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Napster founder targets WOW for next project

Shawn Fanning to build virtual online community for online gamers; Blizzard's World of Warcraft to be first featured game.

Shawn Fanning started a digital phenomenon when he built Napster, one of the original peer-to-peer file-sharing programs released on the Internet. Now Fanning is looking at another phenomenon, Blizzard Entertainment's massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft, for his next project.

BusinessWeek Online is reporting that Fanning is planning to introduce Rupture, "a virtual social community for online gamers," sometime in the near future. The idea reportedly stemmed from Fanning's own troubles with communicating with other World of Warcraft players.

The MySpace for Azeroth will pull data directly from WOW and publish stats and information on a personalized page. Gamers will also be able to instant message while playing, as well as track the progress of their guilds and organize playing time with their online buddies.

Rupture will rely on ads for revenue and also focus on exchanging info on gamers' real lives, should they have one. WOW is the first game on the plate for Rupture, but no other titles have yet been mentioned.

Blizzard was unavailable for comment as of press time.

This isn't the first online community site planned around World of Warcraft. In July, an online dating site titled "World of Datecraft" invited night elves and others to mingle and find matches for some offline romance. The site has since been taken down.

102 Comments

  • steven_bergen

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 8:43 am GMT

    yeah

  • datniccah187

    Posted Jan 4, 2007 5:15 pm GMT

    Do it, the more gaming support sites the better. I'm all for it!!!

  • psychofreak0x

    Posted Jan 4, 2007 3:43 am GMT

    [spy_hellscream
    Xfire...there already is something fanning, or try ventrillo....tool.]

    i guess he's not a real gammer if he hasnt hear of it.

  • _Sam_

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 3:36 pm GMT

    I was wondering what happened to him. He hadn't been in the news in a while

  • spy_hellscream

    Posted Dec 6, 2006 5:12 pm GMT

    Xfire...there already is something fanning, or try ventrillo....tool.

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 9:34 pm GMT

    lol

  • Kravyn81

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 6:53 pm GMT

    :
    Rupture will rely on ads for revenue and also focus on exchanging info on gamers' real lives, should they have one.


    Ooooooo! Buuuuuuuuurn!!

  • Ironwulfen

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 4:26 pm GMT

    "...and also focus on exchanging info on gamers' real lives, should they have one..." HAHAHAHAHA!! ^_^ nice one Tim!

  • glhx2112

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 2:02 pm GMT

    jaredgood1
    Screw Fanning. Napster made it easy for dummies to download MP3s, thereby dropping the proverbial log in the swimming pool. HAHHHAHHHHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAH

  • Crazy87

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 11:36 am GMT

    awww dont copy xfire!

  • Jimbokundesu

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 10:40 am GMT

    As long as he doesn't let IGE get its claws into it, I say go for it. I could use another couple hundred thousand people telling me that my warrior's specced poorly or that I'm gay for thinking that there's something wrong with all these glowing weapons in the 10-19 BF and that there should be something done to disallow high-level enchants in a low level BF. st00pid twinks.

    IF FFXI were anything resembling fun, I'd go back to it, if only to get 1000 GamerScore.

  • Cook66

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 1:06 am GMT

    "[...]also focus on exchanging info on gamers' real lives, should they have one."

    Hahaa! That has to be the best thing I've ever read on GameSpot! lol

  • jaredgood1

    Posted Dec 3, 2006 10:02 pm GMT

    Screw Fanning. Napster made it easy for dummies to download MP3s, thereby dropping the proverbial log in the swimming pool.

  • absinthewfaust

    Posted Dec 3, 2006 9:48 pm GMT

    ""also focus on exchanging info on gamers' real lives, should they have one.""

    ROFL

  • boo_dat

    Posted Dec 3, 2006 5:45 pm GMT

    BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...BAHAAAAAAHAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAH!!!...okay okay...whew...b...b...BAHAHAHAHA HAAAAAAA HAAAAAAA HAAAAAA!!!...alright so now that that's over, I can say what's really on my mi...BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

  • Zumafire

    Posted Dec 3, 2006 8:36 am GMT

    ummmmm, cool. I guess..??

  • chevydriver1123

    Posted Dec 3, 2006 7:42 am GMT

    Dont they have something like that? Oh yea its called Xfire

  • gagan21

    Posted Dec 3, 2006 4:18 am GMT

    I dont think it will work at all

  • Elyoshi

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 7:29 pm GMT

    Wow, kids these days and there MMORPGs.... What ever happened to reefer?

  • Inu7

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 5:47 pm GMT

    Ugh, this gave me heartburn

  • BounceDK

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 12:52 pm GMT

    LOL @ Napster guy

  • Kh1ndjal

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 12:31 pm GMT

    Riverwolf007
    my bad its 3 expansions in 14 months

    what are u talking about? the 2nd one was release 12 months after the first, and the 3rd 6 months after the 2nd
    count and u realize its ATLEAST 18 months

    dont post what u dont know

  • everythingj

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 12:13 pm GMT

    "should they have one"

    tim surette makes me laugh.

  • mattxavier

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 11:22 am GMT

    What does this guy think he's doing?

  • SqueekyC1ean

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 10:16 am GMT

    LOL T HIS SOUNDS DUMB

  • TacNuke_Tyger

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 9:11 am GMT

    "thats like saying every Star Wars fan has a Jedi Robe in their closet"

    That reminds me, i need to get my Jedi Robe from the cleaners......

