T-Mobile Offers Trade-Ins For Free iPhone 5

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T-Mobile has announced that it will be offering the iPhone 5 for $0 down plus monthly payments, with a no annual service contract Simple Choice Plan if they trade in their iPhone 4S or iPhone 4. The trade in value of the device might also net them credit up to $120.

“Our message to iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 customers is simple: bring in your device and trade up to iPhone 5 on T-Mobile,” said Mike Sievert, chief marketing officer for T-Mobile. “We’re making it incredibly attractive to buy an iPhone 5 by pairing an un-beatable upfront price and trade-in offer with Simple Choice, the most hassle-free and affordable rate plan in wireless.”

The iPhone 5 will be available from T-Mobile starting Friday, April 12. The special trade in offer will be good until Father’s Day on June 16.

Rushmore Vote Billboards Confound Motorists

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In Cincinnati, Phoenix, Sacramento and San Antonio, billboards have been running asking people to vote to add either Barack Obama or George W. Bush to Mount Rushmore at RushmoreVote.com {link no longer active}. As it turns out, it was not quite a prank, but it was an attempt by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America to measure consumer response.

The campaign showed that 70 percent of respondents wanted Mount Rushmore unchanged. President Obama netted nearly twice the amount of votes as George W. Bush for the roughly 30 percent that remained.

Source: AdWeek.com {link no longer active}

Dark Soul Sales Over 2.3 Million

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From Software executive director Eiichi Nakajima has announced that Dark Souls has sold 2,367,000 copies. The original release sold 1,675,000 units while the Artorias of the Abyss Edition made up the additional 692,000 units.

The PC version of the Artorias of the Abyss Edition was the most popular; the PC release came later than the console versions and was also the first version to feature the extra content on the disc. Nakajima also added that that Dark Souls II will release on Xbox 360 in Japan, whereas Dark Souls never did.

To find out more about Dark Souls II watch this brutal gameplay demonstration.

Source: Destructoid.com

King Adds Tech Veteran To Board

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King has announced that it has added Robert Cohn to its board of directors. The tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist helped found voicemail company Octel Communications, has been an investor at Sequoia Capital and was the governor of NASDAQ.

“King has seen tremendous growth over the past couple years and has become one of the most prominent companies to impact the games industry today,” said Cohn. “I’m impressed with the team, the company’s culture, the stellar business model and the exciting challenges ahead. I look forward to serving on King’s board.”

“We are excited to have Bob join our board given his broad experience with public and private companies across the globe and the exceptional work he has done with his current and past portfolio of businesses,” added CEO Riccardo Zacconi.

Stardock Announces New Funds For Indies

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Stardock CEO Brad Wardell has announced that it will use the money raised from the sale of Impulse to GameStop to create an investment fund for new start-ups.  The developer wants to help found new companies, which they will then take a minority stake in.

“As a business, our objective is to make a profit,” Wardell said. “However, there are many ways to make a profit and we believed the best use of our investment capital wasn’t to try to turn Stardock into some 1,000+ person company but rather to keep Stardock small and invest in start-ups who look to create things that will in turn, play it forward. If we are successful, the profit will follow.”

Source: Stardock.com

 

Batman: Arkham Origins — New Developer Taking On The Mantle Of The Bat

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Batman: Arkham Origins has been revealed and it will not be coming from Rocksteady Studios, and will instead being handled by Warner Bros. Games Montreal. In this interview, the new developers reveal they have as much reverence for Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City as most fans do.

Madden Cover Vote Down To The Final Four

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With the Madden NFL 25 cover vote down to the final four, Arian Foster is still battling to take the cover. Fresh off a tight 4 percentage point win over Russell Wilson, the Texans star is now going helmet-to-helmet against the only true juggernaut of the new-school voting: Adrian Peterson.

Check out the matchups as the last remaining contenders get ready for the old-school and new-school bracket winners to finally face off.

Old-school Bracket
(1) Jerry Rice vs. (3) Barry Sanders – Rice beat Deion Sanders by a larger margin than Sanders beat Joe Montana in the elite eight. This is a serious toss-up, as Sanders has received more fan votes throughout the campaign, but Rice seems to be gaining support and peaking at just the right time.

New-school Bracket
(4) Arian Foster vs. (2) Adrian Peterson – When you crunch the numbers, the cover is Peterson’s to lose. The overwhelming fan support he is receiving is unprecedented in “Madden” cover vote history that doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

 

 

Skylanders Giants Invades McDonald’s Happy Meals

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Activision announced a partnership with McDonald’s to bring Skylanders Giants themed Happy Meals to participating restaurants from April 12 – May 2. This deal will see McDonald’s restaurants across North America offer one of nine unique toys from Skylanders Giants and $10 off the Skylanders Giants starter pack.

“The Skylanders Giants Happy Meal illustrates how strong the Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure and Skylanders Giants brand has become in just 18 months,” said Tim Ellis, chief marketing officer at Activision Publishing.

“We’re excited to offer our fans another great way to experience this signature brand, and we couldn’t be more pleased to add McDonald’s to our roster of incredible partners,” added Ashley Maidy, vice president of global licensing and partnerships, Activision Publishing.

McDonald’s will support the three-week promotion with a fully-integrated marketing campaign, including TV adverts, in-restaurant merchandising, custom packaging and an online web and social media presence.

Game Developer Magazine Closing Up Shop

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Game Developer magazine recently announced that it will stop printing its physical edition as of July 2013. The magazine will shift to becoming a part of Gamasutra.

The June/July 2013 issue will be the final magazine sent to print subscribers while the the Game Career Guide special issue will be the final physical issue available. The magazine will also cease as a digital entity and will fold into Gamasutra’s ‘Game Developer on Gamasutra’ section where its legacy content will also reside.

Game Developer’s major research (such as the Salary Survey) will continue as part of Gamasutra’s remit going forwards and historical and new game postmortems will continue to be printed on Gamasutra.

Source: Gamasutra.com

Microsoft Creative Director Departs After Twitter Row

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Microsoft creative director Adam Orth recently drew the ire of the Internet with his comments over a an “always on” requirement for the next Xbox. Now it is being reported that Orth is no longer with Microsoft.

Orth’s comments, though made in jest to a friend on Twitter, rubbed many the wrong way, especially his “deal with it”comment over “always-on” online requirtments. The response to the comments pushed Microsoft to issue a public apology.

Source: GameInformer.com