DENVER, 3:24 AM, SAT MAY 17 | 53 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@kotaku.com | SUBMIT A TIP | RSS
AU
Posts Tagged “

WoW

”
rumor smash

Boys Pay Hookers To Play Halo And...Oh, That Story Isn't Real

If you've been trawling the recesses of the internets for the past week or so, you may have come across a story about a pair of 13 year-old kids who lied about winning a WoW tournament, booked a swish hotel room then paid for two $1000-a-night hookers to come upstairs and play Halo with them. For their troubles, the pair have allegedly been "convicted of fraud". It'd be a pretty funny story if it was true. Thing is, it's not. Kiwi site Stuff actually bothered to check with the police in Newark, Texas, where the events supposedly took place, and were told:

As far as we know, this story is a hoax. There have not been any arrests here, and we're not aware of any convictions like that in this county.
Hint: as soon as the story involves midgets, and not just hookers, Xbox and WoW, there's a good chance it's too good to be true.

Did a 13yo buy hookers with dad's credit card? [Stuff.co.nz, via GamePolitics]

8:20 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Luke Plunkett
5,452 views, 58 comments

Latest by Pantsman: How the heck do you have a WoW tournament, anyway? more »

only in china

Chengdu Police Arrest Two Gold Farmers

Steve at PlayNoEvil noted this little news story, which involves two Chinese gold farmers who have pulled in over $200K USD being arrested in China. Why? How, exactly? Well, it would appear that one of the pair felt they were being swindled out of profits and reported his partner to the police:

Chengdu's Shuangliu county has arrested two virtual item and currency traders, surnamed Li and Zhang, focused on tapping out The9's (Nasdaq: NCTY) licensed MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW), reports Chengdu Evening News. Police arrested the pair after Li reported Zhang for unfair revenue distribution. Going into business last August, the gold miners accumulated more than 20 employees with 20 computers to generate RMB 1.6 million in seven months of dealing.

Oopsies. I'll be nosing around for more on this story (like exactly what the pair was arrested for), but if any intrepid readers come across anything, send it my way. As Steve at PlayNoEvil notes, "Turn up the Irony Meter to 11. After all, with all of the complaints in the US about gold farming, it takes the Chinese to stand up and do something about it."

WoW Gold Miner Offers Himself Up To Police [Pacific Epoch via PlayNoEvil

12:30 PM on Sun May 11 2008
By mgreene
5,635 views, 19 comments

wrath of the lich king

New Wrath Of The Lich King Details Galore

A press event earlier these week has resulted in a veritable flood of new information regarding the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Most of the news floating about is regarding the Death Knight hero class, fleshing out the details of the eagerly awaited addition, as well as some information on the raids players will encounter in the frozen lands of Northrend.

Every player with a character over level 55 will be able to create one Death Knight per realm. The new character will start at level 55 with a full compliment of abilities at their disposal, the reasoning here being that anyone who has leveled that far will be able to get the hang of the new abilities quickly. Anyone who has ever played with a recently eBayed character can tell you this is a complete falsehood, but it'll be amusing to watch at least.

Speaking of amusing, Death Knights will also gain the ability to raise fallen enemies and comrades as ghouls to continue the fight. If you raise an ally in this fashion they will get a choice of whether or not to take control of their violated corpse. Good times!

More »

9:40 AM on Fri May 9 2008
By Mike Fahey
13,458 views, 52 comments

Latest by Replica23: After a long investment in the game I had pretty much written-off every returning to the World of Warcraft, even though the release of a new expansion might bring me back for a bit. However after reading a few previews more »

npd group

Americans Now Spend $1 Billion A Year On Game Subscriptions

Whenever a developer who works for a company that doesn't make MMOs pipes up and says "PC gaming is dead", they really mean they just can't make money selling what they're selling. Maybe it's because of piracy, like many say, but hey, maybe it's also because they don't make MMOs, because NPD figures released today show that Americans spent over $1 billion on online subscriptions last year. That money came from an estimated 11 million subscribers, the majority of whom were obviously playing WoW, with RuneScape, LotRO, FFXI and City of Heroes following (in that order) in its wake. NPD say "it's clear that there is a sizable chunk of revenue being generated by PC gaming beyond what is reflected in retail sales", and really, none of us are in a position to argue with that. More »

11:00 PM on Thu May 8 2008
By Luke Plunkett
2,420 views, 37 comments

Latest by Mr. Garcia: @ssh83: YUP. Steam is the future. more »

uwe boll

Uwe Boll Wanted To Do A WoW Movie, Blizzard Said No, Thanks

Uwe Boll likes games. Likes making movies based on games. Likes making movies based on games involving swords, castles and magic. Guy's got a track record. So Uwe Boll making the World of Warcraft movie, it just fits, right? Did for Boll. Didn't for Blizzard. Boll says:
I got in contact with Paul Sams of Blizzard, and he said, 'We will not sell the movie rights, not to you...especially not to you. Because it's such a big online game success, maybe a bad movie would destroy that ongoing income, what the company has with it."
But what if it was a good movie, Uwe? Oh, right...
Uwe Boll Won't Ever Be Entering The World Of Warcraft [MTV, via VG247] [Pic]

