Loading... SOE Builds a Dyke

Welcome to the 845th Edition of Loading...

If you aren't reading this in your e-mail, you could be. Sign up. Are you looking for gaming news? Look no further for all of the headlines. General industry news, right down to game specific and forum thread feeds are all yours as part of Ten Ton Hammer's news syndication program. Enjoy!

Daily Column

Loading... Your news. Your way.

First, the Ten Ton Pulse, your finger on the beating heart of the MMOG industry.

If the Top 10 isn't enough, we now show the Top 20 and Top 50 lists as well, available to everyone on our homepage. (What is Pulse?)

Age of Conan - 200 BPM
World of Warcraft - 101 BPM
EverQuest 2 - 42 BPM
Lord of the Rings Online - 39 BPM
Warhammer Online - 26 BPM
Guild Wars - 21 BPM
Lineage 2 - 21 BPM
EVE Online - 21 BPM
Vanguard - 20 BPM
Dungeons and Dragons Online - 15 BPM

First up, a quick reminder that our Age of Conan ZBoard Contest is still on,

"Users have submitted over 7800 entries in the Ten Ton Hammer Age of Conan Zboard contest over the last week. Only one week remains in the contest. Get your entry in immediately for your chance to win some of the following fabulous prizes:

Age of Conan Collector's Edition (sold out in stores and selling on auction sites for $150)
Age of Conan retail box ($50 value)
Ideazon Zboard, the Ultimate Gaming Keyboard (a $50 value)
The Limited Edition Age of Conan Keyset, customized with over 70 game specific commands labeled to keep you focused, (a $20 value)
An Exclusive in-game item that boosts all non-physical damage, the Enruned Kosalan Ring (can't be obtained any other way!)

Get the full details at www.tentonhammer.com/AoCZboard" - Thanks Danny!

If you play AoC, or even if you don't, this PvP video is worth watching. [Warning! Sound, Benny Hill references]

One aspect of Ten Ton Hammer that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves is our Guide system. We have hundreds of guides, written for just about every AAA title on the market. Karen sent me a list of guides that were either created new or updated last week. Every Monday I'll update you with what Karen calls, "Guiding You To The Next Level..."

Guiding You to the Next Level...

Let there be no doubt; our community site teams work hard
to
put out quality guides to help you get the most of your gaming
experience. And now we've got your weekly guide to the guides. Here's a
recap of the information and updates published on our community sites
last week.

Age of Conan

Lord of the Rings Online

Tabula Rasa

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

Warhammer Online

World of Warcraft

Last week I briefly mentioned the SoE Living Legacy program for EverQuest and EverQuest II players, or rather, former players. I won't go into the numerous perks that returning players receive, but apparently this gesture of goodwill (or marketing genius as it coincides with AoC launch) has peeved off many current SoE subscribers. You see, they don't get the perks. If you haven't been paying SoE a monthly stipend you get rewards. If you have been paying them, you get nothing.

I understand that current subscribers feel slighted, but do they react this same way when their cell phone or cable company makes an offer to new subscribers and not them? Of course they don't! They don't go running to message forums, tears in their virtual eyes, blathering about how hard done by they are. MMO players are boisterous, well, some of them are, and they appear to believe that they speak for us all. It's an outrage I say! Uh Oh, there I go...

Rather than complaining, EQ and EQ II players should be overjoyed that the new regime at SOE (All your MMO belongs to PlayStation) is actually trying to keep the games afloat ahead of the tsunami that will come when Wrath of the Lich King and Warhammer Online release (purportedly Q4 this year). A wise man (Medeor) once wrote, "When the tide comes in, all ships rise." This has been true in the long run for the MMOG industry. That said, we are probably going to see major titles seriously maimed when the two Q4 juggernauts launch. Already there are battles over advertising space going on behind the scenes. EA and Vivendi aren't going to pull any punches. This is a heavyweight fight the likes of which our industry has never seen. It's a war of dollars, marketing savvy and public relations muscle. Right now, Vivendi is winning. The enormous advertising inventories of the major gaming sites are being gobbled up and for the first time ever, there isn't enough room in the inn for everyone who wants a bed.

Another title with clout, that in any other year would be the belle of the ball is Stargate Worlds. I don't expect Cheyenne/FireSky to sit back and watch Vivendi and EA run over them. CCP, the EVE Online developers won't watch idly either. In a way, I know how these studios feel. I had to extricate an enormous snapping turtle from my pool this morning. I tried to poke it from a distance, but it wasn't going to budge and it was far too large to fit inside a pool skimmer. In the end I had to get up close and personal, which is exactly what Vivendi, EA-Mythic, CCP and Cheyenne need to do. Sure, you might get bit, but the alternative is worse, you swim with a snapping turtle.

It's shaping up into a very interesting battle for the hearts and wallets of you, the MMOG player. You should feel very honored. Don't be upset that SOE didn't give you a free cape, or a ring that spouts flames. Revel in the fact that they are trying to build dykes to keep out, or is it in, the rising tide.

That's it for today! The Loading Forums await you. Do you feel the need to contact me personally with naughty pictures or derogatory comments? Here's my E-mail.

--
[A big thanks to Phil Comeau for putting together the links, headlines and taglines today. ]

18 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 88 in June! 1384 in 2008!

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

Images/Video

Interviews

Previews

D&D 4th Edition: Behind the Scenes, Part 2

Reviews

Forums

Age of Conan: Border Kingdom Cryer

Community

Op/Eds

World of Warcraft: Is Season 4 Too Late?

Contests

Guides

Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to

Real World News

Catholic teens feel same guilt as other teens

It's almost as if religion has nothing to do with it
and people are just... people
Second 'thong bandit' captured

What a relief, now I can sleep soundly tonight
Parents win right to name son 'Lego'

Brother Reebok and sister Hewlett-Packard
reportedly pleased

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com. Thanks to Phil Comeau for doing the heavy lifting with the links.

- John "Boomjack" Hoskin and the Ten Ton Hammer Team

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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