The game launches today, featuring a new game space accessible through a teleporter in the Plaza. If any of you regular Home users were wondering what that tank in the Plaza was, here's your answer. Home Director Jack Buser and several members of Sodium's development team from Outso were on-hand to give journalists a little taste of what is now out there for all you Home users to enjoy.

Buser's hinted before at his intentions for Home to become a gaming platform as opposed to a virtual world tacked onto a gaming platform. He's used the words "mini-MMOs" to describe what he envisions the spaces within Home becoming. We've seen the beginnings of it in places like the Uncharted Nepal space (also developed by Outso) and now we're getting the first bite of Buser's ultimate vision for Home.

Sodium can best be described as a Facebook game. No, seriously – any of you who've played Mafia Wars or any of the "freemium" games where microtransactions drive gameplay will know exactly what they're getting into when they discover that only the first five out of 50 levels of Sodium are free. Sodium features a futuristic sci-fi setting where players pilot tanks to shoot up other tanks in an arena setting. There are other quests, too, such as stomping neon colored scorpions or a drinking game called Desert Quench – you'll have to check with the cyborg non-playable character Vicky to get them. Some quests are isolated experiences where you blow up NPC tanks; others are social games where you work cooperatively with other players to, say, squash a certain number of scorpions. Also, the developer said there were tower defense missions and proper boss fights at the end of each level.

Within Sodium, there are also social spaces that look a lot like the rest of Home – or any tavern in a fantasy MMO role-playing game. There's a big stage for where the developers plan to have live music events, a bar where you can buy virtual drinks in funky shaped glasses and even a VIP section where only tank pilots can go. (And tank pilots are always going to be people who paid for the game – the dudes with special colors on the sleeve of their jumpsuits to denote rank.) The whole setting looked like a cross between Burning Man (which turned out to be a major inspiration for the developer) and Dune. As in David Lynch's take on it with a lot of neon.

What makes this interesting from a gamer's perspective is that it's freemium gameplay on a major console. There are smaller, 3D games that have existed before Sodium on PC – like this game Korean shooter I used to play in college – but I'm hard pressed to come up with anything like Sodium on Xbox Live that functioned purely on microtransactions.

From a purely intellectual perspective, I find Sodium interesting because of what it will do to Home. I've talked before about how Home isn't as static as Xbox Live because when you go in, everything is instantly changeable. But if you've got a network of people who only log into Home to play these games – and their appearance changes in the game based on how much they've played or how much they've paid for – will it make Home more static?

Static or not, Home is definitely still growing. Buser was proud to announce that since the last time I spoke to him in November, Home has shot up from 8,000 8,000,000 users to 10,000 10,000,000 and the number of virtual items has doubled to something like 2,000. Home celebrated its first birthday just last Friday.

ETA: Sorry! I misheard Buser — thanks for the catch, Mathew.

And now for a Sodium trailer:

Sodium Two is already in the works for sometime early-ish next year.

P.S. Also, Monty Python and the Holy Grail costumes are on Home today. Send me pics!

According to DarthHater, the terms (above) state

:• You acknowledge and agree that all points acquired during the Game Program are non-refundable and have no monetary value.

• You acknowledge and agree that all items acquired for points during the Game Program are non-refundable and non-tradable.

• You acknowledge and agree that [BioWare] reserves the right to add or remove points to your account at any time and without warning.

• You acknowledge and agree that [BioWare[ reserves the right to change/add/remove points rewarded in the Game store at any time and without warning.

Sounds pretty definite that some sort of Old Republic game store is at least being pondered for The Old Republic. This is language for a testing program of course, and DarthHater points out BioWare could be testing out how the system works by deliberately glitching it, thus requiring this kind of protection in the TOS.

But, DarthHater points out, nothing confirms that the currency used in this store is pegged to anything of real world value. They point out the TOS' statement that Bioware retains the right to "add or remove points from your account without warning," whereas Microsoft's Xbox Live TOS only reserves the right to "cancel suspend or ... limit access" if fraud is suspected. "This would suggest that these [Bioware] points are connected to purely in-game actions, more similar to "gold", "isk" or "Credits" then something purchased with real money."

Either way, it's an interesting find. It's still worth reminding that this is not final code at all, just a testing program.

Could Star Wars: The Old Republic have BioWare Bucks? [Darth Hater via MMORPG.com]

We've heard of patching, or major content updates...heck, we've even heard of an MMO game getting Star Wars Galaxied, but re-developed? That's what Acclaim is called the process The Chronicles of Spellborn is going to be going under for the next year or so. The original developer of Spellborn, Dutch developer Spellborn NV, will be working together with Runes of Magic developer Frogster Asia, with the Korean studio bringing its expertise in the field of free-to-play and microtransactions to bear on the project. Once the re-development is finished, all current subscribers to the game will be switched over to the new free model.

It's actually a bit bizarre, isn't it? I've seen many Korean MMO titles come to the West, but to take a Western MMO to Korea for fixing? Interesting.

There's certainly an interesting mix of items to purchase in the new DDO store. You've got your basic essentials, like potions and hair dye, but then you've got races and one class you can pay to unlock, along with whole quest lines you can just drop right into your shopping cart. Depending on how much you play, it might just be more economical to stick with the subscription plan and bypass the store entirely.

The console leader for online gaming is, not surprisingly, the Xbox 360 which dominates the survey with 50 percent. I was more than a little surprised to see that the survey shows that Nintendo's Wii, and not the Playstation 3, is in second place with an amazing 29 percent. The PS3 rounds out the group in third place.

Looking at the demographics, online gamers ages 13 to 17 increased from 17 percent in 2008 to 22 percent in 2009, while the percent of 18 to 34 year olds, as well as those 35 to 54, decreased slightly.

"Online gaming is enjoyed by a diverse group of players," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. "The sheer variety of content and ease of access makes online gaming attractive to a much larger demographic than what we typically see in retail."

Finally, the survey shows that Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 owners are downloading more content than owners of other systems. But, overall downloading has slowed compared to last year.

It is important to keep in mind NPD Group's methodology when looking over these numbers. The report is based on online survey responses from more than 20,000 members of NPD's online consumer panel ages 2 and older (respondents age 2-12 were captured via surrogate reporting).

The survey data was then weighted to represent the U.S. population of individuals ages 2 and older. Fieldwork was conducted from January 6–26, 2009.

The Runes of Magic Item Shop is just that - a shop that lets you spend real money in order to outfit your character with the latest weapons, armor, spells, and other bits and bobs neccessary to climb in rank at a faster rate.

“Runes of Magic is a free-to-play game, and we want to ensure we are creating a game that appeals to the widest possible audience,” said Sean Kauppinen, president and CEO of Frogster America, Inc. “Many players don’t have the time to wait for randomly dropped items that could enhance their overall gameplay experience. For those players, and players that have their heart set on a specific item, we have opened the item shop and are looking forward to delivering a fun, immersive, and social online game that appeals to the widest possible audience.”

Let me know how the shop is, because I am never, ever going into it. I know myself. I'd be the highest level homeless guy in the game in no time flat.

Frogster America Opens Runes of Magic Item Shop

– Micro-Transactions Enable Players to Achieve Their Goals in the Game World Faster –

SAN FRANCISCO – January 20, 2009 – Frogster America, Inc. today announced that the item shop for Runes of Magic, the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) that is redefining the standard for free-to-play titles, is now open and players have the option of purchasing items that will enable them to achieve their goals in the game world faster. With an exciting and engaging story, more than 1,000 quests at launch and 30 character class combinations, Runes of Magic is the most immersive, content-rich, free-to-play MMO game ever created. The item shop will allow players that are interested in a specific item, or too busy to wait for random item drops, to quickly upgrade their armor, weapons, spells and more.

