Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Blizzard renames Blizzard DotA to Blizzard All-Stars]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/blizzard-renames-blizzard-dota-to-blizzard-all-stars/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/blizzard-renames-blizzard-dota-to-blizzard-all-stars/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/blizzard-renames-blizzard-dota-to-blizzard-all-stars/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

It's better than the original plan to name it Blizzard Dot-A.
What's in a name? Quite a lot, as it turns out. A name alone was enough to send Blizzard and Valve to man the lawyer cannons over two upcoming games, DOTA 2 from Valve and Blizzard DOTA from Blizzard. The companies have reached an agreement, however, which includes Blizzard renaming its game to Blizzard All-Stars while retaining use of the "dota" name for noncommercial use in the fan community. Valve retains the commercial use of the name.

It sounds like a little matter until you remember that Warcraft III was the source of the map that spawned this game type, leading to both companies developing competing versions of a sequel. Blizzard All-Stars currently has no release date, while DOTA 2 is due out sometime next year and is currently in beta testing. Luckily, the terminology is only being changed on the corporate side, meaning players are free to continue discussing the games as they would have anyway.

MassivelyBlizzard renames Blizzard DotA to Blizzard All-Stars originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 May 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activision-blizzardagreementblizzardblizzard-all-starsblizzard-dotablizzard-entertainmentcorporate-agreementdefense-of-the-ancientsdotadota-2legallegal-battlenamessteamvalveFri, 11 May 2012 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Perfect World acquires Cryptic Studios]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/31/perfect-world-acquires-cryptic-studios/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/31/perfect-world-acquires-cryptic-studios/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/31/perfect-world-acquires-cryptic-studios/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

We've been on pins and needles since Atari announced two weeks ago that it was planning to sell off Cryptic Studios. Champions Online and Star Trek Online players were worried about the future of their titles, generating many rumors as to what might happen next .

Today, we know the answer. Perfect World Company has inked a deal to purchase Cryptic from Atari. Euro Investor has the full agreement between the two companies, which details the specifics of this $50+ million purchase. The Chinese firm, which already has a host of MMOs under its umbrella, is taking over 100% of Cryptic's equity from Atari.

Perfect World's Michael Chi thinks that this will give the company more credence in the western market: "We are very pleased to sign the agreement to acquire Cryptic Studios. This strategic acquisition will add attractive game titles to our portfolio, which will help us further penetrate into the U.S. and global online game markets. More importantly, Cryptic Studios' highly reputable development team and its technology platform will further strengthen our well-established R&D capabilities. We deem this as another noteworthy achievement of our global expansion efforts."

Hopefully, this deal will mean nothing but good things for Cryptic, which is also deep into development with Neverwinter.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

MassivelyPerfect World acquires Cryptic Studios originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 31 May 2011 08:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>acquisitionagreementataribreakingchampions-onlinecocontractcrypticcryptic-studiosdealeuro-investorlegal-contractmichael-chineverwinterperfect-worldperfect-world-companyperfect-world-entertainmentpurchasesalestar-trek-onlinestoTue, 31 May 2011 08:15:00 EST<![CDATA[Archlord to transition from Codemasters to Webzen]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/02/archlord-to-transition-from-codemasters-to-webzen/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/02/archlord-to-transition-from-codemasters-to-webzen/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/02/archlord-to-transition-from-codemasters-to-webzen/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Codemasters, while best known for running Lord of the Rings Online in Europe, was never a one-trick pony. While many people have been adventuring through Middle Earth, a brave few gamers were still calling the realm of Chantra, the continent of the archlord, their home. Sadly, however, all things must come to an end as Codemasters will be shutting down their service for Archlord.

However, this is not a game sunset, but a game transition. Codemasters has failed to come to an agreement with NHN, the Korean developers of the game, to continue their service. NHN has transferred operation over to Webzen instead of Codemasters. If the images of Huxley and Soul of the Ultimate Nation just popped into your head, then you have indeed remembered the correct Webzen.

This transition will move all character data over to Webzen's servers, making Webzen the go-to spot for almost everything Archlord related. What hasn't yet been confirmed is if item data will be transported with the characters as well.

Archlord has shut down new account creation until October 2nd, when everything will be transferred over to Webzen. For the full details of the transfer, or if you want to make a new account, check out Webzen for all of the gritty details.

[Thanks, Adam and Doran!]

MassivelyArchlord to transition from Codemasters to Webzen originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>agreementarchlordbreakingcodemastersgame-transitionhuxleynhnnhn-gamesoperationserver-transitionservice-transitionsoul-of-the-ultimate-nationwebzenWed, 02 Sep 2009 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[What rights should we have to our virtual goods?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/12/what-rights-should-we-have-to-our-virtual-goods/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/12/what-rights-should-we-have-to-our-virtual-goods/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/12/what-rights-should-we-have-to-our-virtual-goods/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Are you aware of your property rights as they pertain to the virtual goods in your favorite MMO? Are you aware of the laws in your country as they pertain to virtual goods? Heck, do you even read the EULA?

It seems like these lawyer-speak agreements are becoming more prevalent lately, as we impatiently click the 'agree' button in anticipation of playing the latest MMO. In fact, even older games are reinstating their EULA on the loading screens, forcing players to click through before entering their world. The reason for this basically boils down to inevitable litigation as gaming grows in popularity.

Continue reading What rights should we have to our virtual goods?

MassivelyWhat rights should we have to our virtual goods? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>agreementchinaeulain-gamelawsrightsvirtual-goodsSun, 12 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EST