Kotaku: Online Gaming

Hellgate: London Korea's Most Successful Launch

Mike Fahey — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:20:00 MDT

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.

Flagship Studios' HellgateTM: London Celebrates The Most Successful Online Korean Launch In Three Years
San Francisco, CA (April 11th, 2008) - Flagship Studios today announced that its action role-playing game Hellgate: London has become the most successful online video game launch in Korea of the past three years with over 1 million accounts registered within the first two weeks of its open beta test. Hellgate: London is the first online game in over three years to use a monthly subscription business model.

After launching the open beta on January 15th, Hellgate: London quickly rose to the ninth most played online game, fifth most popular RPG and most popular online beta game in PC Cafes*, with over 1 million accounts. Hellgate: London was released commercially on February 22nd, and achieved record sales in its first week of presales.

"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. We look forward to expanding the Hellgate universe and building upon this success in the future."

"Flagship Studios are well aware of how the Asian market operates very differently to the Western territories" said Alex Kim, CEO of HanbitSoft, "By listening to players' feedback and through constant updates to the game, Hellgate: London will continue to be an incredible success throughout Asia."

Hellgate: London combines the depth of role-playing games and the action of first-person shooter titles, while offering infinite playability with dynamically generated levels, items, enemies, and events. Whether online or off, a player creates a heroic character, completes quests, and battles through innumerable hordes of demons to advance through experience levels and branching skill paths. A robust, flexible skill and spell system, highly customizable appearances, and a massive variety of randomly generated equipment allow players to create their own unique hero.

For more information please visit the official Hellgate: London site at www.hellgatelondon.com
*According to Gametrics and Game Report

Raise Your Own Bimbo

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:40:00 MDT

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:

It is one thing if a child recognises it as a silly and stupid game. But the danger is that a nine-year-old fails to appreciate the irony and sees the bimbo as a cool role model. Then the game becomes a hazard and a menace. Children's innocence should be protected as far as possible. It depends on the background and mindset of the child but the danger is that after playing the game some will then aspire to have breast operations and take diet pills.

Because hey, little girls don't get enough of that imagery in fashion magazines, movies and TV shows. The last place they need it is in some computer game!
Miss Bimbo Game Attacked [The Guardian via Guardian Games]

Half of Some Japanese People Meh Online Gaming

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 05:00:09 MST

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!

Hit the jump for the full breakdown:

Q). How interested are you in online games?
Really interested 6.1 percent
Quite interested 20.7 percent
Can't say either way 12.4 percent
Not very interested 26.5 percent
Not interested at all 34.3 percent

Q). On what sort of device do you play online games?
Windows PC 27.3 percent
Portable games machine 14.5 percent
Home console 12.9 percent
Mobile phone 9.9 percent
Macintosh 1.1 percent
Other 0.4 percent
Don't play online games 59.9 percent

Q). How long have you been playing online games?
Less than a year 23.7 percent
One to two years 16.9 percent
Two to three years 15.6 percent
Three to four years 8.4 percent
Four to five years 5.3 percent
Five or more years 18.5 percent
No answer 11.6 percent

This and subsequent questions have over 10% no answerers, but the reason for this is not obvious.

Q). About how often do you play online games?
Almost every day 11.3 percent
Four to six days a week 7.5 percent
Two or three days a week 13.1 percent
Once a week 16.9 percent
Less than that 39.1 percent
No answer 12.1 percent

Q). What kinds of online games do you play?
Puzzle game 36.1 percent
Table game 34.6 percent
Card game 28.2 percent
Action game 11.3 percent
Simulation game 10.7 percent
Sports game 9.6 percent
Shooting game 4.5 percent
Race game 3.9 percent
War game 3.2 percent
Other 10.8 percent
No answer 12.6 percent

