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Diablo III is going to China
If you're a Diablo III fan in the US, you've been able to play the game for quite some time, delving into seas of monsters and beating your way through fields of enemies. If you're a Diablo III fan in China, you're anxiously awaiting the game to actually be released locally. So it's good news to hear that Blizzard is working with NetEase to bring the game over to China's shores. No official release dates or prices have been announced at this time, nor has any information about whether or not this release will include the Reaper of Souls expansion for the game. It seems likely that the release will include all of the upgrades the game has experienced since its 2012 launch, but even that's just speculation. NetEase is the company that has already brought World of Warcraft and StarCraft II to the nation's gaming audience, so it's likely that players can expect the game without too many delays.
Tracing the history of the MOBA
You hear the kids talking about League of Legends and Infinite Crisis and Heroes of Newerth and you don't understand. You aren't clear on what stuff like jungling and lanes are all about. Are you getting old? Well, yes, if you're referring to a group of people as "the kids" you almost certainly are. But you also might just not understand the history of MOBAs as a genre, a history helpfully outlined in an article on the genre from inception to the present. The article traces the genre's genesis back to the earliest form of gameplay found in StarCraft's Aeon of Strife map, which paved the way for a Warcraft III map that expanded the same basic concept. The genre's core conceits -- two bases on either side of the map, players working to push to the other side -- have remained fairly fixed through the various permutations, but there's still room for expansion. So if you want to find out more about what this new-fangled genre is all about, sit down for some reading.
CCP hires new Executive Producer for DUST 514, Jean-Charles Gaudechon
It makes sense to hire people based on what they've already proven capable of doing. That's obvious. If someone has built seven houses that have all stood up to hurricanes, you're probably going to hire that guy to build your hurricane shelter. And if someone's familiar with making multiplayer first-person shooters work in the free-to-play market, well, you'll hire him to manage DUST 514. That's what CCP Games did with their newest Executive Producer for the game. Jean-Charles Gaudechon previously worked for Electronic Arts in Stockholm, Sweden, where he worked on both Battlefield: Play4free and Battlefield Heroes. He also worked on Need for Speed World, which is less of a shooter but still an online title with similar needs to DUST 514. Gaudechon will be responsible for overseeing further development of the title at CCP's Shanghai studio and will report directly to senior VP of product development Sean Decker. [Source: CCP Games press release]
Curt Schilling discusses life after 38 Studios
There's not a lot of love in the gaming world for Curt Schilling. The closure of 38 Studios that left the state of Rhode Island with a $75 million debt and hundreds of people out of jobs has colored perceptions. A recent piece from the Boston Globe takes a look at Schilling with a slightly gentler approach, discussing the heart attack he suffered eight months prior to the studio's closure and the stress he's felt over the failure. Schilling once again puts the blame for what happened at the feet of Governor Lincoln Chafee, who he claims failed to help 38 Studios when assistance was required. The article goes into more depth discussing the many assets from Schilling's baseball career that were auctioned off to pay damages, as well as his retirement from public life in favor of coaching his daughter's softball team. Those still interested in the fallout can take a look at the full article for more perspectives from both Schilling and his wife.
Guild Wars 2, Mists of Pandaria, Diablo III spur PC software to record revenue
The PC Gaming Alliance says that software sales reached a record $20 billion in 2012. GamesIndustry.biz reports that this represents eight percent year-on-year growth and a 90 percent uptick since PC Gaming Alliance's first report in 2008. The report, commissioned from entertainment research firm DFC Intelligence cites Guild Wars 2, Mists of Pandaria, Diablo III, and Minecraft as positive influences on a market that also saw "the decline of large subscription MMOs." DFC indicates that there are approximately one billion PC gamers worldwide, 250,000 of whom identify as "core" gamers with interests including strategy, action, and RPG titles.
Rumor: BioWare San Francisco shuts down
According to GamesRadar's unnamed sources, BioWare San Francisco has reportedly been shut down as of today, resulting in the layoffs of 25-30 employees associated with the studio. The studio formerly known as EA2D was responsible for the Dragon Age Legends Facebook game and the browser-based Mirror's Edge 2D. While it was focused on developing mobile and social games, Electronic Arts found that handling development in the area was too expensive and has shut down operations. Our condolences to all those affected by this shutdown.
