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Total Video Games has a new scoop about BioWare's mysterious MMO project. The site reports that Electronic Arts' CEO told investors that his company is funding an MMO in Austin. Of course, that's a no brainer. Since BioWare is owned by EA now, we assumed that much. But he want on to say that the MMO is slated for a release in "the fiscal 2010/2011." That means it's coming between April 2010 and March 2011. It'll be a long wait; how sad! That's not all, though.

There's also the rumor that will not -- cannot die. An alleged disgruntled ex-LucasArts employee (the "ex" bit because of the recent layoffs) e-mailed gaming blog Kotaku saying that one of the projects "in the pipeline" at LucasArts is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3. That alone is no surprise, since LucasArts and BioWare announced a new collaboration months ago, but ... he also said that KotOR 3 is an MMO.

Oh noes! Not that rumor again! Well, anyway, we're sure our very intelligent readers know to take with a kilogram of salt the paraphrased words of an alleged disgruntled former employee. Right?

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?

Every Tuesday think "T" for Turpster and take the "a" in "day", capitalise it, remove the little bit in the middle, turn it upside down and you get a "V". Put the two together and you'll have TV for TurpsterVision -- the best Internet video podcast on Massively! (Never mind that business about it being the only video podcast on Massively...)

Some people are born entertainers, some people are born story tellers, and others are born reviewers. I'd like to think that in this Episode of TurpsterVision that I prove that I am the illegitimate love child in their sexy, secret, and most definitely sordid, love orgies!

Join us after the break to find out if Turpster's heritage is no longer in doubt!

We cannot foresee the details of BioWare's MMO; shrouded in mystery they are. The biggest rumor has always been that it's based on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic IP. And what a ride that rumor has been. Just since the beginning of this year it's already been falsely confirmed once and denied twice.

It's the most popular nonexistent game in the known universe, but is it really nonexistent after all? Oh no, here we go again! As our own Mike Schramm commented after the most recent denial: "If you strike this rumor down, it will only come back more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Prophetic words, those.

A tipster sent 1UP an excerpt from an MMO script, allegedly from within BioWare. The script doesn't sound very MMO-like, but according to 1UP's Steve Watts, it resembles dialogue in previous BioWare works, and it's "set in the historical past of the Star Wars universe." Sounds like KotOR to us! 1UP poked LucasArts for a comment, and basically got the "no comment" comment.

In the last couple of weeks, a lot has changed in the future outlook for upcoming massively games over the next few years. Marvel Universe Online is officially canceled, but in its place rises Champions Online like a shining beacon for fans of the superhero MMO -- although there is always the chance that Marvel could continue to pursue MUO with another developer.

However, the change I'm most curious about involves the Star Wars IP, which according to rumors is definitely being developed, but not by Sony Online Entertainment or Bioware. If true, that changes a lot of things. It partly changes Bioware's upcoming massively game into something else entirely. However, the biggest change is that a Star Wars MMO is coming, but from somebody we haven't thought of yet. After the many woes of Star Wars Galaxies and the later success World of Warcraft has seen financially -- Lucas Arts wouldn't want this done in any way other than impeccably well.

So then, who have they chosen?

Yesterday we ran a story about an EA report that appeared to quietly announce that BioWare is working on a new Knights of the Old Republic game. That was pertinent to MMOs because BioWare is making an MMO at its Austin studio, and people have been speculating that it might be based on the KotOR IP.

Well, BioWare got in touch with the Joystiq network to let us know that everyone's been jumping the gun; it turns out that the EA report was referring only in a general fashion to the KotOR IP (to demonstrate "the pedigree of the studio"). EA did not intend to imply that any specific new title is in development. So there goes the basis for the latest KotOR rumor.

Joystiq reported today that an EA investor report listed a new Knights of the Old Republic title and the "New MMO" separately. This is not a logical certainty, of course, but it seems unlikely that the Austin-developed MMO is KotOR if there's already another KotOR title in development, given that the LucasArts/BioWare collaboration announcement implied only one title.

This comes after an industry insider specifically named BioWare as a company that's not developing a Star Wars MMO. So our hopes have become a mere whimper by now. Tragic.

Well, BioWare's Ray Muzyka will be talking about the future of MMOs at the Game Developers Conference this month. Maybe he'll mention what it is now that we're fairly confident it's not KotOR. Probably not, but we can hope.

