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Holiday bonus XP weekends in EQ and EQII
SOE's customer support team may be off for a bit of holiday time, but the dev teams have given Norrathian players a nice big gift to tide us over. Both of the big fantasy titles in Sony Online Entertainment's lineup are offering bonus XP weekends for the holidays! EverQuest II players will see a 20% bump in XP this weekend, through 10:00 AM PST on Monday, December 24th. The second bonus experience weekend will begin Friday, December 28th at approximately 3:00 PM PST and last until approximately 10:00 AM PST on Monday, December 31st. EverQuest players have even more to celebrate, as their Frostfell bonus of 25% xp lasts from now all the way through to 1:59 pm PST, Tuesday, January 1, 2008.And remember: if you haven't picked up Vanguard in a while your account has been re-opened all the way through to January 20th! Go have a happy holiday on SOE, then.
Gollum wisshes you a merry Christmases
Lord of the Rings Online and Turbine are nearly done for the holidays, but not before a Christmas-themed wallpaper featuring none other than Gollum ... or is it Sméagol? No prizes for guessing what he wants for Christmas. Not that there was Christmas in Middle-earth, it was more Yule-tide, but ... oh, you know what I mean.Follow the link to download the full image at either 1600 x 1200 or 1024 x 768 resolution, or if you're the kind of LotRO fan to prefer something in-game, check out Dan O'Halloran's excellent Yule-tide quest guide.
Epson's Peanuts laptop surfaces just in time
Really, what would the week before the new year be without a half-hour of Charlie Brown in all of its grainy glory? Right on cue, Epson has unveiled a Peanuts-themed laptop that should fit the bill if you weren't really feelin' its Hello Kitty variants. The machine checks in with a 15-inch display, a 1.73GHz Intel Celeron M430 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, an 80GB hard drive, four USB ports and a DVD combo drive. As if those partial specs weren't enough to satisfy, you can also count on a number of Snoopy themes being bundled in to clog up your system resources. 'Course, you'll be paying an absolutely insane amount for the privilege of owning one -- and just think, your $2,799.99 still can't get it here any quicker than January.[Via ChipChick]
WRUP: Season's greetings edition
Time once again to check in on What yoU aRe Playing in the world of MMOs lately. Last week, the Nielsen Company reported that World of Warcraft was the most-played PC game from April to November of this year, with the average user still playing a whopping 17 hours per week. Yowza.Is that you? Are you going to be playing WoW all weekend? Personally, I'm going to be busy doing a lot of holiday stuff (I'm making the trek back to my hometown of St. Louis, MO this weekend, and I haven't actually "started" doing my gift shopping yet), but I do have that pristine copy of Guild Wars that I picked up at Best Buy way back on Black Friday, so hopefully in between all the merry making this weekend I'll be able to break that out.And are any of you actually planning on getting an MMO as a gift? With the subscription fees and all, these games are really something that you buy for yourself, but I wouldn't have a problem with seeing a copy of Hellgate under the tree. What are you playing?
WoW holiday eats and treats
'Tis the season to be hungry, friends. Looking for WoW-themed treats for a gamer Decemberween? WoW Insider will keep you well fed this holiday season. Hit up the WoW gift guide and treat your loved ones too, won't you?
Building a better MMOusetrap: Burnout for the holidays
Burnout is a topic almost every MMO player is familiar with, you or a friend reach that point where the game has lost it's wonder, and you just can't be bothered to login anymore. Sometimes the feeling goes away and you get back on the horse and carry on, or it stays and you leave the game for good, perhaps for another game, or you just leave the whole genre behind.It's a topic that has been discussed before by a number of different people, by players, developers and journalists alike, and there never really has been a concrete reason behind it. Some people burn out before end game, some after months and months of end game content, and others last years, just to finally snap. I know I'm not going to be breaking any ground discussing it again, but it's something I've been thinking about covering for a while, and lately the topic has been hitting close to home. Every year around this time, no matter what game I'm playing, you see more and more burn out, and people drift away from the game. Some chalk it up to the holidays (the period between Yanksgiving (or American Thanksgiving for our US audience), and Decemberween (Christmas)) as the contributing factor, as people spend more time with their families, and their wallets. Others say it's seasonal depression, and once the skies turn to slate and the snow begins to fly, people just don't want to be sitting in front of the computer anymore.Personally, I think it's a mix of both, as well as the fact that this is the time of the year we look back and take into consideration everything we have done throughout the year. I've always noticed people look at their time in MMOs in three distinct ways at this time of year.
