MMO Clerks

Just because Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G sales are waning (finally) doesn’t mean that the urge to buy PSP hardware is becoming any less intense. And even though the PSP doesn’t have any software showing in the top ten for the week doesn’t mean that it can’t continue to rule the roost on the Media Create weekly sales charts. Nintendo hardware continues to nip at its lead and we imagine fortunes will change soon.

Somewhat more surprising is the big boost that the Xbox 360 got during the week of June 23 to 29. The release of Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation: Troy certainly seems to have helped Microsoft move some hardware. They really should just rebrand the thing the Xbox RX-78-2 locally. Can’t hurt.

PSP - 58,861

Nintendo DS - 48,884

Wii - 48,480

PlayStation 3 - 17,973

PlayStation 2 - 7,673

Xbox 360 - 5,104

Media Create Weekly Sales

Original post by Michael McWhertor

Well, would you? Seriously. Reason we’re asking is that last week Atari sought to have their name trademarked in association with “internet protocol phones” and “residential telephone apparatus composing telephones and telephone connecting units”. Before you ask, yes, that’s the gaming Atari doing the trademarking, not some random, other Atari. This would be the part where we try and find a good reason the company would be bothering with this, but really, there’s little salvation to be found amongst the thought of an Atari phone.

Atari [Trademork]

Original post by Luke Plunkett

As we’ve seen, the Spore Creature Creator is not just about making dicks. Oh no, you can make Xbox 360 controllers, Wii-motes and DualShock 3s, too! What’s more, if you’re really good at making stuff, like internet human evantisin is, you can create Metal Gear Solid 4 B&B Corps. members. Above is Laughing Octopus and after the jump, Screaming Mantis. We’re impressed. And slightly freaked.

Thanks DavidXsee!

Original post by Brian Ashcraft

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Business models, Events, real-world, MMO industry

It’s a hectic summer over at Blizzard HQ. Inundating the masses with Wrath of the Lich King across the pond at the World Wide Invitational, announcing Diablo 3 on top of that, and battling it out in the courts against the kingpin responsible for World of Warcraft’s bot brigade. Aside from all that, there’s the whole pending merger with Activision and Vivendi approval process with Blizzard Entertainment right in the middle.

The latest legal development involves a preliminary injunction filed by some shareholders who weren’t satisfied with the $27.50 per share offer. The injunction suit was filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery last February by the Wayne County Employee’s Retirement System in an attempt to halt the merger. Activision has announced that a Delaware Court junked that preliminary injunction, a decision made by the very illuminated and WoW-knowledgeable Chief Judge William B. Chandler III. Activision will be holding a stockholder meeting next Tuesday on July 8, if approved the merger will complete on July 9th and a new titan, Activision Blizzard will join forces and the gaming world will never be the same again.

We wonder how many level 70 characters the Judge plays or maybe he’s already level 75 in the WotlK beta?

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Original post by Matt Warner

If you care to remember, Jim Cameron has said that the game adaptation of his upcoming sci-fi flick - Avatar - is already running in 3D, and running in 3D on a 360. Ubisoft are the guys behind that game, but they’re not the only ones looking at the tech. XNA boss Chris Satchell has said Microsoft have also been “experimenting” with stereoscopic gaming, although he’s quick to stress that, as it stands, the requirement that gamers wear glasses makes the technology’s widespread acceptance a thing of the future, not the present.

Microsoft has experimented with 3D games, reveals Satchell [GI.biz]

Original post by Luke Plunkett

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Lord of the Rings Online, Classes, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, Guides, Patches, Previews, Crafting, Professions, PvP, Leveling, Tips and tricks, PvE, Education

Lord of the Rings Online has revealed their newest content patch, Book 14, on the preview servers this week. This is very exciting news, as it means we can try out the newest game changes before Book 14 hits the live servers.

