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 Anvil of Crom: Recessions, appearance tabs, and PvP for the returning player]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/12/the-anvil-of-crom-recessions-appearance-tabs-and-pvp-for-the/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/12/the-anvil-of-crom-recessions-appearance-tabs-and-pvp-for-the/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/12/the-anvil-of-crom-recessions-appearance-tabs-and-pvp-for-the/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Welcome to the Anvil of Crom, Conan fans. It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, and all of the announcements, new content, business model changes, and general gameplay shenanigans are only going to generate more Age of Conan discussion as the summer wears on.

This week I'd like to take a brief time out to highlight some worthwhile (and ongoing) community discussions. Every so often it's good to take a bit of a break from my rantings and ravings and hand the microphone to you guys, and what better way to do that than by examining a few of the more interesting forum discussions to be found on both the U.S. and EU boards.

Without further ado, join me after the cut and add your two copper to the comment section.

Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: Recessions, appearance tabs, and PvP for the returning player

MassivelyThe Anvil of Crom: Recessions, appearance tabs, and PvP for the returning player originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanage-of-conan-unratedanvil-of-cromaoc-unratedappearance-slotsappearance-tabcommunity-updatecraftingdeflationeconomyfantasyfeaturedfuncominflationopinionplayer-economypvprecessionreturning-playerssocial-armorSun, 12 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Do you play the MMO stock market?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/19/the-daily-grind-do-you-play-the-mmo-stock-market/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/19/the-daily-grind-do-you-play-the-mmo-stock-market/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/19/the-daily-grind-do-you-play-the-mmo-stock-market/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Ahhh, the stock market: The yo-yo that makes people jump for joy or jump off twenty-story buildings. Playing it can be just as exhilarating, frightening, and expensive as a high-octane weekend bender in Free Realms. Well, almost... With the quote-unquote Global Economic Crisis we've been going through, almost all stocks are down from a year ago. Does that mean that now is a good time to invest? It probably depends on whether or not you believe the market has hit the bottom yet.

Word on the street is that the video game industry is recession-proof (or not). When you're pinching pennies, MMOs in particular are one of the cheapest forms of entertainment and escapism money can buy. We're not here to offer advice one way or the other, but we are curious -- do you play the MMO stock market? We did a bit of digging and found a number of stocks from companies producing MMOs:

Based on that list, who do you think is the best investment and why?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Do you play the MMO stock market? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>atariblizzardeaeconomic-crisisfree-realmsfuncominvestingncsoftrecessionsoestock-markettdgthqWed, 19 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[APB now being produced by over 250 people]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/18/apb-now-being-produced-by-over-250-people/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/18/apb-now-being-produced-by-over-250-people/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/18/apb-now-being-produced-by-over-250-people/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


The guys from Realtime Worlds have been too busy firing their 'gats into the air and driving around in circles to notice that they were still hiring during the recession where UK unemployment has soared.

The developers of All Points Bulletin are now the proud employers of over 250 people, and they're still hiring for over 40 more positions. To compensate for all of their new crew members, the developers has just recently purchased another 8,000 square feet of offices to add to their already sizable 26,000 square foot establishment.

So way to go Realtime Worlds. Show the economy that you're willing to mess with it all you want. If you ask us, we think you should drive your cars over it a few more itmes -- it needs to learn a valuable lesson.

MassivelyAPB now being produced by over 250 people originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>all-points-bulletinapbeconomyexpansionhiringoffice-spacerealtime-worldsrecessionunemploymentThu, 18 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Have you had to cancel an MMO subscription?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/06/the-daily-grind-have-you-had-to-cancel-an-mmo-subscription/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/06/the-daily-grind-have-you-had-to-cancel-an-mmo-subscription/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/06/the-daily-grind-have-you-had-to-cancel-an-mmo-subscription/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

While there may be reason to believe the economy is set to improve in the near future, at the moment the United States is facing something of a downturn (the blogger writes delicately). As a result, everyone's looking to their own personal bottom line. Things that you'd let slide a year ago might not be so easy to write off today. As a result, it sounds like a lot of people in the MMO gaming community are re-examining their hobby to see where pennies might be pinched.

This blogger, for example, has had to made some hard decisions about where he's going to put his play time and his pay time. The ongoing awesomeness of Middle-earth won out over new fun in Azeroth for the time being. I'm sure I'm not the only one that's let an account lapse, though. Have you put an MMO subscription out to pasture while things blow over? If you have, how did you make your decision? And, if you're not playing a subscription game anymore, have you started in with a free-to-play alternative or just turned to other ways of gaming?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Have you had to cancel an MMO subscription? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>economyfree-to-playrecessionsubscriptiontdgthe-daily-grindTue, 06 Jan 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Blizzard: World of Warcraft will do fine, global economic collapse be damned]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/17/blizzard-world-of-warcraft-will-do-fine-global-economic-collap/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/17/blizzard-world-of-warcraft-will-do-fine-global-economic-collap/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/17/blizzard-world-of-warcraft-will-do-fine-global-economic-collap/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Alright, so the sky is falling. Pretty soon, the world will be dominated by mohawks, black leather and hand-built muscle cars in a never-ending deathmatch over who gets to eat the roadkill. Okay, maybe it won't be that bad -- but unless you've been stranded on a desert island for the past year, you know that there's a global economic crisis going on. But worry not: MMOs -- World of Warcraft in particular -- will be just fine, according to Blizzard Executive VP Rob Pardo.

He said that WoW is immune to economic downturn because it offers an excellent bargain: "People might not want to go out to the movies and spend $100 for a couple of hours and then go to a restaurant. You can go home and pay $15 a month for 100 hours of entertainment if you're staying at home more." A comparable situation from history: during the Great Depression, movies in the United States were only a nickel -- far cheaper than competing, live forms of entertainment, so the movie industry thrived. In fact, some folks credit the Great Depression as a contributor to the rise of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Think the same'll happen to MMOs if this gets bad?

MassivelyBlizzard: World of Warcraft will do fine, global economic collapse be damned originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardblizzconblizzcon-2008blizzcon2008economic-crisisgreat-depressioninterviewrecessionrob-pardovalueworld-of-warcraftwowFri, 17 Oct 2008 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MMO market revenue to hit $14.4 billion in 2012]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/20/mmo-market-revenue-to-hit-14-4-billion-in-2012/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/20/mmo-market-revenue-to-hit-14-4-billion-in-2012/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/06/20/mmo-market-revenue-to-hit-14-4-billion-in-2012/#commentsFiled under: ,


We hear news stories concerning the rising cost of food, gas and general living expenses almost daily, but curiously enough, the game industry is proving itself recession-proof. Not only does it seem safe from the downward spiral plaguing all other facets of the economy, but it's on the rise, and is predicted to continue its steep climb for awhile.

According to a recent study by accounting and financial services giant PricewaterhouseCoopers, revenue from the MMO genre of PC gaming will increase to $14.4 billion in 2012 from $6.6 billion in 2007, with special thanks to Blizzard for pulling in over $1 billion on their own in 2007 with World of Warcraft. This is good news for the PC gaming market, as it is predicted that overall, PC gaming will see a revenue slip of 1.2 percent annually, from $3.8 billion in 2007 to $3.6 billion in 2012, thanks to the predicted rise in console popularity. Does this mean the MMO sector will be supporting the PC gaming market in a few years?

MassivelyMMO market revenue to hit $14.4 billion in 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardgaming-industrymmo-marketpc-gamingpricewaterhousecoopersrecessionworld-of-warcraftwowFri, 20 Jun 2008 08:45:00 EST