What’s made the MMO news this week? From Sony Online Entertainment’s hackers to Warcraft’s Patch 4.2 notes, this week has been full of interesting events that I just could not leave untouched.
Sony Online Entertainment: Hacked??
...that’s right you heard correctly. April 20th, Sony noticed an attack on their servers, but never reported it for two days. Their customers were finally notified April 26th. SOE went offline (forums, games, etc.) due to their player’s personal information being compromised. Some of the stolen information included: names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, login names and passwords, and birthdates. Those customers that had any credit card or debit card information stolen were contacted (from what I understand they were all non-US customers).
However, it doesn’t end there, Sony informed the public this week the hackers acquired more information from approximately 24.6 million customer accounts. These accounts contained an estimated 12 700 credit card and debit card numbers.
How will this attack affect you?
This is an extremely difficult problem. Information that can lead to fraud and scams has been taken, along with credit card information. Due to the servers being offline, customers cannot access their accounts to change any of their information. One thing customer’s need to do is change password and information on their other (non Sony) accounts. As many people use the same passwords and login information on other accounts, hackers will be able to infiltrate other online sites/services. Customer’s need to be wary of anyone saying they are from their banks or other trustworthy companies. As always, never give out any personal information (pins, account numbers) over the phone or email. Lastly, check and recheck all credit card statements to make sure you are not the target of credit card fraud.
A release date for Star Wars: The Old Republic??
Yesterday (May the Fourth be with you), financial reports from EA were released which included an approximate release date for, the much anticipated MMO, “Star Wars: The Old Republic.” The report stated that SWTOR would be released Q2 FY12 or Q3 FY12 which means sometime between September and December of this year. I’ve provided the link to their financial report if you are interested http://investor.ea.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=574530.
APB: Reloaded Open Beta
APB has announced that open beta will begin May 18th. Various features will be fixed and ready to go for open beta, along with new items. As I did not get into closed beta, I am looking forward to having my try before launch date. As for those pesky aimbotters, changes will be made to the game prior to open beta launching. Goodbye cheaters, you will not be missed.
Lots and Lots and Lots of Blizzard News
Blizzard announced that a new vanity pet will be available in their online pet store. The Cenarian Hatchling will cost players $10.00 USD and 100% of the proceeds, from now until July 31st, will go towards the Japan Earthquake Relief. The Cenarian Hatchling is a replica of the rare Hippogryph Hatchling obtained through the Warcraft trading cards. Help support the Red Cross by purchasing your Cenarian hippogryph today.
As well, information for Patch 4.2 was released all this week. New quest lines, Firelands info, and the highly anticipated Legendary weapon were one at a time posted for viewers to read and begin flooding the forums with their complaints. Probably the largest complaint was that the newest raid, Firelands, would only have seven bosses. The forums lit up with angry posts and Bashiok was there to “calm” them down with his replies that made very little sense. I believe what he was trying to convey was that Blizzard tried to make challenging and entertaining boss fights; therefore, only seven bosses were needed. However, it took him several posts and many angry players to express this.
Caster DPS players were ecstatic to learn that the new legendary weapon was a DPS staff, Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest. It will be the end reward to an epic quest line involving the blue dragonflight appointing a new leader (Malygos met his demise in Wrath of the Lich King). This quest line is said to need guild involvement and your guild mates will receive a special vanity pet once a guildy receives their shiny new staff.
That’s it from me this week. If you would like to leave a comment feel free to do so below. Follow me on twitter @akadarcee or keep checking back Tuesdays and Thursdays for new posts.
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