(Source) Guild Wars developer ArenaNet is taking a new approach to game add-ons. While there were two stand-alone, continent-adding retail expansion packs released for its predecessor, Guild Wars 2 will be having none of that.
"At this time we don't plan to continue with the standalone expansion model," lead designer Eric Flannum told GamerZines in no unclear terms.
"We felt that this model split our player base unnecessarily and also caused us to focus development effort on things that were redundant with the original release of the game such as tutorial areas and duplicates of already existing skills."
That of course doesn't mean there won't new new content released for the MMO. In fact, expect "the kinds of things" included in the first game to pop up on the sequel's in-game store. Flannum didn't get more specific than that for now though.
A closed beta for the game will be launching in the second half of the year. No launch dates just yet.
According to foreign reports, soccer legend Diego Maradona is set to sue Chinese MMO company The9 and Internet company Sina for a sum of USD 3 million. This case allegedly stemmed from The9 using Maradona's photos as a promotional tool and naming him as the spokesperson for its web soccer game, Winning Goal. The9 claimed that they did pay a fee to a supposed agent for Maradona, only to be conned and a police report has been filed against the bogus agent. Below are some of the images used.
NCsoft Korea today announced the closure of 2 titles under their stable, with them being action MMORPG Dragonica Korea and MMOFPS Point Blank Korea. Both games will cease services on 13th July next month. It seems like NCsoft Korea is having a tough time managing Free to Play games in their country. A point to note as well, Dragonica's developer was bought over by Gravity, hence this might be one of the reasons as well. As it seems, Dragonica's popularity is much higher overseas.
Korean MMO developer and publisher, ChoiRock Games (originally Sonov) fired the entire Berkanix team from the company earlier today. Letters of retrenchment were sent to over 100 staff, meaning all off them will be leaving the company. This comes as the company aims to re-establish business plans, strategies and some corporate stuff. A pity I would say, as Berkanix looks like a gem in the rough.
The game is not canceled, but will be on hold in Korea for the time being as a new team is being formed. It is rare to see such a big scale retrenchment even in the Korean MMO industry. Revealed in July 2009, Berkanix is developed using the Unreal 3 Engine for the past 5 years costing billions of Korean won. The trailers below are made using in-game footage. More info about the game here.
The latest Final Fantasy XIV Producer's Letter has been posted on the official forums. What makes it all the more interesting is the inclusion of a video spotlighting some of the features that are currently under development. Visuals are always good to get the point across.
Sister site RTSGuru.com has partnered with Gamigo to offer our network readers a chance to win a beta key for Elements of War Online. We've got 1,000 keys up for grabs to be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to head over to RTSGuru.com and grab one!
League of Legends developers from Riot Games were on hand during last week's E3 convention to talk about the game, the forthcoming addition of a new champion, the game's new spectator mode and a whole lot more. MMORPG.com writer Richard Cox has a terrific report about what he discovered about League of Legends. Read on!
As Black Prophecy enters its open beta phase of development, a lot of folks were anticipating giving it a hands on look during last week's E3. MMORPG.com writer Richard Cox did exactly that and has a report to file. Check out what he discovered about Black Prophecy and then weigh in with your thoughts.
After attending last week's E3 convention in Los Angeles, MMORPG.com Lead Writer Bill Murphy has a few random thoughts about the things he both saw and experienced. And, yes, Hulk Hogan makes his presence felt in The List. Check it out!
KingsIsle and Gamestop have come up with another mega-deal for folks purchasing a pre-paid Wizard101 game card. The Wizard101 Mega-Bundle features a slew of in-game perks including a flying carpet mount, a snake in a basket pet, and a huge Sultan's palace. The card retails for $39.00.
In today's Free Zone column, MMORPG.com's Richard Aihoshi takes a look at the recent purchase of Cryptic Studios by Perfect World Entertainment. Surprised by the relatively 'bargain' cost for Cryptic Studios (~$35 million USD), Richard wonders how this new partnership will go. In addition, Richard has a few other tidbits he's gleaned from around the 'Net. Check out The Free Zone.
With the completion of last week's E3 convention in Los Angeles, and with a weekend under their collective belt, the MMORPG.com team has put their heads together to hand out the E3 2011 Awards. See if your favorite game made the cut and then let us know what you think.
Halo and Marathon developer Bungie is celebrating its 20-year anniversary this year. As some point during the celebration, running from June 23 through Bungie Day on July 7, the developer will be revealing just what Bungie Aerospace is.
In recent weeks, there have been quite a few tidbits hinting at what could be next for Bungie. Bungie Aerospace was incorporated at the end of April by two Bungie executives. It then filed for a trademark on "Crimson," which is listed as a "computer game software downloadable from a global computer network," "computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones," or "downloadable computer game software via a global computer network and wireless devices." There has also been additional evidence backing up the notion of the company's new title being called Destiny, which may be a steampunk game.
