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Tabula Rasa Shutting Down, NCsoft Offering Free Goodies as Consolation

Nathan Grayson — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 02:11:18 -0600

After setting up shop at the bottom of the bargain bin and losing its guiding light, Tabula Rasa's grasp on life noticeably slackened. Regardless, though, it's still a shame to see it go. In a letter on the official Tabula Rasa website, the over-and-out MMO's team explained:

"Last November we launched what we hoped would be a ground breaking sci-fi MMO. In many ways, we think we've achieved that goal. Tabula Rasa has some unique features that make it fun and very different from every other MMO out there. Unfortunately, the fact is that the game hasn't performed as expected. The development team has worked hard to improve the game since launch, but the game never achieved the player population we hoped for."

"So it is with regret that we must announce that Tabula Rasa will end live service on February 28, 2009."

On the bright side, Tabula Rasa's subscription fee is bowing out before the game's final act, making the MMO free to play beginning January 10. But wait, the goodie bag runs deeper. Active players as of 10 A.M. PST Friday morning will also leave the funeral with:

3 free months of City of Heroes including digital client
3 free months of Lineage II including digital client
Aion beta access (coming soon)
Aion pre-order access (available in 2009)
1 free month of Aion including digital client (available in 2009)

Best of luck to employees affected by Tabula Rasa's untimely end. Job market be damned, you all have the talent to land firmly on your feet.

Happy 10th Birthday to Half-Life!

Andy Salisbury — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:10:14 -0600

That’s right Valve faithful, just this week Gordon Freeman celebrated his valiant service at the Black Mesa Research Facility for the 10th time. That’s a whole decade of butt that Mr. Freeman has been kicking, and he’s opened up the door for tons of other great games.

It was the release of Half-Life that really put Valve on the map, and the video gamer’s world is a better place because of it. Games like Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, Team Fotress (2!), Natural Selection and Left 4 Dead have all come out thanks to Half-Life's humble beginnings. If it weren’t for the release of Half-Life 2 and the extremely flexible and stable Source engine, much of the landscape that we all love to shoot up from the first person wouldn’t be here today.

So give your best wishes to all the fine folks at Valve that have kept a strong decade of gaming alive. Without them, without Steam, without Gordon, we wouldn’t be spending so many countless hours (well, counted on our Steam profile pages) blowing out zombie brains and cursing those clever Spies.

Pro Gamer Scores Dr Pepper Endorsement, Fights-Off Fans with A Stick

Nathan Grayson — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:05:56 -0600

Well, how's this for unexpected? One day, one of North America's two pillars of professional gaming collapses, and the next, pro gamer Tom "Tsquared" Taylor becomes the first pro gamer to slap a mugshot on Dr Pepper's tiny, 20 oz. billboard.

Taylor will appear on roughly 175 million bottles of the good doctor's delicious nectar from January to April 2009. He currently twiddles his thumbs for Major League Gaming, and, despite the fact that we've never heard of him, is apparently a pretty popular guy.

“It’s not like I’m Tom Cruise or Usher walking down the street or anything like that, but it’s gotten to the point where you have to look your best when you go out,” Taylor said. “I carry a Sharpie around, like Peyton Manning.”

Along with adopting the latest Manning-inspired fashion trends and name-dropping like life is a giant Twitter input box, Taylor recently inked a three-year, $250,000 contract with MLG.

The upshot of all this: pro gaming in North America still has a shot at taking off. Now if promoters can figure out a way to really capitalize on the popularity of players like Tsquared (step one: stop using nicknames like "Tsquared"), then pro gaming might just blossom into something special.

WoW: Wrath of the Lich King Sells 2.8 Million in 24 Hours, Becomes Fastest-Selling PC Game in History

Nathan Grayson — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:04:34 -0600

After already once claiming the gleaming golden press release for fastest-selling PC game in 2007, Blizzard's back to its crazy shenanigans. According to Acti-Blizz's better half, WoW: Wrath of the Lich King moved 2.8 million units in a single day -- 400,000 more monetarily magnetized boxes than previous record holder WoW: The Burning Crusade.

“We’re grateful for the incredible support that players around the world have continued to show for World of Warcraft,” said Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime.

“Wrath of the Lich King contains some of the best content we’ve created for the game so far, and we look forward to seeing even more players log in to experience it in the days ahead.”

So, did you brave the WotLK-starved hordes to secure a day-one copy? We didn't, but the local line weaved down from GameStop and up into our room anyway, so we still consider our war stories valid.

Thanks for Contributing to a $20 Billion PC Gaming Hardware Industry!

