Loading... Win Wrath of the Lich King Beta Keys

by John Hoskin on Aug 08, 2008

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Welcome to the 889th Edition of Loading...

If you aren't reading this in your e-mail, you could be. Sign up. Are you looking for gaming news? Look no further for all of the headlines. General industry news, right down to game specific and forum thread feeds are all yours as part of Ten Ton Hammer's news syndication program. Enjoy!

Daily Column

Loading... putting the 'Mo' in MMOG.

First, the Ten Ton Pulse, your finger on the beating heart of the MMOG industry.

If the Top 10 isn't enough, we also show the Top 20 and Top 50 lists as well, available to everyone on our homepage. (What is Pulse?)

Warhammer Online - 200 BPM World of Warcraft - 178 BPM Age of Conan - 72 BPM Tabula Rasa - 17 BPM EVE Online - 14 BPM Warrior Epic - 13 BPM Lord of the Rings Online - 10 BPM EverQuest II - 9 BPM Stargate Worlds - 8 BPM Dungeon Runners - 8 BPM

Warhammer Online has made its first foray into pop culture. Jay Leno is a Gobbo. Queue the public response, ba dum bum, as WAR climbs back into the #1 spot in the Ten Ton Pulse. Tabula Rasa remains in the #4 spot on the strength of the Operation Immortality program.

Not to be outdone the good folks at Blizzard have stepped up in a large way. Ten Ton Hammer and Blizzard Entertainment have joined forces to create the Postcards from WWI contest. Winners will receive the Worldwide Invitational pack that contains a Wrath of the Lich King beta key and unlocks the Tyrael pet!

Apparently, Mark Jacobs, GM/VP/CEO/Supreme Emperor of Mythic Entertainment didn't agree with some quotes made by VG247 in a recent Paul Barnett interview. VG247 went on the offensive posting audio files, that have now mysteriously been pulled. All is that is left is the URL, http://www.videogaming247.com/2008/08/07/ea-mythic-boss-accuses-vg247-of-misquoting-paul-barnett-on-war-we-publish-audio/.

I don't know what the quotes were, but sometimes as the interviewer you need to ask a question a second time or confirm an answer. I could quote bits and pieces of any interview I have ever done, taking only the parts of quotes that sound scandalous and whip up some real intrigue. Unfortunately, that doesn't benefit our readers or the developers. I'm not insinuating that this is what VG247 has done, but I've seen it done too frequently on various websites to rule the concept out completely.

There is a very interesting thread running in our forums that asks the question, Do communities have too much input [in video game design]? We all like to believe that we have a developer's ear when it comes to what goes in their game, but should we have any influence? We don't gripe at Boeing for making planes in a shape we find unappealing. We don't ask the bowling alley owner to make the pins easier to knock down.

The vocal minority are usually the voices heard (or read) in message forums. Happy people don't tell you that they are happy, but unhappy people shriek to the rafters as if they have sat on a tack and can't figure out how to extricate themselves from it.

Let your opinion loose.

I know you're thinking something. Share! The Loading Forums await you. Do you feel the need to contact me personally with naughty pictures or derogatory comments? Here's my E-mail.

[A big thanks to Phil Comeau for putting together the links and Real World News.]

12 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 68 in August! 1985 in 2008!

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

Comic-Con
2008

Images/Video

Warrior Epic: New Screenshots Football Superstars: August 08 Trailer

Op/Eds

EVE Online: Babies and Missiles

Previews

World of Warcraft: WotLK Warlock Talents - Demonology World of Warcraft: WotLK Warlock Talents - Affliction

Interviews

Wizard101: Todd Coleman and Josef Hall