Archive for the 'Business' Category
November 18th, 2009, 2:06 pm by Jayson Peters
IncGamers recently spoke with Mesa-based Stargate Worlds developer Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment about the increasing flow of news about the long-stalled online RPG:
 “Yes it is good to have some new content to show and start to be back in the public eye,” marketing director Jeremy Taylor told the site. “Most of our time without announcements came from the uncertainty of funding as we did not want to give our community and fan base consistently changing info. Production has never completely stopped and we still have a good group of developers working on bringing good quality content to market. It is certainly true that we went through our fair share of attrition due to funding issues but there is a team here and they are very dedicated.”
“While we continue to seek funding to take us to the finish line we are doing better and are making good progress.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Mesa • PC • RPGs • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Stargate • Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment • FireSky • Stargate Worlds • vaporware | Post a Comment »
November 16th, 2009, 1:55 pm by Jayson Peters
Not long after announcing a lull in updates until funding could be worked out, the company behind the online roleplaying game Stargate Worlds has updated its website to thank fans for their patience and reward them with a slew of new images from the project. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Mesa • PC • RPGs • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Stargate • FireSky • Stargate Worlds • vaporware | Post a Comment »
November 13th, 2009, 1:46 pm by Jayson Peters
Is ABC 15 chief meteorologist Bill Bellis an alien? What else could explain his recent appearance on the polished bottom surface of the Visitor mothership, peering down at the huddled masses a la V star Morena Baccarin?
While watching the second episode of ABC’s alien invasion drama on Tuesday, I had to laugh out loud at a clever weather promo featuring Bellis (pictured, right) addressing viewers from the celestial PA system Visitor high commander Anna (Baccarin, left) uses to greet the unsuspecting people of Earth.
Jim Hart, ABC 15’s director of creative services and local programming, told me the idea for the unusually immersive promo was generated locally. “We have the very good fortune of having a group of creatives that can turn an idea into reality and at the same time just have a little fun for our viewers,” he said via e-mail.
You can watch the whole reality-shattering ad spot after the jump - and you can watch full episodes of V at abc.go.com. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Business • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Television • ABC15 • Advertising • Bill Bellis • Media • V | Post a Comment »
November 12th, 2009, 1:40 pm by Jayson Peters
Gamers by the millions turned out this week to trade their shiny gold rocks for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in what The Associated Press is calling the biggest-selling launch in the history of entertainment. Activision stock rose Thursday morning on this enthusiasm. And a reported million or so gamers remain banned from Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE service for modifying their hardware to play illegally copied software.
Microsoft told BBC News today that the banning is permanent, and that affected users will have to buy a new Xbox 360 console to recover their profiles and resume Xbox LIVE membership.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Nerd rage • Piracy • Xbox 360 • Activision • Microsoft • MW2 • Xbox LIVE | Post a Comment »
November 11th, 2009, 12:08 pm by Jayson Peters
 “I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.”
Information Week is reporting that Microsoft has banned up to a million gamers from Xbox LIVE, claiming the booted users have modified their Xbox 360 consoles to play pirated games.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Nerd rage • Piracy • Technology • Xbox 360 • Xbox LIVE | Post a Comment »
November 11th, 2009, 11:57 am by Jayson Peters
Opposition seems to be growing to the use of Amazon’s e-book reader in an academic setting.
 Two universities this week said they will shun the device unless Amazon makes changes to make it more accessible to the visually impaired.
In June an ASU student, backed by the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind, sued Arizona State University over the use of the Kindle DX for textbooks, saying its lack of a nonvisual user interface locks the blind out of the new technology and puts them at a competitive disadavantage.
Not long after that, Amazon made waves (and provoked a lawsuit) with its decision to yank purchased content from users’ Kindles because it consisted of unauthorized editions of literary classics. (Amazon later settled the rights issues and attempted to make it up to consumers.)
See also:
Posted in: Books • Business • Technology • Amazon • e-books • Kindle • lawsuit • Litigation | Post a Comment »
November 10th, 2009, 10:15 am by Jayson Peters
If you’re going to be traveling this holiday season, you can thank Google for the free Wi-Fi.
 The ubiquitous tech giant is offering free wireless Internet service at 47 airports and on every Virgin American flight. All you need is a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop or mobile device.
There’s a catch: Google will hit you up for a charitable donation that they will match, up to $250,000. And they’ll probably monitor everything you do and say while online, and record it for posterity or the inevitable government takeover of your life.
But hey, it’s FREE!
Phoenix Sky Harbor is NOT among the participating airports … but they already have free Wi-Fi.
