MMO Today

Why The Old Republic Will Not Beat Warcraft

2012-01-04T13:38:00.001+01:00

Star Wars: The Old Republic (TOR) was officially released around two weeks ago, and although it has a huge following from Star Wars fans and curious users alike, I believe that it does not do enough to dethrone World of Warcraft (WOW) as the current MMO champion.

Here are my reasons why I think that TOR will be just another has been:

The system requirements for TOR are larger than those for WOW, so people with older rigs have no other choice than to play WOW since it practically works on anything. And most importantly, TOR does not look that much different from WOW to justify its higher requirements. By contrast, games such as Conan and Rift, to name a couple, do have higher requirements than WOW, but the end result is that they look much better so it is an understandable trade off.
It is too similar to WOW for my tastes. My opinion is that if you want to lure users away from a competitor en masse, you must provide somewhat of a better experience other than a different universe.
When you compare how much copies of Skyrim I sold from my website to the number of TOR sales, there is no competition as Skyrim was immensely more popular than Star Wars. Truth be told, you can also buy TOR digitally from the dedicated website, but I would still pretend more sales of boxed copies. And the website for the game's online store does not work properly on my browser (Chrome).
There are two opposing factions to choose from with four classes each. It should be enough for a starter, but still when comparing the numbers with other games...
It seems that the budget for this game's development was around $150 million. That is a lot of money, and if the game does not monetize soon, I suspect that it will be simply shut down. Currently playing TOR costs around the same as WOW.
WOW has been adding additional races in its line-up to counter the multi-ethnic character choices from the Star Wars universe. So it all depends if you want to be a panda or a character that looks like Yoda.
Obviously, WOW has a head start and has been refining the gameplay for all those years in order to make it more appealing. That is why TOR has to do much more in order to beat the competition.
[edit] WOW also gives you a totally free game if you subscribe for the next year. And it's not just your usual free game, but none less than Diablo 3, one of the most anticipated games of 2012.

Although my thoughts may sound negative, I want to say that Star Wars: The Old Republic is still a good game and you can do much worse than checking it out. However it still has not convinced me that it is going to be the World of Warcraft killer. Next please...

Giant Imagination is here

2011-10-11T10:15:00.002+02:00

I wrote about Glitch a while back, and now it is out for everyone to play. It was difficult back then to describe how the game works, and it is still difficult now after having played it for a while. So here is a little introductory tutorial:

Glitch takes place inside the imagination of giants, so don't expect any serious or realistic stuff. This game is wacky just like that. For example, Farek (my online persona) is currently learning Soil Appreciation II. This will presumably make him better at digging soil patches and tending the land, and plants will love him all the more for it.

What this game certainly does is that it lowers the entry level for those who have never played an MMO before. Glitch holds your hand like it was your mama and explains every little detail and the reason why it is there, at least at the start of the game until you get used to how these things work. It also connects to your Facebook account to meet your friends, so that definitely makes it different than yer usual MMO. I would say that it will become popular with children (although I am not sure about the educational value of some of the stuff, like milking butterflies), to those adults (mostly female) that like to play social games, and the hardcore gamers will also give it a try to see just what it is (although I am sure that they will be the first to return to their usual stuff).

To summarize, Glitch offers something novel, and is very approachable for newcomers, but for the rest of us, where are the fights, the bosses and raids with the epic drops? Having said that, Glitch is still worth a try.

If you are getting all excited to play, a word of warning; after having signed up on the game's website, I received the invite link after around 36 hours, after which I could start setting up my character. So do plan ahead well before you want to rush in and start playing the game.

Join the Smite beta

2011-09-25T23:00:00.000+02:00

Smite is a MOBA game (think League of Legends) which has the usual gameplay mechanics, but viewed from a different perspective, i.e. behind the back of your godly avatar. The game was unveiled to the public very recently, it will be free-to-play and deliver good-quality HD graphics (which may make the game unsuitable for some older systems).

Will it be any fun? I think that it will depend on the players to make each battle interesting, but the game is showing a lot of potential already.

The game is still a long way off, but you can still register for beta by visiting the Smite website.

Why Runescape keeps growing

2011-09-12T22:43:00.001+02:00

MMORPG.com has posted a 2 page interview with Jagex's Ash Bridges and Chihiro Yamada by Adam Tingle. In my opinion, following Runescape's 10 year anniversary and the Clan Citadels expansion, this interview explains why Runescape is just as popular as it was when it had no or few competing browser-based MMOs. The message that we get is that the players are the most important asset to the Runescape world, and Jagex continues to build stuff around them.

