Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

NCsoft has announced that pre-orders are just shy of 400k making Aion the biggest MMOG success of the year.  While I would never dismiss those kinds of numbers, I'm very curious why the player support has dipped so greatly from the launches of last year? Age of Conan hit over 700k pre-orders and Warhammer Online snagged over a million pushing the fan hype machine in ways we haven't seen since World of Warcraft.

Like many other gamers, I'm tired of pre-launch hype.  I don't want to see half-baked releases of games that look shiny from a distance then show their blemishes up close.  I don't want to hear about all the great features of the first twenty levels only to find out that the end-game is completely naked of content. I believe this season's pre-order numbers reflect this same frustration of gamers.  Gamers are demanding more and they want proof that their hard earned dollars aren't being wasted.  Good for us!  More demand for quality will eventually pay in better games.

The good news for Aion fans is that this game has been tested over seas for nearly a year.  Korea and China seem to be sticking by it and NCsoft has already stepped it up with a level cap raise and a whole lot of new content.

What will the future hold for Aion?  Will it suffer the same fate as some of the games that came before it?  Be sure to stop in on our forums to weigh in on the discussion on the game's pre-launch success and let us know what you think!

In other interesting news, NCsoft has decided to declare an official Oceanic server for launch.  This is great for our friends "down under" who keep a vastly different schedule than we do in North America.  Game time will be altered in keeping with Oceanic times and this will allow for more reasonable access to the instances.

Unfortunately it doesn't mean the server will be localized so while Nezekan will eventually be labeled "Oceanic", it will still be tucked away here in the US.  Hopefully the east coast location won't have too big of an impact on game performance, but if it does, be sure to speak up!  So far, NCsoft has been great about listening to the community so if you yell loud enough, they might just listen.

-Savanja, Aion Site Lead

Welcome to the first ever Ten Ton Hammer weekly Aion newsletter!  We hope this becomes a browsing staple for players to keep you connected to the Aion community and Ten Ton Hammer.  If you have any suggestions as we get our feet wet, please feel free to drop me a note!

Ten Ton Hammer Features:

• Altgard Zone Guide - Making finding your way through the Asmodae lands easier.
• Asmodian Female Emotes Video - Ooh La La!  Check out what these sexy ladies can do!
• New Player Resource - Don't get in game without it.
• 10 Reasons Why Aion is Your Next Game - Still not sold? Our newest writer tells you why you want it!

News From Around the Community:

• NCsoft Declares Oceanic Server - Nezekan will have adjusted time for Oceanic player schedules.
• Vote for a Roleplaying Server - If you're an RPer, get your say in now!
• GameGaurd Proves Unfriendly for Some - Find out why disabled gamers a re crying foul.
• NCsoft Claims Biggest Game of the Year - 400,000 fans can't be wrong, can they?

Tip of the Week - Not sure what pre-selection is?  Starting September 18th and ending September 20th, pre-order customers will be able to log onto game servers to create 2 characters (max) and choose their servers.  This allows players to make server arrangements with friends and secure character names ahead of Early Start.

They Must be Roleplayers...

Creative names in game are one thing, but sometimes they go a bit too far...

Character named after male genitals.  I can't even share it here it and I felt dirty gathering while he was standing next to me.

Have you seen a great in game name?  Share it with us!