General Gaming Article

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• FCC Filing Reveals Sony Chromebook
• Microsoft Stumbles After Galaxy Nexus Smokes Windows Phone In Staged Challenge
• Windows Live Messenger Blocking Pirate Bay Links
• Next Generation Consoles "Unlikely" to Block Used Games, GameStop Says
• Micron Ready to Spend $1.5 Billion Acquiring Elpida
• T-Mobile to Slash Workforce, Close Down Call Centers
• Digital Storm Designs Custom Chassis for New ‘Aventum’ Build

FCC Filing Reveals Sony Chromebook Posted: 26 Mar 2012 04:54 PM PDT If Acer and Samsung thought that they were forever going to have the Chromebook market all to themselves, we've some seriously bad news for the two companies. A Japanese rival seems to be gearing up to invade what has essentially been their collective fiefdom till now. Hit the jump for more. Laptop Reviews recently discovered documents pertaining to what appears to be a Tegra-based Sony chromebook on the the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) website. Contained in the FCC filing are some pictures of the device and a user manual that identifies it as a VAIO VCC111 Series computer. One of the pictures features a right-angle ruler being used to measure the Chromebook depth, which is around 21cm or 8.27-inches. Other pictures contained in the FCC filing reveal the presence of an 11.6-inch Samsung LCD, D-Max webcam, Huawei Gobi 3000 3G module, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,  HDMI port, SD card reader and two USB 2.0 ports. But perhaps the most interesting bit is the processor, which is simply identified as "T25" in a sticker on the Sony Chromebook's bottom. Laptop Reviews suspects the T25 could actually be Nvidia's Tegra 2 T25 ARM chip. If that indeed turns out to be the case, it will be the first ARM-based Chromebook on the market.

Microsoft Stumbles After Galaxy Nexus Smokes Windows Phone In Staged Challenge Posted: 26 Mar 2012 09:10 AM PDT Microsoft unveiled the "Smoked By Windows Phone" campaign at CES; basically, if your non-Windows Phone could perform a certain task faster than a Windows Phone, Microsoft would give you $100. The company upped the ante recently, offering users at Microsoft stores a $1,000 laptop if they managed to smoke a Windows Phone. Well, one blogger managed to smoke a Windows Phone with a Galaxy Nexus, only to be disqualified after the fact by rules employees created on the spot. Sahas Katta of the SkatterTech blog was tasked with displaying weather from two different cities faster than the employee, whose Windows Phone already had weather-sporting Live tiles pinned to her home screen. Katta, however, had previously disabled the lock screen on his Nexus and pinned two weather widgets to his home screen out of pure luck (or so he claims); after a countdown, all he had to do was press the power button and scream "Done" while the Microsoft employee was still swiping away her lock screen. After the smoking, the Microsoft employee and her manager said Katta actually lost "just because," then said the weather information had to be from cities in two different states -- a technicality that the duo apparently made up on the spot. To make matters even worse, they then asked Katta to pose in front of a "My Android was smoked by Windows Phone" sign before leaving. Katta penned a blog post about the ordeal, which took off and prompted Microsoft evangelist Ben Rudolph to offer Katta a rematch on a random challenge. Fortunately, Rudolph went even further after some bad press around the blogosphere; this morning, he tweeted that he had a free laptop, Windows Phone and an apology waiting for Katta if Katta sends him an email. (By the way, I'm not trying to bash Microsoft this morning; just reporting on the news, folks.) Image credit: 1800pocketpc.com

Windows Live Messenger Blocking Pirate Bay Links Posted: 26 Mar 2012 09:03 AM PDT Internet service providers aren't the only companies getting in on the copyright cop action; Microsoft recently began blocking Windows Live Messenger messages containing links to the Pirate Bay. If you try to send a Pirate Bay URL to a buddy, WLM will now slam on the brakes and tell you that piratebay.se has been "reported as unsafe." To be sure, a segment of the files available on the site contain malware, but most Pirates report running into only a small number of infected files. And if safety was the primary concern, wouldn't the instant messaging service block links to other file sharing sites, as well? TorrentFreak, which broke the news, reports that "All of the other large BitTorrent sites remain unaffected, even though they offer content that's identical to The Pirate Bay." Don't try being smart and skirt the ban with Pidgin, Digsby or another chat client, either; TorrentFreak beat you to the punch and reports that Pirate Bay links sent over the WLM with those clients are still banished to the aether.

