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Are other game studios taking countermeasures against RIFT? [Updated]
If you didn't know, today is the head start launch of RIFT and the beginning of many strained household relationships as players finally dive into Telara for real. While we've known for some time that Trion Worlds' creation was going to be a major player in the MMO field, it seems as though RIFT's release has caused other MMO studios to step up and take countermeasures. In the past 24 hours, there have been a few significant developments that seem suspicious in regard to timing, at least. The first is that Blizzard dropped World of Warcraft's next content update, Patch 4.1, on to the public test server in the middle of the night. Mortal Online's announced that its free 14-day trial program is now active for any interested parties. We've also received numerous tips that EA Mythic disabled the cancel subscription option for Warhammer Online. Although we obviously can't be certain that all of these events are due to RIFT, timing, as they say, is everything. Have you seen any other MMO studios stepping up their game today as a distraction from the new shiny? [Update: The Warhammer subscription option was a bug that should be resolved today, according to the devs.]
Rumor: Warhammer Online set to release on September 23rd
We have a date! Not that kind of date, not the awkward first kind. This is a better date, one where Warhammer Online will be released unto the masses. There have been many 'release dates' since the game went into Beta testing, but this one seems like it might have legs. The preliminary launch date is September 23rd. This release date has been updated on several retail sites, but what lends to its credibility is the official EA site was recently updated with the same date.The developers acknowledged at E3 2008 that Warhammer Online was pretty much done and that the team is in high-polish mode. The guild beta will also be the last beta phase before the open beta starts. Of course, nothing is official until EA and Mythic Entertainment release an official press release or statement but the pieces are falling into place. Aside from any unforeseen circumstances September 23rd is the day that Warhammer: Age of Reckoning will launch. Delay after delay, no longer. There is no denying that WAR is inevitable, and if you need a heads up on what to expect catch-up on all our exclusive WAR coverage. [Via Nullword]
What do you want play more: The Agency or Warhammer Online?
Ken Smith, writer for MSNBC's gaming section sure does crank out a bunch of Top 5 lists, some are ridiculously bad. In a more serious effort, The Agency is the only MMOG to rank on his "Top 5 Most Anticipated Games of 2008" list. Who cares, right? Tons do, well enough to say "your list sucks." Skimming through two hundred plus comments Warhammer Online received more votes than any other MMOG due to launch sometime this year. (Who knew MSNBC's gaming site was that popular?) Tapping into Massively's metrics I can tell you that Warhammer Online easily beats out The Agency in the war for eyeballs, but you know what other MMOG beats it? If you guessed World of Warcraft, you're wrong. Second Life currently holds the top spot. Don't worry, we'll be posting more and more about Warhammer Online and The Agency, more so after both games launch. As for the video above, if you've been keeping tabs on The Agency there isn't much new footage. Matt Wilson, the dev shown peddling the goods, claimed the team is still undecided on whether or not PS3 gamers will play with their PC counterparts on the same servers. John Smedley, SOE President, reiterated last month that it was unlikely given that it would give PC players an unfair advantage. Given the conflicting statements, I guess it's still up in the air, although, I'd go with Smed on this one. Smedley also reassured player accounts will be universal and not tied to a specific platform. As noted in the video, the game is still in alpha.