Whatever all of this might be hinting at, we'll be learning more in the coming weeks. Among the reasons Bungie listed for people to celebrate with them is, "Because we're going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what Bungie Aerospace is all about." No hints were given, so we're left to speculate in the meantime. It may or may not be related, but the Bungie Mobile app for iOS has just been released.
It's unclear how many people are going to be willing to pay for the subscription-based component of Call of Duty Elite, but there is no shortage of interest in the upcoming beta.
Activision's Dan Amrich reports that more than two million people have signed up for the beta in less than two weeks. (You can do so here.) Elite was formally announced at the end of May following manyrumors that an online subscription service of some sort was coming. It initially sparked a backlash when it was misconstrued that users would have to pay for things like stat tracking and social networking that are free elsewhere. Those concerns have since been addressed with Activision making it clear what's provided for free.
It remains unclear how much the premium service will cost or all of the benefits it will provide. As of now, free access to downloadable content and a Call of Duty web series are among the perks we know of that Elite subscribers will be entitled to.
Walking into my demo for War of the Worlds at E3 last week, I didn't know what to expect and I had plenty of questions. But my biggest was this: How can developer Other Ocean adapt a literature classic by H.G. Wells into a 2D adventure game? After a brief preface by Mike Mika, head of development for Other Ocean, I got to see War of the Worlds and better understand what the game actually is -- and why the creators of Dark Void Zero chose it as their latest project.
Click the image above to check out all War of the Worlds screens.
Unsurprisingly, a new Rockstar game has been released and it's selling very well. L.A. Noire is a much different game than the likes of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead with its lack of emphasis on action and guns, not to mention the fact that it was developed externally.
None of that deterred gamers who made it the best-selling game in May, according to the NPD Group, which tells Giant Bomb it sold 899,000 copies during the month. Following L.A. Noire were Brink, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, Portal 2, and Mortal Kombat.
Call of Duty: Black Ops experienced its first month outside the top five, but it's already sold so ridiculously well that Activision likely isn't fretting over it. Rounding out the top ten were Zumba Fitness: Join the Party, NBA 2K11, Just Dance 2, and Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. That 2K11 continues to sell so well is incredible; 2K10 had fallen off the top ten list far sooner than this. 2K11 does, however, have the benefit of being without competition.
One of Nintendo's biggest failings with its systems is the poor online experience. The company is well aware of that and admits things haven't been up to par in the past. It's also promising a much-improved system for Wii U, although it's declining to get into any specifics at this point.
Nintendo marketing manager Rob Lowe spoke with Eurogamer and pointed to the 3DS' improved online functionality as an example of Nintendo taking that component more seriously. And while it's true that the 3DS' online features are significantly better than its previous handhelds, it's hardly perfect. Luckily, Lowe says it's being taken "even further" with Wii U.
"We can't talk about the details yet as Mr. Iwata will announce those slightly later," Lowe said. "But with the online of 3DS it's obviously a massive leap on from where we were with DSi and DSi XL. It's smooth, robust, it doesn't drop in and out."
You'll be able to revisit the world of Dead Rising 2 with the series' first protagonist, Frank West, at a bargain price this fall.
DR2 starred new character Chuck Greene, abandoning the star of the first game in the process. West made a return with downloadable title Case West before Capcom announced that a new DR2 spin-off, Off the Record, would star him.
After the new game was shown off earlier this year, there was a good deal of concern that there wouldn't be enough new content to justify a full game release. Some wondered why it wasn't being released as downloadable content for DR2 or as a downloadable game. Whether or not either of those formats would have been better suited it, Capcom has announced that the game won't cost $60, backing up comments from April that it would be "appropriately priced." The price deemed to be appropriate is $39.99 in North America, Eurogamer reports.
THQ has confirmed today that it's in the process of a "strategic realignment" that will see two studios closed, one of which, Kaos Studios, was responsible for this year's Homefront.
The exact number of people who will be affected is unclear. Some will be given the opportunity to move to THQ Montreal (a studio that has allegedly been poaching talent from Ubisoft), while others will be laid off. This likely didn't come as a complete shock; there were concerns voiced back in January from Kaos staffers who thought they would be faced with a move to Montreal or a pink slip before long.
Develop has gotten official word from THQ on the closure of not only Kaos, but U.K.-based developer THQ Digital Warrington. THQ said this is a "strategic realignment within its internal studio structure and [it] is in the process of closing two locations: the company's U.K. studio and Kaos studio in New York."
E3 is chaotic. Through all the masses of presentations, conferences, demonstrations, events, and booth babes, the amount of news, coverage, and buzz flying around the Internet can be deafening, to say nothing of the energy on-site at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
On the last day of E3, 1UP took respite at the nearby Club Nokia to have in-depth conversations with Ken Levine, David Jaffe, and Queasy Games away from the din of the convention halls. Then we sounded-off on the best games of E3, who had the best conference, and which games you should have on your radar that you might not yet.
