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In the MMO genre, celebrating five years of anything is quite a feat. If you think about it, what games were you even playing five years ago? Everquest? Ultima Online? So we acknowledge that the industry is still fairly young, and blogging about it is even younger. This makes Tobold's fifth year anniversary of his MMO blog something to celebrate.

It's a natural fact that blogs come and go. When there's a hot new topic and someone feels passionate about it, they let it all loose in the first few days, weeks or even months, but a very low percentage make it further than that. Tobold is the exception to this, and we respect him for the fine work he's done thus far. The future progression of MMOs and their close relationship with community-driven blogs only makes sense. They go together like tanks and aggro. So here's to many more years of Tobold, and many more years of blogging about MMOs. Cue sappy music.

Funcom's other MMO, Anarchy Online, has just had its seventh birthday. A number of the people that worked on the game got together to make a video that looks at AO since its beginnings, including Morten Byom, Craig Morrison, Ragnar Tørnquist, Colin Cragg, and indeed, Age of Conan's game director Gaute Godager.

To make sure that everyone is digging the anniversary vibe, there are various freebies up for grabs, most in keeping with the theme of "seven". All current subscribers will receive 700 paid points and 7 buddy keys. Those on free accounts have the chance to upgrade to the full game for $7/€, and will get 7 days free play time included . On top of this, a party planner NPC is giving away all sorts of items in-game. Last, but not least, there is an AO-themed gaming PC from GameRigs.com to be won -- check out the details at their website.

The EverQuest franchise is approaching its 10th anniversary, and to help mark the occasion, a special collector's book is going to be produced. However, it's still up in the air as to who will create the original artwork for the book, and SOE is hoping the fans will make this call for them. It's unlikely that this blogger will be winning any votes with submissions like what you see here, but thankfully, it's already been narrowed down to two talented individuals: Donato Giancola and Boris Vallejo.

Visit each of their sites to get a feel for their style, and then hop along to the EQ forums to cast your vote. At the time of writing, it's a fairly close race. Which of the two do you think should be called upon to help with the collector's book?

Today marks the fifth anniversary of Star Wars Galaxies' launch. This day in 2003, thousands of people crowded the login and registration servers, all eager to carve out their own piece of the world Lucas had wrought. The reality today is very different, and despite celebrations over the new Empire Day event and recent chapter publishes, something lingers in the air - a sort of dark cloud on the SWG player's horizon.

Today and tomorrow we're going to chart the path that has lead from there to here. We'll reflect on the game's early days, some of the early patches that added groundbreaking content and systems to the game, and even mull over the biggest change to hit the MMO scene, ever - the NGE. Tomorrow we'll discuss how the game has changed since the New Game Enhancements went in, and look to the future of the title. Join us for a galactic history lesson that begins "A long time ago ... "

If you haven't taken advantage of the anniversary pricing special from Lord of the Rings Online yet, we're worried about your sanity. Yes it's still going on, but you only have less than two weeks left until the prices go back up. This special pricing deal started way back on April 24th of this year and was extended until June 30th.

Not to make this sound too much like a commercial, but this really is the greatest deal in town for a game as involved and deep as LotRO. Even at a 3-month subscription, you're only paying $9.99 a month, but for the first time since launch, they're offering the lifetime subscription for $199. After the 30th, it will go up to $299. So consider this your friendly reminder from your pals at Massively: don't let this lifetime membership deal pass you by!

Late this month, on the 26th, is an auspicious day. Five years ago exactly Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts released the Star Wars Galaxies massively multiplayer game. There were bumps and hobbles (this blogger's first character was wiped when the servers went down), but the early days of SWG were met with guarded enthusiasm. It was a very different kind of game, and offered a unique take on the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

In honor of the upcoming anniversary, the current members of the SWG development team have offered up some brief memorable moments from their time with the game. It's interesting to read along noting the reaction of former players vs. long-time developers. QA Supervisor Taylor Haley best recalls the launch of the Jump to Lightspeed expansion, for example, and the success of that rollout. Community Manager Kelly Knox, on the other hand, most vividly recalls her unnerving first encounter with the Emperor.

You can check out some memories from fellow players at the official thread, but we're interested in your take: what's your best memory from the last five years of Star Wars Galaxies?

In case you were lost in space, mining some rare mineral, today marks five years since a world of adventure, darkness, war, and spectacular beauty dove headfirst into the hands of gamers around the world. CCP created a game where rails were an unfamiliar term and players were encouraged to find new ways of conquering the galaxy or the market that supported it all. Wars were waged, empires rose and fell, and evolution continued to shape the world on all fronts. EVE Online has reached five years and what an amazing journey the game has taken.

EVE has grown to include over 250,000 players from around the world, all happily mining, pirating, or planning world domination. The game has come a long way since that first glorious day. We have seen numerous expansions, a graphics overhaul, wars, scams, and scandals. Countless pods have been destroyed and even more asteroid belts have been strip mined to dust. The future looks just as exciting with ambulation and the Empyrean Age, which will finally place the four empires in an all out war, looming through the next stargate. On this 5th anniversary of the creation of this world, we bring you back to take a look at the moments that made EVE a unique and exciting world in which to live.

We're sure you've heard the exciting news and most recent information on Lord of the Rings Online: Book 13 Doom of the Last King, which was released last month. You've probably also heard about the recently reduced pricing for the game, which was announced for the first anniversary of the game's launch. But we have some even better news for you.

This upcoming weekend, from May 8th through the 12th, you'll get to experience everything Middle Earth has to offer for free in a special Welcome Back Weekend. You can fire up your old characters that you may have forgotten about or create some new characters to test the most current changes. During this time, the anniversary celebrations will continue, so you can participate in those as well!

Guild Wars began life as an unknown; an experiment into combining some of the best elements of Diablo 2-style online hack and slash with the persistent storytelling of traditional MMOs. Its first two years were wildly successful, despite the reservations of veteran players. With several million boxes sold and expectations high, Guild Wars' second year of live service had already begun with a bang. Guild Wars: Factions released to much fanfare, but didn't deliver on all the notes fans of the original Prophecies campaign were hoping for.

In October 2006 Arena.net answered those expectations with a brand-new campaign, still lauded to this day as the greatest addition to the series. Guild Wars: Nightfall introduced yet another entirely original campaign setting. It also added the Hero mechanic into the game, allowing players the opportunity to level up their fully customizable NPC allies. Capitalizing on the momentum of that release, the series' first real expansion was unveiled for players in August of 2007. Last year's Guild Wars: Eye of the North added a bevy of new ways to play the game, and paved the way for the upcoming Guild Wars 2.

Today, in honor of Guild Wars' third birthday, we've got a retrospective on the two most recent explorations of the original game concept. We'll offer up some imagery from the past, reflect on how the game is today, and look ahead to the future of the series. Click on through to explore the history of Guild Wars, and don't miss our other retrospective on the first two boxes in the series!

You've come a long way, baby. This weekend marks the third anniversary of the retail launch of ArenaNet's Guild Wars, and as we reported earlier, they're celebrating it in style. So we thought we'd take a visual look back at the game, how far it's progressed since April 28th, 2005 and where it stands today.

The original Guild Wars, now known as Chapter 1: Prophecies, is where the game's heart and soul lies. The core skills and classes originated here, but over time, we've seen many changes to the primary land of Tyria. Does anyone remember the original campfire log-in screen? Or the non-refundable attribute points? How about life before Sorrow's Furnace? Can you tell us where the first Hall of Heroes was? These were all additions and improvements made to Guild Wars, along with many others throughout the course of the game's life.

Yesterday MMO newcomer Lord of the Rings Online celebrated its first birthday with celebrations and a brand-new patch. This weekend Guild Wars is celebrating its third tumble around the Sun, and they have the festivities to show it! Fireworks are now lighting up the sky, and birthday cupcakes are dropping from world monsters. Starting at noon Pacific time today, the Shing Jea boardwalk will be open for business. If you're a looking for a little Rollerbeetle Racing or Dragon Arena, they can help you out with that too. Just head to Lion's Arch, Shing Jea Monastery, Kamadan, or the Great Temple of Balthazar. The festivities should be going on all weekend.

