EVE Online at Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMOG Gamers to the Next Level!

Welcome to the 1,032nd Edition of Loading...

Loading... is the premier MMORPG news and commentary daily newsletter from Ten Ton Hammer. Play World of Warcraft? Jay "Medeor" Johnson's weekly WoW newsletter "The Overpull" keeps you entertained and informed on all the latest developments in WoW. Sign up!

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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 for today:

1. World of Warcraft
2. Warhammer Online
3. EVE Online (UP 4)
4. EverQuest 2 (down 1)
5. Lord of the Rings Online (UP 1)

Biggest Movers in the Top 20 today :

1. NeoSteam (UP 17 to #12)
2. Dungeon Runners (UP 17 to #14)
3. Mabinogi (UP 13 to #11)

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Loading... Daily

Loading... more full frontal then Dr Manhattan, and much less blue. (Thanks Joe!)

Today is the big day for EVE Online as Apocrypha, EVE's tenth expansion and biggest yet, hits the servers. And I do mean biggest: I'm currently downloading 2.1 gigs (the EVE client with basic graphics was only 1.5 gigs to start, and even 4 gigs is incredibly lean for a modern MMO). Some of that hugeness is likely the premium graphics update for the Mac, another nicety, but there's no doubt that a whole new line of tech 3 modular ships (with something like 3,500 possible combinations) and a whole new side of the game with wormhole space and Sleepers means that you'll be needing some fresh new assets.

I laid into the Apocrypha marketing efforts pretty hardcore in yesterday's Loading, and CCP Chief Marketing Officer Ryan Scott Dancey wrote me yesterday afternoon. When I saw the name and subject line, I'll admit that I shuddered - either this was going to be a Blizzard-esque "we would appreciate it if you wouldn't comment on an unreleased product or patch", an outright cease-and-desist, or some pure PR spin. What I got instead was a very common-sense explanation of how things went down, with some excellent insight into how retail works. To clear the air (and with his permission), I've reposted the email below:

I share your frustration about the challenges of marketing the box in retail. As good a partner as Atari is, they are swimming upstream with regard to the retail launch of EVE. As you noted, the game is nearly 6 years old and while we all know that means 6 years of post-launch development and continuous growth and improvements, the “industry” still focuses on how new something is, not how good it is.

The retailers are having a hard time wrapping their brains around the idea that a six-year old MMO is going to be an item they can effectively sell. And it doesn’t help matters that we decided due to the timing issues related to the expansion to put the box in stores in March after concluding a distribution agreement with Atari in November – which meant Atari had to have some challenging conversations with buyers who had already closed their spring merchandising planograms.

On the whole, we are confident that the EVE retail box will serve its larger purpose – to expose people to EVE who don’t know an EVE player, don’t click banner ads or who think that a digital-download-only product is a discount or low quality offering. Right now, EVE is the only successful space opera MMO and it will have a unique niche on store shelves. If you are a fan of the genre, and you don’t know EVE exists (or don’t know that it’s any good), just seeing the box when you’re browsing the shelves has a chance to capture your interest and get you into the game.

Unlike a first-release blockbuster, EVE isn’t out to get a big spike in first day sales. What we want is the long tail – the steady influx of new retail customers week after week, month after month. I’m not surprised that the big box retailers aren’t featuring the game in their promotions, but I am happy they’ve decided to give EVE the shelf space it needs to prove its long term value – because I’m confident that it will. Once we get that initial space on shelves, I’m 100% confident that we’ll keep it forever because EVE is that rarity of rarities in computer gaming: an evergreen product.

I'd like to see EVE get a ton of first day sales too, but it makes perfect sense that the rapid publication of the box version plus a feature-packed expansion to give it some new life allowed little time to turn the gears of the retail machinery. Strange to say that this is one expansion that I wouldn't have minded seeing a delay on (if only to get the full marketing effect) but I have a feeling that CCP has something up their sleeve now that their major summer 2009 expansion is in patch mode three or four months ahead of schedule.

Do the CMO's comments resonate with you? What might CCP have up its sleeve for development in 2009 - walking in stations, World of Darkness, or something else? Speculate away in the Loading... forum or, as always, feel free to email me.

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Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day

From our /OOC (Off Topic) Forum

Watchmen movie getting some pretty terrible reviews...

For a while I've been hearing people talking about Watchmen, the movie. I'm not a Watchmen fan for no other reason than I haven't read the graphic novels and I really know nothing about the phenomenon. But I do know that lots of people are fans, and that quite a few of them seem disappointed by early reviews that say the movie is all hype and no substance.

Now, I've seen some terrible reviews from critics only to find that the fan reviews I check out online are much more accurate. Critics don't know everything, they only think they do. Sardu's interpretation of The New Yorker's less-than-complimentary critique brings that point home:


So, if you haven't seen the movie, tell us how seriously (or not) you take professional reviews. Or if you have seen the movie, give us your own review (but don't forget to post a great big "SPOILER ALERT!" if you spill any secret sauce). You'll find the thread here.

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Awesome Quote from the Epic Thread:

"Just got back from seeing the film in IMAX and have nothing but praise. It is definitely not your Saturday morning cartoon super hero movie, but judging by the number of parents taking their 8-12 year olds to see an R rated film, I suspect that some parents were expecting something like Spiderman.

Hello childhood therapy sessions."

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

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4 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 164 in February! 300 in 2009!

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

Interviews/Previews

• Mabinogi: Pioneers of Iria Expansion Interview
• EverQuest 2: Exclusive EQ2 Game Update Tour

Features

• Lord of the Rings Online: A Journey to Mount Doom (Part 1)

Community

• Bounty Bay Online Starter Pack Giveaway

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

1. Mabinogi: Pioneers of Iria Expansion Interview
2. EverQuest 2: Exclusive EQ2 Game Update Tour
3. Lord of the Rings Online: A Journey to Mount Doom (Part 1)
4. Bounty Bay Online Starter Pack Giveaway
5. Lord of the Rings Online: Lothlorien with Aaron Campbell
6. EVE Online: Sins of a Solar Spymaster -Wars Are Lost By The Loser
7. Top 10 Free-to-Play: How Flaccid Launches Hurt F2P Performance
8. geeked: "Rorschach's Psyche"
9. In The Trenches: 5 Reasons Open PvP Communities are Growing
10. Live Expansions: Future of the MMOG?

Real World News

• Wheelchair-bound man sues MI5 after application for spy job rejected
  Man says that lack of wheelchair spies will cripple the nation's intelligence capability.
• Coffee taster's tongue insured for $14M
  Yes, it's a latte cash, but can any dollar amount truly espresso the value of his ability?
• Man shot and killed after urinating on fish market
  Wife says he was feeling relieved prior to being shot, doesn't understand why the shop owner is so pissed off.
  

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Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network! Have a great weekend!

-Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer team