an additional huge porting project for Rovio operations.
During that time, the PC users have been reading and hearing rumors regarding Angry Birds for PC. Ultimately, in January, Angry Birds for PC was released, and downloading is not for free. However, not everybody is willing to pay for $5 for just a game, even if they will enjoy playing with it. These days, several users have grown to be familiar of getting some thing for free, so there are many who are on the lookout for a totally free Angry Birds for PC download. It can be downloaded via Windows 7 and Windows XP and Vista, or Mac support. But downloading can only be downloaded if you have an internet connection for the process to activate successfully.
Angry Birds pc is one of the well-known games that have taken the popularity with over 200 million downloads. The availability of this game is taking place in almost all of the popular platforms. In addition to playing the game online in the browser you can now download it on your laptop and take it wherever you may go to enjoy the amazing games, enabling you to play whenever, wherever you go. Take it to your workplace or even in the park, while resting and basting under the sun. Probably launching the Angry Birds for PC the wisest and the best move the game maker ever made. This availability made for the millions of platform owners, even made the popularity of Angry Birds known to more video-gaming enthusiasts more than over.
Incoming search terms:
angry birds for pc
activate free angry birds for pc
angry birds FLASH SCAM
angry-birds-online scam
free angry birds games full version for window xp
- Angry Birds PC Updated
The PC version was updated last week which we talked about in this post. This update will finally include all episodes of Ham ‘Em High and the two chapters of Mine and Dine. I’m sure this is welcome news for all the PC players who have been feeling left out. It shouldn’t have taken this long to get all the episodes out but that’s in the past now so lets just get to playing. Since all the chapters are available you also have access to all of the golden eggs. You can finally complete your collection!
As a side note because I didn’t want to do an entire post about the subject, have you all seen the Angry Birds bra? It’s available over on etsy you should go check it out. I personally don’t know anyone who would wear it but i’m sure there is someone out there who would. I don’t recommend buying this for you girlfriend or wife unless she really loves angry birds.
Thứ Bảy, 15 tháng 10, 2011
The continuing misrepresentation of a small crisis.
Well, in about 9 days if PSN is still not back up, it will be a month since PSN was taken offline due to a security breach.
This event has shown just how sorry a state gaming journalism is really in. So much misinformation being spread around as though it were fact, no fact or source checking, random no-name bloggers and forum posters having their words taken as the gospel truth all in an attempt to continue tarnish Sony's reputation. To what end? Only the purveyors of these falsehoods really know. But let's break down everything that's happened and see how the lies and misinformation have been spread.
LIE #1: Sony were using outdated Apache software and no firewalls on the PSN servers, which was basically telling hackers to walk right on in.
Breakdown: This lie came up when a testimony was made during the congressional hearing about this issue by one Dr. Eugene Spafford. He claimed, based ONLY ON READING FORUM POSTS AND OTHER MAILINGS, that Sony was running outdated and unpatched Apache software with no firewall installed. Now before I go into why this is a lie, it's worth noting that the dates of these so called forum posts and mailings were for months ago and should have no bearing on recent events. What should be important is the latest data concerning this. And that's where the proof that this is a lie comes into effect. The site Beyond3D did their own semi-detective work using everyone's favorite spy, Google.
Using a Google cache method, members of Beyond3D were able to discover that not long prior to the breach, Sony was using the LATEST version of Apache software, fully patched, as well as showing that the good Dr. actually had no knowledge of what Sony's current security methods really were. Here's the direct link to the "investigation".
http://forum.beyond3d.com/s...
You'll note that the current software version was in place even BEFORE the attack took place. Which means Sony's security was perfectly fine. I can't personally confirm this right now, but I've heard that the hackers used a worm to bypass the firewall and then later tricked PSN into believing they were developers, i.e. a trusted source, for which there are likely different security measures. But that's unconfirmed.
Lie #2: Credit Card information was unencrpyted and in plain text.
Breakdown: This was spread around everywhere based on lack of accurate communication and misinformation. You can't pick any one source, it's enough to just say that it was said everywhere. This was disproven by Sony themselves who released an official statement that stated that CC information was encrypted. The messages sent out were a precautionary measure because CC fraud happens every day even with the information encrypted. The security experts and law enforcement also had access to see if the info was unencrpyted, and to date no official statement refuting what Sony has stated as been released. The claim that personal information such as phone numbers and addresses were in plain text however seems to be true. But what's worth remembering is that such things are public domain. Google can find anything or anyone it seems.
