This is nothing more than a huge rumor at this point, but gaming-industry site Superannuation is reporting that it has found a resume posted by a video game animator claiming to have worked on an unannounced GoldenEye 007 game for the Nintendo Wii.
Remember this level in GoldenEye 007?
(Credit: Screenshot by GameSpot)According to the report, the animator worked for Eurocom Entertainment Software, a company that has worked on several versions of James Bond titles, including Quantum of Solace and James Bond 007: Nightfire, between July and September.
The job listing said the person worked on "GoldenEye 2010 (Wii)." According to Destructoid, which also viewed the resume, the job description read, "Animator on Activision's James Bond series for the Nintendo Wii assisting in: Key frame animation, the preparation and clean-up of motion capture data, prop animation, in-game cut-scene animation, scene layout, and camera animation."
The resume was eventually pulled down from the site from which Superannuation accessed it.
Since its release in 1997, the iconic GoldenEye 007 has been the subject of several rumors claiming that a follow-up was on the way. But after Microsoft acquired Rare, the game's developer, in 2002, and Activision acquired the James Bond game rights in 2006, several licensing roadblocks were erected, limiting the chances of such a release.
Neither Activision nor Nintendo immediately responded to request for comment.
Considering that Nintendo and Activision are mum on a possible GoldenEye release for the Wii, it might be safer to assume that those roadblocks are still in place. But that doesn't mean that there aren't discussions going on behind the scenes to pave the way for the GoldenEye release. At this point, we just don't know.
So, let's hear from you. Do you think that this is the smoking gun for which GoldenEye fans have been waiting? Will GoldenEye 007 come to the Wii next year? Let us know in the comments below.
Research In Motion's BlackBerry Storm 2 will be available to Verizon Wireless customers Wednesday, according to the carrier.
BlackBerry Storm 2
(Credit: CBS Interactive)Like its predecessor, the BlackBerry Storm 2 will feature a touch screen. Unlike the BlackBerry Storm, though, the Storm 2's SurePress "clickable" display doesn't actually move (except for around corners). Instead, the display provides an electronic feedback that mimics the feeling of a click. It also features multi-touch support, allowing users to click two keys (like shift plus a letter) on the virtual keyboard at the same time.
Aside from a revamped touch screen, the Storm 2 offers built-in Wi-Fi and EV-DO Revision A. The Storm 2 provides global support, allowing users to make calls and get 3G data overseas, thanks to an included SIM card. The phone comes with 256MB of flash memory, and 2GB of "onboard" memory. It also ships with a 16GB MicroSD card.
The Storm 2 runs BlackBerry OS 5.0. According to Verizon, the new software will improve the device's typing and selection accuracy. It also features more use of animations.
The Storm 2 has a 3.2-megapixel camera and video recording. The phone comes with BlackBerry Maps, which allows users to access turn-by-turn directions and maps, and to find local businesses. RIM has also included Verizon's VZ Navigator service, which adds voice-guided directions, but costs an additional $9.99 per month.
Like some of the latest BlackBerry smartphones, the Storm 2 will provide access to the BlackBerry App World. It also supports Verizon's tethering service.
The phone features a removable battery that, according to Verizon Wireless, will offer up to 5.5 hours of talk time. It asserts that the battery will last for 11 days on standby.
When the Storm 2 hits store shelves for $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, both RIM and Verizon will be hoping that users have forgotten about the mistakes made in the original BlackBerry Storm. That phone's touch screen and software annoyances yielded some unhappy customers. It also failed to break three stars in a CNET review last year.
That said, Bonnie Cha at CNET Reviews had an opportunity to check out a near-final version of the Storm 2 recently. According to Cha, the Storm 2's SurePress touch screen is much improved over its predecessor. She was also happy to see Wi-Fi make its way to the follow-up smartphone. Still, she found that the software reset spontaneously at times and that, overall, the GPS performance was sub-par.
Check out CNET's full evaluation of the BlackBerry Storm 2 here.
Wal-Mart is preparing to offer in-home tech support to its customers, according to Reuters.
The retail giant will partner with product-support firm N.E.W. Customer Service Companies, the report said. By the holiday-shopping season, all U.S. Wal-Mart stores plan to offer customers the opportunity to use N.E.W.'s service in their homes. Reuters said the service already kicked off this month in specified locations.
Wal-Mart will give shoppers the option of buying service plans "on a prepaid card, ranging from $99 to $339," Reuters said. The service plans will provide "basic television installation on the low end" to more advanced services like home-network or home-theater installation. Reuters said the plans include a "preliminary consultation and a tutorial after installation is completed."
The decision to bring on a Geek Squad-like service seems to underlie Wal-Mart's desire to become a major player in the electronics business. It may also solidify its position as Best Buy's most dangerous brick-and-mortar competitor since the death of Circuit City and its FireDog in-home service.
After Sid Meier announced on Thursday that a new Civilization title called Civilization Network was on its way to Facebook, it had me thinking: what other games could I play until I'm ready to take on Meier's new title next year?
To determine that, I've spent some time with several games on Facebook and narrowed that list down to the titles that are actually worth playing. If you want to have some fun on Facebook, check out these games.
