Gamers were greeted by an unexpected surprise as they opened their copies of Battlefield 2142 to find a disclaimer that the user's computer would be monitored for advertising data and that the user should "not install or play the software on any platform that is used to connect to the Internet" if they do not wish to be monitored. Of course, this is not possible since Battlefield 2142 is an online game.

EA has since responded to the public criticism:

"The advertising program in Battlefield 2142 does not access any files which are not directly related to the game. It does not capture personal data such as cookies, account login detail, or surfing history.

BF 2142 delivers ads by region. The advertising system uses a player's IP address to determine the region of the player, assisting to serve the appropriate ads by region and language. For instance, a player in Paris might be presented with ads in French. The information collected will not be repurposed for other uses.

Battlefield 2142 also tracks "impression data" related to in-game advertisements: location of a billboard in the game, brand advertised, duration of advertisement impression, etc. This information is used to help advertisers qualify the reach of a given advertisement."

However, many gamers remain upset, believing the game, set in the future, is tarnished by ads of today. Others decry the game as "adware" or "spyware." Shares of Battlefield 2142 declined -2.12 DKP (-3.93%).

Today, Microsoft announced its next generation Xbox 360 console has sold over 6 million units worldwide. Shares of Xbox 360 rose +69.24 DKP (+2.00%) in response to the console's successful first year. Short-term risk continues with the introduction of Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 to add competition for this holiday season. With the lack of Halo 3 to take attention off the PS3 for the holidays, the Xbox 360 may have to look to the lack of PS3 supply to divert customers its way. The existing install base for multiplayer gaming on Xbox Live should also help as gamers may wait for the online multiplayer user base to mature before picking up competing consoles.

Bugs causing unexpected behavior when placing market makers have been fixed. These bugs included shorting a stock and receiving an abnormally high price and executions at 0.00 price and 0 quantity.

Awards for reaching certain benchmarks have been implemented. The award for reaching Trade Benchmark 1, trading 500,000 DKP worth of stock, is 10,000 DKP. The award for reaching Content Benchmark 1, submitting 5 legitimate content, is also 10,000 DKP. Equivalent awards are made to referrers when their invited friends reach these benchmarks.

You can view the benchmarks you have completed on the new Achievements page.

Based on user feedback, the homepage has a new look and features additional information. You can now see the most recent IPO stock, headlines, and exchange news. Headlines are news stories regarding stocks, much like you would find from Reuters. Exchange news are stories regarding new developments with the simExchange.

Clicking on the Stocks tab will no longer bring you to the homepage as many users have complained it is not very useful for repeat views. Instead, clicking on the Stocks tab will now load your Watch List so that you can quickly access all the stocks in which you are interested.

World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (PC) shares were down 20.06 DKP (-3.92%) this afternoon following Blizzard's announcement that the expansion to its blockbuster MMORPG is indeed delayed. Rumors had emerged on various websites around the world in the past few days. Although for most games, missing the critical holiday sales period is devastating, many argue that those who would buy the expansion are going to purchase the update regardless of the delay. However, this holiday season is special in that many competing attractions may draw gamers away from their WoW addiction.

Gamers may pause their WoW accounts for the new Nintendo Wii or Sony PlayStation 3 (if they can get one). Additionally, the Xbox 360 is expected to make a much larger impact this holiday than last year in drawing gamers to new content. If these diversions are sufficiently addicting, WoW players may move on from WoW come January 2007.

It is always important to ensure that a new shrink-wrapped product is well polished before hitting shelves. According to today's press release by Blizzard, Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment said, “We feel confident that the extra time spent polishing the game will result in the high-quality experience that our players expect and deserve." This is a must level of quality for every new game and may encourage many WoW fans to wait. However, games like WoW continue to be popular because they are renewed quite often with new content to challenge players and expand their experience.

The WoW: BC expansion is different from most games in that it is an expansion of content and WoW players have become accustomed to new content additions and the bugs that may come with them. A recent patch that cross-linked the game's PVP Battlegrounds had its share of bugs but were resolved in the weeks following the release. It may make sense to release content in a more consistent and timely matter to keep players interested while working out all the potential problems discovered in large scale adoption in the conversion period.

The Order Status and Watchlist pages now update automatically (3 second clock). The System Messages box now indicates when an order is cancelled from the Order Status page and when a game is removed from the Watch List. Cancelled limit orders will now move from the Open Orders to Cancelled Orders table without manual refresh. When an order is filled, it will also move from the Open Orders to Filled orders table without manual refresh. Games removed from the Watch List will drop off the page without a manual refresh.

The simExchange beta is now open to friends and family of testers. Under the Community Tab, you will find a refer a friend link on the sidebar. All you have to do is fill out the form and submit. Your friend will receive an email with a custom link to create a new account for the beta test. By clicking on the link, your friend will be directed to a simple web form to create an account. After submitting the form, your friend will have to confirm the account by clicking a link on an automated follow-up email. Once your friend has confirmed, he or she will be ready to trade and your account will be deposited with a 5,000 DKP referral bonus. Eventually, you will receive additional bonuses when your friend meets a certain benchmark level of trading and content submitting. Please try out this feature and report any problems you or your friends have. Thanks!

Market Orders (orders placed in Basic Trading mode that only require quantity) can no longer exceed the currently available quantity of shares. If you want additional shares, please wait for the Order Book to update with the current market price and available shares.

Following user demand, the System Messages window now provides estimates of purchase cost and sale proceeds. Simply enter the order quantity in Basic Trading mode to get a live estimate. Estimates are limited to the available shares for purchase or sale. In Advanced Trading mode, you must enter both the price and quantity of your order for an estimate.