Welcome to the 1,217th edition of Loading...

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

Welcome back from your early morning shopping extravaganza, or if your idea of a well spent Black Friday morning involves sleeping off the turkey, join the club. Black Friday offers PC and MMO gamers comparatively little, and we have a theory why. For that plus some great new article links to keep you entertained and enlightened while your friends and significant others are shopping it up, check out this Loading... Black Friday.

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. target="_blank">World of Warcraft
  2. Age
    of Conan
  3. EverQuest 2
  4. Dungeons and
    Dragons Online
  5. Warhammer Online

Biggest movers today:

  1. Star Wars: The Old Republic (UP 8 to #11)
  2. EverQuest (UP 6 to #19)
  3. Star
    Trek Online
    (down 5 to #14)
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If you haven't camped out in a frigid Stuff*Mart parking lot through the small hours, still feeling the enduring effects of too much turkey, cranberry sauce, and awkward conversations with relatives you're happy to see once a year... if you haven't barreled through the door like a madman in search of that insanely priced DS Lite, portable DVD player, rice cooker, or Xbox Bundle, then maybe you haven't lived. But if that's the case, I haven't either. My idea of shopping nirvana on Black Friday morning is waking up at a sensible time, putting on a pot of coffee, and browsing NewEgg and maybe Amazon between involuntary mouth noises and self-scratchings for about 10 minutes before moving on to email.

In an IM conversation, Xerin, one of our talented WoW writers here at Ten Ton Hammer, conveyed his surprise that more free-to-play MMOs don't get in on the Black Friday fervor. In fairly unenthusiastic googling, I found a few. Perfect World, Luna Online, and the Nexon games (Mabinogi, MapleStory, Combat Arms, et al.) are offering some kind of impulse buying bliss, so if you're into one of those games, go get some. After seeing the unending lineup of folks on the George Washington Bridge on their way to an idyllic New England Thanksgiving yesterday, I wasn't surprised that Boston-based Turbine didn't get in on the act with DDO Unlimited.

Nor does it surprise me that PC games, especially MMOs, haven't tried to leverage Black Friday more, especially given the cats and dogs relationship of PC game publishers with most retail chains. Retailers might bundle enough tchotchkes with a next gen console to sway a parent who hopes that those freebie games will satisfy little Johnny for a week or two (good luck with that), but such gimmicks won't work with PC gamers. PC gamers are a more streetwise bunc. We typically know more about the developer and the MMO we're considering purchasing better than the major investors do. While they're investing millions, we're considering investing something worth perhaps infinitely more: our time, and lots of it. Because of that, we tend to look even a gift as innocent as a free trial in the mouth.

So, what's my opinion as to why there is such a conspicuous absence of PC gamer bait in the Black Friday bonanza? It's my honest contention that, with perhaps the exception of consumers interested in large-ticket items, retail doesn't like thinkers, retail likes buyers. Because PC gamers are thinkers, do PC games (and especially MMOs) have a future in the primarily impulse-driven retail channel? Your Black Friday stories, deals, and thoughts welcome in the Loading... forums, and have a great holiday weekend!


Shayalyn's Epic Thread of
the Day

From our /OOC (Off Topic) forum

Favorite Christmas song?

I
guess it's official--the holiday season is upon us. I think I get a
little Scroogier every year, likely because some of our local radio
stations start playing holiday music non-stop from November 1st on.
But, even so, I have a favorite Christmas song or two. And so do the
Ten Ton Hammer members in this thread, who've linked up some comical
YouTube videos to prove it. With one notable exception, that is. Beware
Atnas Khalus! (You'll just have to visit the thread to find out more.)

==============================
Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread

"Khalus and Mr Scrooge... separated at birth?"

- kitsunegirl
==============================

Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? Tell
us
!


7 new Ten Ton Hammer MMOG
features today! 105 in November! 3,079
in
2009!



