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Rocket Lab's Electron rocket makes a successful return to flight
Rocket Lab has made a successful return to flight following a failure last month. The company’s Electron rocket launched a 100 kg (220 pound) Earth observation satellite from its facility on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand at 11:05 PM EDT on August 30th. That marks the first flight since the company’s failed launch on July 4th, when it lost seven satellites including one from Canon.
Final Fantasy XIV surpasses 2 million registrations
There are two million people playing Final Fantasy XIV right this second. All right, maybe not quite that many, but it's certainly possible. The launch of the game's PlayStation 4 version has seen the game climb to surpass two million registered accounts, an increase of 500,000 over the 1.5 million stated in November. No hard data have been offered on how many of those accounts are subscribing to the game at this point, although an interview with Naoki Yoshida in March stated 500,000 players were logging into the game daily. With a recent patch and a new platform, the revitalized game seems to be doing quite well for itself as it approaches the one-year mark for its relaunch. [Source: Square-Enix press release]
'Awful,' 'intimidating,' 'complicated': Indie devs on the guilt of success
It's said that money can't buy happiness. In fact, for some indie game developers, an influx of money can mean just the opposite. In a New Yorker feature, developers like Rami Ismail of Vlambeer (Ridiculous Fishing, Luftrausers), Edmund McMillen of Team Meat (Super Meat Boy) and Davey Wreden of Galactic Cafe (The Stanley Parable) explain how the success of their games have, in some ways, made their lives harder, not easier. Ismail, for example, cited his feelings of guilt over making more money in a single night than his mother makes all year. "Ever since I was a kid I've watched my mom wake up at six in the morning, work all day, come home, make my brother and me dinner," Ismail said. Regarding his overnight success, he told the New Yorker, "It feels awful. I couldn't get rid of the image of my mother in her car, driving to work." McMillen likewise experienced an impact on his familial relationships. He said that after the release of Super Meat Boy and Indie Game: The Movie - a documentary in which he is prominently featured - he had experienced distant relatives and old acquaintances asking him for money. "This success has artificially elevated me; it's caused jealousy, even hatred," McMillen said. "The money has made relationships complicated." Wreden wrote on his studio's site in February that he was experiencing depression, and told the New Yorker that, with the success of The Stanley Parable behind him, he must now look ahead to creating its successor. "It's intimidating to think that we have enough time and resources to do whatever we want," Wreden said. For more on the developing, expanding indie scene, be sure to check out our in-depth feature report. [Image: Vlambeer]
World of Warcraftless: What would the world look like without World of Warcraft?
This year is a big one for World of Warcraft. It's the 10-year anniversary of the game's launch, meaning players have been able to enjoy themselves in Azeroth for quite a while. The franchise itself is turning 20, meaning it's almost old enough to legally drink. And whether you like the game or not, you can't deny that it's had a huge impact on games in general -- not just on MMORPGs but on the very landscape of what games are and how we think about them. So it's kind of natural that we'd start asking if we'd all be better off without it. You live with the same title dominating the industry for a decade, so it's only natural to think about what it'd be like if it weren't there. Personally, I think that's a kind of loaded question that also overlooks a far niftier option. Asking whether we'd be better off first requires one to figure out what the world would look like without World of Warcraft, and for my money that's much more interesting. So let's look at just that. What sort of scenarios might have unfolded if World of Warcraft had never come to pass at all?
The Nexus Telegraph: WildStar's greatest opponent is WildStar
Your real opponent is pretty much always yourself. I could spend the next several years of my writing career trying to be a better writer than, say, Justin Olivetti. I'd fail, for starters, because look at the guy. But even if I could succeed, I'd never be living up to my potential. I'll always be the guy trying to be better than the last thing Justin wrote, never coming up with my own things, never really advancing myself. The only way to be truly good is to try to be the best writer I can be, regardless of who else is out there. What does this have to do with WildStar? Simple. I mention other games here, other releases looking at the same window, but WildStar doesn't need to be better than those games, up to and including The Elder Scrolls Online. WildStar needs to be the best version of itself that it can be. Its only real opponent is itself, not other titles.
