Saved
BarrysWorld, the online gaming site (www.barrysworld.com), is continuing in business, though it went into voluntary liquidation earlier this year. More than 100 companies registered their interest with the liquidator, with Electron ics Boutique carrying off the prize.
John Steinbrecher, EB's chief executive, said: "Until now, customers who purchased products in our stores with online gaming capabilities had to go elsewhere to experience this element of play. Electronics Boutique will now be able to provide an all-encompassing experience."
Electronic Arts, the biggest video game publisher, has also added to its online capabilities. It has just taken over the Pogo games site, which has about 17m members. Excite@Home had dropped out of a deal to buy Pogo (www.pogo.com) and EA snapped it up for about a quarter of the price.
MS gaming
Microsoft has unveiled the Links 2001 Course Converter (www.microsoft.com/games/links2001/), a free utility for people who own copies of LinksLS or Microsoft Golf. The converter will convert up to 36 golf courses into a format that can be used in Links 2001. The game also includes the Arnold Palmer Course Designer utility, which enables PC golfers to create their own courses.
Microsoft has also announced that a sequel to Asheron's Call, its popular online multiplayer role-playing game, has been under development for more than a year. The developer is Turbine Entertainment Software. Asheron's Call is only available via the Microsoft Game Zone at www.zone.com.
However, the Xbox teaser circulating recently is actually a spoof made for $60 by a 22-year-old American student, Roger Tinch. Daily Radar, a games news site, is hosting the 18-megabyte movie at www.dailyradar.com/features/game_feature_page_2379_1.html
Snake's alive!
You could appear in Konami's forthcoming Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty game on the Sony PlayStation 2 or, to be accurate, your name could turn up on a dead enemy soldier's dog-tag. The Japanese company wants your name, birth date, blood type, nationality and other details, and there is an entry form at www.konami.co.jp/kcej/products/mgs2/mgs2name/index_e.html. The exact purpose of this is to be revealed. . .
