e3-2008 posts

NC Interactive leaves the ESA

by William Dobson Dec 8th 2008 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Economy, MMO industry, News items

It looks like the Entertainment Software Association has struck another company from their membership page. GamePolitics has confirmed with ESA Senior VP Rich Taylor that NCsoft's US division, NC Interactive, has joined a list of 6 other companies that parted ways with the ESA in 2008:

We can confirm that NCsoft decided not to renew its ESA membership. We respect their decision and remain committed to serving the public affairs needs of the computer and video game industry.

NC Interactive's departure will mean that they don't have to fork up any more hefty membership fees, which GamePolitics initially saw as the most likely reason behind the split -- they mention that the company also shied away from an appearance at this year's E3. In a follow-up, NC insists that their financial situation has nothing to do with their decision to leave the organization.

Although some big names like Activision, Vivendi and LucasArts are among the companies that left the ESA in 2008, they still have most of the industry's important players, such as Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and EA. Now, if 2009 goes anything like this year, then we might start to have doubts about the ESA's future -- but there's something to be said for the current financial climate, and their situation might improve a little further down the track.

Tags: e3, e3-2008, entertainment-software-association, esa, esa-senior-vp, nc-interactive, ncsoft, rich-taylor

Jumpgate Evolution combat maneuvers shown in walkthrough videos [updated]

by Matt Warner Jul 27th 2008 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Video, Jumpgate Evolution, Interviews, New titles, News items

Netdevil is a firm believer that the MMOG genre is missing the galactic action-packed and fluid experiences that compare to Freelancer and Wing Commander. What is not lacking is the marvelous economic system found in EVE Online; however, when it comes to combat in space there's a lot to be desired and growth potential. Netdevil is setting out to fill that void with Jumpgate Evolution. We get a look at its current form in this two part developer with Associate Product Manager, Tim Hodges from E3-2008 courtesy of GameTrailers.com.

Unfortunately, what we loved about earlier builds that showed off the first action cockpit view is absent but not removed. Several landscapes and bases show a sense of scale and some combat aspects from the game. The videos don't reveal much detail, but for being in such an early state of development it looks okay. Jumpgate Evolution is due out sometime in spring 2009, and the alpha is underway and there's no official word on when the beta will start. However, beta signups are live on the official website. The second video is available for viewing after the cut.

Tags: combat, e3-2008, e32008, eve-online, game-trailers, je, jumpgate, jumpgate-evolution, netdevil, space, space-combat, space-mmog, tim-hodges

E308: Walking through The Agency's trailer

by Krystalle Voecks Jul 27th 2008 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Interviews, New titles, Previews, The Agency, Spy

While at E3 2008, we had a great deal of time to talk to Matt Wilson, Executive Director of Development for SOE Seattle, the studio in charge of making the new MMOFPS title, The Agency. While we were sadly unable to procure the video they were showing at E3, we did manage to get oodles of pictures to help illustrate just what we were seeing. Join us now as we take you through Matt WIlson's walkthrough on this great upcoming title!

Matt Wilson: Back in the old days (which was like three years ago) we thought "hey, let's make an MMO that breaks the mold of MMOs." We had worked back in Microsoft on Asheron's Call and a variety of other games that were more geared towards the fantasy MMO space. So, we really wanted to break away from that. Our goal at the very beginning was also to attack the console as a primary platform. However, to really crack the console open, you have to design for the console. You can't just take a PC MMO and cram it onto the console.

Thus, we came up with an idea called The Agency. The whole inspiration for The Agency came from the spy and espionage genre. In all the places I've been, even internationally, everybody knows who James Bond is. It has that kind of broad appeal. It's easy for me to say "hey, what's your favorite Bond moment"; "what's a great villain that you can remember"; or "who was a femme fatale you liked?" All manner of things will come from off the top of your head when I ask those questions. So we figured if we put those elements in the game, players would be able to recognize the world right off the bat.

Tags: e3-2008, e308, matt-wilson, soe, the-agency, walkthrough

Massively Speaking Podcast Episode 15

by Michael Zenke Jul 25th 2008 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Culture, Massively Event Coverage, Massively Speaking

Massively Speaking Episode 15 closes out our discussion of E3 with banter between Shawn Schuster, WoW Insider's Mike Schramm, and Michael Zenke. Join us as we chat about our E3 favorites, the latest from Warhammer Online, the KotORO announcement, and lots of little bits of Lich King. Make sure to enjoy this one, as we're off next week to recover from E3. We'll be back ready and raring to go in early August. Stay tuned!

Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot us an email to podcast AT massively DOT com. Maybe we'll read your letter on the air!

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Read below the cut for the full show notes.

Tags: e3-2008, e308, featured, joystiqfeatures, massively-speaking, war, wow

Scoring the Massively E3 bingo card

by Michael Zenke Jul 22nd 2008 at 9:00PM

Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, Humor

If you missed it, prior to heading in the direction of E3 we joined Joystiq and the other network sites in pulling together a predictive Bingo card for the big event. We jotted down a number of things that we thought for sure would make an appearance, and laid out a number of news tidbits that we were almost sure wouldn't get covered at the event. As it turns out, we did okay despite some major upsets.

We'll own up – this was a pretty different event from a lot of others. Concepts and games we were sure would get talked up didn't get mentioned, while some out-of-left field announcements hit during the week. Read on below the cut to see how we faired from A to ... well, F.

Tags: e3-2008, e3-bingo, e308, featured, predictions

E308: Updates on PS3's Home

by William Dobson Jul 22nd 2008 at 4:30PM

Filed under: Betas, Galleries, News items, Consoles, Home

Our sister-sites Joystiq and PS3Fanboy managed to get some new information and pictures for Sony's Home at E3 last week. The biggest piece of news is somewhat disappointing -- public areas in Home are region locked. You can still visit anyone's private area, but outdoor mingling will be restricted.

On the bright side, we are treated to a gallery of the "Game Spaces" for two of the PS3's biggest hits, Warhawk and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. These Game Spaces are decorated with apparel relating to the game's they're based on, and feature interactive elements. Warhawk's room has a sand-table to formulate strategies with friends for an upcoming game. The Uncharted room has a locked door that can be opened after visitors discover a secret code, as well as a platforming mini-game to play.

Tags: console, e3-08, e3-2008, game-spaces, home, joystiq, playstation-3, ps3, ps3fanboy, region-locked, sony, uncharted, warhawk

E308: A closer look at The Agency's factions

by Krystalle Voecks Jul 22nd 2008 at 2:30PM

Filed under: Culture, Interviews, New titles, The Agency, Consoles, Spy, MMOFPS

Espionage. Spies. High-tech weaponry. All of it sounds great to us, but what's the deal with the two factions in the upcoming Sony Online Entertainment title The Agency? We got a chance to talk to Matt Wilson at E3, who gave us all the news on how the two factions, ParaGON and UNITE are progressing through the alpha. We also asked about how these agencies will shake out in terms of cooperative (and not-so-cooperative) play.

So tell us a bit about the two sides for those who are unfamiliar with The Agency.

We have ParaGON and UNITE, red and blue -- well, orangish red -- and the idea behind it is kind of uptown versus downtown. It's Jack Daniels versus Grey Goose. It's the coolest gadgets versus duct-tape and bailing wire. It's the attitude you choose as a player when you come into the game.

ParaGON is more the mercenary for hire. They will work for anyone who can afford to pay them. UNITE is all about staying within a code of conduct, and working with the global authority. Eventually, they will wind up working together. We're hoping that the cross-faction game will bring in an interesting dynamic into play. We want to create areas where both factions really have to work together to solve problems.

Gallery: The Agency

Tags: e3-2008, e308, government, matt-wilson, mercenary, paragon, soe, sony-online-entertainment, the-agency, unite

E308: Massively goes back to WAR

by Michael Zenke Jul 22nd 2008 at 1:45PM

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, Warhammer Online

Last week was our chance to check back with the Mythic Entertainment staff, touch base with the makers of Warhammer Online. We managed to walk away with a few new interesting insights into the game, and wanted to make sure you had the chance to check them out below:

	E308: Warhammer's designers explain the career/city removal Careers lead Adam Gershowitz and Associate Producer Josh Drescher were instrumental in making our Massively goes to WAR series a success. Our lengthy discussion with the two Warhammer Online designers resulted in our in-depth analysis of (at that point) every class slated for the game. Last week at E3 our discussion with the two gentlemen turned to the removal of four of those classes, as well as four of the slated endgame capital cities.
	E308: 'Open Party' system to encourage grouping in Warhammer Online Our epic-level talk with Josh Drescher and Adam Gershowitz delved into a number of interesting topics. Warhammer Online is essentially feature complete, they said, and will offer players a level of UI customization we haven't seen in most previous MMOs. They also, interestingly, are working to take care of the looking for group problem with a new tactic: the Open Party.
	E308: Exploring an improved Inevitable City in Warhammer Online Our discussion of Warhammer Online as seen at last week's E3 event continues, with a look at an improved Inevitable City. During our huge Massively goes to WAR feature spread earlier this year, we had the chance to tour the Chaos home base, and came away impressed.

Tags: e3-2008, e308, mythic-entertainment, roundup, war, warhammer-online

E308: Massively's chat with DCUO's Jim Lee

by Michael Zenke Jul 22nd 2008 at 11:30AM

Filed under: Super-hero, New titles, Comics, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage, DC Universe Online

Reading back through a list of comic book artist Jim Lee's work is like a "best of" list from DC comics history. Arguably best known for his art in the series Batman: Hush, Lee's credits include the X-Men, Punisher, Superman, and several titles from the comic label Wildstorm. The Authority, the cult classic dark superhero series, bore his penmanship in several places. He was at E3 last week with the folks from Sony Online Entertainment, because Jim is also the executive creative director on the DC Universe Online project.

We had the chance to sit down with Mr. Lee for a short interview, to get a feel for what his role on the project is. We chat with him about his work on the project, find out about his love for talking apes, and delve into his past as an MMO gamer. It's great to hear such a noted artist talking about his love for the massive genre - read on to find out about Mr. Lee's past as a guild officer in the world of Norrath and much, much more.

Tags: dc-universe-online, dcuo, e3-2008, e308, featured, jim-lee, joystiqfeatures, soe, sony-online-entertainment

"Holiday" edition of AoC box in the works; 360 version on track for late 2009

by William Dobson Jul 22nd 2008 at 8:30AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, PvP, News items, Consoles

In another of Funcom's E3 interviews (this time with MMORPG.com) Erling Ellingsen and Senior Marketing Manager Rick Reynolds discussed a new edition of Age of Conan which they hope to release in time for the holidays. For now they could not say what else this version might entail besides a fancy box (Keaira with a big candy cane?), but it may be something along the lines of a unique piece of gear -- undoubtedly it won't have any must-have function after the Totem of Origins debacle.

A lot of the rest of the interview runs similar to what we've seen already, but there is a brief mention of the Kingship system. We don't really find out anything that wasn't mentioned in the newsletter which announced the system back in June, although Ellingsen and Reynolds commented that graphics engine improvements currently being made should allow "hundreds" more players to participate in massive PvP without issues.

The last section of the interview covers the Xbox 360 version of AoC, which is slated for a release at the end of 2009. These uber-latecomers will be able to choose between mixed platform servers, or a console-only affair.

Tags: age-of-conan, aoc, christmas, christmas-2008, console, e3, e3-2008, e308, erling-ellingsen, funcom, holiday, keaira, kingship, product-manager, rick-reynolds, senior-marketing-manager, xbox-360

E308: Matt Wilson briefs us on the state of The Agency

by Krystalle Voecks Jul 21st 2008 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Interviews, New titles, Previews, The Agency, Spy, MMOFPS, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage

We had a fantastic chance to talk with Matt Wilson about The Agency during E3. While a great deal of the footage they showed was largely identical to the footage we'd previously seen, many of Matt's insights about the direction they're taking The Agency in were quite illuminating. From PvP to operatives to vehicular combat and the eventual beta, Matt was generous enough with both his time and knowledge, and let us in on lots of great news and background.

If you've been hungry for more information on some of the different aspects of this upcoming game, be sure to join us after the break for a great overview on this hot upcoming SOE property.

Tags: bar, club, death-penalty, e3-2008, e308, featured, financial-model, joystiqfeatures, matt-wilson, microtransaction, mmofps, new-titles, npc, party, ps3, shooter, soe, soe-seattle, subscription, the-agency, vehicle-combat

E308: Warhammer's designers explain the career/city removal

by Michael Zenke Jul 21st 2008 at 2:15PM

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, Warhammer Online, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage

Careers lead Adam Gershowitz and Associate Producer Josh Drescher were instrumental in making our Massively goes to WAR series a success. Our lengthy discussion with the two Warhammer Online designers resulted in our in-depth analysis of (at that point) every class slated for the game. Last week at E3 our discussion with the two gentlemen turned to the removal of four of those classes, as well as four of the slated endgame capital cities.