Q). What image do you have of online games?
Geekish 25.6 percent
Easy to get into 23.1 percent
Expensive to play 21.6 percent
For young people 20.8 percent
Lots of bad-mannered players 17.2 percent
Fun intercourse between players 14.5 percent
Complicated instructions and difficult to understand 13.4 percent
Lots of trouble between players 13.2 percent
Can design my own avatar 11.4 percent
Lots of system trouble 10.1 percent
Beautiful graphics 7.8 percent
Insufficient user support 6.6 percent
Lots of things to do so won't get bored 6.4 percent
Difficult to register 6.2 percent
None of the above 14.9 percent
No answer 3.6 percent

Online Gaming [MyVoice via What Japan Thinks] [Pic]

Second Skin Hits Close To Home

Mike Fahey — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:20:36 MST

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.

Second Skin Home Page [Pure West Films]

Lots of Chinese Gamers, Lots of Free Gaming

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 03:00:41 MST

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.
Online Gamers Increase [China View via Games Industry] [Pic]

Todd McFarlane Talks About Todd McFarlane

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:00:14 MST

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:

This isn't about an R.A. story, or Todd artwork. This is about — is this, at the end of the day, going to be a cool game to play? And if the answer is yes, then we all did our jobs and there will be plenty of pats on the back to go around for everybody. Matter of fact, if people think it's a Todd art game, then I've done my job wrong.

Todd sure uses the third person a lot.
McFarlane Interview [Gamasutra]

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

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 02:00:35 MDT

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:

It's quite important in the single player and co-op that we're portraying characters and we're also portraying scenarios. It would have been nice to come up with something completely new. There are things with Lynch's Psycho mode which work out differently in co-op, the healing method and things like that, but it is a more traditional approach. We feel that's what players want. Co-op is about good times.

We agree! Though, online co-op is all about better times.

It's a matter of focus, choosing what you want to deliver at what time. We looked at it and decided it was too much of a risk to change our code to be very very good at that, and we're not going to be very very good at other elements. I'll miss the online co-op, but not terribly.

Really? Geez, I dunno. Think most people will miss it terribly. Gamers are becoming a spoiled lot, you know.
Kane&Lynch Interview [Eurogamer]

Lineage II, The Zippo II

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 06:40:51 MDT

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.
Lineage II Lighter [Lineage 2]

China Introduces Anti-Corruption Game

Maggie Greene — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 10:30:48 MDT

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:

"Players fight their way through one level after another, overcoming all obstacles to eliminate corrupt officials and enter a spring-like paradise filled with birdsong and the scent of flowers, a peaceful world where people live in love, harmony and national prosperity," the Ningbo [Zhejiang province] city government said in a statement.

Unfortunately, so many people were eager to play the game that the website crashed, and it's still not back up yet. With China having several high-profile scandals under its belt in the past year, I suppose it's no surprise that they're trying to help the future officials of the party understand that corruption is a bad, bad thing. Though as one Beijing University professor put it, "Government officials should be the ones getting anti-corruption education, not local youngsters."

China enjoys anti-corruption game [BBC News] and Chinese Gamers Hunt Corrupt Officials Online [PC World], with photo credit to Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages, which is incomparable.

EA Killing Online Support For 49 Games

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:40:55 MDT

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.