These two examples are lies, but there are also other forms of misinformation and general FUD that have been spread around.
"Sony didn't have due-diligence in protecting out information"
-Wrong.
"Sony should have told us day one everything that was going on"
-They didn't have all the information, and they owe us and the shareholders an accurate statement first and foremost. Look at what happened when they said "we don't know what happened but we're checking into it." Everyone got pissed. Now picture that exact statement, only right on the day they shut down PSN. You think you'd be happy?
"Sony's lying about when PSN will come back up"
-Except they never set a firm date. They told you when they HOPE to have it back up.
The point of this blog is just to show that so many sites have been fanning the flames of hate, disregarding truth and failing at basic source/fact checking. It's all about "teh hitz" and spreading controversy. This created a needless, yet very large, stain on Sony's reputation. One they didn't need as the problem with PSN was bad enough.
This event has shown just how sorry a state gaming journalism is really in. So much misinformation being spread around as though it were fact, no fact or source checking, random no-name bloggers and forum posters having their words taken as the gospel truth all in an attempt to continue tarnish Sony's reputation. To what end? Only the purveyors of these falsehoods really know. But let's break down everything that's happened and see how the lies and misinformation have been spread.
LIE #1: Sony were using outdated Apache software and no firewalls on the PSN servers, which was basically telling hackers to walk right on in.
Breakdown: This lie came up when a testimony was made during the congressional hearing about this issue by one Dr. Eugene Spafford. He claimed, based ONLY ON READING FORUM POSTS AND OTHER MAILINGS, that Sony was running outdated and unpatched Apache software with no firewall installed. Now before I go into why this is a lie, it's worth noting that the dates of these so called forum posts and mailings were for months ago and should have no bearing on recent events. What should be important is the latest data concerning this. And that's where the proof that this is a lie comes into effect. The site Beyond3D did their own semi-detective work using everyone's favorite spy, Google.
Using a Google cache method, members of Beyond3D were able to discover that not long prior to the breach, Sony was using the LATEST version of Apache software, fully patched, as well as showing that the good Dr. actually had no knowledge of what Sony's current security methods really were. Here's the direct link to the "investigation".
http://forum.beyond3d.com/s...
You'll note that the current software version was in place even BEFORE the attack took place. Which means Sony's security was perfectly fine. I can't personally confirm this right now, but I've heard that the hackers used a worm to bypass the firewall and then later tricked PSN into believing they were developers, i.e. a trusted source, for which there are likely different security measures. But that's unconfirmed.
Lie #2: Credit Card information was unencrpyted and in plain text.
Breakdown: This was spread around everywhere based on lack of accurate communication and misinformation. You can't pick any one source, it's enough to just say that it was said everywhere. This was disproven by Sony themselves who released an official statement that stated that CC information was encrypted. The messages sent out were a precautionary measure because CC fraud happens every day even with the information encrypted. The security experts and law enforcement also had access to see if the info was unencrpyted, and to date no official statement refuting what Sony has stated as been released. The claim that personal information such as phone numbers and addresses were in plain text however seems to be true. But what's worth remembering is that such things are public domain. Google can find anything or anyone it seems.
These two examples are lies, but there are also other forms of misinformation and general FUD that have been spread around.
"Sony didn't have due-diligence in protecting out information"
-Wrong.
"Sony should have told us day one everything that was going on"
-They didn't have all the information, and they owe us and the shareholders an accurate statement first and foremost. Look at what happened when they said "we don't know what happened but we're checking into it." Everyone got pissed. Now picture that exact statement, only right on the day they shut down PSN. You think you'd be happy?
"Sony's lying about when PSN will come back up"
-Except they never set a firm date. They told you when they HOPE to have it back up.
The point of this blog is just to show that so many sites have been fanning the flames of hate, disregarding truth and failing at basic source/fact checking. It's all about "teh hitz" and spreading controversy. This created a needless, yet very large, stain on Sony's reputation. One they didn't need as the problem with PSN was bad enough.
Blade Kitten, The game you didn't play
Ok this is going to be one of THOSE kind of blog posts, you know the ones where a person bangs on about a game nobody bothered to play and the author rags on people for not buying it. Ok I hope it doesn't turn out like that but I thought I'd give a warning to be on the safe side.
