Kotaku: Online Gaming

Dragon Quest X Has a Subscription Fee?

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 03:00:00 EDT

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Dragon Quest X is an online role-playing game. Know what online role-playing games have? Subscription fees, and DQX appears to be no different. More »

Comcast Will Charge for Hurricane Irene Service Outages, Blames God

Brian Crecente — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:00:00 EDT

Comcast customers who lost—or still don't have—cable, phone or Internet service in the wake of Hurricane Irene have a nasty surprise in store for them when they seek to get credit for their downtime. Comcast says they won't be crediting customers who lost service during the hurricane because it was an "Act of God". UPDATED More »

Apparently I'm Not Allowed to Sell My Children for Online Gaming Money Either

Mike Fahey — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:30:00 EDT

The internet is abuzz with the story of a Chinese couple that's gotten in trouble for selling their three children for money to spend on online games. As it turns out, that's not the sort of thing people take kindly to no matter where you live. More »

Americans, Your Download Speeds May Vary

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 05:15:00 EDT

Like most countries, download speeds in the US vary from city to city. Unlike most other countries, though, the United States is huge, meaning those differences can be, well, just as huge. More »

China Launches "Virtual Property" Insurance

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EDT

Live in China? Own property? Virtual property? Sunshine Insurance Group Corporation might have you covered. More »

Lag Is Even More Frustrating In Real Life

Mike Fahey — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:40:00 EST

Artist Guy Collins tackles the concept of online latency issues leaking into the real world in Lag, the animated movie. Hopefully it'll load okay for you folks. More »

Online Gaming Marriage Leads To Real-World Criminal Charges

Mike Fahey — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:20:00 EST

A 54-year-old Massachusetts man is in police custody in Detroit after allegedly initiating multiple sexual encounters with his virtual bride - a 13-year-old girl he married in the online role-playing game Runescape. More »

Virtual Assets Are Not Community Property

Mike Fahey — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 11:40:00 EST

A marriage based on a shared love of online gaming is just as valid as a normal one, but as one Chinese woman found out, virtual assets accrued during marital bliss aren't divvied up in the divorce. More »

Report: Politics Aren't Keeping Up Japan's Prime Minister, Gaming Is

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST

Elite Japanese politicians might have different politics, but they're joined by one thing: their love of "Go". More »

Exploring The Jungle: Do We Need A Handheld MMO Player?

Mike Fahey — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:30:00 EDT

While a portable gaming device specifically created to provide MMO players gaming on the go might sound like a spectacular idea, Panasonic's Jungle might be more trouble than it's worth. More »

Skype Getting Into Gaming?

Stephen Totilo — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EDT

Skype, the mostly free, Internet replacement for phones and video phones, may get into online gaming. More »

Microsoft Triumphs In Multiplayer Gaming Patent Battle

Mike Fahey — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:30:00 EDT

In 2004 Peter Hochstein and Jeffrey Tenenbaum sued Microsoft over a 10-year-old patent for "communicating live while playing the same video game in separate locations." After six years of legal tomfoolery, a U.S. District Judge has dismissed the case. More »

Report: Chinese Superstar Zhang Ziyi Loses Fiance To The Internet?

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 10 May 2010 09:00:00 EDT

One of China's most successful actresses Zhang Ziyi (Rush Hour 2, 2046) is engaged to Vivi Nevo, a venture capitalist and a hardcore online gamer. Make that was engaged, rumors say. More »

Japanese Housewives, Online Gaming Addicts

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 06:00:00 EDT

A small percentage of Japanese housewives lose themselves in torrid love affairs. An even tinier percentage become heavily addicted to online games, a new book claims. More »

China Cracks Down on Online Gaming

Owen Good — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EDT

You could go through the Oxford English Dictionary, pick a noun, and China's likely cracked down on it. (Except counterfeit goods). Online games that are "unhealthy" (says the state) are the latest target, and 45 have been shut down. More »

AT&T tells Feds that Gaming is not "Broadband"

Owen Good — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:00:00 EDT

The games industry is unhappy that AT&T, in comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, described real-time online video gaming as an "aspirational service" of broadband communications and not a core need. More »

WoW 'Kidnapper' Gets Nine Years In Prison

Mike Fahey — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:20:00 EDT

The Alabama World of Warcraft player who was arrested last year after transporting his 14-year-old in-game love interest across state lines for sex has been sentenced to nine years in prison. More »

Japanese Newspaper Wonders About "Game Addicts"

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:00:00 EDT

The Mainichi Daily News is running a three part series on online game addiction. More »

The Great International Online Gaming Awards Caper

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST

Those Koreans know their online gaming. So when the Korea Game Industry Agency sit down to hand out the inaugural Global Online Game awards, the least we can do is check out the winners. More »

Chinese Authorities Should Monitor Online Games For Addiction

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:00:00 EDT

Well, so said Li Jianguo, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC). According to him, 10 percent of the approximately 40 million Chinese children that use the internet are "addicted" Li pointed out. From Chinese newsite Xinhua: More »

Hellgate: London Korea's Most Successful Launch

Mike Fahey — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:20:00 EDT

From worst to first! Just last month, Flagship's Hellgate: London made 1UP's list of the top five botched PC game launches of all time, with regular server crashes and people being billed multiple times for premium subscriptions. The Southeast Asian launch went even worse, with Infocomm Asia Holdings nearly wiping all player progress within the first 30 days of launch. It's amazing what a few months can do, because now Hellgate: London is being touted as Korea's most successful online game launch in 3 years. There are over a million active accounts, and the game is the 9th most-played game in the country. Sheesh. "To become the most successful launch in Korea for over three years is an incredible achievement," said Bill Roper, CEO of Flagship Studios.

