by Jeff Woleslagle on May 21, 2009
Welcome to the 1,084th Edition of Loading...
Loading... is the premier daily MMORPG news and commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.
Until about 2 years ago, the trend was to release MMO games in the early summer. We just celebrated the anniversaries of six successful MMORPGs that dodged the holiday season and did just that, and it worked for a variety of reasons. But then the publishers came in, everything looked like WoW or a console game, developers were more than happy to slip their release dates, and suddenly we're seeing everything released between October and November. We thought 2009 might buck the newest trend, but we thought wrong. Learn why in Loading... Cruel Summer.
Coyote is back in a big way at Ten Ton Hammer, and his daily column explores all things geek with Coyote's trademark wit in It's All Geek to Me. Read it daily at Ten Ton Hammer! Today's topic: Do we feel NOTHING? Are video games desensitizing us to violence?
The Pulse
You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is Pulse?).
Here's today's top 5 Pulse results for today:
World of Warcraft EverQuest 2 (down 2) Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (down 1) Lord of the Rings Online (down 2) Warhammer OnlineBiggest Movers in the Top 20 today:
Free Realms (UP 5 to #16) Runes of Magic (UP 4 to #16) City of Heroes (down 3 to #18)Recent MMO Releases
4/28 - Free Realms (launch date) 5/11 - Chronicles of Spellborn 1.0.4 - "Scrolls of Keys and Courage" (patch) 5/15 - EVE Online Apocrypha 1.2 (patch) 5/19 - Warrior Epic (launch date) 5/19 - Vanguard "Halls of Pantheon" (content patch) 5/22 - Dragonica (CBT key giveaway)Upcoming Releases
8/25 - CrimeCraft (NEW release date) 9/1 - Jumpgate Evolution (NEW release date) 10/1 - Champions Online (NEW release date)Important Dates
5/30 - Final block of BlizzCon 2009 tickets on sale. 6/2 - 6/4 - E3 2009Loading... Daily
First, apologies if you now have an Ace of Base b-side stuck in your head due to today's title.
It's proving to be an ugly week in the MMO world. First Cryptic pushed back their release date for Champions Online until October, and now - if we can trust the GameStop JGE page - NetDevil's apparently moved Jumpgate Evolution's launch date from late June to September 1st.
I've already railed and ranted against setting launch dates you can't keep in Loading... earlier this week, so I won't belabor the point. Thankfully NetDevil has kept the JGE beta sewn up tight in order to avoid the doomsday Auto Assault scenario described here.
Yet I can't help wishing that just one of these games would have kept its June appointment. The spotlight is sweeping the stage, looking for something worthy of attention, and what do we have? Free Realms, a WAR expansion, Warrior Epic, Chronicles of Spellborn, a handful of games conferences and events, a handful of sports MMOs, a host of Asian ports and games deep in beta? These games and events are great, but most have already shown their stuff. I'd trade it all for one solid MMO on final approach. Never fear, we'll continue to bring you the best in MMO gaming all summer long, but don't be surprised to see us returning to our RPG roots with coverage too.
Now everybody's jockeying for position in the fall / winter holiday ramp-up. I've said it before - holiday releases have no place in the MMO world - they don't gift well. It's like surprise painting someone's living room a bold new color. For all your good intentions, you've made a big decision that, whether the giftee likes the color or not, they'd probably rather make for themselves. Plus, holiday giving primarily benefits kids, and how many kids have credit cards to pay subs or buy items. Sure, you can pick up game cards with your Slurpie at 7/11, but how can you take yourself seriously afterwards?
Summer, on the other hand, was perfect. We just celebrated the launch anniversaries for six of the most successful MMORPGs that released not in the holiday season, but in April or May of their respective years. That decision played no small part in the MMO domination of the college-age to young married demographic at the time, and that's still a prime demographic for MMOs. It's an awkward time of life, you're probably contending with a new job, a new location, a new set of friends, and a new outlook. MMORPGs offer a sense of stability and community that real life typically can't typically match in the twenty-something years.
What's on your summer MMO playlist? Maybe we can figure this out together. Share what you'll be playing in lieu of Champions Online and Jumpgate Evolution in the Loading... forum! More of the same, or something different?
Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day2 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 67 in May! 593 in 2009!
New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today [Thanks Phil Comeau for links and Real World News]
Champions Online: Exclusive Powers and Customization InterviewReal World News
YouTube battling 'Porn Day' CampaignThanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!
-Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer team