Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[This Week In MMO: Night at the movies edition]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/07/this-week-in-mmo-night-at-the-movies-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/07/this-week-in-mmo-night-at-the-movies-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/07/this-week-in-mmo-night-at-the-movies-edition/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

This Week In MMO: Episode 63
This Week In MMO is all about movies: how some games compare to movies and which movies will be made into games. The BioWare doctors hinted at a Mass Effect MMO once again, but what does our panel of hosts think? Mike B, aka Fony of ZAM, believes that the Mass Effect intellectual property is very similar to the movie industry, such that Mass Effect can take a few years of downtime, then just like some movie remakes, bounce back even stronger as an MMO.

What about movies becoming MMOs? Jasmine Hruschak, of Gamebreaker's The Sanctum, is scared of any movie becoming a game. Traditionally, these platform conversions are disastrous, according to IRLJasmine. However, Gary Gannon agrees with Avatar director James Cameron's sentiments and believes that the world of the Nav'i could one day be comparable to the world of World of Warcraft.

Catch all this and more movie-to-MMO comparisons after the break on Gamebreaker.TV's This Week In MMO!

Continue reading This Week In MMO: Night at the movies edition

MassivelyThis Week In MMO: Night at the movies edition originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AvatarAvatar-MMOBioWareEAElectronic-Artsfirefallgary-gannonjames-cameronJasmine-Hruschakmark-kernmass-effectMass-Effect-mmoMike-Bred-5red-5-studiosRed5This-Week-In-MMOTWIMMOwebzenFri, 07 Oct 2011 14:30:00 EST<![CDATA[More talk of an Avatar MMO surfaces from director James Cameron]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/28/more-talk-of-an-avatar-mmo-surfaces/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/28/more-talk-of-an-avatar-mmo-surfaces/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/28/more-talk-of-an-avatar-mmo-surfaces/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

James Cameron and Sam Worthington on the Avatar set
Hollywood IPs don't have the greatest track record when it comes to making the transition to the MMORPG space, but celebrated film director James Cameron recently told IGN that he thinks his Avatar franchise is up to the task.

In an interview that touches on 3-D entertainment, single-player gaming, and real-world themepark rides, Cameron also says that "Avatar is a perfect IP for an MMO." The massively multiplayer portion of the project seems to be in its infancy, as the director notes that the fictional universe established in the 2009 blockbuster needs to be fleshed out and expanded via the upcoming sequels before consumers can fully grasp how big Avatar really is.

"The film is really just a leaping off point," Cameron says, "so we've got to create a rich and diverse world that lives well beyond the films." This isn't the first time that scuttlebutt about an Avatar MMO has hit the intarwebs. Cameron's producing partner Jon Landau floated the topic in early 2010, and UbiSoft originally planned to release an Avatar MMO in conjunction with the film's holiday 2009 debut.

MassivelyMore talk of an Avatar MMO surfaces from director James Cameron originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>avataravatar-mmoavatars-playing-avatarsfilmintellectual-propertyinterviewipjames-cameronkill-ten-navimmo-industrymoviessci-fiscifiWed, 28 Sep 2011 23:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Avatar movie producer interested in Avatar MMO]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/28/avatar-movie-producer-interested-in-avatar-mmo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/28/avatar-movie-producer-interested-in-avatar-mmo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/28/avatar-movie-producer-interested-in-avatar-mmo/#commentsFiled under: ,

It probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise. James Cameron's Avatar caught the attention of gamers from the moment the first trailer was released. Its appearance alone was extremely familiar to anyone who's spent more than a few minutes in any number of fantasy MMOs, and the movie's plot centered around what could be called the most immersive MMO ever.

The movie has already been turned into a single player game, and now our friends at G4TV report that Producer Jon Landau says he's "very interested" in the creation of an Avatar MMO. Before you groan in despair, hear him out. The focus doesn't seem to be on shoving something out the door right away while the money machine is still running at full speed: "it's something we'd want to do, would be very interested in doing, but we'd have to do it right. To create those worlds is sometimes a long time endeavor."

Landau continues by exploring the concept of 3-D gaming -- a feature that would be almost a given in an Avatar MMO: "I think that the addition of 3-D in gaming tends to be more transformative than 3-D is to movies. [...] I think we're starting to see the start of 3-D becoming commonplace in gaming."

Follow along after the jump to see the full video of Landau's talk with G4TV.

Continue reading Avatar movie producer interested in Avatar MMO

MassivelyAvatar movie producer interested in Avatar MMO originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>3-DAvataravatar-mmobreakingG4TVjames-cameronJames-camerons-avatarjon-landauWed, 28 Apr 2010 10:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The Sea Monkey experience of avatars]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/18/the-sea-monkey-experience-of-avatars/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/18/the-sea-monkey-experience-of-avatars/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/18/the-sea-monkey-experience-of-avatars/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

So, as you may recall last week Linden Lab responded about what appeared to be Second Life advertisements that capitalized on the recently-released James Cameron film, Avatar.

Linden Lab implied (though didn't actually state plainly) that the advertisements were not intended to cause confusion between Second Life and Avatar.

Since about Christmas (just after previews showing the blue-skinned Na'vi began to become available to the general public) IMVU started running some blue-skinned ads of its own.

It was when we saw the blue-avatared IMVU advertisement that sprung up during the same period that we inevitably started thinking about Sea Monkeys.

There's more similarities going on here than just the visible, so let's rummage around and see if we can't find one of the old advertisements in our files.

