RockYou signs second deal with Loot Drop, Cloudforest Expedition due out this summer

April 28th, 2011

20 million+ social gaming firm RockYou has recently announced the continuation of their publishing relationship with upstart studio Loot Drop.  RockYou announced their first deal with Loot Drop back in January, and clearly company execs are impressed, as the deal will now see a second social game forthcoming from industry vets John Romero and Brenda Brathwaite.  Loot Drop’s first title, Cloudforest Expedition is on tap for a summer delivery, and was funded and to be published by RockYou.

“We’ve been collaborating closely with Loot Drop, and their progress on Cloudforest Expedition is blowing us away,” said Jonathan Knight, SVP of Games at RockYou in a statement. “Loot Drop is a natural fit with our design-driven studio culture and with our commitment to developing and publishing the best social games in the world. With Romero, Brenda Brathwaite, and a full roster of veteran developers, their team continues to exceed expectations. We’re honored to be working with them and look forward to adding two Loot Drop titles to the RockYou portfolio!”

Given Loot Drop’s collection of talent, and their associated pedigrees, RockYou’s investment in the firm could pay off in droves.  Along with Romero, most noted for his work Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake, and Brathwaite, most noted for her work on Wizardry, Playboy: The Mansion, and Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes, Loot Drop features Creative Director Laralyn McWilliam, who’s work on Free Realms earned her a shared spot with SOE Prez. John Smedley on Massive Online Gaming’s list of most influential people in MMO’s, and Austin Studio Head and Game Designer Tom Hall, a long time friend of Romero, and co-founder of id Software, as well as former KingsIsle Entertainment employee.  Given this collection of talent, it’s quite clear to see what RockYou wouldn’t have second thoughts about signing the team to a second title.  Likewise, it would appear that Romero is equally happy with the agreement.

“Since we signed our initial deal in January, RockYou has been an awesome partner. They support our creative freedom as we bring innovation to the story-driven adventure genre with Cloudforest Expedition,” said John Romero in a statement. “Extending the relationship with a second game makes sense, and we’re excited to reveal more details of our projects.”

Again, Loot Drop’s inaugural title, Cloudforest Expedition is planned for a summer launch.  It should be interesting to see how Romero’s experiment pans out, as he’s operating under the premise that an independent games studio can produce IP for a variety of publishing firms, all the while, maintaining the artistic and creative freedom usually reserved for firms with not-so-large deals.

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PS3 tops 50 million units sold worldwide – over 105k digital downloads

April 18th, 2011

Announced late last week, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) is proudly touting their PlayStation 3 sales numbers, with over 50 million units sold worldwide, as of March 29, 2011.

This is quite a significant number for the console manufacturer, as the platform has seen some stiff competition since it’s inaugural showing in 2006. The first and most obvious being Xbox, which once cornered the market on a “gamers” console, whereas Sony initially started pitching the PS3 as a hub for your home media, which also happens to play games. And there there’s Nintendo’s revolutionary Wii that, for a while, seemed to be ready to eclipse both Sony and Microsoft. Sony proudly notes the “future proof” technology involved with the PlayStation 3, including it’s Blu-ray disc player, a factor that’s been reviewed time and time again as a major contributing factor to the platform’s pricing point.

Side by side with the 50 million units sold announcement, Sony is pointing to the PlayStation Move controller as a primary driver of sales acceleration. Since it’s launch in 2010, the Move controller has sold over 8 million units worldwide. Used in conjunction with the PlayStation Eye camera to detect users’ movements and position in 3D space, the Move motion controller now has 155 supported titles within the PlayStation realm including Sports Champions, SingStar Dance, Killzone 3, and the upcoming SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy Seals.

And what would a stats parade be without some online numbers? Sony doesn’t disappoint, and announced that their PlayStation Network service is now 75 million members strong, and operating in 59 countries and regions around the globe. In addition to selling digital downloads via the PlayStation Store, Sony has been putting in a great deal of time trying to cultivate a “PS3 community” through various interactive options including PlayStation Home. While the effectiveness of these efforts have been hit or miss in the past, with the addition of  Free Realms to the PlayStation lineup, this community cultivation could be a rather valuable plume in Sony’s cap. In the numbers department, Sony has revealed that, to date, 105.988 digital downloads of content have passed through the PlayStation Network service.

