Update: Red 5 Confirms Firefall Release in December

[Greg Tito]

Update: Red 5 Confirms Firefall Release in December

The CEO told a newspaper in China that the AAA free to play MMO made by ex-Blizzard folks is coming along as planned.

Update Again: Mark Kern responded with beta details. See his comments here. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/112060-Firefall-Already-Launched-Public-Beta-Rolling-Out-This-Month]

Update: According to Red 5 Studios, Firefall's release date was always planned for the end of the year 2011 and the CEO was just confirming that fact at ChinaJoy. We expect to get an official statement with more details from Mark Kern soon. Stay tuned ...

Original Post: Mark Kern is passionate about the free to play model for Western MMOs [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/9013-Evolve-or-Die]. He's seen it work for lesser properties and markets like Korea and China, but Kern is convinced that it can fight against the stigma here in North America - and will make Red 5 a boatload of cash. Perhaps that excitement allowed him to make an announcement about the game's release before the PR people were able to craft a sufficient press release. While attending the ChinaJoy Expo in Shanghai, Kern leaked to an interviewer that Firefall will launch December 2011. He later confirmed that December is not when the beta will begin, but when most players will be able to jump into Firefall.

"They asked me when the game was launching, and I said December. For some reason, they interpreted that as Beta," Mark Kern said. "Sorry for the confusion."

The full interview from an organization known as Tencent Games also gave some percentages on how complete FireFall is. For instance, the game is 50 percent done, with PvE content faring a bit better at 75 percent complete while the maps are almost finished at 90 percent. The team is still working on new concepts and testing them out, though.

I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound like a game that's ready to launch in less than six months. Some open betas of MMOs last more than six months and Kern did not confirm when such a test would begin for FireFall. Hopefully soon.

But after more about the FPS gameplay of FireFall, I wonder if Red 5 is trying to release it well before SOE's Planetside 2. The two games will directly compete in the MMO market both with a sci-fi shooter setting, and free to play business model.

I have reached out to Red 5 Studios for a statement and I'll update this post if any more news emerges.

Source: Red 5 forums [http://www.mmoculture.com/2011/07/chinajoy-2011-firefall-to-launch-in.html]


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[RA92]

But after more about the FPS gameplay of FireFall, I wonder if Red 5 is trying to release it well before SOE's Planetside 2. The two games will directly compete in the MMO market both with a sci-fi shooter setting, and free to play business model.

Ah, Planetside. Admit it, you guys got a soft spot for it.

<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-escapist-presents/563-Victory-at-Planetside>Right?

Anyway, Firefall doesn't look too shabby either.

<youtube=jBg1e4Hio50&feature=player_embedded>

Funky.

 

[haleysaur]

A couple points:

The information was taken from a translated Chinese article. Mark had mentioned release in December, it was translated into Chinese, and then back out of Chinese, where something was lost in translation. This is likely part of the miscommunication.

The original beta hints were for early summer, and now they've said we will find out more info about the beta at PAX Prime--but before even that time, they had always said they expect launch in Q4 2011, and even mentioned Winter 2011 in a PVP trailer they released early May; it may be inexact, but it's a relatively similar release time that's since been condensed down to December.

What I don't understand, given the above information, is the phrase "The CEO told a newspaper in China that the AAA free to play MMO made by ex-Blizzard folks is coming sooner than expected." The beta is arriving sooner than expected according to the mistranslation and then the fix, I guess, but the release date is still pretty much on par with the whole Winter 2011 thing. The wording's got me a bit puzzled, because it isn't like he said it's releasing in December when it's actually scheduled for release later in 2012 or something.

Most of the concerns about the game's readiness are certainly valid, though--readiness for release could be an issue despite their expectations. The latest video shows things shaping up pretty nicely, though, I think.

Edit: Looks like the recent article edit cleared all that up, now it's as it should be.

 

[thblackdeth]

Team made up of Ex-blizzard employees? That sounds familiar.

Well, I have confidence that this game will be good anyway. I just hope it launches right because the launch is usually the kiss of death for many MMORPGs.

Well that is part of the beauty of a F2P model. It doesn't cost you anything to try it, so it can actually build its playerbase overtime significantly. One person tries it, likes it, and convinces his friends to play with him. They dont see a reason not to try it because its free, and also start playing. Its alot harder to justify paying $20-30 for a game, and then $15 a month when your not sure if you will like. It is easy however to play a game for nothing, then buy things from the cash-shop if you think its worth it.

Also, its NOT an MMORPG. many call it an MMO i wont get into that debate, but first and foremost it is a skill based, team based, shooter. You level up, but leveling does not give you power. a skillful level 1 player, can beat a decent level 30 player. If it is two pro players, the level 30 may have an advantage, but it certainly does not mean the level 1 still cannot win.