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.

Funcom’ Age of Conan incentives for returning players

Funcom announced today that it plans to repeat its re-evaluation campaign that went live earlier this year for its massively multiplayer online role-playing game Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. The campaign encourages former subscribers to come back to the game and play free of charge for two weeks. As an additional incentive for players to come back and play for free, they will also receive a double experience boost throughout their free period. Those who decide to continue playing beyond their free period will also get access to the beta test for The Secret World, a free copy of the expansion and more.

Players who return and choose to continue subscribing to the game after their free period will get some other rewards as well. Details about that can be found after the break.

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Final Fantasy XI: Ultimate Collection released

Square Enix this week released Final Fantasy XI: Ultimate Collection, a compilation package featuring its flagship MMO product and all the expansion released to date. Final Fantasy XI: Ultimate Collection includes all four expansion packs (Rise of the ZilarT, Chains of Promathia, Treasures of Aht Urhgan and Wings of the Goddess) as well as the three add-on scenarios released this year (A Crystalline Prophecy - Ode of Life Bestowing, A Moogle Kupo d’Etat - Evil in Small Doses and the recently released A Shantotto Ascension - The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born).

This compilation is priced at the surprisingly low price of $19.99, and is available in retail stores starting today for the PC and Xbox 360 platforms, as well as through digital distribution channels. More details about the compilation and the game can be found at www.finalfantasyxi.com.

A kinder, gentler Warhammer Online trial

Today Mythic Entertainment announced that Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, its popular MMO based on the Games Workshop universe, has introduced a new “endless” free trial program for new users. The free trial will allow players to try as many characters as they like through the first tier of the game or to level 10. Along with the endless trial, a brand new streaming trial client has also been introduced which will allow new users to download a smaller file where backgrounds will be streamed continuously in as players progress through the game.

Endless free trial players will partake in the recently introduced New User Journey, which features enhanced tutorials and new community elements, such as a “new player” guild, to streamline the transition of new players into WAR and its community of players. The new WAR endless free trial replaces the original 10-day time-limited trial program. This introduction comes after the major performance upgrade and revamped New User Journey in the 1.3.2 patch released in mid-October.

Find out more about this brand new trial version of the game by checking out www.warhammeronline.com/trial.

Mytheon gets a web site makeover

True Games Interactive and development partner Petroglyph have launched a brand new website for their upcoming online multiplayer action-role-playing game, Mytheon.

Located at www.MytheonGame.com, visitors can sign up to take part in the closed beta test scheduled this fall, (the first 1,000 eligible players to register for an account will be guaranteed a spot) check out screenshots and video, read details on the game’s “Power Stones,” read character class descriptions, and learn about the game’s environments.

Mytheon combines the elements from the action-RPG genre with strategic combat and collectability in a persistent online world. Players will apparently be able to challenge legendary mythological gods by wielding potent and unique “Power Stones” that transform into spells, structures and creatures. Naturally, players can loot, forge, buy, sell and trade these stones in the game’s online community, then cast the stones during battles in a 3D mythological world.

Puggable.com beta goes live

Vivox wants you to know about Puggable.com and why it’s a good thing for gamers - particularly those that enjoy MMOs. Puggable.com provides gamers with services to make pick-up groups in MMOs more fun. Currently being tested in the World of Warcraft game community, a website that supports pick up groups (PUGs) commonly formed in MMOs.

Puggable brings together both character and instance data from the game so that players can quickly and easily build a complementary team. Once the PUG is set, they can use Vivox voice right from their browser, making it easy for players to communicate while playing together.

The site allows for player searches of similar skills and comparable level, voice chat support using Vivox’s technology from a web browser, and the ability to add new players later on. Puggable.com is in open beta starting today. Players can go to the site, download the voice chat app and enter the site to hook up with a group.

Atlantica Online expanding to Thailand, Russia

Ndoors Interactive’s free-to-play MMORPG, Atlantica Online has entered into closed beta in Thailand. The game will be published by top Asian online game provider Asiasoft, who did a massive localization process on the game prior to the beta’s launch. Additionally, Ndoors has finalized a publishing agreement with Enova, a publishing company in Russia, to bring Atlantica Online to the Russian market. Russia will be next in entering closed beta, as Thailand has recently ended the closed beta phase and has entered open beta. Atlantica Online has successfully expanded from Korea into North America, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, and recently kicked off its European expansion in Germany.

Atlantica Online is a strategic turn-based MMORPG that combines combat with character/party development and city/country management. Players take on the quest to destroy the Oriharukon, a powerful energy source from the lost civilization of Atlantis that survived and is now endangering humanity. For more information on Atlantica Online, check out www.playatlantica.com/ao.