And last, but certainly not least, Sony stands alone in the console crowd with at least one unique feature: the make electronics other than computers. Also a television manufacturer, Sony is able to fine-tune the relationship between console and display, and they’ve taken full advantage of stereoscopic 3D gaming and Blu-Ray 3D. These features are readily available to owners of Sony’s “BRAVIA” line by simply connection one HDMI cable. As of April 1, 2011, Sony counts 89 3D titles amongst it’s lineup.

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Free Realms arrives on PlayStation Network

March 30th, 2011

And there we have it friends, Sony Online Entertainment’s Free Realms is now available, for free, via the PlayStation Network. The wildly popular free-to-play, family focused virtual world game/activity currently boasts a massive 17 million registered players user base, and that’s just from their PC and Mac computer based version.

In adding Free Realms to the PlayStation network, Sony is making a historic step in the world of gaming. In addition to a number of other accolades, Free Realms now carries the distinction of being the first free-to-play MMO to arrive on any gaming console. You might be thinking, “Ok, so what?” Normally, I would think the same, however, this decidedly marks a shift in games console thinking and positioning. Until now, if you wanted to play it, you had to pay for it (outside the realm of demos, of course). Those that wanted to play and pay-as-they-go were restricted to a desk, mouse, and keyboard. With the addition of Free Realms, this is no longer the case. Likewise, since Sony has already gotten users used to the click, click, download convenience (while having your credit card details stored), the likelihood of additional transactions is quite high. For me, there’s always that moment of hesitation at my desk. On the couch, I might be far more likely to click, click, sold.

“SOE has set the standard for MMOs on the console with two incredibly successful, innovative and exciting new massive online game worlds for the PlayStation®3 system — first with DC Universe Online and now Free Realms,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “Our games extend the current lifecycle of the console with the added value offer of bringing tens of thousands of people together, in a game world, to socialize at community events, compete in combat activities and engage in a diversity of gameplay experiences, for years to come.”

And remember the 17 million registered users mentioned above? Any takers on how fast Sony will double this number? By creating and platforming a title that can be enjoyed by everyone from 8 to 80, Sony has the killer combination. Whether it’s a round of mini-games, home decorating, or adventure and exploration, you’ve covered a massive swath of gamers, and packaged it in a graphically rich world. Ninjas, Warriors and Wizards all take part, as well as future Mario Andretti’s and 49ers.

Rated E10+, Free Realms is now up for grabs on the PlayStation Network, and offers one month ($4.99), three month ($12.99), six month ($24.50), one year ($29.99), and lifetime ($34.99) memberships.

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Nexon Dungeon Fighter headed to Xbox LIVE arcade

March 25th, 2011

Free-to-play innovator Nexon has recently announced a publishing deal with Microsoft Game Studios to bring the popular MORPG Dungeon Fighter Online to Xbox LIVE Arcade users everywhere.

With over 200 million registered users worldwide, Dungeon Fighter is a heavy weight in it’s own class.  While most of Dungeon Fighter’s audience coming from Asia, the game recently set a new record for concurrent players; registering 2.2 million concurrent players across China, Japan, and Korea.

The Xbox LIVE Arcade version of Dungeon Fighter Online won’t be a simple port, but rather will be co-developed between Nexon and Softmax.  Softmax has an appropriate pedigree, having worked on The War of Genesis and Magna Carta.  Nexon’s dev studio, Neople will take lead on the project, and Microsoft will do the publishing via the Microsoft Game Studios.  Likewise, Microsoft will handle the localizations into Japanese, German, Spanish, Italian, and French, while Nexon will handle Chinese and English language support.

“This agreement is a significant step forward for Nexon,” said Min Suh, Nexon’s chief executive officer. “For some time we have been seeking opportunities to expand beyond online PC gaming and move into new platforms like Xbox LIVE Arcade. With the help of Microsoft Game Studios’ deep development and localization experience, we anticipate that Dungeon Fighter Online will bring enjoyment to entirely new audiences on Xbox LIVE Arcade.”

