Last year, Microsoft intrigued some and infuriated many with a viral marketing campaign to help hype its now-multi-platinum Xbox shooter, Halo 2. The software behemoth tapped 4orty2wo Entertainment, a company that specializes in "immersive, entertainment-based alternative marketing campaigns."

In particular, 4orty2wo's forte is alternate reality games (ARGs)--what it alternately calls "search operas"--a form of interactive mystery which draws people into a narrative via hidden clues and cryptic messages. The first major ARG was called "The Beast," and was used to hype Steven Spielberg's film A.I. in 2001. It was cooked up by Jordan Weisman, then a creative director at Microsoft, his fellow employee Elan Lee, and novelist Sean Stewart.

The Beast centered on a murder of one Evan Chan, the mystery surrounding which could be solved by a series of clues. These clues were scattered across "Web sites, faxed documents, phone calls, e-mails, newspaper clippings, TV ads, clues from celebrities, and physical locations," according to 4orty2wo. The company claims that eventually three million people participated in The Beast, which earned its makers numerous plaudits in marketing and advertisement circles. Details of the thought process behind The Beast and ARGs in general can be found on Stewart's Web site and in 4orty2wo's case studies section.

So successful was the Beast at reaching consumers through the clutter of advertising that, in 2002, Weisman and Lee left Microsoft--to form 4orty2wo Entertainment. Their first major project was to help their former employer promote Halo 2. The result was Ilovebees.com, a Web phenomenon which grabbed headlines and caused headaches through out the summer of 2004.

The Ilovebees.com ARG centered on its titular URL, which appeared at the end of the theatrical Halo 2 trailer. Though it only flashed across the bottom of the screen for a split second, the URL drew millions of visitors to a site for a California bee farm that appeared to have been the victim of a bizarre hacker attack. However, over the course of weeks, the site began to reveal tidbits of the back story behind Halo 2's opening sequence, when Earth is attacked by the Covenant.

The most noticeable feature on the ilovebees.com site was a large timer on the page counting down to August 24. In the weeks leading up to that day, it began spitting out GPS coordinates to payphones, where small crowds of diehard ARG players gathered at the appointed hour. They were treated to a recorded message which drew them further into the ARG. Those who worked their way through the entire ARG eventually congregated at a series of events on November 4, where Microsoft officials thanked them for participating in easily the most cost-effective marketing campaign in game history.

Given the success of ilovebees.com--which won 4orty2wo Entertainment an innovation award at the 2005 Game Developers conference--it wouldn't be much of a surprise if Microsoft tried a similar trick in the future.

Well, it appears "the future" is "now."

This week, word began to spread in the forums of various Xbox sites about a new Web site called Ourcolony.net. Though the URL is registered to one "U Enzo" at a Chicago PO box--much like Ilovebees.com was registered to a rented San Francisco mailbox--the copy on the site's front page certainly bears the pretensions of prior 4orty2wo campaigns. "You made it to our colony, this is where the game lives, breathes and evolves," read the page. "Colony isn't about alternate reality gaming it *is* reality" (emphasis in the original).

Then there's the site's logo--an ant, which, like a bee, is an insect which lives in a hive or colony. As evidenced in a photo gallery on the ourcolony.net site, flyers that sport the ant and the word "colony" have been appearing all over various major American and English cities, often by game stores. Several such fliers were also plastered around the Sony Metreon in San Francisco right around the time of the PSP launch. The fliers are a classic example of a "teaser" campaign, where a cryptic billboard or flyer stirs interest in a product or service--in this case, ourcolony.net.

Another similarity between ourcolony.net and ilovebees.com is the prominent countdown clock on its home page. The countdown will ends at 8pm PDT on Thursday, May 12, nearly four days to the hour before Microsoft's pre-E3 presentation on the evening of May 16. What will happen on May 12 remains unclear. But, during his keynote at GDC last month, Chief XNA Architect and Corporate Vice President J Allard confirmed Microsoft would use the May 16 presentation to unveil its next-generation Xbox. Unconfirmed reports also say Allard sported a t-shirt with an ant logo on it while at GDC, though no such logo was visible during his keynote address.

