Category: News

Categories
News Technology

What’s Facebook got planned? Company registers Facebook Supplier domains

Facebook logo

Domain name registrations made this week suggest that social networking site Facebook might be planning something new.  The company registered a handful of “Facebook Supplier” domain names like FacebookSuppliers.com and FacebookSuppliers.org, hinting at a new service or product.

While Facebook has not officially announced any plans, the new service or product most likely has nothing to do with providing Facebook “Likes” to fan pages and could be a platform for Facebook developers or possibly even a B2B portal.

Right now, it’s just speculation.  It’s also possible the social networking giant decided to register the names to protect its IP.

Below is a list of the names registered by Facebook through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor.  One name is noticeably missing from the list:  FacebookSupplier.com.  The domain was first registered in 2011, not by Facebook according to Whois, and currently resolves to a parked page.

http://whois.domaintools.com/facebooksuppliers.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/facebooksuppliers.org
http://whois.domaintools.com/facebooksuppliers.net
http://whois.domaintools.com/facebooksupplier.net
http://whois.domaintools.com/facebooksupplier.org

At the time of this story going online, none of the domains resolve to a web page.

Talking about this story: AllFacebook

Categories
Disputes National Arbitration Forum News Video Games

Microsoft Corporation secures rights to pair of “Xbox 8” names at arbitration

Xbox 8

Microsoft Corporation has won two disputes filed in May with the National Arbitration Forum over a batch of Xbox-related domains owned by a resident of China who goes by the name “Cheng Juan”.

The disputed names include XboxPhone.com, XboxTablet.com, XboxLiveTV.com, XboxCompanion.com, Xbox8.us and Xbox8.org.

While Microsoft’s interest in securing names like XboxLiveTV.com and XboxTablet.com is understandable, the “Xbox 8” names are a little more puzzling.  That is, unless of course, Microsoft has plans for the names beyond just defensively protecting its intellectual property.

At this point, it’s unknown whether Microsoft has any plans to name a future Xbox the “Xbox 8”, but this isn’t the first time speculation has surfaced online that the upcoming Xbox may be called the “Xbox 8” instead of the “Xbox 720”.  Earlier gaming articles discussed whether the next-gen Xbox would be named the XBOX 8 and why Xbox 8 not 720 is a good name.

FACEBOOK:  Become a fan of Fusible.com

In late June, the domains listed in the disputes were ordered transferred after two separate panels found the names were identical to the XBOX marks, that the respondent had no rights or legitimate interests in the domains, and that the domains had been registered and are being used in bad faith.

Microsoft has been busy filing complaints and has a number of pending cases against the owners of Xboxliverewards.com, Xboxsports.com, Xboxsmartglass.com, and Xboxmusic.com.

As of today, no complaint has been filed against the owner of Xbox8.com, which also appears to be registered to a resident of China according to Whois.

Full details of the decisions handed down are available online.

Microsoft Corporation v. cheng juan Claim Number: FA1205001445083

Microsoft Corporation v. cheng juan Claim Number: FA1205001445084

Talking about this story:  The Guardian, Adrenaline, BGR, CNN, CNN México.com, Complex.com, ComputerAndVideoGames.com, ComputerBase, CSICON, Digital Spy, Eurogamer.net, Game Guru, Gaming Examiner, Geek, IGN, In Entertainment, International Business Times, iTech Post, ITProPortal, Gadgetsteria, Gamers.fr, GameRanx, GameZone, GamerZona, GamingBolt, G4 TV, Game Informer, Game Rant, Gaming Target, Gematsu, God is a Geek, Here is the City, Joystiq, Kotaku, Kotaku Australia, MCV, Meristation, Metro, msnbc.com, NDTV, Neoseeker, Overclockers Club, PC Magazine, Ping! Zine, RedOrbit, Shacknews, Side Mission, Tech2, Tech Source, TechnoBuffalo, TheSixthAxis, TheGamersHub, The Droid Guy, The Tech Report, LLC, This is Xbox, TweakTown, Xbox 360 Achievements, Xbox 360: The Official Xbox Magazine, Ubergizmo, Video Game Writers, VG247, VR-Zone, WebNews, WebProNews, WinFuture, WinBeta and ZoKnowsGaming

(Image of Xbox Logo; image modified by Fusible)

Categories
News

What is “LucasArts Play”? Domains registered via brand protection company

LucasArts Play

UPDATE: Superannuation suspects “LucasArts Play” may be a casual games effort or cross-game online platform, as recent Lucas job listings have mentioned both.