[EDIT: BioWare has contacted us and informed us that the EA investor report is referring only in a general fashion to the KotOR IP; EA did not intend to imply that any specific new title is in development. The listing of "KotOR" does not speak to the existence or nonexistence of a new KotOR title. We apologize for the error.]

Games industry rumor-monger Surfer Girl is apparently not done with MMO-bombshells yet. Last week she partially deflated the hopes of folks wanting a Massively Multiplayer version of Knights of the Old Republic. Today she says she sees the SOE/LucasArts venture Star Wars Galaxies closing down within a year of the release of the new game. Lucas and the (unnamed) company working on the new MMO apparently think Star Wars is "the only IP that can pose a serious challenge [to] World of Warcraft".

She also claims that the Old Republic setting is too niche to fully utilize the Star Wars IP, which is why it's not the new game's setting. If the new MMO is set in the same period as the new television show, as she previously claimed, it will likely take place sometime between Episode III and IV. That previously untapped period in the Galaxy Far, Far Away is the setting for most of Lucas' new projects. She goes on to say that LucasArts and the dev house expect their new project to have at least three million subscribers by the end of its first year.

As for what BioWare is actually working on, she intimates that the Edmonton studio is working on a new KOTOR title. The MMO the Austin studio is making (according to an earlier post of hers) "has a fantasy setting akin to the company's previous fantasy role playing games." So ... Dungeons and Dragons possibly? The world made so much more sense last week. Do you think she is right about WoW and Star Wars? Is the Force the only thing that could shake Azeroth's deathgrip on the massive gaming genre?

Have you ever read the Surfer Girl Reviews Star Wars blog? Despite the name, she usually has nothing to say about the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Instead, she regularly drops deep insider tidbits about the gaming industry. Secrets Man Was Not Meant to Know type stuff. If she's a scammer, she's good enough to fool some of the best in the business. One of the men behind the curtain at the well respected site Gamasutra, Simon Carless, regularly deconstructs her posts on the GameSetWatch blog. She generally passes his sniff test.

So why do I mention her here? Because early today she dropped a possible bombshell on all of us who have been really hoping BioWare's MMO-in-development is Knights of the Old Republic Online. Says the Girl: "Next year's Star Wars MMO, not being developed by BioWare or Sony Online Entertainment, will launch simultaneously for PC and consoles alongside the debut of the first Star Wars TV series in fall 2009, of which the storylines of the game will tie into. Those Artistic Lucases already have a second online title planned that I've heard has nothing to do with Star Wars."

Jigga-wha? If this is true and the next Star Wars MMO isn't from BioWare or SOE, who is making it? Does this mean that BioWare isn't making KOTORO? I can't imagine that come 2010 or 2011 there will be three Star Wars based online games around. Anyone have a guess as to what's going on here?

Watch your head, you don't want it hit by return fire in the ever-present MMO blogosphere discussion of fantasy vs sci-fi. The most recent discussion started up with Massively's own Michael Zenke and his "Five Reasons Sci-Fi Pwns Fantasy" which prompted the return fire in question from Grimwell. Both of the posts are certainly worth reading, especially if you have any kind of lingering interest in the subject matter.

As far as we can see, there's truth to be had on both sides of the fence. However, we do have one point of contention to make with Grimwelll's argument. He states that the reason fantasy "pwns" sci-fi is that it's accessible, which is a constant argument on the matter. While we think he may have a point in that less people are inherently familiar with sci-fi, we very much disagree with his assessment that you need to be a math nerd to enjoy good sci-fi -- his example in this case being Star Trek and its now-infamous technobabble.

We've received word via an anonymous tipster that Bioware is gearing up efforts on their new MMO, and will soon be conducting extensive market research. Reportedly, they're looking for participants within certain internal channels that meet the following criteria:

• Aren't affiliated in any way with the fields of advertising, journalism (d'oh!), public relations, video game hardware or software developers, video or computer game retail.
• Can't have participated in more than 3 paid focus groups in the last 6 months
• Must own at least one video game console or handheld system, but no more than four.
• Must play games on the PC, but have no experience with MMOs
• Must own 2 or more video games
• Must have purchased 1-5 games in the last year
• Must play between 1-9 hours a week

So basically, they're looking to test their ideas on the casual gamer. My initial reaction is to take this as a sort of slap in the face that they would even consider focusing their game on the casual market instead of engineering it specifically to please me personally. Then reason takes over and I remember that this is simply focus group testing for a game that hasn't ever really been formally announced yet. Heralding in the end of days would probably be a bit premature. What's more, they're probably wise to the fact that there isn't an NDA in the world strong enough to keep a true geek from running home and bragging to the internet that he played the new Bioware MMO.

