Diablo rising

Folks, in 2 days, the most anticipated game on the Personal Computer, Diablo 3, will finally hit North America with a wave of vengeance. Players who are going after the game had the following Options 1) Retail purchase, ether through normal or the ultra rare Collector's Edition(Which came with a copy of Diablo 2 for those who missed out) 2) Digital purchase 3) The WoW Annual Pass(The offer expired at the beginning of the month) So what do we know about Diablo 3? Well, the classes for start 1) Barbarian- From what I heard, this is the only class from Diablo 2 returning with a vengeance. There is also word that this is the same Barbarian from Diablo 2 looking for a little payback with Diablo. Instead of Mana, the Barbarian now utilizes Rage, the same rage from World of Warcraft's Warrior. They use abilities to generate Rage and spend it on even more powerful abilities. Good for slicing and dicing all those evil demons, or fresh carrots and cabbage for your nightly stew. And being strong as steel, they wield the most powerful weapons of the game. 2) The Demon Hunter- You thought the Diablo 1 Rogue and the Diablo 2 Amazon were bad to the bone, the Demon Hunter was born to be wild. They switch from being tactical to going all out with the fling of the bow with 2 resource bars: Discipline and Hatred. Hatred allows the Demon Hunter to go all-out with ranged weapons while Discipline gives the hunter more defensive abilities. To double cross this Demon Hunter is liking getting his with a mach truck with arrows being flung in your face. 3) The Monk- The era of the Paladin is over and taking its place is the new Monk class. They don't use powerful weapons. They rely on their fists and the holy spirit that flows as their resource. String up combos to get their Spirit up and unleash a powerful attack to really rip into an enemy. When things get rough, the Monk can provide defenses or heal to keep themselves or their companions alive. The will of the Monk is not one to be tested, lest you want a thousand fists in your face 4) The Witch Doctor- Consider this the new Necromancer, though it bares some similarities to the Warlock of World of Warcraft. In addition to casting deadly spells to cripple the enemies with deadly toxins and fire with the use of a Mana Bar, they can also summon up monsters from the netherrealm to cause chaos upon their enemies. They can even scare, confuse or turn enemies into chickens fit enough to throw into the fryer. This is one doctor that will cover my insurance. 5) The Wizard- Behold, the Wizard. Beware their powers. Diablo 1's Mage and Diablo 2's Sorcerer pales in comparison to what the Wizard can do. The Wizard, unlike the Mage and Sorcerer(And unlike the Witch Doctor), relies on Arcane energy to cast deadly spells. And while most classes use single target abilities, the Wizard goes all out with Area of Effect abilities that will roast, freeze, and twist multiple enemies like Snap, Crackle, Pop. She can even fire beams of energy to rip the foes apart. But with her Arcane powers diminishing, she can rely on twisting time or teleports to stay alive. The path of the arcane is a hard path. Will you choose the Wizard or go to another class? In addition, you will be accompanied by 3 followers with skills of their own 1) The Templar- A holy paladin of justice. Like the Barbarian and the Paladin before, the Templar attacks up close and personal. And much like the Paladins of old, they are also capable of healing those who are hurt. For Witch Doctors, Demon Hunters and Wizards, Templars are perfect for those who need to take the attention of the mob while you deliver the damaging goods. 2) The Enchantress- She ain't no evil enchantress for sure. While no Wizard, the Enchantress can deliver a barrage of spells to deal damage all while the Monk or Barbarian rips the enemy in the front lines. They can even charm enemies and force them to fight for you. Talk about having a back up plan. 3) The Scoundrel- Han Solo, he's not. But like the Demon Hunter, they are capable of long range attack. Regardless of what class you are, you may want to consider having this guy around you as you can defend them with a Monk or Barbarian, gun up with them as a Demon Hunter, or go all out with the Witch Doctor and the Wizard while they get the mobs' attention. Are you gamed for Diablo 3? Stay tuned. Meanwhile, watch this page as I talk about April's most disappointing NPD and why iOS may not be a good alternative ether.

Star Trek's holodeck slowly becoming reality

For those of you who are Trekkies, you are probabily aware of the Holodeck from Star Trek: The Next Generation The Holodeck, onboard the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701D, was well known for recreating environments and creating artificial intelligence for the user to interact with. It will be a long time before we can create actual environments to explore. But we seem to be closer to the Intelligence side than we thought. Have you ever had a conversation with a computer that wasn't one-sided? Virtual humans are the newest attempt to cross the uncanny valley and present individuals with computer-generated, interactive characters that can empathize, understand, and exhibit emotions. Artificial intelligence has come a long way, and research at the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies is pushing the limits of what's possible in modern computer science. I sat down with William Swartout, the Institute's Director of Technology, to discuss the future of virtual human interaction. He also let me play in their virtual saloon, where I got into a gunfight that was just a little too real. An actual gunfight in a virtual scenario. Now that's something to be cheering about. Who knows how long till the Holodeck technology becomes reality. Check out the works cited link for the entire interview on this technology. Works Cited Huffington Post

Microsoft and Motorola's mud fight

In case you haven't known, there's a feud going on between Microsoft and Motorola over Mobility Patents. Back on April 24th, an ITC Judge made a ruling against Microsoft over this. An International Trade Commission (ITC) judge has ruled that Microsoft violated several patents held by Motorola Mobility when it made its Xbox 360 console. ITC Judge David Shaw said that Microsoft infringed on four of five patents that Motorola filed on its complaint - International Trade Commission, No. 337-752. The patents in the complaint include technology like wireless connections to the Internet and video compression to speed up transmission of data, amongst others. Motorola Mobility has asked the ITC to bar importation of the infringing devices into the United States. The full commission will review Judge David Shaw's decision and issue a final ruling sometime in August. Microsoft issued a statement saying that it will ultimately prevail in the case: "We remain confident the commission will ultimately rule in Microsoft's favor," a company spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. Motorola Mobility said it was pleased with the decision by the judge: "Microsoft continues to infringe Motorola Mobility's patent portfolio, and we remain confident in our position," the company said in a statement. "We look forward to the full commission's ruling in August." A final ruling in August. This could make or break Microsoft, but not just on the X-Box 360. It may also affect them on Windows 7, the OS that replaced Vista in 2009. But of course, in Germany, an injunction against Microsoft just went out and slapped the big company in the face. Motorola Mobility has been granted an injunction against the distribution of key Microsoft products in Germany. The sales ban covers the Xbox 360 games console, Windows 7 system software, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. It follows a ruling that Microsoft had infringed two patents necessary to offer H.264 video coding and playback. A US court has banned Motorola from enforcing the action until it considers the matter next week. The handset maker is in the process of being taken over by Google. Wait a minute. Did you see what's in bold? It seems the good ol US of A has Microsoft's back. But how did we manage that? Well look no further. A United States District Court has ruled that Microsoft can continue to sell Windows and Xbox 360 products in Germany - even if a German court rules in favor of an injunction request filed by Motorola. The dust up (as reported by Ars Technica) is related to a patented technology essential to the H.264 video standard, which Microsoft uses in its software products. To say the ruling is unusual would be an understatement because a U.S. Court is basically interfering in a region it doesn't have any jurisdiction over. Judge James Robart of the US District Court for the Western District of Washington granted Microsoft a temporary restraining order after agreeing with the company's argument that allowing the German Court's injunction to go forward might compel Microsoft to negotiate a license under German law. In turn, the US court would lose its opportunity to make its own ruling on similar licensing issues. Microsoft argued that the US court should be the one to rule on the issue because Microsoft filed its lawsuit against Motorola over the terms of a licensing deal before Motorola filed its lawsuit in Germany. This is just the American courts enforcing Good Ol Conservative values on Motorola and Germany. In fact, we should go tell Germany "It's just the free market doing its job," even if said market can interfere with another country's free market. Works Cited: Game Politics Link 1 BBC News Game Politics Link 2

When companies bypass parents

Parents out there, I have a warning to give to you and it doesn't involve your child cursing out older Call of Duty gamers. It involves two companies: Apple and Facebook.

