To sign up or learn more, visit the Guild Wars 2 Beta Page athttps://beta.guildwars2.com/ .

In addition, a FAQ will be posted to help answer any questions players may have. For more details please click here ]]> http://vgheaven.com/guild-wars-2-beta-public-sign-up-page-open-for-48-hours/feed/ 0 http://vgheaven.com/call-of-duty-black-ops-2-news-from-gamespot/ http://vgheaven.com/call-of-duty-black-ops-2-news-from-gamespot/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:34:28 +0000 admin http://www.clanmen.com/vgheavensitedotcom/?p=521 The next Call of Duty game is apparently returning to the Cold War-era intrigue of 2010′s Call of Duty: Black Ops. GameBlog reports that the French site of retail giant Amazon posted (and then pulled) a product page for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Did Black Ops 2′s cover just get blown?

Activision had already said it would have another installment in the Call of Duty series on shelves this year, but the publisher has not confirmed its era or setting. Previous Call of Duty games have thrown players into World War II, the Cold War, and current-day antiterrorism efforts around the world.

While Activision didn’t confirm the existence of Black Ops 2 directly, GameBlog followed up its story with a report that Activision France contacted the site to demand the news be pulled. GameBlog said it refused to do so, and Activision subsequently disinvited the site from a preview event for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and canceled advertising campaigns it had planned to run on the site.

The original Black Ops set a bevy of sales records, becoming the best-selling game of all time on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in the US and Europe and racking up $1 billion in revenues in less than two months on sale. Last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has a ways to go to match Black Ops’ overall sales, but it came out of the gates considerably more quickly, hitting the $1 billion mark in just 16 days.

As of press time, an Activision representative had not responded to GameSpot’s request for comment. For more on Call of Duty: Black Ops, check out GameSpot’s review.

Revolutionizing the Industry, One Joke At A Time

It would be physically impossible for me to count the amount of times the thought “I want to hug Tim Schaffer right now” has gone through my head.  Every veteran gamer that grew up through Lucasarts’ heyday considers the man to be nothing less than a god.  Rightfully so, as Schaffer was the brilliant mind behind Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, and (along with the other two most important people in adventure games at the time Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman) The Secret Of Monkey Island and its sequels.  Although Schaffer has always been one of the most forward thinking figures in the gaming industry, things got interesting when he decided to go rogue and open Double Fine Productions with a few members of the Grim Fandango development team.  Although lately Double Fine’s focus has changed to smaller projects (Costume Quest, Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster), Schaffer has announced he’s going back to what he knows best-good ol’ point-and-click adventure games.  Fortunately in this case, as people who grew up playing his games know, with Tim Schaffer there’s always a twist.

The game is going to be developed by donations collected through kickstarter.com, which allows people interested in creative projects to donate and support them.  As of 2:00 today, less than 24 hours after the page was launched with a goal of $400,000, the donation bar reads $785,870.  The last post to the page reads this:

“We did it! 100% funded in just over eight hours. You people are amazing! But it’s not over yet. The number keeps going up and now the question is just how much news do we want to make with this? We’re getting a lot of attention already and it seems like this little project could have an impact beyond itself. “

In a video released before the project’s launch (which you’ll find after the break), Schaffer said “One of my favorite types of games to make are adventure games, but these days it seems like adventure games are a bit of a lost art form that exist in our dreams, and memories, and…Germany.”  This statement demonstrates two incredibly important facts about Mr. Schaffer:
1. He’s incredibly interested in making an adventure game, and has been for awhile

2. He’s still damn funny

Although him being excited about the game is incredibly relevant, the second bit one is what gets me.  After playing Brutal Legend(2009) I’ll be the first to admit that I was a little worried.  Yes, the game was fairly well written and acted, but not all the jokes hit; in reality it was a bit inconsistent with its humor.  While any amount of humor in a modern game is very welcome, I always expect a bit more from Tim Schaffer.  I’ll never forget the first time I played The Secret Of Monkey Island.  I literally had to let go of the mouse at one point to catch my breath in the middle of a laugh session.  I desperately want to feel that again.

There’s one more important facet to this project that I’m incredibly excited about, but everything I’ve read has seemed to neglect it.  The entire development will be caught on camera.  The team of filmmakers at 2 Player Productions are going to develop this deal into a full length documentary.  They’re currently working on a couple of interesting projects-one about the creator of Minecraft, Notch.  They’re also pretty well known for being behind Penny Arcade’s web series PTV, which too is in documentary form and I highly recommend you check it out.  I’d gladly pay the $15 they’re asking for the game,  just for the film.

This is the most excited I’ve been about anything in the video game world for a very long time.  There’s almost no way that the game can turn out to be bad, but even if it is the whole process will be a journey to remember.  The system of democratically funding projects is brilliant, and this way companies like Double Fine can completely skip the publisher middleman.  No more pandering to faceless automatons to get a project made.  For your constant forward thinking, hard work, and dedication to a medium that is only getting more relevant with time, my hat is tipped to you Mr. Tim Schaffer.  Keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll all be very happy gamers.

Molleindustria’s critical protest game Phone Story was designed to achieve two ends: to raise consumer awareness of the conditions under which smartphones like the iPhone are produced, and to help serve as a fundraising tool.

The game, originally released for iPhone last September, traces the life of a modern mobile handheld device. It starts with coltan mining in the Congo, carries through to production in a Chinese factory, and wraps up with marketing and planned obsolescence. As we reported last year, Apple pulled the title from its App Store almost immediately after launch. Phone Storyhas since been made available to play on the web.

In a recent update statement, Molleindustria has announced where the money from Phone Story is now going. Although they were unable to generate as many sales as they had hoped, they have earned approximately $6000 to date and plan to donate it to a former Foxconn employee who sustained significant injuries after a suicide attempt. They write:

Despite the positive reviews and the wide media coverage, the amount of money we were able to collect from sales and artist fees (the art organizations who exhibited the game) was humbling, a little more than $6000 – see details below.

Then we came across the tragic story of Tian Yu, a girl who suffered from serious injuries after trying to commit suicide by jumping from the Foxconn’s factory complex where she was working in 2010. She was 17 years old at the time.

We thought: $6000 won’t do that much to an organization but they could be significant for an individual who used to earn about $130 a month. So we made Tian Yu the recipient of our first donation.

Tian Yu suffered significant permanent spine and hip injuries as a result of her four-story fall and is now paralyzed from the waist down. Meanwhile, worker conditions at Foxconn’s Chinese plants remain an active concern as we continue into 2012.

Phone Story Revenues Donated To Former Foxconn Worker Who Attempted Suicide[Official page]

By: Julianne Pepitone

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — At long last, the Holy Grail of Internet IPOs is here. Facebook filed Wednesday to raise $5 billion in an initial public offering.
In 2011, Facebook earned $1 billion on sales of $3.7 billion. As of December 31, Facebook had 845 million daily active users.
The company crossed the line into profitability in 2009, five years after it launched in founder Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room. Facebook earned $229 million that year on sales of $777 million, and has remained profitable ever since.
The vast majority of Facebook’s revenue comes from advertising: a combination of search and display ads.
Facebook’s other revenue stream is its payment system for purchases within apps and games: Facebook Credits. Facebook keeps 30% of the revenue from those payments, and passes the remaining 70% on to the app developer.
That model has paid off: Revenue from Zynga, which makes FarmVille and other games played on Facebook, represented 12% of Facebook’s total revenue in 2011.
Another choice tidbit: In 2011, Facebook CEO Zuckerberg raked in a $500,000 base salary. But he requested — and will receive — only $1 per year in salary starting January 1, 2013.
It’s not yet known on which stock exchange Facebook will trade, through it said it plans to use the ticker symbol “FB.”
Facebook will likely re-file its paperwork several times over the coming months. Those updates will add more details and could even restate some of the financial information detailed in Wednesday’s filing.
How much Facebook is worth: In this initial paperwork, companies don’t declare how many shares they’re going to sell, or how much those shares will cost. Those details will be added in an updated filing shortly before trading begins.
Without that share price information, Facebook’s valuation is still speculative.
Facebook has its own guesses, though. The company said it conducted its own valuation of its stock at the end of each quarter, and as of December 31 determined it to be worth $29.73 a share.
Trading won’t begin for several months, as Facebook now has to field questions from regulators and court investors for its stock sale.
Most analysts estimate Facebook’s valuation will fall somewhere between $85 billion to $100 billion. But the value of Web companies can be extremely volatile.
A recent example: Zynga. The FarmVille maker’s IPO filing reported that it valued its shares in August 2011 at $17.20 each, which gave the company a valuation of $14 billion. But when Zynga went public in December, shares sold for just $10 — valuing the company at $7 billion.
Several other Internet companies made their public debuts in 2011, but the end of the year proved to be a turbulent time for the sector. Shares of Groupon, Pandora, Zillow, LinkedIn and Angie’s List all suffered steep double-digit losses for November, though most clawed back at least a bit in December or January.
Copyright CNN 2012

There is so much speculation as to what the capabilities will be for the next Xbox. But one thing for sure, it will not be called the Xbox 720. That being said, lets first go over what the next Xbox specs should be, and then let us all debate on some names for our new precious system.

The next Xbox will be a windows based system, 64 bit processing, 4 to 8 gb of RAM, a hard drive of at least 500 gb to 1 tb, a Bluray player, built in wifi, HDMI port out, a smaller controller, a web browser, DVR capabilities, Bluetooth for our phones, and a graphics card equal or better than the Radeon 6670, which will give us true 1080p! When you start adding all these things up, the price for the next Xbox would be around $599 for the cheaper model, and likely $799 for the everything model. At these prices Microsoft will likely lose around $200-$300 per console sold in the beginning. All this stuff simply means that our gaming experience will be absolutely amazing compared to what we have now….but not immediately from every developer. These increased specs equal triple the man hours to make a game. So unfortunately, our game prices will be going up as well.

Now for the name issue for the next Xbox. Realistically, there is no way that Microsoft would ever name the next Xbox the “Xbox 720″. It simply doesn’t make sense. So what will it be? The “Xbox Life”, “Xbox Sizzle”,  ”Xbox R2″? Perhaps you could name the next Xbox. Comment below and give it your best name.

other next Xbox stories:

http://www.theintelblog.com/2012/01/24/xbox-720-will-be-six-times-as-powerful-as-current-gen/

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/xbox-720-every-rumour-about-the-new-xbox-937167

http://www.t3.com/features/xbox-720-rumours-how-will-the-new-xbox-look

http://n4g.com/user/blogpost/a08andan/517262

posted from Kotaku.com

[Attorney and frequent Gamasutra contributor Mona Ibrahim breaks down what internet blackout bills could mean for video game developers.]

A lot of congress’ time lately has gone to drafting, revising, and negotiating legislation that in some way shape or form controls America’s ability to access content on the Internet. You have likely heard about SOPA, PIPA, and maybe even OPEN—but how does this legislation apply to game developers, and why have these pieces of legislation created such dissention? This FAQ clarifies the details about these bills and how they affect game development.

1. Aren’t SOPA and PIPA already dead?

No. Both acts still have substantial congressional backing and financial support from the MPAA, RIAA, and other supporters. Although the opposition has increased, there is still a possibility that either Act will be become law. Even if both Acts fail, there is a high probability that future legislation closely resembling those acts will appear before congress again—after all, they themselves are reincarnations of an earlier bill, the “Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act” (COICA).

2. So what are SOPA, PIPA, and OPEN?

The “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA) and the “Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act” or the “PROTECT IP Act”(PIPA) are corresponding pieces of legislation that are currently before the House of Representatives and Senate, respectively. Both Acts grant the Attorney General the power to force payment providers, advertisers, search engines, and DNS registries to block access to foreign sites dedicated to infringement. The Acts also give private parties the right to obtain court orders against infringing sites—upon obtaining a court order, private rights holders can turn around and, like the Attorney General, force payment providers and advertisers to cease providing services to the allegedly infringing site. SOPA also imposes criminal penalties for streaming content that’s deemed infringing.