Next Generation Consoles "Unlikely" to Block Used Games, GameStop Says Posted: 26 Mar 2012 07:31 AM PDT GameStop's cash cow is its used game business. Sure, you can also buy new titles, game accessories, and even tablets at your local GameStop, and you can't purchase a game without the guy behind the counter pressuring you into pre-ordering half a dozen upcoming titles. But used games are the fuel that makes the company's engine run. You can imagine, then, why GameStop refuses to believe that next generation consoles will try to kill off the used game business model by linking software to your specific hardware. Sounds unfathomable, doesn't it? GameStop agrees, though the notion has been thrown out there. In fact, there have been several rumors about how next generation game consoles could snuff out the used game market. One of them is that the Xbox 720, or whatever the 360's successor will be called, could ship without an optical drive and rely on a combination of streaming titles and local storage. Another rumor has Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo blocking used games by linking software to your hardware. "We think it's unlikely that there would be that next-gen console because the model simply hasn't been proven to work," GameStop CEO dPaul Raines said during an earnings call, according to DigitalTrends. "Remember that used video games have a residual value. Remember that GameStop generates $1.2 billion of trade credits around the world with out used games mode. So consider taking used games out of that, you'd have to find new ways to sell the games, and our partners at the console companies have great relationships with us." It's hard to imagine hardware makers joining a crusade against used games led by publishers, let alone all three major players taking a stand. Even if two out of the three main console makers were to try and kill off used games, it would give the third remaining player a huge advantage over the competition, so either all three would have to be all-in, or none at all. Our opinion? Used games aren't going anywhere any time soon. What's your take? Image Credit: GameStop

Micron Ready to Spend $1.5 Billion Acquiring Elpida Posted: 26 Mar 2012 06:52 AM PDT It was being reported last week that Micron Technology issued a bid of $1.5 billion to take over Elpida Memory, which had fallen on tough times after a prolonged slump in the DRAM market, and it now appears as though Micron is the frontrunner to acquire the bankrupt memory maker. Toshiba and Globalfoundries were two other names that had been thrown around as potential suitors, but either they didn't bid, or they were outbid by Micron. News and rumor site DigiTimes first reported Micron's $1.5 billion desire to scoop up Elpida, and Fudzilla is talking like it's now a foregone conclusion. These aren't the most reliable sources in the world, but where there's smoke, there could be fire. As Fudzilla points out, Elpida's primary asset is its Hiroshima plant worth approximately $1 billion. This would be the prize possession in any takeover and would allow Micron to expand its operations without having to build a new fab of its own. None of this chump change, of course, but Micron is sitting pretty with $2.1 billion cash and short term investments, according to Micron's Q2 2012 financial report (PDF). Image Credit: Micron

T-Mobile to Slash Workforce, Close Down Call Centers Posted: 26 Mar 2012 06:28 AM PDT Without the benefit of a merger with AT&T and even after receiving a big time breakup fee in the neighborhood of $4 billion, T-Mobile is finding it difficult to forge ahead with business as usual. T-Mobile, currently the fourth largest carrier in the U.S. behind Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint, reportedly plans to shut down several call centers and reduce its workforce by 1,900 as the wireless carrier attempts to cut costs. T-Mobile is closing nearly a third of its two dozen call centers, bringing the number down to 17 over the course of the next three months, CNN reports. This will actually result in the elimination of 3,300 positions at the outset, though T-Mobile will hire 1,400 workers to flesh out its remaining call centers. It's unclear if those receiving pink slips will have the option of relocating. "These are not easy steps to take, but they are necessary to realize efficiency in order to invest for growth," T-Mobile USA Chief Philipp Humm said in a statement. T-Mobile still makes a profit, but it's also spending large amounts of cash to build a better network capable of competing with the big three. Parent company Deutsche Telekom would like nothing more than to sell its U.S. operations, though after the failed AT&T acquisition, finding a buyer is no easy task. Image Credit: Flicker (Jim Legans, Jr)