A video retrospective on 38 Studios discusses 'star-struck legislators'
The sun has set on 38 Studios, but there's still a lot of people eager to analyze and dissect the company's rise and sharp decline. As a whole, it's been looked at and analyzed extensively from the gaming side, but the other factors that went into the studio's enormous state loan and subsequent burnout are examined more closely in a new video. This isn't about whether or not Project Copernicus would have been any good; this is about simple business and political pressures that doomed the project from the start. Curt Schilling started 38 Studios at the end of his baseball career, but it was a well-known fact that his attempts to court venture capitalists were unsuccessful. The video goes into depth regarding the political climate that encouraged Rhode Island legislators to sign the historic and ill-advised loan, as well as the factors leading to the company's ultimate demise. If you're interested in a broader view now that the smoke has cleared, take a look at the full video past the cut.
38 Studios loan could impact state elections
If you've started to forget about the saga of 38 Studios' collapse, rest assured that Rhode Island politicians certainly have not. With the election coming soon, many in the state are scrambling to offset the blame for the $75 million loan decision and protect their positions. The Associated Press is reporting that it's being seen as a "liability" among candidates. One candidate, Mark Binder, addressed the continued furor over the issue: "If I don't bring it up, other people bring it up. Everyone is infuriated. There's this game going on in Rhode Island right now called 'pass the blame on 38 Studios.'" While many of those directly responsible for voting the deal through have since resigned from their positions, the search to pin the fiasco on one of the state's leaders is still underway. Another 2012 candidate, Laura Pisaturo, said that the public is demanding more answers: "People read in the paper about 38 Studios and think 'we elect these people and expect they will lead and ask tough questions.'"
Rhode Island possesses 38 Studios' games, looks to sell
While 38 Studios is finished, its employees laid off, and its projects canceled, there's really only one thing left to be done: figure out what to do with the leftovers. The court granted the state of Rhode Island all of 38 Studios' assets, including rights to its single-player RPG and the unfinished Project Copernicus. The Rhode Island Economic Development Corp said that it will attempt to sell these assets to recoup as much of the loan made to the studio as possible. This may be a slight blessing in disguise for fans of the studio's projects, as the move was made to keep the intellectual property intact instead of having it be lost due to the company's dismantling. The games are being transferred to servers for safe-keeping and constitute a majority of the studio's remaining net worth.
The Daily Grind: Why is there so much hate for game companies?
Gaming discourse has gotten out of hand in recent years, and the anonymity offered by the internet and the decline of civility in general has conspired to bring arguments, personal attacks, and flame wars to the forefront of many a discussion. Most of the ire seems to be directed at gaming companies. If we look at it objectively, a company like Electronic Arts or Sony Online Entertainment is just a collection of people focused on a common goal, that goal being the production of entertainment products that are optional purchases. And yet if an outsider were to read your average gaming forum, he might think that EA or SOE is engaged in the wholesale slaughter of children, kittens, and puppies on a daily basis. So what do you think, Massively readers? Why is there so much hate for gaming companies? 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!
A look at Curt Schilling's management of 38 Studios
The dust has more or less settled around the demise of 38 Studios, but much of the information about what happened to lead the company so deep into the hole is fragmented. Some fans admonish the Rhode Island governor, some admonish Curt Schilling, and some admonish the management team that led to several poor decisions. A new piece in Boston Magazine goes into depth about where Schilling's management caused problems and how the culture at the studio slowly deteriorated. The article paints Schilling as being relentlessly optimistic and dedicated to his employees but at the same time unfamiliar with business and the realities of running a game company. He also wound up with a bloated staff and disregarded information from management, leading to conflicting demands and a general lack of progress on major deadlines for Project Copernicus. If you've got any interest in the game industry, it's a fascinating look at how a game company can start with high hopes and dissolve under financial realities.
Richard Garriott's Portalarium raises $7 million in funding
Richard Garriott designed Ultima Online and Tabula Rasa, and he has also been to outer space. This has apparently convinced several investors that funding his new company Portalarium is a sound decision, as it was recently announced that Portalarium has secured roughly $7 million in investment capital. The money is being pushed into the final stages of development on the company's first title, Ultimate Collector, which is slated for release later this summer on Facebook, mobile, and browser-based platforms. Some of the funds are also earmarked for development on the company's second game, alternately known as both Ultimate RPG and New Britannia, which does not yet have a release window. The chief investment firm was London-based m8 Capital, but several other sources also contribued to the groundswell of support, including Richard Garriott himself. Last month, the company announced that it will be working through the Zynga Platform Partners program to publish Ultimate Collector.
Gambitious launching itself as a game-focused crowdsourcing center
Crowdsourcing is becoming the new trend, with Kickstarter projects serving as the new hotness for getting a game start-up funded. So it's not hard to understand why Gambitious is promoting itself as an alternative to Kickstarter, specifically as a means to fund game development via crowdsourced projects. Gambitious has more to it than just the idea being a game-focused alternative to the Kickstarter giant, however; it includes an option for investors and backers to take part in equity funding. Traditionally, Kickstarter backers receive only a few bonuses for funding a project, and if that project goes on to wild success after the initial funding, the backers are left out. Equity funding allows people to play a more traditional venture capitalist role, investing money in return for dividends on successful projects. While this option is available only in Europe at the moment due to legal issues, it's a new take on funding a game, and depending on future developments, Gambitious might make a name for itself in the indie gaming market.
WRUP: A moment of silence for 38 Studios
Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too! In case you've been living under a rock the last 24 hours or so, one of the biggest stories in the gaming world right now is the collapse of 38 Studios and Big Huge Games. We didn't really cover it, since we're a World of Warcraft-focused site, but we're all gamers here. It stings to see an MMORPG crash and burn, but it hurts even more to see the devastation that the sudden fall of two companies in the industry has caused. The situation for folks at 38 Studios is somewhat grim right now, though that's nothing new. Most of them had been working without pay since the beginning of the month. A lot of them were depending on the health insurance their job provided -- coverage which has since expired. All of them were just like us -- gamers at heart who just wanted to do something really cool to entertain you. Twitter has been rallying to help, but it's impossible to look at the situation without wishing there was something more you could do. Beyond the employees, there are a lot of other victims of this debacle too. The taxpayers of Rhode Island are on the hook for a massive loan made to keep 38 afloat -- a loan which could total over $112 million by the time all is said and done. That's a $100 charge to every man, woman, and child currently living in the state. A number of Rhode Island officials who stuck their necks out for 38 have resigned in disgrace, though arguably, they had a lot to be disgraced over. I guess what I'm saying is that it's a bad situation all around. Well, almost all around. One of the few people who got away clean, ironically, is company founder Curt Schilling, the baseball player who inexplicably started a video games company. He wrote himself a $4 million check from the 38 Studios bank account a few months ago, money that could have -- and should have -- gone to pay his employees that he watched work without pay. As someone from "Red Sox Nation," I feel I have the right to say this: Screw that guy. So yeah, before we head into this week's WRUP, I want to have a brief moment of silence for 38 Studios and all the folks who were hurt by its downfall.
Ask Massively: On mourning a netbook edition
Well, I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. My stalwart little netbook, River, finally developed a serious problem: Her screen developed a pair of nasty cracks. I've had her for only a couple of years, but she's been a great portable machine and a real help at getting work done. Now if only it weren't such an enormous pain finding someplace where I could get her repaired, as I'd really prefer not to replace her. But it might come to that. Even with an injured performer, however, the show must go on, and the show in question is Ask Massively. This week, we're fielding questions about ArcheAge and working in the gaming field, something that I'm sure is of interest to many of our readers. If you've got a question you'd like to see in a future installment of the column, mail it to ask@massively.com or leave it in the comments below. Questions may be edited for brevity and/or clarity.
