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Kitsu Saga closing down

Jef Reahard — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play

It's never a fun day when an MMO gives up the ghost, and unfortunately today marks just such an occasion for Kitsu Saga. Aeria Games is shutting down the game for good, and a somber announcement on the official website marks the beginning of the end.

"This was a very difficult decision for us and has only been made after much deliberation. We'd like to thank those who played Kitsu Saga and especially those who stuck with it through the more difficult times," the news blurb states.

Aeria also offers up a bit of info regarding AP Spender compensation, and the long and short of it is that refunds may take a while to process due to the large number pending (Aeria estimates seven to 10 business days after July 14th). Head to the official Kitsu Saga website for the details.

Kitsu Saga closing down originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aika service restricted with some unintended consequences

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, News items, Free-to-play, Aika

When Aika opened its item shop, a comparison or two to Allods Online was inevitable. After all, with gPotato managing both games, there were a few people that wondered if the same pricing issues might show up. Turns out that the cash shop has still caused problems... but it's not the prices, it's the fact that the game is only supposed to be operating in North America at the moment.

A statement was posted earlier today that the game would be blocking IPs from outside of North America, as gPotato only had the rights to operate the game for that region. The problem is the number of international players who had been playing the game and had purchased items from the cash shop. As a result of the block, these players are obviously left out in the cold with no way to access Aika... and no real recourse for the items that they had already purchased from the item shop.

Continue reading Aika service restricted with some unintended consequences

Aika service restricted with some unintended consequences originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There.com is closing

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events, real-world, MMO industry, Server downtime, There, News items, Virtual worlds

Virtual worlds have had a rocky time in the marketplace. Focusing on user-generated content, it takes a while for enough users to become active and enough market traction to be established for them to start becoming financially viable. Earlier this year marked the shutdown of Metaplace, Raph Koster's entry into the field of virtual worlds. Now another long-running part of the field is closing down, as There.com has just announced the service will be closing on March 9th.

A retrospective on the game's history is available on CNET, discussing the world's status as being a competitor for Second Life without ever quite gaining the traction that its bigger cousin managed. While the environment was seen as slightly more kid-and-media friendly due to restrictions on adult-only content, the project had a difficult time turning a profit. After seven years, it's finally overwhelmed the company.

The official announcement includes a number of resources for those who have invested money in There.com to regain it prior to the shutdown, with extensive buyback programs and refunds available for all participants. Our condolences to the team on this sad turn of events.

There.com is closing originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aeria Games: "If you don't have fun playing, we'll give you a refund"

James Egan — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Last Chaos, Business models, News items, Free-to-play, Dream of Mirror Online, Stone Age 2

There aren't many MMO publishers out there who would actually offer refunds for gamers who don't have fun in their titles, but this is exactly what Aeria Games is doing. We did a double take when hearing about this but it's legit. Superman0X is a USA Gamemaster for Aeria Games, and has declared "April is Fun Month at Aeria... GUARANTEED".

That's a bold statement. But what does it mean for players of the various Aeria Games MMOs? Superman0X writes, "We are so sure you will have fun we are going to put our AP [Aeria Points] where our mouth is. If any player does not have fun we will refund all their AP purchases for the entire month up to 5000AP." Players who didn't enjoy themselves in April will have a window of opportunity to request a refund from May 1st to May 10th . You can check out the full details in the announcement but we're guessing Aeria has a lot of faith in their titles if they'd even consider making such an offer.

Aeria Games: "If you don't have fun playing, we'll give you a refund" originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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