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[MMObility: HP pulls the old switcharoo with the TouchPad]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/23/mmobility-hp-pulls-the-old-switcharoo-with-the-touchpad/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/23/mmobility-hp-pulls-the-old-switcharoo-with-the-touchpad/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/23/mmobility-hp-pulls-the-old-switcharoo-with-the-touchpad/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

TouchPad screenshot
If you are one of the unlucky few who decided to pick up one of the new HP TouchPad tablet PCs, I feel bad for you. First of all, pretty much all of the reviews I have read said that the device was not worth its $500 price tag. For that amount of dough, the hardware should have been sleeker, beefier, and more stylish.

Then we heard the news this week that support for the device was being terminated. Shortly after that, news of price drops started to come out, and then tech geeks starting lining up. Sure, they wouldn't pay $500 for a sub-par device, but they would pay $100 for the chance to toy around with it. I've used this joke before, but it fits perfectly here: A farmer sticks a million-dollar price tag on a pile of cow dung and people laugh at him. He keeps the sign up for about a week before changing the price to one dollar. People line up around the block to get the discounted item. The farmer laughs... it turns out they were still just buying a pile of dung for a dollar.

Click past the cut and let's examine further!

Continue reading MMObility: HP pulls the old switcharoo with the TouchPad

MassivelyMMObility: HP pulls the old switcharoo with the TouchPad originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Aug 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>beau-hindmanfeaturedhphp-touchpadMMObilitymobileportabletablettablet-pcTouchPadTue, 23 Aug 2011 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Free for All: Five mobile MMOs that are not Pocket Legends]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/02/free-for-all-five-mobile-mmos-that-are-not-pocket-legends/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/02/free-for-all-five-mobile-mmos-that-are-not-pocket-legends/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/02/free-for-all-five-mobile-mmos-that-are-not-pocket-legends/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Mobile MMO gaming is all the rage, didn't you know? All the cool kids are doing it! Well, a lot of them, anyway -- and I can't really vouch for their level of cool. Still, mobile MMO gaming might seem to some as though it is primitive and in its infancy, simply because it is. If you've watched the development of the genre and you realize that it is only about as old as recent smartphones, though, you'd be nothing but impressed at the sheer speed of it all.

Even this year I've seen games pop up from seemingly nowhere, gather tons of players, and prove that gaming on a three-inch screen is completely possible. If you figure the iPad and cheaper (yet more powerful) netbooks into the equation, you find that MMOs work just fine on smaller screens. The recent announcement of the Nintendo 3DS didn't get my blood boiling at all. After all, 3-D didn't make a good movie out of Avatar -- what makes anyone think that is can save pixely single-player games?

The price is right, as well. Most of the mobile MMOs I have found lately (I looked at around 11) were totally free or very cheap. Compare that to the price of your average 3DS game, and I think you'll have a winner.

Click past the cut to see my short list of cool smartphone MMOs.

Continue reading Free for All: Five mobile MMOs that are not Pocket Legends

MassivelyFree for All: Five mobile MMOs that are not Pocket Legends originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>beau-hindmanempire-onlinef2pfeaturedffxifinal-fantasy-xifree-to-playftpgraal-classicipadiphonemobilemobile-gamngpocket-mmosportableseven-swordssmartphoneworld-of-magicyslandiaWed, 02 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[New SDXC cards to allow for greater MMO portability]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/10/new-sdxc-cards-to-allow-for-greater-mmo-portability/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/10/new-sdxc-cards-to-allow-for-greater-mmo-portability/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/10/new-sdxc-cards-to-allow-for-greater-mmo-portability/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Massively multiplayer online games tend to take up less space on your hard drive than your standard PC game, as the bulk of the data is stored on farms of servers that power your MMO of choice. However, despite the fact that most of the underlying magic is happening far away from your own screen, MMO clients still take up a number of gigs of space, as laptop users who regularly play different titles know all too well. But since an MMO client is really just an access point then, there's no reason why it has to be tied to any one machine or location, particularly if you're on the go for much of the time.

While the typical solution for some MMO gamers with a preference for portability is to keep their game clients on a portable drive (myself included), even these small drives are beginning to look downright clunky compared to some of the other options available, or soon-to-be available.

Continue reading New SDXC cards to allow for greater MMO portability

MassivelyNew SDXC cards to allow for greater MMO portability originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adam-holiskycapacitycesclientclientsconsumer-electronics-showengadgetfantasyon-the-goopinionportabilityportablesdsdxctechnologyworld-of-warcraftwowwow-insiderSat, 10 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[SOE has portable MMO plans for the PSP: Free Realms tie-ins first, full games later]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/29/soe-has-portable-mmo-plans-for-the-psp-free-realms-tie-ins-firs/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/29/soe-has-portable-mmo-plans-for-the-psp-free-realms-tie-ins-firs/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/29/soe-has-portable-mmo-plans-for-the-psp-free-realms-tie-ins-firs/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


SOE is considering investing time and money in developing MMOs for the PlayStation Portable gaming system, according to MTV's Multiplayer blog. SOE president John Smedley said that his company began to think about working on the platform after it was moved under the Sony Computer Entertainment America leg of the Sony corporation.

Smedley suggested that we will eventually "see full MMOs that are designed for the PSP." Unfortunately, he said that's not on the immediate agenda, and that limited functionality related to PC and PS3 releases -- such as managing one's pets in Free Realms -- will likely come first. In a different interview, Smedley talked about broadening the appeal of MMOs by going after console users. Portable consoles seem the next logical step, right?

