IGE Bigwig Joins SOE

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11 more wins until the Stanley Cup Parade in Sabreland.

I've mentioned this before to lukewarm response, but I believe that it is time to change the format of this blog and it's accompanying mailing list. There is far too much "Bling" in the layout of the mailing list for my liking. It was a fantastic way to start 567 editions ago, but is time we went back to a simpler, easier to follow format.

The real question isn't whether we should remove the bling, but should we alter or adjust what I am writing each day? I'm not alluding to the numerous spelling and grammatical errors. I'm referring to the actual content. What is most important to you? Does the Real World News or Vin Diesel Fact detract from the MMOG content? Is the opposite true? Should I perhaps just give up and write comics for a living?

I would love your feedback. What brings the 500,000+ of you back each month to this blog and newsletter? Comment in the blog, or fire me an e-mail and let me know how important each of these areas is to you.

MMOG Headlines Hot Content Real World News - You Can't Make This Up Vin Diesel Fact Today's Exclusive TenTonHammer.com Content My daily article on the industry

Perhaps the content is just peachy, or perhaps it should be split into separate articles, or perhaps some of it should just be put on the shelf, retired and thanked for a job well done. Whatever the case, I truly appreciate that you read this every day and I value your feedback. Send it in!

I'm not sure how I missed this announcement, but apparently you all missed it as well. Sony Online Entertainment sends out an abundance of press releases. I do read them all, eventually, which is why I noticed something peculiar about a release that went out on April 11th.

The title was unnecessarily lengthy and may be the reason that I abandoned reading it the first time. It went something like this, "SOE Taps Industry Veteran To Further Strengthen San Diego Company's International Presence in Online Gaming"

They had me at "SOE Taps", which is also where I terminated my reading the first time. My short, let's call it economical attention span was the reason that I missed this gem folded so deftly into the bowels of the release in the first place.

"Prior to joining SOE, Christensen served as Vice President of Business Development for IGE where he drove the company's relationships with the massively multiplayer publishing community."

IGE is of course the company that has endeavored to single-handedly undermine every MMOG on the market through the sale of virtual currency, items and accounts. They have delivered the one-finger salute to every developer and publisher while smiling one of those disturbing smiles that don't show any teeth.

Is it stranger that SOE would side themselves with the former Vice President of Business Development for IGE or that they would announce it to the world that "...he drove the company's relationships with the massively multiplayer publishing community"?

He drove those relationships to a point where they can never be recovered. Publishers, developers a show of hands please...how many of you are as excited about IGE as SOE seems to be? Can you have a relationship if you won't interract with the other party?

I see many of my tinfoil hat wearing readers also pointing out that SOE's new gold farming expert was introduced by the Chief Financial Officer. Gold farming and finances go together like Rosie and verbal diarrhea. You can't find one without the other. (Rosie is leaving The View. Hoorah) Is SOE going to take Station Exchange to the next level?

You can read the full release here.

I received a letter, presumably sent to most of the free world from Mark Jacobs of EA/Mythic with the following bad news:

"We have made the decision to move our ship date for the US and Europe to the first quarter of 2008. (Release dates for Asia will be announced at a later date.) Since our acquisition by EA, we have been afforded many wonderful development opportunities and we plan to take full advantage of everything that is available. This includes taking several additional months to make the best MMORPG possible."

There you have it. I bet the folks are Blizzard are wiping their collective brows today. This will be posted in the WoW forums in 3...2...1... I hope Warhammer Online does incredibly well. I don't believe for a second that it will have 8 million subscribers. Truthfully, it doesn't need that many to be a gigantic success.

I'll end this little ditty today with a public service announcement. If you sign up to receive this column via e-mail then tell your spam blocking, needs confirmation from a human being, firewalling software to accept mail from mmog[at]tentonhammer.com. Unfortunately, I don't have time to click on your "prove you're a human being" links 3,000 times a day. I've been told that I'm not a human being anyway, so I'm not sure it would work. If you use Earthlink, Zone Alarm or /shudder Norton then you are well on your way to the sixth circle of Hell. I'm pretty sure that's where heretics are sent to spend eternity in flaming tombs. I believe the tombs were fine until Norton Internet Security was installed.

