Next Generation has a rundown on the 20 games they think defined TGS 2006. Leading the pack is Microsoft's double-barrel RPG action, Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon, their current great white hope for the Japanese market. From the article: "The weight of the bigger names involved -- artists Takehiko Inoue and Akira Toriyama, and writer Kiyoshi Shigematsu -- might even draw in completely uninitiated gamers. Blue Dragon, coming this year, as a pack-in with the console, will help make the machine a more familiar sight in homes that purchase PlayStation 2s for Dragon Quest; Lost Odyssey, coming next year, looks like something that could be advertised in cinemas." White Knight Story clocks in at number 3, and everyone from Ars Technica to Tycho is praising this Level 5 game as being the first PS3 title they're really getting excited about.

Back in May, Brian Crecente of Kotaku and the Rocky Mountain News had a chat with the maker of the 'Columbine RPG'. Today, he talks again with game-maker Danny LeDonne about possible connections between his game and the Dawson shooting. From the article: "My very first reaction, frankly, was to head to my toilet bowl and throw up. I knew what was in the works and I knew the next week would be spent keeping my head above water while the press tried to bury me with guilt-laden questions and implications of complicity in murder. I also knew that this was no time to fold or get weak-kneed. I made a game. I believed in it. Now it was time to defend it. No one would do that except me."

VonSnouty writes "The revered RPG specialist Bioware is setting up a special handheld division in Edmonton, and it's revealed their first creation will be for the Nintendo DS. Neverwinter Nights? Mass Effect? Erm, Jade Empire? Place yer bets!" It's also possible this could tie in to their as-yet-untitled MMOG. From the article: "The new handheld group will be led by project director, Dan Tudge, former president and founder of indie studio Exile Interactive, who has previously worked for major publishers such as Nintendo, Microsoft, THQ, and Sega." Hey, I liked Jade Empire.

Gamespot is reporting that this year's Tokyo Game Show will feature a record number of titles on display, some 573 games. The huge numbers reflects the console launch cycle, but surprisingly a full half of the games on offer are either PC or mobile games. The official TGS site has the full list of games, with Square Enix having some particularly interesting titles on offer. Sony has released the list of playable PS3 and PSP games that will be at the event, with heavy hitters like Heavenly Sword, Lair, Resistance, and Warhawk rounding out the list nicely. Game|Life has some commentary on the games selection for the curious. "Also on Sakaguchi's plate are two Xbox 360 RPGs to be published by Microsoft. Blue Dragon was reconfirmed to be shipping this year, and Lost Odyssey will be at Tokyo Game Show but ship in 2007. Microsoft's dreams of publishing the next big Japanese RPG don't stop there, however. The company's partnership with Star Ocean creators Tri-Ace will come to fruition next year with an RPG called Infinite Undiscovery."

It's time to check in with the table-top scene, with a slew of products from earlier this year. With one exception, everything I have to discuss today is from Wizards of the Coast (WotC). The well-known maker of Dungeons and Dragons is having a banner year, a year they've been referring to as the 'Year of Dragons'. Their draco-specific products will get a look here on the site in a month or two, and later this month I should have a full report on the 4th Edition of the Shadowrun RPG. Today, though, we've got demons, psionics, epic-level play, and a second Player's Handbook. Oh yeah, and a 670-page, $120 sourcebook called Ptolus. Read on for my impressions of these great excuses to throw a d20.

walnutmon writes "Newsweek has published a three page article asking whether World of Warcraft is more than just a game. Though some spend their time in WoW grinding, others take a break from the monotony of gaming to interact with others from the community in a meaningful way. From the article: 'Generally, though, players of the game enjoy a form of community rarely seen in the real world; higher-level players go out of their way to tutor newbies and accompany them on quests. Deep friendships are forged. Relationships begin that flower into marriage, with Tauren brides and Undead grooms tying the knot in some virtual tavern in Thunder Bluff.' I guess the question is, does a game become more when people do more than play to win, or is this just an added feature?" Raph Koster has been of the opinion, for quite some time now, that all MMOGs are virtual worlds; it just so happens you can play a game inside many of them. What's your view on this? Are Massive games just another kind of game title, or are they something special?