“Runes of Magic is a free-to-play game, and we want to ensure we are creating a game that appeals to the widest possible audience,” said Sean Kauppinen, president and CEO of Frogster America, Inc. “Many players don’t have the time to wait for randomly dropped items that could enhance their overall gameplay experience. For those players, and players that have their heart set on a specific item, we have opened the item shop and are looking forward to delivering a fun, immersive, and social online game that appeals to the widest possible audience.”

Runes of Magic went into the open beta in December with English and German versions, and more than 300,000 players have already entered the world. Anyone interested can now download the game for free at: www.runesofmagic.com.

About Runes of Magic
Runes of Magic is the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) that is redefining the standard for free-to-play titles. With an exciting and engaging story, more than 1,000 quests at launch and 30 character class combinations, Runes of Magic is the most immersive, content-rich free-to-play MMO game ever created. More than 300,000 people have already signed up and entered the world with hundreds of thousands more expected as word of the game’s features and community spread each day. Already a winner of multiple awards for its content and overall gameplay, Runes of Magic is expected to be a major international hit in 2009 and beyond. For more information, please visit: www.runesofmagic.com

Runes of Magic features

· Free-to-play: no monthly fees, free download
· Extensive dual class system (six primary and secondary classes)
· Versatile spell- and attack-combinations
· Enthralling background story
· More than 1,000 quests and quest series on launch
· No zone boundaries thanks to seamless architecture
· Dungeons: Instanced and tile based as well as persistent
· Individually developable skills and spells
· Armor sets with special bonuses
· Dynamic item system with hundreds of runes for upgrading
· Optional PvP system with arena battles and guild wars
· Ranking system with player-ranking lists
· Multitude of unique mounts
· Epic crafting system with the chance to improve existing items
· Personalization of player houses through individual furnishing
· Reputation system
· Customizable user interface with the option to use Add-Ons
· Map and radar system to find dealers, resources and quests easily
· In-game auction houses for trading items
· Teleport-Runes for instant travel
· Mouse and keyboard controls for movement
· Regular updates with new content
· Cross-server fights in three-server-battle in development
· Guild houses in special zones in development

Mytheon is an online game that lets players explore a fantasy universe based on real-world mythology, beginning with ancient Greece and expanding into other mythologies via planned expansions. The game will feature real-time combat, extensive PVP, and a collectible element in the form of Power Stones, which players can gather and customize to cast spells or summon minions. The game will be free to play, supported by micro-transactions.

And that's really as much as we know so far. The release goes on and on about how they are creating an entirely new genre, so I suppose being vague can't be helped. It's like trying to describe a flavor no one has tasted before. Hit the jump for the official release.

TRUE GAMES AND PETROGLYPH ANNOUNCE MYTHEON - AN INNOVATIVE NEW ONLINE ACTION STRATEGY GAME

Mytheon Breaks New Ground, Combining Action-Strategy and Role-Playing Into an Online Micro Transaction Game

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., (December 2, 2008) - True Games Interactive, an international multi-player online game publisher, in conjunction with renowned game developer, Petroglyph, today announced their new online action strategy game, Mytheon. Developed by the team best known for the award winning Star Wars: Empire At War and Universe at War real-time strategy games, Mytheon is Petroglyph's first online micro-transaction game. Several members of this prestigious developer also played a key role in creating the original Command and Conquer series while at Westwood Studios. Mytheon will launch in Fall 2009. For more information, and to register for news updates on the game, visit www.Mytheongame.com.

Mytheon is an online micro transaction game that uniquely combines the best elements of action, strategy and RPG game-play with a heavy emphasis on collectability and combat. This visually stunning title is set within a fantasy universe steeped in unique mythologies from across the globe. Players will first embark on a rousing journey through the extensive lore of ancient Greece; with ongoing expansions to follow that will delve into exotic mythologies from the far-flung corners of history. With real-time combat and extensive customization features, Mytheon will offer infinite replayability through group, PVP and solo play as well as an integrated social networking feature set.