Report: Two-thirds of Kickstarter projects have yet to deliver
According to research unveiled earlier this month from Evil as a Hobby, video game Kickstarter projects have shown a delivery rate of 37 percent. The findings are a result of manual data collection during the turn of the new year of 366 total successful projects funded from 2009 through 2012, all of which was divulged in a separate post on the site. The data set notes that 357 successfully-funded projects were due for release before January 2014, of which 2.8 percent were formally canceled by their creators and an additional 2.2 percent were formally listed as "on hiatus." Interestingly enough, those rates decreased year-over-year, with the cancellation rate of 2012's 262 projects set at just 1.9 percent. Evil as a Hobby found that the monetary value of the 119 delivered projects amounts to $16,879,712, which compared to that of the 149 as-yet-undelivered projects: $21,964,861. It's important to keep in mind that 58 percent of the projects are ongoing; each may still deliver to their respective backers. So, the 37 percent delivery rate ultimately denotes the rate at which developers are missing their initial deadlines, which may not be all that uncommon in the gaming space. Steadily decreasing failure and cancellation rates do indicate a maturation of the crowdfunding space as it relates to video games, a growth seen in our own Crowdfund Bookie's findings. During a six-month period in 2013, 186 video game projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo earned over $23 million collectively. [Image: Evil as a Hobby]
Yatagarasu Attack on Cataclysm surpasses Indiegogo fundraising goal
Yatagarasu Attack on Cataclysm, the enhanced version of indie PC fighter Yatagarasu, has bested its Indiegogo fundraising goal of $68,000 by almost an additional $30,000 as of press time. As a result, Yatagarasu Attack on Cataclysm will launch on PC "around February 2014" with GGPO netcode for online battles, a new song and new moves/voice acting for the game's eight returning characters. By having met its original goal of $68,000 in the first place, the game will also feature two new characters, an official English localization with "dynamic commentary" from well-known fighting game community personalities such as James Chen and UltraDavid, story rewrites and an arcade release for the Japanese version of the game, among other things. There's still about 30 hours left to contribute to the campaign and receive one of a multitude of reward tiers, otherwise prepare to deal a $15 combo to your wallet when the game is released next year.
Gunpoint success allows dev to become independent, Mac and Linux ports on the way
Writer and developer Tom Francis originally planned his game, Gunpoint, as a showcase piece to earn him a job at a game development studio, but after seeing the success of the title so far he says he doesn't need to join another studio. As you can see above, Francis hit his initial goal for the game from preorders alone, and sales have only gone up since then, to the point where Francis now says designing the game was "so commercially successful that I'll never need" to work for someone else. Since the only real monetary cost of the project was a $30 purchase of Game Maker 8 a few years ago, Francis says Gunpoint "recouped its development costs" in just one minute and four seconds. That's after three years of work, of course, but the point remains that Gunpoint was very successful indeed. The next priority, says Francis, will be to port Gunpoint to the newer Game Maker Studio, where it can then be released for Windows, Mac, and Linux. He's looking to hire someone for this task, so he can get moving on actual updates and another project eventually. It sounds like a tough job, essentially taking over the core game's development for other platforms. "But as the graphs above should suggest," says Francis, "I can pay."
Virtuix Omni VR treadmill Kickstarter goes live, fully funded almost immediately
Within hours of going live earlier today, Virtuix's Kickstarter campaign for its flagship omni-directional VR treadmill has not only reached its fundraising goal of $150,000, but as of press time has earned more than twice that, with 980 backers contributing a total of $368,987. The campaign still has 48 days of funding remaining. Money earned through the campaign will be spent on transitioning the Omni from its current prototype stage into a product that can be mass produced, with production slated to begin sometime this December. Initial units are expected to begin shipping next January, though the campaign does acknowledge that "delivery dates are at the mercy of unforeseen manufacturing issues." While a final retail price for the Omni has not been disclosed, the Kickstarter's FAQ states that it will be "significantly higher" than the donation levels that currently include the Omni device, which start at $400. Each donation tier is limited to 500 units each, so folks with deep pockets, a love of VR and an angel's share of trust might want to start contemplating.
Among the Sleep Kickstarter ends nearly $50k beyond its target
Krillbite Studio's first-person baby simulator/horror game Among the Sleep has completed its 30-day Kickstarter campaign, raising a grand total of $248,358 from 8,110 backers – nearly $50,000 more than the $200,000 fundraising goal originally set. All that extra cash will be put towards buying ice cream, Oculus Rift compatibility and a developer commentary track, though the campaign's bonus earnings didn't extend far enough for the "supersecret free DLC" stretch goal to be funded. Among the Sleep is expected to launch on PC, OSX and Linux during the fourth quarter of this year, but intrigued folks can go ahead and check out the game's public alpha.
