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Bungie's Destiny coming in 2013, features microtransactions and subscriptions

Jef Reahard — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Legal

Bungie's long-rumored MMO project has been outed by the Los Angeles Times in its coverage of a games industry lawsuit. According to the article, the company is developing a new IP called Destiny consisting primarily of sci-fi first-person shooter titles, the first of which will launch in 2013 on the Xbox 360.

The title will be sold at retail but will also feature DLC, microtransactions, and subscriptions. But is it an MMO? That's still to be determined; the company hasn't released details. Eurogamer has put together a piece summarizing various Bungie comments on the Destiny series, including hints at persistence and a long-term commitment from both fans and developers.

"I can't get into specifics, but we're definitely looking at building a universe that people want to spend time in," community director Brian Jarrard said in April of 2010. Bungie's Joseph Staten also commented on the IP at GDC 2010. "Wouldn't it be great if we could make a world that was always there for you," he said.

Bungie's Destiny coming in 2013, features microtransactions and subscriptions originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 May 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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STO's lead ship designer deserts to Bungie

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play

The man responsible for many of the starship designs in Star Trek Online has left orbit for a different company. Lead Ship Designer Adam Williams announced over Twitter that he's given his two-week notice at Cryptic, and will be departing for a role at Bungie. He presented it as a good news/bad news scenario to his fans:

"I have bad news and good news. Bad news is I'm leaving STO and Cryptic in two weeks. Good news is I'm going to Bungie to work on their new title. Ian Richards will be replacing me permanently. Thanks for the wishes all. Ian is highly skilled. Trained in ships by yours truly."

You can check out Williams' various STO model designs on his personal blog.

STO's lead ship designer deserts to Bungie originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Mar 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The MMO Report: The throne of agony edition

Larry Everett — Thu, 26 May 2011 21:30:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Classes, MMO industry, Second Life, Guild Wars 2, Humor, Rumors, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

This week on the MMO Report, our very own mountain man, Casey Schreiner, decided to grace us with his presence after taking off a week for his birthday. I mean, really... where is his loyalty? Thank goodness he returned because the internet would have exploded if we had to see another flawless MMO Report from Morgan Webb. The internet can't take that level of perfection.

At any rate, this week we discover just how awesome Massively is as Schreiner reports on our report of the Bungie MMO rumors; then we find out that Second Life may be just as weird as we thought it was; next, the power of the Guild Wars 2 Engineer has inspired Casey to tackle the next level of greatness; and lastly, we find out what can no longer be contained in Casey's Mail Bag.

Life is too short for you to miss a single episode of the MMO Report, so catch it after the break!

Continue reading The MMO Report: The throne of agony edition

The MMO Report: The throne of agony edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 May 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New evidence supports Bungie's Destiny in MMOs

Larry Everett — Thu, 19 May 2011 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, Rumors

If you have been following Bungie, then you are well aware of the alleged MMO in development by the creators of the single-player first-person shooter series Halo. Most are also aware of the "World of Warcraft in space" quote from a supposed ex-Bungie employee in the geek blog Kotaku. In that same article, the source named Project Tiger by another name: Destiny. At the time, there was nothing to validate the claims of the article, until now.

Now may be a good time to don your tinfoil hat.

On the fan site Halo.Bungie.org, a blogger may have discovered an actual connection between the words of the ex-Bungie employee and the name Destiny. While tracing the activities of Bungie employees, this intrepid pursuer found Podophobia Entertainment a company formed by Harold Ryan and Martin O'Donnell of Bungie. One of the trademarks issued by this company was the name Destiny listed as "computer game software downloadable from a global computer network."

Massively will let you draw your own conclusion for this, but pictured above is the trademarked logo for Podophobia's Destiny and next to that a Bungie employee wearing that same logo on a t-shirt. Tell us what you think in the comments.

