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Gazillion’s quest: A killer Lego online game, World of Warcraft-style

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Lego Universe online game. Credit: Gazillion Entertainment

Nirvana for the video game industry looks a lot like World of Warcraft, except without the arcane rules that mystify the average player.

That vision is the driving force behind Lego Universe, a new online game based on the building bricks franchise that’s scheduled for release in 2010. Developed by a San Mateo company called Gazillion Entertainment, the game is designed so even your 5-year-old and his grandfather can play together. Gazillion, which has been operating in stealth since 2005, is also working on an online superhero game based on its license with Marvel Entertainment.

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The goal is to make virtual world games that anyone can play. It’s a financially hazardous terrain, previously explored by many companies before Gazillion, including NC Soft, whose Tabula Rasa game, designed by Ultima Online creator Richard Garriott, shut down March 1. These types of games are difficult and expensive to build. They’re even more arduous to maintain once tens of thousands of players pile in, uncovering and exploiting every bug in the game.

The potential payoff is a glittering pot of gold. Consider World of Warcraft, a game ...

... developed by Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine. It has 11.5 million subscribers, each paying about $15 a month to play. That’s $172.5 million a month, more than $2 billion a year, in fees alone. The game disc, which makes a regular appearance on the weekly list of top-10 best-selling PC games, brings in another $20 a copy. Not bad for a title that’s more than 4 years old.

It’s no surprise that the game genre, known as Massively Multiplayer Online games, or MMOs, is a hotbed of development. MMORPG.com lists 253 such games, many of which are in development. With such a crowded field, one way to cut through the noise is a well-known license. Both LEGO and Marvel fit that bill, said Ted Pollak, senior analyst with Jon Peddie Research in San Francisco.

‘I think there is a big opportunity for mass-market MMO’s, especially when they are connected to recognized brands,’ Pollak said. But, he warned, ‘the quality of the game must be top notch, which is not an easy undertaking.’

Gazillion Chief Executive Rob Hutter said his company has recruited 300 developers, many of whom have worked for Sony Online Entertainment, Blizzard, NC Soft, Walt Disney and other seasoned MMO studios.

‘We worked hard to create a game experience that is easy to learn, but also offers depth for even the hardest-core players,’ said Hutter, who said his developers spent some time figuring out why Nintendo’s Mario franchise continues to pull in new players while maintaining its base of serious gamers.

Among the changes Gazillion made: shorter game sessions so players can jump in and out in five or 10 minutes, easier ways to move around the virtual world, more intuitive menus and fun ways for old-timers to interact with newbies.

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‘When you look at World of Warcraft, it’s largely a hard-core gamer phenomenon,’ Hutter said. ‘We think there’s an enormous opportunity for an MMO that can penetrate the mass market.’

A worthy quest.

-- Alex Pham

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