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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Pathfinder Online puts together a Kickstarter project [Updated]]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/08/pathfinder-online-puts-together-a-kickstarter-project/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/08/pathfinder-online-puts-together-a-kickstarter-project/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/08/pathfinder-online-puts-together-a-kickstarter-project/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-real-world/" rel="tag">Events, real-world</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sandbox/" rel="tag">Sandbox</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/08/pathfinder-online-puts-together-a-kickstarter-project/"><img alt="The posing is a bit Liefeldian, but it's a fantasy woman wearing reasonable clothes and flat boots.  I'm calling this a win." src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2012/05/pathfinder-kickstarter-epl-508.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Kickstarter/">Kickstarter</a> has been getting a lot of attention from the gaming industry of late after a number of high-profile successes. It's even gained the attention of the team behind <em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Pathfinder-Online/">Pathfinder Online</a></em>, the upcoming sandbox MMORPG based on the eponymous tabletop system. So instead of trying to secure venture capitalist funding for the project, the development team is reaching out directly to the fans via <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1675907842/699266310?token=8687d29d">a new Kickstarter project</a> to assemble a tech demo for the game.<br />
<br />
It's important to note that the project is only for funding a demo of the game, enough to show bigger investors that the interest in the game does exist. However, the development team has still assembled a number of bonuses for prospective players, including special forum membership, specialized tabletop game products, and promotional posters. If you're interested in seeing the game continue in development, it's well worth <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1675907842/699266310?token=8687d29d">dropping by the Kickstarter page</a> and dropping in some money when it goes live soon.<br />
<br />
<strong>[Update: The <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1675907842/pathfinder-online-technology-demo?ref=search">Kickstarter page</a> is now live!]</strong><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/08/pathfinder-online-puts-together-a-kickstarter-project/">Pathfinder Online puts together a Kickstarter project [Updated]</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 08 May 2012 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/08/pathfinder-online-puts-together-a-kickstarter-project/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20234131/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/08/pathfinder-online-puts-together-a-kickstarter-project/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>demo</category><category>development</category><category>development-costs</category><category>fantasy</category><category>game-development</category><category>goblinworks</category><category>investment</category><category>kickstarter</category><category>pathfinder</category><category>pathfinder-online</category><category>pnp</category><category>sandbox</category><category>sandpark</category><category>tech-demo</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eliot Lefebvre]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 08 May 2012 19:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Analyst believes Star Wars: The Old Republic had a $500 million price tag]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/analyst-believes-star-wars-the-old-republic-had-a-500-million/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/analyst-believes-star-wars-the-old-republic-had-a-500-million/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/analyst-believes-star-wars-the-old-republic-had-a-500-million/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/analyst-believes-star-wars-the-old-republic-had-a-500-million/"><img alt="Half a billion dollars to choke someone with your mind.  Not an awful investment." src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2012/01/swtor-halfbillion-epl-117.jpg" /></a></div>
Is <em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/Star-Wars--The-Old-Republic/">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></em> the next big thing in MMOs? The same old thing in a new shell? Innovative? Routine? Polished? Buggy? Ask seven different people and you'll get nine different opinions. The one thing that everyone <em>can</em> agree on is that the game was expensive, and while most analysts are estimating somewhere between $100-$300 million, analyst Doug Creutz suspects that <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Electronic-Arts/">Electronic Arts</a> <a href="http://www.vg247.com/2012/01/17/analyst-ea-has-invested-close-to-500-million-in-swtor/">has sunk nearly half a billion dollars into the project</a>.<br />
<br />
This is in stark contrast to the estimate from analyst Michael Pachter, who targeted the price tag at roughly $80 million when all was said and done. Unfortunately, the precise cost won't be known unless EA decides to release the game's official budget and how much was spent on development, which seems unlikely. What is certain is that the performance of <em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em> is going to be under close scrutiny over the coming months among both fans of the game and fans of financial speculation.<br />
<br />
[Thanks to Ben for the tip!]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/analyst-believes-star-wars-the-old-republic-had-a-500-million/">Analyst believes Star Wars: The Old Republic had a $500 million price tag</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/analyst-believes-star-wars-the-old-republic-had-a-500-million/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20150715/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/analyst-believes-star-wars-the-old-republic-had-a-500-million/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>analyst</category><category>bioware</category><category>bioware-mythic</category><category>cost</category><category>development-cost</category><category>ea</category><category>ea-bioware</category><category>electronic-arts</category><category>financial-analyst</category><category>investment</category><category>mmo-industry</category><category>price-tag</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><category>the-old-republic</category><category>tor</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eliot Lefebvre]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Wings Over Atreia:  TORn away]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/14/wings-over-atreia-torn-away/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/14/wings-over-atreia-torn-away/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/14/wings-over-atreia-torn-away/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/polls/" rel="tag">Polls</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/aion/" rel="tag">Aion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/wings-over-atreia/" rel="tag">Wings Over Atreia</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/14/wings-over-atreia-torn-away/"><img alt="Wings Over Atreia header" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/11/woaheaderasmo.jpg" /></a></div>
<em>*suits up in full firefighters gear*</em> Alrighty, now I am ready!<br />
<br />
The topic for this week's <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/wings-over-atreia">Wings Over Atreia</a> presented itself when I logged into <a href="http://na.aiononline.com/"><em>Aion</em></a> at prime-time on Thursday night and found the very odd occurrence of both an empty legion list and an empty friends list. Considering how full the latter is (plug for larger lists here), I've never seen both be completely empty simultaneously, even when I pop in during my odd super-late hours. While I saw some life over the rest of the weekend, overall numbers stayed pretty low, even during the hours of the new <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/12/wings-over-atreias-aion-2-7-sneak-peek-dev-death-match">arena instances</a>. To what do I attribute this? In some cases it was the usual attack of the Real Life (tm) that got ahold of people, but two extra factors contributed to the population insta-decline: the release of <em>Skyrim</em> and more weekend beta invites from <a href="http://www.swtor.com/"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a>.<br />
