Top 10 Most Anticipated MMORPGs of 2011 [Part I]

Top 10 Most Anticipated MMOs of 2011 [Part II] By Jeffry Lau Years ago, I joined an online game company after graduation and stepped into this industry by coincidence. At spare-time, I always pay close attention to the development of gaming industry and write industry reviews for MMOsite.

In some degree, a new year means more new playable online games for numerous MMO fans. So, which games deserve our anticipation most? Today, please follow Jeff to check out the 10 most anticipated online games in the year 2011!

We posted a poll topic similar to "Top 10 Most Anticipated MMOs of 2010 " last year, and received a total of 11,437 votes. The top 5 online games with the most votes were respectively Blade & Soul (15% of the votes), Guild Wars 2 (13% of the votes), Allods Online (11% of the votes), Star Wars: The Old Republic (10% of the votes) and TERA: The Exiled Realm of Arborea (9% of the votes). Among the five games, only Allods Online was finally released in 2010 and TERA launched OBT in South Korea, and the remaining three are still being developed. I'm not Octopus Paul, so I don't dare to say that each game will be released as scheduled. But to make this year's "top 10" more reliable and better worth your anticipation, I specially divide it into two parts, one is the 5 games that have 90% possibility to be released or at least will enter the test stage in 2011, and the other is the 5 games that are unlikely to be released in 2011, but 60% of which will be tested in my opinion.

Now, let's get to the point to check out the 5 most anticipated online games which most likely to be released in 2011!

TERA: The Exiled Realm of Arborea

It's been confirmed that Korean TERA will launch its official OBT in Jan., 2011. English TERA, which showed up at the game show held in Seattle, USA this year, has undergone several internal tests, and it's believed that its localization has entered the final stage thanks to En Masse Entertainment's meticulous preparation. Judging from South Korean companies' philosophy of internationalization in recent years, we can say that TERA is very likely to land in North America officially (maybe in the summer vacation, I guess) following its OBT in South Korea. There's no reason for the game to put off entering the North American market unless serious bugs are encountered during the large-scale OBT in South Korea.

Tera Closed Beta Archcer Class Skill

However, TERA still has certain weak points. Though it bears glorious graphics and a familiar fantasy background, its female characters with Korean-style faces don't seem to cater to players' taste. During my trial play, I found that the game laid stress on fierce combats and set high requirements for players' controls, e.g. players' movements and teamwork were particularly valued in the fights with bosses. Anyway, the game is good as a whole, and is extremely worth expecting for those tired of characterless killing. Remember that Aion sold 400 thousand copies after being pushed into the North American market the year before last? Should TERA be released next year smoothly, its sales will surpass those of Aion for sure.

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TERA is expected to be released in South Korea in Jan., 2011, and in North America in the summer vacation of 2011.

Expected Business Model: Client Fee + Monthly Subscription

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