Digital Storm Designs Custom Chassis for New ‘Aventum’ Build Posted: 26 Mar 2012 06:03 AM PDT If you've been reading Maximum PC for any length of time, then you're probably familiar with Digital Storm, one of a handful of remaining boutique system builders that hasn't been gobbled up by a bulk OEM. Just don't tell the folks at Digital Storm they're simply a bunch of system builders, it turns out they have a knack for designing computer cases, too. Meet the Aventum, a new system housed inside a patent pending chassis "designed by Digital Storm engineers from the inside out." "Unlike any other chassis, Aventum's intelligent design enables it to exceed the demands of the most power hungry enthusiasts, gamers and creative professionals," remarked Rajeev Kuruppu, Digital Storm's Director of Product Development. "We've spent months analyzing every conceivable way to effectively eliminate heat from Aventum and as a result, our engineers devised new systems that have never been attempted. Every integral component and every zone is constantly being monitored so our customers can ensure their dream machine is always delivering optimal performance." Digital Storm claims it scrutinized every aspect of Aventum's chassis during the design process, and the result is a custom chassis with a proprietary thermal exhaust chamber, intelligent 5 thermal zone regulation, and software that controls 13 customizable fans. It also houses Digital Storm's Cryo-TEC liquid cooling system. There are four baseline configurations to choose from. A Level 1 system starts at $3,859 and includes an Intel Core i7 2700K processor, 16GB of DDR3-1600MHz memory, EVGA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card, 120GB SSD + 1TB HDD, Asus P8Z68-V Pro motherboard, DVD writer, 1050W Corsair Pro Silver power supply, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. A Level 2 system ups the ante with an Intel Core i7 3930K processor and adds a second videocard in SLI, swaps the motherboard for an Asus Sabertooth X79 board, and upgrades the power supply to a 1200W Corsair Pro Gold Series. It sells for $4,985. The Level 3 configuration starts at $6,687 and includes an Intel Core i7 3960X processor, 16GB of DDR3-2133MHz Corsair Dominator GT memory, three Kepler cards in SLI, an Asus Rampage IV Extreme X79 board, and a 1500W Silverstone power supply. Finally, the Level 4 system is essentially a workstation built for both work and play. It starts at $7,856 and includes two Intel Xeon E5-2630 processors, 32GB of DDR3-1333MHZ ECC RAM, three EVGA GeForce GTX 680 graphics cards, 180GB SSD + 1TB HDD, EVGA Classified SR-X motherboard, a 1500W Silverstone PSU, and the same slot-loading DVD writer found on all four configurations. Aventum Product Page Image Credit: Digital Storm

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Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

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• NYCC: Getting a Sense of Gaming’s Relative Place in the World
• Draw Something Now Officially a Zynga Title
• Age of Wulin (CN)

NYCC: Getting a Sense of Gaming’s Relative Place in the World Posted: 26 Mar 2012 06:13 AM PDT The oldest video game I’ve found at this year’s New York Comic-Con is from 1977. That’s the same years that Star Wars — whose merchandise dominates the show — made its theatrical debut. In contrast, I’ve seen comics and artwork dating back to the ’40s, maybe even earlier. There are movie goods based on The Wizard of Oz, which memory tells me dates from the ’30s. Video games are newcomers on the stage of nerd culture, and shows like this are stark reminders of that fact. Games have a respectable showing here to be sure, but compared to the breadth and depth of comic- and film-related material, you can’t help but realize the curators of game history need to step it up. Nowhere is this more obvious than in pricing. The most expensive game-related thing I’ve seen do far are those R2-D2 Xbox 360s with integrated projectors ($1200), and those are hand-made custom jobs. On the other hand, I saw an issue of the Gold Key Star Trek comics that I remember reading at my grandparents’ house 30 years ago and dismissing because it wasn’t Star Trek. Its asking price? $800 (you better believe I’m kicking myself for not hanging on to it). And that’s only one of thousands of comics on sale here for three, four, even five figures. The original art for the cover of Wolverine #41 (which is only about 20 years old) is selling for $15,000. The really pricey stuff — graded comics from the Golden Age and associated art boards — isn’t even listed with a price. Like high fashion, if you have to ask, you couldn’t afford it anyway. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a brash young medium. The game-related booths are by far the most energetic and interesting at the show. Not to mention the most popular. Still, perspective is interesting. Wouldn’t it be interesting if dealers were selling original Mario design sketches at trade shows 50 years from now? Just kidding; Nintendo would never let that material out of its sight. Also, that Penguin artwork above isn’t a scene from Arkham City. But don’t you wish it were? Find similar article at: http://www.1up.com/news/nycc-sense-gaming-relative-place-world

