“There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [£470-570] a day. We didn’t see any of the money. The computers were never turned off.” Says a prisoner at the Jixi labor camp, Liu Dali who shares his story of being imprisoned and forced to work hard labor by day and farm for in-game currency by night. Chinese gold farmers have become something of a joke in online gaming. Anyone who spends time collecting in-game currency is commonly referred to as a “gold farmer”. While many gamers have mixed feelings about the subject, most will admit they don’t actually know where the gold comes from. Most gamers don’t understand how many of these companies get their gold and make a profit. Some gold-selling companies have been known to steal or hack accounts and use these characters…
other games
MMORPG stock market
Do you play the MMORPG stock market? Whether you play the market in the real world, or find real-world pleasures from virtual scenarios that allow you to escape from the day-to-day grind that is life, there is something to be said about the value of the MMORPG industry. More people are playing MMOs today than ever before. There is also a larger demographic- young and old, men and women, families, friends and couples are all playing together. There are also more types of MMORPGs than one could ever imagine. Your average fan could spend a lifetime trying them all out and still not get them all. From subscription based to free-to-play, action-adventure to science fiction, there are more MMORPGs to keep you happy than one could ever find the time to play. For some people, investing in a new MMO is a bit like playing the stock market. Will…
Could a Mass Effect MMO top The Old Republic?
Could a Mass Effect MMO beat out TOR when it comes to profits? In a recent investor’s note, Mike Hickey predicted that a hypothetical Mass Effect MMO could make more money for Electronic Arts than Star Wars: The Old Republic will. But is this really shocking news? First, the ME franchise has done really well for EA and there is a historical weakness surrounding Star Wars games, which is part of what Hickey made his predictions based on. This is due in part to the fact that royalties have to be paid on all Lucas Arts titles and themes. Hickey said, “Looking forward, we believe BioWare could develop an MMO based on their highly successful Mass Effect franchise, which should have a considerably better (relative Star Wars MMO) margin profile, given the dilutive nature of the LucasArts royalty.” But of course, there is more that goes into making a great…
Mass Effect 3 delayed to Q1 2012
Interesting news for Mass Effect fans today. BioWare says that Mass Effect 3 will need to wait a little longer to be ready for release. While it was a much anticipated release for fourth-quarter, they have now announced that it will be bumped up to the first three months of 2012 for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. So no ME3 for Christmas guys, sorry. Could this delay have anything to do with the push of SWTOR MMO and the attempts and expectations to get it out before the end of 2011? It’s quite possible as it’s apparent that BioWare is putting most of their eggs in the Star Wars basket. However, another thing to remember is that pushing up the release date on Mass Effect 3 will put it right in the same timeline as the release of Mass Effect 2 in January 2010, bringing the 3rd installment…
Star Wars Republic Commando Sequel?
SWTOR is quite possibly the most anticipated MMO ever, but what about those gamers who don’t really dig the MMORPG scene? Could there be something else in the works for Star Wars fans? If you remember, we recently wrote about Lucas Arts getting the license for Unreal Engine 3 from Epic Games but no one has any idea why, right? Well could it possibly be for a Star Wars Republic Commando Sequel? It’s been on our wish list for years but recent news developments say it just might be true. I’m a big fan of first-person-shooters: a long time admin of some of the biggest TF2 servers and a Counter-Strike girl since before the hackers took over. :p I played Battlefront and while I enjoyed it, the game just didn’t quite hit the standards set by other shooters. But Republic Commando, now that was…
Pitchblack Games seeking testers for new HeroEngine MMO
I love to beta games. It’s been a hobby of mine since I was a young girl. As soon as I had my own gaming PC, I signed up for each and every beta I could get and I have found myself accepted to a great number of them. So when I heard that Pitchblack Games was seeking testers for a new HeroEngine MMO, I was intrigued. There’s really not a lot of information about the game yet, which as of now, has no title, but it seems like it’s really in the alpha-alpha stages of development and far from what you would call a beta test. Other than the potential Sci-Fi theme, it could be anything. They’re calling it an MMORPG and not an MMOFPS but that’s about all the hint we get as this stage in the game. So if you’re looking to get in on the ground…
LucasArts licenses Unreal Engine 3 from Epic Games
In a press release by GamaSutra, it was announces that LucasArts signs a multi-year, studio-wide Unreal Engine 3 Licensing Agreement from Epic Games. The press release states: LucasArts and Epic Games, Inc. announce a long-term, studio-wide agreement for LucasArts to develop multiple projects using Epic Games’ award-winning Unreal Engine 3 for the engine’s supported platforms. “”Unreal Engine 3 is a forward-looking solution that shortens the path between inspiration and execution on a wide variety of gaming platforms,” said Zak Phelps, director of technology at LucasArts. “We are thrilled to add another exceptional tool to our technology mix.” “”LucasArts is now primed to capitalize on Unreal Engine 3’s ability to scale across platforms, from mobile, through PC and console all the way up to the next generation of games,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. “”We can’t wait to see what happens when LucasArts combines their talented workforce and…
What is BioWare’s Mysterious New Project “Zulu”?
BioWare is working on a new secret project that might now be slightly less secret, at least according to some reports that say an entry on Microsoft’s PartnerNet service has leaked details about the game. “BioWare presents an adventure beyond your wildest imaginings – fantasy role playing action adventure in space!” The mysterious title reportedly appears on debug Xbox Live with an image and the above description. BioWare fans are all abuzz about what this new “project Zulu” might be. It appears to be episodic and does not appear to have multiplayer or co-op modes. The first episode is referred to as “Episode One: Too Many Cooks: Spoil the Broth” and there is a teaser to the second episode as well- “Episode 2: Another fun adventure to download and play.” Various sources are reporting that a new BioWare title, ‘Project Zulu’ has appeared on the development version of Xbox Live…
BioWare Auctioning Off Exclusive Goods for Japan Relief
If the thought of donating to charity for Japan relief without getting something in return doesn’t really sit well with you, Bioware have you covered. BioWare is holding a charity auction, and all proceeds go to the Red Cross to aid Japan and it’s citizens in light of the recent disaster. The items being auctioned are as follows; two Dragon Age 2 custom painted PS3′s complete with signatures from the founders of BioWare Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, two Dragon Age 2 custom painted Xbox 360s also signed by the founders and ten Mass Effect hoodies signed by the team that created Mass Effect. All of these items are exclusive to the auction, so be sure to check it out and bid on these incredible items for a worthy cause. If you’d like to help out, the auctions can be found here.
Played Dragon Age II? Get Mass Effect 2 Free
You loved Dragon Age II to the tune of 1 million unit sales in under two weeks, and now BioWare wants to love you back–by handing out free downloadable copies of sci-fi roleplaying epic Mass Effect 2. The PC version, that is. “””As a special thank you for helping with the game’s early success, BioWare would like to present you with a download code for 2010’s Game of the Year, Mass Effect 2 on PC,” it said on a page dubbed “The BioWare Sequel Celebration.””” The company also revealed Dragon Age II was faster off the mark than its predecessor, Dragon Age: Origins–no slow-starter itself. If you want to grab your copy of Mass Effect 2, you have until April 30th at 11:59pm PDT. And the offer’s not just for existing Dragon Age II owners: All you need to snag a code is a copy in hand before that end-of-month…
EA Working On ‘Revolutionary’ Unannounced MMO
While EA’s Bioware is hard at work preparing Star Wars: The Old Republic, Electronic Arts might announce new MMORPG plans in near future. According to a job listing on industry website Gamasutra, Electronic Arts’ Redwood Shores suite of studios is working on an unannounced massively multiplayer online game, making me guess that a upcoming game will be Command & Conquer-based. Information regarding the position is a bit unclear at the moment. The Gamasutra Posting refers to an MMO Web Architect position, but the EA Jobs link at the bottom of the page redirects to you a Java Engineer position related something to their The Sims Universe. No further details about the project itself were given.
SW:TOR Graphics Evolution & Comparison
A few weeks ago, we posted the SWTOR Combat Animations Compilation created by logun24x7. It was a great video showing the graphic development in the beta stages of Star Wars: The old republic the last few years. SWTOR, has some unique challenges to overcome in the character graphics department, not only do they need to look good from a standard MMO third person perspective, they also need to stand up for the close-up cinematic cut scenes. Not a lot of MMO’s have had to face this challenge. Now Logun have posted a new video on his youtube channel, Showing SWTOR’s graphic evolution from 2009 to 2011 with a comparison of other MMO’s and a look at their graphic approach. Hopefully this video will keep the trolls quite for a while. More comparison screenshots: PAX 2009 Vs. PAX 2010 World of Warcraft Vs. SWTOR Age of Conan Vs. SWTOR Aion…
Bioware developer pops the question in Minecraft
Although we are a few days past Valentine’s Day, here is a noteworthy wedding proposal that is sure to warm the hearts of female video game geeks everywhere. A Bioware developer decided to pop the “big question” to his sweetie who is also a Bioware developer. For him, though, getting down on one knee and whipping out a ring in a box was simply too cliche’ to be employed. So what is a game developer to do in this situation? Well, the answer is to propose marriage to his girlfriend in a video game of course. So using his Minecraft building skills, he decided to build a castle along with some special terrain to ask for her hand in marriage. And as you will see in the following video, it was all worth it.
Editorial: MMORPG standards?
World of Warcraft did not define any type of standard. Blizzard made an MMO that people love to play, and everyone feels they can capitalize off of that success by making inferior, or direct copy, clones. The main problem here is that people are afraid to try anything new, and how can you really blame them? It takes time and money, possibly more so than a regular game, and the chance of failure is higher than normal since the market is just so saturated with free to play MMO’s, the juggernaut, and a handful of fairly successful paid MMO’s. As I see it, there are three kinds of games with three unique objectives: Mindless fun- You play this because it’s a diversion. I played Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory because it was absurdly fun. Didn’t learn anything, didn’t accomplish anything, but I stalked enemies for hours fucking with their heads and…
Bioware bringing sexy back
We tend to look at other upcomming Bioware games these days, as it gives a pinpointer to what we can expect of Star Wars: The old republic. About a year ago the official SWTOR forums was on fire with a discussion about same sex interaction ( you know when role players makes out). It seems Bioware is taking Dragon Age II to a new level when it comes to sex – it seems the ESRB description of the content reveals that at least one sex scene features implied fellatio! According to the ESRB: “During the course of the game, characters sometimes engage in sexual dialogue (e.g., ‘Why is it always about sex with you?’ and ‘Sailing is like sex. Do it wrong, and it’ll make you sick.’). Players can also initiate brief cutscene sequences in which couples (male-female or same-sex) are shown kissing and embracing one another in a bedroom…
‘Dragon Age Legends’ hits Facebook ( Do we get to see SWTOR the Facebook game to? )
Registration for the closed beta trial is open for Dragon Age Legends, a new Facebook game from BioWare, the makers of Dragon Age: Origins and the upcoming Dragon Age II (out March 8). The game introduces the Free Marches, the primary setting for Dragon Age II. Players who complete specific goals in the Facebook game will be able to earn up to five exclusive items that can used in Dragon Age II, as well as the Jade Empire-inspired Death’s Hand Armor for their Dragon Age Legends character in the Facebook game’s open beta. Early buyers of Dragon Age II playing the beta can also get early access to the official launch version of the Facebook game, set for later in March. And those who buy Dragon Age II and log in before March 15 will get the Dragon Age Legends BioWare Signature pack the next time they log into the…
Funcom and EA to Co-Publish ‘The Secret World’ MMO
Even though Funcom Games Inc. has produced many award-winning video games, top-level executive Miguel Caron said the company has had trouble translating those accolades into dollars. “We’re really known for the quality of our games,” said Caron, the CEO of Funcom Canada, from the company’s studio on Ste. Catherine St. W., at the corner of Bishop St. “Commercially, we haven’t seen the correlation of that quality.” Caron said while its 2008 massively multiplayer online game Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures received many accolades, including a Grammy Award for its music, the company was disappointed with how it performed compared with the leader in the world of MMO. “”We thought it could have taken a chunk out of World of Warcraft,” Caron said. World of Warcraft has grossed nearly $2 billion in revenue, compared with Conan, which has brought in less than one-10th that number. That’s why Funcom Games Canada Inc….
RIFT review – RIFT Better then SWTOR?
Last week I wrote about the upcoming MMORPG – RIFT created by Trion Worlds. Back then I mentioned that I might be picking up a copy for their hard earned effort. Right now I have changed my mind though. Watching the Yogcast 1 hour review of RIFT on Youtube I have to admit I lost all interest in the game. First of all the game looks too much like WoW. Not that there is anything wrong with World of Warcraft, but as Aion, Warhammer online, Age of Conan and other WoW clones found out – it just doesn’t work. The guys in the Vcast liked how the game looks, but fancy graphics just doesn’t cut it anymore. Actually Remove the graphics and give me a good old fashion MUD if the game play is good. The second reason I won’t be playing Rift is the fantasy genre. I am just fed up with it. One more dragon and I’ll puke! Apparently I stand alone with this…
MMO: Heaven or Hell?
