Author Archive
Mo Money, Mo Problems: South Korea Taxes Virtual Assets
The Korea National Tax service will start imposing a VAT (value-added tax) on virtual asset transactions. Sellers who do between 6 and 12 millions dollars in Korean currency (the Won) per half year will have the VAT applied automatically the transaction’s midde-man. Sellers that happen to more than 12 million won/half year will need a business license in order to pay the tax by themselves.
This allows the NTS to track all the transactions of taxed virtual items. Korean publishers haven’t made a peep since this law has been passed, but it creates a global milestone for those that succeed it.
South Korea Begins Taxing Virtual Assets [Game|Life]
Watching Is Fun: 360 Replaces Cable for Some
The New York Times has an article about how some gamers are turning to their consoles for entertainment content. No real big surprise there, that’s kind of the whole point of Xbox’s Marketplace.
The real story is how well it’s working for Microsoft and the providers they’ve partnered with. Although Microsoft wouldn’t discuss specific revenue figure for the service, it did say that the numbers have doubled each month since it was introduced. With Marketplace offering a limited amount of features, it gives lesser-known content, like the movie Beerfest, a place to be seen. Of course, that’s only if you don’t mind taking some time to download it first. Maybe you could watch some TV while you wait. Oh wait.
Xbox Offers a Forum to Reach Gamers Where They Live [NYT]
Nintendo Wii Unplugged: Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar
A simple idea that is a completely practical buy as far as accessories go. Personally, I hate the fact that the sensor bar has to be connected to the Wii. It’s so prone to getting moved around by cats and cleaners (yes, we have a cleaner at the Tower), and the thin wire that connects the two together absolutely loves getting tangled up in stuff. A wireless sensor bar like the one being offered up by Nyko is perfect to fix such situations. Although it runs off batteries, the bar has an on and off switch as well as an automatic off timer that can be programmed at one hour or two hours. It’s priced at 3,200 Yen, and for those who like to keep their shelves free of cat hazards, the Nyko wireless sensor bar has to be the way to go.
Reporting the Goods Which are Useful to Game Life [Game Watch]
Humor: Bungie Trades Robots for Humans
Today’s Onion-esque story comes by way of humor tech site The BBSpot, which “reports” that Bungie has decided to do what most companies these days like to do when they want to do things better and cheaper - outsource the problem to another country. The company will be recruiting people all over the world to play Halo 3 instead of spending the money to get programmers to redesign the AI to their liking.
We’ll have people from India, China, Bangladesh, just about everywhere there’s poor people. We figure with eight million people working eighteen hour shifts, that we can satisfy our needs… One time the best enemy character you face may be controlled by Habibul Ashraful from Bangladesh, who only has three fingers, and the next time it may be Li Ming, who farms gold in World of Warcraft.
Yes, and soon Crecente will replace all of us with chain-smoking monkeys that have been handcuffed to a row of typewriters.
Bungie Dumps AI for Cheap Human Intelligence in Halo 3 [The BBSpot]
Gallery: Metroid Screens
New screens are emerging for the now delayed Metroid Prime game. They really look stunning and quite detailed. The screens also include shots of some bosses as well as the updated silhouette of Samus in her suit. She’s so cute, isn’t she?
Media: Metroid Prime 3 Screenshots [N-Europe]
The Darkness Goes Into Darkness: Banned in Singapore
Not only was I born in Singapore, but I still hold my passport from there, so I think I’m allowed to say that they can be retarded overly-protective of their citizens sometimes. The Darkness is the newest game to be added to the list of games that have been banned in the country for excessive violence. This is another title from 2k that won’t be seeing the light of day (at least legally) in Singapore since GTA IV has also been banned. Rumor also has it that Bioshock will be the next one on the Eurasian chopping block for the same reason. Like the slogan, “It’s Uniquely Singapore”.
