Xbox Reveal Event Coverage

World of Warcraft + Jumpgate Evolution

  • Slow Fall Fails - WoW Player Dies

    What do you mean slow fall doesn't work in  real life?



    More coverage of the Chinese boy who's impersonation of a hot air
    balloon failed miserably, inciting his parents to sue Blizzard debacle
    is posted at Ferrago.

    "The lawsuit against Blizzard blames the dangerous
    influences of their
    title for the boy's death, and the case is being supported by the vocal
    Zhang Chunliang, an activist who has in the past sought to educate on
    the dangers of internet
    addictions. The suit will be filed soon and Chungliang claims he has
    spoken to over sixty parents, concerned about the impact of online
    addictions on their children. Blizzard have yet to respond to the
    lawsuit, which has yet to be officially filed, but it is likely that
    this will prove a test case for China's perception of online gaming and
    the associated risks. "

    Oh, you want more?

    News
    Tue, Nov 22, 2005
    Boomjack
  • WoW Causes Death?

    A day late and a platinum short.



    Hot on the hooves of the other sites reporting about the Blizzard
    lawsuit, TechSpot
    has jumped into the fray.  

    "In China, the
    parents of a 13-year-old Tianjin boy are suing the makers of "    World
    of Warcraft" because they claim
    that the game was responsible for the death of their son!
    Seemingly, the boy jumped to his death after re-enacting a scene from
    the game, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua. Anti-Internet
    addiction advocate Zhang Chunliang is backing the parent’s suit against
    Blizzard Entertainment. Chunliang has apparently spoken to 63 parents
    whose children have allegedly suffered from     online gaming addiction, and has a class-action
    suit in the works.
    "



    News
    Mon, Nov 21, 2005
    Boomjack
  • Parents Suing Blizzard Regarding Son's Death

    Natural selection in action.



    The death of a 13 year-old World of
    Warcraft     player has prompted his parents to sue Blizzard,
    claiming that the game is to blame for his death.  The boy
    allegedly jumped from a high building re-enacting something his
    character had done in the game.    GamesIndustry.biz
    has a bit about it, as does GameShout and
    even Joystiq. 




    In other news, personal and parental responsibility took a long hard
    kick in the ass today. 

    News
    Mon, Nov 21, 2005
    Boomjack
  • BlizzCon Movies at 1UP

    Fancy moving pictures, complete with sound!
    1UP has posted some videos from the recent BlizzCon gathering. My personal favorite is the dance-alike contest.

    " But Blizzcon isn't about what they exhibited-- it was all about the attendees and the community. To be able to see my WoW General Chat in flesh is a surreal but exciting. It's exhilarating and comforting to know that I belong in this niche community where all of us are deeply obsessed and passionate about this alternate reality. Is it geeky that all of us cheered wildly at the guy who did the perfect Troll dance in the dance-alike contest? Maybe, but that's what I felt like Blizzcon was- a huge inside joke where all of us who "get it" are reveling in the exclusivity. Walking around the show floor was tiring but that didn't bog us Blizzconites down, we had high Spirit. Enjoy the videos! "

    You can view the BlizzCon Videos at 1UP.
    And there's more!

    Video, Media
    Mon, Nov 14, 2005
    Boomjack
  • WoW: Burning Crusades Preview at CaVG

    You will accept my God or I will kill you, because he is a kind and caring God. And so begins the crusade.
    ComputerAndVideoGames, the site with the longest name in MMOG circles has posted a preview of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusades.

    "
    There is a life beyond the world as you know it. I know because I've just been there. But right now I'm sitting in an office in Irvine, California, and sitting opposite me is Blizzard's creative director Chris Metzen, the man whose mind provides the motivation every time an orc raises an axe in anger. Every major nugget of Warcraft lore has passed through his hands - Frozen Thrones, Dark Portals, you name it. He's the man who gives meaning to your daily grind. He's also a full-on rock star: wide grin, muscular build, dazzling necklace, chunky rings and Bono sunglasses. He's the closest man to Henry Rollins the games industry has. And I'm here to hear him talk Orc. "

    You can read the entire World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusades Preview at ComputerAndVideoGames.
    And there's more!

    Features, Previews
    Mon, Nov 14, 2005
    Boomjack
  • WoW: Burning Crusade Preview at CVG

    Blizzard's Redux of "Timecop"
    Jean Cluade Van Damme kind of looks like a Tauren, hmm... but you'll see what I mean about "Timecop" in a second. On another note, our British friends at CVG just posted the nuttiest preview I've ever read. I'll stand back and let a one of the tamer snippets fly:

    "That's right, your character is about to make an amazing journey through time and space to some of the most pivotal moments in Warcraft history - all thanks to a handy dungeon managed by a Flight of Bronze Dragons whose humdrum task is to police the timestream. Although they're clearly not very good at it, seeing as anyone of sufficient level (and owning the expansion pack) will be able to wander into their Tanaris lair, speed up to 88mph and hurtle through history. You'll be there on the Black Morass the day the Black Portal was opened, before the land was blighted and split between the Blasted Land and the Swamp of Sorrows, with an environment being made pixel for pixel just as it was in Warcraft II. You'll be one of a party who rescue future orc leader Thrall from a distinctly non-ruined and highly turreted Durnhold keep. You'll even be present atop Mount Hyjal on the fateful day in Reign of Chaos when all the races joined together to put the boot into the wicked bad Archimonde."

    Sounds like fun. More English enthusiasm from the CVG Preview of Burning Crusade here.
    Other links you might enjoy:

    Features, Previews
    Fri, Nov 11, 2005
    Ethec
  • WoW: Burning Crusades Preview at ActionTrip

    The crusades, the crusades, the crusades are on Fire.... we don't need no water, we need more gameplay.
    ActionTrip has posted a World of Warcraft: Burning Crusades preview. .

    " In my long years of being a game junkie I have never encountered an ethereal substance as potent as whatever it is that's trickling from my monitor screen when I'm playing World of Warcraft. Still, I take solace in the fact that I'm just one of the four and something million souls feeding off the mysterious trickling substance. We need it to trickle as we need the air we breathe and the food we ingest. And if someone asks you, I'm not addicted. Nope. I deny the existence of the word 'denial' and that's that. I'm fine. (The first step in breaking an addiction is to admit you have a problem -Mo.)"

    You can read the entire World of Warcraft: Burning Crusades Preview at Action Trip.
    Not enough? Hit our World of Warcraft Community Site or the Meta-Search Tool, or heck, more WoW News.
     

    Features, Previews
    Wed, Nov 09, 2005
    Boomjack
  • Blizzard on the Future

    The future is a blizzard.
    EuroGamer chatted with the good folks at Blizzard and posted their thoughts. This is a great read, especially so if you are a Blizzard fan.

    " Behind elderly security guards is the press room. It's here over the weekend Eurogamer gets the chance to chat extensively with some of the higher members of the Blizzard hierarchy. We talk about what it feels like to stand in front of a huge crowd, who are here just because of your games, and to speak to them. We ask how you keep a straight face while someone has just said, "I play a Rogue, and you said that my damage rate would drop by three-per cent - and for me, it's nearer six per cent". And we asked them and anyone where we could get more tapes for our dictaphone, as we chatted so much we ran out. "

    You can read Blizzard On The Future at EuroGamer.
     

    News
    Tue, Nov 08, 2005
    Boomjack
  • WoW Review at GamePlay Monthly

    A one-year anniversary review.
    GamePlay Monthly has posted a World of Warcraft review just days before the one-year anniversary of the game.

    " It’s November and World of Warcraft has already been out for nearly a year. Although it had a launch that was unstable at best, World of Warcraft has been hailed as one of the greatest Massively Multiplayer Online Games ever created. This may be true, but World of Warcraft stills suffer from many of the same issues that plague the other games of this genre. "

    You can read the World of Warcraft Review at GamePlay Monthly.
    Bagloads of guides, tips and more at the World of Warcraft Community Site at TenTonHammer.com.
    Tired of searching through a dozen sites to find the WoW information you are looking for? Let our World of Warcraft Meta-Search do the work for you.

    Reviews
    Mon, Nov 07, 2005
    Boomjack
  • Sony Rootkit Helps WoW Hackers

    Sony haXX0rs WoW.
    SecurityFocus is reporting that the Sony BMG content protection software is making it possible for people to hack World of Warcraft and not get caught.

    " World of Warcraft hackers have confirmed that the hiding capabilities of Sony BMG's content protection software can make tools made for cheating in the online world impossible to detect. The software--deemed a "rootkit" by many security experts--is shipped with tens of thousands of the record company's music titles.
    Blizzard Entertainment, the maker of World of Warcraft, has created a controversial program that detects cheaters by scanning the processes that are running at the time the game is played. Called the Warden, the anti-cheating program cannot detect any files that are hidden with Sony BMG's content protection, which only requires that the hacker add the prefix "$sys$" to file names."

    You can read the entire World of Warcraft Hackers Using Sony BMG Rootkit at SecurityFocus.
    Other Interesting Links:

    News
    Fri, Nov 04, 2005
    Boomjack
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