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Japan is getting a Final Fantasy XIV-inspired live-action TV drama
When you hear the term "live action Final Fantasy TV drama," you probably imagine something akin to Game of Thrones. But don't get your hopes up too much. Final Fantasy XIV: Daddy of Light is actually an upcoming Japanese TV drama that centers on the relationship between a father and son playing the popular MMO, reports Kotaku. It's based on a series of blog posts by a Japanese gamer who played FFXIV with his 60-year-old father, and it's also apparently the first time Final Fantasy has inspired a live action show. The series will also incorporate in-game segments from the MMO when it launches in April, so fans will still be able to get their Chocobo fix.
Claims that MMOs are a 'threat to public health' are 'exaggerated' says new study
Dr. Rachel Kowert, lead author on the relationship between shyness and online gaming paper that we covered back in October, has just released another study relating to MMOs, this one investigating the psychosocial causes and consequences of online video gameplay. Due to be published in the science journal Computers in Human Behavior in April 2015, the paper seeks to improve on past research that links online video gaming to loneliness, depression, social anxiety, poor self-esteem, and social incompetence. Kowert and her colleagues from the Universities of Muenster and Hohenheim studied 4500 gamers over 1- and 2-year periods to determine whether negative psychological traits are a consequence of engaging in online games like MMOs or simply act to draw people to online games that help them compensate for those negative traits (the "social compensation hypothesis"). MMORPG gamers will be happy to know that the findings suggest that the latter is true; no, your MMOs won't make you depressed or suddenly unable to manage interpersonal communications: The results uncovered here do not support the claims that exposure to, or prolonged engagement within, OVG [online video game] spaces negatively impacts players' psychosocial well-being. In that respect, concerns regarding OVGs being a threat to public health seem to be exaggerated. These findings do, however, provide the empirical evidence for a social compensation model among young adult participants, indicating that OVGs have likely become alternative social outlets for young adult players with [low] social and psychosocial resources, as reflected by lower reported life satisfaction and social competence. In fact, the effect was strongest for young gamers: "For adolescent players, being a member of the online game playing community was found to bolster their reported life-satisfaction." Stay tuned later this month for a full Massively report on Kowert's MMO-related research.
The Daily Grind: How many MMOs have you played this year?
We aren't even nearing the end of 2014, although we've certainly put a good chunk of this year under our belt by now. To me, it feels as though it's been a long run of many gameplay experiences. In 2014 alone, I've played Landmark, The Secret World, Lord of the Rings Online, Guild Wars 2, WildStar, Marvel Heroes, Diablo III, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Neverwinter, RIFT, and Trove. I think that's everything, but I can't be 100% sure. So what about you? How many MMOs have you played this year so far? It's not an epeen contest or anything, I'm just curious. Have you primarily given your attention to one or two titles, or have you been hopping around like a mad video game bunny? 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 would you define 'massive'?
In our editorial Soapbox this week, a Massively writer suggested that MMO players have a difficult time agreeing on what constitutes an MMO at least in part because of fundamental confusion over the term "massive." I've always thought the word too relative to be useful; I like the idea of playing alongside thousands of fellow geeks, but very few of the MMOs and MMORPGs I've played since the dawn of the genre ever actually put more than a few dozen people on my screen at a time, and those that tried anyway usually lacked the tech to pull it off without extreme lag. Most MMOs, even single-shard EVE Online, are divided in some way, be it over shards or server boundaries or layered zone instancing or dungeon instances or phasing or even lobbies, and it just doesn't make much difference unless the economy is tanked as a result. A game that isn't massive but feels massive is more an MMO to me than one that's technically massive but plays like a single-player title -- "massive" seems a happy illusion at best and a double-standardish proxy for "old-school" at worst. But many gamers are convinced they know exactly where the line in the sand must be drawn between the massives and the nots. So today, let's assume you, the readers, get to decide for the genre what "massive" means. How many people does it entail -- and how and where and in what numbers precisely must they interact -- for a game to be "massive" enough to merit the term MMO? And how many old school MMORPGs would fit that definition? 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!
Breakfast Topic: Do you play other MMOs?
I admit, in between bouts of World of Warcraft, I've definitely flirted with other MMOs. Sometimes playing something new can be a fun break from WoW -- and with so many MMOs out on the market to try, checking out other games is a regular temptation. Free-to-play games are especially appealing, since it's easy to jump into them without spending a bundle. But MMOs take a lot of time and effort to advance your character, which can make it awfully challenging to play even one -- much less more than one. And as you can probably guess, World of Warcraft is a game I keep coming back to -- and with limited game time right now, it's the only MMO I'm playing. So what about you, readers? Do you juggle World of Warcraft with other MMOs? Do you occasionally try other MMOs or do you have a regular MMO on the side? (And if so, how do you find the time for it?) Or is WoW your main multiplayer game? Inquiring minds want to know, readers, so get commenting!