The Darkness - Banned in Singapore [GameAxis]
OH SNAP!: Phantom Hourglass Dated for the US
Every one get your magical flute out (a recorder will do in a pinch) because it’s time to celebrate! Nintendo has finally decided to become a responsible adult and tell their children exactly when The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will be released in the US. October 1st will be the day to set the alarm early, call in sick for work and get your best grumpy face on for the line that will surely you await you at any store.
Like Sands Through the Hourglass, Zelda’s Debut on Nintendo DS Approaches
Legendary Franchise Goes Portable Oct. 1
REDMOND, Wash., July 2 /PRNewswire/ — What do you get when you combine
the world’s best-selling video game system, the Nintendo DS(TM), with one of
Nintendo’s best-loved franchises, Zelda? An epic new adventure that satisfies
longtime fans but draws in new players with intuitive touch-screen controls.
Launching Oct. 1, The Legend of Zelda(R): Phantom Hourglass, complete with
crisp 3-D cartoon graphics and multiplayer battles over Nintendo(R) Wi-Fi
Connection, marks the debut of the franchise on Nintendo DS(TM).
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070702/LAM039LOGO)
“Since 1987 The Legend of Zelda franchise has sold more than 52 million
units worldwide,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice
president of marketing and corporate communications. “The Legend of Zelda:
Phantom Hourglass stays true to the richness of the console Zelda franchise
while introducing new controls that allow veterans and first-time gamers to
become fully immersed in the adventure.”
The game involves legendary hero Link and Tetra, the leader of a band of
pirates, as they discover a ghost ship in dense fog. Link falls into the ocean
when Tetra gets into trouble, and he wakes up alone on the shore of a
mysterious island. Throughout the game, Link collects sand for his Phantom
Hourglass, which allows him to explore deeper and deeper into a time-limited
dungeon in his quest to find Tetra.
You can play the entire game with only the Nintendo DS touch screen. Walk
up to characters and tap them to start a conversation. Slash your stylus
across the touch screen to swing Link’s sword. If players touch an enemy with
the stylus, Link attacks. Players can even navigate their ship or set a route
for their boomerang simply by drawing a path on the touch screen.
The robust single-player adventure will have Zelda veterans and newcomers
alike engrossed by the story as they move through the game with the stylus. A
special two-player battle mode lets players connect locally or via Nintendo
Wi-Fi Connection. One player controls Link as he tries to gather as many Force
Gems as possible, while the other player manages the enemies who pursue Link.
The replayability of these winner-take-all matches is virtually endless.
In both style and characters, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
echoes the smash-hit The Legend of Zelda(R): The Wind Waker(TM) for Nintendo
GameCube(TM), which sold more than 2.2 million in the United States alone. But
the inviting, easy-to-understand story and ease of control will attract casual
and younger players who might be new to Zelda games.
As a special bonus for Nintendo’s rewards club, My Nintendo members who
register the game and their Nintendo DS hardware at MyNintendo.com and fill
out a short survey will receive a special Nintendo DS stylus that looks like
an old-fashioned quill pen, modeled after an item in the game (subject to
availability).
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass follows hot on the heels of another
classic Nintendo franchise with amazing new controls. Metroid(R) Prime 3:
Corruption, the third installment of the hit trilogy, launches with motion-
sensitive controls exclusively on Wii(TM) on Aug. 27. For more information
about these games, visit http://www.Nintendo.com.
The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment,
Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and
software for its Wii(TM), Nintendo DS(TM), Game Boy(R) Advance and Nintendo
GameCube(TM) systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.4 billion video
games and more than 409 million hardware units globally, and has created
industry icons like Mario(TM), Donkey Kong(R), Metroid(R), Zelda(TM) and
Pokemon(R). A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in
Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the
Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s
Web site at http://www.Nintendo.com.