September 1, 2007 Online Service Shutdown
Arena Football for PlayStation 2
Arena Football for Xbox
FIFA Soccer 06 for Xbox 360
FIFA Soccer 06 for PC
FIFA06 for PC
FIFA Soccer 06 for PlayStation 2
FIFA Soccer 06 for PlayStation Portable
FIFA Soccer 06 for Xbox
FIFA World Cup 2006 for PC
FIFA World Cup 2006 for PlayStation 2
FIFA World Cup 2006 for PlayStation Portable
FIFA World Cup 2006 for Xbox
Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation Portable
Fight Night Round 3 for Xbox
Madden NFL 06 for Xbox 360
Madden NFL 06 for PC
Madden NFL 06 for PlayStation 2
Madden NFL 06 for PlayStation Portable
Madden NFL 06 for Xbox
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects for PlayStation 2
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects for Xbox
MVP 07 NCAA Baseball for PlayStation 2
MVP 07 NCAA Baseball for Xbox
NASCAR 06 Total Team Control for PlayStation 2
NASCAR 06 Total Team Control for Xbox
NBA Live 06 for Xbox 360
NBA Live 06 for PC
NBA Live 06 for PlayStation 2
NBA Live 06 for PlayStation Portable
NCAA Football 2005 for Xbox
NCAA Football 2006 for PlayStation 2
NCAA Football 2006 for Xbox
NCAA March Madness 06 for PlayStation 2
NCAA March Madness 06 for Xbox
NFL Head Coach for PC
NFL Head Coach for Xbox
NFL Head Coach for PlayStation 2
NHL 06 for PC
NHL 06 for PlayStation 2
NHL 06 for Xbox
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 for Xbox 360
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 for Xbox

November 1, 2007 Online Service Shutdown
Burnout Revenge for Xbox
Burnout Revenge for PlayStation 2
Need for Speed Underground for PlayStation 2
Need for Speed Underground 2 for PC
Need for Speed Underground 2 for PlayStation 2
Need for Speed Most Wanted for PlayStation Portable
Need for Speed Most Wanted for Xbox

Korean Virtual Taxation Start!

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 00:00:14 MDT

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:

Sellers who do between 6 and 12 million won/half year in business will have VAT auto applied by transaction's middle-man
Sellers who do more than 12 million won/half year in business will need a business license and will pay the tax by themselves

According to a National Tax Service official, "NTS would be able to track all transactions for taxation of virtual items." Your move, IRS.
Virtual Taxing [im69.com via Game|Life]

China Arrests Sex Game Operator

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 01:00:15 MDT

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:

In recent years, internet games have become a booming and profitable market, but some games with a sexually explicit nature are corrupting China's vast number of young players.

Corrupting them as opposed to brainwashing them? The game raked in 30,000 yuan (US $3,900) from 700 paying players. Hardly a large scale operation! Brian Ashcraft

Eds Note: Reader Grant just dropped us a line pointing out that pornography is illegal in China, which gives the government legal grounds to take against this web game.

Sex Game Operator Arrested [CCTV]

Voice Chat Is A Mood Killer

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 00:00:43 MDT

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:

Recently I logged into World of Warcraft and I wound up questing alongside a mage and two dwarf warriors. I was the lowest-level newbie in the group, and the mage was the de-facto leader. He coached me on the details of each new quest, took the point position in dangerous fights and suggested tactics. He seemed like your classic virtual-world group leader: Confident, bold and streetsmart.
But after a few hours he said he was getting tired of using text chat — and asked me to switch over to Ventrilo, an app that lets gamers chat using microphones and voice. I downloaded Ventrilo, logged in, dialed him up and ...

... realized he was an 11-year-old boy, complete with squeaky, prepubescent vocal chords. When he laughed, his voice shot up abruptly into an octave range that induced headaches and probably killed any dogs within earshot. Oh, and he used "motherfucker" about four times a sentence, except when his mother came into his bedroom to check on him.

Worse yet, as one poster at the always heady Terra Nova points out, throw up a voice chat server and "the girls stop talking completely, the shy people shut up mostly and all that is left are the 12- to 18-year-old guys, and it becomes a locker room." Personally, I'm a text guy. Words, words are good. You? Brian Ashcraft

Bad Sounding Voices [Wired via Slashdot]

'Prepaid Cards Cause Addiction'

Maggie Greene — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 11:30:32 MDT

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:

"Prepaid cards for online games are being sold to children without any restriction. More and more children are becoming addicted to games due to the free access of such cards," said Lee. "I also think it is important to educate teenagers on the use of prepaid cards."

