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The Daily Grind: How much would you pay to keep an MMO alive?
So here's something that bothers me about this whole SOE MMO armageddon thing. When CEO John Smedley took to Twitter to sympathize with upset Vanguard fans yesterday, he implied that the firm has done all it could to keep the long-running fantasy MMO afloat. "I realize the Vanguard players are upset," he tweeted. "We waited a long time to do this and ran it well past economic viability." The phrase "past economic viability" is odd since SOE has literally been giving Vanguard away for nearly two years now. The other part of the equation that doesn't add up is why SOE -- or any other firm that insists on closing down a license-free MMO -- doesn't first reach out to the affected playerbase and offer them a chance to save the day. It might go something like this. "Dear Vanguard player, we thank you for your support and we regret to inform you that the game is not doing well financially. In order to avoid shutting it down, we require you and every other current player to pay a $50 monthly subscription fee." Sure, 50 bucks is an arbitrary number that I just made up and a large number for an MMO sub. But can anyone credibly state that loyal players wouldn't gladly pay $50 or more if it meant saving their game? How would we know since no MMO company can be bothered to try it? Which leads in to today's Daily Grind question. How much would you pay to keep your favorite MMO alive? 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!
Doctor Who: Worlds in Time shutting down
It's a day that ends in 'Y,' which means that somewhere someone is shepherding a free-to-play pseudo-MMO through its death rattle. Today that title is Doctor Who: Worlds in Time, a browser-based thing from developer Three Rings that's been operating since March of 2012. According to the official website, the game will shut down on February 28th. Microtransaction services have already been suspended.
Legend of Edda closes its doors for good January 22nd
If you'd always meant to check out the cute free-to-play title Legend of Edda but never quite got around to it, you're almost out of luck. GamesCampus has announced that the game is shutting down on January 22nd, 2014. Citing hacking attempts, gold purchasing, and game crashes that created an unstable gaming environment, the studio said "there is no way to continue providing support to the game financially." Legend of Edda closed down temporarily between 2011 and 2012 in order to overhaul and improve the game; unfortunately, this time the closure will be permanent. GamesCampus is currently in the process of working out compensation packages for all players who have been active for the past three months. [Thanks to Mehighlow for the tip!]
Lunia goes offline on January 1st
It's been a rough year for MMOs, with several high profile titles going dark over the last 12 months. Unfortunately, it looks as though 2013 has a last-minute casualty to add to the pile in the form of Lunia, the free-to-play action-arcade RPG from All-M. According to an update on the game's official Facebook page, Lunia will be taken down permanently on January 1st, 2014. The game's website is also set to be disabled on the same date. Fans of Lunia can still share memories via the Lunia Facebook page, which will remain open even after the game's servers power down. [Thanks to Mehighlow for the tip!]
Warhammer Online shuts down tonight
Today, the drums of Warhammer Online fall silent. After five years of operation, the game will shut down permanently at 6:00 p.m. EST tonight. If there are any last-minute screenshots or contact details you need to exchange, we encourage you to get that done before the servers turn off permanently. Partial refunds will be issued for players who still had paid game time on their accounts as of November 1st; those who purchased game time cards will need to contact customer support directly. For those looking for a bit more farewell reading, our writers have taken on both the overall arc of the game from launch and the game's shutdown event (or lack thereof, depending on your perspective). Fans have also assembled a tribute video for the game as a whole. Our condolences go to the players who are losing a game that has been a home for five years.
Warhammer Online offers partial refunds
With Warhammer Online's closure tomorrow, some of the players will be entitled to a partial refund for money spent during the past few months. Those who qualify for a refund will include those who had paid game time on their accounts on November 1st, including credit card payments and game time cards. Mythic will also be refunding unused purchased game item codes. These refunds will begin tomorrow but could take up to 90 days to process. In the case of credit card purchases, Mythic will automatically refund the money back onto the account. For cards and codes, Mythic is asking those who qualify to contact customer support to arrange a refund method (we suggest a shady back alley hand-off between a Mythic employee and you).
Mythos Global shutting down January 22nd
T3Fun, publisher of the free-to-play fantasy title Mythos Global, has announced that the game will be shutting down on January 22nd of next year. As a result, the in-game cash shop will be shut down during maintenance on December 18th, and the post notes that "A Compensation Model is currently at work mainly for users who made recent purchases." Game shutdowns are rarely fun for those involved, but Mythos has certainly had a rocky history of constant death and resurrection, so this might be just another turn of the wheel. In any case, Mythos will be around for a bit longer, so fans can jump in for one last hurrah before the game goes dark. You can check out the full shutdown announcement at the Mythos official site. [Thanks to Mehighlow for the tip!]