SOURCE Nintendo
In Case You Missed Glastonbury: SecondFest Music Festival Line Up
SecondFest is this weekend, and if even if you’re not a fan of the virtual world, you can always delete your account after it’s all over. The full line-up is now available after the jump, and it’s impressive. I’ve always been a fan of the Petshop Boys (who are headlining), but seeing Hotchip on the Indie Stage, and DJ favorite Coldcut is pretty hot for any festival, even if it is in Second Life. The festival start Friday 29 June at 6pm British Summer Time (10am SLT) and rocks and rolls until midnight (British Summer Time) Sunday night.
Friday June 29:Opening party
DJs: 6pm - 12am
18:00 - 19:30 Toby Tobias
19:30 - 21:00 Glimmer Twins
21:00 - 22:30 Greg Wilson
22:30 - 00:00 Tom Findlay (Groove Armada DJ set)
Saturday June 30
12.00-14.00 DJs from Trojan Soundsystem
14:00 - 15:00 The Sea
15:00 - 16:00 Staypuff
16:00 - 17:00 Tawiah
17:00 - 18:00 Gilles Peterson, Music from Brownswood
18:00 - 19:00 Cinematic Orchestra
19:00 - 20:00 Simian Mobile Disco
20:00 - 21:00 Digitalism
21:00 - 22:00 The Egg
22:00 - 23:00 New Young Pony Club
23:00 - 00:00 Aliens
Sunday July 1
12.00 - 14.00 DJs from Turk Recordings
14:00 - 15:00 Slovo
15:00 - 16:00 Cuban Brothers
16:00 - 17:00 Mamashamone
17:00 - 18:00 Dub Pistols from Sunday Best
18:00 - 19:00 Florence & the Machine from Adventures in a Beetroot Field
19:00 - 20:00 Trail
20:00 - 20:30 Fields from Adventures in a Beetroot Field
21:00 - 22:00 The Idle Lovers
22:00 - 22:30 Hadouken from Adventures in a Beetroot Field
23:00 - 00:00 Pet Shop Boys
Indie stage
Saturday June 30
12.00 - 15.00 Trojan Soundsystem, Earl Gateshead and MCs
15.00 - 18.00 Guilty Pleasures, Sean Rowley
Bugged out present:
18.00 - 19.00 Hot Chip DJ Kicks Set
19:00 - 20:00 Simian Mobile Disco
20:00 - 21:00 Digitalism
21:00 - 22:00 Tiga
22:00 - 23:00 New Young Pony Club
Sunday July 1
Rob Da Bank’s Sunday Best
12:00 - 13:00 Max Sedgely
13:00 - 14:00 Grand National
14:00 - 15:00 Rob Da Bank
15:00 - 16:00 Cuban Brothers
16:00 - 17:00 X-Press2
17:00 - 18:00 Dub Pistols
Adventures in the Beetroot Field
18:00 - 18:20 Florence & the Machine
18:20 - 19:00 Crispin Dior
19:00 - 19:30 The Knife
19:30 - 20:00 Casper C
20:00 - 20:30 Fields
20:30 - 21:00 Skull Juice
21:00 - 21:30 XX Teens
21:30 - 22:00 Filthy Dukes
22:00 - 22:30 Hadouken
22:30 - 23:00 Surkin
23:00 - 23:30 Good Shoes
Dance tent
Saturday June 30
Gilles Peterson presents: Brownswood Recordings
12:00 - 12:55 Toshio Matsuura
12.55 - 1.45 Simbad
1.45 - 2.45 Una Bombers
14:45 - 15:30 Ben Westbeech
15:30 - 16:15 Benji B
16:15 - 17:00 Tawiah
17:00 - 18:00 Gilles Peterson
Ninja Tunes/ Big Dada
18:00 - 19:00 Cinematic Orchestra
19:00 - 20:00 The Heavy
20:00 - 21:00 Infinite Livez
21:00 - 22:00 Wiley
22:00 - 23:00 The Qemists
Hexstatic
23:00 - 00:00 Coldcut
Sunday July 1
secretsundaze
12:00 - 13:00 James Priestley (Simple) exc DJ Set
13:00 - 14:00 Mike Shannon (Cynosure)
14:00 - 15:00 Giles Smith (Dessous) excl DJ Set
15:00 - 16:00 Dan Berkson & James What Live (Poker Flat)
16:00 - 17:00 Gabriel Ananda (Karmarouge)
17:00 - 18:00 James Priestley (Simple) exc DJ Set
Journey through the light with David Mancuse of The Loft
18:00 - 19:00 Cosmo (DJ) excl 2 hour DJ set
20:00 - 21:00 David Mancuso (The Loft NYC) / Exclusive 4 hour set
Chill Island
All the acts on Chill Island are Second Life bands performing live. Performance times are GMT.
