DigitalBattle.com

Warhammer Online free trial loses limit, capped at level 10

Mythic Entertainment has changed the way the demo works for their MMO RPG Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Instead of limiting players to a 10 day trial, the limit is now gone, where players can play as long as they want, except for one thing: the level limit is set at Level 10.

This is a good idea in theory, as it gives plenty of time for players to explore the world instead of just going XP hunting. We’ll see if it pays off with increased subscriber count.

Star Trek Online shipping on February 2

Star Trek Online has finally received a release date: February 2, 2010. The Star Trek based MMO is currently in closed beta to subscribers of Champions Online, and will receive an open beta in the upcoming months. The game allows you to join either the Federation or the Klingons as the commander of your own starship, go on missions and engage in combat with other ships.

Aion takes top spot on US sales chart

The somewhat we–received MMO Aion, NCSofts latest in a long line of MMOs, has sold very well, despite the fact that it’s the first NCSoft MMO in a while to have a paid subscription service. The top 10 best selling PC games, according to NDP:

1. Aion
2. The Sims 3
3. Champions Online
4. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack
5. Aion Collector’s Ed
6. Mumbo Jumbo Assortment
7. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
8. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest
9. Reel Deal Slots Treasures Of The Far East
10. World Of Warcraft

APB closed beta begins

Realtime Worlds has commenced closed beta testing for APB, the upcoming MMO crime game, as the first batch of invites have been sent out to the lucky ones. There’s no details on what the beta includes, but we suspect it’ll test a wide variety of game mechanics — that’s what betas are for, anyways.

If you haven’t received an invite, don’t worry, as you can still apply for the beta here.

Final Fantasy XIV beta only for the PC

Final Fantasy XI was probably one of my favorite MMOs of all time, alongside WoW. I don’t play either of them any more (World of Warcrack) but when I did, FFXI was one of my favorite. I for one, chose to play it on the PC but there were other options as it was also out for the PS2 at the time.

Now, with Final Fantasy XIV’s upcoming simulatenous release on both the PS3 and PC, the game is sure to reach a much larger audience. Despite access to this large audience, Square Enxi doesn’t seem to be taking full advantage of it recently letting us know that the public beta for the game will in fact be for the PC only.

Of course, there is no telling exactly when the beta will even hit with FFXIV’s director Hiromichi Tanaka telling us that the studio is aiming to have a small (10,000 people) closed beta up and running by Summer 2010 with a more widespread public beta soon to follow.

Read (Game Watch) via Joystiq

Namco Bandai launches online division

Japanese publisher Namco Bandai has officially launched a division which will solely focus on online games, most notably, MMOs. Currently, Namco Bandai only has two MMOs on the market, Gundam Network Operation 2 and Pro Baseball Famista Online.

The Namco Bandai Online Divisoin will expand on that presence with development on new titles, however for time being, the new division will only focus on Japan and the rest of Asia.

Beta signups for Star Wars: The Old Republic begin

LucasArts has today begun accepting applications for their latest MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic. However, just because they are accepting applications doesn’t mean you will be guaranteed admission.

Only after you fill out some standard information and upload a DxDiag file will LucasArts consider letting you into the beta. However, the developer has said that those who sign up earlier will have a better chance at getting accepted into the beta so if you want in, you better get on it.

Head here to sign up.

via shacknews

Blizzard COO buys stake in the Pittsburg Steeler

COO of Blizzard, Paul Sams, is looking away from Blizzard’s usual method of money making (ex. World of Warcraft) and onto less conventional things such as the NFL.

This news was made known after it was noted that Paul Sims and his family (wife and 3 kids) have been listed as part-owners of the Pittsburg Steelers. Sure, this news may not have much relevance to the video game industry but perhaps we can expect to see the Steelers appearing in Cataclysm? Then again, maybe not.

via kotaku

Aion servers already overloaded

The upcoming MMO Aion, not released yet, already is running into server problems. It seems that the folks that pre-ordered the game and that have access to it now, are forced to wait, sometimes several hours in order to play the game — and this is even bore the game is released to the general public.

If you’re one of the (un)lucky ones to already have Aion, hope that other players might find it discouraging and leave, cutting your wait time a bit. Stay tuned for our Aion review in the upcoming days.

Developer Turbine invested $20 million in console MMO

It’s no secret that MMOs take a long time to make and cost sizzling amounts of money, which is no surprise that developer Turbine, which has been “secretly” working on a console MMO for a year and a half, revealed that they’ve spent over $20 million on the project so far. The game will be released in 2011 on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

While console games this generation have outsold the PC counterparts by large margins, not many MMOs have made it to the consoles yet. Actually, only two MMO games, Final Fantasy XI and Phantasy Star Universe have been released on consoles, and a third one is officially on the way, when Cryptic Studios revealed that the PC MMO Champions Online will make its way to the Xbox 360. However, the game has been delayed because of Microsoft’s policy towards MMOs on the console.

World of Warcraft faction transfers now underway

After playing the same faction for four years now, it wouldn’t hurt to have a little change. In fact, it might get a little boring to be the same race for so long. Fortunately, Blizzard has now begun their faction transfers. Players can now switch from Alliance to Horde, or Horde to Alliance.

Once changed, you can choose any race to be as long as it matches your character’s class. For example, you can’t create a Draenei Rogue, but you can become a Human Rogue. But, who would want to go Alliance anyways? Traitor.

The faction change costs $30.00 and can be done here.

EVE Online: Dominion coming this Winter

The eleventh free expansion for CCP Games’ MMORPG EVE Online has been announced today. Titled Dominion, the expansion is currently set for a Winter release this year.

EVE Online: Dominion will focus on primarily endgame content – alliance warfare. A complete overhaul of sovereignty mechanics will occur, and new epic arcs for pirate factions will also be introduced.

The game has been around since 2003, so it’s very surprising that it’s still going strong against giants like World of Warcraft and Lineage II. Blizzard only offers paid expansions for their game, so CCP Games’ approach is a very unique one.

Read (EVE Insider)

Jagex releases RuneScape numbers

I remember when I was younger I was all about RuneScape, I even went so far as to subscribe to the game and play the monthly fee, I was hooked. Unforuntunately, as the year’s passed so did my loyalty to the game until one day I just wouldn’t play it any further.

However, millions of people do not share my same views, logging onto the game each and every day. The game is so popular, in fact, that Jagex has recently went on record to say that over 105 million people have signed up since day 1.

Sure, they also have said that the actually has 10 million active subscribers but being a browser based game with little to no publicity, this is an amazing feat.

via kotaku

Soul of the Ultimate Nation beta invites roll out

Members of the web portal ijji have received an invite to the closed beta test of Soul of the Ultimate Nation, a popular Korean MMORPG. The schedule for the test lasts from August 27th through September 1st, from 2PM – 10PM PDT. No beta key is necessary to play, only an ijji account is required.

One hundred beta testers, selected at random, will be receiving an exclusive in-game “Siberian Huskey Pet.”

Unfortunately, I received notification that the beta was going on just today, even though the beta has been up for a few days now.

Webzen will be releasing the final version of the game this Fall.

King of Fighters MMO announced, KOF World

Shanda Games and SNK Playmore will be developing a new spin-off of the King of Fighters franchise called KOF World. The game will essentially be King of Fighters XII on an online platform for the PC, except with the mix of MMORPG elements. The game will be exclusive to China for now, but there’s always a possibility that it will reach other parts of the world.

“We are very pleased to work with Shanda Games and very optimistic about the prospects of our partnership,” said Mr. Soichiro Hosoya, President of SNK Playmore. “We are honored that the KOF series has always been favored by Chinese game players, and KOF World is a game that we will work closely together with Shanda Games to develop, especially for Chinese players. We look forward to the game’s continued success.”