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The Game Archaeologist: The Chronicles of Spellborn
Hey! Hey you! Yeah, you the I'm-so-bored-with-all-of-these-MMOs gamer! You've been grousing about for years how MMOs never take risks, never innovate, and are merely content to rehash the same-old fantasy tropes that were stale even when World of Warcraft launched, right? Yes, we at Massively saw your poorly spelled reddit post on that subject, thank you. Well, what if I were to tell you that there's an MMO that bucks the clichés? It's true! Imagine an MMO that exists in a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting that's unlike anything you've seen before. Imagine that combat isn't merely hotbar button mashing but tactics mixed with positioning. Imagine that you can create your character to look any way you want from the onset instead of having to collect certain pieces of gear. Imagine an immersive world that is a delight to the eyes and ears. Got all that? Want to play it? Well, you can't. That game was The Chronicles of Spellborn, and since you and pretty much everyone else on the planet ignored it, it tanked in 2010 after less than a year of operation. Yet for its lackluster run, Spellborn has been strongly mourned by those who saw tremendous potential in it and who keep creating internet petitions to bring it back. Because petitions change everything. Today we're going to take a look back at an MMO that took the path less traveled.
Gaikai: Delivering instant MMOs to your browser
Imagine that you're reading up on an MMO on a site such as Massively (far-fetched, but stay with us on this). The words intrigue you and you think it might be worth checking out. You make a mental note to do so in the future -- to head over to the game's site, see if there's a trial, download it, set up an account, and give it a whirl -- but time gets away from you and none of that actually happens. Now imagine that right after you read that article there was a single button or link. Clicking on it, a Java window opens up on top of your screen and tells you that you're now playing a trial of the game. There's no wait, no download, no lengthy form to fill out -- just click and play, right away. You go from interested to inside the game within mere seconds, your computer specs (mostly) aren't an issue, and your curiosity is immediately sated. This isn't a far-fetched dream but the here-and-now reality. This is cloud-streaming MMOs brought to you by Gaikai. And it just might be the future of MMOs as we know it.
Former Atari VP moves to Trion Worlds
Trion Worlds has a new star quarterback for its European branch today, as former Atari general manager John Burns joined the team. Burns is now senior vice president and general manager of Trion's European branch. Trion's David Reid feels that Burns is a major catch for the company: "John joins Trion with almost two decades of gaming experience with him, and will be essential in our continued success throughout Europe. With the launch of RIFT earlier this year, we began laying the groundwork for a strong presence in Europe, which will grow as we bring premium, connected games to gamers around the world." Burns has a lengthy track record in the industry, boasting over 20 years of experience at various companies. Prior to Atari, John Burns worked at Electronic Arts, Bandai, Acclaim and Sega.
US Cellular's Samsung Acclaim boosted to Android 2.2
It's not often that you see a Samsung device running stock Froyo through official channels, so feast your eyes on the update recently release for the Acclaim on US Cellular that takes your QWERTY slider from Android 2.1 up to 2.2. You can't do this one over-the-air, which is a pretty big pain in the rear -- but considering that you're getting an entirely new version of Android here, we think you'll probably want to cable up for the few minutes it takes to get this bad boy installed. Have fun and be safe! [Thanks, Chris H.]
GamersFirst rezzes Acclaim 9Dragons characters
Where's a good cleric when you need one? Apparently they're at the GamersFirst offices, performing the herculean task of reanimating thousands of 9Dragons characters left for dead when Acclaim (the title's original publisher) pulled the plug on the martial arts MMORPG this past summer. If you're a former 9Dragons player and you submitted a character request earlier this year, you can now claim your rebuilt level 80 avatar at the official GamersFirst website. "We are excited to finally be able to offer character restoration options for the 9Dragons community. We want players to know that we appreciate their support during our transition. We have spent a large amount of time and effort processing and improving the template characters to get players back into the game without having to redo all their hard work from before," said David Demers, 9Dragons Associate Producer.
Ask Massively: New Mega Man games edition
I'm really happy to see that we're getting two new Mega Man games at long last. Mega Man Universe looks like it's going to be pretty awesome, even if it should really be taking cues from later installments, and Mega Man Legends 3 is a game that I've been waiting to see for... yeah, just about 10 years. Unfortunately, that does mean that I'm going to have to purchase another platform for the game, but that's all right by me. I already have a few dozen systems in my house; one more isn't going to hurt. But we're not here to talk about my pet causes -- we're here for the latest edition of Ask Massively. This week's questions were all about Chronicles of Spellborn and administrative details, so click on past the cut for our answers, and send your questions in to ask@massively.com! Or just leave them right here in the comments, makes no nevermind to us.
GamesCampus announces Legend of Edda beta and 9Dragons European publishing acquisition
Free-to-play publisher GamesCampus has had a busy week, first with its announcement of the closed beta test for the forthcoming Legend of Edda MMORPG, and most recently with its acquisition of 9Dragons for the European market. Legend of Edda, loosely based on the Greek mythology surrounding Olympus and the Titans, boasts a dynamic storyline that centers around factional conflict as well as PvP and RvR combat. GamesCampus describes Legend of Edda as a title with "hardcore PvP, endless customization, an art style all its own, and much more." The initial closed beta phase will run from September 30th through October 11th. Speaking of PvP, 9Dragons, recently orphaned by the demise of its publisher Acclaim, has been targeted by GamesCampus for a European release. The kung fu fighting MMORPG, set during the Ming dynasty and featuring clan-based PvP as well as extensive PvE options, will be published in Germany and France beginning in November. News of the European launch comes shortly after GamersFirst announced its intention to publish 9Dragons in America. Be sure to check out the Legend of Edda teaser trailer after the jump.
Playdom kills off almost all Acclaim games
In a move that no adoption agency would ever endorse, Playdom has basically killed off Acclaim just a few months after acquiring it, as Gamasutra reports. Acclaim's site says that all of its online games have been shut down as of August 26 and unused "Acclaim Coins" are being refunded. A couple of games, Kogamu and RockFREE, will continue to live on under the Playdom banner. Playdom was bought a month ago by Disney which apparently had little interest in continuing to support Acclaim titles like 9Dragons. Though we can't claim to be big fans of any of their MMOs -- and can't really say we know anyone who fits that description -- it does seem kind of a jarring way to leave consumers.
Acclaim shuts down all games and main site
It looks like Acclaim is going the way of the dinosaur. Things have been increasingly uncertain for Acclaim titles since Playdom acquired Acclaim back in May, and visitors to Acclaim's site yesterday were met with a bare-bones message: "We regret to inform you that all Acclaim games will no longer be in service effective August 26, 2010." Other than a few instructions on refunds for Acclaim coins and an invitation to check out Playdom's Facebook games, the site is blank. The company's former games aren't all completely gone; 9Dragons was recently picked up by GamersFirst, but the publisher itself seems to be gone for good. [Thanks to CowMooFlage for the tip!]
GamersFirst acquires 9Dragons from Acclaim
Acclaim currently holds the license to publish free-to-play MMO 9Dragons, but that will be changing very soon. The license expires in September, and GamersFirst has stepped in to pick it up. The core game will remain familiar to players, but GamersFirst will be adding some new features and content for players of all levels. There will be a dedicated tutorial map for new players, a new high-level dungeon, new Kung Fu patterns, and more for players to explore on both the PvE and PvP sides. GamersFirst is working to make the transition a smooth one, and current players will find all of their characters and items unaffected by the change. The GamersFirst site will have a launch date for this move very soon. For now, follow along after the jump for a look at two brand-new trailers for 9Dragons.
Chronicles of Spellborn servers have one last hurrah
The Chronicles of Spellborn fans have had a confusing week. On August 10th, an announcement was posted on Acclaim's TCoS forums, letting players know that the game would come to an end on August 25th. The announcement warned players to spend all unused Acclaim coins by that time and offered a customer support email address for players with questions. However, the servers were taken offline almost immediately with no word from Acclaim, and after a week of silence from the developers, fans concluded that the game was gone for good. Not so, it seems. A post entitled "The game is up!" appeared on the forums, sending a handful of players rushing to reinstall and enjoy a little more playtime. Unfortunately, there is still no announcement or explanation from the TCoS team, so there is no official word on what happened or how long it will last. For the time being, fans of The Chronicles of Spellborn can enjoy one last chance to play. [Thanks to CowMooFlage for the tip!]
Chronicles of Spellborn servers going offline next month
After a few years of service in various incarnations, Playdom's Chronicles of Spellborn MMO is calling it quits and will be shutting down its servers next month. Recent server outages are unrelated, apparently, but the game, which started out as a pay-to-play title and then redeveloped as a free-to-play game after the original developers went bankrupt, will be done for good at the end of September, according to an email from a company representative. The game still had a small but active community, and they've started the usual Internet petition to try and keep it online. We contacted Disney to see what part, if any, it might have had in the game's shutdown, given that it now presumably oversees the property, but the House of Mouse declined a comment. Whoever decided to pull the plug, looks like the Chronicles has reached its last page.
Spellborn shutting down in September
It seems the bell has finally tolled for The Chronicles of Spellborn, the troubled free-to-play MMORPG from Playdom. The fantasy title, which boasted a unique combat system and attempted to alleviate the grind common to the massive genre through its mission system, will be shutting its doors for good in September. Spellborn has had a checkered history since its 2009 inception as a pay-to-play title. Shortly after release, its development team went bankrupt before it was slated for free-to-play distribution by Acclaim and Frogster. According to a report published on Games.com, last week's server outage (which sparked a brush-fire of cancellation rumors) was temporary, but the game will nonetheless be closing next month. "Yes we do plan to close the game at the end of the month," said a Playdom rep via email. "The servers were down on Monday, but that was due to an unrelated technical issue; the game should be back up now until the end of this month."
Samsung Acclaim arrives in US Cellular stores July 9, we're sure somebody will care
Looks like we have a small band of US Cellular fans among our numbers, as we've received a slew of tips letting us know that the national carrier has dropped an official release date for the Samsung Acclaim. This most mundane of Android sliders will arrive on July 9, and... well, that's it really. US Cellular hasn't seen fit to entice us with any actual specs or even an Android version, though information floating about the interwebs suggests it has a 3.2-inch HVGA screen and a stock Eclair installation. We'll just have to wait until somebody at Samsung swallows the shame of being associated with the Acclaim and finally gives us some official details. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Acclaim Android slider revealed by Samsung's own site
We know you've been kept awake at night by this question: just what does the Samsung Acclaim look like? Well, thanks to one of our awesome readers, we now the first official pic of the handset. This was discovered on Samsung's site without too much effort, which might indicate just how excited the Korean manufacturer is about the whole thing. Clearly running Android as its OS, this slider offers a full QWERTY keypad with a dedicated number row and quite the curious coloration. Assuming Sammy didn't run out of dark navy paint halfway through, the cross pattern highlighted on the left may be indicative of some gaming inclinations to the R880. Earlier rumors peg the Acclaim's US Cellular-exclusive release at some time in July and also indicate a 3.2-inch screen gracing its visage. Can't wait. [Thanks, Jason]
Playdom adds Acclaim Games to its portfolio
