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SOE vets create new studio for TCGs based on upcoming MMO
They're not quite Three Wolf Moon, but the folks over at Dire Wolf Digital have their own special brand of magic waiting in the wings. Formed by several Sony Online Entertainment veterans, including Scott Martins, Paul Dennan, Ryan Anderson and Bruce Mitchener, Dire Wolf Digital will focus on creating online trading card games (TCGs). The SOE vets have several TCGs under their belt, including Legends of Norrath and the Free Realms TCG. What's interesting for MMO fans is that Dire Wolf Digital is working on a project in conjunction with an upcoming MMORPG. Per the press page: "The company is currently producing a trading card game based on an upcoming massively-multiplayer online game, and is in pre-production on additional social and strategy game projects for 2011." Of course, we have no idea what this upcoming MMO is, but the talent involved makes Dire Wolf Digital worth watching. Considering that the team has previously worked on several TCGs for SOE and elsewhere, it certainly appears to have the pedigree necessary to succeed in the field.
WoW TCG North American Continental Championship is now
Cryptozoic Entertainment is hosting its first-ever World of Warcraft TCG event in Las Vegas, and it's happening now! The WoW TCG North American Continental Championship runs from today through Sunday, but even if you're not in Sin City, you can follow the events online via Cryptozoic's liveblog. What's at stake at the championship? Only $80,000 in prizes for challenge winners, and those who participate in any of the numerous side events have a chance to win iPads, Macbook Pros, iPods, gift cards, and (of course) loot cards. They're even giving away prizes all weekend to fans who watch live video coverage of the event here. Good luck to all the competitors and to Cryptozoic for their first big event!
The Game Archaeologist and the Star of the Galaxies: The history
Each month, the Game Archaeologist dusts off one MMORPG of yesterday and investigates while hanging on to his hat. From the ancient lands of Ultima to a galaxy far, far away, the Game Archaeologist is always on the move, looking for the next treasure trove to uncover. Some say that covering Star Wars Galaxies is a moot point: that the true game as it was is dead, and that with The Old Republic on the horizon, SWG is all but passé. Yet through the steamy jungles of Kashyyyk to the dangerous dunes of Tatooine, there is evidence of passion, play and Imperial Stormtroopers shooting all willy-nilly. It's weird to think that in early 2003, the MMO genre was almost an entirely different creature. World of Warcraft was still over a year away, and the most successful developer at the time (Sony Online Entertainment, along with Verant) had teamed up with LucasArts to create a Star Wars game above all other games. A killer IP, a beefy development team, and incredible fan-fueled hype made Star Wars Galaxies THE game to watch as it raced toward launch -- even IGN crowed in 2000 that SWG could become "one of the biggest games of all time." Join us now as we hop back to the wild frontier of the early 2000s and peruse the first seven years of Star Wars Galaxies' run. It's had its highs, its lows, and a three-letter acronym that became one of the most infamous MMO events ever -- but no matter what your opinion, the Force has been strong with this title indeed.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Decade Duels coming to XBLA this spring
Click on the image and yu-can-go into our gallery The beautiful part about having Yu-Gi-Oh! on your Xbox 360 is that you can still partake in that most guilty of pleasures, but you don't have to wade through the cesspool of people that enjoy that brand of self-deprecation. Konami has announced that Yu-Gi-Oh! Decade Duels is coming to Xbox Live Arcade in Spring 2010 and will feature "the most robust card offering and the opportunity to purchase additional card packs through Xbox Live." There's no word on price right now for the initial game, so we've contacted Konami. We'll let you know what we hear back. %Gallery-90104%
Dragon Quest Victory attacks Wii this summer in Japan
Been hankering for more Dragon Quest since the release of The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors? Square Enix has announced Dragon Quest Victory for Wii in Japan, an adaptation of the Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road arcade game. The Wii version is set to launch this summer and features card-based battles for up to four players via local split-screen and the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The game will also include a "Tournament" mode, in which players face off against a succession of NPCs in a virtual town, collecting cards. Perhaps the coolest feature of all is connectivity between the arcade and Wii games, using a DSi. Players will be able to download a special DSiWare app that will scan in the arcade version's cards, allowing transport over to the Wii game. The price of the DSiWare app is currently unknown. [Via andriasang]
WoW Trading Card Game Vegas championship
Do you play the WoW Trading Card Game? You any good, punk? From June 3 through June 6, 2010, the North American Continentals will be happening in Las Vegas, and Cryptozoic Entertainment, the new World of Warcraft TCG licensee, seems to be picking up the slack left by Upper Deck at record speed! They've booked several blocks of rooms at the Paris and Bally's hotels, a paid stay at which will include several nice TCG gifts: Two Tuskarr Kite (or King Mukla) loot cards Two Naxxramas treasure packs Two Series 1 class deck boxes (assorted) Two packs of WoW TCG sleeves Other gifts from Cryptozoic and other World of Warcraft partners There's $50,000 in prizes up for grabs and no entry fee, as far as I can tell. If you're big into the TCG competitively, this is the place to be! For the full schedule, check out Cryptozoic's press release here.
