Welcome to the 945th Edition of Loading...
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The Pulse
First, you vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is Pulse?).
- World of Warcraft (UP 1)
- Warhammer Online (Down 1)
- Age of Conan
- City of Heroes
- City of Villains
- Lineage 2 (UP 1)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (down 1)
- Atlantica Online (UP 8)
- Runes of Magic (UP 6)
- EVE Online (down 2)
Daily Movers & Shakers
- Atlantica Online (UP 8 to no. 8)
- Warrior Epic (UP 8 to no. 19)
- Dungeons & Dragons Online (down 7 to no. 16)
Daily Column
Loading... [insert mandatory "get out to vote" message here].
American social critic Christopher Lasch wrote that "nothing succeeds like the appearance of success," and nowhere is that more true than in the games industry, where continuing success is built solely on word of mouth and good reviews, which is often (especially in the latter) nothing more than the apearance of success. And market success is critical to MMORPGs, where a big part of the fun is determined by whether or not you get a critical mass of gamers playing and interacting with each other.
But, even if its premature to call it a success, a big round of applause for the folks behind Warhammer Online. Yesterday, EA posted its quarterly earnings numbers ending September 30th, announcing that 1.2 million copies of WAR were sold in the twelve days after the game's release date of September 18th (that number includes pre-orders, of course). Mysteriously, that only resulted in 800k active players according to the report, but I don't have much confidence in that number anyway since the real test is how many stick around after the trial period is over.
Believe it or not, World of Warcraft didn't sell this well back in its first week of operation back in November 2004, and I have the press release to prove it. WoW sold 350k copies in its first week, which was a record in its own right. Yes, the market was much smaller than it is now and, yes, each WoW expansion has sold or will sell in the millions on the first night. And, yes, in all honesty, WAR probably wouldn't have a decent chunk of its numbers if there had been no WoW.
But beating WoW sales on inital box sales, even on such loose terms, has got to feel good. It's a little bit of vindication against those who said the fantasy MMORPG market is saturated with WoW and free-to-play games.
So is Warhammer Online a success story? It's probably too soon to give an informed opinion, and first we have to talk about what makes an MMORPG successful. Some say its profitability, but profitability is an outcome, a measuring stick - profitability in itself isn't what makes a game successful. To me, if you create a fun game within your budget and market it well enough that you attract the critical mass necessary to make the game feel massively multiplayer, profit will follow.
What do you think makes an MMORPG successful nowadays? Do you have to beat WoW to be a true success in players' eyes, or is a strong base and monthly growth enough? Share your thoughts in the Loading... forum or, as always, feel free to email me with your thoughts.
Ten Ton Hammer Epic Thread of the Day
Sometimes they're funny; sometimes they're foolish; sometimes they're flaming;
sometimes they're cool. Whatever this one happens to be, it's
our Epic Thread of the Day.
====================
From our News Discussion Forum
Warcraft Movie Not Dead
Just for Halloween our latest epic thread brings up the prospect of something really
scary--a World of Warcraft movie. News Writer Morvelaira reports that
the WoW movie is not dead, it's just...sleeping. Or, rather, it hasn't
yet experienced the jolt that will bring it stumbling to life and into
our collective futures. According to Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime, the
script is being written, and Blizzard would still like to make the
movie.
Knowing that most (if not all) video game movies Blow
with a capital B, our forum community has had some fun considering the
possibilities, right down to suggesting which stars might fit into the
roles of certain WoW lore characters. Is Steve Buscemi the perfect undead warlock? Have your say in our news forum.
Awesome Quote from the Epic Thread:
"Kill it. Kill it with fire. Then kill it some more. Then shoot Uwe Boll, just to be on the safe side."
- Mikes
====================
Do you have a favorite Epic Thread? Let us know!
8 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 297 in October! 2797 in 2008!
New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today [Thanks Phil Comeau for links and Real World News]
Reviews
Previews
Comics
Community
Guides
- Warhammer Online: Witch Elf RvR Guide, Part 1
- Warhammer Online: Dwarf Tier 1 Leveling Guide
- World of Warcraft: Inscription Guide - 150-250
- Age of Conan: Dark Templar Feat Updates
- Age of Conan: Conqueror Feat Updates
Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to:
- Regnum Online: Attack of the Skinny Smurfs
- Hello Kitty Online: A First Look at the Founders Beta
- World of Warcraft: The Adventures of Goob and Begud - 'The Mistake'
- Age of Conan: Border Kingdom Cryer - Update 3 Comes to Hyboria
- Lineage II: Sex Sells! New Screenshots
- CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson on the Economy, FanFest 08
- City of Heroes: Designing the Issue 13 Missions - Power and Responsibility
- Age of Conan: Notoriety Combat and You
- Top 10 Free-to-Play Games
Real World News
-
Teen torches home to prove love
Whatever happened to carving your initials in a tree? -
Leave your ear wax alone, experts say
When questioned on this advice, experts replied, "WHAT?" -
Campus cop charged with stealing donuts
Confronted with his crime, the man's eyes glazed over with shock, face became pastry white
Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!
- Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer Team
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our World of Warcraft Game Page.
