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 auctioning off retired WoW servers for charity]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/13/blizzard-auctioning-off-retired-wow-servers-for-charity/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/13/blizzard-auctioning-off-retired-wow-servers-for-charity/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/13/blizzard-auctioning-off-retired-wow-servers-for-charity/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

World of Warcraft server
What do you do when you upgrade your MMO's servers and end up with a bunch of hardware you don't need any longer? If you said, "Hold the world's geekiest garage sale," then you're absolutely right.

Recently Blizzard upgraded its fleet of World of Warcraft servers and has decided that instead of mothballing the old ones, it will auction them off and donate the proceeds to a worthy charity. The auctions will be handled by eBay, as any interested parties can place a bid on the actual server shard that hundreds of thousands of players used for years.

Each of the auctioned server blades is a self-contained unit and will have the World of Warcraft logo emblazoned across it, with a plaque attached detailing the server's usage dates and the signatures of the development team. Bidding will begin on October 17th and proceed through November 14th as Blizzard auctions the dozens of HP p-Class server blades off in groups, and the winnings will be given to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which helps combat pediatric cancer and other diseases that affect young kids.

If the thought of owning a piece of MMO history appeals to you -- or if you're looking for an interesting Christmas present for that WoW friend of yours -- then check out the auction dates on eBay.

MassivelyBlizzard auctioning off retired WoW servers for charity originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>auctionblizzardblizzard-entertainmentcharityebaygarage-saleserverserver-bladeserver-bladesserversst-judesst-judes-childrens-hospitalst-judes-childrens-research-hospitalworld-of-warcraftwowThu, 13 Oct 2011 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[BlizzCon sold out; additional conventions cannot be launched]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/07/blizzcon-sold-out-additional-conventions-cannot-be-launched/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/07/blizzcon-sold-out-additional-conventions-cannot-be-launched/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/07/blizzcon-sold-out-additional-conventions-cannot-be-launched/#commentsFiled under: , ,

If you had planned to spend the summer mowing lawns and scraping together enough dough to attend BlizzCon this fall, you're already too late. After going on sale this past Wednesday, all 20,000 tickets to the event were snatched up quickly. ZAM reports that the first batch of tickets on Wednesday were sold out in 23 minutes, and the second batch on Saturday in 28 minutes. The official Blizzard Store page simply notes now that "BlizzCon 2010 Tickets Currently Unavailable."

This is certainly no surprise considering that past BlizzCons proved to be one of the most popular conventions of the year, with ticket scalping at a premium. Currently, some desperate Blizzard fans are combing through eBay for scalped tickets, although high prices and Blizzard asking eBay to crack down on such sales make this a difficult alternative. Blizzard is also requiring photo ID this year to match tickets as a way to limit these transactions.

Fortunately, there is hope for Blizzard fans: they will once again offer virtual passes to the convention through DirecTV as a Pay Per View event available through satellite and multi-channel Internet stream. The virtual pass enables fans to watch all of the presentations and panels, as well as receive an exclusive in-game item, all for $39.95.

MassivelyBlizzCon sold out; additional conventions cannot be launched originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardblizzconblizzcon-2010blizzcon-2010-ticketsdiablodiablo-3diablo-iiiDirecTVebaypay-per-viewsold-outstarcraftstarcraft-2world-of-warcraftzamMon, 07 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Mortal Online limited edition available June 29, first game reviews are in]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/26/mortal-online-limited-edition-available-june-29-first-game-revi/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/26/mortal-online-limited-edition-available-june-29-first-game-revi/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/26/mortal-online-limited-edition-available-june-29-first-game-revi/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


Mortal Online is the next MMO title on the way that will cater to the hardcore fantasy PvP niche, which is currently filled for some gamers by Darkfall Online. The Mortal Online developers, Star Vault, announced that two beta players were given permission to write "Combat Beta" reviews of the PvP-centric title, which can now be found on the game's official forums. One was written by Mortal Online player Lachrymose which looked at character creation, melee and ranged combat, while the other review by Shinzon looked at crafting and the game environment, as well as combat.