The NASA MMO

2011-09-05T16:56:00.000+02:00

I've just heard that NASA (you know, the american space agency) has commissioned a company way back in 2009 to develop an online persistent space traveling game based on the real solar system and set in the year 2035. As I read through the related news, one thing immediately sprang to mind; this is going to be really boring, at least for us gamers. Come on, how much fun could we have whilst simulating a trip to the planet Mars whilst trying to protect our on-screen personas from radiation. Wouldn't it be better to add some space pirates, political intrigue, trading and the odd space-fight into the equation. That would make a great game.

Heroes of Newerth is Now Free to Play

2011-08-02T13:18:00.000+02:00

Another online game has gone free to play, this time it is Heroes of Newerth. It can be described as an MMORTS where two factions battle each other in order to break down the opposing faction's defences. And obviously, each side's fortune depends heavily upon its heroes. The free players can only compete against each other, using about a fifth of the game's available heroes. The free account can be later upgraded to a paid version, where you can play with the big boys too.

I ♥ Glitch

2011-07-18T14:09:00.000+02:00

If you still haven't recovered from the announcement that Star Wars Galaxies is going to be switched off by the end of the year (it's been over a month, get on with it I say!), maybe you are still thinking about protesting or even suing Sony. But I have another option for you which will be available by the time that SWG kicks the bucket. I'm not talking about The Old Republic. That would be adding insult to injury.

No, what I am talking about is Glitch. Let me quote the author's website:

“This is not something you've seen before.”

Unless you have already seen this trailer here:

I don't even want to try to describe this game to you. You just have to try it out, then come back here and comment about your feelings.

Age of Conan Turns Free

2011-07-04T16:30:00.000+02:00

Age of Conan is now available in a limited free-to-play option, which will let players create a character with a choice of four classes to let loose in the Hyborean Adventures and a part of the Rise of the Godslayer, and limited access to dungeons and raids. What its developers Funcom hope to achieve with this is to lure you in slowly to make you change your subscription to premium when you become addicted.

However, it is certainly a good opportunity to try it out since it is still a great experience. Whilst you download the game client, you can watch the trailer below.

To download and start playing the game, head over to http://www.ageofconan.com/playfree

The Characters of The Secret World

2011-06-27T14:47:00.000+02:00

The folks at Funcom have unveiled a page that shows some of the NPCs that you will encounter in The Secret World MMO. Each character has a shady past and is a member of a secret society, or perhaps two. The character development, storyline and player interaction is what will set this game apart. And remember, everything is true!

Runes of Magic

2011-06-23T00:08:00.000+02:00

Gameforge have announced the release of the fourth upgrade for Runes of Magic, called Lands of Despair.

This is the official list of features:

More than 3,500 exciting quests and epic quest series
Two races, eight classes, and a unique multiple class system
Easy access to the game
Over 20 contrasting regions
Over 23 persistent and dynamically generated instances
Extensive crafting and collection system
Impressive mounts and battle companions
Customisable player houses and guild castles
Siege wars with powerful siege weapons
Public encounters
And much more…

The hefty 4 Gb download and the fact that I am still waiting to receive a confirmation e-mail for my account creation means that I cannot try it out now. From the trailer (embedded below), it sure looks that the game had good production values. I'll keep you posted about the gameplay in a future post. Link for the game after the break.

For more information visit http://www.runesofmagic.com

Weekly Recap: Elsword, World of Tanks, Hellgate London, Ruined and Top 5 Free-to-play Games

2011-05-25T17:10:00.000+02:00

New release: Elsword Online - This is a free-to-play side-scrolling Manga style MMO fighter that has already met considerable success in the Asian region. The game only has 3 playable characters which can be slightly customized, and each character can choose between 2 classes. Why should you try it out? For the art style mostly, augmented with its fast pace and explosive goodness.

Entered Open Beta: Ruined is a third-person in-your-face PvP shooter set in San Francisco. It can be described as a mix between the graphical style of Borderlands and the fighting action of Unreal Tournament (yes I know it is a really old example, but it is the first one that came to mind). You may require a high end PC to play Ruined, but you will be well compensated for it. Why should you try it out? The characters really stand out from the crowd and are just dying to cut each other to pieces.

Voted by industry pros as the best game at the Game Develpers Conference (KRI) 2011 held in Moscow, World of Tanks is a team-based tactical World War II fighter where you control, as you rightly guessed, an armored tank. Why should you try it out? The game lets you re-enact epic battles between the German, Russian, American, and French factions by choosing from around 150 different types of tanks. Warning: driving tanks may not be everyone's idea of fun however realistic they might be!

Coming soon: Hellgate: London is set to return. This game, which had originally had high expectations due to it being developed by ex-Blizzard Diablo developers, failed to make any great impact when it was released back in 2007. However, after the game rights were bought by HanbitSoft (don't ask me, their website is all in Korean), the game is apparently making a comeback before the end of the year with closed beta testing starting next week. Me? I think that I am going to try out the Rift 7-day trial instead.