BlizzCast cometh
Podcast, vidcast, streamed content, or just the show: whatever you want to call the "new media" uprising. I welcome any of our overlords that enter the leet infoz arena. Blizzard has finally acknowledged the need to get with the times by launching a video podcast. BlizzCast is set to kick off the first week in January and will be produced by Blizzard. Viewers can expect hullabaloo from various Starcraft 2 and WoW developers with some Q&A rounds thrown into the mix and will top it off with glorious prizes. We do prizes too. We know you love them. I guess Blizzard is testing the waters, and will be keeping a close eye on how the show is received. If it doesn't take off the show might fizzle into obscurity. The first episode will see two developers yakking it up: Interview with Sam Didier (Art Director SCII): Concept Art for the StarCraft and Warcraft Franchises Interview with Jeff Kaplan (Lead Designer WoW): Highlights of Sunwell Plateau and Patch 2.4
EA Mythic picks up a new Director of Community Relations
EA Mythic has filled the top-spot in their community ranks by inviting Robert Mull to lead the way as their new Community Relations Director. Mull's new duties revolve around everything community, especially overseeing the Community Coordinators for Warhammer Online, Dark Age of Camelot, and the recently absorbed Ultima Online. What grates on my nerves are community personnel that don't really play MMOs, which isn't as uncommon as one might think, any player can definitely tell when that big-head community rep replies on the forums doesn't even bother responding to important posts because they don't know jack about the game, and is instead jollying around in off-topic talking about the latest CSI episode. Well, according to his personal welcoming address on the Warhammer Herald, Mull is a long-time MMOG player and his past roots include working for Wizards of the Coast supporting Avalon Hill, Axis & Allies, Dreamblade, Duel Masters, and other products. Nice, roots. We here at Massively, would like to extend a welcoming hand to our new EA Mythic community overlords. (I am attempting to gain faction for beta invites for our readers when the time comes – if it comes!) If you have been out of the Warhammer loop for the past week, please be sure to check out all our recent Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning coverage.
Checking in with the Warhammer Online Beta - Part II
Warhammer is synonymous with delay. Look up delay in the dictionary and there you'll see it, next to Duke Nukem Forever is Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Nothing but delays, all the time -- delay, delay, delayed again. Would you like another delay because we got one for you? Say, Waaaaaagh! If that isn't enough whining; fate has been cruel to those waiting for any new information as the promised weekly Warhammer Beta updates aren't weekly, weak maybe, but not weekly. I'll cut EA Mythic some slack given the rocky climate surrounding EA's conglomeration over the past month. So, let's see how far the different development teams are progressing since the last time they checked in. You can skip ahead and read the direct transcript from the Warhammer Herald, or feel free to continue after the jump and check-out my fabulous rehash. I added a few crappy dick jokes at the end, because well, I'm crazy.
Week 1 - Checking in with the Warhammer Online beta
When it comes to the Warhammer: Age of Reckoning beta silence is never golden. Instead of leaving everyone in the dark to fend for speculative scraps and gossiping guffaws, the development teams working will report to the masses every week on the progress they are making in different areas of the game to keep our salivating tongues dripping. Check out the full script for yourself or stick around for a recap. Public Quests were reportedly a little on the iffy side before the developers stalled the beta, currently influence and experience rewards are being adjusted for perfection. There are still a lot of UI enhancements in the sketch phase and it may not be until January, a whole month after the beta kick-starts into high gear, before beta testers see those easy-on-the-eyes UI improvements. The biggest undertaking by the Public Quest team is dealing with the teeter-totter that is balancing loot and fine-tuning it so the pig-hats stats aren't pig-crap, make it worthy! When it comes to RvR players can now flag themselves for some PvP action, although, the same regular rules apply for removing the flag. Guards in the Chapter hubs will flag any player if they are disrupting the peace and commence a beat-down to punish their wily ways. A very slight acknowledgement but unfortunately no juicy information this week on battleground objectives but the RvR team does promise to divulge some information in the near future.
Rumor: Warhammer online hammers 360
Our seafaring, scurvy ridden, piratical masters at Joystiq are reporting that Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR) is heading to consoles -- the Xbox 360 to be specific. According to a recent job posting, EA Mythic is looking for a Warhammer console producer, responsible for leading "production and design on an exciting EAMythic title being developed across next generation console platforms for the online MMORPG market." Of course, it's possible that this job title refers to some other EA Mythic produced Warhammer title, but it's just as likely that the posting refers to WAR. If true, it's nice to see the 360 get some more MMORPG lovin'. Along with Age of Conan, the 360 is developing a solid library of MMOs. Of course, the big question for 360 owners is if and how much these games will cost, especially for those who already pay for Gold Live service. If an MMO was good enough, would you be willing to pay additional fees on top of your Gold subscription?[Via Joystiq]
