GGL Wire

Apr

Stargate Worlds enters beta stage, sign-ups needed

Filed under: Cheyenne Mountain entertainment, mmo, MMORPG, PC, Stargate, Stargate SG 1, Stargate Worlds

Today Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment announced that the Stargate SG-1 based MMORPG, Stargate Worlds, is ready to enter the beta stage. If you are interested in giving Stargate Worlds a chance, beta sign-ups are going on right now. Just head over to www.StargateWorlds.com and register. Unfortunately only a select few will get into the beta.

The full press release is after the jump. Continued…

1 Comment

Mar

The ends of MMOs as we know them

Filed under: Auto Assualt, Fury, Guild Wars, Hellgate: London, massively multiplayer online rpg, mmo, MMORPG, role playing game, Tabula Rasa, Vanguard, William Singleton, World of Warcraft

No Tauren Looking back at 2007, we can see that a record amount of MMOs have been released. As World of Warcraft hit ten million subscribers — setting a new milestone in MMOs — many people look forward to see where the MMO will be in ten years.

Will World of Warcraft still be on top? Will a WoW killer be released in 2008? What can kill a MMO? To find out, we must look to other MMOs who have withered away and examine their deaths.

Studying what kills an MMO can be an involved process. The life of an MMO is affected by countless variables and changing just one of these variables could result in a game’s upheaval. In 2007 alone countless MMO titles have died; Vanguard, Fury, Hellgate: London, and Tabula Rasa were all very promising, yet somehow they fizzled out.

While some MMOs have a dedicated audience that will allow a game to live on for years, other MMOs have had their population decimated in a matter of months. Many MMOs are destined to burn out quickly in a crowded and turbulent market. Continued…

4 Comments

Opinion, News

William Singleton

Mar

Blizzard assists with Guitar Hero III expansion, builds for China, Korea

Filed under: Activision, Activision Blizzard, blizzard, China, Guitar Hero III, Korea, massively multiplayer online role playing game, mmo, PC bang, rhythm game, RPG, starcraft

Yes, that’s the correct headline.

As a result of the Activision/Vivendi merger, Blizzard (soon to be Activision-Blizzard) will be working on the Guitar Hero III expansion pack, helping bring the game to internet cafes in Korea and China.

The PC bang culture that birthed the professional StarCraft scene is going to get a dose of rhythm game action.

CEO Bobby Kotick also opened the door for a Guitar Hero MMO, something that could go over very well in Asian markets. Typically, Asian MMOs are free, but items, outfits, and other gear is bought on a microtransaction level–exactly the kind of thing you’d see a virtual rockstar doing.

Source: Shacknews

News, E-Sports

Mahmood Ali

Feb

Age of Conan community site updates

Filed under: Age of Conan, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, AoC, Community Update, Eidos, Funcom, Games for Windows, Gaute Godager, Hyborian Adventures, mmo, MMORPG

Yesterday, approximately two weeks after Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures Game Director Gaute Godager published his state of the game announcement, Age of Conan received a terrific overhaul on their community portal.

The previous design was a burden upon the eyes and proved to be terribly difficult to find information about the title.Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is slated for a May 20th release. Speaking as a person who has already pre-ordered the game, I am excited to have the opportunity to observe the massively multiplayer online role-playing game evolve into a possible World of Walking competitor.

The directional battle system that has been implemented into AoC is a creative take on the often redundant combat scheme utilized in MMORPGs. The title will be the first MMORPG title to receive a Mature rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board.

Partial frontal female nudity has also made it into the game; logically, this is intended for those of us that have an uncanny fetish for pixelated boobies.

For more information check out the offical Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures website.

1 Comment

Jordan Pennekamp

Feb

More details on Blizzard’s $120,000 World of Warcraft tournament

Filed under: blizzard, Blizzard Entertainment, Competitive, eSports, mmo, MMORPG, PC, RPG, starcraft 2, Tournament, World of Warcraft, WoW

Blizzard has released more details on its upcoming World of Warcraft tournament, showcasing NPCs who will equip you for all your battles.

In what I consider to be a brilliant move, the tournament will not require players to level up their characters. Instead, you will start at level 70 and get free epics in order to compete–separating the PVP and PVE portions of the game, hopefully, forever.

Gold will be obtained by speaking to an NPC gold giver. If you ask him/her for gold, you’ll get an easy 5,000 in order to pay for respecs, repair damage, and buy pretty much whatever you want. Speak to another NPC to get free epic items, and so on. Continued…

Mahmood Ali

Feb

Blizzard preps $120,000 World of Warcraft tournament!

Filed under: blizzard, Blizzard Entertainment, Competitive, eSports, mmo, MMORPG, PC, RPG, starcraft 2, Tournament, World of Warcraft, WoW

Today Blizzard Entertainment announced that they will be hosting a series of tournaments using the Arena system in World of Warcraft. Competitors will come from Europe, South Korea, North America, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau and will have to pay a $20.00 entry fee.

Due to the fact that you don’t need to level a character to play in the tournament, and epic/arena-quality gear is available from the start, all 10 million-plus WoW players are potential competitors.

The tournament will run for six weeks on special tournament realms. Throughout these six weeks, teams will play 3-vs.-3 matches. The top four teams from each round will advance to the regional finals. Here players will compete for more than $27,000 in cash prizes. Those who win the regional will then move on to a global championship event. At the championship event, players will then compete for $120,000 in cash prizes, including a $75,000 grand prize.

Competitors won’t actually be using their characters they put all that time and effort into leveling. When they go to make a character on the special realm, they will “instantly create level-70 characters with epic equipment.” According to Blizzard, this is to place the focus “on tactics and execution rather than normal adventuring.” Continued…

News, E-Sports

Jan

World of Warcraft generates $1.2 billion in 2007

Filed under: blizzard, Blizzard Activision, it prints money, massively multiplayer online role playing game, Mike Morhaime, mmo, MMORPG, multiplayer, Online, PC Gaming, role playing game, RPG, Vivendi, World of Warcraft, WoW

Most game studios dream about making $1.2 billion for their parent companies on a yearly basis. Blizzard is living that dream as we speak.

Vivendi Games, parent company of the Irvine, CA-based Blizzard, generated €1.02 billion last year, or around $1.8 billion in USD monopoly money. Of that, €814 million ($1.2 billion USD) came directly from World of Warcraft.

We all knew it was printing money, but, geez. Still, you should know that figure doesn’t refer to profit, which is calculated after business expenses such as salaries, server maintenance, and Mike Morhaime’s blow fund are deducted. Now you know…and knowing is half the battle!

Read: WoW Blasts Vivendi Games Past €1 bln

Mahmood Ali

Jan

Steam gets its first MMO: EVE Online

Filed under: ccp, eve online, massively multiplayer online role playing game, mmo, multiplayer, Online, PC, PC Gaming, Steam, Valve

Today marks a first in Steam history: EVE Online will be the first MMO offered via Steam.

Steam will offer its users a 21-day free trial of EVE Online. If you decide to subscribe, you will also get a discount.

Valve’s director of business development, Jason Holtman, had this to say: “The team at CCP continues to expand EVE’s universe and gameplay for the legions logging in to play each month, just as we continue to expand Steam’s consumer and developer features.”

I believe that Steam is one of the greatest things to happen to PC gaming; long gone are the days of having to swap disks, let alone drive to the store to buy them.

Read: Steam Goes MMO With EVE Online.