Filed under: The MMO Report

The MMO Report: Big news edition

by Eliot Lefebvre Apr 12th 2012 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Video, Culture, Previews, News items, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

The MMO Report has some big news this week, and no, it's not about the fact that it's secretly carrying your baby. Nor is it even tied to all of the various big news that the show has this week, and there is quite a bit of that. Obviously, there's the new patch for Star Wars: The Old Republic, and there's also the first in-game footage of both World of Darkness and Defiance, but those aren't the big reveal in the news.

So what is it? Well, while we'd normally promise that there's going to be a new episode next week from G4 and Massively, this week it's not quite so clear-cut. The show is going on a brief hiatus for reasons that we'll allow the show itself to explain. So hop on past the break for more MMO news, and tune in when the hiatus ends for another episode. You can keep checking back here forlornly, however. We won't hold it against you.

The MMO Report: Shut up about Mass Effect edition

by Brianna Royce Apr 5th 2012 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Video, MMO industry, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

This week on The MMO Report, Casey tells everyone to stop whining about Mass Effect 3's ending, laments the loss of the "online" part of Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online, touches on the World of Darkness keynote, and outlines The Secret World's preorder plans. He also reveals the identity of one of TERA's key voice actors: Michael Hogan (of Battlestar Galactica fame), who will play Samael in the final game. Finally, he pulls one measly letter from the mailbag and debates which class he represents in TERA.

Enjoy the full MMO Report after the cut!

The MMO Report: Aztec pandas make no sense edition

by Brianna Royce Mar 22nd 2012 at 9:00PM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Betas, Fantasy, Video, Culture, Game mechanics, Interviews, Lore, Opinion, Races, Humor, The MMO Report, Dungeons

Morgan Webb dethrones Casey this week on The MMO Report, having made the journey to Anaheim to interview Blizzard's reps about World of Warcraft's upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion. J. Allen Brack and Tom Chilton focus on the philosophy of this expansion and its shift from previous expansions' ominous tone to a more playful theme of adventure, exploration, and oh yeah, the war between the Alliance and the Horde.

The pair also highlight changes to underdeveloped zones, pet battles, repurposed classic dungeons, phased farms (actual farms!), and solutions to the faction grind problem. Most interestingly, they tell Morgan that Pandaren came first... and the Asian motif followed. After all, they joke, it just wouldn't have made sense to put Pandaren in Aztec ruins.

Get your panda on in the full video behind the break!

The MMO Report: Shut up and take my money

by Brianna Royce Mar 15th 2012 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Video, MMO industry, Opinion, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

This week on The MMO Report, Casey cheers for the Double Fine Kickstarter effort, MechWarrior Online's first gameplay footage, and Guild Wars 2's preorder bonuses. "Shut up and take my money," he commands ArenaNet. He also heckles TERA for its new level cap and discusses Star Wars: The Old Republic's free play weekend before getting a bit confused about just how World of Warcraft's revamped scroll of resurrection works (it does not, in fact, work on fresh accounts).

The Beard ends with a dip into the mailbag and a geeky commercial that involves "8bit animation, puppets, and beer" and must be seen to be believed. And you can do so after the break!

The MMO Report: RIFT's two Adams

by Brianna Royce Mar 8th 2012 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Game mechanics, Interviews, Lore, MMO industry, Patches, Previews, Endgame, News items, PvE, RIFT, The MMO Report, Dungeons, Crafting

This week on The MMO Report, Casey caps off his Trion Worlds tour by chatting up RIFT's Adam Gershowitz and Adam Hetenyi. Backed by enormous screens showing off the game's flashiest scenes, the two Adams discuss RIFT's upcoming 1.8 patch, giving previews of the goodies that will tempt hardcore endgamers in the Infernal Dawn raid (pro tip: Do not invite Maelforge to your birthday party). The pair also discuss the game's new skills -- fishing, trapping, and survival -- before teasing what players can look forward to after 1.8 has come and gone.

The full HD video is behind the cut!

