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News Video Games

Small preview of unannounced iOS game by Zynga called Forestville

Forestville by Zynga

Over the weekend, I wrote about Zynga registering several new domain names for a possible up-and-coming game called Forestville, which the company has not yet announced. 

Today, an anonymous reader has tipped me to the fact there is a Facebook page that has been online almost a week, which offers more clues about the game.

The page appears to be legit.

A description of the game published on Facebook reads: “Help Daisy the fox and her furry friends build a fabulous forest habitat! Establish farms and fishing spots for food, decorate with natural wonders, and expand your forest to unlock new species. Play ForestVille from Zynga and create the forest of your dreams!”

While there is no game yet available to download and play, there is a photo album that includes pictures of Daisy the fox.

The web address for the page is: http://www.facebook.com/ForestVille.Zynga

A message on the Wall reads: “Watch your own forest habitat come to life in ForestVille by Zynga! It’s coming soon to your iOS mobile device!”

[Updated on Dec. 6 at 12:40pm EST:  It appears the URL no longer resolves to a web page, even if you are signed in to Facebook.  I did take a  screenshot of the page before it was taken down.]   

Discussion: Games.com, AllFacebook, Gamezebo, Piki Geek and Inside Social Games

Categories
News Video Games

Domains point to next game being called Command & Conquer Alliances [Updated]

Command and Conquer: Alliances

There has been much talk on the net about the next Command & Conquer title, which is rumored to be the new Bioware game that will be revealed at the Spike TV Video Game Awards on December 10.

Well, whether the Bioware game is Command & Conquer or not, it looks like the title for the next video game in the franchise will be Command & Conquer: Alliances, according to several new domain name registrations made by Electronic Arts this week.

On December 2, Electronic Arts Inc. registered over a dozen Command & Conquer domains with ‘Alliances’ included in each name, like commandandconqueralliances.com and commandandconquer-alliances.com. 

The domains covered the different series such as Red Alert and Tiberium.

Following is the list of domains:

alliances-commandandconquer.com
alliancescommandandconquer.com
candcalliances.com
candctiberiumalliances.com
commandandconquer-alliances.com
commandandconqueralliance.com
commandandconqueralliances.com
commandandconquertiberiumalliances.com
generalsalliance.com
generalsalliances.com
redalertalliance.com
redalertalliances.com
tiberianalliances.com
tiberiumalliance.com
tiberiumalliances.com

Here’s a look at the WHOIS record for commandandconqueralliances.com.

commandandconqueralliances.com

[Update 2 on December 15, 2011:  EA announced Command and Conquer Tiberium Alliances today, an all new free-to-play, massively multiplayer online (MMO) strategy game set in the Command & Conquer Tiberium universe.  “In the quest for world domination, players must choose their friends wisely and foster strategic alliances as they fight against each other and hordes of mutant enemies. Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances is the first truly portable MMO game with cross-platform accessibility on web browsers and mobile devices. Gamers can get in on the epic battle for world supremacy by signing up for the closed beta at www.tiberiumalliances.com. The closed beta starts on December 15, 2011.”]

[Update 1 on December 10, 2011:  During the 2011 Spike TV Video Game Awards it was announced that Command and Conquer: Generals 2 would be the next installment and would be released sometime in 2013.  Here’s a peek of the video game.]

 

Discussion:  Kotaku, Joystiq, Gamespy.com, G4TV, PC Gamer Magazine, TheSixthAxis, Computerandvideogames.com, Digital Spy UK, Cinema Blend, VG247, IncGamers, TeamXbox, Game Rant, GamingBolt, GameFront, GameKult.com, Videogameszone, JVN.com, GameTrailers, GameTrailers.com (Forum), tweakers.net, PC Games, Looki.de, Eurogamer España, Multiplayer.it, Eurogamer.de, InsideGamer, FZ, Kotaku Australia, DigitalLife.nl, Gamer Zona, gram.pl, Gamecorner.pl, Lenta.ru, Gamereactor Sverige, Command & Conquer, Rockpapershotgun, IMDB, Railgun and The C&C Community Veteran

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News Video Games

Zynga has plans to launch Forestville, tipped off by domain name registrations

Zynga Forestville

Zynga Forestville

Zynga recently launched Castleville, but now the social gaming giant appears to have plans to launch a new game called Forestville.

This week Zynga registered several domains with the word Forestville in the name like ForestvillewithFriends.com and ForestvilleZynga.com.

All of the names were registered through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor that Zynga regularly uses to acquire domain names. 

And as I usually point out, though each domain registration is hidden behind MarkMonitor’s WHOIS privacy service ‘DNStinations’, MarkMonitor is in the business of helping Fortune 100 companies protect their brands online.  Zynga’s own Zynga.com is registered with MarkMonitor, as are hundreds of its other domains. 

So, there’s no doubt whatsoever that Zynga is behind these names.

