Virtual World News
Filed under: Betas, MMO industry, Betawatch, Miscellaneous
Meanwhile, heavy-hitters TERA and Guild Wars 2 are focusing on their impending beta weekends. TERA's first open beta weekend starts today, while Guild Wars 2 plans its first beta event for pre-purchasers next weekend.
Finally, Blizzard will be closing down the Diablo III beta come Tuesday in preparation for launch next month. That means that today through Monday is your last chance to get it on the open beta!
Read on for the full Betawatch roundup!
Continue reading Betawatch: April 14 - 20, 2012
Betawatch: April 14 - 20, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Business models, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous
Free-to-play makes it quite challenging to separate monetization decisions from game design decisions, and as a result, developers are understandably concerned about avoiding the dreaded pay-to-win stigma. Pay close attention to any interview or press release that talks about a title's business model and you're guaranteed to hear a dev (or executive) say something vaguely reassuring in terms of how his title's monetization scheme absolutely isn't pay-to-win.
The problem is that there is no agreed-upon definition of pay-to-win. "Convenience" items are a good case in point. Some folks don't mind them, while others point out that they can make your character more powerful in less time, depending on the system. For today's early-morning discussion, we'd like to know your thoughts on pay-to-win. More specifically, how do you define it?
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 do you define pay-to-win? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, MMO industry, News items
"An MMO is a hell of a commitment," Schaefer tells Rock, Paper Shotgun. "It means we're gonna be doing that for a few years at least prior to release and then committing years of support for it afterward. So it's a decision we take very, very seriously."
RPS says that a Torchlight MMO has always been Runic's end goal, but given the fact that the 30-man company is still fiddling with Torchlight II, the massively multiplayer version remains a ways off.
Runic not ready for Torchlight MMO anytime soon originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: RPS
Filed under: Betas, Historical, Trailers, Video, Classes, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Free-to-play, World of Warplanes
Like all of WoWP's aircraft, fighters will feature various engines, ammunition types, and assorted customizable modules that allow players to tune for optimum combat performance.
World of Warplanes is currently in global alpha, but Wargaming.net says that closed beta is "coming soon." In the meantime, check out the clip after the cut.
[Source: Wargaming.net press release]
Continue reading New World of Warplanes gameplay video showcases fighters
New World of Warplanes gameplay video showcases fighters originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, DUST 514, Sandbox
"Much like in real life, and in EVE Online, we don't expect that a player will master all of these skills," explains CCP marketing guru David Reid. Specialization is the name of DUST 514's skill game, and Reid says that most players will probably choose a few skills and "get really, really good at them."
DUST isn't just about skills, though. It's an MMO, and an MMO means gear, so the game will launch with upwards of a thousand items (the vast majority of which can be lost in battle). How do you manage and equip these items? Through the fitting screen, of course, and today's video gives us a good look at the system in action.
Continue reading CCP shows off seven years of DUST 514 skill training
CCP shows off seven years of DUST 514 skill training originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: DUST514.org
Filed under: Sci-fi, Business models, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic
Gamasutra reports on one such forecast for Star Wars: The Old Republic by Cowen and Company. Analyst Doug Creutz says that though TOR's subs peaked at 1.7 million in February, he expects them to drop to around 1.25 million by March of 2013. The analysis is based on statistics gleaned from TorStatus.net (which tracks daily users as opposed to sub numbers). Electronic Arts' recent SWTOR promotional blitz also factored into the report.
"While the game got off to a good start, the relatively light amount of end-game content does appear to be taking a toll," Creutz wrote.
Analyst says SWTOR subs peaked at 1.7 million, now declining originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Gamasutra
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, EVE Online, Final Fantasy XI, PlanetSide, Warhammer Online, Ultima Online, Free-to-play, Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT, Final Fantasy XIV, Perfect Ten
A few years ago, doing a list of the final few F2P holdouts would have been a ridiculous proposition, but now it's actually difficult to get to 10 of these. Each company has a different reason that it hasn't given these games more flexible payment options (FPO should replace F2P; pass it on!), and while some have addressed this publicly, others say nothing and leave us to speculate on it.
For today's Perfect Ten, we're going to look at the 10 biggest current F2P holdouts in the industry and muse about what's going on behind the scenes. Will this list be impossible to do in a few years or will subscription-only titles come back in a big way? Hey, I don't predict things; I just make lists.
Continue reading The Perfect Ten: Free-to-play holdouts
The Perfect Ten: Free-to-play holdouts originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Otherland
This isn't your typical marketing beta, at least according to the sign-up verbiage. "As an alpha tester, you will be asked to focus-test specific game elements, document your user experience, and fill out in-depth surveys each week. Alpha testing is hard work," gamigo says. It's also unpaid work, so only die-hard Otherland fans need apply.
If you're not a die-hard but are still interested in the game, check out our GDC impressions as well as this handy post that collects all of the publicly known information in one place.
Otherland alpha sign-ups begin originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Alpha testing app
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Horror, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Browser, The Secret World, Casual
We've received a few news tips and heard a few rumors as to why the game was taken offline, so we decided to contact Funcom directly for the full scoop. Director of communications Erling Ellingsen gave us the low-down:
What's happened is that the activity levels on sharing to Facebook has been significantly higher than expected, and we have been asked by Facebook to make certain adjustments. So we are taking down the experience now and will be bringing it up again once the necessary adjustments have been made.And there you have it. We'll update the story as Funcom brings The Secret War back online or if there are any further developments.
Even shortly after launch yesterday we had tens of thousands of people playing and sharing actively, so the interest for the experience has been very high.
[Thanks to Adam for the tip!]
Funcom temporarily takes The Secret World Facebook tie-in offline originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Screenshots, Guild Wars 2
The piece shows Norn Eir Stegalkin finding something hidden deep underwater. Eir is one of the five key heroes of Destiny's Edge, the retired adventuring group that plays a huge part in the game. As Guild Wars 2 will have a significant underwater portion, this art is a good reminder that not all of the game's exploration and landmarks will take place out in the open air.
The concept art is by ArenaNet's Jamie Ro and can be viewed in high resolution on Flickr.
Guild Wars 2 releases underwater concept art originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Guild Wars 2 facebook