bitburo

Social engineering, one of the oldest methods of accessing information you’re not supposed to, recently claimed another victim in the Xbox Live community: Halo 3 multiplayer producer Joe Tung. Bungie has confirmed that Tung’s Xbox Live gamertag (and all of the information associated with it) had been compromised.

“We can confirm that Joe’s account was compromised,” Bungie Studios writer Luke Smith told MTV News. “Representatives from Microsoft aided Joe in swiftly resolving the issue.”

Read more

Bethesda has announced that gamers lucky enough to attend PAX this year might also get some hands-on time with Fallout 3- that is, if you’re lucky enough to make it to their booth in the 50,000 strong crowd.

Six Fallout 3 kiosks will be running in the Bethesda booth, and developers will be on hand to talk to fans. Even if you aren’t one of the lucky ones who gets some hands-on time with what many are already calling the game of the year, Bethesda will be conducting a live demonstration in the Main Theater at 2:30PM on Saturday, and later that night they’ll be hosting a post-apocalyptic movie showing in the Raven Theater.

(via Kotaku.com)

Sega has released a new gameplay trailer for their Wii remake of the Dreamcast cult classic, Samba da Amigo. If you’re epileptic then you probably shouldn’t watch this, but if not, keep an eye out for another staple Sega character - Sonic the Hedgehog.

Affordable SEO

Some of you may have already read about the school murder which occured in South Africa the other week. An 18 year old, reportedly dressed as a member of the band Slipknot, attacked a 16 year old boy with a ’samurai sword’ and left him to bleed to death on the schoolyard. Another student and two gardeners were also injured.

It’s tragic, and unfortunately it seems to happen fairly frequently (adolescents committing violent crimes, not masked ninja-attacks), so by now we’re familiar enough with the scenario that we can look at the situation from a reasonable standpoint. Right?

Read more

The classic PC franchise is making its way over to WiiWare, developer Hudson announced today, and the new title’s focus hasn’t shifted from what it’s always done best: online play. The new WiiWare game boasts 8-person multiplayer battles, leaderboards and online tournaments.

“The Bomberman franchise is one of Hudson Entertainment’s most popular,” said Sabine Duvall, Vice President of Product Development at Hudson Entertainment. “We’re driven by the support of the fans and strive to provide unique new gameplay features with each new Bomberman title to please the longtime fans, as well as make the game accessible to newcomers.”

To sweeten the deal, you’ll even be able to play as your Mii. Given my half-forgotten love affair with this game almost a decade ago, I’m definitely going to download.

Mark it on your calendar, guys, and I’ll see you in the Bomberman Arena. I hope you like the taste of sulfur.

(via Kotaku.com)

Every gamer old enough to hold down a job has at least once fantasized about revving up their Lancer and taking their boss down a peg. Well, Hollywood has done you one better - they’re taking out their future bosses and getting some great industry contacts in the process.

Nerd Poker was started by a group of young Hollywood execs who were fed up with getting ‘owned’ by teenagers and the nasally mockery that entails. It began with four people, screenwriter Justin Marks, Variety reporter Ben Fritz, Misher Films exec Kevin Chang and William Morris agent Derek Douglas. Now membership has swollen to 95, and they play every Thursday.

Justin Wilson, director of alumni relations at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, explains that Hollywood networking is usually “of the boring, drinking variety,” and that networking boils down to “getting yourself in front of someone so they’ll remember you.”

Personally, I’d prefer to be remembered as the stealthy assassin who decimated your entire team from the shadows rather than “the scruffy young guy who couldn’t hold his martinis real well - but hey, he told that great story about the Siamese twins,” so I can definitely see the appeal.

(via LA Times)

Was the newest Grand Theft Auto installment a little too short for you? Good news, gamer- according to an unconfirmed report from RPG-TV, the first of two installments of Downloadable Content for the title is slated to hit the Xbox 360 this November, adding a whopping 15 hours of extra gameplay to the story.

So far neither Microsoft nor Rockstar have commented, keeping mostly silent about what the DLC is going to include. The only concrete information they’ve confirmed is that it will be available some time this fall.

Wow, two internet rumors in one day. This is real journalism, folks, stand back and marvel.

(via Shacknews)

If you’re reading this, chances are you own a Wii, PS3 or an Xbox 360. You might even own two. But chances are you don’t have all three (unless you’re one of those jerks who makes more money than me) and it’s with that in mind that I’m posting this list.

