Blizzard to offer ‘Blizzard Authenticator’ to thwart would be account hijackers

Apparently Blizzard has had enough with the (probable) massive amounts of ‘Hey, my account has been hacked’ emails that they deal with each day/month/year.  To combat this, Blizzard is stepping up security by offering an optional lightweight and Waterproof Authenticator device that is meant to attach to a keychain.

The device is linked to your account and generates a Keychain Token style code that changes after a predetermined time period.  After inputting your normal login details, you would then be prompted to enter the alphanumeric code that is displayed on your Authenticator.

This authenticator is not required, but rather an optional security feature available from Blizzard.  The device was premiered at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Event, and will be available shortly on  Blizzard’s online store for the whopping price of $6.50.  Not a hefty price to pay to ensure that your top gear isn’t ending up at some vendor and you left standing naked in the middle of Ogrimmar wondering wtf?  In addition, wouldn’t the  Blizzard Authenticator be a welcome addition to your boring keyring?  Not quite the ultimate fan badge, but definitely an eye catcher.

“It’s important to us that World of Warcraft offers a safe and enjoyable game environment,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “One aspect of that is helping players avoid account compromise, so we’re pleased to make this additional layer of security available to them.”

Read the official release at: http://www.blizzard.com/security-token

“Houston, we have a problem”. No New Starcraft.

While retailers were dropping enough hints to walk from Europe to North America and back without getting one’s feet wet last week about a December 3rd Starcraft II release date, Blizzard VP Rob Pardo effectively put the squash on these rumors at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational.

Speaking about the game’s development, he answered that the Blizz crew was “about a third of the way through”, and are concentrating on story structure and cinematics at this point.  In other words, all the pretty go betweens we see between battles, etc.  Pardo did comment however that by the end of 2008, Blizzard should have something very impressive to show off.

So there we have it.  Rumors squashed.  I guess it’s time to update that Christmas wish list as it looks like Starcraft II isn’t going to hit the streets until 2009.

Blizzard didn’t let us walk away with an acrid taste in our mouths.  They DID provide some tasty screenshots to make that anticipation just a bit sweeter:

And don’t forget what we’re already been privy to:

Diablo III revealed!

I’m not even going to pretend that you didn’t hear about this already.  :)  The gaming world pretty much did a backflip on itself today, when Blizz dropped the clams and officially released Diablo III today.

Blizz made the announcement at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational with only a tad bit of fanfare.  Here’s a peak at the cinematic trailer:

It appears as though Blizzard has put the fears to rest that they would massively change the play style/structure of the game.  They’ve already got the super (not so) secret recipe of loot dropping, blitzkrieg attack, slash and burn play that’s made them the success that they are today formula perfected.  Why mess with it?

Naturally in Diablo III we’re presented with the norms we’ve come to expect: mobs of zombies and minotaurs, a dungeon, gore, and a dash of magic thrown in for good measure.

Following the release, the Blizzard team confirmed that Diablo III will be available in PC and Mac platforms, also saying it had “no plans” for console versions, and added that it was too early to talk about a release date.  Frank Pearce did however add, “as much as possible it will be our goal to release simultaneously worldwide”.

Lead designer Jay Wilson took to the stage and gave viewers a walkthrough and introduced the barbarian class.  Using a new streamlined interface, Wilson took his barbarian cross water covered walkways in a dark table, slaying hundreds of demons along the way.  Quick skills are now an addition to the mouse wheel and tab key, along with left and right mouse buttons.  Wilson said, “It will all be so simple that you can play it with just the mouse”.

A nice nifty new drop is included in Diablo III, red globes that allow a speedy return to full health.  The environment is also fully destructable, with Wilson taking out tens of demons with his barbarian smashing down a destructible wall over their heads.

….and that was just the beginning.  Our mouths are certainly watered…what are your thoughts on Diablo III?

I am your father…or…at least your USB port

Happy Friday all!  Dunno about you guys, but I’ve had a bit of a long week, and am looking forward to my weekend.  Therefore, I decided we need a bit of a break today from ‘pure’ gaming news.  Let’s call it Funny Friday…or Just for fun (cause it’s Friday?).

Whatever you want to call it, I found this one for the die hard Star Wars fans out there: Star Wars USB hubs.  They’re both have 4 USB ports available and are going to run in the neighborhood of $66 when the Japanese decide to release them upon the rest of the world.  Geekstuff4u.com is offering a pre-order sale here.

Both of these guys take up a massive amount of desk space, and again, only offer 4 extra ports.  In other words, unless you know who TK421 is, and why he isn’t at his post, there’s probably little chance you’re going to grab one of these up anytime soon.  BUT…if you do know that Han shot first, and think that these things smelled bad on the outside…well then step right up!

Darth and R2 both have animated bodies, light up features, and make sounds (that can be turned on or off…depending on your current state of animosity towards your Star Trek loving workmates) every three minutes while connected to a computer.  Darth’s eye glow red (ummm…which episode was that again?) and scan for intruders, while R2 beeps and spins his head looking for…errr…yeah.

