worlds-in-motion posts

Market research company explores MMO gaming

by Rubi Bayer Nov 20th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Polls, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play

Worlds in Motion reports that a recent poll from market research specialists TNS and Gamesindustry.com talked to over 13,000 gamers in North America and Europe about their favorite subject: gaming, what kind they do, and how much time they spend on it.

The survey addressed players as young as 8, and found that the largest group of players in the U.S. is comprised of 8-12 year olds. That may come as a surprise to many players whose idea of a console or PC game isn't really geared toward children, but makes sense when you consider games and virtual worlds such as Virtual Family Kingdom, Free Realms, and any console game with Mario in the title.

Delving further into the MMO side turned up some interesting information. Of the US players surveyed, 21% said that they play MMOs, and 45% of those players define themselves as paying customers -- presumably that includes both subscription models and gamers that take advantage of cash shops. In spite of the large percentage of paying players, a free-to-play model is one of the biggest factors for those considering a new game. The rising success of many games in the past year that use a free-to-play model seems to support this.

Worlds In Motion offers further number crunching, and if you're interested in seeing the full survey report, gamesindustry.com offers it for a fee.

Tags: free-realms, gamesindustry.com, polls, survey, virtual-family-kingdom, worlds-in-motion

Nexon revenues are up, largely driven by MapleStory

by James Egan Aug 23rd 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, MapleStory, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Kids

One of the most successful companies operating in the free-to-play games arena is Nexon, which reported their July revenues are up 35 percent year-on-year, according to Worlds In Motion. Much of this good fortune can be attributed to MapleStory, which set a new max concurrent user record of over 70,000 users last month. While the number of registered users in a free-to-play MMO doesn't tell the whole story, Nexon recently announced MapleStory has 92 million registered users worldwide, six million of which are in North America.

Nexon America VP of Marketing Min Kim was quoted by Worlds in Motion about the company's plans for North America. Kim said, "We're heavily investing on all fronts -- in our games, our publishing platform, aggressive marketing efforts as well as customer service. The best news for Nexon America is that our success isn't just reflected in registered users, but in actual, dramatic revenue growth."

Tags: f2p, free-to-play, maplestory, min-kim, mmo-industry, nexon, nexon-america, north-america, registered-users, worlds-in-motion

GDC09: Applied RMT Design with GoPets and Live Gamer

by James Egan Mar 28th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Business models, Economy, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Free-to-play, Casual, Massively Event Coverage

Massively sat in on a GDC 2009 session this week titled Applied RMT Design which was part of the Worlds in Motion Summit. Andrew Schneider, Founder and President of Live Gamer and Erik Bethke, CEO of GoPets, Ltd. presented a case study on balancing a game's primary and secondary markets, using GoPets as an example of how it can be done.

The market for virtual goods in massively multiplayer online games and virtual worlds is worth billions. Not all of this is grey market, and more games are now being designed with microtransactions in mind. Live Gamer aims to bring greater legitimacy to microtransactions through a regulated secondary market providing benefits to companies as well as the players themselves. Thus far they've worked with EverQuest II, Vanguard, and GoPets, with Acclaim's 9 Dragons on the way.

Bethke and Schneider kick off their talk by explaining the fact that RMT in MMOs is inevitable, explaining how developers can be proactive about incorporating RMT into their titles rather than having it exist outside of the game. Live Gamer works with developers to create a legitimate system for trading virtual items for real money, one that's safe and secure. Of course, legitimizing RMT can also stir up controversy.

Gallery: GDC09: RMT Design panel

Tags: 7-11, andrew-schneider, business-models, case-study, casual, economy, erik-bethke, events, free-to-play, game-design, gdc, gdc-2009, gopets, live-gamer, microtransactions, mmo-industry, primary-market, real-money-trading, real-money-transactions, rmt, secondary-market, virtual-goods, virtual-items, worlds-in-motion, worlds-in-motion-summit

GDC09: Raph Koster kicks off Worlds in Motion Summit

by James Egan Mar 23rd 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Culture, Economy, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Legal, Virtual worlds, Massively Event Coverage

Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2009 has begun and Massively is in the trenches to report on all the big announcements for the massively multiplayer online gaming industry, plus we have some great interviews lined up all week as well. Our GDC 2009 coverage begins with today's Worlds in Motion Summit, kicked off by Raph Koster, MMO and virtual worlds luminary.