<br />
Now in the case of <em>Skyrim</em>, it can't be helped (but maybe we can have a little spacing between the release of so many games?!). We know that once the game is played through, people will wander back to their MMOs. <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic/"><em>TOR</em></a>, however, is another matter: Besides the shininess of of a new game and the fact that it is both Star Wars-based and made by <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/bioware">BioWare</a>, does <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/aion"><em>Aion</em></a> have a future of vast, empty lands to look forward to at the release of the latest OMG-it's-the-second-coming-of-games title? Some are certainly screaming doom-and-gloom, but we hear that from dissenters about nearly every little thing. Is it possible that there is room enough for both games to survive after the initial hype has passed?<br />
<br />
<em>*checks and readjusts all gear again*</em> Come on and join me past the cut for some thoughts on the matter.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/14/wings-over-atreia-torn-away/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Wings Over Atreia:  TORn away</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/14/wings-over-atreia-torn-away/">Wings Over Atreia:  TORn away</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/14/wings-over-atreia-torn-away/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20104570/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/14/wings-over-atreia-torn-away/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>aion</category><category>aion-game</category><category>bioware</category><category>bioware-mmo</category><category>bioware-mmorpg</category><category>bioware-star-wars</category><category>bioware-swtor</category><category>featured</category><category>Investment</category><category>LiveStream</category><category>lucas-arts</category><category>lucas-arts-mmo</category><category>lucas-arts-mmorpg</category><category>nc-soft</category><category>nc-soft-aion</category><category>ncsoft</category><category>ncsoft-aion</category><category>poll</category><category>star-wars-game</category><category>star-wars-mmo</category><category>star-wars-mmorpg</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>star-wars-tor</category><category>starwars</category><category>starwars-the-old-republic</category><category>sw-tor</category><category>swtor</category><category>the-old-republic</category><category>ties</category><category>ties-that-bind</category><category>Wings-Over-Atreia</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[MJ Guthrie]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Are we cheating studios by not paying for free-to-play?]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/the-daily-grind-are-we-cheating-studios-by-not-paying-for-free/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/the-daily-grind-are-we-cheating-studios-by-not-paying-for-free/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/the-daily-grind-are-we-cheating-studios-by-not-paying-for-free/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-daily-grind/" rel="tag">The Daily Grind</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/the-daily-grind-are-we-cheating-studios-by-not-paying-for-free/"><img alt="DDO" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/11/vip.jpg" /></a></div>
Here's an odd question that I've been chewing on lately: Is there something wrong if we extensively enjoy a <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/">free-to-play</a> title that we do not, and are determined to never, pay for? I mean, sampling a F2P title is kind of like participating in a trial, but what about playing a F2P MMO for months or even years without paying? Is there something ethically or perhaps morally wrong about that, particularly since our playtime is funded by both the studio and the paying members out there?<br />
<br />
On one hand, we're invited to do so. Studios use F2P to lure us in on the chance that we'll become so invested that we'll be tempted to spend money to either support it or gain a better play experience for ourselves. The studios set the rules for free-to-play, and we operate within them. But on the other hand, I wonder if there comes a point when one can take so much advantage of a "free" service at someone else's expense that it gets tacky or just plain wrong. Do we become the unwelcome house guest who mooches but never gives back -- and never leaves?<br />
<br />
What do you think? Should we feel obligated to pay at least something if we've played a F2P MMO for a good length of time? Or am I totally off my rocker here?<br />
<br />
<img align="left" alt="" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.massively.com/media/2010/09/coffee.jpg" style="padding-right: 10px;" vspace="0" /><em>Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's <a href="http://www.massively.com/category/the-daily-grind/">Daily Grind</a>!</em><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/the-daily-grind-are-we-cheating-studios-by-not-paying-for-free/">The Daily Grind: Are we cheating studios by not paying for free-to-play?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/the-daily-grind-are-we-cheating-studios-by-not-paying-for-free/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20097726/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/the-daily-grind-are-we-cheating-studios-by-not-paying-for-free/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>cheating</category><category>f2p</category><category>featured</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>investment</category><category>moocher</category><category>mooching</category><category>opinion</category><category>pay</category><category>questions-galore</category><category>tdg</category><category>the-daily-grind</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[GDC Online 2011: BioWare's Damion Schubert takes a wrecking ball to the casual vs. hardcore model]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/13/gdc-austin-2011-biowares-damion-schubert-takes-a-wrecking-ball/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/13/gdc-austin-2011-biowares-damion-schubert-takes-a-wrecking-ball/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/13/gdc-austin-2011-biowares-damion-schubert-takes-a-wrecking-ball/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-real-world/" rel="tag">Events, real-world</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/massively-event-coverage/" rel="tag">Massively Event Coverage</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/misc/" rel="tag">Miscellaneous</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/13/gdc-austin-2011-biowares-damion-schubert-takes-a-wrecking-ball/"><img alt="GDC - Damion Schubert" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2011/10/gdc.jpg" /></a></div>
"I'm trying to finish a product,<em> <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></em>, which I am not going to talk about today." Thus began <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/BioWare/">BioWare's</a> <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/damion-schubert/">Damion Schubert's</a> seminar, Double Coding: Making Online Games for Both the Casual and the Hardcore, at this year's <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/gdc-online-2011/">GDC Online</a>. "This is more of a weary man, sort of stream-of-consciousness design theory talk."<br />
<br />
Schubert wanted to call the talk "Moving Beyond Double Coding," which is a term that comes from cartoons, of all places. Double coding is content that reaches two different groups of people at the same time. Looney Tunes, for example, would entertain both adults and kids because the writers and animators designed it so.<br />
<br />
With MMOs, Schubert says that devs are often trying to double code the games for both casual and hardcore players. This is where the well-known slogan "easy to play, hard to master" originates. He held up <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/blizzard/">Blizzard</a> as a primary example of this model. Blizzard's "donut," as Schubert calls it, has a casual outer ring and a hardcore center for both types of players. By double coding, Blizzard ensures that casual players can invite their hardcore friends to experience the game and vice-versa.<br />
<br />
However, this model is faltering, and Schubert pinpoints why after the jump!<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/13/gdc-austin-2011-biowares-damion-schubert-takes-a-wrecking-ball/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>GDC Online 2011: BioWare's Damion Schubert takes a wrecking ball to the casual vs. hardcore model</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/13/gdc-austin-2011-biowares-damion-schubert-takes-a-wrecking-ball/">GDC Online 2011: BioWare's Damion Schubert takes a wrecking ball to the casual vs. hardcore model</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/13/gdc-austin-2011-biowares-damion-schubert-takes-a-wrecking-ball/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20080028/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/13/gdc-austin-2011-biowares-damion-schubert-takes-a-wrecking-ball/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>benchmarks</category><category>bioware</category><category>blizzard</category><category>casual</category><category>classes</category><category>convention</category><category>damien-schubert</category><category>damion-schubert</category><category>design-theory</category><category>event</category><category>featured</category><category>game-design-theory</category><category>gdc</category><category>gdc-2011</category><category>gdc-online</category><category>GDC-Online-2011</category><category>hardcore</category><category>investment</category><category>lifestyle</category><category>metrics</category><category>pain</category><category>roles</category><category>spectrum</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><category>world-of-warcraft</category><category>wow</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Trion CEO introduces MMO investing to Bloomberg TV]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/trion-ceo-introduces-mmo-investing-to-bloomberg-tv/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/trion-ceo-introduces-mmo-investing-to-bloomberg-tv/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/trion-ceo-introduces-mmo-investing-to-bloomberg-tv/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/economy/" rel="tag">Economy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/rift/" rel="tag">RIFT</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/video/64458448/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/11/lars-butler.jpg" /></a></div>
Have you ever wondered where to invest your savings for the future? Have you thought about the MMO market? Apparently, multimedia companies like <a href="http://www.timewarnercable.com/">Time Warner</a>, <a href="http://www.nbcuni.com/">NBC Universal</a>, and <a href="http://www.bertelsmann.com">Bertelsmann</a> believe it is worth their money. These three media giants have invested over $100 million into <a href="http://www.trionworlds.com">Trion Worlds</a>, the top-tier gaming company featuring upcoming MMOs like <a href="http://www.riftgame.com"><em>Rift: Planes of Telara</em></a> and <a href="http://www.endofnations.com"><em>End of Nations</em></a>.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, Trion's CEO Lars Buttler was featured on <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/video/64458448/">Bloomberg's CEO Sitdown</a>. In the interview, Buttler mentioned the role that games, specifically MMO games, will play in the future economy. "<em>This is actually one of the fastest-growing segments of the games industry. And there are markets like Korea or China where you can see what a massive potential these online premium games already have</em>," Buttler explains in the video. As MMOs become more mainstream, the media industry is beginning to see them as a viable form of entertainment. They are not just pretend fun for teenage boys anymore. Buttler expounds later, "<em>It's really once-a-gamer-always-a-gamer, so as people get older they stay with their favorite game types</em>." The industry is constantly growing because the audience sticks to its favorite form of entertainment.<br />
<br />
For more on this story check out <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/video/64458448/">the full video on Bloomberg's website</a>.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/trion-ceo-introduces-mmo-investing-to-bloomberg-tv/">Trion CEO introduces MMO investing to Bloomberg TV</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.bloomberg.com/video/64458448/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/trion-ceo-introduces-mmo-investing-to-bloomberg-tv/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19714566/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/trion-ceo-introduces-mmo-investing-to-bloomberg-tv/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bertelsmann</category><category>bloomberg</category><category>BloombergNews</category><category>end-of-nations</category><category>investment</category><category>Lars-Buttler</category><category>mmo-industry</category><category>NBC</category><category>nbc-universal</category><category>rift</category><category>rift-planes-of-telara</category><category>stock-market</category><category>stocks</category><category>Time-Warner</category><category>trion-worlds</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Larry Everett]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 12 Nov 2010 19:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Curt Schilling says majority of savings spent on 38 Studios]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/30/curt-schilling-says-majority-of-savings-spent-on-38-studios/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/30/curt-schilling-says-majority-of-savings-spent-on-38-studios/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/30/curt-schilling-says-majority-of-savings-spent-on-38-studios/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/38-studios"><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/03/curt-rb-330.jpg" alt="" /></a></div>
Retired Red Sox player <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/curt-schilling">Curt Schilling</a> has approached the development of <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/38-studios">38 Studios</a> with the same drive and enthusiasm as he did his baseball career, a fact that comes as no surprise to those who know what an avid MMO gamer he is. A <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27778/Schilling_Invested_Majority_Of_Earnings_Into_38_Studios.php">recent article on Gamasutra</a> took a closer look at the development of 38 Studios.<br />
<br />
Schilling felt confident in his endeavor from the very beginning, making an initial investment of $5 million and hiring a lineup of very familiar names including <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/r.a.-salvatore">R.A. Salvatore</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/todd-mcfarlane">Todd McFarlane</a>, and several others. Once the project was underway, he increased the investment in a big way: <em>"I have put the majority of the money I've earned in my life on the table. If I make another financial investment, I will have crossed the point of no return from a personal investment and company standpoint." <br />
<br />
</em>The financial and personal commitments have been significant, as with any large business venture, but Schilling remains very confident in the project: <em>"I have no doubt I am on the cusp of creating a multi-million dollar company[...]"</em><br />
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Take a look at the <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27778/Schilling_Invested_Majority_Of_Earnings_Into_38_Studios.php">full story on Gamasutra</a>.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/30/curt-schilling-says-majority-of-savings-spent-on-38-studios/">Curt Schilling says majority of savings spent on 38 Studios</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27778/Schilling_Invested_Majority_Of_Earnings_Into_38_Studios.php>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/30/curt-schilling-says-majority-of-savings-spent-on-38-studios/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19419787/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/30/curt-schilling-says-majority-of-savings-spent-on-38-studios/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>38-studios</category><category>38-studios-investment</category><category>curt-schilling</category><category>financial</category><category>Gamasutra</category><category>Investment</category><category>r.a.-salvatore</category><category>todd-mcFarlane</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Rubi Bayer]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sparkplay Media secures more funding, may introduce new projects outside Earth Eternal]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/17/sparkplay-media-secures-more-funding-may-introduce-new-projects/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/17/sparkplay-media-secures-more-funding-may-introduce-new-projects/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/17/sparkplay-media-secures-more-funding-may-introduce-new-projects/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/earth-eternal/" rel="tag">Earth Eternal</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><a href="http://deals.venturebeat.com/2010/01/15/sparkplay-media-catches-2-8m-to-roll-out-more-popular-mmo-games/"><img border="1" hspace="4" vspace="4" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/02/eartheternalfunding.jpg" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/sparkplay-media"><br />