Over at PlayNoEvil, they wonder what China's reaction will be - I'd say since China is taking more strident stance on government controls, prepaid cards are the least of their worries. After all, it doesn't really matter if you can get your hands on cards freely if a system is going to shut you out after a few hours, does it? Maggie Greene

Prepaid Cards Cause Online Addiction [Korea Times via PlayNoEvil]

Koei Shows Online's Importance With Building

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 31 May 2007 06:00:46 MDT

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

New Koei Building [Famitsu]

Sega Shutters Chinese Online Division

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 30 May 2007 23:00:20 MDT

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

SEGA Shuts Down Division [Pacific Epoch via Sega Nerds]

Game Addiction And Aggression Link "Weak"

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 18 May 2007 22:00:39 MDT

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

There was "weak evidence" linking "excessive" gaming and aggression
11.9 percent "fulfilled diagnostic criteria of addiction concerning their gaming behavior"

The surveyed sample was 94 percent male, averaged 21 years of age and uses their PCs. A lot. Brian Ashcraft

Game Addiction and Aggression [The Guardian]

New Chinese Regulations Equal New Cottage Industry?

Maggie Greene — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 19:00:58 MDT

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.

According to Pacific Epoch, one internet cafe "recently began a promotion that offers an adult game account to underage gamers if they purchase monthly prepaid game cards .... Another Internet cafe is recommending gamers open at least three game accounts so that they can play for longer." Another (delightfully snarky) article in The Inquirer claims:

An obviously deviant gamer asked at a game forum, "I want to get a game account, can anyone give me an identity number?" The reply from another such gamer, "No problem. I have over two million real numbers. I am interested in retail sales." Yet another helpfully provided the URL for a website where you can download an ID card number generator. The ID card numbers from the generator match up with real numbers from the Public Security Bureau's database.

While the Chinese government thinks it can ban and zap gamers into playing only "healthy" amounts of online games, it would appear that Chinese gamers and net cafes have very different ideas. I can't wait to see how the central government is going to tackle this problem. Maggie Greene

Gaming addiction 'can be curtailed' [via the Shanghai Daily]

The Verdict is In: Taiwan's Gaming Market Thriving

Maggie Greene — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 16:31:48 MDT

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:

Games like WoW continue to dominate the market, but the casual gaming segment is growing - analysts say low-cost monthly fees and the rising popularity of the free-to-play model are contributing to their rapid growth. The console based market still lags behind PC-based games; considering the availability of cheap, easily accessible online games, it's no surprise that people aren't forking over mountains of cash for the privilege of utilizing console-based online services.

I was fascinated by the availability of PC games when I first arrived in Taiwan. While the selection at the nearest FamilyMart is looking a little slim these days, it wasn't that long ago that you could walk in and have twenty or thirty reasonably priced selections to choose from, as you can see. Beer, a popsicle, a microwavable noodle dish, and Diablo: what more could you want from a convenience store? Maggie Greene

Report: Online Games Market in Taiwan to Exceed $300M in '07 [Via GameDaily]

China Rolls Out Anti-Addiction Software

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:00:22 MDT

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

The system requires every online player to register with their real identity. This will scare away many adult and young users.

Can't play for hours on end and you have to enter your real name? Over 18 or not, Kinda takes the fun out of it. Brian Ashcraft

China's New Gaming Policy [People's Daily via Games Industry]

Large Chinese Man Dies, Gaming Blamed

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 02:00:17 MST

A 330 pound (150 kilogram) Chinese man spends "almost all" of his seven day holiday playing online computer games and dies. And guess what's blamed for the 25 year-old's death? Yup. Says a local teacher in LIaoning province where the man passed away:

There are only two options. TV or computer. What else can I do in the holiday as all markets, KTV and cafeterias are shut down?