I’ve compiled five different websites for each system (that’s 15 sites in total, if you’re really poor at math) where you can enter to win a free console. Some of these are geographically restricted, so make sure to read the fine print.

Just an FYI, but you may want to use a throw-away email address when you enter these, as I get the distinct impression you’ll be signing up for about a thousand different newsletters. Don’t forget to check that email once the contest is up, though!

Read more

The internet grapevine is abuzz with the newest Xbox 360 rumor, namely that the repriced Arcade console will ship with a motion controller and a set of mini-games developed by Rare in time for the 2008 Holiday season.

A source at Microsoft spilled the beans to Xbox 360 Fanboy, saying that the Arcade will come bundled with the usual items (512 MB memory card, etc.) as well as a motion sensitive controller. That combined with the price slash will put the 360 in direct competition with the Wii for holiday shoppers.

None of this has been officially verified by Microsoft, so it could very well be that none of the above is true, but following the blatantly casual-centric Xbox push at Leipzig, I wouldn’t be surprised.

We’re all too aware of the horrible dangers associated with violent video games; ten minutes with the wrong software title and even the most sane individual can begin to lose their grip. Grand Theft Auto IV is basically the Necronomicon of video games, but what about other, equally dangerous genres we haven’t considered?

We were so focused on GTA IV and Madworld that we neglected to notice the quiet killer in our midst, flying just below the radars: racing games. Now we’re paying the price.

Daniel Savino of Davis County, Utah, took UHP officers on a harrowing 100mph motorcycle chase down the I-15, north of Salt Lake City, before losing control. The bike slid under a Ford Explorer, where it burst into flames. Luckily, all of the passengers in the SUV managed to escape unscathed.

And the motive? Savino told officers that it was his own “video game adventure.” Of course. Which is harder to swallow, the idea that Savino actually expected anyone to buy that excuse, or that “KSL News Radio” decided to print it?

(via Kotaku.com)

Midway has released a new video for the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe game, in which Hector Sanchez (the game’s producer) walks us through the new “Rage” mode and then takes some time to examine the character that I’m most excited about: The Joker. If you haven’t seen this video yet, check it out.

Cooooooooooooooooooooool.

The Warhammer Online closed beta finally had its NDA lifted this week, with its invitiation only preview weekend kicking off this weekend. Open beta itself will start September 7th and official release is September 18th.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been experimenting with the closed beta and I must say there have been quite a few things I’ve liked and disliked about the game.

The Public Quest system has been a great idea from the get go. Essentially, zones have a specific area (or more than one specific area) in which players must complete objectives for each teir of the zone. For example, players must first kill a lot of high elven guards, then knock over a bunch of braziers to burn down the high elven fort. Then a boss and some mobs come out and the players must kill them.

Players do not need to be in a party to participate and all players that provided a deal of assistance in achieving the end goal get to roll for a few loot bags that are up for grabs. Each loot bag allows you to pick one item from the bag and the power or usability of the item reflects the level of the loot bag you acquired. For those that participated, but did not win a loot bag, they get a bonus on their loot bag roll if they participate in the public quest again after it resets.

Additionally, as players participate in public quests, they accrue influence for that zone. There are 3 levels of influence in each zone and reaching each level allows you to pick a reward. The first tier is generally potions, but the second and third are generally equipment.

Read more

University of Manchester professor Richard Heeks has composed an 87-page analysis of the gold farming industry, entitled Current Analysis and Future Research Agenda on “Gold Farming”: Real-World Production in Developing Countries for the Virtual Economies of Online Games.

“From the start of the 21st century, a new form of employment has emerged in developing countries,” reads the report, “It employs hundreds of thousands of people and earns hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Yet it has been almost invisible to both the academic and development communities. It is the phenomenon of ‘gold farming’: the production of virtual goods and services for players of online games.”

The analysis takes into account information from sources such as NPR articles, gaming blogs, Wikipedia and online forums.

(via GameSpot)

Most of you will probably remember the incident in Thailand a few weeks ago where a young man murdered a taxi driver, which subsequently prompted the Thai government to ban Grand Theft Auto IV outright.

