Publishers and developers new to the MMO genre underestimate the difficulties of launching in the market, according to Blizzard's Mike Morhaime.

Following GOA's struggle to launch Warhammer Online, GamesIndustry.biz asked Blizzard's CEO if companies fail to anticipate the true logistics of launching a massively multiplayer online game.

"I think everyone who hasn't done it will probably underestimate the logistics behind it - we certainly did," he explained.

"You focus on the things you are used to but you don't necessarily realise how difficult it is to scale up quickly and with an MMO you have to factor in providing 24/7 customer service, multiple languages... and that's not just hiring all those people to do customer service because internally within the organisation you still have to support your employees and that's a whole lot of management infrastructure that doesn't exist before the launch."

Morhaime further revealed that the company still aims to release a World of Warcraft expansion annually but is currently on the "longer than a year plan" and following Wrath of the Lich King fans won't see another for more than a year.

"That's stil

Speaking at the Tokyo Game Show this morning, Turbine chief Jim Crowley revealed that Lord of the Rings Online is to get a full-featured social networking site late this year, reports our sister site Eurogamer.net.

Crowley showed a site that featured character profiles, friends lists and other data uploaded live from the MMO's game world, and YouTube-style video-sharing features.

He described it as "a version of Facebook or MySpace that sits directly on top of the gaming world. This is a fully-featured, rich, robust social network. It has every single feature that you would find in the major commercial social networks such as Facebook and MySpace."

The site will have live news feeds from the game world, with profile pages for all user characters. It will also feature friends lists, communication tools and the ability to upload and share screenshots and videos.

"A key element here is the face that the game engine needs to populate all of the game data directly into this social network, so you can share that across the world," Crowley said.

He said it would launch "at the end of Q4 this year".

He added that similar sites would launch for Turbine's o

UK publisher Codemasters is to shut down the servers for the massively multiplayer online game RF Online in Europe and North America.

The company said that it was unable to reach a deal with Korean developers of the title CCR, and will not be renewing its contract.

 

Full article and news : http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/codemasters-pulls-plug-on-rf-online

I am so.......panicky (no, there is no such word)

The contest will be running tomorrow and I still have several things to do.. Ahh!!

Anyways, if you are a fan of Warhammer Online, be sure to catch my contest at my website. You might win
yourself an extra account key.

Check it out

Is it already too late for Funcom’s flagship title Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures? Tons of players have already left Hyboria as Funcom pushes out patch after patch to fix the woes. Yesterday, we noted the latest developments which contains some fantastic additions but a shakeup at the top among the ranks may bring about the real change that Age of Conan needs.

Funcom has wasted no time in finding Gaute Godager’s replacement, which suggests that this shifting of the guard has been in the planning stages for awhile. Craig Morrison, who held the very same position on Anarchy Online will be filling the position.

Godager cites the following as the reason for his departure from Funcom.“I have done my very best making this fabulous game, but I have concluded there are elements which I am dissatisfied with. I have decided to act on this, and as a result I have chosen to leave Funcom. It is time to get new, fresh eyes on Age of Conan, and I wholeheartedly support the appointment of Craig. I have had a fantastic time these last 16 years, and I am very proud of the many things Funcom has achieved. Funcom and Conan will always be a big part of me, but as I now look to new

Every week the Japanese magazine Famitsu asks their readers which game they want most.

source: http://the-magicbox.com/gaming.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~

1. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Square Enix) Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Square Enix)

2. Dragon Quest IX (NDS, Square Enix) Dragon Quest IX (NDS, Square Enix)

3. Biohazard 5 / Resident Evil 5 (PS3, Capcom) Biohazard 5 / Resident Evil 5 (PS3, Capcom)

4. Dragon Quest VI (NDS, Square Enix) Dragon Quest VI (NDS, Square Enix)

5. Super Robot Taisen Z (PS2, Namco Bandai) Super Robot Tais Z (PS2, Namco Bandai)

6. Monster Hunter 3 (Wii, Capcom) Monster Hunter 3 (Wii, Capcom)

7. Chrono Trigger (NDS, Square Enix) Chrono Trigger (NDS, Square Enix)

8. The Last Remnant (PS3, Square Enix) The Last Remnant (PS3, Square Enix)

9. Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3, Square Enix) Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3, Square Enix)

10. Pokemon Platinum (NDS, Pokemon) Pokemon Platinum (NDS, Pokemon)

11. Animal Forest (Wii, Nintendo) Animal Forest (Wii, Nintendo)

12. Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP, Square Enix) Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP, Square Enix)

13. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, Capcom) Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, Capcom)

14. Star Ocean: T

Most gamers are familiar with big name publishers like Electronic Arts, Activision, and Sega. But what about the development studios themselves? You know, the ones that actually make the games, not just distribute them. Behold! Here are eight of the most important ones.

Readmore

The BBC reports that gold farming, a practice much despised by some MMO gamers, is a $500 million global business, employing a half-million people.

Read more here

"Damn, that girl is smokin... oh... that's a guy?" Surely, gamers have all fallen victim to such a scenario. Not you, you say! You're a hardcore gamer with 20/20 vision and a keen eye for Adam's apples and moose knuckles? Fine! Many aren't as perceptive, so GamesRadar has decided to highlight those brave folks who might not have gotten their sex the first time around.

This isn't simply an excuse to point and laugh at the femmy kid, heavens no! GamesRadar is well aware there's no humor to be mined from the transgendered, and that being gay is, most certainly, serious business. Nay, this article is a semi-researched, gender-bending celebration!

Read more here

Gameplayer are reporting that the latest statistics from search engine Google show that games have for the first time taken over porn when it comes to search entries.

Read more
http://www.gameplayer.com.au/gp_documents/080822Gaming-Beats-Off-Porn.aspx?catid=News&Page=1

 

My comment : ZOMG!