If you are playing Lord of the Rings Online please let me know what you think of it. If you are a Turbine employee or bigshot (You know who you are, I see your "out of office" messages in the Loading... mailout logs) please point me to the super-secret section of the game where the TTH logo has been placed. I haven't found it yet, but I know it must be in there somewhere.

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Today's Exclusive TenTonHammer.com Content!

04.26.2007

Blog: The Rumour Mill
"MMOs are like small towns; gossip spreads like wildfires. In his blog, Micajah points out some past examples of MMO rumors and urges players not to participate in the rumor mongering." Dungeons and Dragons Online: The Shrieking Mines
"The Shrieking Mines is a legendary pit of evil and cruelty where the captured wild men of the restless isles toil endlessly for their ogre magi and mind flayer masters. For a part of the Sigil of Dal Quor, defeat these fiends and release the Wild Men from their toil. Blackwater shows you the method to accomplishing this goal with his guide to The Shrieking Mines!" Everquest 2: Simple Scouting - Swashbuckers And Brigands
"RadarX continues Ten Ton Hammer's EverQuest 2 guide to Scouting with a break down on the role of Swashbucklers and Brigands. How should you solo them and how do they work in a group? How can you save the healers bacon? All these questions and more are answered inside." Everquest 2: Cazic Thule Miracles Guide
"Cazic Thule is ALL about fear, pain, and terror. Sound like fun to you? Then you are just the sort of vile evil that Cazic Thule is looking for to join his ranks! You will have to earn his respect first of course, but once that is done, you will be rewarded. Check out this guide to find out what benefits come with aligning yourself with this terrible God of fright." Everquest 2: Dancing Teenage Zombie a Go-Go
"LU 34 is here forcing Coyote and RadarX sit down and look through the Test Notes in classic Mystery Science" MU Online: Battle Soccer League Screenshots
"K2 Networks, the same group that is bringing you Sword of the New World: Granado Espada in a few months, has announced that a Battle Soccer League in MU Online will commence on May 1st, 2007. Teams can register by going to the official site later this week. To whet your whistle, the Ten Ton Hammer team has included several screenshots inside this announcement." Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Guide To Kalendra's Coven
"Ten Ton Hammer community member SomeGuy and his group have made their way around the Kalendra's Coven dungeon a few times. Now he shares his expertise to help you discover this Vanguard: Saga of Heroes dungeon and the perils and riches that lie within." Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - The Truth About One Rumour
"Ralsu enjoys a juicy bit of gossip because he loves to play the "what if" game. So when, Ralsu heard the rumor that SOE might be buying out Vanguard, he couldn't resist." Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Armour Project
"Vanguard's Armor Project forges ahead with Infineum Forged" World of Warcraft: Horde Leveling Guide 60-70
"Finding quests got you down? The rest of your friends or guild already 70? Want to get to level 70 as fast as possible? Join the crowd! Getting to level 70 fast is the goal of most WoW players. It's true, there are those out there that want to experience the joy of exploring and finding out things on your own. But hey, they are the minority! Most of us are the impatient types that want to get to the end game to get the best loot possible as fast as possible."

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com

Hot Content

World of Warcraft: Horde Leveling Guide 60-70 Everquest 2: Dancing Teenage Zombie a Go-Go Sword of the New World: Developer Diary - Hak Kyu Kim Lord of the Rings Online: First Impressions Lord of the Rings Online: Preview of the Prima Guide Lord of the Rings Online: Interview With Mike Searle Red 5 Studios: Interview With Scott Youngblood EverQuest 2: Knowledge Of Neriak - A Look At The Future Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - An Interview With Michael Mann Voyage Century Online: Screenshots Sword Of The New World: An Art Direction Q&A

Real World News - You Can't Make This Up

Charged With Making False Teeth Without License[Matt]
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Beer in ant hills results in plastered ants.

Vin Diesel Fact: Vin Diesel made the Grinch give Christmas back.

- John "Boomjack" Hoskin