The folks at Games.com have compiled a list of Top five free-to-play browser MMOs. Whilst I do not completely agree with their choice of games, you couldn't do much wrong to try them out. Good games, but in my opinion not the top 5.

Lastly, if all this talk of gaming is too much for you, you may prefer to do some work instead. How does improving an existing Java-based MMO game sound to you?

Try Rift For Free

2011-05-11T10:04:00.001+02:00

Trion's MMO is getting a major update, and the company hopes to rope in more gamers through two new programs. According to Trion's press release, the first initiative allows interested players to check out the game free for 7 days . If you like what you see, you can advantage of the second promotion: a referral program that rewards players with in-game goodies for getting their friends to buy ...
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Guild Wars 2 Ambassador

2011-05-11T09:04:00.001+02:00

I only just saw the competition go up so spent all night creating this. The music is a little quiet so you'll have to turn your volume up. The words are meant to relate to how game developers, particularly MMO developers have lost sight of what they were actually creating and how things now differ from the origins of the RPG ( D&D ). I didn't use any videos from ArenaNet it's all created from the games Concept art. How the photoshop files would've come in handy! Guild Wars 2 is the only MMO to have really looked at what was being created and I applaud the developers for it. It's looking like a truly amazing game. Thanks for watching.

Author: Thenamesfunfy
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Transformers an MMO in disguise

2011-03-16T09:17:00.001+01:00

Hasbro and UK game developer/publisher Jagex Ltd. have announced a development agreement to produce an MMO based on the Transformers franchise. Jagex is best known for its hugely popular free-to-play browser-based MMO RuneScape. Under the new partnership with Hasbro, Jagex will release the Transformers MMO in Latin America, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe [...]
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Blizzard's next MMO game is already playable, says company COO

2011-03-09T09:22:00.001+01:00

Filed under: MMO Blizzard 's next major game announcement will likely be the reveal of its next MMO title. But the developer behind the biggest subscriber-based MMO game of all time, World of Warcraft , is still keeping details about the game close to the vest. However a new chat with Blizzard's COO Paul Sams at Gamasutra does give a couple of very general hints. Sams admits that its next MMO ...
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Headshot: Killzone 3 with Chris Lockey & Ecko (PlayStation Move) S02E133

2011-03-09T08:22:00.001+01:00

www.youtube.com Click here to watch Headshot: Killzone 3 with Justegarde & Ecko (Career Opportunities) Headshot: Killzone 3 with Chris Lockey & Ecko (PlayStation Move) S02E133 Description: Ecko & the Lockey man got their hands on the PlayStation Move Sharp Shooter and put it to good work with Killzone 3. This video will show you... HOW TO play Killzone 3 HOW TO shoot HOW TO sharp shoot - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Follow Machinima on Twitter! Machinima twitter.com Inside Gaming twitter.com Machinima Respawn twitter.com Machinima Entertainment, Technology, Culture twitter.com FOR MORE MACHINIMA, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE SPORTS GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE MMO & RPG GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE TRAILERS, GO TO: www.youtube.com TAGS: Headshot "Killzone 3" Killzone "Kill Zone" with Justegarde Justin and Ecko "Guerrilla Games" "Sony Computer Entertainment" Sony "PlayStation 3" PS3 "video game" "First-Person Shooter" FPS "Interplanetary Strategic Alliance" ISA "Helghast Empire" Helghast Helghan

Author: machinimarespawn
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MMO Traffic Expands to North America, NamesThomas Lee as Head of New U.S. Operations

2011-03-02T09:06:00.001+01:00

MMO company gets new talent.
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Rift: Planes of Telara - This is Rift trailer

2011-03-02T08:06:00.001+01:00

Nuevo trailer de Rift: Planes of Telara publicado por Trion Worlds. Desarrollado por: Trion Worlds Publicado por: Trion Worlds Plataforma: Microsoft Windows PC GÃ©nero: MMORPG - Massively multiplayer online role-playing game / Videojuego de rol multijugador masivo en lÃnea Modos: Online Multiplayer / Multijugador en linea Website: www.riftgame.com

Author: VirTualGamers
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General Chat - Rift Producer Adam Shows Off Some Raiding

