Editorials – Page 328

Hellgate: Tokyo Coming Nowhere Near You!

On Halloween 2007, Hellgate: London launched in the United States and, much like Tabula Rasa that launched not too far away, both were launched at the same brick wall. Publisher Namco-Bandai shut down the MMO in February 2009. Back when Hellgate: London still had interest in the West, we wondered how they could introduce expansions in the form of Hellgate: Mumbai, Hellgate: San Francisco, and my personal favorite: Hellgate: Hello Kitty Island.

Well, Hellgate: London still isn’t coming back. Although Flagship Studios pulled a Flagship Studios♦ and dissolved in August 2008, Korean company HanbitSoft has obtained the rights and currently operates Hellgate: London in Asia. Although the company would like to reintroduce the game to the Western market, they have been blocked by Namco-Bandai;

“HanbitSoft does own the intellectual property of Hellgate: London and is interested in providing the game in the US and Europe, but is unable to do so at this time because Namco Bandai has the publishing rights for those regions.”
-HanbitSoft on reopening Hellgate: London in the West

Hellgate: Tokyo hits Asian markets in 2010.

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Blizzard: Don't Copy Us

Harry Truman once said that, given the choice between a Republican and a Democrat pretending to be a Republican, people will always vote for the real Republican. Saying that, we can translate the phrase to our own MMO world with World of Warcraft, where when given the option of World of Warcraft and WoW clones, the majority will always stick with World of Warcraft.

Blizzard has caught in on this, with producer Shane Dabiri saying;

“I know that World of Warcraft is very successful, and so people think if they were to make another game just like it they could somehow capture that audience. However, I don’t think that’s what players are looking for.

“Players that have invested time in WOW don’t just want to do the same thing in other game – they want to try something completely new and different,”

Absolutely true. Let’s look at World of Warcraft’s biggest competition, shall we?

Eve Online reports over three hundred thousand subscribers, a number that continues to rise. What differentiates Eve is that you’re not at a disadvantage because someone else has been playing longer than yourself. All ships have their weak spots, and knowing those weak points can help you turn a fight to your advantage. The free expansions are a nice addition.
Lord of the Rings Online may be low on player vs player, but the game’s long arching storyline and plentiful free updates is where the draw comes in.
Runescape, with over a million paying subscribers, thrives on the stat system, and weekly updates. Unlike many other MMOs, quests move above the boundary of kill, fetch, and kill/fetch, to create a world with a rich history.

Blizzard: Don’t Copy Us

Blizzard has caught in on this, with producer Shane Dabiri saying;

“I know that World of Warcraft is very successful, and so people think if they were to make another game just like it they could somehow capture that audience. However, I don’t think that’s what players are looking for.

“Players that have invested time in WOW don’t just want to do the same thing in other game – they want to try something completely new and different,”

Absolutely true. Let’s look at World of Warcraft’s biggest competition, shall we?

Eve Online reports over three hundred thousand subscribers, a number that continues to rise. What differentiates Eve is that you’re not at a disadvantage because someone else has been playing longer than yourself. All ships have their weak spots, and knowing those weak points can help you turn a fight to your advantage. The free expansions are a nice addition.
Lord of the Rings Online may be low on player vs player, but the game’s long arching storyline and plentiful free updates is where the draw comes in.
Runescape, with over a million paying subscribers, thrives on the stat system, and weekly updates. Unlike many other MMOs, quests move above the boundary of kill, fetch, and kill/fetch, to create a world with a rich history.

What's Happening, December?

Ageofstats — I have no idea what this has to do with December...

Welcome one and welcome all. Although I realize that for half of the world, December 1st has come and gone, I speak for all when I say: Welcome to December! Festive seasonal holiday deals continue this month in an effort to bring you into that festive cheer, just cheerful enough to reach for your wallet (or memory if you have your card number memorized like I do).

December roundup after the break…

Continue reading “What's Happening, December?”

What’s Happening, December?

December roundup after the break…

Continue reading “What’s Happening, December?”

Welcome Age of Conan..ers.

