Tag Archives: launch
EA apologizes for botched SimCity launch
BGR
After launch mess, EA pledges free game for SimCity players
Are things finally improving in SimCity? Leave us a comment about your gameplay experiences.
(Credit: Maxis/EA)
SimCity’s launch may be long remembered as a complete disaster, but in a new update, Lucy Bradshaw, General Manager of Sims creator and EA subsidiary Maxis, aimed to alleviate the sour mood by promising to fix the connectivity calamity and deliver a free game as a peace offering.
“To get us back in your good graces, we’re going to offer you a free PC download game from the EA portfolio,” said Bradshaw. “On March 18, SimCity players who have activated their game will receive an e-mail telling them how to redeem their free game.”
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Crave: gorgeous gadgets and other crushworthy stuff. – CNET
The astoundingly cheesy iPhone app launch from Domino’s
Cheese topping on that cheese?
(Credit: Domino's Japan/YouTube; screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)
In the world of “so bad, it’s good,” this may well qualify as bad. Or good.
It’s Domino’s Pizza selling a new iTunes app in Japan. Because if there’s one thing pizza needs, it’s an iPhone app.
Domino’s wants you to know that no expense was spared in the creation of this app. So it wasn’t going to sink to using Brad Pitt, Jack Nicholson, or Leonardo DiCaprio to sell it.
No, it was going to employ that versatile performer Scott Oellkers. Should you have been unaccountably held up in North Korea playing basketball, Oellkers is the president of Domino’s Japan.
I am grateful to Gawker for having spotted this work of art, one that Gawker claims it found mesmerizing.
Well, car crashes, tornadoes, and “Real Housewives of Atlanta” can be mesmerizing too.
Here we have Oellkers behaving as if Mad Men still sit in ad agencies, smoking, drinking, and hanging themselves on the back of their office doors.
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SimCity launch fallout continues
Trouble continues in paradise.
(Credit: Maxis/EA)
Can anyone put the fire out in SimCity?
Three days after launch, the SimCity drama continues to unfold as some gamers still find themselves battling busy servers, long queues, and unexpected disconnections. Gamers and the press continue to intensify scrutiny of EA’s handling of the situation (and SimCity’s requirement for an always-on Internet connection — even in single player mode), which seem widely recognized as a colossal failure.
In the latest twist to the proverbial knife deeply lodged in SimCity’s reputation, a reported EA marketing memo sent to affiliates indicates that the company issued a temporary gag order on Internet-based marketing efforts for the troubled city-building game. “EA Origin has requested to pause all SimCity marketing campaigns temporarily, until further notice,” indicated the note.
The purported notice to marketers comes a day after gaming Web site Polygon exposed … [Read more]
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Crave: gorgeous gadgets and other crushworthy stuff. – CNET
OUYA now accepting game submissions ahead of official launch
The official launch date of the OUYA gaming console is quickly approaching, and we can taste the portable Android-powered gaming goodness already. The console will be shipping out to Kickstarter backers starting on March 28, with general availability starting in June. Furthermore, OUYA’s store is ready to go and they’re now accepting game submissions before the console’s launch.
OUYA has opened up their Developer Portal where OUYA game developers can download the ODK (OUYA Development Kit) and begin uploading their games to the OUYA store ahead of time. Games that are uploaded ahead of the March 28 launch date will see their games available right away on that day. However, the games go through a submission process, so it’s ideal to upload games a few days before the launch date if you want your titles ready to play right away.
Also, OUYA is essentially starting from scratch and implementing the new system all over again, which means that developers who uploaded their games previously will have to upload them again. However, once your game is uploaded, OUYA is allowing full control of your games after that time, meaning that you can update your games whenever you’d like.
Furthermore, as an incentive to get developers to upload their games, OUYA will be selecting the top three games (by popularity), and will be filming documentaries on each of the games, going behind-the-scenes with the development team of each game. However, there was no word on when we can expect these documentaries to be available for viewing.
OUYA now accepting game submissions ahead of official launch is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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YouTube music streaming service will reportedly launch this year
BGR
Samsung Galaxy S4 specifications tease biggest launch in company history
This week we’re seeing more specification theories, leaks, and downright confirmations coming for the Samsung Galaxy S IV (or S4 if you prefer) than this device’s imminent reveal would suggest. The big Samsung “Be Ready 4 The Next Galaxy” invites have been dropped and note a March 14th, 2013 event to be held in Times Square, New York City – if that’s not a massive venue, we don’t know what is. We’ll certainly be there with bells on, but before we get there, let’s have a peek at what we might to see!
