Ch…Ch…Ch…Changes…

Wow – so much craziness! I may be late learning of the news, but I finally am catching up…

A day after seeing multiple game commercials during the most extensively watched television program of the year, I learn of chaos in the gaming industry.

Sony sells SOE and it becomes Daybreak Game Company – DGC anyone?

AOL shuts down Massively and WoW Insider.

So while it is apparent mobile gaming is experiencing an upswing and making some dough, traditional PC games and gaming journalism is suffering.

I'm not really sure what this means for me, but I did visit Massively quite regularly, and I did buy a Landmark founders pack.

I think I'll feel the Massively closure the most as I'll have to find another source for information. While I didn't read every article in depth, I did enjoy the fact that they covered parts of the industry that I did not always get to. They introduced me to Wurm Online, and even though I did not always like what they had to say, they helped increase my appreciation of Eve Online. And when City of Heroes was shut down, they were there with the rest of the community. I am sad to see them go, but have faith that something positive will come from the vacuum that will be left.

As for the SOE deal, I became disenchanted with Sony over a decade ago when they stopped making their Clié Palm PDA, and since then, have expected the worst from them. I did dabble in EverQuest and PlanetSide, but I never made much of a commitment. While this is not the end for those games, it does bring up the question about how they will survive, and if they will last much longer if they are not making the kind of money an investment management firm requires to keep them afloat. I wish them luck.