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New soccer/football MMO seeks to profit on Brazil's passion
A Chicago-based company called Interzone Entertainment will be publishing a new soccer MMO in Brazil in the fourth quarter of this year. The game is called Interzone Futebol, and of course it will at first be in Portuguese. Interzone says it will translate the game for other markets shortly, though.It's actually a pretty cool concept. It's not a team management game like most sports titles. Rather, it's a bit like EA Sports' quasi-recent Superstar mode trend. That it is to say, each player will control one athlete who improves and learns new moves over time. Every athlete on the field in every match will be controlled by a human player, and those players will be able to invite their friends to join them in the middle of any match.Interzone chose to launch in Brazil first because ... well, if you can't answer that, you don't know much about soccer. Or Brazil, for that matter.
Is Facebook gaming 'the next big thing'?
Worlds in Motion recently covered events at the InterPlay Conference in San Francisco. InterPlay is devoted to social gaming, and is billed as 'the premier conference on the business of games on the Social Web.' Among the speakers at InterPlay were Charles Yong and Jing Chen, co-founders of Developer Analytics. The company offers a social networking metrics platform that provides a leaderboard of the top Facebook applications, where casual games predictably rank high. Their talk focused on the monetization of social games and the feasibility of adding greater depth to casual games, an opportunity that's drawing a 'significant surge of venture capital funding,' Worlds in Motion reports.On the topic of generating more revenue from social games, Charles Yong said, "Social gaming is where the really great monetization is at. You can prototype with little to no money down. The whole premise of this is that marketing cost is really, really low, compared to a real game, like Grand Theft Auto IV." Before casual gamers could take offense at this statement, Yong clarified that casual gamers can be hardcore about their chosen style of play, but "they haven't seen GTA IV, they haven't seen Half-Life 2, and real money is coming out of virtual goods and currency."
Dizzywood mapped by Worlds in Motion Atlas
Dizzywood is a Flash-based virtual world for kids, with a wide variety of environments to explore, ranging from Mayan-themed jungles to skateparks. Worlds in Motion took at in-depth look at Dizzywood and weighed in on how Dizzywood innovates, and how it flounders. The game is developed by Rocket Paper Scissors, who have been getting some love by the media in recent weeks. It's clear to see why; the relatively new company has a simple, compelling vision:Our aim is to create a website for kids that inspires a sense of imagination, discovery, exploration, and most of all, fun. Frankly, when we took a good look at what was already out there, we felt that kids deserved a lot better. Our hope is that through a commitment to quality storytelling, creative vision, and technological innovation, Dizzywood will deliver an outstanding entertainment experience for young people that inspires the imagination in a safe environment. Our goal is to be the most popular web destination for kids in the 8-12 age range. It's a lofty goal, to be sure, but we're all about dreaming big.Dizzywood runs in a web browser, with no additional install beyond Flash required. Rocket Paper Scissors has billed the title as free-to-play, but there are pay options to unlock new clothing, items, emotes and powers, as well as avatar customization. The games in Dizzywood are solo-friendly, but encourage cooperative play and socializing in order to solve mysteries. The excellent Online World Atlas over at Worlds in Motion put Dizzywood through its paces, ultimately finding some flaws in the virtual world, yet praising it as one of the 'tween worlds to watch. Via Gamasutra
Study says 90% of virtual worlds don't last 18 months
A study released by Gartner, a large research firm based in Connecticut, claims that 90% of all "business forays into virtual worlds" fail within 18 months.According to the study, most businesses focus too much on expensive and unnecessary technology such as powerful physics engines, and don't pay enough attention to the demands and interests of users actual or potential. This is not surprising to us; savvy MMO developers will talk your ear off about how multi-million dollar graphics are at best a red herring and at worst a harbinger of doom.On the other hand, the study also said that by 2012, 70% of all organizations will be using virtual worlds, and that those endeavors will more successful because businesses will have learned exactly what to expect and will plan development accordingly.[Via Worlds in Motion]
Korea loves games, except virtual worlds
WorldsInMotion.biz has covered a report from the Korea Times stating that the virtual world business over there is beginning to falter.While we're embracing technology like Facebook and MySpace, bringing these social networking sites into our mainstream culture, Korea is experiencing a slump in their business. Cyworld, the leading social network in Korea, has reported 6% loss in their service revenue. To cope, Cyworld is going to be upgrading to a fully functional virtual space, instead of the current "room system" that it has now, in an attempt to attract more users.In comparison, MySpace Korea's launch was almost disastrous, their opening week garnering 1/20th of what Cyworld gets a week in traffic. It's quite easy to say, perhaps the virtual bubble has burst?
