Millions of people are flocking to inhabit virtual online worlds, says research by analysts Screen Digest.
The market for massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) in the West is now worth more than $1bn (£511m)
Games such as World of Warcraft and worlds like Habbo Hotel are fast becoming "significant platforms" in the converged media world, the report said.
"There's a whole ream of different genres and spaces emerging," said the report author Piers Harding-Rolls.
Revenues from subscriptions to MMOGs will hit $1.5bn by 2011, he said.
“April was an indie-heavy month and it was hard to pick the best games but here we go! Hope you have fun and see something you like.” - A.J. Maciejewski from Video Chums.
The Nerd Stash: "Abiotic Factor combines some of the funniest and more challenging elements into a facility where dimensional barriers have dissipated."
BLG writes, "Some of the most popular games have had a rough start, with some of them being downright unplayable.
Despite that, developers have managed to turn it around for them and make their game worth playing. Here are some games that had a rough start but were pretty great."
Sea of Thieves... I'm not disagreeing that the game has improved in terms of content. But I feel that the most significant change between now and its release is actually the public perception. Nowadays, most people are aware that the game is a multiplayer PvP-focused experience first and foremost, and not "Black Flag made by Rare". Consequently, people dismissing the whole experience because the single-player aspect is lacking or the story is plain are much less common.
Several years ago, i submitted an idea to Rare that would change up the mechanics of battling opponents in the game. whereby if you died in battle, you turned into a skeleton warrior and had to fight your way back to the land of the living. It was an interesting twist on respawning and would allow the player to experience both sides of a battle.
I keep hoping to see something like that get added to the game.
Everquest was once the most popular MMOG beating Asheron's Call from Microsoft. However they're both severely beaten by Blizzard.