NewsSpots: Company of Heroes, Xbox 360 demos, WOW

THQ preps WWII RTS spin-off, Darkness and Dynasty Warriors: Gundam samples on Xbox 360, Blizzard boos gold farmers.

Heroes finds Company in China
In 2005, analysts predicted that while China's online market is on the precipice of massive growth, those benefiting would primarily be Chinese studios--save for Vivendi and its World of Warcraft franchise, of course. THQ is looking to disprove that forecast, as the publisher announced this week that it will be partnering with Shanghai-based Shanda Interactive Entertainment to bring Company of Heroes Online (working title) to mainland China in 2008. The Chinese version of COH will include the online component of Relic's WWII real-time strategy game, and players will be able to participate in both cooperative and competitive combat missions. The game will also feature a stat-tracking system, and players will be able to rank up from private to general.

Darkness, Dynasty Warriors samplers hit XBL
Xbox Live will be updated with a pair of demos this week. A trial run for 2K Games' well-reviewed The Darkness went up on Microsoft's online platform earlier today. The single-player demo features three early levels from the supernatural comic book-inspired action game. Also appearing this week on Xbox Live is a demo for Namco Bandai and Koei's crossover action title Dynasty Warriors: Gundam. In this single-player sampler, players assume the role of Heero Yuy as he attempts to thwart a "mysterious planet" from careening into Earth. The demo was scheduled to be available earlier today, but it has not yet appeared on Xbox Live as of press time.

World of Warcraft maker comments on class-action suit
In June, longtime World of Warcraft player Antonio Hernandez initiated a class-action lawsuit against IGE, a purveyor of virtual goods to massively multiplayer online game players. Today, Blizzard issued an official comment on the lawsuit: "Blizzard Entertainment strongly supports the goals of this lawsuit. We agree that real-money transfer is harmful to the game as a whole and to the experience of all legitimate players. We have explicitly forbidden it in the terms of use for World of Warcraft, and have devoted extensive time and development resources to detecting and preventing these illegal transactions. We believe that shutting down gold farming and real-money transfer is in the interest of all World of Warcraft players and that a victory in this case would have a positive long-term effect on the online gaming industry as a whole."

125 Comments

  • ColdfireTrilogy

    Posted Jul 9, 2008 2:49 pm PT

    Man i wish they would bring over a CoH online game here to the states, that sounds like it could be quite a hit in the online RTS crowd.

  • PlissandrO

    Posted Aug 8, 2007 5:09 pm PT

    I've played the demo....
    it's cool, if you already like Dynasty Warriors...
    because is the same of the others, except that the players can shoot, and use lasers...
    but i liked and i'll certanly get that, when its released

  • dontcare5454

    Posted Jul 28, 2007 10:06 pm PT

    I don't want too ever play another Japanese's again. I will take a terrible game from a western developer over the zenith of Japanese games. I have played more Japanese games in the last year than i have in my entire life and i have to say i don't feel that i am challenged at all by their game play AI or anything innovative instead i have to fight the stupid contorted controls that they apply to these lackluster sheep titles and people say that they have great plot just because the game has a lot of freaks in costume with wild twists for he 13th in the series doesn't make it a great story your all fired

  • SilverThor

    Posted Jul 28, 2007 3:12 pm PT

    Played the Gundam Demo today. I agree with hivestar, the camera angle will need work. You play with Heero Yui and his Gundam from the GundamWing series. I do like the combos and fighting format(guns, swords, and buster cannon) . If you like Gundam, you'll love this. sweeeeet

  • hivestar311

    Posted Jul 26, 2007 7:55 am PT

    played through the gundam demo. it's actually not too bad. the camera controls could use some work, but its got solid gameplay and visuals.

  • Kenshin836

    Posted Jul 25, 2007 11:36 pm PT

    Edit: Nevermind. The Gundam demo is finally up for download.

  • TehPickle

    Posted Jul 25, 2007 8:46 pm PT

    Going back to what I was saying about low level WoW "blues" being ridiculously expensive, a lot of that problem can be attributed to one thing, one word: Twinks.

