While the Western side of the world is all excited regarding the upcoming launch of DC Universe Online, Japan is prepping for its own MMO of superhuman proportions, courtesy of Namco Bandai's Dragon Ball Online. Join QJ.NET as we begin our character spotlight with Dragon Ball's most prolific bad boy: Vegeta.

Wondering how Batman will look like in the upcoming MMO game from Sony Online Entertainment? In the full article, you can check out some of the first-look screenshots released for DC Universe Online. In addition, you can also read some of the details of the DCUO party which will be held at Comic-Con this July 25.

The first MMORPG Weekend Warrior is here and it provides busy gamers with a weekly round up of the hottest topics in the world of MMORPGs. This week sees a number of major updates such as details on Sony Online Entertainment's DC Universe MMORPG, a pair of patches for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, Rob Pardo's revelation that World of Warcraft was originally designed to be free-to-play, and two awesome giveaway promos for those who are thinking of starting a free-to-play MMORPG. More on this in the full article!

Aside from the upcoming fighting game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) from Midway, there's another DC-based game inbound and it's aptly called DC Universe. This one will be an MMORPG for the PC and the PlayStation 3, and it'll feature your favorite heroes with a hybrid game mechanism. Details after the jump.

BlizzCon 2007 is already exciting as it is given all the details and information we know about it so far. In an interesting development, we learned today that the famed event is about to become more important as it will be graced by the presence of legendary comic book artist Jim Lee.

Lee has worked with both Marvel Comics and DC Comics and his most notable creations include X-Men, Punisher, Superman and even the Dark Knight himself, Batman. In case you don't know, he also did the cover for the recently announced World of Warcraft comic book - hence his presence at BlizzCon.

If you want to catch him, be sure to be at the DC booth on August 3 between 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. He will be happy to chat with attendees as well as sign autographs. BlizzCon 2007 will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.

This is definitely Blizzard's week on the spotlight as The Burning Crusade continues to disappear from shelves faster than you can say, "Hotcakes." WoW has wowed the world over with gamers' warm reception of TBC and we all want to know what their secret is. Itzik Ben Bassat, Vice President of Development at Blizzard gave some insight in an interview with Empire Online.

According to him, the thing that makes WoW last (as it has been online for two years) is its playability, since nearly every guy and his brother can play it. Fantasy is always appealing, as the masses are basically always drawn to anything fantasy-based (read: Harry Potter and LotRO). WoW's popularity has reached beyond the gaming world and crossed over to having a card game, a clothing line, plus an episode of South Park.

WoW has an estimated player count of eight million. Just how many girls do they think play? WoW has made itself playable for girls when the female species are stereotyped as gaming inept. Anyway, it has attracted gamers of all shapes and sizes since the game is role playing, social, and competitive - all rolled into one. It fuels everybody's needs.

The World of Warcraft movie is currently in the works (along with Blizzard's new MMO), with Legendary Pictures, makers of Superman Returns and Batman Begins. So far, all we've had was Fanatik's film so we'll be crossing our fingers and praying at night for that WoW movie.

When Cryptic Studios decided to leave the comforts of the MMO genre and step into the console domain with Marvel Universe Online (MMO, X360), the company's head Jack Emmert became a relatively known figure. But until the comics-based title gets releases, Emmert will always be known for games like City of Villains and City of Heroes.

Actually, all three titles are part of Emmert's dreams. After all, he has been a huge comic fan since he was around 8 years old. And as to his favorite comic book hero? Emmert reflected, "I love the fact that Namor roots stretch back to the Golden Age (40's) and the dawn of the comic book medium. While Superman and Batman were strutting their stuff, Marvel had creations like the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch and Captain America."

One remarkable thing about the guy is his respect for comic book characters especially women. When asked about the vogue Superheroes is in with NBC Heroes, the Cryptic official lamented,

One thing that disappoints me is that the female characters are all used as sexual objects. The cheerleader is almost raped. The African American woman cheats on her painter boyfriend. The police man's wife cheats on her husband. The blonde sleeps with the politician. It seems that the women's plot lines inevitably involve sex, while the male story lines don't.

The interview then went on to include several topics like his role in Cryptic, his normal day at work, his views about the industry in general and much more. To get to know Emmert more, kindly click the read link below for the whole interview.

Team Warhammer Online was nice enough to answer several questions from Slashdot readers. Since we think that you guys aren't really interested with the questions that people had to ask, we just cut the fat and stuck to the meat. Here be the pertinent details surrounding WAR from the answers given by the Warhammer devs. Enjoy folks!

CRAFTING - Sorry but for now they can't release any details on crafting mechanics. Wait six-months.

PORTS - They didn't do a straight tabletop port because they decided to treat Warhammer like Batman. You all know how many flavors Batman comes in: from oddly jolly Adam West to amusingly hoarse Christian Bale. This is the MMO version of the world the tabletop strategy war game.

GRINDING - What they did to help get rid of grinding is to allow players to level not only via PvE but also through what they call Realm vs Realm game-play. RvR lets you jump into Skirmishes, fight for control of landmarks in Battlefields, run through Scenarios, or capture land and sack cities in Campaigns.

The full article awaits after the jump!

Leading Games publisher Eidos has announced what games it will be showcasing at this year's Leipzig Games Conference in Germany. Although many of these games aren't really a surprise, it's useful to know what we'll be seeing over the next few days as the Leipzig Games Conference really comes into it's own. Official Leipzig GC dates are August 23-27th 2006, so stick a little note in your diary along with the url of http://qj.net! Here's the full list of games along with a little description from Eidos:

Just Cause
In JUST CAUSE, gamers play the role of Rico Rodriguez, a field operative and specialist in regime change, who is charged with overthrowing the corrupt government of San Esperito.

Justice League Heroes
JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES is an action adventure game with role-playing customization featuring Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Zatanna and other unlockable Justice League super heroes.

Bionicle Heroes
BIONICLE HEROES brings to life the most powerful and exciting LEGO characters ever seen, in an action-packed world of adventure and discovery. This title's release date for the Nintendo DS is still to be announced.

Battlestations: Midway
For the first time, relive the intensity of massive air, sea and underwater WWII battles in a unique mix of intense action and tactical gameplay as you follow the story of naval recruit Henry Walker.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Legend (DS)
The seventh title to be released in the Tomb Raider series, which originally launched in 1996 and is still one of the best selling videogame franchises of all time, with over 30 million copies sold will be available to play on Nintendo DS.

Age of Conan
Enter a mature, brutal and barbaric universe, in a world filled with cruel gods, mythical creatures, lost civilizations and a struggling human race. King Conan’s rule is on the brink of chaos, spiraling towards doom as ancient evils rise again in this highly anticipated Massively Multiplayer Online Game.

Eidos will also be showing behind closed doors; Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, a new title from Hitman and Freedom Fighters developer IO Interactive. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is a dark and gritty tale of two men bound by circumstance, forced to embark on a violent and chaotic journey, hating each other every step of the way. These games are being viewed by appointment only, but all of the latest news on Eiodos' Leipzig showings will be found on QJ.net as it comes in.