This announcement arrives only days after Nexon’s <a href=”http://www.fatfoogoo.com/2011/03/a-bit-lucky-lands-5m-in-additional-funding-led-by-nexon/”>investment</a> in A Bit Lucky.  Likewise, SOE just <a href=”http://www.fatfoogoo.com/2011/03/sony%e2%80%99s-free-realms-headed-to-playstation-network/”>recently announced</a> that they own Free-to-Play hit Free Realms will be arriving on the PlayStation network later this year.  Call it coincidence, but it looks like we’re in the middle of a reverse flow of games.  Meaning, free-to-play was born from a number of problems, but it’s always been a bit out there on it’s own, at least in the way of “found on my console.”  Free-to-play and the microtransaction business model have fought a long and hard fight, and it looks like they might now be ready for prime time.  If this in fact the case, and if Nexon has broken into the console market, how long will it be before Zynga strikes a deal, and Wii, PS3, and Xbox owners can farm direct from their console?

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Sony’s Free Realms headed to PlayStation Network

March 23rd, 2011

Nearly 17 million registered players and a big gamble that seems to be paying off later, Sony Online Entertainment announced on Friday that their free-to-play MMO Free Realms will be arriving on the PlayStation Network soon. In addition to being a first for Sony, the addition of Free Realms also marks the first appearance of a family-friendly online game to be played on any console, with the emphasis being on Family Friendly.

“Free Realms continues to break new ground in the gaming industry – it will be the first free-to-play MMO to hit any console, the first family-friendly MMO to hit any console, and the second MMO, after our recent release of DC Universe™ Online, to hit the PlayStation 3 to date,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment in a statement. “As the only online games publisher that creates accessible and diverse gameplay experiences for the full spectrum of gamers, we are committed to burgeoning innovation and growing the MMO genre by leaps and bounds, bringing in players of all ages.”

Free Realms was initially launched in 2009, and was a significant departure from the “norm” of SOE’s comfort zone. Remember, at the time, the free-to-play concept was well in circulation, but very few top tier production houses had taken the plunge, with many still “investigating” the premise. Driven by a team of creative and forward looking individuals, Sony initially released Free Realms on the PC platform, with Mac fans getting in approximately a year later. To date, Sony’s “let’s see if there’s any merit to this,” experiment has captured the attention of nearly 17 million registered uses from around the world. Again, this number is derived solely from just PC and Mac numbers.

In 2010, Free Realms received the coveted “Creative Toy Award Seal of Excellence” from Create Child Magazine. Not just your run-of-the-mill MMO, Free Realms features an endless array of mini-games and quests and adventures to keep just about everyone under the sun entertained. Whether it’s kung-fu combat to power battles with pirates, or soccer or pet training, Free Realms seeks to address every need. All the while, presented in a fun, family-friendly environment. Naturally, as a free-to-play, Free Realms contains a number of social touches that make it easy to find and play with real-world friends. Together, players can tackle more challenging quests, as well as participate in live events and community activities.

An in depth overview direct from Sony Online Entertainment:

• Fun Now, No Waiting: Free Realms is easy to access! Get in the game quickly and easily from the PlayStation®Store, create a character, and adventure in a fully immersive social game world within minutes! Click on the Game Guide to access the Activity Finder, Events Calendar, 3D and 2D minigames, quests, Match Making and more!
• Be Whoever You Want: With 15 jobs to get into and more than 30,000 wearable combinations, players can find the perfect profession, or try them all! Jobs include: wizard, blacksmith, medic, archer, warrior, ninja, brawler, chef, miner, demolition derby driver, kart driver, adventurer, postman, soccer star, and fisherman.
• Fun for Everyone: With so much to do and see it’s easy for players to find something fun for you! Start by playing minigames like cooking, mining, soccer, Demolition Derby, or Pirate’s Plunder. Players can decorate their player house with a party dance floor, rocket ship or talking tiki head, or create a maze with any number of items and invite friends over to race through it. The action doesn’t stop there; players can participate with the entire community at live event Boss Battles or in holiday quests, attend in-game concerts and learn boom box dance moves.
• Vibrant, Deep Environment: There are eight distinct, unique and breathtaking environments for players to explore. Areas include the snowcapped mountain villages of Snowhill, the dark and mysterious swamps of Blackspore, and the sunny shores of Seaside.
• Connect with Friends: Whether one’s meeting up with old friends or finding new ones, Free Realms players can connect, play, quest and adventure together. For group quests and multiplayer battles, players just log in to see what their friends have been up to, select them from your friends list and join them in game.
• Play Free or Upgrade: At its heart, Free Realms is free-to-play, with more than 800 quests and the ability to take each job through level four. But players who want to break through to the next level can become Members with access to an additional 400 quests and the ability to level all jobs up to 20. Memberships are offered in terms of one month, three months, six months and lifetime, which is valid for the life of the game. Members and free players can also purchase a variety of items and wearables through micro-transactions.
• Family-Friendly: Recently recognized by Creative Child Magazine with the 2010 Creative Toy Award Seal of Excellence,Free Realms is a fun online experience to share with the entire family. Parental controls on the PC allow for the customization of safety options, include pre-canned and white-list chat, reporting and filters for younger players. For kids who enjoy playing on the PlayStation®3, robust parental controls are innate to the PlayStation®3 Computer Entertainment System.

Free Realms for the PlayStation Network is expected to arrive this coming March 29th to users around the globe.

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Sony launches new Facebook free-to-play; James Patterson: Catch A Killer

December 16th, 2010

In addition to PopCap’s Zuma Biltz, and GameStop/Jolt Online’s Utopia Kingdoms, Sony Online Entertainment isn’t leaving any pixel hungry fans out in the cold this season. Launched yesterday, SOE wants to bring a little free-to-play mystery to your holiday season. Billed as a puzzle adventure game, James Patterson: Catch a Killer is up an running on Facebook, and combines best-selling author James Patterson’s content with the interactive game play style of Facebook games.

“We have an incredible relationship with James Patterson and worked closely with him on the development of this game to explore interesting and creative ways we could approach his unique way of storytelling within a Facebook game environment,” comments SEO head John Smedley. “Fans of James Patterson and crime dramas will enjoy James Patterson: Catch a Killer as it combines social gaming with the mystery and suspense of a Patterson novel to deliver an interactive and entertaining gameplay experience.”

Playing as protagonist Alex Cross, the title challenges would-be-sleuths to decipher cryptic puzzles and use technology and skill to help the good guys bring home the bad guys. A series of clues and hidden items, complete with gritty CSI-esque crime scene photos await, as players piece together fingerprints and DNA sequences to discover the truth. And while the sleuthing is the mainstay of the title, SOE has taken full advantage of the Facebook platform’s offerings, as Catch A Killer also features a virtual world where players can interact with friends, invite them to the game, gift items, and publish achievements to their news feed.

You’ll note the “gift items,” as Sony has built in a microtransactions mechanism, whereby players may send gifts to other players and/or friends, as well as purchase Energy Packs and other in-game items to enhance their playing experience. Players may use Station Cash, Sony’s own virtual currency to purchase said items. Again, the title is free-to-play, but based on SOE’s previous experience with free-to-plays (read: Free Realms), chances are Sony’s got a few enticing offers that are sure to draw in the microtransactions.

“Sony Online Entertainment has delivered a really unique online crime drama experience,” said Author James Patterson. “I think fans of Alex Cross – and of crime stories in general – will really get into the experience of becoming a detective and solving mysteries online.”

James Patterson Catch A Killer is available to any and all would be Sherlock Homles’ directly at Facebook, with more detailed information about the title at playcatchakiller.com.

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Free Realms coming to Mac

October 7th, 2010

SOE’s ‘experiment’ in the free-to-play virtual world model has clearly been paying off in droves. For a while, it seemed as though every month brought yet another milestone for Free Realms, as we saw 5, 9, and 10 million registered users surpassed without any seeming difficulty. Currently, Free Realms counts 14 million registered users.

It appears as though Sony’s no longer satisfied with just cornering the PC market, and has recently announced that Mac users will now have their day in Free Realms. Announced in conjunction with TransGaming, SOE made the Mac move official yesterday, stating that a Mac client was currently in development. Sony, couldn’t put an official date on the release, only promising a release “later this fall.”

“There is no denying the overwhelming player demand for Free Realms on the Mac platform, of which we plan to deliver very soon,” said John Smedley, president of SOE. “For the first time ever, SOE is developing synchronous gameplay for Mac and PC players and we are thrilled to tap into TransGaming’s Mac development expertise to bring this functionality to fruition.”

Sony has stated that the Mac controls and functionality will remain the same as their PC counterparts. Likewise, Mac users will have full access to the existing Marketplace and community forums.

“Free Realms offers a truly unique and captivating user experience that aligns with TransGaming’s focus on bringing new massive multiplayer online games to the Mac platform,” commented Vikas Gupta, CEO & President of TransGaming Inc. “Our strategic partnership with SOE has strengthened our leadership position in the enablement of family-friendly titles for the growing Mac community and offers Mac gamers an ever-increasing catalog of outstanding video game content.”

The question remains – with 14 million PC users storming the Free Realms gates, could Sony effectively double this output by tailoring a Mac specific client? And what number of these 14 million are already Mac players that are simply running a VM client? The timing of this move is well played, as those 5 million, 9 million, etc. milestone numbers aren’t cranking out as they have in the past, a natural status in the lifespan of a gaming title. However, with this move, Sony is poised to give Free Realms a nice shot of adrenalin by welcoming Mac specific players. Timed with a “later this fall” release, Sony could very well capture the post Halloween and/or Thanksgiving market at just the right time to cash in on a slew of new found customers willing to pay for microtransactions.

Now…Free Realms for PS3 please?

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KingsIsle’s freemium Wizard101 turns two

September 3rd, 2010

Launched in September of 2008, Plano, Texas based KingsIsle’s Wizard101 has accomplished some lofty goals. In this time, KingsIsle’s unique approach to family MMO gaming has struck a chord, making Wizard101 one of the most popular online destinations, not just in it’s particular category, but across the online MMO board.

“When we launched Wizard101 two years ago, the team knew we had something very special on our hands,” said Elie Akilian, chairman and CEO of KingsIsle Entertainment. “However, we believe that the success we’ve seen, while extraordinary, is just the beginning. The number of talented professionals working to bring great new content and capabilities to Wizard101 continues to grow. For everyone who loves and plays this game, it will just keep getting better.”

To both celebrate the title’s success, and thank the millions of dedicated players, KingsIsle is preparing their largest expansion of the title yet. Due out this coming autumn, the next chapter in the Wizard101 saga will introduce players to the world of Celestia. The new expansion will allow for players to reach level 60, learn host of new spells, and adventure under the ocean surface.

“Wizard101 raced past the 10-million player mark in June and continues to grow every day,” said J. Todd Coleman, vice president and creative director of Wizard101. “This is an amazing time for KingsIsle, as Wizard101 seems to have hit a tipping point. With the upcoming launch of Celestia, the future looks incredibly exciting.”

To add to the celebrations, KingsIsle will launch a quest later this month featuring a yet unnamed teen icon. The quest will introduce players to the newest game features, primarily the underwater environments, as well as tease new features from the Celestia expansion.

In a market targeted at a very niche crowd, KingsIsle seems to have struck a chord and can clearly stand shoulder to shoulder with the deeper pockets in the pack – namely SOE’s Free Realms, and Disney’s Club Penguin. The bigger question to be asked here is – how long will it be until KingsIsle is acquired? When looking at it’s two biggest rivals, there’s one voice in the pack that’s mysteriously missing – EA.

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Free Realms: One year later – 10 Million users and PS3 version details

April 30th, 2010

SOE took a brave leap one year ago. They saw the writing on the wall, and decided to take their own stab at the free-to-play model. Perhaps not a major leap for upstarts and smaller gaming companies, but for Sony, this was a pretty big deal. Fast forward one year later, and SOE has successfully brought 10 million users into the fold, and for the first time, clarified a previous statement regarding Free Realms for the PS3 console.

