DCUO announces going F2P

• I just said last week that this needed to happen, since CO and COH are both free now, and Marvel U will be F2P as well (if it ever launches).
• This just sounds like an excuse to charge people for future expansions, like they intended to do with Fight for the Light.

GamersFirst invites spammers onboard

• Previously cropped up in DDO, but Turbine decided to shut it down based on responses ( alternative link )
• Will work slightly better in the APB and FE settings just due to the world lore.
• Will still annoy players, and raise security concerns and spambot concerns.

WoW Patch 4.3 will bring easier PUG raids and cosmetic options

• A new LFG queue that will automagically put you into lower-difficulty versions of the existing raids, with lesser loot. But 25-man versions ONLY.
• These raids also don’t include lockout timers, which will be a HUGE boon to folks that regularly do PUG raids.
• This will work GREAT in WoW due to the nature of the community, but I’m worried about this becoming a trend that other games may pick up on. Any developer interested in this trend needs to take a close look at their specific type of community before deciding whether to use this same methodology.
• For example, WoW has a healthy PUG community, and a lot of smaller guilds that can only raid 10-man zones. So making a 25-man option more accessible actually allows MORE players to experience this side of the raiding game (which has a huge content focus in WoW).
• Meanwhile, if a game thrives more on small groups and tight communities, implementing something that reinforces a PUG atmosphere would offer very little benefit while encouraging community fragmentation.

RIFT devs get awesomely charitable

• Partnering with “Extra Life” to benefit Children’s Miracle Network

• Devs will be creating a guild and inviting new characters to join them, and play for 24 hours straight.

• They will also offer titles to anyone that participates (“the Charitable”) and for anyone that lasts the entire 24 hours (“the Insomniac”).

• Also a whole mess of achievements/contests:

• Highest Level Achieved

• Most Favor Earned

• Most Planarite Earned

• Highest Crafting Skill (combined)

• Most Achievements Earned

• Most Dungeons Completed

• Most Money Earned

• Most Critters Killed

• Most Artifacts Collected

Money from MMO subscriptions officially on the decline
– Money from F2P microtransactions is up!

SWG adds new feature, despite looming death knell

Rusty Hearts is now in Open Beta