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Gameloft puts all Android titles on sale to kick off 2012
Most developers on the iOS and Android stores decided to put their titles on sale during the Christmas holiday, but not Gameloft. That rascally developer has announced it will have all of its Android catalog on sale this week instead, starting Thursday through January 5, for just 99 cents. From Modern Combat 3 to Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, Halo-alike N.O.V.A. 2 HD, and WoW-alike Order & Chaos Online, every Gameloft title for Android will be just a buck. iOS users have seen similar sales like this before from Gameloft, but now it's time for Android users to take a turn, and load up all of those newly unwrapped smartphones with all that Gameloft has to offer for just 99 cents each.
Gameloft dresses up iOS titles in $0.99 price tags for Halloween sale
Have you been using your single, otherwise useless dollar bills as handkerchiefs or dryer sheets? Cut that out. Not only is it illegal, it's pretty wasteful -- for instance, Gameloft will happily take those dollars in exchange for a few discounted iOS titles for a timely Halloween sale.
Order & Chaos security compromised, accounts hacked
Bad news for Order & Chaos Online players today. It would appear that the popular mobile MMO from Gameloft is suffering from some security issues resulting in a number of players' accounts being compromised. The issue seems to be stemming from two major holes in the game's security. There is reportedly an exploit with Gameloft's website which allows players to change another player's password, and usernames and passwords are sent between the client and server in plain text, which makes it a breeze for anyone with the smarts to run interception. Hopefully these issues will be fixed soon, but until then, stay tuned in the event that more develops. [Thanks to Andrew for the tip!]
MMObility: The rise of the browser
Over the last week I have been obsessing over Glitch, the new browser-based MMORPG brought to us by Tiny Speck. I will go into details of why in my Rise and Shiny column, but for now, let's just say that I think it is one of the greatest things I have come across in a long time. For the record, I was talking about Glitch before it was popular (that hipster cred should get my a free pair of glasses in Glitch!) and was excited about starting this column because of games like Glitch. In short, I knew that the browser market was huge, and I knew it was only going to grow bigger. Yes, I know what you're thinking, and yes I am claiming that we are starting to see the end of the heavy-duty client and demand for expensive hardware and upgrades. It's a big prediction, but click past the cut and let me explain.
MMObility: What makes a good mobile game to me
Over the time I have been exploring mobile gaming, especially since I have been writing this column, I've discovered exactly what I like and dislike about the genre. Mobile MMOs are the tiniest niche within the greater world of MMOs. Some would say that MMOs are even a tiny corner of gaming in general. While I don't quite agree, I would say that explaining my column to random game shop employees or curious friends is quite the challenge. "You write about games... on your phone?" "Yes, massively multiplayer games." "Huh?" Luckily there are many new ones that offer a much more robust gaming experience. I can proudly show people examples of games like Order and Chaos Online, Star Legends or Illyriad. Of course, I sift through many poor examples before I get to the good ones. So let's take this opportunity to discuss what I think makes for a good game. Click past the cut and feel free to add your ideas in the comments section!
Gameloft plans to make all iOS releases universal
Gameloft believes all mobile platforms are created equally (as long as they work 14 hours a day, including weekends) and is putting a stop to iOS release segregation, according to Pocket Gamer. Gameloft plans to release all iOS titles universally, without special HD versions for iPad that can come out months after iPhone installments. In some cases Gameloft is bound by licensing to release a separate iPad version, but overall it will continue to release all games at the same time on both devices, a policy it began with April's Order and Chaos Online. Gameloft's universal release policy could very well become the norm as developers tweak the finer aspects of iPad HD development, a prospect that makes our game-organization compulsions extremely pleased.
MV Guide: August 15-21, 2011
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During livestream events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, livestream events are subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's scheduled for this week!
Order & Chaos Online now available on Facebook
Order and Chaos is branching out from its iOS roots, as Gameloft has brought the mobile MMORPG to the Facebook social networking platform. The title is free-to-play through level 10, at which point users will need to fork over Facebook credits in lieu of a subscription fee. A Gameloft press release details the pricing structure as follows: 1 day: 1 FB Credit 1 month: 10 FB Credits 3 months: 20 FB Credits 6 months: 30 FB Credits If you're wondering, 50 Facebook credits equals approximately $5.00, so you're looking at a pretty sweet deal when it comes to accessing a game that has been labeled the mobile equivalent of World of Warcraft. Order and Chaos features four races (Elves, Humans, Orcs, and Undead), as well as over 1000 skills, 2000 unique equipment items, and 500 quests.
