Written on November 20, 2009 at 4:01 pm, by James Fudge
North American gamers probably aren’t too familiar with Perfect World Entertainment, beyond their association with Runic Game’s Torchlight and the handful of Asian MMOs the company is trying to bring to North America. But this seemingly small MMO company is really quite big in China and analysts that pay attention to the sector (and like to invest money) have got their eyes all over Perfect World, despite its challenges - in China, of course.
Perfect World Co. Ltd. went public roughly 4 years ago and has beaten earnings estimates for most of its existence, carving out its own little niche in the lucrative online gaming space in China. Perfect World is no small player either, with a $2 billion market capitalization and a long-term plan to have a global presence - hence its North American and European operations. In the latest quarter the company raked in $86.4 million in revenue, compared to $55.9 million the same quarter last year. That’s pretty amazing for a company most North American gamers know nothing about.
But the company, like many others that have a business model that relies heavily on the lucrative Chinese MMO market, faces some serious challenges. Those challenges include government oversight and possible censorship of content, a rather crowded field of competitors (CDC Games, Shanda Games, The9, NetEase, etc.) and an unknown level of growth in China. Here and in places like Europe it faces the challenge of getting Western gamers interested in MMOs that are decidedly Asian in style. One secret weapon the company has is the upcoming Torchlight MMO, which will also serve the Chinese market if it can get by the Chinese Ministry of Culture.
In North America the company has 3 free-to-play MMOs in operation (Ether Saga Online, Perfect World International, and Jade Dynasty) as well as Runic Games single player action RPG, Torchlight. You can learn more about the company and all these games by visiting perfectworld.com.
Written on November 20, 2009 at 1:41 pm, by James Fudge
The National Institute on Family and the Media is shutting down, as the economy forces the media watchdog group to Minneapolis-based to close its doors. The National Institute on Family and the Media, founded by psychologist David Walsh and funded mostly by Fairview Health Services, is best known for its annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card, which often criticized game makers for creating and marketing mature themed games to children.
“Thank you for 14 years of amazing accomplishments and success, said a personal message on the organization’s web site today. “Though our doors will close on December 31, 2009, our important work and programs will continue through you.”
A blog post by David Walsh further explains why the organazation is shutting down - and most of it points to the current state of the economy.
“Two years ago, the National Institute on Media and the Family’s board of directors started strategic discussions about the organization’s evolving mission and goals. The current challenging economic environment accelerated those discussions. As a result, the Institute’s board of directors made the decision to close the Institute, effective December 31, 2009 and to begin transitioning the programs to other organizations who share our mission and values.”
The National Institute on Family and the Media says that it will transition many of its programs and initiatives to other national organizations, and founder David Walsh promises to continue speaking out on the things he feels are important like the affects of violent media on children.
Written on November 20, 2009 at 12:50 pm, by James Fudge
City of Heroes players are decent people, as evidenced by a charity they helped create called Real World Heroes. This six week charity drive will help raise funds for three organizations dedicated to real world heroes and heroic and lofty causes. The charity will also get the support of NCsoft, who will help promote its efforts with the City of Heroes MMO. The idea for a charity drive was conceived by Joel and Karen Garcia, long-time City of Heroes players, after attending the HeroCon 2009 fan event hosted by NCsoft and Paragon Studios, the development studios behind the game.
The charities getting the proceeds from this drive include Child’s Play (an organization created by Penny Arcade creators Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins donates toys, games, books, and cash for sick children in hospitals across the U.S. and the world), Donate Games (a charity dedicated to funding research and support for children with “orphan” diseases) and Operation Gratitude (a charity dedicated to sending 100,000 care packages annually filled with snacks, entertainment items and letters of appreciation to U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile regions).
This time of the year is particularly important to charities around the world because it is when people tend to be the most generous and giving. As gamers, we should show the world that are hearts are as big as our dedication is to playing games. I encourage you to check out www.RealWorldHero.com, see the great work they are doing, and get involved.
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Category Genres, MMO, Other, Public Interest | Tags: Charity,Child's Play,City of Heroes,Donate Games,NCSoft,Operation Gratitude,Paragon Studios,Real World Heroes
Written on November 20, 2009 at 6:14 am, by James Fudge
It looks like the ban hammer has hit its mark on two of the biggest in-game offer providers on Facebook: Gambit and Tatto Media. Earlier in the month Facebook announced that it had shut down in-game offer providers for some shady and misleading offers, but didn’t name names. This week the social network did. Both Gambit and Tatto Media have been accused of serving up offers in games that have hidden obligations or fees. The reason for the bans, according to an excellent report on VentureBeat, was ” repeat violations of Facebook’s guidelines for offers.”