Pando Networks studies growth of F2P MMOs, makes infographic
Pando Networks, creator of the ubiquitous Pando Media Booster, has done a study on the growth of the F2P MMO industry. The data, which can be viewed in a handy infographic after the cut, shows that the number of people downloading free-to-play online games grew by 450% between 2009 and 2011. According to the study, the increase in players has come from a number of large titles -- such as Lord of the Rings Online -- making the switch to a F2P model. Also mentioned is the ever-popular MOBA, League of Legends. The study also notes that this huge growth isn't just happening in the United States or Europe; it's a worldwide phenomenon. In Latin America, the number of people downloading F2P titles rose by 595%, while the number of people downloading free-to-play titles in Japan and Australia rose by 392% and 234%, respectively. For the full infographic, just click on past the cut and have a look. [Source: Pando Networks press release]
Russian MMO market to continue growing through next year
For a long time, China has been the country to look to for MMO growth. The country's rapid acquisition of technology and popular internet cafes has led to an explosion in growth and online gaming. But China isn't the only country steadily rising in quantities. According to a study by Newzoo, the Russian game market is already a $1.5 billion industry, with $270 million of that going directly toward MMOs, making our favorite genre tied with general PC gaming for overall spending. Among the more interesting upshots of the study are the fact that women compose 49% of the overall gamer market in Russia, a remarkably even split considering the setup of most developed nation; 69% of the spent money goes toward online or mobile games. In many ways, the Russian gaming market has already overtaken the European markets in terms of overall numbers and spending, according to Newzoo CEO Peter Warman. The company also created a useful set of infographics regarding the overall breakdown of data. [Source: Newzoo press release]
The Daily Grind: Are you among the 10% who finish what they start?
Last week, CNN published an article declaring that video game attrition is significantly higher than we might have suspected. According to the post, 90% of gamers don't finish the video games they start. CNN lists several possible reasons for this phenomenon: the rising age of the average gamer (37), shortening attention spans, different life focuses, gaming platforms, game lengths, and a roster of new games -- particularly the more profitable and time-consuming multiplayer games -- that's becoming increasingly bloated. Setting aside the question of whether MMOs even have endings at all, we have to wonder whether MMO gamers suffer this same inability to see a game through to the finish line. Whatever you consider the "end" of your MMOs, do you ever get there? Are you among the 10% of gamers who finish what they start? 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!
Activision Blizzard posts record profits, WoW subs declining [Updated]
The most recent World of Warcraft expansion has garnered its fair share of criticisms from players, but for better or for worse that hasn't made a dent in the parent company's empire. Activision Blizzard hasn't just been surviving but thriving, posting a record profit for the first quarter of 2011 -- $503 million in net income, more than $100 million over the year before. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Blizzard Entertainment was responsible for a large portion of that profit, bringing in $170 million all by its lonesome. Needless to say, this has serious implications for the MMO world, especially with the long-awaited Star Wars: The Old Republic still on deck for this year -- a game rumored to have a nearly ruinous budget reaching well into the $200 million territory. While some of Blizzard's profit no doubt came from StarCraft II, the numbers involved will nevertheless send the message that there's still a great deal of profit to be had in MMOs, or at least in World of Warcraft. [Update: Our sister publication WoW Insider is reporting that during the earnings call earlier this afternoon, Blizzard admitted to a drop in WoW's subscriber levels, from pre-Cataclysm levels of 12 million to 11.4 million at the end of March.]
Online gaming rakes in over $14.5 billion in 2010
Parents of many of the gaming industry professionals would scold them by saying, "You can never make a living playing video games." The industry overcame that stigma many years ago, but online gaming still carried that stench of worthlessness. However, that is no longer the case. ABI Research of Arizona says that online gaming is expected to exceed $14.5 billion this year. The most staggering figure is the projected influence MMOs have in the overall online gaming industry. A report by ABI Research claims, "The MMO market is expected to be larger in 2010 at $7.6 billion, but will show a lower CAGR of 12.8%, reaching almost $14 billion by 2015." Although the report downplays MMOs, this does mean that over half the revenue for online gaming this year will come from MMOs, and the total MMO revenue will potentially double in just five years. Games through connected devices, like the PlayStation 3, have promising potential as well, according to the report. This bodes well for cross-platform games like DC Universe Online, but the report also says that console online games will only make up 10% of the total online gaming market. Next time your parents tell you that video games will never amount to anything, you have a couple of reports to show them that claim otherwise. But good luck convincing them.