The announcement of that content removal has been a sore point for some members of the Warhammer community, but Drescher and Gershowitz were adamant that it was the best decision for the game. We talk in-depth with the two about why the content was removed, how the decision was made, and what the designers are going to do with the time they've freed up for themselves. Oh, and they're firm: EA had nothing to do with it. "EA has supported us this entire time, and it's really not EA pressure that led to this decision. What you've got to realize is that we're making a giant game. It's very expansive and it has a lot of features. We could easily fall into the trap of 'forever making the game'."

Tags: adam-gershowitz, cities, classes, e3-2008, e308, featured, josh-drescher, massively-goes-to-war, mythic-entertainment, war, warhammer-online

E308: A glimpse into The Agency's guilds and classes

by Krystalle Voecks Jul 21st 2008 at 1:15PM

Filed under: Classes, Guilds, Interviews, New titles, The Agency, Spy, MMOFPS

In our recent talk with Matt Wilson at E3, we were given a lot of really illuminating information about classes and guilds in the upcoming SOE title, The Agency. It would seem that the Agency crew is doing a very good job of listening to many of the frustrations of MMOG players, while taking the time to study popular games like Team Fortress 2. If you've been wondering about the different classes and abilities, as well as social structure in this upcoming MMOFPS, then you'll be interested to hear what's in the works.

Massively: What are the classes or archetypal roles in The Agency?

Matt Wilson: Our four primary classes are basically Combat, which is the ability to have weapons and have high defenses. Stealth, which is more of a high-DPS, sniper rifles and other things that you take into battle, [Undercover] Stealth which is very important, which is sneaking around and distractions. And finally, there's the Support classes like your Medics and Field Techs. Field Techs are about defense, turrets, other cool things like that. Medics are more about supporting the team, being able to support med stations while you're out in the field, heals, that kind of thing. Those are the general archetypes. Then we have specialties that fall out of those, allowing players to specialize further in each class.

Tags: agency, class, classes, combat, e3-2008, e308, featured, guilds, joint-agencies, matt-wilson, role, soe, sony-online-entertainment, stealth, support, team-fortress-2, TF2, the-agency, undercover

E308: Warhammer Online's customization options explained

by Michael Zenke Jul 21st 2008 at 12:15PM

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, Warhammer Online, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage

One component of Mythic Entertainment's Warhammer Online that we haven't seen a ton of is character customization. We know that the collector's edition will contain 'rare heads', for example, but what of in-game options. That's exactly what the team set out to correct at last week's E3. Mythic's Adam Gershowitz lays it out for us - make sure to read below the cut for some exciting news about guild banners!

I noticed earlier there was a demo for what looked like character customization options?

Adam Gershowitz: One of the things we've been having a bit of a hard time with, because we show people live demos, is showing the breadth of customization in the game. So we've put together this presentation which shows off what we have. As you're aware, all of our equipment is career-specific. We've taken a page out of the FPS playbook – we want you to be able to identify a character's career from a distance. Expanding on that, we're showing the armor progression from low to high level in the game. We have over 400 armor sets in the game, they're split pretty evenly amongst the 20 careers. What you're seeing here are just three of the careers - the Warrior Priest, the Witch Elf, and the Chosen – going through some of the armor. I don't think it's all of the armor, maybe just half of it.

Tags: armor, customization, e3-2008, e308, featured, guild-banners, massively-goes-to-war, mythic-entertainment, warhammer-online

E308: Exploring an improved Inevitable City in Warhammer Online

by Michael Zenke Jul 21st 2008 at 11:15AM

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, Warhammer Online, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage

Our discussion of Warhammer Online as seen at last week's E3 event continues, with a look at an improved Inevitable City. During our huge Massively goes to WAR feature spread earlier this year, we had the chance to tour the Chaos home base, and came away impressed. Last week we got the chance to see an updated version of the capital, and learned about what the extra time removing the other capitals has netted the Mythic Entertainment development team. Read on to hear Adam Gershowitz talk about city improvements, the endgame reward cycle, and how the two-cities structure has focused the player experience.

Adam Gershowitz: Inevitable City is one of the two capital cities we're going to launch with. It has gotten bigger and better than it was previously. That's part of the reason why we're down to two capital cities - we keep throwing more and more stuff into the existing ones. It got to the point where we were like, "Well crud, just Altdorf and Inevitable City have as much content as we originally planned for all three city pairings. So we kind of wanted to finish the job, to make sure it's really really top-notch so we're focusing down a little bit more. What that does is it actually changes the campaign up a little bit.

Tags: adam-gershowitz, e3-2008, e308, featured, inevitable-city, massively-goes-to-war, mythic-entertainment, war, warhammer-online