</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left; "><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/sparkplay-media">Sparkplay Media</a>, the team behind the browser/client hybrid free-to-play title <a href="http://www.eartheternal.com"><em>Earth Eternal</em></a>, has just wrangled up an additional 2.8 million dollars in investments, according to <a href="http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1427893/000142789310000003/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml">a filing within the SEC</a>.</div>
<br />
The team is certainly showing growth, as noted in a recent <a href="http://www.eartheternal.com/forums/Announcements/topics/Meet-John-Yoo-New-Lead-Designer-on-Earth-Eternal">interview with the new lead designer</a> on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/earth-eternal"><em>Earth Eternal</em></a> when he asks for more members on his team, but <a href="http://deals.venturebeat.com/2010/01/15/sparkplay-media-catches-2-8m-to-roll-out-more-popular-mmo-games/">VentureBeat believes</a> that Sparkplay is experimenting on more projects outside of <em>Earth Eternal</em>.<br />
<br />
Currently their job page speaks otherwise, as Sparkplay is <a href="http://sparkplaymedia.com/jobs.php">looking for more developers</a> to be placed onto the <em>Earth Eternal</em> team. But, even if the company isn't working on new projects, more investments are only good news as it means more ambitious updates will likely be coming to <em>Earth Eternal</em> in the coming year, thanks to more people working on the project.<br />
<br />
[Thanks for the tip, Ripper!]<br type="_moz" /><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/17/sparkplay-media-secures-more-funding-may-introduce-new-projects/">Sparkplay Media secures more funding, may introduce new projects outside Earth Eternal</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://deals.venturebeat.com/2010/01/15/sparkplay-media-catches-2-8m-to-roll-out-more-popular-mmo-games/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/17/sparkplay-media-secures-more-funding-may-introduce-new-projects/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19362697/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/17/sparkplay-media-secures-more-funding-may-introduce-new-projects/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>animals</category><category>earth-eternal</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>investment</category><category>lead-designer</category><category>sparkplay</category><category>sparkplay-media</category><category>venturebeat</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Seraphina Brennan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The9 invests in Red 5 Studios, Fire Rain [Updated]]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/the9-invests-in-red-5-studios-fire-rain/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/the9-invests-in-red-5-studios-fire-rain/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/the9-invests-in-red-5-studios-fire-rain/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><img border="1" hspace="4" vspace="4" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/02/red5investment.jpg" /></div>
They <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/29/the9-sees-enormous-drop-in-profits-after-split-with-blizzard/">may have been burned</a> by <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/blizzard">Blizzard</a> when they lost <a href="http://www.worldofwarcraft.com"><em>World of Warcraft</em></a> to their rival, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/netease">NetEase</a>, but <a href="http://www.the9.com/en/">The9</a> isn't out of the fight yet. Especially not when they've just recently backed the troubled <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/red-5-studios">Red 5</a> and Chinese developer Fire Rain with a substantial sum of money.<br />
<br />
Gamasutra is reporting that <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27109/The9_Invests_In_Red_5_Fire_Rain.php?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed:+GamasutraNews+(Gamasutra+News)">The9 has invested 100 million</a> RMB (14.67 million USD) into Fire Rain, however the number is unconfirmed and neither The9 or Fire Rain are confirming the exact terms of the investment. However, if these reports are accurate, The9 would now have a large majority stake in the company or may have bought the developer outright.<br />
<br />
As to the US based Red 5 Studios, having The9 as a new backer may be keeping the studio alive. Last week, we reported that approximately <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/27/rumor-red-5-studios-lays-off-one-third-of-its-staff/">30 people had been laid off</a> from the studio, and Kotaku has reported that the studio may have even been <a href="http://kotaku.com/5458445/strange-things-are-afoot-at-red-five-studios">close to closing their doors</a>.<br />
<br />
Red 5 has since "re-evaluated" their position and <strike>may be </strike><a href="http://www.red5studios.com/en/news/2010/01/27/red-5-reorganizes/"><strike>pursuing a game aimed at the Chinese marke</strike>t.<br />
<br />
</a><strong>Update:</strong> Red 5's community manager, <a href="http://twitter.com/mattdewald">Matt DeWald</a>, has gotten in contact with us to say that Red 5 is not pursing a game aimed solely at the Chinese market.  Red 5's MMO will be aimed at the worldwide market.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/the9-invests-in-red-5-studios-fire-rain/">The9 invests in Red 5 Studios, Fire Rain [Updated]</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27109/The9_Invests_In_Red_5_Fire_Rain.php?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed:+GamasutraNews+(Gamasutra+News)>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/the9-invests-in-red-5-studios-fire-rain/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19345095/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/the9-invests-in-red-5-studios-fire-rain/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>breaking</category><category>financial-situation</category><category>fire-rain</category><category>investment</category><category>layoffs</category><category>red-5</category><category>red-5-studios</category><category>the9</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Seraphina Brennan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Machinima.com gets $3.85 million in funding for business expansion]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/08/machinima-com-gets-3-85-million-in-funding-for-business-expansi/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/08/machinima-com-gets-3-85-million-in-funding-for-business-expansi/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/08/machinima-com-gets-3-85-million-in-funding-for-business-expansi/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-real-world/" rel="tag">Events, real-world</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/machinima/" rel="tag">Machinima</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/roleplaying/" rel="tag">Roleplaying</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comedycentral.com"><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/11/spwow-sms-1108.jpg"  alt="" /></a><br /></div>
