Tovin's Topics: A Weekly News Review
Last week we had some rumors of Wrath of the Lich King going into alpha, and people everywhere reacted with reverent discussions of what this means to the gaming community, what a possible release date would be, and what we can expect to see from Blizzard.Shockingly (can ya feel the heavy sarcasm here?), Blizzard hasn't announced anything. Nor do they plan to. Why? They don't care. And neither should you! Alpha means nothing. Even beta means nothing … unless you happen to be picked for it. Then it means not letting your friends find out unless you plan to protect your very life from your best friend who would kill you in your sleep for a chance at playing a Death Knight before anyone else!
In reality (where I hope most of you live), this type of rumor is probably true, but changes nothing. Blizzard will release the most highly anticipated expansion, followed in fan support only by Burning Crusades, when it's done. Even if it means pushing it back, and not talking about it for months, as they are prone to do.
That's how it's always been for them, and always will be. It's why, in the end, Blizzard is a top notch company with a reputation for polish and style that no one has been able to match.
This wasn't the only news to bring sarcasm and interest on the part of yours truly! Read on to find out what else is going on in the MMO world!
Either the game is flawed, which I highly doubt since they had publishers world wide already signed on and ready to go or the North American market is fierce, and people are afraid to add yet another competitor to the mix. For compete Spellborn will! I guarantee it. While it may take it some time to catch on, not having the public relations push that many studios have for a game before anything is ready to release (Warhammer or Conan anyone?), Spellborn seems a solid game, with passionate and knowledgeable people behind the scenes. Let's all hope that potential players catch on quickly!
Of course, no one seemed to pay much attention to the news that Rappelz is moving into the Russian market. This is huge for a few reasons. Number one is that it's not the first announcement of this sort. This market is one that everyone is pushing to get into. Dark Age of Camelot is here, and NCSoft announced not that long ago that they'd made an agreement with a localization partner there as well.
These worldwide markets are a huge help to our genre, and while no players seem to pay much attention to it, rest assured the developers are watching avidly, to see what unfolds! I predict South American market is going to open up very, very quickly, as more studios push for their games there!
Also last week, we got a press release from Turbine regarding their choice as one of the top 100 private Northeastern companies. While I'm sure it's a prestigious award and all, I'm somehow not blown away. It's akin to announcing your MMO got best use of a cat award by the local cat fanciers organization. While the cat fanciers and your players are excited - no one else, except the cat, really understands, or truly cares. Now, I'm not trying to knock Turbine, AlwaysOn, or their award. Except that I kind of am. Hopefully, they'll forgive me! Next week I'm sending out my own press release! Tovin named the best Allakhazam staff writer who logs on between 8am and 12pm! The competition was fierce, my acceptance speech will be better than a 10k ding thread!
And in the last bit of news that I'll rant about for a bit is the legislative coup in Arizona!
The Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee considered a measure that was already approved by the state's senate last month that would hold content providers responsible for any violent acts that were committed because of their released media. While the measure was defeated, it raises scary questions that should have been dealt with years ago. Do you consider video games on par with other art and entertainment industries such as movies, theater, music, and television? While most players do consider their entertainment to be on par with these other industries, legislation and concerned parents tend to believe that because video games are aimed mostly at children they should be regulated to a higher degree.
Because the common belief (by whom, I'm not sure) is that video games of all sorts are automatically aimed at children simply because of the medium is disgustingly silly and simplistic. Other mediums, such as TV, can have IPs (intellectual properties) such as cartoons, that are obviously aimed at children. That doesn't mean that sit-coms and horror shows are obviously aimed at children. Why are video games any different at all?
But who gets to make that decision, and why? And why is it so hard now, to realize that while some games may be aimed at children, others obviously are not! Why does legislation feel the need to get involved, and why do we, as players, let it?! I urge you all not to sit back and let others take a stand about your entertainment, and what is and is not allowed! Gamers everywhere unite! So get involved folks, and be sure that you're up to date on what's going on, because you're going to wake up one day and find your games are now illegal!
In the end, it was a good week for MMOs. Expansions, new locals, and legislation that fails to arbitrarily define what developers can and can not include in their games without serious repercussions. Maybe soon we’ll get some real news on expansions from Blizzard and Turbine, as well as find out who the new Spellborn publisher is!
Until then, have a great week everybody! I’ll see you in game!
By Becky "Tovin" Simpson