Get your game on
FarmVille At first glance, FarmVille might seem like a lame game that isn't worth playing. But once you give it a few minutes, I think you'll find that it's extremely addictive.
The premise behind FarmVille is simple: build a farm that grows all kinds of fruits and vegetables. When you first start the game, you'll see a few patches of land where you can start planting. From there, you need to ensure that your farm is healthy as you continue to grow the items in your inventory. The game features simple point-and-click controls, making it accessible for any Facebook user.
FarmVille's "neighbors" feature is quite fun. Users can find other "farmers" in their friends list and grow a nice, bountiful farm together. It's a great concept that adds more value to the game. And the best part is, the more people who farm in FarmVille, the more money that will go to Sweet Seeds for Haiti, a charity that gives healthy meals to families in Haiti. Try it out.
FarmVille features some fun, farming goodness.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Mafia Wars If you're as much of a fan of movies like "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas" as I am, you might have some fun with Mafia Wars.
The object of Mafia Wars is simple: become a boss of a mafia family. When you first start playing the game, you'll see several different "jobs" that you can take on. They include (pretty much) any criminal activity you can think of. That said, you won't actually engage in those activities like you would in a Grand Theft Auto game. Instead, you'll simply tell the game that you want to perform a particular job and you will. When complete, you receive more cash and credibility. Think of it as a simple role-playing game.
Like the other games in this roundup, Mafia Wars has a social element to it. Your goal is to recruit members into your own family as you fight for mafia dominance. When that social element comes in, Mafia Wars shows its value. It's a really fun game when you play with friends.
Mafia Wars asks you to perform jobs to become a mafia kingpin.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Civilization Network is coming to Facebook in 2010.
(Credit: Firaxis Games)Famed video game developer Sid Meier, best known for the Civilization franchise, announced on a Civilization Facebook page Thursday that a new title called Civilization Network is on its way to the social network.
According to Meier, he has been "looking at ways of expanding the Civilization gameplay experience to include solo, competitive, and cooperative play to take advantage of the uniqueness of social networks." Civilization Network will allow users to join with friends to "create the world's most powerful, richest, smartest, or just plain coolest civilization," Meier said.
Like so many of its predecessors, Civilization Network will welcome users into a life-like world. Players will be able to take on others in battle, share technological innovations, form a government, win elections, manage growing cities, and more. Meier also said that users can "spy on enemies and work with friends to create the great Wonders of the World." He didn't say how users will control elements of the game.
Civilization fans will be happy to know that users can play as often as they'd like in the game's "fully persistent environment" for free.
Meier wrote on the game's Facebook page that he'll be looking for beta testers, once the closed beta is ready. Civilization Network will launch in 2010 on Facebook.
If you want to stay up-to-date on Civilization Network happenings, join its Facebook fan page here.
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Blu-ray add-on, anyone?
(Credit: Microsoft)Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told Gizmodo in a recent interview that a Blu-ray accessory could be on its way. But speculation over the possibility of that accessory being offered for the Xbox 360 has been put to rest by the software giant.
"Well I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in there," Ballmer told Gizmodo, responding to a question about Blu-ray in the Xbox 360. "You'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories."
Ballmer then quickly hedged his bets a little, saying that he believes that "the future of movies is on-demand, actually, as opposed to via distribution on physical media." He then said that his company is focused on trying to create the "best overall entertainment experience" that it can.
Ballmer's comments about on-demand video echoes what we've heard from the Microsoft camp all year. The company has consistently said that it's tying its future to Netflix and streaming HD content.
But it was the Blu-ray comment that caused some raised eyebrows. It was originally believed that Ballmer was talking about accessories for the Xbox 360. But a Microsoft spokesperson wrote to me on Thursday, saying he was really talking about accessories for the PC.
"Steve was referring to Blu-ray accessories for the PC," a Microsoft spokesperson wrote in an e-mail. "As we have said in the past, we have no plans to introduce a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360. In fact, the future of home entertainment starts this fall when Xbox 360 becomes the first and only console to offer instant-on 1080p streaming HD movies. With a library of thousands of TV shows and movies to choose from, Xbox 360 owners can instantly watch the movies they want, when they want, in the highest form of high definition."
Rumors have been swirling for over a year that a Blu-ray add-on is coming to the Xbox 360. In fact, last October, it was reported that Microsoft had Blu-ray add-ons from Samsung and Toshiba ready for store shelves. Those products (if they existed) were never released. And by the looks of things, they won't be.
But we leave it up to you. Should the Xbox 360 feature a Blu-ray add-on? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Updated at 5:52 p.m. PDT to include Microsoft's comments.
The Stage-Gig video-game amp.
(Credit: Altec Lansing)With the popularity of music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero continuing to climb, there's no surprise that companies outside of video game development are trying to make a few extra bucks on those titles.
Thus it its that on Tuesday, Altec Lansing announced the Stage-Gig amplified speaker. The accessory is designed to work with Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and DJ Hero. According to the company, the amp puts out 40 watts of power. It works with any current gaming console.
Altec Lansing believes gamers who play popular music games want better sound. The company said that with the help of the Stage-Gig's 6.5-inch woofer, gamers should be able to achieve that. The amp can also be easily transported, thanks to a "grab and go" handle. It features a volume knob and RCA outputs for extra speakers.
Whether gamers really want an amp to help them improve the sound of their gaming guitars is up for debate. The video game industry is littered with accessories that didn't quite attract the kind of appeal companies had hoped for.
Altec Lansing's Stage-Gig hits store shelves in early November for $99.95.
Amazon.com will offer release-date delivery on Windows 7 software and preorders on Windows 7 PCs, the online retailer announced on Monday.
(Credit:
Microsoft)
According to Amazon, customers who preorder Windows 7 will receive the operating system on October 22, its launch day. The company is also offering more than 250 computers from HP, Dell, Acer, and other PC vendors that come preinstalled with Windows 7. Those computers are available for preorder on the site.
Amazon followed its announcement with details surrounding Windows 7's success so far. Windows 7 was a bestseller on Amazon for two weeks following its original preorder availability earlier this year, according to the company. Amazon also said that, so far, Windows 7 has attracted more orders than both Windows Vista and Windows XP combined at the same point in their availability.
A key reason why Windows 7 was so attractive to buyers during that period was likely the operating system's steeply discounted pricing. Starting in June, Windows 7 Home Premium was available for $49, a whopping $70 less than its retail price of $119. Windows 7 Professional was on sale for $99, half of its suggested price.
Now that the program has expired, Amazon is currently offering Windows 7 versions for preorder at their suggested prices.
Updated at 1:37 p.m. PDT to include information on PC preorders.
Wal-Mart Stores has waged an online book pricing war against Amazon.com, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday morning.
Wal-Mart sent the first salvo over Amazon's bow on Thursday when the retail giant announced that it would sell ten highly anticipated books for $10 on Walmart.com. Wal-Mart said Stephen King's upcoming hardcover "Under the Dome" and Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue" will be included in that grouping. Wal-Mart's prices include free shipping.
Not to be outdone, Amazon reduced prices to match Wal-Mart's pricing on all 10 titles. That was quickly followed by Wal-Mart's decision to reduce the prices on those books again to $9 late Thursday night. In response, Amazon reduced the prices of all ten titles to $9, as well. The company also reduced the books' Kindle pricing to $9. That's where the prices stand on both sites as of this writing.
Sarah Palin's book is going for $9 on Wal-Mart.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)"If there is going to be a 'Wal-Mart of the Web,' it is going to be Walmart.com," Walmart.com CEO Raul Vazquez told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. "Our goal is to be the biggest and most visited retail Web site."
As viable a goal as that may be for Wal-Mart, it could also cost the online-retail industry dearly. According to the Journal, Wal-Mart is already offering up to 200 best sellers for "50 percent of their list price." That's a figure that most retailers can't keep up with. And as the publication pointed out, it's a price point that could put smaller, less powerful organizations out of business.
"Retailers traditionally pay half the list price for a hardcover book," the Journal wrote in its report. "Assuming that's the case with Wal-Mart, its $10 sale price on 'Under the Dome' represents a 71 percent discount of the $35 cover price, which suggests the discounter will lose $7 to $7.50 on every copy it sells." Wal-Mart might be able to afford that, but other, smaller retailers might not.
But $10 might not be a figure that Wal-Mart picked out of the air. Quite the contrary, the retail giant might have chosen $10 because it's the same price Amazon is currently offering e-books for in its Kindle store. Wal-Mart is, so far, on the outside looking in at the e-book market and the sale of highly anticipated hardcovers for $10 might reflect that.
That said, the company told the Journal that its decision to drop the price of those major titles had nothing to do with the Kindle. Even so, Wal-Mart is a major retailer with loads of cash that it can easily put towards infiltrating a discount book market--electronic or otherwise. A loss on select titles might be worth it in the long run. It could stymie some of the Kindle's impressive growth. That might have been Wal-Mart's intention all along.
What do you think of this? Is Wal-Mart the hero for offering hardcover books at such discounted rates? Is Amazon wrong for matching its pricing? Let us hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Amazon.com on Thursday announced that customers looking to get their packages sooner will have a couple new options available to them.
Amazon customers placing deliveries within the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Seattle, as well as "some surrounding areas," will now be able to receive shipments on the same day they place an order. The service will be coming to Chicago, Indianapolis, and Phoenix "in the coming months."
Amazon said "thousands of items" are available now to customers living in those cities. The new option, called Local Express Delivery, will have varied pricing that depends on the type of product purchased. Amazon Prime members--customers who pay $79 per year to receive unlimited two-day shipping from the online retailer--will need to pay $5.99 per item for the service.
In order to get an item on the same day it's ordered, customers will need to buy products prior to their city's cutoff time. For example, New York customers will need to order a product by 10 a.m. ET, while Seattle customers can purchase products by 1 p.m. PT. The other cities' cutoff times vary within that range. According to Amazon, it will list the cutoff times on each eligible product's detail page.
Amazon's Local Express Delivery charges.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
