MMO Updates |
- Gods & Heroes sells Centurion helmet on Amazon
- GameSamba adding an offer wall
- 50 days of 'lulz' over: LulzSec disbands
- MV Guide: June 27 - July 3
- The Daily Grind: What payment model should mobile MMOs adopt?
- Perpetuum receives influx of EVE players
- Week in Review: Spaceships and superheroes
- EVE Evolved: The day that EVE Online died
- CCP issues brief mea culpa, EVE CSM to meet with devs
- One Shots: Kicking butt and making fireworks
- Rise and Shiny recap: City of Eternals
| Gods & Heroes sells Centurion helmet on Amazon Posted: 27 Jun 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Humor, Promotions  This "fully wearable" helmet is now available for pre-order on Amazon, although you'll have to be quick and lucky to get one, as there are only 200 available. It's described as having "a pronounced red plume and is made of heavy gauge high carbon steel complete with brass accents and fittings." No mention is made as to whether this would be useful in a real-life battle or not, so buyer beware if you're purchasing this in the hopes that it will protect you the next time you jump into your time machine and go back to the second century. Gods & Heroes launched last week, and Massively has you covered on all the details. Except your head. We do not cover your head.
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| GameSamba adding an offer wall Posted: 27 Jun 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  Today, Realms Online publisher GameSamba has announced its own offer wall, this time in concert with Guppy Media and Peanut Labs. GameSamba's press release says that the new deal "complements [our] existing partnership with Super Rewards, which not only provides free offers but also allows access to over 100 global payment methods." Super Rewards, Guppy Media, and Peanut Labs are advertising firms that pay GameSamba for leads, in effect exposing GameSamba customers to various third-party products that they might not otherwise be aware of via surveys, special offers, and the like. GameSamba, in turn, gives Sambas (the company's virtual currency) to those gamers who meet certain requirements relating to the third-party advertisers. You can learn more about the arrangement on the GameSamba forums.
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| 50 days of 'lulz' over: LulzSec disbands Posted: 27 Jun 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: EVE Online, Events, real-world, Legal, Miscellaneous  LulzSec sent out a final statement, which said the group was a band of six hackers who had planned 50 days of attacks from the beginning. Now that the time is up, the group plans to fade into the shadows. The group hopes that others will continue with these illegal activities: "Behind the mask, behind the insanity and mayhem, we truly believe in the AntiSec movement. We hope, wish, even beg, that the movement manifests itself into a revolution that can continue on without us." While a suspected member of LulzSec was arrested a few days ago, the organization denied that he was part of their collective.
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| Posted: 27 Jun 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Massively meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, MV Guide  Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of games to take a look at. During Livestream events, you can participate in the live chat to learn about the game, ask questions, and spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, Livestream events are subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's scheduled for this week! Continue reading MV Guide: June 27 - July 3
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| The Daily Grind: What payment model should mobile MMOs adopt? Posted: 27 Jun 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Culture, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind, Mobile, Miscellaneous  The problem is that gamers who might be OK with either subscriptions or microtransactions when it comes to MMOs on the big screen balk at treating these little screen versions the same way. The question is whether gamers will be more comfortable getting the first taste for free and paying small charges on top of that or signing up for a monthly fee and expecting subscription-level service thereafter. What do you think? If MMO studios are to make any money off the mobile market, how should they go about doing it? What would you be comfortable paying for a reasonably good game, assuming that you'd play a mobile title?  Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
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| Perpetuum receives influx of EVE players Posted: 26 Jun 2011 08:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Perpetuum  On the Perpetuum Online forum, developer BoyC alerted players to a server load problem and at the same time welcomed the influx of players that began 48 hours prior. A login limit had to be placed on the server to balance the load, and the increased number of players trying to access the game has even highlighted a bug in the relay servers to which players connect. "The sheer number of new players caught us by surprise," said DEV BoyC, "and we're working around the clock to accommodate each and every one of you." It's worth noting that EVE Online has in the past used the same strategy that Perpetuum is currently benefiting from. By providing the players of Earth and Beyond and Star Wars Galaxies with a similar alternative game, CCP drew in a huge number of players when those games rapidly shed customers. The shoe appears to be on the other foot this week as Perpetuum seems to be the closest alternative to EVE on the market. But will EVE players stick with Perpetuum? Will the game that's so often been called "EVE in Mechs" really hold their attention? That's the part we're most curious to find out.
