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Ran Online gets publishing deal for Europe
Why should you care about Ran Online? For starters, it's a rare MMO that's set in the modern era, featuring school students who form clubs to defend the world against monsters and the like. For another thing, it's about to enter the European market. Games-Masters.com signed a publishing deal with Min Communications to bring Ran Online to Europe, initially with an English-only version. Ran Online has an eight-year history in Asia, boasting 26 game updates and a graphic engine overhaul during its lifespan. Games-Masters.com CEO Thorsten Schauer is hopeful that the new market will embrace the title: "Ran Online is one of the most successful MMOs in Asia due to its deep content and customization, and we are looking forward to seeing fans all over Europe playing the EU version." [Source: Games-Masters.com press release]
Trion signs another RIFT publishing deal, brings game to southeast Asia
Trion has announced the latest step in its plans for global domination, and it takes the form of a publishing agreement for the southeast Asian market. It was only a couple of weeks ago that RIFT landed the biggest MMO deal ever for a western title in the Chinese market, and now Trion's online fantasy brand will be available in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand as well. The company is partnering with Asiasoft to make it happen, and CEO Lars Buttler says it's another example of what sets his firm apart from the competition. "Trion has a global view when it comes to delivering premium games, and our initiatives to bring RIFT to Asia through some of the industry's biggest collaborations sets Trion apart from other Western game developers." [Source: Trion press release]
RIFT in China: 'Biggest game deal ever' for a Western MMO
How big is RIFT? Big enough to attract one of China's heavyweight MMO houses, apparently. Trion has announced a partnership with publishing giant Shanda that will bring RIFT to the Chinese gaming market, and CEO Lars Buttler tells Gamasutra that expanding the game's global reach is only the beginning. "We do a lot right, but we think there's so much to learn from Asia, and a company like Shanda that has been in the market so long, and has innovated in so many ways, is a great partner to work with and learn from," Buttler says. Trion is flexing its muscles -- and broadening its horizons -- on the strength of a banner year that included a hefty influx of investment capital as well as RIFT's $100 million revenue windfall. Trion is also developing an MMORTS called End of Nations and an MMO shooter called Defiance. Additionally, the firm is fleshing out its Red Door program, which will outsource its development platform and distribution channels to third-parties.
In Russia, APB Reloaded hijacks you!
All Points Bulletin's comeback looks to be in a stronger position than ever before as GamersFirst has just inked a deal with Innova Systems to publish and distribute the title in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. This hugely expands APB Reloaded's potential market as the title is on the verge of relaunch. While you may not have heard of Innova, GamersFirst's Rahul Sandil said that the company is well-established with a solid reputation in the region. "After an exhaustive diligence, it became clear that Innova was truly the only choice for distributing APB Reloaded to the Russian Federation. With six years of local market experience and more than two million active users, we know that APB Reloaded will flourish in Russia under Innova's watchful guidance," he said. APB players in Russia will need to use Innova's 4game publishing platform to access the game -- which, like it is elsewhere, will be free-to-play.
Chinese Hero Online coming to European market
If you live in Europe but haven't heard of a Taiwanese MMORPG called Chinese Hero Online, chances are you will in the near future thanks to a new agreement between Mail.Ru Games and Chinese Gamer. The deal will bring the free-to-play MMO to the European market (and Mail.Ru will also be changing the name to an as-yet undetermined title). According to a Mail.Ru press release, Chinese Hero Online is based on the 1980s cult comic series Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword by Ma Rongcheng and will place players in 1930s China. Conflict arises thanks to various criminal clans and mafia organizations -- of which the player is a member -- leading to a showdown and eventual migration to the United States. Gameplay details are scarce, but we'll bring you more info on Chinese Hero Online as it becomes available.
Take-Two signs with XLGames to make existing property into an MMO
How would a Grand Theft Auto MMO grab you? Would you play a Red Dead Redemption or LA Noire massively multiplayer title? While the possibility of said games still falls into the rumor category at this point, we can confirm that Take-Two Interactive has entered into a partnership with XL Games to make one of the former's existing properties into an MMO. XL has been in the news recently due to its upcoming ArcheAge sandpark, and the company founded by noted Lineage developer Jake Song will work on the new title with Take-Two subsidiary 2K Games. Kotaku first reported the rumor to the English-speaking world earlier this morning, while the source is Korean website 4gamer. A press release has also been issued by 2K; CEO Christoph Hartmann hints at the company's desire to broaden its horizons. "Our partnership with XL Games underscores our ongoing commitment to expanding 2K's presence in online gaming and the Asian market," Hartmann explains. XL's Song says that work on the new title is ongoing. "We have already been working together for a year on the game, and I can tell you this is one of the most exciting projects that I've ever undertaken," he said.
Trion signs deal with Belver to localize RIFT for Russia
Hey look, it's another RIFT tidbit! We know it's been several hours since the last one, and honestly, the void was making us all a bit weepy. Seriously, though, we do have some good news for our Russian comrades who're itching to take a peek at the Telara the rest of the MMO world has been fawning over for the past month. Trion has just announced a publishing deal with Belver to bring a localized version of the game to Russia as well as 14 Commonwealth of Independent States. Currently, there's no firm release date, though Trion's press blurb mentions a late 2011 window. "The work going into launching on Russian servers is significant, but with skilled specialists on either side of [the] Atlantic, RIFT's release in Russia is sure to be a solid product," said Belver CEO Slava Plotnikov.
New York Times to begin charging for access... something something, Apple Tablet
Is it a stretch of logic, or purely logical? You be the one to judge. New York Magazine is reporting from what seems to be pretty solid word that the New York Times will start charging online readers for its content. That's all well and interesting for a media hound, but there's additional word that the announcement of this in "a matter of weeks" might coincide with the rumored January 27th Apple launch. You know, the tablet thing. We already know (or are pretty sure) that Apple has shopped around a theoretical device to content providers, including almost assuredly the New York Times, so it makes "sense." Still, we aren't putting solid money down on a single thing until Steve Jobs pulls this device out of a largish pocket of his and shows it to our face.
Rumors surface of extras included with EVE Online retail release
Some of the biggest news to come out of EVE Fanfest 2008 was the publishing deal struck between CCP Games and Atari. The March retail release will mark the first time the game can be seen on store shelves since EVE Online's launch over five years ago. Players have wondered what benefits there might be in purchasing the game at a store, versus the game most of us have always known, which has been a purely digital distribution. While this is still relegated to the category of "rumor", images of the box and descriptions of its content have begun to turn up on the sites of retailers. One UK game retailer lists the details what's included with the box: 60 days of game time, instant access to factional warfare (i.e. automatic standings via an in-game certificate), a guide to the game's careers, a VIP Pass (essentially the Buddy Program), and a special edition ship -- which, in this case, is listed to be a shuttle with increased cargo space. Fair enough, but is it real? Well if your German isn't too rusty, you can also see details of the retail release as they're listed at Amazon in Germany.
Blackstar's future in jeopardy
Budget cuts. Layoffs. It seems a fairly common thing in the general news lately, and sadly, the MMO genre appears to be no less susceptible to the current hard times. News came down the wire yesterday that Spacetime Studios have been forced to release half of their staff -- and we imagine that this will cause the development of Blackstar to slow down accordingly. According to the Spacetime Studios blog, "[they] have been shopping Blackstar around but - right now, at least – the concept of a SciFi space/ground IP has proven to be a challenge. Our studio cannot survive at its current burn rate without a publishing deal..." Considering we've seen quite a few studios hit by either cutbacks or shutdowns in the last year, we're concerned by what this seemingly implies. With the current popularity of World of Warcraft and other MMOs; strong soon-to-be-published titles like Warhammer Online; and news of more and more titles coming out seemingly every other day (especially if you count the Asian market) it is a good time for MMOG players. On the other hand, the heavy market saturation means an extremely competitive market where some good ideas may sadly not find their way off the drawing board. The hope is that Spacetime Studios can find a publishing deal for Blackstar soon. We are definitely interested in seeing more from their studio, if their concept art and ideas are any indication of what things may come. If you'd like to check out a short clip of Blackstar's alpha, be sure to join us after the break!%Gallery-23010%
