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FFXI beta players have 13 days left
According to 1up, the Final Fantasy XI beta for the Xbox 360 will end on April 2, leaving gamers with just under two weeks of free play from today before they have to think about parting with their cash. The retail release of the game isn't until April 17th, but the switch from beta to retail will be more pleasant for FFXI players than other MMO beta testers.Unlike in many previous MMOs, the characters created during the FFXI beta will transfer straight across to the retail version of the game, presumably thanks to the game's established release on other platforms. Gamers who have been playing FFXI for free for the last couple of months will now have to decide whether it's worth the cash, or whether the enforced cold turkey before the game's release will be enough to break the habit. Although further MMOs could be in the pipeline for Xbox Live, FFXI remains the only massively multiplayer title on the Xbox 360 platform in the immediate future.
Massive Auto Assault in-game ads announced
Several Joystiq readers are anticipating NCsoft's upcoming cliché-busting MMO Auto Assault, but this news might come as a shock. NCsoft have teamed up with in-game advertising firm Massive Incorporated, who will be bringing "real-life advertising" into the post-apocalyptic world of Auto Assault.While NCsoft's Dorothy Ferguson seems confident that the ads will fit within the game environment, the futuristic feel of the game doesn't immediately strike us as a suitable setting for modern-day adverts. No word has been released yet on this partnership's effect on pricing; it may drive the monthly subscription cost down, but don't bet on it.For those interested in experiencing the world of Auto Assault ad-free, there's an open beta (US link) (European link) this weekend, marking the final phase of beta for non-preorder customers.
Zombie MMO lurches into existence
Fans of the horror genre might be interested in this upcoming massively-multiplayer title; Exanimus is, as the name implies, a zombie MMO. With players able to (literally) step into dead men's shoes and play as zombies, or face off against animated corpses as survivalist humans, it looks like an interesting deviation from the usual sword-and-sorcery fare.Exanimus is in early stages at the moment, but if you've got an immediate hunger for human flesh, check out web-based zombie game Urban Dead instead.
Star Trek Online tidbits
Star Trek Online has over a year to go until beta, but if you can't wait that long to get some idea of what it'll be like, this article at MMORPG.com should help. Complete with some early screenshots, the Q&A with producer Daron Stinnett focuses on some of the design decisions involved in the game.As some of the game's developers are actively monitoring fan forums for feedback (Perpetual have yet to create official forums), it looks as if you can get your opinions heard by hanging out in the right places. If you spot a Star Trek Online dev frequenting your favourite boards, let us know.[Fixed typo, thanks Andy Pan]
You'll kry when Krowbar kwits
We are getting close to hitting our quota of maudlin MMORPG music vids for the day. You did watch the Drakedog suicide vid, right? This very special flash video from the wayback machine will mean the most to those of you who played (and by "played" we mean "dedicated your life to raiding in") end-game Everquest, but it should also be familiar to anyone who's joined a guild in a MMOG and has experienced the requisite drama that comes with the guild structure. This video's so friggin' over the top with the melodrama that it's downright hilarious, if you understand the context. Yes, that's a 1.0 cleric epic you spied there. The truly leet can name the purple armor, too. Thanks for hosting, Flowers of Happiness!
China threatens mass boycott of WoW
Unstable servers have prompted Chinese World of Warcraft players to take action. Game unions have threatened to quit playing WoW, as players continue to post their complaints on Internet forums and make personal calls to fellow members to join the cause. In China, WoW's servers are maintained by The9, which charges gamers by the hour to play WoW. The9 is incapable of solving technical issues related to the game without Blizzard's help, but is currently investigating the server issues. Gamers have cited "severe time delays, long-queue times, and frozen servers" as the primary causes of concern. In the fourth quarter of 2005, WoW's concurrent user count in China peaked at 530,000 players.
