Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

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Thoughts and ponderings about PC and consoling gaming.

The MMO Times: Returns in 2016

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On December 9, 2015

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

Greetings Readers,

Since Thanksgiving ended life has been a flurry of activities. Traveling home, decorating for Christmas, arranging a meet and greet with Santa, buying Christmas gifts, starting at a new client, etc. etc. etc. I have tried to put together the next issue/post but I just haven’t had the time to do the research.
Therefore I have decided that I am going to postpone writing the next post until January so I can remove one activity from my list of things to try to keep up on (not that anyone is forcing me to write them). If you want to try to keep up with news during the next couple of weeks, here are the sites I normally pull from:

2016 is going to be a big year, especially for those that are fans of Blizzard games so I’m sure there won’t be any shortage of noteworthy headlines to share. So until next year …

Merry Christmas from The MMO Times

… and a safe and Happy New Year!

/cheers

The MMO Times is a post I put together periodically of different MMO/gaming news articles that I think are interesting, fun and/or exciting. If you are interested in receiving these posts in an e-mail please click here to subscribe.

The MMO Times: Wil Wheaton. Best. Host. Ever.

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On November 13, 2015

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

MMO Times Thinks Wil Wheaton Was The Best Blizzcon HostIssue 137: Now that BlizzCon is over we can all start thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas; after all we need something to keep us distracted while we wait for all the new goodies to be launched (or while we wait for our beta invites). I’ve decided to stop using Star Wars pictures for featured images and the header (unless the content of the post warrants it). Clearly I’ve made my excitement known, and honestly, while my excitement for The Force Awakens hasn’t waned in the slightest, after BlizzCon my gamer geek is equally as excited.

Beyond what was announced at BlizzCon, what else could be going on out there in the gaming world. I did provide a link to a BlizzCon recap that you can check out to see what you may have missed, or just to rekindle those feelings in your special places about the new content. Another game is getting a possible movie deal (I don’t know why). If you are a visual effects geek then you should check out the article about Moonlight Blade. The Secret World has unlocked some new content and there is a trekkie charity opportunity. KCGO

BlizzCon 2015 – Liveblog

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On November 6, 2015

In Gaming, World of Warcraft

I have a Virtual Ticket for BlizzCon this year …

Here is the Legion Opening Cinematic that was at the end of Opening Ceremonies.

Let My Home Be My Garrison

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On November 5, 2015

In Gaming, World of Warcraft

pax_east_garrison_580Will there be no love lost between players and their garrisons when Legion comes out, or will folks, like me, lament leaving their garrison back on Draenor? Actually, I take that back, I will not be leaving my garrison in the dust, to be forgotten like Sunsong Ranch. The garrison is a gold farm. If all you do is send your out followers just to sell whatever they bring back, and harvest your ore and herbs, only to vendor it, those small amounts will add up quickly.

I kind of wonder if Blizzard expects people to do this since they gave us a separate hearthstone specifically for our garrison. I really don’t think the garrison was a bad idea, I rather enjoyed my private little area carved out of the world. It was the closest thing we had to player housing. Unless BlizzCon proves to me that Class Halls will be a much more interesting experience than my garrison, I can’t see myself spending a lot of time there.

murlocI don’t play on an RPG server nor do I really RPG anymore but I can see how the garrison would even appeal to someone that does take the extra initiative to RPG with their characters. Why go back to a main city or a “class hall” at the end of an adventure when you can return to a garrison with your trophies and monuments on display and an army of followers awaiting their next mission from their General?

I’m curious what the rest of you think. Will you keep returning to your garrison in Legion or do you think Class Halls will give you a new home to hearth to?

Should WoW Go Free-To-Play?

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On November 4, 2015

In Gaming, World of Warcraft

In my last MMO Times post there is a link to an article about Blizzard reporting the WoW subscriptions dropping to 5.5 million. The main point of the article isn’t about this drop in subscriptions but Blizzard’s announcement that it will be the last time they will disclose subscription numbers. This seems to have started a whirlwind of conspiracy theories. One theory in particular is that WoW is going Free-2-Play:

https://twitter.com/AdamHolisky/status/661616673393250304

If you recognize Adam Holisky, he’s one of the bloggers for Blizzard Watch (formally WoW Insider) but that doesn’t mean he has some inside knowledge. I think he’s just making an educated guess as to why Blizzard decided to stop reporting subscription numbers. There isn’t, to my knowledge, any evidence that gives this hypothesis any credence but if it were to happen he will have the right to say “First!”.

I’m doubtful that Blizzard will actually make WoW Free-2-Play. I’ll be honest, as much as I think it would be nice not to have to continue paying that subscription fee, I’m more of the opinion that WoW should continue with the subscription model. I’ve played games that started as a subscription and switched to a F2P model and you wouldn’t believe the trolls and troglodytes that swarm the servers. If you think the trolls (that pay to be there) are bad in Trade Chat in WoW, imagine what it will be like when they don’t have to pay money to make your life hell.

If Blizzard did make WoW Free-2-Play I can’t imagine it would be the only model; I can seem them going with a F2P model and a paid subscription model (much like other titles are using). I would almost want strict public channel and auction house rules such as a “Trade Channel” a F2P account cannot enter or an auction house that is separate from those with a subscription, because we already have people that make it a goal to ruin the economic value of the auction house by intentionally undercutting the lowest buy-out.

Blizzard has adamantly said they will not go Free-2-Play, but Bioware said the same thing and less than a year later changed their minds. Granted WoW has had a 10 year run, more than any other MMO game out there and leaking subscriptions is just part of the life cycle of any game. It could be that instead of trying to compare WoW to their other games, they are just going to report the overall health of Blizzard and Blizzard titles as a whole.

It’s an interesting theory and definitely a “watercooler topic” but I’m not going to hold my breath.

/For The Alliance!

Rey May Be the Most Powerful Jedi Yet

The MMO Times: The Force is Strong in My Family

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On November 3, 2015

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

force-strong-in-familyIssue 136: Ghoulish Greetings Gamers! What nerdy costume did you wear this year (or your children, mine was Supergirl)? I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween. Remember that on the 27th Blizzard started the beta for Overwatch so during your sugar-induced insomnia, perhaps you were lucky enough to receive an invite to it. By the way, if you did receive an invite and you are allowed to talk about the beta, please feel free to write a post on my blog; come see me if you are interested. The 27th also marks the official launch of the next SWTOR expansion, Knights of the Fallen Empire. Blizzard and Disney are going to be most responsible for an amazing fall and winter; although 2015 is predominately the year of Star Wars.

BlizzCon starts on Friday, so I’m pretty stoked for that. I actually used a vacation day on Friday so I could watch opening ceremonies and several of the panels. I imagine that is why Blizzard has been tight-lipped yet again about any additional news other than the start of the Overwatch beta (have you gotten your invite yet?).

So what do we have for you this week. How about some Aion news (which is also unusual news for any MMO), a SWTOR article sure to make you want to play it again, even some Tomb Raider and Warcraft movie trailers. The build up to BlizzCon has the news a little slow which is the reason for the gaps between posts. I have my virtual ticket and I am quite excited for BlizzCon this weekend. Perhaps there will be more to discuss next week after Blizzard’s big weekend. KCGO.

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