Are you sure there are only two options? Brian Ashcraft

Gaming Blamed For Obese Man's Death [CNN]

Harrison Cribs From Second Life

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 03:22:48 MST

The PS3 is really a computer, dude. Just ask Sony honcho Phil Harrison. He'll tell you straight up that online gaming is what they're trying to ~~rip-off~~ get inspiration from. Not only does Phil call Second Life "a very, very powerful metaphor for where we're going," he hints at an upcoming title that allows for SL-like personalization:

The area that I'm most excited about at the moment is empowering user-created content. Embedding the user creation tools into the game application and opening it up to a cloud of users... I have to be really careful not to give the game away because we're keeping this secret... We've got two things in development. One in this building and one with an external developer that, when we do share them with you, I think you're going to go 'Ah now I know what he was talking about.'

Harrison also talks about using a USB mouse on the PS3 for "a deeper level of finesse, that you could get in terms of pixel manipulation and paint programs or fine tuning things." So, wait, why do we need the PS3 instead of a PC again? Brian Ashcraft

Harrison Likes SL [Games Industry]

Drew Barrymore Loves Online Poker More Than "Doing It"

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 18:22:27 MDT

Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore *hearts* casual games. In fact, she spends all her free time in front of the computer, ignoring boyfriend and Strokes drummer Fab Moretti. It's so bad that she all but forgoes copulation so that she can play online poker. The two are talking of spawning a child, but Fab confides:

I don't know when we can find the time. I have to drag her kicking and screaming from the computer.

Fab, buddy, computer in the bedroom, computer in the bedroom. Brian Ashcraft

She Loves That Poker [GameBreak]

The Ultimate Game Desk

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 13:22:26 MDT

My desk? Tiny. In the corner of my cramped (yet carpeted with two balconies and mountain/factory views) Japanese apartment. I need a better set-up. I need the ROCCAFORTE and its all caps spelling. A drunken weekend in Milan tells us that "ROCCAFORTE" is Italian for ~~fortress~~ "BIG AND EXPENSIVE." Made by Japanese company M-S-Y, this US $500 plus beast features loads of mini-tables for peripherals and extra monitors and speakers. Ladies and gents, we have a winner, a BIG AND EXPENSIVE one. Brian Ashcraft

ROCCAFORTE Is Large [Gizmodo Japan]

Loads of Online Lady Gamers, Says Study

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 07:22:55 MDT

According to the Nielsen folks, more than half of all "Active Gamers" play online. Sixty-four percent of those gamers are females; however, male gamers still outnumber female ones two-to-one. The study also stated that Active Gamers spend up to five hours a week playing games socially. Teens are still the biggest chunk of the market, and the over-45 year-old segment accounts for the smallest. So that "sexy chick" you're talking to online? Well, that's probably some old dude. Brian Ashcraft

Girls Online [Voodoo Extreme]

Shenmue Brings Late 1980's Fashion to PC Gaming

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 07:23:25 MDT

At Chinese game show ChinaJoy, Sega unveiled a trailer for the totally logical MMORPG version of the groundbreaking Dreamcast game Shenmue. Called Shenmue Online (so clever!), the game is designed by Sega and super producer Yu Suzuki (Space Harrier, Out Run, Virtua Fighter) for China and Korea. The online version takes scenarios from Shenmue II and lets players join one fo the three in-game clans. Shenmue's free-roaming style should suit online PC gaming in a way that wasn't possible for the Dreamcast's online service. No Western release has been announced. Bummer. Brian Ashcraft

Photos Here [Hazuki Dojo] Thanks, Sean!

Online Gaming Sliced Up into Easily Digestable Pie Chart

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:25:43 MDT

If you are playing an MMO, chances are it's World of Warcraft, Lineage (I or 2), RuneScape or World of Warcraft. Alice at Wonderland points to this fascinating chart that shows the obvious: WoW is doing amazingly well (no duh), most other games ain't. Kinda surprising to see that EverQuest is posting Star Wars Galaxies subscription numbers. Then again, maybe not. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Wonderland]

Japanese-Like Flag Appears In MMO, China Freaks

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 13:22:18 MDT

Late last week, a mob scene broke out in the Chinese online game The Fantasy of the Journey West. Hoards of angry players gathered around the area known as the "Jianye city government office." The reason? The office's background looked like Japan's hinomaru ("sun circle"). China and Japan have a tense relationship, due to past colonization and atrocities.

