What Facebook Is Doing To Us is a post from: The Inquisitr

In less than a week, November 23 to be specific, World of Warcraft will be celebrating its 7th birthday. To celebrate World of Warcraft‘s seven years of operation, Blizzard will be showing their appreciation for the players by offering a few gifts, but you’ll need to act fast to get them.

If you log in anywhere between November 20 and December 3, you’ll be able to score yourself a Feat of Strength achievement and a Celebration Package item. When you use the package, you’ll be treated to a display of fireworks, a new tabard for you to show off, and a 7% boost in experience and reputation gains for a limited time.

Blizzard also announced a new TV ad will be airing this weekend on CBS during the Bears / Chargers game, which will undoubtedly have a guest appearance from a celebrity of some sort.

Are you still interested in World of Warcraft after seven years, or have you moved on to something else? Let us know!

World of Warcraft celebrates seventh birthday next week, gets a new commercial is a post from: The Inquisitr

In terms of the world’s dumbest criminals Clyde Gardner of New York is quite possibly the most idiotic. According to reports Clyde during his conspiracy to commit murder case revealed plans to dress up like a bear so he could kill his ex-girlfriend and get away with it free and clear.

At first Clyde tried to hire someone to run down his ex-girlfriend and then he revealed his first plan, he would kill a bear, skin it and then wear the bears skin at which point he would wait for his girlfriend to take out the trash and then attack her with the bears claws while wearing the bears paws to avoid any proof that a human was involved.

After deciding to abandon his first plan the 57-year-old former demolition derby drive who obviously took one too many hits allegedly asked a friend to kill his wife by running her over.

Gardner’s friend rather than obliging turned him into police and a short while later he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Is this the dumbest act of criminal activity you’ve ever heard?  Thankfully no bears were ever harmed and the idiot was put behind bars for a long time.

Man Hatches Plan To Kill Ex-Girlfriend By Dressing In A Bears Skin is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you’re driving a truck that weighs several thousand pounds you should probably avoid trying to use your feet as brakes if your braking system is broken, unfortunately a 24-year-old driver in Michigan didn’t get that memo, causing two collisions with oncoming traffic.

Amazing the driver was able to get his truck to stop two times during his display of stupidity, not a small feet (no pun intended) with a vehicle of that size.

The sad part of this story? The man knew his brakes were broken and told police he was “planning to fix them” when he finally made it home, while a tow truck could have saved him a lot of cash which will be paid out due to the accidents he caused.

A police spokesman said of the driver:

“This guy’s no rocket scientist,” while adding, “Citizens were calling in [to police] saying this guy is all over the road, using his feet.”

It probably won’t surprise anyone to learn that the man was driving on a suspended license and that police charged him with reckless driving.

In other news, if a new Flintstones movie is ever filmed he could easily drive one of their prehistoric feet powered vehicles.

Here’s the video of the man’s attempts to stop using his feet:

Police called the drivers foot braking idea an exhibit in “moronic decision making” and I couldn’t agree more.

If you’re breaks were to go out, how would you try to stop your vehicle? Surely not with your feet hanging out the door.

Man Uses Feet As Brakes When Trucks Braking System Fails [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you have friends scattered across World of Warcraft‘s many realms, you’re probably going to like this new feature Blizzard’s cooking up.

Blizzard is testing out a Real ID party system which allows you to party up with your friends (of the same faction, of course) and queue up for 5-player normal and heroic dungeons, no matter what realm they’re on.

You can mix and match by adding other players from your realm in addition to your Real ID friends, but you won’t be able to invite anyone cross-realm that isn’t on your Real ID friends list, including friends of your Real ID friends.

Here’s a FAQ detailing how it all works, courtesy of Blizzard:

Q: What is the Real ID Party feature?
A: Players can now invite Real ID friends of the same faction to a 5-player normal or Heroic dungeon group, regardless of what realm their friends are on. This system is designed to make it easier for real-life friends to play together.

