My second Massive Update column has gone live on the 1up site, touching on the last ten days in MMO gaming. Starting next week it will only cover seven days (whew) and should go up every Thursday like clockwork.

The Big Story

Five years. Thirty million dollars. A company of dozens of people, and a fan community trusting in the Vision. All for nothing. That’s Vanguard: Saga of Heroes in a nutshell, and the big story in the last two weeks was the (unsurprising) purchase of the game by Sony Online Entertainment for an unspecified sum. The very first notice of the purchase came on May 15th from SOE”s Chief Executive Officer John Smedly on the newly-opened Vanguard boards, and in an interview with Gamespot. He explained the basics to an anxious community: the game won’t be changed in drastic ways, the priority at first will be stability, Brad McQuaid’s role will be as ‘consultant’ on the game. Like a white knight on a charger, Sony Online rode in to save the Vanguard players from Sigil’s dissolution.