MMORPG

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No More World of Warcraft for Iran

Blizzard shuts down game to comply with sanctions

(Newser) - How punishing are US sanctions on Iran? Ask the nation's nerds, many of whom have now been cut off from their drug of choice: World of Warcraft. Last week Iranian players discovered they suddenly couldn't access the popular MMO, the Guardian reports. Blizzard eventually revealed, in a battle....

New iPhone Game Is 'the Future of Mobile Gaming'

'New York Times' critic gushes over 'Shadow Cities'

(Newser) - Video game reviews don’t get much more enthusiastic than this. Seth Schiesel of the New York Times is over the moon about Shadow Cities, a new iPhone game that lets you battle for control of your real-life physical location. “Shadow Cities isn’t just the future of mobile...

Record $330K Paid for Virtual Space Station
 Record $330K Paid 
 for Virtual Space Station 
'REAL' ESTATE BOOM

Record $330K Paid for Virtual Space Station

Online game player is confident his investment will pay off

(Newser) - The virtual Entropia Universe—Planet Calypso, in particular—might be entering a real estate boom with the recent purchase of the Crystal Palace space station for $330,000, a record for a virtual item. That’s right: A player who goes by Buzz “Erik” Lightyear paid the sum for...

World of Warcraft: the 'Cocaine of Gaming'

Fantasy game involved in nearly every case of game addiction, foundation says

(Newser) - World of Warcraft is the most addictive video game on the market, the Local of Sweden reports. WoW is the most popular of the online multiplayer fantasy games—by far the most addicting game genre, according to a study by the Swedish Youth Care Foundation. The Blizzard title is "...

Online Divorcee Jailed After Killing Virtual Hubby

Japanese woman charged with hacking

(Newser) - A 43-year-old Japanese woman whose sudden divorce in a virtual game world made her so angry that she killed her online husband's digital persona has been arrested on suspicion of hacking, police said today. The woman allegedly used her digital husband's identification and password to log onto popular interactive game...

Study: Video Game Addicts Aren't Nerds

'Problem gamers' may be unhealthy, but they're not lonely geeks

(Newser) - The stereotype of the hard-core gamer as a friendless geek may be as outdated as Pac-Man, Reuters reports. An Australian study looked at "problem gamers" who spent more than 50 hours a week playing and discovered that less than 1% had poor social skills. The findings contradict statements from...

Sony Aims to Power Up Online Gaming
Sony Aims to Power Up Online Gaming

Sony Aims to Power Up Online Gaming

Games developer seeks to reach new markets with innovative scenarios

(Newser) - Sony is seeking to boost online gaming to the next level with a pair of new adventures in the pipeline. The company's 1999 EverQuest was the first massive online game to rocket to popularity, but rivals like World of Warcraft have since taken the lead. With spy shooter game The ...

World of Warcraft Inspires Porn
World of Warcraft Inspires Porn

World of Warcraft Inspires Porn

Sex series' homage to the game is a blockbuster hit

(Newser) - Perhaps it was inevitable: The 8 to 10 million members of the user community for Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft multiplayer game now have porn tailored specifically to the details of their escapist world, the Village Voice reports. Entering its second season, the “Whorelore” web-series (originally “Whorecraft,...

Shakespeare Game Much Ado About Nothing

MMO game hoped to be social experiment - instead it's 'no fun'

(Newser) - Edward Castronova’s Arden: The World of Shakespeare was supposed to be a revolutionary academic experiment, a massive multiplayer online world where players learned about Shakespeare while Castronova tested economic theories on them. There’s just one problem, Technology Review reports: “It’s no fun,” says Castronova. Focused...

Fantasy War Game Models Global Pandemic

Virtual outbreak gave scientists chance to study spread

(Newser) - A programming error in an online fantasy game gave researchers a profound insight into how a deadly epidemic spreads and how to combat the crisis. The London Times reports a glitch occurred in World of Warcraft, which has millions of online players. A disease aimed at a handful of characters...

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