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The Daily Grind: Do MMO sunsets kill your investment in other MMOs?
When Star Wars Galaxies' sunset was announced not much more than a year ago, it made me more than sad -- it made me distrustful. I knew that games had shut down before, but they were usually unlucky or unprofitable. In spite of the NGE, SWG maintained a healthy population for a second-gen MMO, and SOE was supporting it better than some studios support their current-gen games, so I fooled myself into thinking it'd be around forever like the rest of SOE's titles. And when I realized it wouldn't, my investment in other games fell off sharply. Why pour years into a world that can be ended arbitrarily before its time? Zentia's impending closure brought that distrust to the surface again. Western audiences have a hard enough time adopting "foreign" games with funky localization and pay-to-win cash shops, so losing one of the best imports inspires no faith that other games will survive long enough to make an investment of time (and money) worth it. What about you? Do MMO sunsets kill your desire to invest in other MMOs? 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!
Free for All: Zentia closes, MilMo's Junebud declares bankruptcy
It's always a sad day when a favorite game or games announce some bad news. Over the last week, I read about two of my favorite titles -- Zentia and MilMo -- coming to a end way too early. Both announcements surprised me, but these days there are so many games in so many different genres across so many different devices that any game that becomes successful is somewhat of a triumph. I can list off many, many MMOs, all vying for the attention of players' time and money. That list would reach into the thousands once I counted in the ever-expanding mobile and social market. Heck, a representative from an international games group told me at E3 a few years ago that hundreds MMOs were due out of the East within that year alone. In the case of Zentia, the closing is not as unexpected. There hasn't been much at all happening with the game for quite a while. MilMo, on the other hand, was a complete surprise.
Zentia announces the end of its run
Sunrise, sunset. All that ascends must one day fall into shadow -- and sadly, the time has come for Zentia to do the latter. The charming Asian fantasy title has just told its players that it will be breathing its last as of August 13th. ChangYou sent out the farewell letter to its playerbase with the sad news: "Unfortunately, we are unable to continue to keep the Zentia servers available for play after August 13th. The good news is that we will be re-focusing our efforts and resources on some very exciting upcoming titles." The company is urging its players to move to one of its other games, specifically Dragon Oath and Sword Girls. Players who do so will have their store currency moved to that game with an extra bonus of tokens for the trouble.
The Firing Line: 16th century fragging edition
What do War Thunder, World of Warplanes, Leonardo da Vinci, and Tribes: Ascend have in common? Not a whole lot aside from their respective appearances in this week's edition of The Firing Line. Won't you join me after the cut for a rundown on some recent and notable online shooter news? If you're feeling particularly ornery, you can point and laugh at the fact that I'm still not in the War Thunder beta.
ChangYou reports impressive profit and revenue gains
It's been a great year for ChangYou, and the Chinese developer responsible for Tian Long Ba Bu and Duke of Mount Deer recently reported its fifth consecutive double digit growth quarter. Tian Long Ba Bu has seen two successful expansion packs thus far in 2011, with a third scheduled for September. According to Gamasutra, Duke of Mount Deer recently increased its server headcount to 110 (up from 64), and the success of both titles powered ChangYou's $54.2 million profit as well as a 35.1 percent revenue jump over the previous year. ChangYou also bought into a browser-game specialist called 7Road last spring with the intention of expanding its interests beyond traditional MMORPGs. All told, Gamasutra says that ChangYou contributed an impressive $327 million in revenue to a $5 billion Chinese game market.
Celebrate Zentia's upcoming patch with our mount giveaway!
The Zentia devs are gearing up to bring a lot of new content to their game. Patch 1.2 promises to bring even more fun to a game that already boasts a quirky and popular approach to free-to-play MMO gaming. While you're waiting for the patch, enjoy some Zentia goodies courtesy of Massively. We've got three unusual mounts to help you zip around the game in style, and each one is built for two so you can bring a friend along for the ride. Check out our giveaway pages: the Thunder Drum is sure to garner a few glances as you pass by, or you could choose to recline in the comfy seats of a Colorful Umbrella. Want something a little more classic? We've got you covered with a good old Flying Carpet mount. We've got 100 of each to give away, so choose your favorite and get ready to take to the skies in Zentia!
The top indie and free-to-play stories of 2010
I have to admit to feeling slightly amazed when I read that someone thought of 2010 as a bad year for MMORPG fans. Then, when I think about it, I realize that he was talking about the year in "AAA" subscription gaming -- something almost alien to me. I just don't get turned on by huge-budget subscription games like I did seven or eight years ago. Well, it might be better to say that I am always suspicious of big-budget gaming. Gaming is a lot like movies, and look at how bad most blockbusters are. They are often silly, over-the-top, special-effects-laden bores. If those movies were the only ones I watched, I might be a little depressed about Hollywood as well. If you pay attention only to what the major publishers are pushing out, you are simply going to have a narrow view of MMO gaming. You will miss too much. The year 2010 offered more than any year before it, and 2011 will top that. Thanks to mobile technologies and the always-dropping price of computers, you will find that smaller or unknown games have much more of a chance of grabbing a gamer's eye than ever before. So, what were some of the high and low points in free-to-play and indie gaming this year? Click past the cut and let's take a look!
Free for All: Charmed, Zentia, I'm sure
Charm is one of those words that, as a kid, I never really understood. I always pictured some southern gentleman, lemonade in hand, wooing powdered belles from his porch on a hot summer's day: that's how I defined it. But now I think I understand it so much more, and I often wonder why this industry seems to often ignore the word, or has no idea what it means. It's easiest to explain it this way: You cannot be charming by acting cool. If you act cool, it comes out cheesy. The movie The Matrix, for example: trying to act so incredibly cool, but comes off only cheesy. You must simply be cool to be charming. You can also be truly wide-eyed, which is charming. Or innocent, which is much rarer, but still charming. Be warned: Top Gun was considered very cool, and Tom Cruise very charming, in their time. Shirley Temple, mainly because of the time period her movies were made in, is still charming. A Christmas Story is very, very charming. Reese Witherspoon's work in Election? Oozes charm. Roy Orbison? Cool and charming, despite looking like a grandmother. The same applies to MMORPGs. Seriously. Some games are trying to be way too cool, and should just relax a bit. Be fun. I recently discovered one of the most charming games yet in Zentia.
Get yourself a Zentia closed beta key, and take part in epic shrimp versus crab battles
If fairy tales are your thing and you don't mind some Chinese mythology, then ChangYou has a game to share with you. It's called Zentia, and it is the company's newest offering to the North American region. Even better, it's going into closed beta on July 15th at 4 PM PT (7 PM ET) and we here at Massively have scored 5,000 beta keys for the game. Don't worry about rushing; there will be enough for everyone! But, if you're interested in learning more about the game and see a trailer of the gameplay, or just want to grab yourself a key, then head on over past the break for everything you need to know!
