Korean Game I Would love to Play, but Not Pay for: "Husky Express"
There is something about the South Korean video gaming industry that has the unique ability to make PC gamers in the west squeal and squirm at the same time, while also bringing western game publishers to the point of salivation over their revenue generating potential. On the one hand there are the high profile games that are popular and profitable all over the world like NCSoft's City of Heroes, City of Villains and the Guild Wars Franchise. But then there are games seem so off the wall from a western perspective that you just have to laugh. The thing is that they seem to do REALLY well in Asia. A good past example of this is Freestyle Street Basketball. This online sports game utilizes a free-to-play model with micro transactions for in-game gear and the like that cost. Sounds like it would be huge flop, and it almost certainly would in the US, but in the pan Asian market since it went online in 2005 it has gained more than 32 million registered users. Uh wow. Again, good thing it is free because I'd never pay to play that online. A similar example, and the point of this post is a game that I came across today via a post on Kotaku, Husky Express.
This time we are talking a MMORPG. Yup, raising dogsled puppies and racing them online within a massive community, with levelable RPG elements. Again, wow. How does that even make it out of the idea pitch section of the project cycle? Who knows, but considering we are talking gadget happy South Korea, the most heavily wired society in the world, it may just be a hit. If it is, and I can get a copy for free or cheap and it is free to play online, this time I am in.
Am I off-base here? Take a look at the trailer for yourself and let me know. At the least you'll get a good laugh out of it.
–Hobson's Choice
Windows 7 in October? Here’s the Scoop
Reports are surfacing that Windows 7 may be available to consumers as early as October just as Microsoft releases a new Windows 7 RC1 beta code to developers.
Need help with home theater sound in living room
My primary listening position will be in a couch about 10-12 ft from the front. I will also have 2 chairs/recliners on the left side of the room close to the fireplace.
I will be using this room for 80% movies (5.1 surround) 20% music (2 channels).
I have considered the following types of speakers:
Fronts & Center: Wall-mounted bookshelfs, In-walls, In-ceilings, and floorstanding.
Surround: Bipole, Dipole, Quadpole, Direct radiating.
I figure with the fireplace in the way on the left side, and the 2 chairs on the left side of the room close to the fireplace, this would not be an ideal situation for floorstanding speakers. I would not know how to place them effectivley. I am thinking one of the wall-mounted typed would be better, please advise.
Pics of the room:
‘Burnout Paradise Cops And Robbers’ DLC Launch Trailer
Burnout Paradise is getting a new round of DLC and this time, you get to pick a side. Will you be "good" and become a cop? Or will you go to the "naughty" side and be a robber?
Don’t worry, this isn’t a personality test and you don’t have to tell us which one you’ll choose, but you should check out this launch trailer for the new Cops and Robbers pack available now from the Burnout Store, PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace. Be sure to check out G4’s Andrew Pfister’s preview of the DLC.
Whoop! Whoop! Pull over that car too fat! Whoop! Whoop!
Burnout Paradise Cops and Robbers Launch Trailer
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Valve, Activision Clash Over Cybercafe Dispute
It’s a clash of the titans today, as Game Politics discovered that Valve is suing Activision, with Activision threatening to countersue the Half-Life developer. Here’s the thing: the lawsuit itself actually stems from a 2002 cybercafé licensing dispute between Valve and Sierra, a publisher Activision inherited as part of the Vivendi merger last year.
Thus, this dispute is now Activision’s problem. Valve is suing Activision for allegedly refusing to honor an April 6 court decision that should have settled the issue.
Activision says the decision awarded Valve too much money — we’re talking $2,391,932 vs. $1,967,796 — and decided to write Valve a check for the lesser amount. Clearly, Valve isn’t happy with this outcome, nor is Activision excited about Valve’s decision to take the situation to court, which may prompt them to countersue.
This all begs the question: when’s the last time you played Counter-Stike in a cybercafé?!
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Why Do Richard Garriott’s Games Include Death Traps For Kids?
In every game since Ultima IV, designer Richard Garriott has included a room where players are asked to kill or save a room full of children. The moral mechanic dates back to a moment during Ultima IV’s development where he wanted players to prove how good they really were, Garriott told Crispy Gamer in an interview today.
"What I created was a room with cages in the four corners filled with children, and in the middle of the room was a lever," he explained. "And if you threw the lever it would open the cages. But the things that actually looked like children were in fact monsters, and the monsters would just come over and attack you. And I knew that this would cause the player to wonder — as they first saw the lever there, they’d probably go, ‘Uh-oh, what do I do now? Because I’m the good guy, and I probably should free these children.’"
Garriott’s decision was met with resistance from even his own brother, his business partner at the time, when a tester raised a complaint about it. His brother refused to be associated with a game where players were given the choice to kill children, but Garriott wouldn’t budge on the issue. In Garriott’s mind, "the fact that this person was moved to this level of emotional response, I think is a good thing."
Eventually, despite protest from much of his family, Garriott kept the feature in the game and it went more or less unnoticed. But the experience has remained a profound one for Garriott; he’s included a similar room in all of his games since, including his most recent project, the recently shut down MMO Tabula Rasa.
Head on over to Crispy for the full interview.
What have you chosen to do when presented with this dilemma in Garriott’s games?
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X-Play World Premiere: ‘Spore: Galactic Adventures’ Launch Trailer
Hey all you Spore fans out there, your creatures are go for launch. In the new PC-based expansion pack, Spore: Galactic Adventures, you’ll be able to beam down from your spaceship and visit new planets and complete all-new missions to earn rewards. Another exciting update is the Adventure Creator, where players will have the chance to design their own missions and share them online for everyone to enjoy.
And now, X-Play presents the world premiere of the Spore: Galactic Adventures Launch Trailer for your space enjoyment. If watching it on your Earth computer isn’t good enough for you, you can also catch the trailer tonight on your Earth TV by tuning into X-Play at 6:30 PM ET and again at 8 PM ET.
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AMD Celebrating 40th Birthday with Contests
AMD is celebrating its fortieth anniversary with a pair of contests that will ask AMD’s fans to help its mark the milestone.
Two Weeks Without Twitter: An Experiment
Could a frequent and active Twitter user live without Twitter? One PC World editor gives it a shot.
Apple Looking to Design Its Own Chips
Move could keep the company’s product plans hidden from competitors, report says.
