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[The MMO Report: Aztec pandas make no sense edition]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/22/the-mmo-report-aztec-pandas-make-no-sense-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/22/the-mmo-report-aztec-pandas-make-no-sense-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/22/the-mmo-report-aztec-pandas-make-no-sense-edition/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The MMO Report
Morgan Webb dethrones Casey this week on The MMO Report, having made the journey to Anaheim to interview Blizzard's reps about World of Warcraft's upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion. J. Allen Brack and Tom Chilton focus on the philosophy of this expansion and its shift from previous expansions' ominous tone to a more playful theme of adventure, exploration, and oh yeah, the war between the Alliance and the Horde.

The pair also highlight changes to underdeveloped zones, pet battles, repurposed classic dungeons, phased farms (actual farms!), and solutions to the faction grind problem. Most interestingly, they tell Morgan that Pandaren came first... and the Asian motif followed. After all, they joke, it just wouldn't have made sense to put Pandaren in Aztec ruins.

Get your panda on in the full video behind the break!

Continue reading The MMO Report: Aztec pandas make no sense edition

MassivelyThe MMO Report: Aztec pandas make no sense edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionanaheimblizzardblizzard-entertainmentcasey-schreinerfantasyhumorinterviewinterviewsj-allen-brackmists-of-pandariammo-reportmorgan-webbnewsopinionpandarenpandariaroundupthe-mmo-reporttom-chiltonvideovideoswarcraftworld-of-warcraftwowThu, 22 Mar 2012 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The MMO Report: Casey says frak edition]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/02/the-mmo-report-casey-says-frak-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/02/the-mmo-report-casey-says-frak-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/02/the-mmo-report-casey-says-frak-edition/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

This week's MMO Report is all about Casey's ego. Not one shred of MMO news bullied its way onto the show this week, unless you count a story about Battlestar Galactica Online reaching two million subscribers as news. OK, maybe you can count Age of Conan going free-to-play, or maybe the newest Minecraft update is technically news. Perhaps Perfect World Entertainment buying Cryptic Studios would be considered news, too. But let's not forget: The MMO Report is really about Uncle Casey's Mail Bag. So that is exactly what will fill the rest of this post.

The Mail Bag this week is all about love, love, and memes. Fans share their love for each other, love for Casey, and love for Morgan Webb. Yes, she's been gone for two weeks, but apparently Casey's manly smell has not ousted the memory of the time Morgan hosted the MMO Report. One fan has not forgotten; he was so inspired that he created a meme about it just to show how much he cared.

Jump past the break if you are interested in catching a glimpse of Casey Schreiner's ego. We have the full video ready to go. Maybe you will catch the news that we missed while staring at Casey's incredible beard.

Continue reading The MMO Report: Casey says frak edition

MassivelyThe MMO Report: Casey says frak edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaocbattlestar-galactica-onlineBigpointbsg-onlinebsgocasey-schreinercryptic-studiosfuncomg4g4tvminecraftmmo-reportmorgan-webbperfect-world-entertainmentthe-mmo-reportuncle-caseys-mailbagThu, 02 Jun 2011 22:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The MMO Report: The throne of agony edition]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/26/the-mmo-report-the-throne-of-agony-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/26/the-mmo-report-the-throne-of-agony-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/26/the-mmo-report-the-throne-of-agony-edition/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

This week on the MMO Report, our very own mountain man, Casey Schreiner, decided to grace us with his presence after taking off a week for his birthday. I mean, really... where is his loyalty? Thank goodness he returned because the internet would have exploded if we had to see another flawless MMO Report from Morgan Webb. The internet can't take that level of perfection.

At any rate, this week we discover just how awesome Massively is as Schreiner reports on our report of the Bungie MMO rumors; then we find out that Second Life may be just as weird as we thought it was; next, the power of the Guild Wars 2 Engineer has inspired Casey to tackle the next level of greatness; and lastly, we find out what can no longer be contained in Casey's Mail Bag.

Life is too short for you to miss a single episode of the MMO Report, so catch it after the break!

Continue reading The MMO Report: The throne of agony edition

MassivelyThe MMO Report: The throne of agony edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 May 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anetarenanetBungiecasey-schreinerg4G4TVGuild-Wars-2gw2humorlinden-labmmo-reportmorgan-webbncsoftsecond-lifethe-mmo-reportthrone-of-agonyThu, 26 May 2011 21:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The MMO Report: Lineage shutdown, Lion's Arch, and Sith Inquisitor trailer]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/19/the-mmo-report-lineage-shutdown-lions-arch-and-sith-inquisit/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/19/the-mmo-report-lineage-shutdown-lions-arch-and-sith-inquisit/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/19/the-mmo-report-lineage-shutdown-lions-arch-and-sith-inquisit/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Today's MMO Report, sadly, suffers from a distinct lack of Casey Schreiner. But all is well, as G4's Morgan Webb has stepped up to the plate to cover for Casey as he celebrates his 30th birthday.