That said, there does appear to be more than one direct connection between ourcolony.net and Microsoft. First, one of the distorted images on the ourcolony.net home page features an Xbox power button. When ...

Those rumors about Nintendo opening up a flagship store in Manhattan—rumors that were based almost entirely on a single job listing somebody dug up—turned out to be true. They’ve confirmed plans to follow the lead of Apple and Sony (and hopefully not Gateway) and open the very first Nintendo World Store in Rockefeller Center sometime this spring, just a few blocks away from the SonyStyle flagship store at Madison and 55th (which means that Sony fanboys and Nintendo fanboys might be forced to interact with each other in the real world rather than in their preferred field of battle, Internet message boards). ...

News from Lik Sang

Check in to hell. An intensified, all senses challenging version of hell. Doom 3, without a doubt, is your ticket to the most extreme that First Person Shooter godfathers of ID Software could dress up their infamous genre establishing brainchild of 1993 in. Science has unlocked the gates to the unknown and now only one man stands between the forces of evil and earth.

• TV Commercial (19mb - mov)
• Gameplay Trailer (36mb - mov)

Expect a truly sci-fi horror masterpiece, launching a dramatic storyline, pulse-pounding action and incredible graphics at gamers in order to draw them into the richest frightening and gripping First Person Shooter gaming experience ever created.

If like me, your computer wimped out at the mere thought of running Doom 3, Xbox is the version you've been waiting for, but why sacrifice playability just because it's on a console? Over on the forums there's talk of how well Doom 3 goes together with SmartJoy FRAG, for example how "the mouse is flawless in it", and how "you'd be crazy not to get this game if you have a SJF!" So turn off the lights, crank up the sound, have a fresh pair of underpants ready, and grasp your keyboard and mouse... cause this is Doom 3 how it's meant to be. The game provides brilliant options to help FRAG users, such as the ability to customize the X and Y axis sensitivity, and to turn off Spring Aim and Aim Assist, which are helpful for controller users but just plain disturbances for KBAM players. For US$ 28.90 you'll be fps-ing like hell, without the need of adding new expensive graphics and 3D acceleration cards to your PC.

What makes Doom 3 for Xbox so fantastic is that it allows you to team up with a buddy and chainsaw your way through the relentless hordes of monsters via Xbox Live! The standalone US copy features the Xbox Live exclusive 2-player co-op campaign as well as system-link enabled and online multiplayer for US$ 59.90. Get the Asia Limited Collector's Edition to also receive complete versions of Ultimate Doom and Doom II with full single-player as well as 2-4 player spilt-screen co-op and death match on one Xbox, along with bonus material like ID interviews, a G4 Icon Feature (Behind the scenes of Doom 3) and concept art. Not to be missed due to the small price tag: this superb package ships for only US$ 49.90 at Lik Sang!

...

Hi all,

Advise please - what is the best way of me hooking my xbox up to my tft flatscreen that I currently use with my PC.

Thanks ...

Massive news article from Lik Sang:

We've featured news items on hundreds of different games over the years, but one a month ago on a new Dreamcast shooter, Trizeal, was something quite different. The passion which poured out across the website of the developer, Triangle Service, seemed to cut through the foundations of the corporate gaming industry today and go back to a pure love of developing games, and playing games. Their "SOS" message was quite honestly the most unprofessional thing we've ever seen on an official website, but also the most touching one. Since then the title climbed our pre-order charts, surpassed modern day console releases, reached the number two spot, and now, is in stock and shipping.

Getting back to their "SOS message", which was surprising and somewhat insane (save us from the Spanish bulls??), the developers explained the trouble they were in, and it can be read in both Japanese and English. Releasing their first shooter, XII Stag, they ran out of money and were faced with a tough choice. The founder and several other like-minded "samurais" decided to go into debt to ensure their game was finished and "came into the world". This group however, make no attempts to hide the fact both XII Stag and their latest title, Trizeal have developed poor revenue streams in arcades, and one can only assume pre-orders for the DC release weren't exactly rolling in at that time either. In fact at one point their website was suspended, with a message from the hosting company asking them to contact the billing department.

