Xbox Live – MMO Fallout

Black Desert the open world MMORPG is coming to Xbox One on March 4. For now, however, players can take part in the final open beta at no financial cost to themselves. Just head over to the Microsoft store or through the Xbox Store via your in-console app. Players are also invited to experience large-scale PvP guild-based combat with Node Wars on test. Exclusive rewards will be available for those who participate in events.

Black Desert is also still available for pre-order. Packages range from $29.99 to $99.99 for the Ultimate Edition and contain a number of exclusive goodies.

The beta technically went live yesterday. Despite record profits, MMO Fallout has sacked the writer responsible for this delayed coverage.

Lizard Squad Member Convicted, Gets No Jail Sentence

Finland has successfully convicted Julius Kivimaki of over fifty thousand counts of cyber crime for his role in the attacks on Sony and Microsoft’s networks along with other members of the hacker group Lizard Squad. With fifty thousand counts under his belt, you might be wondering if Kivimaki will be going to prison for the next three hundred years. He won’t be. In fact, he won’t be going to prison at all.

Considering the weight and damage of Kivimaki’s actions, the seventeen year old is being handed the equivalent of a two-year suspended sentence, meaning he won’t be spending any time behind bars unless he manages to violate the conditions of his parole. As part of the sentence, Kivimaki’s online activities will be heavily monitored.

Finland’s judicial system has been under heavy criticism for years over its perceived lenient treatment of white collar criminals. In December last year, a Helsinki court handed out three five-month suspended sentences and one sixteen month suspended sentence to a group charged with collecting money to fund terrorist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia.

(Source: Daily Dot)

Not Massive: Microsoft Offering Live Refunds

Microsoft recently announced that the company would be changing its policy to remove a longstanding requirement for Xbox Live gold in order to access streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu. In order to appeal to those who subscribe to Gold solely for these services, Microsoft has announced a partial refund system for those with active subscriptions after the transition takes place. Following the update this June, customers with time remaining on their accounts will be eligible for a pro-rated refund.

The amount of the refund has not been detailed, but is based on how much time is remaining on the account. Now all Microsoft needs to do is lift the subscription requirement to access MMOs and the company will be more on par with Sony’s services.

(Source: Game Informer)

NSA Infiltrates World of Warcraft

Terrorist hunting or just looking for a reason to play World of Warcraft at the taxpayer’s expense? According to documents leaked to The Guardian by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the US National Security Agency and British Government Communications Headquarters deployed spies into multiple MMOs including World of Warcraft. The practice, dating back to 2008, monitors game communities on the grounds that terrorists may be using chat channels to plot activities. Terrorist activities of a terroristic nature, no doubt.

In addition to World of Warcraft, the agencies have also targeted Second Life and Xbox Live services. The documents don’t provide much evidence that the services are actually being used for terrorist activity.

(Source: The Guardian)