Category: Video Games

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News Video Games

WiiU.com domain expires (Nintendo still doesn’t own it long after announcement) [UPDATED]

WiiU.com

UPDATE February 19, 2013: According to DNW, Nintendo has filed a cybersquatting complaint with World Intellectual Property Forum over the domain name: Wiiu.com.

ORIGINAL STORY: Nintendo announced the Wii U more than a year and a half ago at E3 2011.  Incredibly, the company made the announcement without owning the domain name WiiU.com.  Fast forward months later to the video game console’s launch in November 2012, and people hoping to find more information about the console instead found themselves on a web site with Shopping.com affiliate offers that included links to a variety of entertainment products.

In an interesting turn of events, the domain name, which was likely raking in some decent earnings, expired on January 13, 2013, according to WHOIS records.

As of today, WiiU.com has been replaced with a parking page indicating the name has expired.

Wiiu.com domain expired

The domain, which is privately registered, has attracted a good amount of visitor traffic.

According to a very rough estimate by the analytics site Compete, WiiU.com had nearly 7,000 unique visitors to its website in November 2012, and more than 6,000 visitors in December.

The name is already listed on the domain name auction marketplace SnapNames with a minimum bid of $69.  Two people have already placed bids.

SnapNames

At this point, it’s unknown whether the domain’s current owner is intentionally allowing the name to expire or simply forgot.  It’s also possible that Nintendo has sent the owner a cease-and-desist letter.

Surprisingly, Nintendo hasn’t filed a domain dispute through UDRP arbitration, which it has done before for names like nintendo-gamecube.com and i-nintendo.com.  In 2011, Nintendo secured rights to the domain SuperMario.com after filing a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Before you say, “How does a major company not own the matching domain to one of its products?”

Nintendo isn’t the only company guilty of this.

Neither Sony, Nintendo, nor Microsoft own the domains for their next gen consoles.

Sony doesn’t own Playstation4.com, and Microsoft, whose next console’s name hasn’t officially been decided, doesn’t own Xbox720.com (Whois) or Xbox8.com (Whois).

Talking about this story: GameZone

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News Video Games

EA buying up Battledrome domains, game originally published in the nineties

Electronic Arts logo

Electronic Arts has been quietly buying up “Battledrome” domains, according to recent name acquisitions made through the brand protection agency Corporation Service Company (CSC).

In early January, the domain Battledrome.com (WHOIS) switched owners from a resident of Australia to CSC.  Though it’s “officially” unknown who is really behind the dotcom, because CSC is currently the listed registrant, you can bet it was Electronic Arts using CSC as an intermediary in order to keep the price lower.

But there’s no doubt Electronic Arts is working on a project called “Battledrome”.  With the dotcom acquired, on January 16, EA went ahead and registered a slew of related domains through CSC, like Battledrome.net (WHOIS), Battledrome.org (WHOIS), Battledrome.us (WHOIS), Battledrome.co.uk (WHOIS), Battledrome.eu (WHOIS), and Battledrome.info (WHOIS).

So, what is Battledrome?

Battledrome

In the mid-nineties, Battledrome was a videogame published as part of the Metaltech series, where players commanded giant HERCs in head-to-head combat over a network.

The game wasn’t developed or published by EA, but the game sure seems like a good candidate for online battle.

At the time of this story, Electronic Arts has made no official announcement and none of the domain names resolve to a web page.

Talking about this story: playm.de

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News Video Games

Is Warner registering Arkham domains for the next Batman movie or video game?

Dark Knight Arkham movie

Last year, Cosmic Book News reported that we could expect a new Batman film in 2016 based on the popular Batman: Arkham Asylum video game.

While there hasn’t been much talk about the Batman reboot since the rumors began, it appears this week that Warner Bros. is trying to secretly buy up domain names for the next Batman movie title or video game through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor, the same company it uses for its very own warnerbros.com (Whois) and for other recent domains like the 300 prequel.

The names, all registered on January 10, 2013, revolve around ‘Arkham’, like ArkhamUniverse.com (WHOIS) and BatmanArkhamArises.com (WHOIS), and many more.

There are quite a few possibilities for movie or video game titles in the names that were registered.

Here’s a look at the full list of names:

arkhamuniverse.com (Arkham Universe)
batmanarkahmuniverse.com (Batman Arkham Universe)
batmanarkhamarises.com (Batman Arkham Arises)
batmanarkhambegins.com (Batman Arkham Begins)
batmanarkhamdarkknight.com (Batman Arkham Dark Knight)
batmanarkhamknight.com (Batman Arkham Knight)
batmanarkhamlegend.com (Batman Arkham Legend)
batmanarkhamlegends.com (Batman Arkham Legends)
batmanarkhamnight.com (Batman Arkham Night)
batmanarkhamorigins.com (Batman Arkham Origins)
batmanarkhamstories.com (Batman Arkham Stories)
darkknightarkham.com (Dark Knight Arkham)
dcarkhamuniverse.com (DC Arkham Universe)
dcarkhamverse.com (DC Arkhamverse)
thearkhamuniverse.com (The Arkham Universe)

Keep in mind, although the owner of each domain is hidden behind MarkMonitor’s privacy service DNStination, Warner Bros. as I mentioned is a client of MarkMonitor, so you can bet they are the registrant.

