Yes indeed, the counter has gone from 2008 to 2009. Another year has passed, and with it came many great things. It's been a very eventful year at Xfire as well, with several ground breaking additions to the client itself, such as the broadcast function, an improved voice chat, video recording greatness and a lot of other stuff.
And, the Xfire website went through some changes during the year, making it easier for all of you to find what you are looking for. And naturally, 2008 meant the first year for theblog.

Theblog as an idea was pretty much born from our blogging greatness at ESWC in Paris, 2007. After a few months of maturing the idea, we went live on January 2nd 2008. And, I think we've come a pretty long way!
Still, the coming year will surely mean more changes here at theblog, and one of them starts in just a few days.

For the last couple of months, I've pretty much been handling this on my own, but starting this week, we're bringing back one of the guys that worked on the Race to 80. So, please welcome Joonas, aka. GodJonez!

Since I'm such a captivating guy, we felt the need to bring on someone a little bit more boring to handle all the technical posts, so Joonas will be taking all of you on a trip through the inner workings of Xfire. ;)

Oh, and by the way, it's time for this years first schedule entry!


January 10th
Xfire Racing Cup


We've been running some events in a game called Bet and Race for a few weeks now, and on Saturday it's time for yet another one. You can win REAL money, without betting anything! The first prize is something like 160 Euros, which could buy you a lot of cool stuff. I think it's only for our EU users, but don't be sad if you can't play, we'll have awesome stuff for all of you others in the future!


Raaaaacing madness!

This sort of became a combined schedule and flashback to 2008, not quite what I was planning, but you know, I got a bit nostalgic. I hope you will all stay with us here at theblog for all of 2009, and thanks for helping us...

I'm not sure about you, but I had my New Years eve set up pretty nicely. I was going to work for a bit at a restaurant here in town, and right before midnight, take a short break and head out on the town square.

I had even prepared with a few nice cigars, ready for me to light them up. But, things didn't go quite as planned, we had a real shitload of people, and there just wasn't time for me to take a break.

So, no new years fireworks for me, so, I thought I'd find a video of some cool fireworks on Xfire. And this is what I found!



I'm not sure if my idea of a perfect new years eve would be to be in WoW waiting for virtual fireworks to start, but they are awfully pretty, aren't they?

Hans

We wish you all a Happy New Year, with lots of gaming, awesome new computers, games you've been looking forward too, and naturally the best of health! Remember to take care of your loved ones!

Hans

There was another Bet and Race event last saturday, and it seems like it was quite successful! A lot of the same names as last week were on the top 10 list, but some new ones as well. I really think you should check this out, after all, it's free to play, and you can win real money!

So, make sure to sign up for this Saturdays Bet and Race event now!



Click to go to the Bet and Race tournament page

Oh, and here's the top ten list, with the amount of money they won.

#1 160.00€ - chaint
#2 80.00€ - InvictuS
#3 45.00€ - john
#4 35.00€ - Flitze09
#5 32.50€ - twofast23
#6 30.00€ - uzza
#7 27.50€ - S_MAX
#8 25.00€ - odin1000
#9 17.50€ - Fox84
#9 17.50€ - jimplug
#10 16.30€ - jasper
#10 16.30€ - ErwinT6

Hans

I told you last week that I ordered a smashing new TV. But, it hasn't arrived yet. I was sure it would be here today, but it isn't. So, it'd better be here tomorrow, or else I won't get it until Friday, and that would be seriously sucky.

To try and keep myself sane while waiting for this new toy of mine, I thought I'd offer you this schedule of mine. That way, you can also keep busy!

December 15th - December 31st
Eve til Eve

Eve til Eve keeps moving on, and it seems to be going crazy good. EVE made a huge climb on the charts, and I'm guessing it's a LOT thanks to the event. If you want to know what the buzz is all about, check it out! There's only a few days left, so hurry hurry hurry!


Wohoooo! EVE!


Now - December 31st
Pure Pwnage Video

Pure Pwnage, because it pwns.

Watch it.

Now.

Please?


Cool video ahead!

You guys have anything cool planned for new years eve?

Hans

I hope that all of you have had a nice holiday so far, and that you got many cool presents, in case you do stuff like that. I thought it was time for a fun video of the week to make things a bit more lively, so here it is!


Xfire video of the week -
bye idiot II by IVﮎŋáқěج




Grand Theft Auto IV just came out on PC a few weeks ago, and it's looking pretty awesome. I know quite a lot of people that loved it on console. And, since we're talking about cars, make sure you check out the Bet and Race event. You can win REAL MONEY, without having to pay anything.

