MMOGs from Several Angles

GameGirlAdvance has a look at the litigation between NCSoft and Marvel, examining exactly how infringy the character creator can let you be. The Square/Enix people are starting a roving FFXI party, to kick off later this month in CA. f13.net has an interview with Scott Brown, a developer on the upcoming car-based Auto Assault MMOG. The staple MMOG stats resource, MMOGChart.com, has been updated again by Sir Bruce. He's added several more games but doesn't have new subscription numbers for WoW or EQII.

Valid test?

[yotto]

I don't know if the article writer's inability to create Marvel characters in under 30 minutes is a valid test of if you can create valid Marvel characters at all.

However, the fact that NCSoft took steps to dissuade her from using said characters is good.

Re:Final Fantasy XI

[Anonymous Coward]

Square-Enix hasn't updated the FFXI numbers since before COP was released. Those figures are from the height of its popularity, the end of July last year.

It's been speculated that it's active subscriber base has dropped to about a quarter of what it used to be, although no one really knows. I expect that in reality it's something much less drastic, like 125,000 gone.

FFXI wound up filling the niche of "filler MMORPG" between EQ and EQ2/WoW. Now that those are out, people are starting to leave in droves.

Square-Enix is apparently in "panic mode" much like SWG has been for the past month, trying to update the game to win back subscribers who left for WoW. I know there's nothing they can do to win me back, especially since they'll have already permentantly deleted my character for the crime of not playing for a couple of months. Screw 'em.