The Soapbox: On your deathbed, you will not regret gaming
In last week's edition of The Soapbox, Mike Foster reminded us that the grim specter of death comes to us all and asserted that when your time comes, "you will not wish you had spent more time gaming." Mike took the stance that gaming provides temporary joys that can't replace real-life experiences and that it's our inherent responsibility as human beings with finite lifespans to seek out those experiences. He argued that "gaming is a hobby and not a replacement for a life well-lived" and that it's not our gaming achievements but our real life ones that we'll proudly tell our grandchildren. I think we can all agree that it's important to have offline hobbies and interests that help you keep active, but I take exception to the notion that we might regret time spent gaming on our deathbeds. Published data on the top five regrets of the dying actually seems to directly refute this idea, and my life experiences have shown the exact opposite of some of the points Mike makes. MMOs have given me some experiences that I'll probably treasure for a lifetime, and gaming as a hobby has provided me with much more than just temporary joys and escapism; it's helped me discover talents I didn't know I possessed, given me the push I needed to get a good education, led me to employment, and put me in contact with lifelong friends. On my deathbed, I'll probably wish I'd spent more time gaming rather than less. In this opinion piece, I look at evidence that suggests we won't regret gaming on our deathbeds and make the case that gaming can be just as worthwhile as offline pursuits.
Breakfast Topic: Is World of Warcraft your first MMO?
We're nothing if not persistent -- the typical WoW Insider reader has played WoW longer than your average bear. A recent reader poll found that 44 percent of readers have played since classic WoW, with another 29 percent following closely behind during The Burning Crusade. But was WoW your first MMO, or did you step into Azeroth from Norrath or another MMO world? %Poll-83273% If you played something else before WoW, what did you play? Did you MMO before WoW was launched, or did you come over during the WoW era?
MMOs don't work in the US says Take-Two Interactive
At the Cowen and Company Technology, Media and Telecom Conference this week, Take-Two Interactive's chairman Strauss Zelnick told crowds that MMOs just don't work in North America. "How many MMOs have been successful in the US?" Strauss mused. "Two: World of Warcraft and EverQuest." This is why Take-Two is focusing on Asian markets for its own massively multiplayer games and why, Zelnick suggested (without mentioning anyone by name), Blizzard had to reboot development of their own Project Titan. However, while WoW's numbers have had a much-ballyhooed decline, its current 8.3 million subscribers is nothing to sneeze at. But does America's poor track record with MMOs mean Titan is doomed before it's even managed to get a release date? Zelnick and Take-Two seem fairly certain MMOs don't have a future, but we intend to wait and see.
Breakfast Topic: Do you play other MMOs besides WoW?
Even a glance at WoW Insider's comments section will turn up hordes of devoted WoW-lovers and players who pursue the game with single-minded devotion. That's natural enough; that's what we're here for, after all. But how many of you play other MMOs? Despite the huge number of massively multiplayer online games available today -- enough to keep our sister site Massively a popular internet gaming destination -- do you even have time to indulge in more than one? %Poll-81821% If you do play more than one MMO, how do you manage your time between them? What games scratch which gaming itches for you?
Ask Massively: Defining MMOs
Welcome back to Ask Massively, gamely answering your wacky questions since 1738. spacejesus3k wrote, "'MMO' is a watered-down term that means nothing more than 'online game' now. But why report on something like World of Tanks and not Call of Duty? They really aren't that different. Even games like World of Warcraft aren't that different in what they offer. They all have 'lobby like' co-op and PvP content; the only real difference is the single-player campaigns vs. the leveling world (which is often soloed). So here is a good question for Ask Massively: How do you pick and choose what online games you report on? Is there a set of criteria they must meet?" Yes, but I warn you: This is not a scientific process.
World of Warcraft is the new Match.com
Are you single? Do you want to be a little bit less single? Are your friends telling you that you should stop spending so much time talking with them online and more time looking for dates? Well, according to a recent infographic, your friends might be completely off-base. Onlineuniversity.net put together a graphic comparing World of Warcraft to the popular dating site Match.com, and the results come out pretty firmly in favor of blood elves. So how does it look? According to the graphic, World of Warcraft has more than 10 times as many people involved as Match.com, and people sink more time into online gaming than any online dating site. There's also a number of factors that suggest slaughtering virtual trolls as a better way to bond than a cup of coffee. So while it's still probably bad form to hit on your raid leader between pulls, maybe you're not entirely off the mark. Unless she's married.