In that same interview he promised that more EverQuest games are coming. This is wild speculation, but imagine an EverQuest spin-off for the PSP. Is that something we'd want to play? As cool as EverQuest Portable might be, there are reasons to doubt Smedley's plan. Unlike say, an iPhone, The PSP only has internet connectivity when it's near a Wi-Fi hotspot. How often are you really near one of those when playing your PSP? Isn't most of your time with the device spent on the train or someplace transient like that?

MassivelySOE has portable MMO plans for the PSP: Free Realms tie-ins first, full games later originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>everquestfree-realmshandheldinterviewjohn-smedleymobileplaystation-portableportablepspsceasoesonysony-computer-entertainment-americasony-online-entertainmentMon, 29 Sep 2008 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Icarus Studios demos iPhone MMO software this week]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/16/icarus-studios-to-demo-iphone-mmo-software-this-week/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/16/icarus-studios-to-demo-iphone-mmo-software-this-week/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/16/icarus-studios-to-demo-iphone-mmo-software-this-week/#commentsFiled under: ,

Icarus Studios -- developer of Fallen Earth and the associated Icarus Platform virtual world development tools --announced via press release that this week it is demonstrating its 3D MMO platform running on Apple's iPhone at the Austin Game Developers Conference.

The demo is modest -- a "360-degree panoramic tour of a sample virtual world location." Users control the camera with the phone's accelerometer. Apple recently threw down the gauntlet, saying that the iPhone and the iPod Touch platforms are "the best portable device for playing games." No reason that future can't include MMOs, right?

The iPhone client is scheduled to launch in Q1 of 2009. Does this mean that within months everyone on the New York subway, the Chicago El, and the London Underground will be immersed in a never-ending, time-sinking quest for teh phat lewtz?

MassivelyIcarus Studios demos iPhone MMO software this week originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>accelerometeragdcagdc-2008agdc08agdc2008appleaustin-game-developers-conferencedemoexpofallen-earthicarus-platformicarus-studiosiphonemobileportableTue, 16 Sep 2008 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Phantasy Star Universe set for PSP, but with nerfed multiplayer]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/07/phantasy-star-universe-set-for-psp-but-with-nerfed-multiplayer/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/07/phantasy-star-universe-set-for-psp-but-with-nerfed-multiplayer/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/07/phantasy-star-universe-set-for-psp-but-with-nerfed-multiplayer/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

It was so exciting at first to read that Phantasy Star Universe is headed for the PSP. Developers have theorized before that a PSP MMO might be worth trying, and PSU is the perfect candidate because of its small-scale group battles and its pick-up-and-play approach. At first, it looked like this would finally be the big break!

Or not! Sega has announced a Japanese PSU port for the PSP, but its multiplayer features are only ad hoc -- meaning it works over a local wi-fi connection between PSPs, not over the internet. So they've taken PSU, stripped out the "Massively" and "Online" parts of "MMO," and ported it to the PSP.

Bad form, Sega -- bad form. Looks like we'll be waiting a bit longer for an MMO-on-the-go that isn't a cell phone game meant for 'tweens. Maybe NCsoft is PSP MMO fans' only hope.

MassivelyPhantasy Star Universe set for PSP, but with nerfed multiplayer originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ad-hocconsoleshandheldjapanphantasy-starphantasy-star-universeplaystationplaystation-portableportablepsppsusegawirelessFri, 07 Dec 2007 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[MMOs to get more massive, even mobile]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/30/mmos-to-get-more-massive-even-mobile/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/30/mmos-to-get-more-massive-even-mobile/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/30/mmos-to-get-more-massive-even-mobile/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


As if our lives aren't dominated enough by raids, guild-runs, and the newest beta tests, it would appear that the next trend in MMO development is finding ways for games to reach you when you're away from the computer. At the recent Virtual Worlds Forum, business leaders have been salivating at the opportunities posed by expanding their IPs to mobile platforms. Moshi Monsters, an MMO from Mind Candy aimed at kids, banks heavily on their MoPod technology. MoPods are small, cheap, virtual pet-esque devices that kids can bring with them to school to keep plugging away at the game's puzzles on the bus or in the cafeteria.

Then when you consider that Katsuya Eguchi, lead developer in the rumored Animal Crossing MMO, has talked openly about integrating mobile phone and PC applications into their new game, it could very well be the beginning of a new wave of mobile integration. Publishers are always looking for new ways to boost their numbers, and this would certainly be a very marketable away to go about it. It doesn't take a genius to imagine the possibilities of the technology: they could give players the ability to monitor the auction house from their phone or allow you to raise a pet on a portable gaming platform and then use it in-game. In addition to being marketable to current MMO fans, this sort of pan-technological approach to games also has a strong appeal to casual gamers, a coveted demographic if ever there was one.

It's an idea that's probably still a long way from coming to light, at least for a mainstream MMO, but it's fun to speculate about, and it's a trend we'll definitely be keeping our eye on.

MassivelyMMOs to get more massive, even mobile originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>animal-crossingbusinesscasual-gamesmobilemobile-pcmoshi-monstersphonesportableportable-gamingvirtual-worlds-forumTue, 30 Oct 2007 14:30:00 EST