Rift 7-Day Trial: Alienware/Friend Referral


Wanted to try out Rift, but didn’t know anyone who owned the game? Missed the ally weekends? Well do I have good news for you: Alienware is giving away keys for seven day trials to Rift, and you can get one.

Just head over to http://www.alienwarearena.com/giveaway/rift/, and create an Alienware account to get your key. Follow the instructions, and you’ll be all set up to start your seven day trial.

Alternatively, if you didn’t want to sign up for an Alienware account, you are welcome to use my referral link: Here.

My MMO Is Not A Car (Please Stop Comparing Them)


I read an interesting conversation about World of Warcraft “clones” (because I can’t say no to a topic I know will leave me steaming), someone brought up cars, and why no one refers to today’s cars as “Model T clones,” or “Ford clones” because Ford made the first commercially viable automobile. This got me thinking, and I found that cars do get compared just as much as MMOs do. Not all the way back to the Model T, but to one another, as “clones.”

Automobiles are, for the most part, structurally similar. They contain your basic engine, headlights, dashboard, steering wheel, four wheels, etc. Compared to an MMO, these would be the systems that make the game not unique, but are rather required simply to maintain functionality. Where vehicles start to branch out starts to come into effect when looking at the casing (graphics), handling (controls), speed (performance), reliability (long term viability), and other perks and pieces. For example, my Kia Rio looks a bit like my friend’s Honda, but while my car carries Sirius Satellite Radio, his car has fancy things like anti-lock breaks and electric windows.

What you end up with are automobile companies that are famous for one thing or another, each with a line of vehicles that are easily distinguished from one another from a visual and statistical perspective. For example, most minivans look alike, but when you look at them closely, you start to see the distinguishing features.

So perhaps the car analogy does fit well, but the same applies to any line of products, and I imagine I would see similar conversations going on cars if I frequented those forums the same way I do for MMOs.

Blizzard: $800,000 To Make-A-Wish


With all the talk over the Japanese relief aid, it’s easy to forget that MMO developers are still doing charity for other purposes. Late last year, Blizzard introduced the Moonkin Hatchling, a $10 cosmetic pet selling with 50% of the proceeds being donated to Make A Wish. Blizzard also worked with Make A Wish to bring two kids to their headquarters to visit and see what the development team does on its daily routines.

According to Gamasutra, Blizzard has released their figures: $800,000 donated to Make A Wish. Between now and July 31st, Blizzard has added yet another pet, in which 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross efforts in Japan.

You can buy the pet here.

Of Course NCsoft Believes Subscriptions More Profitable…


I push this idea as much as I can here at MMO Fallout, but the old adage that free to play was a last ditch effort by subscription titles that were tanking died when Dungeons and Dragons Online pulled off the transition, and proved to the industry that throwing in a cash shop wasn’t just a way to stave off death for another few months, but rather a way to revitalize a game, boost the community, and (in the case of Lord of the Rings Online) cause a successful game to become even more successful. That being said, I find myself in a lot of arguments with hardcore loyalists to the Guild Wars games who claim that the business model (buy to play) is “wildly successful,” and is something the entire industry should adopt. What they don’t pay attention to is that Guild Wars brings in a whole 2% income for NCsoft. If NCsoft were to switch all of their games to buy to play, their profits would plummet to around 10% of what they are making now, assuming similar sales to Guild Wars.

So Massively had an article where NCsoft’s Jeremy Gaffney states that subscriptions are “probably” more profitable than microtransactions.

“There’s still a lot of money being made in subscriptions right now. Worldwide there’s a lot of money being made in [micro]transactions, but there’s probably a bit more money really being made in subscriptions worldwide,”

I’m sure the boots are quaking at Turbine (with their paltry double income from LotRO, and 500% increase in DDO), Cryptic (with their laughably small 1,000% increase in revenue), and Nexon (who posted over 50% increase in revenue over last year), not to mention Sony Online Entertainment, Gala-Net, T3fun, GamersFirst, Perfect World Entertainment, and the host of other companies who have found solace in the cash shop model.

Gaffney is correct in one sense, there is still a lot of money to be made in subscriptions, and both business models are equally viable. As for subscriptions bringing in more revenue than cash shops, I’m going to have to request Gaffney show me the money.

[DEVELOPING] The "Sony Hacked" Mega Article


I’ve decided to sticky this article and use this instead of creating more articles on the same issue. The most recent news will be up top, and to stop clutter, any previous news will be below the “read more” link.

[5/8/11]: PSN services remain offline due to a planned attack for this past weekend.

[5/7/11]: Sony Europe “Welcome Back” includes free games.

[5/4/11]: Sony has posted their response to the United States House of Representatives.

What we know so far:

  • Playstation Network: Offline until further notice.
  • Sony Online Entertainment: Offline until further notice.
  • PSN users will be compensated 30 days free game time, and nonspecific free downloads.
  • SOE users will be compensated 30 days free game time, plus various other items.
  • There are multiple class action lawsuits in the works.
  • The attack was carried out by Anonymous.
  • There have been no reports of credit card fraud as a result of this attack.

Continue reading “[DEVELOPING] The "Sony Hacked" Mega Article”

[DEVELOPING] The “Sony Hacked” Mega Article


I’ve decided to sticky this article and use this instead of creating more articles on the same issue. The most recent news will be up top, and to stop clutter, any previous news will be below the “read more” link.

[5/8/11]: PSN services remain offline due to a planned attack for this past weekend.

[5/7/11]: Sony Europe “Welcome Back” includes free games.

[5/4/11]: Sony has posted their response to the United States House of Representatives.

What we know so far:

  • Playstation Network: Offline until further notice.
  • Sony Online Entertainment: Offline until further notice.
  • PSN users will be compensated 30 days free game time, and nonspecific free downloads.
  • SOE users will be compensated 30 days free game time, plus various other items.
  • There are multiple class action lawsuits in the works.
  • The attack was carried out by Anonymous.
  • There have been no reports of credit card fraud as a result of this attack.

Continue reading “[DEVELOPING] The “Sony Hacked” Mega Article”

PS3: Compensation. No PSN This Week.


Those of you who play DC Universe on the PS3, of whom are planning on coming back to the game once it comes online, may be interested to hear the details of Sony’s “Welcome back” package. Announced on Sony’s Facebook page, the plan includes:

  • 30 days free game time.
  • Plus one free day for every day the service was interrupted.
  • And the mask you see above.

I hear if you play your cards right, Shigeru Miyamoto will come to your house and play Super Smash Bros. (but only the N64 version) with you. Actually, I’m being told Shigeru Miyamoto is from Nintendo. My apologies for the mistake. I’ve been tracking down the Free Realms and Massive Action Game, although the Free Realms guys have not released any compensation details, and the Massive Action Game guys haven’t talked about the downtime at all, as far as I can see.

And finally, a Playstation Network update. According to an article on CSMonitor, a Sony rep has announced that the Playstation Network will not be back up and running “this week.” There has not been an official announcement on the Sony blog, despite the article being published yesterday, so take the news as credible at your own risk.

At this rate, players will receive almost two months of free DC Universe game time on the PS3, with PC SOE users reportedly receiving 30 days free game time plus one day for every day the service is offline. There is still no information as to when the Sony Station service will be returned.

Final Fantasy XIV Bots


I’m going to use these bots in a good way, and not just because I want to simultaneously annoy the people who believe me to be paid by Square Enix to prop up Final Fantasy XIV, but also to greatly annoy the people who think I’m getting paid to associate Runescape with the cheater’s paradise that it is.

I came across these bots in Final Fantasy XIV, and promptly reported them via the in-game support system. While I was taking down each of their names, however, it did dawn on me that these bots might actually be a good sign. Back when I played Tabula Rasa in its year of existence, there were never any gold farmers. I think, overall, there was one guy (not even your stereotypical gold farmer, it was some guy in Utah if I remember correctly) we all knew who tried selling currency and high level armor for money, and he was simply flamed out of global chat, and then his account would be banned. No, he wasn’t particularly good at it.

Granted, Tabula Rasa was not a game to gold farm. Gaining currency was easy enough that you would expect heavy inflation, but there wasn’t much worth buying from other players, so not much of a market formed. The player base was also tiny enough that there was no one buying. Now, I’ve spoken with other players who tell me that the bots I saw on my server (Karnak server) are much more prevalent on some other servers, and this tells me two things: Foremost, there has to be a decently sized community, because there is a market for currency/items. Secondly, Final Fantasy XIV has an economy, because there is a desire to buy gold to buy things with.

When the gold farmers leave Final Fantasy XIV, that’s when you’ll know the game is dead. Until then, however, this truck is still…trucking?

SOE Hacked: Important Information


So the chickens have come home to roost, or however that saying goes. Earlier today, I talked about how Sony Online Entertainment had shut down its entire service following an investigation that may have changed their stance on SOE’s database being safe from the hack that took down the Playstation Network last month and resulted in everyone’s information spewed all over the net. Sony has issued a press release, and the news is not good:

 Stolen information includes, to the extent you provided it to us, the following: name, address (city, state, zip, country), email address, gender, birthdate, phone number, login name and hashed password.

Customers outside the United States should be advised that we further discovered evidence that information from an outdated database from 2007 containing approximately 12,700 non-US customer credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates (but not credit card security codes) and about 10,700 direct debit records listing bank account numbers of certain customers in Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Spain may have also been obtained – we will be notifying each of those customers promptly.

Sony originally believed that SOE was not compromised as part of the PSN hack, but investigations that concluded yesterday revealed that the system was indeed broken into by an unauthorized party. It is important to note that the main credit card database was not hacked, at least according to Sony. It may not be a bad idea to get a new card, however.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the attack and as a result, we have:

1)         Temporarily turned off all SOE game services;

2)         Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened; and

3)         Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure to provide you with greater protection of your personal information.

If it makes you feel more comfortable, I suggest going to your bank/credit card issuer, and requesting a new card. You’ll have to live without the card for a week or so, but that’s a small price to pay if Sony’s database was stolen and they are able to get through the encryption. I’m not trying to cause undue fear with these articles, but any information regarding identity theft should be taken very seriously.

If you use your Sony password on other websites, I highly suggest you get a new regular password. SOE’s services remain offline.

Sony Station Offline Today Pending Investigation


Good morning, folks. Those of you attempting to log into any of Sony Online Entertainment’s games may be asking yourself, “why can’t I log into my favorite SOE game?” or “why am I asking a non-Sony blog why their services are offline?” Of course those of you who came here before checking Sony’s website will have missed the following announcement:

We have had to take the SOE service down temporarily. In the course of our investigation into the intrusion into our systems we have discovered an issue that warrants enough concern for us to take the service down effective immediately. We will provide an update later today (Monday).

I call the joke on Sony Offline Entertainment, it’s mine. I’ll be watching for further announcements later today.