Planet Calypso economy subject of academic study

MindArk subsidiary First Planet Company announced that it is working with a Florida State University doctoral student in the College of Business on a new study about virtual world industries and virtual economies. According to First Planet company, this study will help to determine if a player’s experience with a product in a virtual world influences their intention to purchase a product and how that experience can affect a brand.

First Planet Company and business scholars at The Florida State University and Stockholm School of Economics have partnered to develop answers surrounding buying habits in virtual worlds. The study being conducted within the upcoming Miss Calypso beauty pageant on Planet Calypso seeks to understand how the mental state of a virtual world user influences his or her attitude toward, and intention to purchase digital products within virtual worlds.

“Despite the increasing attention that virtual worlds have seen with respect to marketing by companies, little is known about the perception of products within virtual worlds. Even less is known about how a consumer’s cognitive state resulting from an experience with a product in a virtual world may influence his or her intention to purchase a product,” said Rob Hooker, a doctoral candidate who is conducting an independent study in the College of Business at The Florida State University.

The 6th annual Miss Calypso beauty pageant will take place on November 22nd, at 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (Noon on the West Coast) in the MMORPG Planet Calypso. Results from this study will be available in Q1 of 2010.

Inside Perfect World Entertainment

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.

City of Heroes HeroCon spawns Real World Heroes

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.

Champions Online Nemesis Event

If you have played Champions Online (I have, see my train wreck of a review for details) then chances are you inevitably created a nemesis to dog your every step. This arch enemy that you create yourself from scratch will prove to be even more difficult next week when Cryptic Studios launches the Nemesis Confrontation event.

The event gives players the chance to team up with other players to take down their nemesis, who is a bit more aggressive than usual. But the added twist is that your buddy’s nemesis will team up with your nemesis to provide double trouble. You most hated villains are apparently going to try to cause a rift in the fabric of reality to destroy the Champions universe. In addition to all the minions associated with your nemesis, you’ll have to deal with new enemy types in a new location.

The event begins on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and extends into the weekend after Thanksgiving. The weekend of Nov. 27 and 28th will also be a free play weekend, so those that have given up on the game can return for the fun. Watch your back, Pizza Delivery Dude - I might be coming for you next week.

Find out more at Champions-Online.com.

China’s Ministry of Culture tightens grip on MMO industry

It’s tough for a Western game developer, working with partners in the region, to maintain creative control of its product in China. And it is getting tougher every day. The Chinese government announced late Wednesday night that it will tighten regulations on online games even more.

China’s Ministry of Culture said in a circular that it would require game operators to re-examine the content of the games they offer to make sure it doesn’t contain and “obscene or violent content” or anything that might be considered “lowbrow.” But what it really means is that the Ministry of Culture wants to stamp out any themes that go against the government’s socialist views. The circular also said that operators must limit the number of virtual marriages and player-versus-player combat sessions in these games.’

The circular says as much plainly enough: they want game operators to “enhance socialist values” and hire “specialist” to monitor content. No doubt these “experts” will be provided or recommended by the Ministry of Culture.

The changes will affect a lot of operators including Shanda Games, NetEase, The9, CDC Games, Tencent Holdings etc. Most of these companies will simply comply with these requests. But do game developers in North America, Europe and other parts of the world want the Chinese government to say what it can and can’t have in its games?

On the other hand, Blizzard learned the hard way that you can’t win against the Chinese government when it tried to switch operators (from The9 to NetEase). Now World of Warcraft is no longer running in that region.

As harsh as this truth is, it should be troubling to any MMO creator who wants to maintain their original vision and have it running in China.
Operators in the region have no choice. NetEase’s Chief Executive Officer William Ding said in an earnings call on Thursday, that, while he had not seen the full details of the circular, his company is willing to comply..

China’s online game industry is incredibly lucrative and growing; by the end of 2009 it should record growth between 30 - 50 percent, with estimated sales revenue of 24 - 27 billion yuan (that’s $3.5 - $4 billion USD). The total number of online game players is estimated to be more than 50 million.

Lord of the Rings Online gets Chinese Government approval

CDC Games has received final government approvals to operate The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar (LOTRO) in China. This enables the company to begin open beta testing of Turbine’s MMO later this week with commercial launch to follow one week later. The Chinese government has a strict approval process that requires prior approval of all games before proceeding into an open beta and commercial launch enviornment.

During the final phase of the closed beta test, CDC Games reported a registration number of 2.2 million users and a high activation rate during the last week of testing. Playing time steadily increased throughout the test resulting in about four hours per session.

CDC Games holds the exclusive distribution rights in China for The Lord of the Rings Online.

Pre-order opens for EverQuest II Sentinels Fate

Pre-orders are now available for EverQuest II Sentinels Fate and EverQuest II Sentinels Fate Collector’s Edition, the sixth expansion for Sony Online Entertainment’s popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game EverQuest II. You can get started by visiting www.everquest2.com. The expansion, scheduled to be available at retail on February 16, 2010, followed by the digital launch on February 23, 2010, is an all-in-one compilation pack which

EverQuest II Sentinels Fate takes players into the fabled lands of Odus, promising a new area to explore, epic quests, new dungeons and fresh new content in various forms for all types of players. The fancy Collectotrs Edition contains the new expansion pack and all five previous expansions and content, a level cap increase to 90, two new overland zones (The Sundered Frontier and Stonebrunt Highlands), 12 new dungeons, over 400 new quests, all new alternate advancement abilities, a 7-day headstart (if you buy the retail product), a stipend of 500 Station Cash, 30-day subscription for new accounts, more loot (2,000 new weapons, pieces of armor and items), Legends of Norrath (includes digital card game client and The Fall of Erudin scenario), a collectible Armored Highlands Stalker pet figurine, Guarding of the Reasoned in-game armor piece, Armored Highland Stalker in-game mount and the EverCracked Documentary featuring Jace Hall.

Both retail and digital versions will be available for the suggested retail price of $39.99 (plus applicable taxes). Additionally, a Collector’s Edition including exclusive items is being offered for $69.99 (plus applicable taxes).