Draw Something Now Officially a Zynga Title Posted: 25 Mar 2012 09:34 PM PDT Just as recent reports suggested, social game behemoth Zynga has acquired OMGPOP, the developer responsible for the smash hit Draw Something. The company is not talking about how much it spent, but it’s said to be around $200 million — AllThingsD claims it’s a deal worth $180 million, plus about $30 million in employee-retention payments. That is a huge sum of money for the New York City-based OMGPOP, which was founded in 2006, considering that, prior to Draw Something, it was not a big-name company. CEO Dan Porter said during a media briefing today it had racked up only 20 million registered users prior to the launch of Draw Something about six weeks ago. Its latest game has already dwarfed that, racking up 35 million downloads and quickly topping the iOS App Store charts. It’s also got more Daily Active Users than any other game on Facebook, a fact that was sure to catch the eye of Zynga whose Words With Friends and CityVille would ordinarily take the top spot. It was widely believed Zynga would attempt to acquire OMGPOP to bring Draw Something under its corporate umbrella or, failing that, create its own Pictionary-style game. The latter is what allegedly happened with Tiny Tower, where Zynga expressed an interest in buying developer NimbleBit before releasing what amounts to a Tiny Tower clone when the deal didn’t pan out. It’s possible OMGPOP was concerned about potentially being faced with a similar situation: Zynga comes out with an extremely similar competing product and spends millions to make it bigger. Simon Khalaf of analytics firm Flurry told Business Insider that OMGPOP could have ended up being worth a great deal more — perhaps even a cool $1 billion — which would be a remarkable accomplishment. With the game reportedly bringing in $250,000 in revenue daily, maybe it could have gotten that high, but the threat of a competitor (or the next big thing) coming along and putting a dent in Draw Something’s growth makes this the far safer move. With Zynga’s assistance, the developer says it can now bring the features fans are demanding to the game faster, which will help to ensure its growth is sustained. Porter talked about fan-requested features like chat and the ability to save drawings as things we’ll likely end up seeing, and with Zynga’s support we shouldn’t have to wait as long to see these as we otherwise would have. (Considering these were among my few gripes with the game, I’m all for this.) Surprisingly, it was said there are no plans to change the name to fall in line with Zynga’s other asynchronous “With Friends” titles; I presumed an acquisition would mean we’d be playing Draw With Friends before long, but at least publicly that is not in the cards at the moment. I’ve heard some people say they’re disappointed with the news and will stop playing the game. People are certainly entitled to do so if they don’t wish to give Zynga their money (and even playing the free version does result in Zynga getting money, as that version is ad-supported), but I don’t see myself suddenly stopping. It’s a really fun game that is deserving of the success it has amassed, and while I don’t like some of Zynga’s business practices (demonstrated by Dream Heights) the acquisition is not enough to chase me off. If I were an investor in Zynga, however, I might feel a bit worried about the acquisition. While it’s exciting to get your hands on such a hot property, shelling out in the neighborhood of $200 million for a company with only one hit is a potentially dangerous business model. Words With Friends’ popularity has taken a hit recently, presumably as users shifted to playing Draw Something, in which case a chunk of Zynga’s enormous purchase fee is reacquiring some of the same users it once had and may have regained before long. Picking up this one developer isn’t going to break the bank for the company, but continuing to acquire any independent company with a big hit may prove to be unsustainable in the long run. In the interest of ending on a brighter note, Zynga has shared some fun facts about the way people play, including the fact that people need to brush up on their art knowledge: The most popular words in Draw Something are: Starfish, pregnant, hangman, six pack, boom box The least popular word in Draw Something is latrine The best guessed words in Draw Something are: Rainbow, catfish, sun, fish, house, god tornado The least guessed words in Draw Something are: Oar, Metroid, Warhol, pounce, polaroid, meathead, Autobots [Images courtesy of Facebook.] Find similar article at: http://www.1up.com/news/draw-something-omgpop-zynga-acquisition