"There really isn't a game on the market today that someone could compare to Mytheon," said Jeff Lujan, Founder and Chairman of True Games Interactive. "The game truly creates an entirely new genre offering a combination of features that gamers would normally have to play several different games to get. There is no doubt it is an ambitious project, but Petroglyph has routinely delivered AAA quality, genre-defining games and Mytheon continues that pedigree."

In the game, players will collect and customize a vast assortment of "Power Stones" which are used to conjure devastating spells and summon faithful minions in climactic battles against monsters and other players. Mytheon will offer three distinct character classes, each specializing in a specific "Power Stone" type, such as summoning or healing.

"The passion and energy behind Mytheon has been tremendous at Petroglyph. This is exciting new territory for Petroglyph to explore" said Chuck Kroegel, CEO and General Manager of Petroglyph. "We are making a compelling and addictive new genre that will have you fully immersed and entertained. We couldn't have asked for a better partner than True Games to take this journey with us and I'm certain that together we'll deliver a long-lasting new franchise."

For additional details on Mytheon and for continuous updates on the game, please visit: http://www.Mytheongame.com

The purpose of this series of articles is to attempt to shed some light on emerging trends likely to influence game design philosophy, and therefore, our industry at large in the next few years.

Rather than an essay in futurology, which is by definition very hypothetical, the trends described in these articles are already in motion — so the question we should ask ourselves is not whether these trends will appear, but rather what their impact will be on video game design.

It's a quick read and worth checking out; I'm curious to see how Luben will tackle the 'megatrends' in his next article, as they don't necessarily have the immediate relevancy of the set in the first article.

The Megatrends of Game Design, Part 1 [Gamasutra]

These are real economies. In fact, they get much closer to the raw creation of economic growth than many national economies as these "virtual" economies prove quite convincingly that wealth isn't capital or labor but instead knowledge and creativity. Building a working infrastructure to support capital inflows and outflows in a trustworthy manner is very much a core problem we want to address.

In many ways we're facing the merging of intellectual property and "cash" into one entangled entity. When someone steals a virtual thing they've stolen real value. Cash was created in many ways because barter was hard, and cash creates prices. However if prices are now known in some exchange rate, the virtual good that was stolen is a bill denominated in the exchange value of that good in the first place.

With credit card fraud, stolen card numbers, chargebacks, and other security breeches an increasing problem, we'll no doubt see more and more focus on what can be done to prevent fraud in its many forms (though Steve at PlayNoEvil seems to harbor doubts that companies really pay enough attention to security and fraud issues, especially when it comes to implementing successful and cost-effective solutions that don't cripple usability for the consumer).

Vindicia's Hoffman On The Science Of MMO Fraud [Gamasutra]

In fact, Blizzard sees an upside to being hitched to the Activision star. "They have a lot of expertise in the console area, where we're very-headed in addition to PC and online," Kaplan said.

"Activision's point of view is, there's a lot of trust in Blizzard and what we do. Activision's just trying to figure out how we work and try to learn from us."

But Activision's an ambitious company. CEO Bobby Kotick has talked in the past about monetizing massively multiplayer environments, competing with iTunes, even evolving pricing models for consoles. Does Activision have the power to change the way Blizzard monetizes WoW, if it wants to?

"Theoretically they could, if they wanted to," Kaplan said.

Blizzard has always staunchly bucked the trend in online games that seems to be considering microtransactions, ad-supported freebies, and other alternate revenue streams as opposed to the subscription model, which many people theorize is going the way of the dinosaur. Blizzard has always said it favors balanced gameplay as opposed to alternate biz models, and according to Kaplan, this is still the case.

"We would always do whatever's coolest for the game," he said. "A great example of this is our paid character transfer service, which in its own way is sort of a microtransaction within WoW. The reason we introduced that service was because we thought it was a benefit that wow players needed, and the pricing model was put there as a barrier to entry, not a source of revenue."

Free transfers for everybody, Kaplan said, would do bad things to the community and realm populations, but Blizzard still wanted to provide the service as an option for legitimate cases where players do need to transfer realms.