I’ve poked fun at Funcom from time to time, be it their questionable business decisions, cutting prices Freddy Krueger style in a desperate grab for more subscribers, and announcing a delay on a non-dated title. I may have opened up a portal, however.

If you look at the chart above, that’s the traffic to MMO Fallout (Which excludes myself). Startled to see that spike, I dived into the statistics to find that the most searched phrase that led here was: “Age of Conan.” Whether our new visitors are existing players, or those looking for information on the title, MMO Fallout welcomes you and your hordes of buddies.

So what’s the deal, restless group of oddly silent visitors? Am I making sense or do I have the wrong picture about Funcom and their titles? Drop a comment.

Crimecraft Banned in Australia

neck2 — Australia Breaks Crimecraft's Neck

I guess it had to happen eventually, what with Australia’s tight limits on drugs in video games, but after two months of the game’s release, it didn’t seem that that ban would be coming any time soon. According to Gamesindustry.biz, Australia has refused classification to Vogster Entertainment and their recently Free to Play MMO Crimecraft for the use of fictional drugs.

Although the drugs are fictional, the Classification Board decided that they were similar enough to real world drugs, citing in-game enhancements such as K-Dust, Birth, Chimera, and several anabolic steroids.

I’m not sure what this will do to Crimecraft’s sales that hasn’t been done already, but the prevalence of the title in online download shops makes it that much easier to obtain by locals in Australia. Crimecraft already features a free to play model, thanks to already poor sales.

Either way, Crimecraft just got that much harder to obtain by Australians.

Steam Sales: MMO Sale Rundown

For several days now, Steam has been running a weekend sale on a slew of video games, so I decided to run the MMO sales here on MMO Fallout. Two days ago, Fallen Earth and Champions Online were on sale, however those sales have ended and today’s have just begun.

The only MMO on sale today is City of Heroes: Architect Edition. This version includes both City of Heroes and City of Villains, and allows players to take part in the Architect (creating your own missions). Players will also enjoy the 14 major updates to the game since launch, as well as several bonus items for free.

Eve Online is 75% off

Guild Wars Trilogy is 50% off

City of Heroes is 50%

Fallen Earth is 50% off

Champions Online is 50% off

Steam Deals: Good Stuff Cheap

darkfall — Pictured Above: WalMart on Black Friday

With all the hubbub going around on Thanksgiving in the United States, and more importantly World of Warcraft hitting five years old alongside a slew of giveaways from Wow.com, it is understandable if you missed Stardock’s nod last week to Steam holding 70% of the PC sales market. Unsurprising, as many PC gamers you ask today will tell you that they make much of their purchases through the digital distribution system.

That share is set to go even higher, as Steam announced a sales extravaganza with Thanksgiving on its way. Each day brings new sales to the table, and what better to focus on for MMO Fallout than, say, MMOs on sale?

Day 1 of sales brings in 50% off of Champions Online and Fallen Earth. Champions Online is now $19.99, while Fallen Earth has been reduced to $24.99. Other non-MMO titles such as Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age, and Grid are also on sale today. Remember: Each sale lasts only 24 hours, and then it is gone. Think of it as a Black Friday sale, but it’s Wednesday and there’s no risk of being trampled by a mob of angry shoppers.

If you have not picked up either Fallen Earth or Champions Online, both are certainly worth a look.

Warhammer Online To Close More Servers

I normally start out every Warhammer Online article with a now famous quote by Vice President of Mythic Mark Jacobs, but at this point perhaps we can manage with just a bite,

“If you’ve seen a game consolidate servers, you know it’s in deep, deep trouble.”
-Mark Jacobs

Following the huge layoffs at Mythic, and the hints of desperation summoned by the endless trial system, it comes as a surprise to absolutely nobody that Mythic has announced that more servers will be shutting down in the near future.

On the American side, Dark Crag and Phoenix Throne are shutting down, where Europe has at least one server shutting down in the near future. Transfers are set to begin soon, if they haven’t already, and players will be given 20% experience bonuses on their new servers to ease the pain. After this shutdown, Warhammer Online will have five servers in North America, and Europe with eleven servers.

More on Warhammer Online after the break…

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