    For some reason nowadays (I can't speak for the US servers but the problem is rife in the EU) whenever someone stumbles across a decent low level blue item they seem to think the only people that these items will appeal to are players that already have a high level character (with a fat wallet) and have made a twink --A low level player, deliberately kept low level with the best gear and enchants available to get an unfair advantage in any of the PvP battelgrounds--. I despise twinks personally, it ruins lower level battlegrounds making them fun only for the people that can afford it and alienates casual players.

    To a certain extent a portion of the blame could be laid at blizzards feet for making this kind of conduct possible, though I can't think of a feasible way to prohibit it. But none the less, it doesn't make it right.

  • DarthRazil

    Posted Jul 24, 2007 8:16 am PT

    No argument there! Im looking forward to this game. I love the Gundam animes and DW is just so much fun. Im really looking forward to seeing the Musou and True Musou attacks for each pilot/gundam/however-the-hell-they-are-doing-it. At the very least, it looks like it will be a fresh take on the formula with the addition of space battles and some of the transforming mechs

  • Telekenesis123

    Posted Jul 24, 2007 1:51 am PT

    I disagree very much with you on the chaos vs easy point but do agree it needs something new. Yes the characters are cool and the whole Romancing saga is cool but just about every avenue in that realm has been touched on. This is a new and exiting start for me since different themes can open up more possibilities for game play, map variations, and overall spark the imagination of the developers. I hope its great and even leads to other themes and possibilities for the series to grow.

  • DarthRazil

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 8:12 pm PT

    @Telekenisis123
    Dude... Im sorry, but you are trying to make too much of the games. The Dynasty Warriors/Samurai Warriors series are fun games, but whether you play on Chaos or Easy, the game play is the same. I've beaten all of them on every mode, maxed all but one, maybe two, character per game and no matter what difficulty i play on it, it amounts to the same thing. I have never taken into account ranged vs melee attacks for each character, or any of the things you mentioned. The only concern is health and where the next named general is. The Dynasty Warriors formula is the epitome of tried and true. Its worked in the past, so they haven't changed it. That is the main problem lots of people have with the game, it needs to evolve. The Empires spin-offs are a start, but it still needs work.

  • Zennious

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 5:37 pm PT

    mkurts you are an idiot. I doubt Blizzard is angry that they are not getting a cut, if they wanted they could just sell it in game on their own and make it part of the game itself. I hope you learn next time to think before you type and please refrain from future posts which show your lack of intelligent thought.

  • mkurts

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 5:30 pm PT

    WOW sucks anyway, but secretly Blizard must be angry that they are not getting a cut of the money from these goods providers and gold farmers. So they support the lawsuit, against this particular company, and and any other that dares to not cough up money for the fat Blizzard management.

  • Mariofan1314

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 1:23 pm PT

    The Dynasty Warriors Demo still isnt out!

  • ccrunk-11

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 1:04 pm PT

    pablo esstupido!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Pablo620

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 11:50 am PT

    Wow ive never heard of people talk about Dynasty Warriors like this. Its crazy. I just get my guy and swing my weapon till the red on the map is gone. Anyway this game plays just like the DW games of past except with better graphics, much less pop up, less fog of war effect, and more enemies on screen. (i played it on PS3 though so i dont know if its on XBL yet in case it isnt) Anyway i think ill get DW6 which was just recently announced for PS3

  • yaez

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 9:50 am PT

    D.W.:Gundam never went live it`ll probably be available sometime this week, mabey Wed. if we`re lucky.

  • Sonovius

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 7:14 am PT

    I never saw the DWarriors demo this weekend... ;_; anyone know if it ever went live? i wanna button mash with robots with lazor swords pew pew pew

  • guppieface

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 7:10 am PT

    If LuBu hits a 3 star general in the 56% area, it will take a 5 strike kill. Telekenesis123 thinks so too, read his post. If you think that it will only take a two strike LuBu Power up using a +3 katana of death, you are right IF you are wearing your long black coat of domination.

