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Hackers who broke into the computer networks of a number of games companies that included Microsoft and stole information about Xbox One and Xbox One games that could be seen as commercially valuable have today pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy in a court in Delaware.
Calling themselves Xbox Underground, David Pokora, 22, of Mississauga, Ontario, and Sanadodeh Nesheiwat, 28, of Washington, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and copyright infringement. Among their targets were Zombies Studios, who are working with the U.S. Army on simulation software as well as the military’s network too. It is estimated that the value of the assets stolen was up to $100 million.
Sentencing will take place in January and could mean up to 5 years in jail for the pair. Charges have also been brought against Nathan Leroux, 20, of Bowie, Maryland, and Austin Alcala, 18, of McCordsville, Indiana, as well as an unnamed Australian national, although the case is still on going for those three defendants.
September is over, and October is upon us. It was a crazy month, starting out with some great guests on the Indie Game Show and ending with EGX. In case you missed anything this month, here’s a quick recap:
PumpkinOnline
Monique and Malik from Pumpkin Interactive stopped by the Indie Game Show and chatted with PredictedCyborg and Digmbot about their game. It has since been funded on Kickstarter. A farming MMO based around building community and crafting, rather than combat, the game looks to be truly unique. Characters are created totally outside the norms of most games, meaning that male, female, straight, gay, or anything in between is a possibility in this game. With skills that are dependent on working together to make the most out of the ingredients you mine/farm/fish for, Pumpkin Online is one that Cy and Digm are super excited about.
Sanitarium.FM eSports
Esports is huge, and this month saw the official launch of the station’s eSports section. headed up by Digmbot and Novindus, our eSports coverage will look to cover LoL, DOTA2, Starcraft II and Smite. News, analysis, tutorials and more are coming down the line. And, as a special bonus, Smite pro team Snipe has signed on to mutually promote eSports with us. Look for some exclusive interviews as well as opinions from the boys in Snipe as they claw their way through the ranks of the Smite Pro League in search of the World Championships. And don’t miss the Starcraft II coverage along with all the hottest LoL and DOTA2 action.
The Bloggers AreMultiplying
You all know about Thay, our Indie blogger. Shes amazing, right? Well, we’ve expanded our roster even more this month. With Novindus fully onboard as a DJ, we also now have BlueStripePanda and Darkseeker helping bring you even more news. Darkseeker has already written an amazing in depth look at the new Total War: Atilla, and BlueStripePanda’s wonderfully crafted Lego Batman 3 roundup will leave you with a smile on your face. Welcome them to the team and look forward to what else they’re going to be bringing us. In addition, Thay has something special up her sleeve, so stay tuned for that.
Twitch & YouTube
After some needed tweaks, we’ve gotten the station Twitch and YouTube pages fully up to snuff. So get ready to watch a tone of stuff as Lonesamurai digs into the new WoW expansion. PredictedCyborg tackles Hearthstone, Digmbot has a go at Starbound and we might even stream you some eSports games along with some commentary and tutorials. If you don’t catch it on Twitch, be sure to head over to the YouTube channel to catch the vods.
EGX
EGX was INSANE! I don’t even know how many metric tons of coverage went up on the site. Seriously, just load it up and check out all the videos, developer sessions and staff opinions. Our personal picks from the show? Elite:Dangerous, Total War: Atilla, Witcher 3 and Shadow of Mordor. On the indie side, Volume, Magic Circle and Nuclear Throne look amazing. What are you waiting for? Get to reading!
So guys, it was a crazy month. Don’t forget, we need YOU to help us promote. Retweet, reblog, refacebook, re…Google plus? Does anyone use that? YOU SHOULD! And you should promote us with it! Help us grow folks! And be sure to tune in to all the shows so you can chat with your fellow inmates and the staff. Till next month!
Fans of the Plants vs. Zombies games listen up! The latest installment in the series, Garden Warfare, is getting a sizeable update this week called Legends of the Lawn and it’s free too!
The update will include some new character variations, Golf Star, Centurion, Paleontologist, Chomp Thing, Alien Flower, Jade Cactus and Sanitation Expert; as well as five characters that are ‘spawnable’, over 200 more customisation items and even a new game mode. That’s not bad for a free update.
The new game mode is called Taco Bandits and sees the plants defending “Crazy Dave’s deliciously grilled tacos”. Victory for the grass-root fighters comes if they successfully protect three tacos, while the zombies win if they manage to capture and return them all to a UFO to win. Because zombies are aliens, everyone knows that.
The pack will be released on today (September 30th), although some areas are getting it October 1st instead.
The racing MMO The Crew starts its console beta tomorrow according to a tweet from Ubisoft. If you’d like to participate in the console beta and you are a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One owner, you can sign up on the official site.
The PC beta is already underway, and the game is set to launch on November 11th.