Continue reading The Sea Monkey experience of avatars

MassivelyThe Sea Monkey experience of avatars originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>artemiaavatarbusiness-modelsdoubledown-tandinoimvujames-cameronjames-camerons-avatarlinden-labopinionpandorasea-monkeyssecond-lifeshrimptranscience-corporationvirtual-worldsMon, 18 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Avatars blue, Second Life concurrency and transactions rise]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/14/avatars-blue-second-life-concurrency-and-transactions-rise/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/14/avatars-blue-second-life-concurrency-and-transactions-rise/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/14/avatars-blue-second-life-concurrency-and-transactions-rise/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


The Second Life user-concurrency and user-to-user transaction figures took a bit of an unexpected jump this week, rising sharply after a year of relatively little motion. Through 2009, user-concurrency has been on a slight, though not terribly significant decline, while user-to-user transactions remained flat and rather unexciting.

The sudden rise coincided with an advertising campaign by Linden Lab, where James Cameron's Avatar and Second Life were rather strongly linked in a series of banner advertisements run on YouTube and as a part of Linden Lab's affiliate program.

Continue reading Avatars blue, Second Life concurrency and transactions rise

MassivelyAvatars blue, Second Life concurrency and transactions rise originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>advertisingaffiliate-marketingbusiness-modelseconomyjames-cameronjames-camerons-avatarlinden-labroleplayingstatisticsworld-metricsyoutubeThu, 14 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Avatar uses smoking as a metaphor for (online) gaming obsession]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/06/avatar-uses-smoking-as-a-metephor-for-online-gaming-obsession/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/06/avatar-uses-smoking-as-a-metephor-for-online-gaming-obsession/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/06/avatar-uses-smoking-as-a-metephor-for-online-gaming-obsession/#commentsFiled under: , ,

For all of you who saw Avatar (and we're pretty sure that's a lot of you) we imagine the analogy between James Cameron's sci-fi techno masterpiece and our beloved genre of gaming didn't fully escape many of you. So, when anti-smoking outfits began to boil over about Sigourney Weaver's character lighting up after "logging off" from her big blue cat woman for the evening, Cameron took to the defense.

According to the mastermind behind Avatar, the character of Grace was never meant to be a role model. "We were showing that Grace doesn't care about her human body, only her avatar body." Cameron continued by saying her destructive behavior "is a negative comment about people in our real world living too much in their avatars, meaning online and in video games." The message is clear, although not too overbearing. We love our online games, there's no doubt about that, but getting the occasional exercise routine or two in doesn't hurt, either.

It's all very interesting given the ending to Avatar, which we won't spoil for those of you who somehow haven't yet seen it. Still, regardless of whatever "anti" sentiment you think Cameron was sending, there's no doubt plenty more MMO metaphor to be found within Avatar -- a movie ostensibly about a real life fantasy world and avatars to play within it.

[via Wired]

MassivelyAvatar uses smoking as a metaphor for (online) gaming obsession originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anti-gaminganti-smokingavatargracegrace-augustinejames-cameronjames-camerons-avatarmmommo-industrysigourney-weaversmokingwiredWed, 06 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Avatar: Why does this movie look so familiar?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/04/avatar-why-does-this-movie-look-so-familiar/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/04/avatar-why-does-this-movie-look-so-familiar/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/04/avatar-why-does-this-movie-look-so-familiar/#commentsFiled under: , ,

If you're one of the few people who has not heard the buzz about Avatar yet, we'll catch you up by saying that the film's beauty is all anyone can talk about. MMO players discussing the movie will follow that observation up almost immediately with "...and did you notice how much it looks like [insert game of choice here]?"

Quite a few comparisons have been drawn, with World of Warcraft and Guild Wars being the two most frequently mentioned. Film and music review site In Review Online was quick to point out that James Cameron is a big fan of WoW, and Guild Wars fans noticed the similarities as soon as trailers showed up way back in August.

So James Cameron is stealing all of his ideas from MMOs, right? Of course not. Magically floating rocks, mountains in the distance, and lush, green landscaping have been a part of the fantasy genre for some time now, and anyone involved in a creative process is bound to be influenced by the things encountered in daily life.

While (we hope) nobody seriously thinks that Cameron looked at a game load screen and said "Yeah, I'll use that," there is certainly a strong influence there. Whether he was influenced by games or everyone has the same general underlying theme of a fantasy world is anyone's guess. In the end, we'll just enjoy the movie and its strange sense of familiarity.

MassivelyAvatar: Why does this movie look so familiar? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Avatarguild-warsjames-cameronJames-camerons-avatarworld-of-warcraftMon, 04 Jan 2010 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Ubisoft president speaks about Avatar MMO]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/14/ubisoft-president-speaks-about-avatar-mmo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/14/ubisoft-president-speaks-about-avatar-mmo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/14/ubisoft-president-speaks-about-avatar-mmo/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Despite the poor condition of the global economy these days, Ubisoft's president and CEO Yves Guillemot is optimistic about the amazing year that 2009 will bring for video game software sales. As he told investors at a BMO Capital Markets conference, "If we look at this industry, one thing to consider is that when hardware sales are peaking, software sales are peaking 18 months later."

One highlight of Ubisoft's expected growth next year is the release of the Avatar MMO. Now, keep in mind that this isn't an MMO based on the Nickelodeon show Avatar: The Last Airbender. This online game will be based on James Cameron's Avatar feature film set to release in December of 2009, and will most likely release in conjunction with the film. The game (and movie) will be based around a plotline where "a man tries to make his way as a miner by combining with an alien during an interplanetary war in which aliens can manifest themselves by possessing human bodies - avatars." Considering the fact that we've heard next to nothing else about this MMO, it should be interesting to see if it will release before or after the film's release.

MassivelyUbisoft president speaks about Avatar MMO originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aliensavatar-mmojames-cameronsci-fiubisoftFri, 14 Nov 2008 19:00:00 EST