CCP's PC online space trading/combat game EVE Online has reached a milestone, reporting a record peak of 45,186 concurrent users on its single-shard server.

"It is truly a testament to our loyal fans that 5 years into EVE's existence we are still breaking records and more people are flying in New Eden than ever before," said the company, announcing the record via EVE's official blog.

EVE Online, which launched in 2003, exceeded 240,000 active subscribers earlier in 2008 as it celebrated its fifth anniversary with year-over-year gains in its userbase.

The game now features a player-driven democratic society via its elected Council of Stellar Management, and an elaborate in-game economy watched over by former real-world economist Dr. Eyjolfur Gudmundsson.

In a recent interview with Gamasutra, Gudmundsson said the EVE's single-shard server is essential to the nature of the game, likening it to a "nation state, with all the institutions that come along with that."

Posted by mathewk at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

China's booming online games industry may reach sales of RMB 18.21 billion ($2.67 billion) in 2010, says a report from business news organization and research group Interfax China.

Current online game operators are generating increasing revenues, the study says, and new entrants are joining the market every year. The new report, titled "China Online and Mobile Gaming 2008-2010," found online game operators saw revenues totaling to RMB 10.57 billion ($1.5 billion) in 2007, and are expected to have brought in RMB 12.67 billion ($1.86 billion) in 2008.

Interfax says that there are currently some 120 gaming operators running approximately 200 online games in China. Among these, the four biggest companies in terms of revenues are Shanda, Giant Interactive, NetEase, and The9, the last of which manages World of Warcraft's operations in the country.

While most of China's online game revenues is generated by massively multiplayer online games, the group says that casual and web games are becoming increasing popular and "are considered to offer great potential for in-game advertising due to the strong purchasing power of its user group." Local web game companies have been attracting venture capital investments as a result.

"In-game advertising is a hot spot for generating revenue, which is especially true for the free-to-play online gaming model that has gained popularity among many Chinese gamers," says Interfax China in its release on the report.

The group continues, "Leading game operators such as Shanda are paying increasing attention to the in-game advertising market. Mergers and acquisitions are commonplace among in-game advertising companies while Focus Media and Bihu Technology are gearing to dominate the market. However, technology still poses a key problem in China's in-game advertising industry."

The report overview also talks about new demographic trends in China, explaining: "Not only has the market seen a huge transformation, but the profile of the country's gamers has also evolved since the sector was in its initial stages of growth. The proportion of female gamers is on the rise, and online gaming is now not just the preserve of urban residents. New games are being launched at a fast pace, while the loyalty of gamers to particular titles is a rare commodity."

Finally, Chinese government policy is discussed, with the authors noting: "The government is concerned over the content of the games enjoyed by large numbers of China's youth, which may contain violence, gambling and pornography, and policy making decisions will likely focus around these issues."

They conclude: "It is also possible that China will put a cap on the number of overseas games released in the country where around 70 percent of new online games are from overseas. The positive news for Hong Kong online game developers is that the government will likely relax restrictions on Hong Kong-developed games entering the mainland as economic ties between the two regions strengthen."

Posted by mathewk at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

We've been filling in a lot of the surprising blanks in our Online World Atlas recently, such Audition and NeoPets, so here’s the latest blank we're going to fill—Travian, one of the most popular browser-based civilization building games.

Continue reading "Online World Atlas: Travian -- Pt. 3, Conclusion" »

Posted by mathewk at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

MMO publisher Aeria Games has announced the launch of the open beta of their latest free-to-play title, Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online.

The first MMO in the popular and critically-acclaimed Shin Megami Tensei franchise (including titles such as Persona 4) SMT: Imagine Online features a real-time battle system, character customization and "demon fusing"—the process of combining multiple demons to create new breeds which help the player in "restoring order to a post-apocalyptic Tokyo."

In addition, the game features the usual MMO social features, such as friends lists.

"The game, already highly successful in Japan, proved to be popular amongst English speakers during the closed beta test," said an Aeria Games representative. "For open beta, everyone is invited to play the game for free without download or subscription fees."

Posted by mathewk at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vancouver-based web startup Leap In Entertainment has announced that its new "3D social media site" Just Leap In has entered public beta. The goal of the world is to "broaden the appeal of web-based 3D for a mainstream social media audience," particularly concentrating on the 18-34 demographic.

The world offers a RSSable newsfeed that syndicates events within the 3D world, and asynchronous browsing to allow the world to work akin to a YouTube video embed on blogs or webpages.

In addition, the world currently doesn't feature any advertising and is currently cross-platform across Mac and PC.

"Teens are already well served by entrenched players like IMVU and Gaia and Habbo," explained creative director Michael Griffin in a launch statement. "Most our users are over 18, have never spent much time in a virtual world before, but are avid users of Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube who are totally interested in swapping to a 3D environment. If you listen to those kinds of users, they want to do stuff like browse for friends and share photos and videos online. Other virtual worlds don't actually make that stuff easy to do. So we've grown organically to make those key activities as simple as possible."

