Month: December 2011

Planetside 2 Now Accepting Beta Applications


Planetside has always been a standout IP. When the original game launched way back in 2003, the idea of a shooter where hundreds of players could participate in a single battle, where instances were nonexistent and everyone fought on the same world, and your actions could determine the outcome of a war, was virtually nonexistent. Even now as 2011 comes to a close, the number of companies willing to take on such a task has barely budged at all, and several projects promising an updated version of what Planetside offers are either still in development or caught somewhere in limbo.

When Planetside 2 launches at some point between now and the apocalypse, you will be able to jump in free of charge. Before that point, why not sign up for the beta and have a chance at trying it out free of charge? All you need is a Station account and the ability to sign in and click the “I agree” box.

(Source: Planetside 2 Website)

The Old Republic Coming To Australia, New Zealand


It’s been a while since anything was said about The Old Republic’s launch in Australia and New Zealand, or for that matter the lack of a launch in either territory. Luckily, Senior Lead Community Manager Stephen Reid announced on the official forums today that Bioware is aiming for a Spring 2012 launch, around March 1st. Granted, a great deal of players have likely already purchased the game and are currently playing on North American servers, but no doubt this announcement will please those who would rather wait.

We can confirm that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be launching in Australia and New Zealand in the spring of 2012.

Right now we are targeting March 1st, but that could change as our number one priority is making sure that customers have a great service to play on.

For those of you who may have already imported the game, we will be investigating solutions to allow you to continue to play on a local server once they come online in March.

(Source: The Old Republic Forums)

Picture of the ____: Runescape Christmas Feast


The Orb of Oculus is an item in Runescape that allows players to set up rather impressive screenshots. Taken at the Christmas holiday event released today, this is a reminder as to how far Jagex has brought Runescape’s graphics in the past few years.

Double Station Cash, December 20th Only


On the 8th day of Christmas, my Sony gave to me: Double Station Cash. So you missed the triple Station Cash deal from the seventeenth and still want to get a good deal this month on fake money. Well you are in luck, because all day today* any purchase that you make either through Station.com or by redeeming a Station cash card (as seen above) will net you double the purchase value. Note that this does not include purchases made by mobile/SMS methods.

Double Station Cash is just another one of Sony’s daily deals in the twelve days of Christmas.

*Today means until midnight Pacific Standard Time

Lego Universe And Autism, Or, A Shattered Heart


I hate reporting on MMOs shutting down. For how much the market is saturated, each game holds a special place in at least one person’s heart, and no matter how unmarketable the title was there will always be a group to mourn its loss. It almost goes without saying that when a kid’s MMO is shuttered, the effect is even worse. I received this comment on the Lego Universe article yesterday:

I sure hope you are willing to make the server files available to people who wish to run a private server in their home for their children to play. I understand you cannot allow internet based servers, but there should be a way to play on a LAN. Please, for those of us who bought the game. I have a son with Autism, and I am very concerned about how this shut down will affect him!
-Mike Shaffer

I think Mike misunderstood that I have no affiliation with Lego Universe, but how do you answer that question? How do you tell a child with autism that the game that has helped them so much is going away? A quick trip to the Lego Universe forums was apparent that Mike isn’t the only person in this position as a parent. Read on for other stories from the forums…

Continue reading “Lego Universe And Autism, Or, A Shattered Heart”

Lego Universe And Autism, Or, A Shattered Heart


I hate reporting on MMOs shutting down. For how much the market is saturated, each game holds a special place in at least one person’s heart, and no matter how unmarketable the title was there will always be a group to mourn its loss. It almost goes without saying that when a kid’s MMO is shuttered, the effect is even worse. I received this comment on the Lego Universe article yesterday:

I sure hope you are willing to make the server files available to people who wish to run a private server in their home for their children to play. I understand you cannot allow internet based servers, but there should be a way to play on a LAN. Please, for those of us who bought the game. I have a son with Autism, and I am very concerned about how this shut down will affect him!
-Mike Shaffer

I think Mike misunderstood that I have no affiliation with Lego Universe, but how do you answer that question? How do you tell a child with autism that the game that has helped them so much is going away? A quick trip to the Lego Universe forums was apparent that Mike isn’t the only person in this position as a parent. Read on for other stories from the forums…

Continue reading “Lego Universe And Autism, Or, A Shattered Heart”

NCSoft, Nexon, Others Relieved Of Identity Attacks…


Over in Korea, players have a lot more to lose when a company leaks their information. Unlike in most other countries, players are often required to register to MMOs with the Korean equivalent of the social security number, and more than once data leaks have resulted in these numbers being readily available for the gaming public. An entire black market has surrounded these games, and at least once per year I am contacted by a group offering entrance into several Korean only betas with accounts registered with stolen identities.

