Archive for August, 2007
August 31st, 2007
August 30th, 2007
NCSoft’s Games Convention trailer for the upcoming MMORPG Aion: Tower of Eternity.
Aion, set within a mythic fantasy world, is a story about Divine Beings, in which the Angelic race and the Demonic race confront not only each other, but also a common threat, the Draconic race.
Game Features:
Mmm… Shrooms…
LOTRO Information Minister takes issue at the questioning of their statistical method of calculating LOTRO’s number 2 position as noted in the fine print of their press release.
Comparison data includes subscription-based MMORPG titles developed in North America based on reported data.
Soooo that means…
After our recent commentary on the LOTRO subscribers claims, Turbine’s new head of marketing had the following statement to say in response to the MMO blogging press lies, lies and more lies!
August 29th, 2007
With over 37 awards under their belt co-developers THQ and Relic of the award winning multiplayer RTS Company of Heroes are now setting their sites on expanding the game into MMO genre and into China by teaming up with Shanda Interactive.
Company of Heroes Online will be a completely persistent Company of Heroes campaign for where players will be able to build their character up from private to general through new multiplayer cooperative missions, gameplay modes, and PvP combat across the battlefields of World War II Europe.
Full details of THQ and Relics plans for the release of Company of Heroes Online outside of the China region have yet to be disclosed.
THQ and Shanda Announce Company of Heroes Online™
Hit Real-Time Strategy Game Slated for Online Release across China in 2008
2007-7-19
Agoura Hills, CA, and Shanghai, China, July 19, 2007 - THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) and Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited (NASDAQ: SNDA) today announced a co-development and publishing agreement for an online-only version of THQ’s critically acclaimed 3D Real-Time Strategy (RTS) PC game Company of Heroes™. Company of Heroes Online™ (working title) is currently being co-developed by THQ studio Relic Entertainment, the creators of Company of Heroes, and Shanda. As part of the agreement, Shanda has obtained the exclusive license to operate Company of Heroes Online in Mainland China, and THQ and Shanda will also share the benefits of the game’s potential release outside that region. Company of Heroes Online is scheduled for release across Mainland China in 2008.
The original Company of Heroes was released to broad critical acclaim in 2006. The game is set in World War II and brings to life the journey of the men of Able Company as they fight across Europe. The RTS hit has won more than 37 awards to date, including six “PC Game of the Year” and 12 “Strategy Game of the Year” awards. In addition, the game is listed in more than 10 “Top 10 Games of 2006″ lists. Company of Heroes Online is set to deliver a persistent Company of Heroes experience for online gamers where players will be able to build their character up from private to general through new multiplayer cooperative missions, gameplay modes, and player versus player combat. The teams at Relic Entertainment and Shanda are joining together to create a persistent RTS experience across the expansive battlefields of World War II Europe. more >>>
If you haven’t already gotten in the Tabula Rasa Beta, a limited number of keys are still available for registered GameSpot users (paid Total Access is NOT required) at the following page. We’re expecting NCSoft to release additional keys to other sites over the next couple weeks as well.
We highly recommend you try this game out for yourself prior to the retail launch, Tabula Rasa isn’t quite the slam dunk for MMORPG players as the Richard Garriott hype machine would lead you to believe. Player impressions among our team are pretty mixed along the lines of either love or hate. Mostly hate. 
Also for those that miss out we’ll be giving away our own TR beta keys on either the Shut Up We’re Talking Podcast.
Update: Shut Up We’re Talking Podcast will be giving away 2 of our spare beta keys on Show #8.
Haven’t torn yourself away from WoW to try playing a stupid fat hobbit? Turbine has just announced a free trial program that’ll give you 7 days to experience Middle Earth for yourself.
Plus you can be assured you’re playing the 2nd Most Popular MMORPG* According to Turbine marketing folks who have calculated their total number of alt characters, unsubcribed players’ characters, and we even suspect their counting the chickens too.
PLAY THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE FOR FREE!
Turbine launches 7-day Free Trial Program for the Hottest MMO of the Year
WESTWOOD, MA — August 29, 2007 — Turbine, Inc. has launched the official 7-day free trial of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (LOTRO). Beginning today, fans in North America, Australia and New Zealand can play the best online game for free by visiting http://trial.lotro.com/.
LOTRO has received critical acclaim from around the globe. Since its launch in April, LOTRO has quickly become the second largest MMORPG with an estimated 4 million characters calling Middle-earth their home. The game continues to grow with two massive updates that have increased the world by over 20%:
* 10,000,000 square meters of new landscape to explore
* Over 200 new quests that extend the epic story
* Introduction of Legendary Play where players can experience PvP as a powerful Ranger or a fearsome Troll
* New and updated features including the Reputation, Bartering and Music systems“We have surpassed our goal of combining the greatest fantasy of all time with a state-of-the-art online social experience,” said Jeffrey Anderson, CEO of Turbine, Inc. “And now we want everyone to have the opportunity to walk through the Shire, climb the Misty Mountains, fight with their own fellowship in the War of the Ring and fully experience the greatest fantasy of all time.”