The MMO Report: Where the mobs raid you

by Brianna Royce Mar 1st 2012 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Interviews, MMO industry, Humor, RIFT, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

The MMO Report returns this week with a special RIFT edition in celebration of the game's first birthday. In this extra-long show, Casey visits the Trion Worlds studios in Redwood Shores, California for a beard's-eye view of the game as it turns one. He meets up with such Trion notables as Scott Hartsman, Hal Hanlin, and Russ Brown as they chat about the Carnival of the Ascended, the anniversary events, the mobile app, and the record-breaking 20,000 marriages recently performed in-game. The devs also discuss how they balance fan feedback (endgame players are apparently the loudest) and claim that the latest patch features the "greatest balloons ever put into a game."

Eavesdrop on Casey's tour in the HD video after the break!

The MMO Report: MMOs are Casey's children edition

by Brianna Royce Feb 23rd 2012 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Video, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

This week on The MMO Report, Casey (not pictured above) discusses The Secret World's new release date of June 19th, Guild Wars 2's console version and beta weekend, and Star Wars: The Old Republic's expansion into the Asia-Pacific region. He also peeks at the new raid and content coming to DC Universe Online, which still exists.

Casey's usual journey into the mailbag may or may not reveal an image of a dog drinking wine and playing World of Warcraft.

Finally, The Beard teases next week's special RIFT anniversary episode. All that and more in the video behind the break!

The MMO Report: Chocolate makes you fat edition

by Brianna Royce Feb 16th 2012 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Video, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

This week on The MMO Report, Casey delivers a Valentine's Day rant before moving on to the latest news -- namely, The Secret World's release date rumors, Wakfu's PvP, and the sunset of sci-fi sandbox Earthrise. He also rounds up the latest Blizzard headlines, noting the lawsuit against Valve, World of Warcraft's recent sub losses, and the "valiant and pointless exercise" of rebuilding Azeroth in Minecraft.

Finally, Uncle Casey's Mailbag provides a forum for the debate over just how we're supposed to pronounce "SWTOR." All this and more in the video behind the break!

The MMO Report: Elvis invented rock 'n' roll edition

by Brianna Royce Feb 9th 2012 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Video, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

This week on The MMO Report, Casey insists that he's a "wise-cracking superhero with a heart of gold," not a noob who doesn't know his MMO history. "For the record," he says, "I do realize that EverQuest wasn't the first MMO. I was just saying it was the game that brought MMOs mainstream attention... like how Elvis invented rock 'n' roll."

Casey reports on Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online's financial woes, RIFT's new infinite trial, Star Wars: The Old Republic's impressive sales numbers, and TERA's beta plans. Then he dips into Uncle Casey's Mailbag to discuss -- what else -- hot dorf-on-dorf action.

All this and more in the HD MMO Report tucked behind the cut!

The MMO Report: EQ was the first MMO edition

by Jef Reahard Feb 3rd 2012 at 12:00PM

Filed under: EverQuest, MMO industry, The Secret World, Humor, Star Wars: The Old Republic, The MMO Report, TERA

Casey Schreiner returns with this week's MMO Report, G4TV's weekly newscast about all things massively multiplayer. First up is a shout-out to the newly free-to-play EverQuest, though Ultima Online, Meridian 59, and The Realm players might dispute Casey's notion that EQ "started it all."

Funcom's new Blue Mountain trailer for The Secret World also gets a mention, as does the Family Research Council's facepalm-inducing reaction to the prospect of same-sex snogging in Star Wars: The Old Republic. TERA's legal troubles are next, and Uncle Casey's mailbag rounds out this week's show. Head past the break to watch it in full.

The MMO Report: Shut up, that's why edition

by Brianna Royce Jan 19th 2012 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Video, MMO industry, Opinion, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

Why does The MMO Report cover Minecraft? "Shut up, that's why," says Casey with a smile. In addition to chronicling Minecraft's newest FarmVille-esque update, the Beard meanders through the Dark Millennium Online cancellation rumors, The Secret World's Illuminati trailer, and TERA's upcoming May release date ("your cue to start claiming it's better than WoW, internet"). Finally, Casey touches on the patch delays suffered by Star Wars: The Old Republic, excusing the tardiness by suggesting the promised dates are more like guidelines, and besides, "Only a Sith deals in absolutes."

All this and a quick dip into Uncle Casey's Mailbag can be found in the full HD video behind the cut.

