Diablo III will get its first patch next week, according to Activision-Blizzard community manager 'Nethaera'. The incoming client-side patch will fix a number of bugs, including one that breaks the game, as well as a number of alterations to class skills to balance gameplay. Security concerns and the real-money auction house were also discussed in the forum post.
Patrick Spence, 14-year veteran of Research in Motion (RIM) and its head of global sales, has departed the company. Spence "will be taking on a leadership position in a different industry," according to RIM spokeswoman Rebecca Freiburger. No comment has been made if the move is in response to the announcement of RIM's new Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer three weeks ago.
Software Restore Solutions late Wednesday sued Apple (below) over claims Mac OS X copied its technology. According to the complaint, "at least" the Disk Utility feature in every version of Mac OS X from the 2001 original through to Snow Leopard copies one claim in a workgroup network manager patent from 1998. Apple supposedly knows the automated repair features could infringe on the patent but has shown "deliberate indifference" towards the consequences.
Steelseries has announced two new game-themed accessories, the Diablo III mouse and Diablo III headset. Game-specific design features include Diablo III artwork and "demon red" LEDs that can be set to pulse at different rates. On the practical side of things, they use double-braided nylon cord to reduce tangling and gold-plated connectors. The headset has 50mm drivers and a retractable boom mic. The ambidextrous mouse has seven programmable buttons and a CION laser sensor that can be set up to 5,000 CPI.
Blizzard this week launched StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, the long-in-development sequel to its popular 1998 real-time strategy game. The new title follows Jim Raynor, who has become a rebel leader trying to bring down the Dominion for crimes of genocide. While the original StarCraft had Terran, Protoss and Zerg campaigns, the sequel revolves mostly around the Terrans in a 29-mission single-player mode. A few side missions give players a taste for Protoss units.
Computer gaming peripherals maker Razer on Tuesday partnered with game maker Blizzard Entertainment on three new StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty-branded gaming peripherals. This includes the Spectre mouse, Marauder keyboard and the Banshee headset. The three share Razer's APM (Actions-Per-Minute) lighting system, have StarCraft styling cues and are portable.
PC gaming peripherals maker Razer on Tuesday announced it will soon reveal some new, high-end controllers for Blizzard's StarCraft II strategy game, with some placeholders already on its site for upcoming peripherals that include a mouse, keyboard and headset. The hardware maker promises the devices will be tournament-grade, though no other specific information was revealed.
Blizzard executive VP Rob Pardo yesterday told guests of the Luminaries Lunch that his company and Microsoft were already discussing the latter's plans for a sequel to the Xbox 360. While not providing details on any of Microsoft's goals for the future game system, the developer mentioned to GI and others that his firm was in active talks and suggested he would advocate for a new controller method that would solve many of the roadblocks for porting over PC-like games that need more advanced input, such as real-time strategy games like Starcraft II.
