steven on August 1st, 2008
Chief Executive Officer John De Margheriti today announced the appointment of Mr Adam Shaw as BigWorlda?s Education Program Manager. Mr Shaw will help the company to implement one of the first Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) and Virtual Worlds learning resources and support services for educators in 2009.
Tertiary institutions and specialist educators are currently teaching their games courses using more traditional peer-to-peer game engines which are unsuited in learning about how true MMOGa�?s and Virtual Worlds are created. The new resources that will be made available to educators by BigWorld will make it possible for teachers and lecturers to offer students the opportunity to learn on world-class middleware technology that enables hundreds of thousands of players to interact simultaneously, rather than using engines that are restricted by the number of players.
John De Margheriti commented a�?We have many months of hard work ahead with educational partners to get this initiative off the ground. The industry as a whole needs to make it easier for motivated young talent to gain experience in using todaya�?s industry standard middleware technology. These games are much more complex to develop for and this is a pro-active approach to prevent an industry shortage of experienced MMOG developers, particularly game programmers and game designersa�?.
a�?I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with leading game educators to provide them with the resources to create MMOGs and Virtual Worlds. The technology that will be made available will greatly enhance educatora�?s and studenta�?s understanding of what commercial grade MMOG engines are about and also provide students with greater job prospects in this online agea�? said Adam Shaw.
BigWorld hopes that these specialist modules in MMOG game development will help to shape the way forward for todaya�?s leading educators. Recently released statistics from DFC Intelligence show that a�?the total overall number of online gamers in the twenty leading online game countries is expected to increase 51% from 2006 to 2012a�? and that a�?worldwide online game revenue is expected to increase from $4.5 billion in 2006 to $13.1 billion in 2012, a 192% increase. According to mmogdata.voig.com, active MMO Player subscriptions have grown from about 10,000 as of April 1997 to approximately 47.67 million as of April 2008, and the number of active MMO Player subscriptions has increased by 63.07% per year on average since January 2003, and increased by 83.77% between April 2007 and April 2008 thus emphasizing the growing trend for demand for these types of games.
steven on October 12th, 2007
A week jam-packed with Nintendo news was overshadowed today by an announcement that sent shockwaves through the North American game industry. Thursday afternoon, top publisher Electronic Arts announced that it will acquire VG Holding Corp., owner of BioWare/Pandemic.
VG Holding Corp. was formed in late 2005 when esteemed Canadian role-playing game studio BioWare formed the aforementioned “superdeveloper” with Californian shop Pandemic Studios. The union was funded by Elevation Partners, a venture capital firm with rock star Bono on its board, and brokered by then-Elevation board member John Riccitiello, who became BioWare/Pandemic’s CEO.
At the time, the deal was seen as a break from the traditional developer-publisher relationship, which sees the former beholden to the latter for funding. However, when Riccitiello returned to his old job as EA CEO, many wondered if the move might presage a takeover bid of BioWare/Pandemic. These suspicions were further raised when EA agreed to distribute the Pandemic shooter Mercenaries 2: World in Flames under its EA Partners program.
When the BioWare/Pandemic deal was announced, Elevation made much of the fact the union represented a “combined investment” of more than $300 million, including future funding. Today, the company got a massive return on said investment, with EA paying $620 million in cash to the stockholders of VG Holding Corp. In addition, the publisher will issue an additional $155 million in equity to unidentified VG Holding employees, as well as assume $50 million in outstanding VG stock options, and will lend VG $35 million to fund the transition.
In return for paying a princely sum, EA becomes the owner of both BioWare’s and Pandemic’s original properties. Jade Empire, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age are among BioWare’s original IP, which does not include such licensed hits as the Dungeons and Dragons-based Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, or the DS Sonic RPG. BioWare is also working on an unnamed massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Pandemic is best known for the Full Spectrum Warrior and Mercenaries series, as well as the THQ-owned Destroy All Humans! and LucasArts-owned Star Wars: Battlefront franchises.
However, EA was relatively cagey about which BioWare/Pandemic games will become EA properties. The announcement only mentioned one BioWare (Mass Effect) and two Pandemic games (Saboteur, Mercenaries) by name. However, it did say the two studios have “10 franchises under development, including six wholly owned games.”
