10-year-anniversary
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World of Warcraft 10 Year Anniversary gift arrives
The 10 year anniversary of World of Warcraft decided to wrap up in style with a special gift mailed to players that have been with the game since the very beginning. Players who created an account within 60 days of World of Warcraft's original launch and have maintained their subscription for all ten years have been mailed a very special physical gift -- a miniature recreation of the orc statue that graces the courtyard of Blizzard Entertainment's home in Irvine, CA. If you are eligible for the gift, you should receive an email indicating your gift is on the way at your registered Battle.net email address. This is probably one of the nicer statues I've gotten from Blizzard. It looks very much like cast bronze, but I believe it's the same resin material used for their deluxe line of action figures. And although I say it's a miniature recreation, it's not that small -- the statue measures roughly 9" from base to tip of the taller axe. The base includes a message on the bottom that reads "The orc statue is a constant presence in our life at Blizzard Entertainment. It's where we meet to talk, to eat, to celebrate. As we celebrate ten years of World of Warcraft, we present this token of appreciation to you, stalwart adventurer. Thank you for being a constant presence in our lives as we adventure together." Head to Battle.net for more information regarding eligibility for the gift, and be sure to check out our gallery for shots of both statue and box.
Should WoW reward its loyal players?
As the 9th anniversary of the game rolls around, and we open up our mail to yet another letter and set of XP and reputation-boosting fireworks, we're glad that the letter is at least accurate. Or not, as the references to Deathwing were simply removed, rather than replaced by something more relevant. It's a token, it's no bad thing, and the reputation and XP boost doesn't hurt either. And for new players, it's a nice token, something to indicate that they have joined something big, something long-lasting. A friend of mine I recruited last year couldn't believe how long the game had lasted, and that's pretty cool. But what WoW's longevity should indicate is an issue suffered by a relatively small number of games. It's highly possible for someone to have played WoW throughout these nine years, and even before, prior to the official release, during the beta. Should that be rewarded? Should WoW reward players with what is approaching 10 years service? The open beta launched in early 2004, so the happy few who remain from those days are not far off their 10-year anniversary. Rewarding Long Service Blizzard employees get a shield after ten years, and it seems to me that rewarding long service would be a good idea for the players of their games too. Previous articles have focused on how much money players have ploughed into Blizzard's pockets over the years, but I'm not going to consider that. I mean, I could have started in Cata, multiboxing 10 accounts, and still paid more. It's the longevity that matters to me. It's the sticking with WoW through its ups and downs, through the ICCs and the Dragon Souls. Through the dailies and the grinding and all the great and terrible changes. That's what deserves a reward.
EVE Online celebrates 10 years of smuggling, intrigue, and the magic of teamwork
There ain't no party like an EVE Online 10-year anniversary party because an EVE Online 10-year anniversary party uses Facebook "likes" to unlock in-game gifts and fireworks. No, really. Every "like" that EVE Online's Facebook page receives will help unlock free gifts for players and hourly firework drops. The gifts will be handed out after downtime on Sunday the 5th of May. There will also be an attempt to break the current PCU record, so the park your accounts and enjoy the display. To keep you entertained, there will be two "Hunt a Dev" roams, prizes, and oodles of player events. You can check out all the details on the official page.
EVE Evolved: Massively's plans for EVE Fanfest 2013
There's just over a week to go until EVE Online's massive tenth anniversary Fanfest, and you'll be pleased to hear that Massively will be there this year to cover the action! CCP is aiming to make this the biggest Fanfest yet, promising huge reveals and announcements about EVE's summer Odyssey expansion and beyond. We can also expect to hear some big news about upcoming console MMOFPS DUST 514, and fans of Vampire: The Masquerade will undoubtedly get to see some of the year's progress toward making the World of Darkness MMO a reality. Tickets to this year's Fanfest sold out in record time, so many players who really wanted to be there for EVE's tenth anniversary celebration weren't able to secure a spot. CCP is running its usual livestream of the main talks for those not in attendance, but only certain parts of the event are being streamed. Here at Massively, we plan to give you an inside look at Fanfest with ongoing news coverage from April 25th to April 27th and in-depth opinion pieces on what each announcement means for players. In this week's short and sweet EVE Evolved, I lay out Massively's plans for in-depth coverage of EVE Fanfest 2013 and ask what you'd like to see reported on.
EVE Online hits 500,000 subscribers, heads into second decade
Most modern MMOs launch to an initial flurry of sales followed by a steady decline in player activity, but sci-fi MMO EVE Online has lived life in reverse. The game initially failed to secure a large number of launch sales but has since grown organically into one of the most successful subscription MMOs on the planet. EVE developer CCP Games told Massively today that the game has now officially broken the 500,000 subscription barrier. Subscription numbers hit the 450,000 mark following the relaunch of EVE's Chinese server Serenity in December of last year, and they have continued to climb ever since. This new subscription milestone is attributed to the success of EVE's recent Retribution expansion and the anticipation building over upcoming console MMOFPS DUST 514, which is set on actual planets in the EVE universe. EVE is due to hit its 10th anniversary this year on May 6th, and developers have been taking the opportunity to look forward at what the coming decade will bring to the game. We caught up with CCP for a quick peek at the studio's plans for the future and to find out what kind of announcements we can expect from EVE Fanfest in April of this year.
