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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Diablo III roars into an open beta weekend]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/20/diablo-iii-roars-into-an-open-beta-weekend/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/20/diablo-iii-roars-into-an-open-beta-weekend/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/20/diablo-iii-roars-into-an-open-beta-weekend/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/betas/" rel="tag">Betas</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-in-game/" rel="tag">Events, in-game</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/diablo-iii/" rel="tag">Diablo III</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
	<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/20/diablo-iii-roars-into-an-open-beta-weekend/"><img alt="Diablo III" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2012/04/d3-1334922368.jpg" /></a></div>
Flex those mouse-clicking fingers, compadres -- it's demon-hunting time! This weekend, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/blizzard/">Blizzard </a>is blowing the doors off <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/Diablo-III/"><em>Diablo III's</em></a> beta, allowing any and all (well, those with a <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/battle.net/">Battle.net</a> account, that is) to come try out this upcoming action RPG.<br />
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The open beta weekend begins at 3:00 p.m. EDT today and lasts until 1:00 p.m. on Monday, April 23rd. During the beta, all five classes will be available, but players will be limited to a level 13 cap as they give the game a whirl.<br />
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To access the <em>Diablo III</em> open beta, you'll need a valid Battle.net account and a <a href="http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/4132437">BattleTag</a>. Despite playing in the open beta, participants won't be able to post in the beta forums and won't receive Beta Bucks to spend.<br />
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Asian players in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau will be part of not this stress test but rather a separate invitation-only closed beta test starting on April 23rd.<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/2012/04/20/diablo-iii-roars-into-an-open-beta-weekend/">Diablo III roars into an open beta weekend</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:00:00 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/2012/04/20/diablo-iii-roars-into-an-open-beta-weekend/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20220223/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/20/diablo-iii-roars-into-an-open-beta-weekend/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>action-rpg</category><category>battle.net</category><category>battlenet</category><category>battletag</category><category>beta</category><category>beta-bucks</category><category>blizzard</category><category>blizzard-entertainment</category><category>cash-shop</category><category>d3</category><category>diablo</category><category>diablo-2</category><category>diablo-3</category><category>diablo-ii</category><category>diablo-iii</category><category>fantasy</category><category>gothic-fantasy</category><category>hong-kong</category><category>korea</category><category>macau</category><category>multiplayer</category><category>online-multiplayer</category><category>open-beta</category><category>open-beta-weekend</category><category>roguelike</category><category>rpg</category><category>stress-test</category><category>taiwan</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Justin Olivetti]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Wizard101 heading to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/08/wizard101-heading-to-taiwan-hong-kong-and-macau/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/08/wizard101-heading-to-taiwan-hong-kong-and-macau/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/08/wizard101-heading-to-taiwan-hong-kong-and-macau/#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/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/wizard101/" rel="tag">Wizard101</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/family/" rel="tag">Family</a></p><div style="text-align: center;">
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	<a href="http://www.massively.com/tag/kingsisle-entertainment">KingsIsle Entertainment</a> announced today that its popular free-to-play MMO, <em><a href="http://www.massively.com/category/wizard101">Wizard101</a></em>, is expanding to the exotic east. Thanks to an agreement with Taiwan Taomee Technology, the game will be launching in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau in 2012. This announcement comes shortly after the company's deal with Taomee Holdings Limited to launch the game in China next year. To get in on the <em>Wizard101</em> fun yourself, head on over to the game's official site.</div><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/2011/11/08/wizard101-heading-to-taiwan-hong-kong-and-macau/">Wizard101 heading to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:30:00 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/2011/11/08/wizard101-heading-to-taiwan-hong-kong-and-macau/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/20101647/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/08/wizard101-heading-to-taiwan-hong-kong-and-macau/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>f2p</category><category>free-to-play</category><category>hong-kong</category><category>kingsisle</category><category>kingsisle-entertainment</category><category>macau</category><category>taiwan</category><category>wiz101</category><category>WIZARD101</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Daniel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mythic wages WAR in the East]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/20/mythic-wages-war-in-the-east/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/20/mythic-wages-war-in-the-east/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/20/mythic-wages-war-in-the-east/#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/warhammer-online/" rel="tag">Warhammer Online</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a></p><div align="center"><img hspace="4" border="1" vspace="4" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/06/war-taiwan.jpg" /><br /></div>
While <a href="http://ncsoft.com">NCsoft</a> prepares to invade the West with <em><a href="http://aiononline.com/"><em>Aion</em></a></em> this September, <a href="http://mythicentertainment.com">Mythic</a> has their own <a href="http://www.virtualpressoffice.com/publicsiteContentFileAccess/131723/131723.html/?fileContentId=131723&amp;fileName=131723.html&amp;fromOtherPageToDisableHistory=Y">preemptive RvR strike planned for the East</a>. Both Mythic and <a href="http://www.gigamedia.com.tw/">Gigamedia</a> are bringing <a href="http://warhammeronline.com"><em>Warhammer Online</em></a> to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on June 25th. This means people can now play <em>WAR</em> in North America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia. That's quite a global presence.<br /><br />It will be interesting to see what impact this has on <em>WAR</em>'s subscriber count in the next quarter. When <em>WAR</em> originally launched in September 2008, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/10/warhammer-onlines-party-hits-750-000-players/">they sold over 750,000 copies</a>. That number <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/03/breaking-300k-warhammer-online-subscribers-as-of-december-31-2/">dropped to 300,000 by December 2008</a>. After a couple big marketing campaigns (recruit a friend and re-enlistment) and a launch in Russia, WAR's numbers <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/06/warhammer-holds-its-ground-with-300k-subs/">held steady at 300,000 in March 2009</a>.<br /><br />Could this Eastern launch propel them beyond the 300,000 mark again? Based on all the <a href="http://massively.com/tag/land-of-the-dead">Land of the Dead</a> coverage and impressions we've seen, the new live expansion should have some sort of positive effect on the game as well. I guess we'll have to wait until the next <a href="http://investor.ea.com/index.cfm">EA earnings call</a> to find out, which should take place in August.<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/2009/06/20/mythic-wages-war-in-the-east/">Mythic wages WAR in the East</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 20 Jun 2009 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.virtualpressoffice.com/publicsiteContentFileAccess/131723/131723.html/?fileContentId=131723&amp;fileName=131723.html&amp;fromOtherPageToDisableHistory=Y>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/20/mythic-wages-war-in-the-east/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19071842/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/20/mythic-wages-war-in-the-east/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>ea</category><category>gigamedia</category><category>hong kong</category><category>HongKong</category><category>land-of-the-dead</category><category>macau</category><category>mythic-entertainment</category><category>subscription-numbers</category><category>taiwan</category><category>waaagh</category><category>war</category><category>warhammer-online</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Brooke Pilley]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[EA signs agreement for WAR distribution in Asia]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/31/ea-signs-agreement-for-war-distribution-in-asia/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/31/ea-signs-agreement-for-war-distribution-in-asia/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/31/ea-signs-agreement-for-war-distribution-in-asia/#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/warhammer-online/" rel="tag">Warhammer Online</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/HKTH01031012008-1.htm"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/01/warorcboyz.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /></div>
A press release went out today on the wire announcing that <a href="http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/HKTH01031012008-1.htm">EA had signed an agreement with a Taiwanese company called GigaMedia</a> to distribute <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/warhammer-online"><em>Warhammer Online</em></a> in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. According to the terms of the agreement, GigaMedia will be responsible for the advertising, community management, customer service, and technical support for those areas. Doing some cursory research on the company on the 'net, it seems like GigaMedia has really cut their teeth on more casual game distribution efforts, their biggest property being <em>FunTown</em>, the world's largest MahJong platform. They appear to be getting more serious about their game development and distribution efforts however, and initiated a relationship with EA last year by agreeing to release, of all games, <em>NBA Street Online</em>.<br /><br />What will really be interesting now that they've secured release efforts in the surrounding areas, is what approach EA will take to get <em>Warhammer Online</em> introduced onto the Chinese mainland. A week ago today we reported on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/24/china-puts-in-policy-to-discourage-foreign-MMOs/">a new policy of the Chinese government</a> that would allow any domestic game publisher to effectively block the release of a foreign MMO by referring it to China's censorship board indefinitely. With that policy in place, are Chinese MMO companies going to allow the release of a game owned by one of the most prolific American game publishers in the world? You have to imagine EA is hard at work on it, given the size of the potential market there, but only time will tell.<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/2008/01/31/ea-signs-agreement-for-war-distribution-in-asia/">EA signs agreement for WAR distribution in Asia</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 31 Jan 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://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/HKTH01031012008-1.htm>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/31/ea-signs-agreement-for-war-distribution-in-asia/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1103114/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/31/ea-signs-agreement-for-war-distribution-in-asia/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>asia</category><category>business</category><category>china</category><category>EA</category><category>ea-mythic</category><category>electronic-arts</category><category>gigamedia</category><category>hong-kong</category><category>macau</category><category>taiwan</category><category>warhammer-online</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Chester]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:00:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