The first order of business is the announcement that NCSoft will be shutting down the North American Lineage servers on June 29th. All inactive accounts for the 13-year-old game have been reactivated, and the game will be free-to-play until the servers go dark.

Secondly, we move on to the much-anticipated Guild Wars 2 and the confirmation that Lion's Arch, a social hub featured in the first game, would be making its return in Guild Wars 2. Be sure to check out our coverage of the unveiling of the fly-through video and some analytical commentary from our own Rubi Bayer.

Next up is some screen-time for Minecraft. While the game is not strictly an MMO, there's no doubt that the indie title has gained immense popularity in the gaming community. Morgan reports that Minecraft creator Notch is contemplating holding a Las Vegas launch party... err, convention tentatively dated for November 11th.

Star Wars: The Old Republic's Sith Inquisitor made its trailer debut earlier this week. Being described by Morgan as "the one player character you really don't want to meet in a dark alley," the class incorporates elements of both spellcasters and stealth classes into one mean, Force-fueled combination.

Lastly, we have a fly-through video of the starting zones of Perfect World Entertainment's Ether Saga Odyssey. The free-to-play MMO launched late last month.

For the full Casey-and-mailbag-deprived video, scuttle on past the cut.

Continue reading The MMO Report: Lineage shutdown, Lion's Arch, and Sith Inquisitor trailer

MassivelyThe MMO Report: Lineage shutdown, Lion's Arch, and Sith Inquisitor trailer originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 May 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anetarenanetcasey-schreinerether-sagaether-saga-odysseyether-saga-onlineguild-wars-2gw2inquisitorlineagelions-archminecraftmorgan-webbncsoftperfect-world-entertainmentpweserver-shutdownshutdownsith-inquisitorstar-wars-the-old-republicsw-torswtorthe-mmo-reportthe-old-republictorThu, 19 May 2011 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The MMO Report: Catackalysm special]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/10/the-mmo-report-catackalysm-special/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/10/the-mmo-report-catackalysm-special/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/10/the-mmo-report-catackalysm-special/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

First things first, to really understand this week's intro to The MMO Report, you need to do a wee bit of homework, assuming you don't already get the reference in the title anyway. Pop over here and watch this user-created video about the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion. We'll wait.

OK, all caught up? Great. Off we go then!

This week, Casey is joined by the lovely (and World of Warcraft-addicted) Morgan Webb, who sits down with Game Designer Tom "Kalgan" Chilton for a chat about the myriad things that have come in Cataclysm. Sure, it's chock-full of the normal things one would expect, like talk about things players both old and new will be experiencing in the expansion. Morgan also gets Tom to tell us more about some of his favorite quests in the revamped areas, as well as a bit more insight into Blizzard's development cycles for this expansion -- certainly a hot topic this week. In all, this will definitely be a treat for any World of Warcraft loving gamer.

We've tucked the video behind the break for your enjoyment, or you can catch The MMO Report every Thursday on G4TV.

Continue reading The MMO Report: Catackalysm special

MassivelyThe MMO Report: Catackalysm special originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>BlizzardBlizzard-Entertainmentcasey-schreinercataclysmG4TVgame-designerKalganmmommorpgmorgan-webbthe-mmo-reporttom-chiltontom-chilton-interviewWorld-of-WarcraftwowFri, 10 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[This week on The MMO Report]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/18/this-week-on-the-mmo-report/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/18/this-week-on-the-mmo-report/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/18/this-week-on-the-mmo-report/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Ya know, I'm starting to like the fact that Casey Schreiner is still on vacation. I can't really pinpoint what it is, but it seems like the spot is being filled quite well. Ok, so it might have something to do with this week's guest host, I admit.

Morgan Webb takes the host seat this week as The MMO Report talks NCsoft's record profits, Star Trek Online's risky business and the fate of World of Warcraft. Check out the complete video embedded after the jump, as well as a new episode each week here at Massively and G4TV.

And before you ask, Morgan did not recreate Blair's epic intro from last week. Sigh.

Continue reading This week on The MMO Report

MassivelyThis week on The MMO Report originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>g4tvmorgan-webbthe-feedthe-mmo-reportvideoThu, 18 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Hands on video footage of superhero MMO Champions Online]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/06/hands-on-video-footage-of-superhero-mmo-champions-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/06/hands-on-video-footage-of-superhero-mmo-champions-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/06/hands-on-video-footage-of-superhero-mmo-champions-online/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Gamers in that sweet spot where massively multiplayer online games and comic books intersect have long enjoyed playing City of Heroes, and are likely to well into the future... but clearly there's more room in the superhero game genre. Some MMO players are looking forward to a superhero-themed game with a different take on the genre than what's been done before. For them, the upcoming game Champions Online has some appeal. G4tv's X-Play recently took notice of this and interviewed Bill Roper, the Cryptic Studios Design Director, about what Champions Online has to offer gamers.