The MMO Report: Baby names edition

by Brianna Royce Jan 12th 2012 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Video, MMO industry, Opinion, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

This week on The MMO Report, Casey discusses the un-disbanding of the Multiverse project and associated Firefly/Buffy IPs, Wakfu's bright and bizarre character classes, DC Universe Online's timely crafting update, and Razer's new Fiona gaming tablet. He also notes that Bethesda came away the clear victor in the Fallout Online settlement. Now, where's our Fallout MMO?

Finally, Casey dips into the mailbag to dispense advice to aspiring game designers and gratitude to a pair of gamers who are planning to name their first child after Casey himself. Says the Beard: "I am equally honored and aghast... I'm just a loudmouth with a camera who reads hit-or-miss jokes about nerd stuff off a teleprompter so that someone can put it on the internet."

Watch Casey blush at the prospect of little baby beardlings in the full MMO Report video tucked behind the break.

The MMO Report: Cool balloon bro edition

by Brianna Royce Jan 5th 2012 at 9:00PM

Filed under: Video, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

This week on The MMO Report -- where everyone prefers "a blaster over hokey religions and ancient weapons" -- Casey tries to make the most of a slow MMO news week. He reports that the fallout over Fallout Online has settled, Multiverse (the Buffy/Firefly MMO platform) is dead in the water, CCP is launching EVE Online character avatars into orbit via balloon, and Star Wars: The Old Republic is boasting 350,000 concurrent users.

There's no mailbag this week, he relates, because everyone's too busy playing lightsabers with their friends, which is probably true.

He also thanks BioWare for teaching him how to /getdown... and I think you should tune in at the five-minute mark to see his moves for yourself. The video's tucked behind the break for your amusement!

The MMO Report: 2011 bloopers edition

by Jef Reahard Dec 30th 2011 at 2:00PM

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Humor, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

What do science jazz bands and motorized feminine hygiene products have in common? They're both mentioned on this week's MMO Report, for starters (yes, really). Moving right along, host Casey Schreiner takes a break from his industry news roundup routine to regale us with a 10-minute blooper reel featuring the best (worst?) outtakes of 2011.

While there isn't much in the way of MMO news on this week's episode, there are plenty of shots of Casey shuffling his papers, zany cameraman hijinks, and a few choice monologue missteps and associated bleep bombs. We've got the full show embedded for you after the break.

The MMO Report: It's bigger on the inside edition

by Brianna Royce Dec 22nd 2011 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Culture, Game mechanics, New titles, Free-to-play, Browser, The MMO Report, Miscellaneous

This week on The MMO Report ("where everyone is legally obligated to be filled with Yuletide"), Casey and the crew interview two of the minds behind the inbound Doctor Who-flavored MMO. Doctor Who: Worlds in Time's Robert Nashak and Max Engel sat down to discuss the game, which is a platform-independent, Flash-based browser MMO with a unique 2-D graphic-novel style that aims to appeal to fans of both the franchise and sci-fi games in general. Nashak and Engel promise iconic locations and enemies along with a Matt Smith-inspired Doctor and a customizable gadget (sonic screwdriver, anyone?) to reflect each character's abilities.

The game will be F2P; ideally, players can wade through the game "without spending a penny," although naturally you can purchase faster mission completion and customization of your "home-space on the Tardis." Yes, it's bigger on the inside.

The game launches in March of 2012, but for now, you can check out the entirety of The MMO Report's interview just past the break.

Massively Features

Events Calendar

Name	Date
Cataclysm Launch	Dec 7, 2010
DCUO Launch	Early 2011

Massively Staff

Name	Title
Shawn Schuster	Editor-in-Chief
Brianna Royce	Senior Editor
Rubi Bayer	Community Manager
Brendan Drain	Contributing Editor
Eliot Lefebvre	Contributing Editor
Jef Reahard	Contributing Editor
Justin Olivetti	Contributing Editor
Krystalle Voecks	Contributing Editor
Larry Everett	Contributing Editor
Beau Hindman	Columnist
Edward Marshall	Columnist
Greg Waller	Columnist
Jeremy Stratton	Columnist
Karen Bryan	Columnist
MJ Guthrie	Columnist
Patrick Mackey	Columnist
Ryan Greene	Columnist
Lisa Poisso	Columnist