Three days earlier, a Beijing player noticed this Japanese market, and the news spread across the internet like wildfire. Almost 10,000 players gathered at the government office to vent. "Even although everything in the game is virtual, our feelings are still genuine," remarked one player. "This incident has seriously hurt our feelings. We find this unacceptable."

Players contacted customer service, demanding why this image had been placed in-game. The answer was "no comments." Rumors circulated that the online game's publisher had been snapped up.

The image, it seems, could actually be based on a Chinese painting, not Japanese imperialism. The title is "Sunrise in the East." It references "when the sun rises from the east, all is clear and bright." Ironically, the painting's purpose is to remind rulers to "always maintain a clear mind, never mistreat the people and never betray the nation." Those are words of wisdom. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Zonaeuropa] via Japan Probe

THQ Scared of Blizzard... Are You?

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 23:50:38 MDT

In MMOs, World of Warcraft is the grand pooba. The game is so huge that game maker THQ is staying far, far away from MMORPG for the time being. According to THQ honcho Brian Farrell:

We're looking at it very closely, but I want to find the right opportunity. I think what you will not see THQ do is come out with another fantasy-type game.
The other thing we're thinking is these things tend to have a window.

Right now that product is World of Warcraft, so the idea would be to time something for when that product is going to be on its downward slope. To come out with something competitive now I think would be misguided for anyone, including THQ.

Hear that? Don't even try to beat Blizzard. They will kill you. Hooray for utter lack of competition! Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Games Industry]

Play a Real Cult Leader Online

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 21:36:18 MDT

Cult leader Rael, who received enlightenment from little green men and now supports human cloning, claims to have been taken to an alien planet where he met Jesus, Buddha, Moses and Muhammad. The cult has been accused of being nothing more than a sex cult.

In an interview with Gelf Magazine, Rael talked about what currently gets him hot: online gaming.

GM: I saw that you guys sponsor an online racing team at Live For Speed.
Rael: You've played Live For Speed?

GM: No, I have not played yet. I just saw it mentioned on your website.

Rael: Yes, we have our own team. It's not sponsored, it's our own team. Some members who love racing cars and me. You know, I was a pro racer before and I quit racecar driving five years ago. But I still race on Live For Speed with our friends and I enjoy it.

More after the jump.

GM: How often do you race?
Rael: Almost every day. As soon as I have free time, I jump on my computer and Live For Speed is a very realistic simulation. It's really like the real thing. If you try, you will see that the secret is to have good settings, and that it's a little advantage for a real driver like me to be able to make a good setup for your car. If you drive one day, I will give you my setup.

GM: Thanks. Has that been a good recruitment tool?

Rael: No, it's not made for that. It's for fun. We have pleasure, but some people see our team and check the website. One more time, it's always the website

Think this is why some are adverse to online gaming? Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Gelf Magazine]

Next Online Gaming Center: India

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 19:22:58 MDT

By 2010, India's online gaming market will exceed $200 million. "While long dormant, the online games market in India is starting to head up," says Allison Luong of Pearl Research, a consulting firm that's studying the region.

India in 2006 is comparable to China in 2001, when the country's online gaming culture started to take shape. Within the next ten years, India could emerge as one of the top online markets in Asia, right alongside China, Korea and Taiwan.

What's driving this? According to Pearl Research, the market is being pushed forward by increasing broadband use, growth in Internet cafes and a sizable middle-class with money to burn.

Pearl Research [Official site]

Next GTA Going Online?

Michael McWhertor — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 13:29:48 MST

The editors at Gamespot apparently had some free time on their hands this week as they noticed a job posting on the Rockstar North listings calling for network programmers. Rockstar North, located in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the development house responsible for the console versions of GTA, which has yet to officially feature proper multiplayer the masses have been salivating for.