If you take into account that 30 percent of revenues in the $1 billion virtual goods business are derived from such offers, then this is a very serious matter that needs to be addressed now, because it shows a weakness in that business model. Game providers like Zynga, Playfish and others have started cracking down on these kinds of dubious offers as well - though Facebook has certainly done its fair share of forcing these companies to do the right thing.
Ultimately in-game offers need to be re-thought and refreshed so that users aren’t roped into products and services without knowing what all of the details are. Some examples of this might include a service that doesn’t tell you until it is too late that you have signed up for a lengthy and expensive subscription, or a product that is mailed to you unsolicited with a questionable amount of time to return. At the end of the day players have to ask themselves if the virtual currency they might earn by participating in an offer is really worth the risk and ultimate costs (goods and services they didn’t know they purchased).
You can learn more by checking out this excellent VentureBeat article on the topic.
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Category Industry, Other, Public Interest | Tags: Facebook,Gambit,In-Game Offers,Playfish,Socal Gaming,Tatto Media,VentureBeat,Virtual Goods,Zynga
Written on November 20, 2009 at 4:27 am, by James Fudge
Atlus U.S.A. has released new details on Shiren the Wanderer, the upcoming “rogue-like” RPG for Wii - including three online features from the Japanese version of the game will not be included in the North American release. According to Atlus U.S.A. public relations manager Aram Jabbari, “the North American version of Shiren will not include the Rescue, Versus, or Item Transfer.” He did note that the downloadable dungeon content from the Japanese version will be included on the disc.
While Jabbari understands that these omissions may upset some North American players, he points out that he still thinks the game is a fantastic RPG experience without them. What he does not explain is why these features are being omitted in the first place.
For those not familiar with the game, Shiren the Wanderer is an action RPG that lets you play as a wandering samurai named Shiren, who explores different time periods in a colorful and historic Japan. The North American version of the game offers variable difficulties including a new easy mode that lets new players ease into the game and a normal mode for more seasoned players. Post-game activities will offer additional quests, super dungeons, a tournament, and the ultimate challenge of the Millennium Dungeon, a 1,000 floor dungeon crawl. Players can take control of their party directly or let the game’s A.I do the heavy lifting by setting “attitude and tendency.” Players can also modify equipment through the new Dragon Orb system, giving them with special abilities via more than 100 Seals and use new spells that allow for targeted effects on enemies and more.
Shiren the Wanderer is currently scheduled for release on February 9, 2010. For more details on the game, check out the very first blog entry about it over at www.atlus.com. Check out some nifty screenshots after the break. Read more
Written on November 20, 2009 at 4:18 am, by James Fudge
Harmonix has teamed up with Penny Arcade’s Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik for ÜMLOUD!, a special Rock Band Night for the Child’s Play charity. Child’s Play is a charity that supports the National Children’s Hospital Organization by giving money, toys, games and gaming hardware to hospitals where children are going through often life threatening and difficult medical problems. Ümloud! is an annual fundraiser event for Child’s Play Charity, a “gamers’ charity” started by Penny Arcade’s Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik that provides toys and games to Children’s Hospitals around the country, including Oakland Children’s Hospital.
The spiritual-successor to last year’s successful Fünde Razor, and hosted by Chris Kohler (Wired), Joe Markert (Gamehelper), and John “Seg” Seggerson (Telltale Games), Ümloud! will hit the DNA Lounge in San Francisco, California on December 9th, and feature a full-blown Rock Band 2 main stage set up courtesy of Harmonix Music Systems, where Rock Band bands can rock out in the name of charity.
Doors open at the DNA Lounge at 7:00pm and the party will rage until 2:00am. There is a suggested donation of $10.00 (but you should give more if you can)upon entry to the event, and all attendees will be entered into a raffle that will go on throughout the night offering amazing prizes and limited edition gaming swag, courtesy of participating sponsors. You can sign your band up for either the Ultimate Band Package for $120.00 or the Standard Band Package for $40.00. If you are going to be in the San Francisco area, go and join the fun, be entered to win some totally awesome prizes and help raise money for a good cause.
Written on November 20, 2009 at 4:09 am, by James Fudge
While we’re not sure when or if it will make its way to North America, we do know that an Xbox 360 of No More Heroes is in development for Japan. Developed by Marvelous Entertainment, the Xbox 360 version, roughly translated as “No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise,” will be released on Xbox 360 February 25, 2010 in Japan.
We do not know whether or not the game is a straight port of the original Wii game, nor if it will offer more than just the cursory graphics overall, Xbox 360 refined control scheme and achievements. You can see some screenshots from the game at the Japanese Xbox 360 game page.
One thing we do know from the game page is that it is still a single player game and will feature more cut scenes and voice acting to enhance the bizarre storyline of the original as concieved by Suda51. More information when we have it.
