Even bigger than the news that it will not be realistic is that longtime producer Maxis will not be developing the game. Instead Tilted Mill Entertainment will take over the reigns of the project which has many fans upset. I am sure TME is doubting their decision to have forums on their site right now.

Angered fans have spoken out against the direction of the game although company president Chris Beatrice quickly responded to the criticism saying that although the game may be different they will do their best to calm the fears and stick to the traditional Sims concepts as much as possible.

Here are a few questions to ponder: Should Maxis have kept the project? Should the game have stuck to a more traditional Sims approach? How do you think the game will turn out?

Post from: Games Industry Wire

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Robyn is Robyn Fritch in Second Life. She loves to receive gifts in Linden cash ::hint hint::

Post from: Games Industry Wire

CNet.com’s Daniel Terdiman reports that LL will begin charging individuals and companies RL money to use their ‘legal’ last names, or in the case of companies, presumably the company’s name (as in the recently-seen MillionsOfUs and Reuters). The article is unclear on whether or not one will be able to choose any surname they desire other than their actual RL name.

While this will be wonderful news for some, know that the pricing scheme may put some off: $100 for the setup, and $50 a year for maintenance of your last name. Is it worth it? Companies will have to pay $1,000 for setup, and $500 a year, but they’ll receive unlimited accounts for their employees.

Is it worth it? Um, I can’t afford it (and I kinda like having a limited number of names). For businesses I guess it makes sense. But, it’s really just an extension of what they were doing already. I don’t Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran) had to change his name to Simon Fritch, unless I missed something.

How old have I gotten that I have to tell all of you who Simon Le Bon is… Duran Duran 4evah!

Post from: Games Industry Wire

NCsoft penetrated into Japanese market in 2001 by establishing a joint venture, and now is servicing both Lineage and Lineage II. Guild Wars is lined up for a commercialized service starting from January 27th. During the third quarter of 2005, NCsoft hit the record of 7.6 billion Korean Won in revenue with 3.7 billion in operating profit in Japan due to the consistent demands generated from Lineage and Lineage II. Japanese market contributes 20% of NCsoft’s entire overseas sales.

NCSoft is looking to Japan for help expanding their brand to Asian markets. The headquarters will also act as the Japanese development studio for NCSoft, developing online casual games, MMO games, and the like for Asian gamers.

Post from: Games Industry Wire

“iEntertainment Network is very pleased to have Frazer Nash back on our team”, says JW “Wild Bill” Stealey, Fighter Pilot, Computer Game Entrepreneur, and Co-Founder of MicroProse Software with Mr. Sid Meier, and CEO of iEntertainment Network. “Frazer Nash is a fun, interesting guy who has always had a good time promoting good games. I look forward to the opportunity to bring our new products back to Europe and enjoying all the excitement that always follows Frazer around!”

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to work once again with Wild Bill Stealey as he gave me my first break in the Gaming industry. I joined Wild Bill twelve years ago, when he hired me to handle the PR at Interactive Magic” said Frazer Nash, Managing Director of Frazer Nash Communications. “I can tell you it was hard work in those days! I was promoting online gaming to players with 56k modems – I am so glad we now have broadbrand!”

I second that! The days of broadband were definitely harsh for gamers…

Interesting side note, IENT also owns a very important Internet patent for online gaming. Patent Number 6,042,477 is the “Method of and system for minimizing the effects of time latency in multiplayer electronic games played on interconnected computers”. I’d say that one’s pretty important.

Post from: Games Industry Wire