Shanda (Nasdaq: SNDA) is being sued for RMB 11,000 in emotional damages by a gamer of its licensed MMORPG "Legend of Mir" for freezing the player's game account, reports West China City Daily. In addition to monetary compensation, the gamer is asking for the return of his virtual items. The Chengdu Jinniu District People's Court began hearing the case on Sunday, said the report. The9 (Nasdaq: NCTY) was ordered to pay court fees and return game characters and tools to World of Warcraft gamer by the Shanghai Pudong New District People's Court on August 13.

I know people are attached to their MMOs, but really. Emotional distress? Really? This sounds like one of those ridiculous lawsuits people always use to point out the flaws of the US legal system — clearly, China is not immune either. I'll be curious to see the outcome; as Steve at PlayNoEvil notes, this type of precedent could be really injurious to game operators.

Shanda Gamer Sues For Emotional Damages After Game Account Sealed [Pacific Epoch via PlayNoEvil]

A universal game design wouldn’t just stop with action games or titles where you’re directly in control of the protagonist. It could extend out to strategy, space combat, anything really. What else is Starcraft but an action game where you hover high above the battlefield? The concept has been experimented with before in games, but with the kind of refinement we’re talking about it’d be possible to mix completely unrelated players in one game. Take Left 4 Dead. One player controls all of the zombies, the others are all playing characters trapped in the fray. One is engaged in a strategic battle, the other is having a frantic shoot-out. A player who isn’t a huge fan of playing Halo may nevertheless buy a game where they get to control the battlefield while skilled players opt for FPS mode and try to take them out while they control armies overhead. Beyond the always promising broad economic perks of such a game, there’s the co-mingling of different players and preferences in one Universal Design. It’s not a game within the game, it’s a game that has every means of interaction possible in it.

It's an interesting thought, though the old 'jack of all trades, master of none' warning seems like it would come into play pretty easily. Co-mingling, though, is certainly intriguing. It's an interesting piece on choice and game design choices.

Universal Game Design [PopMatters via GameSetWatch]

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]

I’d like to conduct in-depth interviews with all types of people involved in the creation process, from programmers and testers to visual artists and music composers, as well as game developers, producers and visionaries ....

Another part of my research is to collect oral histories from gamers and game developers regarding their experiences playing games, specifically during "epochal" moments, like when Lord British was assassinated in Ultima Online. Some people also happened to record those moments, and it would be very interesting to collect those artifacts for the cultural record.

I'll be curious to see how this project develops, since it could potentially be very influential in how other collections begin organizing and preserving new media and video games more specifically. The idea of oral history is a particularly good one — the historian in me is glad people are working on things like this now, as opposed to scrambling when it's almost too late.

University of Texas at Austin Looks at MMO Preservation [Game Culture] & LJ Talks to Megan Winget, Who Studies Preservation of Online Games [Library Journal] [via GameSetWatch]

Described as an "eternal struggle between two sisters: Little Bo Peep and Little Red Riding Hood," the new MMO Secondhand Lands has just been announced and is currently in closed beta. The game, developed by Austin-based Callipygian, will be distributed Pixel Mind and will utilize their microtransaction system:

Said Callipygian founder and Secondhand Lands lead, "We chose to work with Pixel Mine because they offered us the best value for our company and our players. As an independent developer it is very difficult to find a distribution deal that gives us a package with everything we need to manage accounts and handle payments. Also, we are excited to be working with another Austin company; this town is rich with talent and services tailored for game creation."

From the website:

Secondhand Lands is the massively multiplayer online game set in a parody fairytale world. There will be none of those pansy elves or cantankerous dwarves in this land. Our heroes are comprised of the Wolves and the Sheep who have pledged their undying allegiance to Bo Peep or Little Red Riding Hood. Well, perhaps not undying...

Both the jaded MMOG veteran and new player will quickly find a place among the followers of the rival sisters (or perhaps as a Black Sheep or one the nefarious Wolves in Sheep's Clothing). Secondhand Lands boasts those features players have come to expect of the "big AAA" games along with a few surprises.

Sounds interesting, at the very least. I'm always up for clever parodies.

Pixel Mine To Debut Parody Fairy Tale MMO Secondhand Lands [Gamasutra]

Back in April, Dan Rubenfield (Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, etc.) ranted, raved, and put MMO developers 'on notice.' And, at the end, admonished developers to "quit making PC games. It’s a waste of time and money." Unsurprisingly, people hit back, and now over at GameSetWatch, Joe Ludwig (producer of Pirates of the Burning Sea) has a snappy little response detailing six reasons why MMOs are just plain harder to develop for consoles versus PCs. Does that mean it won't start happening in greater numbers? Of course not:

There is enough money to be made in console games that future MMO releases there are inevitable. It's just a question of when they arrive.

