With Age of Conan entering the Korean markets came the announcement that the title would follow the normal Korean model: Free to play with cash shop, leading some to speculate as to whether or not Funcom would transition the model over to the Western hemisphere. Over on the Funcom forums, Producer Craig Morrison chimed in to tell players that the free to play model is not planned to come over to the west, but that Funcom is not saying no forever (I’ve heard this phrase too many times this month).
“That isn’t a ‘yes, it will happen’ or a ‘No, it will never happen’ it’s a ‘We will always keep our options open and be open minded to business models that will most benefit the project.’…being close minded one way or another is rarely a good thing.”
He is correct. The Korean market is vastly different from the American and European markets, and subscription based games die fast. Even World of Warcraft runs in China on a pay-per-hour system.
“That is why we have different versions of the game. They are different markets, work in different ways, with different traditions and expectations and we will always endeavour to try and ensure the right decisions are made for the game in each specific territory, and for those decisions to be different as appropriate.”
So, for the time being, there will be no free to play Age of Conan in the west. More on Age of Conan as it appears.
I know what you’re asking: Omali! Dungeons and Dragons Online is already free to play! To which I answer: Not in Europe. No, for the past ten months or so North American players have been enjoying the freshly free to play Dungeons and Dragons Online, while our compatriots over the ocean have not. When Turbine’s title went into cash-shop-freemium mode this past September, the dungeon crawler saw an enormous revival both in players and revenue. Since then, Turbine has added yet another server, and has seen increases in revenue in the triple digits.
This fall, not to be out of line with a few other developers, Turbine is taking back Dungeons and Dragons Online in Europe, from the current publisher Codemasters (this is not the first time Codemasters has lost their rights to an MMO), where the title will be reworked and re-released under the Eberron Unlimited title. I don’t think many people should be surprised at this, given the recent introduction of Warner Bros. into the workplace, as well as Europe’s transition being in the cards for some time now.
Turbine is promising that the transition will go as smoothly as possible, hopefully even more smoothly since the transition has already happened once. Dungeons and Dragons Online is currently the third most played MMO in the US, according to NPD Group.
More on Dungeons and Dragons Online as it appears.
Those of you who use Steam, Direct2Drive, shop at Gamestop/Fry’s, etc, will be aware that DC Universe, the upcoming MMO by development-Goliath Sony Online Entertainment, has recently gone on for Preorder and being the impulsive buyer that I am, I have to say my response was…no. I have a fundamental disagreement with DC:U going up for preorder four months before the game releases, partially because I know that Sony is without a doubt in no position that they desperately need to sell units to pay for development, and also because four months is probably enough time that many of us will buy it, have a period where we do a ton of research into the game, and then finally involve ourselves so much that we get sick and tired of the game before we’ve even had a chance to play it.
I’m not saying I won’t be buying DC:U, just at a later date. The collector’s edition offer (Batman figurine plus a comic book plus an art book plus in-game exclusives) would be making my wallet tug itself out of my pant pocket, if my pants weren’t hung up by the door. As someone who doesn’t own a Playstation 3, I can only assume disappointment on the part of the console gamers that they will not have access to the Batman figurine, nor the alternate cover for the comic, as the PS3 version will only come in standard vanilla flavor (Game + in-game item + comic).
Don’t forget, you’re not racing against the clock. Take some time, read the guides when more people get into the open beta, and keep watching websites like Fileplanet, Rock Paper Shotgun, Gamespot, Massively, and other gaming outlets for beta key giveaways.
DC:U comes out this November for Playstation 3 and PC.
When I said I’d continue looking for information on the “Star Trek Online team is shrinking” article, I never imagined that the information would come to me. CapnLogan has commented on the article (and yes, it is him) on the forum post this month, clarifying the Star Trek Online team shrinking.
Howdy! I googled myself and found this blog.
Cryptic is actually in good shape and isn’t doing anything like layoffs and stuff. We DO, however, have a lot of new projects springing up and a few of the STO guys have been pulled off and moved. Our CORE team is still very robust and working very hard.
The team, overall, is a bit smaller though. There’s a very good reason for this. Initially setting up and producing a game simply requires a larger team, and now that the core infrastructure of STO is in place, it requires a few less people to keep the game going at full force.
Have a look at season 2. You’ll likely be impressed with the amount of improvements and content that we’ve put forth.
