MMO Roundup: Last week on Massively

Blizzard, NCsoft talent form developer En Masse Entertainment
The MMO industry, despite some setbacks over the past year or so, has been growing at a steady rate for some time and doesn't show much sign of slowing. It's hard to argue that two of the most influential companies in that success have been Blizzard Entertainment and NCsoft, with the former keeping a stable of several successful games and the latter running a game well-known enough to not need a mention.

The Road to Mordor: Massively tour of LotRO Volume III Book 1
Lord of the Rings Online Volume III: Allies of the King is kicking off Book 1: Oath of the Rangers on the live servers this Monday, March 1st. Massively got to sit down with a LotRO dev for a tour of the new content. But before we jump in to that, a quick note about content patches.

Turbine sees 500% revenue growth with DDO: Unlimited
For all that the Penny Arcade guys may have made a joke about the old Dungeons and Dragons Online format, there's no disputing that the change to a hybrid free-to-play model has given the game a new lease on life. Groups aren't hard to find; the cities are bustling; and players have great things to say about their hybrid model which allows you to either work for rewards or pay a small fee for the level of content you want.

The breakdown of Final Fantasy XI's VanaFest 2010 announcements
After a month of heavy anticipation from the fans, VanaFest 2010 finally has come and given us all the information that we could want about where the game is heading from here. And the show did stay focused upon Final Fantasy XI -- the only mention of Final Fantasy XIV was the announcement that its first wave of beta testing will start on March 11th with a limited number of participants.

Screens and details for Star Trek Online's first raid missions
Star Trek Online will soon see it's first wave of "Special Task Force Missions" go live, most of which are centered around the new, deadlier Borg. Shared by both Federation and Klingon players, these five-man missions are end-game content designed to give any captain cause for caution.

Massively Speaking Episode 90: Allods Online's cash shop interview
Massively Speaking Episode 90 is back this week as Shawn and Rubi are joined by Sera Brennan to discuss the week's news. Plus, we sit down with Darren Allarde, Associate Producer for gPotato to discuss the Allods Online cash shop issues that have been blasting the headlines all week.

Massively interviews Bill Roper on Champions Online's Revelation update
Recently we had the chance to speak with Champions Online's executive producer Bill Roper about the forthcoming Revelation update. More specifically, we asked him about the new zone Vibora Bay, its quest structure and Cryptic's plans moving beyond the Revelation update, as well. Of course, we couldn't discuss this first major content update without asking about the decision to make it free... but you'll just have to check out our interview after the break for that part.

Darkfall introduces seven day trial for one dollar
Free trials are a growing trend in subscription MMOs. More and more, developers are realizing that if they expect players to spend a hefty sum to purchase a game as well as a monthly fee, they need to offer more than a website and a trailer video. Players want to know what they're getting into -- they're less inclined these days to drop $40-$50 (plus the cost of the second month's subscription, something most games require) on a game that they're not completely sure they're going to enjoy.

Live from Earth-Two: DC Universe Online introduces Power Girl
The trickle of information coming from Sony Online Entertainment about DC Universe Online can't be described as a flood quite yet, but it's certainly increasing -- particularly with the addition of the video Q & A sessions and the upcoming weekly comic.