See, this is why we don't write a blog about MMOs. Because after watching the trailer for Trion's new Heroes of Telara MMO (you'll find it after the break), we're hard pressed to explain why you might want to play this fantasy MMO over any other one.

It looks pretty, we guess, but with $100 million in funding flowing into Trion World Network we should hope that it would. Check out the trailer and let us know: Does this look like something you want to dig in to? Or do we have just the right amount of cynicism?

Trion World Network has confirmed the rumors: it will reveal its first game at E3 next month. Unfortunately, details of its debut offering, Heroes of Telara, are slim, but the press release for the announced MMORPG contained such carefully spun phrases as "limitless new content" and "unprecedented level of rich and dynamic gameplay." So, your guess is as good as ours.

If the name Trion sounds familiar, but you can't think of a single game the company has made, don't feel bad. Trion drama has swept the internet for quite some time. In late 2008, it was revealed the server-based gaming company had raised over $100 million in capital but had yet to release a single title. In late April 2009, Joystiq received a rather inflammatory anonymous tip that Trion president and chief creative officer, Jon Van Canegham, had been removed from his position -- but Trion reps maintain the split was a "natural evolution of the growing company."

Trion World Network is also collaborating with the Sci-Fi Channel (soon to be SyFy) on an MMO/TV hybrid project and recently announced plans to work with developer Petroglyph (of Star Wars: Empire at War fame) on an unnamed MMORTS title.

[Via BigDownload]

Trion World Network's latest move is partnering with Petroglyph on an as-yet untitled massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game. While we've yet to see Trion actually produce anything -- aside from the spectacle of firing its president and chief creative officer last week -- Petroglyph has been working on RTS titles for years. The studio was responsible for Universe at War and Star Wars: Empire at War.

At this point, we have no official word on what game the two companies are collaborating on, but we do know that the games must flow from Trion soon. Hopefully, the publisher will finally show off something it gained from that $100 million deal at E3.

We received a rather inflammatory anonymous tip about Trion World Networks and the current state of the company, but the only piece we feel comfortable in sharing is that President and Chief Creative Officer Jon Van Canegham has been let go from the company. We followed up and an official representative for the MMO publisher informed us that Canegham has "transitioned out" and no longer has "any operational responsibilities" -- his creative and operational roles have been distributed among the senior team. Find the full statement after the break.

On paper, Trion World Networks is doing quite well, having raised $100 million in capital and announcing this week that it has joined the ESA. The company will allegedly show its first title at E3, but that's just "rumor and speculation" for now.

The ESA announced today that Trion World Networks and XSEED Games have become members of the trade association. Trion has accumulated $100 million in funding without launching a game, while XSEED has released quite a few "off the beaten path" titles, like Retro Game Challenge.

Following the announcement, Activision Blizzard left a voicemail with the ESA, playing "Don't Cha" by The Pussycat Dolls on repeat.

Take note: Certain really rich folks are showering Trion World Network Inc. with money. Wait ... Trion who? Exactly. Don't fret being out of the loop, we've only mentioned Trion a handful of times (read: just three) and it's our job to be in the know. Today Trion reminds us there's good reason to keep tabs on the server-based gaming company, as it's now raised over $100 million after a recent $70 million Series C funding round (a very formal way of saying, venture capital firms and media companies, like Time Warner and NBC Universal, have been dropping their change in the collection cup since 2006 -- a lot of it). And the best part is, Trion still hasn't released anything.

So if you're wondering how to get rich like Trion, we strongly advise taking our crash course on the company after the break.

With people spending less time watching TV and more time playing video games, TV networks are making increasingly unique attempts to get their audiences back. The latest example comes from the Sci-Fi Channel, which is integrating an upcoming TV series with a concurrent MMORPG that will affect and be affected by the on-air action.

"For example, we can tell [players] that there will be an alien invasion at a certain place in the game, at a certain time, and to be there with all their friends and be ready," Sci-Fi Channel President Dave Howe told the L.A. Times. "The outcome depends on them. And then that battle will be part of the universe in the show." Footage from in-game battles will be used in the show and the players choices themselves will guide which characters, settings and storylines are highlighted on the program.

The game was originally planned to be an outgrowth of the channel's popular Battlestar Galactica remake, but the developers at Trion World Network decided it would be better to start fresh with new characters and environments. Both the show and the series will be set 80 to 100 years in the future and launched not that much sooner in the summer of 2010. More information is slated to be revealed at Comic-Con in July.

Trion World Network CEO Lars Buttler believes there's room for more than World of Warcraft on the MMO playground. One would hope he'd say that as Trion is attempting to break into a market dominated by Blizzard's juggernaut. In an interview with GI.biz, Buttler reiterates his assertions, which brought him to our attention originally, that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick was trying to scare competition off by saying even with a $1 billion investment Activision couldn't challenge WoW (good thing for Kotick the company owns it).

We're hoping that Trion starts making some game announcements soon, as it allegedly has $30 million in funding, along with some former executives from top publishers. It'd just be nice to talk about Trion in some other context than Buttler saying WoW isn't the only game in town.

Earlier this week Activision CEO Bobby Kotick made a bold statement saying that even with a $500 million or $1 billion investment his company couldn't produce a product that could compete with World of Warcraft -- lucky for him his company owns it. GameDaily reports that Lars Buttler, former VP of online at EA and current CEO of server-based game company Trion World Network, believes Kotick is just looking to scare off the competition.

Buttler tells the site that Kotick is just defending the merger and believes WoW is just the beginning of the "connected era." Buttler goes on to use some fancy buzzwords but dismisses the idea that nobody can take on WoW no matter what the investment. He even says if developers disagree with Kotick that they should call his company. Trion is currently starting up and allegedly has products "well under way," but currently has no announcements.