Services like Bit.ly and Tinyurl are extremely popular for shortening long links — so popular that Facebook and Google have launched their own versions. Facebook’s Fb.me and Google URL Shortener are vying to become the king of the…uh…shorties.
With millions of links served up by Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and plain old email, this should be one extremely competitive race. Even though these two new services are starting (relatively) small, the incumbents should be afraid…very afraid.
Electronic Arts has announced that TransGaming has partnered with EA and BioWare to bring Dragon Age: Origins to the Mac platform on December 21. The press release stated, “The critically acclaimed, dark fantasy epic will be available to Mac Players as a digital download where they can choose between the Standard or Digital Deluxe version.”
The deluxe version includes “a collection of wallpapers, in-game bonus items, the game’s soundtrack and the Warden’s Keep additional content.” Both versions have The Stone Prisoner (Shale rules!!!) content and the blood dragon armor. Really though, this eliminates one possible excuse for not playing this outstanding game. As for you guys and gals that are exclusively on Linux….
Square Enix has released a new batch of Final Fantasy XIII
James Cameron’s Avatar is going to conquer the universe this week. While I’m still not sold on the movie, there’s no denying that this thing is going to be huge. You’re all aware of the movie and the videogames by Ubi Soft, but here are some other Avatar products you might not be aware of.
Avatar…the Books!
If you want to prep for the movie then you ought to consider curling up with Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide and The Art of Avatar: James Cameron’s Epic Adventure
Avatar…the Action Figures!
Any sci-fi movie worth a damn has action figures, but Avatar takes it a step further by implementing some interesting web-cam connectivity. Here’s the official word and a photo:
Continue reading “Get Your Avatar Books, Action Figures, and T-Shirts!”
As part of Microsoft’s Game with Fame series, Xbox Live members will have a chance to play Guitar Hero 5
I usually ignore all the Game with Fame promos, but this one was too awesome to pass up. I am a huge Weird Al mark. I love parodies of all kinds and Yankovic has provided some of the best. Whether you’re talking about “Eat It”, “Amish Paradise”, or his brilliant polkas, I’m totally down with Weird Al.
Do you have a favorite “Weird” Al Yankovic song?
Last Friday, Google gave its employees Nexus One phones, also known as the rumored “Google Phone” coming out in January 2010. Armed with a zippy Snapdragon processor, an OLED screen, and Android OS 2.1, this GSM phone allegedly runs on both AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s 3G bands. One unusual (and cool) feature is that the handset has dual microphones — one for your voice and one for noise cancellation.
The rumor is that Google will be selling these phones directly to the consumer, bypassing mobile providers. Considering that Google has yet to officially confirm that it’s selling the Nexus One, pricing and availability are still TBD. The company has an opportunity to disrupt the market by offering the phone for a low price, hoping to make more money from mobile advertising. That said, most writers are guessing that the phone will be around $399.
Continue reading “Google’s Nexus One Phone Could Disrupt the Market”
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, WWE giving Sheamus and Drew McIntyre championships, last Saturday’s fantastic day of boxing, or Accenture dropping Tiger Woods, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
As I mentioned last week, I’ll be counting down my five favorite games of 2009 in this week’s Coffee Talk columns and I’d love for you to join me! Let me know what your favorite games of the year were in the comments section. Remember, this isn’t about what games you thought were “best”. I want to know what you had the most fun with in 2009.
#5 Pokemon Platinum — Yes, I’m a Pokemon addict that has put more than 600 hours into Pokemon Pearl. As someone that loves breeding Pokemon for competitive battling, several of the additions in Pokemon Platinum
Of course Pokemon Platinum is rooted in the fantastic RPG gameplay that millions and millions of players have enjoyed for years. Weavile, I choose you!!!
DC Comics’ Blackest Night crossover event is working…and it shouldn’t be. The whole premise is ridiculous (even by comic-book standards). The established Green Lantern Corps has been patrolling the universe for decades in the DCU, but now there are a total of seven lantern corps duking it out in the War of Light. The seven corps are based off of different emotions. You have green (willpower), yellow (fear), blue (hope), red (rage), orange (green), violet (love), and indigo (compassion). When you add in the fact that all these lanterns recharge their powers by reciting a rhyming oath, the whole thing sounds stupid…yet it’s working so well.
A large part of why it’s working is that Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi have done an outstanding job with the Green Lantern and Blackest Night books. The whole thing feels epic and the pair have made the “emotional spectrum” thing plausible. Despite the facts that willpower isn’t an emotion (as previously used in the Green Lantern books) and the various lantern combat mechanics are straight out of Pokemon, these masterful writers are making a silly premise terribly compelling.
Continue reading “DC’s Blackest Night is Awesome…and it Shouldn’t Be”
In case you missed it, here are the winners of the 2009 Spike TV VGAs. Check out the list and let me know what you think! Anyone get snubbed? Any of the winners undeserving? Or is the list mostly right?
Hit the jump for the rest of the winners!
Continue reading “Spike TV Videogame Awards (VGA) Winners List”
Here’s a pair of Japanese television clips featuring Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII
Hit the break for the next clip!
Continue reading “Final Fantasy XIII Japanese Television Footage”
