In a news story that we’re sure will surprise precisely nobody at all, The9 — China’s previous operator for World of Warcraft — has reported a serious decline in profits for this last quarter. Since last year when The9 still had World of Warcraft in its stable of games to now, they have seen a staggering 94% drop in revenue. Since the split became final in June of this year, there was also a 91% drop between last quarter and this one. Between The9’s lawsuit against Blizzard for (among other things) software copyright infringement and selling nearly 15% of its shares to Activision Blizzard competitor, EA, The9 has pretty well ensured that there’s never going to be any kissing-and-making-up over this whole mess.

Still, not everything is completely negative for The9. In the on-again-off-again World of Warcraft presence in the Chinese market altogether, owing to the squabble between The Ministry of Culture and the General Administration of the Press and Publication (GAPP), they’ve seen an increase in players from when they initially lost World of Warcraft. According to reports, the increase — a modest bump from 3.2 to 3.4 million players — is owing largely to a new update to Soul of the Ultimate Nation, as well as their other games Sword of the New World, FIFA Online, and Atlantica Online. Now, so long as more of their shareholders don’t wind up suing them for making misleading statements about their connection with Blizzard, things might just start looking up for this former major player in the Chinese MMO market.

Filed under: World of Warcraft, MMO industry, News items, Legal

The9 sees enormous drop in profits after split with Blizzard originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An easy start is to get them something new to play! Aion ($46.99) is the newest MMO to be released and has been getting some rave reviews. Released by NCSoft in September 2009, there has been a steady buzz around the game, and I’ve known several people who have given up other MMOs to play this one. From all I’ve seen and read it’s a pretty solid game, and will appeal to most fans of the genre. And if they’re already playing Aion, why not snag them one of the cool shirts that Jinx just released?

If your friends or family are already playing another game, you can always buy them game time via cards or offer to pay for in game items to help them boost their characters or explore new regions. Blizzard sells pre-paid cards for game time in World of Warcraft ($29.99) and so does Warhammer Online($29.99), Age of Conan ($25.99), and Lord of the Rings Online ($29.99). These will give them 60 days of free time to play in their game of choice!

Tactx keyboard from Alienware

For the World of Warcraft fan, I found many things that one could buy, but I’ve narrowed it down to just a few products. First off, from the official store I have to recommend either Murky or Lurky ($15 each) plush dolls for either kids or for adults (My Murky sits on the top of my computer). Also along the kids line, if you have a guildmate or friend who just had a new baby or is expecting, I highly recommend the “My Other Stroller is [Epic]“ onesie from Jinx. For the more grown up WoW fan, you can also get a Horde or Alliance appropriate beanie so that they can show their pride throughout the winter! In general the majority of the WoW collection at Jinx is pretty awesome, and it’s all reasonably priced. There are also the new in game pets you can buy from the pet store: the Pandaren Monk and Lil’ KT who is the most adorable lich!

Now if you want to get your friends some new gaming peripherals, I recommend checking out the latest Alienware line which I have previously covered. The TactX mouse and keyboard are a little more pricey, but they’d be a great gift idea, especially if they’re in need of an upgrade. Also in November, Creative will be releasing special WoW themed headsets that look great and will help show your Horde or Alliance Pride! Another great item that you could get is the Xeno by Bigfoot networks. Cherithe recommended this in our gadget gift guide, and it’s definitely worth repeating! The Xeno is a great plug-and-play card that will prioritize gamng by bypassing your OS which enables smoother playing and voice chatting.

Now the other gift idea that you can do is for those fellow players who want to get something nice for an in-game friend or guildmate. You can save up to get them a vanity pet,  money for a new mount, or some new armor. It’s thoughtful, and something that will surprise them to see in their mailbox or a trade window! There are also the new in game pets that Blizzard released which you can buy from the online pet store: the Pandaren Monk who does some impressive kung fu and Lil’ KT who is the most adorable little lich!

I hope that this guide can help you out with some ideas for that MMO fan in your life. Have a great holiday and spread some /cheer!

Okay gang, fun’s over. We all had some good times with the few non-delayed Q4 2009 blockbusters that dropped during the past two weeks, but now it’s time to start agonizing over every scrap of news for next year’s highly anticipated titles. We’ll kick things off: Hey, the StarCraft II site just received a major update, delivering a whole mess of feature articles and screenshots to the series’ fast-clicking fanbase!

The articles include a short story about the ever-devious Zerg Changeling, a design overview of the campaign story, insight into creating one of the multiplayer maps, and character bios for three of the game’s combatants. Are you adequately excited by these updates? Good. Now, prepare to not play the game for an undisclosed period of time. Yeah, it’s all coming back to you now, isn’t it?

[Via Big Download]

StarCraft II site updated with new screens, feature content originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, it’s a possibility, at any rate. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, was officially released November 10th with what the LA Times described as a “Hollywood-scale launch”. The launch expenses turned out to be money well spent, as the game had generated $550 million in sales as of last Saturday. Fans lined up days in advance to pick up their copy of Modern Warfare 2, complete with free night vision goggles.