4:30 AM on Mon Apr 21 2008
By Luke Plunkett
19,233 views, 101 comments

Latest by freespeech: "especially not to you" PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! more »

world of warcraft

This Deluxe WoW Figure Will Totally Kick Your Ass

Don't confuse old Brave Highmountain here with your regular, run-of-the-mill World of Warcraft figures. Those things are for the Average Joe and his Average Toy Shelf. This thing, like last year's Illidan Stormrage, is deluxe. A deluxe Tauren Hunter, to be precise, which has a ton of detail, and will most likely sell like hotcakes when its released in December.
World of Warcraft Deluxe Collector Figure: Series 3 [Action-Figure]

3:30 AM on Tue Apr 15 2008
By Luke Plunkett
11,405 views, 28 comments

diy

The World of Warcraft MacBook Pro

Yes, there are Mac gamers. And some of them play World of Warcraft. This individual here laser-etched MacBook Pro. Took about twenty minutes to do on a laser-etching machine. Well, whaddaya think?
MacBook WoW [Flickr via Geekcrafting and Uberdork via Alice]

5:00 AM on Mon Apr 14 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
4,929 views, 47 comments

world of warcraft

Has WoW Peaked?

World of Warcraft's big. Bigger than the Beatles and Jesus combined. But it can't last forever, and one day, sure as the sun rises, it will peak, before beginning the slow, torturous decline into oblivion. Any bets on when that peak will occur? If you ask THQ's Jack Sorenson, it's right now:
I wish I could see the numbers, but my guess is that it probably already has peaked - but it's still a great business.
Hope he's right. No disrespect to WoW, but I'd like to hear about something else in the MMO space for once. All the WoW this, WoW that, it's getting boring!
THQ: "Warcraft has peaked" [Eurogamer] [Pic]

10:30 PM on Tue Apr 8 2008
By Luke Plunkett
5,124 views, 138 comments

Latest by freespeech: who is this guy saying this crazy stuff????????? more »

lawsuit update

WoW Player Still Suing IGE For Gold Farming

One would have thought the lawsuit filed last May by Florida resident and WoW player Antonio Hernandez against gold farming juggernaut IGE would have disappeared long before now, but it's still alive and well. Despite IGE's claims that their U.S. operation is no longer involved in the virtual gold business, Hernandez's attorney C. Richard Newsome believes the pertinent issues still need to be addressed.
"The real significance of this case is, 'What are the rights of the [virtual world] community members when they go online?'"
Newsome argues that players entering the game agree that they "may not sell items for 'real' money or otherwise exchange items for value outside of the [virtual world]." The only problem here is that the same agreement recognizes that the player has no ownership or property rights in the game. More »

8:40 AM on Tue Apr 8 2008
By Mike Fahey
3,181 views, 33 comments

Latest by Vlox: Sounds like an unsatisfied customer to me. I've gone through the whole WoW phase, and let me tell you... spending upwards of eight hours to simply make a few thousand gold is not worth anyone's time unless they're getting paid more »

research

Chill Out With World of Warcraft

Pent up anger is bad. So, best way to relax and feel less angry? Take it out on video games. A new study at Middlesex University says that the 292 male and female World of Warcraft players between the ages of 12 and 83 (bwah?) felt calm and tired after playing. Says research Jane Barnett:

This will help us to develop an emotion and gaming questionnaire to help distinguish the type of gamer who is likely to transfer their online aggression into everyday life.

Oh. Okay. Well, thanks!
New Study [Next Generation] [Pic]

6:00 AM on Wed Apr 2 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
2,649 views, 36 comments

Latest by Koztah: I bet they didn't have them raid with druids and paladins who between them want every single drop for their off sets. And a rogue who can't manage his aggro and keeps dispelling salvation and then asks for King's. I've been much more »

lawsuit

Blizzard Versus Glider: The Motions

Last year, Blizzard decided to go after Glider (the botting program that lets you skip past the grind and get to the good stuff); Michael Donnelly, the guy behind Glider (who has apparently made nearly $2.8 million off of it) is fighting back, and now both sides have filed motions arguing their case. The summary judgment briefs and analysis have been making the rounds the past week or so: Blizzard claims that Glider infringes on the EULA of WoW by copying portions of code and is pissing of WoW players (as well as gobbling up resources), while Glider is saying that grinding to level 70 is boooooring and they're just helping players get to the fun bits. Both sides are seeking to be declared victorious without having to go through a protracted legal battle. We'll see what happens and who comes out on top.

