Welcome
to the 1,274th
edition
of Loading...

Loading... is the premier daily
MMOG news, coverage, and
commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.

In an interesting new take on
expansion launches, EverQuest II: Sentinel’s Fate was
released this Tuesday, which is being billed as an early start for
retail customers as those players who purchase a digital copy
won’t be able to dive into the new content until the 23rd.
When combined with the efforts of publishing giant EA to promote new
game sales via a system that includes the one-time registration of a
unique code to unlock bonus content, it seems we’re on the
verge of seeing a potential shift back to a more retail friendly gaming
market. This and links to our newest exclusive content today in
Loading… Retail Strikes Back.

cellspacing="0" width="100%">

The Pulse

You vote with what you
view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result is the Ten Ton Pulse ( href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/thepulse/" target="_blank">What
is The Pulse?).

Here
are today's top 5 Pulse results:

1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow">World
   of Warcraft
2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto">Star Trek
   Online
   (Up
   3)
3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2">EverQuest II
   (Down 1)
4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/43">EVE
   Online
5. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo">Dungeons and
   Dragons Online (Down 2)
   

Biggest
movers in the last seven days:

1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2366">Stargate
   Resistance (Up 72 to #18)
2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/co">Champions Online
   (Up 6 to
   #8)
   
3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/52">Pirates
   of the Burning Sea (Up 21 to
   #19)
   

size="-1">Recent Releases

• size="-1">12/1
  - href="http://www.lotro.com/gameinfo/464-answer-the-call-of-war">LotRO:
  Siege of Mirkwood (expansion)
• size="-1">12/1
  - href="http://www.eveonline.com/Dominion/">EVE
  Online: Dominion (expansion)
• size="-1">12/15
  - href="http://everquest.station.sony.com/everquest.vm">EverQuest:
  Underfoot (expansion) 
• size="-1">1/26
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2389">Mass
  Effect 2
  (release date)
• size="-1">2/1
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/926">Global
  Agenda (release date)
• size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">2/1
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1004">Mortal
  Online (release date)
• size="-1">2/2 size="-1">
  - Star
  Trek Online (release date)
• size="-1">2/10
  - href="http://www.stargateresistance.com/">Stargate
  Resistance (release date)
• size="-1">2/16
  - href="http://everquest2.station.sony.com/expansions/sentinelsfate/index.vm">EverQuest
  2: Sentinel's Fate (expansion)
  
  
  

size="-1">Upcoming
Releases

• size="-1">March
  2010
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998">APB
• size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">Spring 2010
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1801">Mytheon
• size="-1">TBA
  2010
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2079">Final
  Fantasy XIV
  
  
• size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">Spring 2011
  - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor">Star Wars:
  The Old
  Republic
  
  

Loading... Daily

It
was a dark time for

PC gamers. Although the success of

most new
titles is commonly judged by box

copy sales at launch, the rising tide
of digital
distribution

services such as Steam and Impulse has driven
most retailers

to decrease the amount of shelf space dedicated to new
PC releases.

Evading
the dreaded potential
for physical copies of PC games
to become
a

thing
of the past, a small but growing list of publishers are in the
process of establishing

added value
for those players who opt to give
their optical drives something new to chew on.

The
latest publisher to join in
on EA’s attempt to promote
new boxed copy sales at retail, Sony Online Entertainment dispatched
thousands of physical copies of EverQuest
II:
Sentinel's Fate earlier this
week…

*Camera pans down to the
partially frozen surface of North America*

Much like the Imperial
probe droid that Han and Luke head out to investigate in the opening
scenes of The Empire Strikes
Back, used game sales and
rampant piracy
have forced many brick and mortar retailers into a partial retreat from
the sales of all but the most heavily promoted new releases. This has
forced the vast majority of independent publishers to turn to digital
distribution as their only viable means of getting their games into the
hands of eager fans. And on the console front, even dedicated gaming
retailers like GameStop have taken the sale of used games to such an
extreme that it’s become the driving force behind their
entire operation.

While perhaps not primarily
aimed at reestablishing a more solid presence at
brick and mortar retailers, I did find it interesting that the launch
of Sentinel's Fate
this Tuesday was being href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/81049">handled
as an early
start for players who purchased
physical copies of the expansion, with
digital download customers needing to wait until the 23rd before they
could begin exploring the new content.

Don't get me wrong,
I’m all for digital
distribution and even services like Steam, but I do think that adding
this type of extra incentive to purchase box copies of a new release
could be the shot in the arm that retail has been needing for years
now. Mind you I’ve been collecting MMOG boxes for so many
years now it would seem bizarre to me to give up the habit and besides,
without a physical copy what would I have to add to my MMOG graveyard
diorama should the servers shut down on any current games?

