Massively

MapleStory gets political, players respond with bewilderment

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, MapleStory, Culture, News items, Free-to-play

It's an election year in the United States, and that means that it's time to start polling for opinions across the country. If the country goes the path of MapleStory, the incumbent President has nothing to worry about. A survey of 1,655 random MapleStory players was conducted this past weekend, with 47.79% claiming that Barack Obama had made the most positive impact out of the current candidates. The runner-up? Abject confusion. More than 20% of respondents did not recognize any of the names involved.

The respondents were also polled on the most important issue facing the presidential candidates, with unemployment taking the top spot (40%) and the gap between rich and poor taking second place (28%). It's not necessarily indicative of much, but even though it's an informal poll conducted by Nexon America of a fairly random playerbase, there's a staggering degree of confusion at work. Or MapleStory players really like President Obama, one or the other.

MapleStory gets political, players respond with bewilderment originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaderboard: Lockboxes yea vs. lockboxes nay

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Polls, Business models, Opinion, Miscellaneous, Leaderboard

While the concept of lockboxes -- or gift boxes, or super packs, or whatever nomenclature you prefer -- is certainly not new to MMOs, it seems like they're finally making headway into some of the biggest free-to-play titles as of late. From Star Trek Online to Lord of the Rings Online to City of Heroes, games are making beaucoup bucks from hosting these mystery treasure chests that cost real-world money to acquire or unlock.

Some players love them and some despise them, but the truth is that they're incredible moneymakers for companies. But money isn't what Leaderboard is about; we're in search of public opinion. Do lockboxes have an acceptable place in MMOs? Not only would finances seem to suggest so, but the psychology of these goodie bags offers euphoric rushes that normal monster looting does not provide. Sure, maybe it's gambling, but nobody's forcing you to buy them -- and if you do, you're guaranteed to get something somewhat useful if not incredibly rare.

Should lockboxes be shunned and boycotted in all MMOs? Are they ruining the reputation of F2P? Are they representative of the worst mentality this business model has to offer? Do lockboxes kill koala bears and deforest Brazil? Has a lockbox been the cause of one or more breakups in your dating life?

Let's put it to a vote: lockboxes yea or lockboxes nay? Keep in mind that if you've spent money on one or more in a game, then you don't want to come across as hypocritical in this poll!

Continue reading Leaderboard: Lockboxes yea vs. lockboxes nay

Leaderboard: Lockboxes yea vs. lockboxes nay originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How do you like your MMOs? Let us know!

Shawn Schuster — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Polls, Opinion, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous

Last year around this time, we asked you to voice your opinion on certain aspects of Massively that you liked or disliked at the time. This year, we're asking for you to take a few moments to answer some questions about the games you like or don't like. We know that many of you are into the latest and greatest, while others are into the classics, and still others don't even play MMOs at all. This fascinates us, and we want to know more about your preferences. The survey is optional, it's completely anonymous, and it will help us evaluate what types of MMO and gaming topics most interest our readers.

To participate, head over to our survey page and answer the questions listed. We appreciate your help in making Massively the best MMO website for its readers!

To the survey!

How do you like your MMOs? Let us know! originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do you think MMO exit surveys are a waste of time?

Brianna Royce — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, Humor, Miscellaneous

Every time I cancel an MMO subscription nowadays, I'm asked to take an exit survey. Help us make the game a better experience for when you return, they beg. Sure, why not, right? I'd like to give those devs some constructive criticism and/or a piece of my mind. I'll start with a pointed rant about the state of the endgame...

But wait, what's this? The "what other games do you play" question seems to be way out of date, listing games that have closed but none at all from the last few years? The "what features do you want to see" question includes features that have already debuted in the game? And the custom field is barely long enough to type "this game sux" let alone anything poignant? It's enough to make you wonder whether anyone reads these things.

So do you bother with exit surveys? And if so, do you believe that anyone with the ability to improve a game will ever hear your feedback?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Do you think MMO exit surveys are a waste of time? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Online gaming linked with marital dissatisfaction

Elisabeth Cardy — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, News items, Opinion, Humor, Miscellaneous

Good news, gamers! You can now blame another dysfunction (if you have it, and I'm sure you don't) on the games you play! It's not enough that those nasty ol' video games are making you violent and antisocial -- a new survey put out by Brigham Young University is linking online gaming with a decrease in marital satisfaction.

The survey states that "gaming widows," whose spouses neglect them to focus on gaming, are dissatisfied with the states of their marriage. How that differs from corporate widows, football widows, or any other neglected spouse without a catchy title isn't really specified. Another conclusion pointed out by the survey is that when spouses play together, the marriage tends to be in pretty good shape. Who'd have ever thought that spending time bonding over a shared interest would be healthy for a relationship?

While we're all in agreement that your level 80 Paladin probably doesn't deserve as much of your love and affection as your spouse, if you hadn't figured that out on your own, gaming probably isn't the root of your problems. Just a thought.