Second Wind Roundtable: The final days of Warhammer Online
I know it's been a while, but the Second Wind Roundtable is back for a special occasion: the shutdown of Warhammer Online. As you may know, Mythic's long-floundering RvR title is officially shutting down on December 18th, taking with it the war between Order and Chaos that's been waging since 2008. I was never a die-hard WAR player, but I did have an account still in good standing, and the game was made free for all former subscribers, so I figured that I'd jump in for a last hoorah despite the icky taste it left in my mouth the last time I played. I wasn't about to do this alone, though, so I pulled my now-ex-friend Eliot Lefebvre along for the ride. A post on the official site promised new NPCs to power up our characters and "other unique experiences," so I expected a big end-of-the-world bash as former players returned and boosted to max level for one final brawl. What we got was... well, just read on past the cut. I need a drink.
Dynasty Warriors Online shutting down in North America
Aeria Games is not having a good month, apparently. Shortly after the company announced the closure of Lime Odyssey in Korea, it broke the news to the Dynasty Warriors community that the North American servers will be shut down on January 10th, 2014. The company posted its reasons and condolences on the Dynasty Warrior forums: "We know and understand this is both sad and frustrating. The closure of a game is always hardest for us at Aeria as we recognize the community's dedication towards the game but regrettably games can't last forever." Aeria will be giving out 100% rebates to any AP purchased by players from now until the game's sunset. The company also promised that it's working on special events for the title's final days. [Thanks to Mehighlow for the tip!]
Warhammer Online tribute video takes the bloody cake
Short of digging up old login details and re-downloading the client, the best way for Warhammer Online veterans to pay tribute to their old (or current) MMO home might be to watch this excellent fan-made video. Clocking in at around 25 minutes, the video takes us on a tour of WAR's world, lore, and landmarks, all with heaps of in-game action to preserve the memories as they were. This video's been getting noticed by all categories of Warhammer Online players, so we figured we should share it to you as the clock ticks down to the final minutes of the game's life on December 18th. You can view it after the break. [Thanks to Li for the tip!]
Glitch fan remembers Tiny Speck title with massive avatar poster
MMOs come and MMOs go, and while every game was someone's favorite, there are a few enormously influential MMOs that continue to be enormously influential long after they've closed down. Star Wars Galaxies was one. City of Heroes was another. And while Tiny Speck's Glitch was only around for a fraction of those titles' long-lived lifespans, it nonetheless made an impression. Don't believe me? Check out artist Cami Avellar's contribution to the one-year anniversary of Glitch's demise. It's a poster featuring over 250 Glitch avatars, and it took over three weeks and 100 hours to make! [Thanks Danielle!]
Remnant Knights closing on January 31
'Tis the season for MMO closures, apparently. Following on the heels of ArchLord is this announcement about Remnant Knights. The title will close its doors on January 31, 2014. GameSamba will be providing cash shop compensation for "all Sambas spent in-game from November 1, 2013 until the closing date." Click the links below to read full details on claiming your Samba compensation. [Thanks MMOSerbia!]
Archlord sunsetting on January 1st
Archlord will be no more, as Webzen has decided to sunset the title. The company announced the closure of the fantasy title on the official site: "Unfortunately, we have come to a difficult decision to end this long journey we have enjoyed and cherished together. We understand that this will disappoint many of our players. We will be disabling client downloads and cash shop for the game on the 11th of December. The game will be closed on January 1st." There is a silver lining to this, however. Webzen will be throwing a 400% XP and drop event from December 11th until Archlord's closure. In addition, the company urged the community to transfer interest to Archlord 2. [Thanks to Skurvel for the tip!]
Prius Online closes down in South Korea
Whether you think of it as Prius Online or Arcane Saga, the game known to its Korean playerbase as Prius Online has had a hard time keeping the lights on in the West. It's been running for five years over in its native South Korea, though... but no longer. As of December 17th the game will shut down for good, with character creation and the cash shop already disabled for its remaining time. Developer Netmarble has apparently been focusing more upon the mobile market rather than the PC game market, and the game presumably hit the spot of no longer being profitable to keep running. There had been rumors of a sequel, but this could kill any hopes for that as well as any lingering aspirations toward another American revival. It may have died many times before its final death, but it seems like this is finally the end of the road for the game.
