MMO Updates

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• EA-BioWare acquires KlickNation, rebrands it BioWare Social
• This Week in MMO: The Crucible Edition
• EverQuest II drops Age of Discovery's NDA
• Marvel Universe Online assembles Iron Man
• The Firing Line: Getting into Global Agenda
• The Daily Grind: Are you giving the gift of games this year?
• The MMO Report: Schreinercraft edition
• Star Wars Galaxies updates players on the end
• Bethesda and Interplay continue to sling stones over Fallout Online
• Dan Stahl beams back aboard Cryptic Studios
• New SD Gundam Capsule Fighter Online trailer shows off gameplay
• Conquer Online's upcoming expansion introduces new zone, Pirate class
• The Guild Counsel: To kick or not to kick
• End of Nations kicks off the Warfront series with beta signups
• Behind the Mask: Are grab bags a scam?
• Video series chronicles the evolution of MUDs to MMOs
• Fallen Earth's December State of the Game talks F2P transition, new features
• May the score be with you: SWTOR releases one music track a day until launch [Updated]
• The Perfect Ten: The upcoming contenders
• CCP expands EVE's asset search functionality
• We've got your key to the Rosh Online closed beta!

EA-BioWare acquires KlickNation, rebrands it BioWare Social Posted: 02 Dec 2011 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, News items, Casual, Miscellaneous All the cool kids are into social gaming these days, so it should come as no surprise when some of the bigger gaming firms start testing the waters. BioWare looks to be next on that list according to a report at GamesIndustry.biz that details Electronic Arts' acquisition of KlickNation. KlickNation operates social games including SuperHero City and Six Gun Galaxy, and while the company's monthly active user base has declined from 1.3 million to 400,000, EA and BioWare see it as a growth opportunity. KlickNation's expertise in building innovative and compelling RPGs for social platforms makes them a seamless tuck-in with the BioWare team at EA," says Ray Muzyka. The new unit has been renamed BioWare Social, and thus far the company has not announced any concrete plans relating to new or existing titles. EA-BioWare acquires KlickNation, rebrands it BioWare Social originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: GamesIndustry.biz

This Week in MMO: The Crucible Edition Posted: 02 Dec 2011 08:30 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, EVE Online, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, The Secret World, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Sandbox Gamebreaker.TV is back to bring you roundtable discussion of the week's hottest MMO news. In the latest episode, host Gary Gannon is joined by Mint Chip and Mike B., and the trio have a lot to cover in a week that saw Funcom interviewed at length regarding The Secret World as well as the release of EVE Online's new Crucible expansion. The gang also examines Neverwinter's latest story trailer and comes away feeling somewhat underwhelmed. Finally, Bigpoint's controversial microtransactions also merit some discussion, and you can watch the full show by clicking past the cut. Continue reading This Week in MMO: The Crucible Edition This Week in MMO: The Crucible Edition originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: TWIMMO #72

EverQuest II drops Age of Discovery's NDA Posted: 02 Dec 2011 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, EverQuest II, Expansions, Free-to-play Here's the invisible key: You can unlock and unzip your lips to finally talk freely about the next EverQuest II expansion, Age of Discovery. Sony Online Entertainment has released us from our pinky swear promising to keep mum on the project, and now everyone is free to share their experiences. There are a couple exceptions to the NDA dropping, however. Testers still may not share anything that's being posted in the beta forums, and no screenshots taken during the testing period may be made public. Age of Discovery is launching on December 6th. and includes many new features to the game, including the Beastmaster class, the Freeport revamp, and the dungeon maker tool. Oh, and there's also a small matter of the entire game going free-to-play, but you knew that already. Because you didn't zip your ears closed. EverQuest II drops Age of Discovery's NDA originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Marvel Universe Online assembles Iron Man Posted: 02 Dec 2011 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Previews, Free-to-play, Marvel Universe Online He's snarky, he's tough, he's got a tank-busting missile, and apparently he's got thigh-high red go-go boots. Seriously, look at that picture above and tell us that Iron Man's not getting his fashion tips from the runway. In any case, Marvel Universe Online is proud to reveal its next major superhero in the game's line-up, and Tony Stark is proud that you're giving him your full attention right now. MUO's Iron Man looks similar to the latest movie version, with the triangle chestpiece and ribbed design. If you're a fan of the character, comics, or movies, then this should be a thrill for you! Just try not to think about how small his waist must be to fit into that techno-armor. This marks the latest reveal of the Marvel lineup for the game by Gazillion, which has been slowly rolling out the classic characters for a couple months now. Marvel Universe Online assembles Iron Man originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: MMMSociety

