Fallen Earth MMO getting an iPhone app

FALLEN EARTH and Icarus Studios, developers of the self-titled massively multiplayer online game (MMO), Fallen Earth, announced today the development of a cross-platform iPhone application, which allows players to connect into the live game server and interact with the game remotely via their iPhone.

Through the new iPhone application, players will have access to Fallen Earth, and allow Fallen Earth players to view their in-game character stats, mutations and trade skills as well as provide access to equipped and stored items. Players will also have be able to view maps for each of the three sectors in the 1,000 square kilometers of the game’s landscape.

The app is scheduled for release in Q1 2010, and will feature real-time management of several key in-game systems like players’ crafting queues, recipes, craft items, commerce at the Auction House as well as the ability to interact with friends, Clan members and other online players through multiple chat channels, mail and private messaging.

Find out more about this app and the game by visiting www.fallenearth.com.

Age of Conan gets a free update

Funcom has launched a free update for its massively multiplayer online role-playing game Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Update 5.6, or Nights of Lost Souls if you need to give it a name, introduces new in-game seasonal content, new quests and rewards, a new high-level dungeon and the Veteran Points system. In tandem with this update Funcom has also introduced significant discounts on all longer term subscriptions.

The new seasonal content will allow players to acquire appropriately themed loot such as the Unholy Backscratcher weapon as well as a pet demon. Players will also be able to discover a mysterious new location in Tarantia and visit the Iron Tower, a high-level dungeon towering over the rooftops of Tarantia Commons – the city’s slum district. The addition of the new dungeon brings the storyline of Tarantia Commons to its final conclusion. The Tarantia Commons location was added to Age of Conan in an update earlier this year.

The Veteran Points system allows players who have subscribed to Age of Conan for one month or longer to collect exclusive rewards such as mounts, experience potions, teleportation abilities, special equipment and more. All players accumulate Veteran Points over time by staying subscribed, and these points can be used at special in-game vendors. These points are also awarded retroactively, so current and previous subscribers already have points to spend.

Finally, new discounts for subscriptions have been introduced: Adding three months game time to your account now yields a 20 percent discount, six months game time yields a 30 percent discount and 12 months of game time gets you a 45 percent discount.

Virtual Goods Summit adds iPhone panel

The Virtual Goods Summit, a conference dedicated to the virtual goods space in gaming, today unveiled a lineup of new additions to their program, including an iPhone panel, five new speakers and two new lectures. The updated program comes in the wake of new research that projects the virtual goods market will grow to $1 billion in 2009.

In its third year, the Virtual Goods Summit starts on October 29 in San Francisco, CA with the Virtual Goods University, a full day workshop specifically for disseminating information on the fundamentals of virtual goods. On October 30 the Virtual Goods Summit will feature a full day of discussions focused on trends and success stories from individuals at the forefront of digital goods sales and services.

Read the rest of this entry »

Free Realms celebrates Halloween in style

Feel like dancing like that awful show on ABC? Well Sony Online Entertainment is hosting what it calls the Biggest Virtual Halloween Dance Party ever in its free to play MMO for all ages, Free Realms.

Everyone is encouraged to log on to Free Realms at 4pm PDT - 6pm PDT (11pm - 1am UTC) this Wednesday, October 21st to show off their new Halloween costumes and get down to with the “Chiller” Boom box dance. Scheduled to be certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, this celebration will be offset by well-known dance moves and a notable tune that promises for a thrilling good time.

If you’re interested in getting involved, check out www.FreeRealms.com for all the dirty little details. SOe will also introduce 14 new Halloween quests, spooky mini-games, trick-or-treating, 2 new trading card game Quest Packs and more than 35 costumes for pets and players.

Nexon USA claims continued growth in Q3

According to Nexon America, the MMO company saw revenue jump more than 36 percent in the third quarter, a sign, according to Nexon America, that customers are enthusiastic about the company’s slate of games and new content. What helped Q3 numbers the most were revenue numbers for September, which jumped 44 percent, compared to September 2008. This goes along with the company’s growth trend during this past summer when Nexon America’s revenues grew 35 percent in July and 32 percent in August compared to the same time frame last year.

Daniel Kim, Nexon America’s CEO, said that the positive revenue numbers reflect the activity of Nexon’s games — MapleStory, Combat Arms, and Mabinogi — which have all been in service for more than a year. Combat Arms, the most recent addition to Nexon’s service, launched October 1, 2008.

Let’s see how long the trend continues.

World of Battles beta gets an upgrade

Frogwares’ free MMO real-time strategy game, World of Battles, is offering some handy dandy new in the latest beta version of the game - 0.9.14. The new beta release fixes and fine-tunes several parts of the game and brings a lot of new features. A list of fixes and changes can be found below. Find out more by visiting www.worldofbattles.com. The neta version of the game is open to the public.

- Get invited to Quests by your Race Advisor, help your side to win battles (Good or Evil) and benefit from special rewards and bonuses on the online shop

- Create your own battlefields and challenge armies of your opponents

- Participate to different events like the XP & Gold events, and make your armies evolve faster

- Plunge into an immersive atmosphere thanks to new 3D sounds and music themes

- Get Gems (in-game currency) for free and buy all the items and equipment you need

- Climb fairly the world rankings thanks to a Reliability Rating during the battles

Dragonica Online launching this week

THQ*ICE announced that Thursday, October 15th marks the official grand opening for its free-to-play Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game, Dragonica Online. As part of the official game launch, THQ*ICE is hosting a series of events and contests for all registered players.

These events include Emporia War Challenge (a guild-versus-guild event with THQ*ICE’s official guild as a target), On Guard for Game Cards (players who log in are entered for a chance to win some a collectible Dragonica Online Game Card; Oct. 15 - 22), Increased Rates (Oct. 15 and October 18 THQ*ICE will be increasing the size and rates of gold drops and increased XP gain), Around the World in 80 Hours (a screenshot contest), new dungeon content and a loot hunt.

You can register to play Dragonica Online at dragonica.thqice.com.