I’m late to the party, but I’ve been on holiday… so now a bunch of posts about things I missed. NCsoft is shutting down Exteel – it was developed in Korea, then translated and adapted to the Western market – worldwide. I beta tested this title, and even at launch its graphics were a bit … Continue reading
Filed under MMOs …
You Give Yourself Enough Rope, BioWare
Sometimes you expect someone to know better, but then they go and make the mistake anyway. In this case, it was Daniel Erickson, BioWare’s writing director, saying how MMOs had been “no fun” to date, a lot of which relates to there being “no point” to play them because they don’t have a decent story … Continue reading
DCUO Launch Cinematic – Yet Another Alien Invasion
I’ve got to admit I found the DCUO “Who Do You Trust?” cinematic engaging. Seeing Superman and Black Adam go at it was impressive and I always like seeing alternate versions of long-established characters. However… DCUO makes this three from three superhero MMOs that make the Big Bad Threat at launch as an alien invasion. … Continue reading
Voice Overs Are The New Black
When it comes to upcoming MMOs, voice overs are the new public quests. By which I mean: thing you have to have to look cool. Star Wars: The Old Republic is going to be fully voiced. Some people are very excited about that. DC Universe Online is going to have an all-star voice acting cast. … Continue reading
DCUO Announces Pre-Order Packs, Then The Open Beta
DCUO does things backwards in my opinion, by announcing the pre-order bonus packs you get for putting your money down, followed by the announcement of open beta registration. Only by a few minutes, but it does seem backwards to me – theoretically pre-order bonuses are the kind of things you promote just before release, not … Continue reading
APB (Now That The NDA Is Gone, Or Maybe It Isn’t)
I’m not actually sure that the APB NDA has gone, but the game has launched, so I’m going to rely on the legal precedent of O’Really vs Ya’Really and put up my pre-launch opinions anyway. So, APB: Conclusion: – This particular attempt at GTA Online is probably going to struggle to hold large numbers of … Continue reading
Blizzard Has Sent You A Friend Request
Blizzard recently implemented its own social network application called RealID, which launched as a totally optional adjunct to World of Warcraft. Two weeks later and the indication is that “totally optional” actually meant “compulsory with the launch of the Cataclysm expansion“. The reaction to this move hasn’t been positive, with a lot of the criticism … Continue reading
APB: Advertising Over VOIP
Something I hadn’t heard of before: advertising over VOIP. Particularly in a MMO. Especially in a MMO that charges a box cost and subscription fee to play. Kudos then, I guess, to APB for being so creative. You can pay to turn it off by paying for Vivox Premium services, or alternatively use a different … Continue reading
Bobby Kotick: “WoW Basically Props Up Activision”
Okay, that isn’t exactly what he said. The head of Activision Blizzard actually said, “Today, probably 70 percent of our operating profit comes from non-console-based video games. So, while you might see a month-to-month change or volatility against expectations, that doesn’t really get us too concerned.” The key word there is ‘profit’. Not ‘revenue’ which … Continue reading
The Downward Life Spiral of the Mainly PvP MMO
(Apologies for the resolution at this size – click on the images to see things a bit more clearly.)
World Class Villains 