The entry level tier will offer cross-branding on clothing and some of the product to keep you playing long past your bedtime.  Once your clan is in, the only way is up – and up has some amazing benefits for the clans that prove their ultimate worth.  What is on offer at the top will make your eyes water and is frankly unprecedented in South African gaming.

To get to the top you will however need to show a willingness to promote Ozone and grow the South African gaming industry generally – both locally and internationally.  To be fair, only the very best candidates will make it to the top tier, but that will be up to you as a clan.  But enough of my boring padding, this is what you really want to know…

TIER 4:

Entry Level Sponsorship.

• Branded (clan and Ozone) clothing – T-shirts and caps – and supply of Ozone Energy Drink.
• Clothing restricted to maximum 15 items.

TIER 3:

• Includes all lower tier items.
• Can request costs covered for LAN entry fees.
• Copies of clan game.  Restricted to six per clan.

TIER 2:

• Includes all lower tier items.
• Can request costs covered for local transport.
• Branded (clan and Ozone) hardware:
• Console:  Controller and headset.  Restricted to six per clan.
• PC:  Mouse and headset.  Restricted to six per clan.
• VIP Invites to Ozone Events

TIER 1:

Full Sponsorship.

• Includes all lower tier items.
• Can request costs covered for accommodation, flights, etc.
• Branded (clan and Ozone) hardware:
• Console:  Bag, Console and Cables. Restricted to six per clan.
• PC:  Bag, PC and Cables.  Restricted to six per clan.
• Ozone Limited Edition Fridge

Over time, this will be fine-tuned with new features and rewards being offered – sponsored clan servers are part of future planning and are likely to be coming sooner rather than later.

Now you’re all wondering how you can get a piece of the action… Well, we need to help Ozone know about you, so we’ll help by doing a profile on your clan.  Your clan will also need to have a good footprint in the virtual and real world and meet some basic requirements that are not all, but some of the following:

• Official Clan Website with advertising space.
• Clan Facebook Page.
• Clan Twitter account.
• Youtube channel.  Videos can feature Ozone product and logos.
• Regular participation in LANs, tournaments and social activities.

You’ll need to show Ozone some love.  Mentions and images of the sponsor are all encouraged.  Wear an Ozone t-shirt, mention them when pwning, hang a banner and show off your branded goods.

The final decisions for sponsorship will be made by Ozone Energy Drink SA and we are there as facilitators, so drop us an email at info@zombiegamer.co.za and we will help you get things rolling.

We can reveal that the first three clans will be named (after they’ve been informed) in the coming few weeks – and that they will represent each of the three platforms.  We are also going to reveal the basics of Event sponsorship over the coming weeks, so there is still plenty to come from the Ozone camp.  Keep watching the news and updates from the bunch at zombiegamer and get involved.

Source: Zombiegamer

Evil is open for testing

In the odd chance that you were unlucky not have been able to play the beta and have been dying to… Seems you’re in a bit of luck this weekend. Blizzard will be welcoming the public for an open beta test for the weekend. I would assume it would be the final stress testing before the big day that evil returns (May, 15th).

The client is downloadable here

From Friday, April 20 at 12:01 p.m. PDT (noon), until Monday, April 23 at 10:00 a.m. PDT you’ll be able to log in, team up with friends, and play each of the five heroic classes to level 13 as you fight to save the world from the impending demonic invasion.

FAQ

What steps do I need to take?

Log in or create a Battle.net account at http://www.battle.net
Create your BattleTag™, which is required to play Diablo III (What is BattleTag?)
Download the game client, install, and play between 12:01 p.m. PDT April 20 and 10:00 a.m. PDT April 23

I don’t have a Battle.net account — can I still play?

Absolutely! Just visit http://www.battle.net to create a free Battle.net account. Next, download the client from https://us.battle.net/account/download/index.xml and install it. Create your BattleTag, and then log in to the game using your Battle.net account name (email address) and password to begin slaughtering the demonic hellspawn that dare stand in your way.

