Reports have come in that the PC version of Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (the Xbox 360 version is still in the works) has dethroned Grand Theft Auto 4 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) from the sales list in both Germany and Sweden. However, both games were not able to stand up to the might of Wii Play in Spain. Care to find out more? Check out the full article.

After giving us a sneak peek of the new Exchange System for Pirates of the Burning Sea, developer Flying Lab Software's Anna Murchison is telling us more about the new Exchange Shop feature. Head over the full article for more details.

It was recently revealed that EA Mythic's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning team will be traveling around Europe to various gaming conventions. This is being done to promote the upcoming MMORPG to those attending these events.

Fans of the game can expect to brush shoulders with the developers and see the latest build of the game in action. If you want to know more, head on over to the full article for more details.

 

For those who have been following Flying Lab Software's Pirates of the Burning Sea MMORPG, we have some new details for you. Brendan Walker recently posted a developers log information on the PVP and Conquest modes of the game.

If you plan on becoming successful in PVP and Conquest, you're going to have to learn what Walker has called "the heart" of the system: The Landmark Manager. He elaborated on the system's functions saying that it "keeps track of the ownership and the PvP information for each port in the world." Each port is listed with the number of "unrest points" each faction has caused. Once it reaches a certain number, the area becomes available for PVP. It should be noted that each port is owned by a specific faction (England, Spain, France, or Pirate) so the distribution is pretty even.

To rack up those unrest points, you have two options: run some missions or sink ships. The former is currently limited to simple gunpowder running missions (which are repeatable) during the beta stage. Walker has assured that they have more missions planned though, so it may not be as repetitive in the future.

Sinking ships seems to be more fun but more risky. The unrest points gained are based on the level of the ship sunk. It's been said that 10 points are granted for level two ships while you can get a whopping 105 points for a level 50 ship. You only get half the given points for NPC ships, so player-controlled ones are a juicier (if more dangerous) target.

The game is still in its beta phase and we're still waiting on the official announcement regarding its full release. He gave other details on the PVP and Conquest system in his developers blog, which you can view via our read link.

MMOGs (massively multiplayer online games) are taking over the world. Screen Digest studied last year's numbers and found that the MMOG market outside of Asia have reached US$ 1 billion. This isn't really as surprising as it looks for the rest of the world, with titles like World of Warcraft conquering boundaries.

The research called "Western World MMOG Market: 2006 Review and Forecasts to 2011" studied the current economy of the MMOG world, which business models are better, and gives a forecast on subscriptions and revenues up to 2011.

All the MMOGs currently in North America and Europe are collectively currently worth US$ 576 million and US$ 299 million respectively. Of course, everybody can guess the number one heavyweight of the MMOG subscription market - World of Warcraft, which has 54% of the market (translating to revenues of US$ 471 million last year). Number two on the list, believe it or not, is Jagex's Runescape.

The subscription business model dominated during the previous year - getting about US$ 875 million. The other two business models are expected to flourish this year (though maybe not a booming success like the subscription type): in-game items and currency sale and in-game advertisements. According to Piers Harding-Rolls, Games Analyst at Screen Digest:

During the past few years the Western landscape for MMOGs has become increasingly fragmented following the introduction of new genres of game including social networking, virtual pet rearing and virtual world building titles. These new games and platforms have brought with them many new gamers and also new business models that are generating revenue that is largely incremental to the incumbent subscription business.

Screen Digest foresees an increase of subscriptions to 10 million in 2011 and will get a whopping US$ 1.5 billion. Plus Europe's subscriptions will increase with countries Germany, UK, France, Spain and Italy (respectively) at the frontlines of subscription numbers and growth. Along with this increase comes the increase of broadband in homes, online console platforms and an increase in casual MMOGs. Harding-Rolls concludes:

Our analysis shows that the MMOG content pipeline differs from the current commercial climate in areas such as platform support, intellectual property licensing and content origin. MMOG developers and publishers should be aware of the implications of these trends to stay ahead of the market.

Wireless multimedia networking company Comverse attended the 3GSM Conference the other day in Barcelona, Spain, to demonstrate a new software that will provide connectivity between Second Life residents and those who are in the real world.