"This milestone wouldn't have been possible for us to achieve without the incredible support of our publishing partner, Hanbitsoft, and our dedicated community in Korea."

Wow, that Hanbitsoft must have the most magical marketing team ever! Hit the jump for the press release, which actually contains the words 'Hellgate", 'Successful', and 'Launch', all in the same spot. More »

Raise Your Own Bimbo

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:40:00 EDT

The latest game incurring parents' wrath? Miss Bimbo! The online sim has players take their own bimbo clubbing and shopping so that she becomes the "hottest, coolest, most famous bimbo in the world." And if that's not enough, the game apparently tells players to "stop at nothing" and use even "meds or plastic surgery" in their race to become the Queen of Bimbodom. The game is free at first, but eventually dips into PayPal accounts if you want to make any progress. So? What's the guff? Says Bill Hibberd of parents' rights group Parentkind: More »

Half of Some Japanese People Meh Online Gaming

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 07:00:09 EST

Americans lurve online gaming. But what about Japanese? Nope! An online questionnaire poled 15,000 members of Japanese internet community MyVoice about their feelings towards online games. The sample was 54 percent female, 2 percent teen, 16 percent twenty-something, 37 percent thirty-something, 28 percent forty-something and 17 percent fifty-something. Over half of them were not interested in online games! That's not including the 12 percent who are totally indifferent. And when asked what their image of online games was, the most common response was "Geekish." And get this, only 1 percent of those poled use Macs to play online games. At least we have that in common! More »

Second Skin Hits Close To Home

Mike Fahey — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:20:36 EST

Second Skin is an upcoming documentary by Pure West Films that focuses on the lives of seven MMO gamers, exploring how their games of choice have affected their lives. It touches on many popular MMO topics, such as falling in love, becoming addicted, gold farming, and the effects virtual worlds can have on the handicapped. It's really easy to make fun of the people you see in this, the first trailer for the film, but not so much when you've been there. Having been addicted to MMO's in the past, I see a bit of myself in the film's subjects. In the past I've spent weeks at a time rolling out of bed into my computer chair (if I even made it to bed) and immediately logging into Everquest, to the point where it was really the only thing that mattered in my life, and yeah - I've fallen in love online as well. Maybe one day I'll tell you folks all about it. For now, enjoy the trailer. More »

Lots of Chinese Gamers, Lots of Free Gaming

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 05:00:41 EST

There's no way around it: China has A LOT of people. Know what that means? A LOT of gamers! According to the Data Center of the China Internet and the Internet Society of China, there will be more than 59 million online Chinese gamers this year. That's a twenty percent increase from the 48 million online games last year. That's A LOT. At this rate, there should be WAY MORE online gamers in China next year, too. Eighty percent of that market is free-to-play online games, though. More »

Todd McFarlane Talks About Todd McFarlane

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:00:14 EST

With 38 Studios, Spawn creator and figure maven Tood McFarlane is throwing his hat in the MMO ring. Joining him is baseball pitcher Curt Schilling and R.A. Salvatore. The new developer is Schilling's brainchild, and R.A. Salvatore is taking on the writing duties. Todd explains his role: More »

Kane & Lynch No Online Co-Op, "Good Times"

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 04:00:35 EDT

When people think co-op play, they think online. Sure, you want to game with your buddy, but inviting them over to the house is a real drag! Or because of distance, they may not be able to come over even. But, if you plan on playing online co-op with Kane & Lynch, forget it. The game doesn't have it and only sports traditional co-op. Explains the game's direction, Jens Peter Kurup: More »

Lineage II, The Zippo II

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 08:40:51 EDT

Gaming lighters are exactly promoting good health. Neither do MMOs, really. And when you're sitting in those crowded internet cafes for hours on end, slurping shit coffee and eating salty snacks, health is the last thing you are thinking about. Good thing there's a Lineage II Zippo to fire up your cigarettes. This US $88 "Pink Gold" colored lighter is limited to a hundred pieces — each engraved and numbered. It's the sequel of sorts to the every popular silver Lineage II lighter. Pre-orders start this Friday! So smoke if you've got 'em. If not, burn shit or something. More »

China Introduces Anti-Corruption Game

Maggie Greene — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 12:30:48 EDT

The government of China's Zhejiang province decided to go after children and teach them in no uncertain terms that corruption is bad and everyone ought to do their part in ensuring corrupt party members, their families, and mistresses ought to die a painful death - in late July, they introduced 'Incorruptible Fighter' so players can slash their way through corruption and to a wonderful, corruption-free paradise that has no earthly connection to the China of today: More »

EA Killing Online Support For 49 Games

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:40:55 EDT

If you have an online score to settle in Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects—obviously, you don't—you'd better make it snappy as EA is shutting down the online servers for that game and dozens more. The majority of EA's 2005 and 2006 sports entries will go offline on September 1st with support for Burnout Revenge, Need For Speed Underground and Need For Speed Most Wanted going black on November 1st. This applies to the previous generation console versions, of course, including a few PSP and PC games. The full list of online artifacts is after the jump. More »

Korean Virtual Taxation Start!

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 02:00:14 EDT

With online gaming as huge as it is in Korea, no wonder the Korea National Tax Service has just started virtual taxation. Basically, virtual asset transactions get a value-add tax. Here's the kicker: the actual items and currencies don't belong to the gamer but to the game's publisher. Site im69.com lays out the policy: More »

China Arrests Sex Game Operator

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 03:00:15 EDT

From anti-addiction systems to cybercafe crackdowns, the Chinese government has taken multiple steps to fight online game addiction. It's latest effort? Arresting the operator of online sex game Girlfriend Hut. Says an official spokesperson: More »

Voice Chat Is A Mood Killer

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 02:00:43 EDT

Few like the sound of their own voice. And even fewer like the voices of their World of Warcraft buddies'. Sure, voice chat is nothing new to online, but has become more and more common in MMORPGs. With text chatting giving way to in-game voice chat, good old internet anonymity is being threatened in the virtual world. Writes Clive Thompson over at Wired.com: More »

'Prepaid Cards Cause Addiction'

Maggie Greene — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 13:30:32 EDT

Or so says the title of a Korea Times article, which laments the accessibility of prepaid cards for online games: unlike booze or cigarettes, they're (surprise!) not regulated. While the monthly subscription model is most common in the West, it's the pay-as-you-go or prepaid model in Asia, and the cards are easy to buy at places like 7-11, right along with your card to recharge your mobile. One concerned mother seems to be looking for an easy target to blame: More »

Koei Shows Online's Importance With Building

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 31 May 2007 08:00:46 EDT

Dynasty Warriors maker Koei has wrapped up construction on a new building in Yokohama. Yes, a NEW BUILDING. Design was overseen by Osaka-born graphic designer Kazumasa Nagai. That crazy eye art? Nagai made that, and it probably can see into your soul. Dubbed Koei Gemini, the building is dedicated to online gaming in Asia. So, if anyone ever doubts the power of online gaming in Asia, please point to this building. Brian Ashcraft More »

Sega Shutters Chinese Online Division

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 31 May 2007 01:00:20 EDT

SEGA's Shanghai-based online game unit has reached the end of its run reports website 17173.com. An unnamed SEGA China employee told the site that the subsidiary has The reason? Poor performance. Founded in fall 2005, the division hosted casual games like Rainbow Knight which would peak at meek 1,000 players online at any time. Online game Tong Tong Online was a complete failure. Pretty sad! Remember this is a rumor at the movement, but with poor performance like that, we'd be more inclined to disbelieve that SEGA was keeping the subsidiary up and running. Brian Ashcraft More »

Game Addiction And Aggression Link "Weak"

Brian Ashcraft — Sat, 19 May 2007 00:00:39 EDT

An article in journo CyberPyschology & Behavior offers these factoids about game addiction based on surveying 7,000 online gamers using online questionnaires; More »

New Chinese Regulations Equal New Cottage Industry?

Maggie Greene — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 21:00:58 EDT

Since the Chinese government has ordered domestic companies like Shanda and NetEase.com to install an anti-addiction system and a "real name checking" system by July 15, there are lots of people making dissatisfied and suspicious grumbling noises. Will the information tied to each ID card required to register an account be safe? Aren't kids these days smart enough to get around this stuff? While the government is defending the new plan and regulations, enterprising gamers and internet cafes are already figuring out ways to get around the system - and make money in the process. More »

The Verdict is In: Taiwan's Gaming Market Thriving

Maggie Greene — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 18:31:48 EDT

A recently released report confirms what anyone who has walked into a Taiwanese convenience store can tell you: the online gaming segment is thriving, expanding, and expected to top $300 million in sales this year. OK, so I couldn't have guessed that last part. Pearl Research's Online Games Market in Taiwan examines the trends and potential of the Taiwanese online gaming market, and comes to some not-very-surprising conclusions: More »

China Rolls Out Anti-Addiction Software

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 02:00:22 EDT

Gaming is getting get harder in China for the 18 and under crowd. The government is forcing online game operators like NASDAQ-listed Shanda, NetEase and The9 to use anti-addiciton software that limits the time underage gamers can play. Games not embedded with the new software by July 16th will be shut down! With the installed program, kids can play up to three hours of online games like WoW or whatever no problem. In the two hours following that, the player's points are cut in half, and after five hours, the points are reduced to zero. It's not possible to earn anymore. What's more, a warning will also start popping up every 15 minutes warning of "unhealthy game time." This new system will require players to log-in with their real names and i.d. card numbers. Analyst Liu Bin More »