Halo Wars - The Game That is About to Take the World by Storm

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past five years, you know all about the Halo franchise of games. Halo 1 propelled the original Xbox onto the scene as a major competitor to PlayStation 2 and put a whole new spin on first person shooters. Halo 2 builds upon the foundation of Halo 1, expanding gameplay, improving graphics, and continuing the story of Master Chief and the battle for civilization. Halo 3 was the flagship game for Xbox 360, grossing nearly $200 million in sales on the first day it was released and has now sold over 8 million copies.

And now comes Halo wars. The latest game from Bungee and Ensemble Studios is expected to hit the shelves in late 2008 or early 2009 with much anticipation.

Why Halo Wars, and not Halo 4? Well Halo Wars is a patently different game than its predecessors. While the first three Halo games were first-person shooters, having you take on the role of Master chief, Halo Wars is a game of real-time strategy. Think traditional first-person shooter meets World of Warcraft. Needless to say, the overall gaming experience is going to be a lot different with Halo Wars. You'll be able to control and command armies, send them to do battle, or protect your bases.

Will all the die hard Halo fans be receptive to this new type of game? I think it is safe to say most of them will at least give it a shot, as all the familiar characters and vehicles will be featured in Halo Wars, such as scorpion tanks, UNSC Marines, and the Warthog. Expect some new, unfamiliar character as well.

The developers of Halo wars are trying to garner a new set of gaming fans, those who may be hardcore into real-time strategy games like Starcraft or World of Warcraft. It may be difficult to win over these fans, as there are already a couple of well established real-time strategy franchises that have a very devoted fan base. Nonetheless, with the popularity of previous Halo games, many of these fans are likely to be intrigued by halo wars. The designers know this and are going out of their way to make a Halo Wars the most talked about strategy game of the year.

While we all wait in anticipation of the game's release, there is not much we can do other than speculate about the ins-and-outs of Halo Wars. The good news is, Ensemble Studios has released a Halo Wars gameplay video to give you an idea of the games action. It's not much, but it will holdover the hard-core fans until we can play the game ourselves.

Chris is video game-a-holic and avid Halo fan. For reading his article, he would like to offer you a free copy of Halo Wars at http://www.myincentiverewards.com/?p=11

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Downloadable Nintendo Wii Video Games

The Nintendo Wii has indeed exceeded expectations of video gamers, not least those who were actually making fun of it, mocking urination with the sound of its name when it first came onto the scene. Today, it is a symbol of being up with Joneses, thanks mainly to the video gaming revolution that it has brought forth through Nintendo Wii Games.

Riding on the crest of the wave, new Wii games are being churned out thick and fast. In addition to the brick-and-mortar retailing outlets of physical discs, Downloadable Nintendo Wii Video Games over the internet has also caught on strongly. This mode of acquiring Video Games is popular because it's faster, easier and much more affordable.

As with other digital products, video games targeting the tech-savvy market have to be inherently downloadable. Currently, they can be downloaded from various sources: Nintendo Virtual Console on Online Shop Channel, numerous peer-to-peer (P2P) torrent sites and professional third-party games download service providers.

Wii Virtual Console is the most bona-fide of all the online options. It's the answer to those who are not up to the fuss and fun of physical shopping. That way, it saves time and gasoline too. The product is digital so it never runs out of stock either. The perennial disappointment is that its pricing remains prohibitive.

If cost is the foremost consideration, Wii video games can be found free-of-charge on plenty of peer-to-peer (P2P) torrent sites but people are generally well-advised to steer clear of them unless they're willing to contend with the viruses, malware and identity theft. The downloading process is also often glitch-ridden.

Wii download service providers make the most sense for avid gamers and not without reasons either. For a one-time subscription fee, you get access to unlimited media, inclusive but not limited to, Wii video games for a lifetime with all the works of 24/7 support, service and money-back guarantee thrown in. What more can we ask?

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Why Hasn't Customer Service Improved Despite the Profusion of Databases and Technology?

Let's not get confused here.

Databases and technology are tools that we can use in our businesses. There has been a lot of emphasis on Customer Relationship Management recently which is very much about using this technology. But what has this got to do with customer service? Absolutely nothing. Not unless the people running that business are motivated and passionate enough to use that information in the right way.