Several console MMOs have already launched. The most successful of these by far is Final Fantasy XI on the PlayStation 2. Everquest Online Adventures and Phantasy Star Universe (and Phantasy Star Online before it) are two more examples. There are probably more that I'm not coming up with. All of these games have seen some modest success, but none of them are either major console hits or major MMO hits.

... Eventually MMOs are going to come to consoles. It's just going to take them a while to get there, and they will probably never emerge in the same numbers as they do on PCs. Buck up, Dan. We'll get there some day.

He also points out that according to NPD, developing for PCs is anything but a waste of money. Overall, it's a really reasonable response to a sometimes reasonable, sometimes really not rant.

Why Aren't There More Console MMOs? [GameSetWatch]

He covers the widespread competitive game scene in Korea, looks into Quake's evolving role in the London game scene, and visits Iceland to see the birthplace of EVE Online, to develop what he says is a story of "how games change the lives of gamers."

I thought the idea of a "travelogue" of game culture was interesting, so I asked Jim a few questions about the book, and his experiences.

How did the book come to be, and why did you want to write it?

Jim Rossignol: It started because of some interest around a feature I wrote on the gaming culture in Korea. PC Gamer UK was commissioning some pretty interesting and aggressive material in 2006, and it came out of that.

I was keen to lay out some of the ideas I'd been collecting in longform - there's only so much you can do when writing disconnected reviews and features. To come up with a wider perspective, and a wider take, on any given subject still requires a book.

What are the ideas that the book deals with, primarily?

JR: It's a book about how games change the lives of gamers. It starts out with a couple of specific cases - my own life and that of some people I know - and moves on to more general instances. The themes the book deal with are pretty diverse - boredom, propaganda, human computation, the nature of games as a medium - but they all tie into the idea that people are changed by gaming, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

Can you give a brief example of one of the instances in the story?

JR: Well, one of the more specific instances is the story of a friend of mine who now works in the games industry, but grew up escaping into games as a fairly unhappy child. He's a living instance of the kinds of traits and trends I want to talk about, because he's a person for whom some of the greatest moments in life have been to do with gaming.

Games were a way of escaping boredom and domestic discomfort, but ended up being an incredible life-defining force. He ended up playing Guitar Hero in front of thousands of rock fans at the Donnington Rock Festival in the UK, effectively opening the show for Guns & Roses. (Or so he likes to tell the tale.)

For whom is this book intended, and what kinds of readers do you hope will pick it up?

JR: Well everyone can read it, and will love it, obviously... but in all seriousness, it's an approachable book. Pop documentary, if that's a genre. I suspect there's a way to present any niche subject so that everyone finds it digestible and interesting, and I hope I've done that. It's more like chatty travel literature than dry academia, I feel.

What do you hope people will learn or take away from it?

I hope it helps people to figure out what they really think about video games. I don't want to lecture anyone, just offer some descriptions and examples that might be useful in making up your mind. One of the key tensions in the book is whether video games are fundamentally a waste of time, and what that even means. I'd like to think that both people who don't play games, and the gamers themselves, will find that they're able to discuss the pros and cons of being a habitual gamer a little more fluently once they've read it.

Earlier this morning, we reported Trion World Network is teaming up with the Sci-Fi channel to create an MMO based on an upcoming show, a cool idea as the show's direction is intended to evolve depending on what players do in the game. That co-development agreement is not the only thing Trion has in the works, however.

Trion's first title will be a first-party game, a fantasy-themed MMO headed by Jon Van Caneghem (shown), creator of the Might and Magic and Heroes RPG and strategy franchises. Trion will self-publish in North America and Europe through its own proprietary platform

Though the company announced its platform several months ago before any games were on the horizon, it's not restricting itself to a first-party strategy; Trion also announced a publishing partnership today with Sony Computer Entertainment America to do games for the PS3 in North America, though no specific PS3 titles have been announced yet.