Runes of Magic upgrades trading card system
While Runes of Magic is often dismissed as a straight-up World of Warcraft clone, that does a disservice to game features that march to the beat of a different Frogster. One such system is their monster trading cards, where defeated mobs have a chance to drop a special card that show statistics and details about each monster. While these cards were mostly cosmetic up to this point, Runes of Magic is planning to both upgrade and expand the system with the Chapter III: The Elder Kingdoms update this month. 48 new monster cards will be added to the game, which will increase the monster compendium to 800 foul beasts and critters. In addition, each monster card will now bestow attributes to the player, such as a boost to dexterity or strength. As such, demand for these cards will rise, which Frogster hopes will fire up player interaction as gamers trade for their most desired attributes. The Chapter III update won't just focus on monster cards, of course. A huge number of additions to Runes of Magic will come packaged with it, including a level cap increase to 60, new areas, a PvP ranking system, new mini-games and the opportunity to get married in the game. Well, "officially" married, at least. Look for the update later this month!
Current plans for the WoW TCG
If you're curious as to the fate of the WoW TCG, then check out this official statement by Bornakk. While the future of the TCG has been questionable since since Upper Deck had parted ways with Blizzard, that doesn't mean the TCG is going to end. The upcoming Wrathgate and Icecrown expansions are still on pace for the spring and summer. Realm Championships will still happen this weekend around North America, and all announced prizes will still be awarded (but trophies will not be ready yet). For the full list of North American locations, check out that same thread.
Blizzard opens up official TCG forums
With all the news regarding the WoW Trading Card Game, avid players have been wondering exactly what's going on, where the license is going, and who's going to be producing new cards, if any. While there aren't any answers to these questions specifically, it's heartening to note that Blizzard just added a new Trading Card Game section to the official forums, solely for discussion about the TCG. The card game hasn't been forgotten, and neither have its players. The question of what the future of the TCG will bring has already been addressed on the forums by Eyonix, who restated Blizzard's earlier announcement that Blizzard and UDE would be parting ways. He also reassured players that Blizzard is committed to supporting the TCG and will be releasing new content in the near future, although there are still no new details as to who is picking up the license. While this also doesn't really answer any questions, it's good to know that Blizzard is still thinking about the TCG community -- and this gives an ideal place for Blizzard to post any updates regarding the game's production. Hopefully we'll see more news on the future of the TCG soon.
Camon Hero closed beta is in the cards
If you're one of the multitudes who grew up playing a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh or other card battling games, then we've got news about an upcoming MMO that may well interest you. Camon Hero, also known as Orka in other parts of the world, is coming to the West with fast-paced free-to-play card game MMO fun -- and a closed beta that starts tomorrow. In Camon Hero, players explore the world, attempting to rid the lands of evil, and picking up different cards along the way. The game offers a classless system based entirely on the cards you have selected at the time. In the mood to be a battle mage? Load those cards up and get to playing. Prefer to go full-on melee or pure caster? You can do that too. From there, it's all about who has the better cards as you pit your deck (and thereby character) building skills against players in PvP, or against the world in PvE. Only unlike playing a traditional TCG, the cards spring to life and fight for your side! For now, we've embedded the trailer for Camon Hero behind the break, which shows off some tantalizing hints of game play. Hopefully we'll hear some more news about this interesting MMO (or maybe score some beta keys) in the days to come.
Upper Deck comments on loss of WoW TCG license
Upper Deck has issued their own news release statement regarding the dropped license of the World of Warcraft: Trading Card Game. The decline in sales and economic downturn has been cited as the cause of their discontinued product. For now though, it appears that World of Warcraft products will still be up for sale until the end of March. However, their future products like the Class Starter Decks, Wrathgate Boosters, Souls of Vengeance Starters, Deluxe Starter and Boosters will not be produced. This announcement comes at the heels of the Yu-Gi-Oh! counterfeiting controversy revealed a few short weeks ago. Upper Deck has been caught printing hundreds of thousands of counterfeit Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and managed to settle with Konami. We're not sure if the two are related but it may have had an impact on their agreements. Who knows? There is no information right now as to which company will partner with Blizzard in regards to the WoW: TCG. I tried out the game myself at BlizzCon 2009, but I had recently gone back into Magic: the Gathering, and there is no way I can afford to get into another hobby at the moment.