Andy Salisbury — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:53:40 -0600

As it stands, the PC gaming industry is estimated to be worth a massive $20 billion today, and it is predicted to enlarge to $34 billion by 2012.

While many have claimed that PC gaming is dying, they don’t take into account the sales of gaming-oriented PCs. According to Ted Pollack, one of the two men behind this robust estimation, “Retail software figures are not an accurate barometer for the health of the PC gaming industry. The retail numbers don’t capture the casual and digitally distributed games, either.”

Pollack goes on to state that PC gamers don’t really buy that many games to begin with. “Enthusiast PC gamers often latch onto one or two games that offer multiplayer options and stick to these titles for years. Hardware is where they spend the big bucks.”

And yes, it is noticeable that a good amount of the sales went to complete PCs, but there’s also a large market of you that buy your own parts. Many of the sales come from upgrade pieces such as improved graphics cards and memory. And for this, we at Maximum PC salute you.

PC Mirror's Edge Bounds Over Consoles, Gains Robust PhysX Support

Nathan Grayson — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:07:36 -0600

Mirror's Edge may not be wall-running onto PCs until January, but at least it's sticking the landing. Today, DICE announced that -- if your machine has the cojones to run it -- Mirror's Edge will support PhysX's Newtonian prowess, giving Faith's PC adventure console-eclipXing effects.

"With the NVIDIA PhysX physics engine, the world of Mirror's Edge comes to life with real affects of wind, weapons impact, and in-game movements. Every-day objects within the game become part of the overall experience. Cloth, flags, and banners can now impact weapons and players; ground fog interacts with the player's footsteps; explosions fill the air with smoke and debris; and weapon impacts are enhanced with interactive particles," read the press release.

But how's it look? Well, GameTrailers has a new trailer if you'd like a tantalizing taste of the eye-candy.

So then, MPC readers, now that DICE is sliding a few pieces of realistically billowing cloth under the table, are you cool with the seemingly arbitrary delay? Or is your rage simply too fiery -- fueled by your 143rd run through Mirror's Edge 2D and the completion of ~~our~~ your stark white Mirror's Edge skyscraper case mod, complete with custom Faith action figure?

Good Old Games Adds Unreal Series, Keeps Things DRM-Free

Nathan Grayson — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:45:22 -0600

With the phrase now appended to read, "I'd rather get a root canal while playing a DRM'ed game [than date/know/look at you]," the time is right to take a stand against DRM -- and also brush the dust off a few classic games in the process. So, if you haven't already, definitely point your web browser in Good Old Games' direction. Especially now that the totally DRM-free service has added Epic's Unreal series to its ranks.

Already, Unreal Gold and Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition are offering their services in exchange for low, low prices, with Unreal II: The Awakening and Unreal Tournament 2004: Editor's Choice Edition arriving "in the coming weeks."

"We know that a lot of gamers have been waiting for new deals," said GOG managing director Adam Oldakowski. "We're sure that the Unreal games will satisfy their lust for alien blood and intense multiplayer action... DRM-free, of course."

GoG also boasts games like Fallout, Gothic, and MDK, for prices ranging from $5.99-$9.99. Now go check it out! Show publishers that you'll be good boys and girls -- even without DRM's far-too-watchful eye looming heavy. If nothing else, it's a much more effective statement than complaining in our comments section (which we still encourage!).

Another One Bites The Dust: Championship Gaming Series Closes Down

Nathan Grayson — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:29:14 -0600

Legitimate sport or not, professional gaming just can't seem to catch on in North America. First, the Cyberathlete Professional League wheezed out its final breath, and now, even after striking deals with BSkyB, STAR, and DirectTV, Championship Gaming Series is sitting next to its beleaguered comrade on a fluffy, DSL-connected cloud in gaming heaven.

The reason for its closure: CGS could talk a big game, but sadly lacked the credits needed to continue.

"While the concept was ahead of its time and we are extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished, it became increasingly clear as this ambitious project evolved, that profitability was too far in the future for us to sustain operations in the interim," said the CGS team in its farewell message.

"Our goal was to be ahead of the curve in the e-sports space, and we conceived of CGS as a true sports league. We invested wholeheartedly in the venture and presented viewers with a top-notch production, but the economics just didn’t add up for us at this time."

Good luck to everyone affected by this disappointing turn of events. Our prayers are with you.

MPC readers, what do you think it'll take for pro gaming to finally earn its spot next to apple pie, happy families, and football as something printed all over McDonald's bags and cups? Er, as a crucial piece of American culture, we mean.