Rise of Dragonian Era sunsets
If an MMO that few people played shut down, how long would it take the community to notice? Apparently "a couple of weeks" is the answer, as we're only now getting word that Rise of Dragonian Era (RODE) sunset this past November 13th. In a shutdown notice on the game's now-defunct Facebook page, the studio posted, "RODE services will close permanently. We apologize for this unfortunate event. But we look forward to seeing our RODE players a part of our Netgame community again in the future." RODE launched in early 2012 and featured a permanent dragon companion and aerial combat as its main selling points. [Thanks to Holden for the tip!]
The Game Archaeologist: The bizarre death of Wish [Updated]
First of all, "wish" is one of those words that ends up looking dang strange the more you focus on it. Wish, wish, wish, wish. It's just a bunch of meaningless lines and squiggles to me now. Anyway, what's up for today's topic? We're going to look at another MMO that didn't make it to the starting gate even with some genuine enthusiasm and hype surrounding it, and that game is wrrrshhsish. Wish. That game is Wish. While memories of this never-launched title have faded with time, Wish is still remembered for two things: a truly audacious feature set that promised the world and an abrupt, bizarre end that seemed to come out of nowhere. What made this MMO so special and why did it die so young? Our very own Game Archaeologist is on the scene with a special report.
Ragnarok Online 2 closing in Korea next month
Ragnarok Online 2's days are numbered -- if you're living in South Korea, that is. If you're in North Korea, you're probably more concerned about central heating and plumbing than the availability of an MMO. Citing few players, Gravity announced that it will be taking Ragnarok Online 2 offline in Korea on December 23rd. The developer did include a hint of hope in the shutdown notice that the game could return in the future. While this may be cause for concern to those playing Ragnarok Online 2 in other regions, the company said that the service will continue for North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Warhammer Online goes free for final weeks
After years of fans asking for it, Warhammer Online has finally gone free-to-play. Unfortunately, we had to wait until the end of the game's lifespan to see it happen. Mythic announced that the title would be completely free for those who would like to play before the title sunsets and that subscriptions have been disabled. "To give Warhammer Online a proper sendoff we are opening the game to anyone free of charge that has or had an account in good standing starting October 31st, 2013," the studio wrote. "So please join us and help say goodbye to Warhammer Online in one last big WAAAGH!" Mythic also said that it is adding power-up NPCs to super-charge characters and other "unique experiences" for returning and loyal players. WAR will close down on December 18th. You can read some of our recollections of the title's history. [Thanks to John for the tip!]
Mechanist Games working to restore faith with City of Steam's community
Mechanist Games will be taking actions to "restore faith" by those affected from City of Steam's impending shutdown and rebirth as City of Steam: Arkadia. The studio announced three initiatives to draw back players. First, it will be recharging alpha and beta supporters' Electrum, although it doesn't look like refunds are in the cards. Second, it will be compensating returning players who will need to start fresh on a new server. And third, Mechanist is opening up a new English-speaking forums on the website for the community to use. The exact nature of the compensation for affected players was not revealed, as the studio said it has yet to finalize details in that regard. Mechanist paid to reclaim the English publishing rights for City of Steam and will be self-publishing the title going forward. Other language editions of the game will continue to be operated as is. [Source: Mechanist Games' press release]
City of Steam powering down, switching to new name and ownership [Updated]
It's the end of the line for the free-to-play steampunk game City of Steam -- at least on R2Games servers. The publisher has announced that doors will be closing at 2:59 a.m. EDT on November 22nd. Even with what are probably the most impressive graphics in a browser-based game, CoS apparently couldn't keep enough players to remain viable. With the closure, the in-game currency Electrum can no longer be acquired, but all previously bought Electrum can be spent on store items throughout the month. Does this mean that CoS is powering down for good? Not according to developer Mechanist Games, which has announced that it plans on releasing a new version of the game the same month: Circumstances have contributed to a significant loss of players and we've decided to cease the current game operations for the Global English version and take City of Steam back. This is a decision we have taken months to reach, and are confident that it's best for the health of the players, the community and the game itself. City of Steam is not shutting it down. We at Mechanist Games will improve and self-publish the game, and endeavor to make it available to as many of the original fans as possible by cooperating with popular English language browser-gaming platforms (to be announced). City of Steam will be upgraded during the time it is offline to better suit the player demographics of the new browser-gaming platforms publishing the game; new content, new features, new systems, massive change to the economy and statistics, new equipment and cosmetics, new quests and an overhaul of most of the level art and main quests. Some features will be removed. There will also be a massive flying fortress for characters of any level to congregate in. Because of these numerous and sizeable changes, the game will be re-launched in November under the title City of Steam: Arkadia. [Updated with the statement from the press release from Mechanist!]