Online gaming linked with marital dissatisfaction originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study links MMOs to 'problem' game-playing

Jef Reahard — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous

Despite the fact that video game addiction lacks both a definition and a diagnosis, "researchers around the world continue to investigate methods of determining, treating, and preventing" it, according to Gamespot.

The American Psychiatric Association recently rejected a movement to incorporate game addiction into its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but that hasn't stopped folks at the National Development and Research Institute from publishing the findings from a survey conducted with 3,380 adult gamers.

The study found that five percent of participants reported "moderate to extreme problem game-playing." Commonly reported problem titles included Call of Duty, the Grand Theft Auto series, online poker games, and World of Warcraft. The team concluded that "there is evidence to suggest that problem game-playing is linked to particular kinds of game genres" and that further research is needed.

Study links MMOs to 'problem' game-playing originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaderboard: Play the game vs. play the system

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, Miscellaneous, Leaderboard

Recently, MMO guru Raph Koster made some waves by lamenting the loss of immersion as a core game virtue. In a follow-up post to his first one, he clarified that he was speaking about the two different sides of game play and game development:

"These are also two ways to play a game. You can come to it as purely a math puzzle to solve, or you can come at it as an experience. And ironically, with all the advances we have made in terms of presentation, it feels like more and more games are less about the experience and more about the acronyms and mechanics."

So in today's Leaderboard, we're going to have it out: immersion versus statistics, the love of the game versus the love of the numbers. Do you play MMOs more for the experience of it -- to be immersed in its game world, reveling in the stories, characters, locales, and feel? Or do you find yourself gaming the system more and more, min-maxing to win at the numbers game while seeking the most efficient path through content?

Vote after the jump and let your voice be heard!

Continue reading Leaderboard: Play the game vs. play the system

Leaderboard: Play the game vs. play the system originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leaderboard: 2011 vs. 2012

Justin Olivetti — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, Humor, Miscellaneous, Leaderboard

The past vs. the future. The Year of the Rabbit vs. the Year of the Dragon. In short, 2011 vs. 2012 -- which will ultimately prove to be the better year for MMOs?

Oh sure, you might say it's unfair to compare a known quantity with an unknown one, but since when has that stopped MMO players from prognosticating the definitive outcome of everything within a 0.0001% margin of error?

2011 was light on major releases, but the ones it did have were certainly significant. Plus, it was a year of major change in the industry as free-to-play spread its tendrils everywhere, studios took risks on new ideas, and if you could get past the loud whining in one corner you'd see millions upon millions of happy gamers flocking to these games daily.

Then again, 2012 could be the real deal, the contender for which we've all been waiting. It could see several big AAA releases even as the industry tries to branch out from the established ruts of the past. It's a year full of potential, promise, and play, and it's out there waiting for you.

Ultimately, which do you think will go down in history as the better year? Vote after the jump!

Continue reading Leaderboard: 2011 vs. 2012

Leaderboard: 2011 vs. 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pando Networks trumpets global download data

Brianna Royce — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous

Whether you're a fan of Pando Networks or you're still trying to scrape its last vestiges from the dark corners of your poor, beleaguered computer, there's no arguing that it collects some interesting usage data while doing... whatever it does that MMO companies can't seem to do on their own. In fact, Pando has released to us an eye-catching infographic and interactive chart to illustrate its compiled statistics on download speeds gleaned from 27 million downloads on 20 million computers across the globe. The victors won't surprise most gamers. "South Korea has a faster download speed than Great Britain, Turkey, Spain & Australia combined!" declares the chart, letting it slowly dawn on the reader that the United States doesn't fare quite as well as we might hope. Pando's also included a handy map breaking down speeds by state, the better for you to go forth and mock your neighbors.

There's a whole host of socioeconomic and political reasons for these data over which armchair gameologists can salivate, but we should note that Pando is by definition tracking only game-related downloads, not the greater internet. Why not click past the cut to check out the charts for yourself?

Continue reading Pando Networks trumpets global download data

Pando Networks trumpets global download data originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Undead Labs learns the psychology of the apocalypse at Burning Man

Shawn Schuster — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Horror, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, Post-Apocalyptic, Miscellaneous

In a recent dev diary, Undead Labs' Gronk gives us a first-hand perspective on a trip he made to the Nevada desert for Burning Man. Why is a vacation travel log news for MMO fans? Well, mostly because the experience was written up with post-apocalyptic survival in mind -- a topic that Undead Labs will be tackling in its upcoming zombie MMO.

"At Burning Man, real-world currency is largely useless... much like it would be after a societal collapse," Gronk writes. "Would you want to trade the food you need to survive for some green paper? I sure wouldn't."

Reading a personal experience like this leads us to believe that the Undead Labs zombie MMO will have a heart -- a rotting, putrid, maggot-infested heart -- but still, a heart.

