archeage-trion
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The Soapbox: Does Trion realize what it has in ArcheAge?
Can I share how nervous I am about the fact that ArcheAge is finally heading West? Thanks because I really need someone to talk to about this stuff. I'm going to skip over the F2P hand-wringing, both because I covered it nine months ago and because there's nothing anyone can do about it. And there's plenty of reason to fret about the rest of what's in store for starving western sandbox fans, anyway. Join me after the cut and we'll worry about it together.
Lost Continent: On the 'failure' of ArcheAge
This week's rumored XLGAMES restructuring brought with it a predictable cascade of "fail" catcalls from pundits and commenters who never climbed on board the ArcheAge hype train to begin with. Leaving aside the fact that it was a rumor as well as the fact that post-release game teams routinely suffer staffing cuts, I have to wonder at the cocksure I-told-you-so crowing with which some folks declared ArcheAge dead well before it's even arrived on Western shores. While some starving sandbox gamers may have prematurely labeled ArcheAge as the second coming, anyone who has actually played the game or followed larger MMO industry trends could have told you that it's a niche title regardless of how much money XLGAMES gambled on its development.
Trion to publish ArcheAge in the West
So, about that whole ArcheAge coming to the West thing. Yes, it's actually happening. In fact, XLGAMES is partnering with Trion Worlds to make it happen. The company responsible for RIFT, Defiance, End of Nations, and the Red Door publishing and development platform will bring Jake Song's fantasy sandpark opus to audiences in North America, Europe, Turkey, Australia, and New Zealand, according to a joint press release. The document makes no mention of either a release date or beta dates for the western market. You can read it in its entirety after the cut. [Source: Trion/XL press release]