Q: How do I invite Real ID friends to a Real ID party?
A: Inviting a Real ID friend to a Real ID Party is simple. Just open up your Friends list to see which Real ID friends are online. Click on the “Plus” button to send an invitation to a Real ID friend to join your group. You can continue to add Real ID friends to your party until the group is complete. If you cannot complete the group with Real ID friends, you are free to join the Dungeon Finder to fill in the missing roles.

Q: Does a player need to have Real ID enabled to accept a Real ID group invite?
A: Yes, a player must have Real ID enabled, and both players must be Real ID friends to accept or initiate Real ID party invitations.

Q: Can a party leader invite a mix of Real ID friends, character-level friends, guildmates, or random players to the same party?
A: A party leader can invite any combination of Real ID friends from any realm, guildmates from the same realm, or other characters from the same realm to the same party. If the party leader isn’t able to fill up the entire party, the Dungeon Finder can fill in the missing roles.

Q: Can I invite someone who is not a Real ID friend?
A: You can only invite members to a party if they are on your Real ID friends list or if they are on the same realm as you are.

Q: Can I invite a friend of a Real ID friend?
A: No, you can only invite your own Real ID friends to the party.

Q: How long will the testing period last?
A: We haven’t yet determined how long the testing period will last. We’ll keep you updated on the status and inform you when the test period is going to end in the future.

Q: Will aspects of the Real ID Party system be premium-based?
A: We’ll have information on this toward the end of the testing period.

Blizzard testing Real ID party system in World of Warcraft is a post from: The Inquisitr

Blizzard sent out an email just moments ago to boast in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm‘s Rage of the Firelands patch going live. And then they threw a curveball.

The famed developer has decided to do away with the 14-day trials entirely, opting instead to go the Warhammer Online route by turning the game free-to-play up until level 20.

Not only will new blood get full access to start content up to level 20, they’ll also get access to the two races introduced in the Burning Crusade expansion, the Draenei and the Blood Elves, free of charge.

If you’ve been on the fence about the MMO and you want to get addicted try out World of Warcraft, you’ll now be able to do so free-of-charge through this link right now. Should you get addicted take a liking to the game, you’ll be able to buy both World of Warcraft and the game’s first expansion, The Burning Crusade, together in the World of Warcraft Battle Chest for $19.

World of Warcraft Goes Free-to-Play (Until Level 20) is a post from: The Inquisitr

Blizzard apparently isn’t content with just releasing trailers for expansions. Earlier this morning, Blizzard released a cinematic trailer for World of Warcraft patch 4.2: Rage of the Firelands out into the wild.

In case you’re not familiar with just what is so special about the Rage of the Firelands patch, here’s the rundown: Patch 4.2 adds a new 10 and 25-man raid, The Firelands, an outdoor raid instance with six bosses, including ol’ Ragnaros himself;  the patch also introduces a handy raid boss guide that informs players on boss basics such as the boss’ abilities and what they do; a new quest hub based on the Firelands raid instance offering up daily quests.

If that all sounds well and good to you, go ahead and check out the World of Warcraft patch 4.2 trailer below to see some of it in action.

World of Warcraft Patch 4.2 Trailer: Rage of the Firelands is a post from: The Inquisitr

Since its release in 2004, World of Warcraft has propelled the MMO genre to mindblowing new heights. MMOs had a modest following among the hardcore PC gaming crowd before Blizzard charged into the MMO scene, but it wasn’t anything remotely close to the massive amount of players subscribing to World of Warcraft month-to-month.

The following infographic puts that 11.5 million subscriber base into a new perspective. 20,000 computers make up WoW’s servers? Sheesh!

Amazing World of Warcraft Infographic is a post from: The Inquisitr

According to the paper’s report, inmates (many imprisoned for ‘ideological’ crimes) are regularly forced to spend their nights earning virtual currency in online games such as World of Warcraft. One prisoner states that, after a day of backbreaking toil in the mines, he’d be forced to sit in front of a computer monitor for hours and indulge in ‘gold farming’, the practice of building up online currency through the repetition of basic tasks:

“Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour. There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [$770-935] a day. We didn’t see any of the money. The computers were never turned off.”