Age of Wulin (CN) Posted: 25 Mar 2012 06:13 PM PDT Er Mei is actually written out as “Emei”, but I thought I should type it as 2 words to reflect the correct real-world spoken pitch. Located on top of Mount Er Mei which is an actual place in China, the clan in Louis Cha’s martial novels was founded by Guo Xiang, the little girl who adored Yang Guo in Return of the Condor Heroes. Compared to Shaolin and Wudang, I find the location much, much bigger. Starting off, players from this clan will be using 1-handed daggers. Similar to Wudang using dual swords from the beginning, the choice of weapon is no doubt, weird. But what I had in mind was that the developers did not want players to immediately jump into the various famous single-sword skill sets. Find similar article at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2011/10/age-of-wulin-cn-tour-of-er-mei.html

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MMO Updates

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• Breaking down Guild Wars 2's character creator
• The Secret World's lead designer explains abilities, skills, gear, and more
• Making the 'jump' from Guild Wars to Guild Wars 2
• MV Guide: March 26-April 1, 2012
• An outsider's look inside Guild Wars 2
• The Daily Grind: Are MMO players tired of beefcake?
• EVE Evolved Extra: Revamping PvP in Inferno
• EVE Evolved: New info from Fanfest 2012
• MMO Week in Review: Panda express
• Learn about the Warrior in the newest Lime Odyssey development blog
• Rise and Shiny: Realm of the Mad God

Breaking down Guild Wars 2's character creator Posted: 26 Mar 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Classes, Lore, New titles, Guild Wars 2, Races, Roleplaying, Massively Hands-on, Guides The second Guild Wars 2 press beta weekend has come and gone, and Massively was there every step of the way. Stay tuned throughout the day today for even more guides, impressions, videos, and Q&As to get you ready for the highly anticipated sequel to Guild Wars. In just the few minutes that it takes to traverse the 10 screens of Guild Wars 2's character creation process, I'm left with one overriding thought: This game looks ridiculously good. Ludicrously so, even. And I didn't even enter the game world yet! I always love a good, in-depth character creation system, as there's a joy in spending a good amount of time making exactly the sort of character you want to play. Unfortunately, most MMOs have stripped this process down to the bare basics, which is why I'm pleased to announce that it's actually a mini-journey in and of itself in Guild Wars 2. The point of this process isn't just to make a character but help you grow attached to this person and get to know him or her through it. What are this character's motivations? What branch of his or her profession is the most appealing? How did you become a hero? What obstacles do you have to overcome? Instead of playing the game itself, I took some time over this beta testing weekend to dissect every step of the character creation system and bring my findings back to those of you who want to start building your character in your mind. Continue reading Breaking down Guild Wars 2's character creator Breaking down Guild Wars 2's character creator originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Secret World's lead designer explains abilities, skills, gear, and more Posted: 26 Mar 2012 09:30 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Horror, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, Professions, News items, The Secret World, Crafting Funcom's been pretty quiet since its GDC reveal of The Secret World. Today, though, lead designer Martin Bruusgaard has dropped the smack down on the information void via a lengthy blog post on the game's official site. You'll probably want a couple of caffeinated beverages for this one, because Bruusgaard has a lot to say about The Secret World's abilities, skills, gear, progression, and crafting systems. We would try to summarize it for you, but we'd still be typing this time tomorrow, so suffice it to say that basically every mechanical question you have about the game is at least touched on in this post. There are plenty of interesting tidbits too, like the fact that TSW is shaping up to be one of the more non-linear experiences to be found among the latest crop of AAA MMORPGs. "The players are free to go wherever they want from the beginning, but they will most likely get their ass handed to them in the more difficult zones," Bruusgaard explains. The Secret World's lead designer explains abilities, skills, gear, and more originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: TSW blog post

Making the 'jump' from Guild Wars to Guild Wars 2 Posted: 26 Mar 2012 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Business models, Classes, Economy, Game mechanics, Guilds, Lore, Previews, PvP, Endgame, Hands-on, Guides, Dungeons, Crafting The second Guild Wars 2 press beta weekend has come and gone, and Massively was there every step of the way. Stay tuned throughout the day today for even more guides, impressions, videos, and Q&As to get you ready for the highly anticipated sequel to Guild Wars. Guild Wars 2 is on the way (when it's ready), and classic Guild Wars players probably understand that soon they'll be competing with a younger sibling -- a smarter, more attractive one who's sure to get more of mom's attention. And while we're sure that some of the more stalwart Guild Wars 2 fans are also Guild Wars players, not all veterans of the first edition are dedicated to licking up every drop of sequel info squeezed out of blogs, conventions, and betas. Those veterans might just be wondering, what exactly can Guild Wars 2 offer them, other than Hall of Monuments tie-ins? What's changed? What's the same? What will they love, what will they hate, and what could possibly make them jump ship to the new hotness? The first and most important thing you must know is that yes, you can jump in Guild Wars 2! Seriously, though, jumping is more than just a thing you do with your spacebar when you're bored; it's a symbol of boundlessness. Guild Wars 2 itself is trying to jump a lot higher than its elder brother, and probably the essential difference between the games is that feeling that the walls have come down and gravity is letting loose. That alone should urge classic players to take a peek, but if that's not enough for you, fire up your Jeremy Soule soundtracks (yes, he's onboard for an encore!) and read on... Continue reading Making the 'jump' from Guild Wars to Guild Wars 2 Making the 'jump' from Guild Wars to Guild Wars 2 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MV Guide: March 26-April 1, 2012 Posted: 26 Mar 2012 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Livestream, Miscellaneous, MV Guide MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. 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 titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule! Continue reading MV Guide: March 26-April 1, 2012 MV Guide: March 26-April 1, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

An outsider's look inside Guild Wars 2 Posted: 26 Mar 2012 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, Previews, Professions, Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Free-to-play, Hands-on The second Guild Wars 2 press beta weekend has come and gone, and Massively was there every step of the way. Stay tuned throughout the day today for even more guides, impressions, videos, and Q&As to get you ready for the highly anticipated sequel to Guild Wars. My Guild Wars 2 beta weekend started off with a whimper instead of a bang. As I fired up the client and got a load of that sexy 2/dragon logo prior to character creation, one of the video cards in my gaming tower decided to give up the ghost. I didn't know this at the time, and as I slogged through the game's opening sequence, I wondered why it was running like pure Charr poo even with the settings dialed down. I could barely move around the starter village, and after 15 minutes or so, I closed the client in disgust. Later I fired up EverQuest II on that same system and experienced similar subpar performance, so I quickly downloaded the GW2 beta to my laptop. Ah, now that was more like it. Here was the Tyria I'd glimpsed via screenshots and video over the past few weeks, and I rolled up an Engineer to help determine whether ArenaNet has anything to offer a crusty old newb. Continue reading An outsider's look inside Guild Wars 2 An outsider's look inside Guild Wars 2 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Are MMO players tired of beefcake? Posted: 26 Mar 2012 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous A few months ago, The Mary Sue published an intriguing article about why men play female characters in MMOs, and the answer might surprise you. While some men surveyed wanted to play lady toons for immersion reasons or eyecandy reasons, many of them had a much simpler motive: They were sick of beefcake. They were willing to play men, but they just couldn't relate to big hulking dudes with huge muscles and tiny heads, and those are often the types of male characters offered in video games. MMOs like Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars and City of Heroes offer "huge" male characters as options, while World of Warcraft is a serial offender. We usually focus on gender issues as they pertain to the portrayal of women in MMOs, so today I want to turn the tables and ask you about the portrayal of men. Are you annoyed when male characters MMOs look like they're hitting the steroids a bit too hard, and do you find such characters relatable or offensive? In other words, are you tired of beefcake in MMOs? 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! The Daily Grind: Are MMO players tired of beefcake? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved Extra: Revamping PvP in Inferno Posted: 25 Mar 2012 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, real-world, Expansions, Game mechanics, PvP, News items, EVE Evolved, Sandbox When Inferno arrives on May 22nd, it will introduce a whole new wardec system, war UI improvements, and iteration on faction warfare. We'll also see a ton of new modules released over time to completely mix up how people currently fit ships for different roles. For those who started playing EVE Online after 2007, getting new modules and having to rethink all your ship setups will be a very unusual state of affairs. For older players, it signals a glorious return to the way things were before Empyrean Age expansion -- players will have to learn to adapt to a constantly changing PvP landscape or stagnate and die. The only people immune to wardecs will still be those in NPC corps, and all current loopholes like EVE University's infamous decshield will be removed. The number of wars the target corp is fighting will no longer be factored into the war cost, but the base cost is rising to 20 million and an additional 500,000 ISK will be added for every active member in the target corp. The number of wars the aggressor is fighting will still factor into cost, so you can sort of do a reverse-decshield by having alt corps wardec the target and waiting a week for his bill to recur. There are flaws with the system as presented, but those may have been at addressed at the roundtable, which was not streamed. In this special EVE Evolved Extra edition, I delve into the information revealed at Fanfest on revamping PvP as presented at those talks that were streamed live. Continue reading EVE Evolved Extra: Revamping PvP in Inferno EVE Evolved Extra: Revamping PvP in Inferno originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

EVE Evolved: New info from Fanfest 2012 Posted: 25 Mar 2012 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, EVE Online, Culture, Events, real-world, Expansions, Game mechanics, PvP, News items, EVE Evolved, DUST 514, Sandbox The annual EVE Online Fanfest is starting to become a major event in the gaming calendar, thanks to CCP's partnership with Sony and the addition of DUST 514 and World of Darkness talks to the event schedule. This year, CCP flew gaming journalists to the event to give the press hands-on time with DUST and demonstrate the game's impressive realtime integration with EVE Online. Massively, unfortunately, is not permitted to accept such travel stipends, which meant that we couldn't produce in-depth coverage and interviews as we did last year, so instead we've pieced together information from the talks that were streamed to viewers at home. The theme of this year's Fanfest was unmistakably DUST 514 and its integration with EVE Online. Attendees got first-hand experience with DUST 514 and a free pass to enter the beta in April. There was even a live demonstration of the EVE-DUST link during which a battleship delivered an air strike directly into a DUST match in realtime. There were several talks on EVE's upcoming Inferno expansion and its PvP revamp, with details of new modules and gameplay designed to shake up the PvP landscape for the first time in several years. Players report leaving Fanfest this year with a very real sense that CCP is back on track and recovering from the aftermath of Monoclegate. In this week's colossal EVE Evolved, I piece together some of the information from EVE Fanfest 2012 and consider what it means for EVE players. Continue reading EVE Evolved: New info from Fanfest 2012 EVE Evolved: New info from Fanfest 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

MMO Week in Review: Panda express Posted: 25 Mar 2012 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week, you've come to the right post. When the embargo for World of Warcraft's Mists of Pandaria media event dropped last week, few of us had any idea that the expansion's beta itself was so near. In fact, an NDA-less beta launched on Thursday, complete with an exhaustive FAQ and access scandal. Our sister site WoW Insider attended the event and assembled a splendiferous guide to MoP, covering everything from pet battles and female Pandaren to dungeons and battlegrounds. If pandas -- I mean, Pandaren -- aren't your thing, stop fretting: Blizzard is already working on MoP's successor. And if WoW itself isn't your thing, then enjoy Massively's other top MMO stories behind the break! Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Panda express MMO Week in Review: Panda express originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Learn about the Warrior in the newest Lime Odyssey development blog Posted: 25 Mar 2012 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries Friday saw the reveal of information on Lime Odyssey's Warrior class, which specializes more or less in what you would expect from the description. (That does not include carpentry or specialized dance moves, if you're not sure.) Today, we've got a bit of a developer diary to follow up the reveal, with a bit more detail on how the class is meant to play and what prospective Warriors can expect in terms of equipment and so forth. For those looking forward to the game, there's still no news on when the closed beta will begin, although development is continuing apace despite the game's trouble in its nation of origin. You can still sign up for the beta, however, and all signs point to a testing phase on the near horizon. If you just want to learn about playing a Warrior, just skip on down to see how to unleash maximum destruction with massive weapons. Continue reading Learn about the Warrior in the newest Lime Odyssey development blog Learn about the Warrior in the newest Lime Odyssey development blog originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Rise and Shiny: Realm of the Mad God Posted: 25 Mar 2012 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Events, in-game, Previews, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Hands-on, Casual, Humor, Rise and Shiny, Livestream, Miscellaneous In the past, I've made a few attempts at trying Realm of the Mad God, a "co-op fantasy MMO shooter" by Wild Shadow Studios. But I've been unsuccessful primarily because I couldn't find a way to get past the seemingly repetitive gameplay, horrible forum community and non-MMO status. Luckily a reader named Rick wrote to me and convinced me to give it one more go, saying that it was an MMO by showing me pictures and listing examples of how many players can be found in one area. That settled it. I made a new account and jumped in, fully expecting to have an OK time but to come away knowing that this game was just for twitch-hooked kiddies. It turns out I was wrong, and now you know why it is a general rule of mine to always give a game a second chance. Or a third, of course. Continue reading Rise and Shiny: Realm of the Mad God Rise and Shiny: Realm of the Mad God originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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MMOGaming News