Saturday June 30
12.00 - 14.00 DJ Jenns
15.00 - 16.00 Clayton
17.00 - 18.00 Virtual Live Band
18.00 - 19.00 Slimmie ( Slim Warrior)
19.00 - 20.00 Tony Moore
Sunday July 1
7.00 - 8.00 Moshang Zhao
16.00 - 18.00 Doubledown Tandino
18.00 - 20.00 Strangefates
19.00 - 20.00 Wiredaisies
Guardian Lounge
Saturday June 30
Tirk Recordings presents DJ sets from:
Tirk DJs
Drrtyhaze
Todd Terje
Sunday July 1
Tirk Recordings presents DJ sets from:
Sorcerer
Love Supreme
Reverso 68
SecondFest [Wonderland]
And A Bunch Of Other Places Too: Destroy All Humans 3 to Wii
Probing just got a lot weirder as number three in the Destroy All Humans series gets a Nintendo Wii version. The game will also be going onto the Xbox 360 PS3, PS2, and PSP at the end of the year. This is definitely one of those games that I would be willing to pay twice in order to play on two different consoles. Really, any games where I can manipulate a chicken makes me incredibly happy.
News: Two New Wii Games From THQ Revealed [N-Europe]
NBA Live 08: ‘Wait’ Draft Commercial
NBA LIVE 08 ‘Button’ Draft Ad [Deeko News]
Ubisoft’s Mind Quiz: Another Offensive Game Gets Pulled
Ubisoft’s Mind Quiz will be getting pulled off the shelves after a Belfast woman spoke on BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show. She told them that while playing the game in hospital, she was appalled when she was called a name that is considered derogatory to the disabled after doing poorly in the game. The woman had also just lost a child to cerebral palsy just before Christmas.
According to a Ubisoft spokesperson:
As soon as we were made aware of the issue we stopped distribution of the product and are now working with retailers to pull the game off the market.
The game was developed in Japan, and we unfortunately did not pick up on the offending word in our quality assurance. We are currently working with the developer to find a way to rectify the issue.
I’ve scoured the net to find out what the “word” is, but no such luck. In all actuality I can only think of a handful of words that are derogatory towards the disabled, and even those seem too risque for a brain training game.
Brain Game Pulled Over Offense [BBC News]
PSP Update 3.51: Sony Plugs Up Hack Holes
You’ve got to pat Sony on the back for giving it the good, old college try. After the Lumines hack debacle, Sony is trying to fight back with a 3.51 update that has been added today over at their Japanese site which would close up holes in the PSP’s security . Other than just the security fix, there isn’t much else you would need the update for. There is no added functionality included in the update and none of the currently released games will require it. But if you just love updates, and hate hacks, you’re more than welcome to go pick it up.
Sony Foils Hackers with PSP Update [CVG]
Kraftaku: Wii Decal Extravanganza
If you’re sick of looking at that tired white box sitting on your shelf and have been wondering how to get a little DIY with it, look no further because the people at Decal Girl have a flurry of designs to change your Nintendo Wii into your own personal Barbie doll. Although the selection of ready-to-buy decals are mostly uninspired, you can design your own decal using one their templates. Of course, if the stupid thing didn’t need a ventilation system, then I would rather opt out for a fuzzy Wii cozy. But I’ll take what I can get if it means I get to redecorate.
Nintendo Wii Skins [Decal Girl]
