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Who better to talk about the Leipzig Games Convention and the gaming industry in general than the people who develop the games. In NCsoft Europe's most recent official podcast, the community team discusses the convention itself, answers live questions from fans and lets us know about the state of new projects such as the highly-anticipated Aion.

The interesting thing about this audio is it's recorded live at the convention in German and English. Each question is answered in both languages, so if you're wondering what Guild Wars is in German, it's Guild Wars. Also, be sure to follow along with the latest Games Convention happenings over at Stephen "Rockjaw" Reid's blog for updates, videos, photos and more!

Just how massive can free-to-play MMOs be when there seem to be just as many of them as there are people living on Earth? This we wondered when we learned of yet another new browser-based game. This particular game is called Pirate Galaxy, and it's under development by a German company called Splitscreen Studios. The company employs some folks who used to work at Bigpoint, a leading name in browser games that's also based in Europe.

Players of Pirate Galaxy pilot starships which can be upgraded both by things acquired through normal gameplay and through -- you guessed it -- an item mall. Splitscreen's press release stresses that the game's big selling point is how easy it is to pick up and play. "The swift registration process, streamlined interface and seamlessly integrated turorial ensure that the game appeals to beginners and experienced gamers alike," it says.

Pirate Galaxy is slated to release later this year. Oh, and it's 3D. Splitscreen claims the graphics "push the envelope in the browser-based games segment." That's not saying much, but of course gameplay is what matters. Unfortunately we don't know much about that yet.

Joining the English Stone Age 2 closed beta that we saw earlier in the month, a German version of the prehistoric free-to-play MMOG now also has a registration page for a closed beta. The registration can be completed at a newly launched German website for the game -- which is being handled by company Frogster Interactive in this territory, as opposed to Aeria Games -- where you can also find a community forum and a desktop wallpaper.

At this stage it doesn't look as though there will be any significant differences between the German and English versions of SA2 -- well, apart from that really obvious one (duh) and the fact that they seem to prefer to leave out the spaces in the German title, making it StoneAge2.

Microtransaction-based Entropia Universe is set to expand into new markets, as developer/publisher MindArk has announced the completion of translations of the Entropia client into three new languages -- German, French, and Spanish. Previously, the virtual world was only accessible to English-speakers.

The translations were performed by a company called Lionbridge. MindArk rep Frank Campbell said his company made the move to increase market penetration, address users' needs, and increase the company's credibility.

Entropia is a Sci-Fi-themed virtual world. It's an unusual combination of MMO-style combat and crafting, and Second Life-esque e-commerce. MindArk suggests to potential users that they can make money -- or even a living -- within the virtual world. Unsurprisingly, though, a substantial investment of real funds and time is required to become competitive.

Funcom is hiring for seven Age of Conan-related positions -- three in Europe, and four in the United States.

The European opportunities are all "community coordinator" positions, and bilingual candidates are preferred. If you're looking for work in the United States, you can apply for one of Funcom's customer service positions. The Durham, NC office seeks CS reps in the English, French, German, or Spanish languages.

Funcom is facing some serious community and customer service issues right now, such as exploits and ensuing bans. We don't doubt that the current staff is overwhelmed by all that's going on. Bringing in reinforcements is probably a good call.

We've already seen rumors about what might be coming in the Warhammer Online collector's edition, but now a German site (not the same one as before -- what's with the Germans getting this stuff early?) has apparently posted more information on the CE and what a preorder of the game will get you. The box apparently confirms the previous rumors of the exclusive miniature, the comic book, and the bonus quests (along with the player titles), and the preorder of the CE will net you "guaranteed access" to the open beta (so open beta confirmed, apparently), a head start to the live game, and two bonus in-game items.

A German-speaking friend of mine (who actually does professional translation) tells us that the in-game items are a "Knight's (?) Portable Camp," which, "receives your tired soul and heals your wounds between battles." And the other is the "Guards of the Amber Ring," or at least a ring of some kind, that "improves your attributes" and casts a spell called "Touch of Earth," which we're told adds a chance to hit. Sounds pretty cool, though there's no information on when the preorder will be available, or even if it will be in America (the box is obviously labeled for Europe).

Any of this entice you to jump in on Warhammer, or were you already convinced? The collector's edition stuff doesn't sound too exciting, but jumping into the beta and the live game is definitely worth a preorder, if you ask us.

[Via K&G]

Warcry brings us the news that Rappelz, made by the fine folks at Gala Networks (who also made Flyff), has attracted over 50,000 active users in the less-than-one month since the game has debuted French and German versions. Two new servers have opened to accommodate the influx of new accounts: the French Kentauros, and the German Bastet, both named after in-game creatures.

To further celebrate the success of the launch, Gala has increased the experience gain to 1.5 until March 18th. Rappelz's gameplay features a system by which you may capture and tame creatures to fight alongside you in combat. Hmm. Do we also gotta catch 'em all? Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I choose you!