"We would look towards other microtransactions, or services we would charge for, but not with the intention of 'oh, here's this great source of revenue,'" he said.

Jay Wilson, lead designer on Diablo III, summed up the developer's policy on the microtransactions issue: "I think we always look to make the game we want to make, and then figure out the kind of financial model that works with that game."

But business-savvy Activision, aiming for top-tier publisher, does have the power to change that financial model. So is Blizzard worried?

"I'm not concerned at this point at all," said Kaplan. "What's important to note about Blizzard is that we've had many owners over the years. Our executive staff, sort of the first thing they do whenever we get bought by somebody else, is to go through this big training process of, 'this is what makes us successful. If you mess with this, you're going to mess with your own revenue at this point.'

Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime and COO Paul Sams are "extremely talented," Kaplan said, at working with publishers to communicate Blizzard's philosophy.

"Our track record has been pretty golden over the years," said Kaplan. "With Burning Crusade, we could have put it out in the Fall and gotten all of the Christmas revenue — who wouldn't have wanted that? But everyone agreed that if we worked on it for two more months... it was a better long term decision."

"And short term decision," added Blizzard associate PR manager Bob Colayco, pointing out that the expansion helped keep WoW at the top of the charts since it launched.

Kaplan said, as someone who's "very much a gamer, and into games first and foremost," he was excited by the Activision news. "I'm excited because of the games they're making right now," he said. "I thought Call of Duty 4 kicked ass. I had that in my top five games of last year. I thought it was brilliant — the way Infinity Ward executed on CoD4 reminded me of what Blizzard values."

"It wasn't about innovation... it was all about execution, and how well they executed on every single idea, and the level of polish was just awesome. Knowing we're partnered with people who have some of the same values... that's really exciting."

Out of some 2000 online gamers surveyed, Parks said, 14 percent would be interested in playing more MMORPGs if they were free. According to Worlds in Motion, Parks Associates' Michael Cai said that the excess of 10 million players WoW's scored is a major exception that most publishers shouldn't expect to emulate using a subscription business model.

"Social, dormant, and leisure gamers all show significant interest in a free-to-play, microtransaction-based model," said the study.

Most "hardcore" MMO players are actually opposed to the microtransaction-driven model because of concerns about game balance, and some developers have said it can be an extra challenge to balance a complex MMORPG when some users will pay for items and others won't. But games aimed at more casual players may not be possessed of the same level of complexity, or may feature different types of game mechanics, thus lessening the concern.

Parks: More Free Games Needed To Grow MMORPG Market [Worlds in Motion]

But what about the arguable king of all MMOs, World of Warcraft? Will it ever get on the trendwagon and go free, or offer a free option, at least? Not so much, says Blizzard COO Paul Sams, as part of an in-depth Gamasutra interview:

I don’t envision us changing the business model for World of Warcraft. It’s been working really well in each of the markets.

The game has been designed in such a way to where we determined the business model to wrap that around what the game experience was. Given that we’re not looking to significantly modify the overall gameplay experience, which is I think is something you’d need in order to do item-based stuff, what that says to me is the business model’s going to remain the same for WoW, and then as new products come about for Blizzard, we’ll look at what the business model is that’s right for each of those games.

If we make a game that’s right for an item-based game, then we would do that – if it’s the right business model. But really, the game drives what the business model is. And WoW has been built in such a way where I don’t think that would be the way we’d go.

It is an interesting point that microtransactions-driven business models need a concurrent gameplay structure to support it. Okay, then!

"I want to make this very clear," said lead designer Hal Milton. "This is not a microtransaction system within The Agency to allow players to buy weapons, outfits, or operatives to be effective within the game world. That's something that we're absolutely not planning on doing."

Instead, Live Gamer will be implemented as it is in EQII, allowing players to sell their own goods to other players. Milton did add that allowing players to recruit more operatives through a one-time out of game payment was still a possibility.

