MMO Updates |
- League of Legends boasts 15 million registered players
- Wargaming.net opens European office
- New Age of Empires Online monthly content updates in the works
- RuneScape launches Clan Citadels
- Free Realms producer letter talks new farming content
- Fallen Earth subscriber appreciation gifts detailed
- The Daily Grind: What classic console game would you like to see made into an MMO?
- Battlestar Galactica Online unveils new Brimir Class Carrier
- BioWare hopes SWTOR lasts for decades
- Lost Pages of Taborea: What could have been
- Chinese couple sell their kids to pay for online gaming
- One Shots: Give me a piggyback ride!
- Fan Faire videos show off new EverQuest II tradeskill goodies
- Wings Over Atreia: Rant powers activate!
- Flameseeker Chronicles: Brace for the flood or get out of the way?
| League of Legends boasts 15 million registered players Posted: 26 Jul 2011 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  In a new press release published this morning, Riot Games touts everything from its peak concurrency numbers (500,000), to its daily player totals (1.4 million), to the headline-grabbing registered players figure. While those numbers are quite impressive, Riot doesn't stop there. "An average of ten games of LoL start every second of every day," the company says, before adding that "gamers spend 3.7 million hours in-game [...] every day." The title's first season of competitive play is coming to a close, and Riot CEO Brandon Beck has a hearty thank you in store for the title's faithful. "We're committed to continuing to match their dedication with our relentless focus on ongoing enhancements to the player experience with great new features, content, and polish - and we have some very exciting surprises in store just around the corner," he says.
|
| Wargaming.net opens European office Posted: 26 Jul 2011 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Real life, Business models, MMO industry, News items, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks  In short, a new European branch is opening, and the facility will boast "more than 40 professionals" who will handle Wargaming.net's PR, marketing, community, and support logistics. The company, which originally formed in Belarus, has tapped Frederic Menou to oversee its new European office which is located in Paris, France. Menou was formerly the managing director at Blizzard Entertainment Europe. "We are not a small company, we are becoming a global player," Menou says. "There's nothing that can hinder us from becoming the best company in the industry."
|
| New Age of Empires Online monthly content updates in the works Posted: 26 Jul 2011 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Historical, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, MMORTS  Said expanding will take the form of two new civilizations and a new booster pack that will be added to the game by the end of 2011. First up is the Celtic civilization, and these masters of metalwork and crafting will help you earn new gear and rewards. Next are the Persians, and players will take control of units including Immortals, mounted archers, and attack elephants. Finally, the Skirmish Hall booster pack allows players to control the battlefield by customizing their starting age, forces, resources, difficulty levels, and the number of enemies.
|
| RuneScape launches Clan Citadels Posted: 26 Jul 2011 08:30 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Guilds, PvP, RuneScape, Free-to-play  If you're one of RuneScape's legions of players, you might be waking up to just that sight today. Jagex's golden child has released its Clan Citadel update, and with it the ability to move into one of these sky castles. Just pray that the anti-gravity generators don't fail. Clan Citadels are meant to be a pumped-up version of other MMOs' guild halls, a place where clans can congregate and party when not slaughtering everything in sight. There are four variants of castles, each of which can be customized to your heart's content and upgraded through seven tiers. These citadels aren't just for show, but for hardcore use: Each comes with a battleground editor that allows you and your clan to create a tailored combat scenario, including capture-the-flag, to compete with other clans. RuneScape VP Daniel Clough says that this will make the game the toast of the town: "We have been looking for a unique and innovative way to provide new multiplayer features to the game, and we are hugely excited to see what the community makes of this update."
|
| Free Realms producer letter talks new farming content Posted: 26 Jul 2011 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Free Realms, Kids, Family  Burgess also drops a hint about future Free Realms updates (including ranching), and promises a quick turnaround on June, July, and August membership packs. The producer assignment marks Burgess' second go-round with Free Realms, as he also served as a designer on the title at an earlier point in his 10-year SOE career.
|
| Fallen Earth subscriber appreciation gifts detailed Posted: 26 Jul 2011 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic  Fancy white boots, hats, and jackets are the order of the day, so if you've ever had the urge to dress your clone like a pimp or an extra from the Matrix, now's the time. The devs are giving away some pretty cool pets as well, and you'll take home a skin dog, a chupacabra, and an old creeper if you stay subbed for all three months. Subscribers "won't have to buy these or do anything out of the ordinary to get them; they will gravitate towards you like mosquitoes to freshly exposed skin," says the Fallen Earth website. It's also worth noting that these gifts are not part of the veteran rewards system which Icarus says will be taking effect when the free-to-play transition is complete.
|
| The Daily Grind: What classic console game would you like to see made into an MMO? Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Consoles  A weekend of classic gaming ensued, and as is typical, I set about imagining which old console favorites might make for worthwhile transitions into the realm of the MMORPG. Thus far the Final Fantasy franchise is the most noteworthy console property to make the jump, but there are others -- from multiple platforms -- that would likely make for appealing massively multiplayer settings as well as trigger the nostalgia meter in many an older gamer. Today's Daily Grind is all about your favorite classic console titles. Specifically, which game(s) would you like to see made into an MMO?  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!