10-year anniversary Xbox 360 bundle found on Amazon France
"But wait," you might be thinking. "The original Xbox launched on November 15, 2001. The tenth anniversary was last year, why come out with a 10-year anniversary bundle now? What's the deal? Oh my God, can you hear this? Quit listening to my thoughts! Get out of my head!!"Whoa, chill dude! The American launch was in 2001, but the console's European debut didn't happen until three months later in 2002, hence the 10-year anniversary bundle showing up on Amazon France in 2012. The €280.00 ($375.50) package comes with a 250-gb Xbox 360, two wireless controllers, a boxed copy of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, digital versions of Halo: Reach, Gears of War 2 and Fable 3, as well as a 3-month Xbox Live Gold membership card.The bundle is set to ship on March 9, and while we appreciate the sentiment and everything, we can't help but feel like a 360 reproduction of this might have been a more touching tribute. Make it happen, Microsoft. We'll give you money.
Devs reminisce on Dark Age of Camelot's 10th birthday
Dark Age of Camelot turns 10 this week, and if that doesn't make you feel old, well, you're probably not very old (and while we're at it, kindly remove yourself from our lawn). At any rate, Scott Jennings waxes nostalgic about the fantasy RvR title on his personal blog by posting a remembrance from original Mythic producer Matt Firor. The piece is heavy on the meta details, and a read-through will give you an idea of how drastically the MMO industry has changed over the past decade. Firor talks about Mythic's scramble to meet the crushing demand for more servers and the resulting mad dash for the nearest computer retailer to purchase a dozen desktops that were quickly loaded with Linux and whipped into an ad-hoc server cluster. There are more interesting details, of course, and you can read them all at Broken Toys.
Jagex offering last chance to sign up for RuneScape Classic service
Get ready, nostalgia fans, as Jagex has a treat for you (assuming you also like RuneScape, of course). If you've ever heard your clanmates talk wistfully about three-hit combat and other aspects of the good ol' days, you can now experience them for yourself, thanks to RuneScape Classic. You'll need to hurry, though, as Jagex is only allowing new-player registration on the throw-back servers for a limited time as part of the browser title's 10-year anniversary celebration. Make sure you log in between Thursday, September 15th and Thursday, September 29th to ensure that you can access RuneScape Classic in the future, as this is the last time Jagex will be allowing new players to use the service. You'll also want to collect the unique skillcape emote and the classic cape and hood items since they'll be unobtainable after the conclusion of this event. As always, the RuneScape website has full details. [Source: Jagex press release]
Anarchy Online celebrates 10 years this weekend
It seems like there's an MMO anniversary happening every other day around these parts. While it's indeed commendable for some of these games to last a year or three, Funcom's Anarchy Online has just reached the lofty summit reserved for the likes of EverQuest and Ultima Online: Yep, Rubi-Ka is 10 years old and still going strong. Funcom has issued a press release that's heavy on the innovative aspects of the world's first sci-fi MMORPG. "Instancing, massive player vs. player combat, digital download of games, in-game advertisement, virtual world radio, concerts, virtual items, and freemium business models" are just a few of the initiatives that showed up early in Anarchy Online. The release also serves to accentuate how much has changed since the game's genesis, as it notes that AO's original 1995 design document questioned the future viability of the internet and hoped for 2,500 subscribers. No 10-year anniversary would be complete without a respectable bash, and Funcom's release also outlines the festivities coming your way in the form of events and new content. The party (jointly produced by Funcom and Gridstream Productions) starts tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. EDT and will continue into the weekend. Even if you're not up for virtual dancing, you'll want to check it out for a new birthday raid, new vehicles, clothing, gear, action figures, and pets. Head to the official website to learn more.
Dancing around the EverQuest world
Ah, the memories. With 10 years under its belt, EverQuest has introduced us to strange and wonderful lands. Anyone who has played the game can tell you about some of the many zones they've visited; tramping across the wide expanse of Butcherblock; spending tons of time in Paludal, Lake of Ill Omen, Highkeep, or so many other areas; getting chased out of Oasis by Spectres or Sand Giants (hell, getting chased out of just about any zone with giants in it unless you were adept at kiting); running from guards if you happened to stumble into a town that wasn't friendly to you. From one moment to the next, one group to the next, you never really knew what the day would hold. This video, created by the team at SOE, is not only a nod to those fun "Where the hell is Matt" videos, but also a really nice trip down memory lane for those of us who have played - or still play - EverQuest. Added to the mix of various areas are tidbits of EverQuest trivia. One such little morsel is that Qeynos is actually Sony EQ spelled backwards, if you hadn't caught that. So, if you've ever spent time in Norrath, be sure to check out their 10-year tribute video - and the related trivia - after the break!
Massively celebrates 10 years of EverQuest
March 16th, 1999: It was on this day that Sony's 989 Studios released what would soon be known as the gateway to a gaming movement. Sure it wasn't the first, but it was responsible for redefining the quality that we know today in the massively multiplayer online genre. That game, of course, was EverQuest, and this month marks its 10th anniversary.To celebrate this unique occasion, Massively has teamed up with SOE to offer some of the greatest retrospective coverage, galleries, opinion pieces and much more concerning the last ten years of EQ. From today until March 16th, we will present a new article counting down to the anniversary date. You can also check out our EQ 10th Anniversary gallery which will be updated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with new artwork and screenshots, showcasing the last ten years for the game. The final days of this countdown will get progressively more exciting, so stick with our coverage to see what unfolds!%Gallery-46192%
