by John Hoskin on Apr 14, 2008
Welcome to the 807th Edition of Loading...
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Daily Column
Loading... It's like a treasure map for MMOG information.
First, the Ten Ton Pulse, your finger on the beating heart of the MMOG industry.
If the Top 10 isn't enough, we now show the Top 20 and Top 50 lists as well, available to everyone on our homepage. (What is Pulse?)
Age of Conan - 200 BPM World of Warcraft - 63 BPM Lord of the Rings Online - 23 BPM EverQuest 2 - 22 BPM Lineage 2 - 18 BPM EVE Online - 16 BPM Warhammer Online - 16 BPM Vanguard - 14 BPM Guild Wars - 13 BPM Tabula Rasa 11 BPMHow large is Blizzard? Large enough to do what Tibet cannot, cut a deal with the Chinese rule makers.
"SHANGHAI, China, April 14 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., and The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY) (''The9''), a leading
online game operator in China, today announced that both parties have expanded their original license agreement to include the rollout of Wrath
of the Lich King(TM), the highly anticipated second expansion pack for Blizzard Entertainment(R)'s World of Warcraft(R), in mainland China."
There you have it, Wrath of the Lich King will be available in China where they recently had one million concurrent players. One million Chinese is a speck of sand on the beach. Imagine when Blizz stops making games for North Americans and just develops for the Chinese market. So, how large is World of Warcraft? How large to you have to be before your game is the focus of an opinion piece on a Hare Krishna website? Don't tell me that you're not curious what the Hare Krishna have to say about WoW. I bet that they are all herbalists, picking flowers and such. Still curious about their opinion of WoW?
"A point of interest for the more perceptive soul is perhaps why games like these are so popular in the first place? Perhaps it is due to the fact that we are becoming a more materially wealthy but an emotionally bankrupt society. The intimacy that we seek we are finding more and more difficult to achieve with family and friends can be sought out through our digital alter egos. But much like text messaging, is this communication at a distance really doing us a favour in the long run? Would we not better spend that time practicing Krishna Consciousness?"
Complex.com has outed a World of Warcraft [Pulse 63] celebrity player. Fresh out of the closet is Mila Kunis of 'That 70s Show' and 'Family Guy'. Ms. Kunis took a WoW quiz with some help from Macaulay Culkin. She did pretty well, even yelling out Leeeeroy Jenkins! Mila and Macaulay is a match that for reasons I can't explain creeps me out, much like this stalker video.
Are you looking for a Warhammer Online [Pulse 16] Beta? Boom! Studios is giving you a 1 in 5 chance to win. You need only buy some comic books. Perhaps you are looking for a job in the MMOG industry? NCSoft Austin is giving you a chance to win . All you need to be is a Web Producer, Web Production Specialist or a QA Tester II.
I didn't comment on Disney's decision to close Virtual Magic Kingdom because it did not and does not have any appeal to me. That of course means that it is an integral part of the lives of many people who write me passionate letters lamenting the game's demise. Michelle Nixon sent me the following letter. I will comment after you digest it.
"I am writing to you because Disney is devastating thousands of children and adult gamers alike with their decision to close one of its biggest online games, VMK. Thousands of players are banding together and finding as many avenues as we can to save our game. This is the only family oriented, family friendly MMOPG that we have found online that interests every age group. Being that you are in the gaming news industry, I am contacting you to ask for your help. Any story or article would be a great help in trying to stop Disney from making this huge mistake. There are many sites, petitions, and fan boards devoted to doing just that. Please look into just a few of them to see the impact this game has had on our lives and to see how passionate VMK fans are about this. I will include a few important links at the end of my email. The following is my letter that I have sent to many Disney executives and other news agencies.
Disney Devastates Thousands
I am an avid VMK ( Virtual Magic Kingdom- a massively multiplayer Online Game ) player and parent of two 9 year olds that are also avid players. Our family is devastated by the news that Disney has decided to close our beloved game. This is the one place online that recreates the disney experience in a way that keeps us wanting to visit the parks. We have booked trips, bought movies, and many other disney products all because of this game. We have saved and saved to make our Disney park trips happen mainly because the game renewed our love of all things Disney. Without it, we will no longer spend all of our vacation dollars at Disney. I understand that this is a financial decision, but this could be the biggest mistake Disney makes. This game is a brilliant stroke of genius when it comes to advertising and promotion. Do not underestimate the passion of the VMK community. Everyone I know from the game spends lots of hard earned real money to buy things for this virtual game. I can tell you that I, for one am canceling my Disney Movie Club subscription and will not be taking our annual eight day vacation to WDW. And I am not alone. There are many, many players that were only spending that money because of this game and its rewards. Virtual rewards that I remind you, cost Disney next to nothing.