New evidence supports Bungie's Destiny in MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 May 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie admits to MMO hoax

Justin Olivetti — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, real-world, MMOFPS, Massively Event Coverage

Are they or aren't they? This is the multi-million dollar question for Bungie Studios, who had all but confirmed that it was working on a MMO of sorts. Apparently, this was either a ruse, a goof or a massive misunderstanding, as a Bungie representative clarified David Aldridge's comments at GDC as being nothing more than a tongue-in-cheek joke.

Bungie fans, prepare to have your heart broken, in three... two... one: "In rehearsal Aldridge was convinced that everybody got the joke. It was all in the delivery, he assured us, and he was certain it was clear that he was playfully riffing off of the recent rumors. Unfortunately, most people can't figure David out -- they can't process him. And we don't expect them to. You can't process David Aldridge with a normal brain. You'd need tiger blood and Adonis DNA."

While the studio tried to laugh off the miscommunication, this is sad news indeed for MMO fans who had hoped that Bungie was jumping into the ring. Last month we heard unconfirmed reports that this alleged MMOFPS was being developed under the code-name of Destiny.

Bungie admits to MMO hoax originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC 2011: Bungie's MMO won't be WoW in space

Jef Reahard — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items

The top secret MMO project from Bungie continues to raise fan and industry eyebrows despite the absence of any real information about the title. The game, rumored to carry the code name Destiny, will be massively multiplayer, and it will be set against a space/sci-fi backdrop. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess as to what will actually emerge from the Halo-maker's secret laboratory.

Joystiq has unearthed a blurb about the project from this week's GDC, wherein Bungie lead network engineer David Aldridge was overheard referring to the game as "massively multiplayer" as well as the fact that it won't be "WoW in space."

GDC 2011: Bungie's MMO won't be WoW in space originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The MMO Report: Slave labor edition

Larry Everett — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, MMO industry, New titles, Humor, Rumors, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

In case you have you not gotten enough MMO news this week, Casey Schreiner delivers another action-packed episode of the MMO Report -- OK, maybe not action-packed, but it does have a lot of flying graphics.

This week, the important topics are RIFT and some other things that no one cares about. Really, when there is a dev walkthrough from what is arguably the best game ever made, what else is there to talk about? Sure, there is that leak about Bungie's new MMO, and Minecraft received an update. But that pales in comparison to the wonder that is RIFT, right?

Anyway, if you are looking to become Casey's indentured servant or you just want to watch his beard, follow after the ~~break~~ rift or visit G4TV! Don't touch the beard.

RIFT.

Continue reading The MMO Report: Slave labor edition

The MMO Report: Slave labor edition originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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"WoW in space": Bungie's MMOFPS named Destiny

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, Legal, MMOFPS

A couple of years ago, fans of the Halo franchise were crushed to find out that their favorite first-person shooter probably wasn't going to make the leap to MMO space. However, the company behind the Halo phenomenon has been diligently at work on another highly speculated-about project -- and it looks as though this project could go a long way to giving the fans what they want.

According to Kotaku, Bungie has been developing a massively multiplayer first-person shooter named Destiny. Previously code-named "Tiger," Destiny is described by Kotaku's unnamed source as being "World of Warcraft in space" and will run on all-new technology developed by the studio, including unique online connectivity and matchmaking software.

Bungie is currently in a 10-year publishing agreement with Activision Blizzard, so presumably Destiny will be published by the company. Last year, Blizzard's Rob Pardo applauded the idea of a Bungie MMO, although he refused to comment on a collaboration between the two studios.

"WoW in space": Bungie's MMOFPS named Destiny originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blizzard's Pardo talks Bungie MMO

Jef Reahard — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Events, real-world, Interviews

A Bungie MMORPG is a rumor that simply won't die. Whether it's Joe Staten hinting at a persistent world during the recently concluded GDC, or Bobby Kotick telling investors that one of the reasons Bungie signed with Activision was to avail itself of Blizzard's vast customer service expertise, scuttlebutt about a Halo-themed MMO is a speculative fire that's hard to douse.

In a new interview at Next Gen, Blizzard boss Rob Pardo (co-designer on World of Warcraft) says his company could share resources with Bungie on an MMO project and furthermore, he'd love to play it. "I think that's one of the other reasons we've been so successful at Blizzard -- all of us play and love games. We're as big a fans as anybody. I would love to play a Bungie MMO. I think it would be cool," he said at last week's Blizzcon.

Pardo was also quick to point out that Blizzard is very focused on their own development, and talk of a Bungie collaboration is somewhat premature. "There are a lot of ifs there. It would have to be a very specific proposal," he said.

Blizzard's Pardo talks Bungie MMO originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2029 enters alpha testing phase

Kyle Horner — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, News items, Free-to-play, MMORTS

Post-apocalyptic fans rejoice! Yet another game in your favorite science fiction genre is moving ahead with development, as free-to-play title 2029 goes into alpha testing as of Monday, May 25th. Unsure of how the game plays? You can find a newbie guide here that'll give you a pretty thorough rundown of all the MMORTS features designed into the game.

It looks to be an interesting blend of sci-fi and real-time strategy, with a dash of fantasy as well. We also saw some screenshots with a definite hint of Halo and StarCraft. So if you enjoy those settings, it couldn't hurt to give this a look even if you're vaguely interested. After registering an account for the game, you can go for a direct download or a torrent version of the game client -- always a nice option to have.

2029 enters alpha testing phase originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 May 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gazillion Entertainment Names Stuart Moulder as VP

Jon Shute — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Jumpgate Evolution, MMO industry, LEGO Universe

Gazillion Entertainment have announced that their expansion into the MMO market continues with hiring Stuart Moulder as their new Vice President of Studios, with responsibility for game development across all of their studios. Gazillion recently announced that they had purchased Netdevil, who are developing Jumpgate Evolution and LEGO Universe. They also announced that they are developing two games based on the Marvel superhero licence.

Moulder has most recently worked as Senior Vice President at Screenlife where he was responsible for bringing the Scene It? license to games as helping with the sale of the company to Paramount Digital. He also spent eight years at Microsoft where he was responsible for acquiring and managing companies such as Halo developer Bungie, Age of Empires and Halo Wars developer Ensemble Studios and veteran developers FASA of Mechwarrior and Shadowrun fame, although since he has left Microsoft we have seen Ensemble Studios and FASA shut down and Bungie has become independent.

Gazillion Entertainment Names Stuart Moulder as VP originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 21 May 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Further details emerge on the canceled Halo MMO

Kyle Horner — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items

Shacknews had the chance to speak with Ensemble director of technology Dave Pottinger, who had quite a bit to say about the Halo MMO. The biggest surprise revealed was that the game had gotten a green light and was in development for a good length of time before leadership changed at Microsoft, and the title was canceled. Pottinger also acknowledge the fact that conceptual screens leaked were in fact designed with a very World of Warcraft mentality, although he stressed that what Ensemble actually ended up with internally at the time had more emphasis on feeling like the traditional Halo universe.

Combat was also a topic of discussion. Pottinger says the game's combat had a very classic MMO feel to it, but there was a leaning towards an "actiony" feel. Whether or not Ensemble's Halo MMO was or is a good idea, there's no denying the fact that a properly made title could still appeal to a lot of people.

Further details emerge on the canceled Halo MMO originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bungie considers the challenges of a Halo MMO

Kyle Horner — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items

Bungie community and PR director Brian Jarrard recently told gamesindustry.biz that a Halo MMO has been the subject of "heated discussions" at the house that built Master Chief. Jarrard opines on the topic for a while, concluding that a lot of new lore and characters on top of the already-extensive universe that is Halo for a workable MMO.

That point of view rings quite true with us here at Massively. Typically, any time a non-MMO property is tapped for entry into the genre there are mountains of conceptual alterations that need to be made -- not to mention the catch 22 Jedi concession. You can't have a compelling Star Wars MMO without Jedi, however there needs to be some serious lore considerations if a developer is to allow hundreds of players run around their game world as laser-sword swinging, neo-space faring, monk/samurai. The same rule applies to the rare and elite Spartan warriors of the Halo universe.

Bungie considers the challenges of a Halo MMO originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Impressions: SAGA

Akela Talamasca — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Game mechanics, Reviews, Opinion, Hands-on, Saga, MMORTS, First Impressions

SAGA (not to be confused with Saga, who gave us the immortal "On the Loose") is an MMORTS -- massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game. While there are few enough of these on the market -- making its very existence worthy of approbation -- we thought it would be worth taking a closer look, to offer up an opinion of our first couple of hours into gameplay. Thus, this First Impressions post.

Remember: this is not a guide, nor was this in any way influenced by the development studio. This is an entirely subjective look at SAGA, from an average gamer's point of view. And now, on with the show! Game. Thing. Whatever. Onward!

Gallery: First Impressions: SAGA

Continue reading First Impressions: SAGA

First Impressions: SAGA originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Running the numbers on a Halo MMO

Michael Zenke — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Opinion, MMOFPS, Rumors

What property would sends chills through fandom on two sides of a genre divide? What title could you almost guarantee to spark interest and even further expand the MMO genre? How about Bungie's Halo? We've talked about the possibility of a Halo MMO once or twice before, but it was just that, talk. In light of the E3 Bungiegate hoorah, Rock Paper Shotgun is running the numbers on how likely Bungie's big announcement was to have been a massively multiplayer FPS set in the Halo world.

It all comes down, essentially, to the statement by Microsoft that the next Halo title won't star Master Chief. "Lateral thinking", as RPS puts it, can easily see the possibility of yourself stepping into the 'title' role in an interaction with the franchise. Certainly the groundwork is there - we know that Bungie has some lore tucked away behind the scenes. They know lots about that world we haven't seen in the games yet, and odds are they'd love to get it out somehow. Halo 3, by the same token, has a bunch of MMO-like elements already embedded. Much like Call of Duty 4, your participation in multiplayer matches impacts a persistent 'character'. The site has a few links for you to follow (including one to an interesting Microsoft research paper), and some videos as well.

All of this is just speculation, just the same. What do you think? Are we likely to see a brand new Bungie-helmed MMOFPS sometime in the future?

Running the numbers on a Halo MMO originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What are your three E3 wishes?

Kyle Horner — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind

Hey, today's the first day of E3 and you know what that means boys and girls! Well, maybe you don't know what it means so let us explain: You get three completely nonsensical E3 MMO wishes! Yes you heard us right, we want to know what your three MMO fantasies are and the crazier the better. Although don't let that stop you from slipping us any hidden riddles if you know something. Then again, you could just throw us a tip through our tip line as well.

For our three wishes we'll have to go the obvious route: Bioware MMO is announced, whatever it may be -- we just want it out in the open. Square-Enix announces their next big MMO project that's hopefully set in Ivalice this time around. Finally -- and this is the biggun -- Bungie reveals that their next project is in fact an MMO being created exclusively for the Xbox 360. We know, it's insane! Looking back on our wishes, we just realized that our biggest mistake was making too many must-play MMOs known at once. Now our social lives must suffer the consequences.

The Daily Grind: What are your three E3 wishes? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Who's your dream developer?

Kyle Horner — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind

If you could have any developer tackle an MMO project, who would it be? There are a lot of great developers out there who've never -- as far as we know -- tried their hand at the genre. In fact, recently both Sid Meier and Gabe Newell have expressed their interest in creating MMOs. So there's always the dream of seeing a Valve MMO or even something based on the Civilation franchise as well. However, there's still plenty of other developers that we'd love to see tackle the genre. Bungie, Rockstar, Insomniac and Relic Entertainment are a few that come to mind. There's also long shots like Nintendo or Epic Games, too.