That caught our attention and we think the reviews are worth a look, but the real news here is about the Mortal Online limited edition we mentioned recently -- there are only 999 copies of the limited edition which will go on sale on June 29th in the Mortal Online Game Store. Here's what you'll get with the limited edition:

  • Everything in a printed jute bag
  • Numbered and embossed metal box
  • Collector's figurine: Draconigena Knight
  • Collector's figurine: Thursar Barbarian
  • Mortal Online journal with 24 concept art pages and poster
  • Free shipment of all pre-launch updates on DVD
  • Digital Download access
  • Free access to 'Block A' beta
  • "Free future digital updates and expansions"
  • One month of game time (after the Q4 launch)

Continue reading Mortal Online limited edition available June 29, first game reviews are in

MassivelyMortal Online limited edition available June 29, first game reviews are in originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>betabetascharitycollectors-editiondoctors-without-bordersebayfantasylimited-editionmmo-industrymortal-onlinenew-titlespvpFri, 26 Jun 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Phatland for sale: Famous island to go on eBay]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/phatland-for-sale-famous-island-to-go-on-ebay/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/phatland-for-sale-famous-island-to-go-on-ebay/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/28/phatland-for-sale-famous-island-to-go-on-ebay/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Phatland (aka Phat Cat's Jazz club) was originally founded by Dilbert Dilweg and Charity Colville, two people who met in Second Life, worked together, fell in love, and forged a successful and lasting relationship in the physical world -- not an uncommon story. Indeed, it seemed like Phatland and its club grew with their romance, up until mid 2007 or so Phatland was one of the single most popular places in Second Life by any reasonable reckoning.

When the couple moved to be with each-other in the physical world, they needed to make some changes in their lives, as one might expect. And that included the sale of Phatland. The sale went through, but not everything went smoothly with Phatland after that, and Dilbert and Charity were banned from the site. Phatland's traffic started to fall significantly. Where there had once been 90 or more users at all hours of the day, soon the site seemed to be a mere shadow of its former success.

Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.

Continue reading Phatland for sale: Famous island to go on eBay

MassivelyPhatland for sale: Famous island to go on eBay originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>amsterdamcharity-colvilleculturedilbert-dilwegebayeconomykevin-aldermanphatlandsecond-lifestroker-serpentinevirtual-worldsSun, 28 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Wrath of the Lich King beta keys sold on eBay for big bucks]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/25/wrath-of-the-lich-king-beta-keys-sold-on-ebay-for-big-bucks/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/25/wrath-of-the-lich-king-beta-keys-sold-on-ebay-for-big-bucks/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/25/wrath-of-the-lich-king-beta-keys-sold-on-ebay-for-big-bucks/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

If you you're not in the beta test for World of Warcraft's Wrath of the Lich King expansion, there's another way besides trying your luck by opting in at the website. Well, there's another way if you're filthy rich.

Blizzard handed out WotLK beta keys at Blizzcon and the Worldwide Invitational, and unlike the opt-in keys, they're not tied to any particular account. That means that anyone who has the slip can register and use them to participate in the beta. Enterprising individuals who acquired those keys are now selling them on eBay for outrageous sums of money. Eurogamer reports that the UK record so far is GBP 513, or more than 1,000 US dollars.

Right now, you can buy one for $400 on the US eBay store. It's true, you don't have to be filthy rich to have 400 bucks on hand, but we figure you'd have to be pretty close to filthy rich to actually spend said money on such a fleeting and empty joy. It's a beta, after all; it probably doesn't even work!

MassivelyWrath of the Lich King beta keys sold on eBay for big bucks originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>beta-keysblizzardblizzard-worldwide-invitationablizzconebayexpansionworld-of-warcraftwotlkwowwrathwrath-of-the-lich-kingFri, 25 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[A look at Champions Online's newest programmer]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/a-look-at-champions-onlines-newest-programmer/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/a-look-at-champions-onlines-newest-programmer/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/05/a-look-at-champions-onlines-newest-programmer/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Meet Ben Foxworthy, the newest programmer working on Champions Online. He's apparently responsible for all sorts of gameplay elements including missions, contacts, NPC spawning and world interaction. With so much content to program, Ben must be an incredibly busy guy -- or so you'd think. All joking aside, we have a deep appreciation for programmers here at Massively, since many of us are math-inept when it comes to anything beyond basic addition and subtraction required for our table-top gaming jaunts.

It seems like Ben landed at Cryptic rather early on in his career, having only graduated from the University of California last year. We'd say he's a lucky man, but then we found out he bought a thousand glowsticks on eBay once. Everyone knows that's almost five times more bad luck than breaking a mirror across the back of a black cat that's crossing your path. At the very least Ben's wearing a pretty awesome Champions Online shirt that we claim in the event of his untimely glowstick-related demise.

