| WAKFU puts out a call for (paying) pioneers Posted: 03 Feb 2012 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Business models, Launches, Free-to-play, Sandbox With WAKFU's launch rapidly approaching later this month, the information is pouring forth fast and furious from this free-to-play title. One of the biggest questions that players have at this stage is just how a game is going to make its money, and in the case of WAKFU, Ankama is certainly hoping that the experience is fun enough to warrant a regular subscription. If you're already on board with the WAKFU philosophy and wish to subscribe for a premium membership, then Ankama has a few great pre-launch offers for you. By signing up for three, six, or 12-month plans, you can net yourself plenty of in-game items as well as the esteemed title of " WAKFU Pioneer." Ankama has also published a helpful chart illustrating the differences between the F2P and subscription plans -- such as whether or not you can become an eco-terrorist (we kid you not). Other differences include the ability to own a home vs. set up an in-game shop, how many professions you can master (six vs. 16), and whether or not you can run for office. [Thanks to Derek for the tip!]  WAKFU puts out a call for (paying) pioneers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Study links MMOs to 'problem' game-playing Posted: 03 Feb 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous Despite the fact that video game addiction lacks both a definition and a diagnosis, "researchers around the world continue to investigate methods of determining, treating, and preventing" it, according to Gamespot. The American Psychiatric Association recently rejected a movement to incorporate game addiction into its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but that hasn't stopped folks at the National Development and Research Institute from publishing the findings from a survey conducted with 3,380 adult gamers. The study found that five percent of participants reported "moderate to extreme problem game-playing." Commonly reported problem titles included Call of Duty, the Grand Theft Auto series, online poker games, and World of Warcraft. The team concluded that "there is evidence to suggest that problem game-playing is linked to particular kinds of game genres," and that further research is needed. Study links MMOs to 'problem' game-playing originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The 2800 invade Star Trek Online -- and we have on-the-scenes footage Posted: 03 Feb 2012 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Patches, Previews, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play "Forge alliances... or all will be lost." If those words don't give you chills of anticipation, then perhaps you need to take a gander at the video for the brand-new featured episodes coming soon to Star Trek Online. Titled "The 2800," the video begins by showing an invasion fleet popping out of a wormhole as the Federation and Klingons scramble to respond. During this story, the Jem Hadar will be staging a massive attack upon Deep Space Nine, and it's up to players to warp in and save the game. The 2800 will debut in the game on Saturday, February 11th, following this weekend's second anniversary celebration. You can watch the full video after the jump! Continue reading The 2800 invade Star Trek Online -- and we have on-the-scenes footage The 2800 invade Star Trek Online -- and we have on-the-scenes footage originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Are you currently on hiatus from MMOs? Posted: 03 Feb 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous Something fascinates me about many of the more vocal commenters on Massively. No matter what game is launching, re-launching, closing, expanding, or going free-to-play, someone usually has to make it known that he doesn't play MMOs at all anymore. The fact that he's still reading about MMOs on Massively is a compliment to us, but I'm always curious about what drove him away from actually playing. So if you're a former MMO player and you still like to keep up with the news, let us know why. What drove you away? What makes you still read about it? Are you holding out for the next big MMO, or is it something more?  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 currently on hiatus from MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| This Week in MMO: Gannon-free edition Posted: 02 Feb 2012 06:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Video, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Secret World, TERA It's time for This Week in MMO, kids, and no, you don't need to adjust your televisions monitors. That is not Gary Gannon behind the mic this week, but it is Mike Schaffnit, and he's joined by Mike B. and Jason Winter for the customary MMO news roundtable. Tops on the agenda is TERA, which went from announcing its launch date to having a potentially launch-affecting lawsuit leveled at it by NCsoft. As the week wore on things got a bit better thanks to pre-order announcements (and the associated closed beta invites), but there's still a bit of a cloud hanging over En Masse's maiden title that our trio discusses at length. Other newsy bits include The Secret World's new trailer, World of Planes namechange, and the overbearing nanny-state that is South Korea. Check out the full show after the break. Continue reading This Week in MMO: Gannon-free edition This Week in MMO: Gannon-free edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Ask Massively: Thieving on the fast track edition Posted: 02 Feb 2012 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Culture, Expansions, MMO industry, Opinion, Legal, Ask Massively, Miscellaneous One of our readers was kind enough to point us to two sites that, once again, were stealing our posts without crediting our authors or anything like that. (I don't mean "this post looks suspiciously similar"; I mean abusing copy and paste.) Unfortunately, while we're aware of these things, there's not a whole lot we can do other than request that the sites get taken down. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't, but it's all we can do. I guess it's nice to be good enough that your work is worth stealing without credit? That's something. This week's installment of Ask Massively isn't going to focus on that, however. Instead, we're going to focus on the recent spate of MMO litigation and the potential for a boxed RIFT expansion. If you have a question you'd like to see answered in a future installment of Ask Massively, mail it along to ask@massively.com or leave a comment in the field below. Questions may be edited slightly for clarity and/or brevity. Continue reading Ask Massively: Thieving on the fast track edition Ask Massively: Thieving on the fast track edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| THQ still planning on WAR40K launch in fiscal 2014 Posted: 02 Feb 2012 04:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Warhammer 40k It seems as if the recent brouhaha over THQ's future was a bit overblown, as were concerns about the fate of the firm's Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online MMO. Our sister site reports that DMO is on track for "fiscal 2014 and beyond" based on a THQ earnings report released today. We consulted our corporate-speak decoder rings and determined that fiscal 2014 translates to April 2013, which puts the launch window slightly behind the original target date, according to Joystiq. Last month THQ debunked a rumor tweeted by Kevin Dent that had the firm canceling its entire 2014 catalog and prepping for a firesale. Gamespot, meanwhile, is reporting that THQ is actively seeking publishing partners for the game. THQ still planning on WAR40K launch in fiscal 2014 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| City of Heroes asks, 'Will you be my super-Valentine?' Posted: 02 Feb 2012 03:30 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Events, in-game, Free-to-play, Humor It's hard to believe that it's already February and that spring is now within striking distance. City of Heroes feels the season coming on strong, which is why it's bringing back its Spring Fling holiday event from February 8th through the 27th. The event this year will be a mix of the old and the new. Returning from the past are tangles with Arachnos, quests to fetch underwear for Eros, and a smackdown of Snaptooth. New for the 2012 season are a couple of additional missions for the restless hopeless romantic in all of us -- Widow in Red and Valentines -- with accompanying badges. The former quest will have players looking into the love life of Lord Recluse (Match.com has no entry for "super-villain," much to his dismay), while the latter will send heroes all across the game world looking for valentines to deliver or redirect. The Valentines missions reward players with temporary powers such as Arrows of Romance and Arrows of Jealousy. City of Heroes asks, 'Will you be my super-Valentine?' originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| DCUO's game update 9 brings the world together with role-optional alerts and team buffs Posted: 02 Feb 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Super-hero, Patches, News items, PvE, Free-to-play, DC Universe Online, Dungeons DC Universe Online's Game Update 9: Assemble For Battle is now live and operational, and it brings with it a few very interesting features, especially for players interested in group content. One of said features is the addition of role-optional alerts. As any MMO player knows, there's often a rather large population disparity between various roles. Generally, there's a ton of DPS with much lower numbers of tanks and healers, which can make finding a group a PITA if you're in the former camp. As of this update, all alerts are considered role-optional, which means the longer a group waits in the group-finder for a certain role (such as a tank or a healer), the less picky the group-finder will be about filling that role. For instance, if a healer can't be found after a substantial period of time, the role will be filled by another available role. This is possible thanks to the team buff. Any time three or more group members are within range and line-of-sight of one another, the whole group will gain a buff to compensate for missing roles. For instance, a group missing a tank will get a damage mitigation buff, a group without a healer will get a health regeneration buff, and so forth. The official post notes that "the buffs are by no means a replacement for having the actual role in your group. But with some self-reliance, it will... allow you to complete the Alert successfully." For the full details on the new system, plus other features such as Novice Raids, click on through the link below to the official site. DCUO's game update 9 brings the world together with role-optional alerts and team buffs originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Subscriber numbers lead to a new hope for Electronic Arts stock Posted: 02 Feb 2012 02:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic It's official: As of yesterday, Star Wars: The Old Republic has 1.7 million active subscribers and has sold 2 million copies. That's good news for fans of the game, but it's also good news for both BioWare and Electronic Arts. Apparently, it's seen as very good news for Electronic Arts, as the company's stock has gone up by 6.1% in the announcement's wake. The stock closed on Wednesday at $18.44 a share and closed today at $19.56, an appreciable gain for the company and a sign of good health. This is sharp contrast to some of the early analyst responses before subscriber numbers were released, as well as some suspicions that the game was falling after a few first-patch fumbles. Whether the game will rise further or stabilize where it is remains to be seen, but it's certainly making a strong showing out