Tag Archives: gaia online

THQ, Gaia Online, NCsoft and Funcom have joined Operation Game Over, with the result that over 2,100 online game accounts linked to registered sex offenders have been wiped. GamesIndustry reports the new additions to the initiative join Microsoft, Apple, Blizzard, EA, Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony, who collectively erased more than 3,500 accounts in an earlier purge. Operation Game Over is an extension of New York’s Electronic Securing and Targeting of Online Predators Act, which requires known offenders to register their online ID details, offering community hosts the opportunity to ban them. The program is intended to assist in protecting minors from sexual predators.

Loads of news this week in MMO land, kiddos.

Massively is giving away Beta keys to Star Trek Online, Aion dropped GameGuard and launched its first server, Pirates are everywhere, and Sony is giving you double station cash this weekend.

There is also news concerning Champions Online, EVE, Guild Wars 2, EverQuest, Warhammer, Runes of Magic, and loads of other stuff you can find here instead of searching everywhere.

It’s all past the break.

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GDC Austin takes place September 15-18, and you already know that Blizzard and Sony Online will be there, but so will others.

Here’s a list of the recently announced speakers and what they will be discussing:

• Craig Alexander , VP, Product Development, Turbine: MMOs to Consoles – Challenges, Opportunities and Emerging Trends
• Brandon Barber, VP Marketing, Zynga: What Are The Stickiest Design Models and How Are They Monetized?
• Bill Dalton, Technical Director, BioWare Austin: Come and See the Elephant – Challenges Encountered Growing an MMO
• Raph Koster, President, Metaplace: Games are Math: 10 Core Mechanics That Drive Compelling Gameplay
• Jeffrey Kesselman, Chief Technology Officer, Rebel Monkey: The Monkey Wrench: Design and Architecture of an Online Environment
• Jesse Schell, Faculty, ETC Carnegie Mellon, CEO, Schell Games, Laralyn McWilliams, Creative Director, Sony Online Entertainment, Matthew Schwartz, Senior Designer, Cartoon Network: Reaching A New Demographic: Kids AND Their Parents
• Craig Sherman, CEO, Gaia Online: Next Phase of Casual Games: How to Make the Free-To-Play Model Work for You
• Richard Weil, Director of Community Relations, Cartoon Network, Rebecca Newton, Head of Safety, CrispThinking.com: Kids and Gaming-One Year Later. Still Keeping up with your ABCs?

The full press release is after the break.

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