Recently Sega Sammy (the parent company for Sega) reported very weak earnings, losing revenue of about $150 million, which is change of -19%. I looked into the company myself and tried to figure out why they are failing so badly. Is it the economy? They released over 30 titles in the past 12 months, like The Conduit and Virtua Tennis. Is it the quality of their titles like The Conduit for Wii that only sold a paltry 150,000 copies?

Hmmmm….

After talking with another gamer friend who began telling me about the new MMO she is trying Phantasy Star Universe. Now being an old time player of the Phantasy Star series on the old Sega, I figured I was due to throw another iron in the fire.

Then I found out just how much of a trainwreck Sega made of this title. They have a virtual cash cow here, and by today’s standard in the mMO community, they are way behind the curve. If they don’t change things soon, Phantasy Star Universe might end up just as the late Matrix Online and the whole Sega brand might be in danger.

Continued…

The Chronicles of Spellborn which launched a few days ago on April 23rd launched with a 2 week free subscription for all new players.  If you signup to the game, which is free to download, you’ll get a free 2 weeks to test it out.  Not sure why they didn’t do the normal one month free promotion like most games do, maybe it’s because there giving out the game for free, but in any case if you want to test out the game, you’d better sign up before May 7th when the promo ends.  You can go here, http://spellborn.acclaim.com/downloads.html, to download the game and create a free account.

Also look for our upcoming review of The Chronicles of Spellborn in the coming weeks once we get some game time in.  You can also checkout some other PC game reviews at our friends at Testfreaks.com.

Hello ladies and gentlemen, and congratulations on reading the first ever Ed’s Weekly Watch! This is a weekly post on what’s new in MMORPGs. I will write about new MMOs, news on MMOs, and other things involving…well…MMOS!!! Thanks and enjoy!

-Most of you know about the newest MMO “Pirates of the Burning Sea”. Well, I played the Beta and a little since the launch and I have to say, I am a little disappointed. The graphics are outdated, the “Open Sea” (the part of the game when you are sailing on the “Open Sea” not Ship Battling…2 different parts) graphics aren’t great either. The best quality graphics are when you are in a ship battle. The crafting system is alright, but it could use some work, and the player run economy isn’t what players expected it to be. It is hard to understand and takes forever to get used too. If you wish to try it go to www.piratesoftheburningsea.com and buy the game software from your local gaming merchandise store.

-I am a couple days off, but incase you haven’t heard, Age of Conan was pushed back 2 months. The devolopers claim that they needed “more time” and to “polish” up some things in gameply. I was heartbroken when I heard this, I was looking forward to the March launch, but I guess we will have to wait untill May.

-The thread I posted before this mentioned a contest. Yup, I have 2 Mythos invitations to give out. So to register send me an email at edearien@yahoo.com with the title “Contest”. Thanks!

-Beckett Massive Online Gamer magizine is offering a free issue! Visit here for more details. It requires a credit card to get the issue, but you can allways cancel if you don’t like it.

-The Chronicles of Spellborn has released a devoloper chat with Romano Molenaar! Click here to watch!

- RuneScape has released the long awaited summoning skill! You can play at www.runescape.com.

Wow, its been a pretty big week! Tune in next week for more exciting news on MMORPGs!

With a new year coming upon us we have the incredible opportunity to experience new MMORPGs. It was the same last year, as we were all antipating the releases of Tabula Rasa, Lord of the Rings Online, Vanguard Saga of Heroes, and Warhammer Online (still). This year we have a bunch more titles coming, and there is quite the selection. So, without further ado, I bring you the expected MMORPGs of 2008 listed with the most up-to-date release dates that I could find. Everything here is chronologically organized as best as possible. Enjoy:

• Pirates of the Burning Sea – 1/22/08 (Pre-order now and you get to play now)
• 2Moons – 1Q 2008
• Age of Armor – 1Q 2008
• The Chronicles of Spellborn – 1Q 2008
• World of Kung Fu – 1Q 2008
• Age of Conan – 3/25/08
• Godswar Online – 2Q 2008
• Warhammer Online – 2Q 2008 (Whoo!)
• Wonderland Online – 2Q 2008
• Zu Online – 2Q 2008
• Stargate Worlds – 4Q 2008
• AION – 2008
• Huxley – 2008
• Tales of Pirates – 2008

Awesome right? Here we have our basic look at the MMORPGs that are roughly scheduled to be released this year. Obviously some of these dates are more concrete, like Pirates of the Burning Sea which is on schedule to meet it’s 1/22/08 date. Other’s like Warhammer Online have a possibility of being pushed back a few months, and even then some like Stargate Worlds will probably not get released this year at all. Just a hunch.

Also worth noting is that although there are a few triple-A titles, like Warhammer Online and Chronicles of Spellborn, this year also has it’s fair share of shovelware. Prepare to see more and more titles like Zu Online, and Wonderland Online hit the digital domain this year.

Every date, prediction, and event scheduled here at MMOCrunch is, as always, subject to change via the developers whimsies and timing ethics. Thanks for reading.

P.S. Also don’t forget to welcome Andrew, our newest Crunch writer here at, well, MMOCrunch. His first post can be found just below.

The Chronicles of Spellborn is a dark fantasy MMORPG. Now I know what you are thinking, and the answer is no. There are no elves, and there are no orcs. This is not that kind of fantasy. This is a unique type of fantasy, one that is based on a post-apocolyptic “shard”. I say shards because this game does not inhabit a world, this game inhabits a series of shards that are populated and unpopulated. A stirring of frontier/urban areas alike. There is no world in the traditional sense.

There are two races to choose from, humans and daevi. No, they aren’t enemies either. They live and work harmoniously. Between the races there are also 3 different archtypes to choose from and 9 different classes. They are:

Warrior:

• Blood Warrior
• Furyhammer
• Wrathguard

Spellcaster:

• Rune Mage
• Void Seer
• Oracle Disciple

Rogue:

• Trickster
• Skinshifter
• Deathhand

The game is level based with a skill system added in to further add character customization. This means that your character, lets say a Deathhand, can GREATLY vary from that of other Deathhands within the game despite being the same level and class. Such is why a skill system can be so important.

In addition to the classes, and races there will be 5 High Houses which a which are all vying for a majority control over the populace of the land. You get to choose to be in one of these houses. From there you will be able to do quests and slowly rise through the ranks of your house in order to gain more control over the land in the name of your house. No word yet on how this will be effectively implemented, but it’s still a neat idea that I am intrigued by.

The game is currently in the beta-phase and is promising a release early next year, although with these small indy MMOs who actually knows when they will get released, right? In anycase, the game looks very unique and is promising a very different setting from the usual Scifi/Fantasy MMOs we are so very accustomed to. Here’s hoping that the game plays as well as it looks.

Check out the game here.

With all the new MMORPGs on the horizon I decided to put a small list the games that are in open beta or have signups. I went through a lot of games and picked the ones that looked as though they had the most potential.

	Age of Conan - Beta signup Whats so special? Player created cities, Massive PvP and Siege Battle
	The Chronicles of Spellborn – Beta Signup Whats so special? Uses Unreal engine, PvP, Targeting combat (No auto-attacking)
	Darkfall – Beta Signup Whats so special? Engage in grand activities such as kingdom building, politics, strategy, diplomacy, combat, warfare, conquest, and racial wars.
	Exteel – Open Beta Whats so special? Mech combat with MMORPG leveling
	Mythos – Beta Signup Whats so special? Diablo style combat with ungraded grahics
	Perfect World – Open Beta Whats so special? Massive character customization
	Savage 2 – Open Beta Whats so special? Fast paced strategy shooter that takes team based game play to another level
	Warhammer Online – Beta Signup Whats so special? Next generation Realm vs. Realm system integrating both PvP combat and PvE quests on the same map in support of the greater war.