With the Samsung Galaxy S III we’re going to see first and foremost a massive 4.99 (or straight up 5) inch display with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. That’s Full HD, if you were wondering, and a pixels per inch ratio that’s on-par with the densest devices on the market today. In contrast you’ll find the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 revealed last week with 189PPI – not too next-level, but still perfectly nice when you’re right up next to it with your face.
Inside you’ll find a real next-level processor in the Exynos 5250. This is Samsung’s quad-core processor -but tips have also suggested that the “OCTA” Exynos processor revealed back during CES 2013 could make its debut here as well. Interestingly enough, we’ve also heard that Qualcomm may be sitting inside. This would follow the trend with the Samsung Galaxy S III working with an Exynos processor outside the USA and Qualcomm taking the reigns inside – here a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 SoC clocked at 1.7Ghz rolling out inside the states.
That same processor exists inside the HTC One revealed less than a month ago. Now we’ve got a real battle on our hands, complete with a 13 megapixel camera on the Galaxy S III to take on the HTC One’s UltraPixel camera technology. The Samsung Galaxy S IV is also being foretold to work with a microSD card slot capable of working with up to 64GB cards and that it’ll be coming in at least two colors: black and white. Of course there will be multiple internal storage size iterations of this device, at least 16, 32, and 64GB versions depending on which carrier you go with – and whatever they offer.
We’ll be having a peek at this device in all its glory soon, and very soon – stick with SlashGear from here until March 14th to see the big bang – and of course afterward when we give it the full once-over in a full review. This device has a lot to live up to, coming after one of the best selling smartphones of all time and continuing the lineup of Samsung’s most successful device ever – get pumped!
Samsung Galaxy S4 specifications tease biggest launch in company history is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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‘Modest’ BlackBerry Z10 sales, upcoming Galaxy S IV launch could doom BlackBerry
Despite imminent PlayStation 4 launch, now is a great time to buy the PlayStation 3
Ubuntu Touch to launch developer preview on over 20 more devices
Last week, the Ubuntu Touch developer preview was launched on the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, and Nexus 10. The preview gave developers and users access to the core and shell apps of the OS, alongside many of your phone’s normal features, like cameras, Wi-Fi, and more. The developer preview is of course still full of bugs and issues that make it impossible to use as a daily driver. Canonical also stresses that you’re flashing Ubuntu on your device at your own risk, because there is the possibility of bricking your device.
Alongside the devices above, Ubuntu Touch will soon be available for the following devices: Motorola XOOM, more Galaxy Nexus’s, Sony Xperia S, Sony Xperia T, Samsung Galaxy S III (international, Verizon Wireless, and AT&T), Huawei Ascend G300, Samsung Galaxy S (GT-I9000), Samsung Galaxy S SCL (GT-I90003), Samsung Galaxy Note, Samsung Galaxy Note II, Samsung Galaxy S II (international), HTC One X, HTC One XL, HTC One X+ (multiple versions), Asus Transformer Infinity, LG Optimus 4x HD, Nexus S, Nexus One, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi, and the Asus Transformer Pad.
It’s surprising to see that Ubuntu Touch will also be ported to aging devices like the Nexus S and the Nexus One, seeing as Canonical stated that a dual-core A9 processor is part of the minimum specs required for the OS. It’s ability be compatible with such old hardware does emphasize the efficiency of the OS. Canonical wants to get Ubuntu Touch out to as many devices as possible, and it’s all part of Ubuntu’s port-a-thon initiative. Ubuntu stated, “We want to port Ubuntu Touch to all kinds of devices,” and is asking developers from all around to join in and help.
Ubuntu Touch is a very interesting OS, and it’s ability to be compatible with current Android devices does make it a plus in the eyes of the Android community. Canonical plans on launching its first Ubuntu Touch device later this year. In the future, Canonical will release high-end “super phones” as well as entry-level basic phones that will run Ubuntu Touch.
[via Ubuntu]
Ubuntu Touch to launch developer preview on over 20 more devices is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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