Back in the way back when of 2006, a group of private investors got together and decided to purchase the Acclaim name. Resurrecting the company -- the name's built-in brand awareness was a major factor for the purchase -- the new Acclaim Games aimed to grab its own slice of the casual gaming pie. Since then, it's managed to accrue 15 million subscribers through its website, offering a plethora of free-to-play casual MMOs. And now casual gaming giant Playdom has gone ahead and acquired Acclaim. The press release (PDF link) highlights Acclaim as the perfect fit for Playdom's hefty catalog of social titles. "Joining forces with Playdom is a natural fit," said Howard Marks, Acclaim CEO and the man who will oversee Acclaim operations for Playdom and have an active role in the parent company's business development division. "Both companies share the vision of connecting people globally through quality social games. Our deep expertise in building multiplayer online games and Playdom's vast player community will help us bring out the next generation of social games." Exact figures for how much Playdom spent on Acclaim are currently not available. [Via Big Download] Source - Playdom announces acquisition of Acclaim Games Inc. (PDF)
Playdom acquires Acclaim Games
If there was any doubt that the world of Facebook social games and traditional MMOs are becoming further intertwined, this should hopefully silence it. Playdom, well-known as one of the three major powers in Facebook gaming (alongside Zynga and Playfish), has acquired Acclaim Games, owner of several free-to-play MMOs including Chronicles of Spellborn, 9Dragons, and 2Moons. Unfortunately for the business mavens in the audience, the exact details of the acquisition including price were not disclosed. In terms of management, there's going to be little changing on the ground for Acclaim Games, as previous CEO Howard Marks will continue to run the studio for Playdom. Playdom itself has been purchasing several smaller developers and studios, especially those focusing on Facebook development. No word on whether this will affect management of any of Acclaim's existing games, although it seems unlikely given the circumstances. What is certain is that it's another installment in the distance between social gaming and MMOs being shortened. [ Thanks to Animagnum for the tip! ]
Or maybe US Cellular's Samsung Acclaim actually looks like this
Funny story: we were sent the same US Cellular slide deck by a number of folks last week that clearly showed an Android-powered Samsung handset alongside the HTC Desire for a near-term launch -- we posted the shot of it right out of the deck, assuming it was the Acclaim's final ID. Turns out that might not be the case, though, because there's apparently an Acclaim hanging out at Google's IO conference this week... and it looks precisely nothing like the device we'd seen. At this point, we don't know if the other image is of a canned device, another phone that's set to launch on US Cellular, or just a prior iteration of the Acclaim, but at any rate, it appears that the phone customers will be getting is far more rounded, glossy, and just a touch more chromey than we'd anticipated. [Thanks, BigE]
Is this the Samsung Acclaim for US Cellular? (update: we're pretty sure it is)
So regional carrier US Cellular dropped the bomb this week that it had scored an exclusive on a fresh Android handset from Samsung coined the R880 Acclaim, but unfortunately, it failed to actually show us the thing. We've just gotten a tip alleging that the handset you're looking at here is the Acclaim, and we'd say there's a good chance it's real -- we know it's got a QWERTY keyboard, for instance, paired to a 3.2-inch HVGA display. Unfortunately, prospective buyers are waiting until July for a release, but tell us: does this shot give you hope that the phone's going to rock, or does it break your spirit into a million jaded pieces? [Thanks, anonymous tipster] Update: Alright, we've gotten more evidence that leads us to believe that this is almost certainly the Acclaim. Our doubt meter is hovering near zero on this one.
A look back at year one of The Chronicles of Spellborn
The Chronicles of Spellborn is a game that I have long had a love affair with. I followed it through development and beta, and have played since the very beginning. Immediately its unique atmosphere and wonderful art style drew me in and had me hoping that this game would be one of the games to break the MMORPG mold. I downloaded screenshots, read the lore that I could find and waited with baited breath as the release date drew closer. Now, here we are a year after release. What happened within that year that resulted in two empty servers and a (seemingly) dwindling population? We haven't learned much through the usual channels, and the players that remain are left wondering. The last word given talked about a re-release, a "Spellborn 2" complete with a cash shop to aid adventurers, but the recent closing of the game in Japan and silence on the forums still have us a little confused.
