I love reliable sources....

And, here's the official announcment! You can see more in the 38 Studios News.

38 STUDIOS ACQUIRES THE AZEROTH ADVISOR

10/08/2008
— World of Warcraft Personalized Newsletter, The Azeroth Advisor, Now Available as a Free Subscription —

38 Studios, a pioneering entertainment force delivering a broad spectrum of immersive products, today announced the company has purchased the Azeroth Advisor (Azeroth Advisor :: World of Warcraft Guide) from Mentor Media and will now be offering free subscriptions. The Azeroth Advisor is the personalized guide to playing WoW, the World of Warcraft® game.

“As one of the most useful tools for enhancing a player?s World of Warcraft experience, The Azeroth Advisor is invaluable, offering personalized, customized information, tailored specifically to one?s character,” said Brett Close, CEO and President of 38 Studios. “The Azeroth Advisor fits perfectly with the 38 Studios strategy and vision of providing our customers with an unparalleled quality of experience both in and out of the game world.”

The Azeroth Advisor is a personalized, web-based, computer-generated newsletter that provides customized information and direction on playing World of Warcraft. The Azeroth Advisor gives WoW players useful character guidance for furthering their game experience. Using patent-pending technology to generate the data, the Azeroth Advisor combs through thousands of web sites and millions of web pages to compile the most relevant and up-to-date information on one?s character. Delivered to a subscriber?s inbox for free, the Azeroth Advisor helps players make informed decisions throughout the game. The newsletter features timely and relevant information, providing a snapshot of each player?s current characters, detailed information on abilities and talents, charts to map and track progression, guides to WoW dungeons and zones, personalized maps highlighting key non-player characters (NPCs), and recommendations for areas to explore.

“As a lifelong, dedicated, passionate MMOG player and longtime paying Azeroth Advisor subscriber, I found the newsletter to be truly useful and relevant and an excellent community tool,” said Curt Schilling, Founder and Chairman of 38 Studios. “In fact, we all liked the Azeroth Advisor and its potential applications so much, we bought it! Considering community is at the heart of the 38 Studios experience, regardless of what the community is formed around, we decided that the Azeroth Advisor should be free to all WoW enthusiasts.”

The Azeroth Advisor is the only personalized newsletter based on a subscriber?s character. The new Azeroth Advisor will continue to include all of its original features and information on World of Warcraft, but now it contains additional features like more personalized comparison charts tailored to a character?s talent specification in addition to class. Subscribers who use RSS aggregator tools such as Google Reader, My Yahoo, and NewsGator can now read their Azeroth Advisor inside of those feeds, in addition to receiving it by email.

World of Warcraft fans and others can receive the free newsletter by signing up at Azeroth Advisor :: World of Warcraft Guide. Current subscribers will no longer be charged for their subscriptions but will notice a completely redesigned newsletter. In addition, anyone who has signed up for the Azeroth Advisor by November 8, 2008 may also enter to win one of 38 1-year subscriptions to the World of Warcraft game or extend an existing subscription. See Azeroth Advisor :: World of Warcraft Guide for complete contest details.

Still, Curt.....what does this mean for Copernicus!? We'll be the "heart" then, right? Community? Not WoW-ites?

I think this is so cool. I only played WoW for a few months (just not enough time to dedicate to one MMO. I can't ignore all the others!) but I think this would have definitely enhanced my experience. There were times when I was like "uhhh where should I go next?"

I hope they incorporate similar technology in Copernicus, that would be awesome. Also the Wizards vs Cyborgs video was hilarious!

The cake is a lie!

Anyone else concerned about this?

Up until now every piece of news I would hear about Copernicus has been fantastic. This one however...

I don't want information handed to me. I don't want to know the "best" way to level up. Where is the fun in that? I love a mysterious world with secrets that are well... secret.

Of course I have no idea how or if they will use this technology in Copernicus or if they will use it a different way. E-mailing you a story about your adventures anyone? Still though... First piece of news that had me doing a double check.

