Industry analyst Michael Pachter says that MMOs have peaked. He says that if Star Wars couldn’t make it happen, no one can. It’s an interesting theory from one of the biggest experts in the field but is it true? PC Games explains more: “”I thought Star Wars: The Old Republic would make it big, but it didn’t. It looks like subscription MMOs are as big as they’re going to get – there are only 6-7 million people willing to spend $15 a month. If Star Wars couldn’t do it, made by Bioware, then no one can do it.”” He continues to explain the reasons he believes EA’s stock is dropping. Supposedly, he candidly tells John Riccitiello why no one is buying their stock. I told him: ‘the reason your stock is in the toilet is because you’re in the fifth year of a three year turn around’ says Pachter. He…
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The Official SW.com Blog Returns
It’s baaaaccck! The Official Star Wars blog tells us: “It’s been just about two months since we put this blog on hiatus to update its design and develop a new approach to content. It took a bit longer than we had hoped, but we’re glad to say that starting today, we’re back… with a few exciting changes.” I know a lot of fans have been waiting a long time to hear this. So what kind of changes can you expect to encounter now that it’s back? Here are some changes: Supervising Director Dave Filoni will be sharing insights and stories from behind-the-scenes of The Clone Wars, along with other cast and crew. We’re going to open up the Lucasfilm archives, with J.W. Rinzler and others sharing never-before-seen images, videos and stories from the making of the films. Resident Star Wars experts Pablo Hidalgo and Leland Chee will be sharing details about…
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Collection Coming This Summer
LucasArts is about to re-release the KOTOR series to stores. GameStop and Amazon have listed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Collection as a bundle pack for the two single-player role-playing games. It’s only weeks from release, too. The compilation has appeared on GameStop’s internal system and is listed as a PC exclusive carrying a $20 price tag. The first game in the series (developed by BioWare) was released to critical acclaim in July 2003 for Xbox, and later for PC. KOTOR came to Mac via Steam just a few months ago. Obsidian developed the game’s sequel, which launched on Xbox in December 2004. They are both excellent games, that I recoment you try out, if you haven’t played them yet. After all, they are the prequels to Star Wars: The old republic. If you can’t wait until the games are re-realeased, you can check out the first part…
Star Wars 1313 Announced
After much anticipation, Lucas Arts finally announced the name of their new Star Wars game- Star Wars 1313. This is a mature-themed game which is set in a dark, vast subterranean metropolis that is found beneath the surface of Coruscant. You play a bounty hunter (which is think is really cool) but I’m a little curious about where this storyline is going to go and why it’s rated mature. They say this game is definitely created for the adult set. So I want to see more but I guess we have to wait for E3 for that. It’s a third-person action game built with Unreal Engine 3 as a base, and Lucas Arts has mentioned that the production values are quite high with, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation Ltd. and Skywalker Sound all working on the game. LucasArts president Paul Meegan said, “Star Wars 1313 dives into a part…
LucasArts to Announce New Star Wars Game Tomorrow on Spike TV
Earlier this month, LucasArts registered the trademark for a certain “Star Wars 1313”. This had fans everywhere excited to see what this new game would be and the idea of a new Star Wars game has many fans super excited. A new Star Wars game, you say? Hmmm… many might be skeptical but for Star Wars gamer fans, this is a big announcement. While the full details will be unveiled at E3, we can expect to learn a little more tomorrow night. LucasArts revealed on the Star Wars Facebook page that an announcement of the game will be made on Spike TV this 31st of May at 10pm PST, with the full announcement and presumably the details to be revealed at E3 later on next week. “Riddle: What is something that will be announced by Spike, fully unveiled at the E3 Expo, and has to do with Star Wars gaming?…
LucasArts to Reveal Secret Title at E3
E3 is coming up and we all know that this is often a great opportunity for surprises. One of the best surprises to come out of events like E3 is a new game title and that’s what LucasArts is rumored to have coming for us. As reported by 8Bit Envy: E3 is a great time for surprises, and wouldn’t it be great if LucasArts finally revealed Battlefront 3? Now I’m not saying they will, but when you get an invitation to come see an “unannounced game in development,” you can’t help but be optimistic. So, being the curious lad that I am, asked whether or not this unannounced title would have lightsabers in it. The answer wasn’t confirmed, but it wasn’t denied either. There has been numerous posts about Battlefront 3 being in the works, then being canceled, so anything is possible. LucasArts did confirm they were using the Unreal…
