The
domain alloutofgum.com is now
active, though it currently displays a message saying the "application is
offline for maintenance." An image on
All Games Beta is purportedly from the site before the maintenance began,
showing an empty pack of "Kick-Ass" bubblegum, recalling Duke Nukem's
declaration that "it's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I'm all out of
gum." The image is topped by a countdown which shows 24+ days remaining, and
they say this means the next
Duke Nukem game will be announced at that
time by Interceptor Entertainment. True to that, a
whois search on the domain does list Interceptor Entertainment as the
registrant, though if it turns out this is faked, it would not be the most
elaborate hoax we've seen by a long shot. Stay tuned.
"Professional Corporation" (aka
law firm)
Brower Piven announces it "encourages" investors who lost money on EA stock
purchased during the second half of last years to contact them before February
17 to participate in a class action suit as lead plaintiff:
The complaint
accuses the defendants of violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by
virtue of the defendants’ failure to disclose during the Class Period that
Battlefield 4, one of the Company’s signature video games, was riddled with
bugs, connectivity issues, and several other problems that caused the EA unit
publishing Battlefield 4 to put all other projects on hold to permit it to focus
its efforts on fixing Battlefield 4. According to the complaint, following the
November 15, 2013 disclosure that EA games experienced multiple glitches and
significant crashes on the newly released Sony Play Station 4 console and the
December 4, 2013 disclosure that bugs, connectivity issues, server limitations
and other problems plaguing Battlefield 4 indefinitely halted the rollout of
Battlefield 4 and delayed other EA projects, the value of EA shares declined
significantly.
If you choose to retain counsel, you may retain Brower Piven without financial
obligation or cost to you, or you may retain other counsel of your choice. You
need take no action at this time to be a member of the class.
Ghost Games has suffered layoffs,
reports Polygon, saying the studio formerly known as EA Gothenburg was
working on an unannounced installment in the
Need for Speed series that
is now on hold. They say this unconfirmed report comes to them from "multiple
sources," but has not yet been confirmed by Electronic Arts. They also add
another layer of unconfirmed rumor on top of this, saying: "Electronic Arts
earlier this week let go of their contractors at the office and told full-time
staffers they could either take compensation and leave or continue working in
the office to support work on Visceral's rumored police-themed Battlefield
title, code-named Havana. Sources say Havana is due out later this year."
Battle.net puts out the
call for those interested in helping test balance changes in
StarCraft II,
Blizzard's sci-fi real-time strategy sequel. This outlines specific changes to
be tested, though they note that none of this is final, saying: "During this
testing phase, please keep in mind that none of the changes listed below are
final. Our plan is to first explore how each change impacts the game and
potentially test additional changes after reviewing your feedback."
Here's
a new trailer
from
Infinite Space 3: Sea of Stars to accompany the January progress
report
on Kickstarter for Digital Eel's upcoming outer space sequel. Word is they
are working on implementing the game's combat as well as a "combat simulator"
system which will allow players to work on their skills, and will also assist
the developers in weapon balancing. Finally, they announce the game has been
accepted for distribution on several gaming portals including Steam, and that
they will conduct their public beta program through
Steam, saying this is
expected to begin in "a couple of months."
Continue here to read the full story.
I had to make a run into Manhattan yesterday, and got to see the NFL's Super
Bowl "experience" first-hand. There really isn't much to the setup besides the
toboggan run ride in Times Square, which looks pretty unexciting (if they had a
zipline like the one they set up last year in New Orleans I would have waited on
line to try it). The most noteworthy thing to notice was that there are actually
more tourists in the midtown area than usual, which is saying something. And
while you can normally pick out tourists in the city from their slow walking
pace and fixation on the tops of buildings, this crowd took it to a whole other
level, as the ones not wearing Broncos and Seahawks gear were wandering around
with their plastic credential badges hanging around their necks. It's a good
thing the crime rate in NYC has been addressed so strongly over the past couple
of decades, as I can remember a time when a situation like this would have been
bringing muggers out of retirement for one last big score.
R.I.P.:
Arthur Rankin Jr, 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' co-producer dies, age 89.
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