No microtransactions in The Agency [Eurogamer]

Earlier in the year, SOE and LiveGamer built a new platform for microtransactions, incorporating and ultimately replacing EverQuest II's Station Exchange. The result of that collaboration is the Live Gamer Exchange in-game economic platform, and LiveGamer will be providing the RMT service and technology for both new titles as well.

As SOE says character customization will play a significant role in espionage action-shooter The Agency, players will be able to purchase new clothes, weapons, vehicles and other identifying items that "tailor their gameplay."

As for free-to-play, family-friendly adventure title Free Realms, in addition to a range of avatar customization items for purchase, players can make and trade their own on the transaction service as well.

Full release follows the jump.

Sony Online Entertainment and Live Gamer Expand Transaction-based Game Play to Additional Titles

Live Gamer Exchange to Power RMT in The Agency and Free Realms

SEATTLE, WA - May 14, 2008 - Live Gamer, the premier operator of a publisher-supported marketplace for real money trading of virtual items, has announced it has entered into an agreement with Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) to offer real money trading (RMT) in the upcoming titles published by SOE — The Agency™ and Free Realms™. The two companies are leading the evolution of the gaming industry into transaction-based business models that open emergent game play styles for gamers and opportunities for publishers.

Live Gamer's service, called Live Gamer Exchange™, will provide the SOE gaming community within these new games with a trusted way to conduct real-money transactions. Earlier this year, Live Gamer incorporated SOE's proven Station Exchange technology, the first publisher-developed and sanctioned RMT marketplace, into its own e-commerce platform. The Live Gamer Exchange is currently operating within EverQuest® II, SOE's popular MMORPG (www.livegamer.com)

The next genre of SOE MMOGs to incorporate the Live Gamer Exchange will include:

* The Agency, a fast-paced online action shooter, will let players experience the life of an elite espionage agent with a "you are what you wear" level of customization. As they travel to exotic locales, infiltrate enemy organizations, and seek global domination for their own agency, gamers will be able to customize their characters through attire, weaponry, gadgets, vehicles, gear and aliases that tailor their game play.
* Free Realms, a whimsical fantasy adventure game targeted toward families, will be free to play and offer a catalog of items made by and for players to customize their avatars as much as they wish. The Live Gamer Exchange will provide a new and efficient mechanism for trading these items within the game.

Said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment, "We are actively exploring free-to-play and other revenue models, and always looking for new ways to engage and entertain gamers. Live Gamer is a proven partner that protects and supports our gamers who participate in RMT. We trust them to handle this area of the business for us so that we can focus on creating and growing our games."

"SOE pioneered the MMO genre and continues to evolve it by offering new game play experiences, revenue models and expanded demographic appeal. Live Gamer is proud to be a key part of the movement toward transaction-based game play," said Live Gamer co-founder and president, Andrew Schneider. "We're now building on the launch of the Live Gamer Exchange with EverQuest II, and expanding our relationship with SOE to power additional games including these two titles for which the idea of RMT has been built in from the very early stages of design."

If we ever get a game that fits that, we'd love to do that. I'd love to have a game that we gave away saying 'however much you want to invest in this, this is yours'.

NCsoft's goal is to bring more and more people into the online gaming market, and part of achieving that goal is to continue to diversify how customers can pay and play," said Chris Chung, NCsoft North America's president. "This system will offer our customers much greater flexibility and convenience in paying for content.

NCsoft rolls out NCcoin, a new micro-transaction system for online games- Austin, Texas - April 16, 2008

NCsoft® Corporation, the world's leading developer and publisher of online computer games, unveiled today the details of a new micro-transaction system called NCcoin™. This system will allow customers to use real-world money to purchase in-game items and upgrades.

NCcoin, debuting in the action-packed game Exteel™, was designed so that each dollar spent (US$1) equates to 100 NCcoin, which can be used to acquire in-game items and for upgrade purchases. NCcoin is part of NCsoft's continuing efforts to offer a variety of business models while giving customers easier access to NCsoft games.