The Firing Line: Getting into Global Agenda Posted: 02 Dec 2011 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Global Agenda, The Firing Line OK, so you've heard about this whole Global Agenda thing, and you've talked yourself into giving it a shot. It's completely free-to-play from start to finish these days, and the Unreal graphics, sci-fi setting, and strange mixture of hyper-competitive PvP and ultra-accessible PvE have always held a certain appeal. You're not sure, but you think it's kind of an MMO, given that it has persistent territory control, lots of quests, and plenty of progression-based gameplay. Maybe you're a pro skillz baller, or maybe the extent of your shooter knowledge is which end of the gun gets pointed at the bad guys. Either way, you'll likely have a good time in Hi-Rez's spy-fi action title, and you'll have an even better time if you understand a few key points about the game prior to diving in. Continue reading The Firing Line: Getting into Global Agenda The Firing Line: Getting into Global Agenda originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Daily Grind: Are you giving the gift of games this year? Posted: 02 Dec 2011 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous If you've got a gamer on your Christmas list, congratulations. With the proliferation of digital download titles and services like Steam and Good Old Games, it's never been easier to put a smile on the face of your favorite geek. Digital gifting does have a dark side, though, or at least a hmm-that's-kind-of-impersonal side. While most of us would never turn down a virtual copy of Skyrim or a few funny bucks to spend in an MMO cash shop, it is nice to get (and give) an actual present that someone's taken the time to wrap and deliver. What about you, Massively crew? Are you giving the gift of digital gaming this year? 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 you giving the gift of games this year? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The MMO Report: Schreinercraft edition Posted: 01 Dec 2011 07:00 PM PST Filed under: Video, MMO industry, Opinion, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous This week on The MMO Report, Casey covers South Korea's Cinderella Law, Firefall's attempts at class balance, and World of Warcraft's 4.3 patch. He also suggests that "it's beginning to look a lot like riftmas" in RIFT (groan) before announcing that in honor of Minecon and Minecraft's 240 million logins per month, he will soon begin work on "Schreinercraft, a graphically minimalist, open-source game where players build, create, and customize virtual beards for their avatars." He notes that he doesn't "have any programming experience, start-up capital, or a business plan," but he "love[s] money and would enjoy having more of it." Don't we all! Finally, he dives into Uncle Casey's Mailbag and asks readers to mail him the story of their first MMO experience for possible inclusion in a future show. All this and more in the full HD video behind the break! Continue reading The MMO Report: Schreinercraft edition The MMO Report: Schreinercraft edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: The MMO Report

Star Wars Galaxies updates players on the end Posted: 01 Dec 2011 06:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, News items, Star Wars Galaxies December 15th. That's not the end of the world -- it's the end of multiple worlds because it's the day that Star Wars Galaxies will have its last hurrah followed by silence. But there are still a couple of weeks left, and considering that one of the game's big pushes has been the Galactic Civil War, we think it's only fair for the ending of the game's service to be accompanied by the ending of the war with a decisive victory. On December 14th, at 9:00 p.m. PST (midnight EST), the Civil War scoreboards will close, with a final winner declared overall. This will be accompanied by server restarts, followed by a number of optional battles and skirmishes in the 15th. So spend the next two weeks getting ready for the last push to grab all the marbles because when the shutdown comes on December 15th, the war will be over... for good. Star Wars Galaxies updates players on the end originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: End of the GCW

Bethesda and Interplay continue to sling stones over Fallout Online Posted: 01 Dec 2011 06:15 PM PST Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Legal, Fallout Online, Miscellaneous There's exciting news about Fallout Online today, assuming that you think that the latest installment of the ongoing legal battle between Interplay and Bethesda qualifies as exciting news. Yes, the two companies are still at it, with Bethesda filing a new complaint against Interplay after the last victory. And as usual, depending on which company you want in charge of the game's future development, one of the companies is completely out of its mind and the other is trying to defend what it rightfully owns. Bethesda's complaint, in essence, argues that Interplay's complaint blocked testimony that would have established Bethesda as being the party in the right beyond a shadow of a doubt. Whether or not this is accurate will be established when the companies have their date in court on December 5th, which should put an end to this mess once and for all... although if previous events show anything, it's that both Bethesda and Interplay will fight this out to the bitter end. Bethesda and Interplay continue to sling stones over Fallout Online originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: TenTonHammer