Celebrating their one year success, SOE’s Free Realms team partied like it’s 1999, launching 8 individual in-game festivities, starting on the hour, every hour from 9AM – 5PM PST. And while the title certainly deserves to give itself the proverbial pat on the back, Kotaku raised a very valid question: “What happened to the PlayStation 3 version of Free Realms?”

SOE prez. John Smedley first gave out details regarding the PS3 version of Free Realms around the GDC 2009, indicating that Free Realms would be out mid-2010, with EyeToy support “likely”. Since this time, most of the coverage surrounding Free Realms has been about their rapidly growing user base. But other than that, Sony, and the gaming media in general has been rather tight lipped about the status of the project.

However, it appears as though a birthday party is enough to get the SOE folks talking about the PS3 version again, as they gave Kotaku an exclusive surrounding it’s projected release date. According to an SOE rep, “Free Realms for PlayStation3 is very much in development and, you heard it hear first, fans can be prepared to see the first demo in action in June at E3!”

ZOMG! If Sony garnered 10 million users on the PC platform alone (seriously guys? No mac version? Quasi-fail), what-oh-what will they be able to accomplish with a PS3 version? No longer chained to the desk or thigh roasting laptop, hanging on the couch playing a whimsical free-to-play MMO while viewed on the projector? Hell yes! Sign me up. Oh, and a microtransaction here or there? Ones that are already connected to my PS3 store credit card on file? Sold! Free Realms very much as the possibility to take over where Home failed. And moreover, there’s little to no risk involved for Sony, as they’ve already test the system backwards and forwards, and apparently 10+ million players agree: Free Realms is a hit.

The E3 expo kicks off this June 15th, and we’re chomping at the bit to get the skinny on Free Realms for the PS3. In the meantime, how about a recap of Free Realms’ banner first year. Congrats SOE/Free Realms folks – you’ve nailed it!

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Sony’s train keeps a rollin’ – 9 million Free Realms players in the bag

March 8th, 2010

Sony’s been after a smash hit MMO for quite some time now, with more than a few ‘hardcore’ MMO titles coming and going. However, when Sony took a chance on a family/kid friendly title last year, they also jumped on board with the free-to-play model. It looks like that gamble is not only starting to pay off – but paying off handsomely.

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) recently announced that they’ve surpassed the 9 million player mark with Free Realms. “With Free Realms, we’ve been able to reflect the needs and wants of our players by keenly listening to their suggestions and feedback,” said John Smedley, president of SOE. “We believe the persistent exercise of capturing in-game research inside Free Realms has been a huge contributing factor as to why we’ve attracted over nine million players in less than a year. It truly helps us give our players a game where they can do and be whatever they want.”

SOE cites continuous development, as well as a sustained and targeted marketing approach as a strong factor in pulling in new players, as well as keeping current players satisfied and coming back for more. An example of this interaction can be found in SOE’s development of a player requested feature – Rides.

Rides allow Membership holding players to ride a T-Rex or Dragon, of their color and preference choosing of course, anywhere in the virtual world with a 150 percent speed increase. Sony says that Horse rides are in the works, as well as additional Rides (let’s just call them Mounts for common-speak sake).

And while Sony is enjoying a 9 million player success story, they are, however, a bit tight lipped about any revenue generated via Free Realms. Yes, the game is free-to-play, but obviously Sony is looking for revenue generating possibilities via microtransactions. On the other side of the coin, this is, after all, Sony that we’re talking about here, who are no strangers to sinking massive amounts of capital into developing and current (and sometimes not-so-current) projects.

To put Free Realms’ 9 million users in perspective, while not exactly in the same vain, Zynga’s Farmville counts over 80 million users, while free-to-play landscape dominator RuneScape has approximately 156 million registered accounts, with over 10 million active players per month. So while 9 million users is nothing to sneeze at, Sony’s still got a long road to travel to make Free Realms the king of the hill.

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