While this was all very nice for Activision Blizzard, it was the end of the article that really got MMO fans interested: “One person close to the company said it also was considering adapting Call of Duty as a massively multi-player online world. The genre, in which Activision’s Blizzard Entertainment subsidiary is a leader, requires huge upfront investments but can be very profitable as players pay a monthly subscription fee.”

The possibility of a Call of Duty MMO is an exciting one for a very large group of gamers, and Blizzard is certain to be aware of that. We will definitely be keeping an eye out at Massively for more news on this possibility.

[Thanks Abel!]

Filed under: Business models, Launches, News items

LFG in Call of Duty? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading The best of WoW.com: November 10-17, 2009

The best of WoW.com: November 10-17, 2009 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Of course, there’s the obvious counter brought up in the comments: that it’s better to have microtransactions selling something you can’t otherwise get in the game. Simply take a look at Champions Online and the controversy over retcon pricing to see how the two can be better left untethered. Getting something unique is a nice bonus for a game you enjoy — for example, look at the bonus costume packs that City of Heroes sells. However, with items on sale that can be obtained from gameplay, the game can feel a bit more disjointed. There’s a case to be made for both sides, and with the free-to-play model gaining speed, it should be interesting to note where the majority of MMO players draw the line.

Filed under: Business models, Culture, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion

Microtransactions and the splits in philosophy originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Look, just feign surprise, it makes these financial posts so much more exciting: Activision today reported net revenues of $755 million (on a non-GAAP basis) in the quarter ending September 30, 2009 — that’s $55 million more than the suits hoped to stack, according to previous projections. While the blockbuster adaptation of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen might have played a part in this outpouring of our money, we’re gonna go with Kotick’s explanation: “Our performance was driven by positive audience response to Activision Publishing’s Guitar Hero 5, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, and the Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises, as well as Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft.”

In fact, the CEO called Guitar Hero the year’s “#1 best-selling third-party franchise in North America and Europe” through September, claiming that U.S. sales of music games increased 72 percent year over year in September. Last year’s big-band-box edition, World Tour, and Call of Duty: World at War combined for total, world domination, becoming this year’s “#1 and #2 best-selling third-party titles” in North America and Europe through September, according to Activision. Additionally, World at War DLC map pack sales continued to climb last quarter and have now surpassed 7.5 million purchases.

Needless to say, the publisher is not backing off of its prior financial outlook. Activision anticipates annual net revenues of $4.5 billion (on a non-GAAP basis) at the close of the year. Did you remember to feign surprise?

Guitar Hero, Call of Duty franchises lead Activision’s ‘better-than-expected’ Q3 2009 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China’s General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) has ordered NetEase, which has been operating World of Warcraft in the region since September, to cease collecting subscription payments and signing up new players for the game immediately, calling these acts “illegal behavior.” According to a report by the site JLM Pacific Epoch, the GAPP (most recently in the news for outlawing foreign investment in Chinese online gaming) has suspended its review of the game and returned NetEase’s application to operate it in the country.

For its part, NetEase claims it has yet to receive any sort of official decree from GAPP. At the same time, an official from China’s Ministry of Culture is said to have stated that GAPP’s actions are “not appropriate.” The situation now becomes one of which agency has final say, and if it’s simply “shut it down,” why.

We’re pretty sure this isn’t the kind of Cataclysm Chinese WoW fans were hoping for.

[Via WoW.com]

Source — GAPP Halts WoW Review
Source — GAPP Says No for the Operation of WoW in China
Source — NeatEase statement regarding announcement by GAPP

WoW ‘rejected’ in China, government at odds with itself over decision originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, the peace between the Alliance and the Horde in World of Warcraft is supposed to be present, but it doesn’t stop them from trying to take each other out whenever they can. Take for example today’s One Shots sent in to us from Minifig of the Darkness Beyond Twilight guild. While this is obviously a Horde base on the Isle of Conquest, it doesn’t stop Minifig from flying straight into it, in what appears to be a crazy attempt to ram straight into their zeppelin. Crazy or brave? You make the call!

With millions of World of Warcraft players, we actually don’t get too many screens from that game. If you’d like to send one in from WoW or any other MMO, we’d be glad to post it. Drop it into an email addressed to oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We’ll show it off to all our readers and give you the nod.

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Screenshots, One Shots

One Shots: It’s a bird! It’s a plane! originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard has indeed confirmed the cancellation of MechScape, although you wouldn’t quite know it from his comments, which seem excited to be working on a different title with a new direction. This isn’t the first time an in-development MMO has been rebooted in favor of a completely new direction, although Tabula Rasa at least kept its original name.

Why the sudden decision? According to Gerhard, MechScape wasn’t able to avoid the same pitfalls of RuneScape. Of course, making such a move is going to cost Jagex millions, but their current financial success will be shouldering the weight. The new game — known as Stellar Dawn — should be coming in 2010 and will be based on the MechScape graphics engine.

The big changes planned for Stellar Dawn are content and combat focused, although no specifics were given by Gerhard. It’s a bold move, no doubt, and sometimes this industry favors such decisions — other times it punishes them significantly. Whether you look at this as stalled (Tabula Rasa) or prolonged (everything Blizzard) development, you have to admit it creates a notable amount of interest in Jagex’s 2010 game.

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items, Mechscape

Jagex cancels MechScape at significant cost, restarts anew originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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