New CryENGINE2-powered MMORPG to be released in North America and Europe

If you thought ijji.com already was stocked full of mmorpg titles, I guess their portal is now brimming over.  NHN Corporation announced today that it has signed a publishing deal on a major new title in development at Polygon Games, known currently under the codename Project E:st. A fantasy MMORPG with an Asian theme, Project E:st will use Crytek's award-winning CryENGINE®2, and Crytek will be showcasing a trailer of the game at GDC 2010 in San Francisco next week. "The project name, E:st, was selected to show the commitment between NHN Corporation and Polygon Games to develop the best Asia fantasy game," says Wook Jeong, Hangame CEO at NHN Corporation. "We believe that the high graphical quality realized with CryENGINE®2, coupled with an immersive storyline, will strongly appeal to gamers." NHN is planning to publish Project E:st both in Korea and in overseas territories, including North America and Europe.

Project E:st is scheduled to enter closed beta testing in Korea later this year.

 

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) today announced that its family-friendly online game, Free Realms™ (www.FreeRealms.com), has surpassed nine million registered players.  Continuous development of new features and themed in-game events, as well as persistent marketing support, has drawn a constant influx of new players into the free-to-play virtual world. An example of a customer-requested feature recently introduced in Free Realms is Rides.

“With Free Realms, we’ve been able to reflect the needs and wants of our players by keenly listening to their suggestions and feedback,” said John Smedley, president of SOE. “We believe the persistent exercise of capturing in-game research inside Free Realms has been a huge contributing factor as to why we’ve attracted over nine million players in less than a year. It truly helps us give our players a game where they can do and be whatever they want.”

Introduced last month, Rides not only look cool and come in multiple color choices, but they allow players who have purchased a Membership to hop on the back of a T-Rex or Dragon and travel anywhere in the overland world at 150% of their normal speed. Building on this player-driven feature request, Horses are the next Rides scheduled to be released, with more types of transportation in the works. The development team is also set to introduce new Owl and Groundhog pets, as well as an exciting new 3-D minigame in the near future.

Here is the official game description:

Free Realms offers an endless array of activities and mini-games to entertain players. From ninja fighting to kart racing to raising pets, Free Realms offers a safe, family-friendly environment to connect with old and new friends. Also available is the Free Realms Trading Card Game: a full-featured trading card game, playable both digitally within the Free Realms online game and offline via physical card decks sold wherever you buy trading cards. Free Realms players can also pop into select retailers to purchase Station Cash™ cards, which can be redeemed for Station Cash, and used to buy virtual goodies or upgrade to a Membership status in the game.

Free Realms is rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and up with content descriptors of Crude Humor and Fantasy Violence. To play Free Realms, visit: http://www.FreeRealms.com.

Hamburg-based gamigo AG, one of the leading publishers of MMORPGs in Europe, gave two big announcements today which show a serious intention of growing into a global publisher.  First, they have officially entered the world of social media games. The first step was made with the recent release of Jade Tales, a fantasy RPG developed by Crafty, which can now be played in its entirety on Facebook and already has an active community of followers. 

I played this new facebook game and have to admit that I don't have high hopes for it.  Of course, just because I don't find it enjoyable, does not mean it won't break out into a hit.  However, I find it unlikely that a game with almost zero animation and terribly slow progression will do well with the very long load times of the pages.  The graphics are amazing, but they are static.  The gameplay is very 2008 and does not have any groundbreaking features.  If it were not for the long load times, it would be a much better game.

They are committed to competing in the space and I am sure we will see a much better presence for them on facebook in the months to come.  Patrick Streppel, member of the executive board, said "With more than 6.7 million users in Germany alone, Facebook is of course also extremely important for the gaming industry. Naturally, it is only logical for gamigo, as one of the most successful gaming brands in Europe, to enter the realm of social media networks. The first step has been made successfully with Jade Tales; more games will follow in the near future.”

Lastly, Gamigo has crossed the regional boundries of Germany and has opened an office in the U.S. This is a great success for gamers as it will certainly add alot more titles for them to choose, but publishers may not be so happy.  Gamigo currently operates versions of games already provided by other companies in North America, specifically: Fiesta, and Project Powder from Outspark, and NeoSteam from ijji. 

Here is the official announcement on Gamigo's Venture into the NA market.

In anticipation of the Game Developers Conference, to be held in San Francisco from the 9th to 13th of March, gamigo has announced that it will enter the North American online gaming market in the second quarter of 2010. The company will open its first foreign office in New York City. From there, gamigo will be able to contact and collaborate with business and media partners directly.

Patrick Streppel, executive member of the board, said "This New York office is a continuation of our international expansion. Thanks to the experience we have gained over the past few years in Europe, we are
very well-equipped to tackle the North American market. Top-quality products planned for global publication will be announced and presented at the GDC."

2009 was a hugely successful year for Hamburg-based gamigo AG. In the past twelve months, gamigo has more than tripled its employees.  Meanwhile, sales have risen by an impressive 233%. This makes gamigo
one of the fastest-growing corporations in the booming online gaming market, firmly among the Top 3 in its market segment.