Chinese News and Beta Test Announcements

• Neowiz: Seven Souls Online, closed last December 2012 in the West.
• Ragnarok Online 2 – North America teaser website now up, War of Emperium still in development.
• Dungeon Striker – 2 new servers announced for Asia.
• Games still going strong, VNG reports over $90 million in revenue for 2012.
• Tencent plans three-pronged attack to monetize WeChat (like LINE app).

Massively's hands-on with SWTOR expansion Rise of the Hutt Cartel

Massively's hands-on with SWTOR expansion Rise of the Hutt Cartel:
Filed under: Sci-fi, Expansions, Patches, Previews, PvE, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on, First Impressions, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Star Wars: The Old Republic: The Hutt Cartel is Rising

Star Wars: The Old Republic: The Hutt Cartel is Rising:
Star Wars: The Old Republic is getting its first digital expansion with the imminent release of Rise of the Hutt Cartel. We were on hand to check out RotHC at Bioware:

PAX East 2013: Hands-on with The Repopulation

PAX East 2013: Hands-on with The Repopulation:
Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Economy, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Previews, Hands-on, Massively Interviews,

PAX East 2013: SOE's Dave Georgeson on EQ Next and the future of online gaming

PAX East 2013: SOE's Dave Georgeson on EQ Next and the future of online gaming:
Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Culture, Events, real-world, Interviews, MMO industry, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Massively Interviews, Massively Event

Facebook shares new documentation for local currency pricing, sets migration for Q3

Facebook shares new documentation for local currency pricing, sets migration for Q3:
Facebook today provided updates regarding its transition from Credits to local currency pricing. The company offered new documentation for game developers and

Triple Town devs on finding the fun in free-to-play game design

Triple Town devs on finding the fun in free-to-play game design:
Rapid iteration, early releases, and a broad design space are key to building original successful free-to-play games, say Spry Fox (Triple Town) devs during a session at

Firefall Announced PAX EAST Milestone Details

Firefall Announced PAX EAST Milestone Details:
Red 5 Studios today released details and a new trailer for Firefall’s latest mega-patch, which launched during an exclusive PAX East press event last weekend. The new

Nintendo's indies guy tells you how to get your games approved

Nintendo's indies guy tells you how to get your games approved:
Nintendo's policies for indie developers have been opaque -- until now. Dan Adelman, who works with teams like Gaijin Games (Runner 2) and Tomorrow

Sony kills concept approval, makes moves to get indies onto PS4

Sony kills concept approval, makes moves to get indies onto PS4:
Gamsutra speaks with Sony's Adam Boyes, who heads up its publisher and development relations team, about changes it's making to become more developer-

Not So Massively: PAX East 2013, D3 on PS3, and Firefall's TV channel

Not So Massively: PAX East 2013, D3 on PS3, and Firefall's TV channel:
Filed under: Betas, Video, Culture, Events, real-world, Game mechanics, New titles, Patches, Previews, PvP, News items, PvE, Free-to-play, Dev Diaries, Not So Massively,

Buy a box for Age of Wushu and gain exclusive adventures

Buy a box for Age of Wushu and gain exclusive adventures:
Filed under: Fantasy, Historical, Business models, News items, Free-to-play, Sandbox, Age of Wushu Who doesn't like buying a boxed edition of a free-to-play

First 14 Minutes of Defiance Premier Episode Now Available Online | Ten Ton Hammer

First 14 Minutes of Defiance Premier Episode Now Available Online | Ten Ton Hammer:
Syfy posts the first 14 minutes of the first episode of the Defiance television show online.

The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age review

The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age review:
The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age is a new Facebook game from Kabam. It is not related to the company’s recent iOS and Android game The Hobbit: Kingdoms of

Ludei adds 3D support to its HTML5 platform

Ludei adds 3D support to its HTML5 platform:
HTML5 platform provider Ludei today announced it’s adding 3D support to its game development platform, allowing developers to deliver WebGL 3D games to

How ethical design can be a money-maker

How ethical design can be a money-maker:
GDC 2013: Shellrazer designer describes the key to monetization and in-app purchases; it's all about respect for the players

'Be suspicious of data,' says video game data guy

'Be suspicious of data,' says video game data guy:
Joost van Dreunen is CEO of growing video game market and sales data company SuperData. But even as someone who supplies clients with data, he says data

Mini Golf MatchUp (iOS/Android) review

Mini Golf MatchUp (iOS/Android) review:
Mini Golf MatchUp is a new iOS and Android game from Scopely, makers of the “With Buddies” series of cross-platform asynchronous multiplayer games. The new

The Old Republic's 'Rise of the Hutt Cartel' expansion out April 14

The Old Republic's 'Rise of the Hutt Cartel' expansion out April 14:
First digital expansion for BioWare's free-to-play MMO game launching next month; those who preordered on or before January 7 can jump in April 9. Star Wars: The Old

ECCO the Dolphin could live on through spiritual successor, The Big Blue

ECCO the Dolphin could live on through spiritual successor, The Big Blue:
ECCO the Dolphin was one of my favorite SEGA Genesis games growing up. I doubt I ever played it as intended, as I was just a...