Now long gone are the days of arcades filled with shoot 'em ups, as are the days when a few guys could get together to create a game they wanted to, have it published, and see it on the store shelves. This was the videogaming industry style of the 80's and early 90's, not the multi billion dollar mass market ways of today. Triangle Service however seem to be the opposite, as the creator is on his hands and knees literally begging for people to buy his game.

Trizeal has now arrived to stock, and while preorders are getting cleared, new purchases from Dreamcast resistants are welcome. Trizeal is a vertical scrolling 2D shmup, following the stepstones of Ikaruga, Chaos Field and other recent shooting efforts for the supposedyly dead Dreamcast.

Heres a couple of screenshots:



Check out the movies and more at Lik Sang: ...

After a pretty disappointing showing on current gen consoles, EA's new Bond-turned-bad franchise GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is peering at a new platform in the Nintendo DS, the Redwood giant has announced.
Once again you'll reprise the role of a rogue operative who goes over to the dark side after being booted out of MI6. Recruited by Auric Goldfinger in a war against Dr. No, you'll receive both the titular glittering orb and a taste for all things nefarious in an ongoing battle to rule the criminal underworld.

Slated for release this June, Rogue Agent is set to take advantage of the DS's unique features including seven player wireless multiplayer and a single player campaign featuring six missions. The DS's second screen will apparently be employed as a heads-up display allowing you to check ammo levels, hack electronic devices and weapons, decode security locks, plus a few other bits and bobs that EA is keeping up its sleeve.

"We are thrilled to bring GoldenEye: Rogue Agent to the Nintendo DS and create distinctive new features to benefit from the platform's unique technology," said Jon Dean, Executive Producer at EA Tiburon, who are making the DS version of the game. "Playing this action-packed game on the go and right in the palm of your hands is incredible. Bond fans will not be disappointed."
Let's hope he's right and the DS version can rescue GoldenEye's rather tattered reputation on its new platform. ...

Intriguing news this morning from the east with the apparent leak of a Taiwanese list which purports to show a complete list of publishers and developers who have committed to Microsoft's next generation console the Xbox 2.
No real surprises here, as most of the developers are long standing Microsoft supporters though it is intriguing to see that Capcom - a previous Sony and Nintendo stalwart, are attracted by the lure of Microsoft's next-generation lucre.

About the only really big name missing is SquareEnix, though it's possible there'll be further additions to the roster and possibly a few surprise revelations at this year's E3.


Anyway what follows is the complete list for your perusal and delectation and though relatively credible, we'd certainly treat with a large dose of sodium. Don't hesitate to let us know what you'd like to see on Xbox 2 from each of these names in the forums below...
2KGames
Activision Inc.
Atari Inc.
Bandai Co. Ltd.
Bethesda Softworks LLC
Capcom Co. Ltd.
Codemasters Software Company Ltd.
Eidos Inc.
Electronic Arts Inc.
FromSoftware Inc.
KOEI Co. Ltd.
Konami
LucasArts
Majesco Entertainment
Midway Games Inc.
Namco Hometek Inc.
Phantagram Co. Ltd.
Rockstar Games
Sega Inc.
Tecmo Inc.
THQ Inc.
Ubisoft Entertainment
Vivendi Universal Games Inc.
Webzen Inc.
BioWare Corp.
Bizarre Creations Ltd.
Bungie Studios
Epic Games Inc.
FASA Studio
Game Republic Inc.
Lionhead Studios Ltd.
Mistwalker
Q Entertainment Inc.
Rare Ltd.
Real Time Worlds ...

At the End we have already prepared pre-final release 1 of the excellent Atari ST Emulator DCaSTaway.

New features:

- Better sound system, samples sounds and all Yamaha channels.
- Faster Blitter using DMA.
- Load / Save state to memory and VMU.
- FileManager with game detect.
- Enhaced menu navigator.
- Keyboard/Joystick/Mouse bug fixed.

An AtariST emulator, close to perfect.


Downloads and more info: DCaSTaway homepage ...

I got NDSE v 1.1 and when i start the emulator i get an error saying "Quessa" is missing does anyone else get that ??? ...