If you know your high and low level network code from your elbow and want to apply, check out the job listings page.

Rockstar North hiring network programmers [Gamespot]

White Day Hits Ragnarok Online

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:22:51 MST

Picking up where Valentine's Day left off, White Day is coming to popular Korean online game, Ragnarok. White Day is a Japanese holiday that falls a month after Valentine's on March 14th. Returning the favor, men are supposed to give chocolates to women. The holiday was originally called "Marshmallow Day," but later changed. Ragnarok will be marshmallow-less, instead featuring handmade chocolate as a present. Sweet!

Literally.

Full Story Here [Famitsu]

Counter-Strike Clan Leader Allegedly a Pedophile

lsmith — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 15:00:35 MST

GamePolitics retells the sad, disturbing tale from GotFrag concerning 52-year-old George Finley's recruitment policies for the Green Berets, a competitive Counter-Strike clan. Finley was arrested in London, Ontario on the heels of accusations that he "solicited obscene pictures of young boys" he recruited for the Counter-Strike clan. Allegations against Finley have him using Ventrilo voice chat to solicit the pictures. Supposedly, Finley promised the boys PC hardware if they complied.

Aside from simply being a sad story for the boys and their families involved in this mess, it's also a sad situation for gaming. Stories like this one are the type that people will latch onto in their campaigns against video games and online games. Isolated incidents become the biggest black eyes on the gaming industry's face.

JUSTICE FILES: Counter-strike Clan Leader Busted as Pedophile [GamePolitics]

An MMO Built Around Healing?

lsmith — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 10:45:43 MST

What if instead of weaving fire and ice through giant dragons, MMO-gamers healed, stitched and saved creatures for phat loot? Boing Boing points to bright mind Raph Koster's thoughts on a game that was just that - a healing adventure. From Koster: "Picture an MMORPG just like the ones today, but everywhere you see combat, replace it with healing. A six-man encounter would be a surgical operation that required teamwork. Soloing would be a brilliant doctor doing drive-by diagnostics. Raids would be massive experimental treatments.

Rather than spawning mobs, spawn ill people. Instead of weapons, have medicines. Instead of managing aggro, manage fever. Instead of armors, we have disinfectants."

Koster goes on to explain how the mechanic is basically the exact same way that MMOs are played now, just the way the game is marketed would have to be changed.

What Would an MMORPG Around Healing Be Like? [Boing Boing]
The Healing Game [Raph Koster]

Poll: How Addictive is Online Gaming?

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 10:22:46 MST

Kotaku reader WhiteRabbit created the above image after quitting World of Warcraft cold turkey. His work is certainly telling. Hardcore players put in long, long hours playing, and there has been an isolated incident of a gamer dying from overplay. But, could this all be overblown? Our Luke most definitely has an opinion, but we want to hear what you think.

MMORPG.com [Official Site]

PS3 to Deliver Games Online in Southeast Asia?

lsmith — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 11:40:14 MST

Before everyone flips out, the article at Ars Technica indicates that Sony's online delivery program - which would distribute full versions of games via the Internet - is being planned for Sony's southeast Asian markets. That digital distribution could be the start, however, of Sony's next generation online program - something people are concerned with, given Microsoft's Xbox Live service's solid infrastructure.

Online Delivery of PS3 Games Soon [Ars Technica]

On Bugs and Star Wars Galaxies

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 08:23:01 MST

William Vitka over at CBS's GameCore has a fantastic feature up on Sony Online Entertainment and the headache know as Star Wars Galaxies. While there have been claims the game was unfinished, SOE president John Smedley told GameCore, "There has never been a release by Sony Online Entertainment that has been incomplete." Yet, Smedley admits the title has had its fair share of bugs.

With the advent of online gaming, bugs have become normalized. Vitka adeptly points out, "If a CD doesn't play the last track, you go get your money back. If the display on your television doesn't work properly, you go get your money back. If a car company forgets — I don't know, the seat belts, you go get your money back." And if an online game is infested, you get a patch. The logic baffles.