Massively's holiday giveaways, day two
Yesterday's holiday giveaway is now closed -- and be warned that all comments that are made after 5:00 PM EST aren't eligible to win. But if you're interested in free stuff, it's time to enter today's contest, right here! Entering is simple -- just leave a comment on this post between now and 5:00 PM EST tomorrow (that's Wednesday, December 19th). To be eligible you must be age 18 or older and a resident of the United States: please read our official rules for full details. You can enter once in each of our contests -- so if you don't win this one, check back tomorrow at 5:00 PM EST for another chance to win!We'll pick two winners: first place will receive their choice of game-related goodies (your options are: 60 days of WoW, 60 days of any NCsoft game, 30 days of EverQuest/EverQuest II/Planetside, 50 days of EVE Online, 60 days of Lord of the Rings Online, or 7500 Lindens) and second place will receive a caffeine candy sampler (for those late-night gaming sessions!) from ThinkGeek.And for those of you with some graphical talent (and to take game screenshots, you don't need that much!), you can also enter our holiday postcard contest. It started yesterday and runs until the 28th, so send your holiday images our way!
Stores worried about their DS supply
There's always a lot of discussion about what the hot gift to get each holiday season will be, a dubious honor held by toys like Tickle Me Elmo, the PlayStation 2 and Furbies. It seems though that the question this year, last year and at least a few years into the future will be easily answerable with "whatever Nintendo's making." This holiday dominance was highlighted by Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Amie who recently told Reuters, "the DS continues to perform exceptionally well, with some retailers voicing concerns about DS inventory going into the holiday."Reggie doesn't appear to blowing smoke, either. A quick check of a few online retailers showed all or almost all of the portable's SKUs out of stock. This doesn't come as a complete surprise though, as the Reg hinted that things might get tight closer to the Yule. So just consider this an FYI: If you were planning on gifting a DS this holiday season you may want to get on it.
Christmas time in Dun Morogh
Sure, our own Moo Money could have covered this awesome little Christmas machinima on our Cinemassively feature, but I just couldn't wait to post it-- it's too incredibly perfect. The guys at Pure Pwnage put it together, and if you've ever quested through WoW's Dun Morogh starting zone (where the Dwarves and the Gnomes begin their journey through Azeroth), this video will make you feel just like you went home again for the holidays, to Togglevolt, the Barleybrews, and even those cute little Snowshoe rabbits.Excellent work. Winter's Veil is just kicking off in the World of Warcraft, and it's the perfect time to head back to the warm fireplaces of Ironforge and the comfort of the Thunderbrews' tavern.[Via WoW Insider]
Massively's holiday giveaways!
Though you may have seen our holiday postcard contest start up this morning, that's not the only thing we're doing to celebrate the holidays! For those of you with limited artistic talent (though, really, how much talent do you need to take a screenshot?), we're doing daily giveaways for the duration of the contest. Entering is simple -- just leave a comment on this post between now and 5:00 PM EST tomorrow (that's Tuesday, December 18th). To be eligible you must be age 18 or older and a resident of the United States: please read our official rules for full details. You can enter once in each of our contests -- so if you don't win this one, check back tomorrow at 5:00 PM for another chance to win!We'll pick two winners: first place will receive their choice of game-related goodies (your options are: 60 days of WoW, 60 days of any NCsoft game, 30 days of EverQuest/EverQuest II/Planetside, 50 days of EVE Online, 60 days of Lord of the Rings Online, or 7500 Lindens) and second place will receive a caffeine candy sampler (for those late-night gaming sessions!) from ThinkGeek.
