11 posts and columns on Blizzard

Voices

Made in China: Fake Stores

in Commerce on August 3, 2011 at 5:30 am PT

In China’s “fake world,” consumers can shop for furniture at an imitation IKEA store, eat a six-inch sandwich at an outlet strikingly similar to Subway, and then grab dessert at “Dairy Fairy.”

Gawkergate Password Mess Was Two Years in the Making

in Enterprise on December 30, 2010 at 3:32 pm PT

The weaknesses of Gawker’s password system were pointed out clearly in 2008, although nothing was ever done about it. You know how that turned out.

Snowpocalypse? Good Thing There’s an App for That.

in Mobile on December 27, 2010 at 10:18 pm PT

A smartphone won’t help de-ice the plane, but stranded travelers have been increasingly using their devices to cope with blizzard-related changes in travel plans. Traffic to the mobile Web sites of various travel companies is up 200 percent, according to Usablenet, which powers a number of airline and hotel Web sites.

Gawkergate Collateral Damage Now Includes the New York Times

in Enterprise on December 22, 2010 at 4:13 pm PT

In the 10 days or so since hackers purloined account data from the Gawker group of sites, several Web properties have urged users to change any potentially compromised passwords. Today, the New York Times joined the chorus.

Gawker Password Mess Spreads to World of Warcraft, and Apparently to Yahoo

in Enterprise on December 14, 2010 at 12:43 pm PT

The residual effects of the Gawker password kerfuffle continue to spread to other sites. The lesson in all this? Don’t re-use passwords!

Zynga Chooses Facebook, Yet Again, for Exclusive Launch of Next Game: CityVille

in Social on November 17, 2010 at 6:00 pm PT

Zynga may make “social games,” but they do not foster much in the way of complex or rewarding social interaction. The company is trying to change that, and today is announcing its next game, CityVille, which it calls its most social to date. CityVille (of course) is a cutesy simulation game in which users work to turn a small town into a big city.

Voices

Activision Bets Big on PC Game

in News on July 16, 2010 at 12:00 am PT

Game developers at Blizzard Entertainment have been putting the finishing touches on “Starcraft II,” a sequel to a science-fiction strategy game that was first released 12 years ago. Although videogame sales are in a slump, expectations for “Starcraft II” are high. Blizzard’s parent company, Activision Blizzard, has spent more than $100 million developing the computer-based game.

News Byte

China to Require Real Names for Online Interactive Processes

in News on July 13, 2010 at 10:55 am PT

Chinese Internet regulator Wang Chen aims to radically reduce options for anonymity available to Web users in China, calling for a “real name registration system” that would make it impossible for people to post comments or access information anonymously. The fact that a full transcript of his comments, originally made in April, remained unavailable until unearthed this week by Human Rights In China, signals to some that Beijing is well aware of the unpopularity of its push for tighter regulation–a lesson learned well recently by World of Warcraft creator Blizzard, which abandoned its own real name system last week.

How to Report Snow

in Media on February 10, 2010 at 10:55 am PT

No need to watch current coverage of today’s weather. Last month’s coverage of Britain’s weather will suffice.

QOTD

We compensate artists and publishers extremely well. There are millions and millions of dollars that are being made and paid. There’s a misunderstanding of the value we bring to the catalog. What happens to your catalog in digital downloads? What happens to your merchandise? What happens to your ticket sales? When you look at the impact it can have on an Aerosmith, Van Halen or Metallica, it’s really significant, so much so that you sort of question whether or not, in the case of those kinds of products, you should be paying any money at all and whether it should be the reverse.”

– Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick says the recording industry shouldn’t look a Guitar Hero gift horse in the mouth