Rise and Shiny recap: Order and Chaos Online
I'd like to start this article off by giving Gameloft, publisher of Order and Chaos Online, a lot of respect. Tons of respect. Oodles of respect. It seems to be a company that gets an idea (or borrows one) and just does it. While so many people are talking about designing and creating for the mobile gaming world, Gameloft has busily cranked out scores of high-quality titles. Yes, many of those titles bear remarkable resemblance to other non-mobile titles, but let's be really honest here: Modern MMO design is not really chock-full of original ideas. In fact, the lack of of daring design is what drove me to the indie and mobile markets. Both of those markets are new enough, or small enough, that they take chances. Gameloft's games generally work, as well. Its shooters might be slightly on rails, and its RPGs might be pretty linear, but all of its attempts at hitting the mark add up to a lot of profit and a lot of successful shots. The company has more good games than bad. Anyway, if the major publishers aren't going to take the time to make a decent mobile port or morph of their best titles, Gameloft has shown that it is more than willing to. I generally like that. Not surprisingly, the company did a fantastic job of making a portable, enjoyable World of Warcraft with Order and Chaos Online. Click past the cut and I'll tell you what I thought about it.
MV Guide: June 27 - July 3
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of games to take a look at. During Livestream events, you can participate in the live chat to learn about the game, ask questions, and spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, Livestream events are subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's scheduled for this week!
The Daily Grind: What payment model should mobile MMOs adopt?
Right now, two of the biggest mobile MMOs cling to radically different payment plans. Pocket Legends offers up the core gameplay for free with a heavy reliance on microtransactions, while Order & Chaos Online charges a (small) monthly fee to play. The problem is that gamers who might be OK with either subscriptions or microtransactions when it comes to MMOs on the big screen balk at treating these little screen versions the same way. The question is whether gamers will be more comfortable getting the first taste for free and paying small charges on top of that or signing up for a monthly fee and expecting subscription-level service thereafter. What do you think? If MMO studios are to make any money off the mobile market, how should they go about doing it? What would you be comfortable paying for a reasonably good game, assuming that you'd play a mobile title? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Rise and Shiny recap: City of Eternals
City of Eternals is somewhat of an enigma to me. I've heard of it off and on through the last few years. I've seen it before, and it doesn't seem as though it has changed much, if at all. I am familiar with it just because I have been covering games for a long time, yet I've never really checked it out. Sure, I poked my head into it through Facebook once or twice, but to be honest, I didn't really like what I saw. I am all about independent, different-looking, or not-so-pretty games... heck, if I weren't, I'd have nothing to play but bloated "AAA" grindfests. But there's just something about the skinny-jean, pleather-wearing vampire scene that I cannot stand. My wife is into True Blood, the campy, vamp-heavy, naked-people festival that shows on the HBO network, but at least the show has fun with it and builds up interesting characters. City of Eternals seems to be stuck in that cheesier area of vampire fandom, though. Still, I played it over the last week and started to enjoy it a bit, for a few different reasons. Click past the cut and I'll tell you about it.
MMObility: Fifty games for the mobile lifestyle
I like lists. Lists help keep my candy-coated brain functioning. I see so many games, devices, and developers that I need to write things down periodically or become lost. Not so long ago I made a list of 25 games for your shiny new laptop, but I wanted to update it with other devices as well. I'd like to clarify the devices I have, though, especially since it was brought to my attention that a lot of players use laptops as their primary gaming machines. When I refer to a laptop, it is far from a gaming machine and could not run games like EverQuest II or Age of Conan. So here are some stats: I have an HTC Inspire, an iPhone 3GS, an iPad, a Phenom Triple-core PC desktop with an Nvidia 9800 card, six gigs of ram and onboard sound. My laptop is an HP G62 with an AMD Athlon II P340 dual core processor, three gigs of ram and an AMD graphics chip built in. I also have a more powerful gaming PC, but that is often referred to as "the wife's machine" around here, and it is so packed with her items that I rarely touch it. So most of these games can be run on their native devices, and if they are meant for PC, probably on netbooks as well. When I'm playing on netbooks, resolution is often the major issue. Some games just will not fit on the tiny screens without some slight modding. Anyway, click past the cut to see the list. The first 11 are my favorites, the ones that I play often, if not every day. The rest are in no particular order, so keep that in mind as well. Remember that this year is going to be an incredible one for mobile, thanks to the new games I found at E3. So this list will change!
Gameloft's Order and Chaos MMO for iOS makes $1M in 20 days
Some people might have chuckled at the resemblance of Gameloft's Order and Chaos Online to the popular World of Warcraft. It's actually a near clone of the very popular Blizzard Entertainment title, squeezed down into the iPhone. But it turns out Gameloft will be the one who laughs last. The game has reportedly already brought in a million dollars in revenue, just in its first 20 days of existence. That's pretty impressive. I presume that total includes the game's actual sale price of US$6.99, along with any other in-app purchases made. Of course, that initial revenue will probably be hard to replicate, but there's definitely a following for this one. That will encourage Gameloft to support it (more on that in a second), and it may even encourage other companies to step up with their own MMO titles for iOS. Including Blizzard eventually? We can only hope. Speaking of that support, Gameloft has also announced that an update for the game is coming that will add new quests and a few metagame features, like new chat channels and the ability to transfer around servers. Future updates will also bring PvP gameplay and new dungeons to explore, so O&C players can look forward to that.
Order & Chaos Online rakes in $1 million in first 20 days
Gameloft's iOS MMORPG Order and Chaos is reporting gains of over $1 million in revenue during its first 20 days of availability. The game itself has drawn many comparisons to World of Warcraft (even by our own Beau Hindman) but brings the genre to iOS-enabled devices for added mobility. Order & Chaos runs on a subscription model, with three months included in the $6.99 application purchase cost. Gameloft's senior VP of publishing Gonzague de Vallois is clearly content with the game's success. "We are pleased to know that our customers have embraced our innovative business model, and we are anxious to further enrich the gaming experience with this first update, which is eagerly anticipated by our fans," he says. The aforementioned update is said to include new quest content and server transfer services, amongst other features. The game is available on the Apple Store, and more information can be found on the official forums.
MMObility: Order and Chaos online bring potential to the market
As soon as I saw the trailer for Order and Chaos Online, I knew it would at least sell very well initially. Would the World of Warcraft-clone (note the first-time use of the phrase I normally despise) also sell beyond its three months of free time given out with the client purchase? Would players really want to subscribe to a game that is a simple clone of one of the most accessible MMOs in existence? I think they would, simply because it is a mobile version. The mobile market should have taught us these lessons already. It is a market of different players -- and play sessions -- than we might be familiar with when sitting down in front of our PCs. It doesn't need to be a seperate beast, however, and it can be enjoyed as an extension of the standard PC market. In fact, call me a convert. I paid for and downloaded Order and Chaos Online as soon as I could. Will I sub past the initial three free months? I don't know, but let me tell you why I think the game and the company matter.
TUAW's Daily iOS App: Order and Chaos Online
All right, here we go. Gameloft's new title is called Order and Chaos Online, and in the Gameloft style, it's pretty much an iOS remake of Blizzard's World of Warcraft. Odds are that if you understand that sentence, you probably already know whether you want to go download this or not. But if not, I'll explain: Gameloft has a habit, as we've said, of making iOS titles that basically rip off larger console titles, and Blizzard's World of Warcraft is of course the extraordinarily successful massively multiplayer online RPG for PCs. So Gameloft has recreated the MMO on iOS for us, and while it supposedly works as promised (though there's a Wi-Fi restriction for playing, only four races available and not nearly as much content to start), it's obviously not quite as good as actually having WoW on iOS. In this case, a reasonable facsimile might be as good as the real thing, especially if you're a fan of the real thing. Gameloft's app is US$6.99 for a universal version, and it comes with three months of gametime for free. After that, you can subscribe for a buck a month, or go for three months for $1.99. There are also in-game purchases of gold and potions for various amounts, which is something WoW hasn't quite resorted to yet. At any rate, early reviews of Gameloft's app are good, so if you're a big WoW fan and wouldn't mind playing a copy of that game on iOS, check it out.
Order & Chaos Online available in Canadian App Store [Updated]
We took a brief look at Order & Chaos Online last month courtesy of a trailer on the game's Facebook page. Now, it looks as if the mobile World of Warcraft knockoff could be coming to an iOS device near you in the very near future. Touch Arcade is reporting that Gameloft has released the pocket MMORPG to the Canadian App Store, a move the publication says is "standard operating procedure for a wide-scale beta of sorts." Apparently other mobile dev outfits have used the Canadian market as a barometer both for how their games will be received and as a testbed for necessary tweaks. Gameloft has set Order & Chaos' price point at $6.99, which includes three months' worth of subscription time. You read that right: It's a sub-based mobile game, with single-month rates of $.99 while three-month and six-month packages go for $1.99 and $2.99 respectively. Head to Touch Arcade for more details. [Update: The game is now available in the U.S. market as well!]
iOS MMO commercials draw attention
As our own Beau Hindman knows well, mobile MMOs are on the verge of taking off in a big way, and now they have the commercials to prove it. Pocket Legends, the hit iOS and Android MMO from last year, may be the first mobile online RPG to release a nation-wide commercial. The ad, which features a high-schooler with a not-so-embarrassing secret in his pocket, will air on G4, Cartoon Network and Comedy Central, to name just a few venues. As Pocket Legends is often described as "World of Warcraft in your hand," it's kind of ironic that developer Gameloft is also making pretty much that. Gameloft is renowned for releasing thinly disguised copies of hit games, so it stands to reason that it would take a crack at the reigning champion. The studio just released an online teaser for Order & Chaos Online on its Facebook page, and it's hard not to see the inspiration-slash-knockoff. You can check out both commercials after the jump!
Gameloft brings WoW-like 'Order and Chaos Online' to iOS
Earlier this week, Gameloft revealed a new MMORPG intended for distribution on the iOS App Store -- a first for the French copycat developer. Not a first, however, is the game's concept and art style, which more or less directly ape Blizzard's behemoth, World of Warcraft. As seen in the game's first trailer, Order & Chaos Online pits the forces of Order against those of Chaos in a massive, multiplayer setting. The forces of both sides, it seems, are on vacation from Azeroth ... and they like vacationing somewhere very similar to home. Gameloft hasn't given its first mobile MMO a release date, but does say it's "coming soon" to the iPod Touch, iPad, and iPhone.
