With so much venture funding going into Web-based, ad-driven casual games (both the companies that create them and those that monetize them), you’d think the gaming industry as a whole was moving in that direction. I certainly did, at least until today.
Based on publicly available data, it looks like an Internet milestone will be passed by the end of next month: World of Warcraft will lose its undisputed status as the most popular massively multiplayer online world. It’s struggling to defend that title as Habbo Hotel, the Web-based, social MMO from Finland’s Sulake Corp., is nipping at its heels.
I finally understand why Spore has been delayed for so long. Originally expected for a 2007 release, the simulated evolution game from Electronic Arts studio Maxis was suddenly withheld, much to EA’s chagrin. Maxis head Will Wright explained the delay, saying that the company wanted to make the follow-up to its wildly successful Sims franchise more accessible. That turns out to be an understatement, as I found out this week at an advance press peek hosted at Maxis’ Emeryville, Calif., office.
Here’s the metaverse mystery of the week: This strange new private island with a very familiar name recently emerged on the server grid of virtual world Second Life. Spotted yesterday by Second Life blogger Tateru Nino (and confirmed when I checked the world’s dynamic map today), we have to assume it’s an official Nintendo property. When someone buys a virtual island from Linden Lab, they also get to name it. Given Linden’s DMCA enforcement policy, it’s unlikely they’d let just anyone dub an island “Nintendo.”
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