Both the first-party game announce and the SCEA partnership release follow the jump:

Trion World Network Announces First Game in Development

Fantasy MMORPG Helmed by Legendary Designer Jon Van Caneghem

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Trion World Network, Inc. (Trion), the publisher and developer of connected games and entertainment, has announced their first title, a fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Jon Van Caneghem, Computer Gaming Hall of Fame member best known for creating the long running RPG and strategy franchises Might and Magic and Heroes, is the creative force behind the project currently being developed internally at Trion’s Redwood City studio. The game represents the initial first-party title on the Trion Platform, and will be published by Trion in both North America and Europe.

Gamers will enter a seamless, persistent fantasy world, where they will significantly affect the gameplay experience through dynamic events. Battles of enormous scale will create epic moments that an unprecedented number of players can participate in. All of this will be powered by Trion’s revolutionary server-based architecture, which is uniquely designed to enable massive scalability, dynamic content evolution, and cross platform development.

“This game is designed on the philosophy of putting players at the center of the game world,” said Jon Van Caneghem, co-founder, President and Chief Creative Officer, Trion. “By building an extensive event system and a server architecture that allows for dynamic change, we are creating completely new opportunities for creative game design. The game will live and change along with the players, evolving in response to their actions and the creativity of our design team.”

Trion's first title, led by Jon Van Caneghem, is another step that underscores Trion’s momentum in building a premium publisher and developer of server-based games. Today Trion also announced a publishing agreement with Sony as well as a major co-development deal with Sci-Fi Channel. With a world class team lead by industry veterans, publishing agreements across platforms, new IP titles being developed in the Trion studios, backing from financial and media giants, proprietary groundbreaking technology and operations in key locations, Trion World Network aims to define the future of interactive entertainment.

About Trion World Network

Trion World Network, Inc. is the publisher and developer of connected games and entertainment. With its unique dynamic, multi-device platform and a premier global development and publishing organization, Trion combines the best of video games, online social media, and traditional mass-market entertainment across multiple connected platforms of choice. Trion is headquartered in Redwood City, California, and operates development studios, as well as platform and publishing teams in San Diego and Redwood City, Calif., and Austin, Texas. Privately held, Trion investors include Time Warner, NBC-Universal, GE, Bertelsmann, Rustic Canyon, DCM and Trinity Ventures.

Trion World Network Signs Licensed PLAYSTATION® 3 Computer Entertainment System Publisher Agreement for North America

PLAYSTATION® 3 Computer Entertainment System Publishing Rights Cements Trion’s Cross-Platform Development Strategy for Games and Entertainment for the Connect Era

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Trion World Network, Inc. (Trion), the publisher and developer of connected games and entertainment, has acquired the rights to develop and publish games for the PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system in North America through a signed agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA).

“Announcing this publishing partnership with SCEA is the latest step in Trion’s strategic growth plans,” said Dr. Lars Buttler, CEO and co-founder, Trion. “The PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system is the perfect platform to carry out our vision that the future of games and entertainment lies in the connected era, and this agreement provides Trion with a major entertainment channel to deliver ground-breaking and exciting content to the mass market in North America.”

Trion’s mission is to revolutionize interactive entertainment by combining the best of online, gaming and traditional media. By designing and developing powerful new technologies, new content, and new publishing capabilities, Trion is poised to be a leader in the emerging global multi-billion dollar connected entertainment market.

Led by Dr. Lars Buttler, former Vice President for Global Online at Electronic Arts, and Jon Van Caneghem, former founder and CEO of New World Computing and creator of the best-selling Might and Magic and Heroes of Might and Magic game franchises, Trion has assembled a world-class team of gaming and online veterans with proven success and talent in business, original content development and technology who have developed and shipped more than 100 original titles.

The publishing agreement with SCEA is another step that underscores Trion’s momentum in building a premium publisher and developer of server-based games. Today Trion also announced the company’s first title under development by industry veteran Jon Van Caneghem as well as a major co-development deal with the Sci-Fi Channel. With a world class team lead by industry veterans, publishing agreements across platforms, new IP titles being developed in the Trion studios, backing from financial and media giants, proprietary groundbreaking technology and operations in key locations, Trion World Network aims to define the future of interactive entertainment.

About Trion World Network

Trion World Network, Inc. is the publisher and developer of connected games and entertainment. With its unique dynamic, multi-device platform and a premier global development and publishing organization, Trion combines the best of video games, online social media, and traditional mass-market entertainment across multiple connected platforms of choice. Trion is headquartered in Redwood City, California, and operates development studios, as well as platform and publishing teams in San Diego and Redwood City, Calif., and Austin, Texas. Privately held, Trion investors include Time Warner, NBC-Universal, GE, Bertelsmann, Rustic Canyon, DCM and Trinity Ventures.