Dan Stahl beams back aboard Cryptic Studios Posted: 01 Dec 2011 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play Dan Stahl couldn't stay away from Star Trek Online for long, and now the former executive producer is back in the fold to head up the Foundry team for Cryptic Studios and parent company Perfect World Entertainment. Stahl, who left STO for Zynga in September, posted on the o-boards earlier this evening announcing his return. "There is something magical going on at Cryptic these days and I'm very happy to be back working on the MMOs that I personally love to play," he said. The Foundry is Cryptic's suite of user-generated content tools that is currently available in Star Trek Online and slated to appear in the company's upcoming Neverwinter title. Dan Stahl beams back aboard Cryptic Studios originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: STO forums

New SD Gundam Capsule Fighter Online trailer shows off gameplay Posted: 01 Dec 2011 05:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, Previews, News items, Free-to-play If you're a fan of the Gundam franchise, you can definitely argue that the heart of the franchise has nothing to do with giant robots blowing one another up -- it focuses instead on the human impact of large-scale war. But if you're playing SD Gundam Capsule Fighter Online, then yeah, it's all about giant robots blowing one another up. And the new gameplay trailer embedded just past the break is meant to show off that focus to full effect. The game is quite fittingly action-based, and the trailer shows off several of the franchise's more iconic mecha in their SD form. Also shown off in full detail are the many, many ways for players to unleash rocket-powered death upon the poor cannon fodder Zakus wandering through the map, which is somewhere between endearing and almost mean. If you're looking forward to the game when it fully launches later this month, click on past the break to check out the trailer. [Source: OGPlanet press release] Continue reading New SD Gundam Capsule Fighter Online trailer shows off gameplay New SD Gundam Capsule Fighter Online trailer shows off gameplay originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Conquer Online's upcoming expansion introduces new zone, Pirate class Posted: 01 Dec 2011 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Expansions, News items, Free-to-play Watch yer booty, mateys! No, I meant your treasure, you freaks. Jeeze. NetDragon WebSoft has announced a new expansion for its free-to-play MMORPG, Conquer Online. This update does what it says on the tin: Invasion of Pirates. Players will find themselves on a brand-new map, facing off against new monsters, discovering new quests, and playing the Pirate class. The new class brings an entirely new playstyle with new weapons and abilities to use. And players will need every bit of firepower they can get, as bands of evil pirates arrive upon a newly discovered island in search of a dark and mysterious treasure. Of course, it's up to players to ensure that the pirates do not succeed in their mission. The expansion will go live in January 2012, so you've got plenty of time to head over to the game's official site and sign up. [Source: NetDragon WebSoft press release] Conquer Online's upcoming expansion introduces new zone, Pirate class originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Guild Counsel: To kick or not to kick Posted: 01 Dec 2011 04:30 PM PST Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous Over the past year, we've touched on several tricky topics regarding guild management, yet we've never waded into the topic of actually removing someone from the guild. Granted, some of the issues we have discussed can lead to lots of frustration for guildmates, and understandably, the comments section usually contains at least one reply suggesting that a swift guild kick is the best solution. But removing someone from the guild is a pretty big decision, and it can have a ripple effect throughout your roster that might lead to further unhappiness and drama. When is the right time to boot someone from the guild? In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll take a look at what to do when you think it might be time for a guild removal. Continue reading The Guild Counsel: To kick or not to kick The Guild Counsel: To kick or not to kick originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

