Grab a party hat and some confetti, because it’s time for an extra-special edition of Captain’s Log . This week, we put aside recent tribble-ations in favor of some celebration: Star Trek Online is six months old! Can you believe Cryptic Studios’ STO went live half a year ago ? This Monday marks the big anniversary, and it sure has been a bumpy ride getting here
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Captain’s Log: Six months of Star Trek Online
Filed under: MMO industry , New titles , Runescape Look who’s expecting: Jagex , the maker of RuneScape , not only has one bun in the oven ( Stellar Dawn ) but another MMO cooking as well.
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Jagex pregnant with its third MMO
Filed under: Sci-fi , MMO industry , News items Set the flags to half-mast, put on your blackest mech armor, and raise a glass with us: As of September 1st , Exteel is shutting its doors and powering down its giant fighting ‘bots. NCsoft announced the game’s cancellation with a bittersweet consolation prize in the form of a late August event where all parts and mechs will be sold for one NCcoin apiece
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The end of Exteel
If you’re a Guild Wars fan, the Live Team is a group you’re probably very familiar with. They’re the main minds behind Guild Wars , the primary development team. Linsey Murdock has been the Live Team’s leader for quite a while, so it was a bit of a surprise when she announced today that she is stepping down from the position.
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Linsey Murdock stepping down from ArenaNet Live Team
When it comes to getting players involved in the development process, EVE Online ’s democratically elected Council of Stellar Management has up until now been a clear success . Previous council members have managed to get some important features implemented in the game and helped CCP with feedback on up-coming expansions.
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Massively’s EVE Online CSM Interview — The summit
Worlds in Motion is reporting on a new survey that takes a look at purchases of virtual goods and money. PlaySpan and VGMarket surveyed just over 2,200 people between the ages of 13 and 64 regarding their purchases of virtual goods and currency. Women are the big spenders here, particularly when it comes to in-game money.
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Study claims that women spend double what men do on virtual goods
Funcom’s Age of Conan has adopted a free-to-play business model for its entrance into the Korean market, according to a report by MMO Culture . While this isn’t exactly news (since basically every game in Korea is F2P), it was interesting to note executive producer and game director Craig “Silirrion” Morrison’s response
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Age of Conan goes F2P in Korea, Morrison talks NA conversion
While fans of Dungeons & Dragons Online in North America have had good reason to celebrate the game’s transition to a free-to-play model and its subsequent revival, European players have had to make do with the regular (i.e. subscription-based) version of the game under Codemaster’s rule.
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DDO Europe to go free-to-play on August 20th
Filed under: Fantasy , EverQuest II , MMO industry , The Agency , News items , Vanguard Layoffs in any industry are never pleasant, and in a smallish community like that of the professional game developer, they can be even more trying. As we reported yesterday , Sony Online Entertainment recently announced the decision to serve 35 employees with their walking papers, and speculation has run rampant in the absence of official information. Two of the developers now looking for work checked in on the EQ2Flames forum to confirm the news and thank the community for their support.
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SOE layoffs detailed, EQII and Vanguard affected
Four percent doesn’t sound like a lot, but when it comes to Sony Online Entertainment , it represents nearly three dozen employees who no longer have a job. G4 reports that the company has let 35 people go from its full-time workforce in an effort to “better align the company’s resources against areas of growth that meet consumer demand in today’s online market as well as improve operational efficiency.” The company is being tight-lipped as to the specifics of the cuts, including who was let go and from which development teams. This may come as a surprise to some, especially when you consider that SOE is riding high off of its Free Realms mega-success and is poised to launch several new titles including The Agency , DC Universe Online and Clone Wars Adventures
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SOE suffers cutbacks as 35 employees are laid off