Posted by mathewk at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Late last year MMO publisher and operator Outspark announced its latest MMORPG, Wind Slayer, and they've now announced the dates for a brief closed beta, open between January 7th and 14th.

The testing period is to "provide Outspark with valuable feedback that will be used to further refine the game before its wider release later this year."

Set on the continent of Beuritania, Wind Slayer is a 2D side-scrolling MMO that features six classes, character customization and player-versus-player modes. The title is to enter open beta in February.

“Outspark offers rides for every type of thrill seeker coming to play in our virtual playground,” stated Susan Choe, CEO and founder of Outspark. “Wind Slayer’s character customization and multiplayer options combined with its side scrolling style and simple controls make the game a perfect fit for all gamers wanting to enjoy a fun-filled crusade with friends they meet in the Outspark community.”

Posted by mathewk at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In this round-up, we highlight some of the notable jobs posted in sister site Gamasutra's industry-leading game jobs section, including positions from Planet Moon Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Blizzard Entertainment.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site's daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone games, 'serious games', independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted in each market area this week include:

Continue reading "Round-Up: Gamasutra Network Jobs, Week Of January 2" »

Posted by Simon Carless at 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Virtual world company Worlds.com filed suit against City Of Heroes publisher NCsoft on Christmas Eve, claiming infringement on its MMO technology patent.

The main patent referenced in the suit is a "System and Method for Enabling Users to Interact in a Virtual Space."

According to the lawsuit, obtained by the Virtual Worlds News website, Worlds.com alleges that NCsoft's online games, including Dungeon Runners, City of Heroes/Villains and Lineage II, among others, are in violation.

Earlier this month, Worlds.com, which launched in 1994, referenced its holding of patents for two technologies common in virtual worlds and MMOs: scalable chat and user interaction in a virtual space.

As MMO site Massively reported at the time, this theoretically gives Worlds.com enforcement power over just about any online game that lets users talk and interact in a game world -- and the ability to collect financial damages.

Massively's report noted that Worlds.com's interaction patent was filed in 2000 -- after the launch of other games such as Habitat or Ultima Online, which appear to include some reasonably similar features.

The complaint, filed in NCsoft's home ground of the Eastern District of Texas, seeks a permanent injunction against NCSoft operating games covered under the patent, plus damages for the alleged infringement, "in no event less than a reasonable royalty", as well as lawyers' fees.

Worlds.com's second patent, unreferenced in this particular legal claim, is 'Scalable virtual world chat client-server system', which was filed in 1996 and granted in 2001.

[The preceding article by Leigh Alexander also appeared on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Posted by Simon Carless at 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sony Online Entertainment's upcoming DC Universe Online is a key project for the Everquest publisher, which has latterly been trying to push into more casual markets with its FreeRealms title.

The game is a PlayStation 3 and PC MMO which will feature dozens of characters (from Batman through Superman to Lex Luthor) and settings from the DC comic book universe, as well as customizable superhero or super-villain characters created by users.

DC Universe Online is believed to be due out some time in 2009, and earlier this year, sister site Gamasutra sat down with DCUO senior producer Wes Yanagi to talk about the project.

During the course of the chat, Yanagi discussed the contributions of venerated comic book artist and executive creative director Jim Lee, possible revenue models, and how the studio playtests and balances a game with such diverse characters and environments.

Continue reading "Interview: SOE's Yanagi Talks DC Universe Online's Birth" »

Posted by Simon Carless at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Massively multiplayer online developer CCP is considering leaving its home country of Iceland, due to the growing economic crisis which has hit the small island country hard.

One of the first global economics to feel the full effects of the global financial crisis, Iceland’s banking sector is left with debts that have risen to as much as $14 billion - 10 times the country’s GDP.

All three of the country’s major banks have had to be nationalized, with inflation now at 17 percent and unemployment in double digits.

As reported by British newspaper The Guardian, restrictions on access to foreign currency have proven disastrous for EVE Online developer CCP, which also runs offices in Atlanta and Shanghai.

Sci-fi themed massively multiplayer online game EVE Online has 300,000 subscribers worldwide –- as much as the actual population of Iceland.

"To make new games, we need foreign investors," said CCP’s Eyjolfur Gudmundsson. "The present currency restrictions are putting us in a straitjacket. We are in talks with the government, but if we can't let capital in, we might be compelled to leave Iceland, even though this would be against our wishes."

Posted by Simon Carless at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this round-up, we highlight some of the notable jobs posted in sister site Gamasutra's industry-leading game jobs section, including positions from Armature Studio, NetDevil, Sony Online Entertainment, Longtail Studios, and more.

Each position posted by employers will appear on the main Gamasutra job board, and appear in the site's daily and weekly newsletters, reaching our readers directly.

It will also be cross-posted for free across its network of submarket sites, which includes content sites focused on online worlds, cellphone games, 'serious games', independent games and more.

Some of the notable jobs posted in each market area this week include:

Continue reading "Round-Up: Gamasutra Network Jobs, Week Of December 26" »

Posted by Simon Carless at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)