World of Warcraft’ rival amps up
By LOU KESTEN The Associated Press function PopupPic(sPicURL, sHeight, sWidth) { window.open( "http://media.kansascity.com/static/popup.html?"+sPicURL, "", "resizable=1,HEIGHT=" +sHeight+ ",WIDTH=" +sWidth); } Confront this creature on “Warhammer Online.” var storyImage = $("#storyAssets .image img").width(); if (storyImage > 0){$("#storyAssets").width(storyImage);} "factbox" -->
Four years after its launch, Blizzard Entertainment’s “World of Warcraft” continues to dominate the field of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (known by the acronym MMORPG). It’s not for lack of competition; dozens of companies have tried to peel off some of the 10 million “WoW” subscribers, only to be stymied by technical problems, lack of polish and player attrition.
The latest challenger is “Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning,” the sword-and-sorcery fantasy developed by Mythic Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. It has attracted 750,000 players since its September debut. But Mythic co-founder Mark Jacobs said: “The launch is just the beginning. Even the first year is only a step.
“No MMORPG is ever ready to go out. These games are so complicated, you can never get it 100 percent right.”
“Warhammer” executive producer Jeff Hickman said the goal is to “keep the momentum going,” especially with the busy holiday season and a much-anticipated “WoW” expansion coming up. “We stay on top of what’s going on, and we’re going to keep expanding,” Hickman said.
?NEW IN STORES: Microsoft’s “Fable II,” the long-awaited epic from “Black & White” mastermind Peter Molyneux, arrives on the Xbox 360. ... Ubisoft’s shooter series goes to Africa in “Far Cry 2” (for the 360, PlayStation 3). Rockstar revs up two new chapters of its “Midnight Club” street racer: “Los Angeles” (360, PS3) and “L.A. Remix” (PlayStation Portable).
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