Author: Admin

NCSoft Holding Interviews in Providence


NCSoft just posted a notice that they will be holding interviews on May 31st from 9am to 7pm at Providence Biltmore. All applicants are welcome, especially 38 Studios (and presumably Big Huge Games) ex-employees.

8Realms To Shut Down, Jagex Layoffs Employees


So far Jagex hasn’t had a great track record with their in-house titles that are not named RuneScape. MechScape was cancelled to the tune of millions back in 2009 and revived as Stellar Dawn which was “paused” a couple of months ago so Jagex could focus on a strong list of games set for release this year, including 8Realms and Transformers Online, not to mention the major combat upgrade we learned is coming to RuneScape.

Well, take 8Realms off of that list. Gamesindustry is reporting that 8Realms only received 10% of the audience necessary to turn a profit, and will be shut down. Jagex’s Daniel Clough gave a comment on the matter:

 “During the 8Realms beta it has become clear that the game doesn’t meet our high expectations for success and we are therefore channelling our focus on other exciting opportunities in the pipeline.”

(Source: Gamesindustry.biz)

Last Day To Qualify For Final Fantasy XIV Legacy


Would I? Absolutely I would. Square Enix has announced that, upon the launch of version 2.0, players who qualify for the “legacy” system will receive special perks: A discounted subscription ($9.99) and 8 max playable characters per world, as well as an exclusive Chocobo pet and your name in the credits if you wish.

Users with 90 cumulative days of subscription between January 6th and the launch of 2.0 beta testing are eligible. Over at FFXIV Core, an administrator has posted that the last day to register your copy of FFXIV and still be able to qualify is the coming May 31st, meaning 2.0 will probably start beta testing in October (one free month plus three paid).

If you were interested in getting back on board with Square to get your hands on the legacy rewards, you only have a couple of days left to do so. I left a previous article on this matter rather ambiguous, as there was no cutoff date announced at the time.

More on FFXIV as it appears.

MMOs: Bring Them Back, Or Let Them Lie


I love reading about MMOs being resurrected, almost as much as I hate reading about MMOs being resurrected. On one hand, it’s great to see that a game I once thought dead has attracted the attention of another enterprising company. But then I sit back and ask myself, “do I really want someone else touching my game? Tainting my memories?”

So I will be publishing several lists of dead MMOs, and whether I feel they should be brought back or if they have given us all that they can.

The Matrix Online

As much as many of us would love to see The Matrix Online make a return, the franchise hit its heyday a long time ago and it is not coming back. Bringing back The Matrix Online would be a financial investment not only in infrastructure but requiring new people to learn how to code and maintain the system, an investment that only a person of questionable sanity would be willing to forego.

There isn’t enough interest in the Matrix anymore to justify bringing this ancient one back, so sorry but:

Verdict: Let It Lie.

Bringing Tabula Rasa back would require a bit of a lore-shift for the MMO. After all, since NCSoft worked the closure into the game, when the servers shut down on February 28th, 2009, it resulted in the AFS forces detonating a massive bomb that resulted in the mutual destruction of the AFS and Bane forces. So that leaves us with humanity: dead, and Bane: dead.

Of course, re-writing history is the easy part. But were someone to purchase the rights and the code, they would find the remnants of what could have been a masterpiece, and was gearing up for just that when NCSoft shuttered the title. Somewhat like Star Wars Galaxies, in the months after NCSoft announced the shut down, Destination Games worked tirelessly to introduce many of the features players had been asking for and probably quitting over since the game launched.

Buying Tabula Rasa would be far easier and likely much less expensive than working on an original sci-fi MMO of the same variety.

Verdict: Pitchblack Games Should Buy Tabula Rasa

Absolutely not. Take this from someone who supported Earth Eternal through every company and iteration the game has gone through so far. I personally found Earth Eternal to be a charming game, but commercial success this game is not. Consider the fact that even when Earth Eternal was 100% free to play, that no one was playing should be an indication that any money spent into reviving this title for a third run would be wasting money that could have gone to a more productive service.