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• Phantasy Star Online 2 Announced Pricing Scheme and Smartphone Version Plan
• EVE Inferno Expansion to Launch in May, UK Sub Price Reduced
• CCP Confirms eSports and PvE Features for DUST 514
• The Secret World Freeform Progression Will Redefine the Way You Play MMOs
• WoW: Monk Talents Revealed
• World of Darkness Revealed First-ever In-Game Video and New Details
• Ragnarok Online Celebrate Spring Break
• C9(KR) Two Pro Guilds PvP Matches Video
• Spirit Tales Interview: PvP, Boss Pet Eggs and Differences with EE

Phantasy Star Online 2 Announced Pricing Scheme and Smartphone Version Plan Posted: After announcing Phantasy Star Online 2 will be available on the PlayStation Vita, SEGA will make this game playable on iOS or Android system again. Additionally, SEGA unveiled Phantasy Star Online 2 will be free to download and play, but acquire revenue from an item transaction system. Continue reading Phantasy Star Online 2 Announced Pricing Scheme and Smartphone Version Plan.

EVE Inferno Expansion to Launch in May, UK Sub Price Reduced Posted: During a keynote at EVE Fanfest 2012, CCP Games confirmed the launch date for EVE Online’s ’Inferno’ expansion, which will be officially released in May 22nd. Before the main expansion release date, CCP will also release a precursor patch full of unspecified ’meaningful content’ on April 24. Continue reading EVE Inferno Expansion to Launch in May, UK Sub Price Reduced.

CCP Confirms eSports and PvE Features for DUST 514 Posted: DUST 514 is an open world shooter but the arena feature that due in the early 2013 expansion makes the game suitable for eSports events. Continue reading CCP Confirms eSports and PvE Features for DUST 514.

The Secret World Freeform Progression Will Redefine the Way You Play MMOs Posted: Let Lead Designer Martin Bruusgaard and Lead Content Designer Joel Bylos enlighten you on how to develop your own unique character through an imaginative and strong new role-playing system without classes and levels. Continue reading The Secret World Freeform Progression Will Redefine the Way You Play MMOs.

WoW: Monk Talents Revealed Posted: According to the WoWHead talent calculator of monk, we can find the new talents while one talent is missing (and is defined as "mystery talent"), it seems Blizzard is well on its way to finalizing the list of talents. Continue reading WoW: Monk Talents Revealed.

World of Darkness Revealed First-ever In-Game Video and New Details Posted: At EVE Fanfest 2012, CCP finally revealed something new about its mysterious vampire-themed MMORPG World of Darkness. Here is the first-ever look in-game. Continue reading World of Darkness Revealed First-ever In-Game Video and New Details.

Ragnarok Online Celebrate Spring Break Posted: Since 2009, RO’s Facebook page has been a place for people to discuss the game, get the latest news and to share cosplay and fanart. Just a short time after getting the page up to 50,000 likes, on March 21st, fans of international Ragnarok Online achieved the milestone of boost the game’s Facebook page over 75,000 likes. Continue reading Ragnarok Online Celebrate Spring Break.

C9(KR) Two Pro Guilds PvP Matches Video Posted: These videos are a little long, be patient, you will find them really malicious wonderful. Meanwhile, you can learn how to fight against other classes in PvP. Enjoy! Continue reading C9(KR) Two Pro Guilds PvP Matches Video.

Spirit Tales Interview: PvP, Boss Pet Eggs and Differences with EE Posted: How was designing Spirit Tales different from Eden Eternal? Eden Eternal is more focused on class design and utilizes the traditional "Tank-and-Spank" model. For Spirit Tales however, we wanted to provide players with more in-game freedom and an overall relaxing, player-oriented gameplay experience. Continue reading Spirit Tales Interview: PvP, Boss Pet Eggs and Differences with EE.

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