Nexon made big news last month when they announced that the details of thirteen million accounts in Korea were stolen, including the Korean RRN (Resident Registration Number) in an encrypted format. In response, a number of Korean developers have announced plans to stop collecting Korean numbers and instead outsource the collection process to a third party agency. Rather than storing the sensitive data, the agency processes the RRN of the registrant, matches it up to the list, and reports to the developer if the person is an adult, child, nonexistent, or a bot.

Rather than jump on the bandwagon of hate, I think this is a good thing for everyone. Players no longer have to worry (as much) about their identity being stolen, and the developers have a massive load taken off of their backs. Korean MMOs require a player’s identification because the country has strict laws on minors playing certain games and during certain times, and requires companies to enforce such restrictions. As a result, developers have become prime targets for identity theft and security breaches by hackers in search of the delicious gooey center of personal data.

So developers not having access to your RRN can only be a good thing. For those of you in the states, would you trust Turbine or Sony with your social security number? Neither would I.

Sorry, The Old Republic Means Repetition In Media


A journalist in gaming will express a distrust in mainstream media. After all, whenever someone in Korea dies from dehydration after a week long Starcraft binge, or a sadist in Vermont murders his child because her crying interrupted his Call of Duty kill streak, the rest of us are painted equally as unsociable psychopaths just waiting for someone to press the right button to send us on a killing spree. Heading further into the niche, I as a writer for MMOs have a similar distaste for mainstream gaming media for similar reasons. The mainstream gaming media loves to paint us as strangers with too much time, too much expendable money, and not enough sunlight or social interaction.

So it stands that whenever a grandiose MMO releases, the same stories from past will be recycled. Yes, any MMO with an economy of any kind will bring in gold farmers. Yes, the most preordered MMO in recent history is having issues with server capacity and getting people a spot in line. And they are behind in the times, too. Apparently no one told the gaming press that making your game free to play has not been a death sentence since 2009, and that the transition isn’t a switch that developers hit in a last ditch hope to make money, but rather a lengthy process that costs a lot of time and money.

For the next few months, expect to hear everything you already knew. Bear with them, they get paid moderately well to run the same stories every now and then.

Triple Station Cash, December 17th Only


Sony cash days have achieved almost holiday status for some, like the return of the McRib or when your bank fires that teller who asks you for identification every time you just want to deposit a check. While Sony has performed double cash weekends in the past, this is one of the few times that triple cash has been offered, least of all allowing players to use a form of payment outside of the Station Cash cards (which are not available everywhere). For today only, until midnight pacific standard time, players can either purchase cash using a credit card or redeem Station cash cards, and receive triple the amount.

Station cash is based on $1 = 100 points. You can read more at Sony’s website. Sony is currently running a “12 Days of Christmas” promotion, with new deals in various games every day.

(Source: Station Cash)

Star Wars Galaxies: Final Address To The Community


Looking back on Star Wars Galaxies and all these years I am so thankful for being able to be a part of the Star WarsGalaxies community both as the Producer and as a fan. It would not have been the incredible experience that it was without you, the players and fans, the dedicated team of people who worked on it over the years and the fantastic Star Wars® galaxy itself, which offered us a very unique and compelling place to explore, fight, play, make friends, and build our homes.

This is a book of memories, so let me start with a few of my own.

When I was a little boy, my father brought me to the movies to see a new science fiction film that he heard was pretty good. What I remembered most was the feeling of awe I had back then, and still feel to this day. Once I had experienced Star Wars, my life would never be the same again. In May of 2004, I walked into the office at Sony Online Entertainment to start a new job working on a game based on the very same story that had amazed me in my youth. Cool! I was very excited. All I wanted to do then was learn how this thing worked, and I spent the next seven years doing just that. I can say that not a day passed in the development of Star Wars Galaxies where I didn’t learn something new. Each day presented different challenges and solving them was always a rewarding accomplishment. It is everyone’s hope to find a job that you look forward to each and every day. Being a developer onStar Wars Galaxies was just that kind of job for me.

Star Wars means something different to each of us. That’s why we played Star Wars Galaxies. On June 26th, 2003, SOE and LucasArts released Star Wars Galaxies and, for the first time, you could play online with your friends in the Star Wars universe. I was amazed at how much there was to do in the game – player housing, crafting, entertaining, combat, and more. One of the most exciting times for all of us on the team was the launch of the Jump to Lightspeed expansion, which let players fly and battle it out in space in a true 3D simulation. Now we could all truly live out our Star Wars fantasies. It was like being a kid again.

Continue reading “Star Wars Galaxies: Final Address To The Community”