[Photo Credit: Wacky Archives]

Undead Labs learns the psychology of the apocalypse at Burning Man originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The slippery slope: Analysing the decline of World of Warcraft

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, MMO industry

It's the word on the street these days: World of Warcraft is no longer quite the king that it used to be. The massive title has lost around one million subscribers over the past year, even with Cataclysm releasing last December. Gamasutra sat down with Blizzard for a frank talk about why the title is in decline, and what the studio has planned to counter this trend.

While Blizzard is pleased with the tune-up that Cataclysm provided to the landscape and questing, some players cite the erosion of difficulty and challenge as a reason for their leaving. Lead Systems Designer Greg Street acknowledges this, but says that the WoW team is in uncharted territory: "We just don't have a lot of examples of games that have lasted this long and been this popular for so long to show the right way to do it. I think coming up with new mechanics and new systems is relatively easy, the problem is integrating it with what we already have. World of Warcraft today is so much more complicated than it was when it launched six or seven years ago."

Ultimately, it may come down to players becoming bored more quickly as Blizzard struggles to pump out content to keep their attention. UC Irvine's Thomas Debeauvais conducted a study of 2,865 WoW players across the world, and found that 75% of them had stopped playing the game for at least a month while still being subscribed to it. Blizzard says that it wants to provide faster content updates and continue to overhaul the game's mechanics and graphics to give the players a reason to stay.

The slippery slope: Analysing the decline of World of Warcraft originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Age of Conan dev update talks new content, crafting revamp

Jef Reahard — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries, Dungeons, Crafting

Yeah, you read that right, Age of Conan fans. Funcom is planning on remaking the game's much-maligned tradeskill system. While the exact nature of the changes has not been revealed, and the deployment date is pretty far in the future (sometime in 2012), it's a big step for what has thus far been a squarely combat-focused game.

This month's AoC development update has the details, along with teasers for a new adventure pack in the early part of 2012, not to mention additional content before the end of 2011. That content includes the conclusion of tier four raid progression in Khitai as well as the long-awaited House of Crom dungeon. Funcom game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison describes the space as part open dungeon (similar to the Onyx Chambers) and part team instance with dynamic opportunities for both cooperation and conflict.

Today also marks the deployment of the Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack to the live servers (though it's worth noting that you won't be able to access it until September 8th unless you ordered the early bird pack), and Funcom currently advises players of a six-hour down time on the AoC patcher. Finally, the devs have put together a community survey that is open to everyone, so be sure and fill it out to make your voice heard with regards to AoC's future development.

Age of Conan dev update talks new content, crafting revamp originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers reveal initial Wizard101 findings

Jef Reahard — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Wizard101

"The stereotype of the dysfunctional, male teen gamer no longer holds," say the researchers behind an extensive new study based on Wizard101. "At any time during the game, your teammate could be a kid, a neighbor, or a grandparent."

Trinity University academics recently partnered with KingsIsle Entertainment to survey more than 30,000 Wizard101 players regarding online habits, inter-generational play, and family gaming. The findings are the result of one of the largest studies of online game players to date and were collected via an anonymous survey in March 2011. The results speak to a diverse playerbase that spans multiple generations and that also invests a portion of its out-of-game time in creative projects directly related to the game. Twenty percent of adult respondents indicated extra-game activity focused on Wizard101 (usually blogging), while 54% of children engaged in game-related activities including blogging, artwork, video production, and creative writing.

Check out the full press release after the cut.

Continue reading Researchers reveal initial Wizard101 findings

Researchers reveal initial Wizard101 findings originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 May 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Guild Counsel: Are guild leaders a health hazard?

Karen Bryan — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Culture, Guilds, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous

Earlier this week, Massively reported on a poll conducted by Bigpoint concerning gamer stereotypes. The good news is that the results of the voluntary survey showed that gamers are not overweight shut-ins who live in their grandmother's basements. The bad news is that there's some skepticism on the validity of the results, since the poll was a voluntary survey and there's no way to prove that the participants were telling the truth.

However, there have been a number of in-depth studies over the years that have shown some surprising trends in who exactly plays MMOs and more importantly what their behavior is like in game. For this week's Guild Counsel, we're going to take a closer look at MMO players and touch on the role that guild leaders might play in steering player behavior in-game.

Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Are guild leaders a health hazard?

The Guild Counsel: Are guild leaders a health hazard? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gamers buck stereotypes in a recent survey

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Miscellaneous

Angry at being lumped in with the stereotype of a gaming loser who can't make a friend for all the effort in the world? It turns out you probably have a right to be upset. According to a survey by Bigpoint, most gamers are actually balanced, social and fairly good-looking -- a far cry from the antisocial nerd who cannot understand this thing called "women."

The Bigpoint Gamer Survey covered 6,663 gamers across the globe in its research before coming to this startling (or not-so-startling, depending on your perspective) conclusion. The survey also showed that gamers are just as active with their online friendships as those in real life. Yes, 55% of players under 20 years old said they had more online friends than offline, and a quarter of gamers mashed the two social spheres together -- 28% of those surveyed said that they eventually met their online friends in the real world.

