Falling Out #3: Don't Wake The DPS


Some people take the game too seriously.

Special thanks to Ryker from the Spriter’s Resource message board for the enlarged Final Fantasy sprites. Tune in for new episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Falling Out #3: Don’t Wake The DPS


Some people take the game too seriously.

Special thanks to Ryker from the Spriter’s Resource message board for the enlarged Final Fantasy sprites. Tune in for new episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

The Second Month Of The Old Republic Approacheth.


Bioware early adopters, have you made your plans for the upcoming 20th of January? Odds are you are in the process of deciding whether or not you want to continue that Old Republic subscription past the first month. Was it as good for you as it was for them? Do you see yourself playing a few weeks down the line? There aren’t really any MMOs releasing in February, but is there a title you gave up calling your name? Perhaps you want to give the game a break, or maybe you’re enjoying it and haven’t even thought about quitting.

Either way, December 20th is when the PR boat hits the water (or the dock) and the legacy that will be Star Wars: The Old Republic reveals itself. Remember the prime directive of MMO launches: Longevity is not made in preorders, but rather in the first six months and beyond. Granted, we know enough to say with confidence that Bioware isn’t going to go bankrupt, and there likely won’t be an apocalypse next month so there is another scenario to cross off the list.

Barring some massive exodus, there is still some time left before The Old Republic’s viability can be confirmed. Electronic Arts has invested too much into this title to just let it die off.

DC Universe Introduces Crafting!


I love combat as much as the next person, but any MMO needs things to do in the off time between snapping Batman’s spine or turning The Joker into kebabs with your mighty blades of glory. So crafting in DC Universe has been a long time coming, oft talked about but not in much detail since the game launched last year. The update, going live today, allows players to gather blue prints and materials throughout the world, and use them to create new equipment mods and consumables.

(Source: DC Universe)

CrimeCraft Is Ridiculous #1: Bleedout


I told you I would one day start producing videos. The first MMO Fallout MMO video is for CrimeCraft, and it’s a doozy. I’ll let video me explain what the video is all about.

John Smedley's Twitter: Everquest II Free To Play Statistics


John Smedley strikes me as a guy who likes to display his company’s achievements. After all, who can blame him? Sony Online Entertainment has one of the most dedicated group of jaded gamers than any other company, so the opportunity to throw your achievements in their face is one that should be taken at any opportunity. Everquest II went fully free to play in December, and John Smedley is ready to give some figures. Through Twitter!

We are seeing some amazing growth in EQ2. 40% increase in daily logins since going f2p. 300% increase in new players. And 200% increase in Item sales. Plus we have added a lot of new subs. All during the time that some really good competition hit the market.

The only thing this announcement is missing is Neil Patrick Harris.

John Smedley’s Twitter: Everquest II Free To Play Statistics


John Smedley strikes me as a guy who likes to display his company’s achievements. After all, who can blame him? Sony Online Entertainment has one of the most dedicated group of jaded gamers than any other company, so the opportunity to throw your achievements in their face is one that should be taken at any opportunity. Everquest II went fully free to play in December, and John Smedley is ready to give some figures. Through Twitter!

We are seeing some amazing growth in EQ2. 40% increase in daily logins since going f2p. 300% increase in new players. And 200% increase in Item sales. Plus we have added a lot of new subs. All during the time that some really good competition hit the market.

The only thing this announcement is missing is Neil Patrick Harris.

Bethesda Wins Lawsuit, Interplay Fallout MMO Terminated


War. War never changes. And neither does litigation. Bethesda’s parent company Zenimax Studios announced today the results of the recent settlement between Bethesda and Interplay, over the rights of the Fallout MMO. In the settlement, Zenimax has come out on top, retaining all rights to the Fallout name and ensuring anything Interplay was working on is now worth zilch.

Under the terms of the settlement, the license granted to Interplay to develop the Fallout MMO is null and void, and all rights granted to Interplay to develop a Fallout MMO revert back to Bethesda, effective immediately. Interplay has no ongoing right to use the Fallout brand or any Fallout intellectual property for any game development. ZeniMax will pay Interplay $2 million as consideration in the settlement, each party will bear its own costs of the litigation, and Bethesda will continue to own all Fallout intellectual property rights.

In addition, Interplay will also lose the rights to publish Fallout 1 and 2 in 2013. You may remember that Interplay had sublicensed the Fallout brand to Masthead Studios (the Earthrise developers). In a separate filing, Bethesda sued Masthead (and settled on December 29th) for copyright infringement and assorted intellectual property violations, as it turns out Interplay was not allowed to sublicense without the approval of Bethesda, which they never received. In that case, no money has changed hands.

Is it early enough to declare Project V13 dead?

Falling Out #2: Healing Classes


Because we all know a guy like the Fighter.

Special thanks to Ryker from the Spriter’s Resource message board for the enlarged Final Fantasy sprites. Tune in for a new episode every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Earthrise Back Online


Attention Earthrise Players:

The Earthrise Servers are back on-line, all players are now able to sign in and play the latest build. At this time “Only Previously Registered Players” will have access to enter the game, we will announce when we are ready to start accepting new registrations for Earthrise.

After an extended period of downtime, Earthrise is back online. The servers have been down since a scheduled one week maintenance starting December 8th, but wound up staying down for the rest of December and into January. Thankfully the servers are back now. Full free to play has not launched yet, but previous players can get back in.