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Must Watch: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Launch Trailer

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 05:50 PM PDT

mw3

So I don’t seem biased, because I really don’t care, here’s the Call of Duty: Modern War 3 trailer. You know, the other first person shooter launching this fall, which has been mostly overshadowed by another. The trailer calls MW3 the most anticipated game in history but that’s certainly up for debate. However, Battlefield 3 couldn’t have stolen all of Call of Duty’s fans. It is the best-selling franchise in Xbox 360 history, proving Xbox 360 gamers love highly scripted shooters. Jokes! (no, not really) Anyway, hopefully you were good this year because between Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3, gamers could have an awesome Christmas.



Fans Line Up At New Seattle Windows Store… For The Concert

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 05:39 PM PDT

This stuff writes itself. At the grand opening of a new Windows Store in Seattle folks were camping out for most of the night only to stream in, breathlessly ready to partake in the one exciting product Microsoft could offer – a free concert by the Black Keys.

I’m not here to bash Microsoft’s actual products but gosh darn it of their marketing guys aren’t incompetent. Remember the strange, proto-softcore porn launch videos for Windows 7? Remember the “PC Hunter” ads? Microsoft’s marketing department, barring events where the Black Keys play for free, just can’t get people excited.

We saw two or three great Microsoft Research products just last week, yet they have to sink to live music to draw a crowd? Sure, the company doesn’t need to impress anybody with gimmicky hardware and splashy ads, but can they at least try to plan out a store launch that would make folks line up for more than just the blues rock stylings of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney?



TechCrunch Gadgets Weekend Giveaway: Name PocketCloud’s Mascot, Win An iPhone 4S

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 09:17 AM PDT

scaled.PocketCloud super-guy

See Mr. Fauxcredible over there? He needs a name and Wyse wants to give an iPhone 4S to the reader who comes up with the best one for him.

Pocketcloud by Wyse is a remote desktop solution for IT folks and they’re trying to jazz up their marketing. To that end, they asked if I would “crowdsource” their mascot and ask you folks for some help. To enter, simply drop a name below in comments. Enter as many times as you wish and Wyse will pick one winner from all the thousands of comments that I expect we’ll get.

Here’s a bit about Pocketcloud to give you some background. I’m going for Floyd, but you may have better ideas.

The new version of PocketCloud allows unlimited file sharing, of any file type between your iPhone and iPad and your computer for just $1 a month. So you can link devices, and share music and other files between these devices. PocketCloud also includes support for OS X (Lion) user account authentication, and support for iPad 2 video mirroring.

The winning submission wil get an iPhone 4S for the carrier of their choice, international entrants included. We’ll pick a winner on Monday, October 24 at noon Eastern time.

OnLive Feels The Facebook Love, Offers Any Game For $1

Posted: 22 Oct 2011 08:37 AM PDT

onlive_logo_white_background

OnLive offered a challenge to their community: Get 62,791 likes on its Facebook page and all users would get one game for $1. Well, OnLive’s fans came through, and as of this post’s writing, the Facebook page in question has 67,938 Likes. OnLive made good on its promise. Starting yesterday, all users will their next game for $1. Best yet, there isn’t any silly small print. All games currently available are eligible including Dues Ex: Human Revolution, DiRT 3, Red Faction: Armageddon and the rest of OnLive’s library. Nice. Let me suggest DiRT 3; Dues Ex is boring.

With OnLive, games aren’t delivered through traditional media. Instead, gamers buy access to the game, which is then streamed to a relatively small set-top box. Depending on the user’s Internet connection, the games are often delivered with graphics and game play comparable to that of modern gaming systems. Sometimes there’s a bit of lag, though. However, with extremely competitive prices and robust social features OnLive is becoming increasing popular with casual and hardcore gamers alike. This $1 deal will do nothing but earn the company even more fans.

The offer is good for a limited time so, OnLive users, fire up your MicroConsole and snag a game for $1 before it expires. Again, the offer is only for games currently available so pre-ordering L.A. Noire and Batman: Arkham City do not qualify. Per OnLive’s Twitter account, new users simply need to sign into OnLive to access the deal while users who previously purchased a game should get a promo code emailed (full details here). What a good way to start the weekend.


OnLive, Inc.
If you didn’t get a code via email, sign in to OnLive. Full PlayPasses should show as $1. Codes were sent to users who already purchased.

Crunchbase

Company: OnLive
Website: onlive.com
Launch Date: October 23, 2011
Funding: $56.5M

Onlive develops server-based video game processing, allowing games to run without game consoles or high-end computers, moving away from a system in which games are purchased and downloaded.

Learn more