Koei executive laments Revo's lack of hard drive
While speaking at the recently held Asian Online Game Conference in Tokyo, Kenji Matsuhara, an executive overseeing Koei's online gaming endeavors, expressed some disappointment in the Revolution's hardware design. He noted that the decision to implement Flash memory, as opposed to a large hard drive, would create difficulties when creating Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs for the system. While this statement hardly rules out the possiblitly of the genre making a revolutionary appearance, one has to wonder whether or not it ever had a place on the console to begin with.One of Nintendo's primary aims with the Revolution is to eliminate unnecessary complexity, wiping the slate clean and inviting casual gamers back into the fold. Games that are easy to understand, pick up and play are what you're likely to find on the Revolution, not adventures that require considerable time and dedication before bearing numerical fruit. This isn't to say that traditional MMORPGs aren't fun or welcome, only that they don't quite match up with Nintendo's aspirations and intended audience. Of course, there's no reason to think that we won't eventually see a game in the genre adapted to fit the both the Revolution's technical capabilities and its gameplay philosophies. A more robust Animal Crossing, anyone? (Note to Koei: Make a Guitaroo-Man sequel for the Revolution. Do it now.)[Via Revolution Report]
Sony's MMO marketing shows signs of desperation
Many of you showed scorn at one of Sony Online Entertainment's recent moves, their "all-in-one" Station Access Collection MMO bundle. But wait; they're not done yet. If playing PlanetSide for free isn't enough for you, SOE have teamed up with FilePlanet to offer a month's free play of EverQuest II. Not tempted? How about some Star Wars Galaxies TV commercials to pique your interest? (Ignore what dedicated players are saying; hardcore players are so last season.) We hope the marketing department hasn't run out of ideas yet; SOE are definitely piling on the publicity, but given the reaction to their Station Access Collection announcement, all this still won't be enough to rejuvenate their aging MMOs. Casual gamers or those new to MMOs might get suckered in briefly, but we're unlikely to see a huge rush of new players as a result of all these campaigns; if anything, the over-promotion will put people off.
Sony's MMOs to be available in one package
The variety of MMOs on the market can be confusing to new players, especially if you want to try multiple games out before you subscribe. Sony appear to have acknowledged this need with their new Station Access Collection which includes Sony Online Entertainment's top MMOs in one package. The collection, available for $39.99 from March 14th, consists of EverQuest Evolution, EverQuest II, PlanetSide Aftershock, The Matrix Online and Star Wars Galaxies. Crucially, it'll include a month's free play for each bundled game, giving players a chance to try out all the offerings. Other publishers with a wide range of MMOs on offer may want to take a tip from Sony for a change; the perceived value is likely to make this product far more appealing than a single standalone game for the same price.
Nerf the naughty
This idea from Terra Nova would certainly help clean up Barrens chat: nerfing characters as a penalty for bad behaviour in-game. If you use an alt to misbehave, then they'll all lose a level every time you break the bounds of decency.Key problems with this idea include inconsistency between GMs (we've already seen the trouble one slightly misguided GM can cause) and the systematic targeting of players; if you really want to hurt someone, get everyone you know to report them and suddenly they'll be back at level 0.As Terra Nova's commenters observe, social pressure and access control (making the players ashamed to misbehave, and banning them) are the most effective ways to control behaviour at the moment. However, if you lost a little bit of xp every time you called someone "gay" in general chat, you might well be less inclined to bigotry in public--the idea's got some potential.
Curing MMORPG inertia
As MMOs become more accessible, casual players who have little contiguous time to play can run into a form of player inertia. The effort required to reach the next level is too great; levelling up is too far away to justify a week of plugging away for an hour a day. This inertia inevitably causes players to stop playing altogether, and to leave the game.This soapbox column at Gamasutra addresses the problem with an idea based around "dynamic lifestyle adjustment". Why should your characters freeze when you log off? Instead, let them do some low-level adventuring without your intervention -- a small trickle of experience gain which, if you're offline for long enough, will help push you towards that next milestone.It's an interesting idea; MMOs, for the most part, follow similar templates along the lines of "experience and skills are only gained when players log in and work for them". While some differ, none take it to quite this extreme, and it would be interesting to see a game take this idea and aim itself squarely at the casual market.
Romero moves into MMOs
We've already heard from Carmack today; now here's some news about what that pesky John Romero is up to. According to Computer and Video Games, Romero's working on a secret MMO project at an as-yet-undisclosed company.This could point to something interesting; Romero hints that "This is not a typical games company and we're not making typical games", and reveals that the title has a lot of money behind it--with funding in the millions, and cryptic hints about how "special" the MMO is, this is either intriguing or just extremely bad hype. Let the speculation commence.