Then, starting at 12:01 am pacific time on Monday, adventurers will begin to see their third anniversary mini-pets (like the handsome lion right) show up in their inventory. These pets only show up on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd anniversary of your character's creation, so you may have to wait a while depending on when you rolled your handsome ranger or saucy elementalist. Make sure to have fun a the party, and I hope you get a good drop for your birthday!

All day we've been celebrating the release of Book 13, and the one year anniversary of Lord of the Rings Online's launch. In honor of those events, Turbine has announced a month of celebrations! If it's been a while since you trod upon the rich loam of Tolkien's world, you're going to be welcomed back with open arms. Starting on May 8th lapsed players will be able to return for a five day trial period, to get to know the game all over again. If you decide you like Middle-earth and want to jump back in, you're going to have a couple of pricing options. They've reopened the lifetime membership gates for $199. If that's too steep for you, reupping your account this month will lock you into a $9.99 pricing scheme ... just like back when the game first launched.

It's not all just fun and games out here, though. For those of you on the inside of the gameworld looking out, there's plenty to celebrate. During the Lord of the Rings Online anniversary celebration, monsters throughout the land will drop 'rare items' when they're slain. Players can exchange these rare items for special gift boxes containing anniversary loot. These will apparently be one-of-kind items intended to 'aid [you in your] adventures in Middle-earth.'

Sounds like it's a great month to jump back into the game. Good luck with the orcs!

To mark the second anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons Online, RPG Vault interviewed the game's senior producer, Kate Paiz. The interviewer asked Paiz to give a basic explanation of the game, and to comment on the state of the game at launch compared to where it's at now, on its second birthday -- RPG Vault described the overall feel of the reviews that DDO received at launch as "good but not oustanding". Paiz said that she did feel that the launch reviews were fair, but that much has been improved now, especially the significant additions of PvP and solo gameplay.

Paiz is also asked to look forward, to tell us what is coming in the future, and to say what makes DDO a game that people should try if they haven't before. She brought up Module 7, which includes the Monk class as well as some new low and high level content, looking after both veterans and newbies. At the end of the interview, she asked to hear from the players of the game about what they'd like to see added, with particular interest in any guild features that people have ideas for -- she mentions the importance of guilds in bringing new players to the game, and wants to make sure that things are kept interesting for these groups.

In honor of the Matrix Online's third anniversary, the development team has let a genie out of a bottle: the insidious Agent Smith virus. As foretold by the Oracle, he's returned more powerful than ever -- and operatives on both sides of the Machine war are needed to stop him. The old lady has put together a team of virologists all around the gameworld of MxO, all near key city monuments. Seek them out to get access to quests and information about stopping Smith (again).

For a real treat, log into the game on the exact anniversary: this Friday, March 21st. Between 3pm and 5pm PST (6pm and 8pm EST) the familiar faces of the MxO team will be online to chat and have some fun. Seek them out on Syntax server, in the Camon Heights Park area. Anniversary wishes, cookies, and cool in-game t-shirts are in the offing for both questers and party-goers alike. Just make sure to take the red pill in time.

Yesterday was the ninth anniversary of the original EverQuest, and the official EQ team blog has up a unique image that puts the whole history of the game together into one fantastic timeline. Even if you weren't online over the weekend for the 50% XP bonus, you can still participate in the Fabled Planes of Power content - it runs through April 16th.

If you missed it at the end of last week, we had a lengthy interview with lead designer Travis McGeathy about the anniversary event. We also chatted about the game's recent history, back to the Serpent's Spine days, and snag a few tantalizing hints about the future of SOE's oldest game.

For an extra treat, check below the cut for an anniversary video that does a great job of making EQ look ... pretty cool, actually.