‘Kinect: Star Wars’ Composers Share the Creative Process
Kinect Star Wars Composers Gordy Haab and Kyle Newmaster tell MTV more about what it’s like to create the music behind the game. Regardless of what some critics said of the game, the soundtrack gives Star Wars fans everything they want and more. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s moving and it all came thanks to two very talented composers. As gamers, we don’t always think about the work that goes into the soundtracks of games like this. Yet when we walk away from the game and go to school or work, the music stays with us. We hum it aloud or in our head and we look forward to when we get the chance to play again. MTV Multiplayer interviews the two composers about their work on the game: MTV Multiplayer: Was John Williams or George Lucas involved at all in the creation of the tracks for the game? How…
Diablo 3 Launch vs SWTOR Launch
When SWTOR first launched, we were faced with a lot of bugs, long queue times and other glitches and issues. However, for the most part it was still playable. Any time a new multi-player games launches, we’re going to expect a certain level of glitches. It comes with the territory. The first 24-48 hours are especially prone to being the worst. Diablo 3 was also incredibly anticipated and it’s facing its own set of bugs. It boots you from the game every few minutes for a 3007 error, erasing all progress since last checkpoint and some people cannot get into the game at all. By comparison, many will say that D3 is worse. Some are saying that there is not as much outrage over the D3 bugs as there was with SWTOR but I beg to differ. My Facebook wall had plenty of complaints and there are loads of forum…
The Forgotten TV Debut of the Original Star Wars Game
There have been many Star Wars games before SWTOR- seriously, there have been TONS. But there is one Star Wars game that comes to mind first for those old enough to remember, the 1983 Atari game Star Wars. This was the first time a Star Wars game had been created. I was only a year old when it released and I would not see the game or an Atari for quite some time but I did have the privilege of playing it once at a friend’s, more than a decade after its release. Kotaku reminds us of the game on Star Wars Day: The game made its debut during “The Video Game Challenge,” a short-lived television program from the 80’s. Just like the force, this Star Wars game will be with you… always. Actually, considering how regularly I still think about that game…that’s true! Does anyone reading remember that…
Do MMORPGs Create Serial Killers and Mass Murderers?
We’ve probably all heard the stories of horrible things happening to gamers or to the loved ones of gamers- a kid who binged for so long he died at his computer playing his favorite game or maybe the mother who neglected her children and forgets to feed her baby because she is so consumed with a video game. Of all the games that get a bad rap, MMORPGs often rank near the top. I’ve always believed this is due to the nature of the game and not the genre itself. MMORPGs require a certain amount of time and energy investment. Non-gamers have a hard time understanding how someone could want to sit there for hours running around an imaginary world with the avatars of other people. But for those of us who play, it’s more than just a game. The communities that form around an MMORPG are like little subcultures….
Exclusive look at Kinect Star Wars at the Skywalker Ranch
Who doesn’t love Kinect? Add in Star Wars and I’m a happy gamer! I have been waiting for this game to come out as I’m sure many other Star Wars fans have. There is a lot more to the game than meets the eye though and it is not just about fighting battles, although there is plenty of that type of action. Many of the movie scenes are included in the game as well. The Herald Sun tells us more: Kinect Star Wars is one of the most eagerly awaited titles based on the sci-fi franchise. Set just before Episode II: Attack of the Clones, players use the Xbox 360 Kinect motion controller to complete a Jedi Destiny campaign, dogfight in space or go all Rampage on a Rancor. And, of course, most importantly, flail around in their living rooms wielding a Kinect-powered lightsaber. Yes, you get the chance to…
Kinect Star Wars Launch Trailer- Feel the Force
Feel the Force when you are the controller- I know what my son wants for his birthday but will it be as big of a hit as many are expecting? Coming soon on April 3rd is Kinect Star Wars and they’ve now released the official launch trailer. What you will see missing from the trailer is Kinect Star Wars‘ dance mode, which didn’t come off as such a hit when it was revealed before. The game comes with five dynamic modes Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising, Podracing Rancor Rampage Galactic Dance Off Duels of Fate “Kinect Star Wars brings the Star Wars Universe to life like never before. Harnessing the controller-free power of Kinect for Xbox 360, Kinect Star Wars allows fans to physically experience training as a Jedi, using the Force and battling with a lightsaber. Using full body motions, players can live out the ultimate Star Wars fantasy,…
Ex-BioWare Devs Reach Their Goal for Banner Saga
We told you about the ex-BioWare devs leaving the company to start their own Indie game design company and begin building The Banner Saga. So how has that been working out for them? Well, probably a lot better than many would have imagined. The team is doing great and used Kickstarter to gain funds for their project and it paid off in a big way. “Stoic Studio, the Austin-based developer recently formed by veterans from BioWare, has already reached its $100,000 funding goal for its turn-based strategy RPG The Banner Saga. The indie developer managed to reach its goal on donation platform Kickstarter just two days after launching the campaign, and after receiving pledges from almost 4,000 people. It still has 30 days to raise more money to fund the PC game, which is scheduled to release later this year.” Gamasutra also tells us about some other games that hit…
BioWare’s Mass Effect 3 Coming March 6th
The big day is almost here for Mass Effect fans. The third and final game in the Mass Effect series has a lot to live up to and if the single and multiplayer demo (recently released) is any indication of how the rest of the game will play, fans of the series have nothing to worry about. Mass Effect 3 comes out on March 6 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. ($59.99 on Amazon) Here’s some interesting Mass Effect 3 news: Razer And BioWare Reveal New ‘Mass Effect 3’ Gaming Gear Minimum System Requirements: OS – Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1, Win 7 CPU: 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (equivalent AMD CPU) RAM: 1GB for XP / 2GB RAM for Vista/Win 7 Hard Drive: 2.5 GB of free space Video: 256 MB* (with Pixel Shader 3.0 support) *Supported chipsets: NVIDIA 7900 or better; ATI X1800 or better. Please…
Former SWTOR Devs Introduce “The Banner Saga”
Star Wars: The Old Republic is easily considered one of the biggest games of the year. It has yet to make its debut in Australia and already we’re hearing about it all over the world. Those of you who have been following for some time now know that it is a game that has been many years in the making. Some of the people who were involved in the early days of developing SWTOR have now moved on to other projects. Three of these devs in particular, are now introducing a new project called “The Banner Saga”. Games.on.net brings us the news about this new game: Under the new studio of Stoic Games, the talented trio have created what their website calls a “role-playing meets turn-based strategy, wrapped into an adventure mini-series about Vikings.” I am sold already a billion times, especially when I saw the bits about “pain-staking hand…
BioWare confirms that Mass Effect 3 ” Is officially gold”
Mass Effect 3 has been touted by its developer, BioWare, to be the conclusion of the Sam Shepard trilogy in the game’s universe. The action role-playing-game series, which was once an Xbox 360 exclusive has come a long way from its early days and is a major name in the gaming industry. In fact, Electronic Arts, the publisher of the series, even decided to drop the single console exclusivity of the series and release it for the PlayStation 3 console as well. Mass Effect 2 was the first game in the series to be released on Sony’s console and exceeded expectations when it came to sales on the PlayStation 3. That also meant that BioWare had a larger gamer base to cater to with the upcoming three-quel of the. EA and BioWare have been dropping plenty of hints and details about the game for quite some time now. It all…
Jedi Knight Collection on Steam for $4.99!
Every so often, usually on weekends, Steam gives us an awesome sale on some of the games we love the most. I’ve picked up so many great games for $5 or less on Steam over the years. It’s a fantastic way to build your video game collection. This weekend for one day only, the Jedi Knight Collection will be only $4.99 on Steam. This is an amazing steal for everything you get! If you miss this sale, don’t worry because you can still get the package deal for only $19.99 which saves you more than $12 on all of these great games. The Jedi Knight Collection on Steam includes: Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith Star Wars: Dark Forces
EA Claims SWTOR Did Better than WoW in First Month
In the quarterly earnings call for Electronic Arts, they announced they had 1.7 million active subscribers to SWTOR. These are some pretty huge numbers but just what do they mean? These figures count the number of players who have subscribed to the game past the first month free trial you get with purchase. This means that Star Wars: The Old Republic has gained more followers in the first month than Blizzard Entertainment’s immensely popular World Of Warcraft (WoW) did during the same period. (via Hexus) Of course, these are just early figures and in the SWTOR vs WoW arena, Blizzard has a 7-year head start. The true test of MMORPG brilliance will come when we see where SWTOR is in the long run. Where will they be after 6 months? What about a year from release? What about 7 years? The true test of success lies in whether or not…
Mass Effect 3 Voice Actors