Koster's speech is short, essentially a quick review of the virtual worlds trends he's observed over the past year. It's important to see things in perspective, Koster points out, mentioning that virtual worlds have recently turned 30, and are now a far cry from their MUD origins. Hardcore, geeky stuff Koster says, and we've come a long way since then. "We've kind of arrived, haven't we?" Koster asks. "One half of American adults are gamers today, which is an incredible step."

Tags: ambience, breaking, convergence, culture, economy, events, flash, gdc, gdc-2009, governance, legal, massively-event-coverage, mcdonalds-3.0, mmo-industry, raph-koster, safaricom, silverlight, social-networking, taxation, virtual-currency, virtual-goods, virtual-worlds, worlds-in-motion, worlds-in-motion-summit

Fallen Earth lead designer Lee Hammock on game's approach to genre

by James Egan Feb 20th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, PvP, PvE

The post-apocalyptic massively multiplayer online game Fallen Earth has been getting more frequent mentions in the gaming press, earlier this month at Worlds in Motion and now at Italian gaming site Gamesource. Nolvadex from Gamesource recently caught up with Fallen Earth's lead designer Lee Hammock, who shared a bit about the inspiration that Icarus Studios has drawn from post-apocalyptic games and films. Their aim was to incorporate the best of these elements into a game that can stand on its own.

In addition to discussing how Fallen Earth will balance content between PvE and PvP, Hammock addresses the competition the title is likely to get from the other post-apocalyptic MMO on the horizon, Earthrise. The two games are differentiated in ways beyond backstory Hammock says, such as Fallen Earth's 'use what works' approach to found objects and combat, specifically using "non-traditional weapons -- a parking meter or a baker's rolling pin for instance -- to provide more innovative combat and the sense of using whatever means necessary to stay alive."

See the Gamesource interview with Lee Hammock for more on what Icarus Studios is doing with Fallen Earth.

Tags: competition, earthrise, fallen-earth, game-mechanics, gamesource, icarus-studios, interviews, lee-hammock, mmo-industry, nolvadex, post-apocalyptic, pve, pvp, sci-fi, worlds-in-motion

Shaking the stigma of "Free-to-Play"

by James Egan Feb 19th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual

David Chang from Gamescampus has written a piece for Gamasutra which tackles the stigma that is "free to play" or F2P. Chang's "Opinion: Why We Need To Rebrand Free To Play" addresses the cynicism and perceptions of questionable quality that tends to surface in discussions about free-to-play games.

Chang's piece points out similarities between the F2P business model and Google, although he admits it's not a perfect comparison. Google's service itself is free, but ultimately fuels its revenue streams through monetized services offered. The large userbase who simply wants to use the service for free is vital to the company's business model, and thus there are some parallels to an MMO operating without subscriptions. "In both situations, people receive a valuable service -- free search or a free game experience," says Chang.

Tags: advertising, browser, business-models, casual, david-chang, f2p, free-to-play, gamasutra, gamescampus, google, microtransactions, mmo-industry, opinion, stigma, subscriptions, worlds-in-motion

Top 10 ways Fallen Earth is different from all other MMOs

by Shawn Schuster Feb 6th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles

According to a recent interview at Worlds in Motion, Fallen Earth's lead designer Lee Hammock discusses everything we know about the game, and more. It could be considered a summary of features, all in one interview, yet there are still a few small exclusive tidbits of info. We get a brief summary of how the faction system will work, based on reputation quests instead of a choice you make at character creation. We also get word of a launch date in Q2 of this year, with an open beta coming just before.

But you came here for the top 10 list, didn't you? Follow along after the cut for one of the most nonsensical (but funny) top 10 lists of design features for Fallen Earth that set it apart from other MMOs, according to Mr. Hammock.

Tags: fallen-earth, icarus-studios, interview, lee-hammock, worlds-in-motion

FusionFall Executive Producer explains the importance of accessibility

by Shawn Schuster Jan 26th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Business models, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, Browser, Casual, FusionFall, Kids

By this time, you've probably heard about Cartoon Network's FusionFall MMO. We've given our extensive first impressions here, and it's managed to create its own little buzz already. How much of a buzz? How about 2.5 million accounts created during beta?

So what makes a game like this so popular? According to a recent interview with Worlds in Motion, Executive Producer Chris Waldron says it's all about accessibility. "From our experience with the Sneak Peek weekends, we realize that FusionFall is going to be the first MMO for a lot of players. We based a lot of our design decisions on that, and so far it's working out pretty well." Check out the entire interview for more from FusionFall's Chris Waldron.

Tags: accessibility, browser-based, cartoon-network, casual, free-to-play, fusionfall, interview, kids, worlds-in-motion

Composer Jeremy Soule on creating the music for zOMG!

by Shawn Schuster Jan 22nd 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, Browser, Casual

If you're the type of person who turns your game music off, to listen to your favorite mp3s while gaming, then this post is not for you. Anyone who has bought a game soundtrack in the last 15 years is probably aware of the name Jeremy Soule. He has worked on such mega hits as Guild Wars, Oblivion, Morrowind, Company of Heroes, KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights and many more. I guess you could say he's kinda legendary.

His latest endeavor includes music for Gaia Online's zOMG! MMO. Worlds in Motion was fortunate enough to sit down with Soule and discuss his work on this game, and his origins in the business. Since 1994, Soule has created some amazing in-game music, so working with a Flash-based MMO is something new for him. He sees it as a way for more people to hear his work, and enjoy what he creates. Check out the entire article and his official website for more on Jeremy Soule.

Tags: gaia-online, jeremy-soule, music, soundtrack, worlds-in-motion, zomg

2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule announced

by James Egan Jul 20th 2008 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Business models, Events, real-world, News items, Second Life, Virtual worlds

The 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule has been announced, along with a synopsis of this year's speeches and panels. The conference on virtual worlds and social gaming will be held on September 16th and 17th, during the Austin Game Developers Conference.

Worlds in Motion bills the 2008 Summit as a conference geared toward those who wish to better understand the business opportunities offered in the expanding social game networking space, and who plan to leverage their content and brands into interactive online worlds. Early bird registration ends July 31st; details can be found at the Austin GDC homepage. Read on after the jump for highlights of the upcoming 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit.

Tags: areae, austin, bunchball, business-models, conference, double-fusion, electric-sheep, electric-sheep-company, game-mechanics, gdc, metaverse, nbc, neopets, numedeon, opportunities, opportunity, raph-koster, second-life, social, social-gaming-network, sulake, summit, three-rings, virtual-worlds, whyville, worlds-in-motion, zwinky

Canadian company launches girls' gaming portal, plans girls' MMO

by Samuel Axon Jun 18th 2008 at 7:00PM

Filed under: New titles, News items, Browser, Casual

It's full of hearts and the color pink. It frequently alludes to shopping and fabulous hair. It's AllGirlArcade.com, the casual gaming portal for -- you guessed it -- girls. The glitzy website and girly games are just the beginning, though. Fuel Industries (the Canadian company behind AllGirlArcade.com) plans to release an MMO this fall. It too is intended specifically for girls.

There's a whole Sci-Fi-esque mythos underlying the site. At the core of that mythos is The All Girl Star Squad -- animated female heroines, each of whom has a favorite game genre. While Fuel Industries has announced precious few details about the upcoming MMO's gameplay, it has said that those heroines and the universe they live in will be the game's focus. The company has already released webisodes to set the stage.

The site's FAQ notes that AllBoyArcade.com is coming next year. Don't worry, though; if your son really, really wants to play in the girls' arcade (and MMO) instead, Fuel Industries says that's A-OK.

Tags: all-boy-arcade, all-girl-arcade, all-girl-star-squad, allboyarcade, allboyarcade.com, allgirlarcade, allgirlarcade.com, browser, casual, fuel-industries, sci-fi, worlds-in-motion

Hey, look, another Korean developer licenses Unreal Engine 3

by Samuel Axon Jun 17th 2008 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, News items

Epic Games is apparently doing a good job selling and supporting its Unreal Engine 3 in the Korean market. Yet another developer has licensed the engine for an MMO project. This time it's T-Entertainment, which is working on a "space opera" MMO called L2. Wow, that sounds like the name of another Korean MMO!

Welcome to the club, T-Entertainment! Meet AcroGames and Bluehole; they're also Korean developers using Unreal Engine 3. Oh, and of course you know about Webzen's Huxley, which is built on Unreal Engine 3. Yes, also Korean. Let's not forget the illustrious NCsoft, which already used the previous version of Unreal for Lineage II, and plans to use version 3 for not one but two new projects.

There was an interview with Epic Games' Mark Rein at Gamasutra several months back. He said that Epic is working hard to propagate Unreal Engine 3 in Korea, but described serious challenges -- particularly with customer support. It looks like Epic is finding ways to deal with those challenges after all.