Blizzard: WoW TCG will come back better than ever
We recently broke the news that Upper Deck would no longer be producing the WoW TCG, and Blizzard poster Zarhym has popped by to say that they still have plans for the TCG: "As some of you may already be aware, we will not be renewing the World of Warcraft: The Trading Card Game license with Upper Deck. We want to assure you that we are committed to supporting the TCG, and players can look forward to new content and strong organized play support in the near future. We will share additional details about the game's transition to a new partner as soon as possible. For those awaiting tournament prizes, we will ensure you receive them." Of course, this isn't too surprising, really. As it turns out, sources close to the TCG say that all development and art for the game has been done inside Blizzard for a year or more -- Upper Deck has only been providing the printing. They've either been preparing for the switch for quite a while, or ... well, I can't really think of any other reasons. Why go elsewhere when you could get it done internally anyway? Licenses are big money, and contracts require that they be active for a certain amount of time. Companies can always choose not to renew their licensing agreement if they feel things aren't going well, or for any reason, really. But this is Blizzard, and this is a business move, pure and simple; you needn't worry that the game is going anywhere. It just might take a little bit to get everything back on track.
Local paper profiles TCG $50k winner
This is cool -- after local paper the Winter Park/Maitland Observer (near Orlando, Florida) heard that the winner of Upper Deck's last WoW TCG World Championships was from the same area, they went and found him, fittingly, in a game store. William Postlewaite, a.k.a. Billy P, won $50,000 just for playing the WoW Trading Card Game very, very well. While there's not a lot of info on the actual mechanics behind his win (this is a local paper, after all), it's very interesting to get a look at the player himself -- he works at the game store while going to school to learn finance, and spent about two months testing decks of cards with a friend before he found the one that he thought could go all the way. And what's he doing with all of his winnings? He's planning to buy a house. Smart play. You always hear about these wild sums being won by card game players -- good to know that this set of winnings is going to what seems like a good guy.
Rumors of WoW TCG's demise greatly exaggerated
Rumors have been swirling around the Internet this weekend, reporting that the WoW Trading Card Game was ending this year after the release of the upcoming Scourgewar expansion set due to mishandling of marketing by the Upper Deck team. The rumor apparently started at Rawrcast, where it was attributed to a "reliable source". Apparently not that reliable! Catching wind of the rumor, Upper Deck responded through its Senior Director, Scott Gaeta, saying that not only was the TCG not "over," but that it was steaming along right on schedule. Said Gaeta: "Plans for future sets have been moving along as normal and we even announced a good chunk of the 2010 product schedule a week ago. Just recently the Upper Deck team was at Blizzard to discuss plans for 2011 and just today we were at Blizzard to get a sneak peak of Icecrown Citadel, to help in the development of the 2010 Raid Deck and Treasure Packs. We have lots of great plans for 2010 and beyond and look forward to another great year for the WOW TCG. Thanks for your enthusiasm and support! " Good enough for me. Interneterati who heard the rumor attributed the TCG's purported demise to a myriad of culprits, including Blizzard's new microtransactional Pet Store, Activision grand poobah and laser-precise IP exploiter Bobby Kotick, or even the iron tabletop gaming fist of Magic: The Gathering. Of course, none of those ended up being the case. Me, I'm glad to see that the TCG isn't going away, but let's start seeing some of those cool vanity loot card items attainable through other means, yeah? And the rocket mount an Engineering item.
EQ's producer discusses new Legends of Norrath-gated instance after player concerns
Although the Legends of Norrath digital trading card game can be played completely separately from EverQuest, the two games have a lot of ties to each other beyond just lore. The former can be launched from within the latter game. There are also "loot cards" which not only function in LoN but can be redeemed in EverQuest for certain bonus items. Some people that play EQ but not LoN may have been upset in the past at missing out on a few of these loot card items, but it's doubtful that anything has caused as much of an outcry as is currently occurring over an upcoming loot card. The card in question is the Dragon Brood Crypt Key Card, and the resulting EQ reward will be the only way to access a brand new dungeon instance.
Breakfast Topic: Have you played those other games?
One of the things I got to do at BlizzCon 2009 that ended up being a whole lot of fun was sit down and play a few rounds of the World of Warcraft TCG at the Upper Deck Booth. I actually plan to write a bit more on that later, but for now, my main thought on it was that it was pretty fun. As a former Magic: The Gathering Player way back in the early 3rd edition days, I've always held a soft spot in my heart for a good solid card game, and I've been meaning for the longest time to check out the TCG as something more than a silly thing that refuses to give me a mount. I have to say, if anything, that I probably enjoyed it too much. Not only did I catch onto the rules pretty quickly, but I was transported back to the old magic days, and I'm halfway tempted now to perfect a good solid deck and go out to my local gaming store in a couple weekends to see if anyone else plays. On the other hand, I'm trying to avoid that temptation, because I just know it'll eat up my life like Magic did back in the day.