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| Week in Review: Spaceships and superheroes Posted: 26 Jun 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Massively meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous  Nary a week goes by nowadays when we're not peppered with free-to-play announcements, but this week, F2P couldn't have happened to a better game. Paragon Studios announced that longtime superhero MMO City of Heroes will be taking the free-to-play path (one it's calling Freedom) come its next major issue release. In far sadder news, sandbox fans reeled at the announcement that Sony Online Entertainment's Star Wars Galaxies will be shutting down come the end of the year, an announcement that put something of a damper on the game's eighth birthday festivities. Meanwhile, in spite of the long-awaited Incarna expansion's deployment to EVE Online, residents of New Eden raised a ruckus over new "monoclegate" microtransactions and leaked corporate documents about CCP's vision for the game. Past the break, we'll take a peek at this week's other top MMO stories. Continue reading Week in Review: Spaceships and superheroes
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| EVE Evolved: The day that EVE Online died Posted: 26 Jun 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Business models, Culture, Events, in-game, Expansions, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, EVE Evolved  It didn't take long for people to realise that something was fundamentally wrong with the prices on the Noble Exchange. At around $40 for a basic shirt, $25 for boots, and $70 or more for the fabled monocle, items in the Noble Exchange were priced higher than their-real life counterparts. As players made some noise about the ridiculous prices, an internal CCP newsletter all about the company's microtransaction plans was purportedly leaked. In it, plans to sell ships, ammo, and faction standings for cash were revealed, plans that strictly contradict previous promises on gameplay-affecting microtransactions. Shortly afterward, all hell broke loose as a private internal memo from CCP CEO Hilmar was leaked to the press. In the past few days, I've been contacted by dozens (if not hundreds) of concerned EVE players who are afraid that the game they love is coming to an end. I've even been in contact with an insider who is scared of the risks CCP is taking with the jobs of over 600 employees in four countries, scared enough to leak internal documents and emails. In this week's colossal EVE Evolved, I delve into EVE's latest controversy and shed some light on the biggest community flashpoint since the T20 developer corruption scandal. Continue reading EVE Evolved: The day that EVE Online died
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| CCP issues brief mea culpa, EVE CSM to meet with devs Posted: 26 Jun 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Dev Diaries  Zulu chalks up the confrontational tone of the previous post to the stresses surrounding CCP's recent data leaks and also advises fans that the company is flying the Council of Stellar Management to Iceland for meetings on June 30th and July 1st. More importantly for players chaffed by CCP's assumed about-face regarding game-altering microtransactions, Zulu finally answers the burning question regarding whether or not EVE Online will eventually see pay-to-win cash shop items. "There are not and never have been plans to sell 'gold ammo' for Aurum," Zulu writes, alluding to fan reactions to the Fearless newsletter leak. While CCP certainly isn't out of the woods yet with regard to this public relations nightmare, the fact that the company is acknowledging a serious breach of customer trust, coupled with the "no gold ammo" quote, seems to be having a calming effect on the community as it waits for details to emerge from next week's emergency CSM summit.
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| One Shots: Kicking butt and making fireworks Posted: 26 Jun 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Super-hero, Galleries, Screenshots, City of Heroes, City of Villains, One Shots  I'm thrilled about the changes coming to City of Heroes with Freedom! Here's a screenshot of a few guildies of mine as we tackled an Incarnate mission a month or so ago. It's pretty impressive how well the graphics (especially the particle effects) hold up so well after all this time. With the right combination of characters and colorful, splashy powersets, even minor battles look cataclysmic.We hope you enjoyed Massively staff week on One Shots -- are you ready for gear week? Break out your most impressive weapon or your flashiest armor, snap a screenshot, and send it in so we can share your awesomeness (it's a word!) with all of Massively! The week after that is pet week, and we can't wait to see your favorite pet companions and hear all about them. Just send a screenshot to oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a paragraph or two telling us about what we're seeing!
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| Rise and Shiny recap: City of Eternals Posted: 26 Jun 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Betas, Screenshots, Opinion, Hands-on, Humor, Rise and Shiny, Livestream  But there's just something about the skinny-jean, pleather-wearing vampire scene that I cannot stand. My wife is into True Blood, the campy, vamp-heavy, naked-people festival that shows on the HBO network, but at least the show has fun with it and builds up interesting characters. City of Eternals seems to be stuck in that cheesier area of vampire fandom, though. Still, I played it over the last week and started to enjoy it a bit, for a few different reasons. Click past the cut and I'll tell you about it. Continue reading Rise and Shiny recap: City of Eternals
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