From the journals, here's some food for thought: Does a "crime" committed in an alternate world have any ramifications in the "real" world? Case in point is this article from the Gamers With Jobs site outlining the exploits of one Dentara Rask, a character in CCP's Eve Online massively multiplayer online world. According to the the article, Dentara Rask ran a Ponzi scheme within the game, amassing a large amount of on-line wealth (700 billion ISK), and then bragging about it. The question is posed: since a Ponzi scheme in real life is a punishable criminal offense, what about when it happens in a MMORPG? Assuming there are no rules within the game environment to prevent this, how would you go about punishing someone in the real world for something they did in an artificial one? And can they be punished?

Next Generation is running an article penned by DFC Intelligence Analyst David Cole, exploring the overwhelming popularity of World of Warcraft. Coles asks Is It Possible to Surpass World of Warcraft? He explores the reasons behind WoW's success, and what it means for the market as a whole. From the article: "All of these factors point towards one conclusion: World of Warcraft's success, admirable as it may be, will be extremely difficult to duplicate. This will be bad news for all the frothy investors who are suddenly discovering the MMOG business model. In the new DFC Intelligence Online Game Market report we forecast revenue in the MMOG market to grow over 150% from 2006 to 2011. However, this doesn't account for all the investment money that is likely to be lost chasing after that revenue growth."

The best games on the market are referred to as AAA titles. This refers to the cost required to make them, but it's often used to indicate the quality of a game title as well. Not every disc you pop in a drive can be God of War, though. Games that honestly give their all deserve at least a little respect; B for effort, as it were. Today I have impressions for two titles that favour style over substance and go down swinging, filling the screen with hundreds of NPCs for sheer shock value. Capcom's Dead Rising and the Dynasty Warriors wannabe Ninety-Nine Nights manage to both disappoint and satisfy. Like B-grade films, they're so bad that you just might love them. Read on for the Attack of the B-Grade Games!

smartidiotaz writes "Blizzard has finally released more information about the talent trees after leaks broke out over the internet. " As typical, every class thinks every other class got a better deal, but the Pallies get to mean it ;)

Despite assurances that we'd seen the last of new NWN modules, Joystiq is reporting that Darkness over Daggerford is now available for download, thanks to the folks at Ossian Studios. From the article: "Ossian Studios is comprised of BioWare veterans and RPG enthusiasts, and while they had originally planned Darkness over Daggerford as a premium module release, this lengthy single-player campaign is now available as a free download at the Neverwinter Nights Vault. Check out BioWare's interview with Ossian co-founder Alan Miranda, and let us know what you think of Daggerford."

Another year, another trip into the heart of dorkness. Gen Con Indy 2006 was marked, not so much by the big releases (because there weren't that many this year), but by changes in the wind. Several newer systems were in their second year, garnering praise for their continued quality. Some games that we saw last year weren't even around this year. Others were just not doing as well as their creators would have hoped. The focus, though, was entirely on the games ... and next year's convention. The talk in the halls and on the exhibit hall floor, when not about dice and mechanics, surrounded what Gen Con will be like next year and the changes that videogames will bring to the event. Read on for my comments about what I saw this year, what worked, what didn't, and a few words on what might result from next year's changes.

Heartless Gamer writes "There is quite a few surprises waiting in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. The raiding scene in World of Warcraft is going to dramatically change once Burning Crusade is released. Here's the long and short of it: all of the new high-end raid content will be capped at 25 heads. Indeed, all the raid content that was mentioned in today's demo, with the exception of Kharazan (which is designed for 10 players) is being designed around a force of 25. Blizzard has completely done away with 40-man raiding; Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, and Naxxrammas will still exist, of course. There just isn't going to be any new 40-man content. How's that for earth-shattering?"