  • maddbummy

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 6:19 am PT

    why are ppl so addicted to these mmos???
    wow... just wow

  • Telekenesis123

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 5:04 am PT

    What are you talking about? How can you say that the lieutenants 5 strike kill and the head generals 1 hit blow of death vs (on easy) his hit you literally, 100 times to kill you dose not "change the gameplay". It completely changes it. It makes character selection utterly important, range fighters compared to melee, fast to slow all very important choices. There was many times I played the map for 45 mins only to be killed by the head general by ONE swipe of his sword at the very end and I had a maxed level character, even Lu Bu died. It changes the hoards of peon soldiers into a considerable threat and nuisance from no threat graphical sprites who couldn't kill you with 200 hits if you just sat there into bothersome nasties. Even a peon can kill you on chaos in 12-15 blows. It makes health management of an paramount importance....I could go on and on. "it makes no diff"? Ha yeah right.

  • diablobasher

    Posted Jul 23, 2007 4:15 am PT

    Telekenesis123:

    Just because you take more damage on a higher difficulty, doesn't add to the depth of the game. It just makes it harder. As fun as Dynasty Warriors is, it is easy, and mindless on all difficulties.

    Also, no game is a button masher. Why in the hell would anyone ever mash buttons instead of pressing specific buttons to initiate specific attacks?

  • Tenshin

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 10:29 pm PT

    Telekenesis123 you are totally right about Dinasty Warriors. But before I tried it I also thought it was a button masher, so... well, the game proved me wrong.

    Also, commenting on the WoW news, I think Blizzard and all the MMO developers should just chill and sell the gold themselves on "fun" servers or specific servers, whatever. Not all of them, though, a lot of people find it takes a lot out of the game, me included.

  • Telekenesis123

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 9:26 pm PT

    Dynasty Warriors a button masher? I'm sick of hearing this. Well yeah it is if you play it on easy, your supposed to play it on chaos to see what the game was really designed for. The last thing you do is "button mash" on chaos mode. Its is a very elegant game of strategy and picking your fights wisely because on chaos mode the army leader can kill your max level character in one good hit. And even the lieutenants in about 4-5 strikes. It takes great concentration and skill to move the battle in your favor. I'm sick of hearing ppl say its a mindless button masher , well no s*** when you play it on tutorial or easy. The games true game play only comes out on chaos and somewhat on hard. Play it on chaos or don't comment because you don't know the game. If you "button mash" on chaos mode you will get your button mashing a** handed to you. I also say this tp the reviewers on this site which have had a hand in this disturbing trend of ignorance concerning Dynasty Warriors game play, coining the button mashing lazy phrase.

  • TehPickle

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 9:25 pm PT

    KillerFPS--While I agree totally with what you say, a small part of me also thinks it's a little harsh to have to spend so much time collecting together enough money to buy what it is you crave. Obviously you could argue that if you want the best items available (to purchase at lelast) you should have to put the effort in, and I would agree. But, on the other hand I can't blame people for wanting to skip the dull parts of the game and cut straight to the parts they enjoy. We have to pay a subscription fee after all.

    I'm not advocating gold buying, it is ruining the economies across the entire game, encouring gold sellers to spam in chat, alienating new players and prohibiting fair trade; it's just worth bearing in mind that as people get more despicably greedy, the money has to come from somewhere.

  • cr8muzik

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 8:07 pm PT

    @"SonyRulzU" ....... you... yes you.. put the pipe down , stop trying to get "kool points" on the ps3 fanboy website. Take a step back and look at your skewed views on the whole situation. I dont want to get into a war on this but look at how many titles are jumping ship on sony, that tells the tale right there... just wait b4 to long were are gonna be hearing about "God of War 360". And getting 5 "free" bluray flicks with your ps3....... reminds me of watching qvc when I was bored and looking at all the garbage they try to intice you into paying for buy "throwing in" more crap you dont need/want. Marketing 101.... you product isnt selling so you package it with more crap to make it look like a sweet deal......So wake up from your dream world and get a Wii if you hate xbox so much , but dont bash a system when the one rave about isnt doint it for you.... I think I hear your alarm goin off now...

  • LINK2K9

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 8:04 pm PT

    @ SonyRulzU

    I didn't bother reading your post, but I can already tell that it's a bunch of crap because of your screen name.

