botopia™

Last July, Google launched Lively, a virtual world service vaguely similar to Second Life, but without its potential for content creation and intellectual property ownership. Now, only four months later, the search engine-turned giant corporation has announced (via Kotaku) that they're pulling the plug.

Google claims the project was a risk, but "when you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off." When the service ends at the end of the year, "Everyone who has worked on the project will then move on to other teams" to help the company focus more on "core search, ads, and apps business."

I'd normally say "enjoy it while you can," but it looks like very few actually enjoyed their time in Lively. Instead, how about you "see why it failed while you still can" and report back in the comments section below.

Little Big Planet 'Gradius' gameplayEarlier this year, Sony Computer Entertainment of America marketing manager Mark Valledor said efforts were in place to turn Little Big Planet's Sackboy "into the next emblematic character for the PS3." Even the game's associate producer, Eric Fong, agreed that it would turn out to be a "hardware seller." Yet last week's NPD sales revealed a slow start for Sony's DIY savior, and many were left wondering if things will improve from here.

In a report from Ars Technica, Sony's head of public relations in the U.K., David Wilson, explained that the low numbers are due to a flooded marketplace. Wilson didn't stop there, though, claiming, "In other times of the year, it would be a clear number one." On a more positive note, he said he believes sales are comparatively better than other critically acclaimed games centered on new intellectual properties.

Speaking on the future of the title, Wilson says since the company's six-figure TV advertising campaign debuts in December, "Sackboy hasn't even hit his stride." But in a flagging economy that has many retailers anticipating low sales this holiday season, how viable is it for a new IP on such an expensive system to hit any sort of stride? We'll find out soon enough.

You're in the Movies (X360)
New Xbox 360 exclusive, interactive movie game hits store shelves today using the Xbox Live Vision camera for friends and family to create B-movies so bad, they're good.

Scientists have discovered a previously unidentified nearby source of high-energy cosmic rays. The finding was made with a NASA-funded balloon-borne instrument high over Antarctica.

A new class of compounds called phosphaplatins can effectively kill ovarian, testicular, head and neck cancer cells with potentially less toxicity than conventional drugs, according to a new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A growing number of geneticists are using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to systematically search for and identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which are single base changes in the human DNA sequence that can cause differences in genetic characteristics. GWAS may also detect genes that are associated with a particular health condition, or with variation in patient response to prescribed drugs.

Biologists have made major headway in explaining a mechanism by which plant cells silence potentially harmful genes. New research in Cell explains how RNA polymerases work together to use the non-coding region of DNA to prevent destructive, virus-derived genes from being activated. This research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that "junk DNA" is in fact a functional part of the genome, since transcription of the intergenic regions is necessary to keep potentially harmful genes turned off.

When given a choice between viewing pictures of cocaine and a variety of other images, cocaine addicted individuals, as compared to healthy, non-addicted research subjects, show a clear preference for the drug-related images.

Physicists can now make droplets dance, float and bounce above a surface, keeping small amounts of fluid free of contamination and ripe for testing.

Things On Wheels (X360)
Comet and Python strut their stuff.

Topatoi (PS3)
One of the first PlayStation 3/PSN projects in Eastern Europe.

Runes of Magic (PC)
Frogster publishes detailed game design document for the seventh area of game world.

Dragon Quest IX: Protectors of the Sky (DS)
Our latest look at next year's hit RPG.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (PC)
With more than 2.8 million copies sold in its first 24 hours, Blizzard Entertainment's second World of Warcraft expansion is now the fastest-selling PC game ever.

Terminator Salvation - The Videogame (PS3)
You are John Connor. Now save the world.

Sugar Rush (PC)
Closed beta beginning November 20 with FilePlanet gives users opportunity to be first to try new cooperative game mode, message and chat systems and win highly-coveted trophies.

Cross Fire (PC)
Closed beta testers for G4BOX's new online FPS now have a quick and convenient way to get their friends in on the experience of cross fire.

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (Wii)
New screens and details on the Wiimake.

Invites other leading game sites to help gather donations for children's hospitals around the world.

Halo 3 (X360)
Bungie says copying the game to your console will decrease performance.