The “Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act” (OPEN Act) is a counter-measure to SOPA and PIPA and is currently before both the House and Senate. The OPEN Act puts prosecution power against foreign “rogue sites” in the hands of the United States International Trade Commission. Upon receiving a complaint, the Commission will undergo an investigation to determine whether a site’s sole or primary purpose is an infringing one. Unlike SOPA and PIPA, the penalties to rogue sites are purely financial—the Commission can issue Cease and Desist orders to payment providers and advertisers to cease operations on the rogue site, but there is no corresponding cease and desist forcing search engines or DNS registries to redirect or block access to the site. The owner of the rogue site has an opportunity to raise their defense prior to the Commission’s issuance of Cease and Desist Orders.

3. How do SOPA and PIPA threaten the games industry and game development?

Out of all of the entertainment industries, game development will probably be the most affected if SOPA or PIPA become law. Games rely on the Internet for everything from getting player feedback to promoting their content. So how could the games industry suffer if SOPA or PIPA pass?

• Fan-based communities that permit users to post videos or fan-created content will be at serious risk of totally shutting down even in minor cases of infringement by its community members.

• Funding opportunities like KickStarter, which enable small-time developers to create content without relying on a major publisher, are at risk of shutting down if even one project is suspected of infringement.

• Digital distribution channels (we’ve already seen what happened to MegaUpload), including Steam and Impulse, would also be at risk for the same reason.

• Online games and online game communities would be subject to the same threats as those websites threatened by SOPA and PIPA.

• Games in particular are affected by any Act that threatens freedom of speech—especially when that threat comes from private parties asserting IP rights. The opportunity to use such legislation to censor content for motives other than those set forth in the Act is high.

Game developers both large and small rely heavily on digital distribution and their fans. Both SOPA and PIPA pose a direct threat to distribution channels and online communities in particular.

4. What makes SOPA and PIPA dangerous?

SOPA and PIPA are dangerous for a few reasons:

• Both Acts use vague, ill-defined language to identify both foreign sites and sites dedicated to infringement;

• Both Acts give search engines, DNS registries, payment providers, and advertisers clear incentive to proactively block websites even before receiving a court order—a private party/competitor could send a notice to those service providers claiming infringement, thereby giving those service providers the “good faith” belief they need to act in order to protect their immunity. This is particularly problematic if, say, an ISP is also a content provider. It gives them both the power and the incentive to censor their own competitors;

• SOPA expressly criminalizes streaming content that contains infringing material—this could be anything from a fan-made game play video that has infringing music playing in the background to an infringing copy of a music video. Sites hosting that streamed content are subject to the blocking provisions set forth in SOPA (including internet community forums and sites like YouTube);

• Both Acts pose a threat to constitutional rights like freedom of speech and due process. With regard to freedom of speech, the method of blocking and redirecting sites is a model traditionally used for purposes of censorship in more restrictive countries—even if the purpose of the Act is different, there is no question that the censorship of perfectly legal content is a possibility thanks to the incentives created by both Acts. As for due process, court orders are obtained ex parte and action can be taken against a website regardless of whether the website owner has actual notice—in other words, a website can be blocked or redirected without giving the owner an opportunity to raise a defense.

• Many experts believe that the method DNS registries and registrars would have to use to redirect or block websites undermines Internet security.

Opponents of both Acts have raised a number of other complaints citing various problems, but most arguments shake down to the fact that the Acts provide a legal arsenal to censor perfectly legitimate content.

5. How is the OPEN Act any different?

OPEN isn’t perfect, but it is a vast improvement to both SOPA and PIPA for several reasons:

• Private causes of action are eliminated—private parties must submit a complaint to the International Trade Commission, which will then investigate the site and make a determination as to whether it is infringing;

• It expressly protects websites that act in compliance with the DMCA Safe Harbors;

• Sites aren’t blocked or redirected and enforcement is based purely on financial incentives. Cease and desist orders are issued to payment providers and advertisers to terminate financial support to rogue sites;

• Prior to issuing Cease and Desist orders, the Commission provides the owner or operator of the allegedly infringing site an opportunity to raise any available defenses;

• The Act discourages groundless complaints by requiring complainants to post a bond for preliminary injunction orders.

