Aeria Games

I knew I wasn’t crazy! Okay, back up – I knew I had really seen this! Jury’s still out about the whole “crazy” thing. Since I am soon to join the iBorg iPhone iCollective, it’s time to start adding iPhone games to my beat. When there’s an iPhone game coming out from prolific MMO publishers Aeria game, where you can find virtual items hidden in the real world using your iPhone 3G that can be used or redeemed in game – well – that’s just kinda cool. ...

Just saw that Aeria Games is adding Shin Megami Tensei to its stable of free-to-play Asian import MMOs. Brought to the West previously as single player games for the Playstation consoles and known here as Persona, Shin Megami Tensei will be a horror/fantasy MMO where high school and university students battle the forces of evil by bonding with Personas that give them supernatural powers. I loved the Persona series back on the Playstation; I was really into the Japanese RPG scene back then, and these were some of the best. Twisted, dark plots. ...

Aeria “of course we will publish your free-to-play MMO for you” Games has just announced that their free-to-play Diablo-like, Cronous, has just entered closed beta. More news later after I have had a chance to take a look, or sign up for the beta and see for yourself :) Guild Wars FTW!

My constant trolling over on the Chronicles of Spellborn forums have as yet revealed no news about any North American release. They are supposed to be on the verge of open beta, and to have signed a letter of intent months ago with an unnamed US publisher (my guess, again: Aeria Games). However, the Spellborn computer they collaborated with German PC makers Ultraforce on earlier this year, they are now releasing case-only, in case you’re not jazzed about the computer they had, but loved their case. 249 Euros, so US$384, probably closer to US$500 when all shipping and customs fees are paid, which is pretty expensive just for a case. Just not worth it to buy things from Europe when you live in the US any more.

There’s two MMOs out there you have probably not heard of. There’s HUNDREDS of those, right? Once you get out of the calm, safe, bathwater-warm surf of the current crowd of big budget MMOs, it’s a wild tide of MMOs with names you can’t remember and details you can’t recall. None of them will challenge WoW, so you WoW-ians can get back in your chairs. I am not going to say anything negative about the current crop. ...