Clinical psychologist Franck Diboues’ article on the relationship between video game violence and real life crime was published today in the Bangkok Post- and it’s surprisingly thoughtful and interesting (despite comparing graphic video games to illegal narcotics). When I saw another article on the Thailand incident I inwardly cringed, expecting further knee-jerk scapegoating of GTA IV — this time from a licensed medical professional — but instead I found an in-depth and balanced look at the debate that has been going back and forth for years.
Read more

Springing from Microsoft’s “casual-centric” stand at the Leipzig GC this year, Greg Howson of the Guardian’s gaming blog has posed this question to his readers: if Microsoft chose to rebrand their console, what new name should they use?
Read more

Stargate Worlds, an upcoming space MMO based on the popular Stargate TV series, will be starting closed beta testing very soon. mmolecule.com is currently hosting a lottery for 200 of the beta testing keys, available only to members of their online community. Sign up before Sept. 20th and you’re in the drawing. If you’re really dying to play this game, you can improve your odds by hosting an active website on the Stargate Worlds Command, a clan management service offered by mmolecule.com.

“Like millions of fans around the world, we’re very anxious to dive into Stargate Worlds,” said Andrew Muchmore, COO and co-founder of mmolecule, in a press release. “This is a great opportunity for mmolecule members to get into the game. We look forward to offering more tools, services, and contests involving Stargate Worlds in the very near future.”

The game looks pretty cool- despite the “About” section of their website, which appears to have been written by the CEO’s fourteen year old nephew. It describes the game as “a super-sized sci-fi adventure that will send you and your buddies around a galaxy dipped in liquid awesome.” While I don’t know about all that, I wouldn’t mind driving one of these things.

If you’re really into the show (as I know many people are) then this is at least worth a look.

It would appear as though the rumors of a price drop for the Xbox 360 are true (as uncharacteristic for internet rumors as that may be). Joystiq posted a Radio Shack flyer which suggests a pretty dramatic price drop. The new prices would be as follows: $299 for a 60GB Xbox 360, $199 for the Arcade (which will drop $80), and $399 for the Elite. The price change appears to come into effect for the week of September 7th.

Is the $50 price cut enough to push the 360 back into the NDP lead over the Wii? Maybe, maybe not, but it is enough to let new 360 users snag an extra game title with their purchase.

Maryland-based Hillcrest Labs has filed a patent complaint and a lawsuit against Nintendo, claiming that the Wii has infringed upon their patents for “a handheld three-dimensional pointing device” and “a navigation interface display system that graphically organizes content for display on a television.”

Their statement also says that “while Hillcrest Labs has a great deal of respect for Nintendo and the Wii, Hillcrest Labs believes that Nintendo is in clear violation of its patents and has taken this action to
protect its intellectual property rights.”

Hillcrest makes a product called HōME, which “enables consumer electronics manufacturers and service providers to create unique interactive digital media products for TV and other digital media devices.”

A copy of their statement can be found here. Nintendo of America spokesperson Charlie Scibetta says that Hillcrest has yet to file the lawsuit with Nintendo, “We have not been served with any lawsuit or other action by Hillcrest and therefore have no comment.”

This lawsuit is hot on the heels of another patent suit which resulted in Nintendo being ordered to pay out $21 million to Anascape Ltd.

Microsoft Corp. and Rock the Vote have announced a partnership which will allow Xbox LIVE users to register to vote, participate in political discourse, and provide feedback to presidential candidates all without leaving the basement. Plans go into effect on Monday, August 25th, which is also the day of the Democratic National Convention.

“Xbox is a natural partner to help us reach out to youth voters,” said Heather Smith, executive director, Rock the Vote. “To realize our goal of registering 2 million young Americans by this fall, we need to go where young Americans are, and there’s no doubt in our minds that many are on Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE.”

With membership at around 12 million users, if Xbox LIVE were a state it would be the seventh largest and possess 20 electoral votes, per News Blaze.

“The Xbox LIVE community is active, vocal and passionate,” said Marc Whitten, Xbox LIVE general manager, “We’re thrilled to partner with Rock the Vote to make it easier than ever for youth voters — and our members — to register and be heard.”

Xbox will be present at both the Democratic and Republican conventions, demonstrating the parental controls on their game console and advising participants about safe online interaction.

At their Games Convention ‘08 presentation, Activision revealed a pretty neat Wii-only feature for the upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour title - the ability to play as your Mii.

Improved graphics be damned, this announcement has sealed the deal on which console I’ll purchase World Tour for. It also gives me an excuse to pick up this bad boy:

It’s the Shredmaster by dreamGEAR, a wireless Wii guitar. So shiny and new that it isn’t even up on their website yet.