GameDaily reports on the upcoming concerts at this year's Gen Con. Video Games Live will be playing this Friday and Saturday, to coincide with the second and third days of the annual RPG event. From the article: "'Performing Video Games Live with such a distinguished orchestra, venue, and convention helps to further legitimize the important cultural and artistic aspects of video games and their music,' said Tommy Tallarico, famed video game composer and co-creator/executive producer of Video Games Live." I uh, won't be able to make them. Because, you know, I'll be gaming.

HerderOfCats writes "Shannon Appelcline has written up an excellent independent history of Wizards of the Coast, the company that brought us Magic: The Gathering, eventually acquired TSR and D&D, transformed the paper RPG game industry with d20 and the Open Game License, and eventually was acquired by game giant Hasbro." From the RPGNet article: "Overall, Hasbro was looking to make Wizards meaner and leaner, and thus a better profit making machine. In 2001 and 2002 Habro also divested themselves of their conventions. Origins went to GAMA and GenCon to Peter Adkison. Around the same time they also outsourced their magazines by licensing Dungeon, Dragon, Polyhedron, and Amazing Stories to Paizo Publishing, who continues to publish the RPG magazines today. Two years later another pruning would come. Wizards had also been running 85 'Game Keeper' and 'Wizards of the Coast' retail stores, but in early 2004, Hasbro shut them all down. Together with selling the conventions, this relieved any concerns that Wizards might be developing a vertical monopoly, like that controlled by Games Workshop in the UK--and really such a monopoly wouldn't have made sense given the d20 strategy. "

kebes asks: "I'm the GM for a group that has been gaming together for about 12 years. We're starting to move away from each other, and want to switch to playing our tabletop RPG online. So far, we've been using a combination of TeamSpeak and IRC. It works, but is not ideal. What protocol/chat service and applications would make for a great online gaming solution? The voice and text chat abilities are crucial, but having a collaborative white-board would greatly help. Ideally, the solution would be integrated (one app), allow logging of the session, run on multiple platforms (Mac OS X, Linux, Windows), work with web-cams, and permit file-transfers. What service or app (or combination thereof) would work best for our needs? Anyone else have stories of success or failure?"

simoniker writes "Mythic's Mark Jacobs, whose MMO company is being acquired by EA, has commented in detail on why fantasy MMOs sell better as part of an extended interview. He suggests of MMOs: 'Fantasy is easier than sci-fi. Want to know why? It's simple. A gun. What's a gun? A gun is impersonal. A gun can shoot somebody from across the room... Part of the challenge we found with Imperator is how do you make a combat system based on lasers and energy weapons, compelling to an RPG audience. The other challenge with a sci-fi game is that fantasy is very well defined in our minds ... I also think there's something I can't explain, which is that people are more willing to play a fantasy game that's not as good online, than they are willing to play a sci-fi game that's not as good online. And I'm not sure why that is.' Suggestions?"

With several expansions to the original game already released, and the title available on three platforms, Square/Enix is finally talking about a sequel to Final Fantasy XI. There are very few details available at the moment, other than to say it will be out on the 360, PS3, and Vista. From the Gamespot article: "Attempts to contact American Square Enix reps for clarification and confirmation had gone unanswered as of press time. However, as Windows Vista won't be available until 2007, the PC edition of the game would likely not launch until next year--at the earliest."

Along with trick or treat candy, gamers can look forward to Final Fantasy XII finally launching here in the states on October 31st. 1up has the story: "What better way to enjoy left over Halloween candy than by digging into an epic RPG adventure? Additionally, Square Enix will be releasing a Collector's Edition for $59.99 via EB Games and GameStop websites and retail stores featuring special packaging and a bonus DVD with Japanese and American trailers, developer interviews, an art gallery and featurettes on the Final Fantasy series. "

cyrus_zuo writes "Game Tunnel has just published its June Independent Video Games Round-Up. This month's article looks at twelve indie titles including the physics-based gem Armadillo Run, the newest Spiderweb Software RPG Avernum 4, and the finally released Wild Earth, the later of which walked away with the Game of the Month award. As always the article includes four different people reviewing and rating each game, including a new face this month, Savant, as Game Tunnel marks 2 years of doing the monthly round-up."