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[Hellgate: London is dead, for real this time]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/05/hellgate-london-is-dead-for-real-this-time/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/05/hellgate-london-is-dead-for-real-this-time/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/05/hellgate-london-is-dead-for-real-this-time/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

It's up! It's down! It's up! It's down! It's... sideways?

That's the story for the ever growing saga of Hellgate: London in a nutshell. This time, however, it's not coming back and there should be no more rumors that it is coming back. HanbitSoft, the Asian publisher of the game, has finally clarified to GameCyte that they do not have the publishing rights to Hellgate: London in the United States or Europe, just in Asia, excluding Japan.

Currently those rights are held by Namco-Bandai, who have made the decision to shut down the Hellgate servers as of February 1st.

So it's not coming back. Even though it will still have press releases in English and have updates being made by a US developer, it's not coming back. However, if you really want to play, we suggest moving to Asia, as it will still be going strong over there.

MassivelyHellgate: London is dead, for real this time originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>flagshipflagship-studiosfree-to-playgamecytehanbitsofthellgatehellgate-londonnamco-bandairevivalserversshutdownThu, 05 Mar 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Top industry CEOs weigh in on the cell phone MMO debate]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/09/top-industry-ceos-weigh-in-on-the-cell-phone-mmo-debate/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/09/top-industry-ceos-weigh-in-on-the-cell-phone-mmo-debate/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/09/top-industry-ceos-weigh-in-on-the-cell-phone-mmo-debate/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


After a recent Game Power Panel at this year's CES, GameCyte caught up with a few MMO big-wigs to ask the burning question: can the MMO experience extend to mobile phones? From Turbine to Gaia Online, the companies' CEOs all had differing views.

Dr. Lars Buttler of Trion World Network, and Jim Crowley of Turbine both agreed that the mobile phone is not really the place for a full-blown multiplayer experience. Although they did essentially agree with others like Brett Close of 38 Studios in the thinking that there are certainly extensions of an MMO that can be achieved through a cell. Checking the auction house, training skills or even reading quest text could all be done on-the-go. Check out the entire post over at GameCyte for some more opinions on mobile MMOs.

MassivelyTop industry CEOs weigh in on the cell phone MMO debate originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>38-studioscell-phonegaia-onlinegamecytemobiletriontrion-world-networkturbineFri, 09 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Opinion: pay more money to experience less game]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/08/opinion-pay-more-money-to-experience-less-game/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/08/opinion-pay-more-money-to-experience-less-game/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/08/opinion-pay-more-money-to-experience-less-game/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Think about this a moment: people are actually paying money to experience less of their games. Every day. Probably all day. These are often games that they've already purchased and, in effect, pay someone else to play for them. The existence of RMT and power-leveling services isn't exactly breaking news, but it makes these aspects of MMOs no less bizarre a notion. The thriving business built upon such tenets of how online games should operate is a matter of some concern to Jesse Henning, a writer at GameCyte.

Despite the can of worms it can be,"from a business standpoint, subsidizing RMT is a fantastic move," Henning writes. If players will buy items and currency outside of the system anyway, what company wouldn't prefer that cash to enter their own pockets? "From a design standpoint, however, RMT is a treacherous path to walk," Henning cautions, and goes on to look at the pitfalls of game design that incorporates RMT. Conversely, the writer then discusses the level-disparity design problem in World of Warcraft and how it actually encourages players to buy gold and use power-leveling services. Henning also looks at how the ancillary services operating within and around a world pull in more revenue than the world operation itself, citing Raph Koster on the issue as well. Have a look at the piece at GameCyte, which discusses how RMT affects console gaming as well as MMOs, and just how inescapable it really is.

MassivelyOpinion: pay more money to experience less game originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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