AoC Briefing [TenTonHammer via Maxconsole]

"Simultaneity has been really hard to get right, unless you went with a download. Flash sucked for a really long time. Schedules that allow for multiplayer is also 'hardcore'. Scheduling for raids is just not something casuals understand or have the flexibility for."

Casuals get around this, he explained, by calling things "multiplayer" that may not be true multiplayer in the commonly-understood definition. "For example, Pogo.com has all these games where you play by yourself, 'with' people in a chat nearby. As they play, a common scoreboard updates. That's 'casual multiplayer.'"

It's definitely something to mull on, even if you're firmly entrenched in the 'hardcore' market: there's no doubt that casual gaming is gobbling up an increasing chunk of the market share, and it's reasonable to assume that effects will be felt elsewhere. These sorts of issues go hand in hand, I think, with the rise of free to play and less 'hardcore' imports from abroad, which even the most clueless of mouse clickers can figure out in a snap.

Nick Fortugno On The Rise Of The Casual MMO [Worlds In Motion]

They are more like Facebook, or should be. They share the same technology, and they have to be considered as a social technology if the genuinely massively multiplayer gameplay is going to emerge. People interacting is all that matters here. We are going to stick to this vision with our games. It was what we believe in some form back in 1997 when we formed the company, and I think we demonstrated it with Eve. It really works. People like Eve and play it. They kept playing it. Twenty five percent of people who bought the game on day one are still playing it now and I think that is because of how the game is structured.

Great interview touching on a number of interesting points.

Eve Online Creator Reynir Harðarson [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

"Zero sum" is bad. Games where I win and you lose are bad. Worse still is "I win and all the rest of you lose". Notwithstanding the current cultural obsession with endzone strutting by winners, losers do not enjoy themselves and if you can help take the sting out of it, you should. Alliances, cooperative play, ranked "winners" rather than "A winner" with a bunch of losers are all options. Pacing needs variety. Slow periods should follow intense ones and forced "time-outs" can offer opportunities to socialize, catch your breath and anticipate things to come. Remember, the players no longer have a "pause key" as they did in a solo-game. Strategies need "wiggle room". People have different personal styles and when playing against each other it's great to let them "do it their own way" rather than a single approach that all must follow. If possible you should balance the game such that a strategic planner for instance might not always beat the joystick jockey or the detailed tactical type. A game that allows for diverse people to play diverse ways is always best.

There's much, much more, but it is interesting to see what we're still talking about in regards to multiplayer game design. We'll find out shortly what gems this year's GDC will produce.

GDC: Social lessons of years past [Lost Garden]

I do feel like this massive trend of open-world, do-it-yourself characterization that's been gathering so much steam might steam out before long. Like any big-big trend, we'll synthesize the useful lessons from it and integrate them into what we already know, for a neater and more subtle evolution on our familiar baseline.

The uncertainty comes in when you realize we're talking about a medium that is only a bit older than I myself am — we're beyond calling games "nascent," but we could call them pubescent, maybe, even as of only this year. Gaming hasn't been around long enough to even parse out a single solid baseline; the idea of considering them with more depth than simple arcade toys is fairly new, if not for all of us, than for a good majority of us. So the crystal ball looks a little foggy.

But "you" is not the star for everyone. At the end of the day, we love games for the experience they give us and the worlds they create. If it were about us, and about other real people, we'd just go and play laser tag with our stupid friends, or something, and then bitch about them on the internet later.

It's a piece that builds on some things Alexander's been discussing in the past couple of weeks and worth a read through. Her selection of the top five characters of the year is pretty interesting, and while I'm not sure I've gamed enough this year to pick out a top five, definitely got me reflecting on what I've played this year and what I'll be playing next year ... I hope.

'You' Suck [Sexy Videogameland]

He said while some people will be colonists - "the virtual frontier opens up and off they go and disappear" - others will just use virtual worlds to get together with distant family and friends.

But he stressed there will be a group of people that spends all their lives there, and that the big question is the size of this group.

"We forget how many people there are, and we have to ask ourselves, how exciting is the game of life for most people out there?" he said.

He also stresses the positive aspects of MMOs and their ilk, but I have to wonder what's so revolutionary about people using online worlds as a means of escape. There have always been people looking for a way out of the day-to-day realities of living, and the modern 'phenomenon' seems to be more an issue of people having a really convenient and readily available method for escape. I'm curious how he fleshes out his argument in the book, and I'll probably pick it up next time I have to put in a massive order for books.

'Exodus' to virtual worlds predicted [BBC News via Worlds In Motion]

While the Times story says that "NCsoft is slowly but steadily expanding to the non-game Internet service sector, while its cash-cow game business is losing vigor", NCsoft tells us that's not exactly true.

What reads like a negative story in the hands of the Korean Times, sounds like a positive in NCsoft's response to us. Hit the jump to read their official statement and then make your own decision on where NCsoft is headed.

"For over ten years, the core business of NCsoft has been Online Games. NCsoft has no intention of moving focus away from online gaming. As a matter of fact, NCsoft has recently announced some major gaming initiatives including the acquisition of the entire City of Heroes IP from Cryptic Studios and the formal announcement of Carbine Studios in Orange County, California. Additionally the company just released Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa earlier this month (growing accounts on a daily basis) and is set to release the highly anticipated Aion in Korea and other territories next year. Gaming is clearly the core of NCsoft's business and will continue to be that way for years to come.

As an online company NCsoft is constantly looking at new and innovative ways to interact with its audience and to bring its core content to players all over the world. There are many new developments right now that are shaping how our players interact and in general how people are using the Internet. We intend to move with the times and offer communication channels that are relevant to our audience.

For example we are now using Wikis to share official game information with our players; in addition we are in discussion with existing social networking sites in how to co-operate further. This isn't really newsworthy but just a natural progression of how we interact with our players. It doesn't detract from what we do day to day, it merely compliments it. It would be a little like saying launching a marketing website about one of our games now means we are shifting our focus from games to websites.

A few technologies are being rolled out in the Korean market we have not yet made any concrete plans to bring social networking applications to other territories, but we will evolve with the rest of the web and the demands of our consumers."

If it turns out that they're exploring new ways to blend social networks and massively multiplayer online games, I'm so down with that. Seems like a potentially very cool idea and we all know that the world of MMOs could use a bit of a shake up.

I love when you chided everyone [at GDC Austin]. I watched Sulka Haro [of Habbo Hotel] talk, and ... I could feel this slightly electric vibe of tension between the MMO guys in the audience and Haro. I don't want to overgeneralize, but... I got this "We don't like you, and you don't like us," kind of feeling, because they feel like he's doing something different.

RK: Sulka has been coming to GDCs for years! He's a guy who has been bridging the gap all along. Honestly, it's more cases like... Nexon never comes out and talks, because they really do think that they're just a different industry, as far as they're concerned. I don't want to ascribe motives — I don't really know — but they just don't do the talks! Because honestly, how relevant would many of the talks here this year be to them? Not very! I think it's really, really, really important that people in any industry get out of their village and go anywhere else and check out what's going on. Travel is broadening.

It's an enjoyable interview to read with some different ideas on a number of aspects of the industry.

Defining Games: Raph Koster's Game Grammar [Gamasutra]

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to write a short blurb or pitch for the most implausible, ludicrous MMO idea as if you were framing it to sell. You must write with the sincerest optimism and the most flattering spin — fancy yourself a PR rep for the biggest idiots in the world (which is how Sony's folk must feel these days, poor things) and pitch that lunacy! You must use at least one of the following words/phrases: persistent, dynamic, community, 'tweens, virtual, free-to-play, virtual goods, exclusive content, downloadables, unlockables, real-world item tie-in, USB code, mobile access, customizable, avatar-based, secure, parental controls, celebrity placement, user-generated content. Automatic win if you can (sensibly) use them all.

Hey, one of them could be the next big thing - or at least the next big mainstream media darling.

MMOs They'll Never Make [Sexy Videogameland]

... For Kim, the business model is step two. "In terms of our products doing well, it's that our games are very fun, and I think that's the core to all games that are going to be successful in terms of the business model we're in," he says. "It's one of the most competitive markets out there, because we're selling free. So unless your game is good, nobody's going to play it. There are a lot of free games, so your game really has to be very good. And once the game concept is good, then you build the business model around it. So those business models never took off because the games weren't fun. We all understand we're working with a hit-driven market and we're fortunate. I think in Korea, there are only four products that have broken the 200,000 concurrent user level. Three of those games are ours."

Nexon is not without criticism - KartRider bears a rather striking resemblance to Mario Kart, and MapleStory has left plenty of people saying 'No thanks' - but there's no question that they're a company to keep an eye on, even outside of their home turf of Korea. We'll see if they can manage their stated goal of creating the next Mario-like characters in terms of popularity and visibility.