MassivelyA look at Champions Online's newest programmer originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ben-foxworthychampionschampions-onlinecontactscrypticcryptic-studiosebayglowstickglowsticksmeet-the-teammissionsnpcsprogrammeruniversity-of-californiaThu, 05 Jun 2008 08:30:00 EST<![CDATA[An interview with Geoff Iddison of Jagex]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/an-interview-with-geoff-iddison-of-jagex/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/an-interview-with-geoff-iddison-of-jagex/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/14/an-interview-with-geoff-iddison-of-jagex/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Recently, it was announced that former PayPal and eBay executive Geoff Iddison was taking over as CEO for Jagex, best-known for their browser-based fantasy MMO RuneScape. Then we heard about the launch of Jagex's latest project FunOrb in February of this year. In a recent GamesIndustry.biz interview with Geoff Iddison, we learn more about his projected role with this new casual games portal and what he thinks about the future of the MMO market.

Of course Jagex plans on keeping up with RuneScape also, as they've just rolled out a German version last year, and plan on introducing another European language version later this year. With FunOrb, they're tackling the casual market, as so many other companies are doing lately as well. While the casual market is an inevitable direction for these companies, we hope their investment in RuneScape proves that the more dedicated market is not being shunned in the process.

MassivelyAn interview with Geoff Iddison of Jagex originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 May 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ebayfunorbgeoff-iddisoninterviewjagexpaypalq-and-arunescapeWed, 14 May 2008 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, part 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/10/the-second-life-philip-linden-gavin-newsom-fireside-chat-part-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/10/the-second-life-philip-linden-gavin-newsom-fireside-chat-part-2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/10/the-second-life-philip-linden-gavin-newsom-fireside-chat-part-2/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


This is the second of two parts to the Fireside Chat between Second Life's Philip Rosedale (aka Philip Linden) and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom at the New Globe Theater, a meeting held and sponsored by Millions of Us, a metaverse development company (MDC), with Reuben Millionsofus as moderator. This is the mp3 and transcript of part two of the chat. You can hear and read part 1 here. Enjoy!

[Mp3] Download the MP3 directly

[Thanks, Celebrity!]

Continue reading The Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, part 2

MassivelyThe Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>earthlinkebayeyepatchfeaturedfireside-chatgavin-newsomgooglehitachiinterviewlaguardia-airportMichael-Bloombergmillions-of-usnew-yorkosakaphilip-lindenphilip-rosedalereuben-millionsofussan-francsicosecond-lifetaxationtokyotoyotaverizonThu, 10 Jan 2008 10:00:00 ESTPhilip Linden/Gavin Newsom chat part 2Akela Talamasca16:30philip-linden; gavin-newsom; fireside-chat<![CDATA[For NCsoft, spreading joy is Child's Play]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/20/for-cox-brightening-the-holidays-is-childs-play/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/20/for-cox-brightening-the-holidays-is-childs-play/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/20/for-cox-brightening-the-holidays-is-childs-play/#commentsFiled under: ,

NCsoft has a reputation for focusing on both the human element as well as the metahuman in their games, and their corporate culture is no different. This year, the City of Heroes team is auctioning off a poster signed by the development team, a signed City of Villains Collector's Edition game box, and a City of Villains Lord Recluse statue, with all of the proceeds benefitting the Seattle-based Child's Play charity. Whether you frequent Paragon City or make your lair in the Rogue Isles, it's Child's Play to help yourself to some CoX goodness this holiday season, and to help out children in need at the same time.

MassivelyFor NCsoft, spreading joy is Child's Play originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AuctionCharityChilds-PlayCity-of-HeroesCity-of-VillainsCoHCoVCoXeBayLord-RecluseThu, 20 Dec 2007 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MySLproject.com up for sale]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/01/myslproject-com-up-for-sal/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/01/myslproject-com-up-for-sal/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/01/myslproject-com-up-for-sal/#commentsFiled under: ,

MySLProject.comMySLproject.com, a Second Life freelancer-project linking site is up for sale on ebay.Bidding closes at just before 6pm SL Time tomorrow. We have, of course, covered the launch of MySLProject already, about 8 months ago.

Although details are scant, PK O'Toole, the person behind MySLProject, is offering to stay with the purchaser for long enough to give a smooth handover.

MassivelyMySLproject.com up for sale originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 01 Dec 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>auctionebaymyslproject.comsaleSecond-LifeSat, 01 Dec 2007 11:00:00 EST