In a similar vein, the recently
released href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2389">Mass
Effect 2
is another title
on the slowly growing list that offers extra incentives to players who
purchase new copies of the game. By registering your copy of ME2 with
the Cerberus Network and linking it to your BioWare account, this
allows you to download new content for the game that the owners of used
or pirated copies of the game will miss out on. Sony has also adopted
this concept as a means of fighting rampant piracy on the PSP with at
least one upcoming release by locking multiplayer modes until you prove
ownership of a new copy via online registration.

How far these ideas will be
pushed in the future is hard to say at this
point, but should the concept prove to be successful I won’t
be too terribly surprised to see more MMOGs adopt this staggered
approach to retail vs. digital launch dates. Then again, I
wouldn’t want to be anywhere near a gaming forum to witness
the nerdrage backlash were BioWare
to announce that only owners of a physical copy of href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/swtor">Star
Wars: The Old
Republic
would be able to
receive free content updates post-launch.

Speaking of forums, be sure to
share your
thoughts on this new trend in
game sales right here in the Loading… forums!

---

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day



From our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=3">Tavern
of the Ten Ton Hammer forum



href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=49666">What
if MMOs never took off?



Darke,
known for his interesting and Epic-Thread-worthy topics, is at it
again. In today's thread, he asks, "What if the first
commercial
adventures [in] MMO's flopped and Meridian 59,
UO, and even EQ were considered a waste of money and no more MMO's were
made
thereafter? If that happened, then what would we be doing?"



What
would you be doing if there were no MMOGs? Would you be playing
single-player RPGs? Maybe still getting together around the kitchen
table for some Dungeons & Dragons? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=49666">Discuss!



==============================

Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread



"I would be talking to ya'll on
a porn forum instead."



- AngryBeaver

==============================



Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=32559">Tell
us!

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New and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer

6 new Ten Ton Hammer
features today! 83 in February! 198
in 2010!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS



2Moons: Hands On Impressions

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/81125">http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/81125



2Moons
is an action oriented fantasy free-to-play MMOG from Acclaim Games.
Mattlow gives us his hands on impressions and tells us whether the game
is worth playing.



FEATURES & GUIDES



Long-Term Goals In EVE Online

http://tentonhammer.com/node/81142



Every
player in EVE Online has goals. Sometimes those goals revolve around
practical matters, like getting access to the most lucrative missions
or asteroids. Other times, they're just a dream, like flying a
titan-class ship. Space Junkie outlines a number of possible objectives
for miners, mission-runners, and pirates.



EQ2 Scout Combat Art Lists

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/54741">http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/54741



If
you've picked up EQ2's coveted Sentinel's Fate expansion then you may
already be hard at work leveling to the new level cap of 90. Do you
want to know what combat arts you'll be upgrading? Our scout skill
lists have now been updated to include levels 81-90 plus we have
overhauled to make our lists more accurate and easier to read.



Runes of Magic: Player Housing
Overview

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/rom/guides/housing">http://www.tentonhammer.com/rom/guides/housing



Housing
is something that is often overlooked in MMOG's as something that only
the role players do. Something that is really not for the masses. Well,
once again Runes of Magic has shown us that if you take a concept and
do it right it can work really really well for everybody. Join ZeroMerc
for his house party!



Star Trek Online: Memory Alpha
Crafting Guide

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/features/crafting_guide">http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/features/crafting_guide



Star
Trek Online has been capturing the attention of space junkies around
the world, but has it enthralled the crafting crowd as well? Join
Dalmarus as he beams down to the surface of Memory Alpha and puts the
crafting system to the test in an attempt to find out.



World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Portal Launches

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/cataclysm">http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/cataclysm



Our
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm portal has now launched giving you one
location for everything we offer about Cataclysm. Deathwing now lurks
in the shadow of Azeroth and the entire game as we know is about to
change. Be prepared, bookmark
our Cataclysm portal and check back often
so you can stay ahead of the game.

Today's
Hottest Articles and Guides

1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80902">Love
   Connections: Developers' First
   Gaming Loves
2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/81065">Stargate
   Resistance PC Review href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/81065">
   
   
3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/81024">Defining
   the Lore of Guild Wars 2
   - A Q&A with
   ArenaNet's Jeff Grubb
4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/81085">Allods
   Online Archetype Interview
   Series Part 2 - The Healer href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80983"> style="font-weight: bold;">
5. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80983"> style="font-weight: bold;">Bioshock 2
   Review
6. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/globalagenda/editorials/whatclass"> style="font-weight: bold;">Global Agenda
   Questionnaire - Which
   Class is Right for You
7. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sto/features/crafting_guide">Star
   Trek Online
   - Memory Alpha Crafting Guide
8. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80976"> style="font-weight: bold;">EQ2 Battleground
   Preview
9. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80680">EVE
   Online href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80680">
   Sins of a Solar Spymaster #38: Self-Immolation for Fun and Profit
10. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/80808">Top
    10
    PvP MMOGs

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Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer
network!

- Reuben "Sardu" Waters
and the
Ten Ton Hammer team