People Rally For Facebook Hacker

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A man who hacked into Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page to expose a privacy bug is now getting donations from hackers around the world after the giant company refused to pay him under a program that normally rewards people who report bugs.

Hacker and developer Khalil Shreateh discovered and reported the flaw but was repeatedly dismissed by the company’s security team until he posted a message on the billionaire’s Timeline to prove the flaw’s existence.

Now cyber software firm BeyondTrust’s chief technology officer Marc Maiffret is making sure the developer doesn’t leave his experience empty-handed.

Maiffret launched a fundraising campaign Monday on GoFundMe with a hopeful goal of $10,000. In solidarity for the dev, hackers worldwide opened their pockets, and at the time of this writing the goal has been achieved and then some – tallying to an impressive $11,305.

Maiffret initially wrote on the GoFundMe page:

“Khalil Shreateh found a vulnerability in Facebook.com and, due to miscommunication, was not awarded a bounty for his work. Let us all send a message to security researchers across the world and say that we appreciate the efforts they make for the good of everyone.”

After the $10,000 mark was reached, he added:

“Thank you so much to everyone who helped make this happen for Khalil. I am leaving this active while I work with GoFundMe to transfer the funds to Khalil, whom I am now in contact with. I hope this has raised awareness of the importance of independent researchers. I equally hope it has reminded other researchers that while working with technology companies can sometimes be frustrating, we can never forget the greater goal; to help the Internet community at large, just as that community has helped donate over $10,000 to Khalil within a day.”

It’s clear Facebook made a PR blunder in this scenario, what do you think the company will do to remedy its mistake?

Source: GoFundMe

New ‘Fable’ Coming To Xbox One

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While some may say Sony tried to own the limelight with its Gamescom 2013 press conference, Microsoft had a few attention-getting announcements at its own presser including the reveal of a new Fable game. Lionhead Studios is officially working on Fable Legends, a multiplayer-oriented game that will be a downloadable title for the Xbox One. Due in 2014, the game will allow you to join with real players or A.I.-driven ones as you play as either a hero or a villain, battling enemies as you reach your eventual destiny.

 

Death From Above, Via Tablet

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Ever since its initial announcement at the Electronic Entertainment Expo earlier this year, Ubisoft’s latest Tom Clancy game, The Division, has been getting some strong word-of-mouth. Since it’s a solid tactical based squad game, we can certainly see why that’s the case. Today, in conjunction with the announcement of the game coming to PC – along with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 – Ubisoft released a new trailer that talks more about the companion gaming side of The Division, where you can control a flying drone character through a mobile app. It’s second-screen gaming as a unique character you can’t use any other way, and players will definitely want one on their team!

‘Titanfall’ Spawns A New Trailer

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Titanfall looks to be an amazing multiplayer experience on the Xbox One. Electronic Arts revealed the latest trailer for the game from Respawn Entertainment at Gamescom, showing off Titanfall’s Attrition mode. We see the excitement of gameplay that mixes up battling inside the giant mech suits called Titans as well as running and gunning outside of the suits. There’s never a dull moment as Militia forces try to extract a pilot from Angel City…

Soccer Made Simpler

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NBC Sports is getting serious about attracting soccer fans, as it recently paid $250 million for the rights to three years of English Premier League matches. To help generate buzz, NBC decided the world’s most popular sport needs a video to familiarize fans in the U.S. with it. Saturday Night Live alum Jason Sudeikis stars as an American football coach hired to manage the Tottenham team, and the results are hilarious. Ted Lesso means business!

 

Sony, Microsoft Gamescom News Updates

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If you’re wondering what the important news from Gamescom is, look no further. It’s all here, with details available at the links.

Microsoft details indie publishing plans: Microsoft is making it easier for indie developers by allowing developers to create, sell and market games through the Xbox One. Developers accepted into the program (priority will be given to developers with some experience) will receive two free Xbox One development systems, as well as access to the full range of services Microsoft offers to all game publishers. There are no application fees for certification or title updates.

Source: GamesIndustry International

Sony announces PlayStation 4 launch date, game upgrade offer: The console will be in stores on November 15 in North America, and November 29th in Europe, rolling out in a total of 32 countries this holiday season. Sony announced that it has more than 1 million pre-orders globally for the new system. Sony will sweeten the purchase of a PS4 by offering owners of PS3 games a “significantly discounted price” on digital downloads of PS4 versions of those same games. For example, Activision announced that Call of Duty: Ghosts on PS3 could be upgraded to PS4 for only $10.