First off, Apple is being sued because their iTunes games are considered to addictive

Apple is being sued by a group of parents in a class action lawsuit because they call the company’s children’s games too “addictive.” The lawsuit was recently green lit by a San Jose judge.

According to the lawsuit the company’s games are:

“Highly addictive, designed deliberately to be so, and tend to compel children playing them to purchase large quantities of game currency, amounting to as much as $100 per purchase or more.”

Parents in the lawsuit argue that while the games can be downloaded for free in-app purchases can cause the cost of those games to skyrocket. The parents cite “Smurfberries” currency which sell in the Smurfs game for $59 per batch.

The lawsuit argues that children use their parents iTunes account to purchase the extras.


Now before you say "Well they should have ether safeguarded their iPads or not have bought them at all," I say "Apple is evil and they are corrupting the parents into buying the devices for the little ones." Isn't it obvious? Apple isn't trying to corrupt the children. They're trying to corrupt the adults. If I want my corruption, I got Steam to take good care of me. Isn't that right, Gabe Newell?

And as for Facebook, well you don't need a $700 tablet to get the job done.

A California mother is suing Facebook claiming that the company is allowing minors to make purchases via in-game micro-transactions and that allowing this to happen without parental consent violates California's consumer protection laws.

Glynnis Bohannon filed the lawsuit in California and is asking the court for a full refund on all the purchases made by her daughter without her consent. She also claims in her lawsuit that Facebook is not providing enough preventative measures to stop underage users from making purchases. She also wants refunds for "all parents and legal guardians in the United States whose minor children made unauthorized purchases of Facebook Credits from the minor child's Facebook account."

That means, parents. If your kids bought DLC from Facebook, you could be entitled to a refund. But unfortunately, there's a catch to this.

Under Facebook's policies regarding purchases, children under the age of 18 are not allowed to buy items off the site without parental approval. We're guessing that Facebook may say that this policy does not extend to third-party apps. We would also assume that giving your child access to a credit card is considered a form of consent in some legal circles, but who knows for sure...

Aww come on now, Facebook. Don't tell me how to be responsible. That is suppose to be your duty and prohibiting anyone under 18 to buy items off the site is not good enough. I'd say figure a way to go even further than just restricting kids from buying DLC.

Which reminds me. How did that wedding in Canterlot go? Did they get hitched? Did the villain who came out of nowhere win and converted everyone to Changelism?

Works Cited
Inquisitr
Game Politics

You know what time it is, right? That's right, it's time for the NPD Report. And it seems despite controversy over its ending, Mass Effect 3 has become a dominating factor in the industry. But what about the rest of em?

01. Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC)** Electronic Arts - 1.3 Million total, 4:1 Xbox:PS3, over double ME2's opening
02. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (360, PS3)** Capcom USA - 582K
03. MLB 12: The Show (PS3, PSV) Sony (Corp)
04. NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PC, PS2) Take 2 Interactive
05. SSX 2012 (360, PS3) Electronic Arts
06. Street Fighter X Tekken (PS3, 360)** Capcom USA
07. Mario Party 9 (Wii) Nintendo - 230K
08. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)** Activision Blizzard
09. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja (360, PS3) Namco Bandai Games
10. Major League Baseball 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PSP, PC, PS2) Take 2 Interactive

Let's just say this month belongs to Electronic Arts, regardless of how evil it is compared to Activision Blizzard

Starting at number 10 is Take 2's Major League Baseball 2K12, proving that baseball season is in season. Anime fans can't get enough of Naruto Shippuden at number 9. At number 8, The Call of Duty continues, but has started to decline. Mario throws a 9th party with Mario Party 9 at number 7. At number 6 is Street Fighter X Tekken. SSX 2012 from EA Sports. Meanwhile, Take 2's NBA 2K12 is at number 4 while MLB 12: The Show from Sony is at number 3. Despite harsh criticism, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City debuts at number 2. And at number 1 is Mass Effect 3, proving how many suc....I mean loyal consumers there are.

But what about Hardware? Well it's not looking good as hardware as all the systems saw a decline.