We realize that sometimes downloading what is essentially an entirely new game for the sake of previewing content may not be your cup of tea, so we’ve put together this extensive visual guide to let you know just how useful this preview server can be. For example, did you know that you can instantly level to 20, 30, 40 or 50 quiet easily? Did you know that you can max out all reputation, renown, infamy, Book quests, traits and more just as easily? You will also get a full range of top-level items and gold to begin your journey. This server is not only great for trying out the new content for an upcoming Book, but it is also perfect for trying out other classes at max level to see if they’re really something you want to pursue throughout the game. This applies to both regular characters and Monster players as well!

Continue reading LotRO guide to Roheryn: Getting the most from the preview server

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Original post by Shawn Schuster

This Monday, July 7 is Bungie Day on Xbox Live Marketplace. What does that mean to you? Free stuff! The kind of free stuff that absolutely requires an exclamation point. While free gamerpics and a gratis theme will be available that day and that day only, it’s the new map, Cold Storage, that will probably put the biggest strain on Live’s servers.

The Bungie Weekly Update also points out that the Legendary Map Pack will see prices slashed, with the regularly 800 MS Points pack dropping to 600 MS Points. Community tough guy Luke Smith has all the details on what’s goin’ down this manic Monday, so do check out the newest update… and the “viddoc” above.

Bungie Weekly Update: 7/03/08 [Bungie.net]

Original post by Michael McWhertor

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Jumpgate Evolution, Forums, Game mechanics, New titles

As massive as we like our MMOs to be, the realities of modern networking have made sharding, the creation of identical game worlds hosted on separate servers, a practical necessity. Last week, Awen, Jumpgate Evolution community manager, elaborated on why the NetDevil team was looking at sharded server architecture. Understandably, players maintain that the ideal MMO minimizes sharding to allow players to interact with the greatest possible population of other users.

As Awen explains, this isn’t exactly possible with Jumpgate Evolution. While their spaceserver architecture–which is similar to EVE Online in that different regions of space can be hosted on different hardware and scaled to the server load–is technically capable of handling most of the challenges of going unsharded, the central-state server on which all the non-combat activity is managed, does have a physical limit. In a game that is focused on real-time space simulation, their focus is on minimizing latency, and that’s why they’re going to use sharding.

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Original post by Chris Chester

UK retailer GAME told MCV that while it might not be planning a huge pipeline of holiday titles, it plans to selectively use its distribution channels to publish undiscovered titles under its own brand name.

GAME was quick to reiterate it planned no threat to game publishers at all, and would instead seek out smaller-scale opportunities that were good fits:

“If it works commercially for GAME and helps a smaller publisher get off the ground by GAME sharing some of the risk, then we would look at it – we have a distribution channel and we can offer a service.

It’s a bit of a touchy subject, because according to MCV, publishers are already none too pleased that they get absolutely zero percent of the revenues from game trade-ins at retail. The tricky circumstances are probably the reason why GAME elucidated their entire policy up-front:

‘This isn’t about us doing something that threatens publishers. It is about listening to developers who may come to us with titles that may not otherwise be able to get to market.

GAME explains self-publishing strategy [MCV UK]

Original post by Leigh Alexander

Filed under: Virtual selves, News items

The judge ruling on a dispute related to the Vivendi-Activision deal has used WoW metaphors for the actions of the litigants. William B. Chandler III, the chief judge of the Delaware Court of Chancery, showed an unusually keen grasp of the dynamics of the game — way more than either of my parents would understand. His ruling describes, among other things, crafting, questing, battlegrounds, guilds, and even our unique linguistic habits. (My mother, for example, calls them typos.) Continuing his analysis, Judge Chandler says that the world of Mergers & Acquisitions is similar to an MMORPG where “participants take on certain roles, interact in their own community, hone specialized skills, and even develop a unique, somewhat curious vernacular.” The judge concluded his denial of the injunction with the words “GAME OVER.”

Judge Chandler is no stranger to hipness. In previous decisions he has also made references to 50 Cent, Ray Charles, Notorious B.I.G., and Cerberus, the mythological dog that guarded the gates of the underworld. Perhaps he’s trying to keep the jurors awake?

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Original post by Natalie Mootz