Video series chronicles the evolution of MUDs to MMOs
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.
Gazillion bringing two MMOs to Europe with the help of German publisher
Gazillion is bringing two of its free-to-play MMOs to the Old Continent this summer. Marvel Super Hero Squad Online and Fortune Online are being released in Europe under the oversight of ProSiebenSat.1 Digital, a German media publisher that's previously been responsible for releasing games in the region from the likes of Nintendo and Sony. Both games are browser-based, so ProSiebenSat.1 Digital's main responsibility will be connecting Gazillion's titles to a new European audience. We assume, of course, that they'll also be responsible for taking both games around to see the sights while they're visiting. They're both currently in beta, but they'll be out for release as soon as they've taken in the requisite tours of the Lourve and the Tower of London.
MMO Roundup: RIFT's free character transfers, Sony's fiscal losses, and more
Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future. RIFT offering free character transfers with patch 1.3 Trion Worlds has announced that with the advent of patch 1.3, RIFT will allow players to move to select servers once per week -- for free. These free character transfers include a wholesale move of all of the character's items, achievements and titles. Also, Trion has stated that initially, there will be no limit to the number of times your character can hop to a different server. Sony loses $3.2B, spends $170M in response to hacker attacks Sony's bad year is getting a smidge worse. The company, which had previously predicted a healthy profit for the past fiscal year, is now expecting a loss of $3.2 billion for the period of April 2010 through March 2011. The reverse in fortunes is mostly due to writing off a $4.4 billion tax credit, although the company has been struggling with both the recent earthquake and hacker attack that disrupted operations of both its physical operations and online services. Funcom prepping new Age of Conan adventure pack inspired by film reboot Recent rumors of new film-related content for Age of Conan proved to be accurate. According to a new press release, the pack "includes but is not limited to" content from the forthcoming Conan the Barbarian film reboot and will see players traveling to the lands of Turan some 20 years after the events of the movie. Guild Wars 2's explosive seventh class: The engineer ArenaNet has announced the seventh Guild Wars 2 profession: the engineer. Rifles, dual pistols, pistols with shields, explosives, flamethrowers, and automated turrets -- come on, do I really need to say any more than that? Massively Speaking episode 148 Massively Speaking, Massively's MMO podcast, is back this week as Shawn and Rubi discuss the latest MMO news, including some more details on ArcheAge and Guild Wars 2, a better explanation of the DCUO MegaServers (formerly Super Servers), and the return of SOE! Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.
MMO Roundup: More Sony downtime, 8 years of EVE, and more
Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future. SOE takes services offline due to serious issue Sony has not been having a good couple of weeks, and it just keeps getting worse. This Monday morning, Sony Online Entertainment customers woke up to discover that all of their games' services were down. Apparently, the company has discovered a serious issue while following up with the previous weeks' hacker intrusion and is taking steps to rectify it. SOE releases further breach details; 24.6 million accounts compromised And things just get worse for Sony from there. The San Diego-based MMORPG publisher has announced that approximately 24.6 million accounts may have been stolen, in addition to the 12,700 credit or debit card thefts reported earlier. 8 years of EVE Online EVE Online is coming up on on its eighth anniversary. EVE has grown from a fledgling niche game with under 40,000 launch subscriptions to a global melting pot of over 360,000 actively subscribed accounts. The company itself has seem similar expansion, starting from humble beginnings as a small independent studio in Iceland and growing into a multinational monster with offices in China, Iceland, North America, and the United Kingdom. Marvel Universe Online will be free-to-play, penned by Bendis Move over, DC Universe Online -- it's Marvel's time to shine. After a few false starts, Marvel's finally poised to become the next big MMO superhero thing. Marvel Universe Online recently announced its head writer: Brian Michael Bendis. Comic nerds, assemble! Blade and Soul videos feature PvP, gliding Blade & Soul, the upcoming Korean beat-'em-up MMO, has just seen the conclusion of its first closed beta phase. It appears that beta phased marked the beginning of the game's media frenzy, because numerous gameplay videos have started to surface. Check it out! Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.