End of Nations kicks off the Warfront series with beta signups Posted: 01 Dec 2011 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Video, New titles, News items, MMORTS Trion Worlds is currently known first and foremost for RIFT, but that's not the only game the studio is working at. End of Nations, the upcoming MMORTS, has been quiet for a while, but the development team is kicking things back into motion with the launch of the "Warfront" webcast, designed to highlight news and updates about the game. And it kicks off with an appropriately exciting piece of news for fans of the game -- beta signups are now available. Fans will need to sign up for the End of Nations newsletter before being eligible to sign up for beta testing, but that likely won't deter anyone who's followed the game this far. There's also an announcement of new previews to be found on the game's official Facebook page, with the usual social media request that you head over and throw out a "Like." While the video is fairly short, most fans have probably absconded as soon as they heard they could sign up for beta -- but if you'd like to see the full webcast first, jump on past the break. [Source: Trion Worlds press release] Continue reading End of Nations kicks off the Warfront series with beta signups End of Nations kicks off the Warfront series with beta signups originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Behind the Mask: Are grab bags a scam? Posted: 01 Dec 2011 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Economy, Opinion, Free-to-play, Champions Online, Behind the Mask Everyone's heard of the "gift box" phenomenon. It's a common theme in F2P MMOs to release an item that doesn't have guaranteed contents and instead has a random selection from a pool of items. Sometimes there are rare bonus items inside; other times there are things the buyer didn't really want. Champions Online has taken its second foray into this territory with the Service and Cursed Grab Bags, a pair of C-Store items that grant a chance at a variety of tradable goodies. Gift box items sell to a variety of people. Some find the idea of chance more fun, and others absolutely must have the rare items and will spend lots of money trying to get them. Are the grab bags a scam, though? After the jump, we'll look at just why that is and hopefully give you enough information to come to your own conclusion. Continue reading Behind the Mask: Are grab bags a scam? Behind the Mask: Are grab bags a scam? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Video series chronicles the evolution of MUDs to MMOs Posted: 01 Dec 2011 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Video, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous If you're looking for a reasonably short video primer on the history of MMOs, look no further than a series of clips recently uploaded to YouTube. According to some genre heavyweights, though, you shouldn't take all the info presented at face value. Former sandbox (and current social games) developer Raph Koster weighs in on the clips at his personal blog, and he offers up a laundry list of "oddities, errors, and omissions." MUD pioneer Richard Bartle shows up in Koster's comment thread, and he's even more direct. "I wonder why so few of those who make this kind of documentary actually ask the people they're talking about whether what they're saying about them is factually correct? It's not like we're dead or anything," Bartle muses. Why watch the vids, then? Mainly for the exposure to pre-2004 MMORPGs, according to Koster. The clips are "worth a look, even if only to get a rare glimpse of actual video footage from some of the older games that many folks today don't even know existed," he says. Check out all three installments after the break. Continue reading Video series chronicles the evolution of MUDs to MMOs Video series chronicles the evolution of MUDs to MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Koster's blog

Fallen Earth's December State of the Game talks F2P transition, new features Posted: 01 Dec 2011 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Bugs, Previews, News items, Free-to-play, Post-Apocalyptic, Dev Diaries, Sandbox It's finally December, which means that I can go into a store and not fly into a rage when I discover that it's already playing Christmas music. It also means that it's time for Fallen Earth's December State of the Game letter. This is the first State of the Game since the title's change to F2P last month, so can you bet your hide there's a lot to cover. Marie Croall begins by talking about some of the "less sexy but ultimately critical things" that the team has been working on since the transition. Lots of bug-fixing has taken place as the Fallen Earth team works to iron out some of the kinks that arose during the F2P transition. Meanwhile, the town of Embry got a bit of a makeover. The art team went into the city and "replaced high-poly, high-batch buildings with newer ones that will improve performance and the overall aesthetic appeal of the town." The team is also working hard at developing new content and features, such as world events, farms, and the upcoming augmentation system. Croall closes out the post with some dates: Territory control, the revamped map, new world events, and New Embry will be added to the game in mid-December, while everything else will have to wait until next year. For the full details, head on to the game's official blog. Fallen Earth's December State of the Game talks F2P transition, new features originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Fallen Earth December State of the Game

May the score be with you: SWTOR releases one music track a day until launch [Updated] Posted: 01 Dec 2011 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Previews, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Giveaways A long time ago in a boombox far, far away... your MP3 folder was growing dusty from disuse and laughable with its lack of coolness. The IMPERIAL COMPOSERS of BioWare stepped in to quash your pitiful musical rebellion by offering you a FREE soundtrack piece every day until launch. Also, the evil gangster JABBA THE HUTT is immune to Jedi mind tricks, FYI. This is true: As a special treat to its fans, BioWare is doling out one music track from its Star Wars: The Old Republic score every day, starting today and going until the December 20th launch. These tracks are available on both on the SWTOR Facebook page and official YouTube channel. The first track is called The Mandalorian Blockade and is composed by Mark Griskey, Wilbert Roget II, Gordy Haab & Lennie Moore. Give it a listen after the jump! [Update: It looks like music is not the only thing the BioWare folks have in store for you in the lead up until launch. Apparently, the team is doing at least one more round of beta testing starting tomorrow, so check your inboxes!] Continue reading May the score be with you: SWTOR releases one music track a day until launch [Updated] May the score be with you: SWTOR releases one music track a day until launch [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: SWTOR YouTube, SWTOR Facebook