Martin Sheen, Freddie Prinze, Jr, Seth Green and more join the ranks of Mass Effect 3 voice actors. Tricia Helfer plays EDI and there’s Jessica Chobot with a cameo as a news reporter. Check out the video below to learn more and see clips. It’s easy to see why so many people are geared up and excited for ME3. They’ve also said that it was scripted so that you don’t have to have played ME1 and ME2 to jump right into the 3rd game and know what’s going on. Pretty smart on their part, for sure. This is a great time to remember why we’re playing SWTOR and why we love it- because of the story and the voice casting. Even if you’re already a Star Wars fan, it takes a little something extra to really make a game stand out. BioWare goes that extra mile with the voice acting…
HeroEngine Technology, Critical to SWTOR’s Successful Launch Now Used by Thousands of Game Developers
The HeroEngine Technology that was so critical to the development of SWTOR and its success which follows is not helping with many other video games across the industry. Thousands of game developers are now finding a way to make use of this technology in their own games. Business Wire reports: “Developers are seeing a significantly reduced time to market. The Star Wars MMO was a major, multi-year undertaking, but other MMO games have shipped on our platform in as little as 15 months.” HeroEngine Technology was designed to help with large multiplayer scalable games like SWTOR. It has development tools that allow real time updates and that helps streamline the process of creating the game. But BioWare is not the only game developer to take advantage of this technology. More from Business Wire: There are already thousands of developers using HeroCloud and according to President and COO Neil Harris, “Developers…
Will SWTOR Steal Players from WoW and RIFT?
Millions of people are anticipating the release of SWTOR on December 20, 2011 but there many who wonder just how popular this game is going to be. Will it live up to all the hype? Will SWTOR steal players from WoW and RIFT? WoW has been around for a long time and it has many loyal players who won’t leave but many have grown bored with this style MMO and they’re searching for something fresh, which is what The Old Republic offers. Rift is a great game that is growing in popularity due to the quality of the game and its well thought-out updates. But will it lose players to SWTOR? A news story from MMOSite reports, “Blizzard admitted that they started to lose World of Warcraft users from the beginning of 2011. Specifically, they lost 600,000 WOW users in Q1 2011, 300,000 in Q2 and 800,000 in Q3.” They…
EA Makes Right the Wrong of BF3 and Battlefield 1943
A few days ago I brought you the story of EA being sued by disgruntled gamers over their BF3 fiasco. It seems they are taking the issue seriously and have decided to remedy the problem. They have issued a statement on their website that all owners of Battlefield 3 on the PS3 will get a free copy of Battlefield 1943 starting this month. Full details on who is eligible and how to get your copy is available from their site. Do you think this is a good enough response to the whole debacle? Has EA taken the right steps to resolve the matter and smooth things over with gamers everywhere by correcting their mistake and quickly making the game available to those who originally thought they would get it via a promotion? It’s a nice little bonus to anyone who just bought BF3 and might not have even known about…
Analyst Downgrades Blizzard Stock in Anticipation of SWTOR Launch
Could Blizzard lose more fans as the SWTOR launch date approaches? It’s been called a WoW-killer before but one analyst believes Blizzard stock might take a hit as SWTOR launches. Earlier this month, Activision Blizzard revealed that WOW subscriptions had fallen by 10 percent since March, dropping to 10.3 million worldwide. Now Gamespot reports that age and increased competition for the MMOG market can cause Blizzard to lose more stock. This article explains: In an investor note today, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Atul Bagga expressed pessimism over WOW’s ability to reverse its negative trend. In the process, Bagga downgraded Activision Blizzard’s stock from “buy” to “neutral.” Bagga’s move was primarily motivated by a Lazard Capital Markets survey of online players, which was conducted in conjunction with Peanut Labs earlier this month and polled 381 online gamers. The study found that WOW’s age, as well as increased competition, could…
EA Being Sued for Battlefield 1943 Broken Promises
Gamers don’t take kindly to being let down. Broken promises over Battlefield 1943 have landed EA in the middle of a lawsuit. US law firm Edelson McGuire has filed a class action suit against EA on behalf of unhappy PlayStation gamers in a bid to get them the free copy of Battlefield 1943 they were originally assured they would receive, Kotaku reports. The promise was made at E3, where Sony executives promised to bundle Battlefield 3 with copies of the new Battlefield 1943. Gamers who bought the game expecting to get Battlefield 3 were highly disappointed. The suit alleges that EA “misled and profited from thousands of their customers by making a promise that [it] could not, and never intended, to keep”. However, the lawsuit is about more than just the broken promise. It also cites the late announcement of the matter, which was made after many customers had already…