  • demon_lilith

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 8:51 am GMT

    Here you are for those that dont like to wait or want a site without all the hype. http://www.phantomportal.com/

  • pseidon

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 5:33 am GMT

    I must agree with GIF. I used to play WoW, in my sleep, so to speak. I am married with children and noticed a distinct seperation of me and family while playing...scary stuff. When it takes 4-6 hours to even get half way through Molten core just to end up having to roll against 4 or more other players on a single item ( sheesh), you can see how much time it can take away from you doing more important things. Must use time management wisely...so much to do, so little time. Anyways i have been WoW free since September, and i contantly look back at my level 60 priest and warrior, and my little 34 mage just standing there begging for me to come back to them...so sad. But the real joy is seeing the smile on my kids faces when i play their games with them :-) My wife no longer falls asleep in bed alone anymore either =p

  • GIF

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 3:50 am GMT

    "mikado01
    "And people who still play WOW will have even less of a social life.........if thats even possible"

    dude, everyone who plays warcraft isnt some guy living in his moms basement.

    thats like saying every Star Wars fan has a Jedi Robe in thier closet.

    I hate generalizations
    Posted Dec 1, 2006 3:03 pm PT"


    You don't have to live in your moms basement to lack a social life. YOU MADE THAT GENERALIZATION yourself. I said this will take away what little social life people who play WOW have. I say that with experience having played a while back.

  • Cloud737

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 2:51 am GMT

    "Rupture will rely on ads for revenue and also focus on exchanging info on gamers' real lives, should they have one."
    Lol.

  • cjcr_alexandru

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 12:48 am GMT

    "Rupture will rely on ads for revenue and also focus on exchanging info on gamers' real lives, should they have one."

    Should they have one? Some gamers don't have real lives? I didn't know that.

  • dholmes19

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 10:34 pm GMT

    no thanks

  • Riverwolf007

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 9:16 pm GMT

    my bad its 3 expansions in 14 months.

  • Mafia217

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 9:13 pm GMT

    .......ok

  • Riverwolf007

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 9:11 pm GMT

    Heh, i Love it when the Guild Wars guys come flying outta the woodwork to brag about the free game they play. Did none of you guys buy the what? FOUR $50 dollar expansions that have come out in the last 14 months?

  • saturos40

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 8:54 pm GMT

    meh. ffxi has the same thing described here in there linkshell community thing. meh.

  • Oshava

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 8:52 pm GMT

    hm, this will either be a huge success...or a complete flop. me? I think it'll bomb only because it's really quite unnecessary, it IS possible to talk to other players w/o this kind of stuff

  • impossible349

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 8:44 pm GMT

    Seems okay, better than world of datecraft (looks away while laughing)
    I definitely wont be using it, but hey, why not give this Fanning guy some more money

  • malkav11

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 8:14 pm GMT

    All I can say is: virtually all of my friends and particularly my online friends play World of Warcraft. Each of them plays on a different server. There is currently no inter-server chat functionality, so in effect I never hear from them even though I'm playing the same game. Sure sounds like a market to me.

  • Zifhael

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 8:00 pm GMT

    oooh, whoot, another thing I will never use - Im sure WoW is a great game, but I prefer non-sub mmo's like guild wars - yes, I understand that that money goes to keep servers going, but that doesnt mean I want to keep paying for a game months after I buy it if i want to continue playing

  • Tybolt

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 7:33 pm GMT

    Nothing i have not seen before...

    X-f$ire, has a msg service.... its good enough for me...

  • JimmyCos

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 7:08 pm GMT

    mmm...15 dollars in my wallet...

  • VincentV21

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 7:06 pm GMT

    Wow, why does everything good turn so....so......emo?

  • jeebs213

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 6:47 pm GMT

    great, another reason for WOW addicts to never leave the house.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 6:35 pm GMT

    thats not gonna work out

  • SpareJesus

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 6:34 pm GMT

    The_AI:
    I'll stick to Oblivion. All the fun of an MMO, without the online. Without the immature "emo" players, total grindfest, and MONTHLY FEES! Oh, and it has the Thieves Guild .

    Dark Brotherhood ftw.

  • gtrslinger

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 6:29 pm GMT

    lame and it will fail. That guy isn't a smart. he just got lucky and sold a program he made. that's it.

  • Messiah925

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 6:24 pm GMT

    OH YEAH!

  • ObiKKa

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 5:49 pm GMT

    A bit of a mixture of Myspace & Xfire.

    "Rupture will rely on ads for revenue and also focus on exchanging info on gamers' real lives, should they have one."

    LOL! (The last part)

  • UnderWing

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 5:32 pm GMT

    SpareJesus: "That stereotype's about as poor and insulting as the idea that all D&D players sit in their parents' basements and eat Cheesy Wotsits whilst looking at porn."

    We don't?

    Anyway, I'm not a fan of the idea. WoW has plenty of stuff for community, etc, imo. Now, with a "MyWoW" around, will we start seeing a new breed of virtual stalkers? Ones that track little kids down through their Rupture accounts, and (as the common act is on my WoW server, Dark Iron) 'butseks' them?

    Oh the humanity!

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