by John Hoskin on Jun 13, 2007
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Are you looking for the latest industry headlines? Look no further.
Daily Column New MMOG Articles at TenTonHammer Today Hot Content Real World News - You Can't Make This UpToday marks the 600th time that Loading... has reared it's ugly head to deliver a daily dose of what is moving and shaking the MMOG industry.
Loading... has seen TenTonHammer.com take a gold-free stance, World of Warcraft launch and change the face of the market and SOE gobble up numerous games to create the impressive stable that they own today.
The most written about game on the network over that period was no surprise, World of Warcraft with 872 news stories. Surprisingly, the second most written about game was Vanguard: Saga of Heroes with 641 news stories.
Here is a list of the Top 10 most hyped (if news stories constitute hype) games on the TTH Network.
10- Age of Conan - 180 Stories
9 - Pirates of the Burning Sea - 197 Stories
8- Warhammer Online - 200 Stories
7 - Guild Wars - 318 Stories
6 - Auto Assault - 308 Stories
5 - Lord of the Rings Online - 406 Stories
4 - Dungeons and Dragons Online - 535 Stories
3 - EverQuest 2 - 612 Stories
2 - Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - 641 Stories
1 - World of Warcraft - 872 Stories
Some of these titles succeeded, some failed and three of them aren't even released yet.
With the exception of Guild Wars these titles are all subscription based, monthly pay-to-play titles. Recently a concept that have proven successful in Asia has found its way to the North American market. Micro-payments or small payments made to acquire access to special game areas, gear or bank space are a staple of the Asian MMO market. Rather than paying a monthly fee for everything, the customer pays a bit at a time as they see fit. This doesn't mean that the games cost less to play, but that the mechanism by which you pay is broken down into smaller pieces. It can actually cost more to pay a micro-payment game than a monthly subscription title.
How will the current trend towards micro-payments affect the MMOG Industry?
Magnus Bergsson, the CMO of CCP (EVE Online) had this to say,
"I believe that micro-transactions can be fantastic for casual games where those payments actually enhance the game itself and are not used to nickel-and-dime the gamer to death - Which unfortunately has been somewhat of a trend here in the West. On the other hand, I don't believe micro-transactions are THE way for not-so-casual MMOG´s such as EVE Online. Continuous payment requests are emersion breaking, don't add much of a value to the gameplay, and can be extremely cumbersome for those players that don't have credit cards. So I predict that we will see games in the future that will offer both options to players, and allow them to choose to method that is best for them and not just the developer."
Magnus had a lot more to say, on other issues in this four-page interview.
If you haven't tried EVE Online, I recommend that you do. It isn't a game for everyone, but those that enjoy it, truly love it.
Here is a 14-Day Pass to check it out.
I couldn't end the column without thanking you for taking the time to read Loading... each day. I appreciate it and I know that the rest of the TenTonHammer.com staff do as well.
Comment in the blog (now with direct link goodness) or email me directly.
2. New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today
Dungeon Runners: ReviewThanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com
John "Boomjack" Hoskin