Over 4 million of China's youth are addicted to what the state deems "unhealthy" online games, claims a Chinese lawmaker.

The 4 million represent ten percent of Chinese internet users under 18, according to the AFP. The term "unhealthy games" could refer to any number online games including Blizzard's World of Warcraft, which boasts millions of subscribers in China. The same games were called "spiritual opium" by another Chinese lawmaker earlier this year.

In the announcement, the Chinese government calls for hard-coded time limits in games and stricter content monitoring in games. Previously, the government has tried a number of methods to curb internet addiction, including cybercafe age and time limits.

As Blizzard prepares for the looming Q4 release of its World of Warcraft expansion pack Wrath of the Lich King, the company has revealed that it will be adding some of the expansion's new features and content to the PC MMO in the form of a free patch.

"We will be issuing a new content patch in the coming weeks," Blizzard rep Eyonix posted on the game's official forums. "Much like the patch made available shortly before The Burning Crusade's release, this content patch is designed to bridge current game content with that of the expansion and will contain some exciting changes."

A partial list of the changes and additions follows:

New class spells and talents

Barbershops in capital cities

Two brand-new Arenas featuring challenging new layouts... Read more

With the September 18 launch for Mythic's Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning now set in stone, publisher and studio owners Electronic Arts today announced the PC MMO has gone gold and entered the manufacturing process.

The MMO has recently become the latest subject in the industry-wide crediting controversy, as past Mythic staff members will not be recognized for their contributions.

In advance of the game's retail release, pre-order customers will gain access to an open beta beginning September 7. Until then, check out the latest CG trailer

Gold farming in games like World of Warcraft is now an industry worth an annual $500 million, according to a study from Manchester University reported by BBC News.

Gold farming, which allows users to use real money to purchase in-game currency in massively multiplayer games, has become a controversial issue in the genre.

Professor Richard Heeks, himself a gamer, turned his academic eye to gold farming and found that the industry currently employs an estimated 400,000 people --80% of which are in China-- making an average of $145 per month.

"I initially became aware of gold farming through my own games-playing but assumed it was just a cottage industry," said Heeks. "In a way that is still true. It's just that instead of a few dozen cottages, there turn out to be tens of thousands." ... Read more

Along with DC Universe Online and The Agency, Sony Online Entertainment has revealed plans for its third PlayStation 3 MMO, FreeRealms.

Previously announced and also in development for the PC, FreeRealms is described as an "all new social networking service and massively multiplayer game in one."

According to SOE, the title provides a mix of traditional MMO gameplay, such as exploration and spell casting, along with more casual activities like house decoration and gardening.

The PlayStation 3 version of FreeRealms will be published by Sony Computer Entertainment in European countries, with no release date provided.

Developer Cryptic Studios has revealed new information from the ongoing development of Star Trek Online, the studio's MMO adaptation of the classic sci-fi franchise.

According to Cryptic chief creative officer Jack Emmert, players will begin their voyage as the captain of a small Starfleet or Klingon Empire ship, able to customize their characters as previously existing Star Trek species or create entirely new races. As with the sci-fi series, exploration and scientific discovery remains a prominent focus.

"You'll venture through space exploring new civilizations and life-forms," Emmert told the Associated Press. "You'll also beam down to planets and have adventures inside your ship. It's a galactic-wide game. There's going to be tons of space to investigate. We have a great system for exploration, which will allow for almost infinite possibilities."

While familiar locales such as Vulcan and Bajor will be accessible, the time period of Star Trek Online—set "a few generations" after the Next Generation... Read more

As the release of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack approaches, World of Warcraft players can now earn free game time, an exclusive mount and gain an experience bonus by bringing friends into Blizzard's massively successful PC MMO.

Available through a player's account page, Recruit-A-Friend allows subscribers to easily send their friends a code for a free 10-day trial. An experience bonus is instantly available, with additional bonuses arriving once friends purchase game time.

Referal Bonuses:
• Experience Bonus
  For 90 days, friends and referrers can summon each other once per hour and gain triple experience when adventuring together. Veterans get a level-up to a lower-level character for every two levels a new player earns.
• 30 Days Free Play Time
  Awarded for each person who upgrades to the retail version of World of Warcraft and purchases their first month of game time.
• Exclusive In-game Zhervra Mount
  Awarded when a referred friend upgrades to the retail version and buys two months of game time.

Ready or not, Electronic Arts today announced that Mythic Entertainment's newest MMORPG Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will launch September 18.

The publisher also announced that a monthly subscription will cost $14.99 USD, with slight discounts available when signing up for 3- ($41.97 / $13.99 per month) or 6 month ($77.94 / $12.99 per month) periods. "The countdown has officially begun. Mark your calendars! September 18th is the Day of Reckoning," said Mythic founder Mark Jacobs. He added, "For the last three years, the entire team at Mythic has poured their hearts into making Warhammer Online the next great MMORPG. We are so excited to open up this world and share it with the fans that will live in it, quest in it, go to war in it and make it come alive."

Mythic recently announced it had cut several cities and player classes from the game out of quality concerns.

During an interview with Shacknews, id Software president John Carmack revealed that the company has previously turned down publisher proposals to develop a massive multiplayer version of its shooter series Quake.

Saying that id had passed on several offers of "good money" to develop a Quake MMO, Carmack added that the company would not be attempting a similar project anytime soon.

"id has no interest in MMO development," said Carmack, who added that while he is familiar with the technology, he is also "fully cognizant" of the challenges and risks of creating a game in the genre.

id Software is currently dabbling in web-based online gaming with its upcoming Quake III Arena port Quake Live. In an interview with Shacknews last month, Carmack said development of the game required a "significant effort" for id due to the company's relative inexperience with internet databases.

"We did not have the experience in website development, database management, and all of that web world type stuff," said Carmack on developing Quake Live. "And honestly, we underestimated the challenge involved in that."

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has confirmed that celebrated developer BioWare is at work on a MMO based on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic franchise.

"We've got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development," Riccitiello told Portfolio.com. "The one that people are dying for us to talk to them about -- in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare, which is, I think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it."

When asked pointedly if the game he was referring to was the oft-rumored Knights of the Old Republic MMO, the CEO simply responded "Yes."

BioWare has made several mentions of its in-development MMO project, but has remained characteristically silent on which, if any, property it would license for the title.

Earlier this year, however, BioWare and LucasArts announced that they had partnered for an unspecified project, leading many to speculate that the Star Wars MMO was indeed in development.

No release date or platforms have yet been revealed for the long-in-development MMO. A PC version is likely, though BioWare has made several comments indicating that it may be considering a console release as well.

Quality concerns have prompted developer EA Mythic to remove four classes and four capital cities from its upcoming PC MMO Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

Though franchise mainstays, the four classes--Choppa, Hammerer, Blackguard, Knight of the Blazing Sun--were axed from the fall launch as they just "weren't coming out well," Mythic VP Mark Jacobs told MMORPG.com. The title was originally planned to have 24 classes across its six races.

"I wish we didn't have to do it," he elaborated. "I really wish we didn't have to cut them out, but it's better for them to be cut out than to have classes that aren't great and that we would spend more time trying to make them great post-launch than we should have to."

The studio's decision to scale back on the number of capital cities represented a similar issue. Initially, each of the six races was set to have its own city. Now, the game only sports two capitals, one for the Empire and one for the Chaos... Read more

Take-Two Interactive today announced that it will be handling publishing duties for Champions Online, the next MMO from City of Heroes (PC) developer Cryptic Studios. While Cryptic has been tight-lipped about the game's console release, Take-Two specified that the MMO will hit Xbox 360 in addition to PC next spring.

Expect more details on Champions Online to arrive next week during the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit.

Blizzard has begun allowing World of Warcraft (PC) subscribers to register for the beta of the upcoming WoW expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King.

The ability to "opt in for a chance to participate" currently appears on both the European and North American account pages for subscribers, as spotted by fan website World of War. There will be no need to sprain your fingers in a rush to enter, as the selection of participants will be random.

As previously revealed, the forthcoming expansion will include the MMO's first Hero class, the Death Knight, which players will be able to create once their characters reach level 55. Lich King also offers a slew of new abilities and items to aid players in raids and new areas.

No date for the beta was specified, though studio owner Vivendi expects Lich King's new abilities, areas and Death Knight class to arrive by the year's end.

A batch of five tiny screenshots, concept art and a teaser trailer from Sony Online Entertainment Austin's DC Universe Online have been revealed, offering a first look at the PC and PlayStation 3 comic MMO.