Massively's holiday postcard contest
Here at Massively, we want to wish you a happy holiday by giving stuff away! Keep reading for your chance to win a Plantronics DSP-400 headset, a Logitech G15 gaming keyboard, a Logitech G9 laser mouse, or, if you're our grand prize winner, all of the above! For your chance to win, we're asking you to send us holiday postcards from your favorite game! Your postcards can be unmodified screenshots (with or without the standard postcard text), edited images like the one above (by WoW Insider's Chris Jahosky), or original artwork. (All trademarks and copyrights are owned by the respected owner.) Show us how they celebrate the holiday season in your favorite game! So hurry up and get your images ready, because the contest starts right now! To enter, just send a copy of your image to contests@massively.com. It should be in JPG format, no larger than 900 pixels wide, and no larger than 1MB in size. We'll be accepting entries until December 28th at 11:59 PM EST, at which point the Massively staff will judge all entries based on artistic merit and expression of the holiday theme. To be eligible to win, you must be age 18 or older and a resident of the United States or Canada -- please read our official rules for full details.
The Daily Grind: Chilly down with the party
One of the things that happens this time of year above all others is parties. No matter what your holiday is, no matter what's going on, we all seem to get sucked into at least one occasion where we wind up heading out to hang out with family or friends. Playing in virtual worlds afford us the ability to party down online with long-distance friends too, which many of us are certainly taking advantage of!So for today's question, we'd like to ask what kind of holiday plans you and your online friends have. I know for my WoW guild, this is the time of year when we trade real-life cards (after all, who doesn't like getting cards?), but I'm sure some of you have holiday get-togethers -- in real-life or in game. So tell us about it! How do you celebrate this virtual holiday season with online friends, guilds, and clans?
One Shots: Wintersday in Guild Wars
It's that time of year again -- the holiday season in all of your favorite MMOs! While they all have different names, all of them provide an invigorating break from the daily gaming grind. Reader Jeff sends us this shot of the Tomb of Primeval Kings, decorated for Guild Wars' Wintersday celebration back in 2005. All we've got to say is that the Guild Wars decorating crew knows how to dress a zone for the occasion -- even our grandmother would approve of that fine holiday tree! Do you have any impressive holiday screenshots you'd like to share with the rest of us? We to see them for our next edition of One Shots! We can only post what you send us -- so send your screenshots and stories to oneshots@massively.com. You may see it featured here tomorrow, same time, same place! %Gallery-9798%
Festival (and the Jester of Festivult) returns to DDO: Stormreach
Reader Schad, who seems to have become our de facto DDO representative (remember that you're free to send us news about your favorite game on our tipline anytime), reminds us that they're celebrating the holidays in Eberron, too. Turbine has posted on their forums about the comings and goings of Festivult, a time when the Jester of Festivult (not to be confused with) runs around Stormreach and trades Festival coins for presents from the dragonmarked houses of Cannith and Ghallanda. Man I love this D&D 3rd edition lore!In game terms, there'll be a dwarf NPC wandering around Stormreach that will trade buff food for special coins that have a chance of dropping from treasure chests all over the world. But if that's too technical for you, you can bask in the light of not one but two Festivult poems over on the Turbine forums. Merry Festivult to us all, Warforged and Human alike!
TUAW Buyers Guide: Gifts for gamers
As we found out this past year, gamers have Macs, too. When you think of gaming gifts, you don't usually think of getting suggestions from a Mac blog-- most of (if not all of) the best games this year aren't playable on a Mac at all. But nevertheless, we're out there-- people who love gaming and Macs, living in two worlds both aimed at the same thing: having a great and beautiful user experience.If you're shopping for one of us this holiday season, here's a quick guide to a few good gift ideas.
Gifts for the City dwellers
Whatever you celebrate this time of year, December seems to be when the majority of gifts are exchanged among friends and family. Everyone has their own idea of what is and isn't appropriate in a gift-giving manner, and it's difficult to decide what's best to give, and what we most want to receive. Well, that's where we come in.We have the good fortune of having two of the fae here -- one from the Rogue Isles, and one from Paragon City -- to share with us their views of appropriate gifts for those of you who are playing in NCsoft's realms this holiday season. Their selections range from cost-free, in-game offerings up to something you can tuck under the tree ... or the computer desk, as the case may be.
