BRB Hurricane Sandy.

/AFK

(Boy what a fine time I picked to come back to America.)

I am here to say that I am honored to have my article featured In the "NEWS" section of the official

site and it is a pleasure to keep track of yourpotential blockbuster, Blade and Soul, as I've been following

 it's development since it's announcement, 4 years ago.

I will continue to report diligently, and keep a close eye on B&S's progress here in North America.

Once again, Thank You for the feature.

Sincerely

~Dododoro

We all know of the mystery subscription plan regarding NCSoft's upcoming action mmog Blade and Soul.

Following the launch of the western site for the game, in NCSoft's Q&A section, this was stated:

How much will Blade & Soul cost? Will there be a subscription fee, or will Blade & Soul utilize the microtransaction business model?

As the launch date draws nearer, we will have more information to share on price and business models. However NCsoft is actively evaluating what gaming fans in Europe and the United States want, and we are committed to creating a business model that will meet our fans' expectations.

Meaning that NCSoft is willing to listen to EU and NA followers of the game. With the recent success of GuildWars 2 and it's B2P model, should Blade and Soul (As well as future NCSoft MMOs) follow GW2's transaction model?

Pay to Play: is currently a dying breed in the mmo world (Ex. SWTOR, TERA, FFXIV, TSW) No one wants to spend money on games that don't deliver in

We all know that when an MMO is dying, (or have crashed so hard that the possibility of reviving is null and void) the Devs/Publishers of those MMOs pull the plug or go free to play (And sometimes shut down afterward).

When Square Enix rushed out the newest online game in the numbered series 2 years ago (When it was being developed through Himorochi Tanaka's team) Fans lapped it up, like bees to honey, but later realized that the game wasn't as great as it seemed, their cries of content fell on deaf ears, and favoritism was rampart (AKA JAPAN OPINIONS ONRY)

Fast forward to a half a year later and the team has been replaced and the new director Naoki Yoshida, takes the helm.

Not only did he listen to his fans, but he listens to his fans WORLD WIDE, he takes their feedback and imp

WHY THE FROGSTER HATE?

While most mmorpgs release free trial periods within a year or so, En Masse released a free trial period of TERA for free accounts after a month of being released and prior to the release of their (Rather disappointing) DEMO. Some players are still upset because En Masse hasn't fixed their subscription problems and still charges players (sometimes multiple times) even when they have cancelled and keeps their credit card information:

The news information taken from their post below regarding the trial:

Now you can play TERA absolutely free for seven days with the new TERA trial. All you need is a free En Masse account to play TERA for seven days, and level up eight characters on any one server to level 23. When you convert to a paid subscription, you keep your characters

In a deal announced earlier today, Korea No.1 gaming company, Nexon, has become the biggest shareholder of Korea No.2 gaming company, NCsoft. This happened after Nexon Japan bought 3,218,091 of NCsoft's shares, which is around 14.7% of the company. The deal is worth a total of KRW 804,522,750,000 (USD 688,249,147.20) at KRW 250,000 per share.


Nexon recently tried to buyout Taiwanese developer and publisher, Gamania, but was rejected and subjected to some government inspection. Nexon ended up as Gamania's biggest shareholder after the mists cleared. 

[Game info] In what I see as a surprise move, Sony Online Entertainment has announced that it will be publishing Wizardry Online, the MMO reincarnation of the classic franchise. SOE will be having a demo of the game next week at E3 as well. Currently in the commercial phase (P2P) in Japan, Wizardry Online features several hardcore functions such as possible permanent death, tons of maze-like dungeons filled with ferocious creatures/ demons and death traps.
On hindsight, the deal looks like a match since Wizardry Online is developed in Japan by Gamepot, while I am suspecting some of Sony's bosses over at HQ took part in negotiating the deal. Whatever the case is, prepare for a really, really tough game ahead in terms of mechanics. I wonder if it will go P2P as well...

It's the most wonderful time of the year (For Gamers EVERYWHERE) as from June 5th-7th E3 has reared it's head once again to grace us with the best/worst of show from the biggest names in the gaming industry (Despite the disappointments of their last installments...) *cough*Square Enix/Blizzard/someothercompany*cough* What are your expectations for this year?

As if things couldn't get any better for TERA online, EME has added a cashshop for simple cosmetic changes (But at inflated prices) much to the dismay of it's playerbase. Although P2P model games like World of Warcraft and RIFT already have a cashshop just like TERA, selling cosmetic items and mounts.

Complaints have already flooded the forums:

"The game has hardly been out for two weeks and they're already implementing a cash shop with inflated prices? $10 for a single weapon skin? WTF?? And say goodbye to any chance of an in-game barber shop now that EME is making you pay for it. I'm glad my boyfriend and I already decided not to continue with a subscription to this game. Unfortunately I had planned on coming back in a few months when things had settled, but if this is any indicat