wow

Vote: Battle of the non-violent robots

Voting is now closed for this round. See the results of the battles here and vote on eight more first round battles here.

Complex as they are, most robots solve dilemmas in a basic way: they fight each other. Then Michael Bay films it, charges $10 a ticket, and everyone enjoys the marvelous robots-kicking-the-crap-out-of-each-other show.

But there are plenty of robots that have no appetite for destruction. What about these robots, ones that have to rely on personality, artifical wits, social skills, and dance moves in order to survive?

Even if they banded together, these robots couldn't fight their … Read more

News roundup: MMORPG economies, resignations, and music videos

BBC to broadcast in 'Second Life'. BBC's show The Money Programme will broadcast on Friday both on regular television and in the MMORPG Second Life. This episode of The Money Programme deals with with the economies that have sprung up as a result of these micropayment-filled virtual currency markets, including World of Warcraft, Lord of the RingsOnline, and Second Life. The social network has played host to several other real-life events in the past, including concerts and business meetings.

Warner to put ad-supported video archive online. Warner music is putting together a platform to deliver music videos and other … Read more

Blizzard suing 'WoW' gold sellers

World of Warcraft publisher Blizzard Entertainment has filed suit in U.S. federal court against a popular gold-selling operation for spamming players with ads for virtual gold, according to the Warcry Network and other sources.

In its post, Warcry's Razorwire blog quoted a Blizzard employee as saying, "We felt that it was important to share with the community just how serious we are in our efforts to combat (in-game gold spamming). Blizzard has filed a federal lawsuit against the operators of Peons4hire, a popular gold-selling organization."

Blizzard spokesperson Shon Damron, in an e-mail, confirmed the lawsuit.

It'… Read more

World of Housecraft: Greatest apartment listing ever

Were I in San Francisco, I would proudly share a roof with these deranged nerds. In what is possibly the greatest listing Craigslist has ever seen, three roommates are looking for one more to share their rent by inviting gamers to join "World of Housecraft." $738 per month in SOMA is a pretty good price, and the apartment description makes it even harder to pass up:

"Descend into the World of Housecraft and join three mighty heroes in a world of myth, magic, and limitless adventure. Four rooms of wireless cable Internet, Xbox 360, and an epic … Read more

On fire for The Burning Crusade

We had our company holiday party at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts last week. As we mingled, I noticed how a lot of my peers from GameSpot were not there. What we found out later is that the night we had our company party was the night after the launch of World of Warcraft expansion pack, The Burning Crusade. For the love of the game, these folks actually missed our annual holiday party so that they could play this awesome game the day it came out and be able to talk about it with coworkers and friends the … Read more

Blizzard gearing up for WoW expansion release

Just a reminder that Blizzard Entertainment will be releasing "World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade" on January 16 in North America and Europe. The expansion pack for WoW will be available for about $40, with a special collector's edition for $70. Auctions of the collector's editions on eBay have already began to solicit bids of up to $200 at last look.

Blizzard will be extending its technical support hours and staying open for two consecutive Saturdays in order to accommodate possible issues or questions that may arise from installation of "The Burning Crusade," the … Read more

Warcraft Social: MySpace for World of Warcraft

One might argue that the whole point of massively multiplayer online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft is to avoid social interaction. Or at least, that's what the friends and relatives of most MMORPG gamers claim. But most WoW players know that one of the best features of the game is the in-game socializing with people from all over the world. From forming small 5-man parties to large 40-man raids, social interaction plays a key role in World of Warcraft. But the problem with interacting with a bunch of strangers is that you often run into annoying losers, … Read more