I can’t wait anymore! So close and it driving me crazy, I really love reading everyone’s opinion or predictions of what might happen but it’s 2011, YAY! Two years of being in aggravating pain in anticipation for the ultimate game of the next decade or this decade now. If SWTOR doesn’t release soon I’ll harakiri myself with bothan stunner. OK, that’s off my chest, I’m ready for my review now 🙂 Will Star Wars: The Old Republic it be the greatest game everyone is waiting for? Yes! I want it to. No surprise there, but if it doesn’t go well all hell will break loose and I mean that literally I will grab my plastic lightsaber and start seeing everyone else Bantha Fodder. But of coarse if it does go well you won’t see any mmo lovers or Star Wars enthusiast (which are almost the same category with a few…
SWTOR voted Most Anticipated MMORPG for 2011/2012 by Massively’s readers
Massively have released the Player’s Choice poll results for both 2010 and the entire last decade in MMOs. Not surprisingly the most anticipated mmorpg for 2011/2012 is Star Wars: The old republic in a close race with Guild wars 2. Source More surprisingly we see Star Trek online voted the best launch, best crafting, best pvp, best capacity for Role playing in a 2010 MMO and best overall new mmo of 2010. Source I’m not usually critical, but I have a REALLY hard time believing that STO is deserving of such positions in poll results. PvP and “Surprise Hit”? The best crafting in a 2010 MMO is handing mats to an NPC to buy the crafted item? It was also really surprising that Blizzard was voted both the best and almost the worst MMO studio of the decade: Source Source Blizzard may be many things, but they’re not the worst MMO Studio of the Decade. The results ended up like this:…
Robot Chicken Star Wars Episode III – Force Unleashed Sketch
Starwars.com has posted a pretty funny Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III video promoting the release of The Force Unleashed II. The video has only been available at the official Star Wars site here, but doing xmas, it has found it’s way to youtube. As the shift change on the Death Star passes, Stormtroopers head back to the barracks and others head out to their posts. Their one stop in common is the Imperial Cafeteria. Here, one lone coffee maker sits. Empty. Used. Un-refilled. Destined to serve millions of cups of coffee a day across the space station, the promise of the device remains unfulfilled. And Vader is not a morning person.
BioWare Releases Mass Effect 3 Trailer
BioWare’s made no secret of the fact that they’re developing a third Mass Effect game. However, today they finally had something to show us. The trailer at the Spike VGAs started with a British sniper looking out over a ruined city. In voiceover he explains that the entire planet is under assault. The camera pans out to reveal the attackers: Reapers. We then see Shepherd watching the devastation below from orbit. Cue logo. There’s no mention of a release window in the trailer. The current guess is that the game will arrive in either late 2011 or early 2012.
Massively’s 2010 Player’s Choice Awards – VOTE SWTOR!
A few days ago we asked you to vote for Star Wars: The old Republic in the annual Reader’s Choice award over at MMORPG:com. Today Massively have posted the list of nominees for their Player’s Choice Awards as well, and not surprisingly our all time favourite upcoming mmorpg SWTOR is nominated. As we approach the end of 2010 (yes, already), we look back at not only an interesting year for MMOs, but also an amazing decade for such a young genre. We’ve had our highs and lows since last year’s awards, including the now-hilarious choice of APB as Most Anticipated for 2010 by the Massively staff. This year we have a new survey format, new categories and new nominees. We also have a new title, changing it from Reader’s Choice to Player’s Choice, to reflect the fact that you don’t necessarily need to be a Massively reader to vote. This…
Remember to vote for Star Wars: The Old Republic!
As the end of 2010 quickly approaches, it’s time for the annual Reader’s Choice awards over at MMORPG.com. Currently they are asking for your input as to what game(s) currently in development that you are most looking forward to playing. Check out the nominees and then cast your vote for Most 2010 Awards: Most Anticipated: It’s that time of year again, as the holidays approach and our thoughts turn to snow and peace and love and what’s that other thing… right, gifts. Hey, it’s tradition and tradition is important. Speaking of tradition, it’s time to kick off the voting for the annual MMORPG.com reader’s choice awards. You know the drill, we give you a bunch of nominees in our specially selected categories and you vote and in the name of good fun, argue about your choices until a winner is declared in early 2011. This year, our categories are: Game…