Chinese gamers will most probably have to go to Hong Kong or Singapore for a while while their new operator, NetEase, fixes the problem and actually puts World of Warcraft back online. That's right, the country, home to literally millions of WoW enthusiasts - almost half of the world's, in fact - has been hit by a massive roadblock following the turnover of operators. And there doesn't seem to be a clear answer as to when they will go back up.

Well, finally. Blizzard has announced the official release date for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. They also revealed what will be included in the game's limited Collector's Edition.

Blizzard has announced that the Burning Crusade expansion for World of Warcraft has gone live in the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. The expansion's launch in mainland China is still being prepared, and localization of the MMORPG into Simplified Chinese is currently.

The Blizzard Online Store also has a couple of new items this month. First is BradyGames' official strategy guide for Burning Crusade. The strategy guide includes a lot of info on the new races and weapons found in the expansion. It also has a pretty in-depth look at the Hellfire Citadel and the Outland itself.

Those looking for some tips about the new PvP system in World of Warcraft will also get the lowdown on each of the new PvP zones. The strategy guide also covers every single recipe for every crafting profession. From 1 to 400, it's all in the guide. If that's not enough for you, there are also exclusive new World of Warcraft comics from Penny Arcade included in the guide.

The second new item is the Onyxia's Lair Raid Deck for the World of Warcraft TCG. The new deck comes with everything a player needs to control the iconic dragon and incinerate others into oblivion. In addition to a full Onyxia monster deck, each Raid Deck comes with Whelp tokens, oversize Onyxia hero cards, and a treasure pack with foil cards exclusive to this raid - not to mention a higher frequency of Loot cards.

World of Warcraft has hordes of followers, recently ticked at a whopping eight million subscribers. This is the most popular MMO we're talking about and it's bent on conquering the world. They have a following in several countries and it won't be a surprise if they rake in more players after the launch of the Burning Crusade.

Now that I think about it, why IS WoW non-existent in Japan? We've heard of the following speculations:

Korean MMOs are the overlords of Asia. Hmm, this is partly true but then anything would struggle to get a piece of the market share when a new competitor crops up every week. It is the downside of the MMOs success and everybody has to live with it. One should think that a giant like Blizzard has nothing to fear since it has already captured substantial markets in China, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Japan isn't worth conquering. Is the Japanese MMO market too small to bother with? Well, a whole can of worms would be opened for that discussion, especially when there is a large fanbase that backs up FFXI. Some say that the Japanese market is a casual gamer's market. WoW is designed for both the hardcore gamer and the casual gamer (read: rested state) so this really isn't a major problem.

WoW is not on the DS. Right. (squints) Is PC gaming really that small in Japan? Not really insignificant enough to be ignored. Japanese players have discovered the word "Import" and are playing WoW on the U.S. servers in Pacific Standard Time. This would require prepaid game card or a credit card. They even found a way around the language problem by using a mod that lets them type and view Japanese characters. But what they've been waiting for is a translated version.

The theories above are plausible but then we came up with our own set of speculations:

The Japanese culture. The Japanese have a tendency to support their homegrown products resulting in a great economy considering it's size. Maybe Blizzard's trying to find a way around that and that's what's taking them so long.

Blizzard IS planning a Japanese release. After the launch of Burning Crusade, who knows what else is up Blizzard's sleeves? Hints of new Starcraft and Diablo have been received quite openly. Let's hope a truly worldwide WoW is also in the works.

Whatever their reasons are, Blizzard has been tight lipped regarding the issue and we're left to wonder. What's next for WoW after Burning Crusade? Is WoW ever going to see Japanese shores? Hopefully, we'll find out soon enough.

The Rappelz Closed Beta Test has now started. The first 2000 people who signed up at the main site will be able to enter at 11 AM USA PDT (GMT-7), while the rest get a chance to do so at 5 PM USA PDT (GMT-7). Those who signed up at mmosite.com will be able to enter the game at 8 PM USA PDT (GMT-7).

Rappelz is a free MMORPG published by Gala-Net, the distributors of Flyff and Space Cowboy Online. It is based in a fantasy world dominated by three races of separate alignments: the Deca, guardians of light, the Asura, servants of the dark, and the Gaia, a neutral human race. Basically, each race has a Warrior class, Mage class, and Summoner class.

Unlike its predecessors, Rappelz concentrates on a PvP (player vs. player) system that emphasizes the use of creatures (pets) who fight for their master. In this way, Rappelz does resemble a lot like Pokemon, and Lineage II.

Rappelz is actually the third Free to Play MMORPG from Gala-Net. Like the two games from Gala-Net, Flyff and Space Cowboy Online, it's a favorite on Korea’s Top Online game rankings for many weeks.

Developed by nFlavor Corp., Rappelz is set to continue the trend of successful Free to Play games from Korea to North and South America, Europe, Australia, and all of Asia, except Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong.

 
   
    

As gamers everywhere await the series of launches of the next-gen consoles, a lull in the gaming industry has been noted by game company executives, and in an effort to get through the so-called calm before the storm, they have now turned their attention to one of the possibly-neglected demographic: the female gamers.

In a male-dominated industry, things are starting to change. Where in the past, female characters in games were typecasted as buxom sidekicks in skimpy clothing who were, more than anything, there for decoration at the big, gun-toting action hero's side, producers are starting to put the BFGs down and talk about the importance of a good storyline, solid characters, and the inclusion of depth and emotion in their games.

One key topic that was discussed at the recent Edinburgh Entertainment Interactive Festival last month was the need to recruit more women in the business. David Gardner, the CEO of Electronic Arts has also stated that "It's a massively underserved and overlooked segment of the market." He's not talking about making games that have ponies and rainbows and ribbons though, but instead "to make products that are more socially inclusive."

More about female gamers after the jump!