ORIGINAL STORY: LucasArts grabbed the attention of many at E3 2012 with the announcement of Star Wars 1313.   There was speculation early about Star Wars 1313 after domain name registrations were spotted in early May through the brand protection agency Corporation Service Company.

Now, LucasArts appears to be up to something, though at the moment it’s unknown what the company could be developing.

On June 28, 2012, LucasArts apparently registered the domain names LucasArtsplay.com (Whois), LucasArtsplay.net (Whois) and LucasArtsplay.org (Whois).

FACEBOOK:  Become a fan of Fusible.com

All three names were registered through Corporation Service Company.

However, unlike the Star Wars 1313 domains, the “LucasArts Play” names have been privately registered, indicating that the company wants to keep “LucasArts Play” quiet for now.

At the time of this story, the domains resolve to a blank web page.

Categories
News Video Games

Ubisoft adds many “online” domains like FarCryonline.com, WatchDogsonline.com

Rainbow Six Online

Last year, Ubisoft revealed it would launch the free-to-play PC game Ghost Recon Online some time in 2012 that will be supported by micro transactions.  The free-to-play model has been part of Ubisoft’s counter to the piracy problem.

Now, Ubisoft has gone off and registered a dozen domains with “online” in the name like RainbowSixOnline.com (Whois) and SplinterCellOnline.com (Whois), hinting at the possibility of releasing several more free-to-play versions of its games.

The list of newly registered domains includes:

AnnoOnline.com
BlazingAngelsOnline.com
FarCryOnline.com
LapinsCretinsOnline.com
RabbidsOnline.com
RainbowSixOnline.com
RavingRabbidsOnline.com
RaymanOnline.com
RocksmithOnline.com
SplinterCellOnline.com
WatchdogsOnline.com
YourShapeOnline.com

All of the domains appear to have been registered on June 27, 2012.  According to Whois History, many of the names had been registered before, but then expired and became available again.

While none of these titles have been officially confirmed by Ubisoft, the company did announce that Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Online would also be released on the Wii U.  So, it’s entirely possible if these games see the light of day, once Ubisoft gets the games right on the PC, it will launch them on the Wii U as well.

Currently, each domain name resolves to a parked page on Gandi.net.

Talking about this story: NeoGAF and No Frag

Categories
News Video Games

Nearly 15 years after first release, Blizzard has acquired StarCraft.com [UPDATED]

StarCraft

For years, the website StarCraft.com has flip-flopped between being home to a Starcraft Marine boat site and an online RV Buyer’s Guide.  It has never hosted information for Blizzard’s real-time strategy game StarCraft.

The official StarCraft website can be found on Blizzard.com, but that could be about to change.

According to Whois, the domain name StarCraft.com no longer belongs to its previous owners.  The name is now registered to DNStination, Inc., a privacy service of the global internet brand-protection company MarkMonitor, of which Blizzard Entertainment is a client.

Names like WarCraft.fr and Blizzard.fr are just two examples of many names owned by Blizzard Entertainment and registered through MarkMonitor.

At this point, it’s unknown if Blizzard paid money for the name or whether the company threatened legal action.  Given there is no record of a complaint being filed over StarCraft.com, Blizzard likely paid a pretty price for securing rights to the domain name.

For now, it’s only speculation that Blizzard acquired the name, but don’t be surprised to see the name being used by Blizzard very soon.

The sequel StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was released in 2010.  An expansion pack StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm is expected to be released in 2012, although no official date has been announced.

I’ve reached out to StarCraft.com’s previous owners via e-mail to inquire about the transaction and will update this post if I hear back.

[UPDATE 2 June 27, 2012:. It’s official: Blizzard is the owner of StarCraft.com and StarCraft.net.  The Whois records here and here now show Blizzard Entertainment as the registrant.]

[UPDATE 1 June 25, 2012:. StarCraft.net was also acquired from the same owner, according to Whois.]

Talking about this story: VG247, Lazygamer, MeriStation and Videogamer.com

(Image of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty via Blizzard.com)