Terra Nova has mirrors of the summary judgment motions, as well as a quick little wrap-up; Rock, Paper, Shotgun gets to the nitty gritty and also has a poll (question: 'Should Blizzard crush Glider?' options: 'Aye! Bots = cheating,' 'Nay! Grinding = misery,' 'Ayenay! Blizzard should provide a levelling service themselves' - thus far, 'Aye!' is winning), and PlayNoEvil has some analysis up from a security standpoint.

Blizzard v WoW Glider: Interesting, no? [Terra Nova]; Democracy Inaction: Blizzard vs Bots [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]; World of Warcraft Warden vs. Glider - Which is the Lesser Evil? Who owns my computer? {PlayNoEvil]

3:00 PM on Sat Mar 29 2008
By mgreene
6,328 views, 123 comments

Latest by Captain Impulse: @krunkjuice: It has nothing to do with the game being shitty or not. People will cheat for cheating's sake. 10 million paid subscriptions don't lie. more »

blizzard

World of Warcraft, Now More Terrorist Insightful Than Ever

Members of the U.S. intelligence community are soon to be on the hunt for dangerous terrorist boogey-men inhabiting online games like World of Warcraft. At least, that's what what we assume they'll tell their superiors, when conducting a four-hour plus raid on taxpayer time. According to fun speculation from Wired, WoW might not just tell us who is going to blow up national treasure X or spread communicable disease Y, it may tell us how. More »

5:40 PM on Thu Mar 20 2008
By Michael McWhertor
5,912 views, 55 comments

Latest by Prezel: You lot? WHAT? Stuuuuuuuuuuuuupid. more »

world of warcraft

Yes, A Third Series Of WoW Figures

Here, more World of Warcraft figures for the unhealthily obsessed to spend their real-world dollars on. These are the third series to be released by DC Direct, and while they won't be out until November, they figure March is early enough to begin whetting your appetite with pictures. Four figures will make up the series: a Blood Elf Paladin, a Dranei Mage, an Undead Rogue and a Human Priestess. Lookers, the lot of them.
World of Warcraft Series 3 [Action-Figure]

5:30 AM on Tue Mar 18 2008
By Luke Plunkett
5,473 views, 15 comments

Latest by Odie20XX: If they REALLY wanted to cash in they would've made a Night-Elf female stripper :P I do like the detail in each piece though, well done :) more »

clips

Human Killing Machine: The Game... Not the Blogger


There's been plenty of talk lately about Street Fighter IV. And good thing, because the game kicks ass. But what about those shameless knock-offs of the original Street Fighter? What about, say, Human Killing Machine?

9:14 AM on Fri Feb 29 2008
By Brian Crecente
3,174 views, 58 comments

predictions

Forbes Predicts Future Classics

The financial minds at Forbes have taken off their big business hats for a moment to focus on a more pressing topic: classic video games. Which of today's titles will become immortalized in our hearts, marble statue-ized into our next Super Mario Bros 3s that we can't put down a decade later? Well, they've compiled a list of their top ten and it's...actually not that bad. And of course, Mario has made an appearance. More »

12:00 PM on Tue Feb 12 2008
By Mark Wilson
14,327 views, 142 comments

world of warcraft

Blizzard Love Portal In Their Own, Special Way

Companion cube jokes: totally overplayed. WoW: totally overdone. Yet somehow, throwing the two together under the umbrella of Valentines Day (or, to be more precise, the "Love Is In The Air") celebrations warms the very cockles of my heart. Don't ask me why. It just does. And don't ask about my cockles, either.
The companion cube cannot remain through the testing [WoW Insider]

11:30 PM on Mon Feb 11 2008
By Luke Plunkett
11,080 views, 52 comments

media

WoW Mana Drink Reviewed

There is nothing imperfect about this video. From the family in the background to the registration watermark, the objectivity with which Zachary Garrison reviews the new WoW Mana Energy Potion in the face of oft-wannabe YouTubers is completely charming, even to our cold, cold hearts that pump the salty-delicious tears of children through our veins in lieu of more traditional blood.

2:00 PM on Mon Feb 11 2008
By Mark Wilson
8,410 views, 123 comments

china

China's 'Online Opium' Industry Booming

In contrast to the consequences of the one—sided treaties of the original Opium Wars, it's the homegrown companies that are making out like bandits in China's growing online gaming industry. Even veterans of the China scene (like WoW) are losing ground in the battle for a piece of the Chinese market — domestic developers are quickly gaining market shares and an ever—increasing slice of the nearly $14 billion USD market: More »

11:30 AM on Sun Feb 10 2008
By mgreene
3,798 views, 18 comments