[Via Worlds in Motion]

Tags: acrogames, bluehole, epic-games, gamasutra, huxley, interview, l2, lineage-2, lineage-ii, mark-rein, ncsoft, t-entertainment, ue3, unreal, unreal-engine, unreal-engine-3, unreal-engine-3.0, webzen, worlds-in-motion

New soccer/football MMO seeks to profit on Brazil's passion

by Samuel Axon Jun 11th 2008 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Sports, New titles, News items

A Chicago-based company called Interzone Entertainment will be publishing a new soccer MMO in Brazil in the fourth quarter of this year. The game is called Interzone Futebol, and of course it will at first be in Portuguese. Interzone says it will translate the game for other markets shortly, though.

It's actually a pretty cool concept. It's not a team management game like most sports titles. Rather, it's a bit like EA Sports' quasi-recent Superstar mode trend. That it is to say, each player will control one athlete who improves and learns new moves over time. Every athlete on the field in every match will be controlled by a human player, and those players will be able to invite their friends to join them in the middle of any match.

Interzone chose to launch in Brazil first because ... well, if you can't answer that, you don't know much about soccer. Or Brazil, for that matter.

Tags: brazil, football, interzone-entertainment, interzone-futebol, soccer, sports, worlds-in-motion

Is Facebook gaming 'the next big thing'?

by James Egan May 29th 2008 at 8:30AM

Filed under: Business models, Events, real-world, News items

Worlds in Motion recently covered events at the InterPlay Conference in San Francisco. InterPlay is devoted to social gaming, and is billed as 'the premier conference on the business of games on the Social Web.' Among the speakers at InterPlay were Charles Yong and Jing Chen, co-founders of Developer Analytics. The company offers a social networking metrics platform that provides a leaderboard of the top Facebook applications, where casual games predictably rank high. Their talk focused on the monetization of social games and the feasibility of adding greater depth to casual games, an opportunity that's drawing a 'significant surge of venture capital funding,' Worlds in Motion reports.

On the topic of generating more revenue from social games, Charles Yong said, "Social gaming is where the really great monetization is at. You can prototype with little to no money down. The whole premise of this is that marketing cost is really, really low, compared to a real game, like Grand Theft Auto IV." Before casual gamers could take offense at this statement, Yong clarified that casual gamers can be hardcore about their chosen style of play, but "they haven't seen GTA IV, they haven't seen Half-Life 2, and real money is coming out of virtual goods and currency."

Tags: casual, casual-games, developer-analytics, economy, facebook, gta, half-life, hardcore, interplay, monetization, social, social-gaming, worlds-in-motion

Dizzywood mapped by Worlds in Motion Atlas

by James Egan May 26th 2008 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Virtual worlds, Kids

Dizzywood is a Flash-based virtual world for kids, with a wide variety of environments to explore, ranging from Mayan-themed jungles to skateparks. Worlds in Motion took at in-depth look at Dizzywood and weighed in on how Dizzywood innovates, and how it flounders. The game is developed by Rocket Paper Scissors, who have been getting some love by the media in recent weeks. It's clear to see why; the relatively new company has a simple, compelling vision:

Our aim is to create a website for kids that inspires a sense of imagination, discovery, exploration, and most of all, fun. Frankly, when we took a good look at what was already out there, we felt that kids deserved a lot better. Our hope is that through a commitment to quality storytelling, creative vision, and technological innovation, Dizzywood will deliver an outstanding entertainment experience for young people that inspires the imagination in a safe environment. Our goal is to be the most popular web destination for kids in the 8-12 age range. It's a lofty goal, to be sure, but we're all about dreaming big.

Dizzywood runs in a web browser, with no additional install beyond Flash required. Rocket Paper Scissors has billed the title as free-to-play, but there are pay options to unlock new clothing, items, emotes and powers, as well as avatar customization. The games in Dizzywood are solo-friendly, but encourage cooperative play and socializing in order to solve mysteries. The excellent Online World Atlas over at Worlds in Motion put Dizzywood through its paces, ultimately finding some flaws in the virtual world, yet praising it as one of the 'tween worlds to watch.

Via Gamasutra

Tags: avatar, customization, dizzywood, flash, free-to-play, gamasutra, micropayment, microtransaction, parents, rocket-paper-scissors, virtual-world, worlds-in-motion