Anyway you look at it, these USB hubs are big space takers, have only 4 ports, glow, beep, and ogle.  Practical?  Absolutely not.  Possibly one of the biggest badges of Star Wars fandom you can display on your desk (while still getting away with….but it’s practical..it’s a USB port)?  You Betcha!

fatfoogoo goes to Hollywood

fatfoogoo is an official sponsor of the Virtual Worlds Expo taking place September 3-4, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  Virtual Worlds management is the trade media company with a focus on online play, games and virtual worlds.

The Virtual Worlds Hollywood event is THE premier event for entertainment industry professionals seeking to understand and view the opportunities available via virtual worlds.

During the conference top industry professionals will talk about a wide range of topics including:

• Virtual Worlds Primer for Entertainment Industry
• Virtual Worlds by the Numbers: A Look at the Market Research
• Bringing Celebrity Brands to Virtual Worlds
• Virtual Worlds and Hollywood Agencies
• Virtual Worlds: What Producers Need to Know
• Using Virtual Worlds to Enhance, Streamline and Augment the Film-Making Process

“Virtual Worlds have the ability to bring creators together with passionate fans in an environment that supports rich storytelling and engagement on a level impossible with other media,” said Christopher Sherman, Executive Director of Virtual Worlds Expo. “The market for virtual worlds user services is expected to climb from $310 million today to $8 billion in 2017, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics. These numbers do not include the online games subscription market which separately is already generating $1 billion in annual sales, according to the NPD Group.”

The industry currently has over 100 virtual worlds operating in or directly focused on the 18 and under youth market.  Venture capital and media firms have invested more that $184M in 23 virtual world related companies in the first quarter of 2008 alone.

Online registration for the Virtual Worlds Expo is open at www.VirtualWorldsExpo.com. Attendees can save $400 by taking advantage of the early-bird registration - only $595 - until July 25, 2008. After that time online registration is $795. Onsite registration at the event is $995. Expo hall-only passes are available for $195.

Is your Death Knight prepared?

While we all wait with baited breath for the new World of Warcraft expansion pack: The Wrath of the Lich King to drop upon us like a beam of light sent from the heavens above, what are you doing to prepare?

Details about the new expansion pack are being released in minor chunks here and there, but I think it’s a pretty safe bet to say that we’re all excited about the new Epic class: Death Knight.

From what I’ve read thus far, there’s a lot of peeps out there that are already making plans as to which class and race they’re going to set their Death Knight up as and how the heck they’re planning on (smartly) playing this new character.

Rizelle of Gurubashi is already on the ball and getting ready for the arrival.  In a thread titled ‘I’m already playing my Death Knight’ over at the wow forums, she posts a few interesting tidbits to keep in mind:

1. Farmed enough materials to powerlevel Engineering/First Aid/Cooking to 350, and farmed a few stacks of each precious ore (silver, gold, truesilver) to smelt for Mining levels (even though i’ll probably have to do some back mining anyway).
2. Farmed up quite a bit of rep items to turn in upon hitting Outland. So far i’m up to 300x Unidentified Plant Parts, 150 Arakkoa Feathers, 80 Firewing Signets.

Smart thinking.  I think a lot of us hit 70, max skills and professions, and then just want to start building up our purple gear sets.  Sound familiar?  Yeah, me too.  So for a different bit of play strategy, why not take some queues from Rizelle, and start your farming today?

Is YOUR Death Knight prepared?  If not…get started today…as there’ll be nothing more satisfying than having one of the first level 80 Death Knights on the block.  As a side note…be prepared for the barrage of ‘Can you Tank our group’ whispers you’ll be receiving.

Capcom announces Super Street Fighter II Turbo High Definition Remix beta to begin today!

Capcom has ‘officially’ announced the details of the new Super Street Fighter II Turbo High Definition Remix beta today. Super Street Fighter II Turbo High Definition Remix. Could they make that any longer, or more difficult to say?

The beta will be available to anyone that’s already got a copy of Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 on Xbox Live Arcade. The Wolf of the Battlefield game will set you back 800 Microsoft points, or roughly 9.60 Euro/15 US bucks.

The Super Street Fight….oh forget it. SSFIITHDR…even that is too long. SSFII? Street Fighter HD? Capcom’s new beta will allow you to duke it out as either Ken or Ryu online. Different game modes include Player, Quarter Match, Ranked Match and Tournament Mode. If fighting against the unknown isn’t your style, you can always “shoryuken” it with an offline 2 player battle.

Beta days run until on or around August 20th. It’s all up to Capcom as to when they want to close the beta doors. Unfortunately, the beta is available only to Xbox Live players right now. Sorry PS3 peeps…btu hey…you’ve got a blu-ray player.