I see fabulous examples of customer service from all over the world. And the amazing thing is that, in most cases, it comes from businesses that have no technology. Little shops and restaurants, taxi drivers, libraries, one person businesses. They have found a way to dazzle and delight their customers that has nothing whatsoever to do with technology.
And yet the larger businesses put so much emphasis on technology. "Let's profile our customers. Let's monitor their spending patterns. Let's change the layout of our shop so that they spend more. Let's give them reward points."

This is not customer service. This is a misguided attempt to increase sales without understanding that customer service is about dealing with people. We buy from people we like. We want to fall in love with the businesses that we buy from. And love doesn't come from databases.

My research into literally hundreds of businesses has identified a number of key elements that I believe combine to create a great service experience. They are like pieces of a jigsaw; the more that you can assemble the clearer the picture becomes. But let me tell you about just three of them. The three that I think are the most important.

The first is communication. How do we communicate with our customers? And I don't mean email or letter or telephone. What I mean is, do we really make an effort to get on side with our customer? Do we look at things from our customers point of view? Do we understand all the things that our customer is feeling, seeing, hearing, tasting and smelling? Do we communicate in ways that our customer understands? And do we listen? Really listen?

The second is systems. I don't mean computer or technology systems. Just simple systems. How do we do things? How we treat our customers? Think about all the businesses that you have ever worked in. Did any one of them ever say to you on your very first day, "This is how we treat our customers here"? More likely they probably said, "This is how you take the money. This is how you chase up payments. This is how you operate the computer". Most employees do what they think is expected of them.

The third element is leadership. There is a direct correlation between strength of leadership and the amount of extra effort that people put into serving customers. Great leaders understand their internal customers - their employees. They understand what motivates them, what inspires them, what pleasure they can get from giving great service.
Great leaders also understand what huge benefits customer loyalty brings. The very best customer service businesses don't need to advertise. They don't lose customers and they get huge numbers of referrals.

Business leaders in the UK need to wake up to the fact that the best technology will not replace simple human understanding. The greatest database will not replace some basic customer service training. I worry that UK leaders are simply too reserved and too conservative to ever fully grasp this issue. We dismiss as "too American" anything that appears to break the rules. "Have a nice day" might not be for us. But understanding how to make our customers smile would be a huge step forward.

Derek Williams is creator of The WOW! Awards an International Professional Speaker and Chief Executive for the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Europe.

For more information about Derek Williams visit http://www.MrWow.co.uk For The WOW! Awards (including access to a FREE customer service newsletter) visit http://www.TheWowAwards.com

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How To Download Wii Games Online

By now, few gaming fanatics wound argue that the Wii is not the game console of choice. Wii parties and get-togethers are commonplace these days as Wii communities proliferate. That's not surprising, given that the Wii is really home entertainment, relaxation and exercise rolled into one. In fact, if there was to be anything at all that's thorny about Wii, it would have to be the cost of its game discs.

New games keep getting better but they are not getting cheaper unless of course, there is an alternative source to turn to. As a matter of fact, there is. Being a digital product, it comes as no surprise that it would have a surrounding commercial presence on the net. People are quick to jump on the business opportunity and it did not take long for Wii Games Download service providers to sprout up all over the web. How to Download Wii Games then?

How to Download Wii Games can be done for nothing (FOC) through peer-to-peer (P2P) or torrent sites. This, however, is a no-no with serious Wii fanciers in view of viruses and malware. The process and quality often leaves a lot to be desired too. Paid membership download service is a much better proposition. For a nominal outlay, you get complete peace of mind.

There are different packages of paid membership to suit individual needs and preference. Per-download or limited-time options make more economic sense for the occasional gamers but they are few and far between. Wii-rockers are predominantly fanatical about their favorite gizmo and can't have enough of it. Lifetime unlimited membership is hence the no-brainer choice and is by far the most popular option.

Unlike the per-download scheme, unlimited downloads are virtually free-of-charge. The one-time fee goes more towards the sign-up and purchase of the software and tools. Along with the games download, unlimited TV shows, movies and music are accessible. The market rate of the one-time fee charged by the top-tier providers is not much more than what you would pay for a single disc from the store.

Actually, How to Download Wii Games is the easy part. The trick is in picking out the right provider. The Wii market is hot so scams and fly-by-nights' are lurking everywhere. Don't settle for anything without full money-back guarantee and 24/7 support and one way to be insulated from identity theft is to shop only in secure e-commerce marketplaces like Clickbank.

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