Failing to meet targets in these mammoth gaming sessions was often greeted with physical punishment:

“If I couldn’t complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things.”

With gamers always willing to cough up real money for these virtual goods, it’s a scary tale of exploitation that doesn’t look like it will go away soon.

[Via Guardian]

Prisoners forced to farm virtual gold in China’s labor camps is a post from: The Inquisitr

Here’s proof you don’t have to be one of the big boys in gaming to make millions: Minecraft creator Markus ‘Notch’ Persson has made a personal fortune of $33 million from his indie hit Minecraft. And he has a sweet hat. Beat that.

The $33 million figure came up in a Reddit ‘Ask Me Anything’ thread. Persson revealed that 800,000 Minecraft downloads had shifted at €9.95 ($14) while the world-building game was in alpha. A further million copies sold once it hit beta and had its price pushed to €14.95 ($22). The result? €23 million, or just over $33 million. All from a game that was developed for one week before going on sale.

Cool Swedish cucumber that he is, Persson isn’t freaking out and buying Learjets or ostrich feather undies. He just blots it out of his mind: “It all ends up in an account somewhere, and I try not to look at it. I get a normal salary these days for day to day stuff, but there’s a big pile somewhere. Paypal takes a cut, there are taxes, and such, but it’s still a huge wad of money.”

I can’t begrudge Persson a cent of that dough because (a) he seems like a top-drawer guy and (b) it’s actually heartening to see an indie dev cracking the big-time.

[Reddit, via Gamasutra]

Minecraft earned its creator $33 million (so far) is a post from: The Inquisitr

And that’s only a tiny, tiny part of it.

As you might have read here, the Zelda franchise just celebrated its 25th anniversary, an event that inspired hardcore Japanese Zelda fan ‘ag+’ to create the greatest Zelda-themed painting ever. I mean, seriously, just look at this damn thing (then look at this link to an interactive version of the piece with all the characters identified):

[Pixiv, via Kotaku]

Greatest. Zelda. Painting. Ever. is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sony executives are always blathering about how the PlayStation 3 will have a ten-year life cycle, and we gamers always give the same response: we laugh in their faces, and call Sony’s mom rude names. But maybe we’re the deluded ones in this situation. Maybe Sony knows something.

If the PlayStation 2 is anything to go by, we should stop scoffing now, because Sony has revealed it recently sold the 150 millionth PS2, eleven years after the system first debuted. Again, that’s ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION. Sony’s sleek black monolith became the best-selling home console ever a while back, and now another landmark has been reached.

See also: 10 PlayStation 2 games you MUST own

[Via press release]

Er, wow: Sony sells 150 millionth PlayStation 2 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sorry, did someone say World of Warcraft was on the way out? Hm? It was the game’s own publisher? Oh, right. D’oh.

Far from being on its last legs, expansion World of Warcraft: Cataclysm hit stores last week, and proceeded to shatter the first-24-hour sales record previously set by the series.

In its first whole day on sale, Cataclysm shifted 3.3 million copies across the world. That means 35 gamers were handing over Cheetos-stained banknotes per second somewhere in the world on that day. Back in November 2008, the last WoW expansion Wrath of the Lich King could only manage 2.8 million on day one. Ha! PATHETIC!

Here’s Blizzard co-founder and CEO Mike Morhaime, who must be feeling pretty pleased with himself:

“We had to bring Azeroth to the brink of destruction in Cataclysm, but the result was our best expansion yet. We want to thank all of our new, existing, and returning players throughout the world for their incredible enthusiasm and support, and we look forward to hearing what they think about all the new content.”

While impressive, that doesn’t quite topple Call of Duty: Black Ops‘s all-time record, which towers at 5.5 million copies sold on launch day. Of course, that game is also published by Activision. Basically, being Activision really, really rocks right now.

[Via press release]

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm obliterates Warcraft sales record is a post from: The Inquisitr

Jenni Källberg is to Metroid cosplay what Lionel Messi is to soccer: the best. Previously famous for this stunning Samus Aran costume, now she’s come out with these shots of her in Samus’s Gravity Suit. I’ve placed four here, but there are more at Jenni’s site! And before you ask, no, she’s engaged.