Christmas gifts for your Second Life resident
Oh Gods of Yummy Things ... it's that time of year again, isn't it? Love it or loathe it, it's Christmas trotting toward you, antlered head held high and the glint of consumer-related malice in its eye. Regardless of your personal belief system, chances are you'll have to buy at least one gift for someone simply because it's traditional. Well, if that someone also happens to be a Second Life resident, then let this post help you in deciding what to get someone who has everything -- virtually.The Casual/Work AcquaintanceMaybe you have a supervisor or boss that spends time in SL, but you don't know their tastes well enough to know what they'd like as a gift (and consequently feel warm and fuzzy toward you enough to give you a raise). I suggest one of the fine guides to Second Life to be had on Amazon.com. In fact, one of them was co-authored by Our Aimee Weber! And if you can't trust a Massively blogger, who can you trust?
Virtually give a Virtual Console gift with video
Sick of browsing the "Knitting supplies and Burt Lancaster movies" section of your local department store, trying to find a Christmas for your grandma? Allow us to suggest the perfect holiday gift: Ninja JaJaMaru-kun. Or Double Dribble. Or any of the dozens of other games on the Virtual Console, which you'll be able to gift to friends (and super-hip grandmas) beginning Dec. 11 ... as long as you live in Japan. The video above walks you through the process so you can see just how easy holiday shopping will soon be for our friends in the Land of the Rising Fun.Sadly, we don't know when we'll be able to use this feature, (it's supposed to be coming this month) so we'll have to make do with the third-hand joy of watching a virtual Japanese person give a virtual gift to his virtual Japanese friend. Hopefully we'll hear a U.S. date soon.
J!nx has Warcraft gifts and paper for the holidays
If you find yourself wondering what to get a World of Warcraft fan this year for the holiday (or have family wondering the same thing), J!nx has the page for you-- they've set up both men's and women's pages for Warcraft gamers. Unfortunately all I see up front are the t-shirts (not that those aren't cool), but there are also links on the side to all the other stuff they offer.And they've even got Horde and Alliance wrapping paper for any gift you choose to grab. Most of the people giving me gifts are pretty utilitarian at this point, so all I'm expecting from Greatfather Winter is a coffeemaker, not a mega-pack of stickers, pins, and patches. But then again, anything wrapped up in official Horde paper is 100% cooler. Blood, thunder, and holiday cheer![Via Wonderland]
Holideals: Tabula Rasa stocking stuffers
When it comes to established games like World of Warcraft or City of Heroes, finding holiday goodies for dedicated gamers is a simple matter of hitting Google and seeing what manner of strange and extravagant goods rise to the surface. For a game like Tabula Rasa, which has only just now starting to sink into the hearts and minds of MMO nuts, simply getting people to consider playing the game is a difficult prospect in and of itself. With this in mind, we scoured the internet to find the best deals on Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa and came away pleasantly surprised.The pickings are a little sparse, but definitely worthy of your holiday dollar: Gamestop is running a promotion where you can get a free Tabula Rasa keyset with the purchase of a Zboard, a $20 value. The Zboard is a keyboard specifically designed to give you easy and quick keyboard access to chat features, emotes, and menu commands. The deal runs through the end of the year, so now is the time to jump on it if you were planning on springing for a Zboard anyway. Amazon has both the regular and collector's editions of Tabula Rasa on sale for $25 and $30, respectively. This puts them well under the impulse purchase threshold. Heck, at that price, you could afford to buy the CE for yourself and a good buddy and set aside some holiday time to blast some Bane over a glass of eggnog. Being a Tabula Rasa player myself, I can tell you that this it is the perfect "gateway game" for getting traditionally casual or console gamers into the MMO genre. There's something about shooting aliens with a rocket launcher that seems to transcend the normal social boundaries. For the new, reduced price of entry, you cant argue.
