The hot topic of the week is online gold and Real Money Trading (RMT). Players are buying in-game cash, levels and gear and there is no shortage of companies now happy to supply them, despite serious attempts by game producers to gain control of the issue. [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

I’ll be traipsing around real-world bogs this week but there’s plenty to keep you occupied if you are short of reading material!

Turbine finally announced their big secret: the Mines of Moria expansion. We can look forward to two new classes, level cap raised to 60 and new advancements for crafters. Personally, I’m just looking forward to fishing in Lothlorien.

Meanwhile on World IV, [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

Recently it seems there is a focus on massively multiplayer environments for girls. You can tell they are for girls because they are pink and they include shopping. I suppose that’s got to be less alienating than heroic women fighting in chainmail bikinis, so I really shouldn’t complain. But take a look at these, aren’t they a bit, well, spooky? If you have more info, then let me know. I have no intention of trying any of these out!

Barbie Girls and Ty Girlz

I wasn’t allowed Barbie dolls when I was growing up - my mother felt the peroxide blonde hair and boyfriend accessory were sending the wrong message. The message on these pre-teen competitors to Second Life is very clear: no boys allowed. Not even Ken. Last month the month the Washington Times reported that Barbie Girls have 10 million registered users - that’s a lot of grrl power! [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

I don’t tend to post links here unless there’s something exciting to say about them. I do have a twitter account though and when I find interesting links to do with gaming that don’t warrant a post, I post them there. I tend to do a link every day or two - if you want a constant influx of gaming posts then Digg is still your best bet.

Here’s the recent history (the last ten days) as an example of the type of thing you can expect to see on my twitter feed: [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

Massively have spotted an interesting article in Trading Markets which
might be letting the cat out the bag:

China’s leading online game operator Netease.com Inc. (NTES.NASDAQ) is likely to make its first step on being licensed to operate overseas online games in the near future.

Caijing Magazine reported that the first foreign online game to be operated by Netease, which used to rely on independent R&D, will be Starcraft Online, developed by US-based Blizzard, quoting an industry insider as saying.

Netease CEO Ding Lei didn’t confirm the market saying, adding that the company is observing many online games and has not signed any formal license contract.

When it first came out that Blizzard were working on “an unannounced Next-Gen MMO”, Starcraft seemed an obvious candidate. Unfortunately, the English language edition of Caijing isn’t carrying the story and my Chinese is not up to scratch, so it’s a bit of a dead-end from there. Hopefully we can expect to see a statement soon and stop all the second guessing!

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

We are proud sponsors of The Guild, a laugh-out-loud video series about the people behind the game. Episode 6 is finally out and the producers of The Guild are asking everyone to please rate them and link to them on YouTube to get their ratings up.

The series is completely funded by user donations and we have it on good authority that Episode 7 and 8 are already being filmed. If you’ve not seen these clips before, start at Episode One - I bet you are grinning by the end of it. :D

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

http://www.wegame.com/

*click* This is a just another channel — but it’s neat because it’s a gamer channel.

They are focusing on offering game videos. Are they aware that the huge majority of these videos are really really bad? Each video has a rating, based on the number of “likes”. I can’t help but think “Mikey likes it!” when I look at the videos. Am I showing my age?

We’ve spent the past several months developing a free client application that can record video from some of the most popular PC games. The WeGame client is tightly integrated with the WeGame.com site, so all it takes is a simple click of your mouse and your video is online for gamers around the world to watch.

There’s a logic to focusing on gaming although I’m sure major dilemmas are right around the corner! Is it OK if the video is from the game but the sound is from my ipod? Can I mash it with stills from my webcam? Should The Guild be on youtube or on WeGame?

Meanwhile, I’ve had a short clip in mind for ages - testing out their software gives me the perfect excuse.

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

Something is in the air at the moment and Sony just can’t seem to stay out of the public eye. Smed has had to work overtime, including phoning massively.com and posting on fan sites to get the word out.

First, we had major drama [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

Pirates of the Burning Sea is in open beta and looks to be coming along nicely. This game trailer gives an excellent view of the game world and the interface. Take a look at this video and see what you think:

Like it? You can sign up to play in the beta via the official website although the Fileplanet download does appear to work regardless of your location.

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.

Everyone is joining in on the fun. Paragon City and Rogue Island have dressed up for a winter event, with every player gaining a new badge and a pair of fuzzy earmuffs just for logging in! There’s a quest to save the New Year as well as races down the ski slopes with the chance to win a gold medal badge.

The Holiday Cheer Temporary Power allows you to give other players random gifts and sounds like a lot of fun. The streets are packed with presents and candy canes for salvaging. You can read the full details on the City of Heroes website. The fun lasts until the 6th of January so get out there and rid the streets of crime and, er, holiday spirit!

Posted by Taymar on http://mmorpg-info.org.