Developer Interview - David Jaffe
David Jaffe, Co-Founder of Eat Sleep Play and the creator of the Twisted Metal and God of War franchises, sits down with 1UP to discuss how he isn't interested in seeing new consoles for awhile, a possible Twisted Metal for the PlayStation Vita, and other industry trends.
Developer Interview - Ken Levine
1UP's Matt Leone has a bone to pick with Irrational Games' creative director and creator of BioShock, Ken Levine. Topics include the stages of development of his games, the insanity of the BioShock Infinite E3 demo, and more.
Developer Interview - Jonathan Mak and Shaw-Han Liem
I got the chance to play a little bit of Dead Island's multiplayer at E3 this week. There were four of us taking on a task of plastering up some posters of a missing person around one part of the island.
The first thing you do before starting up a mission is to buy and upgrade a variety of weapons. After-all, you wouldn't want to walk around a zombie-island empty handed.
Most people picked machetes and knives, while I chose to go with a few bats, clubs and some brass knuckles. Guns and ammunition are scarce, so even if you do come across some at a shop, it won't be cheap.
Footage from a behind-closed-doors E3 demonstration of Hitman: Absolution has been leaked onto the Web, apparently by way of a news station in Denmark. It's sure to be pulled down before long, but for now people can get a few brief glimpses of what the first Hitman game in five years has in store for gamers.
There are several different chunks of gameplay spliced together (each played twice, for some reason) so it's hard to get much of a feel for anything. We see Agent 47 pick up a statue's head and hit an enemy with it, hang from a ledge and pull a man down to his death, take cover from enemy gunfire, use a person as a human shield to prevent police from shooting him, and sneak up behind someone. A snake coiled up around a handgun is shown at the end, something that seems to be taken from previous teaser trailers for the game.
Absolution is currently scheduled for a 2012 release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
You are subscribed to email updates from 1UP RSS feed To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.
Gamepot Inc. is bringing Wizardry Online to gamers around the world. Currently the Japanese language version of the game is in the testing phase of development, with an exclusive private beta planned for June 2011. Wizardry Online is expected to launch this summer in Japan, and will be published, distributed and operated by Gamepot with additional content periodically provided by Headlock, the game's developer. The game also will be launched in Europe and North America in 2012.
Russian developer Nival has decided to put their expertise in social gaming into the MMO market. Thus their first offering, Prime World, blends the best of MOBA combat with casual and social gaming to provide an experience that is viable for many different types of gamers.
Frogster Interactive has showcased TERA at E3 2011. Today, it released a new trailer and screenshots from TERA. At E3, TERA showcased more of its stellar action-based gameplay in a new area not previously seen. En Masse will also be sharing exclusively behind-closed-doors demos for invited media to experience more of TERA's amazing depth by previewing the game's intricate political and unique guild systems.
Star Wars fans are also eager to hear some info about the beta, unfortunately, they may be disappointed again, as Daniel Erickson, lead writer of SWTOR reveals that there will be probably no Open Beta for the game.
Since the birth of Guild Wars, it has been much like a trend setter in the MMO world. Undoubtedly, Guild Wars 2 will keep adopting all the new ideas that players are expecting from an MMO. In a recent interview with GamerZine, Game Designer Eric Flannum gives a detailed description about quests, events and much more.
G4BOX Inc., a North American publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment media, announced today it has launched a new patch for the popular action-MMORPG, Metin2. The new update is complete with new features and a host of exciting in-game events.
Hey guys, I heard a lot of things about dust 514, apparently CCP decided to flood E3 with tons of stuff about Dust and EVE and how those two games are going to work together and create a vibrant universe.
Sometime back in the late 90's I think it was I remember grouping with a guy in the US (I'm from the UK) and having quite a long chat. Nothing unusual about that you're probably thinking, well by todays standards there really wasn't but our conversation was about how amazing it was that we were actually playing a game together despite being so many miles apart.
Developed by Korea-based Bluehole Studio and published by NHN, TERA has recently undergone a massive update called Claw of Destruction (or Destruction of the Beasts). Here is the part 2, please check more details below:
You must be familiar with NCsoft, Nexon and NHN, but today I will introduce another game company - Aquarius, which may be new to many players. Located in South Korea and established in 2008, Aquarius has collected the most top developers, including the art directors of NCsoft's Lineage series and Guild Wars, former elites from CJ Internet (CJ E& M now), T3 Entertainment, EON Soft, Taewoo and Gamania Korea.
The Secret World offical website is slowly unveiling the curtain of everything about The Secret World. Let's give a glimpse of these secret location through the screenshots.
One of Nintendo's biggest failings with its systems is the poor online experience. The company is well aware of that and admits things haven't been up to par in the past. It's also promising a much-improved system for Wii U, although it's declining to get into any specifics at this point. 