Bridges backhands Rosedale, Second Life
Corey Bridges, founder of Multiverse another player in the increasingly large virtual world space, had a number of things to say to Worlds in Motion about the announcement that Philip Rosedale was planning to step down as CEO and step up as chairman. A sort of freehand summary would be, "Second Life can't deliver, and Multiverse can. So long, Philip, and thanks for all the fish." Intentional or not, it comes across as unbecoming smack talk, basically.
GDC08 Highlights: Freaky Creatures, Habbo and Love
Freaky Creatures "This is like Pokémon, but far, far cooler."Drive to toy store. Buy cool monster action figure. Discover flash drive buried in packaging. Use it to upload a digital version of your creature and then pit that bad boy in head-to-head combat against other players and their pet arsenal online. That, my friends, is Freaky Creatures. Don't pretend you're not drooling to learn more. %Gallery-16481%
GDC08 Highlights: The future of Virtual Worlds and the end of GDC08
The Future of MMOs The Future of MMOs panel liveblogTeam Massively was there to live blog one of the most anticipated panels of GDC08. On it were a few names you might have heard of, like Cryptic Studios' Jack Emmert, Nexon's Min Kim, BioWare's Ray Muzyka, and Rob Pardo (who has apparently worked on some sort of popular fantasy game). We blogged a blow-by-blow account of the jabs, cuts, and parries from these Massive genre heavyweights. %Gallery-16640%
GDC08: Thinking outside the virtual world
Tuesday afternoon, Michael Acton Smith, CEO of Mind Candy, presented attendees at the GDC's Worlds in Motion summit with an interesting look at the confluence between real goods and virtual worlds. For some background on where Smith is coming from, Mind Candy "creates games and puzzles that span multiple media.... [they] use all forms of technology to tell stories and interact with... [their] audiences." They run Perplex City, an alternate reality game that uses clues puzzles in the real world combined with web-based resources to create a unique type of gameplay. Their upcoming game Moshi Monsters is an adoptable pet game geared towards kids. Smith says it's a "new type of virtual pet experience." The pets will be very alive with their own emotions (driven by a behavior engine which will cause your pet to act different ways depending on how you treat it) that will be reflected in the pet's animations. The game will also incorporate a number of social tools, so both you and your pet monster can hang out with friends. And, of course, there will be toys, oh glorious toys. (Some already available, though the game itself is still in beta and closed to the public.)%Gallery-16441%
GDC08: MapleStory's road to the US marketplace
Microtransactions aren't very well understood in the US, and so that was a big part of the massive subject that Nexon America's Min Kim delved into this morning at the Worlds in Motion conference. Beginning with a rundown on Nexon's ramp up to the RMT-based juggernaut it is today, he went into a great deal of detail about the tiny transactions that have built an industry (almost) overnight.The rest of his talk centered on Nexon'f foray into the United States. If you've been wondering about those MapleStory commercials, the cards at Target and 7-11, or all that adorable art - Nexon is the source. Read on for a discussion of how a foreign title built in South Korea can become so integrated with our own culture that they can offer up a Vegas-style wedding ceremony. Hail to the king.%Gallery-16441%
GDC08: Is Asia the Hollywood of MMOs?
When you talk about gaming in North America, it's almost presumed you're talking about console or single-player PC games -- but in Asia it's the other way around. With the vast success of massively multiplayer games in the Asian market, it's no surprise to see American companies attempting to emulate similar models -- both in North America and overseas. But that level of success has proven difficult to emulate. Yesterday afternoon at the Worlds in Motion Summit, Susan Choe, David Wallerstein, Daniel James, and Bryan Pelz got together to chat about the future of the Asian market.
GDC08: Exercise - the MMO?