Machinima and MMOs just seem to go hand-in-hand so well. What's more fun than letting your guildmate friends be dancers in your latest music video spoof, or thespians in the latest episode of your dramatic series based on their <a href="http://www.worldofwarcraft.com"><span style="font-style: italic;">World of Warcraft</span></a> characters. It's for this reason that machinima has gained so much popularity in recent years. It's a way for everyday people to expand upon their fantasy lifestyle in an MMO and bring it out in the form of artistic expression. <br /><br />So it should be no surprise that a website like <a href="http://www.machinima.com">Machinima.com</a> would be so popular and successful. Recently they've upped the ante a bit <a href="http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/machinimacom-gets-385-million-in-funding/?biz=1">in the form of $3.85 million in funding</a> from MK Capital and other private investors. This money will be used to expand Machinima.com's business plans, allowing them to appoint five entertainment industry leaders to its Board of Directors. <br /><p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/08/machinima-com-gets-3-85-million-in-funding-for-business-expansi/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Machinima.com gets $3.85 million in funding for business expansion</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/08/machinima-com-gets-3-85-million-in-funding-for-business-expansi/">Machinima.com gets $3.85 million in funding for business expansion</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 08 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/machinimacom-gets-385-million-in-funding/?biz=1>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/08/machinima-com-gets-3-85-million-in-funding-for-business-expansi/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1365918/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/08/machinima-com-gets-3-85-million-in-funding-for-business-expansi/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>capital-funding</category><category>investment</category><category>machinima</category><category>machinima.com</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Shawn Schuster]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 08 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Over $100 million invested in Trion and its unusual distribution platform]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/25/over-100-million-invested-in-trion-and-its-unusual-distribution/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/25/over-100-million-invested-in-trion-and-its-unusual-distribution/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/25/over-100-million-invested-in-trion-and-its-unusual-distribution/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.trionworld.com/"><img hspace="4" border="1" vspace="4" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/09/trionlogo_425.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.trionworld.com/">Trion</a> <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/23/trion-surpasses-100m-in-fundraising-without-releasing-anyth/">announced that it has managed to get another $70 million in invested funds</a>, bringing the total amount to over $100 million. For reference: that's somewhere in the ballpark of the <a href="http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52464">development cost <em>Grand Theft Auto IV</em></a>, and <a href="http://kotaku.com/5050300/how-much-has-wow-cost-blizzard-since-2004">about half of what Blizzard has spent</a> on <a href="http://www.worldofwarcraft.com"><em>World of Warcraft</em></a> since its 2004 launch.<br /><br /><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/trion">Trion</a> is the company co-founded by <a href="http://www.ea.com">EA</a> alum Lars Buttler and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Might_and_Magic"><em>Might and Magic</em></a> creator Jon Van Caneghem, which announced that it'll be <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/02/sci-fi-channel-creating-hybrid-tv-series-and-mmo/">making a game in concert with The Sci-Fi Channel</a>, as well as a <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/02/trion-announces-another-project-coming-to-consoles/">fantasy console MMO</a> we know little about.<br /><br />We've talked a bit about Trion's <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/03/trion-on-their-new-distribution-platform/">plans and business model</a> before, but here's a refresher: it is creating development tools for making games that will run completely server-side. The graphics will be drawn on the client, but everything else -- physics, game logic, etc., will occur on the server and be downloaded to the user's computer. This serves two important functions. It greatly reduces the minimum hardware specifications for games and it makes piracy extremely difficult. We're not going to say yet that it makes piracy <em>impossible</em>, because, well, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Malcolm_(Jurassic_Park)">"life finds a way."</a><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/25/over-100-million-invested-in-trion-and-its-unusual-distribution/">Over $100 million invested in Trion and its unusual distribution platform</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/23/trion-surpasses-100m-in-fundraising-without-releasing-anyth/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/25/over-100-million-invested-in-trion-and-its-unusual-distribution/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1324531/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/25/over-100-million-invested-in-trion-and-its-unusual-distribution/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>ea</category><category>funding</category><category>grand-theft-auto-iv</category><category>investment</category><category>jon-van-caneghem</category><category>lars-buttler</category><category>might-and-magic</category><category>trion</category><category>world-of-warcraft</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Samuel Axon]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[EVE Evolved: Money for nothing]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/eve-evolved-money-for-nothing/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/eve-evolved-money-for-nothing/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/eve-evolved-money-for-nothing/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/eve-online/" rel="tag">EVE Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/economy/" rel="tag">Economy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/forums/" rel="tag">Forums</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/guides/" rel="tag">Guides</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/professions/" rel="tag">Professions</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/making-money/" rel="tag">Making money</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/tips-and-tricks/" rel="tag">Tips and tricks</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/eve-evolved/" rel="tag">EVE Evolved</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/eve-online/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/09/moneytitle.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /></div>
In most MMOs, making currency without actually playing usually involves rule-breaking macro-farming which risks getting your account banned. In <a href="http://www.eve-online.com"><span style="font-style: italic;">EVE Online</span></a>, however, a number of viable options exist for making ISK with absolutely no effort. From hiring research and development agents to public investment schemes and even a player-run bank, there are plenty of ways to make ISK in <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/eve-online/">EVE</a> </span>without even logging in.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Investment Schemes:</span><br />In <a href="http://myeve.eve-online.com/ingameboard.asp?a=channel&amp;channelID=3515">the market discussion forums</a>, players can sell shares in their company and present a business plan to potential investors. The corporation receives ISK in exchange for its shares and agrees to make regular dividend payments to all shareholders. Buyers <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/10/the-high-price-of-trust-in-eve/">have to trust</a> that the company owner won't just run off with their ISK, so only the most trustworthy players have managed to successfully start very large investment schemes.<br /><br />In this article, I look at the different ways you can make ISK with virtually no effort, in some cases even if your account is inactive.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/eve-evolved-money-for-nothing/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>EVE Evolved: Money for nothing</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/eve-evolved-money-for-nothing/">EVE Evolved: Money for nothing</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/eve-evolved-money-for-nothing/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1300598/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/eve-evolved-money-for-nothing/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bank</category><category>blueprint</category><category>ccp</category><category>eve</category><category>eve-evolved</category><category>eve-online</category><category>featured</category><category>free</category><category>invest</category><category>investment</category><category>isk</category><category>joystiqfeatures</category><category>killboard</category><category>money</category><category>rent</category><category>stock market</category><category>StockMarket</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Brendan Drain]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[$345 million invested in virtual worlds so far this year]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/09/345-million-invested-in-virtual-worlds-so-far-this-year/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/09/345-million-invested-in-virtual-worlds-so-far-this-year/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/09/345-million-invested-in-virtual-worlds-so-far-this-year/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/real-life/" rel="tag">Real life</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/making-money/" rel="tag">Making money</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/virtual-worlds/" rel="tag">Virtual worlds</a></p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Gold_Rush"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/07/100_dollar_bill.jpg" />"There's gold in them thar</a> online worlds!" That, at least, is the diagnosis of the guys <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/08/virtual-worlds-are-so-hot-right-now-345-million-invested-so-far-this-year/">over at <strike>TechCrunch</strike></a> Virtual Worlds Management (they're actually the ones who <a href="http://www.virtualworldsmanagement.com/2008/q2.html">did the research for second quarter</a>) -- they tallied up all the money given to virtual world developers this year, and ended up at a whopping $345 million. That is a lot of investment dollars sunk into worlds that don't exist -- about the gross domestic product of Western Africa's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea-Bissau">Guinea-Bissau</a>. Which, come to think of it, doesn't sound quite as impressive as we'd hoped, but still, venture capitalists clearly think this online thing might have staying power.<br /><br />Turbine was one of the big winners so far this year -- <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/01/turbine-lands-a-40-million-investment/">their $40 million investment</a> will give the <a href="http://www.lotro.com/"><em>Lord of the Rings Online</em></a> and<em> <a href="http://www.ddo.com/">Dungeons and Dragons Online</a></em> developer lots of leeway in their "business strategy shift." But 9You, as previously reported on this very site, was the biggest cash-in so far this year -- $100 million was passed out to them to work on its product called <a href="http://www.redlinechina.com/main/?q=node/696"><em>GTown</em></a>.<br /><br />Of course, investment only means so much, and there are only so many hours in the day people can spent in virtual environments. Some of this money is being thrown away. But we're only halfway through 2008, and deals are being brokered left and right -- it's a virtual world boom!<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/09/345-million-invested-in-virtual-worlds-so-far-this-year/">$345 million invested in virtual worlds so far this year</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/08/virtual-worlds-are-so-hot-right-now-345-million-invested-so-far-this-year/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/09/345-million-invested-in-virtual-worlds-so-far-this-year/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1250758/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/09/345-million-invested-in-virtual-worlds-so-far-this-year/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>9you</category><category>boom</category><category>gtown</category><category>investment</category><category>lotro</category><category>millions</category><category>money</category><category>totals</category><category>turbine</category><category>virtual-worlds</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Schramm]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Realtime Worlds grabs $50 million]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/31/realtime-worlds-grabs-50-million/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/31/realtime-worlds-grabs-50-million/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/31/realtime-worlds-grabs-50-million/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/virtual-worlds/" rel="tag">Virtual worlds</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/all-points-bulletin/" rel="tag">All Points Bulletin</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/crime/" rel="tag">Crime</a></p><div align="center"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/03/cashforrealtimeworlds.jpg"  alt="" /><br /></div>
Techcrunch is reporting that developers Realtime Worlds (makers of last year's <em>Crackdown</em>, which <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/16/games-that-could-be-mmos-crackdown/">could be an MMO</a>, and the upcoming <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/all-points-bulletin"><em>All Points Bulletin</em></a>, which we heard <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/22/gdc08-all-points-bulletin-info-and-eye-candy/">lots about at GDC</a>) have picked up <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/28/montgomery-co-raises-50-million-for-realtime-worlds/">a whopping $50 million in funding</a> from a round of investment capital, including lots of it from Maverick Capital.<br /><br />So good news for <em>APB</em> fans -- of course, it's just a fraction of that billion dollars that <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/28/investment-of-1-billion-wouldnt-dethrone-wow-exec-says/">Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick claims</a> anyone will need to take on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/world-of-warcraft"><em>World of Warcraft</em></a>, but $50 million buys a lot of artists, programmers, and servers, all things that <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/22/gdc08-realtime-worlds-shows-off-all-points-bulletin/">a great MMO</a> needs for a strong launch.  <em>APB</em> is still in the development stages of course -- we've heard that it'll drop this year, though at this point (and with the extra cash going into a little extra development), we're probably looking at a spring 2009 release.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/31/realtime-worlds-grabs-50-million/">Realtime Worlds grabs $50 million</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/28/montgomery-co-raises-50-million-for-realtime-worlds/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/31/realtime-worlds-grabs-50-million/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1153647/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/31/realtime-worlds-grabs-50-million/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>all-points-bulletin</category><category>apb</category><category>billion</category><category>capital</category><category>crackdown</category><category>financing</category><category>investment</category><category>million</category><category>money</category><category>new-titles</category><category>realtime-worlds</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Schramm]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Daily Grind: monthly fee or microtransactions?]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/the-daily-grind-monthly-fee-or-microtransactions/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/the-daily-grind-monthly-fee-or-microtransactions/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/the-daily-grind-monthly-fee-or-microtransactions/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/world-of-warcraft/" rel="tag">World of Warcraft</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online/" rel="tag">Lord of the Rings Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/maplestory/" rel="tag">MapleStory</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/classes/" rel="tag">Classes</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/economy/" rel="tag">Economy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/making-money/" rel="tag">Making money</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/trickster-online/" rel="tag">Trickster Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/the-daily-grind/" rel="tag">The Daily Grind</a></p><a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/141/349897716_6f6439c244_o.jpg"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/03/microtransnickels.jpg"  alt="" /></a>We have covered this peripherally <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/22/the-daily-grind-how-do-you-feel-about-microtransactions/">before</a>, but while that post focused on buying items through microtransactions, we'd like to ask you: what's your preference? A <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/world-of-warcraft">few</a> <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lord-of-the-rings-online">MMOs</a> have monthly fees that are also set up for discounted bulk purchases -- you pay less per month if you buy, say, 6 months at once -- but then there's the oh-so-enticing <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/maple-story">free-as-a-bird</a> <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/trickster-online">model</a>, with microtransactions for better gear thrown in.