Interestingly enough, Zynga doesn’t own the prime internet real estate: Forestville.com.  The domain is currently home to the Forestville Central School District website out of New York.  But that hasn’t stopped Zynga from registering typos of Forestville.com like wwwforestville.com (minus a ‘.’) or forestvile.com (minus an ‘l’).

Zynga did manage to get several country domains like Forestville.de, Forestville.jp and Forestville.co.uk.  A message on the home page of Forestville.de reads, “This domain is registered and protected by MarkMonitor”.

Below is a list of many of the names registered earlier this week.

forestvile.com
forestville.de
forestville.jp
forestville.co.uk
forestville2.com
forestvilleandroid.com
forestvilleapp.com
forestvillefacebook.com
forestvillegame.com
forestvillegamecards.com
forestvilleipad.com
forestvilleiphone.com
forestvillelive.com
forestvillemobile.com
forestvilleplus.com
forestvillewithfriends.com
forestvillezynga.com
playforestville.com
wwwforestville.com

At the time of this story going online today at 5am EST, Zynga has not made any announcement about the game.  So Forestville becoming a full-fledged game is just speculation until more news emerges from Zynga.

I’ve reached out to the Forestville.com webmaster to see whether they had been contacted about the domain and will update this story if I hear back.

Here’s a look at the WHOIS record for ForestvilleZynga.com.

WHOIS record for ForestvilleZynga.com

[Update 3 on Dec. 14, 2011: Zynga finally announced the game on it’s blog.]

[Update 2 on Dec. 9, 2011:  Zynga filed a trademark application (Serial Number: 85487695) for “Forestville” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.]

[Update 1 on Dec. 5, 2011 at 4:10pm EST:  It’s official.  There is a Facebook page for Forestville.  The game is headed to iOS, but hasn’t launched as of yet.]

Discussion: Joystiq, AllFacebook, VG247, Games.com, Shacknews, GameStar and Gamer Zona

Categories
Disputes National Arbitration Forum News

LinkedIn files dispute over typosquatting domain LinkdIn.com that sold for $22K

LinkdIn.com

There have been a lot of disputes filed recently over typosquatting domain names that mislead consumers.  LinkedIn is now the latest company to file a complaint (Case No. 1417534) with the National Arbitration Forum over a popular typo domain – LinkdIn.com (missing the ‘e’).

What makes this case so interesting, and so expensive for one party, is that the current owner paid $22,000 USD to the buy the domain at SnapNames back in July 2010.  

SnapNames, which was founded in 2000 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oversee.net, operates one of the largest auction marketplaces of expired and deleting domain names.  The website also allows domain owners to sell names out of their own portfolio.

Mike Berkens of The Domains wrote about the sale last year on his domain industry news blog saying, “Its amazing in this day and age there are so many people willing to pay this kind of money for a domain that would be taken in a UDRP if a complaint is filed.”

It’s highly probable now with the dispute filed, that the domain will be taken.

Today, people who accidentally enter LinkdIn.com (the incorrect spelling) into their web browser instead of LinkedIn.com (the correct spelling), are redirected to a survey scam that asked a series of questions and attempts to gather personal information by promising free gifts like a $1,000 Walmart gift card, as shown in the screenshot above of the LinkdIn site.

Knowing also that LinkedIn Corporation has several registered LinkedIn trademarks, it should be no surprise that LinkedIn is pretty much guaranteed to win the dispute.

As Mike Berkens wrote over a year ago, “Yes I know the domain has traffic,  but its a bang on typo trademark domain with no other conceivable meaning.”

The panel with the National Arbitration Forum will determine whether the disputed domain meets the following three elements:

(1) is the domain name identical or confusingly similar to a trademark in which the complainant has rights
(2) the owner has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name and;
(3) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith. 

If all three elements are met, the domain will be ordered transferred to LinkedIn Corporation. 

The truth of the matter is, it should be a quick open-and-shut case in favor of LinkedIn.

Categories
News Video Games

New Cartoon Universe game? Warner Bros. hints with domains [UPDATED]

Looney Tunes Cartoon Universe game

Is Warner Bros. planning to launch a massively multiplayer online game or social game called “Cartoon Universe”?

Well, if new domain name registrations are any indication of a company’s future plans, it appears a new multiplayer online game could be in the works.

On November 29, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. registered a handful of domains like CartoonUniversegame.com, Playtheuniverse.com and looneytunescu.com.

All together, Warner Bros. registered a dozen domains on November 29, not all having to do with a game.

Here’s a look at the registrations:

cartoonuniversegame.com
cartoonuniverseonline.com
leelabeque.net
looneytunescu.com
loooneytunescartoonuniverse.com
match-heart.com
playtheuniverse.com
scoobydoocartoonuniverse.com
scoobydoocu.com
thecartoonuniverse.com
toontokens.com
wbcash.com

None of the ‘Cartoon Universe’ domain names resolve to a web page at the time of this post going online.

[Updated on May 3, 2012:. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced Cartoon Universe, a free-to-play, online world that will provide a safe, social environment for young kids to go on adventures, solve puzzles and play games with their favorite Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo! Characters.]

Talking about this story: Games.com