Tag: PlayStation 3

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Ubisoft Entertainment takes over web address used in Ghost Recon Beta scam

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Ubisoft Entertainment has taken ownership of the domain name GhostReconBeta.com.

The domain, which had been registered in April 2012 by a Netherlands resident, had been used in a beta scam for the video game Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.  Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, the latest installment in the series, was released in May for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Beta scams for video games are fairly common online and usually involve a website and web address that are confusingly similar to that of a legitimate well-known brand.  The websites will claim to offer beta keys to upcoming video games, but instead trick users into filling out survey scams and downloading malware to their computers.

Earlier this year, Microsoft took control of the domain names Halo4Beta.biz and Halo4Beta.net, after filing complaints against the owners.

While little evidence of the GhostReconBeta.com scam website can be found online, Ubisoft Red Storm responded to a Twitter message from gamer @BlackDogsUnit back in late May, saying that the website ghostreconbeta.com was not legit and any information about Ghost Recon would come through official channels on GhostRecon.com.

Ubisoft Red Storm

According to Whois historical records, the person who registered GhostReconBeta.com, is no stranger to using the names of well-known companies for the purpose of scam surveys.  At the time of this story, they own and operate websites and domains like SpotifyGiveaway.com (Whois), WarFaceBeta.com (Whois) and HawkenBeta.com (Whois).

Spotify Giveaway scam website

Though it’s unfortunate companies have to deal with these types of sites, it’s surprising they don’t register domains that can be used to trick consumers.

A quick check of other popular titles by Ubisoft, shows several domain names not registered.

Rainbow6Beta.com, SplinterCellBeta.com, and WatchDogsBeta.com are just a few examples of names that are readily available.

Today, GhostReconBeta.com does not resolve to a web page.

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News Video Games

Ubisoft registers several ‘Assassin’s Creed Initiate’ domain names

Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed Initiate

With all the Assassin’s Creed buzz focused on the upcoming release of Assassin’s Creed III, Ubisoft has registered a slew of domains for another project in the franchise called “Assassin’s Creed: Initiate”.

On August 21, 2012, Ubisoft went out and registered names like AssassinsCreedInitiate.com (Whois), AssassinsInitiate.com (Whois) and ACinitiate.com (Whois) – a dozen in total.

The full list of domain registrations includes:

ac-initiate.com
ac-initiates.com
acinitiate.com
acinitiates.com
assassins-initiate.com
assassins-initiates.com
assassinscreed-initiate.com
assassinscreed-initiates.com
assassinscreedinitiate.com
assassinscreedinitiates.com
assassinsinitiate.com
assassinsinitiates.com

At this point, it’s unknown what the exact plans are for “Assassin’s Creed Initiate” or “Assassin’s Creed Initiates”, whatever the official title may be.

Could it be for a new videogame? A tie-in to the launch of Assassin’s Creed III? Or some other media or event?

Ubisoft has made no official announcement, so we’ll have to wait and see a little bit longer.

On a domain-related note, Ubisoft also registered GhostReconfuturesoldierravenstrike.com (Whois) for the next DLC pack for Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, which was announced just yesterday.

Talking about this story:  Computerandvideogames.com, Cinema Blend, Curse.com, Escapist Magazine, Gamed, Game Informer, Game Rant, iDigitalTimes.com, IGN, MeriStation, playm.de, Playstation Universe, VG247 and Tecmundo

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News Video Games

Xbox720.com owner redirects domain to US PlayStation 3 website [UPDATED]

Xbox 720

Xbox 720

Update 2 on Feb. 24 at 8:16pm Est: Jeremiah Germany has commented on the story by e-mail.  Jeremiah wrote, “Yes, I still do own the domain.  I switched to namecheap after the godaddy SOPA fiasco, which came with free Whois Privacy.  Yesterday I was testing the redirect with namecheap.  Apparently more than my friends saw the joke; it doesn’t get a lot of hits. I believe you asked me earlier, No, Microsoft hasn’t approached me.”

Update 1 on Feb. 23 at 2:52pm Est: Xbox720.com has stopped forwarding to the US Playstation 3 site.  The web address now sends visitors to a different site operated by Jeremiah Germany (the apparent owner of Xbox720.com), in an obvious ploy to get attention for his site.   Jeremiah has not responded to a request for comment.  I e-mailed Jeremiah earlier today when this story was first posted.

Original story on Feb. 23 at 3:27am Est: It appears the owner of the domain Xbox720.com is none too happy with Microsoft or simply playing an online joke.

As of today, type the web address into your browser and you’ll be redirected to the US PlayStation 3 site (us.playstation.com/ps3).

It’s unknown what prompted the change.  Previously, the domain was monetized using the Google Adsense for Domains program, which Google announced only yesterday would be shut down by mid-April.

Last year we saw a similar case of a web address being redirected to a rival’s site with ModernWarfare3.com, when the disgruntled owner of the domain name sent visitors to the official website of Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 3, Activision’s competitor.  The redirect of ModernWarfare3.com was short-lived as Activision moved swiftly to get the domain name by filing a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum.

As I wrote about in November, neither Sony, Nintendo, nor Microsoft own the domains for their next consoles.

Xbox720.com was registered to a Jeremiah Germany of New York as late as November 2011, but the contact information became protected after going into Whois Privacy in December.

Since first being registered, Xbox720.com has been host to a number of different sites ranging from a Les Paul guitars site in 2006 to a Google Custom Search page in 2008.   In 2009 the site began earning money using Google Adsense for Domains.

I’ve reached out to the most recent owner on record for more information, and will update this story if I hear back.

I’d imagine the redirect will not last long.

Discussion: N4G, Joystiq, Gameranx, Myona News and Bölüm Sonu Canavarı

(Image of Xbox 720 concept by ~djeric on deviantART)