"NCsoft's goal is to bring more and more people into the online gaming market, and part of achieving that goal is to continue to diversify how customers can pay and play," said Chris Chung, NCsoft North America's president. "This system will offer our customers much greater flexibility and convenience in paying for content. Micro-transactions are a growing part of the online gaming industry and NCcoin will allow us to support micro-transaction based games efficiently, allowing developers and players to quickly enjoy the benefits of those systems. We will soon be rolling out more contents that leverage the flexibility of NCcoin."

In addition to Exteel, NCcoin is expected to be incorporated globally into many of NCsoft's existing and upcoming games. NCcoin is currently available in 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 denominations for $1, $5, $10 and $20 amounts, respectively.

For more information about NCcoin go to: http://www.plaync.com/us/nccoin/.

EA charging for weapons in Bad Company Beta [Xbox 360 Fanboy]

"With the launch of our Direct2Game commerce service, GameSpy is now bridging its dual heritage in digital distribution and in-game technology, opening up new revenue streams and business models for publishers and developers," said Jamie Berger, senior vice president of consumer products and technology for IGN Entertainment.

GAMESPY TECHNOLOGY LAUNCHES NEW IN-GAME COMMERCE ENGINE, DIRECT2GAME

New Commerce Service Will Enable Publishers to Build In-Game Stores and Allow Gamers to Purchase Add-On Content From Within Games

BRISBANE, Calif. - February 19, 2008 - IGN Entertainment's GameSpy, a leader in multiplayer and online gaming technology, today announced the launch of Direct2Game, a new in-game commerce service that will allow publishers and developers to create and manage in-game storefronts, selling and delivering add-on content directly to gamers. Building on the successful foundation of IGN's Direct2Drive, a leader in the digital distribution of games, GameSpy now offers developers a one-stop service to create new revenue streams and expand the range of content available to consumers.

Direct2Game's service will enable gamers to purchase and download add-on content, such as maps, mods, expansions, sequels, and soundtracks. The service will also give developers access to a robust catalog of program interfaces, empowering them to create in-game "storefronts" to market their products. GameSpy will also provide full digital rights management (DRM), billing, and customer support to Direct2Game developers, backing innovations in videogame technology with a high level of client support.

"With the launch of our Direct2Game commerce service, GameSpy is now bridging its dual heritage in digital distribution and in-game technology, opening up new revenue streams and business models for publishers and developers," said Jamie Berger, senior vice president of consumer products and technology for IGN Entertainment. "This new service further demonstrates our commitment to publishers and developers who want to directly offer new content and experiences to their valuable core fans."

In addition to Direct2Game, GameSpy continues to be a leader in multiplayer and online gaming. The company's suite of high-end technology enhancements enables videogame developers to build community experiences that transcend the barrier between in-game and out-of-game environments. Core features like instant messaging, friend rosters, and advanced matchmaking capabilities offer developers a turnkey toolset for constructing dynamic communities around their games. In addition to these community elements, GameSpy also provides tools for developers to build extensive player profiles, ranking systems and in-game voice applications. GameSpy technology is featured in more than 500 titles and the company most recently partnered with Epic Games to integrate GameSpy multiplayer technology into Epic's Unreal 3 game engine. This partnership powers the recently-released Unreal Tournament 3 on both the PC and PLAYSTATION®3 platforms.

I don't know what convention organizers thought they would accomplish by bringing these men together, but what they got was a few heated arguments and well-placed jabs. Koster in particular had some great lines. At one point he was discussing 'clumsy microtransactions' that left gamers with a bad taste in their mouth. "Hello Lumines. Hello Oblivion. Yeah I'm talking about you." Apparently not a big fan of horse armor.

Once the smoke had cleared and then panel closed, there was no clear winner in the debate of standard subscription versus free-to-play microtransaction supported games. They only point that seemed to be agreed on was that anything that got gamers online was good, and that PC gaming wouldn't die until parents can work from home and children can do their homework with a games console. Productive!