There are other marked difference between the OPEN Act and SOPA/PIPA, but there are some similarities as well. Some of the language used, particularly definitions, are similar to those we see in SOPA/PIPA. However, the OPEN Act is likely a step in the right direction to shut down foreign piracy sites without catching innocent non-infringers in the same net.

6. So what can I as a game developer or fan do to stop this kind of legislation?

Simply being aware of the problem isn’t enough. Opponents to the bill should contact their representatives and request that they withdraw support from bills that threaten a free and open Internet.

Santa Monica, CA – January 17, 2012 – Radical Entertainment, the creators behind one of 2012’s  most anticipated open-world/action games – PROTOTYPE 2 – and Dark Horse Comics, the leading publisher of gaming comics and graphic novels, have joined forces to create an all-new comic series set in the PROTOTYPE universe.  With the game due out April 24, 2012 from Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), fans looking for a jumpstart at getting a deeper look into the world of PROTOTYPE 2 should keep an eye out for this exciting collaboration launching February 15, 2012.

The all-new digital comic series will be broken into three original stories that bridge the gap between the original blockbuster game and the highly anticipated sequel, PROTOTYPE 2.  The first entry, “The Anchor,” illustrated by Paco Díaz, continues the story of Alex Mercer, the protagonist from the first game, while the second story, “The Survivors,” illustrated by Chris Staggs, follows a small group of residents of New York trying to escape the city after it has been transformed into NYZ with the outbreak of the Blacklight virus.  The third and final story, illustrated by Victor Drujiniu, is “The Labyrinth” and provides fans a deeper look into the backstory of PROTOTYPE 2’s new protagonist, Sgt. James Heller.  Each comic in the series will be available at Digital.Darkhorse.com every other week beginning February 15, 2012.

“We’re always looking for meaningful ways to expand the PROTOTYPE universe, and Dark Horse Comics is an industry-leading creative powerhouse delivering best-in-class graphic storytelling that integrates deeply to the core of our IP,” said Ken Rosman, Studio Head, Radical Entertainment.  “With this partnership, our fans will finally be given answers to some dramatic loose ends from the first PROTOTYPE game, as well as the truth behind Alex Mercer’s descent and evolution into a twisted shadow of his former self for PROTOTYPE 2.”

“Sgt. James Heller’s heart wrenching backstory meshed with the sheer amount of over-the-top shape-shifting action in PROTOTYPE 2 lend themselves perfectly to a comic book series,” said Dave Marshall, Editor, Dark Horse Comics.  “We worked extremely close with Radical Entertainment’s story team for PROTOTYPE 2, and can’t wait to visually walk fans through the many dark secrets strewn throughout the tattered world of New York Zero!”

The sequel to Radical Entertainment’s best-selling open-world action game of 2009, PROTOTYPE 2 takes the unsurpassed carnage of the original PROTOTYPE and continues the experience of becoming the ultimate shape-shifting weapon.  As the game’s all-new infected protagonist, Sgt. James Heller, players will cut a bloody swathe through the wastelands of post-viral New York Zero with unparalleled locomotion, building up a vast genetic arsenal of deadly, biological weapons and abilities as they hunt, kill and consume their way toward the ultimate goal – to kill…Alex…Mercer!

To find out more about PROTOTYPE 2, follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/radical_ent or check out www.prototypegame.com for the latest trailers, screenshots, special promotions and more!  And for the truly dedicated, go towww.facebook.com/prototype and join the PROTOTYPE Army – a community of over 360,000 (and growing) fans that receive constant updates from the team at Radical, and early sneak peeks at new information and assets.

PROTOTYPE 2 is currently in development for Xbox^® 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation^®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.  The game is currently rated “RP” (Rating Pending) by the ESRB, with an expected “M” (Mature – Content that may be suitable for persons 17 and older) rating.