Frivolous Patent Lawsuits Plaguing MMO Industry

You might remember reading about a seemingly obscure company called Worlds.com filing a patent infringement lawsuit against MMO developer NCSoft (Aion, City of Heroes, Guild Wars) last spring. It was widely covered in the video games press, and widely criticized by most community members. The suit revolves around a set of patents filed by Worlds.com back in the late-90s for its Starbright World project; a "social network" for sick and terminally-ill children.

Around the same time, Worlds.com CEO Thom Kidrin announced he planned to go after other major MMO publishers like Activision-Blizzard (World of Warcraft) and Linden Labs (Second Life), essentially claiming that every MMO on the market today owes Worlds.com patent infringement damages. In addition, MMO developers and publishers would have to pay Worlds.com a licensing fee to use its"interactive virtual world system" technology (more on that later).

Meanwhile, another patent troll stepped up to the plate last week, hoping to make a quick buck at the MMO industry's expense, à la Worlds.com. As we reported a few days ago, Paltalk Holdings Inc. filed suit against a handful of developers, including Turbine Inc., Activision-Blizzard and NCSoft, among others. The suit claims the MMO companies are violating its patents for its HearMe technology (an inconsequential, business-oriented "online meeting service"), which Paltalk bought the rights to in 2002. Will the MMO industry collectively stave off these lawsuits, or is this just the beginning of a multi-million dollar litigious gang bang?

Blizzard, Turbine, Sony, NCsoft Named in Lawsuit

According to a Boston Globe article, Paltalk Holdings has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Turbine, Sony Corp., Activision Blizzard, NCsoft and Jagex. Paltalk claims the data-sharing technologies used in MMOs like World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Everquest, Guild Wars and Runescape violates two patents that Paltalk purchased from a company called HearMe in 2002. The patents cover technologies for sharing data among connected computers so all users see the same digital environment.

Some readers may think Paltalk has no chance of winning this lawsuit. However, Microsoft settled with Paltalk in 2006 by paying an undisclosed sum after Paltalk sued the industry giant for violating these same patent rights in Halo multiplayer features. As the article states, "Microsoft has conceded the validity of Paltalk's patents, making it tougher for Turbine and the other defendants in the current lawsuit to challenge them."

Smedley Hints at PlanetSide Next in Twitter Post

Back in July, ZAM editor Christopher "Pwyff" Tom wrote an editorial about PlanetSide's current-day relevance. "Interestingly, while Planetside is probably one of the best FPSMMORPGs I've played to date, it's also very sad to see that it's one of the most abandoned MMOs I've seen in quite some time," Pwyff said about the game, which was released by Sony Online Entertainment in 2003.

A few days after the editorial was published, SOE announced the game's existing servers would be merged into one on Aug. 25. The company stated the servers were combined "in the interest in maintaining a high level of competition and gameplay" in the MMO. But with only one realm to its name, what does the future hold for PlanetSide?

On Sept. 2, SOE President John Smedley made a cryptic post on his Twitter page that simply said, "PlanetSide Next..." He made another post 12 minutes later that said, "you will like." While this information isn't much to go on, it looks like SOE is working on a sequel (or at least an update) to the MMOFPS. It would certainly make sense considering PlanetSide has a loyal fanbase. Since many players complain SOE seems to have forgotten about the game, perhaps they will get the attention they crave in PlanetSide Next.

Reminder: 12 Hour SOE Down Time Sept 9

If you play SOE games, remember that all SOE game servers plus the Station Store (and possibly the forums) will be down for 12 hours starting at midnight PDT tonight. 

Christie "Kiara" Renzetti, EQII Community Manager, says the whole Community Team will be sending out Twitter updates.  She also plans on joining us in ZAM IRC Chat, in the #EQ2 Channel.  You can find instructions for ZAM IRC here:  http://eq2.zam.com/wiki/IRC.  If you Twitter, here's a complete list of SOE Community Team Twitter links.

 

SOE Session Maintenance Wednesday Sept 9, 2009

Kiara posted on the EverQuest II Forums about a planned 12 hour downtime next week:

There will be maintenance on the Session databases across all games on Wednesday September 9, 2009.  It will begin at 12AM PDT and is estimated to last until 12PM PDT.  All game worlds will be unavailable for the estimated 12 hour maintenance, as well as the Station Store and all commerce avenues.  This may affect the performance of the forums and any or all accounts’ abilities to log in.

We apologize for the inconvenience and will update the information as we are able.

SOE Community will be providing updates via Twitter during this down time.  Click here for links to SOE Community Twitter information.

Official SOE Podcast #70 Now Available!

SOE Podcast 70 is now available! Hear all about Gen Con, planning for Dragon*Con, and the upcoming MxO Memory book.  Also featured is the news with Jason "Pex" Ryan, the SWG Team's favorite vacation spots, listener email (a great way to get swag, by the way) and server hamster conversations!

You can download the podcast from the Podcast Website and iTunes (search for SOE and click "subscribe").

SOE Confirms Development on EverQuest "Next"

Ten years ago, the launch of EverQuest arguably changed the gaming industry forever. Its combination of gameplay, story and cosmetic appeal was precisely what gamers had been waiting for and would soon be the inspiration for many great, and some not so great games to come. Over the years, Sony Online Entertainment has released a number of subsequent EverQuest games set in the world of Norrath; most notable of which being EverQuest Online Adventures and EverQuest II. While both titles continue to retain an active player-base, lately "Will there be an EverQuest III?" has been an increasingly popular subject. Keep reading for official confirmation that "EverQuest Next" is in development.

SOE Launches Art Portal Web Site

Are you a fan of the art from Sony Online Entertainment games? Well, the company has opened a new Art Portal site that targets an audience comprised of students and professionals in the art world, as well as players who appreciate the concept illustrations and graphics tied to SOE games.

The first thing you'll notice when you visit SOE Art Portal is a series of illustrations that were recognized in international juried digital art annuals and shows. There's numerous pieces of art from Legends of Norrath, as well as pieces from EverQuest, EverQuest II, Free Realms and The Agency.

There's also featured articles from SOE developers on topics related to art asset creation and blog entries by Rystall, the director of artistic development for SOE. So are there any ZAM readers out there who are art students trying to enter the gaming field? If so, what are your thoughts on the site?

SOE Maintenance. Thursday, August 13, 2009

Aimee "Ashlanne" Rekoski posted on the Station.com forums:

Beginning at 5 AM PDT on Thursday, August 13, 2009, SOE Account and Commerce flow and the Station Store will be unavailable due to maintenance. We expect this maintenance to take approximately 4 hours.

This might cause some forum accounts to temporarily lose permissions, due to the inability to verify account status while the maintenance is taking place. This is only temporary and normal permissions will return automatically once the maintenance is complete.

We apologize for this interruption and will resume all affected services as soon as the maintenance is completed.

Here's a handy time zone converter to help you plan accordingly!

SOE Awards $10,000 G.I.R.L. Scholarship

Sony Online Entertainment has awarded Rebecca Gleason of Indianapolis the 2009 G.I.R.L. Scholarship, which gives $10,000 to the game and art design student to go toward her college tuition. In addition, she will also be a paid intern for up to 10 weeks on Free Realms!

The Gamers in Real Life scholarship encourages students to enter career paths in the creative and applied arts, which will hopefully result in the development of games that are more enticing for women to play. More than 160 students applied for the scholarship, and the finalists were asked to submit original concept art for new Free Realms environments and characters.

You can read an interview with Gleason on the G.I.R.L. Web site or after the jump. She even discusses how she came up with her Free Realms concepts for her submission.