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Stake or be staked: Van Helsing MMO to take the fight to classic movie monsters

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 22:00:00 EST

It's the perfect time of year to announce a horror-themed MMO, so we're not surprised that at least one studio has stepped up to do so. SEE Virtual Worlds, the same company that's working on Planet Michael (which may or may not still have you giggling sporadically), is turning the world of Van Helsing into a MMO with the blessing of Universal Studios.

With eight decades of movie monsters under its belt, Universal Studios is not lacking for iconic ghoulies and gremlins: The Wolf Man, Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, the Mummy, Dracula and the Creature from the Black Lagoon have frightened generations of children and lingered in the imaginations of millions more. In the game, players will step into the role of a Van Helsing-type figure who's tasked with taking down the hairiest, slimiest and most bitey of them all.

Both Planet Michael and the Universal Monsters MMO will exist within Entropia Universe's domain, which houses virtual worlds and utilizes a real-world cash exchange economy. You can read the full Hollywood Reporter article here.

Stake or be staked: Van Helsing MMO to take the fight to classic movie monsters originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FusionFall release date slips to Fall

Akela Talamasca — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Launches, New titles, News items, Casual, FusionFall, Kids

We came really close to calling this post 'FusionFall (fusion)falls down to (fusion)Fall', but were talked out of it. At any rate, the Hollywood Reporter, writing about the upcoming MMO FusionFall, mentions that the release date has slipped (once again) from Summer of this year to Fall.

Executive Producer Chris Waldron has said "Let's just say that MMOs are very deep, very large games that are ready when they are ready. They take a lot of testing, a lot of polish, and that's what we're going through." It's the best of reasons to slip a release date, but without more clarity on what precisely they're working on polishing, these sorts of announcements just tend to lead to insecurity among the faithful. After all, if it's slipped once, it can slip twice. If it's slipped twice, as it just has, it could slip again. Let's hope for more information to be revealed soon.

FusionFall release date slips to Fall originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Life ranked 8th Most Effective Placement on TV in 2007

Akela Talamasca — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 11:45:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Business models, Making money, News items, Second Life, Free-to-play, Virtual worlds

According to hollywoodreporter.com, Second Life enjoys the 8th Most Effective Placement on TV this year, behind Nexxus on the show 'Shear Genius', and in front of Visa on the show 'What Not to Wear'. Interestingly, according to the graphic, this is the public's response to SL's appearance on The Office, even though said appearance was virtually 1% of the entire content of the show, as opposed to the CSI: NY episode, in which SL is the subject of the plot.

Now, what this means to you and me is probably not a whole lot. As I understand it, this measures how the product is perceived by John Q. Public, and in this case, being on The Office means that SL has gained some respect by merely rubbing shoulders with that popular sitcom. Perhaps if Fury had been able to swing a mention ... nah, some things you just can't save.

[Thanks, Neptune!]

Second Life ranked 8th Most Effective Placement on TV in 2007 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 30 Dec 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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