Pending regulatory approval, EA’s takeover of BioWare/Pandemic will be final on January 2008. Both studios will become part of the EA Games division, run by Frank Gibeau, with Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka continuing to run BioWare, and Andrew Goldman, Josh Resnick, and Greg Borrud staying in charge of Pandemic. The two studios employ 800 people in Los Angeles; Austin; Edmonton; and Brisbane, Australia.
[UPDATE] In a conference call with analysts after the announcement, EA executives shed some light on the motivation behind the deal. Besides the impeccable pedigree of both studios, Riccitiello said that the “acquisition fills out a gap in [EA's] genre lineup,” specifically the role-playing and action adventure markets. The executive also cited BioWare’s forthcoming MMORPG as a huge opportunity for “further expansion into the MMO space.”
Although the implication is that the BioWare MMORPG is an original IP, Riccitiello and his associates steered clear of saying so specifically. He did say that the deal will make EA the owner of the Mass Effect, Jade Empire, Mercenaries, Full Spectrum Warrior, and Saboteur properties. The executive also said that EA “expect[s] to bring 10 franchises to market in the next few years; six of which are wholly owned.” [UPDATE 2] No mention was made of Dragon Age but BioWare reps confirmed with GameSpot that the little-seen title is moving forward in development, and is already in playable form.
Later, Gibeau said that number includes “many titles that have not yet been announced that we will be announcing in the near future.” These include “several unannounced titles that are targeted both at the Wii and DS.” The two studios’ combined operations are expected to yield around four or five games each year for the next three fiscal years.
On the financial side, EA CFO Warren Jenson said that that he expects games from the two studios to generate over $300 million in annual income during EA’s 2009 and 2010 fiscal years. (EA’s 2009 fiscal year begins on April 1, 2008.) He later said that number would increase once the BioWare MMORPG launches “in the back half” of that period.
steven on August 13th, 2007
In this article I am going to list some of the MMORPG’S I have played and their strengths and weaknesses. This is to help you decide which game you will enjoy the most.
Runescape: I started with this one because I have the most experience in this game. I found that once you burn through the noobie levels it is extremely fun and hardly ever boring seeing as how there many skills. If you ever play this game seriously not just a short time every week or so the membership is a must after you have made it through the low levels of all the free skills.
Pros: Endless things to trains so hardly any down time. Not just a game based on combat and PVP but high combat level helps. When you’re on you don’t even have to train you can just talk with you friends or play one of the MANY minigames. No downloads required
Cons: To unlock the best of the game you have to become a member. Pretty bad graphics, but what can you expect from a browser run game.
Neopets: This is one I played mainly in my younger days but even now and then I go back and the games are still pretty fun. It is absolutely free. There are very many games and other activities for you to do while on
Pros: Many games and activities so that you can do nearly anything while you are on. It is completely FREE. Personally I put my money into the stock market when I have 15k np’s so that even when I’m not playing I can gain extra np’s
Cons: May be a little childish. Getting np’s from games may get repetitive.
ToonTown: I played this one for a month. I played it an awful lot and almost unlock all the gags but it was still very fun. You get to play mini games in order to get jelly beans, which are used to buy gags that act as your attacks.
Pros: Pretty good graphics. Quiet a few things for you to do. Pretty fun combat system
Cons: No chat system where you can type what you want to say unless they are you friend and you have added a code of theirs. All battles get repetitive after awhile.
Extra note: I say you try this game for at least a month if you have time to play because it is very fun for the initial month, also be sure to use the 3 day trial before joining for a month.
World of Warcraft: This game is very fun. Just be aware it has it’s consequences, if you are the kind of person that can get addicted to leveling up and playing online I do not suggest this game for you.
Pros: Amazing graphics, endless quests, many classes and races in which to choose from, PVP is absolutely amazing especially the battlegrounds.
Cons: Can take over your life if you’re the kind of person that can become addicted to online games. It’s a pretty expensive for a monthly game. Leveling up can become an agonizing process at about level 40.
Conclusion: Thanks for reading my short guide on internet gaming and which games are best. I hope this has helped make a decision on which game you want to choose and which game best fits your likes.
