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Ragnarok Online developer betas new MMORPG

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sword-new-world.jpgK2 Network, an online game publisher, announced today an open public beta for its MMORPG Sword of the New World: Granado Espada. This game is set in an alternative 17th century New World where magic is present.

Sword of the New World: Granado Espada lets players choose from a group of character classes to explore the game’s worlds. Features of this MMORPG include costume selection, a multi-character control system and great looking graphics.

This title was developed by by imcGAMES. imcGAMES is headed by CEO Hakkyu Kim, the creator of Ragnarok Online, one of the world’s most popular MMO’s with more than 25 million subscribers.

Originally posted on June 27, 2007 @ 4:16 pm

Online gaming behavior measured for the first time

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harvard.jpgFor the first time in our history, Harvard Medical School faculty from the Division on Addictions in partnership with sports-betting site, bwin, has examined online gaming by carefully studying the actual online behavior of players. In an anonymous study, researchers observed the actual behavior of more than 40,000 active bwin users for a period of eight months. This ground-breaking report is now available at the library of Division on Addictions.

To date, only speculations have been available to guide our understanding of the scale of gaming and problematic gaming behavior among online sports betting.

Initial results from the long-term study indicate that the potential of sports betting to cause a problem is considerably lower than generally presumed.

“This is a landmark project for both the gaming industry and science because we are studying the actual gambling behavior of a large sample of Internet gamblers for the very first time. I am proud of bwin for committing to using science as a guide to assuring the welfare of their customers and to advancing the safety of the Internet and new technology,” said Dr. Howard Shaffer of Harvard Medical School.

Originally posted on June 22, 2007 @ 10:32 am

Sony joins blogosphere, launches official Playstation blog

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Sony Playstation BlogSony Computer Entertainment America launches the new blog on the block, the Playstation.Blog — Sony’s official developer blog that features the latest newsbits, opinions, game annoucements aned updates, and other related posts about Playstation products and services as blogged by Sony executives and PR reps.

“PlayStation.Blog is a bit of work in progress, we see it as a place where we can share with you our company’s collective insights, opinions and perspectives on all things related to SCEA, PlayStation and the industry we play in,” says Patrick Seybold, SCEA’s PR manager in the blog’s first official post.

Just like similar gaming blogs such as Gamerscore and Major Nelson, Playstation.Blog is Sony’s way of joining the viral marketing bandwagon and connecting with Playstation gamers, giving them the opportunity to speak out their thoughts and opinions through commenting so as to create a healthy give-and-take relationship between the producers and consumers.

Through the comments section, SCEA hopes to get a feel of what the gamers want and expect so that they can provide answers to relevant concerns and improve their services as well. Seybold adds, “a blog like this is really about you and the things you want to hear, share and discuss with us. With that in mind, you’ll notice that comments are enabled – and encouraged – so tell us what you want to see here and we’ll do our best to make it happen.”

Originally posted on June 12, 2007 @ 7:05 pm

First Pac-man World Champion crowned, Pac-Man Championship Edition now on Xbox 360

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Pac Man World Championship Edition The first ever Pac-Man World Champion was crowned during the inauguration of the new Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship Edition in Times Square, New York. Carlos Daniel Borrego Romero of Mexico bested 30,000 gamers who signed up to play on the Xbox Live online service from April 25 to May 9, the top 10 of whom were flown in from across the globe to play head-to-head in the finals. The finalists played the latest Pac-Man edition for the first time.

Along with the awarding of the Pac-Man champion was the announcement of Microsoft’s Xbox 360’s latest weapon: the Pac-Man Championship Edition — the rebirth of the old Pac-man we all loved and grew-up with, now with better HD graphics and new mazes.

Apparently, the relaunch of Pac-Man is a final tribute to Toru Iwatani, who designed the classic video game 26 years ago, who is retiring from the video games industry. This new game is the second and final version that Iwatani personally designed. Despite the latest advances in computer graphics technology, Iwatani designed the new Pac Man as he did the original — in two-dimensions. “I wanted to stay with the original simple rules of Pac Man,” he said.

The Pac Man Championship Edition can be downloaded for $10 on the Xbox Live online service starting Wednesday.

Originally posted on June 5, 2007 @ 11:19 pm

U.S. Army on the lookout for gamers

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The U.S. Army announced that it has signed an estimated $2 million sponsorship deal with the Global Gaming League website as a means to recruit candidates. The site’s demographic is right within target, 80 percent of which are 17-24 year old males.

Starting June, the Army will sponsor an area of the site that will feature 15 different games and compete in monthly Elite Forces tournament. The Global Gaming League attracts 9.2 million monthly visitors to its site.

“The consumer model for traditional media is changing,” explained Gary Bishop, who is charged with overseeing the Army’s marketing and advertising efforts. “We’re grappling with the challenge of how do we better use new media to tell the Army story. Online is probably the best way.”

“We’re taking the idea of military gaming and having the Army leverage an existing environment to find potential candidates for recruits,” added Reuben Hendell, CEO of MRM Worldwide, the organization that will create the new Army-themed portion of the website.

Originally posted on April 15, 2007 @ 10:00 pm