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This week on the MMO Report
Once again, Thursday has come, with Friday just around the corner. (We'll not discuss the two weeks in April of 1995 where Friday slept in until Sunday morning.) That means it's time for another MMO Report, and, like always, it highlights some of the latest and greatest news in the MMO world. Which, of course, means that this week it has to talk about the sparklepony. That's not the only piece of news on the deck this week, of course. There's talk about the inimitable World of Tanks, followed shortly thereafter by discussion about Virtual Island Entertainment at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Lord of Ultima's release on Tuesday and rumors of BioShock being made into an MMO fill out the report. Well, and a dive inside Casey's mailbag, which is everything you've come to expect from it. That may not be a good thing. Take a look after the break for the video, and keep your eyes here for another installment of the MMO Report every Thursday from G4TV and Massively.
Virtual Island Entertainment offers MMO for women
As much as a goodly portion of the MMO market is perfectly happy blowing up spaceships, killing untold numbers of rats, punching criminals in socially-awkward spandex, and generally behaving like a twelve-year-old boy... suffice to say that a lot of people have zero interest in those settings. Virtual Island Entertainment from enVie Interactive is aimed specifically at that category of potential player. Specifically, they're aiming for women, trying to create a virtual world that they claim "caters to women looking for an engaging online game that speaks to them." The game's feature list is focused more along the lines of social environments rather than gameplay; players can engage in "episodic content, unique shopping experiences, high fashion, art design, and intimate encounters, all in a tropical island setting." Comparisons between the game and the 200-pound gorilla of virtual worlds, Second Life, are all but inevitable, and there is a small mention that the game hopes to support a certain amount of user-created content. Scheduled for release in the second half of 2010, it remains to be seen what kind of following Virtual Island Entertainment will draw and how the target audience will respond.
