Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the best selling game of the year, and Jeep is taking full advantage of that with a special edition of the Wrangler. The only thing that would be cooler than this is if the vehicle was drivable in the multiplayer…
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A Kiwi gamer who goes by the name of StatiC was taken to Turkey for a journey into Iraq to see what a warzone experience was really like. This trailer has already caused some controversy, but it sure looks like an intriguing entertainment experience.
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Star Wars Galaxies has officially shut its servers, marking over eight years of the service. The final day was marked with X-Wings being deployed and fireworks launched, like the ending of Return of the Jedi.
“On behalf of the Star Wars Galaxies team, thank you,” said SOE on its website. “We have truly enjoyed getting to know you – our dedicated players – over the years. From in-game events to Fan Faires, we appreciate your continued loyalty and support. It would not have been possible without you.”
Facebook has launched its new Timeline features. First announced three months ago, it is designed for users to share more of their personal history on the social network.
“Timeline gives you an easy way to rediscover the things you shared, and collect your most important moments,” said Facebook engineer Paul McDonald. “It also lets you share new experiences, like the music you listen to or the miles you run.”
“As you explore your timeline, you may see stories that you want to feature, like your graduation or the day you bought your first car. There might also be stuff that you want to remove or hide from your timeline,” he continued. “To feature something on your timeline, roll over the story and click the star to expand it to two columns. Or you can click the pencil to hide, delete or edit a post.”
“To get timeline, simply go to the Introducing Timeline page and click ‘Get Timeline.’ Or you can wait until you see an announcement at the top of your profile,” he added. “Starting today, timeline will also be available on Android and m.facebook.com.”
Estimates put the number of Timeline users up at 2 million currently. As far as brands go, Facebook indicates they are focusing on individual members and have nothing more to announce at this time.
Source: AdWeek
PopCap has announced that they are releasing a free update to Plants Vs Zombies on iOS. Version 1.9 features the new modes “I, Zombie” and “I, Zombie Endless” where players can control the zombies in nine new levels.
The update also includes four new achievements and three new leaderboards that also link into Game Center. The Plants Vs Zombies will release on PS Vita some time close to its launch in 2012.
Source: iTunes {link no longer active}
Reports are that Bryan Edward Hill has been picked out to rewrite Just Cause: Scorpion Rising. Michael Ross (Touristas) wrote the first draft of the project.
The Just Cause movie is said to focus on the origin of the protagonist of the series: agent Scorpion, aka Rico Rodriguez. The game adaptation is being produced by Adrian Askarieh and Eric Eisner, who will produce via their respective companies Prime Universe Productions and Double E Pictures and are packaging and developing the project before taking it to studios.
Hill co-wrote the Witchblade mini-series for Top Cow Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box. He also co-created the Image comic 7 Days From Hell, being developed for the screen, which became his entry into Hollywood since he was hired to write the adaptation, selling a spec script to Universal and recently set up a pitch at Paramount.
Source: The Hollywood Report
The first episode of NintendoTV is now available on 3DS. Featured in the episode is gameplay of the system’s hottest titles: Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land.
Also include in NintendoTV will be looks at Super Pokemon Rumble and FreakyForms, with the feature coming from the Mario Kart 7 launch event in London. There also a chance to win an Ice White 3DS console and other Nintendo titles.
NintendoTV can be viewed on both the 3DS and the Wii.
Aion is going free-to-play in Europe in February 2012, with a switchover in the U.S. likely soon after. NCsoft that Gameforge, a German free-to-play publisher, will handle Aion‘s free-to-play launch and all future updates in Europe.
“NCsoft and Gameforge started talks in early 2011 to discuss opportunities to collaborate in the free-to-play market,” said executive product director Volker Boenigk. “This is a great step to take for both companies and we certainly hope that it is only the first project in a long and successful relationship.”
Boenigk says the gameplay will remain much as it is, with most of the changes coming to the interface. “Most of the changes that had to happen were on the technical side,” he said. “Switching a game to the free-to-play model is a significant effort, as is transitioning an already live game to a new publisher.
“Aion will raise the bar of what players can expect from a free-to-play title, not only in terms of game content and quality, but in terms of graphical fidelity and visual beauty,” Boenigk continued. “The developers at NCsoft have put a great amount of effort into maintaining the engine and updating it with improved visuals while also maintaining moderate hardware requirements.”
“By introducing the free-to-play model, we hope more gamers in Europe will be able to experience the epic story of Aion,” added NCsoft’s chief strategy officer Songyee Yoon. “NCsoft welcomes the partnership with Gameforge, with its long MMOG experience in the free-to-play sector and its excellent knowledge of the free-to-play market.”
Source: Edge
Zynga’s IPO has happened and the social gaming company raised hundreds of millions of dollars overnight. While there had been some reluctance in the past to go public, Zynga CEO Marcus Pincus said that it makes sense for expanding their development capability.
“You get to the point where you have big enough numbers of employee shareholders and outside shareholders that it starts to make more sense to be public,” said Pincus.
Some have speculated that going public will cause some employees to bolt the company and sell their stock options. Pincus countered, “Our employees have a real love for Zynga and real pride. We’ve asked them not to go out and defend us in the press or blogs, so I don’t think that’s come through publicly yet.”
Source: Fortune
Jumala announced that people can build holiday themed games for their families at jumala.com/advent. Games can involve teleporting to the North Pole, building a giant maze from Christmas gifts or populating Christmastown with zombies and molotov cocktail-throwing skeletons.
“Holiday cards are so 90s,” added Jumala CTO Frank Savage. “With Jumala, I can make a crazy Christmas game, send it to all of my Facebook friends and watch them try to outplay each other. Far more interesting, and cheaper, than sending a fruitcake.”
“I love the idea of handmade gifts, but am more comfortable with a computer than knitting needles,” said Gaming community maven Trixie360. “I’m giving everyone in my family personalized Jumala video games for the holidays and I’m having a ton of fun doing it. Who knew I could be a game designer?”