'Shadowrun Returns' Kickstarter goal met, still a month left to raise more dough
If you haven't yet donated to the Kickstarter for Shadowrun's original creator, you're not too late. You can't, however, tell people that you helped make the dream come true, as the project dubbed "Shadowrun Returns" is now officially funded. The Kickstarter launched just over 24 hours ago, and nearly 10,000 people felt it was worth contributing to, putting the current total at approximately $430,000.As previously noted, there's still plenty of time to back the project between now and the Kickstarter's end date in 23 days. There's even one (of three) $10,000 tier level options still available, should you be feeling especially saucy today.
Imangi finds success, and more choices, with Temple Run
Imangi Studios' Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova have been making solid games on iOS for years now, from their original hit Harbor Master and their charming dual-stick shooter Max Adventure. But it wasn't until Temple Run this past year (which I first saw in an off-the-record prototype form at GDC last year) that Imangi really hit it big. The freemium game has over 40 million players already, and it's consistently sitting up among the top-grossing spots on the App Store. Imangi's perfectly happy with that success, if not a little overwhelmed by it. "This is ridiculous, what is happening," says Luckyanova. Temple Run actually came at a great time for the couple -- they've just purchased a house, and they have a baby on the way, so they'll definitely be busy ove the next few months, even without a new game. And Shepherd says that's the plan: While Imangi has "a lot of ideas, they're all on the back burner for now." The current goal is to push Temple Run as far as it will go. First things first, that means an Android release -- Imangi has announced the game will arrive on that platform on March 27. After that, says Shepherd, you might see Temple Run in a few other places, including the Mac App Store, and somewhere on the web, in a browser-based form. The couple has also had requests for versions of the game on PC and Facebook, so they're considering those as well. The issue with having this kind of success on the App Store, however, is that once you get a popular game up and running, your inbox starts to fill with all kinds of offers: Merchandising, porting, offers for other markets, and different amounts of money that come with each. Imangi says they're considering all of these, but their main goal is to stay as independent as possible. "We like being independent," says Shepherd. The couple have always had an artist working with them as a third developer, and have since brought on a few more people to help with support and other tasks, but "we're not trying to grow," they say. And that's the biggest issue with selling the company itself. Certainly, they've had offers from bigger publishers, but "if we were to really sell the company," says Shepherd, "we'd have to grow the team a lot." And while they admit extra resources might be nice, Imangi still seems perfectly happy as a core team of two. On iOS itself, Temple Run is getting an update in the next few weeks, with more objectives to take on, possibly more environments to run through, and some "powerup stuff" as well. But outside of that, Imangi is taking a well-deserved breather on development at the moment, and focusing on simply growing all of the business they have. What advice do they have for other developers searching for freemium success? "You need to start with solid work," says Luckyanova. Imangi's been putting good games together on iOS for a while, and so it was probably only a matter of time before one of their titles was able to pay off.
The Daily Grind: How many times do you try before you give up?
The other night I was sitting on my couch watching my wife tackle a particularly hard boss solo -- the game wouldn't allow her companions or other players -- in Star Wars: The Old Republic. And she died, many, many times. I gave her a few pointers and watched as she continually struggled to overcome this challenge. After 14 attempts, she succeeded and was giddy from the victory. But I could tell she was growing close to throwing her laptop across the room right before that point. I could identify, as a week earlier I had spent an hour and a half trying to master a tricky series of jumps to get a datacron on Nar Shadda, only to land it right before I lost my sanity. So what about you? How many times do you try a difficult challenge in an MMO before you give up? I'd love to hear specific stories about particularly problematic obstacles that resulted in eventual success or frustrated surrender. 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!
Apple's Greg Joswiak describes Apple's four principles of success
Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPod, iPhone, and iOS product marketing, shared four keys to Apple's success at a recent event titled "Silicon Valley Comes to Cambridge." You can hit the original story at The Wall Street Journal for the full text of each point, but we've pared them down to the basics below. Focus: It means saying no, not saying yes. Simplicity: Make complex things simple. Courage: Don't hang on to ideas from the past even if they have been successful for you. Best: If you can't enter the market and try and be the best in it, don't enter it. Joswiak knows what he's talking about; he's worked at Apple for 20 years, and he's been responsible for marketing some of the most successful electronic products ever -- forget most successful Apple products, we're talking most successful gadgets from anyone, period. What's refreshing about these four points is they sound as though they could have come from Steve Jobs himself; though the man himself is gone, the company he built has clearly internalized the principles that made it successful in the first place.
