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Tabula Rasa Feedback Friday: Patch 1.42009-09-23 00:00:00The Tabula Rasa team has given us a nice little preview of what to expect in the upcoming 1.4 patch for the start of 2008. Some of the new features include Hybrid aliens (!!!), a hide helmet option, an Ability and Attribute respec and some bug fixes. We're especially interested in the Hybrid stuff, as it sounds very interesting.
Another big fix will be fo...
China bids for Asia online game crown against Korea2009-09-19 00:00:00SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) - Flush with cash from IPOs and a lucrative online game operating business, Chinese companies are trying to expand into game development, breaking free from their dependence on foreign titles and boosting incomes.
After long relying on foreign hit games such as U.S.-based Activision Blizzard's (ATVI.O) "World of Warcraft" (WOW) and "Kartrider" from South Korea's Nexon, China now wants to develop its own blockbusters and eventually lead the fast-growing market.
It may be a while before China overtakes South Korea, which dominates Asia's online gaming market, but there are growing signs that Chinese firms such as Netease.com (NTES.O) and Tencent (0700.HK) are now in a strong position to compete globally and are catching up with rivals quickly.
Successful online games can generate earnings for years from monthly service fees, character customization and other micro-transactions and carry higher margins than classic console games. Developing games in-house also ...
Sony Online Discusses Broadening the MMO Market2009-09-05 00:00:00GameDAILY BIZ: The MMO market has obviously experienced a good deal of growth in recent years. How would you describe its current state?
John Smedley: The MMO market is currently experiencing its greatest upswing since SOE helped to define the genre in the late 90s. Games like WoW, EverQuest II, Star Wars Galaxies and City of Villains are bringing in more new players to the space every day in North America. In Asia, where there really is no console penetration outside of Japan, online gaming is what the audience is growing up with, and millions of people are playing hundreds of different games. We are in the early stages of the online renaissance that we helped to start.
BIZ: Is the subscription-based MMO market being limited by monthly fees? Is this turning people away?
JS: Subscriptions are one way to go and it's currently the biggest revenue driver in online gaming. I believe you will see upsell models (i.e. buying items, character appearance upgrades) begin to grow in a big way. Imagine being able to have a completely non-subscription based MMO that makes its money only from these upsells. We're already working on a game with that model that's going to release next year.
BIZ: ...
New Concept:Virtual Economy in Game2009-09-02 00:00:00There is a popular multiplayer computer game called World of Warcraft in which you go around killing dragons and pretend you're a wizard and all that. This is one of those games that has an ongoing virtual universe built around it. In the life of your character you need to make money to buy weapons and armor and things. One of the ways you can get some money is through "farming" for gold. (Strange term, but whatever.)
Now "farming" isn't as fun as duelling and casting spells and all that nerdological geekitude; it's a time-consuming chore.
Gold and other items in this game are transferrable from one player to another. You could do a ton of work to get some loot and then give it...or sell it, for real money, to a lazy player who just wants to have more toys.
Now the amount someone would be willing to pay for this virtual gold isn't gonna be worth your time. You're much better off working at White Castle than pulling shifts on Warcraft, so the farmer-for-hire thing hasn't taken off in American suburbia.
But some industrious entrepeneurs made a few calculations and learned a very valuable fact... The amount an American kid is willing to pay for this imaginary gold is well worth the time of a Chinese peas...
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