The Perfect Ten: The upcoming contenders Posted: 01 Dec 2011 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Opinion, Guild Wars 2, Marvel Universe Online, The Secret World, Warhammer 40k, DUST 514, TERA, EverQuest Next, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous, ArcheAge, WildStar While I'm on board the Star Wars: The Old Republic train (at least until SOE's Star Wars: The New Republic comes out in 2014 and forces SWTOR to shut down), I can certainly sympathize with the frustration that non-fans are feeling right about now. There are few things more annoying than not being into the latest craze -- or hating it outright -- and yet being unable to escape it. So I'm here to say to you today that, like World of Warcraft, SWTOR isn't the be-all, end-all of the MMO field. It's a part of it, but just one part, and there are many, many others in the works as we speak. Mama always told me never to put all your eggs in one basket anyway, so I'm spreading my eggcitement across many cyber-nests. This is the bone I'm throwing to all of you this week: a list of 10 Midichlorian-free MMOs that have me -- and should have you -- extremely buzzed about their development. In putting together this list, I realized that there are so many promising prospects that I divided them into two groups. This week I'm presenting the strongest contenders that should make it to launch with a solid product, while next time I'll list promising prospects that may be more of a long shot. I'm 47% confident that I will not forget your most-anticipated title. Continue reading The Perfect Ten: The upcoming contenders The Perfect Ten: The upcoming contenders originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

CCP expands EVE's asset search functionality Posted: 01 Dec 2011 12:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Sandbox If EVE Online is truly spreadsheets in space as some of its detractors (and even fans) have surmised, thus far it's been a spreadsheet with fairly limited search capabilities. Now thanks to the efforts of CCP developers, finding your random crap spread across the cosmos in various New Eden station storage facilities just got a lot easier. The latest EVE Online dev blog has the details on the asset search functionality updates, and they include new keyword searches and a complete listing of keyword values. "There [is] definitely more we can do with this in the future but we started this rather late and [we] didn't want to add lots of broken functionality, but rather a few simple options that work and cover the basics and a bit more," the dev blog explains. CCP expands EVE's asset search functionality originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: Dev blog

We've got your key to the Rosh Online closed beta! Posted: 01 Dec 2011 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Contests, Giveaways Rosh Online may be a new title, but it'll have a familiar feeling to a lot of gamers thanks to its secondary title: The Return of Karos. A new game with familiar overtones will be attractive to those already familiar with Karos Online, but even if you didn't play in the first round, Ignited Games promises plenty of fun in this one. Rosh Online has entered closed beta and will finish off this round of testing in the middle of next week, so if you want to check it out, Massively's here for you. We've got 500 closed beta keys for the game, so head to our giveaway page to pick up your key. Register at Rosh Online, enter your key at the "redeem beta key" page, and you're all set! Have fun, and join us in thanking Ignited Games for the keys! We've got your key to the Rosh Online closed beta! originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments

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General gaming

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• How to Make Tomonobu Itagaki in Saints Row: The Third
• Updated Versions of Bungie's Marathon Trilogy Hit Version 1.0
• Next Week's Skyrim Patch Reacquaints Dragons with the Direction Forward
• Infinity Blade II Players Experiencing Crashes, Fix on the Way
• 3DS Ambassador GBA Games Still on the Way in 2011
• UFC App on Xbox 360 Pushed Back Until December 20
• 3DS Takes Only 8 Months to Surpass First-Year DS Sales
• New South Park RPG Being Written by the Show's Creators

How to Make Tomonobu Itagaki in Saints Row: The Third Posted: 01 Dec 2011 05:07 PM PST You might remember us applauding the Tokyo Game Show 2011 news of Ninja Gaiden (Xbox) creator Tomonobu Itagaki being a playable character in Saints Row: The Third. Though, now with the benefit of hindsight, it seems that the news was less, "he is an in-game persona you can interact with," and more, "you can create him with SR:TT's crazy character creator."

