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.
Read more…

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…

June will see the beginning of some new improvements to the fast-selling Age of Conan. Further additions to Funcom’s game will come later in the year to coincide with EA Mythic’s Warhammer Online full release and Blizzard’s World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. We have been looking over the details of what Age of Conan players can expect and here are our thoughts. Read more…

The new MMO coming out of Sony Online Entertainment will not have a microtransaction system built in, it has been confirmed in an interview with Eurogamer.
Read more…

Smoke em’ if you got em’ (pipe-weed that is) — Turbine and Codemasters Online are celebrating the one year anniversary of Middle-earth’s MMO, The Lord of the Rings Online, by releasing a new free content update.

Available today for North America Subscribers, Book 13: Doom of the Last-king (Last King, Lich King, can’t we all just get along?) is the fifth content update to the title, and it boasts a new realm, the introduction of a new class, and a new hobby system. If you are interested in learning more about this update, check out the official press release below. Read more…

In a world seemingly overrun with MMOs, Jumpgate Evolution is going to have a tough time carving its place among the big players. Developed by NetDevil and published by Codemasters Online (who also own D&D Online and LOTR Online), there is no shortage of experience behind the game, but does it deliver the loot? Or does it leave the player grinding away in the endless darkness of space? Read the full story for my impressions.
Read more…

Former MLB Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. is off the bench and promoting Real Baseball, a Massive Multiplayer Online Sport Game (MMOSG). Real Baseball has been under beta for the last three years under Ultimate Baseball Online. Read more…

Most of us have heard by now that the much-anticipated Marvel Universe Online game for the PC and Xbox 360 has been canceled. Cryptic Studios was understandably upset, but they’ve taken their work on the superhero game in an exciting new direction. Check out this new trailer for proof that change is sometimes a very good thing. Read more…

Indie developer Silverlode Interactive accosted me outside the press room at GDC to show me their new MMORTS (Massively Multiplayer Online Real-Time Strategy) game, SAGA. The game looks interesting enough, and given the fact that it’s essentially free, it very well may be worth your time. I checked out the beta yesterday, and I have to say that I have no idea what I’m doing. There seemed to be plenty of people who did, however, so maybe I just missed something.

Either way, SAGA has just entered open beta for the public, so you can give the game a shot for yourself. Full press release after you click the link at the end of this sentence… wait for it… okay, now! Read more…

The world’s first Massively Multiplayer Online Collectible Trading Card Action Figure Comic Book Game (or MMO-NERD) is set to be a good one. Jonathan Zungre and I sat down with the creators to discuss all things Freaky Creatures. Read more…

Ever wanted to have a social experience with other Hello Kitty lovers without leaving your house? What about making a guild? How about earning and spending Kitty Dollars? What if I told you it was at the magic price of free? No, this isn’t a joke. Read more…

In yet another attempt to bring together the worlds of Mountain Dew and videogames, PepsiCo created the DEWmocracy. This Massively-Multiplayer Online game casts players as “an anonymous hero that rebels against the the forces of uniformity and seeks a new world, and a new elixir, that will change everything”. That must be pretty interesting because hundreds of thousands of gamers have already begun doing the Dew. Read more…

Fans who love to play Funcom’s futuristic MMO Anarchy Online but don’t want to pay for it will be glad to hear that the game will remain free for at least another year. Read more…

Stop trying to ninja loot my lightsaber!

In a press release today, LucasArts finally confirmed a long standing rumor which involved the company working side by side with Bioware to publish and develop a “ground-breaking interactive product”. Could this be the long-anticipated Star Wars MMO everyone has been hoping that Star Wars Galaxies would be? Fans of both companies will have to wait a little longer, as the press release promises more information coming at “a later date”. Read more…