<br /><br />But it's not just about items or time, is it? Do you feel that paying a monthly fee to your favorite MMO is an investment in your gaming future? Is it enough of a reward for the development team? If you're playing a free-to-play microtransactions game, can you still vote with your dollars if your favorite class gets <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerfed">nerfed</a>? All things being equal, which is better?<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/the-daily-grind-monthly-fee-or-microtransactions/">The Daily Grind: monthly fee or microtransactions?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/the-daily-grind-monthly-fee-or-microtransactions/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1147241/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/24/the-daily-grind-monthly-fee-or-microtransactions/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>free-to-play</category><category>investment</category><category>lord-of-the-rings-online</category><category>maple-story</category><category>microtransactions</category><category>monthly-fee</category><category>nerfed</category><category>the-daily-grind</category><category>trickster-online</category><category>world-of-warcraft</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Akela Talamasca]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Investment of $1 billion+ wouldn't dethrone WoW, exec says]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/28/investment-of-1-billion-wouldnt-dethrone-wow-exec-says/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/28/investment-of-1-billion-wouldnt-dethrone-wow-exec-says/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/28/investment-of-1-billion-wouldnt-dethrone-wow-exec-says/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/world-of-warcraft/" rel="tag">World of Warcraft</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=33609"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/02/wowdrevil.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /></div>
We all know that <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/world-of-warcraft"><em>World of Warcraft</em></a> is the big daddy on the MMO block. Hell, with the amount of money Blizzard is raking in, <em>World of Warcraft</em> is the big daddy on the <strong>gaming</strong> block. And what's more, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/14/world-of-warcraft-still-growing-9-3-million-served/">it's still growing</a>. According a report, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick stated in an investor meeting that his company had done extensive research on the MMO category, and came to the conclusion that even a game <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=33609">bolstered by an initial investment of $500 million to $1 billion</a> would still probably have a hell of a time competing in the same space as the Blizzard juggernaut. This likely came as part of their research prior to the <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/02/blizzard-rolled-into-activision-blizzard-mega-publisher/">massive merger with Vivendi Universal</a> late last year.<br /><br />Kotick points to the <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/11/marvel-mmo-officially-put-to-rest/">relative failures of big companies like Microsoft</a> in trying to develop a competitive product as proof in the pudding. Even companies with decades-long track records of extracting money from lose-lose situations don't stand to gain much from trying to directly compete in the same space. For his part, Kotick believes it's the ingenuity of the guys at Blizzard that is really the deciding factor. Since no amount of money is liable to recreate the success of Blizzard, they simply found the prospect of buying them out more amenable. If you're wondering why it seems like so many MMO development houses are <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/26/gdc08-bigger-is-not-always-better/">scaling down their products</a> to make them more niche oriented, this is why. Throwing money, even a billion dollars, into a competition with <em>World of Warcraft</em> is only likely to end in tears.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/28/investment-of-1-billion-wouldnt-dethrone-wow-exec-says/">Investment of $1 billion+ wouldn't dethrone WoW, exec says</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=33609>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/28/investment-of-1-billion-wouldnt-dethrone-wow-exec-says/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1127217/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/28/investment-of-1-billion-wouldnt-dethrone-wow-exec-says/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>$1-billion</category><category>activision</category><category>activision-blizzard</category><category>billion</category><category>blizzard</category><category>bobby-kotick</category><category>breaking</category><category>investment</category><category>profit</category><category>vivendi-universal</category><category>world-of-warcraft</category><category>wow</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Chester]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[MMOs for kids are just good business]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/07/mmos-for-kids-are-just-good-business/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/07/mmos-for-kids-are-just-good-business/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/07/mmos-for-kids-are-just-good-business/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/economy/" rel="tag">Economy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/webkinz/" rel="tag">Webkinz</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/casual/" rel="tag">Casual</a></p><a href="www.webkinz.com"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/01/webkinz.jpg" alt="" /></a>According to an Internet Investment Guide released by JP Morgan, and graciously digested for us by the fine folks at<a href="http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2008/01/jp-morgan-bulli.html"> Virtual World News</a>, the wide world of the massively multiplayer is not one large mass of gaming goodness as we typically believe. According to JP, from the perspective of potential investors, there are two segments of the MMO market worth looking at; there's the part of the industry aimed at adults with which we typically concern ourselves, and there are virtual worlds aimed at children. While adult MMOs are likely to be an area of growth in the new year, they recommend that investors be "bullish" on children's MMOs because they're already incredibly mainstream, and represent a surer avenue for growth.<br /><br />If you've ever witnessed the ravenous hunger with which 'tween girls pursue <a href="http://www.webkinz.com/"><em>Webkinz</em></a>, the collectible stuffed animal - MMO crossover, you'll immediately recognize the salience of JP's findings. Parents support these sorts of games because they represent closed areas of the internet where kids can safely entertain themselves on the computer without much concern about illicit content or child predators. Kids like the games because they're usually specifically tailored to their tastes and age level. And developers support them because they're comparatively easy to develop and, with the appropriate retail tie-in a la <em>Webkinz</em>, make companies money hand over fist. So if you're looking for a good investment, look past an <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/activision-blizzard">Activision Blizzard</a>, and pick up a kid-oriented company instead.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/07/mmos-for-kids-are-just-good-business/">MMOs for kids are just good business</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2008/01/jp-morgan-bulli.