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MMO Roundup: Massively's week in review

Shawn Schuster — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 03:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

When it comes to MMO news and special features, Joystiq sister site Massively.com has you covered. Whether you're looking for info on the hottest new MMO, or you're just curious about an old favorite, you'll find it at Massively. Check out our biggest features of the week:

	Final Fantasy XIV not due for the Xbox 360 according to Hiromichi Tanaka Final Fantasy XI isn't just one of the only console MMOs in existence, it's also the most successful of the lot, due in part to the wide spread of available platforms. Since the game has long been playable on the Xbox, there were several Final Fantasy XIV fans (or Xbox 360 owners) hoping it would eventually come out on that console as well. But it's not happening, and according to a recently translated interview from 4players.de, the reason rests squarely with Microsoft.
	ArenaNet unveils the Guild Wars 2 ranger Speculation was all over the map: necromancer was a popular choice thanks to the recent sneak peek of Ghosts of Ascalon. Mesmers and some sort of paladin class were suggested, as well as rangers. Things got even more interesting on Monday, when ArenaNet teased the upcoming reveal of a new class. Well, it looks like rangers won out -- ArenaNet announced the ranger class for Guild Wars 2 today.
	Massively Speaking Podcast Episode 107: A chat with Felicia Day Massively Speaking Episode 107 is a very special episode in which Rubi and Shawn are joined by Felicia Day, creator and star of the hit web series, The Guild. Topics include her work on Guild Wars 2's trailer, her MMO inspirations and much more. Plus, we also tackle the week's news, including the possibility of STO going free-to-play and the whole Real ID fiasco.

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	APB needs partner to make console version, but willing The idea of console MMOs is nothing new. After all, EverQuest Online Adventures, Final Fantasy XI, and the Phantasy Star titles have managed to successfully publish on consoles. With that said, it seems as if there's been a trend with recent MMOs to say they were going to console like Age of Conan and Champions Online, only to change their minds later.
	Real ID -- Do we finally have our WoW killer? A huge number of the over 13,000 forum posts are variations of "See ya", including many popular MMO bloggers. But the fact that others saw this as only a good thing proves that there are two sides to every coin. So where do you stand on this hot topic? Is it something that will finally get the WoW forums in order or will upset players truly leave the game for good this time?
	MMO tops Japan's sales charts on the Xbox 360 In the world of console gaming, Japan tends to strongly support their hometown champions -- although whether or not the sprawling multinational corporate behemoths of Nintendo and Sony actually need that suppport is debatable. Microsoft's Xbox 360 has generally faced slow sales in the nation and a lack of popular games on the platform. But it's gotten a boost from the strong sales of Monster Hunter Frontier Online, an MMO exclusive to the platform that's made it to the top of the Japanese sale charts. Not out of all Xbox games -- out of the entire country.

	Bobby Kotick muses about a Call of Duty MMO Activision Blizzard owns one of the most profitable gaming franchises in the world with Call of Duty, and Bobby Kotick knows it. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Kotick was open about his ambitions with the series, saying that he wishes that they would create an online subscriber version. It's not a new sentiment from Kotick, as he's been saying as such for years, although it certainly is pretty straight-forward.
	SWTOR closed beta beginning this weekend A thread on the official SWTOR forums began this morning, claiming that players have received invitations for a June 25 - 27 closed beta. A post added shortly afterward made further clarification that only 100-200 invitations are going out. Within seven hours the thread reached nearly 200 pages.
	APB's voice chat feature will contain advertisements While looking through the payment options in his account management page early this morning, one APB forum poster spied a strange button that set off a few warning bells in his head. Marked "VOIP Premium," the option removes adverts from APB's in-game voice chat for 30, 90 or 180 days in exchange for payment.