Early this afternoon during Erik Bethke's discussion of the cross-over between Virtual Worlds and Massively multiplayer games, he hit on a fantastic idea that I'd love to see explored. What if you could incentivize people to do things that were good for them by giving them goal structures? Players provide goals for themselves all the time in ostensibly 'goal-less' virtual worlds, from Second Life to Club Penguin. In an aside, Bethke noted that assigning goal structures - reasons to play - is actually a fairly easy part of game design. Though it takes some effort to make those goals fun and interesting, working them up in the first place is a fairly trivial piece of work. So what if you could make eating right and exercising fun by leveling up and earning loot?%Gallery-16369%
GDC08: Leigh Alexander introduces us to Worlds in Motion
The Worlds in Motion summit kicked off this morning with an introduction from Leigh Alexander, the organizer of the event. Leigh is the blogger-in-residence over at CMP's Worlds in Motion, a site we've linked to many times here from Massively. In her work there, she does what she can to highlight the work of pioneers in the Virtual World industry. This morning, she asked the basic question: What does gaming have to do with Virtual Worlds? We normally think of VWs as brand experiences, collaborative business environments, or opportunities for social interaction like Second Life. So what do these virtual spaces, the leadup to the 'Metaverse', have to do with gaming?%Gallery-16369%
Massively's at GDC!
Happy Monday, everyone! Joystiq and Massively are out in force on the streets of San Francisco this week covering the Game Developers Conference. Through we're bleary-eyed from late night Rock Band sessions and just starting on our daily caffeine allotment (hey, it's still morning in California!) we're here for you, covering all the news that's fit to virtually print. Today and tomorrow we'll be at the Worlds in Motion Summit, where it's all virtual worlds, all the time, and for the rest of the week we'll be out on the show floor searching out every tidbit of MMO news. Keep an eye out for the latest on all of your favorite games this week from GDC! Gallery: GDC 2008 Pre-show
Ragnarok developer waking up to a Bloodymare
Gravity Interactive is the developer for the game Ragnarok Online, an extremely popular South Korean title. Gravity has announced that they've been working hard on another title for almost four years now, and it's nothing like the stylized cuteness of Ragnarok. Requiem: Bloodymare is the name of the new game, and it sounds about as different from Ragnarok as night is from day. The game will make use of the high-tech Havok engine to portray a violent dystopian future. PCs will take the part of creatures forged via magic and technology to kill demons and undead creatures loosed by years of experimentation. The article at Worlds in Motion includes commentary from Gravity's CEO Peter Kang about the company's goals, and their deliberate decision to move away from their past work. At the moment there's no expected release date, but one would expect to hear something soon; four years is a pretty good amount of game development time.
Disney making online game based on the movie "Cars"
According to the San Fernando Business Journal, Disney Online plans to release a virtual world game based on the hugely successful 3D-animated film Cars.Disney sees this as a way to keep kids invested in the franchise "for years to come" even without a sequel on the horizon. The article also says that Disney plans substantial future investments in these sorts of projects because they've had success with other titles like Toontown Online and Club Penguin.While games like this don't usually get as much attention from the gaming media, they're arguably no less successful or lucrative than games like EverQuest II. [Via Worlds in Motion]
7-Eleven sells Nexon Game Cards
Worlds in Motion reports that you can now buy game cards for MapleStory and other Nexon games at your local 7-Eleven convenience store. The game cards -- which cost $10 or $25 -- can be used to purchase in-game items.At first, this struck us as bizarre, but it actually makes some sense. A 7-Eleven representative is quoted in the Worlds in Motion article saying that the cards are perfect for the "tweens and teens" who enjoy MapleStory -- a demographic that also happens to frequent 7-Eleven. The representative calls it "the Slurpee-beverage crowd."It's a strange world. Next thing you know we'll be buying EQ2 game-time cards at the gasoline pump!
Financial bigwig says virtual worlds leading digital currency charge
Andy Kyte, vice president of Gartner, Inc., told Gartner Symposium attendees last week that virtual worlds such as Second Life are "contributing to the drive to use electronic currencies." This comes from a ZDNet report on Kyte's talk about the potential of electronic currencies to reduce overhead costs for pretty much every one. He said Singapore has already introduced an electronic currency and that the rest of the world is watching what happens there.He also said, though, that online currencies like Second Life's Linden Dollar carry with them security issues that create "phenomenal opportunities for money laundering and tax evasion." Those issues would have to be resolved before online currencies similar to the L$ or EVE Online's ISK can be used with confidence in the real world.[Via Worlds in Motion]
