PopCap Launches Zuma Web Connect
Monday July 13, 2009
Want to show off your spectacular Zuma scores to all your pals on Facebook? PopCap has just released
Zuma Web Connect, which lets you log into your Facebook account while you play so that your Zuma scores and badges can be displayed in your profile. There's a lot of speculation out there that having your games connect to Facebook is the next big step for both gaming and social networking. Here are a few interesting facts about Zuma from the press release. "Over 225 million copies of Zuma have been downloaded from the Web, accounting for nearly a quarter of the 1 billion-plus downloads of all PopCap titles. More than 17 million copies have been sold across all platforms, amounting to $200 million in consumer spending over the history of the game. Further, consumers have played almost 4 billion hours of Zuma since it debuted five and a half years ago."
Thursday July 9, 2009

I've posted a few more screenshots of the Scout and Warrior archetypes in Aion, NCsoft's latest MMORPG. The class system is a little different, starting you out with 4 general roles to choose from, then allowing you to specialize at level 10. Aion uses the Crytek engine and the graphics are impressive. The game is scheduled to launch in North America on September 22 of this year.
Image © 2009 NCsoft
Google Announces Chrome OS
Wednesday July 8, 2009
The biggest tech news of the day was
Google's announcement that they are preparing to enter the operating system market with Google Chrome OS. The open source, Linux-based OS will be aimed largely at netbooks and will be streamlined for running applications over the Web. I think they've got a good shot at winning over their target audience - people that mostly want to check their email and browse - but it's unlikely to have a big impact on gamers. Most PC games use DirectX, which is a Microsoft product that probably won't be supported by Chrome OS for many years to come, if ever.
Tom Chilton on the Future of WoW
Sunday July 5, 2009
VideoGamer.com has posted a lengthy interview with World of Warcraft's game director, Tom Chilton, about where the ever-popular MMORPG is going with patch 3.2 and beyond. In
part 1 they talk about the upcoming Isle of Conquest Battleground, the possibility of leveling through PvP, and balance changes to the Death Knight class.
Part 2 looks with further ahead with speculation about additional expansions, new races and classes, and whether there will be a World of Warcraft 2, among other things. The game is almost five years old now, and they've done a pretty good job of keeping it interesting so far.