Loading... Competing with the License

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Posted Wed, Feb 18, 2009 by Ethec

Welcome to the 1,018th Edition of Loading...

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The Pulse

You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is Pulse?).

Here's today's top 5 Pulse results:

Biggest Movers in the Top 20 today :

Ultima Online (UP 19 to #19)
Guild Wars (UP 3 to #11)
Tabula Rasa (down 3 to #14)

Loading... Daily

Loading... should need a license to make this much sense.

The most disturbing thing about the LEGO Universe delay announcement yesterday (a Ten Ton Hammer scoop, btw) was the degree to which LEGO Group views NetDevil's block-building MMORPG to be in competition with their physical product lines. When asked for reasons for the delay, LEGO Group's Mark Hansen responded as follows: "We have some products on the shelves that are doing very well and we don't want to take away from them... The other reason is that we want this product to be integrated into the company. This isn't just a one-off. This is a product that we hope supports the items on the shelves and supports what LEGO is today."

In my adult years I've purchased a few of the more expensive LEGO sets (the Eiffel Tower and a 1969 VW Beetle "Charlotte" - unlike Phil I didn't get into the Star Wars sets because I knew I wouldn't be able to stop once I started, and they're not cheap) and despite the price, not much beats the relaxed obsession and sentimental satisfaction of putting one of these sets together. Like many of you, I spend at least 10-12 hours a day on the computer and the occasional excuse to escape, be it a LEGO or a good book, is more than welcome.

And I would think that a properly done LEGO game would drive product sales and grow overall interest, not take away from retail. If I designed an awesome castle in-game, I could easily be convinced to spend a wad to get the custom assortment of parts to build it out of game, using my in-game model as a blueprint.

But, truth be told, oddball attitudes from licensees are nothing new. Unlike the typical licensed video game, an MMORPG with a licensed IP becomes a persistent form of entertainment for players. To use Chris Cao's word from the NYCC roundtable: it's a hobby. For the hardcore, it becomes a lifestyle choice, like driving a Scion or being on text-message terms with American Idol. Having a hobby necessarily takes time away from the other hobbies you could be enjoying, but truthfully it doesn't take all that long to put together even the most complex LEGO set in light of the sheer amount of gameplay time it takes to enjoy an MMO.

I credit LEGO Group and other licensees like LucasArts for understanding the deep impact an MMO will have on their brand, but I feel that these two in particular have shown signs of handcuffing their developers. Many a passionate player blames LucasArts rather than SOE for the numerous stumbles in Star Wars Galaxies, up to and including CU, and what message is LEGO group sending here - that they won't allow LEGO Universe to be published unless LEGO products are selling well?

At some point you have to trust the developer to ply their trade. An MMO has to be able to stand on its own two legs, and every decision should ultimately serve the quality of the game experience. Anything less is a disservice to fans of the game and also the IP. And we've seen more than a few mutually beneficial licensor / licensee arrangements in this industry. Both Turbine and Mythic Entertainment seem to have found themselves true partners in the Tolkien Estate and Games Workshop, and both the Tolkien books and Warhammer miniatures have gotten exposure to a new market segment, certainly, and probably renewed life and relevance among existing fans as well.

All this is leading up to good news / bad news report on Thursday night's Loading... Live. Bad news: we were to have BioWare on to talk combat in Star Wars: The Old Republic, but LucasArts put the kibosh on the dev chat for now. Good news: since we didn't have time for Star Trek Online audience questions at the New York Comic-Con panel, Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich has graciously offered to join us for tomorrow night's live podcast and take some questions as well.

Angry about the BioWare cancellation? Happy about the STO replacement? Have something to say about licensing? Have at it in the Loading... forum, or feel free to email me.

Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day

From our /OOC (Off Topic) Forum

Ten Ton Hammer on Wikipedia

Right now, if you head over to Wikipedia and search for "Ten Ton Hammer," you'll get a brief description and a YouTube link to the heavy metal song by Machine Head. Great song or not, it's not the Ten Ton Hammer we're looking for. You see, Ten Ton Hammer the MMOG network does not have a page on Wikipedia, despite the fact that some similar and lesser trafficked gaming networks do. This little bit of Ten Ton trivia is something near to my heart, because I painstakingly researched and created the original Wikipedia page for the Ten Ton Hammer network a couple years ago and, within 24 hours, it was removed by the wikipowers and deemed not "notable" enough.

At the time, Boomjack rallied Loading... readers who attempted to right the wrong by recreating the deleted entry. Their mission failed, and Ten Ton Hammer still lacks a Wikipedia page. But that travesty of wikijustice occurred in January, 2007, and now Mikes has reopened this can of wiggly worms with his disgruntled 2009 thread about Ten Ton Hammer's lack of wikipresence.

I've decided to throw down the gauntlet, challenging our community to create a Wikipedia page that finally sticks. Will one of our esteemed readers be the one to create a notable entry? If the Penis Game is worthy of an entry, surely Ten Ton Hammer is.

Share your thoughts, comments and ideas here.

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Awesome Quotes from the Epic Thread:

Great song or not, it's still sad that a flippin' song has a dedicated page on the site, yet TTH's page was pulled for not being relevant enough. Go figure. Was someone out there worried that people looking for the song page might come across info about a kick ass MMO network instead?

- Sardu
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Do you have a favorite Epic Thread? Let us know!

9 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 83 in February! 219 in 2009!

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today [Thanks Phil Comeau for links and Real World News]

Videos

NYCC '09 DCUO Panel Video with Jim Lee and top DC Writers and Devs

Interviews

LEGO Universe: Game Delayed, Star Wars Coming?

Previews

Seal Online

Features

Community

Geeked: "The Way Out"

Guides

Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to:

Real World News

Sagging pants trip suspect during getaway
Police say his entire family is shady, has bad genes.
Florida man arrested for killing girlfriend's cat, cutting off its legs
When interrogated, he claimed he couldn't dismember the event in question
Man refuses to cut 10-inch ear hair
Wife would nag constantly for him to do so, but he wouldn't 'ear it. She says she lobes him anyways.