WildcatMMO

fcc taking on comcast

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/13049.cfm

about time!

Bioware updates: Mass Effect sequel coming, and talk about MMO QA

Bioware has let it slip that a sequel to Mass Effect will be coming (not that anyone doubted this). Read the article here

Also, I found an interesting discussion about QA practices for their upcoming MMO (rumored to be based on the Star Wars Knights Of the Old Republic IP):

Snippet:

'We're Not Looking To Integrate EA's Practices'

"QA is the voice of the customer within the organization," Dubose stated. It's also important, he said, because it's a service to developers and programmers. "It's important to remember that," he stressed.

Dubose recalled having seen antagonistic relationships before, when programmers see the QA staff as "in the way," while from the QA standpoint, they're just trying to get the game done.

"It’s not QA saying ‘you guys suck,’" Dubose reminded. "It's QA pointing out the problems and saying, 'here’s where the game is.'" It's essential, Dubose said, because ultimately, quality affects the bottom line.

He continued, "Before I started this session, BioWare was an independent company. We still have an independent mindset.” According to Dubose, BioWare has retained autonomy of their process. “We’re not looking to integrate EA’s practices into our work flow,” he said.

Read the whole article here

Hillary Clinton and others Support Videogame Regulation

As usual, our freedoms are under assault.

Article link

Snippet:

When I introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act [FEPA] two years ago, I did so because I felt that video game content was getting increasingly violent and sexually explicit, yet young people were able to purchase these games with relative ease while their parents were struggling to keep up with being informed about the content.

Sen. Clinton describes what FEPA would have mandated, had it passed:

On-site store managers would be subject to a fine of $1,000 or 100 hours of community service for the first offense and $5,000 or 500 hours of community service for each subsequent offense. The bill would also require an annual, independent analysis of game ratings and require the FTC to conduct an investigation to determine whether hidden sexual content like what was in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a pervasive problem and to take appropriate action… Finally, the bill would authorize the FTC to conduct an annual, random audit of retailers to monitor enforcement and report the findings to Congress.

FEPA was prompted by the Hot Coffee scandal, said Clinton: I was motivated to take action when I found out that there was embedded illicit sexual content in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The [ESRB] was unaware of the embedded content. I called on the FTC to investigate the source of the content and, as a result, the company issued a recall of the game. When I am president, I will work to protect children from inappropriate video game content.

MMORPG at it again

This is of course, old news by now, but given that this is being censored elsewhere, it needs to be here. MMORPG.COM, which was once a respected industry site, has once again bowed to the Smed and wiped out fan voting on the annual "MMOWTF Awards". SWG was winning in nearly every single category.

http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm/loadFeature/1645

A snippet:
Before I announce the winners in the standard categories I wanted to award a special achievement honor. Since once again the readers of the site (and their alts) voted in large numbers for Star Wars Galaxies even in irrelevant categories I decided to remove all the votes for SWG from the existing categories and make an Award especially for them so that the rest of us can get on with our lives. Behold! The Award for Biggest Mistake in MMO History goes to: Star Wars Galaxies: NGE

Gratz NGE! You managed to turn a bunch of normal gamers into forum terrorists. With this lifetime achievement award bestowed perhaps we can actually get some diversity in the voting next year. Sure I broke the rules, but that’s my job. Now on with the show.

SOE to India? Smed denies...

http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSBOM22006020071223

MUMBAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - India's Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd, part of the Anil Ambani-led ADAG group, is set to acquire Sony Online Entertainment for about $300 million, the Economic Times newspaper said on Sunday quoting unnamed sources. Sony Online is the game development and game publishing unit that is part of global electronics maker Sony Corp's group. Sony Online had revenue of about $150 million, the paper said.

Not so fast, says the Smed:

This story is 100% false. We aren't for sale and never have been. Nothing like this has ever been discussed with the Zapak guys. The truth is we were talking to them about distribution rights to one of our games. And we have no idea how this story got started. -John Smedley