| The Nexus Telegraph: The price of doing business in WildStar Posted: 19 Aug 2013 10:00 AM PDT Filed under: Betas, Sci-Fi, Business Models, MMO Industry, Opinion, WildStar, The Nexus Telegraph, Subscription, Buy-to-Play Now we know what WildStar's business model is, and it's not any of the options I had predicted. That's to be expected, but it also means that we have to evaluate it very differently than if it had fallen into a tried-and-true pattern. You don't know how a new business model will work until you see it in action, and we haven't seen this in action yet. The reality is that WildStar is a buy-to-play, subscription, and free-to-play title all at the same time, and that's without even dipping our toes into the muddy water of microtransactions. There's exactly one item to be bought in the cash shop, and it serves exactly one purpose, but it also opens up a complicated economic interplay that we've seen in only one other game. And I don't think we can just draw on that one game for comparison because they're just not the same. Continue reading The Nexus Telegraph: The price of doing business in WildStar  The Nexus Telegraph: The price of doing business in WildStar originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| GDC Online 2013: SOE talks game shutdowns, The Matrix Online Posted: 19 Aug 2013 09:00 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Events (Real-World), MMO Industry, The Matrix Online, News Items, Subscription, MMORPG Sony Online Entertainment's Linda "Brasse" Carlson took the stage at this year's GDC Online to talk about SOE's approach to community management, and in the process delivered a little insight into how studios can (and should) approach shutting down MMOs with waning or nonexistent player populations. Carlson used Monolith Productions' The Matrix Online as an example, explaining that the game's population had dipped down to fewer than 500 players by the time the decision was made to take it offline in 2009. The breaking point where cost of maintenance just to keep the game up was ridiculous. Sometimes you just have to shut these games down. Determining when and how to sunset an MMO is never an easy task; Carlson noted that a studio should never "belittle the people who are deeply emotionally upset" about their favorite title shutting down. The talk wasn't all about shutdowns, however; Carlson also discussed Sony's community management philosophy, which includes showing empathy to players, protecting developers from abuse, and using the player-driven community council to make more educated and agreeable decisions about the future of its games. Gamasutra has a nice collection of quotes from the presentation, if you're into that sort of thing. GDC Online 2013: SOE talks game shutdowns, The Matrix Online originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Veteran developer Kirk Black Kickstarting new kid-safe MMO Posted: 19 Aug 2013 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Trailers, Video, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Kids, Family Oftentimes, Kickstarter is used by developers trying to break into MMOs. In the case of Enspira Online, however, it's a 20-year industry vet looking to bring his project to the market. Kirk "Runesabre" Black -- known for his roles as lead engineer and producer of Ultima Online, lead dev on Star Wars Galaxies, and more -- has been creating a non-violent, kid-safe game geared for the younger MMO players. Players in Enspira Online are challenged with reviving and tending the magnificent gardens of the Gnomes, who have been imprisoned by spiders. On top of this, players can build personal islands, own a home, and explore the world by boat for more adventures. Black's goal is to provide a vehicle for kids to experience and learn valuable life lessons like helping others in need and investing in themselves while having fun in game. Enspira Online is currently in internal alpha testing, and the Kickstarter campaign is to facilitate closed beta. For a look at the game, check out the video after the break. Continue reading Veteran developer Kirk Black Kickstarting new kid-safe MMO Veteran developer Kirk Black Kickstarting new kid-safe MMO originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Stream Team: Dog days of summer edition, August 19 - 25, 2013 Posted: 19 Aug 2013 07:00 AM PDT Filed under: Massively Meta, Livestream, Miscellaneous, The Stream Team You know the days -- the ones when the sun is so bright and the heat is so oppressive that lifting a finger to do anything more than click your mouse requires nearly Herculean effort? When you just feel listless, unable to get anything accomplished? Welcome to the dog days of summer! (Sorry, no dogs actually included.) It just so happens that these days, while not necessarily good for productivity in other ways, are the perfect time to just relax and watch some Massively TV! And to help you out, we've got quite a line-up of shows for your viewing pleasure, both live and prerecorded. We promise, it won't involve much effort on your part at all. Just tune in and sit back; The Stream Team will take care of the rest. Because we know there are days when you just don't want to overly exert yourself. Continue reading The Stream Team: Dog days of summer edition, August 19 - 25, 2013 The Stream Team: Dog days of summer edition, August 19 - 25, 2013 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| WildStar announces hybrid business model and new 2014 release window Posted: 19 Aug 2013 06:30 AM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Business Models, Economy, MMO Industry, News Items, WildStar, Subscription, Buy-to-Play There are players out there right now who would happily spend money on WildStar but don't know how or when. Obviously you can't spend money on WildStar right now; the game isn't out yet and won't be until spring 2014, we've just learned, so there's nothing to spend money on yet. But even when it does get released, how will anyone be able to tell the people at Carbine Studios to shut up and take our money? Wonder no longer because the game's business model has finally been revealed to the world. No more lying awake wondering how you'll be able to pay for the game (something you really shouldn't be lying awake wondering about anyhow). So is it buy-to-play? Free-to-play? Subscription-based? Yes. It's all three at the same time, if you look at it from the right angles. How does it manage that? Well, you have to understand how C.R.E.D.D. works -- starting with what in the world it is. Continue reading WildStar announces hybrid business model and new 2014 release window WildStar announces hybrid business model and new 2014 release window originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: How much time do you spend on MMOs each day? Posted: 19 Aug 2013 06:00 AM PDT Filed under: Culture, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind  I was looking at a list of Fall game releases the other day and salivating over some of the open-world titles coming over the next couple of months. We've got Saints Row IV this week, Grand Theft Auto V and its GTA Online component in September, and the latest Assassin's Creed offering a month after that. And that's just the AAA stuff. I'm not sure how I'm going to fit those games and several others into a schedule that's already bursting at the seams, and I haven't even started talking about the MMOs I'm playing yet! Anyway, that leads into today's Daily Grind question. How much time do you find in a typical day to play 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: How much time do you spend on MMOs each day? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Aug 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MMO Week in Review: The fastest-selling Week in Review of all time Posted: 18 Aug 2013 06:00 PM PDT Filed under: Guild Wars 2, 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. This week, Guild Wars 2 made a big splash in the MMO pool by claiming for itself the title of fastest-selling (Western) MMO of all time. While the game's detractors readied their torches and pitchforks for an assault on a comment section near you, fans rallied with infographics and ArenaNet announced a giant PAX party. It turns out there was some content to talk about too; we delivered an election postmortem and previewed the Queen's Speech update. OK, back to your pitchforks. Read on for a look at the rest of our top MMO stories! Continue reading MMO Week in Review: The fastest-selling Week in Review of all time MMO Week in Review: The fastest-selling Week in Review of all time originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Aug 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Forge going free-to-play Posted: 18 Aug 2013 05:00 PM PDT Filed under: Fantasy, Business Models, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play If you're a PvP fan and you still haven't checked out Forge, you're plumb out of excuses. Dark Vale recently announced that the fantasy title is converting to a free-to-play business model after approximately nine months as a buy-to-play game with an up-front client cost. Dark Vale's announcement post reiterates its desire to avoid pay-to-win pitfalls, and it highlights the fact that all of Forge's cash shop items will be cosmetic. The company is acting on feedback from both fans and "F2P experts," and it plans to offer a selection of Steam starter packs as well as a range of item prices. "We also want to take into account the time it takes to play Forge to unlock some of these items," the company says. "For example, The Kaldrhiti Armor takes around 800 games to unlock. It's hard to put a price on your time playing Forge, but we don't want to de-value it. So, this will obviously be a higher priced more exclusive item." [Thanks Dengar and Skurvel!] Forge going free-to-play originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Aug 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EVE Evolved: Does EVE Online have the world's largest MMO map? Posted: 18 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, EVE Online, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, EVE Evolved, Sandbox, Subscription MMO game worlds seem to be getting larger every year, and the debate over which is biggest frequently appears on forums and blogs. It usually starts with people breaking out infographics comparing the size of the various islands and continents in their favourite fantasy MMOs, and it escalates from there. World of Warcraft's Azeroth turns out to be surprisingly small at an estimated 80 square miles, while World War II Online claims to have the largest MMO game map in the world with over 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 square miles) of playable space modeled as a half scale map of Western Europe. Someone in the discussion will inevitably mention EVE Online, and that's when things get complicated. The New Eden star cluster is lightyears across, and its 7,699 accessible solar systems have earned it a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, but can EVE's map even be compared to accessible landmass in a fantasy MMO? All of the space between stars is currently empty and inaccessible, and players warp between points of interest within a solar system without interacting with any of the space in between. With that and the relative difference in scale between EVE and land-based games, it isn't immediately clear whether EVE Online still has the world's largest playable MMO map. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at how empty space works under the hood in EVE Online and crunch some numbers to find out whether it really does have the biggest playable game world. Continue reading EVE Evolved: Does EVE Online have the world's largest MMO map? EVE Evolved: Does EVE Online have the world's largest MMO map? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Aug 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MechWarrior Online announces launch party, new Project Phoenix loyalty rewards Posted: 18 Aug 2013 02:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Launches, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, MechWarrior Online If you're a MechWarrior fan and you'll be in San Francisco on September 26th, you might want to enter Piranha Games' launch event ticket lotto. "Tickets are strictly limited, each person must apply below for your chance to be to selected to attend this exclusive once-in-a-lifetime event," says the MWO website. Festivities include a tournament, developer meet-and-greets, upcoming feature sneak peeks, and more. Piranha has also announced new loyalty rewards as part of its Project Phoenix package program. The rewards will be unlocked as more packages are purchased. So far, players have managed to unlock the phase one Phoenix colors reward. [Thanks Dire Phoenix!] MechWarrior Online announces launch party, new Project Phoenix loyalty rewards originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Aug 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| SWTOR's 2.4 PTS patch notes highlighted by PvP tweaks Posted: 18 Aug 2013 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, Patches, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Star Wars: The Old Republic If you're looking for a preview of Star Wars: The Old Republic's 2.4 patch, look no further than the preliminary test server notes. We say "preliminary" due to the bold, red-letter font that BioWare uses to remind players of the temporary nature of test server patch notes. Current highlights include active four-vs.-four warzone arenas which feature small-scale PvP and a last-team-standing best-of-three format. BioWare has also removed eight-vs.-eight ranked warzones from the ranked warzone queue. Finally, the patch includes a number of class and crew skill tweaks as well as an adjustment to daily and weekly PvP missions that removes the win component in favor of a participation component. [Thanks Dengar!] SWTOR's 2.4 PTS patch notes highlighted by PvP tweaks originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Aug 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Flicks with a pulse on where technology was headed
Faulty clock to blame
Gigabyte's first true AMD gaming motherboard
First Windows Phone phablet is in the works
A compelling Blu-ray player, if nothing else
Take a mulligan on overclocking gone bad
