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[Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of League of Legends]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/29/not-so-massively-extra-our-impressions-of-league-of-legends/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/29/not-so-massively-extra-our-impressions-of-league-of-legends/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/29/not-so-massively-extra-our-impressions-of-league-of-legends/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

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Of all the games in the newly emerged MOBA genre, League of Legends is by far the biggest and most successful. The original Defense of the Ancients mod for WarCraft 3 propelled that game to become one of the most played games of the past decade, and standalone remakes have come to challenge that position. LoL recently passed the 15 million registered player mark, with much of that success being due to the game's free-to-play business model and casual gameplay.

The recently launched Dominion game mode added capture-point gameplay in shorter and more casual matches, and we were keen to try it out. Last week Massively staffers Patrick Mackey, Matt Daniel and I were joined by Tina Lauro and friends from GamerGaia for a few games of League of Legends as part of our Not So Massively livestream. While we were all vaguely familiar with MOBA gameplay, most of us had never played League of Legends. After the stream, Patrick and I played several more games of Dominion to get a feel for LoL's newest game mode.

If you've ever been tempted to take the plunge into LoL, skip past the cut for our first impressions of both normal League of Legends games and Dominion matches.

Continue reading Not So Massively Extra: Our impressions of League of Legends

MassivelyNot So Massively Extra: Our impressions of League of Legends originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome to Not So Massively, our weekly roundup of the top news from popular multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs) and other multiplayer online games that aren't quite MMOs. Published every Saturday, the column covers games such as League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth, Rise of Immortals, Bloodline Champions, and more.

In the last few years, the PC game market has seen a resurgence of competitive and co-operative online games. Some fit neatly into the category of MMO and others are traditional multiplayer match-based games, but the lines between the two have begun to blur. MOBAs and similar online games offer ongoing development a level of persistence that's closer to Guild Wars than Counterstrike, putting them firmly in the gray area we love to talk about in Not So Massively.

Last week we brought news of an ongoing legal battle between FireFall developer Red 5 and its publisher Webzen. Both Heroes of Newerth and Bloodline Champions announced details of upcoming sponsored competitive tournaments for players with cash prizes. New details were revealed for League of Legends' female tank champion Leona, Heroes of Newerth's ranged anti-juking hero Emerald Warden and Rise of Immortals ranged damage-dealing immortal Balak.

In this week's Not So Massively, we look forward to Dota 2 gameplay being showcased at next month's Gamescom convention and tell you how you could be in with a chance to win one of five Heroes of Newerth account keys worth $30 US. We also finally get to see LoL champion Leona in action this week, and enjoy two helpings of LoL fanart, cosplay and original music in Summoner Showcases 35 and 36. Finally, we find out that the Aida Arenas closed beta has been postponed indefinitely, and we get some hands-on time with the Rise of Immortals open beta.
http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Heroes-of-Newerth

Continue reading Not So Massively: Dota 2 is going to be freaking awesome

MassivelyNot So Massively: Dota 2 is going to be freaking awesome originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aida-arenaschampionchampion-spotlightcontestdotadota-2featuredgamerkraftheroheroes-of-newerthhonimmortalleague-of-legendsleonalolmobanewsnot-so-massivelypetroglyphPetroglyph-Gamesriot-gamesrise-of-immortalsrois2s2-gamessummonersummoner-showcasevalvewarcraft-iiiMon, 11 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The9 is out, NetEase is in for Chinese World of Warcraft operator]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/16/the9-is-out-netease-is-in-for-chinese-world-of-warcraft-operato/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/16/the9-is-out-netease-is-in-for-chinese-world-of-warcraft-operato/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/16/the9-is-out-netease-is-in-for-chinese-world-of-warcraft-operato/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


Yesterday, we reported the rumor that it looked like Chinese World of Warcraft operator The9 might be losing the licensing rights to a competitor, and today we can confirm that rumor to be 100% true. Rival company NetEase has purchased the rights to operate World of Warcraft in China, starting once The9's current contract is up with Blizzard on June 8th.

NetEase is already the operator of Battle.net in China, supporting Warcraft III and the to-be-released Starcraft II. They have been operating with Blizzard since last August, when they acquired all of the rights to the other Blizzard games. This acquisition only brings NetEase and Blizzard closer together in their business arrangement.

What is still up in the air, however, is the fate of Wrath of the Lich King. DoNews, a Chinese news site, has reported that Wrath has been licensed by NetEase, although no formal announcement has yet been made.

[Via JLM Pacific Epoch]

MassivelyThe9 is out, NetEase is in for Chinese World of Warcraft operator originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>battle.netblizzardlegallicensingneteasepatch-3.0rightsstarcraft-2starcraft-iithe9transitionwarcraft-3warcraft-iiiworld-of-warcraftwotlkwrathwrath-of-the-lich-kingThu, 16 Apr 2009 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Blizzard retains PC gaming dominance]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/blizzard-retains-pc-gaming-dominance/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/blizzard-retains-pc-gaming-dominance/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/04/blizzard-retains-pc-gaming-dominance/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


As if in response to predictions of the beginning of the end, Blizzard's market dominance in US PC game sales was reaffirmed in late August through the NPD Group's research. In fact, World of Warcraft garnered three of the top spots on the PC game sales chart, with The Diablo Battle Chest and The Warcraft III Battle Chest thrown in for good measure, Gamesindustry.biz reports.

While it could be argued that World of Warcraft's steady retail box sales silences all erroneous claims of the rise of a WoW-killer (oops... uttered the dreaded phrase), this doesn't seem to take into account all those Warhammer Online pre-orders placed in August. In that case, September might paint a different picture. But let's face it -- WoW's not going away anytime in the foreseeable future. And despite the knocks World of Warcraft takes from some MMO gamers, would you really want a world without Warcraft?
One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!

MassivelyBlizzard retains PC gaming dominance originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you just can't take the wait of driving to a brick and mortar store (or even worse, waiting for something to show up in the mail!) then Blizzard's got you covered with their new digital download service. As of right now they're only offering the Starcraft Anthology, Warcraft III and its Frozen Throne expansion pack. However, we could see Blizzard eventually offering both World of Warcraft and The Burning Crusade -- not to mention Wrath of the Lich King when it launches.

Currently it's possible to get a digital download version of World of Warcraft and its first expansion through third-party. We're sure Blizzard will eventually take over those titles, as the company probably wants to make sure that buying their product digitally is as good an experience as it can possibly be. The thought of having every Blizzard PC title at our fingertips is a little scary though, we're worried that our bank accounts may suddenly drop soon for some mysterious reason.

[via WarCry]

MassivelyBlizzard opens its digital download doors originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 May 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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