Via CNN Money
Posted in: Business • Free stuff • Internet • Technology • Google • Travel | 2 Comments »
November 10th, 2009, 10:03 am by Jayson Peters
 American gamers will be getting second helping of zombie-plague madness this spring when Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition becomes available.
Capcom says the new version of the game, which includes a new scenario called “Lost in Nightmares,” will be released this spring as downloadable content to owners of the blockbuster game via Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network.
In Japan the new edition will be available as a regular game disc at retail outlets, but Capcom said surveys show North American and European fans preferred DLC in a blind taste-test. As Kotaku points out, this conveniently means you can’t sell or trade the game away and just pick up the new and improved version later.
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Horror • PlayStation 3 • Xbox 360 • PlayStation Network • Resident Evil • Xbox LIVE | Post a Comment »
November 9th, 2009, 9:40 am by Jayson Peters
 The latest installment in the epic fantasy series “The Wheel of Time” has dethroned Dan Brown’s latest thriller on the New York Times bestseller list.
The Gathering Storm, by the late Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, took the top spot last week, knocking off The Lost Symbol, which spent seven weeks there.
Sanderson, who was chosen to finish the series after Jordan died in 2007, shares his thoughts on the achievement here in his personal blog:
The thing is, I don’t feel I can take much — if any — credit for this. The reason this book turned out as well as it did (and thank you all for your kind emails, posts, and reviews) was because of the work Robert Jordan did before he passed away. He literally lay on his deathbead dictating scenes for you, too weak to write. He loved his readers dearly, and those of you lucky enough to meet him know that he was a truly kind and generous man.
The author will meet with fans Nov. 16 at the Scottsdale Public Library.
Posted in: Books • Bragging rights • Business • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Brandon Sanderson • Robert Jordan • Wheel of Time | Post a Comment »
November 8th, 2009, 9:34 pm by Chris "KeL" Adams
 Video game fans in northeast lucked out this weekend when certain GameStop stores there started selling copies of the soon-to-be smash hit “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.” Reportedly, the company made the decision to break the street date of Nov. 10 due to the fact that some competitors were already selling their copies.
Usually those who manage to wrangle a copy of a game early just get to gloat to their friends, but with the built in perks and advancement system in CoD: MW2 a few days headstart could give some gamers quite a leg up when playing opponents online.
I’m not much of a first-person-shooter fan, but I’ve been swayed over by the hype and will be jumping aboard the bandwagon just as soon as I can get a copy. Unfortunately, since I’ve been unable to find any local stores willing to risk Activision’s wrath, it looks like I’ll have to be satisfied with picking it up 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning. If you’re like me, here’s a list of Best Buy and GameStop locations that will have midnight openings for your terrorist fighting pleasure.
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Call of Duty • MW2 | 1 Comment »
November 8th, 2009, 9:28 am by Jayson Peters
Stargate Worlds, the planned online roleplaying game based on the sci-fi movie and TV series, is now officially on hold until further funding can be found.
Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment CEO Timothy Jensen told Massively that the company’s recent website outage was due to a change in server providers. Around that same time, footage from the stalled game appeared in the Oct. 2 series premiere of Stargage Universe on Syfy, raising many fans’ hope that Stargate Worlds was finally going to shake its vaporware reputation.
But Jensen also said no new updates on the game’s status will come until more money can be secured.
The company and its founder and principal owner, Gary Whiting, were recently sued by investors who claim misuse of company funds. The Mesa company was granted a license by MGM in 2006 to develop an online roleplaying game based on the Stargate film and TV series, but those efforts have repeatedly stalled as the game’s financial backing came into question.
Meanwhile, Atari’s MMORPG Star Trek Online is forging ahead at warp speed. The company recently announced a Feb. 2 launch date for North America.
Via IncGamers
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Mesa • PC • RPGs • Stargate • Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment • FireSky • SGU • Stargate Worlds • Syfy • vaporware | Post a Comment »
November 7th, 2009, 12:22 am by Jayson Peters
Ever heard of Domo?
Those not in the know are probably scratching their heads after visits to 7-Eleven convenience stores. That’s because Domo, the mascot of Japan’s NHK television station, has expanded his empire to include Slurpees, bad coffee and truly terrible hot dogs. The gassy, meat-loving, apple-hating, egg-born cave-dweller can be seen on 99 cent coffee cups and other products. (You can check out lots of pictures at Top Cultured, or just head on down to your local 7-Eleven.)
It’s not Domo’s first foray into American retail: In 2008 the character was used in Target’s Halloween promotions.
Posted in: Anime • Business • Geek gear • Kaiju • Manga • Television • Toons • Weird • 7-Eleven • Domo • japan | Post a Comment »
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