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Darkfall, a PvP-oriented MMORPG that was first announced in 2001, is finally in the process of going live. After dealing with some launch-day bugs, the Darkfall team reports that servers are going up, and they're processing pre-orders to get players in the game. MMOCrunch has an in-depth write-up from the end of the beta, saying that the game is still "rough around the edges," but also that the team has created a "solid framework of an MMO that offers a unique experience that the genre has not seen in quite some time." Ten Ton Hammer had a similar reaction, tempering criticism with praise for the lack of hand-holding.

TasosF writes "The New York Times published a feature on the strategy guide publishing. Strategy guide sales reportedly generated about $90 million in 2004, with the guide to GTA San Andreas having sold 748,000 copies to date." From the article "'It's like writing a travel guide to a place that doesn't exist,' Mr. Hodgson said. 'Whereas Frommer's guides tell you what hotel to stay in, I tell you which hotel not to stay in because you're going to get dragged down by a gangster.' By most measures, strategy guides are not a huge business. They generated about $90 million in sales in 2004, according to the NPD Group, a market research firm; the figure dropped to $67 million in 2005, but that decline was expected as a cyclical moment, paralleling a transition in the industry to a new generation of advanced game consoles."

Heartless writes "If you aren't an Evercrack addict or a World of Warcraft fanatic then chances are you may just be interested in some of these updates for non-mainstream MMORPGs. First off we have Pirates of the Burning Sea accepting beta applications. Darkfall Online has a leaked gameplay video that they are not stopping and has also started taking clan applications for their beta test. Horizons has announced a Military appreciation program. Codemasters has announced that RF Online will make a North American debut. Finally we have Irth Online freshly into its Beta 3 semi-open beta phase with its first review up at Gamergod.com. Keep an eye out on these titles as they further advance the smaller MMORPG market." Some other (more mainstream) games have updates as well, with GamerGod offering up a review of the new EQ2 expansion, and Next Generation interviewing a DDO developer.

Heartless writes "If you aren't an Evercrack addict or a World of Warcraft fanatic then chances are you may just be interested in some of these updates for non-mainstream MMORPGs. First off we have Pirates of the Burning Sea accepting beta applications. Darkfall Online has a leaked gameplay video that they are not stopping and has also started taking clan applications for their beta test. Horizons has announced a Military appreciation program. Codemasters has announced that RF Online will make a North American debut. Finally we have Irth Online freshly into its Beta 3 semi-open beta phase with its first review up at Gamergod.com. Keep an eye out on these titles as they further advance the smaller MMORPG market." Some other (more mainstream) games have updates as well, with GamerGod offering up a review of the new EQ2 expansion, and Next Generation interviewing a DDO developer.

Heartless writes "If you aren't an Evercrack addict or a World of Warcraft fanatic then chances are you may just be interested in some of these updates for non-mainstream MMORPGs. First off we have Pirates of the Burning Sea accepting beta applications. Darkfall Online has a leaked gameplay video that they are not stopping and has also started taking clan applications for their beta test. Horizons has announced a Military appreciation program. Codemasters has announced that RF Online will make a North American debut. Finally we have Irth Online freshly into its Beta 3 semi-open beta phase with its first review up at Gamergod.com. Keep an eye out on these titles as they further advance the smaller MMORPG market." Some other (more mainstream) games have updates as well, with GamerGod offering up a review of the new EQ2 expansion, and Next Generation interviewing a DDO developer.