CCP CEO: "I was wrong and I admit it"
Hilmar Pétersson issues heartfelt apology to Eve Online players and focuses on "restoring trust and moving forward."
Hilmar Pétersson issues heartfelt apology to Eve Online players and focuses on "restoring trust and moving forward."
Free Realms is now available on the European PlayStation Network, Sony Online Entertainment has announced. The family-friendly, free-to-play MMOG was released in 2009 for PC and last year for Mac, and has been available on the US PlayStation Store since March. It is the second SOE MMOG to hit PSN, following the release of DC Universe Online in January. More >
Over a million players have registered for browser MMOG Drakensang Online, publisher Bigpoint Games has announced. The milestone has been reached in less than two months and despite the fact that Drakensang Online is still in beta. With one update already launched, Bigpoint says it continues to add more content to the game, with PvP features imminent and more in the pipeline. More >
Glitch, a browser-based MMOG by Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield's Tiny Speck studio, has officially launched. The game belatedly entered beta in April - Tiny Speck had originally intended to begin public testing last year but was forced to keep Glitch in alpha while numerous kinks were ironed out - and, in July, the studio enlisted the services of Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi. More >
World Of Warcraft has been translated into its tenth language, Brazilian Portuguese, publisher Blizzard has announced. The language pack, which will be a free download to existing players, will also see a fully localised retail release in Europe. The official World Of Warcraft website will also be available in Brazilian Portuguese, as will the game's second and third expansions, Wrath Of The Lich King and Cataclysm. More >
Long-running Interplay dispute continues as judge denies publisher's request for a restraining order against co-developer Masthead.
Star Wars: The Old Republic will be released on December 20 in North America and December 22 in Europe, publisher EA has announced. More >
In a post on the Eve Insider Dev Blog, senior producer Arnar Hrafn Gylfason cuts a contrite figure as he assures disgruntled Eve Online players that CCP has listened to their concerns about the direction the game has taken in recent months, and will reveal its response in the weeks to come. More >
Sony Online Entertainment has told IGN that is to restructure its PC and PlayStation 3 MMOG DC Universe Online to make the game free to play. The new, three-tier structure gives those that play for free just two character slots, though more can be unlocked through microtransactions. Those who have spent a minimum of $5 in the game in the past - either through microtransactions or subscription fees - will be Premium players, with access to more character slots and a higher cash limit. The third tier, Legendary, comes at a monthly cost of $14.99, and among other benefits will give players all future DLC packs for free. Executive producer Lorin Jameson said: "We are really seeing the benefits of free-to-play, and we're really liking it. Needless to say we're paying close attention to it and maybe looking to make some surprise moves a little later."
Research conducted by IHS Screen Digest suggests subscription revenue generated by online PC games in the US and Europe dropped for “the first time” in 2010. Subscription revenue amounted to $1.58 billion last year, down five per cent from 2009, and is expected to fall annually to $1.33 billion in 2015. “The 2010 decline in subscription revenue - the first annual contraction experienced by the market since our coverage of this segment started in 2002 - represents an inflection point for the industry,” said Piers Harding-Rolls, senior analyst and head of games at IHS. “The focus of many PC game operators has clearly shifted to microtransaction-based models.” US and European microtransaction revenue leapt 24.2 per cent in 2010 and is expected to hit $1.8 billion in 2015. “This more than compensated for the decline in the subscription area and caused total Western MMOG/MOG market revenue - both subscriptions and microtransactions - to rise to $2.7 billion in 2010,” up 5.3 per cent from 2009, said Harding-Rolls The figure represents a 9.6 per cent share of the $31 billion spent in the West on all games content last year, according to IHS.
Industry veterans and proven MMOG specialists.
The developer initially said it would not allow same-sex relationships in its upcoming Star Wars MMOG, The Old Republic, but has since relaxed its stance. A post on the game's official forum reads: "Due to the design constraints of a fully voiced MMOG of this scale and size, many choices had to be made as to the launch and post-launch feature set. Same-gender romances with companion characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic will be a post-launch feature."
2European gamers eagerly refreshing their email inboxes in the hope of receiving an invitation to The Old Republic beta will be doing so for a while, after BioWare's Chris Collins said the studio had decided to wait for a new build of the Star Wars MMOG before sending out the invitations. Collins said that asking European players to download a 27GB client, then a few days later wipe their progress and ask them to download the client all over again was "not an experience we want new testers to be exposed to...You have my word that this batch of invites will happen, it may just mean you have to wait a little longer."
Player-elected council chairman slams developer's "folly and neglect" following controversial Incarna update.
5Chief games officer Philip Reisberger on creativity versus cash in the free-to-play game market.
8With the recent rush of MMOGs switching to the free-to-play model it's little surprise that Star Trek Online is also getting in on the act: Chinese company The Perfect World, which acquired STO developer Cryptic Studios in May, is a free-to-play specialist. Kelvin Lau, CFO, said on an earnings call: "When Perfect World acquired Cryptic, one of our contributions was to share our free-to-play experience. Cryptic is working on the free-to-play model for Star Trek Online…to be launched by the end of this year."
Users can now sign up for the first beta phase of Funcom's upcoming MMOG The Secret World. Players can choose between one of three secret societies - Templar, Illuminati, and Dragon - and Funcom is also asking that existing members of the game's community sign up again to ensure their partication in phase two of the beta, which will add social features, including a "web-based community game." To register, follow the source link below.
Carbine Studios' new MMOG unveiled - and playable - at Gamescom in Cologne.
Funcom, operators of fantasy MMOG Age Of Conan, has reaped instant dividends from last month's switch to a hybrid free-to-play model. Revenues have doubled, player volumes have quadrupled, and the firm reports 300,000 new signups and a "positive development" in subscriber numbers. "The launch of the hybrid business model has been very successful so far," said Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. "This definitely gives us great hope for the game's future."
Nerd rage, frightened dwarves and the death of gamers - another day on the internet.