	Avatar: Why does this movie look so familiar? If you're one of the few people who has not heard the buzz about Avatar yet, we'll catch you up by saying that the film's beauty is all anyone can talk about. MMO players discussing the movie will follow that observation up almost immediately with "...and did you notice how much it looks like [insert game of choice here]?"
	Star Trek Online pre-orders topping Direct2Drive sales Some people may be apprehensive about the speed with which Cryptic is rolling out Star Trek Online, but that isn't slowing down the pre-orders at all. It seems that the majority of fans remain anxious to get their hands on the game. For the week of December 27th - January 2nd, pre-orders of the Star Trek Online Digital Deluxe edition took the number one spot for sales at Direct2Drive.
	Funcom plans a more casual direction for future games Back in December, we talked a bit about Funcom's new studio SweetRobot, which will be designing games for a much younger market than the Age of Conan crowd. Pets vs. Monsters is the first offering from the studio, with the promise of more to come.

	Massively's predictions for 2010 With 2009 wrapping up today and 2010 lurking creepily around the corner, we're eager to release our predictions on what the next year may bring to the MMO scene. Even though we try to keep our news relatively neutral, it's the editorials and opinion pieces that garner the most reaction from the readers. Positive or negative, we appreciate that. So for this last day of 2009, we honor it by giving our own opinions (both positive and negative) about how 2010 looks to us.
	Massively's top 5 news stories of 2009 It's that time again! Time when we look backwards and try to identify the top 5 big news stories that we covered here at Massively. 2009 was a pretty turbulent year when it comes to the MMO industry, as we were involved in lawsuits, game closures, multiple major releases, a rising set of indie studios, and more news than you could handle.
	Hands-on with Klingons and PvP in Star Trek Online If there's one thing that's almost more synonymous with Star Trek than classic catch phrases, it's the Klingons. They are the Captain Hook to the Federation's Peter Pan and thus it's important to several potential players that Star Trek Online do them justice. Understandably, when Cryptic made the announcement that Klingons would be primarily a PvP focused faction, people were concerned. Players don't want their beloved gruff 'n tough warrior race to become a second-tier faction.

	Massively's 2009 Winter Holiday Event Guide It's that time of year again -- whatever holiday you are celebrating, the denizens of your favorite MMO are sure to be celebrating it too. Whether it's Festivult in Dungeons and Dragons Online, Wintersday in Guild Wars, or the Starlight Celebration in Final Fantasy XI, the theme is the same. There are presents, some sort of sugary treats, and tons of fun.
	NASA releases new information on their upcoming MMO Back in November, we talked about an exciting space MMO in the works from NASA, called Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond. The information they had at the time was pretty extensive, and left us anxious to find out more and try it out.
	Hi-Rez Studios announces Global Agenda launch date Hi-Rez studios officially announced that the game will launch on February 1st, 2010, and pre-orders are available through Steam, Amazon.com, and the official site beginning today. Those who pre-order will enjoy all sorts of perks, including access to the January beta events, ability to reserve their player and agency names, and special in-game items.
	Funcom offers unlimited free trial for Age of Conan With the Age of Conan expansion Rise of the Godslayer approaching, opportunities for new and returning players to explore the game (or revisit it) have been more frequent than usual these days. The latest offer comes via FilePlanet. If you're a FilePlanet subscriber, you can play the first part of the game for free in an unlimited trial. The offer is good until December 31st, but as long as you download before then, your trial will not expire.

	Runic Games talks Torchlight, the upcoming MMO, Diablo comparisons, more Can't wait for Diablo III? Try Torchlight. The single-player action-RPG, available for just 20 bucks via digital distribution, has got PC gamers talking. But why should Massively readers care, you ask? Because eventually, in about two years or so, developer Runic Games will make it a full-fleged MMO.
	Ground combat! Star Trek Online community answers Your answers on ground combat in Star Trek Online are here and we think you'll be pleased with the results. This week, your questions were answered by Andy Velasquez, producer at Cryptic and all-around knowledgeable Trek guy. It's a hefty Q&A, so we hope you've got a few minutes to spare while you whittle your way through all this text. Enjoy!
	The catch point of the free-to-play model With the successful transition of Dungeons and Dragons Online to the free-to-play model, there's a lot of talk about why other games don't move over to the same model, with Warhammer Online frequently being cited as a game that would enjoy a great benefit from the switch. It would bring in more players, certainly, but there's more to the business than just bringing in new blood.