Like a bonfire.

Verdict: Its Zombified Corpse Has Liquified. Stop.

Sure, why not. Lego Universe was a great game and there are many reasons it should be brought back, not the least of which being that LEGO continued the great NetDevil tradition of poorly advertising their game and then wondering why it didn’t gather the attraction they so desired. If LEGO Universe is to be brought back, however, some changes should come with it.

For starters, LEGO could do well with a similar subscription plan to Wizard 101: allowing families to bundle their subscriptions for a discount. Additionally, the game would need a more open trial system than it had pre-shutdown, and LEGO would have to do some real advertising.

LEGO Universe has potential, and not the kind that you use to describe a broken system. The game is fine, more people just needed to know about it.

Verdict: Resurrect it.

I have no idea how much it would cost to translate Everquest Online Adventures to a download-format and bring it back on the Playstation Network, but I’m guessing it would be expensive. When EQOA shut down, it wasn’t because the game was busted or Sony was going under, but simply because the game had become old.

There were no new players coming into Everquest Online Adventures, and for good reason: The Playstation 2 is a dead console and the Playstation 3 is not backwards compatible (sans 1st generation). Additionally, finding new copies of Everquest Online Adventures was near impossible, or otherwise extremely expensive. Unlike other MMOs, EQOA never had the opportunity to transition to a download format, and once the game was off store shelves, its death sentence was written.

Unfortunately, translating the game to be playable on new Playstation 3’s may be too expensive or even impossible on the very antiquated engine.

Verdict: Resurrect If You Can, Though You Probably Can’t.

Funcom Q1 2012 Finances


Funcom today released the financial details for the first quarter of 2012, and the results are mixed. Age of Conan continues to be Funcom’s major source of income, although revenue is down due to the release of a “large competitor.” Revenues dropped from 3,389 TUSD in Q1 2011 to 2,293 TUSD this quarter. The Secret World continues to be a major drain on Funcom’s finances.

On the good side, Funcom’s current flock of titles (Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, Bloodline Champions) continue to remain at a positive cash flow, bringing in some much needed funds to keep The Secret World going. Funcom notes much more positive reactions to The Secret World than Age of Conan at the same time before its launch, and projects a higher retention rate than Age of Conan.

At the current rate, The Secret World is projected to sell 30% more than Age of Conan, with in-game store sales marking 35% of the game’s projected revenue, and a healthy retention rate of 490 thousand subscribers. A poor retention rate would be around 280 thousand.

Additionally, Funcom has come upon $22 million in standby equity which can be drawn upon as the company desires.

Gameglobe Trailer: Create Your Own Worlds


Gameglobe is an upcoming free to play MMO by Square Enix. Published by Bigpoint Entertainment, Gameglobe will be a free to play MMO that tasks players with creating fun and interactive levels for others to play through, or simply playing through the levels that others have created. The game is currently in closed beta, and the short teaser trailer below gives a few small glimpses of action.

More information to come.

Falling Out #5: Hardcore Lag


Possibly the only thing keeping me from playing Diablo III in Hardcore mode is the fact that every single one of my deaths in standard mode had to do with server latency. I refuse to play by the rules of “you die, you lose your character,” when my biggest foe is the random dice roll of server stability.

Also Wobbuffet should accompany every game over screen.

38 Studios Is DOA, Entire Staff Laid Off


The 38 Studios saga may come to a close faster than we thought. According to Fox 25 out of Boston, 38 Studios may be out of commission by this weekend at the earliest. If reports are to believed, employees aren’t being paid and are either leaving or being laid off in large quantities. The state of Rhode Island has refused to give any of the money requested, according to Curt Schilling, and many high-up employees have already announced their resignation (including the chief executive and senior vice president).

I am willing to bet that Electronic Arts will likely buy up Big Huge Games as well as the Amalur IP, but this is all speculation.

(Source: Fox Boston)