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Eligium is shutting down
The game's full title is Eligium: The Chosen One, but as it turns out, the game wasn't chosen after all. Following evaluations of the game's performance and player feedback, Frogster has determined that the game simply isn't up to the company's standards, and so Eligium is shutting down as of July 17th. Forums for the game will remain open until the 19th for players to say goodbye and possibly coordinate on moving to a new game. Players who had acquired shop currency or items in the game will be reimbursed through store credits to other Frogster games. Direct refunds will not be available, and further purchases are already disabled. Players will also benefit from regular Experience and Soul Point boosts until the live servers are shut down so that everyone can enjoy one final romp. The game's official site is already unavailable, marking a sad day for all those who did enjoy the game during its brief life.
Massively Exclusive: Eligium's world history, chapter 1
Maybe you've been following Eligium since it was first announced. Maybe you've been interested after reading our impressions of the title from GDC. Maybe you're only just now hearing about it. Whatever camp you fall into, the game is continuing along with its testing and nearing an official release. And while some players might be interested only in leveling particularly involved mounts and enjoying some wide-open exploration, others want to know a little more about the world the game inhabits. We've seen snippets of the game's lore from the various racial reveals, but the team at Frogster is putting together a series on the game world's history in more detail. The first installment gives a quick and broad overview of the pre-history of the game's setting; it's just after the cut. If you're interested in the game, enjoy, and keep your eyes peeled for future installments in the history updates.
Eligium community manager emphasizes the importance of beta testing
Thus far we don't know a whole heck of a lot about Frogster's Eligium (other than the fact that it features kung-fu pandas). The devs have released a trailer and kicked off the game's closed beta last month, but there's still a lot of mystery surrounding this particular MMO. Thanks to an interview with Frogster community manager Piotr Dawidowicz, we now have a few more details to go on, including snippets about mounts, PvP, and the importance of the game's closed beta test. "The closed beta for Eligium is not one of those marketing closed betas. We want to use this test phase effectively; it's not just a way to push the product," Dawidowicz explains. "We are intentionally not inviting the entire community to the closed beta. Many of the fans just want to see the finished product –- a polished game –- and don't want to bother with reporting bugs. That's why the closed beta is more of a privilege," he says.
China online gaming trends
BusinessWeek online recently ran an article that effectively summarizes major issues in the burgeoning Chinese gaming industry, including MMO addiction, Internet population growth, and the increasing quality of China's homegrown titles. Also, the horse armor debate may soon find new life overseas, as there are plans for several Chinese game operators to switch from a subscription-based revenue model to the sale of virtual goods and other downloadable content "needed to advance various games".The article is supplemented by a slideshow that showcases China's hottest online games, one of which hails from the States -- Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach. This is consistent with vendors I visited during a recent trip to Shanghai who claimed that DDO was among their bestsellers.See also: More chaperones in China's Internet cafes SUN is most anticipated game in China Take-Two announces 2K Shanghai
