Dungeons & Dragons Online Headlines
Turbine sues Atari over DDO (and perhaps NWN MMO?)
Turbine is perusing legal action against publisher Atari for fraud, breach of contract and unjust enrichment to the sum of $30 million dollars.
Turbine licensed the rights to build Dungeons & Dragons Online back in 2003, but alleges that Atari has been less than supportive of their launch of the now free to play MMO, stating that the company has been trumping up false charges against Turbine in order to free themselves from their contractual obligations and potentially extort funds from the popular development studio. Why? In order to clear the way for their next D&D online property, suspected to be a Neverwinter Nights MMO.
Turbine states that they would have never expended the time, money and effort to launch DDO: Unlimited had they had any warning that Atari would not make good on their obligation of support. As of 2006, Turbine had invested a reported $20 million dollars into the DDO project.
More details as they develop.
DDO Unlimited Gets Release Date
The Free to Play version of Dungeons and Dragons Online now has a release date. Turbine will be opening the doors to DDO Unlimited on August 4th!
Press release with more details:
Turbine, Inc. announced today Dungeons & Dragons Online®: Eberron Unlimited™ (DDO Unlimited), a free digital upgrade for Dungeons & Dragons Online®: Stormreach™ will launch on August 4, 2009 in North America. DDO Unlimited will raise the level cap, introduce a new player class and add major new content, as well as make the game free to play for everyone. The new DDO Unlimited delivers heart-pounding game play featuring the industry’s best combat system, a massive world with state-of-the-art graphics and gameplay, and a rich set of features that until now could only be found only in premium subscription-based MMOs. DDO Unlimited will introduce an innovative new pricing model that allows players to download and play for free, purchasing adventure packs, items, and account services a la carte from the new DDO Store, or to subscribe to get unlimited access to all of the game’s content. Turbine will provide DDO VIPs early access to the game to beginning August 4, 2009 and will provide free, unlimited access to everyone on August 6, 2009.
“The DDO Unlimited Beta has been a huge success and we want to thank all of our players who have participated to help us make this the best free-to-play game on the market,” said Fernando Paiz, Executive Producer of DDO Unlimited. “On August 6th we are going to change what it means to be free-to-play with the most immersive, action-packed and full-featured MMO that provides players with a choice in how they play and pay for the game.”
DDO Unlimited delivers the best combat of any MMO and the most heart-pounding action this side of a keyboard, plus a lot more!
* Brand New Content & Features – DDO Unlimited will deliver a new class – favored soul, increase the level cap, introduce new adventure packs including a new 12-player raid, major combat improvements and more!
* The Fiercest Combat – DDO Unlimited features an extraordinary heart-pounding combat experience that requires players to fully engage in the battle by relying on their wits and reflexes in real time. No more clicking skills and watching the action from the sideline.
* Mind-blowing Visuals – Explore a vast and dangerous online world that features the most advanced graphics in the industry and is stuffed with the legendary monsters, glorious treasures, devious traps, mind-bending puzzles and endless adventures from the world’s best known RPG.
* Full-featured MMO – Experience sophisticated systems found only in the best games including auctions, NPC hirelings, arena death matches (Player versus Player), crafting, and powerful social tools for finding a group, forming a guild or planning an epic raid!
* Easier Than Ever! – DDO Unlimited gets you playing in minutes instead of hours, using new proprietary Turbine technology. Creating a new character is incredibly simple with guides and templates that speed you through the process. Features an all-new new player experience that gives gamers their first taste of excitement quickly while teaching them how to play solo or with a group of fellow adventurers.DDO Unlimited is based on the world-renowned DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® franchise of Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.® (NYSE: HAS), under license to Infogrames Entertainment S.A.® Published by Atari, Inc.®, DDO has been enthusiastically received by many gaming critics, including The New York Times, PC Gamer, Game Informer and many more. For the latest information, please visit [url]www.ddo.com[/url].
DDO Goes Free to Play
Dungeons and Dragons Online is going free to play with the launch of the Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited beta.
What can you expected from DDO:Eberron Unlimited?
- Brand New Content & Features - DDO Unlimited will deliver a new class, increase the level cap, introduce new adventure packs including a new 12 player raid, major combat improvements and more!
- The Fiercest Combat - DDO Unlimited features an extraordinary and heart stopping combat experience that requires players to fully engage in the battle by relying on their wits and reflexes in real time. No more clicking skills and watching the action from the sideline.
- Mind-blowing Visuals - Explore a vast and dangerous online world, featuring the most advanced graphics in the industry, that is stuffed with the legendary monsters, glorious treasures, devious traps, mind-bending puzzles and endless adventures from the world's best known RPG.
- Full-featured MMO - Experience sophisticated systems found only in the best games including auctions, arena death matches (Player versus Player), NPC hirelings, gambling, crafting, and powerful social tools for finding a group, forming a guild or planning an epic raid!
- Easier Than Ever! - DDO Unlimited gets you playing in minutes instead of hours, using new proprietary Turbine technology. Creating a new character is incredibly simple with guides and templates that speed you through the process. Features an all-new new player experience that gives gamers their first taste of excitement quickly while teaching them how to play solo or with a group of fellow adventurers.
I know in the past some members have enjoyed DDO but the price wasn't worth while or not enough people were playing - this might just be the cure to that!