by Jeff Woleslagle on Jun 24, 2009
Welcome to the 1,107th Edition of Loading...
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An official Aion launch date puts an end to the speculation fueled by pre-order retailer ship dates. What are Aion's chances of making it's late September date? We read the tea leaves (or maybe consult the Daeva of Fortunetelling) and explore Age of Conan's Update 5 which went a-live today in Loading... Aion release date and AoC 1.05.
Ten Ton Hammer's webcomics are a sometimes hilarious, sometimes disturbing look at the latest happenings in geekdom. Bill Murphy riffs on Brad McQuaid's already troubled comeback in Geeked: Seriously, Brad?
The Pulse
You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is The Pulse?).
Here's today's top 5 Pulse results for today:
World of Warcraft Aion EverQuest 2 Age of Conan (UP 1) Warhammer Online (UP 1)Biggest Movers in the Top 20 in the last seven days:
EVE Online (down 4 to #8) Lord of the Rings Online (UP 1 to #6) Vanguard: Saga of Heroes (UP 1 to #7) Recent MMO Releases 5/19 - Vanguard "Halls of Pantheon" (patch) 6/12 - Neo Steam (release date) 6/16 - EverQuest 2 GU 52 (patch) 6/16 - WAR 1.3 "Rise of the Tomb Kings" (patch) 6/16 - Age of Conan Update 5: Gangs of Tarantia (patch)Important Dates
7/3 - 7/5 - Aion Beta Event #3 Upcoming Releases 8/25 - CrimeCraft (release date) 9/1 - Champions Online (release date) 9/22 - Aion (release date) Early 2010 - APBLoading... Daily
Two exciting bits of news today. First, NCSoft announced that the Aion release date would not be 9/1 or 9/4 as pre-order retailers were suggesting, but 9/22 for the US and 9/25 for Europe. Release dates are for the slipping, but for a game as thoroughly tested not just with beta but as a live game in Asia as well, I think our chances are pretty good on seeing Aion show up at its appointed time.
That said, can anyone explain to me why we have separate launch dates for different regions? In terms of an MMO launch, three days might as well be a month. I've asked publisher execs this question and received many a haughtily disapproving look over the ribbon-smoke of an upscale cigarette, but never a satisfying answer. The tangled web of European licensing -with the lingual, legal, and customs barriers, differering cultural boundaries for content, and mounds of nonsensibcal red tape to cut through - is undoubtedly a tough road to hoe. But certainly three months is enough lead time to get this sort of thing cleared up in advance? Or do European distributors use some kind of US launch +3 formula to determine release dates? In any case, thank goodness for pre-order head starts and the occasional date confusion of digital distribution partners.
It's probably fashionable for non-NA gamers to think it has something to do with powerful American retailer hegemony behaving stereotypically, wanting a little something extra for their customers. But I can't see it: what would a Best Buy or GameStopped care about getting the jump on Benelux retailers? It's not exactly their target market. I'm guessing that, like so many of the world's problems, the reason boils down to a bunch of stiff suits somewhere making trouble for everyone for no good reason.
Speaking of Europe gone wild, Funcom released the major Age of Conan Update 5 featuring re-worked class feat-trees, simplified stats for items, social pets, a newly revamped gems (socketed item) system, and a new high-level quest and content area in the seedy underbelly of Conan's capital city: Tarantia Commons. Game Director Craig Morrison hinted at guild gameplay improvements and high level PvE and PvP content additions in Update 6, as well as more news on the AoC expansion at GameCom and PAX in August in his latest Letter from the Game Director. I'm glad to see Conan make something of a resurgence lately and, personally, might re-up my subscription this weekend between betas and see what I can see post-Tortage. Send me an email if you might be interested in doing the same, maybe we can put something together.
Comments on Aion's launch date, European distibutor/operator hijnx, or AoC 1.05? Have your say in the Loading... forum, and don't forget to grab your keys from our Ultimate Soccer Boss and WonderKing Online giveaways! We only have a limited number and when they're gone, (you guessed it) they're gone.
Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day6 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 100 in June! 737 in 2009!
New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today [Thanks Phil Comeau for links and Real World News]
Giveaways
Ultimate Soccer Boss Father's Day Giveaway!Features
Aion: Class Archetypes - The MageHot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to:
Exclusive Aion Beta Screens from Asmodae geeked: Seriously, Brad? Aion Class Interview - The Assassin Jumpgate Evolution Exclusive Interview - Lore and History EverQuest 2 Monument and Might GU#52 Overview EVE Online: Sins of a Solar Spymaster #15: A History of the Second Great War, Part Two Champions Online Power Interview #3 - Fire, Ice and Electricity WoW Guide: Less Rabi Achievement WoW - Boss Guide: Malygos E3 2009 PortalReal World News
Parents banned from taking pictures of their own children at sports daySeen news you think I can mangle into a vaguely amusing snippet of text? Send it to me.
Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!
-Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer team