Issue 28

Greetings Fellow Gamers! I am trying to remain on top of all the latest MMO news that I believe most of you will find interesting. The GDC was going on this week so there have been quite a few of announcements. This issue has some new information about MechWarrior Online, the latest SWTOR patch trailer as well as more news on upcoming patches and updates for other popular games. There are also details about the Diablo III release date, Guild Wars 2 pre-order information and more.

I may have another issue next week as Blizzard has indicated that a wealth of expansion information will be unveiled by the media sometime next week. I would expect that the next issue of MMO Times will be dominated by World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria news.

SWTOR 1.2 Patch Trailer

Here is the official trailer for the Star Wars: The Old Republic 1.2 patch. The video will show footage of the new warzones, the new quest hubs, updates to the legacy system and additional UI features. This patch is going to be a huge step forward for this game. Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwxWD8te9So[/youtube]

Rumored: Elder Scrolls MMO

Posted 3/16/12 – Attention Skyrim fans, Bathesda Softworks is teasing players and fans with an announcement of an Elder Scrolls MMO in May. Please note, the announcement is slated for May, not the release of the game. Rumor has it that it is to take place 1,000 years before Skyrim and will allegedly have three playable factions. I would take this news with a grain of salt because nothing official has been released by Bathesda Softworks. Follow the link to the article I found.
Gamsbeat article

Aion 3.0 Date Announced

Posted 3/15/12 – NCSoft announced that the Aion 3.0 update will be released April 11th. This is the big Free-2-Play patch that they have been talking about for quite a few weeks now. This update will not only include the F2P functionality but also mounts, a streamlined UI and other treats. Follow the link to read more about it on Massively.
Massively article

Diablo III Release Date Announced

Posted 3/15/12 – I’m sure everyone knows that the release date for Diablo III is May 15th so this probably isn’t news to anyone. If you didn’t know that then you must be living under a rock. Regardless I had to include it in the MMO Times because what kind of gamer would I be if I didn’t include it. Granted I’m not an avid Diablo player so I’m probably not as excited about this news as others but I’m sure both WoW and SWTOR will likely see a population decline in May. The news of the release is everywhere but here is the Massively link and the MMO-Champion link (which includes the Blizzard blue post).
Massively article | MMO-Champion post

Game of Thrones MMO First Look

Posted 3/15/12 – Winter is coming … sometime this year. Artplant still promises the release of this MMO by the end of 2012 and its still labeled as Free-2-Play. It is to take place during the first book. I’m guessing some of the pictures in this article are screenshots from a cinematic. The author, who says they are a fan of the books, seems pretty encouraged by the content of this game so far. Follow the link below to read more.
WhatCulture! post

Guild Wars 2 Pre-Order Details

Posted 3/15/12 – ArenaNet and NCSoft have revealed details regarding pre-ordering Guild Wars 2. Players that pre-order will receive a couple of interesting incentives including entry into beta weekends as well as a three day head start. There is a Standard Edition, Collector’s Edition and a Digital Deluxe Edition. The link to Game Guru has the game trailer as well as an image of the contents of the Collector’s Edition.
GameGuru post

EverQuest II Update Coming In April

Posted 3/13/12 – SOE will release Game Update 63 on April 17th and with it will come a dragon or two. I don’t know too much about this game so I don’t know how cool and exciting this is but apparently players will receive a couple of new areas. One of the new areas is a dragon city called Skyshrine. A dragon city does sound pretty cool. Follow the link on Massively to read more.
Massively post

MechWarrior Online In-Game Action

Posted 3/13/12 – Piranha Games has posted some in-game video footage of their upcoming MechWarrior Online. I think it looks pretty sweet. The video looks like a PvP match and I think one of the most interesting aspects, from a graphical perspective, is the concept of battle damage. If you watch the video closely one of the other players eventually loses an arm on their mech. I have to admit, it looks pretty nice for a game that is supposed to be Free-2-Play. Follow the link to read more and watch the video.
Massively post

That’s it for this issue guys so until next time … Game On!

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