This tiny little online community has become so special to us and it gives us a place to play online together, as a family. It has kept my children out of trouble. It has taught them how to work towards a goal, to build terrific things, and to think through problems. It has helped teach my children to respect others and to give whatever they can to help others.
We have met many wonderful friends through this game, many of whom will be life long friends now. Some of these friends are children with illnesses such as autism and leukemia that we never would have met otherwise. This game has brought so many people together and created such an incredible love for disney. Please keep VMK alive and maybe give us the option to pay to play. The other Disney games just do not compare in anyway to the community of VMK. Please do not take the magic of VMK away.
It is a sad sad day when the powers that be think that no one cares when thousands of kids lose their favorite hobby, their favorite place to connect with friends. You cannot replace the magical feelings these children have felt while playing this wonderful game that represents all things Disney with games that are promotion specific. What I mean is that VMK has the capability to promote every aspect of Disney; the parks; the movies; the pins; and almost all of the products in some way. These new games and worlds are specific to only one aspect of Disney. Cars online, Fairies, and even POTC Online can only promote that one aspect. Why would Disney purposely remove something that so obviously has so much potential to be HUGE to try to replace it with games and worlds that have such limited potential? VMK already has a Huge, loyal fan base. It already has unlimited promotional potential. It has already caused many people to visit the parks, buy the movies, and buy Disney products Was this decision made because Disney believes that no one would pay to play this game? That seems to be the case, since they are pushing everyone to pay for games that are only about one small part of Disney. None of these new games will give anyone that complete Disney experience the way VMK does. Yet, we were never even offered the option to pay to play. This doesn't make any sense. Disney is spending $100 million on new virtual games that do not have the unlimited potential or the established fan base that VMK has. This seems like it should a common sense decision to me - go with what works! Build on what you have, there is no need to start over.
This little world is not so little - there are close to a million characters, and we have recently been told by some staff of VMK that there are about 250,000 active players. The decision to close this "little world" will effect thousands of children and thousands of adults. This community means so very much to so, so many ! people. People with illnesses that limit their social abilities, people who live far away from each other, people - real people that have found a virtual way of staying in contact in ways that no other game offers. The players of VMK are like no others. Most of them are wonderful, caring, giving people that share a love for the Disney Magic. Everyone of the players share a common thread, something that brings them all together - a love for Disney. Where else in the real world or any virtual one, can you find a place where everyone has a common love? No where. This game has helped so many children and people of all ages connect in ways they never would have anywhere else. In VMK we are all kids (even if we aren't), we are all healthy, and we can all play together. There is no age, there is no color, there is no illness. In VMK we are all equal. You cannot find another family friendly, safe environment online anywhere else that can bring so many people together in so many ways. VMK i! s the o only place that can do all of these things. If Walt Disney could see what the loss of this game is doing to so many people, he would never allow it. What happened to Disney magic? Disney is taking it away."
My solution, have the people who are upset put their money where their mouths are. If there were ever a company that was adept at extracting money from not only those that had it, but those that didn't, it is Disney. Michelle's letter mentions paying for the service. Why not set a subscriber goal and give them a month to ante up? If they don't, then VMK disappears.
Virtual Magic Kingdom Save VMKOn a happier note, Congratulations to Turbine (the company behind Asheron's Call [Pulse 0], Dungeons and Dragons Online [Pulse 10] and Lord of the Rings Online [Pulse 23]) on being selected one of the 100 Top Private Companies in the NorthEast U.S.
"WESTWOOD, MA -- April 11, 2008 - Turbine, Inc., a premier creator and operator of massive, persistent online worlds, today announced that it has been chosen by AlwaysOn as one of the Northeast 100 Top Private Companies. The first-annual Northeast 100 list was compiled by the AlwaysOn editorial panel. In order to be eligible for the list, companies in the Northeastern United States had to be creating new business opportunities in high-growth markets, demonstrating significant market traction and pursuing game-changing technology in a key sector. AlwaysOn received hundreds of nominations for this year's list."
I rambled, now it's your turn. The 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.
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16 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 116 in April! 868 in 2008!
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- John "Boomjack" Hoskin and the Ten Ton Hammer Team