Are there any differences for stress test participants versus invited closed beta testers?

Stress test participants will only be able to access the beta between Friday, April 20 at 12:01 p.m. PDT (noon), and Monday, April 23 at 10:00 a.m. PDT. In addition, stress test participants will not have access to post in the beta forums and will not be provided Beta Bucks for use in testing the currency-based auction house.

Can all regions/countries participate?

Due to regional differences and features of the stress test client, Korean players will not be able to partake in the stress test weekend. However, beginning the week of April 23, we will be conducting a separate, invitation-only closed beta test that will give players in Korea a chance to try out the game, along with players in the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.

What if the service is down/laggy/disconnecting me?

It’s very possible that players connecting to the stress test could experience issues with the service. While not ideal, this is exactly why we’re having a stress test. We want to catch and analyze as many bugs as possible during this stress test period, so that we can try to ensure a smooth launch on May 15.

I’m having an issue, how can I get help?

Due to the limited window of the stress test we encourage you to visit the Technical Support or Mac Technical Support forums if you’re having any issues running the game, and checking the Known Issues list if you’re running into a bug. As a stress test participant you will not be able to post in the beta forums.

What platforms and languages do you support?

For the stress test we’re offering the client in English, French, and German for both Windows and Mac. At release the game will be fully localized into English, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, European Spanish, Italian, Polish, Korean, and Traditional Chinese for Windows, and English, French, and German for Mac.

I’m an invited closed beta tester, what happens after the stress test weekend ends?

As an invited closed beta tester you’ll continue to have access until the beta ends on May 1.

Recently my beloved yet painfully battry-life’d blackberry got stolen from my gym locker. No fret, I have a backup phone. An android which I got about a year ago to check it ouy but ended up not liking it one bit. So it was just laying there until now. I always said for the last few months I shall be going iPhone upon upgrade in June. Now I work in the tech field with alot of android supporters that root hack and what not. Myself as an enthusiast enjoy checking under the hood of new things and pushing it’s limits to see what the device or piece of software is actually capable of doing once the limitations have been removed. But phones have just never been one of those things that grasp me. Smartphone or not… I use them to call, check mail and an alarm clock. Seriously. I do not care if it has 60GB of space (I have an external HDD), a 14megapixel Camera (I have a SLR for that), brilliant music player (I have an iPod for that). And no i never wanted a “One device that does it all” cos if it goes you’re buggered, that and the more things in it means there more things that could go wrong and you’re left with nothing should it need to go in for repairs. I just want a simple device that does it’s intended purpose. That’s all. And I always kept saying that I want a phone that powers on and works. Just need to call, check mail and have an alarm… I don’t even bother browsing net because I hate small screens. Some useful stable apps would be an added bonus. That would be my needs for a phone.

Anyway, before I digress further… The reason for this background info is because I stumbled on this article online and this from an android fanboy basically explains my exact reason and what I have been repeating to people all along. Read this article at the jump here.

Source: Engadget

“We are gratified that Skyrim continues to garner high review scores and accolades around the world,” said Robert Altman, Chairman and CEO of ZeniMax Media. “We are most grateful to our fans for their support and enthusiasm for the game, and their love of the hundreds of hours of gameplay it offers.

“We continue to strive to deliver the highest quality entertainment experience for everyone. 2012 will be another huge year for our fans, with the release of the Creation Kit, as well as exciting DLC which will add to the richness of this epic adventure.”

“Skyrim is the fastest selling title in Steam’s history,” said Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development at Valve Corporation.

“Bethesda’s commitment to and understanding of the PC as a gaming platform shows in the great review scores, spectacular launch, and continued high player numbers that Skyrim has received. We are delighted that Bethesda chose to use Steamworks to support Skyrim both at retail and digitally.”

The game also garnered over 200 perfect scores worldwide.

Although Bethesda have been known to distribute buggy games on launch with regards to pretty much most of their titles. I have personally put almost 50 hours into it… found silly bugs but absolutely nothing game breaking to get me frustrated, it has received my personal GoTY due to the fact that I am hooked onto it like crack and doing any side quests I can so the game does not end. Console adopters especially PS3 owners might differ from my opinion but all in all I think this game is brilliant an something I have been waiting for all this year.

If paying for stuff isn’t your sort of vigilante superheroism, there’s also a Batman, Inc. Batsuit now available, totally free, as a thank you from Rocksteady for supporting the game.

This is how awesome they are as a small little dev house. Don’t know for howmuch longer they will still be referred to as small after they brought out my fav game of that year followed up by my 3rd favourite of this year (1st Skyrim and 2nd is Dark Souls).

Check out the Skyrim Perk Calculator here.

Thanks to everyone for the messages. One year goes by quick. The next update is in the latter part of Dec., near Christmas.

A late December launch falls neatly in line with the rough “every two months” DLC release schedule outlined at SEMA, so the date will definitely be raising eyebrows (and expectations) – especially considering Kazunori has a history of playing Santa Claus… Hopefully you’ve been good this year.

Thanks to Joe_Ald for the early tip!

This being my favourite (Well only driving game I still play) I can’t wait to see what will be dropping. Yet everyone is still asking for the “Top Gear reasonably priced car” to be added in so we can check laptimes and compare, we can only hope. Till then we will have to keep revving…

Source : GTPlanet

We recently spoke with 5TH Cell’s CEO and creative director Jeremiah Slaczka about what it’s like being an independent studio today, if review scores really matter, and if the traditional $60 retail model for games is broken.

Is the current business model for traditional video games – the $60 boxed game – a broken model?

Yes, the $60 boxed game is a broken model. It was always broken, it’s just more broken now because games cost so much to develop, produce and market. Before the model was tolerable, because the cost was reasonable enough to allow mediocre selling games to make money. Now it’s just insane. If you aren’t going to be a mega hit at $60, you might as well give up before you even try, because it’s tens of millions down the hole.

Think of it this way: Homefront was an okay FPS – not great, not terrible, just okay. But as a consumer, why would I want to play an okay FPS when I can play a bunch of great FPS titles for the same price? And that’s what the consumers did. While over 13 million people bought Black Ops last year in the US alone, smashing records, less than just 1 million people bought Homefront in the US. The consumer voted with their wallet, right?

But what if you could rent Homefront for $4.99 for 24 hours from your console? What if Homefront was only $30 dollars upfront for the single player and if you liked it you could buy the multiplayer for an additional $30?

All of the sudden it’s not a binary purchase option anymore. Where before you had two options as a consumer, pay $60 or pay $0 for the AAA experience or the okay experience. The market proved that gamers were not willing to pay $60 for Homefront the same way they were willing to for Black Ops, so that is out of the equation.

That doesn’t mean all games have to go this route, there’s still room for the AAA only, but a lot of titles should try a different method. It’s a win-win scenario for everyone involved.

Looks like there is hope for the future. We just need more devs to adopt this way of thought.

Source : Game Informer

The massive world of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim can get a little intimidating at times with its seemingly never-ending supply of new adventures and areas to explore. Thankfully, when it comes to tracking your Skyrim exploits, there’s an app for that — or rather, there soon will be.

Dragon Shout is an upcoming, interactive Skyrim map for iOS that will allow users to place annotated markers and make notes about their activities in different parts of the game’s world.

“For example, yesterday I played Skyrim and left a bunch of dragon scales and bones on the side of a mountain because they were too heavy,” the developer told Touch Arcade.

While the game will launch as a solo experience, the developer plans to update the app with a social element that will allow users to share markers and notes, chat, and other activities.

Dragon Shout will be a free app and is expected to be available “within the next couple of days” for iPhone and iPad, with an Android version still in development. You can get more info on the app and check out some early screenshots at the app’s official website.

Source: Digital Trends