Updated Versions of Bungie's Marathon Trilogy Hit Version 1.0 Posted: 01 Dec 2011 04:19 PM PST Long before Halo, Bungie created the Marathon trilogy -- a series of first-person shooter games for Mac OS released in 1994, 1995, and 1996. Halo fans may have become somewhat acquainted with the series thanks to Marathon 2: Durandal being released on Xbox Live Arcade in 2007, but that still left two games to be played. Source code for Marathon 2 was released to the public years ago, prior to Microsoft's acquisition of Bungie. Subsequently all three games were made available for free from Bungie's website, including Infinity being made open source this past summer. Not content with having the games to play just as they were originally created, a team of modders has spent the better part of a dozen years working on an updated version of the Aleph One engine, and the Marathon trilogy with it.

Next Week's Skyrim Patch Reacquaints Dragons with the Direction Forward Posted: 01 Dec 2011 02:57 PM PST After this week's patch for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim caused a whole new slate of issues for players, Bethesda says it is readying another patch for release next week. The new patch is described as an "incremental update" and is expected to hit on PC first, followed by Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 later in the week. A full list of fixes and changes was not revealed, just that it'll take two care of two of the more noteworthy problems caused by updating to 1.2: magic resistances not working properly and dragons sometimes flying backwards, as seen in the video below.

Infinity Blade II Players Experiencing Crashes, Fix on the Way Posted: 01 Dec 2011 01:54 PM PST Less than a year after the launch of its predecessor, Infinity Blade II is now available. While that's all well and good, not everything is going as smoothly as Chair Entertainment and Epic Games would like. While the game is already the top-grossing app on the App Store, thanks in part to its $7 price tag no doubt, an alarmingly-high number of users are complaining about the game crashing. The problem seems to be mostly (if not entirely) prevalent on the iPad 1 and certain models of the iPod Touch.

3DS Ambassador GBA Games Still on the Way in 2011 Posted: 01 Dec 2011 12:43 PM PST The price drop may have resulted in the 3DS' much-improved sales in recent months -- leading to it already surpassing first-year sales of the DS -- but it also left early adopters feeling like they had made a mistake by choosing to pick up the 3DS so quickly. Luckily a gesture was made to keep them happy: a selection of 20 classic games would be given to them for free. Nintendo still plans to make good on that promise by the end of the year despite rumors to the contrary. Ten of those games were NES titles released at the end of August. They are (eventually) planned for public release on the eShop, complete with additional features. 3DS Ambassadors-- the name assigned to anyone who bought a 3DS before the price drop and enrolled in the free program -- will be able to upgrade to these enhanced versions for free once they are made available.

UFC App on Xbox 360 Pushed Back Until December 20 Posted: 01 Dec 2011 11:20 AM PST Although it was originally scheduled to be out today, the release of the UFC app for Xbox 360 has been pushed back a few weeks and will now launch on December 20. UFC on Xbox Live, as it's officially called, provides access to videos on demand, live event videos, and an interactive fight card where you can predict winners and compete with friends. Most importantly to UFC, it'll also allow 360 owners to order UFC pay-per-views directly through the system -- you don't even need to subscribe to cable.

3DS Takes Only 8 Months to Surpass First-Year DS Sales Posted: 01 Dec 2011 10:09 AM PST Sales of the 3DS have already surpassed those of the DS in its first year of availability, and it took only eight months to do it. There has been a great deal of negativity surrounding the 3DS since it launched (and even before then), with many feeling its price was set too high. The portable gaming scene has changed, and with handhelds facing competition from the iPhone, iPad, and other gaming-capable portable devices out there, many felt the 3DS had no chance to succeed. While it still has a long way to go, surpassing sales of the DS' first year -- the best-selling system in the U.S. all-time, and the second-best worldwide behind the PlayStation 2 -- is a nice start.

New South Park RPG Being Written by the Show's Creators Posted: 01 Dec 2011 09:28 AM PST You probably didn't see this one coming. In addition to a digital game that's in the works called South Park: Tenorman's Revenge (a platformer being developed by Other Ocean Interactive for XBLA), Obsidian Entertainment is currently developing an RPG based on the hit Comedy Central show known simply as South Park: The Game. As revealed by Game Informer today, the script will be authored by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the two driving forces behind the show since its inception.

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