Click for more info on Bet and Race

I'll probably be with a post during the weekend, just to rant a bit about some stuff that I'm interested in.

Hans

I've gone back to the Charts made as a picture this week. The new formatting stuff for the blogs is coming in January, but until then I'll just do it like this.

As you can see, it's a lively chart this time. I'll start by commenting on the obvious and very exciting star this week, EVE Online. It's gone from fighting over #20 to #7, and without a doubt it's a lot thanks to the event we are running right now. It just so happens that our stats guy is on vacation next week, so I'll analyze this a bit better then, but for now we'll just sit and watch. Can it possibly climb any higher?

Counter-Strike source managed to beat Call of Duty: World at War Multiplayer, which is a bit surprising. But, I guess that the three Call of Duty games in the top share a somewhat similar audience, and they probably only have that many hours to play.

Grand Theft Auto IV went straight to #9, which is quite impressive. The question is if it has reached as high as it will, or if more people will discover the game and boost it even higher. I guess the following weeks will be the judge of that. As far as dropping down the list, we have both Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty: World at War Singleplayer tumbling down five spots each, ending up at #13 and #17 respectively.

Oh, and by the way. Did I tell you all that I ordered a TV? It's a shiny 50" Panasonic Plasma, and I'm probably getting it early next week. So, expect me to be here a bit less during that time.

I'll be back tomorrow with this weeks video, and some other stuff. Look forward to it!

Hans

You all know what day it is, and many of us are celebrating Christmas right now. I was thinking about posting the Xfire charts today, but I think I'll do that tomorrow instead!

I just wanted to take this time to thank all of you for the year so far, and wish you all a very merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays to those of you that don't celebrate Christmas itself. I'm sure everyone at Xfire agrees when I say that all of you users are the best christmas present all of us at Xfire can get, and we are very happy to have you with us!




Take it easy, and take care of yourselves, your loved ones and all of your friends!

Hans

I talked a bit with my boss yesterday, and I heard that Saturdays Bet and Race event wasn't quite full.
I'm not sure if you can understand how chocked I was to hear this.. What sane person passes on free (YES. FREE.) money?

If you would have attended on Saturday, with this many attendees, you would have been guaranteed 10 Euros, and that's TEN Euros of real money. We're not talking about some sort of play money, it's real money, as in the kind you use to buy stuff with in real life. That's money you would have gotten, even if you had been eliminated in the first stage.

It's not like I really do care if you miss out on money, but I just think it's a bit of a shame, since we have the nice people from Bet and Race just giving away cash. I must assume that all of you had horrible emergencies to attend to, or that you were incapacitated due to excessive inhalation of Christmas spirit.

I seriously hope that you will all sign up for the race this Saturday, don't miss out on free money. Really!


Click to go to the Bet and Race tournament page

Oh, and here's the top ten list, with the amount of money they won.

#1 160.00€ - chaint
#2 80.00€ - MateAndor
#3 45.00€ - Fox84
#4 35.00€ - ErwinT6
#5 32.50€ - PamPush
#6 30.00€ - john
#7 27.50€ - uzza
#8 25.00€ - jasper
#9 17.50€ - MisterMist
#9 17.50€ - I0I
#10 16.30€ - odin1000
#10 16.30€ - 1aPCHilfe

Hans

As most of you know, christmas is just around the corner. But, being a real no-lifer, I'm still here writing this blog. I just found out my boss is heading to a very warm and awesome country for like two weeks. But, I'm stuck above the arctic circle, keeping you guys entertained!

But, I guess it could be worse. I could be getting some horrible tropical diseases in Zimbabwe, or whereever he was heading.

And, staying at home means I can buy a nice TV for my self (ordered a 50" Panasonic Plasma earlier today). So, it's not all bad. I'll be watching Hi-def porn for the rest of next year, while boss-man gets a tan for a few weeks.

Now that you know how I feel, Nicolas, I'll continue with the schedule.



December 15th - December 31st
Eve til Eve
As I told you last week, I think that EVE is one of the most awesome games of all time. The PVP action in that game is the most intense I've ever been a part of, and it's with fond memories that I think back on a small frigate strike crew that I was a part of. I think we managed to take out 5-6 curse mining battleships back in their home regions, worth about 1 billion in just a few hours of frig-ganking. And, if you have absolutely no idea of what I am talking about, you need to try EVE.



Wohoooo! EVE!


Now - December 31st
Pure Pwnage Video

The Pure Pwnage video is rly roflmao imo. Go bbfn and watch it. You won't regret it, promise.


Cool video ahead!

Oh, by the way, how about telling me what you are getting for christmas?

Hans