Tag: E3

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Ubisoft pays undisclosed amount of cash to acquire Watch Dogs dot-com domain

Watch Dogs PS4

Watch Dogs has been generating a lot of buzz in the video game community since it was first announced at E3 2012.

Last June, on the very same day Ubisoft kicked off its E3 press conference and unveiled Watch Dogs, the company registered a bunch of new domains like WatchDogs2.com, WatchDogs3.com, WatchDogs4.com and WatchDogs5.com.

However, one name was missing from the list:  WatchDogs.com.  That’s because the name had a different owner.

Now, according to WHOIS records, Ubisoft owns the domain name as of this week and has begun redirecting the web address to its main Watch Dogs website.

The exact sales amount is unknown since the sale wasn’t publicly reported, but given WatchDogs.com is a pretty strong name on its own, the price was likely in the five-figure range.

I can only speculate on the sales price.  Although it’s not necessarily apples to apples, watchdog.co.uk sold for over $4,000 USD in 2011 according to DNJournal.  So you can only imagine how much watchdogs.com sold for, especially with all the press around the video game.

Ubisoft likely has long term plans for Watch Dogs, that is, if domain names are any clue about the company’s intentions.   Ubisoft also registered Watch Dogs movie domains last year, as well as WatchDogsOnline.com.

I’ve reached out the previous owner of WatchDogs.com by email and will update this post if I hear anything back.

Talking about this story: PC Games

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Disputes National Arbitration Forum News Technology Video Games

Microsoft files complaint against owner of XboxSmartGlass.com, wants domain [UPDATED]

Xbox SmartGlass

Xbox SmartGlass

Xbox SmartGlass was officially unveiled earlier this week at the E3 convention in Los Angeles.  Days before the big event, rumors had swirled that Microsoft would reveal SmartGlass, prompting the company to register a slew of domains with “SmartGlass” in the name like XboxSmartGlass.net.

One name noticeably missing from the list was XboxSmartGlass.com (Whois).  That’s because Microsoft wasn’t quick enough to register the name.  It was registered by a resident of China who goes by “Haiyue Tang” on the very same day Microsoft moved to secure its “SmartGlass” domains.

Microsoft may have been slow to secure the domain, but it still intends to get it.

Microsoft has now filed a complaint (Case Number 1446970) with the National Arbitration Forum over the domain name XboxSmartGlass.com.

The domain name dispute proceedings commenced this week and also involve windowsphonebar.com.

At the time of this story, XboxSmartGlass.com is a blog written in Chinese that claims to be a non-profit with the purpose of introducing people to the smart glass industry.  Yeah, it’s a stretch.  In one of the first posts on the site, the owner tries to explain the origin of “Xbox SmartGlass” with no mention of Microsoft.

Based on the track record of Microsoft in domain disputes and the fact the company filed a SmartGlass trademark back in January, it should be an open and shut case in Microsoft’s favor.

Talking about this story: Kotaku

UPDATE:. Microsoft has won the dispute for XboxSmartGlass.com and WindowsPhoneBar.com.  Both domains have been ordered transferred.

(Image of Xbox SmartGlass presentation at E3 via Engadget)

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News Technology Video Games

Microsoft registers “Xbox Smart Glass” domains amid E3 rumors [UPDATED]

Xbox Smart Glass

UPDATE 2: Microsoft has unveiled Xbox SmartGlass.  Engadget writes, “SmartGlass brings Airplay-style wireless technology to Xbox and Windows 8 by letting you send video from your tablet or phone to your TV.  It then turns that second screen into an information window giving you data of the content you’re watching.”

UPDATE 1:  Microsoft also registered microsoftsmartglass.at, microsoftsmartglass.ch, microsoftsmartglass.mx, microsoftsmartglass.in, microsoftsmartglass.pl, microsoftsmartglass.tw, smartglass.ch, smartglass.tw, xboxsmartglass.at, xboxsmartglass.in, xboxsmartglass.jp, xboxsmartglass.mx, xboxsmartglass.pl, and xboxsmartglass.tw.

ORIGINAL STORY: According to the Examiner in a story that appeared on Friday, June 1, Microsoft is rumored to be revealing its “Xbox Smart Glass” tablet at the E3 convention in Los Angeles this coming week.

With all the news swirling around the alleged “reveal”, Microsoft Corporation has registered a slew of domains with “Smart Glass” in the name like MicrosoftSmartGlass.com (Whois) and XboxSmartGlass.net (Whois).  The registrations took place on the same day as the big news began to spread, but not before a resident of China beat Microsoft to XboxSmartGlass.com (Whois).

Microsoft registered many more names through the brand protection company MarkMonitor. Here’s a sample of the domains:

microsoftsmartglass.net
microsoftsmartglass.biz
microsoftsmartglass.org
microsoftsmartglass.us
microsoftsmartglass.info
microsoftsmartglass.co
microsoftsmartglass.co.uk
microsoftsmartglass.tv
microsoftsmartglass.mobi
xboxsmartglass.net
xboxsmartglass.biz
xboxsmartglass.org
xboxsmartglass.us
xboxsmartglass.info
xboxsmartglass.co
xboxsmartglass.co.uk
xboxsmartglass.tv
xboxsmartglass.mobi

Currently, the domains redirect visitors to Bing.

Talking about this story: Engadget, PCWorld, Geeky Gadgets, redOrbit, The Verge, GeekWire, Electronista, Joystiq, Geekosystem and VentureBeat

(Image of Xbox Smart Glass via Examiner.com)

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News Video Games

Ubisoft Entertainment registers “Just Dance Floor” domain names

Katy Perry Just Dance 2

Early last month, a list of twenty-five titles for the Wii U were leaked from a UK Blockbuster.  While the games haven’t been confirmed, many of the possible titles, which includes Just Dance 4, will almost certainly be released.

Though Ubisoft has not announced anything official, the company is now hinting at something new called “Just Dance: Floor”.

On May 31, 2012, Ubisoft Entertainment registered the domain names JustDanceFloor.com (Whois) and Just-DanceFloor.com (Whois).

“Just Dance Floor” may or may not have anything to do with “Just Dance 4” and it’s unknown whether it’s a game or some type of “dance floor” device to support the game.

Currently, neither domain resolves to a web page, but it’s likely Ubisoft will announce something regarding Just Dance at E3 2012 this upcoming week.

Talking about this story: Joystiq

(Image of Just Dance 2 in Katy Perry’s ” Last Friday Night music video via Ubisoft.com)

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News Video Games

Creative agency for Microsoft registers Halo 4 Remix, Halo Remix domains

Halo 4 remix

It looks like a promotion or online contest for Halo 4, set for a worldwide release on November 6, 2012, may be on the way.  Roundhouse, a creative agency based in Seattle, WA, who counts among its clients Microsoft, has registered the domain names Halo4remix.com and Haloremix.com.

Roundhouse handles social media work for Xbox, but has yet to reveal what it plans to do with Halo 4 Remix.

Roundhouse has been responsible for several Xbox-related initiatives like last year’s Halo Reach contest.  That contest involved using the forge tool within Halo to assemble and create a work of art using pieces, textures, and other available materials that represent the Halo Universe.

Both domains, Halo4remix.com (Whois) and Haloremix.com (Whois), were registered by Roundhouse’s operations manager Sylvia Nikes on May 30, 2012, only days before the kick off of E3 2012.

At the time of this story, both domain names resolve to a parked page.