Investing wisely in massively multiplayer online games
Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Opinion
Even a cursory look back on the last year in massively multiplayer online games reveals a number of titles that, despite their promise (and some promises), ultimately failed. Factor in the high costs of creating and publishing an MMO title these days and the mistakes still being made in the industry, and perhaps it’s time for a primer on how not to lose money when making an MMO to be widely disseminated. Adam Martin over at T=Machine has written just that. In the first of a two-part series, Martin provides insightful analysis of some glaring mistakes made in the MMO industry, and how some of…
Investing wisely in massively multiplayer online games originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Daily Grind: The ones that got away
Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind
Oh, Hellgate: London! How could a post-apocalyptic zombie shoot ‘em up have gone so very wrong? Though your servers are shutting down at the end of January, never again to return to US or European shores, we ran into this collector’s edition box just yesterday, placed at an appealing eye-level on a Circuit City shelf, just begging the innocent passerby to take it home (or perhaps, considering the game’s rocky history, simply to give it a good hug). And it’s not the only MMO that’s leaving us in early 2009: Tabula Rasa is closing at the end of February. (Though unlike Hellgate, which isn’t even…
The Daily Grind: The ones that got away originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Red 5 Studios interview: How to fail-proof your MMO
Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Interviews, MMO industry, Hellgate: London, Tabula Rasa
During a recent interview with Ten Ton Hammer, Red 5 Studios’ Mark Kern described his views on why games like Tabula Rasa and Hellgate: London had recently failed, and how his colleagues at Red 5 are making sure an early game closure isn’t in their future. “I think the key is that you need to marry whatever your theme is to the nature of the gameplay,” Kern advised. “I think that the issue comes in when you take a theme or a genre that doesn’t fit with the style of gameplay that you’re making. I think that’s some of what you’ve seen with these failed games. If you just go out and try to…
Red 5 Studios interview: How to fail-proof your MMO originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Anti-Aliased: You’ve been Auto-Assaulted
Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Tabula Rasa, Anti-Aliased
“Absolutely. [The restructuring] has no impact on Tabula Rasa. … I don’t know where the rumors are coming from, but with [marketing blitz] Operation Immortality in full swing, the team’s very dedicated to that game, and they are still working on it,” said David Swofford, Director of Public Relations of NCsoft to Edge Online on September 11th. “Tabula Rasa is a triple-A MMO. It is a game that is very much in the wheelhouse of what NC West and NCsoft globally are all about,” said David Reid, President of Publishing of NC West on September 24th. “…we see improvement happening in Tabula…
Continue reading Anti-Aliased: You’ve been Auto-Assaulted
Anti-Aliased: You’ve been Auto-Assaulted originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hanbitsoft admits their Hellgate rights don’t extend to US/EU
Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-fi, MMO industry, Hellgate: London
Hellgate London’s state of flux over the past week has been somewhat infuriating for us to follow. No doubt it must be even moreso for players who just want to know if they’ll get their game back after Namco Bandai’s servers close in the spring. First it seemed that Hanbitsoft would be rezzing the game worldwide, then it was less clear based on Redbana’s development. Now it seems even Hanbitsoft has acknowledged that they don’t have rights to the game in the US and EU.WarCry is reporting based on a press release from Namco specifically stating that they own the IP for publishing here in the…
Hanbitsoft admits their Hellgate rights don’t extend to US/EU originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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HanbitSoft plans Hellgate: London relaunch and new expansion
Filed under: Horror, Expansions, MMO industry, Hellgate: London, Rumors
The Hellgate: London IP saga continues. While we had some dire news that the servers will go dark at the end of January, we also know that development for the title is still being done in Redbana’s California office… just not for which region. The latest word we’ve received on this seems to indicate the continuity of Hellgate: London, but to date this is only confirmed for service in Asia — so we cannot (yet) offer a definitive, “Yes, HG:L will continue for North America and EU.” That being said, Gamasutra has picked up on company blog posts by HanbitSoft’s Global PR Manager, Janelle. One…
Continue reading HanbitSoft plans Hellgate: London relaunch and new expansion
HanbitSoft plans Hellgate: London relaunch and new expansion originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hellgate London status: Purgatory
Filed under: Horror, Sci-fi, Business models, MMO industry, Hellgate: London, Rumors
There have been so many twists and turns with the future of Hellgate: London (and Mythos) that it’s hard to know what will happen next. We’ve heard on a few occasions that Hellgate: London was about to face its demise, only to be saved. Adding to the confusion was the dispute over who even owned Hellgate: London, Flagship Studios or HanbitSoft. After Flagship folded, HanbitSoft’s claims seemed to be genuine, and the IP was left in the hands of T3 Entertainment. Subscriptions, however, were then suspended. Shortly afterwards Namco-Bandai swept in, prominently featured HG: L on its site… and…
Hellgate London status: Purgatory originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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T3 to Resume Hellgate, Mythos Development in New SF Studio?
While we still don’t have the definitive word on where Flagship Studios’ intellectual property has actually gone, a pair of job postings have surfaced that point to a HanbitSoft victory. T3 Entertainment, the majority stakeholder in publisher HanbitSoft, is “searching for creative minds to passionately continue development of Hellgate: London and Mythos,” and is going to great lengths to attract them. T3 has reportedly started a new development studio in San Francisco, their first U.S. foothold, for that express purpose.
Gamasutra first discovered the job postings conveniently nestled into their own website, the pair similar in every way except for their date (the first appears to be over a week old) and a newly added requirement for 2+ years of experience. On the off-chance it might be pulled, we’ve reproduced the most recent posting in its entirety below:
Both the wording of the job description, and the location of the new facility (zip code 94102, as close as seven blocks to Flagship) imply that the company may seek to entice former Flagship Studios employees back to work on the properties. But, last we heard, Flagship still owns those properties… and we’re still waiting for Namco Bandai’s other giant orange shoe to drop.
Related posts
- Flagship Breaks Radio Silence — 1UP Interviews CEO Bill Roper
- Namco Bandai To Rescue Sinking Flagship?
- Mythos Creators Salvage Flagship Seattle, Rebrand it Runic Games
- Captaining The Lifeboat: Runic Games’ Max Schaefer and Travis Baldree
- Hellgate: London Update — Namco Bandai Hires Ping0 Support Team?
Mythic’s Mark Jacobs really wanted to see Age of Conan succeed
Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Culture, Interviews, MMO industry, Opinion, Hellgate: London
About Conan, which the site categorizes as ‘failing to deliver on promises to players, Jacobs states that he actually really wanted the game to succeed. Now, with a summer of frustrations and player unrest behind them, he thinks they’re in a tight spot. Ultimately, he just wants someone to show the world that MMOs don’t have to be World of Warcraft to succeed. As for Mythic, “If we don’t succeed with EA behind us, the ‘Warhammer’ IP behind us, with one of the most experienced teams in the industry, that’s not going to be good for the industry. We need to show the world that it’s not just Blizzard who can make a great game, and that the audience is absolutely willing to try new things and to play a game other than ‘WoW.”
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