Who needs a mount when you can fly. Plus, our armor is shiny and stuff!

Aion, lately, has been the talk of most MMO hoppers, and even some more devoted players. Its game revolves around the two races, and two parts of its world. Asmoade is the world of darkness, where its inhabitants have been covered in darkness, and Elysea, a world bathed in light. Read more…

The above slide, noticed by GameSpot, was displayed by THQ at an investor’s meeting in February. As you can see, it makes mention of sequels in plenty of franchises, notably Saints Row 3 and Red Faction 4, as well as info on the release of a Warhammer 40,000 MMO in fiscal 2012 (April 1, 2011- March 31, 2012).

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It’s 2012.

There’s no point in me building up suspense, only to reveal that you’re going to be waiting at least three more years to play as your favorite superheroes online. In an interview with MTV Multiplayer, Marvel president of consumer products, Simon Phillips, revealed the date, along with an explanation.

“It sounds like a long way away, but it’s not,” Philips said. “We’ve got to create, together with [game publisher] Gazillion, that environment that is going to be a totally immersive experience and a perpetual storytelling experience as well.”

Well, truth be told, I’m willing to wait. In the meantime, hit the jump for a list of things that will have occurred in the time before the Marvel MMO comes out. Read more…

Tired of the constant nerf fest that is Blizzard’s World of Warcraft? Or maybe you are just looking for a break from Azeroth that doesn’t involve getting a job or anything remotely related to life in the “real world”.

Well, if you answered yes to any of those questions and at one point in your life pictured yourself in tightly fitting spandex, then Marvel and Gazillion Entertainment quite possibly have just the thing in store for you.

The two parties agreed on a ten year deal to create a Marvel Universe based Massive Multiplayer Online extravaganza. That’s right – Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and many others will soon be masquerading as quest givers in a game near you.

If quality is your concern, fear not. Gazillion is adequately equipped to create Marvel branded crack as their team of big wigs boast time spent at corporations such as Apple, Blizzard, Microsoft, and Pixar.

So forget those tired old exclamation points you are used to seeing and get ready to let your spider sense point you in the direction of the next quest giver — it’s bound to happen. Read more about the updated deal announcement over at marvel.com and check back with Ripten for more updates.

One of the latest posts on MMO-Champion reveals the tier 8 World of Warcraft stats and set bonuses. In addition, you can check out the latest plot to rain on your fun parade changes that will likely hit your talent tree in the 3.1 patch. As always, when you are done, you can head on over to the WoW class forums and bitch up a storm hoping someone in blue will give a damn. Check out the goods here.

While the Knights of the Old Republic series has not been the highest selling brand for LucasArts the same way that the Battlefront series has, the KOTOR games remain unique in their own way. For the first time ever, 4000 years before the events that set place in the movies, players found themselves introduced to a more dreamy time in the Star Wars space. A time when Jedi and Sith alike were in abundance and great disgust strewn between the two, a time where political affairs stood out on the forefront all while large corporations and mercenary groups extended their hand for a piece of the galaxy.

With gripping and immersive storytelling, proficient voice-acting, stunning visuals, and not to mention an incredible musical score, both KOTOR games have found themselves a permanent home in RPG and Star Wars fans alike. The only thing missing is the final piece to make it a complete trilogy. That final piece will come in the form of a MMO titled Star Wars: The Old Republic. Read more…

Tabula Rasa, Richard Garriott’s space-centred MMO, is now totally free-to-play. It seems a little too good to be true, but remember that the failed MMO is set to close down completely on 28 February 2009, due to lack of support (i.e. nobody is playing the damn thing). Returning players can just log back in, and new players can easily get going: Go here to get a serial, go there to sign up, and then hit this to download the client- as easy as one, two, four three! Good news for MMO fans, but bad news for MMO fans who like their games to last more than two months, sadly. Still, maybe if enough people want to play it now, it’ll come back to life; there’s nothing to lose, so get going!

If you like your Chocobo with online multiplayer access, then you’ll be happy to know that Square Enix is set to give you three new expansion packs for their Final Fantasy XI MMO.

“A Crystalline Prophecy – Ode of Life Bestowing” will kick things off in the Spring of 2009 with “A Moogle Kupo d’Etat – Evil in Small Doses” and “A Shantotto Ascension – The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born” hitting PlayOnline for download in the following months. Hit the jump for the full press release. Read more…

On December 17th, Monster Hunter Frontier will be releasing what’s known as season 4.0.  This update includes some famous monsters from 2nd G and a new map to fight on.  Read more…

You know how you always say that you want developers to try new things? Be creative. Live on the edge. Show you stuff you’ve never seen before. Yea? Well, you’re full a shit.