The rest of the four-page feature explores in detail how rocky Star Galaxies has been. Things are looking up. There's a new patch that adds new content and fixes old bugs. Unfortunately, there are new bugs as well. D'oh!

Full Story Here [GameCore]

EA Buying Mythic Entertainment?

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 02:22:09 MST

Former online giant Mythic Entertainment has seen better days thanks to an indefinitely postponed sci-fi Roman Empire title, a lopsided licensing deal and the World of Warcraft's juggernaut.

Pundit on China and online gaming Bill Bishop posted a mythic rumor on his website saying that the struggling Mythic Entertainment is ripe for an EA picking. The company is apparently going for somewhere in the $30-$50M ballpark.

Mythic CEO Mark Jacobs posted the following reply online:

Folks,
Ah, the Internet, where rumors fly through the ether with the greatest of ease, ignorant of facts and/or devoid of reason. Please keep in mind that almost all reputable companies have a policy of not commenting on rumors and in this, Mythic concurs. Even if it was true, I couldn't comment. So, no comment from me today. Also keep in mind that Mythic has been courted and courted a ton of times over the years. We have rejected lots of offers throughout the years, including one whose value was a heck of a lot more than that in the rumor (which makes the rumor that much more fun). All companies that are perceived to have any value will attract attention and Mythic has been no different over the years. To date, I believe we have rejected about a dozen serious offers over the years and some ridiculous ones as well so this is not the first time I've said these sorts of things.

Keep in mind that Mythic is a privately-held company and that given the state of WAR, our board of directors, GW and the industry in general, that Mythic is not about to do anything stupid and some of the things I've seen said around this rumor are really dumb (not here, you guys are fine as usual). WAR is coming gents and nothing going to stand in our way except my two big feet. Smile.

Again, don't take continued silence on this subject for anything other than long-term self-preservation. I learned a long time ago that if I start commenting on rumors (true, false or somewhere in between), nothing good can come of it. For once it starts (even on the juiciest of rumors), you quickly end up having to comment on all rumors and once you do that, when you then stop commenting or miss one, then the next thing you know, silence is taken as assent and that's a bad thing, especially on the 'Net.

Thanks Mark for not clearing that up whatsoever.

More Here [Corp News]

Sony Pisses Off Online Korean Developers

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 12:21:20 MST

With Sony announcing that the PS3's online support will be similar to Microsoft's, it is only natural for the Japanese electronics giant to approach Korea's online gaming industry for help. South Korea boasts one of the strongest online gaming communities globally. Sony Computer Entertainment Japan and KIPA (a Korean government agency that promotes IT) co-organized a business proposal PS3 event for developers in Korea.

The meeting didn't go as planned and ended in a heated Q&A. Korean developers were upset and offended. Kotaku reader Torokun kindly provided us with a translation of the main issues:

1). KIPA and SCEJ will provide the entire development cost for an online PS3 title. The project will be funded up to the Alpha version. Moreover, the PS3 tool kit and support will be provided. There's also an option for the team to become a first party developer. The game will be published under SCE in Japan. A worldwide release will follow. Korean developers were pleased with these terms. (The remaining ones pissed 'em off.)
2). Even if the prototype of the game is finished, the quality or marketability could be deemed "low" (a subjective term not clarified by either Sony or KIPA), the entire development cost would need to be paid to KIPA.

3). Since the game is slated for the PS3, the entire rights including the source code would be owned by Sony — regardless of whether the title is published or not.

4). If the game is successful and a sequel is made, Sony will own all rights to the title.

5). When the game is released, all initial profit will go to the SCEJ to cover the development cost. After that is paid off, Sony and the development team would divide the remaining profit. However, at what percentage the development team starts to receive profit cannot presently be revealed.

Raw deal or fair shake?

Info Here [ThisIsGame]
More Here [Ruliweb] Thanks, Torokun!