Eligible fans can participate in The Lord of the Rings Online trial program and play the game for 7 days free of charge. At the end of the trial, players will have the option of continuing to play LOTRO, and to keep the characters created during their 7-day free trial time, by purchasing the game either online or at retail. To participate in the 7-day free trial or to find out where to buy LOTRO, visit http://trial.lotro.com/.
The Lord of the Rings Online delivers an interactive experience brimming with life and filled with the familiar people, places and monsters from the most beloved fantasy adventure of all time. From the quaint surroundings of the Shire to Angmar, the vile kingdom of the Witch-king, players will experience the world of Middle-earth as never before. The Lord of the Rings Online is available for purchase at major retailers across North America. For more information about The Lord of the Rings Online, please visit http://www.lotro.com/.
European’s wishing to live out their Tolkien fantasy online will need to go here for the Trial whenever CodeMaster’s updates the site…
Source: LOTRO.com
An brief interview was recently scored with Jeffrey Kaplan of Blizzard about their future plans where he had the following tidbit to say.
As far as working on another MMO project or a WoW 2, obviously as a company we’d be very interested in further exploring the MMO space”, World of Warcraft lead designer Jeffrey Kaplan revealed to CVG.
Kaplan said Blizzard doesn’t have “anything official” to talk about regards further MMO exploration currently, but he explained the developer is “definitely looking towards the future as well.
Not that there’s anything surprising to Kaplan’s statement or lack thereof, we already know Blizzard had been staffing up in preparation for developing another potential MMO. Besides, why kill off your money printing machine so soon when there’s plenty of level caps, quests, reputation grinds rewards, and raid dungeons to add in the next handful of expansions?
Source: CVG
August 28th, 2007
Tough news for our friends across the pond. Conservative Party leader David Cameron (Tony Blair 2.0?) is due to unveil a manifesto shortly which will include dealing with violent videogames as a part of his approach to dealing with Britain’s crime crisis.
Cameron had the following to say on the subject to the BBC:
“We are never going to deal with crime unless we look at the broader context and say ‘Yes, tough laws, strong action on police, but also action to strengthen our society.’”
“Videos accessible to young people which show extreme and callous violence would also be targeted to prevent the “coarsening effect on the ethical sensibility of young people”
“And that includes, I think, videogames and things like that where we do need to think of the context in which people are growing up.”
“Violent video games should be curbed, parents urged to be more responsible, and schools should be reformed”
Mr Cameron described Labour’s approach to crime as “one-dimensional”, instead of focussing on “broader” issues like… “Other options included prison ships and putting disused army camps into use as jails.”. You’ll definately need the extra room for all those violent sociopathic videogamers roaming the street buzzed out of their minds on Bawls and Mountain Dew after marathon FPS and MMO gaming sessions.
The Conservatives say “long-term generational change” is needed to fight crime - not a “knee-jerk” response. Surely by it not being a knee-jerk response they’re fully prepared to present scientific evidence to backup their claims of the coarsening effect of video games and media causing rampant crime to sweep through Britain? Or perhaps they should take a look back on their other uneducated and inspired policies such as the ban on guns that caused a gun related crime to double.
August 23rd, 2007
Part public service announcement, part me being sick of the damn Guild Wars box mocking me across the room as it sits there in its factory sealed box of instanced multiplayer suckage.
The game is completely instanced after you leave town. You can’t jump over a log, a rock, or a even small ledge. There’s so much contrast and bloom to the graphics you’ll go blind quicker than looking directly at the Sun. No auction house to waste hours upon hours in like WoW. Virtually zero character customization. Only 4 character slots.
How can any (mistakenly) claim this is an MMO without then making every other multiplayer title from Diablo on also qualify as “Massively Multiplayer Online” when they allow no more than a small party of players and in/out of game instanced towns and lobbies for matchmaking?
The Rules:
To enter simply reply in the comments with the line
-
“Guild Wars is NOT a MMO!”
… On second thought, any comment to back up your belief in this multiplayer game, just as long as you promise to never again claim Guild Wars is a MMO. Ever. I’ll be watching…
You may only enter this contest once. If you don’t win, we plan on having another VERY soon!
The randomly chosen winner (to be decided on September 28th) by myself (or another blogger from the MMO community) will win the above full retail copy of Guild Wars.
Contest Restrictions:
You must be a U.S. resident to claim the prize (ie. have the box shipped to you). Non-U.S. residents (Canadian’s too I s’pose..) may particpate for a yet to be named prize.
If the winner agrees that Guild Wars does indeed suck and is NOT an MMO, they may choose the alternative prize instead.
As announced back in June of 2007 SOE’s action packed Spy MMO The Agency is now being considered as a Free 2 Play title with a micro-transaction model allowing players to purchase in-game upgrades with real money instead.
At this week’s Leipzig Games Convention, the president of Sony Online Entertainment John Smedley held a talk on “Subscriptions vs Micro-transactions” in regards to MMO games. During the briefing, he indicated that Sony was looking at making their upcoming pc/ps3 spy-themed MMO a free play title, meaning there would be no subscription fee (unlike World of Warcraft). Instead, SOE would fund the title via micro-transactions and a ‘velvet-rope policy’ where certain area are only available if people pay for access.