Bigpoint's Janine Griffel thinks that this survey paints a very positive picture for the gaming community: "Our study shows that online gamers are attractive individuals with healthy and active social lives. Social and casual games are very popular among our users for the reason that they emphasize being social. The trend's definitely moving away from single-player games to social-based experiences."

You can read more about this fascinating survey at Game Politics.

Gamers buck stereotypes in a recent survey originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tell us what you think of Massively!

Shawn Schuster — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Polls, Opinion, Massively Meta, Miscellaneous

If you're reading this now, it's a safe bet you enjoy reading the site, even if you may not agree with every word that crosses our pages. If you're a commenter, we already know how you feel, but it's the silent majority that intrigues us. Do you like the new site redesign? Do you listen to the podcast? What's your favorite column? These are some of the things we want to know as we move forward into the future of Massively.

So we've constructed a simple survey of 12 questions for our readers to answer. If there's something bothering you about the site, this is how you can let us know. If you love something in particular, we want to hear that too! Every answer is confidential and not tied to any email address or Massively account.

Keep in mind that this survey isn't for advertising purposes or to dictate any major changes to the site. We (mostly me) are simply curious about what the majority of readers feel is right or wrong about the site. We always value your input, and we want to do what we can to make Massively the best site it can be.

<< Take the survey here >>

Tell us what you think of Massively! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ArenaNet adding seven-hero parties, new outpost to Guild Wars

Rubi Bayer — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, News items

The latest ArenaNet blog post is up, bringing with it the Guild Wars War in Kryta survey results and some exciting news.

One survey question regarding seven-hero parties sparked a lot of discussion in the community, and ArenaNet heard the answer loud and clear: An upcoming content update will bring the ability to fill your party with all heroes.

For those of you who love grouping, the other half of this update is for you: "We're going to be adding Embark Beach-a new Zaishen outpost that will allow players to travel to all Mission outposts (that they are eligible for!) from a single location. So if you're looking to find something to do or someone to help you out, you just have to check one convenient location. Embark Beach will be included in an upcoming feature build containing some improvements for the game."

Check out all of the survey results at the ArenaNet blog!

ArenaNet adding seven-hero parties, new outpost to Guild Wars originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ArenaNet wants your thoughts on Guild Wars' War in Kryta

Rubi Bayer — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Events, in-game

The War in Kryta has been over for a while and Guild Wars players have begun to look toward Cantha and Elona, wondering what's next.

Not so fast there, because ArenaNet isn't quite finished. The developers have a few things surrounding WiK that they'd like your opinion on. Did you love the royal gifts and end weapons? Did you hate having to follow a flowchart to figure out what was going on? Did you find the Mantle too overpowered at the end? ArenaNet wants to know all of this and more, so there is a short survey regarding your feelings on various aspects of the War in Kryta.

There is also a little surprise question at the end, asking how you as a player feel about a party composed of you and seven heroes. Mysterious! Check out both the blog post and the survey itself, and make your opinions known.

ArenaNet wants your thoughts on Guild Wars' War in Kryta originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Age of Conan wants your feedback, lots of it

Jef Reahard — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, News items

If you've ever wanted to make your voice heard with regard to Age of Conan and its future direction, now is your chance. Funcom executive producer Craig "Silirrion" Morrison has posted his monthly Hyborian outlook on the game's official community site as well as the forums, and July's Letter from the Game Director offers players the chance to communicate with decision makers via five separate survey questionnaires.

The surveys are fairly lengthy; filling them all out will probably take you the better part of an hour, and they cover everything from general gameplay, to PvP, to raiding and beyond. In addition to farming opinions, Morrison hints at ongoing tweaks to Age of Conan in the form of Khitai progression (specifically, trophy drop-rates) as well as the upcoming Dreamworld engine revamp.

In our experience, it's fairly rare for a developer to solicit this amount of feedback, and Funcom looks to be committed to giving players even more of what they want going forward.

Age of Conan wants your feedback, lots of it originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study claims that women spend double what men do on virtual goods

Rubi Bayer — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, News items

Worlds in Motion is reporting on a new survey that takes a look at purchases of virtual goods and money.

PlaySpan and VGMarket surveyed just over 2,200 people between the ages of 13 and 64 regarding their purchases of virtual goods and currency. Women are the big spenders here, particularly when it comes to in-game money. They spend an average of $50 per year as opposed to the $25 a year that men spend.

The gap is a bit smaller but still significant when it comes to actual in-game items. Women spend an average of $55 a year and men an average of $30.

The survey covered a few other similar results, including combined spending and a different result when overall median spending was compared. The full survey is an interesting read, particularly considering the increasing popularity of microtransactions in the MMO world.