SOE announces a new way for Free Realms players to get in the game
Like the Free Realms Card Duelist job? Ever thought how cool it would be to have a card of your duelist? Well, it seems like Sony Online Entertainment thinks that would be pretty cool too, as they've just added a new service allowing players to do just that. The Duelist on Demand service allows Free Realms players to create physical Topps cards of their very own duelists. As an added bonus, each physical card has a code on the bottom of it that you can redeem in-game for a virtual copy of your unique duelist card! The cards are currently only available in the US (except Maine for some strange reason) and are $12 US for 10 cards. "This print-on-demand option gives Free Realms players an entirely new way to immerse themselves into the game, with a unique, physical Topps trading card," said Scott Martins, Director of Development at SOE Denver. "Imagine creating a trading card based on your in-game character and then trading it with your friends for their personalized card. It's as if you are passing out your very own Free Realms business cards." With school back in, this could also be a pretty nifty way to reward excellent grades, or as a unique gift idea for friends and family who enjoy Free Realms.
Blizzard fights scammers with TCG mount changes
Blizzard has confirmed what we have speculated about: the change to make Upper Deck Trading Card Game mounts Bind-on-Use instead of BoP is specifically to combat scammers.Currently, if you have a loot code, you redeem it and then "purchase" the mount from an NPC vendor. The mount immediately becomes soulbound. This two step process allows unscrupulous people to easily scam prospective mount buyers and subsequently hack their accounts. In patch 3.2, redeeming the code will automatically place the mount in your inventory, unsoulbound and available for legitimate in-game transactions.Bornakk warns that if you have already redeemed a mount code, but have not purchased your mounts from the NPC, you will not be able to do so after 3.2. So it is important that you get your mounts before the patch is released, which could be as early as this Tuesday.Patch 3.2 will bring about a new 5, 10, and 25 man instance to WoW, and usher in a new 40-man battleground called the Isle of Conquest. WoW.com will have you covered every step of the way, from extensive PTR coverage through the official live release. Check out WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2 for all the latest!
UPDATE: Fields of Honor Loot Card EU giveaway
I hinted at this the other day but Upper Deck International here in the UK has given WoW.com a set of shiny, brand spanking new loot cards from the latest Fields of Honor TCG expansion, which went on sale yesterday. We're giving them away to you, our lovely EU readers. All you need to do is leave a comment in this post before 5PM GMT (6PM CET) today, July 1st, 2009. One of the Big Giant Heads (aka our beloved editors) will then randomly choose which of our three lucky readers will win one card each. Be sure to comment with an e-mail address you check often and have easy access to, because that's how we will be contacting our chosen winners with the codes. We have three codes to give away, one for each of the cards in the set. That's the awesome chicken mount El Pollo Grande, the Ogre Pinata and the groovy Path of Cenarius.The only caveat is you must have a European WoW account or the cards won't work (sorry to our American brethren) so please make sure before you enter, okay? Also, you can only enter once and, yes, we will know if you enter more than that. Good luck to all who participate!Thanks to Tom at Upper Deck International's UK office for the codes.UPDATE: The competition is now closed! We'll be announcing the winners later on this evening.
Death Knight class arrives in the TCG
Upper Deck has announced that the Death Knight class is coming to the WoW trading card game. Just like in the MMO, the class plays differently than any other -- their website has a series of previews posted that show just how different their DKs are. The class is designed to do crazy damage with two-hand weapons, and there are options to do extra damage by sacrificing allies or equip gear that provides you with solid armor even as you're churning out DPS. There are Death Knight Horde and Alliance allies as well, and each of them has a Death Knight-specific ability -- lots of Shadow damage, exchanging protection for more damage, and even some Frost-tree cold debuffs. And there are quests to go along with the Death Knight class as well, where DKs get extra bonuses for completing and playing certain quests.Starting on June 16th, you'll be able to pick up 36-card deluxe starter decks for Death Knights at a store near you, and those decks will get inserted into the game just like any other class -- they come with a Hero to play, associated spells and quests, and three "Ghoul token cards" to play as allies. While this is the first time Death Knights will be playable as Heroes, the very first Death Knight cards were actually included in the Wrath of the Lich King Collector's Edition -- a pair of Ally cards named Lord Anton Nightbane (Alliance) and Conqueror Kagon Blackskull (Horde). If you like the TCG but have been looking for a new twist (or a way to bring your Death Knight character into the game), this definitely seems worth a look. And speaking of the TCG, they are now on Facebook, so if you're a fan, go say hi over there as well. The MMO and TCG crowd still seem to run in different circles (though you'll definitely see the game at BlizzCon), but there are quite a few intersecting points between them.