Q & A: Nexon's Min Kim on KartRider, MapleStory and Things to Come [Worlds In Motion]

NCsoft's CFO Jaeho Lee said in a statement that NCsoft is continuing to integrate its PlayNC online gaming service, and introduce casual games such as Atrix and SP Jam ....

In July, NCsoft and Sony announced an exclusive agreement to bring NCsoft-developed titles to the PlayStation 3 and PSP.

For the third quarter, the company will be launching the second Lineage II title, The Chaotic Throne: The Kamael, as well as the aforementioned Atrix and SP Jam, which are currently in open testing.

NCsoft Sales Down, Operating Profits Up [Next Generation]

As nauseating as the whole bubblegum-fashion explosion for adolescent girls can be to us "mature" adults, you can't fault Barbie for keeping up with the times. These virtual worlds for kids — the things I've been looking at on Worlds in Motion like Habbo, Puzzle Pirates, Nicktropolis and Toontown — are absolutely huge, able to generate way more hits and user activity than even the most popular MMO targeted at our set. This is big biz to corporations and advertisers right now, but even if it weren't, I guess it's sorta cool to see the evolution of the way children play with dolls keeping pace with technology.

In order to get access to the full version, players have to purchase (or get their parents to purchase for them) the $59.99 Barbie Girls MP3 player that functions as a USB key. The Bratz game requires the same sort of scheme, just at a cheaper price point (you get a doll and some stuff that Sexy Videogameland describes as "some pink computer peripherals (a mouse and pad) that look like Japanese sex toys") of $29.99. I'm fascinated, yet horrified. Yet fascinated. I neither knew about this stuff, nor realized it was so damn popular. BarbieGirls will be going to full release on 13 August.

Do You Guys KNOW About This Stuff? [Sexy Videogameland]

Kou Xiaowei, deputy director of the Audio & Video and Online Publication Management Division of GAPP, has told local media that fully implementing the anti-addiction system is an important measure taken to carry out the State Council's rule on molding Chinese teenagers' morals and promoting the sustainable and healthy development of China's online game industry. He has called on the companies to strengthen their social responsibility and consult with the concerned departments to ensure the anti-addiction tasks can be carried out smoothly.

No word on whether or not the government has figured out who's actually cheating the system or what they'll do when they find out.

Game Operators Receive Anti-Addiction System Warnings [China CSR]

"... Right now these marketers are going straight after the young ones to try to get them addicted at an early age, and it's like a parent trying to fight tobacco and alcohol. It's very difficult," she said.

There's actually some interesting discussion over at GamePolitics once you get past the frothing and foaming at the mouth.

A new type of cyberbully hits online gaming world [Reuters via GamePolitics]

... MMO operators can avoid any potential penalties by obtaining an operators' licence from the Gambling Commission.

"This is not a simple task, but it is also not overtly complex. The key is to satisfy the Commission that you have in place an operation that satisfies the requirements and key objectives of the new law."

These include commitments to ensuring fair and open gambling, the protection of children and other vulnerable persons and the prevention of links between gambling and crime.

I just have a hard time equating any MMO competition with playing poker or betting on the ponies.

MMO operators at risk of breaking law from September [GamesIndustry.biz via PlayNoEvil]

1. World of Warcraft, released 2004 - 8.5 million subscribers.

2. Habbo Hotel, released 2000 - 7.5 million active users.

3. RuneScape, released 2001 - 5 million active users.

4. Club Penguin, released 2006 - 4 million active users.

5. Webkinz, released 2005 - 3.8 million active users.

6. Gaia Online, released 2003 - 2 million active users.

7. Guild Wars, released 2005 - 2 million active users.

8. Puzzle Pirates, released 2003 - 1.5 million active users.

9. Lineage I/II, released 1998 - 1 million subscribers.

10. Second Life, released 2003 - 500,000 active users.

Both Habbo Hotel and Webkinz are for kids. When I say kids, I mean the kind that enjoy eating Ling Ling potstickers from Costco while watching Kim Possible and Gilmore Girls (yes, we're all sad it's been cancelled). I'm all for kids playing video games, but I do think it's weird that they pay to be exposed to everyone in the world. Maybe my maternal instincts are starting to kick in, but it's probably more likely that I've been watching too much "To Catch a Predator". Kim Phu

Top 10 Most Popular MMO Games List [Videogames Blogger]

Last month, two Belgian papers reported that police (real) were investigating a rape (virtual) that happened in Second Life. Which begs the question: at what point do virtual crimes become real ones? Regina Lynn over at Wired has her answer: "... the psychological upheaval of virtual rape [isn't] anywhere near the trauma of real rape. And I can't see us making virtual rape a matter for the real-life police. It's a shitty thing to do to someone. But it's not a crime."

