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Microsoft Corporation privately registers slew of “Halo: Infinity” domain names

Halo: Infinity

Microsoft has made some interesting domain name registrations this week, picking up several “Halo Infinity” domains like HaloInfinity.net (Whois) and HaloInfinityMultiplayer.com (Whois) through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor.

Microsoft didn’t stop there either.

Additional domain names that were registered include: HaloInfinity.org, HaloInfinity.co.uk, HaloInfinity.mobi, HaloInfinity.de, HaloInfinityMultiplayer.net, HaloInfinityMultiplayer.org, HaloInfinityMultiplayer.co.uk, HaloInfinityMultiplayer.mobi and HaloInfinityMultiplayer.de.

Infinity was a popular multiplayer level exclusive only to the PC for Halo: Combat Evolved, so it’s possible Microsoft will be offering it as a multiplayer map for Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

Other domains that were registered the same week through MarkMonitor include SpartanOps.org (Whois), SpartanOps.net, and MorethanJustamap.com (Whois).  These too, were privately registered.

Microsoft hasn’t officially been confirmed as the buyer of the Halo: Infinity domains since the registrant of each name is hidden behind Whois privacy, but the names were registered through MarkMonitor, and Microsoft is among their high-profile clients. Microsoft’s own Microsoft.com is registered through MarkMonitor.

I won’t speculate on what Microsoft is planning, but to register this many names means something is on the way.

None of the domains resolve to a web site at the time of this story going online, and Microsoft has not announced anything official.

[Updated Apr 5, 2012 at 9:50am EST:. Microsoft registered additional domains including: SpartanOps.in, SpartanOps.jp, SpartanOps.tw, SpartanOps.co.uk, SpartanOps.mobi, SpartanOps.de, HaloInfinity.in, HaloInfinity.jp, HaloInfinity.tw, HaloInfinityMultiplayer.in, HaloInfinityMultiplayer.jp and HaloInfinityMultiplayer.tw.]

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News Video Games

Ubisoft planning “Might and Magic: Duel of Champions” game [UPDATED]

Might and Magic: Dual of Champions

Might and Magic: Dual of Champions

[UPDATED April 23, 2012:. Ubisoft announced Might & Magic Duel of Champions. “Might & Magic Duel of Champions is the free online card game set in the fantastic Might & Magic universe. Choose a hero and build his army with Unit, Spell and Fortune cards to defeat your opponents in epic card battles. Experience the time-tested factions of the Might & Magic universe in a completely new format. Discover a wealth of beautifully illustrated game cards, featuring all the well-known characters, spells and heroes from the Might & Magic series of games.”]

**

ORIGINAL STORY:.

It appears Ubisoft has inadvertently released details of a new installment in the Might and Magic video game series called Might and Magic: Duel of Champions.

On March 30, 2012, Ubisoft registered a handful of new domain names that point to the game like MightandMagicDuelofChampions.com (Whois) and DuelofChampions.com (Whois).

In all, four domain names related to the game title were registered including:

duel-of-champions.com
duelofchampions.com
mightandmagicduelofchampions.com
mm-doc.com

Ubisoft Entertainment has not announced anything about the game’s release date or developer.

As of the time of writing, none of the domains resolve to a website.

In October 2011, Ubisoft released Might & Magic Heroes VI (pictured above), part of the Heroes of Might and Magic series.

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News

Amazon drops more hints of B2B marketplace with AmazonB2B domains

Amazon B2B

Andrew Alleman reported yesterday on his blog Domain Name Wire (DNW) that Amazon had registered a slew of domains like SuppliesAmazon.com on March 28 that suggested a manufacturing or B2B play.

While big tech companies like Amazon typically don’t comment on rumor or speculation, Amazon continues to specifically hint at the launch of a B2B marketplace with over a dozen new “AmazonB2B” domain registrations that were made on March 29, like AmazonB2B.net (Whois) and AmazonB2B.org (Whois).

Amazon has already owned the web address AmazonB2B.com since 2006, but the domain has sat unused for years.

So, could Amazon be planning to compete with the likes of Alibaba.com, the world’s largest online business-to-business trading platform for small businesses?

Well, according to the company’s newest registrations it looks very promising.

On March 29, a day before the DNW news story was published, Amazon not only registered AmazonB2B dot-net and dot-org, it also registered several more domains that DNW had never spotted, so no mention was made in the story.

Here’s a look at the AmazonB2B domains that were registered, that further strengthen the idea of an AmazonB2B marketplace.

amazonb2b.asia
amazonb2b.biz
amazonb2b.ch
amazonb2b.dk
amazonb2b.fr
amazonb2b.in
amazonb2b.info
amazonb2b.it
amazonb2b.jp
amazonb2b.mobi
amazonb2b.mx
amazonb2b.net
amazonb2b.org

At the time of this story, AmazonB2B.com does not resolve to a website.  But with the new “AmazonB2B” domain registrations and the earlier names spotted by DNW, it does look like Amazon is getting ready to launch its own B2B marketplace.

For now, it’ll just remain speculation.

[Updated April 1, 2012 11:01am EST:. I’ve found more AmazonB2B domain names that were registered including AmazonB2B.co (Whois) and AmazonB2B.co.za (Whois).]

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News Video Games

Ubisoft registers Ubiloud.com domain

Ubisoft

Ubi-this.  And Ubi-that.  Video game publisher Ubisoft has registered a new domain name this week: Ubiloud.com.

According to Whois records, Ubisoft Entertainment purchased the name on March 29, 2012.

It’s unknown what the future will bring for Ubiloud.  As of right now, the domain name does not resolve to a web page.

In a recent interview with Pocket-lint, Chris Early, head of digital at Ubisoft, said the company will launch a cloud-based storage system that will allow players to save game data across multiple devices such as an iPhone and iPad.

Could Ubiloud be the name of the new cloud-based storage service?

That’s probably a stretch.  But with Ubicloud.com already owned by someone else, anything is possible, including the name being nothing more than a defensive purchase to prevent others from owning the name.

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News Video Games

Microsoft Corporation registers XboxFL.com, XboxFL.net domain names

Xbox FL

Early this month, I wrote about Microsoft secretly acquiring the domain names Halo5.com and Halo9.com.

Now, the company has made two more interesting domain purchases this week.  On March 28, 2012, Microsoft Corporation registered XboxFL.com (Whois) and XboxFL.net (Whois).

So, what on earth is “Xbox FL”?

Your guess is as good as mine.

At the time of this story, both domain names redirect visitors to Bing.

[Updated March 31, 2012 10:57am EST:. Microsoft added another domain to the list.  The company registered registered XboxFL.cz on March 30.  .cz isthe country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Czech Republic.]

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