I totally do understand! I don't like spoiler info, either. That's half the journey and a lot of the reason some folks have problems with "WoW players". But, you don't have to use the info if you don't want to!

(plus, I'm guilty of consulting Alla at times, cuz I can't keep anything straight, no matter how many times I do it!)

Oh I know I don't have to use it, but it becomes a problem if everyone else does. I want to go to Dungeon of skeles, but the e-mail says I should go to the castle of clouds. Good luck finding a group in Dungeon of Skeles.

Anywho, among other things I like a to follow a quest to where I should go, following a story and on the way find secrets that I have to come back and revisit. I don't want to be told how to play my char I want to figure it out, and I don't want to be a complete gimp because I choose not to use it.

It's the same with maps for me. I don't want a sploch on my map telling me where to go. And while I may not use it, others will and when they tell me to meet "at the big red spot on your map." What can I say? Do I use the map? Well I kind of have to or loose the group because unless there is a giant red balloon or something on the horizon... well you get the idea.

Generally the only thing giving out free information like that does is promotes laziness, shortens a games lifespan, allows for ignorant progression, etc... Anyone remember being level 50 in old games? If you saw a level 50 in EQ you KNEW that they knew what they were doing. Since WoW, I have become xenophobic of everyone, not just those below level 20. LOLSKATER dude is just as likely to get to 50 just as quickly as the genuinely awesome people that used to inhabit that level. Free info has only hastens that effect.

Anyway, just saying. Only bit of news that concerns me, I am still fairly sure Copernicus will be great!

Point very well taken here! It took me 3 months to get to lvl 10 in EQ back in the GOOD ol' daze! You don't see that excitement, longevity and intrigue in games any more! So sad!

With the talent at 38, tho, they have a super shot at beating the odds! Here's hoping!

LOLSKATER dude is just as likely to get to 50 just as quickly as the genuinely awesome people that used to inhabit that level.

Being a one-time pro skater, I take offense to that

For the most part, for me, I agree. But it's not a forced "how to play and where to go", it's a suggestion.

It's no fun to log in and feel like you've accomplished nothing after two hours. Not everyone who plays MMOs has enough time and energy to dedicate as hardcore players. If Copernicus is going to be successful it needs to be welcoming to the casual players as well and not make them want to quit because of its difficulty and confusion.

Originally Posted by Ashu

It's no fun to log in and feel like you've accomplished nothing after two hours. Not everyone who plays MMOs has enough time and energy to dedicate as hardcore players. If Copernicus is going to be successful it needs to be welcoming to the casual players as well and not make them want to quit because of its difficulty and confusion.

I am going to have to respectfully disagree on that last point. Yes people need to be able to log in and accomplish something with the time they have. That said, you have to be careful what you give away. Levels, great gear and items, skills, and major game changing things does not need to be obtained in one, 2 hour game session. Maybe part of a quest or part of a level or part of something done in that session. Or even a minor upgrade gear wise or a once in a long while a rare find in that time. In terms of carrots, small, tiny carrots. Not the huge carrots of a level or gear.

Look at it this way, the more you give away in shorter time frames, the shorter the lifespan of the game will be.

Vanguard started out hardcore friendly casual player spurned. It switched to casual friendly and that is what killed that game. I would have never known that the game wasn't completed on release if they hadn't given me levels. If they had just made the game harder and less reward ridden, they would of lasted far longer. The hardcore and semi-hardcore got to the end, found nothing and quit. That might be a flawed example as there were several things wrong with VG but still if they had made us slow down, and worked on getting content finished, I would still be there.

My point is, right now there is no home for hardcore players, or players that want a hard game. There is a saturation of "casual friendly" MMOs out there. I believe that if they want to be successful and stand out from the crowd, it would be better to make the game that doesn't already exist.

Talent is great, but no matter how good you are, if you are aiming for the wrong target, it doesn't matter how close to the bulls eye you are.