It is possible that Warner Bros. is registering these names for no other reason than to protect it intellectual property and has no plans for them.  The names could also be used for a different Batman product.

Because there has been no official announcement, it’ll just have to remain speculation for now.

At the time of this story being published, none of the domain names resolve to a web page.

Talking about this story: Cosmic Book News, @supererogatory, tweakers.net, JeuxVideo.com, SlashGear, GameSpot, IGN, NowGamer, MCV, Joystiq, io9, Attack of the Fanboy, GamerFront, JoBlo.com, Game Rant, GameDynamo, Den of Geek, TechnoBuffalo, StickSkills, GMA News, Tapscape, Just Push Start, Batman-News, Screen Crush, The Escapist, Blue’s News, Shacknews, Platform Nation, Gameplanet, PSX Extreme, Neoseeker, G4 TV, iDigitalTimes.com, Playstation Lifestyle, God is a Geek, Xbox 360 Achievements, Comicus, EL33TONLINE, MOVIEPILOT NEWS, AreaGames, Cinema Blend, Gamenguide, 411mania.com, WorstPreviews.com, Superherohype.com, Game Informer, ComingSoon.net, Bleeding Cool, The Game League, Warp Zoned, Digital Spy, gamona.de, Gaming Examiner, FOK!, Nintendo Everything, Comicbook.com, We Got This Covered, Multiplayer.it, Gamereactor Danmark, 4Players Portal, gameswelt.de, Gameplayer-Magazine, Play3-Live, IGN Italia, EGMNOW, Gematsu, playm.de, Playfront.de, Nintendo Everything, Dark Knight News and PCGamesN

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Disputes National Arbitration Forum Video Games

Blizzard Entertainment takes ownership of mysterious Heroes of Warcraft domain

Heroes of Warcraft

Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard Entertainment has taken ownership of the domain HeroesofWarcraft.com.

Back in November 2012, the gaming company filed a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) against the owner, setting off speculation about the company’s future plans and rumblings that Warcraft IV might be in the works.

The dispute for the domain name was won by Blizzard Entertainment, but not in the traditional sense.  Instead of waiting on a decision to be handed down by the NAF arbitration panel, the complaint (Case No. 1470639) was withdrawn and the original owner transferred the name to Blizzard this week.  The WHOIS record now shows “BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC.” as the registrant.

It’s unknown how the two sides arrived at an agreement or whether any money exchanged hands.

So, what is Heroes of Warcraft?

As I pointed out in my story in November, Warcraft III started out as a game called Heroes of Warcraft, but was ultimately called Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.

A lot of people have their own theories, however, Blizzard still has yet to announce anything official, so for now, a game being released called “Heroes of Warcraft” remains speculation.

As of today, Blizzard also owns HeroesofWarcraft.net (WHOIS) and HeroesofWarcraft.co.uk (WHOIS), but none of the names including HeroesofWarcraft.com, resolve to a web page.

Talking about this story: PC Games, MMO Champion and OnlineWelten.com

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News Video Games

Riot Games continues scooping up domains, this time “eSports” names

LoL eSports

Riot Games looks to be expanding its online presence.  This week already the game studio registered the name ChampionshipSeriesLeague.com, but that’s not all.    Riot has bought up even more domains, this time names centered around “league” and “esports”, like LeagueeSports.com (WHOIS) and LoLeSport.com (WHOIS).

So, why are the makers of the “most played video game in the world” with the largest prize pool in eSports history registering these names?

Although it’s only speculation, I think we might see a web site and a level of professional programming from Riot Games, that you see with the likes of “ESPN”.

It’s not too far fetched an idea.  With Major League Gaming taking off, why not?

While the company may have nothing in store beyond protecting its IP, with a record 2012 and Season Three just beginning, I think many would agree that 2013 is shaping up to be the biggest year for League of Legends and eSports.

In its newest batch of registrations through the brand protection MarkMonitor, Riot picked up: league-esports.com (WHOIS), leagueesports.com (WHOIS), lol-esports.com (WHOIS), and lolesport.com (WHOIS).

It is just speculation at this stage though, as none of the newest registrations resolve to a web site.

Talking about this story: GameZone

(Image of 2012 Riot Rumble via RiotGames.com)