Redefining MMOs: More developers weigh in
In 2009, the staffers of Massively were more than aware of the changes happening in the MMO industry. The game was changing; technology was allowing the MMO to step out of its turn-based comfort zone and take on new challenges. We began to see the MMO-shooter, the MMO-RTS, and the MMO-does-that-even-fit-in-a-genre. The staff penned a series of articles called Redefining MMOs. Have things changed in two years? On the surface, I'd say no. We still can't figure out exactly what an MMO is. If you ask six different people the same question, you'll get six different answers (if not more). In fact, while I was at PAX East, I did just that. I spoke to six different designers: three from the most anticipated games of this year, two from studios that have been doing this MMO thing for a long time, and one from a studio that refuses to label its game as an MMO. After the break, find out what developers of Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, City of Heroes, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, and Firefall have to say about the new definition of MMOs.
MMO Roundup: Last week on Massively
Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future. GamersFirst's predictions for the video games industry in 2011 While end-of-the-year predictions are quite commonplace amongst game industry bloggers and journalists, it's a bit rarer to see prognostications coming from game-makers and executives. GamersFirst bucks that trend with a press release outlining its forecast for online gaming in 2011. Unsurprisingly, the free-to-play publisher sees its preferred business model "taking over the video game market," as well as a massive shift to mobile gaming and digital distribution. 25 free MMOs for that shiny new laptop Were you graced with a new laptop this holiday season? Are you looking to take a few new MMOs for a spin? Massively's Beau Hindman has compiled a list of 25 free-to-play MMOs that your laptop will be perfectly capable of playing, even if it wasn't built with gaming in mind. 5 MMOs that have gone MIA Unlike Chuck Norris, who seems to hang on as an MMO meme with insane tenacity (perhaps it's that extra fist under his beard), there are a handful of MMOs that appear to have dropped off the radar in the last several months -- if not years. Find out which highly anticipated franchises simply disappeared.
Free Realms now available for Mac, Civ V gets a date
Sony's Free Realms MMO is now available on the Mac. It was promised that it would be earlier this year, and sure enough, you can now download and play the free-to-play online game for yourself on Apple's platform. The port is courtesy of Transgaming, but the game's not all that tasking, so you should be good to go. And while the aesthetic of the game is pretty kid-friendly, it's actually a lot of fun -- besides the usual combat and leveling, you can do things like kart racing and crafting throughout the world as well. And speaking of games on the Mac, Civ V has gotten a ship date for the Mac. It will be coming to our favorite platform on November 23rd, according to Inside Mac Games. So you can pretty much tell your family and friends to leave you alone for Thanksgiving -- there will be no time for turkey or cranberry sauce when China and the Germans need conquering. Good luck with that one!
Final Fantasy XIV's Hiromichi Tanaka on the goals of the game
Hiromichi Tanaka has been making the rounds of late -- while we had our own chance to interview him during E3, he's been giving several different interviews on a multitude of topics as Final Fantasy XIV nears its launch date. The most recent translated interview from JeuxVideo has Tanaka talking in brief about the upcoming game, but also about his own play experiences. Among the more quotable parts of the interview is a simple statement: Square-Enix isn't trying to compete with World of Warcraft, but to draw in players who might not have looked at the genre before. As Tanaka puts it, the game is designed to be accessible to fans of the long-running franchise who may never have considered playing something multiplayer. He also stresses the emphasis on allowing players to use their time in the game as effectively as possible, citing the Guildleves and the Armory system as two examples wherein players can maximize the useful time spent in-game. Lastly, when asked about other games he's enjoyed, he somewhat happily admits that he's been too focused on developing Final Fantasy XIV to enjoy much since Final Fantasy XI. The full translation is transcribed here, with the embedded video in French (if you happen to be fluent).
Breakfast Topic: A little sumpin' sumpin' on the side
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. We've all been there before -- that magical moment when we let go of our loyalties to the object of our affection and simply give in to those inner desires for something new and exciting. Before we know it, we have turned away from our first love, leaving it huddled up in the corner feeling dirty and unwanted. Even if we don't personally engage in this abandonment, we are always anticipating the next story of someone else's doing it and the nitty-gritty details that come out. No, I'm not pulling headlines off the latest celebrity gossip columns again; I'm talking about your loyalties to WoW! From old crushes like EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies to newer flames such as Star Trek Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online, we all have games whose siren songs draw us into their grasp, away from our beloved WoW. With plenty of new and exciting MMOs on the horizon (we're looking at you, The Old Republic), now is the perfect time to start experimenting with a polygamous online gaming habit. While the frozen shores of Northrend have been nice, a trip into the Mines of Moria in Lord of the Rings Online may be the perfect thing to liven things up a bit and get that passion for your first love back.