Study claims that women spend double what men do on virtual goods originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study finds that 75% of online gamers purchase virtual goods

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Economy, Free-to-play

Are you one of the steadfast, stalwart gamers who absolutely refuses to shell out money on cash shops, microtransactions and virtual services apart from subscriptions? If so, you're in the minority -- a study by VGMarket showed that three out of every four online gamers purchased a virtual good in the past year. This shouldn't come as a surprise, however.

The survey isn't strictly indicative of MMORPG gamers; it was taken from over 2,200 players who were either part of PlaySpan Marketplace, Facebook, or purchasers of Ultimate Game Cards. Still, the results are fascinating, as a whopping 64% admitted to spending money on cash-shop items at least once a month, with 9% going so far as paying for virtual goods on a daily basis.

Other statistics from the survey are equally interesting. PC gamers spent an average of $37 a year on virtual goods, and PayPal is by far the most popular method of payment. Oh, and the most-purchased good? In-game currency. (There, that shouldn't be too controversial, right? Right?) You can read the full survey results over at VentureBeat!

Study finds that 75% of online gamers purchase virtual goods originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Funcom's Morrison asks for your AoC feedback

Jef Reahard — Thu, 20 May 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Expansions, News items

Age of Conan executive producer and game director Craig Morrison is no stranger to the game's official forums, and earlier today he stopped by the boards to solicit feedback from fans. Specifically, he's interested in your thoughts regarding progression in the recently released Rise of the Godslayer expansion.

"What do you consider to be your first priority for progression in the expansion content? As we move forward it's one of the important areas for us to consider at we look at any potential balance changes to the methods and sources of progression, so I am interested to see what you folks think," he writes.

Head on over to the official Age of Conan boards to cast your vote and make your voice heard in the discussion.

Funcom's Morrison asks for your AoC feedback originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 20 May 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DDO jumps to third-most-popular spot in MMO survey

Rubi Bayer — Thu, 13 May 2010 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Guild Wars, Culture, News items, RuneScape

Market research company NPD has completed its annual survey of online gamers with some fascinating results. They surveyed nearly 19,000 gamers of all ages in January of this year, looking at every aspect from hours played per week to what former WoW fans are currently playing. The results are interesting not only for their variety but because it's such an extensive survey from a company that's been doing this very thing for years.

Several interesting changes have come about in the past year: former World of Warcraft players are turning to different games than they have in the past, the subscription model is a lot less popular these days, and Dungeons and Dragons Online has knocked Guild Wars out of the comfy #3 spot it enjoyed for the two previous years.

Follow along after the jump as we take a closer look at some of the survey results.

Continue reading DDO jumps to third-most-popular spot in MMO survey

DDO jumps to third-most-popular spot in MMO survey originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 May 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Road to Mordor: Homeless in Middle-earth

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Player Housing, The Road to Mordor

Every Friday, The Road to Mordor brings you the latest in Lord of the Rings Online news, guides and analysis.

It's always amusing to me when the Turbine team gets decked out in leather, waves around their riding crops and starts abducting members of the public for their innocuous "surveys." Okay, maybe that's just how I mentally envision them going about the task - and I'm sure that says a lot about the state of my mental health these days.

However it happens in reality, Turbine's pretty good at soliciting player opinion on improving the game, and last week we saw them post a thread in the forums entitled "Tell the Community Team - New and Revamped Systems" to do just that. They basically asked players to comment on what game systems they'd like to see improved, what new systems should be implemented, and what regular systems they never use due to time or other factors. PvMP, Radiance gear and Legendary Items were off the table for discussion, but all else was fair game.

I started to tally all these up, but that was an insane task, which I realized only after filling up an entire sheet of paper while I was only on page 5 out of 39 of the thread. Besides, the overwhelming theme of the thread quickly made itself known: players want housing fixed, and in a bad, bad way. So, hey, let's look at the Middle-earth housing crisis this week, and see how we can make it better.

Continue reading The Road to Mordor: Homeless in Middle-earth

The Road to Mordor: Homeless in Middle-earth originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One player's take on the Star Trek Online survey

Rubi Bayer — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Opinion, Star Trek Online

Two days ago, Cryptic offered Star Trek Online players a chance to sound off. Sort of. The front page of the Star Trek Online site offered a survey asking things like "What's the one thing you'd change about Star Trek Online, if you could?" Players who completed the survey received 240 Cryptic Points as a little thank you gift. To the dismay of many players, however, it was strictly fill-in-the-blank, with no way to elaborate on the answers.

Tipa over at West Karana was one of those players, and she had some very good ideas for improving Star Trek Online. Lacking the chance to present them directly to Cryptic, she turned back to West Karana and took the opportunity to get her thoughts out. The post is well worth a read for any STO player, offering suggestions in many areas of gameplay from a crafting system to expanding the "episode" concept, and much more.

Take a look here, and add your thoughts!