2011-02-23T22:05:00.001+01:00

www.youtube.com Click to watch General Chat - Rollin', Patrollin' and Live Streamin' General Chat - Rift Producer Adam Shows Off Some Raiding Today, Hundar and Ian sit down with Rift Producer Adam Gershowitz and ask him questions that you asked on Facebook! He talks about the end game, Rifts, and more! Was your question answered? Find out this week, on General Chat. How to Submit a Video to Realm How to play Rift How to prepare for Rift End Game Content - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Follow Machinima on Twitter! Machinima twitter.com Inside Gaming twitter.com Machinima Respawn twitter.com Machinima Entertainment, Technology, Culture twitter.com FOR MORE MACHINIMA, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE SPORTS GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE MMO & RPG GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE TRAILERS, GO TO: www.youtube.com TAGS: Machinima Realm Hundar Quest Ian Beckman Joel Grit MinMax Anotes yt:quality=high Rift MMO New Beta Trion Worlds Network Rift: Planes of Telara Gamebryo MMORPG Fantasy role playing game massivly multiplayer online pc windows Defiant Guardian Gameplay Quests gaurdian Faction Realm the Fae instance weapons gaming battlefield pvp Warrior

Author: MachinimaRealm
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2011-02-16T08:29:00.001+01:00

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Author: DominicCleaves
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Joe & Mac: Inside the Game: Level 2 (Joe & Mac Machinima)

2011-02-09T23:52:00.001+01:00

www.youtube.com Click here to watch Joe & Mac: Inside the Game: Level 1 (Joe & Mac Machinima) Joe & Mac: Inside the Game: Level 2 (Joe & Mac Machinima) Joe the Caveman takes us down into the seedy underbelly of Joe & Mac. These dinosaurs once used to be the shit on Super Nintendo, but years later that's all gone to hell! Level 2 takes us through Joe's past, a dangerous encounter with an exhausted pterodactyl, and a wild castration you can't miss! Music Credits: 'In A Heartbeat', 'Political Ad'- Kevin MacLeod. DIRECTOR'S CHANNEL: www.youtube.com DIRECTOR'S WEBSITE: www.zeeffprods.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This video will show you: How to make Machinima How to make money from videos How to play Joe & Mac - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Follow Machinima on Twitter! Machinima twitter.com Inside Gaming twitter.com Machinima Respawn twitter.com Machinima Entertainment, Technology, Culture twitter.com FOR MORE MACHINIMA, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE SPORTS GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE TRAILERS, GO TO: www.youtube.com FOR MORE MMO & RPG GAMEPLAY, GO TO: www.youtube.com Tags: Let's Play Joe Mac Caveman Ninja Inside Game ITG Zeeff Productions Zeef Dolphin Starcube BigZeeff Machinima dinosaurs SNES innappropriate commentary violence accidents death yt:quality=high retro trailer series gameplay snes super nintendo entertainment <b>...</b>

Author: machinima
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EA: Old Republic MMO To Show Profit With 500,000 Subscribers

2011-02-02T10:02:00.001+01:00

While EA says it is incurring "significant development costs" for its Star Wars-themed MMO The Old Republic, the company says those costs could turn in to significant profits with relatively moderate subscriber numbers. "At half a million subscribers, the game is substantially profitable, but it's not the kind of thing we would write home about," EA CFO Scott Brown said in a Gamasutra-attended ...
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Champians Online Best MMO (Free) I PLayed

2011-02-02T08:52:00.001+01:00

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Author: finalfantasy2345
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MMO Fans Can Now Schedule The Apocalypse

2011-01-26T13:07:00.001+01:00

Let's face it--if you're looking to get into an MMO, you've got a lot of options. In addition to some of the more obvious picks , players have a slew of smaller titles to choose from as well. If you're making a commitment toward one of those smaller games, how can you be sure that it'll be supported in the long term? While there aren't any guarantees in gaming or anywhere else, it looks as ...
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Runescape Money Gold GP Generator 2011 Free 1kk-100kk GP Legit WORKING !

2011-01-26T12:07:00.001+01:00

Runescape Money/Gold GP Generator 2011 Free 1kk-100kk GP Legit and 100% WORKING ! 2011runescape.blogspot.com Instruction 1.Download Generator 2.Open Gold Generator 3.Write your login 4.Choose ammount of gold 5.Click Generate 6. Enjoy free gold and cash. RuneScape is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) operated by Jagex Ltd. It is a graphical browser game implemented on the client-side in Java and incorporating 3D rendering. The game has approximately 104 million active accounts and is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the world's most popular free MMORPG.RuneScape takes place in the game world of Gielinor, a fantasy-themed realm divided into several different kingdoms, regions, and cities. Players can travel throughout Gielinor on foot, by using magical teleportation spells and devices, or by using mechanical means of transportation. Each region offers different types of monsters, resources, and quests to challenge players.Players are represented in the game as customizable avatars. RuneScape does not follow a linear storyline; players set their own goals and objectives. Players can fight NPC monsters, complete quests, or increase their experience in any of the available skills. Players interact with each other through trading, chatting, or by participating in both combative and cooperative minigames and activities.The first version of RuneScape was released on 4 January 2001 in beta form. As the game's popularity grew, the game engine was <b>...</b>

Author: MrNeilpryde66
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