|
| Battlestar Galactica Online unveils new Brimir Class Carrier Posted: 25 Jul 2011 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, News items, Free-to-play, Battlestar Galactica Online  Bigpoint Games has announced that Battlestar Galactica Online will be welcoming a new addition to its fleet of ships this fall. The new arrival comes in the form of the Brimir Class Carrier, a rather hefty tier 4 ship. The ship is a relic of earlier Colonial designs, most of which were eventually replaced by Battlestars. The Carrier, however, brings its own unique surprises to the table. Its heavy armor allows the Brimir Class Carrier to survive enemy onslaughts while it deploys squadrons of strike craft to overwhelm opposing ships. Whether these strike craft will be controlled by AI or players is to be determined, but players will be able to send their strike craft after specific targets. The novel fleet support vessel will be available for purchase with cubits (in-game currency that can be earned via gameplay or bought with cash) coming this fall.
|
| BioWare hopes SWTOR lasts for decades Posted: 25 Jul 2011 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic  "And our goal -- this being an online game that we're hoping is going to last for decades -- we're going to be, obviously, adding more to the galaxy map as the game progresses," he said. Ohlen went on to say that BioWare plans to add lots of content over the game's lifespan. "In 2025, we'll hopefully have 500 worlds," he remarked. Star Wars: The Old Republic officially unveiled its pre-order packages last week, and the game is expected to release before the end of 2011.
|
| Lost Pages of Taborea: What could have been Posted: 25 Jul 2011 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, Free-to-play, Runes of Magic, Lost Pages of Taborea  Runes of Magic had some different features planned that were never implemented. Tile-dungeons, a streaming client and party-spells are a few of these features left on the cutting-room floor. In this week's Lost Pages of Taborea, I want to insert a titular line and look at what could have been. Continue reading Lost Pages of Taborea: What could have been
|
| Chinese couple sell their kids to pay for online gaming Posted: 25 Jul 2011 03:00 PM PDT Filed under: Culture, News items  Li Lin and Li Juan sold their baby daughter for approximately $500 as well as two sons for $4,600 each. The Sanxiang City News reported that the couple were turned over to authorities by Li Lin's mother. The newspaper also stated that the couple were unaware that they were breaking any laws, and said that "we don't want to raise them, we just want to sell them for some money."
|
| One Shots: Give me a piggyback ride! Posted: 25 Jul 2011 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Galleries, Screenshots, Free-to-play, One Shots, All Points Bulletin, Crime  We thought it was pretty funny moment, since that guy floating in the air wouldn't despawn, so we thought we'd have a little fun! ;) This is a screenshot with some of the members of the Phenomenal Gaming clan on the server EU1 Obeya!Thanks to Massively reader Mads for that shot. Would you like to join him in the annals of One Shots fame? Pick you favorite screenshot, be it funny, attractive, scary, or any brand of epic, and send it to us at oneshots@massively.com. Include your name, the name of the game, and a little description of the image, and we'll feature it here on Massively!
|
| Fan Faire videos show off new EverQuest II tradeskill goodies Posted: 25 Jul 2011 01:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, EverQuest II, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play  EQ2Wire released its latest dev panel videos over the weekend, with a focus on tradeskills and housing as well as a lengthy question-and-answer session. The tradeskill and housing panel introduced a couple of upcoming prestige homes, the house rating system scheduled to go live with GU61, tradeskill apprentices, and a new Frostfell group crafting instance. The Q&A panel covered a huge range of topics, and rather than try and summarize them all here, we'll direct you to the transcript at EQ2Wire as well as the videos embedded after the cut. Continue reading Fan Faire videos show off new EverQuest II tradeskill goodies
|
| Wings Over Atreia: Rant powers activate! Posted: 25 Jul 2011 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Game mechanics, Opinion, Wings Over Atreia  I freely admit that I rarely reach the heights of true frustration within Aion (not counting launch queues where I simply chose to stop logging in altogether), especially to the point of actually tossing aside another column to express and share said frustrations with you. But now, you have a second opportunity to witness my small yet developing rant lobe -- placed, I believe, somewhere behind the occipital lobe judging by the fact that when it revs up people tend to see red. And the truth of it is, I am going to derive great pleasure from venting about this topic. So what has me so fired up right now? The venerable AP harvesting grounds of the truly lazy: AFK Dredgions. Queue up then enter past the break for a discourse on the evils of this practice and what NCsoft should do about it. Continue reading Wings Over Atreia: Rant powers activate!
|
| Flameseeker Chronicles: Brace for the flood or get out of the way? Posted: 25 Jul 2011 11:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Flameseeker Chronicles  One of those tweets caught the eye of the fanbase in a big way: "Panel is over! Kristen let the crowd know that Sylvari will be playable at Gamescom & Sylvari week will happen before Gamescom!" GamesCom, of course, is the European game convention and trade fair held in Cologne, Germany from August 18th through the 21st. The Sylvari race (and its much-talked-about redesign) has been one of the most fascinating aspects of GW2 for those who have been following the game's development for a while. After months of talk, curiosity, and speculation, it looks like we're finally going to get everything we wanted to know in the next few weeks. The end of a long wait is the hardest part, so follow along after the jump and let's pass the time with some discussion! Continue reading Flameseeker Chronicles: Brace for the flood or get out of the way?
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from Massively To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