  • soccerguy93

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 6:33 pm PT

    lol killer FPS was quoting the top part from below should have mentioned that,
    to BaTmAnX92: use the game card things thats what I do...

  • Mindgame_1

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 1:33 pm PT

    why do people sit and assume blizzard is after more money? to the fool who asked "how are you supposed to come up with 5000 G in two days?" simple. you dont. its something that you work very hard for so that when you do finally get that epic flying mount, you have something that not very many people have. im sick of people complaining about how blizzard is only after money. its $15 a month. work 2 hours at a lame job and you are good for a month. gold farming and power leveling takes away from the game. its not about being level 70 and having epic gear, it's about everything that happens between 1 and 70. most of the fun i had in the game was just messing around while doing some lame quest. long story short, i would much rather work for something than have it handed to me on a silver platter.

  • Ra-Devil

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 12:28 pm PT

    Hmm.... it's as if Blizzard is taking the exact OPPOSITE approach as all Console gaming companies. Other than the $15 a month, they don't want money transactions to effect the game itself. I suppose that's a good thing, but what about the 14 yo who REALLY wants that rare armor, and is willing to pay $200 for it. What will he do without the armor and all that extra cash? It's mind bending, I know.

  • Aldebaran91 posted Jul 22, 2007 11:56 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Aldebaran91

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 11:56 am PT (hide)

    Breaking news! Johnny Cash ISN'T DEAD! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qbt3...elated&search=

  • tristangreer

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 10:52 am PT

    KillerFPS says he just started playing wow a month ago and yet he has "a few toons lv 70 and under", yet he thinks he has a life? I want to know what company he's paying to level that many characters that quickly.

  • Ebag3587 posted Jul 22, 2007 9:52 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Ebag3587

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 9:52 am PT (hide)

    ughhh whatever just another attempt at getting rich by some loser on WoW. Blizzard should just not care and start selling gold too make more money, make more money!!!

  • KillerFPS

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 8:57 am PT

    QUOTE:
    "i play wow i have a few toons lv 70 and under im also a college student so i play usually when i have free time. the whole point for blizz is taken time from us to get more money thats all they care about for instance at lv 70 you get a chance to get master training for mounts and that allows u to get a epic flying mount. the dang training cost 5000 gold how in the heck is some on going to get 5000 gold with in 2 days specialy for some one like me that plays the game but has a life. they want to stop gold farmers becuase it allows plyrs to play less for what they want and blizz thinks if a player will play less on there game its a chance for them not to play it anymore(finding things to do in the realworld). so they do as much as they can to keep you on the game.
    becuase really the gold farmers dont really effect them any other way. like they want u to think" :END QUOTE

    ________________________________________________

    They do ruin the game's economy more then you think. Let me put this in perspective for you with a story about a previous MMO I played for 4 years. I played that from the beginning to a month ago (when I called it quits and picked up Wow) during that time money got so blantly thrown around because you could afk kill, you could farm easier, and basically every money making "crime" you could do in WoW could be done in EQOA. The problem? Inflation got high. I mean really high. It wasn't uncommon to see the best items break 10million tunar or more. Now tunar buying wasn't a problem but Image if it was in this game? That 10 million probably could have turned into 15 million or more.

    Lets go to WoW now, I've only been playing a few weeks but I look on AH and see low level blue items going for like 50-75g (on Area 52 server). No new player can afford that. You'd have to either A: Buy gold or B: Already have a level 70 and gave gold to an alt to afford those rediculous prices. Gold buying already has affected the community and I've only been playing a few weeks so If I can see it why can't you?

  • From90ne

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 5:37 am PT

    "sonic0491

    ugh im so sick of these lawsuits in the gaming industry."

    American companies -> Lawsuits

  • sonic0491

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 5:25 am PT

    ugh im so sick of these lawsuits in the gaming industry.

  • blightfear

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 4:38 am PT

    yes you can d/l with a silver account

  • MaxBlaze

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 1:41 am PT

    Can you DL demos with Xbox Live Silver?

  • blindsided82

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 12:38 am PT

    Im still waiting for more on the Dynasty Warriors: Orochi. I can only hope they finally up the ante on the graphics to make it more worthy of next gen gameplay.

