year-in-advance
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Lineage II looks back at 2012 and forward to 2013
Lineage II went free-to-play last year, and according to the newest state of the game letter, that conversion went very well indeed. The letter points out that more than one and a half million new accounts were created in 2012 alone, an impressive number for any game and doubly so for a game approaching its ninth anniversary. Over 800,000 store items have been sold, solidifying the game's performance and moneymaking capabilities. In other words, if you were worried the game wasn't doing well, you can stop worrying. But what about the future? Well, there's another major installment of the Goddess of Destruction series due out. The development team is also looking into a variety of improvements for players including tradeable shop items, methods of gifting microtransaction currency, and more options to pay for your cash shop purchases. There's also discussion of more events and tournaments for everyone to enjoy, showing that the title is aging but still has quite a lot of life left.
Leaderboard: 2011 vs. 2012
The past vs. the future. The Year of the Rabbit vs. the Year of the Dragon. In short, 2011 vs. 2012 -- which will ultimately prove to be the better year for MMOs? Oh sure, you might say it's unfair to compare a known quantity with an unknown one, but since when has that stopped MMO players from prognosticating the definitive outcome of everything within a 0.0001% margin of error? 2011 was light on major releases, but the ones it did have were certainly significant. Plus, it was a year of major change in the industry as free-to-play spread its tendrils everywhere, studios took risks on new ideas, and if you could get past the loud whining in one corner you'd see millions upon millions of happy gamers flocking to these games daily. Then again, 2012 could be the real deal, the contender for which we've all been waiting. It could see several big AAA releases even as the industry tries to branch out from the established ruts of the past. It's a year full of potential, promise, and play, and it's out there waiting for you. Ultimately, which do you think will go down in history as the better year? Vote after the jump!
