Playing World of Warcraft on the iPhone?
A new and fairly convincing video has appeared on YouTube showing WoW being played on an iPhone.
There have been many fake videos and rumours on the net in the past about WoW becoming available to play on a phone, but what sets this latest claim out from the rest is that the software being used in the video is made by the people that brought Second Life to the 3G mobile phone, Vollee.
Vollee’s technology allows the streaming of PC games to mobiles over 3G networks and Wi-Fi. The client for popular MMO Second Life was announced last year, sparking speculation over whether they would be able to make a similar client for WoW. Although Blizzard has not been connected with Vollee directly, Vollee had announced a relationship with Activision, who later merged with Blizzard.
To further confuse matters, the video in question was removed from YouTube over the weekend after receiving over 41,000 views. More interestingly however, Vollee’s website is completely down. We had a look around and found a video (seen after the break) that shows the original demonstration with commentary over the top. The commentator describes the Vollee client as a likely ‘Jailbreak App’, which means it only works on phones that have been altered from their original state, allowing unauthorised programs to run on them. The video itself (copied version) appears genuine; many videos like this in the past are simply a recording with the demonstrator performing movements and clicks at the right moment to appear as if he is working the application, when it is in fact just a playback. This clip is over four minutes long though, a tricky prospect for anyone hoping to remember that many moves. The smart UI and the operation also give it more credibility. The response time and quality of the image are believable for such a device, meaning that simple actions such as checking auctions in the in-game auction house, checking mail and basic combat are all possible; tasks people may want to do when away from their computers.
We contacted Blizzard to see if this might be an early version of something they are working on with Vollee or another hoax but unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, they refused to comment. We’ll be keeping our eye on this though, so check back for updates.