Elder Scrolls Online: PAX East 2013 Impressions

Elder Scrolls Online: PAX East 2013 Impressions:
We took The Elder Scrolls Online for a spin during this year's PAX East event and today we're offering our impressions.

Ubisoft: free-to-play, microtransactions essential to future of AAA games

Ubisoft: free-to-play, microtransactions essential to future of AAA games:
Jade Raymond says there is now an "expectation" that gamers should be able to try for free and buy only what they want; about 10 AAA games per year can still be

Defiance - Test 3 Review: A world of opportunity

Defiance - Test 3 Review: A world of opportunity:
Defiance is a Buy2Play (you buy the game and that’s it, no monthly fees and an optional cash shop) brought to us by Trion Worlds who published other successful

Ubisoft: "There will always be an appetite for more beautiful games"

Ubisoft: "There will always be an appetite for more beautiful games":
Xavier Poix, head of Ubisoft France Studios, talks next-gen, building brands, and the fate of Wii U

American McGee: PlayStation 4 is "meh"

American McGee: PlayStation 4 is "meh":
Alice developer believes that interfaces are where the excitement will happen

Three Colors Combine to Form the Finest Sheep Shooter Ever

Three Colors Combine to Form the Finest Sheep Shooter Ever:
Red, green and blue — these are the primary colors, which can be mixed together in varying amounts to create every color of the visible spectrum. I learned this in my

Uncharted Waters Online: Now Available on Steam

Uncharted Waters Online: Now Available on Steam:
Netmarble has announced that Uncharted Waters Online is now available on Steam. To celebrate the new release, UWO players downloading from Steam can take

Nitro Review

Nitro Review:
Gamezebo Rating: Know what I miss? Arcade-style racing games. It seems like these days everyone’s focused on realism and simulations. That’s why it’s fairly

Dungeon Striker (KR) CBT 3 Preview Videos

Dungeon Striker (KR) CBT 3 Preview Videos:
With Closed Beta 3 coming in a few days’ time for Dungeon Striker, Korean media website ThisIsGame.com has an early look at the new dungeons coming, The game

PAX 2013: Hands-on with Smashmuck Champions

PAX 2013: Hands-on with Smashmuck Champions:
Filed under: Previews, Opinion, Free-to-play, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage, Miscellaneous, MOBA MOBAs are all the rage these days, with

Texas HoldEm Poker has this week’s winning hand among fastest-growing Facebook games by MAU

Texas HoldEm Poker has this week’s winning hand among fastest-growing Facebook games by MAU:
Zynga’s Texas HoldEm Poker is this week’s fastest-growing Facebook fame by monthly active user, bringing in 2.7 million monthly active users for a 9 percent gain. Zynga’s

League of Legends: UPDATED: NOT Working On Expansion to Mobile LoL

League of Legends: UPDATED: NOT Working On Expansion to Mobile LoL:
UPDATE: Earlier we received word from Playnews in Italy that Riot was working on bringing League of Legends to mobile and console platforms. We reached out to Riot,

DC Comics MOBA Infinite Crisis announced

DC Comics MOBA Infinite Crisis announced:
Free-to-play DC MOBA coming to PC later in 2013. The Lord of the Rings Online developer Turbine has announced Infinite Crisis, a free-to-play MOBA set in the DC

Paradox announces Magicka: Wizard Wars

Paradox announces Magicka: Wizard Wars:
Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Humor Paradox Interactive has announced the development of Magicka:

PAC-MAN +Tournaments Review

PAC-MAN +Tournaments Review:
Gamezebo Rating: The heyday of the arcade has long passed. But when the arcade still ruled the gaming world, there was no better candidate for its king than PAC-MAN. The

Tecmo Koei Just Sliced Up Team Ninja

Tecmo Koei Just Sliced Up Team Ninja:
In Japan, everything changes in the spring. And this April 1, Tecmo Koei, from the sound of it, is making some big changes. At least, on paper. More »

Compression company Tangentix raises $2.1m

Compression company Tangentix raises $2.1m:
Focused on faster downloads, cuts Black Ops II down to 4.8GB