She links to some interesting articles, notably one from Virtually Blind, on virtual law, where the question of "What is 'virtual rape?' Does it even make internal sense as a term? Is it control of an avatar against a user's will, a textual or graphical depiction of a forced sexual act, or something else completely?" is asked.

All in all, some interesting questions asked and expounded upon. What to do at the point where the virtual world and real life feelings and experiences overlap? Maggie Greene

Virtual Rape Is Traumatic, but Is It a Crime? [Wired]
Reader Roundtable: "Virtual Rape" Claim Brings Belgian Police to Second Life [Virtually Blind]

No, not over the DMZ. A quick and dirty analysis of hard numbers of some relatively recent South Korean arrivals on the online gaming scene - in this case, ijji.com versus Second Life:

Ijji.com (May 2007, launched July 2006) - 3 million accounts and 26,000 peak concurrent users (PCU) .... About 2 press releases in the US in the past year, maybe an article in an industry rag or two.

Second Life (May 2007, launched 2003) - 6 million accounts and 35,000 PCU .... Endless publicity in the mainstream media.

While everyone enjoys whining about the boring, cookie cutter cuteness and recycled ideas of Korean games, much like lots of other cute crap that streams out of Asia, the stuff is insidious - which seems to my uneducated eye to be what's getting pitched here. I moved to Asia with a serious disdain for cutesy crap and will leave with a fuzzy sheep cell phone pouch and an unholy collection of Monokuro Boo stuff. And I find myself asking the same thing US gamers might find themselves asking in a few years - "How did that happen?" Maggie Greene

IJJI vs. Second Life - Shhh, be very quiet, the Korean Invasion is Here [PlayNoEvil]

Now it's not just gamers tossing themselves off buildings or dying in days-long gaming fests that is cause for concern in China: parents now have to worry about their kids getting the wrong impression about real-world love, marriage, and babies thanks to virtual entanglements starting at a young age!

The Shenzhen Evening News reports that Chinese elementary school-aged kids are "'marrying' several times and even 'giving birth' to virtual babies online." And how does one select a proper virtual mate, you may ask? The article mentions one boy named Qi Qi, who says his standards for choosing a spouse are "'high status' and 'wealth' ...." So much for proletarian values.

In Qi Qi's defense, he also has another account in which his character is female and so, he has two 'wives' and is a 'wife' himself. He may be getting more of an education than his parents bargained for. Maggie Greene

Kids' virtual marriages causes concern [Shenzhen Evening News via Xinhua]

Let's look at some example scenarios:

Our couple has been trying to slay a dragon for two hours, have died for the 20th time and the last of their armor is broken. Anyone would be irritated at this point, but who is mature enough to laugh it off and show some positive attitude, like suggesting they try again the next day, and instead go on a mountaintop picnic for now? Then again, who is childish or short tempered enough to storm off fuming because it was you that messed up during most of those attempts. Who starts giving sermons about how things are really done?

[...]

In summary: MMO relationships are playing the fast forward button to getting to know someone. As mentioned in one of the articles in the Daedelus project, Inside Out, "you get to know someone inside out".

This article is necessarily bare of the issue of people who roleplay, either for fun, profit, or the joy of deception, as such a tangent would derail the original concept of the piece. Indeed, in my experience, people online are similar to the inebriated: they think they're being funnier, cooler, and more badass than is actually possible, which leads to a sort of fisheye view of their core beings. Eliza Gauger

Better Dating Through MMOs [TerraNova]

And from the stupid, clueless Hollywood celebrity quote department, Mr. James Cameron:

"It turns out films and MMOs are not that different," explained Cameron's pal Landau. "That shouldn't be too surprising though. After all, what we do as filmmakers is create virtual worlds. Both our industries build experiences that have the same goals."

Yeah, yeah. Whatever chuckles. If Titanic and Eve Online are on the same wavelength, so is World of Warcraft and House of Leaves. I mean, if commonality is achieved simply by both trying to create "virtual worlds" (whatever he means by that) then MMOs are the same as all art! Which is convenient.