Details on accessing the beta (from capcom’s blog):

Step 1: Buy Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 for 800 MS Points (aka “render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar’s”)

Step 2: Select the “SFII HD Remix Beta” option on the main menu of Wolf

Step 3: You will be taken to a download blade where you can confirm your download (this will not be visible until the code is live on Arcade tomorrow)

Step 4: Once the Beta has finished downloading, head to the “Games” blade on your 360

Nike and Loop’d making big mashup waves

Loop’d (not to be confused with Loopt) and Nike have announced today that they’ve launched the Nike 6.0 online community. This community is set to support the next generation of action sports peeps. Focusing mainly on fans of surf, snow, freeski, freeride, wake, moto, and BMX sports, the community features the first ever viral mash-up widget created exclusively for action sports. This platform now makes it possible for more than 300,000 action sports enthusiasts that have already signed up for Loop’d connect in ways never before possible. Loop’d is the leading and fastest growing social network focusing on action sports.

“With our combined focus on action sports and social media, a partnership between Loop’d and Nike 6.0 made perfect sense,” said Scott Tilton, chief executive officer, Loop’d Network. “By creating an action
sports mash-up widget, Nike 6.0 has one of the most unique opportunities to connect and engage the Nike 6.0 brand with a young action sports audience that spends a majority of their time online today.”

In order to create this mash-up widget, Loop’d worked in conjunction with Mixercast, Inc. Once registered and active on the Nike 6.0 community on Loop’d thrashers can build their own profile including mixing and mashing favorite vids and photos, and cross mash them with original content supplied by Nike. This allows members to perfectly tailor their profile to their liking and publish their creation to other social networking profiles such as MySpace and Facebook. The community also shares news about the what’s what and who’s who among the Nike 6.0 team athletes and other new product info.

“We are always looking for new ways to increase interaction with our consumers on the web. With the unique mash-up widget, Loop’d was able to provide a great portal to our target audience and offer them an interactive tool, allowing users to customize and take away a piece of the Nike 6.0 brand,” said Sierra Domaille, Nike 6.0 Communications. “Loop’d has established itself as the fastest growing social network for action sports and provides us with the opportunity to connect with hundreds of thousands of active users.”

If you’ve got the need for speed, the grit to grind, and the fast to thrash, sign up for the loopd/nike 6.0 network at http://www.loopd.com/nike6

NVIDIA seeks to set Guinness Record at NVISION 08

If bringing in super hottie Tricia Helfer wasn’t enough to get the numbers up at NVISION, NVIDIA is pulling out all the stops, and attempting to set a Guinness World’s record of “Longest Non-Stop LAN party” ever.

In itself, this is a massive undertaking.  Guinness has shown support as well, “This will be one of the most exciting gaming record attempts of the year. I’ve been really impressed with the enthusiasm of the NVISION team and I look forward to being the official adjudicator for this great event,” commented Gaz Deaves, records manager, Guinness World Records.

NVIDIA has ramped up the stakes:  Not only will players go down in history, but NVIDIA is also chucking in numerous prizes including: a commemorative medal, custom gear, and gift cards.

“I have faith and confidence in the NVIDIA gaming community, one of the most loyal, energetic, and enthusiastic core audiences of NVIDIA since we were a startup,” said Sheryl Huang, NVIDIA marketing director and veteran of countless LAN events. “At NVIDIA events in the past, these guys have been up all night anyway. Their energy is incredible. I’m looking forward to them setting this record and earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. It’s glory time.”

The Guinness attempt is quickly shaping up to be a flagship event at NVISION with a separate area for LAN Game record attempters.  The will play continuous for 36 hours with an allotted 10 minute break per 60 minutes played.  Is that the smell of RedBull in the air?

The attempt is made possible by EVGA, the Marquee sponsor (read: big money), and Patriot Memory, an official sponsor of the event (read: money, but not as big money as EVGA).

Interested in seeking fame and glory at NVISION?  If you’ve got enough no-doze and pwning skills, take your best shot at being invited on the team at: http://www.amireg.com/nvision08/intro.html

Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited Edition Timepiece

Maybe slaying foes with Snake via the console isn’t enough of an expression of adoration for Metal Gear Solid?  Perhaps that Omega watch just doesn’t suit the situation?  Fear not fragger…Konami’s got ya covered.

Snake’s timepiece drops like it’s hot on Friday October 31st, 2008, and is now available for ‘pre-order’ via gamestation.co.uk.  A side note…anyone ever ‘pre-ordered’ only to have the email come back ‘sorry, not available at this time?’  Just a thought if you’re an “I absolutely, positively, have to have this watch” kinda person.

Konami says that the watch will be accompanied by a “certificate of authenticity approved by Hideo Kojima.” Along with a snazzy gift box to protect your water resistant badge of honor.

Love and pride in Snake doesn’t come cheap however.  Clocking in at £99.99, it’s gonna take some serious convincing of the parents/significant other to land yourself one of these bad boys….that is, if you can manage to drop the hammer before the other 8,000 fans who also want one.

Personally…I’d rather roll with a Nooka Zub38 Zehn.

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