One player's take on the Star Trek Online survey originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Market research company explores MMO gaming

Rubi Bayer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Polls, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play

Worlds in Motion reports that a recent poll from market research specialists TNS and Gamesindustry.com talked to over 13,000 gamers in North America and Europe about their favorite subject: gaming, what kind they do, and how much time they spend on it.

The survey addressed players as young as 8, and found that the largest group of players in the U.S. is comprised of 8-12 year olds. That may come as a surprise to many players whose idea of a console or PC game isn't really geared toward children, but makes sense when you consider games and virtual worlds such as Virtual Family Kingdom, Free Realms, and any console game with Mario in the title.

Delving further into the MMO side turned up some interesting information. Of the US players surveyed, 21% said that they play MMOs, and 45% of those players define themselves as paying customers -- presumably that includes both subscription models and gamers that take advantage of cash shops. In spite of the large percentage of paying players, a free-to-play model is one of the biggest factors for those considering a new game. The rising success of many games in the past year that use a free-to-play model seems to support this.

Worlds In Motion offers further number crunching, and if you're interested in seeing the full survey report, gamesindustry.com offers it for a fee.

Market research company explores MMO gaming originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aika announces closed beta

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, PvP, News items, Free-to-play

If you're looking for some more RvR action outside of Warhammer Online, then you might want to take a look at Gala-Net's newest addition to their MMO lineup, Aika.

Aika is a new free-to-play MMO with the same type of nation versus nation bent that Warhammer and World of Warcraft provide to their players. Players get to defend territory during castle sieges, can steal artifacts from the enemy side, a la Dark Age of Camelot, and participate in the standard PvP battlegrounds.

The game has just gone into a closed beta testing phase for America, but getting in couldn't be simpler. Simply go visit the Aika website, fill out a survey and you'll be entered for a chance to participate in the closed beta.

Aika announces closed beta originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wishes do come true, Planetside 2

Kyle Horner — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items

"X game sounds a lot like Planetside. I wish they'd make a sequel to that game." is something we've heard over the years as similar-yet-different titles have been announced and released. Well who says wishes don't come true? As it turns out, SOE is planning to "expand the Planetside universe with another game" and is asking players of the original for their input via survey. Rock Paper Shotgun picked up the scent of impending sequelosity, which is a word we've just made up that describes a sequel revelation of such ferocity that it slaps your jaw to the ground.

There are a lot of games, such as MAG, that are attempting a Planetside-ish experience. However, nothing new has really attempted the scope of the game, so hearing that another is on the way infuses us with a intoxicating blend of hope and curiosity.

Wishes do come true, Planetside 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Help NCsoft help you: Aion server poll arrives

Brooke Pilley — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, New titles, News items

Official update from NCsoft: We experienced some frustrating technical difficulties with the surveys we launched early this week meant to help roleplayers and language-specific communities choose their unofficial game servers. Many Aion communities saw a need to coordinate their members and were much quicker than we were to organize surveys. We have decided to honor their hard work by permanently taking our own survey down, since we have no desire to interfere with what our great communities accomplish or cause confusion. We will continue to work with the fansites in our Fansite Program to promote their community survey results.

NCsoft has put up an official server select poll up on SurveyMonkey for Aion. Anyone can participate by choosing which region they're from, whether or not they're a role-player, and then which server they plan to play on. The results will be released on September 18 to help preselect players decide which servers they should make characters on.

There is currently a bit of a competition going between Lumiel and Zikel as the official Eastern role-playing server. Before the release of this official poll, Aion role-players were gathering up to declare Lumiel the unofficial RP server because NCsoft didn't appear as though they were going to arbitrarily pick one. Recently, many Warhammer Online players from Phoenix Throne (the biggest and only official RP server) decided to organize an effort to steal the vote for Zikel. Many other hardcore PvP guilds seem to be vying for Zikel as well. We won't know the results of this until Friday.

There seems to be another battle going on between Eastern and Pacific servers as well. We haven't been able to confirm any exact times, but apparently certain PvP events will be 'timed' in Aion, such as fortress vulnerability and the Dreadgion. The issue arises when players of the same guild who live in different time zones have to decide on a single server to play on. If, for example, a fortress can only be raided from 8PM-11PM PDT, that makes it prime time for west coast players. Eastern guildies who have to work in the morning might not be too keen on playing from 11PM-1AM EDT.

Help NCsoft help you: Aion server poll arrives originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Surveys available for EverQuest 2 players

Seraphina Brennan — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, News items, Opinion

Do you know who's input helps to make your favorite online game better? Is it the creative director? The executive producer? The lead game designer? Nope, all wrong there! It's your input that helps make the game better!

To that end, EverQuest 2 has a brand new in-game survey for players to fill out. If you're interested in offering your opinions on how the game is doing and what you'd like to see added or changed, simply type /survey in your chat window next time you're logged in. The survey will pop up right in your game window with no muss or fuss.

