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Calendar clarification: God of War 3, MAG before March 2010
Had your hopes up that God of War III and Zipper Interactive's "massive action game," MAG, would be all up in your PS3 before January 1, Ought-10 rolled around? Better let them down ... gently. Following two disparate announcements -- one saying both games (among others) would hit within calendar 2009; the other citing fiscal 2009 -- Sony has confirmed to Joystiq that the release window is, in fact, the latter: before March 1, 2010. Two other games listed in the original press release are pretty much locked for release within the year, though. Heavy Rain, Quantic Dreams' dreamy-looking adventure game, was confirmed for calendar '09 release last August. The Sucker Punch developed action-platformer, inFamous, is coming "this spring," according to a packaging insert going out with tomorrow's major release, Killzone 2.
Sony: God of War III, MAG coming within the year
A triumphant Sony press release which heralded next week's arrival of Killzone 2 and, effectively, the kick-off for its 2009 line-up, contained a tentative list of the games that will likely cause PS3 owners to foam at the mouth with anticipation over the coming months. The list contained two mammoths in particular -- according to Sony, both God of War III and Zipper Interactive's MAG: Massive Action Game will be among the "blockbuster exclusives" which will land on the console "throughout the year." The imminent launch window for the two titles (which were mentioned alongside inFamous, Heavy Rain, MLB 09: The Show and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves) is just a bit surprising -- though we suppose Sony's selective wording ("throughout the year") could mean that the listed titles will be dropping by this time in 2010. Still, barring any delays, 2009's shaping up to be a heck of a year for the enthusiastic supporters of Sony's monolithic home console.
Sony considering subscription fees for MAG, according to PSU survey
The Bitbag reported that a PlayStation Underground survey was sent out asking customers "15 questions related to payment plans" regarding a game that sounds a whole lot like MAG. The survey hints at plans for a monthly or yearly fee for the 256-player MMO title, as well as the possibility of paid DLC.Videogamer contacted a Sony representative, who issued a standard reply of "we don't comment on rumor and speculation." Do keep in mind these types of surveys are designed for companies to hear consumer feedback, so if you receive one of them, be sure to let Sony know how you feel.Source - The BitbagSource - Videogamer[Via Joystiq]
Rumor: Survey gauges MAG subscription possibilities
Sony has refused to comment on the "rumor and speculation" surrounding a possible monthly or yearly fee for PS3's Massive Action Game, reports VideoGamer. The rumor originates from website Bitbag, which cites a PlayStation Undergroud survey asking "15 questions related to payment plans" for MAG. MAG is the 256-player online game by SOCOM developer Zipper Interactive. Considering surveys are designed to elicit feedback, Sony is probably getting an earful about this issue already.Source - Sony to charge monthly/yearly fee for MMO MAGSource - Sony refuses to comment on pay to play MAG reports
First real, tiny screen of Sony's 'Massive Action Game'
Here, in all its compressed glory, is the first actual screenshot of Sony and Zipper Interactive's 256-player MAG: Massive Action Game. We say "actual" because it was clear to anyone with eyes that Sony had pulled another Killzone 2 with the MAG video debuted during its pre-E3 press conference. In other words, it was all pre-rendered.MAG senior producer Rade Stojsavljevic posted the shot to the official PlayStation blog, calling it "a sneak peak from one of [Zipper's] internal play sessions." Stojsavljevic also said that the dev has used its experience working in online games with the SOCOM franchise to create an entirely new server architecture for MAG capable of supporting its, well, massive amount of players.
The Daily Grind: What exactly makes a game Massive?
If you've been paying attention to this year's E3 coverage, you may have heard of Sony's new title under development, MAG, or "Massive Action Game". The game touts 256 simultaneous players in 8-man teams, and calls itself an MMO. But is 256 players enough to qualify as massively multiplayer?There is no defined metric for how many concurrent players constitutes enough of a group for MMO designation, but what's a good place to start, at 500? 1,000? 5,000?
MAG could be available as early as Spring 2009
Eurogamer had a long chat with David Reeves at the SCEE event yesterday, and discussed Europe's "day and date" releases for the PS3's upcoming library for the rest of the year. He also mentions the 2009 lineup, mentioned that "coming in spring will be inFamous and MAG, and God of War [3] will be coming later in 2009," giving a vague indication of when we can expect to see the newly announced MAG. Something that wasn't mentioned at the Sony Press Conference. With inFamous, MAG and God of War 3 all appearing in 2009, the year is shaping up quite nicely. But will they all really make it? And will MAG really launch with such a ridiculous name as Massive Action Game? We'll find out in a year.
The Daily Grind: What does "MMO" mean, anyway?
What is an MMO, and what isn't? There was the central question in a hearty debate in the Massively offices yesterday after some of us watched (or attended) the Nintendo and Sony E3 press conferences. It's an old question, but it's all the more relevant in the context of E3 this year.At the Nintendo conference, a game called Animal Crossing: City Folk was announced for the Wii. In that game, each player has his or her own persistent town hosted on Nintendo's servers. There are likely thousands of players, but only four players can be in each town at a time. Is Animal Crossing: City Folk an MMO? On one hand, you have thousands of players in persistent worlds. On the other: only four players per world? That doesn't sound very massive! We decided it's not, but what do you think?A couple of hours later, Sony announced a PlayStation 3 game called MAG, which stands for "Massive Action Game." In MAG, up to 256 players battle over control points in a persistent battlefield. There's even character advancement. Is MAG an MMO? That depends on just how many players have to be in the world for it to be called "massive," doesn't it? You might say that there should be thousands. Then again, some first generation MMOs like Meridian 59 didn't usually have much more than a couple hundred people on each server. Tough call?
Sony unveils 256-player MAG: Massive Action Game
At their E3 press conference today, Andy Beaudoin from Zipper Interactive (known for the SOCOM series) revealed a new project called MAG, short for Massive Action Game. The game will break up to 256 human players into eight-man squads fighting each other simultaneously in a total free-for-all. Characters will be able to advance their statistics as they play. More as we get it.