The media appeared on the recently opened DC Universe Online MySpace page. No release date for the game has yet been announced, though more details are expected at this year's Comic-Con, taking place in San Diego later this month.

For more on DC Universe Online, check out our previous coverage.

Mass Effect (PC, 360) developer BioWare is examining the feasibility of a product for Apple's iPhone platform, company president Greg Zeschuk revealed in an interview.

"We look at every platform that comes along. Obviously, something that's as big a cultural and technical success as the iPhone is something you really got to take a close look at," Zeschuk told MTV Multiplayer.

Game development on the iPhone has ramped up since the gadget's debut. Ports of EA Maxis' life-sim Spore and Sega's Super Monkey Ball, which make use of the phone's built-in accelerometers and touch screen, were announced last March.

"I think one of the things that we'll have to see how it shakes out is what type of consumer buys games on it and what type of experience they're looking for," he added.

BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka offered his perspective on the rapidly growing PC MMO market and the success of titles such as Blizzard's World of Warcraft and... Read more

The mystery of which studio is handling Star Trek Online may soon be at an end, going by a new countdown clock on Cryptic Studios' website. The countdown, which concludes on July 28, uses an early piece of STO concept art as its background. Left, Star Trek Online concept art. Right, Cryptic Studios' website.

Originally under development at Perpetual Entertainment, the PC MMO was transferred to an unknown studio when Perpetual closed shop earlier this year.

Rumors soon began circulating that City of Heroes and Champions Online developer Cryptic would be handling the game and was hiring former Perpetual employees. Those reports are technically unverified, though the countdown implies their validity.

Thanks to Binge Gamer for the heads up regarding the countdown.

Furthering its prolific tendency of positive announcements, Age of Conan developer Funcom today claimed that the recently-launched PC MMO is "the undisputed #2 subscription MMO in the western world."

Funcom has repeatedly trumpeted Age of Conan's relative success against Blizzard's MMO juggernaut World of Warcraft, which has over 10.7 million subscribers worldwide and helped bring in over $1.2 billion across 2007.

Conan has now amassed over 700,000 accounts since its European and North American release in May, with the game said to be topping PC sales... Read more

Gaming magazine Edge has new details on Sony Online Entertainment Austin's upcoming comic MMO DC Universe Online (PC, PS3), as reported by Eurogamer.

According to the preview, DC Universe Online allows users to create their own superhero or villain and select superpowers for their characters, similar to Cryptic Studios' City of Heroes and its upcoming Champions Online.

Though the game doesn't allow players to take up the role of any famous DC Comics characters, they do appear in the game. Some examples posited by the preview include aiding Superman in a fight against villain Lex Luthor, or causing chaos in downtown Metropolis to draw the attention of famous superhero NPCs.

Described by creative director Jim Lee as a "kick-ass hybrid between a traditional MMO and a first-person action console game," DC Universe Online includes... Read more

According to Gamasutra, Blizzard Entertainment senior vice president Rob Pardo explained that company's hugely successful PC MMO World of Warcraft was initially planned as a free-to-play, ad-supported title.

"When were first going to make World of Warcraft, we wanted to make it free and advertising supported," Pardo said. "We didn't want to charge a subscription, but as we researched market conditions, we realized that wouldn't support us."

World of Warcraft has amassed roughly 10.7 million subscribers since its initial 2004 launch, marking the title as the most successful MMO of all time.

Though free-to-play titles have seen great success in overseas markets, the business model has yet to catch on in the mainstream North American industry. However, several upcoming titles—including EA DICE's Battlefield Heroes—show a steadily increasing interest in alternative sales strategies.

Age of Conan developer Funcom and publisher Eidos have issued a list of planned changes and modifications to the mature PC MMO Age of Conan, which launched roughly a month ago.

Included in the road map are "a massive new PvP update" due in late June, new social features, Guild Alliance Warfare, bigger battles, more adventures, new areas, and a combo-based dance system "entirely motion captured by professional dance artists."

"We know that a solid launch is but the start when it comes to the MMO genre," explained game director Gaute Godager. "What we are presenting today will evolve Age of Conan even further. It's naturally an incredibly ambitious update plan for a live MMO game, but we are certain our players would want nothing less."

A list of the new features, complete with official descriptions, is below... Read more