ChangYou reports record revenue, registered accounts
With all the layoffs that seem to be going around the MMO industry as of late, it's about time we hear some good news from a developer. ChangYou, known in North America primarily for its quirky title Zentia and the bizarrely named Duke of Mount Deer, reports a 119 million USD revenue for its third fiscal quarter. The company's amount of registered users rose as well, with the company citing 159 million current gamers inhabiting ChangYou's titles. CEO Tao Wang is understandably pleased with these results and says that "we believe these results once again demonstrate our ability to understand and fulfill gamers' needs and showcase our content development and game operation strengths." For the full details, check out the article over at Gamasutra.
What do we do when we win? Tonight's Talkcast, 10 pm ET
From an upstart outsider to the most profitable cellphone manufacturer. From a PC also-ran to the laptop of the future. In less than two years, revitalizing an entire device category and disrupting just about every media business you can name. Not only becoming the world's most valuable company, but seeing the stock continue to rise even after the exit of the company's visionary founder. For those of us who lived through the lean years of Apple, being around to witness all this is a bit strange. It's as if we had been diligently preaching the benefits of a meat-free diet for years, only to wake up one morning and discover that everyone we knew had gone vegan overnight. Dealing with success is certainly better than the alternative, but some may mourn the passing of the special minority status we enjoyed as the Mac Elite. Now we have to figure out how to avoid saying "Yes, we told you so!" every five minutes. That's what's on the agenda for tonight's TUAW Talkcast: finding our way forward in a post-beleaguered Apple world. We'll review the week's news as well, and of course your questions and comments make the show better each time. To participate, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for +5 Interactivity, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free Blink or X-Lite SIP clients, basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!
The Soapbox: The Republic must stand, the Republic must fall
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. So there's a game coming out called Star Wars: The Old Republic. Maybe you've heard about it once or twice. It's no secret that a lot of people are excited to see what BioWare's long-anticipated title will do once it's finally released. The title has had a huge amount of time and money poured into its production, extensive voice acting, countless demos and revelations and debates... all without having yet amassed a substantial playerbase. What happens when it gets released will have a huge impact on MMOs as a whole for years to come, and even if the developers aren't calling it a World of Warcraft-killer, a lot of players are expecting just that. And for the good of MMOs as a whole, it needs to be just that -- but at the same time, for the good of MMOs as a whole, it needs to fail.
DS adventure game Touch Detective touches down on iOS today
If you're a DS fan from way back, you might remember Touch Detective, a quirky adventure game released by Atlus in 2006. If you missed it back then, you can check it out now on iOS. Developer Beeworks has released the spooky point-and-click today as an episodic iPhone game -- you can get the app for free (iTunes link), and then buy episodes in $3.99 bundles or $8.99 for all of them. If you do buy all the episodes, you get the new bonus episode "Funghi Breaks Out!" starring the phallic sidekick character from the main game. No, even more phallic than you're thinking. Imagine a character who is a mushroom, but drawn to be as phallic as you could possibly make something by accident, and then a little more phallic than that.%Gallery-129957%
Choose My Adventure: Dat's it, boss, I'm outta here
As of today, I'm finished with Warhammer Online. Today is my final installment of Choose My Adventure, with the torch passing along next week to Larry Everett. Before anyone asks, yes, I'm definitely going to miss the feature... but that's not really what you're here for at the moment, is it? You're here for the fanfare, and it's all over but the depressing part. Last week's vote was overwhelmingly meta -- rather than a recounting of events, the audience clearly wants to hear my thoughts on the future of Warhammer Online, what worked and what didn't, and why the game followed the trajectory it did. (Also, an awful lot of people want to know about the Choppa Song.) I'm admittedly coming into the game late and with somewhat less passionate eyes than many of the game's fans, but looking at my experience, I think I found a lot of the game in microcosm. I see all of the things it did right... and in hindsight, where certain choices went wrong.
3DS outsold by PSP in Japan, gets dumped for a dating sim
When a new console launches you expect it to hit the ground with a big "thwomp" that knocks the competition aside. Nintendo's 3DS, however, has had something of a softer landing. It released in Japan on February 26th and had been positioned high and proud at the top of the sales charts. However, it's already been usurped by the humble PSP, which according to Media Create sold 58,075 units in the week of March 28th to April 3rd. The 3DS, meanwhile, sold 42,979. This is in large part thanks to PSP dating sim Amagami, an old PS2 game that's just been re-released for the portable. It seems nostalgia trumps 3D wizardry again, and with the PSP getting cheaper in Europe this week, the competition is even getting tougher.