of the gate, and the financial sector is taking note. [Thanks to Robert for the tip!] Subscriber numbers lead to a new hope for Electronic Arts stock originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EverQuest II producer handing over the reins Posted: 02 Feb 2012 02:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, EverQuest Next  EverQuest II players will probably be familiar with the name Smokejumper, the forum handle of the EverQuest franchise's Executive Producer Dave Georgeson. Georgeson has served as Executive Producer for EverQuest, EverQuest II, and the upcoming EverQuest Next while simultaneously filling the role of Producer for EverQuest II. As you might imagine, that's quite a lot of work for a single person. With that in mind, Georgeson announced on the official EQII website today that Holly " Windstalker" Longdale has rejoined SOE in order to take over the position of EverQuest II's Producer. Holly also takes the opportunity to introduce herself to the community, remarking that "the opportunity to be a producer on this team is surreal and certainly perfect." She goes on to say that " EverQuest... has had a place in [her] life for well over a decade now," making it clear that she's not just some corporate suit who doesn't care about the game -- she's a player who is passionate about the game and is in-tune with the playerbase. To read the full announcement from Smokejumper as well as the follow-up by Windstalker, just click on through the link below. EverQuest II producer handing over the reins originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Play three Nexon MMOs, get this car Posted: 02 Feb 2012 01:00 PM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Contests, Free-to-play, Dungeon Fighter Online, Giveaways, Vindictus, Dragon Nest, Promotions Did that grab your attention? Nexon is sure hoping it did, as the company is in the throes of its "Get a Hat Trick!" promotion. For the next month and a half, players who dive into Vindictus, Dragon Nest, and Dungeon Fighter Online and get to level 20 in all three games will have a shot at several nice prizes -- including the above 2012 BMW M3. So, in effect, just by playing MMOs, you could be netting yourself one of the sweetest rides in town. While Nexon has already handed out awards for the third and fourth place winners, there are still prizes left for aspiring gamers. First of all, everyone who gets a hat trick (as defined by achieving level 20 in the above three titles) will be treated to $20 worth of in-game items. Additionally, three players will get an Alienware Aurora desktop computer, and 30 people will win $50 "Karma Koins." As for the Beemer, the prize will only be unlocked if 30,000 players achieve hat tricks by March 15th -- and even then, only one car will be given away after that. So good luck and may the game be with you! Play three Nexon MMOs, get this car originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Guild Counsel: SWTOR is stealing my (character) identity! Posted: 02 Feb 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Guilds, Opinion, Roleplaying, Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Guild Counsel Guild leading is often as much about managing personalities as it is about managing the nuts and bolts of the game. In previous columns, we've looked at all sorts of issues that guild leaders have to solve, and at the root of almost all of them is some sort of personality clash. Show me a nice blend of personalities, and I'll show you a happy guild that will stick together for years. What makes guild leading so difficult, though, is that unlike real-life leaders, guild leaders need to manage two identities for every member. There's the real-life identity of the player, and then there's the identity of the in-game character, and they aren't always the same. If you talk to a guild that's met at a guild gathering or convention, one of the things you'll always hear is how a particular member is so different from his in-game character. In game, for example, he might be a rough-around-the-edges general, but in real life he's a quiet teddy bear. MMOs give us the opportunity to be someone completely different from who we are out of game, and even non-roleplayers will sometimes behave differently when they're playing. But Star Wars: The Old Republic has taken away some of our power to construct our own identities in game. In this edition of The Guild Counsel, Let's look at how that's happened and whether it will affect the way we game. Continue reading The Guild Counsel: SWTOR is stealing my (character) identity! The Guild Counsel: SWTOR is stealing my (character) identity! originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| PlanetSide 2 website features new Terran Republic lore Posted: 02 Feb 2012 10:00 AM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, Lore, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2 It's been a while since we've featured a PlanetSide 2 lore update, mainly because more interesting gameplay info was on offer from Sony Online Entertainment. In the absence of new vehicle screens and Matt Higby Q&A's, though, we'll happily tell about the latest story-centric update to the official site (hey, some PS2 news is better than no PS2 news, amirite?). Last night's blurb features one Tom Connery (presumably no relation to Sean, since it's the year 2640). Connery is prone to making holovid records of his life in the Terran Republic, and his latest is a somewhat harrowing account of a collapsing wormhole and the plight of the 40,000 colonists stuck on the wrong side of it. Click over to the official PS2 website for the full report. PlanetSide 2 website features new Terran Republic lore originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Just a wee competition for our readers: we're giving away a retail copy of APB Reloaded: The Boxed Special Edition plus an APB Reloaded t-shirt to one lucky totalpcgaming reader drawn from the proverbial hat.