Xbox 360 - 371K (-14.3%)
PlayStation 3 - 337K (-7.7%) [PR Math]
Nintendo 3DS - 225K (-43.8%)
Nintendo Wii - 175K (-39.7%)

As for the Vita, it is around 200K.

So why the doom and gloom? Well...

NPD has revealed its March US retail sales data, and as several analysts predicted, despite BioWare's Mass Effect 3 topping the charts, overall it's not pretty. Total game industry sales dropped 25 percent to $1.1 billion, as total software across consoles, portable and PC fell 26 percent to $585.1 million, while hardware sales plunged 35 percent to $323.5 million.

"While it was a disappointing month, and first quarter, for new physical retail sales of video games hardware, software and accessories, it wasn't entirely unexpected given guidance we've seen from several sources," said NPD industry analyst Anita Frazier.

"Outside of new physical retail sales, we find that the consumer spend on content on used games, rentals, subscriptions, mobile games, social network games, digital full game downloads and add-on content accounted for an additional $2.5 billion to $2.7 billion across the U.S., U.K., France & Germany in Q1 2012."

It seems the digital trend is catching up and this generation is slowing down. But that's okay as long as I can continue to download my games.

Xenoblade Chronicles is out in North America courtesy of GameStop. But will Operation Rainfall respond with open arms? If you haven't bought your copy of Xenoblade, now is the time to do so. Here's hoping that Shulk becomes a playable character in Smash Bros 4.

Before I go, a Belated Moment of Silence. Jack Tramiel passed away on the Easter Weekend. He was known for creating the Commodore 64, which helped build the foundation of the Home Computer. He also brought Atari back up after the video game crash and formed Atari Corporation. You will be missed, Jack.

Works Cited
NeoGAF
Games Industry

Friday, April 6, 2012

Not a fool for EA

I hope you guys liked my April Fools joke I did of Electronic Arts on Sunday. But what isn't foolish for EA is that they are the first video game company to accomplish something.

They managed to get the Worst Company in America title: OVER BANK OF AMERICA! WOOOOOO!

After more than 250,000 votes, Consumerist readers ultimately decided that the type of greed exhibited by EA, which is supposed to be making the world a more fun place, is worse than Bank of America's avarice, which some would argue is the entire point of operating a bank.

To those who might sneer at something as "non-essential" as a video game company winning the Worst Company In America vote: It's that exact kind of attitude that allows people to ignore the complaints as companies like EA to nickel and dime consumers to death.

For years, while movies and music became more affordable and publishers piled on bonus content — or multiple modes of delivery — as added value to entice customers to buy, video games have continued to be priced like premium goods.

There have even been numerous accusations that EA and its ilk deliberately hold back game content with the sole intent of charging a fee for it at a later date. It's one thing to support a game with new content that is worth the price. It's another to put out an inferior — and occasionally broken — product with the mindset of "ah, we'll fix it later and make some money for doing so."

New, independent game companies do pop up all the time, but the cost of entering the market has historically been too expensive, making these indie innovators prime targets for acquisition by mega-publishers like EA. Our hope is that the growth of app-based gaming and downloadable games will continue to make it easier for developers to get their products out without the backing of companies that don't care a lick about the people who fork over their cash.

Oh well, Worst Company In America 2012 is officially in the books. All that's left to do is send off the Golden Poo to EA.

Who cares if Bank of America was responsible for crashing our economy. We got a bone to pick with EA for the Mass Effect 3 ending. Speaking of which, I have a feeling they'll botch up the newer ending once this is done.

However, we are not the only ones going after EA and this should have been addressed when it comes to Mass Effect 3 beyond the endings.

According to a GamesIndustry International report, Electronic Arts has become the target of a letter writing campaign by family advocacy groups who are upset with same-sex relationships in several of its games including Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. We reported previously that The Family Research Council and the Florida Family Association (two pro-family religious groups) were urging members to send form letter to Electronic Arts complaining about same-sex relationships in its game.

