Category: News

Did Anyone Notice That FusionFall Shut Down?


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That is a rhetorical question. Cartoon Network’s FusionFall originally launched in 2009 with an awesome premise: An MMO set in the Cartoon Network multiverse with well known characters, a rather simple combat and quest system, and the ability to summon nano versions of said cartoon characters. FusionFall originally launched with a subscription, but eventually converted into a free to play game the following April 2010.

In those three years, FusionFall has faded into relative obscurity outside of the Cartoon Network community. Earlier this year, Cartoon Network ceased all development on the title and moved on to FusionFall Heroes, a game set in the same story line but with players taking control of the characters rather than creating their own avatar. To put the icing on the cake, finally, FusionFall shut down on August 29th with all the attention that you would expect from a small flash game, ie: none at all.

And that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

Disney Shutting Down Its Less Popular MMOs


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Disney appears to be cleaning house with some of their less popular MMOs. The company announced today that both Toontown and Pirates of the Caribbean Online will be shutting down on September 19th, just a month away. Both games have already stopped accepting payments and have opened their doors to be played for free until the servers shut down. There wasn’t much of a reason given other than the usual shifting development focus, although the obvious answer is that few people still play Toontown or Pirates Online.

“The Walt Disney Company is committed to offering high-quality, entertaining play experiences in both online virtual worlds and mobile apps. At this time, we are shifting our development focus towards other online and mobile play experiences, such as Club Penguin and a growing selection of Disney mobile apps.”

(Source: Toontown, Pirates)

Have You Seen Arctic Combat's Reimbursement Plan?


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Okay, I will admit. I came into the announced shuttering of Arctic Combat with my usual schtick: Another low quality renaming of another failed game imported from Asia shuts down in the west, blah blah blah you already know how I feel about those games and the whales that keep them healthy just long enough to call it a launch and get away with the profits without having to put in any long term support. Or did I just say that again? Anywho…

Arctic Combat is Webzen’s first person shooter, better known as the previously shut down Battery Online. Arctic Battery Combat Online is a lobby based first person shooter that is free to play with a cash shop, it is shutting down in September likely because the popularity and revenue weren’t meeting expectations. What caught my eye was the compensation. I assumed that a game like Arctic Battery Combat, at best players could expect a stipend of cash and some items for other games.

Webzen is refunding W Coins/gPotato currency spent based on tiers, starting at $50 and moving up to $100, $300, and $500. Your reimbursement is the lowest end of your tier, so if you spent $75 your reimbursement is $50. If you spend $450 you will receive $300. It might be fake currency, but Webzen is dropping some serious cash to keep their players in good graces. It isn’t as good as a real-money refund, but it is a welcome change when you consider the number of recent games to shut down without giving their players much more than a goodbye and a suggestion to buy their next product.

On the other hand, one guy on the comments section mentioned that Arctic Combat is being shut down because it is too successful and Webzen apparently can’t handle all of the money. Either way, you don’t see the possibility of 1:1 compensation all that much, so kudos to Webzen.

(Source: Webzen)

Listen To Eve's Most Expensive Ship Blow Up


One time I accidentally broke a piece of equipment at my old job that was worth $200. I got yelled at by my boss. Factor that damage up to eight thousand dollars, and make the item rare to boot, and you’re going to have a very angry person on the other end. In the case of Eve Online, the object in question is a Revenant Supercarrier, a ship worth over $8,000 USD and so rare that only three are believed to exist in the game world. The ship was destroyed when the corporation Habitual Euthanasia took it out to respond to a distress call.

I may be oversimplifying the story, to which I will respond by simplifying it further: Big rare ship went boom. This isn’t the first time an event of this sort has happened in Eve Online and it certainly won’t be the worst, but have you ever sat back and wondered what was going on in the corporation’s chat in the aftermath?

Pretty much what you’d expect. A lot of blame to go around, a lot of strong language, and a lot of finger pointing. Check it out at the Soundcloud file above, if you think you can handle the raw anger. Then head down to the link below and read comments where people debate putting a real money value to ISK.

(Source: Gamebreaker.tv)

Ubisoft's MMO Is The Division


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We’ve suspected an incoming Ubisoft MMO for quite a while, ever since the developer/publisher posted that they were hiring for an unnamed online RPG. At Ubisoft’s conference at this year’s E3, Ubisoft’s David Polfeldt revealed that the game is a massive online shooter named The Division. Not a whole lot is known about the game, other than that it is a third person, massive online shooter set in the United States approximately 72 hours after a biological terrorist attack sends the country into panic. The player is part of a group tasked with maintaining order.

The title has been confirmed for PS4 and XB1 with no PC version planned. The game is planned for release in 2014.