Let me tell you about Blade Kitten. It original started off as a game idea from Australia based Krome Studios' Steve Stamatiadis who also created Ty the Tasmanian Tiger and worked on the PSP, Wii and PS2 Star Wars forced unleashed games. Because of those projects getting in the way he decided to make it into a online comic series. The comics can be purchased by the way so if you are interested in Blade Kitten after reading this go to the official site at http://bladekitten.com/.
The comic series has a small amount of fame and is an independent comic series. The story is also based after the game. The comics are also ongoing so it's still telling it's story. The game on the other hand isn't a full game. Why you may ask? Well it's an episodic game that's in 2 parts and Atari has only released 1 of the episodes. Atari hasn't released episode 2 because not many people bought episode 1.
The game itself is a cel shaded 2.5D action platformer inspired by classic Castlevania games. The game focuses on exploration over combat. The controls are simple enough for kids to play and the story is enjoyable but you can tell that there is suppose to be more to it when you finish it. The games short for it's price tag but it's length will depend on what you do. If you rush through the stages it can be don't in a little over an hour but if you focus on finding all the treasure chest and skiffs it can take about 4 or more hours depending on the player. Admittedly the replay value is limited to just grinding for Hex and finding what you missed so you can unlock costumes, buy all the weapons and max out Kit Ballard's health and stamina. Episode 2 has improvements but we may never see it because it's release will be determined by sales.
The game is fun in my opinion but if you've read the reviews of the big boy reviewers they all pretty much said it's meh except Eurogamer who liked it. I have a review here on my blog site http://ultimablackmage.blog... so you can read it if you want my full opinion and a little more info on the game. What was the biggest complaint of the top of my head was the fact that enemies were too easy to kill. Now this didn't bug me but they are easy to kill. Again I remind you that the game is inspired by classic Castlevania games where the enemies where killed with a strike or 2 from your whip. The story is also complained about but I remind you it's only HALF A GAME.
I'm not asking people to buy the game, I'm asking you download the trial and then decide if you want to buy it. Even give the comics a read, they're pretty good. I admit I'm a bit bias towards Blade Kitten and patriotic towards it too since it's Australian made but it's worth a try. Unfortunately you can't download the PS3 version for obvious reasons but it's the same quality on all of them and it's probably dropped in price too. Also don't let that T rating in America fool you, this game is appropriate for kids and they will most likely enjoy the colorful visuals and cartoon like appearance.
If you do enjoy the game tell Atari you like it and want the second episode DLC to be released via email or Twitter. If enough people ask for it we may be able to pressure them to release it. I've been hounding them since November whenever I can and I can't do it alone.
Let me tell you about Blade Kitten. It original started off as a game idea from Australia based Krome Studios' Steve Stamatiadis who also created Ty the Tasmanian Tiger and worked on the PSP, Wii and PS2 Star Wars forced unleashed games. Because of those projects getting in the way he decided to make it into a online comic series. The comics can be purchased by the way so if you are interested in Blade Kitten after reading this go to the official site at http://bladekitten.com/.
The comic series has a small amount of fame and is an independent comic series. The story is also based after the game. The comics are also ongoing so it's still telling it's story. The game on the other hand isn't a full game. Why you may ask? Well it's an episodic game that's in 2 parts and Atari has only released 1 of the episodes. Atari hasn't released episode 2 because not many people bought episode 1.
The game itself is a cel shaded 2.5D action platformer inspired by classic Castlevania games. The game focuses on exploration over combat. The controls are simple enough for kids to play and the story is enjoyable but you can tell that there is suppose to be more to it when you finish it. The games short for it's price tag but it's length will depend on what you do. If you rush through the stages it can be don't in a little over an hour but if you focus on finding all the treasure chest and skiffs it can take about 4 or more hours depending on the player. Admittedly the replay value is limited to just grinding for Hex and finding what you missed so you can unlock costumes, buy all the weapons and max out Kit Ballard's health and stamina. Episode 2 has improvements but we may never see it because it's release will be determined by sales.