Franchises: to MMOG or not to MMOG?
What are the merits of making major intellectual properties, such as Star Trek or Harry Potter, into MMORPGs? This issue is being debated over at MMORPG.com, and there are some compelling arguments. From an investor's point of view, having an established fan base and well-trodden publicity channels means that the MMO comes with instant appeal.However, the more high-profile the franchise, the more players expect out of it. Not everyone can be Captain Kirk or Harry Potter, and yet everyone wants to fulfil their daydreams. Worlds brought to life primarily in books might not turn out quite how fans expect them to; worlds visualised in movies have missing depth which needs addressing.Fundamentally, as Dana Massey points out, it comes down to whether fans love the franchise because of its story, or because of its world. Harry Potter fans are caught up in Harry's story; Star Trek fans have an entire universe to play with. When checking out a new MMO's setting, ask yourself: do I care about this because of the famous characters, or because of the world?[via Wonderland]
New Codemasters MMO in the works
Codemasters have recently secured the rights to North American and European distribution of the MMO ArchLord, currently in open beta in Korea. The game has an interesting premise; every month, one player becomes the ArchLord and can "leverage the mystical power of ancient relics to gain complete mastery of the fundamental forces of creation, unleashing chaos and devastation upon their foes."However, Codemasters have yet to release their nascent MMO RF Online, and have also taken on the mantle of community, technical and billing support for Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach. Their ambitions certainly seem well-placed, but are they taking on too much at once? We'll wait and see if they can prove themselves with one MMO before judging their ability to manage three. If Codemasters learn the tricks of multi-MMO success, then perhaps NCsoft should start worrying.
Rumor: Ragnarok Online coming to the DS?
Is the South Korean MMORPG, Ragnarok Online, on its way to the DS? That's the question being asked over at the official Nintendo forums, as new scans from a Japanese mag have surfaced and seem to indicate that yet another online RPG may soon be joining the expansive DS games library. Though there's nothing shockingly original about Ragnarok Online, what with its high abundance of fantasy landscapes and pointy hats, it's hard to deny the appeal of a fully fledged MorePeeGee in portable format. Of course, with the current status of Nintendo's Wi-Fi service, one has to wonder what sort of monthly costs would be involved and how things such as content expansions (perhaps via the GBA slot) and server switches would be handled. For all we know, this potential version of Ragnarok may be greatly simplified - cooperatively online as opposed to massively online. Does the idea of a MMORPG on the DS excite you, or do you simply flee in terror when faced with so many capital letters at once?[Via DSupdates]
Second Life hits 100k residents
In amongst all the news about World of Warcraft, we often forget there are other massively multiplayer games that don't revolve around elves and orcs. Virtual world Second Life has been going from strength to strength recently, and even the darker sides of the game (if it can be classed as a game) are interesting rather than insalubrious. Linden Lab started offering basic membership for free last September, and the user base has grown and grown since then, reaching the important milestone of 100,000 registered users. What's also interesting is that according to Linden Lab, members spend an average of 4 hours a day in the game, showing that for the average user it is becoming something of a "second life". The economic statistics are also pretty staggering--the fact that Linden allows users to own their intellectual property leads to many users making real-world cash out of the game. Over 515 people made $1000 (in real money) last month alone. It's free to check out, and quite different from other MMOs, so give it a whirl.
Any Other Contenders?
With over 5 million subscribers now, I doubt Blizzard is going to be worried about anyone stealing all their thunder anytime soon, but there are a few upcoming entries in the MMORPG sweepstakes looming on the horizon; could any of them be big enough to take a bite out of Blizzard's pie?After all, the grandaddy of all RPG's is finally coming to online life in February in the form of Dungeons & Dragons Online . The Turbine title is now beta testing & garnering some exciting word-of-mouth, and the built-in fanbase alone could initially lure a good chunk of players from WoW. Some dark horse titles, such as Pirates of the Burning Sea or Auto Assault, could also draw some players away, with some innovative elements & fresh settings that haven't yet been explored in many other MMORPG's.Are there any other games out there whetting your appetites, or are you fully satisfied with your diet of WoW?