In a nutshell, the technology allows Java-based and Internet-capable phones to log in to SL's virtual world remotely and see who else is playing. The phone can then communicate with SL residents by sending SMS, MMS, and event instant messages.

Here's the interesting part: SL users can walk into virtual Comverse booths and pick up virtual phones to reply. "We're unleashing the virtual world from the PC and allowing it to be available on any terminal. That's the benefit for the end user," said Comverse Chief Technology Officer Daphna Steinmetz.

The attendees of the 3GSM Conference were able to witness first hand how the new technology actually works on mobile phones, especially Comverse phones. The company added that the software will be available in Europe within a few months with one anonymous major carrier about to close a deal.

There is no word about the software's availability to subscribers in North America.

Now that Valentine's Day is so over in the waters of Voyage Century Online, World War has broken. You may ask how this happened? It could turn back to the Great Continent in 15th century when the English established the eastern India Company. Whoever could take control of the water way would also monopolize the economy on the sea.

Various European countries like the Netherlands, France, Spain, and England are all eager for it. And with that, there's no way to settle this but go to war.

Since the World War is bound to erupt any time now, a siege war in inevitable. Guilds all over the world grew stronger to the point that most of them have exceeded the king’s power, making him a puppet leader who can't secure his country. To solve this predicament, the king decided to entrust some big guilds in Voyage Century to control and protect his city.

To the big guilds, this is a great opportunity for them. They can control the city and obtain important military materials from the country. So, Siege War is crucial to the development of guilds. The kings of other countries also realize the cabal and follow. Chaos, opportunity, and recognition - who knew these three could kick it together?

Ready for World War in Voyage Century Online? Click on our link below to know more about it.

Part MMO and part mystery game, Myst Online: Uru Live is now live and online after an announced February 15 release date. GameTap, the provider of episodic games online, adds the latest installment of the favorite adventure franchise to its long list of 800 games under the GameTap Originals label.

The MMO mystery game will allow players to socialize and team up to explore a whole new collection of Ages and mysteries. The game will feature breathtaking sceneries and a changing online storyline that is affected by each and every player's choices made while playing the game.

Cyan Worlds' CEO and co-creator of Myst, Rand Miller, commented, "Myst Online: Uru Live is the most ambitious Myst experience we've ever created. By developing an interactive, online world driven by intrigue and exploration instead of violence, massively multiplayer online gamers now have a choice unlike any of the other options."

Myst Online: Uru Live will be available to America, Canada, and select countries around the world:

• United States
• United Kingdom
• Sweden
• Spain
• Norway
• New Zealand
• Netherlands
• Italy
• Germany
• France
• Finland
• Denmark
• Canada
• Australia

A Mac version will also be available this spring. Mac users can sign up for the Mac beta program at the Myst Online site.

 

Amidst all the Burning Crusade news, most of us almost forgot that the Day of Hearts is fast approaching. Yep, just a few weeks to go until Valentines Day 2007 goes in full swing. And just like last year, World of Warcraft has something up their sleeves that is sure to make your hearts melt.

The first to announce their Valentines Day activities is WoW Europe. They are currently holding a Valentine Card Contest to get you in the mood for some lovin'. Basically, you'd have to design a Valentine Card showing your love of WoW. The price, a Gurky key! Anyway, the contest will run from January 22 - February 2  and the number of entries is limited to five per household. Those who are eligible to participate are:

• Participants aged 15 or more residing in:
• France
• Belgium
• United Kingdom
• Luxembourg

• Participants aged 18 or more residing in:
• Germany
• Austria
• Sweden
• Finland
• Denmark
• Norway
• The Netherlands
• Spain
• Ireland

To read all about the contest, click on our read link below to know where to submit your entries and to check out the full terms and conditions of the contest. Good luck!

Blizzard Entertainment announced the release date of the Spanish version of its massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft. The Spanish version will be available September 29 and will be the fourth European language for the game.

Hosted in Europe, the Spanish version is supported by a dedicated Spanish-speaking team based at the Blizzard Europe offices.

In addition to the 24/7 in-game support, offline customer support,  and community team, the company launched an official Spanish World of Warcraft. Spanish (Español) is spoken by an estimated 410 million people in the world.

Buy: [World of Warcraft]