Anyway, we'll continue to keep our eyes peeled for new info on the Bioware MMO, and keep sending in those lovely tips.

I'd like to talk about what MMOs you've gone into with expectations, and what disappointments, if any, you've had during your time there. Perhaps you paid just a little nit too much attention to the press releases, maybe you fell for the bullshot (yes, I know I've linked that comic before), it doesn't really matter. I'm going to share some of my disappointments, hopefully you'll feel moved to do the same in the Comments.

Star Wars Galaxies
I love Star Wars, so when I started playing Galaxies, I had visions of TIE Fighters and Star Destroyers, running battles with Imperial Storm Troopers and making shady deals in the Mos Eisley Cantina. What I got instead was a game where all I ended up doing was taking random missions from computer terminals which invariably involved me running out into the wilderness to kill some 'malevolent' creatures on behalf of some farmers who never actually seemed to appear in-game, for a paltry reward.

I spent a lot of time on Corellia – having read extensively in the Expanded Universe, I imagined a bustling, thriving metropolis with smugglers and scoundrels round every corner, and with opportunities for exciting adventures right under the nose of the Empire. What I got was a collection of buildings dumped unceremoniously in the middle of the nowhere, at times seemingly populated only by myself and the NPCs.

In an article titled 'Second Life Deathwatch: Star Trek Reenactments', a quote is pulled from a Technology Review story about the Ginko Financial debacle, the point of which seems merely to be to imply that enjoying Star Trek reenactments somehow confers loser status to the subject.

First of all, your hobbies, the activities you enjoy, are entirely your own. It's not for anyone to stand at a distance and point a finger and laugh -- believe me, everyone does something someone else will find worth of ridicule, but so what? The things that make us happy, make us wise. Believe me, there's much more than just Star Trek in Second Life, too -- I was able to find Star Wars roleplay, Silent Hill roleplay, Final Fantasy 7 roleplay ... there aren't links for those, you just have to find them in-world by searching. But instead of celebrating 'IDIC', the writer goes for the obvious gag.

Second, is this really what Forbes considers a substantial article these days? The article linked to is a much more important document, bearing import for more than just virtual worlds. The writer missed an opportunity to say something a bit more than 'Ha ha, look at the geeks!'

Third, how is this an indicator of the 'eventual decline of Second Life'? There's one comment at the end of this post that sums it up well: 'Here's a hint, if you don't like SL then stay in RL, and leave those of us who enjoy it alone. There is nothing worse that critics who sit on the sidelines ridiculing everyone else who is having a good time.' Oh, and by the way, nothing says 'professional' better than a photo of yourself wearing a t-shirt, really. This article, if you can call it that, is nothing short of insulting, both to its subject and to its audience. You need to do better than this, Forbes.

Over the past couple of weeks the MMO blogosphere has once again been discussing the ever-pertinent question of "Why fantasy?" in regards to the MMO and its heritage; MUDs and tabletop gaming. The subject has been covered quite well from many different points of view and opinions, none of which are inherently wrong and all of which are worth a read if the subject interests you in any way.

The reasons are especially well covered in a round-table that Damion Schubert posted to Zen of Design earlier this year. Many of these reasons that materialized from the round table appear quite valid, yet I don't see eye-to-eye with these concepts. In my opinion, several of them seem arbitrary and some could be applied in opposition of fantasy. In fact, the more I read on the subject of "Why fantasy?" the more I think, "All the more reason to evolve beyond fantasy."

I'm going to address the well summed-up list posted by Damion Schubert piece by piece, as it lays out the most compelling evidence for why fantasy continues to reign supreme. So if you find yourself lost on what I'm talking about, feel free to refer to the original article in question. Now, we'll take a look into this list and see just how much of it really holds up against an argument for something other than fantasy.

This isn't a "Top Five" list, but rather a list of five possible settings for a Star Wars MMO that I've complied for your reading pleasure. With the rumors flying around about a Bioware Star Wars MMO, the topic of just where in the Star Wars timeline the game would even be set appears to be absent from discussion. Everyone is assuming that Bioware would just sit back and do another Knights of the Old Republic game because they've had previous success with that property. However, it is possible that if Bioware is indeed developing a Star Wars MMO they're placing it in an entirely different era altogether. I know that if I'd already made a fabulous game set in KOTOR I would probably want to explore other avenues of interest that have yet to truly be touched on.

Follow the jump for an overview on five of those places.