Cheers!
Capn.
First I’d like to thank CapnLogan for coming on to MMO Fallout during his self-Googling to comment on the matter, more importantly to give a precise response. Now if only I could convince John Smedley to answer my emails. On that thought, I would be fine with anyone answering my emails (although Cryptic has been quite responsive in the past).
It’s good to see Cryptic is working on new projects, and hopefully the project is related to Cryptic’s upcoming MMO announcement. Hopefully this will quiet the trolls on MMORPG.com forums claiming Cryptic is going under (it won’t.).
More on Cryptic, Star Trek Online, and their upcoming project as soon as it appears.
If you head over to Direct2Drive, you will find a number of MMOs on sale for the time being. As there hasn’t been much in terms of information from Direct2Drive, I have no indication as to whether or not these are permanent price slashes, or temporary publisher price cuts. Either way, check out some great deals.
I’ll be checking Direct2Drive over the course of this week and next week until the sales end.
Getting a Cryptic member to post on the official forums is not exactly an impossible task, many of them do it on a daily basis. On the Star Trek Online forums, CapnLogan (of the Cryptic Logans) went on to explain his work on saucer separation, among other updates he had planned and others which could be planned (if the users complained enough, wink wink). When a user asked if certain updates were being delayed due to polygon restrictions or time allotment, he responded:
The extent to Cryptic shrinking the Star Trek Online team is yet to be seen, or in what areas, and how this is affecting development (because as CapnLogan has point out, it is clearly affecting development). MMO Fallout will be looking for some specific information to add on to this article.
More on Star Trek Online, and Cryptic’s other MMOs, as it appears.
Earlier I reported on Sony handing out the pink slips to 35 unnamed employees dispersed to several different projects (to ensure the public that they were not targeting one specific game), and if you assumed Vanguard was among the layoffs, you would be correct. A few ex-Sony employees have chimed in on the forums, confirming the layoffs and reporting that among the games affected are mainly Everquest II, Vanguard, and The Agency. Only a few of the employees were actually named, including Joel Sasaki, the Vanguard Community Manager, as well as Brett Scheinert, the man responsible for the Everquest II: Sentinel’s Fate raid design.
Best of luck to those affected. MMO Fallout will continue covering MMO developers, through the good and bad.
Bike dwarf aside, let me ask you something: How much do you expect to pay for a lifetime membership? Depending on which MMO you go to, assuming it even offers such a deal, you’re probably looking at between one and two hundred dollars. Very few MMOs offer lifetime subscriptions, as although it does offer a large upswing in cash, it is one-time and assuming the player utilizes the full amount worth, you then have a player riding for free.
In Free Realms, Sony’s foray into the kid-friendly world of MMOs, they are offering lifetime membership for thirty bucks. Even better, if you have (in the past) purchased 12-month subscription packages, you will be automatically converted to the lifetime membership at no charge.
Getting into, and staying in, Free Realms just got a whole lot cheaper. So if you have a kid who plays this game, or you play it with them, there is not time better than the present to turn them into an MMO junkie.
“In a move to better align the company’s resources against areas of growth that meet consumer demand in today’s online market as well as improve operational efficiency, Sony Online Entertainment has eliminated just over 4% of its full-time workforce, equaling 35 people. The changes will better position SOE to deliver against its emphasis on developing games for a wider, more diverse audience and remaining a worldwide leader in online gaming.”
I would put my money on Vanguard being one of the games to lose at least one person. With the economy the way it is, I don’t think anyone can blame Sony for having to do some restructuring, following a number of other MMO developers who have had layoffs these past few years. Hopefully those thirty five employees were not from Sony’s account services sector.
On that note, security is a day to day issue with MMOs, with potential account thieves never sleeping in their quest to take your stuff. That being said, I make a note not to talk about security as much because it seems as though when any small group of people have their account stolen, at least one of them will presume that there is some massive wave of account theft going on or, in the case of Aion, that the company is working with the account thieves. When the developer itself releases a security alert, however, I pay attention.
Sony this week announced a security alert for Everquest II and Station, warning players of emails being sent directing users to URLs that look virtually identical to the actual Sony website: http://auth.station.sony.com
If you feel your account may have been compromised by one of these emails, you can contact Sony through their chat, email, or directly through their phone customer support.
MMO Fallout 