Obviously, the difference between an MMO and Titanic is pretty obvious. For one, a game is more interactive than a film. I am not a person that will argue that games are the only interactive mode of art — I simply don't agree. But it is certainly the only mode where the audience can have any control over the actions taking place in art, although I do believe that a reader, listener, viewer does have an intellectual and emotional interaction with an artist that qualifies all art as interactive. But the most important element of an MMO is the social element, which all other forms of art wholly lack. There is no novel you can read where you interact in real-time with other readers, portrayed as characters in their own work. Same as film.

It's just disingenuous fluff, but I'm at the pub, there's no wifi (despite expectations to the contrary!), and I sometimes like giving my confused thoughts on these things. Florian Eckhardt

Edit: From the overworked, underpaid department: obviously, Cameron didn't say this. It says it right in the quote. His buddy Jon Landau did. I'm not sure how to fix the post without just slapping myself in the middle of the forehead and loudly enunciating, "Duhhhhhhh..."

Titanic director talks games [Eurogamer]

Print this out and keep it handy to use as a shield next time mom breaks into your room to collect your urine bottles:

In the study, the two professors took a close look at Asheron's Call I and II and Lineage I and II, which they believe to represent "a fairly mainstream portion of the fantasy-based MMO market," which encourages cooperation and the formation of groups. Continuing the Cheers pub theme, they wrote that the gameplay in these MMOs is not a "single solitary interaction between an individual and a technology, but rather, is more akin to playing five-person poker in a neighborhood tavern that is accessible from your own living room."

The duo explains that MMOs can also expose gamers to ideas, worldviews and cultures they might not otherwise get a chance to experience. "... spending time in these social games helps people meet others not like them, even if it doesn't always lead to strong friendships. That kind of social horizon-broadening has been sorely lacking in American society for decades," explained Steinkuehler and Williams.

Asheron's Call and Lineage? "Fairly mainstream"? I question your methods, sir. Eliza Gauger

Video Games Can Promote Sociability [GameDaily.biz]

MMO-focused research website The Daedalus Project has a 7-page feature on the hows and whys of those who invest a little more in their adventures than the average PvP server player (who is 14 years old, tipes lik ths lol, wears a black trenchoat and white sneakers, and slyly uses his mom's mascara to darken the peachfuzz on his upper lip).

The conclusion? That the penis-fencing that goes in in PvP realms manifests in different ways when everyone is pretending to be angry at their dwarf wife for /dancing with that stupid macho paladin for a little too long yesterday, and you're nothing without me, and don't make me tell you again!

More brilliant insight after the jump.

Everyone wants to be the greatest, or worst, thing that has ever happened to their particular land of make-believe. Everyone has to be exquisitely attractive. Everyone has to have the best reason to weepily scratch their forearms bloody with their BlizzCon badges:

Entirely too many people seem to want to turn having a tragic past into some kind of contest ('Orcs killed my mother' 'Oh yeah? Demons killed my whole family!' 'Oh yeah? I never HAD a family' 'Arthas ninja'd my thorium!') which is not only obnoxious but also kinda dumb; very few people like to deal with tragedy by using it as a bludgeon against others. [WoW, M, 24]

This sort of pissery and pretention is maddening to the players that value actual character depth and god forbid, originality in the people with whom they seek to form in-game relations. The idea of actual roleplaying in RPGs is eternally tempting, but then I remember these people, grit my teeth, and go back to dealing with the "how i mine 4 fish" style of interaction. Sigh. eliza gauger

Faces of Role-Playing [Daedalus Project]

This is Gabe from Penny Arcade's son, and although kitties do not say "Mama!", that kid has the murloc sound nailed.

Absolutely adorable. Man, kids are just the cutest barnyard animals. Florian Eckhardt (via Destructoid)

A Tale In The Desert intrigues me a lot. It's a massively multiplayer game with a heavy slant towards the crafting and community style of play. It also seems to be in permanent beta (very fashionable), and it has a rather unique take on things: A Tale In The Desert runs on story arcs, with end dates. While most MMOs run and run, ATITD comes and goes.

A chap over at the Multiplayer Online Games List has had a rummage, and likes it. ATITD seems to have similarities to Second Life: substandard graphics compared to the likes of World of Warcraft, and lots of community play, and a small but hugely dedicated (and it seems, contented) player base. If you're looking for something constructive to do, perhaps slightly lower on the combat and violence scale, with a group of more grown-up, friendly players, then it sounds like ATITD might be for you.

I just wish they'd not use Comic Sans font on their homepage. I can't get past that. I'm shallow, I know.

A Tale In The Desert 3 [MPOL]