With so much money being made in the MMO market, we wonder if it's only a matter of time until a high profile developer can pitch a crazily-yet-awesomely different MMO concept and see it published and released into the wild. Maybe we'll even get a game out of

The Daily Grind: Who's your dream developer? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Gaming Iconoclast: A side of PlanetSide

Rafe Brox — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: PlanetSide, Events, in-game, PvP, Reviews, Opinion, War, Hands-on, MMOFPS, Humor, The Gaming Iconoclast

"Come on, you apes! Do you want to live forever?"
- Unknown WWI platoon Sergeant, as quoted in the epigraph of Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein

This sort of chaos, of being flung into the maw of an overwhelming and relentless foe, very succinctly sums up the jovial insanity of Massively's foray into PlanetSide's world-event realm as so-called Black Ops. Replete with frenetic action, us-versus-the-world attitude, and the ever-so-helpful seismic and meteoric stylings of a GM eavesdropping on our Skype chat, TGI hopes that our incursion into PlanetSide's universe provided an entertaining distraction to the folks for whom it's been a long-time daily driver.

Our efforts could politely have been called "lambs to the slaughter." They could less-politely be visualized as a well-worn combat boot meeting a sensitive part of TGI's anatomy, perhaps the one he sits upon, repeatedly and with great vigor.

It was glorious.

Continue reading The Gaming Iconoclast: A side of PlanetSide

The Gaming Iconoclast: A side of PlanetSide originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Next Halo game: FPS MMO?

Mike Schramm — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:51:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, PlanetSide, MMO industry, New titles

So now that Bungie and Microsoft have parted ways, what's next for the Halo universe? The latest rumor says Master Chief and company are headed to an first person shooter MMO. That... would be spectacular, given that's done right. Halo is already basically an MMO, considering all the persistent stats, customization and tracking that Bungie has put into it. All it really needs is a virtual world for the Covenant (or what's left of it), Earth, and the Flood to fight it out in, and we're off to the rocket races.

The rumor, which is actually from the latest EGM, recommends Bungie for such a task, and there has been speculation that Bungie will go to an MMO next also (although, there's been speculation that every big game developer is working on an MMO, so don't hold your breath on that one either). But it's true that while PlanetSide is entertaining, we haven't yet seen a next generation FPS MMO done right. Could be that Bungie are just the ones to do it.

[ via X3F ]

Next Halo game: FPS MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Speculation: Bungie's next project is an MMO?

Mike Schramm — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:59:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, New titles

I'm not quite sure where Hardcore Casual gets this from (I'm guessing it's somewhere between thin air and someplace a little more "intimate"), but he's got an interesting bit of speculation coming off of the big news last week that Halo-maker Bungie and their publisher Microsoft are cutting some ties. He traces Bungie's growth along side Blizzard's (Myth: Warcraft:: Oni: Ghost), and concludes that, now that they're free of Halo and Microsoft's direct influence, Bungie's next project will be their World of Warcraft: an MMO.

Now that is an interesting idea. Like Blizzard, Bungie has always been all about the possibilities of online play, and even though Halo 3 is not actually an MMO, there is no shortage of ways for people to interact with each other through the game-- from Forge to the different coop modes, to the "XP" system in multiplayer, Bungie knows how to get people online and keep them there. And Bungie definitely knows how to build worlds-- the Halo universe alone has inspired many books and countless pages of fan fiction and speculation, not to mention that there are big hints that it's connected to Bungie's other big series of games, Marathon. When you look at Bungie's past and the type of games that they've created, they definitely do seem like a great candidate to make a popular MMO.

Of course, whatever Bungie does next is up to Bungie, and, as Blizzard well knows, taking on as big a responsibility as an ongoing MMO can change a company all the way down to its foundation-- for better or worse. But as much as he probably just made it up, Hardcore Casual is right-- Bungie's got the reach, the funds, and the knowhow to create the next big virtual world. Whether they choose to tackle it or not is up to them.

Speculation: Bungie's next project is an MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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