Scoring the Massively E3 bingo card

If you missed it, prior to heading in the direction of E3 we joined Joystiq and the other network sites in pulling together a predictive Bingo card for the big event. We jotted down a number of things that we thought for sure would make an appearance, and laid out a number of news tidbits that we were almost sure wouldn't get covered at the event. As it turns out, we did okay despite some major upsets.

We'll own up – this was a pretty different event from a lot of others. Concepts and games we were sure would get talked up didn't get mentioned, while some out-of-left field announcements hit during the week. Read on below the cut to see how we faired from A to ... well, F.

AoC is Huge!: Pass
We expected Funcom and Eidos to be glowingly positive about their newly launched festival of violence, and we were dead on there. Our interview with Erling Ellingsen has caused quite a stir in the comments because of his optimistic appraisal of the title.

Firefly MMO News: Pass
Not a hide nor hair of this never-going-to-be-made Multiverse title.


No BioWare MMO News: Fail
Ahem. "Regardless of what they're actually making, it's almost certain they won't

announce the subject of the game here. Why? Why wreck their long silence with something as pesky as facts or information?" Who could have known? Seriously? Points to you, EA.


MMOs the Future of PC Gaming: Fail
Actually PC gaming in general was looking pretty healthy this event, as long as you

completely ignore Microsoft's dying Games for Windows initiative. Titles like Dead Space and Mirror's Edge are coming to the platform, proving that it isn't just the massive titles that will keep things running.

Red 5 Won't Announce Their Game: Pass
No word from the developer, though we do have an interesting feature planned

with them for the near future.


Consoles are the Future of MMOs: Pass
The breadth and depth of the SOE MMOs planned for the PS3 is

pretty amazing. A few other mutterings about our favorite genre heading to the console could be heard throughout the event.


We're not after WoW Numbers: Fail
Again, who could have known? The only prediction we pegged at 100% turned out to be dead wrong. WoW wasn't mentioned once at the event, other than

the news from Blizzard itself about the opening of the Lich King Beta. Whether it was hard feelings or just careful words, the 10,000 gorilla was sitting elsewhere last week.

Animal Crossing: the MMO: Pass
We thought it unlikely to happen, and it didn't. The new Animal Crossing is an offline endeavor.

Free Realms Info: Pass
We snagged a ton of new information about SOE's free-to-play shenanigans at the event. It's looking better than ever.

Microtransactions: Pass
At SOE's booth and throughout the event, the little nibbles at your wallet were all the rage.

Guild Wars 2 Information: Pass
We didn't expect anything out of Arena.net, and we were right on.


Cryptic's Star Trek Online: Pass
We've still got (checks) 5 days before their announcement. Champions was their baby at this year's E3.

The Agency Info: Pass
You haven't seen our Agency posts? There's some great stuff there, especially about the game's class system. Make sure to check it out.


Secret World Info: Pass
We expected not to hear from Funcom about this, and we hate

being right. This blogger is way more interested in horror/sci-fi/modern mayhem than Hyborean hijinks. Give us some love, folks!


DirectX 10 Compatible: Pass
We were unsure this tech would get much mention at the event, and it turned out to

be a non-issue. Most folks are just staying out of that end of the pool. XP and reliable DX9 are the way to go for now.


Social Networking: Pass
Everything from WAR to Free Realms is going to be making use of online tools integration to let friends into your gaming life. Interesting stuff, though not a lot of details on these elements yet.

Champions Online Info: Pass
We came back with a supervillain's cache-full of information about Cryptic's CoH successor. Make sure to check out some of our discussion of the links between the tabletop game and this new online hotness.

APB Info: Fail
We were 50/50 split on whether we'd hear anything about this title at the event, and as a result we were right! ... okay, fence sitting seems hardly fair. But still, nailed this one. Or not.


DCUO Info: Pass
Possibly more than any other game at the event, SOE's DCUO caught our

attention. Given we've seen so little about this cape-and-cowl MMO brawler, it was a blast to get to see so much about it. Be especially sure to check out our discussion with Jim Lee.

Free to Play: Fail
There was very little mention of the F2P style of game at E3. MMO folks at the event were primarily looking at the subscription model, despite the hard work of Jagex, Nexon, and the folks working on Free Realms.

Valve's MMO: Pass
No word. At least that means it's possible at some point in the future ...


Copernicus: Pass
No word here either. Any time you want to talk with us, Curt, we're here.


Carbine Studios: Pass

No news, but we've been in touch with that team too. Did you catch our chat with Jess Lebow a while back?


Turbine's New Game: Pass
No idea when this one is coming down the pipe, but

this one was highly unlikely to peer out with Turbine skipping the event.


Score: 19 Pass, 4 Fail

Not too bad, if we do say so ourselves. There's little joy in this score, though, because mostly we were betting on folks not talking about their games at E3. MMOs, perhaps even more than the industry as a whole, are now an entirely self-contained ecosystem. We have our own events and highlights, and as such the general-purpose moment in time that is E3 ... just may not be for MMO fans anymore. We loved the SOE news we managed to get, but you're going to be getting much more this week from Comic-Con.

Here's hoping next year's E3 has a bigger place for our favorite genre of game.