The game is fun in my opinion but if you've read the reviews of the big boy reviewers they all pretty much said it's meh except Eurogamer who liked it. I have a review here on my blog site http://ultimablackmage.blog... so you can read it if you want my full opinion and a little more info on the game. What was the biggest complaint of the top of my head was the fact that enemies were too easy to kill. Now this didn't bug me but they are easy to kill. Again I remind you that the game is inspired by classic Castlevania games where the enemies where killed with a strike or 2 from your whip. The story is also complained about but I remind you it's only HALF A GAME.
I'm not asking people to buy the game, I'm asking you download the trial and then decide if you want to buy it. Even give the comics a read, they're pretty good. I admit I'm a bit bias towards Blade Kitten and patriotic towards it too since it's Australian made but it's worth a try. Unfortunately you can't download the PS3 version for obvious reasons but it's the same quality on all of them and it's probably dropped in price too. Also don't let that T rating in America fool you, this game is appropriate for kids and they will most likely enjoy the colorful visuals and cartoon like appearance.
If you do enjoy the game tell Atari you like it and want the second episode DLC to be released via email or Twitter. If enough people ask for it we may be able to pressure them to release it. I've been hounding them since November whenever I can and I can't do it alone.
Thứ Sáu, 14 tháng 10, 2011
Go Commando with N4G to win an Xbox 360 and Gears 3 from GameStop!
N4G and GameStop want you to Go Commando with us on September 20! Don't think you get less than a cool breeze for your efforts: pledging to Go Commando could win you an Xbox 360 and a copy of Gears of War 3 courtesy of GameStop!
Prize: An Xbox 360 250GB console and a copy of Gears of War 3
How to enter: Comment below with your pledge to Go Commando September 20th! You have until September 27, 11:59 PM PST to enter.
Quick Notes:
-Contest available to US residents (GameStop's rules, not ours, so deal!)
-One entry per member. Spamming or creating multiple accounts will be a DQ
-Questions & comments can be directed to Cat ( http://n4g.com/user/home/ca... )
-While Go Commando Day is September 20, we're giving you until September 27, 11:59 PM PST to enter.
-All Prizing provided by GameStop
For complete sweepstakes rules: http://n4g.com/general/Game...
More about GameStop's incentives:
GameStop ( www.gamestop.com ) has some serious incentives to go with their Gears of War 3 pre-orders, and is encouraging fans to Go Commando on September 20th - show your support (or lack thereof) on the FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/ev...
and with the #GoCommandoDay hashtag.
They're giving away prizes to pre-order customers right up to October 3. By pre-ordering the game at an GameStop or at www.gamestop.com use your receipt info to enter a code once a day on the "Go Commando" website, www.gamestop.com/gearsofwar . The grand prize is a 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer with daily prizes of XBL memberships, an ATV, flatscreen TVs and autographed Gears 3 concept art.
Prize: An Xbox 360 250GB console and a copy of Gears of War 3
How to enter: Comment below with your pledge to Go Commando September 20th! You have until September 27, 11:59 PM PST to enter.
Quick Notes:
-Contest available to US residents (GameStop's rules, not ours, so deal!)
-One entry per member. Spamming or creating multiple accounts will be a DQ
-Questions & comments can be directed to Cat ( http://n4g.com/user/home/ca... )
-While Go Commando Day is September 20, we're giving you until September 27, 11:59 PM PST to enter.
-All Prizing provided by GameStop
For complete sweepstakes rules: http://n4g.com/general/Game...
More about GameStop's incentives:
GameStop ( www.gamestop.com ) has some serious incentives to go with their Gears of War 3 pre-orders, and is encouraging fans to Go Commando on September 20th - show your support (or lack thereof) on the FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/ev...
and with the #GoCommandoDay hashtag.
They're giving away prizes to pre-order customers right up to October 3. By pre-ordering the game at an GameStop or at www.gamestop.com use your receipt info to enter a code once a day on the "Go Commando" website, www.gamestop.com/gearsofwar . The grand prize is a 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer with daily prizes of XBL memberships, an ATV, flatscreen TVs and autographed Gears 3 concept art.
Some problems I have with Sony
I am a proud Playstation fan. I own a PS1, PS2, PS3, and 2 versions of a PSP. Been gaming on Playstation consoles for a long time and am pretty satisfied with my experiences for the most part. However, there are some things that Sony does that really frustrate me.