GamesIndustry International says that EA has been sent thousands of letters and emails protesting these relationship choices in its games and promising boycotts of their various products. The letters have been directed at EA's executive team, creative heads, its board of directors and others. The letters also claim that EA gave in to LGBT groups when they included these kinds of relationships - a charge EA denies.

"Every one of EA's games includes ESRB content descriptors so it's hard to believe anyone is surprised by the content. This isn't about protecting children, it's about political harassment," Jeff Brown, VP of corporate communications told the publication.

"EA has not been pressured by any groups to include LGBT characters in our games. However, we have met with LBGT groups and sponsored industry forums to discuss content and harassment of players in online forums. In short, we do put options for same-sex relationships in our games; we don't tolerate hate speech on our forums," Brown added.

I mean, to heck with the MAss Effect endings. Why aren't we complaining about the addition of LGBT characters? Sooner or later, a woman is gonna go lesbian after witnessing the Mass Effect 3 ending. But when it comes to Mass Effect 3, some people don't mind jumping on board.


We asked Matt Kane, Associate Director of Entertainment Media at GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) about campaigns such as the one Florida Family Association and Family Research Council have been spearheading.

"Anti-LGBT campaigns are falling into a pretty consistent pattern these days, in which messages of hate directed at our allies are met with an overwhelming outpouring of support for our allies in response," Kane noted. "Following Starbucks' announcing public support for marriage equality, 25,000 people signed a "Dump Starbucks" campaign, which in turn inspired more than 600,000 people to sign on to a "Thank Starbucks" campaign.

He continued, "The group 'One Million Moms' tried to have Ellen Degeneres fired from her role as a spokesperson for JC Penny, but the public expressions of support JC Penny received following the Stand Up for Ellen campaign were so numerous that 'One Million Moms' announced they would be 'moving on to other things.' Trying to rally Americans around messages rooted in hate is a losing proposition."

Ya know, that reminds me. I should consider getting myself an Ice Tea at Starbucks. That stuff is always good. NOOO! Starbucks supports LGBT. Supporting Starbucks is evil, just like supporting Coca-Cola and PepsiCola over dropping their support for ALEC is now evil. But I like Starbucks Tazo Ice Tea. The power of Christ compels you No, please. Anything but that.

Oh, where was I?

Anyway, one more thing before I gotta sign out. Valve's Gabe Newell is confirmed to be a Brony.

Considering the EQD Steam group is rollin with 8000+ members, I'm pretty sure a good amount of you have at least some ties to this guy. It has been a rumor filled mystery for a while now when it comes to the status of Gabe Newell and ponies. People have sent emails supposedly from him, professing his love for Rainbow Dash. TF2 regularly drops pony references, though I don't think he has direct control over that. This is the first time he has actually admit to it though! It's about time!

Coming soon, Pony Fortress 2 and Twilight Portals for PC.

Works Cited:
Consumerist
Game Politics
Game Industry
Equestria Daily

Something wonderful just happened

Recently, I found this link at Destructoid that points to Electronic Arts buying out Valve, the same Valve that created the Steam service. While I had the link with me, it seems to forward to some odd dating site. So here's the script in its fullest

April 1st- 2012: In a move that will shock PC gamers everywhere, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has announced that they have bought out the video game company Valve, known for games like Half-Life, Team Fortress, Counter-Strike and Portals, not to mention the Steam Digital Distribution service. Furthermore, all Steam titles will be transferred to the EA Origin service, along with any Steam Items acquired.

"We are thrilled to have the Steam infrastructure now built within Origins." John Riccitiello explained. "Gabe Newell is also thrilled to be doing this as he wants to bring more attention to PC gaming as a superior medium. We're also working with him on implementing Team Fortress 2 characters into our next Madden and Battlefield games, along with Portal items in Star Wars: The Old Republic."

Gabe Newell was nowhere to be contacted, but he did hint at a new Operating System from EA, stating that "Windows, Linux and Mac are old and obsolete dinosaurs. It's time for a new generation of OSs for PC gamers."

A new OS? A newer, better Origins? PC gaming finally becoming the new gaming system ever without Microsoft or Apple getting in the way? Count me in.