One of the things they've mentioned as being discussed in the new survey is the concept of race change potions. How would you feel if they offered players such a thing? Should they offer players the chance to change their race on their characters, especially as race is tied into class? Speak your opinions here, but more importantly speak them in-game!

[Via Warcry]

Surveys available for EverQuest 2 players originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Survey says: Nearly half of MMO gamers bought virtual stuff

Tateru Nino — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, Academic, Virtual worlds

One of the interesting things we at Massively find about statistics and surveys is how people react to surveys and research results about games, virtual environments and MMOGs. Unexpected results automatically attract criticism of every aspect of the report and data no matter how the results were obtained, from the political leanings of the researchers, to the way the charts are drawn. On the other hand, when the results of surveys or research agree with our expectations, people rarely question the results, again, no matter how they were obtained.

Therefore, we wonder what you all might make of this report, that 12% of Americans have purchased at least one virtual item in the last item within the last 12 months, and almost half (46%) of MMO gamers/virtual world users have done so within the same period. Obviously, that would include assorted free-to-play games, so-called 'freemium' games and environments, Facebook and all-sorts.

The survey was commissioned by global payment solutions provider, PlaySpan. The results are only available in summary, but we're interested in your reaction. Are the results what you expect, or not? And either way, do you dispute or accept the data?

[via GigaOm]

Survey says: Nearly half of MMO gamers bought virtual stuff originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Online gamers are logging more hours, but spending less money

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST

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

Interactive marketing firm Future Ads revealed a very telling survey from Gamevance today, showing that casual gamers were playing games for longer, yet were spending less money on them overall. Other notable sections of the survey showed a declining gender gap in the gaming population, a melding of the "casual" and "hardcore" gamer markets, and a decline in purchases made for video game consoles.

Gamevance's survey revealed that 61% of the 8,000 "casual" gamers who responded said they were playing games for longer periods of time than they were a year ago. However, 80% of those same gamers reported that they were cutting back on console game purchases while 77% of the 8,000 stated that the biggest drawback to console gaming was that it was too expensive.

Pair this with the rising Free Realms, Wizard 101, and FusionFall populations, as well as the proliferation of free online gaming sites, and you have a very noticable switch to cheaper gaming alternatives. Will this recession be the rise of the free to play gaming model in America, or will this die off once the economy stabilizes?

[Via GigaOm]

Online gamers are logging more hours, but spending less money originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earth Eternal beta draws nearer

William Dobson — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, New titles, Free-to-play, Races, Earth Eternal

Furry free-to-play MMO Earth Eternal has hit their fans with a newsletter, and they bring word that a beta phase of testing is not far away now. Even better, they are offering a way for people to get into their beta pre-selection pool. By signing up at the game's website and completing their Earth Eternal Spring 2009 Survey, you'll have a chance of being chosen to participate in the closed beta. The survey closes on the 25th of May, and no further entries will be taken after that point.

Website users can also earn community points by posting, taking part in polls, rating art and playing a mini-game called Shroomie's Search. There is a new Race Gallery featuring a staggering 22 playable animal and monster races, and each entry includes a "Creature Info" section revealing the background of said beasties. If this community ever has a get-together, there'll be one heck of a diverse cosplay gallery to show for it.

Earth Eternal beta draws nearer originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 15 May 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Survey says: LoTRO for Xbox 360 could debut at $12.99 a month

Kyle Horner — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, News items, Rumors

GameDaily has dug up some deets which give further weight to the rumor that Lord of the Rings Online is coming to the Xbox 360 as well as fresh new information on its potential pricing. The source is an online survey from the aptly named Intellisurvey, and there are screens to prove it.

Other information gathered by looking at the survey includes a question asking about microtransactions for things such as equipment and other items like additional classes/races. This doesn't confirm that such a thing is happening for the game, but merely that Turbine seems to be looking into the prospect.

As GameDaily points out, this is hardly the first time details about upcoming games have been revealed via online surveys. The very same thing happened with Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars last year, setting a precedent for this information containing at least some truth. So now the question is: When will the official announcement be made? Well, E3 is right around the corner, so there's one guess.

Survey says: LoTRO for Xbox 360 could debut at $12.99 a month originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 13 May 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The race to 80 in Wrath of the Lich King analyzed

William Dobson — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Classes, Leveling

The dust has had time to settle over Azeroth since the launch of World of Warcraft's latest expansion Wrath of the Lich King, and most semi-active players who stick to a main character will probably have hit the new level cap of 80. That's the lazy way to summarize the expansion-leveling situation, but for a bit (well, a heck of a lot) more depth, it's worth checking out gamerDNA's study of how their users went once WotLK's starter pistol fired. To fit the nature of the study, the sample of 3000 users was limited to people who had a level 70 character at the expansion's launch, had picked up the expansion within 10 days of launch, and did not take on the new Death Knight class as their main.