Smedley acknowledged that consumers are used to the subscription based model (as is SOE, considering their long history of subscription based MMOs), but said that they “believe very strongly that this is the future of MMO gaming, but we also know that it is something that players have an issue with… There’s going to be an aftermarket, and we want to control it so that players don’t get duped into having something switched out from them.”
With increasing competition from larger MMORPG’s that are likely to give more bang for the buck than an action oriented MMO, this could very one of the smartest plays Smedley can make for The Agency.
While MMO gamers may want to try out a totally different MMO, it’s more likely they’d like to play one like The Agency while subscribed to a more traditional game like WoW. By keeping the barrier down with micro-transactions SOE can enable gamers to remain subscribed to another MMO while still playing and paying incrementally as they play The Agency on the side.
They’ve also got the PS3 console players to keep in mind for the Agency port that are even less likely to accept any type of monthly subscription.
The only question remaining will be just how hard will we get hit by the micro-transaction fee’s in comparison to a subscription MMO?
Source: PS3 Fanboy
Blizzard has announced they’ll be releasing the World of Warcraft Battle Chest collection in early October.
This package deal combines the DVD versions of World of Warcraft and the Burning Crusade expansion along with the BradyGames strategy guides for both titles all in one box. The retail price for the WoW Battle Chest will be $39.99, definately a great value for the poor SoB’s that haven’t already had the joy of playing the very MMORPG that coined the term poopsocking.
Source: World of Warcraft Site
August 22nd, 2007
That’s right folks, due to overwhelming reception by gamers to subscribe and play Sword of the New World, K2 Network’s has decided why not just give it all away gratis?
Joshua Hong, CEO and Founder of K2 Network. “We launched Sword of the New World as a Free2Play title - free to download, free to try, and free to play up to level 20. We are extremely excited about this title, especially with such gorgeous graphics and the ability to play up to three characters at once, but Free2Play up to level 20 just isn’t enough!
“Just isn’t enough!” .. funny I was thinking the same thing when I tried to force myself to review this game but couldn’t stand to stay logged in for more than 5 minutes at a time to plod around with the horrid interface and navigation.
Don’t even ask about the dialogue system with quest givers, or the horridly akward movement in-game. Now if only there was a decent MMORPG coming out that did the same thing and didn’t cause me to bash my head against the desk over the agonizing design choices K2 had made…
Before those of you with absolutely no taste in MMO’s, run off to play your “FREE” Asian MMORPG port, take note that K2 Networks is still quite happy to offer and expand upon the premium experience by keeping the Cash Merchant NPC alive, which happily dispenses rare and sought after items for purchase in-game with those very real world dollars.
I hear their next move if the “Free 2 Play” doesn’t work out is to go with a “Paid 2 Play” model and deposit a $1 into your Paypal account for each hour suffered spent in-game.
K2 NETWORK PUTS GAMERS FIRST BY MAKING SWORD OF THE NEW WORLD™: GRANADO ESPADA FREE2PLAY™
The Award-Winning MMORPG Will Celebrate Expanding Its Free2Play Model With Double Experience For All Players August 21-28!
IRVINE, Calif. - (August 22, 2007) - K2 Network, Inc. (www.k2network.net), an online game publisher, announced today that it has expanded its Free2Play model for the epic Age of Exploration MMORPG Sword of the New World: Granado Espada. The game is available for download in North America and Europe at www.swordofthenewworld.com. Sword of the New World initially launched as Free2play up to level 20, after which players purchased a monthly subscription to level characters beyond 20. All of that has changed, with no limitations on content, levels or areas to explore. For those players still seeking the premium experience, K2 has kept the Cash Merchant, which offers rare and sought after items to be purchased in-game.
“K2 Network’s Free2play model is the heart of our business,” said Joshua Hong, CEO and Founder of K2 Network. “We launched Sword of the New World as a Free2Play title - free to download, free to try, and free to play up to level 20. We are extremely excited about this title, especially with such gorgeous graphics and the ability to play up to three characters at once, but Free2Play up to level 20 just isn’t enough! At K2 Network, we put Gamers First, and thanks to the community supporting this game, we are now able to offer the same Free2Play model as all of our other titles. It’s Free2play all the way!”
August 21st, 2007
This is what happens when your corporate meeting is invaded by online gaming forum trolls (or ‘tools’). If my next developer meeting ends up like this, somebody kill me.. quickly.
Warning: [NSFW] (Language)
Credit goes to Kill Ten Rats, Lum, and Moorgard for all passing this video along.
Julian Eggebrecht, president of Factor 5 has a great editorial over at Eurogamer on how the ESRB handles rating games, or the lack thereof.
Julian Eggebrecht has said that games’ inability to include sexual content, satirical jokes and fantasy violence without degrees of censure are symptoms of a wider problem with ratings - and said that he didn’t feel the US Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) took the medium seriously as an artform.
Just how ludicrous is the ESRB rating system? You can’t get a teen rating with any display of splurting blood or chunks of organic material, yet you can set thousands of people on fire watching them run around in agony dying without a problem, just as long as you don’t have any visible blood…
Recent Comments