You don’t want that — you want to feel at home, comfortable, and in command — and you’re not the only one. Many residents of the Azeroth, in the popular MMO World of Warcraft, are not the least bit amused by Blizzard’s attempt to transition into the Lich King expansion. Read more…

If there’s a downside to Blizzard’s monumental success with World of Warcraft, it’s where they go from here. With reaction to the company’s future endeavors ranging from the justifiably negative to the mostly positive, there’s certainly a fine line to walk for the company.

For their upcoming “next-gen MMO”, Blizzard’s got to win a whole new audience over while not cannibalizing their own properties – what’s their game plan then? Make something different, according to Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime.

We’re not trying to replace World of Warcraft with this new MMO. We’re trying to create a different massively multiplayer experience, and hopefully World of Warcraft will still be going strong when that one is released.

Sounds interesting – let’s just hope they don’t sell a different game for every race. Read on for more Morhaime. Read more…

Blizzcon 08 is about to open its doors to the world, and that has many of us discussing our favorite MMO moments, both in game and out. A hands-down personal favorite of mine is the World of Warcraft South Park episode from 2006.

In the event you’ve been strapped to a pipe in a strange basement for the past two years, broke free, stumbled onto a Blizzcon 08 ticket, and decided to go, you may have missed the following South Park episode. Everyone else has no excuse, but you’re free to watch it anyway.

Hit the jump for the classic South Park World of Warcraft episode, and witness Cartman stack sunder armor as only he can. Read more…

It appears that a Halo based MMO was in secret development by Ensemble prior to the studio closing its doors. Gamasutra reports on rumors that the game had been a work in progress dating back as far as 2006.

The screen shown above bears a striking resemblance to another popular MMO. When I first got wind of this news I thought “ok, this might be interesting”, but after seeing a Spartan duel-wielding two blades, that notion (like the studio itself) quickly dissipated.

If the idea still interests you, here is a tidbit that may give you hope. Microsoft Game Studios head, Phil Spencer, was recently quoted saying that there are “more than two or three teams” currently working on Halo branded projects. So, Halo MMO supporters can deny the game’s finite death, and instead choose to see this as nothing more than extended resurrection sickness.

Source: joystiq.com

Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online, an MMO based in the Shin Megami Tensei universe that birthed games like Digital Devil Saga and Persona, is coming to English-speaking countries. Aeria Games announced their acquisition of the game (which has been out since last March in Japan) on Wednesday, and are working on localizing it post-haste.

The game’ll be free-to-play with microtransactions being the potential revenue generator.

Pdwarfy ain’t grinding nuthin

Gold farming might be a joke among many MMORPG players, but, according to a recent Manchester University study, it certainly is a lucrative one. The study estimates that the industry is a $500 Million market, with over 400,000 employees (80% based in China) earning an average of $145 a month. Professor Richard Heeks, who authored the study, had this to say:

“I initially became aware of gold farming through my own games-playing but assumed it was just a cottage industry. In a way that is still true. It’s just that instead of a few dozen cottages, there turn out to be tens of thousands.”

Hundreds of thousands grinding away in games like World of Warcraft and Runescape, for low wages and in poor conditions. This is the ugly side of globalization manifest in virtual worlds. It’s almost surreal to imagine, but apparently gold farming is becoming a major sector in the economies of the countries involved. Read more…

So you’re visiting the World of Warcraft realm forums. It’s the usual flaming, loot drop bragging and guild drama when a new post pops up that says “Pic’s of My Teacher Nekkid!!1!”

There is a link. Do you click it? If you do, chances are that you are going to find your lvl70 paladin for sale on eBay. Read more…

CEO of Electronic Arts John Riccitiello confirmed at E3 that BioWare, in collaboration with LucasArts, is in fact working on the next Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic game. Will it be an MMO like has often been rumored? Riccitiello replies simply, “Yes.” Read more…

It’s official! Okay, no, it’s not. Blizzard has been teasing the gaming world with its evolving homepage ice picture, and after this latest update, the planets certainly appear to be aligning for the announcement of World of StarCraft, or whatever they decide to call the new Massively Multiplayer Online game set in the StarCraft universe. Read more…

This picture has very little to do with the article. Sorry.

Oathbreaker is the forth expansion pack, or set, to be added to the Everquest based online card game, Legends of Norrath.
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This is apparently not an encounter most people would enjoy.

There has been a lot of hubbub recently concerning the depiction of naked female boobage in the recently released MMO Age of Conan. U.S. gamers fought to keep the nipples in the game, but now it appears they don’t want to actually see them. What gives? Read more…