The video interview, "Hands On: Champions Online", is in two parts. First Roper speaks with Adam Sessler, introducing the game concept, its setting, and creating your own personal nemesis in Champions Online as you progress. Afterwards Morgan Webb delves a bit more into the core game mechanics of Champions Online, such as how loot will augment your avatar, and the incentives to play in groups with other people -- one of the key reasons gamers jump into MMOs in the first place. Roper goes on to address the possibilities of gameplay on both PC and consoles. In fact, the gameplay shown throughout the videos is done with an Xbox 360 controller. Roper also reiterates the Champions Online release date, which he says is still slated for Spring 2009. If you'd like to see what all the fuss about this new superhero MMO is about, we've got both videos embedded for you below the cut.

Continue reading Hands on video footage of superhero MMO Champions Online

MassivelyHands on video footage of superhero MMO Champions Online originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adam-sesslerbill-roperchampions-onlineconsolecross-platformcryptic-studiosg4g4tvgame-mechanicsloremorgan-webbsuper-herovideox-playxbox-360Sat, 06 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[X-Play delves into Wrath of the Lich King]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/12/x-play-delves-into-wrath-of-the-lich-king/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/12/x-play-delves-into-wrath-of-the-lich-king/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/12/x-play-delves-into-wrath-of-the-lich-king/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


X-Play took a look at the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King expansion for World of Warcraft and while no new ground was covered on the information front, they did get a look at one of the final battles in the Death Knight starting quest line. Of course, if you're trying to avoid any sort of spoilers concerning the Death Knight or generally anything WotLK-related, you may not want to risk taking a look at the segment.

Worry not though, because as we said there ain't much meat on them bones. One thing the segment does point out is that this expansion is yet again aimed solely on high-level content. The subject isn't new by any means, but it did serve to remind us that old-world content could really use some love from Blizzard once in a while. You can find the video after the break.

Continue reading X-Play delves into Wrath of the Lich King

MassivelyX-Play delves into Wrath of the Lich King originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzarddeath-knightelderelder-contentend-gameexpansionhigh-level-contentmorgan-webbworld-of-warcraftwotlkwowwrathwrath-of-the-lich-kingx-playWed, 12 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Dungeon Runners gets some G4TV love]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/15/dungeon-runners-gets-some-g4tv-love/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/15/dungeon-runners-gets-some-g4tv-love/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/15/dungeon-runners-gets-some-g4tv-love/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


You remember Adam Sessler right? You know that guy who stands next to Morgan Webb during X-Play? Yeah, there is someone else there, we promise. Anyway, in a recent episode of G4TV's The Download, Sessler reviews NCsoft's Dungeon Runners for the masses.

His review doesn't reveal anything new about the game, but it's always nice to see when the larger gaming media covers the games we love so dearly. Plus, in this video, we get to see more of the little Bling Gnome doing his duty, so to speak. What we really find interesting though is the fact that many of the comments seem to revolve around the fact that people haven't heard of this game before. A little publicity never hurt, right?

MassivelyDungeon Runners gets some G4TV love originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adam-sesslerdungeon-runnersg4g4tvmorgan-webbncsoftreviewthe-downloadTue, 15 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Warhammer Online interview on X-Play]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/22/warhammer-online-interview-on-x-play/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/22/warhammer-online-interview-on-x-play/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/22/warhammer-online-interview-on-x-play/#commentsFiled under: , ,


We feel that we should preface this piece of news by telling you stalwart Warhammer Online fans that there's no fantastically new information about the game discussed in this interview. Even the gameplay footage is stuff we've already seen. Instead, this seems more about telling people who haven't heard of EA Mythic's upcoming labor of love Warhammer Online why they should be interested in the game. Both Paul Barnett and Jeff "The" Hickman talk to Morgan Webb about their game and while Paul looks particularly tired (with very good reason, though) he still sells the game with his usual plucky-yet-fierce demeanor.

World of Warcraft is of course mentioned by Webb, but they guys do a pretty good job steering the discussion away from Blizzard's golden boy and towards why their game will be worth all of our time. We imagine that it would be tough to try and overtake a conversation when you're up against both Jeff and Paul, as they're equally charismatic guys. So check it out, the video isn't very long and should entertain you a little bit what with Paul's semi-incoherent rambling about soccer hooligans and posh English people on drugs.

[via Keen and Graev]

MassivelyWarhammer Online interview on X-Play originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ea-mythicelectronic-artsenglishjeff-hickmanmorgan-webbpaul-barnettpostsoccer-hooliganswarwarhammer-onlinex-playSun, 22 Jun 2008 16:00:00 EST