Seems like a poster over on the F13 forums was told by a job recruitment type not to mention the fact that he plays MMOs. Supposedly, the recruiter told him that one of the employers he consults for specifically asked not to be sent people who play World of Warcraft.

According to the post:

I met with a recruiter recently (online media industry) and in conversation I happened to mention I’d spent way too much time in the early 2000s playing online games, which I described as “the ones before World of Warcraft” (I went nuts for EQ1, SWG and the start of WoW, but since 2006 I have only put a handful of days into MMOG playing – as opposed to discussing them – I’ve obsessed over bicycles and cycling instead).

He replied that employers specifically instruct him not to send them World of Warcraft players. He said there is a belief that WoW players cannot give 100% because their focus is elsewhere, their sleeping patterns are often not great, etc.

I mentioned that some people have written about MMOG leadership experience as a career positive or a way to learn project management skills, and he shook his head. He has been specifically asked to avoid WoW players.

For one thing, I can understand this on some level, but so what if it is a videogame? It could be a number of things that the person does when not at work that can lead to being a less than suitable employee. There is excessive drinking, whoring, knitting, dog training, working out, getting high all night, MMO grinding, reading into all hours of the night, clubbing, your kids myriad of different sporting events you have to attend, a TV marathon of “My Big Redneck Wedding”, the wife/husband/mother-in-law bitching and yelling all night, insomnia, chronic masturbation habits, just being a crap employee– a number of things can make a person less worthwhile on the job. Don’t just blame MMOs, and if you have hired a load of people who play these games for your company, that means you are an industry that appeals to gamer types any way so get used to it. It could just as easily be some multiplayer “shoot em up” on Xbox LIve that is keeping them up all night.

Read the full article »

The November NPD numbers are in for PC titles for the month, and it should come as no surprise that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is on top–as a matter of fact it takes the top two spots out of the Top 20. If you look through the whole chart though, you will notice that World of Warcraft took five spots which is an indication that its popularity shows no wane in sight.

Call of Duty: World at War for the PC came in third, with Spore still pulling in the gamers and resting at number four, and Left 4 Dead took the number 8 spot which is a decent slot considering the PC powerhouses that are present on the chart.

1. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
2. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Collector’s Edition
3. Call of Duty: World At War
4. Spore
5. Fallout 3
6. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest
7. The Sims 2 Deluxe
8. Left 4 Dead
9. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack
10. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
11. World of Warcraft
12. The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff Expansion
13. Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy
14. EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey
15. Far Cry 2
16. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack
17. BioShock
18. Spore Creepty & Cute Parts Pack
19. IGT Slots: Little Green Men
20. Assassin’s Creed

(Thanks Shacknews)

Blizzard has added Character Re-customization to it’s list of premium services for World of Warcraft. For $15 per character, you can change your avatar’s name, facial features, skin and even gender. The only thing you can’t mess with is your race and class.

Your guild memberships, standings, and friend lists will all be updated with your new name if you choose to change it. Of course that means that re-customization isn’t a way around Ignore restrictions. All the same, you might want to mention your plans to your friends and guild members so you don’t get booted by mistake.

There’s a Character Re-Customization FAQ on the Blizzard’s WoW site that seems to cover most sensible questions a player might have on the process. If you’re no longer satisfied with visiting the barber, you can re-customize every 30 days.

Need even more proof that World of Warcraft is immensely popular in all corners of the world? You probably don’t really, but thanks to WoW Insider via CCTV.com, we know now just how much people love their WoW.

Over in Beijing, a World of Warcraft enthusiast has created a restaurant themed after his favorite game. Everything from the decor to the menu was inspired by Blizzard’s behemoth and images of the game are even plastered upon the walls and in-game footage is played on screens. The entrance is a re-creation of the Dark Portal, which for non-players is the opening animation from The Burning Crusade, while the dining area is the Hall of Snow Storms, and there is a towering tree at the center of this “dining portal”.

The food, which is classic Chinese and Sushi in form, is based on the game as well and named after different characters from WoW. When the owner was asked why he created a restaurant based upon his favorite online game, he stated that he did this in “the hope that people who share his enthusiasm for World of Warcraft would find a comfortable gathering place”.

I wonder just how long it will take before someone else does the same thing in another part of the world? If they do, it would definitely give Medieval Times a run for its money.

You can watch the video of the report on CCTV here.

1UP is appealing to gamers to take a 5-10 minute break from their games to fill out the 2008 MMO Gaming Study survey. Those who make time for this no fail quiz by December 1st will be entered in a Sweepstakes to win a $300 American Express Cheque.

Attention FileFront Community!
We want to hear about your MMO gaming experience. Help shape how MMO games are built and be entered in an exclusive sweepstakes drawing to* win a $300 American Express Cheque. * Survey only takes about 5 to 10 minutes and your input would be greatly appreciated.

In addition, you can earn additional entries into the sweepstakes. The first 500 completed surveys will earn a double entry into the prize drawing.

*Directions for the survey:*
1. Step#1: _[CLICK HERE TO START SURVEY]
2. Fill out the entire survey to be eligible for the drawing. *Please fill out the entire survey by December 1st in order to be eligible.*
One entry per household only, additional entries will be void. The winner will be notified as soon as a winner is selected.