(Source: Game Informer)

Face of Mankind's Successful Kickstarter


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Face of Mankind is a game of player interaction, an open faction system and player-driven economy in a completely dynamic universe. Fall of the Dominion is a restructuring of Face of Mankind, transforming the MMO and bringing it into a new decade with player-created factions, improved combat capabilities, crafting, exploration, progression, and more. Nexeon Technologies launched the Kickstarter for Fall of the Dominion back in early May, and the project is hitting its final days with successful funding just out of reach. With three days to go, the team needs a little over five hundred dollars to complete the funding effort, which will likely be achieved by the time you read this.

Perhaps what is most impressive is the dedication of the community. With three hundred twelve backers donating forty nine thousand dollars, the average donation comes out to nearly one hundred sixty dollars per person, a figure swayed by the few pledges in the multiple thousands (including one six thousand dollar pledge). If you haven’t had a chance to check out Fall of the Dominion, I highly recommend checking out the Kickstarter video below.

(Source: Kickstarter)


http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nexeon/face-of-mankind-fall-of-the-dominion

Lord of the Rings Online: Helm's Deep Announced


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Hold on to your Hobbits, folks, because Turbine is going to take you to Hel(m’s deep) and back. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has announced today that the fifth expansion to Lord of the Rings Online, titled “Helm’s Deep,” will be hitting the long running MMO in Autumn 2013. The content offered in the expansion fits its name, taking players to the battle for Helm’s Deep, continuing the epic storyline and raising the level cap to 95.

“With Helm’s Deep, we’re bringing the War of the Ring to players on a monumental scale,” said Kate Paiz, Executive Producer of The Lord of the Rings Online, Turbine. “Our team is thrilled to create another iconic moment in Middle-earth, and put players in the center of the action.”

Players will be able to take part in the Battle for Helm’s Deep starting at level 10, winning rewards for their contribution whether they win or lose. The expansion also opens up more locations in Westermnet of Rohan, as well as the capital city of Edoras, Dunharrow, and the fortress of Hornburg. Continue the epic storyline and level from 85 to 95.

Helm’s Deep launches this Autumn. More details as they appear.

NCSoft Ignored Potential Buyers, Says Report


One of the luxuries of being a reporter is that I can always fall back on the ability to say “well it is a press release, so we have to give the benefit of the doubt.” The same way in which we automatically trust what comes out of a developer’s financial statements on the grounds that just because ENRON lied, doesn’t make all companies suspicious. But with NCSoft, even a simple notice on the Main page is suspect, thanks to the precedent set just a couple years back with the forging of Richard Garriot’s resignation. Sorry, fool me once shame on you.

So when NCSoft published the notice that all options had been exhausted when selling City of Heroes, the game’s fans were understandably suspicious. In a report over at Addicting Info, it appears that NCSoft may have been toying with what constitutes “all options.”

Within short order, two different investment groups (speaking while protected by anonymity) claimed that NCSoft had refused to even discuss a sale, and ignored any and all offers. A company which engages in this kind of behavior is not a good steward of its shareholders’ investment.

Only Addicting Info knows who these developers are, but if NCSoft did ignore even the idea of a sale, this news is just fuel on the growing fire that is NCSoft’s community relations following the surprise closure announcement. For now, however, the SaveCOH movement is not giving up hope.

(Source: Addicting Info)

SaveCOH Responds to NCSoft


Last week NCSoft published a press release to try and quiet the growing masses of angry City of Heroes players. Breaking their previous silence, NCSoft took to the stage to explain that attempts were made to sell the City of Heroes game, but we’re unsuccessful. And as you can see by the comments on our coverage alone, the community is having difficulty swallowing what NCSoft is trying to feed them.

In a press release by SaveCOH, the community presents several questions that they would like answered by NCSoft, including just what counts as “exhaustive efforts” in selling the game, and why potential buyers are reporting no response to their offers.

What attempts were made to sell the IP address, and how they were exhausted.
• Why a number of potential investors who came forward to try and buy the rights, did not receive a response of any kind from NC Soft.
• How NC exhausted all the option, given that the game is not due for closure until November 30, and the fact that there have only been only 32 business days since the announcement of the ‘sunset’ of the game.
• Why NC Soft did not consider combining servers, putting the game in maintenance mode and keeping it running without further developments or updates, or allowing people to create their own, private servers.
• They are calling on campaigners are also calling on NC Soft to publically name a price that they would be willing to accept for either Paragon Studios, or City of Heroes itself.
• And they want to know why a game that was running ‘well in the black’ and had seen an increase in players in the months leading up to the announcement is being closed down, while games such as Guild Wars which are running at a loss, are being kept alive.
• And why NC Soft failed to respond to an invitation from players to play the game with them, or a letter from best-selling author Mercedes Lackey to endorse NC Soft products, free of charge, for a period of five to ten years, for free, if they would be willing to work with players to keep the servers online.

Hopefully we will have more details in the near future. You can find the SaveCOH movement at http://www.cohtitan.com.

(Source: Press Release)