	Analyzing the newest Guild Wars 2 trailer ArenaNet has a very early, very wonderful holiday gift for Guild Wars fans this morning: a brand new Guild Wars 2 trailer. (Take a moment to cheer, then we'll move on.) The trailer is amazingly beautiful, something we've come to expect from ArenaNet and particularly Guild Wars 2.
	Massively's End-of-the-Year Reader's Choice Awards The end of 2009 is almost upon us, and Arthur C. Clarke's dreams are all about to come true in less than a month. It's been an interesting year for MMOs, including everything from Tabula Rasa's official closure to the launch of LotRO's second paid expansion. While it's inevitable that the Massively staff all have their own favorite games in several different categories, we figured it would be best to get the readers involved this year.
	Hands-on with Star Trek Online's space combat Space battles in Star Trek Online are going to be a big selling point for many a Trek fan. I recently got some hands-on time with the closed beta and found several interesting talking points to deliver like hot fresh delicious phasered pizza. I imagine some of you are quite up to snuff on the basics of combat in Star Trek Online, so if you find your interest waning I suggest skipping ahead into the analytical aspect of this feature.
	MMO developers speak on the state of betas Is beta testing something of a mystery to you? Do you wonder about the how and why of a developer's beta process? Well, you're in for a treat! We recently got in touch with several MMO developers to ask them each a series of questions about MMO beta testing. In this feature you'll find opinions from Cryptic Studios, Fallen Earth LLC, Mythic Entertainment, Turbine, Runic Games and Hi-Rez Studios.

	Massively's Black Friday MMO sales guide The holidays are officially here (if you're a retail chain, then they've been here for about a month) and so it's time to start looking for deals to give to either your MMO-playing loved ones or, well, yourself! Shopping can be a pretty big hassle, especially if you're not accustomed to hunting for the best deals. So, we've gone and outlined the season's new releases, as well as some places you can hope to find sales in the coming weeks.
	Anti-Aliased: Boobs and you This week's topic is one that's near and dear to my heart. Well, it's near to my heart, at least, and I mean that quite literally. It's also a perfect topic for today's holiday! I mean, who doesn't like to talk about large breasts on Thanksgiving? (Score one for the terrible synonym.)
	Space combat! Star Trek Online community Q&A answers It's a little late due to the impending Thanksgiving day gorging, but we've got your second wave of community answers for space combat in Star Trek Online! As this week lands us on a holiday, we'll be putting up the next post for your third wave of questions on Monday, November 30th. For now, we hope you enjoy the answers given by Al Rivera, senior game designer on Star Trek Online.

	A visual tour of LotRO: Siege of Mirkwood If you haven't had a chance to see Turbine's latest creation, check out our video tour of the expansion just after the jump below. Also, be sure to watch Massively for more coverage on Siege of Mirkwood from now to December 1st and beyond!
	Is a Call of Duty MMO in the works? Well, it's a possibility, at any rate. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, was officially released November 10th with what the LA Times described as a "Hollywood-scale launch". The launch expenses turned out to be money well spent, as the game had generated $550 million in sales as of last Saturday. Fans lined up days in advance to pick up their copy of Modern Warfare 2, complete with free night vision goggles.
	First Impressions: Allods Online In this one for gPotato's upcoming free-to-play Allods Online, we did something a bit different. Instead of just a write-up, we've also done a short video to show the visual side of our impressions. Why? Because Allods Online deserves it, in our opinion. Keep reading after the jump for the embedded video and a brief run-down of what we thought.

Joystiq

MMO Roundup: Massively's week in review

MMO Roundup: Massively's week in review

MMO Roundup: Massively's week in review

MMO Roundup: Massively's week in review

MMO Roundup: Massively's week (and year) in review

MMO Roundup: Massively's week in review

MMO Roundup: Massively's week in review

MMO Roundup: Massively's week in review

MMO Roundup: Massively's week in review

MMO Roundup: Massively's week in review

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