Thanks again for your continuing support.

World of Warcraft players certainly don’t mind that 7-Eleven has been dabbling in the field of selling videogames. Thanks to the apparent disregard for street dates, WoW players were able to secure early copies (albeit not early access) of Wrath of the Lich King. The retail chain has announced that its recent sales of games like WoW, Halo, and Madden isn’t a temporary holiday cash-in — they’re planning on permanently adding videogames to their inventory (via Joystiq).

“This is not just a holiday promotion for us,” explained 7-Eleven category manager for gaming and electronics, “but a brand new product line-up that will be available year-round. We may not be a total entertainment destination … yet, but we’re hoping to expand our selection beyond the high-dollar, hot-selling games to include options for all budgets, like value-priced video games as well as DVD movies. For consumers wanting convenient one-stop shopping for at-home entertainment along with groceries and gas or who just want to avoid big-store shopping inconveniences, their local 7-Eleven store is open and ready.”

In addition to Wrath of the Lich King, 7-Eleven is planning on selling the Guitar Hero World Tour band kit, Fallout 3, Quantum of Solace, Gears of War 2, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009, and Call of Duty: World at War. They’ll also begin selling subscription cards for around 20 games and services ranging from Xbox Live to City of Heroes to Runescape.

Picking up a game at 7-Eleven seems to be more of a convenience rather than an alternative, at least at this point. Unless you’ve got one closer to home than any other retailer, will gamers really opt to go there instead of GameStop, Best Buy, or Walmart? But if they decided to throw in a free Slurpee with the purchase of any full-priced game, that might just give them the edge that makes it the premiere destination for picking up big-name games. It would for me, at least.

Love World of Warcraft or hate World of Warcraft you have to give Blizzard some credit for the awesome commercials advertising their product.

In the past we have been been treated to commercials featuring Verne Troyer (man he really creeps me out), William Shatner, and my personal favorite of the three, Mr. T–however, my new favorite has to be the one that was just released this morning.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I present to you–The Prince of !#$%ing Darkness… Mr. Ozzy Osbourne.

I now bow down to the higher power that is the advertising geniuses at Blizzard.

Blizzard just keeps shattering records doesn’t it? Now, they have something else to brag about–with more than 2.8 million copies sold in its first 24 hours, Blizzard’s World of Warcraft expansion is now the fastest-selling PC game…ever.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King sold more than 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability, which eclipses the previous record of nearly 2.4 million copies sold in 24 hours, set in January 2007 by World of Warcraft’s first expansion, The Burning Crusade.

Wrath of the Lich King was simultaneously released in North America, Europe, Chile, Argentina, and Russia on November 13; Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand on November 14; and South Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on November 18.

In celebration of the launch, more than 15,000 stores throughout the world had their doors open at midnight to welcome thousands of expectant players. Several of these locations were attended by Blizzard Entertainment representatives, who met players and signed copies of the game.

Prior to the launch of Wrath of the Lich King, World of Warcraft’s subscriber population had grown to more than 11 million players, further strengthening its position as the world’s most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Expect this record to be broken when they release the next expansion…whenever that may be.

It looks as though U.K. fans are just as crazy about the Call of Duty franchise as those in the U.S. because according to the All Formats charts from Chart Track, the week one sales of Call of Duty: World at War are higher than sales for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare when it debuted. Outselling CoD4 by more than 2 to 1, World at War is expected to be the most popular game during the Holiday Shopping Extravaganza across the pond.

If you look at the rest of the chart, you will notice that games published by Activision Blizzard dominate the chart by having 25 percent of all sales for the one publisher. Of course, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King is on the chart as well, taking spot number two while Guitar Hero: World Tour coming in at number six (full kits for this game were just released recently released).

Last week’s number one best-selling game was Epic’s Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War 2, which dropped 64 percent and down to position number four.

To give you an idea what our British brethren are playing, here are the top selling games for week ending November 15:

1. Call of Duty: World at War
2. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
3. Football Manager 2009
4. Gears of War 2
5. FIFA 09
6. Guitar Hero: World Tour
7. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
8. Mario Kart Wii
9. Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
10. WWE Smackdown Vs RAW 2009

Thanks: GamesIndustry.biz

I got a nice little email this morning from iTunes stating that the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Original Game Soundtrack is now available for downloading via the online music store. Granted, the soundtrack has been available since November 13, but I guess the folks that send out the emails have been having a bad week or something.

As we are all well aware, the expansion hit the ground running over the past few days and while not actually a WoW player, I do like the music, and the snipits I listened to are very interesting. Considering the fact that they were created by Blizzard Entertainment veterans Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, and Russell Brower with performances by the Northwest Sinfonia Orchestra and Chorus, what else would you expect?

The iTunes edition of the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Original Game Soundtrack contains 21 tracks, including three exclusives and each song is, of course, the usual $.99 or you can purchase the full soundtrack for $9.99. Right now, the most popular track is “Arthas, My Son” and following in a close second is the “Wrath of the Lich King”, main title track. If you happen to own an iPhone, those are also the most popular ringtones at the moment as well.

This is for North America–if you live in another region, you may wish to check with iTunes before you get too excited only to find out it is not available yet.