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Daily Column

15 new MMOG articles today! 114 so far in November!

Both the original EverQuest and its brother EverQuest 2 release new expansions today. EverQuest: Secrets of Faydwer and EverQuest 2: Rise of Kunark should be on store shelves near you by the time you read this. Both titles are coming out with box-sets that include every expansion and adventure pack to date. One purchase gets you everything. I will be reintroducing myself to both games over the next 60 days. We already have an EQ2: Rise of Kunark Preview and an EQ: Secrets of Faydwer Preview posted if you are considering purchasing either of those titles and want a even-keeled description.

If the previews are the cake the following is the icing; EverQuest 2: Epic Weapon Quest Q&A with Scott Hartsman and EverQuest: Secrets of Faydwer Picture Tour .

If that wasn't enough new MMOG content for you, the World of Warcraft 2.3 patch goes live today. You can read the patch notes here.

But wait, there's more!

The second Age of Conan class interview covering the Guardian is online.

And more...

Starr Long tells us the scheduled release date of the first Tabula Rasa expansion.

And more...

Are ye a pirate? Pirates of the Burning Sea: Pre-Launch Interview With John Scott Tynes might turn some of you ninja and robot-lovers into scurvy dogs.

Just when you thought there couldn't be more MMOG news in one day... Cryptic happily answered my questions about the City of Heroes Sale. Thank you to Michael Lewis, CEO of Cryptic Studios for spending time answering my crazy questions.

Boomjack: It was almost exactly three years ago that Marvel sued both Cryptic and NCsoft over trademark violation. Was the sale accelerated by any perceived conflict of interest between the superhero universe of Marvel and the "City of" franchise?

Michael Lewis: No, the decision to sell the City of Heroes franchise was purely a business issue that Cryptic made for the good of the studio and for the franchise. Having one company involved in all aspects of the game cuts down on the many decision makers and ultimately makes for a better gameplay experience. When considering whether or not to sell the franchise we had many options available to us, and we decided that selling CoH to NCsoft was the best next step in positioning ourselves to drive Cryptic’s other soon-to-be announced titles.

Boomjack: It must be a great relief to know that the "City of" team members all keep their jobs. It seems like a common element that both sides
(Cryptic and NCsoft) would desire. Is there concern that a team built and trained by Cryptic will now be the competition?

Michael Lewis: We are both happy and sad about the the CoH team moving to NCsoft. On the one hand, the City of Heroes team has some of the longest standing employees of Cryptic, and we’ll miss having them as part of our family. (Get out ya moochers!) On the other hand, we’re happy that City of Heroes will be able to keep on moving without a hitch- after all, when Cryptic was founded it was for the sole purpose of making this game! Certainly we think the CoH team is one of the best in the business, and with NCsoft’s resources fully behind them, I expect to see great things in the future.

Boomjack: Where do you go from here? How much of the total Cryptic talent pool has been lost with the sale?

Michael Lewis: The CoH team represented less than 15% of our total Cryptic development staff… so we’ve still got a healthy (and growing) team! As for our future projects, I’m not ready to announce anything specific yet but know that the entire team is really excited about the upcoming Cryptic roadmap and we think everyone will be excited to see what we’re developing. Stay tuned!

Boomjack: Is there any concern that your former customers will feel"abandoned," harming potential sales of Marvel Universe Online?

Michael Lewis: We think Cryptic has a pretty good reputation with both the City of Heroes and City of Villains communities. In many ways both games are like children going off to college – we created them and raised them, but now even though they are not our responsibility anymore we still want what is best for them in the future. We worked cooperatively with NCsoft to create a smooth transition for all CoH/CoV users, and the fact that we worked closely with them to keep the entire CoH development team intact and with the project attests to our desire to provide our players with the best possible experience.

I find it interesting, though not surprising that Cryptic has more irons in the fire than just Marvel Universe. If the CoH team made up just 15% of their total team then how many titles are they currently working on?

So, what are you most excited about? The Everquest and Everquest 2 expansions? The WoW patch? Tabula Rasa? Speak up and be heard! If the Loading... forums don't pick up the pace I may be out of a job and living in your basement.

Comments, questions or naughty pictures? Hit the forum or hit my mailbox. --Boomjack

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

Hot Content - What our readers viewed the most yesterday! Did you miss anything?

  1. Age of Conan: Class Interview #2 - The Guardian
  2. Tabula Rasa: Jump Page
  3. Age of Conan: Guardian Screenshot
  4. Tabula Rasa: Guides Page
  5. Age of Conan: Preparing for Decapitation Screenshot
  6. Age of Conan: Guardian Details Screenshot
  7. Age of Conan: Class Interview #1 - The Dark Templar
  8. Tabula Rasa: Concordia Divide Guide
  9. Tabula Rasa: Guide To Palisades
  10. World of Warcraft: Zul'Aman Guide

Top Comics

  1. Dev Jokers
  2. Borat Plays WoW
  3. My Little Pwny
  4. Recover Lost Time
  5. Guild Bank

Real World News

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com- John "Boomjack" Hoskin and the Ten Ton Hammer Team

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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Dissecting and distilling the game industry since 1994. Lover of family time, youth hockey, eSports, and the game industry in general.

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