Omitting moments where it is crucial to have the most accurate and up to date information possible; my first problem is with Sony notifying PS users of things like maintenance schedules and the like. Oftentimes when Sony is going to do maintenance, the ONLY way to know about it is through the blog or on sites like this one. Sony SHOULD be notifying users through their PSN accounts and emails, but I have yet to ever receive such notification. One user here stated that Sony do not send messages to PSN accounts because it would be impossible to tell if it was an official Sony message or some spammer/hacker trying to work one over on you. But I say that, considering Sony has complete control over PSN, they could easily implement a way to let people know if they are sending an official message. It's incredibly frustrating to try and do something on PSN, only to be met with vague error codes or a message stating the service is under maintenance AFTER you tried doing something.
That brings me to my next point. Sony should be training its support staff to know what the frickin' error codes are all about. 80% of the time, Sony customer service don't even know what the error codes mean, nor do they acknowledge there is even a problem. For example, error code 80010514. That code means the Blu-Ray diode is done and you need a new one. But the only way to find that out is through the forums, not through official Sony channels because they don't know anything or don't acknowledge the problem. You'd think since it's their system, Sony should know about the error codes since they programmed the codes into the system to begin with. Sony needs to have better communication within the company so as to facilitate the resolution of consumer issues more quickly and efficiently.
My next problem with them is their sloth like speed at fixing their PSN site on the internet, if they are even bothering to fix it at all. There is an Account Management site where you can make PSN account changes on your PC without needing to use your PS3 or PSP. Changes such as adding funds, changing Billing information, that kind of thing. But ever since the PSN hack of April, that site has been down with a message saying the servers are down for maintenance. It's been almost 5 months. How long does it take to do whatever the hell they are doing with those servers?
My final issue with Sony is their lack of support for WPA2 on the PSP. I'm not sure about the PSP Go, but both of my PSP's do not support my security settings for my wireless network, thus I can't connect to my own internet connection because it uses a WPA2 AES security function. So even if I have a problem with PSN on my PS3, I can't fix it on PC because the site is down and I can't fix it on PSP because I can't connect thanks to the use of a wireless b card in my version of the PSP.
Like I said, I love the Playstation brand and applaud Sony for the monumental "right" moves they made with the brand. But some of the wrong moves they've made are VERY frustrating to solve on your own, and a waste of time to try and solve through customer service. I think that Kaz needs to light a fire underneath his employees to get these problems resolved quickly, but I doubt that will happen any time soon.
Omitting moments where it is crucial to have the most accurate and up to date information possible; my first problem is with Sony notifying PS users of things like maintenance schedules and the like. Oftentimes when Sony is going to do maintenance, the ONLY way to know about it is through the blog or on sites like this one. Sony SHOULD be notifying users through their PSN accounts and emails, but I have yet to ever receive such notification. One user here stated that Sony do not send messages to PSN accounts because it would be impossible to tell if it was an official Sony message or some spammer/hacker trying to work one over on you. But I say that, considering Sony has complete control over PSN, they could easily implement a way to let people know if they are sending an official message. It's incredibly frustrating to try and do something on PSN, only to be met with vague error codes or a message stating the service is under maintenance AFTER you tried doing something.
That brings me to my next point. Sony should be training its support staff to know what the frickin' error codes are all about. 80% of the time, Sony customer service don't even know what the error codes mean, nor do they acknowledge there is even a problem. For example, error code 80010514. That code means the Blu-Ray diode is done and you need a new one. But the only way to find that out is through the forums, not through official Sony channels because they don't know anything or don't acknowledge the problem. You'd think since it's their system, Sony should know about the error codes since they programmed the codes into the system to begin with. Sony needs to have better communication within the company so as to facilitate the resolution of consumer issues more quickly and efficiently.
My next problem with them is their sloth like speed at fixing their PSN site on the internet, if they are even bothering to fix it at all. There is an Account Management site where you can make PSN account changes on your PC without needing to use your PS3 or PSP. Changes such as adding funds, changing Billing information, that kind of thing. But ever since the PSN hack of April, that site has been down with a message saying the servers are down for maintenance. It's been almost 5 months. How long does it take to do whatever the hell they are doing with those servers?
My final issue with Sony is their lack of support for WPA2 on the PSP. I'm not sure about the PSP Go, but both of my PSP's do not support my security settings for my wireless network, thus I can't connect to my own internet connection because it uses a WPA2 AES security function. So even if I have a problem with PSN on my PS3, I can't fix it on PC because the site is down and I can't fix it on PSP because I can't connect thanks to the use of a wireless b card in my version of the PSP.
Like I said, I love the Playstation brand and applaud Sony for the monumental "right" moves they made with the brand. But some of the wrong moves they've made are VERY frustrating to solve on your own, and a waste of time to try and solve through customer service. I think that Kaz needs to light a fire underneath his employees to get these problems resolved quickly, but I doubt that will happen any time soon.
Thứ Bảy, 24 tháng 9, 2011
Soon, you might score some Angry Birds with that Starbucks macchiato
Angry Birds Starbucks
"Hey, I'll take a grande caramel cappuccino ... with an Angry Bird on top? Yeah, that works." We doubt most Starbucks baristas would do this nonsense just for you, but you might at least be playing a lot more Angry Birds in Starbucks locations soon. In fact, according to Bloomberg, you may soon take trips to Starbucks specifically to play Rovio's wildly successful game.
During an interview with Bloomberg, Rovio SVP Wibe Wagemans said that his company is in talks with the Seattle-based coffee company to set up virtual goods offers and perhaps even digital scoreboards in Starbucks locations. Keep in mind, however, that this is the same guy who made lofty claims like, "We are now the fastest-growing consumer brand in history."
But what honestly leads us to believe that this isn't merely poppycock is that the Finnish game developer has conducted similar partnerships with national companies in the past. Take Barnes and Noble bookstores, for instance, which offered Nook e-reader owners a free Mighty Eagle download earlier this year--just for visiting with their device in tow.
And don't forget that you can already find a bunch of Angry Birds-themed retail items like plush dolls and t-shirts in the book seller's stores. More importantly, who runs the in-house Barnes and Noble cafes? Yup, Starbucks. So, despite Starbucks's refusal to comment on or acknowledge whether it's talking to Rovio, all signs are pointing at least to a dash of Mighty Eagle with your mocha macchiato.
And Starbucks would be kind of dumb not at least dip one toe into the Angry Birds nest. With toys, cook books and a feature film in the works, Rovio's flagship brand is huge. Not to mention that a Facebook version of the game is in the works, according to Wagemans, which would all but blow this franchise wide open. It's a good time for Angry Birds, and they're looking to share the wealth ... anywhere, really.
[Image Credit: Food Beast]
Would you go to Starbucks just to keep your high score above your fellow coffee snobs lovers'? What do you think of Rovio's immense push into the retail world with Angry Birds? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
"Hey, I'll take a grande caramel cappuccino ... with an Angry Bird on top? Yeah, that works." We doubt most Starbucks baristas would do this nonsense just for you, but you might at least be playing a lot more Angry Birds in Starbucks locations soon. In fact, according to Bloomberg, you may soon take trips to Starbucks specifically to play Rovio's wildly successful game.
During an interview with Bloomberg, Rovio SVP Wibe Wagemans said that his company is in talks with the Seattle-based coffee company to set up virtual goods offers and perhaps even digital scoreboards in Starbucks locations. Keep in mind, however, that this is the same guy who made lofty claims like, "We are now the fastest-growing consumer brand in history."
But what honestly leads us to believe that this isn't merely poppycock is that the Finnish game developer has conducted similar partnerships with national companies in the past. Take Barnes and Noble bookstores, for instance, which offered Nook e-reader owners a free Mighty Eagle download earlier this year--just for visiting with their device in tow.
And don't forget that you can already find a bunch of Angry Birds-themed retail items like plush dolls and t-shirts in the book seller's stores. More importantly, who runs the in-house Barnes and Noble cafes? Yup, Starbucks. So, despite Starbucks's refusal to comment on or acknowledge whether it's talking to Rovio, all signs are pointing at least to a dash of Mighty Eagle with your mocha macchiato.
And Starbucks would be kind of dumb not at least dip one toe into the Angry Birds nest. With toys, cook books and a feature film in the works, Rovio's flagship brand is huge. Not to mention that a Facebook version of the game is in the works, according to Wagemans, which would all but blow this franchise wide open. It's a good time for Angry Birds, and they're looking to share the wealth ... anywhere, really.
[Image Credit: Food Beast]
Would you go to Starbucks just to keep your high score above your fellow coffee snobs lovers'? What do you think of Rovio's immense push into the retail world with Angry Birds? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
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