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/07/mmos-for-kids-are-just-good-business/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1079861/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/07/mmos-for-kids-are-just-good-business/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>investment</category><category>jp-morgan</category><category>kids</category><category>virtual-worlds</category><category>wall-street</category><category>webkinz</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Chester]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[IGG receives $4.5 mill in investment capital]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/02/igg-recieves-4-5-mill-in-investment-capital/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/02/igg-recieves-4-5-mill-in-investment-capital/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/02/igg-recieves-4-5-mill-in-investment-capital/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/myth-war-online/" rel="tag">Myth War Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/business-models/" rel="tag">Business models</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/tales-of-pirates/" rel="tag">Tales of Pirates</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/zu-online/" rel="tag">Zu Online</a></p><a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=31810"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/01/zuonlinemoonmaiden.jpg" alt="" /></a><a href="http://www.igg.com/">Internet Gaming Gate</a> (IGG to its friends), who you may recognize as the company behind such free to play MMOs as <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/myth-war-online"><em>Myth War Online</em></a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/zu-online"><em>Zu Online</em></a>, and <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/tales-of-pirates"><em>Tales of Pirates</em></a>, has announced that they have <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=31810">received a new chunk of funding</a> to the tune of $4.5 million USD from an investment capital firm to expand their operations. Having only launched in 2006, IGG has already put out an impressive number of titles and boasts a user base of over 3.5 million. If we had any doubts about the efficacy of the free MMO business model, this vote of confidence has to quell those doubts at least a little.<br /><br />The funding was provided by <a href="http://www.idgvc.com/english/about.htm">IDG Technology Venture Investments</a>, a subsidiary of the International Data Group, a body whose primary goal is to link Silicon Valley to the burgeoning Chinese technology market through the use of venture capital.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/02/igg-recieves-4-5-mill-in-investment-capital/">IGG receives $4.5 mill in investment capital</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=31810>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/02/igg-recieves-4-5-mill-in-investment-capital/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1075430/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/02/igg-recieves-4-5-mill-in-investment-capital/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>business</category><category>IGG</category><category>investment</category><category>myth-war-online</category><category>tales-of-pirates</category><category>venture-capital</category><category>zu-online</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Chester]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[GigaMedia partners with XLGames for world-rocking new MMO]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/12/gigamedia-partners-with-xlgames-for-world-rocking-new-mmo/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/12/gigamedia-partners-with-xlgames-for-world-rocking-new-mmo/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/12/gigamedia-partners-with-xlgames-for-world-rocking-new-mmo/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lineage/" rel="tag">Lineage</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a></p><a href="http://www.gigamedia.com.tw/index.htm"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2007/12/gigamedialogo_225px.jpg"  alt="" /></a>GigaMedia Limited has <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&amp;STORY=/www/story/12-11-2007/0004720327&amp;EDATE=">issued a press release</a> to say that they are investing in and partnering with XLGames, a development studio headed by Jake Song. Song is known for being the creator of <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lineage/"><em>Lineage</em></a> and also <em>The Kingdom of the Winds.</em> GigaMedia has gained board representation and some strategic rights to XLGames after their investment.<br /><br />President of GigaMedia Thomas Hui said, "We are thrilled to partner with such a tremendously talented team and look forward to working closely with them on their new MMORPG, which should rock the world." There are no other details yet on this new MMO, but Song brings quite a pedigree to the project with the aforementioned games and having been NCSoft's Executive Vice President at one point, so we will fortify nearby buildings in anticipation of further announcements.<br /><br />[Via <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071211/hktu001.html?.v=80">Yahoo Finance</a>]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/12/gigamedia-partners-with-xlgames-for-world-rocking-new-mmo/">GigaMedia partners with XLGames for world-rocking new MMO</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&amp;STORY=/www/story/12-11-2007/0004720327&amp;EDATE=>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/12/gigamedia-partners-with-xlgames-for-world-rocking-new-mmo/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1060027/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/12/gigamedia-partners-with-xlgames-for-world-rocking-new-mmo/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>gigamedia</category><category>gigamedia-limited</category><category>investment</category><category>jake-song</category><category>partnership</category><category>the-kingdom-of-the-winds</category><category>thomas-hui</category><category>xlgames</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[William Dobson]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bethesda MMO studio sees substantial investment]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/26/bethesda-mmo-studio-sees-substantial-investment/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/26/bethesda-mmo-studio-sees-substantial-investment/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/26/bethesda-mmo-studio-sees-substantial-investment/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a></p><div align="center"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2007/10/oblivionminotaurwtf.jpg" /><br />
<div align="left">An Elder Scrolls MMO may be closer to conception than we were previously aware, as <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16004">Gamasutra reports</a> that Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media has gotten a massive buff in cash from Providence Equity Partners to, and here we quote, "<em>Fund future growth, ramp up publishing and development, facilitate acquisitions, and finance MMOGs</em>."<br /></div>
</div>
<br />This comes on the heels of the formation of ZeniMax Online Studios, an MMOG studio formed by estranged <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/mythic/">Mythic Entertainment </a>founder Matt Firor in Hunt Valley, MD. While our knee-jerk reaction is to assume they'll be working on an Elder Scrolls MMOG, just given the success of <span style="font-style: italic;">Elder Scrolls: Oblivion</span>, it's also worth remembering that Bethesda owns the rights to the Fallout franchise. We normally wouldn't stoop to this kind of scandalous rumor-mongering, but the announcement specifically mentions "MMOGs" in the plural. Assuming Elder Scrolls is numero uno, what else besides Fallout could they bring to the MMO genre? We know Interplay technically owns the rights to a Fallout MMO, but Bethesda just got quite a bit richer...<br /> <br />More corporate back-patting after the jump.<br /><a href="../../../content/posts/create/"></a><p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/26/bethesda-mmo-studio-sees-substantial-investment/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Bethesda MMO studio sees substantial investment</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/26/bethesda-mmo-studio-sees-substantial-investment/">Bethesda MMO studio sees substantial investment</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 26 Oct 2007 08:03:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16004>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/26/bethesda-mmo-studio-sees-substantial-investment/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1022231/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/26/bethesda-mmo-studio-sees-substantial-investment/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bethesda</category><category>cash</category><category>elder-scrolls</category><category>elder-scrolls-mmo</category><category>fallout</category><category>investment</category><category>matt-firor</category><category>money</category><category>rumor</category><category>rumors</category><category>zenimax</category><category>zenimax-online-studios</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Chester]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 26 Oct 2007 08:03:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