See also: Officially the best Princess Zelda cosplay ever

[PixelNinja, via Go Nintendo]

Awesome Metroid cosplay is awesome is a post from: The Inquisitr

As a huuuuge Portal fanboy, just looking at this amazing replica of the game’s famous portal gun is exciting.

However, turns out I can also buy it. Alas, there’s only one of these, and if you want to beat me to it, you’ll have to spend serious money when this goes up for auction at a Child’s Play charity dinner on December 7th. I’m talking *checks pockets* $23 at least.

This amazing prop was crafted by Harrison Krix of Volpin Props. Just like the gun in Portal, this changes colors between blue and orange, and even makes an authentic fwoop sound whenever it’s fired. Do SERIOUSLY, SERIOUSLY WANT. Here it is in action:

[Volpin Props, via Laughing Squid, via technabob]

[VIDEO] Replica Portal gun is a triumph is a post from: The Inquisitr

While our little gaming section is mostly dedicated to those new-fangled televideogames, there’s nothing quite as heart-warming as an old game done well – this Rube Goldberg-style marble run, for example.

Crafted by YouTube user mosignose for his son, it cost around $200 in materials to complete, and mosignose even posted a complete guide to building your own on Instructables. Here it is in motion:

You, good sir, are awesome.

[Via The Daily What]

[VIDEO] World’s greatest Dad builds son amazing marble run is a post from: The Inquisitr

I think it’s fair to say that this is the best circle of life picture ever.

The Best Circle Of Life Picture Ever is a post from: The Inquisitr

Smallest. Pac-Man. Evar.

Or, you know, a re-colored copper oxide cluster, as viewed under a microscope. It measures 3.5 microns wide, and Wikipedia tells me a micron is a millionth of a meter. And to think you had to squint at Google Pac-Man.

See also: Pac-Man has an anus

[nanowerk, via Kotaku]

The teeniest, tiniest, toothiest Pac-Man there ever was is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Michigan resident and twice-married mother-of-five has been charged with “using the Internet to entice a minor into sexual activity”, after she seduced a 15-year-old boy while playing World of Warcraft.

35-year-old Angie L. Jenkins told the teenager she was 21, while he swore he was 20. If this all sounds a little familiar, well, that’s because it is.

The unlikely couple first met online while playing World of Warcraft in 2009. This led to numerous emails and phonecalls being exchanged between the two, a real-life meeting, and then culminated in sex in a parked car in New York, the boy’s home.

According to the Buffalo News, Jenkins pushed for the meeting in real life and also “initiated the sexual contact” when the get-together took place. The boy even admitted to being 15, but Jenkins told him his age didn’t matter. Her case will be heard later this month.

Oh, and Kotaku noticed an amusing/unfortunate coincidence – Angie L. Jenkins. Heh.

[Buffalo News, via GamePolitics]

35-year-old woman charged with seducing minor on World of Warcraft is a post from: The Inquisitr

*checks calendar*

Nope, not April 1st. So it looks like Michael Jackson, deceased King of Pop, is getting his own MMO game. People, you are invited to … Planet Michael.

Billed as “The Ultimate Michael Jackson Online Game” (not mentioned: it is the only Michael Jackson online game), Planet Michael will launch next year once development has finished at SEE Virtual Worlds. It’s described as an “interactive gaming and social experience that truly celebrates Michael Jackson’s extraordinary life as an artist and humanitarian.”

From what I can tell, it’s a bit like Second Life with extra moonwalking, baby-dangling and chimp-petting. A themed Second Life , if you will. Planet Michael (cringe) will be free-to-play for all, but SEE will charge for micro-transactions once the game has got going. They’ve diplomatically called this “gameplay monetization”. While I’m usually averse to stuff that seems to exploit the sadly departed, hell, at least this is free if you want it to be. It could, after all, be a nice place for the fans to gather.

If you’re interested in setting foot on Planet Michael, the site is now live and taking signups.

[Via MTV Multiplayer]

Michael Jackson MMO coming in 2011 is a post from: The Inquisitr