New Exclusives and Guides Today at Ten Ton
Hammer

  • Thanksgiving Leftovers- Gamer Style
    As with many holidays, we tend to lose sight of the true meaning of Thanksgiving: a time to come together with friends and family to reflect on and celebrate all of life’s blessings and to give thanks for whatever good fortune we have. As gamers it is easy to fall into a trap of negativity and disillusion, but the past year and the promise of things to come in 2010 should give even the most jaded of gamers reason to celebrate. Join Medawky this week as he takes a look at his top 5 reasons to be thankful, gamer style.
  • Dragonica Online Impressions: Side Scrolling Madness
    Side scrolling MMOGs aren't anything new in North America, but they're also not considered mainstream either. There have been others in the past such as Maple Story, but THQ*ICE is the first to release a 3D side scroller with Dragonica Online. It may have the look of a child's game but in actuality its depth goes farther than most gamers would suspect. Is this enough to save it from being relegated to the back of the short bus in today's F2P market? Join Eric "Dalmarus" Campbell as he hops in to unleash the beast.
  • Champions Online : Crisis on Monster Island Guide
    An island full of dangerous creatures such as half man/ half animal mutants, genetically engineered dinosaurs, and mechanical alien beasts, Monster Island is one of the most interesting zones in Champions Online. To fully explore this tropical land of mystery, you must first go through the event known as Crisis on Monster Island! Fortunately for you, your pals at Ten Ton Hammer are here to provide an overview of this event.
  • World of Warcraft: Argent Tournament Guide
    The Argent Tournament was formed in front of Icecrown Citadel to train and select the warriors for the upcoming battle in World of Warcraft. It's also a place to do daily quests, gain reputation/achievements, and much more. We now have a complete guide to the tournament that's short, sweet, and gives you all you need to know to get Crusader in no time and start buying heirlooms and special tabard in our latest guide at WoW - Ten Ton Hammer!
  • Aion Spell List: Sorcerer Levels 26-50
    After level 10 the skills start getting interesting. At level fifty there are spells that should be named "I just kicked you in the junk so hard your ancestors felt it." Tune in for today's roll out of the mid to end game skills for your neighborhood Sorcerer, aka "Glass cannon, locked and loaded!"

More Features

  • Star Trek Online: Future Past Part 2 Video
    The story leading up to the beginning of Star Trek Online is filled with conflict and catching up on all the lore can take a lot of reading. However, this week Cryptic sent us the second video in their Future Past series, detailing events that lead up to the setting of Star Trek Online such as the Klingon war with the Gorn and the growing tensions with the Federation. The plot thickens with the return of Species 8472 as they try to infitrate the Klingon and Gorn empires.
  • New Nightwing Screenshots from DC Universe Online
    DC Universe Online's roster has been expanded a bit further with the unveiling of new screenshots of Nightwing. Dick Grayson, formerly known as Robin, the sidekick to Batman, is Nightwing, a member of the Teen Titans, able combatant, and new member of the DC Universe Online Lineup.

Today's Hottest Content

  1. Dragonica Online Impressions: Side Scrolling Madness
  2. Thanksgiving Leftovers- Gamer Styl
  3. Odus Comes to EverQuest
    2
    - A Sentinel's Fate Expansion Q&A with Alan Crosby
  4. Interfacing with
    Star Trek Online - A UI Discussion with Cryptic
    Studios
  5. Left 4
    Dead 2
    PC Review
  6. style="font-weight: bold;">Torchlight (PC) Review
  7. style="font-weight: bold;">Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood
    Beta Impressions
  8. EVE
    Online

    Sins of the Solar Spymaster #32 - The Most Dangerous Agent
  9. Down to Earth or
    Another Planet - a Star Trek Online Ground Combat
    Q&A with Dan Stahl
  10. style="font-weight: bold;">Global Agenda Medic Class Q&A
    with Exec. Producer Todd Harris

Thanks as always for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer
network!

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




Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Jeff joined the Ten Ton Hammer team in 2004 covering EverQuest II, and he's had his hands on just about every PC online and multiplayer game he could since.

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