  • Modbeat

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 12:32 am PT

    The Darkness demo convinced me to buy it aswell. Although Im still waiting for a NBA 2k8 and NBA Live 08 demo so I can compare

  • BaTmAnX92

    Posted Jul 21, 2007 11:29 pm PT

    Makhdoom82, if you mean expansion, then yes there is an expansion coming. There really hasn't been any new news coming up on it, but it's still being made, just give it some time. I will probably get it, but maybe not. I don't play too much COH anymore. I'll go get the demo for The Darkness in the morning, but not for DW:G. It sounds pretty dumb. The whole WoW thing is w/e to me. I don't do that crap because I don't want my credit card being used by someone in the company and doing something stupid with it or something like that. Anyways, its usually pointless when you can just get money for yourself. If your lvl 10 and want money, go get it yourself. LVL up and get money along the way and don't waste it on useless crap. A lot of people do that and then complain about money. I had at lvl 20 about 15-20g. I bought only skills and the important things such as food and profession tools. But w/e, Go Blizz and tell em to stop.

  • DarthRazil

    Posted Jul 21, 2007 7:58 pm PT

    ok... so has anyone actually seen the Dynasty Warriors: Gundam demo on live? The Darkness one is finally up, but Gundam is still a no show

  • XheavensmileX

    Posted Jul 21, 2007 3:35 pm PT

    Sweet I played the darkness demo and it convinced me to buy the game.I`ll have to try Gundam later.

  • potlacey posted Jul 21, 2007 2:35 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    potlacey

    Posted Jul 21, 2007 2:35 pm PT (hide)

    lol wat a bunch of BS!!!! Blizzard is behind it all, another way to keep hardcore players playing

  • cyber_sonix

    Posted Jul 21, 2007 12:57 pm PT

    Horde and Blizzard ftw

  • Simulator_Shock

    Posted Jul 21, 2007 12:43 pm PT

    I hate it when you constantly getting spammed with pst spam whispers in WoW. I just like to gank lowlife horde.

  • stejmatty

    Posted Jul 21, 2007 12:30 pm PT

    good 4 WoW, i hate it when people just spam the genral chat in orgrimmar, about gold and leveling... its a game to enjoy and have fun, and maybe sumtimes kill sum allience scum. =P

  • ryan-666

    Posted Jul 21, 2007 12:19 pm PT

    more and more demos for xbox live BO YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! the more free stuff the better!!!!!!!!!!! but when are the movies out!!!!!!!!! argh!!!!!!!!!!

  • AwesomeIRL

    Posted Jul 21, 2007 12:02 pm PT

    Messing up the fake economy in the fake world?

  • jakob_187

    Posted Jul 21, 2007 11:53 am PT

    /clap @DuaneDog - spoken very well, sir.

    I work at a network gaming center with 32 PCs and 5 Xbox 360s. When people come in, it isn't free reign for them. They surrender certain outside-world privileges. We don't allow outside food or drinks...it's not because we don't like them or anything, but it's because we make half our money from our concessions. It's not they are overpriced (24 oz. Mountain Dews for a dollar?!). People aren't allowed to cuss, as it is a family-friendly environment. It also means they can't bring in a game like Grand Theft Auto or Gears of War due to mature content. Halo is as mature as we go. With PCs, it's easier to control: we have Company of Heroes, which drops a ton of F-bombs, but we can age restrict those games through their SmartLaunch profiles. Again, it's not because we don't like the games, but it's because we have a controlled environment. When people come in, they surrender their usual privileges in order to enjoy time at our center.

    Therefore, Blizzard has every right to pursue people who are spamming all the time on WoW. Sure, they fixed a lot of those issues with some of the new patches, but now when I walk outside Ironforge, I see corpse art sprawled out giving the name of a gold-buying website. We've got people charging outrageous amounts of money for stuff that shouldn't cost a ton. Why? It's because gold buyers are ruining the economy. I pay my $15 a month to play a game and have fun, not be hassled by gold buyers and power leveling services.

    So I say "GO BLIZZARD GO!".

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