Source: GamesIndustry International

Sony announces 33 games on PS4 by year-end: Sony announced 15 new titles for the PS4 at Gamescom, bringing the total to 33 games available for the PS4 by the end of 2013. All 14 studios at Sony are now working on PS 4 titles, and some of the new titles shown include new arcade shooter Resogun and War Thunder, a free-to-play flight combat MMO. Of the 33 titles, 15 will be available on Blu-Ray at retail by year-end; the rest will be digital downloads on the PlayStation Network.

Source: GamesIndustry International

PS Vita price cut to $199: As was widely expected, Sony has officially dropped the price of the PS Vita to $199 in the US, €199 in Europe. Additionally, the memory cards will see a “significant” reduction price – which is good because a 32 GB card currently retails for $100. The price cut is accompanied by announcements of interesting new titles like Tearaway and a slew of indie titles like Fez, Minecraft, and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. Sony also confirmed the $199 12GB PS3 and new colors (Magma Red and Wave Blue) for DualShock 4 controllers for the PS4.

Source: Polygon

Xbox One has 23 games on launch day: While Microsoft has yet to announced a specific launch day for the Xbox One (sometime in November), the company unveiled a list of 23 games that it expects will be available at launch for the console. Some of the key titles include Battlefield 4, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Madden NFL 25, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Forza Motorsports, Just Dance 2014, Watch_Dogs, and NBA 2K14.

Source: Polygon

Twitch.tv Teams Up With Sony

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Twitch.tv made big waves earlier this year when it announced that it was teaming up with Microsoft for game-streaming duties on the Xbox One. However, that didn’t stop the company from making a similar deal with Sony, making sharing as easy as hitting a button. No, really, we mean the “Share” button on the controller.

During the GamesCom press conference yesterday, Sony broke the news that Twitch.tv was partnering with them. “We’re going to have the opportunity to get Twitch broadcasting into the hands of almost every gamer in the country, and potentially the world, soon,” said Matthew DiPietro, vice president of marketing, as he spoke to GamesIndustry International. “I think the demand from gamers generally to do this is going to prove itself in an even more impressive way than it has already.”

With over 600,000 unique broadcasters a month, Twitch.tv already has immense success with gamers showing off what they can do to a wide Internet audience. Clearly, the Sony deal will help expand that in many ways.

So…who wants to watch us play Knack?

Source: GamesIndustry International

Massive Twitter Hack

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Someone really wanted to take a jab at Twitter this week.

A hacker going by the name Mauritania Attacker – from the country of the same name in West Africa – shared information from 15,000 Twitter accounts through a file-sharing site called Zippyshare, featuring name, ID and authentication tokens associated through third-party apps like HootSuite and Instagram. However, it appears passwords were kept safe.

“We have investigated the situation and can confirm that no Twitter accounts were compromised,” said a Twitter spokesperson speaking with Mashable.

This news follows an email that Twitter sent to its users, making sure to authenticate their accounts and keep their information safe. “With a highly visible account like yours, it’s a good idea to be extra careful,” stated the email. “Login verification is a simple way to add more protection to your account.”

Source: Mashable

Xbox One Is Still Wooing Indies

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Microsoft, in an effort to get more indie publishers on board its Xbox One console, has announced policies for self-publishing – and it’s a bit easier than you might expect.

With the program, developers, indie and upcoming alike, can create, sell and market their games through the Xbox One service. Here’s how it works…

Those accepted into the program will receive two Xbox One development kits free of charge, along with access to the full range of services available, including cloud services, Kinect and the Xbox One toolset, consisting of Smartglass and other support. The games will also be accessible through the main store, as well as through voice search.

Speaking with GamesIndustry International, corporate vice president Phil Harrison talked about how important the program is to the success of up-and-coming developers. “The developer can set their own wholesale price and we act as the retailer. So Xbox Live acts as a reseller, and Xbox Live Store will be setting the ultimate retail price to the consumer. That’s the way in which our store has always been structured”, he stated.

Microsoft is open to different business models, such as free-to-play, Harrison also noted.

Source: GamesIndustry International

EA Rolls Out Origin Refunds

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Electronic Arts is making a number of attempts to reach out to potential users of its online Origin service, and now it’s introduced a money-back deal that might just be too hard to beat.

Starting at the end of this week, 20 territories will take part in the new program, where users will be able to return some games if they don’t meet their particular needs.

“You may return EA full game downloads purchased on Origin for a full refund,” said the statement. “within 24 hours after you first launch the game, within seven days from when you purchased it, or within the first seven days of the game’s release date if you pre-ordered it (whichever of these conditions happen first).

If something doesn’t work – you aren’t riveted by the storyline, or sucked in by the action, or even just if the game doesn’t play well with your video card, we’ve got your back.

Requesting a refund is quick and easy. Just visit your order history and click the ‘request a refund’ link next to your recent purchase, answer a few quick questions, and we’ll take it from there.”

Source: GamesIndustry International