The picture above shows one of the resulting pie charts from gamerDNA's study. From the sample, the biggest group (44%) took between 16 and 30 days to reach level 80, but quite a large percentage (18%) managed to finish up their leveling in just 5 to 15 days. Only a very small group from the sample (2%) took longer than 60 days. Interestingly, further pie charts show that there wasn't one particular class that was favored in the race to 80 -- in fact, in the quickest group, where you'd expect class to matter more, the class make-up was probably at its most even across the board.

If these sorts of facts and figures get your pulse racing, perhaps you could help us do a quick poll of our own: in which group would you fit on the above chart?

The race to 80 in Wrath of the Lich King analyzed originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Have your say in FFXI swag design

Alexis Kassan — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI

Square Enix is looking for your help in designing their next round of accessories for Final Fantasy XI. You don't have to submit art or anything, just fill out a brief survey including your purchase habits and favorite NPC characters. There's also a space to write in comments about what merch you want to see.

All surveys must be in by midnight PST on January 28th so head over and fill one out soon. Who knows - there could be a Robel-Akbel plushie or an "I <3 Apururu" t-shirt in your future!

Have your say in FFXI swag design originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kids choose digital entertainment over traditional media

Alexis Kassan — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Consoles, Academic, Kids

A recent survey of moms by NPD shows that kids are more interested in receiving digital content than purchasing physical media such as CDs or DVDs. Though most games still rely on an initial physical purchase of software, there is an increasing trend towards online and on-device delivery.

The study also looked at device usage and activities done on those devices. It found that gaming is the most popular activity with around 85% of kids playing on the devices studied. There has also been an increase in cross-platform usage with videos being watched on consoles and cell phones used to listen to music. With all the talk of MMOs on consoles and the ability of devices to handle more tasks each rather than respecting their traditional, separate roles, it seems this trend is poised to continue.

Kids choose digital entertainment over traditional media originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A snapshot of alliance life in EVE Online

James Egan — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Economy, Game mechanics, Guilds, PvP, Endgame, Opinion

Roughly 1400 EVE Online players took part in the E-ON Alliance Survey in February of this year, organized by E-ON's Editor, Zapatero. "The survey was conducted to research the nature of alliances, 0.0 conflict and the capabilities of alliances or coalitions to ever mount a serious challenge to the entirety of 0.0 space," Zapatero writes. While those results provided a grounding for a few E-ON articles, they've otherwise remained inert on Zapatero's hard drive since then. Since the survey was created with anonymity in mind, there is no revealing information about any particular alliance and thus no harm in releasing the information for everyone to see. Zapatero's prepared the results as a pdf summary report as well as a spreadsheet (files hosted by Chribba.)

The questions asked were fairly comprehensive, ranging from individual motivations to play as part of an alliance to collective achievements and failings (and everything in between). Though the alliance map and the motivations driving its constant shifts will change over time, Zapatero's provided an interesting look at how EVE's alliance players approach the game. Check out his "New editions, old additions" post over at the EVE Online site for more background on this project and its aims.

A snapshot of alliance life in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Research profiles the typical fantasy MMO player

Samuel Axon — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Culture, News items, Academic

Researcher Dmitri Williams and his team have been doing some very hardcore MMO-related research. Thanks to Raph Koster, they were given free reign with the whole of SOE's EverQuest II-related user statistics. They've produced the first of many papers, this one called "Who plays, how much, and why? Debunking the stereotypical gamer profile," which is completely and freely available online.

There are a bunch of interesting things about EverQuest II player demographics in there, some of which is surprising. For example, older players play more than younger players, and EQ2 players in general are physically healthier than the general population. There's a shocker! Of course, EQ2 arguably has a different sort of playerbase than something like EVE Online, or even other dikus like World of Warcraft. It's too bad we can't see the differences.

More studies are coming, though (but all of them from EQ2 data). Williams and his international team of researchers are planning to uncover information about gender differences and more in future papers.

[Via Raph Koster]

Research profiles the typical fantasy MMO player originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alleged NCsoft survey may lay out spectacular new CoX direction

Adrian Bott — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Expansions, Patches, Rumors

Please note that the following article concerns information that is as yet unconfirmed by any official source, but we feel it is sufficiently well substantiated to report.

UPDATE: Lighthouse has now commented. 'I want to reiterate what Niviene said here and remind that this is purely market research.'

The news broke last night on the City of Heroes forums that a company had been doing a survey for NCsoft which related to potential future content. The list of what was mentioned looks, as one player said, like a wish-list compiled of all the various CoX player requests over the years. For example, 'The Going Rogue system is a new game dynamic for City of Heroes and City of Villains that allows players to alter the morality of their characters, eventually opening up the opportunity to turn their Hero into a Villain or vice versa.'

There's a lot more, which we'll reproduce verbatim after the break. Adding to the post's feel of authenticity is what appears to be a screenshot of the new mission creator.

Continue reading Alleged NCsoft survey may lay out spectacular new CoX direction

Alleged NCsoft survey may lay out spectacular new CoX direction originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Aug 2008 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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